Rock
Nikki McKibbin, ‘American Idol’ Season 1 Contestant, Dies at 42
“Even at the end she is still giving. She was so loved that I know thousands of you will be grieving with us. There are only a few hours left for me to hold her hand and kiss her forehead,” Sadler wrote. He added that McKibbin was a longtime fans of Stevie Nicks and that Fleetwood Mac‘s 1975 song “Landslide” would be played for her before doctors performed her final surgery. “If you are able, you can pause at 3:00 wherever you are and listen to it with her,” Sadler wrote. “She will know that you’re sharing her farewell. She loved so many of you and I know you loved her too.” McKibbin is best known for placing third on the debut season of American Idol in 2002, finishing behind runner-up Justin Guarini and champion Kelly Clarkson. ...
Bruce Springsteen Lends His Voice to Joe Biden’s ‘Hometown’ Campaign Ad: Watch
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has enlisted Bruce Springsteen to narrate a new campaign advertisement about the former vice president’s “hometown” of Scranton, Pennsylvania. “Scranton, Pennsylvania. Here, success isn’t handed down. It’s forged in sweat, grit and determination,” Springsteen says in the ad. “This is his hometown. In Scranton, good times aren’t promised. But here, and in towns across America, times are harder than they ought to be. Lives are on pause, dreams on hold, futures in doubt.” Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. track “My Hometown” also appears in the minute-long ad, which premiered Friday (Oct. 30) on YouTube and will air during Saturday night’s broadcast of the college football game between Penn State and Ohio State. You Dese...
Joy to the Polls Enlists Swizz Beatz, Billie Joe Armstrong, Maggie Rogers & More for Voting-Inspired Playlists
Need some music for Election Day on Nov. 3? Look no further than a new playlist series on Spotify from non-partisan group Election Defenders, whose Joy to the Polls campaign has helped develop voting-inspired playlists from artist like Swizz Beatz, Billie Joe Armstrong, Maggie Rogers and others. “We’re thrilled to announce these playlists from so many wonderful partners, people and communities in every corner of the country,” Nelini Stamp, campaign director at Election Defenders, said in a statement. “We are calling on all voters to make their own playlists to deliver a clear, joyful message that we will protect our democracy from this pandemic and from voter suppression wherever it shows up.” You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined ...
Selena Gomez, Joe Jonas, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Kacey Musgraves and More Stars Who Voted Early
More than 14 million Americans have voted so far, and with less than three weeks left until the Nov. 3 election, this year’s tallies are on track to be historic, with some states already posting 10-40 percent of the total votes counted in 2016 through a combination of absentee and in-person early voting. And, well, stars, they’re just like millions of other patriotic Americans who trust the nation’s election system: They’re getting out early too. “Just finished filling out my ballot!” Selena Gomez wrote on Instagram Thursday (Oct. 22). In a slideshow of pics, she shows off her “I VOTED” sticker. Mandy Moore cast her ballot, but made it fashionable, posting a short video in which she busted out her black leather Stuart Weitzman 5050 ...
Bully on Covering Nirvana and Writing Songs for Her Smell
Kyle Meredith With… Bully Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Bully singer-songwriter Alicia Bagnano joins Kyle Meredith in support of her third studio album, SUGAREGG. Together, they discuss her journey of personal growth, being inspired by Lucinda Williams, covering Nirvana and Orville Peck, writing songs for last year’s hit film Her Smell, and designing her own pair of Vans. 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 artist’s work to find out how the music is made and where their journey is going, from legendary artists like Robert Plant, Paul M...
Crowded House Return With ‘Whatever You Want’ Starring Mac DeMarco: Watch
“Waking up with the fear after last night’s revelry. We can all relate to that,” says Finn of the music video. “Thanks to Mac for working through the pain and showing us redemption.” It’s a bolt out of the blue for a cherished band with fans spread across the globe, but whose members had splintered off to pursue other musical endeavors though the 2010s. Crowded House were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2016, in recognition of a stellar international career which now spans 35 years. They’ve topped the ARIA Albums Chart with five LPs, collected 13 ARIA Awards and hold the title for highest-selling Australian album of all time by a group with 1996’s Recurring Dream: The Very Best of Crowded House, which topped the national chart for eight weeks en route to 13-times platinum sales. Rec...
