Classic Rock
G.E. Smith on Saturday Night Live and Jamming With David Bowie, Bob Dylan, and Roger Waters
Kyle Meredith With… G.E. Smith Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Legendary guitarist and side-man G.E. Smith speaks with Kyle Meredith about his new album with Leroy Bell called Stony Hill. Smith takes us through how he met Bell, what prompted the album, writing music with a message, and the duo’s concern for our country. The former Saturday Night Live band leader also talks about playing alongside greats such as David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Roger Waters, and Hall & Oates, covering Buffy Sainte-Marie, and writing a song that stretches back to his time with Jean-Michel Basquiat. Kyle Meredith With… is an interview series in which WFPK’s Kyle Meredith speaks to a wide breadth of m...
Marty Friedman and Members of Mastodon, Baroness, Lucifer Deliver Metal Cover of Fleetwood Mac Classic: Watch
The Two Minutes to Late Night YouTube channel continues to churn out impressive all-star quarantine covers each week as part of its “Bedroom Covers” series. The latest is a metal rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “You Make Loving Fun” featuring former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman and members of Mastodon, Baroness, Lucifer, and more. Friedman is one of metal’s premier guitarists, having appeared on Megadeth’s classic Rust in Peace and Countdown to Extinction albums, among others. For the Fleetwood Mac cover, he is joined by Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher on guitar; Baroness’ Nick Jost on bass; Lucifer’s Johanna Sadonis on lead vocals; Lucifer’s Nicke Anderson on drums; and Two Minutes to Late Night host Gwarsenio Hall (aka Jordan Olds) on guitar. Emily Panic and Mutoid Man’s Stephen Brodsky provi...
Donald Trump Thinks Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain” Is the “Greatest Music Video of All Time”
Donald Trump loves him some Guns N’ Roses. In fact, not only does Trump think “November Rain” is the “greatest music video of all time,” he’s made his staffers watch the video to prove his point. As Newsweek reports, Trump’s love of GNR’s “November Rain” video was revealed by Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The former White House Press Secretary mentioned the tidbit in her new book, Speaking for Myself, recounting the time Trump made her and White House Communications Director Hope Hicks watch the video in the Oval Office: “The president told Hope and me in the Oval he wanted the classic Guns N’ Roses song ‘November Rain’ added to his rally playlist. He told us it was the ‘greatest music video of all time,’ and made us watch it to prove his point, even though neither of us had disagreed.” Eventual...
Disturbed Cover Sting’s “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You”: Stream
Disturbed have had unquestionable success with cover songs in the past, and now the metal act is trying their hand at the classic Sting song “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You”. While Disturbed were already established as one of heavy music’s biggest bands, their 2015 cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” took them to a new stratosphere. An accompanying video for the song has racked up more than 600 million views on YouTube. On their Sting cover, Disturbed keep things fairly mellow for the first half of the track, with frontman David Draiman delivering clean vocals to start. At the 2:23 mark, Disturbed turn things up, with Draiman switching over to his powerful rasp and the band kicking in with heavy guitars and drums. “We have loved this song for a long time, and even ...
John Fogerty Mocks Donald Trump’s “Confounding” Choice of “Fortunate Son” at Rally
Yesterday, September 10th, Donald “Bone Spurs” Trump held a campaign rally in Freeland, Michigan. He de-planed to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s anti-war classic “Fortunate Son”, and if you’ve ever paid the tiniest bit of attention to the lyrics, you’ll agree with singer John Fogerty that it’s a “confounding” choice. The moment was recorded in a tweet by Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel, who called it “an entry for the “nobody listened to the lyrics” hall of fame.” The tweet quickly went viral, and today Fogerty issued his response. In a Facebook video called “Meaning behind Fortunate Son,” the legendary rocker broke things down so even a very stable genius could understand. “Recently, the President has been using my song ‘Fortunate Son for his campaign rallies,” the former C...
Suzanne Vega on Lou Reed: “His Artistry Was Always Something I Aspired to Myself”
Kyle Meredith With… Suzanne Vega Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Suzanne Vega connects with Kyle Meredith about her new live album, An Evening of New York Stories and Songs. Recorded in the legendary Cafe Carlile, the new set of songs paint a fading picture of the Big Apple — her longtime home. Together, the two discuss the loss of famous rooms across the city, coming up in the ’80s folk scene, and how her relationship with the metropolis has evolved over the years. Vega also talks about the darker side of community that led to the passing of her brother and how nostalgia reveals the ghosts left behind, one of which includes her friend Lou Reed. Kyle Meredith With… is an inte...
