Classic Rock
Billy Joel Stops to Play Random Piano on Sidewalk: Watch
In a new viral video, Billy Joel can be seen playing a random piano on the sidewalk in Huntington, New York. This means one of two things: he’s either extremely bored during quarantine, or he takes his title as “Piano Man” way too seriously. In the video, which was filmed last month, the 71-year-old musician seemingly takes a pit stop from a motorcycle ride to play Shelton Brooks’ 1917 ragtime hit “Darktown Strutters’ Ball” on an old piano (via Billboard). After playing around with the instrument, he tests out the pedals, looks at the finish on the keys, and asks a person off-camera — presumably the former owner — why they’re getting rid of an otherwise functional piano. “Not bad! The action is good! Just needs tuning, and the finish is beat. It’s a perfectly good piano! It’s a shame ...
Jimmy Buffett Says Fans Still Tailgating for Quarantine Shows
Kyle Meredith With… Jimmy Buffett Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public Jimmy Buffett sits down with Kyle Meredith to talk about Life On the Flip Side, an album that found the legendary performer at No. 2 on the album charts behind Lady Gaga. Buffett discusses balancing heavy subjects with humor in his songs, the influence of Bob Marley, how the melting pot of the Gulf area plays such a big role in his work, and the importance of music as a part of social change. The Margaritaville author also speaks about writing about royalty checks in a new track, playing live stream shows for front line workers and how fans are still tailgating for the quarantine performances. Kyle Meredith With… is an intervi...
Wang Chung on Rewriting Old Hits for New Times
Kyle Meredith With… Wang Chung Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public Wang Chung founder Nick Feldman spoke with Kyle Meredith about the band’s involvement in last month’s Back to the Basement fundraiser, which found several ’80s stars live streaming to raise funds for frontline workers. The duo also rewrote one of their biggest hits — re-dubbed “Everybody Stay Safe Tonight” — to not only reflect the pandemic, but also speak to the BLM protests. The new wave legend also weighs in on how their songs have soundtracked Hollywood, last year’s Orchesography, more orchestral live shows, and the release of their long-awaited Clear Light Dark Matter compilation for later this year. Kyle Meredith With… is a...
David Lee Roth Casts Doubt on Eddie Van Halen Ever Touring Again
David Lee Roth believes that his Van Halen bandmate Eddie Van Halen is likely done touring, doubting that the guitarist will be willing to endure “rigors of the road again.” Van Halen, the band, have not toured since 2015, and reports surfaced last October that Eddie Van Halen was battling throat cancer for the past five years. A month later, the guitarist was reportedly hospitalized for complications from drugs he was taking to combat the disease. Eddie had previously battled tongue cancer in the early 2000s. Just prior to the reports on Eddie’s health, Roth told radio station WRIF, “I think Van Halen is finished” and that “Eddie’s got his own story to tell.” Now, in an interview with the New York Times, Roth expressed doubt that Eddie would ever return to the road, in any capacity. “I do...
Elvis Costello Shares New Song “Hetty O’Hara Confidential”: Stream
Elvis Costello is back with another new song, “Hetty O’Hara Confidential”. The track comes one month after he returned with “No Flag”, his first new music since releasing his 2018 album Look Now. Sounding like early ’90s Costello with some Tom Waits thrown in, “Hetty O’Hara Confidential” tells “the tale of a tattler who outlives her time.” In particular, it’s the story of an exploitive gossip columnist who gets her comeuppance when she “named the wrong man in the story she broke.” Her audience turns on her, but in ways that perhaps make them no better than she is. There’s something very modern in this story about people with “an unfortunate character trait/ The irresistible impulse to assassinate” and what happens when “now everyone has a megaphone.” Take a listen to “Hetty O’Hara Confiden...
Great White Plays Coronavirus Concert With No Social Distancing
Great White, the band that famously killed 100 people after setting off pyrotechnics inside of a small club, is at it again. The veteran rockers played a concert in Dickinson, North Dakota this past Thursday with no social distancing or any other safety protocols. The concert was part of a concert series called “First on First”, which flaunts the fact that it has no safety restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic. “We do not have restrictions, believe it or not, we don’t have any,” April Getz, an event coordinator for the concert series, told The Dickinson Press. “It’s one of those things where if people feel comfortable coming down and mixing and mingling, that’s their personal choice. We’re leaving it up to everybody that chooses to attend.” As you can see from the footage embedded bel...