Elvis Costello Teams With Jon Batiste For Intimate ‘Party Girl’ Performance on ‘Colbert’: Watch
Time’s just about up. Elvis Costello drops his new album Hey Clockface this Friday (Oct. 30), his first full-length release since 2018’s Look Now. Recorded partly during lockdown, the LP features the previously released numbers “We Are All Cowards,” “No Flag,” “Hetty O’Hara Confidential” and “Party Girl,” which the British legend performed Wednesday night (Oct. 28) on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show. The Grammy-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was joined with Jon Batiste for a rendition that was both vivid, loud, jagged, intimate and beautiful, all those elements Costello says he injected into the new album. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautif...
Hayley Williams Takes Aim at Ex-Paramore Bandmates in Message of Support for LGBTQ+ Community
Hayley Williams will not stand for homophobia, and took to Twitter to make her thoughts clear. “there’s a reason there are only 3 people left in @paramore,” she tweeted on Wednesday (Oct. 28). “surprise, haters, it ain’t cause of me. paramore do not condone religiously/politically dogmatic beliefs which leave our LGBTQ+ friends, fans, & family feeling abandoned and hopeless.” “and ya know, if that doesn’t jive with you, well, feel free to go to where all past members of paramore have gone which is literally anywhere else but paramore. to paramore’s LGBTQ+ family (and @ColormeBrian i am talkin straight to you) you are full of love and you are loved,” she concluded. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimag...
Tom Petty’s ‘Wildflowers’ Returns to Top Rock Albums Chart at No. 1
The late legend joins John Mayer, Bruce Springsteen and Dave Matthews as the only acts with six or more leaders. Tom Petty is back at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Rock Albums chart. Wildflowers, his second solo album, first released in 1994, was reissued Oct. 16 and re-enters at No. 1 with 44,000 equivalent album units (38,000 via album sales) earned in the week ending Oct. 22, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. Initially intended as a double album, Wallflowers was released with a 15-song tracklist and debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 dated Nov. 19, 1994. It spawned the Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart No. 1 “You Don’t Know How It Feels” and four other charting entries: “You Wreck Me” (No. 2), “It’s Good to Be King” (No. 6), ̶...
Tool’s Maynard James Keenan Has a Not-So-Nice Message for Coronavirus Deniers
Keenan, whose musical project Puscifer is releasing new album Existential Reckoning on Oct. 30, did later note that prior to hopping on the flight, he got a mask to wear. After arriving in New Zealand, the musician said that he stayed in his hotel for four days because the band had a few days off. “So I was just drinking water, hot showers, taking care of myself, hot tea. Just trying to get through it. It sucked!” he said. “But you didn’t know yet how bad this thing could’ve been; if I had known how bad this thing could’ve been, I would’ve been freaking out! So we isolated pretty well.” But because of his illness — which a doctor in New Zealand told him wasn’t COVID-19 — Keenan says that the band had to tweak their sets a bi...
Tom Petty’s Wildflowers & All the Rest Faithfully Fulfills a Legend’s Vision: Review
The Lowdown: Few creative efforts ever reach the finish line without compromise. In the case of Tom Petty’s 1994 solo album, Wildflowers, the final product barely scratched the surface of the artist’s intended vision. While Petty originally mapped out a sprawling 25-song double-album, executives at new label Warner Bros. thought such a massive collection might send sales freefalling. The suits weren’t necessarily wrong. The relatively quiet and reflective album would go on to sell more than three million records domestically in the face of grunge, and many would consider it Petty’s last great studio effort. Still, fans were left to wonder what might’ve been … until now. [embedded content] Wildflowers & All the Rest fulfills Petty’s vision and then some. In addition to the 2014 remaster...
Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You Boldly Looks to the Future: Review
The Lowdown: Even bosses get writers’ block sometimes. Such was the case for Bruce Springsteen in early 2019. Facing down 70 and preparing to release Western Stars (his best-reviewed record in nearly a decade and one of our top 50 albums of 2019), Springsteen wasn’t totally sure what might come next. On his 20th studio album, he answers that question on both a micro and a macro level. Much like Western Stars found Springsteen exploring bygone California sounds from Los Angeles to Bakersfield, Letter to You also discovered its inspiration in the not-yet-faded past. In addition to a newly vital set of songs devoted to aging, death, and legacy, Springsteen also resurrected three tracks written before his 1975 debut and reconvened the E Street Band for their first full-length studio collaborat...
