Classic Rock
Bruce Springsteen Settles Debate Over “Thunder Road” Lyric After 46 Years
For nearly half a century, Bruce Springsteen fans have seemingly confused by a particular line in his classic song “Thunder Road.” In the opening lines of 1975’s Born to Run, The Boss sings, “The screen door slams, Mary’s dress waves/ Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays.” Or, so we thought. Those specific lyrics were included in the album’s liner notes, and on every official lyric sheet since its release. But it’s not exactly a perfect rhyme, and debate has sprung up in the intervening decades over whether Springsteen actually means to sing “sways” instead of “waves.” After all, does a dress really wave when the person wearing it dances? Advertisement Related Video Well, it turns out Springsteen had the last word on the matter this week, handed down by his longtime...
Two Former Sex Pistols Sue John Lydon over Music Licensing in Danny Boyle Miniseries
Two former Sex Pistols — guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook — are suing John “Johnny Rotten” Lydon for blocking the licensing of the group’s music for Danny Boyle’s Sex Pistols miniseries. Pistol is a six-episode limited series that’s been adapted from Jones’ 2017 memoir Lonely Boy: Tales From a Sex Pistol. It’s been causing tension among the onetime bandmates ever since it was announced, and while legal action isn’t a surprise, the direction of it is. In April, it was Lydon who threatened to sue, called the decision not to hire him as a consultant “disrespectful.” His attempts to curmudgeon his way into a check didn’t work, and he’s now trying to grind the production to a halt by refusing to grant permission for the group’s songs. As The Associated Press reports, J...
The Doors Guitarist Robby Krieger Announces Memoir Set the Night on Fire
The Doors guitarist Robby Krieger has announced his first-ever memoir. It’s called Set the Night on Fire: Living, Dying, and Playing Guitar with The Doors and it’s due out October 12th via Little, Brown and Company. The Doors need no introduction, and in a perfect world neither would Krieger. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, has been hailed by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, and is still collaborating with artists like Miley Cyrus and Alice in Chains to this day. And yet, Krieger is notoriously tight-lipped and shy when it comes to discussing his noteworthy career — which makes this memoir all the more exciting. Over roughly 320 pages with some help from writer Jeff Alulis, the legendary musician has finally opened up about The Doors...
Unreleased George Harrison Song “Cosmic Empire” Unveiled: Stream
Last November marked 50 years since George Harrison released his landmark 1970 solo album All Things Must Pass, and to commemorate the milestone, Capitol and UMe will be putting out the album’s special 50th anniversary edition later this summer. As a new preview, they’ve now shared the previously unreleased Harrison song “Cosmic Empire.” Fans have been aware of “Cosmic Empire” for some time, and while the track has occasionally appeared on bootlegs, it’s never sounded this polished. The two-minute sketch is a solo acoustic number, with an irresistible guitar riff and a catchy main theme. “I’m waiting in the queue down at the Cosmic Empire,” Harrison sings. “I wanna a front row pew down at the Cosmic Empire/ An omnipresent view down at the Cosmic Empire.” Check out the animated ly...
Hulu Shares First Trailer of Paul McCartney Docuseries with Rick Rubin: Watch
Though it’s been over 60 years since Paul McCartney joined the burgeoning rock ‘n’ roll band that would eventually become The Beatles, there’s still lots to uncover about his history as one of the world’s biggest rock stars. Later this month, Hulu is launching McCartney 3,2,1, an original six-part documentary series in which host Rick Rubin interviews the singer-songwriter about his life in music. Its first trailer has now been unveiled, with the series premiering on July 16th. Shot in black-and-white, the series’ trailer promises “untold stories,” “unheard music,” and “unforgettable memories,” although it will of course include plenty of familiar songs to warm Beatleheads’ hearts. The trailer alone is pretty profound, as Macca remembers his early days working with George Harrison, Ringo S...
Rush Singer Geddy Lee’s Mother Mary Weinrib, a Holocaust Survivor, Dies at 95
Rush singer-bassist Geddy Lee is mourning the loss of his mother, Mary Weinrib, who passed away on Friday (July 2nd). Weinrib, a Holocaust survivor, died just weeks shy of her 96th birthday. Weinrib’s obituary tells a remarkable story of survival and perseverance. She grew up in a Jewish community in Poland, and was forced into concentration camps, including Auschwitz. After she was freed in 1945, she reunited with and married Morris Weinrib, whom she had fallen in love with while at Auschwitz. The couple moved to Toronto and opened a variety store, but Morris died suddenly in 1965, leaving Mary with three children to raise on her own. She was a big supporter of Geddy’s music career from the early days of Rush. As her obituary states, “When the first Rush album was released, Mary plastered...
