Classic Rock
Song of the Week: King Princess Offers a Faithful Velvet Underground Tribute With “There She Goes Again”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, King Princess provides a standout track off the new tribute album for The Velvet Underground and Nico. King Princess goes vintage this week with a cover of The Velvet Underground’s “There She Goes Again,” part of a new tribute album out today (September 24th). The collection includes quite a few beloved names offering their own homages to the seminal band — Sharon Van Etten, Courtney Barnett, and Iggy Pop are among them — and King Princess’ moment truly stuck the landing. Effectively capturing the 1960s spirit of the origina...
Guns N’ Roses Release New Song “Hard Skool”: Stream
Guns N’ Roses have unleashed the new song “Hard Skool.” It’s the first official studio recording of a previously unreleased Chinese Democracy-era track. Earlier this week, we reported that the band had rehearsed “Hard Skool” during soundcheck for their show at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The song was rumored to be in the setlist but wasn’t played, possibly due to Axl Rose contracting food poisoning. “Hard Skool,” which previously had the working title of “Jackie Chan,” is the most old-school sounding GN’R track in years. Like a blast from the late ’80s, the song conjures the sleazy stages of the L.A. strip where the band cut its teeth. The song features some classic glam-metal guitar licks, and Axl sounds ageless. Advertisement Related Video The band’s other recent new single, “Absurd,” soun...
The Rolling Stones on Loss of Charlie Watts: “He Held the Band Together for So Long”
One month after the death of longtime drummer Charlie Watts, the remaining members of The Rolling Stones have opened up about their tremendous loss. In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood shared their memories of Watts and described his impact on the band. “He held the band together for so long, musically, because he was the rock the rest of it was built around,” Jagger explained. “The thing he brought was this beautiful sense of swing and swerve that most bands wish they could have. We had some really nice conversations in the last couple of years about how all this happened with the band. It’s a huge loss to us all. It’s very, very hard.” The lead singer also broke down how Watts brought his eclectic musical background to the Stones. “He wasn’...
Bruce Springsteen to Release 1979 No Nukes Concerts Film and Live Album
Just in time for Bruce Springsteen’s 72nd birthday today, Sony Music and Sony Pictures have announced a new concert film and live album to memorialize two of The E-Street Band’s most iconic gigs. The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts is composed of ten never-before released performances from the Boss’ 1979 Madison Square Garden MUSE benefit concerts, putting together footage of the unforgettable setlist in its entirety for the first time. “A few years ago, I started re-examining the filmed archives for Bruce and the Band’s appearances at the No Nukes concerts of 1979,” said longtime Springsteen collaborator Thom Zimny, who edited the film. “I quickly realized that these were the best performances and best filming from the Band’s legendary Seventies, and dedicated myself to bringing out the ...
Ted Nugent Confronted at Rally Where He Called Black Lives Matter a “Terrorist Organization”: Watch
Ted Nugent was challenged by a Black man during a political rally in Centreville, Michigan, where the guitarist called Black Lives Matter a “terrorist organization.” Only around 100 people attended Nugent’s appearance on Friday (September 17th) as part of the Jack Coleman Presents Ted & Shemane Nugent Constitution Tour. Apparently, 600 attendees were expected. Nevertheless, a camo-clad Nugent took the stage to pontificate his right-wing views to the mostly white crowd. At one point, Nugent touched on Black Lives Matter, even goading the audience to challenge his opinions regarding the movement. Advertisement Related Video “Aren’t there any BLM punks who want to come up and harass me?” Nugent asked, as reported by local news station WWMT. At that point, a Black man named Jalen Brown app...
Rush’s Geddy Lee Wrote a Memoir to Help Grieve Neil Peart
Rush’s Geddy Lee says he coped with pandemic lockdowns and the death of his longtime friend and drummer Neil Peart by writing a memoir. The as-yet untitled book will be published in Fall 2022. In an Instagram post, Lee said that he was “locked down for over a year and a half — the longest time I’d spent in Toronto since I was nineteen and hit the Northern Ontario bar circuit with Rush.” Lee spent more time with family, “teaching my grandson the finer points of baseball and birdwatching, tending to my pups (one of whom was quite ill) and spending the evenings with my lovely better half, glass of Armagnac in hand, as we watched every European mystery show ever produced.” But he was still feeling pretty low. Advertisement Related Video “My friend and collaborator on the Big Beautiful Book of ...
