Classic Rock
Slash on Eddie Van Halen: “Any Instrument He Had Chosen to Play Would Have Been Phenomenal”
There have been countless tributes to the great Eddie Van Halen since his passing on October 6th. One of the millions of fans mourning his death is fellow guitar legend Slash. Van Halen released their groundbreaking self-titled debut in 1978, and by the time Guns N’ Roses formed in 1985, one can easily argue that Van Halen were the biggest hard-rock band on the planet — until GN’R took that title with their own masterful debut, Appetite for Destruction. We recently caught up with Slash to discuss the new Guns N’ Roses pinball machines, as well as his new custom collection with Gibson Guitars. While speaking with the GN’R axeman, we asked him for his thoughts on Eddie Van Halen, specifically what it was about the Van Halen legend’s playing that made him such an iconic guitarist. Slash graci...
Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page Urges Streaming Companies to Pay Musicians Fairly
Jimmy Page is using his status as a rock icon and a knighted Order of the British Empire to urge streaming companies to fairly compensate musicians. The legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist penned an open letter on his Instagram account in response to a recent inquiry into streaming services by the UK’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee. Among the items the committee is reviewing is the business model employed by Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Google and other streaming services, especially when it comes to artist royalties. Page shared the following letter on his Instagram page: “Having recently viewed the Select Committee for Music Streaming on 24 November 2020 I feel compelled to write this letter. I fully appreciate the dilemma surrounding streaming royalties that should be ...
Eddie Van Halen Cause of Death Revealed; Ashes Given to Son Wolfgang
More than two months after the tragic passing of guitar legend Eddie Van Halen, his official cause of death has been revealed. While his widely reported battle with cancer was an underlying cause, the immediate cause of death was a stroke. According to his death certificate, as obtained by TMZ, there were a number ailments that led to the Van Halen guitarist’s passing. The immediate cause is listed as cerebrovascular accident, which is the medical term for a stroke. Among the underlying causes were pneumonia, which he had for one month; myelodysplastic syndrome (a bone marrow disorder), which he was afflicted with for five months; and lung cancer, which he battled for three years. Additionally, in a section titled “Other Significant Conditions”, it was also revealed that Eddie had squamous...
Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin Cover Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen”: Watch
It’s night three of Hanukkah, and Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin’s covers song series continues with a classic rock staple. The duo have dropped off a cover of Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen”, which you can watch below. “Talk about making a mountain out of a mohel … named Leslie Weinstein at his bris, the singer of our next band built a wailing wall of guitar as Leslie West. Check out our take on a track from Leslie’s monolithic band, MOUNTAIN.” Grohl and Kurstin, who helmed Foo Fighters’ 2017 album Concrete and Gold, are celebrating Hanukkah with covers of songs by eight prominent Jewish artists. The pair kicked things off on Thursday night by taking on Beastie Boys’ epic “Sabotage”, and followed up on Friday by covering Drake’s “Hotline Bling”. [embedded content] Related You D...
Neil Peart’s 2112 Drum Set Sells for $500,000 in Auction
A chrome Slingerland drum set played by RUSH’s Neil Peart throughout the 1970s has sold in auction for over $500,000. Peart originally purchased the Slingerland double bass drum in Toronto in August 1974, mere weeks after joining RUSH. He played the kit on his first three albums with the band — 1975’s Fly by Night and Caress of Steel and 1976’s 2112 — as well as during various live performances. Notably, Peart can be heard pounding the set on RUSHs 1976 live album All the World’s a Stage, recorded during the band’s three-night residency at Massey Hall in Toronto. The drum kit was retired not long after the release of All the World’s a Stage and was eventually included as part of a giveaway prize from Modern Drummer magazine. It switched a few hands before land...
Alice Cooper Shares New Song “Our Love Will Change the World”: Stream
Alice Cooper has shared the new song “Our Love Will Change the World”, the second single from his upcoming album, Detroit Stories. Cooper called the track one of the “oddest songs” of his career for its juxtaposition of “happy” major chords and otherwise cynical lyrics. The shock rock legend explains that the song was written by a fellow Detroiter, thus fitting the Motor City theme of the new album. “I think ‘Our Love Will Change The World’ is one of the oddest songs I’ve ever done and it was one that came to us by somebody else, another Detroit writer,” Cooper explained in the press release. “And it was so strange, because it was happy and what it was saying was anything but happy — it was simply a great juxtaposition. And I got it immediately and said, ‘OK, this is going to be great.’ Th...