Four Previously Unreleased Tom Petty Songs Featured on Soundtrack Album Angel Dream: Stream
Back in 1996, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers put out their soundtrack album for Edward Burns’ film She’s the One. Now, fans are getting a special archival release of the record to celebrate its 25th anniversary this year. It’s officially titled Angel Dream (Songs and Music from the Motion Picture “She’s the One”) and it’s available to stream below via Apple Music and Spotify. Angel Dream spans 12 tracks in total and boasts remastered versions of each song. A lot of these renditions were pulled from the same recording sessions that brought about last year’s gorgeous Wildflowers & All the Rest box set, which was essentially a fan’s dream come true in terms of how great it sounded. The most exciting addition to Angel Dream, however, are the four previously unreleased songs...
Bruce Springsteen Jokes About DWI Arrest: “An Act So Heinous That it Offended the Entire Fuckin’ United States!”
Bruce Springsteen took the stage at the New York’s St. James Theatre on Saturday night to kick off a new run of his Tony Award-winning production, Springsteen on Broadway. During the show, as Rolling Stone points out, Springsteen addressed his November 2020 DWI arrest, which was subsequently dismissed during a virtual court appearance earlier this year. “I didn’t wake up one morning, get on my motorcycle and say, ‘I think I’ll drive to jail,’” Springsteen joked. “And then I had to go to Zoom Court! My case was the United States of America vs. Bruce Springsteen. That’s always comfortable to hear, that the entire nation is aligned against you!” As previously reported, Springsteen was stopped by a park ranger at the Gateway National Recreation Area in Sandy Hook, New Jersey o...
Elton John Announces Final Farewell Tour Dates
Sir Elton John has detailed the final leg of his long-running “Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour”. The culmination of a journey that began nearly five years ago, John will play 30 stadium shows across Europe, the UK, and North America beginning in May 2022. The tour will conclude with a pair of gigs at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles, California on November 19th and 20th. “Hello, all you wonderful fans out there. I’m coming to you today with an announcement I’ve been working towards for, well, all my life: the shows that I announce today will be my final tour dates ever in North America and Europe,” John said in a statement. “I’m going to go out in the biggest possible way, performing at my very best, with the most spectacular production I’ve ever had, playing in places that have m...
David Byrne’s American Utopia Returning to Broadway this Fall
After plans for a 2020 run were called off, David Byrne’s American Utopia stage show is finally returning to Broadway this fall. The massive six-month run will begin September 17th at its new location, the St. James Theatre — the same venue hosting Bruce Springsteen’s own Broadway revival this summer. Based on Byrne’s 2018 album of the same name, American Utopia initially opened in October 2019. On stage, Byrne is joined by an 11-piece mobile ensemble playing songs from American Utopia, other tracks from his solo catalog, and Talking Heads material. Annie-B Parson, who worked with Byrne on his preceding “American Utopia Tour”, scripted the show’s staging and choreography. In a statement, Byrne celebrated the return: “It is with great pleasure that finally, after a year+ like no o...
Springsteen on Broadway Off-Limits to Fans Vaccinated with AstraZeneca
As the world slouches towards normalcy, seemingly-small decisions about COVID-19 protocols are having surprising impacts on people’s lives. As the latest example, Bruce Springsteen’s upcoming revival of his Tony Award-winning show Springsteen on Broadway has announced that audience members must have received an FDA-approved vaccine, which makes it off-limits to people in other countries who got the AstraZeneca jab. So far, the US Food and Drug Administration has provided emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for three vaccines: Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Johnson & Johnson. AstraZeneca has sought an EUA, but in April the FDA asked for extra data amid evidence that the vaccine was linked to rare occurrences of blood clots. A similar issue led to an 11-day pause on the Joh...
Rush’s Alex Lifeson Unveils New Epiphone Les Paul Guitar and Two New Songs: Stream
Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson has announced a new signature model Epiphone Les Paul electric guitar and shared two new songs, “Kabul Blues” and “Spy House”. The tracks appear to be the first new music from Lifeson since the passing of Rush drummer Neil Peart in January 2020. The Alex Lifeson Epiphone Les Paul Standard Axcess electric guitar is the culmination of an extensive collaboration between Lifeson and Epiphone’s parent company Gibson. The guitarist added his signature touches to the classic Les Paul design, improving on an already legendary guitar. “The introduction of the Epiphone Alex Lifeson Axcess model based on my Gibson Les Paul Axcess model has all the same attributes and characteristics that I desired so much when we originally designed it,” Lifeson said in a press release on ...