Genesis Kick Off Reunion Tour: Setlist + Video
Genesis members Phil Collins, Tony Banks, and Mike Rutherford reunited on stage for the first time in 14 years on Monday as they launched “The Last Domino? Tour” in Birmingham, England. The concert kicked off with a trio of songs from 1980’s Duke — “Behind the Lines,” Duke’s End,” and “Turn It On Again,” followed by performances of two of their biggest hits, “Mama” and “Land of Confusion.” They then played a medley that included the first performance of “Fading Lights” in 29 years alongside “The Cinema Show” and “Afterglow.” Next came a second acoustic medley featuring “That’s All,” “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway,” and “Follow You Follow Me”, before Genesis dusted off the song “Duchess” for the first time since 1981. The band then closed the main portion of their set with songs including ...
Eric Clapton Plays Venue with Vaccine Mandate Despite Swearing He Never Would
Two months ago, Eric Clapton came to the defense of anti-vaxxers by claiming he wouldn’t play in front of “discriminated” audiences that have been fully inoculated against COVID-19. But what is the classic rock guitarist best known for if not his bigoted stances and hypocrisy? On Saturday, Clapton performed at the New Orleans venue Smoothie King Center, which is one of countless concert halls mandating proof of vaccination for entry. As Rolling Stone reports, Smoothie King Center is following New Orleans regulations that require all ticketholders age 12 and above, staff, vendors, and participants to either show proof of at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine or a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of doors. Additionally, everyone inside the venue is required to wea...
Lindsey Buckingham Shares The Story Behind Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk”
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Pocket Casts | RSS Fleetwood Mac auteur and rock icon Lindsey Buckingham famously joined the band after a “chance” meeting with Mick Fleetwood in a recording studio. The rest is serendipitous history as he and his long-time partner Stevie Nicks transformed the band’s sound, leading to their massive breakout album Rumours (still one of the best-selling of all time). Advertisement So what does a mega-band do for its next act? In this case, they commit to smashing all expectations by releasing the first single “Tusk” from follow-up album of the same name, a Buckingham-penned classic that still scratches heads to this day. “Tusk” is a song like no other. Infused with Salvador Dali-esque surreal...
Brian Wilson Announces New Album At My Piano Recreating Beach Boys Classics
Brian Wilson has announced At My Piano, a collection of new instrumental takes on Beach Boys hits. The album is out on November 19th via Decca Records. As the title suggests, the 15-track effort features piano-only renditions of Beach Boys classics such as “California Girls,” “Surf’s Up,” and “Good Vibrations.” Stripped back versions of “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “In My Room,” and “Don’t Worry Baby” are also included on the album. In a press statement, Wilson remembered learning how to play music on the piano while growing up. “We had an upright piano in our living room and from the time I was 12 years old I played it each and every day. I never had a lesson, I was completely self-taught,” he said. “I can’t express how much the piano has played such an important part in my life. It has bought ...
Phil Collins Says Genesis Won’t Exist Past 2021
Next week, Genesis will hit the road together for the first time in 14 years. While the name of the “The Last Domino? Tour,” suggests the possibility for more shows beyond 2021, Phil Collins has now confirmed that once the band wraps up their North American leg in mid-December, that’ll be it. In the latest issue of Mojo, Collins advised fans that this will be their final chance to see Genesis in concert. “This English and American tour, that will be enough for me,” he said adamantly. When the interviewer asked if that meant the question mark would be removed from the tour title and the shows would end before 2022, Collins replied, “Yes. The question mark was Tony Banks’ idea.” By the sound of it, the rest of the band could be persuaded to go either way. “I think it depends a little bi...
Death From Above 1979 Cover Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’”: Stream
Death From Above 1979 have shared a cover of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” as part of the Amazon Original covers series. The duo make the classic rock anthem their own, adapting it to their trademark drum-bass format and injecting their signature dance-punk sound. Despite being an eclectic take on the timeless song, the cover nonetheless retains the uplifting chorus and big crescendos of the original. “We made a kind of witchy version of the song that would make Steve Perry magically join Journey again,” said Sebastien Grainger of Death From Above 1979 via a press release. Advertisement Related Video You can stream and purchase Death From Above 1979’s cover of “Don’t Stop Believin’” via Amazon. The track adds to an already successful year for the band. March saw the release of its...