R.I.P. Fiona Adams, Early Photographer of The Beatles Dies at 84
Fiona Adams, the iconic classic rock photographer who documented the early days of The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Dylan, has died at 84. According to BBC News, her son Karl confirmed her death at a hospice on June 26th. She had been battling pancreatic cancer. Adams’ photography career early on featured architectural work, as well as assignments related to travel, advertising, wildlife, and general news coverage. It was her pivot to pop culture photography, however, that resulted in Adams’ worldwide fame. The Guernsey-born Adams captured numerous photos of the Fab Four, the most iconic of which — John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr jumping in the air on a London bomb site — was shot for Boyfriend Magazine in April 1963. The photograph was later used on the sle...
Axl Rose’s Worst Nightmare: Maskless Revelers Dance to “Sweet Child O’ Mine” at Packed Michigan Lake Party
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Axl Rose has been one of the staunchest proponents of social distancing, even getting into Twitter spats with government officials who’ve seemingly downplayed the protective practice. Now, the singer’s worst nightmare has manifested itself: a sea of unmasked revelers dancing to the Guns N’ Roses hit “Sweet Child O’ Mine” at a Fourth of July lake party in Michigan. In recent weeks, Rose has ripped into Sen. Rand Paul, Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin, and Surgeon General Jerome Adams after each made statements that seemed to contradict recommendations by the CDC and health leaders to practice social distancing. Mnuchin and Adams even replied to Rose’s tweets, leading to the GN’R singer further condemning their comments. Mnuchin was dubbed an “asshole...
How to Recreate Phil Collins’ Legendary “In the Air Tonight” Drum Fill
There is arguably no drum fill in pop music that’s more iconic than Phil Collins’ epic break in his ubiquitous 1981 hit “In the Air Tonight”. Behind the huge sound of Collins’ drums is a combination of quality gear, choice effects, and luck. It just might be the ultimate air-drumming song. “In the Air Tonight” marked Collins’ first solo single, having already established himself as a longtime member of Genesis. And with the song, Collins kicked off his solo career with a literal bang. Even Ozzy Osbourne, who fronted Black Sabbath and launched a successful solo career of his own, declared, “That drum fill is the best ever — it still sounds awesome.” While it’s one thing to master air-drumming to “In the Air Tonight”, it’s another thing to conquer it behind the kit. Thanks to a recent instru...
Neil Young Again Lashes Out At Trump Over Unauthorized Use of Music
Neil Young considers Donald Trump “a disgrace to my country,” so you can understand his furor over the repeated, unauthorized use of his music at campaign events. Last night, during Trump’s super racist Fourth of July celebration at Mount Rushmore, at least three of Young’s songs played aloud: “Keep on Rockin in the Free World”, “Like a Hurricane”, and “Cowgirl in the Sand” Young responded to a clip of “Rockin in the Free World” being played by writing simply, “This is NOT Ok with me…” He later quote tweeted a second clip, writing, “I stand in solidarity with the Lakota Sioux & this is NOT ok with me.” (For context, the Lakota Sioux was the indigenous group of people who were forced off their land and saw their spiritual shrine “The Six Grandfathers” turned into Mount Ru...
David Gilmour Admits “Yes, I Have Ghosts” on First New Song in Five Years: Stream
David Gilmour has shared a new single called “Yes, I Have Ghosts”. It’s his first new song in over five years and, unsurprisingly, it doesn’t disappoint. The former Pink Floyd member first revealed the song last month in the the audiobook for A Theatre for Dreamers, a new novel by Gilmour’s wife and longtime collaborator, Polly Samson. “Yes, I Have Ghosts” was exclusive to Samson’s novel, though, and as such wasn’t released as a standalone track until today, a week after the initial publication of the audiobook. “Polly’s vivid and poetic writing, coupled with her very natural narration voice, made joining forces to produce the audio version of A Theatre for Dreamers a fantastic and fulfilling experience,” Gilmour said in a statement. “The audiobook format has so much untapped potential, an...
July Album Anniversaries Every Music Fan Should Know About
As we enter July and leave the first half of 2020, we’re more than happy to look forward. Hopefully, that means returning to some level of normalcy (masks on, peeps), continuing to push for racial justice across society, and, of course, new music. As always, though, to know where we’re headed, we’re keeping one eye and both ears to our past. And there are plenty of groundbreaking records celebrating major anniversaries this month. Read on for a rundown of the albums we’ll be revisiting all month long and information on some of the pieces we’ll be featuring in correlation with these must-know anniversaries. Foo Fighters – Foo Fighters (1995) <img data-attachment-id="548547" data-permalink="https://consequenceofsound.net/2014/11/faces-dave-grohl/foo-fighters-foo-fighters-al...