An Oral History of The Clash’s “The Magnificent Seven”
“It’s perfect,” Joe Strummer insisted about The Clash’s fourth album, the sprawling, 36-song triple album set, Sandinista!, over beers in an East Village bar back in the early 1990s. While Strummer’s tongue was firmly in cheek, he wasn’t backing down on his claim. He loved his former band, and Sandinista! loomed large in the legend about everything they stood for – the good and the bad, planting feet firmly in the future while still honoring the past, not to mention both their collective creativity and rock star excess – and still stands today as a remarkable, if beguiling, achievement. Featuring forays into everything from jazz and gospel to hip-hop and rockabilly, Sandinista! was the ultimate rock and roll indulgence by a band that had only just started to crack the big time after releas...
Charting the Influence of Santana
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Consequence of Sound and Sony present The Opus, an exploration of legendary albums and their ongoing legacy. For Season 11, host Jill Hopkins (The Moth Chicago, Making Beyoncé podcast) will conjure the enduring magic of Santana’s landmark Abraxas. As we’ve already learned this season, the members of Santana all came in with their own eclectic perspectives. From the traditional to the avant garde, they dropped a witch’s cauldron of diverse sonic experimentation. For the third episode, The Opus wants to talk about the power of influence. Not only on the members of Santana, but how they’ve since left their own distinct thumbprint on artists for generations to come. Gro...
Kyle Meredith’s Best of 2020 Pt. 1: Stephen Malkmus, Ed O’Brien, Paul Banks, and More
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS For all of December, Kyle Meredith is looking back on his favorite moments in 2020. This week, we revisit talking with Stephen Malkmus as he geeks out about Led Zeppelin, Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien balancing the darkness of the world with an optimistic light that he carries, Interpol’s Paul Banks finding his own new light within the band Muzz, King Krule discovering The Beatles, Sparks being masters at cussing, and Buzz Osborne who gets playful about the importance of music. Kyle Meredith With… is an interview series in which WFPK’s Kyle Meredith speaks to a wide breadth of musicians. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Meredith digs deep into the artis...
Slash: New Guns N’ Roses Pinball Machines Are “Way Beyond My Expectations”
A couple of months ago, Guns N’ Roses announced a series of “Not in This Lifetime” pinball machines, modeled after the band’s mega-successful reunion tour of the same name. The arcade games were co-designed by Slash, who caught up with us to discuss all things pinball and his involvement in the creation of the machines. The “Not in This Lifetime” machines are manufactured by Jersey Jack Pinball, and are available in three editions — Standard, Limited, and Collectors — each with a different design on its body. The machines feature a 21-song soundtrack that closely mirrors the setlists that Guns N’ Roses played on their “Not in This Lifetime” tour, which saw the return of classic members Slash and Duff McKagan. As we learned from Slash while speaking with him about the machines, his love of ...
Tom Petty’s Estate Releases “Something Could Happen” Video Starring Lauren Cohan: Watch
Tom Petty’s estate has released a new music video for “Something Could Happen”. It’s directed by Warren Fu (The Strokes, Daft Punk) and stars The Walking Dead’s Lauren Cohan. “Something Could Happen” appears on Wildflowers & All the Rest, Petty’s new double album reissue of his 1994 record Wildflowers. When finding inspiration for the track’s music video, Fu fell hard for “Into the Great Wide Open”, off Petty’s 1991 album of the same name, and decided to create a modern spinoff on its imaginative, out-of-left-field video. “In looking back on Tom’s old music videos, it was obvious that he had a lot of fun with them and was not afraid to get a bit weird,” said Fu in a statement. “I wanted to create another modern fairytale in the spirit of Tom’s music video for ‘Into the Great Wide Open’...
Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr Pay Tribute to John Lennon on 40th Anniversary of His Death
Today, December 8th, marks the 40th anniversary of John Lennon’s death. The Beatles’ two surviving members, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, have both posted tributes to their former bandmate, as have Lennon’s two sons, Sean and Julian. “A sad sad day but remembering my friend John with the great joy he brought to the world,” wrote McCartney in a social media post. “I will always be proud and happy to have known and worked with this incredible Scouse X love Paul.” McCartney’s tribute was accompanied by a photo of the two musicians together as taken by his late wife, Linda McCartney. A sad sad day but remembering my friend John with the great joy he brought to the world. I will always be proud and happy to have known and worked with this incredible Scouser! X love Paul#JohnLennon 📷 b...