Ace Frehley: “Trump Is the Strongest Leader That We’ve Got on the Table”
Ace Frehley insists he doesn’t like to talk about politics, but the former KISS guitarist has gone ahead and talked about politics. In a new interview, he declared President Trump “the strongest leader that we’ve got on the table.” While speaking on The Cassius Morris Show, the guitar legend remarked, “I don’t think politics and rock ‘n’ roll mix — in my opinion. And I try to stay away from that as much as I can. I mean, once in a while, I’ll make a crack. I will say I’m a Trump supporter.” He added, “All the politicians have had skeletons in the closet. But I think Trump is the strongest leader that we’ve got on the table.” Frehley’s comments don’t come as a major surprise. He previously said during a 2018 appearance on the Juliet: Unexpected podcast, “Let me say this about Trump. Whether...
Hans Zimmer Brings New Arrangement of Pink Floyd’s “Eclipse” to Dune Trailer
The stunning first trailer for Denis Villenueve’s Dune is out, and amid all the excitement — Sandworms! Stillsuits! Oscar Isaac’s beard! — you may have caught a familiar tune. Playing in the background is Pink Floyd‘s “Eclipse”, presented in an apocalyptic new arrangement by composer Hans Zimmer. “Eclipse” is the final track from the classic album Dark Side of the Moon. In some ways, its appearance here is the closing of a circle. In the 1970s, experimental filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky sought to use Pink Floyd’s music for his own adaptation of Dune. The attempt failed, but was later documented in the 2013 film Jodorowsky’s Dune. At last, one of the spaciest rock bands in history has been joined with Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic. Zimmer’s arrangement differs from the origina...
Rush’s Geddy Lee Confirms He’s Alive After Trending on Twitter
The year 2020 has been so rough that anytime a celebrity trends on Twitter, people assume the worst. So, when Geddy Lee’s name went viral over the past 24 hours, some fans assumed something tragic had happened to the Rush legend. Thankfully, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer reports that he is alive and well. Rush’s official Twitter account had to assure fans that the beloved prog-rock icon is okay, issuing a statement from Lee that read, “Even I gulped when I saw I was trending on Twitter, but I asked my dogs and apparently I’m a bit boring but otherwise fine.” As for why Geddy Lee was trending in the first place, all signs point to a cardboard cutout of the singer-bassist placed in the stands behind home plate at Toronto Blue Jays games this season. The team has been playing home games i...
Rob Zombie’s Halloween Soundtracks Finally Heading to Vinyl
Fall is upon us and just begging for a return trip to Haddonfield, Illinois. Waxwork Records has some tricks and treats for the occasion as they’ve announced the debut vinyl release of the soundtracks to Rob Zombie’s Halloween and Halloween II. What a treat, indeed. Both soundtracks feature score cues by composer Tyler Bates, select dialogue from the movie, and songs from the respective films, which range from Alice Cooper and Kiss to The Moody Blues and Motörhead. Both also come pressed on colored 180 gram vinyl and feature exclusive liner notes by Rob Zombie, a booklet of unseen set photography from Zombie’s personal collection, a 12”x12” art print insert, and beautiful new artwork by Robert Sammelin. Pre-orders are currently on-going for the set with a release set for — you guessed it —...
Ace Frehley Shares Cover of The Beatles’ “I’m Down” Featuring John 5: Stream
Founding KISS guitarist Ace Frehley is returning with a new album of cover songs, Origins Vol. 2, on September 18th. First we heard his take on Deep Purple’s heavy “Space Truckin’”, and now Frehley is sharing a cover of The Beatles’ 1965 B-side nugget “I’m Down” featuring Rob Zombie guitarist John 5. The track selection shows Frehley’s appreciation for the Fab Four. The guitarist dug out a deep cut from The Beatles’ power-pop heyday of ’65, giving the song a hard-rock update for his Origins version. When it comes to reinterpreting the songs of others, Frehley is master of sorts, turning the Russ Ballard-penned “New York Groove” into a hit for KISS back in 1978. Like the initial Origins project in 2016, the tracklist for the new album depicts an autobiographical backstory of his influ...
David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold the World to Be Reissued Under Original Title
Parophlone Records will re-release David Bowie’s 1970 album, The Man Who Sold the World, under its original title and with new artwork. Bowie originally intend to call his third studio album Metrobolist, a homage to Fritz Lang’s 1927 film of the same name. However, for its US release, Mercury Records retitled the album as The Man Who Sold the World without Bowie’s consultation. The forthcoming reissue will be released under the name Metrobolist and with artwork from Mike Weller, the artist who created the album’s original animated artwork. The cover’s gate-fold sleeve also features unseen images from Keith MacMillan’s “dress” shoot at Haddon Hall that later covered the UK release of the album as well as subsequent reissues (seen above). As for the music, the majority of the album has ...
