Rock
Matt Maeson Becomes First Male Soloist in 15 Years With Two Alternative Airplay No. 1s
“Hallucinogenics” jumps 4-1. Matt Maeson becomes the first solo man to score two career No. 1s on Billboard‘s Alternative Airplay chart in a decade and a half, as “Hallucinogenics” jumps 4-1 on the list dated Aug. 29. Maeson previously ruled the tally with “Cringe,” for four weeks last year; “Cringe” first led nearly a year to the day of “Hallucinogenics” rising to No. 1 (Aug. 24, 2019). Maeson is the first male soloist to rack up a pair of No. 1s on Alternative Airplay since Beck 15 years ago. After nabbing his first ruler, “Loser,” in February 1994, Beck earned his second with “E-Pro” in April 2005. He’s since scored a third No. 1, “Up All Night,” in December 2017. Just four other ...
The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde on Why Hate Is a Strong Word
Kyle Meredith With… Chrissie Hynde Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS The Pretenders‘ legendary singer-songwriter Chrissie Hynde gives Kyle Meredith a call to talk about the band’s new record, Hate For Sale. Hynde talks about writing with her touring guitarist James Walbourne, looking back to the ’50s and ’60s for their sound, and the return of original drummer Martin Chambers. She also goes on to speak about hate as a strong word, love as a drug addiction, and her Bob Dylan quarantine covers series. 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 arti...
iHeartRadio Music Awards Cancelled For 2020 — But Winners Will Still Be Announced
Eight months will have elapsed between the announcement of the nominees and the revelation of the winners. The 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards, originally scheduled to take place March 29 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, with Usher hosting, were officially cancelled on Monday (Aug. 24). But fear not, awards fans: The winners will still be announced over the Labor Day weekend (Sept. 4-7) on 840 iHeartRadio stations nationwide and via iHeart’s social platforms. The chain will even include acceptance speeches from the winners. This year’s nominations were announced on Jan. 8, which means eight months will have elapsed between the announcement of the nominees and the revelation of the winners. Billie Eilish and Shawn Mendes were this year’s top nominees, with seven nods each. Taylo...
Hear a Dramatic Orchestral Version of a Nirvana Classic in ‘The Batman’ Trailer
There is definitely ‘Something in the Way.’ The dim, ominous first trailer for Matt Reeves’ the Caped Crusader re-re-boot, The Batman, features an unlikely star turn from a 1991 Nirvana classic. The preview of Robert Pattinson’s first trip under the cowl as the title character is in keeping with the bleak vibe of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, but beyond the brief glimpses of the Riddler (Paul Dano) and Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner James Gordon, the star that almost steals the show is a grinding, orchestral remix of “Something in the Way” from Nirvana’s breakthrough major label debut, Nevermind. The original version of the song, a delicate acoustic dirge though to be about the period where late singer Kurt Cobain lived under a bri...
Springsteen Drummer Max Weinberg Appointed to Delray Beach Planning and Zoning Board
Times are tough, and these days everybody’s looking for a second job. So even though Max Weinberg has a reliable gig drumming for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, he’s picked up a little extra work at the Delray Beach Planning and Zoning Board. As the Palm Beach Post reports, Weinberg has been appointed to a two-year term at the recommendation of city commissioner Juli Casale. “I was impressed with his knowledge and vision of real estate and development,” she said. “I love Springsteen. Who doesn’t? But this appointment was not made because of his music prowess.” In fact, Weinberg’s knowledge of real estate minutiae is the stuff of legend. He was the subject of a 2008 profile by the Wall Street Journal called “Born to Renovate”, which described him as a “real est...
Jack Sherman, Early Guitarist for Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dies at 64
Jack Sherman, an early guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, has died, the band confirmed Friday (Aug. 21) on social media. He was 64. “We of the RHCP family would like to wish Jack Sherman smooth sailing into the worlds beyond, for he has passed,” the group wrote on Instagram. “Jack played on our debut album as well as our first tour of the USA. He was a unique dude and we thank him for all times good, bad and in between. Peace on the boogie platform.” The musician’s cause of death had not yet been revealed at press time. Sherman joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1983, replacing founding member Hillel Slovak, and played on the band’s self-titled debut album. Sherman toured with the group in 1984 and co-wrote songs on its second album, Freaky Styley. He parted ways with th...
Glass Animals Score First Top Rock Albums No. 1 With ‘Dreamland’
The set is also their first Billboard 200 top 10. Glass Animals nab their first No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Rock Albums chart, as Dreamland bows atop the list dated Aug. 22. Dreamland debuts with 60,000 equivalent album units earned in the tracking week ending Aug. 13, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. Of that sum, 43,000 units were via album sales. The England-based band previously reached a No. 2 high on the chart with Dreamland‘s predecessor, How to Be a Human Being, in September 2016. The new LP’s count of 17,000 streaming equivalent units is the best for a rock album since the chart dated Feb. 29, when Tame Impala‘s The Slow Rush opened with 30,000 of its overall 110,000 units from streaming. Dreamland also starts at No. 2 on Alternative Albums, equaling How to...
James Blunt Once Got Scurvy From Eating an All-Meat Diet
An attempt to spite the vegans went very, very wrong for James Blunt. Chatting with Jessie Ware on her Table Manners podcast, the singer revealed that he actually developed scurvy while eating an all-meat diet during his time at the University of Bristol in the 1990s. “On the sociology side of things there were 170 girls and only three boys, of which all the girls were vegetarian or vegans,” he explained. “So out of principle, I decided I’d become a carnivore and just lived on mince, some chicken, maybe with some mayonnaise.” “And it took me about six to eight weeks to get very unhealthy and see a doctor, who then said, ‘I think you’ve got the symptoms of scurvy,'” he continued. Scurvy, often associated with pirates who wouldn’t find nourishment out at se...
Machine Gun Kelly & Blackbear’s ‘My Ex’s Best Friend’ Scores No. 1 Rock Streaming Songs Debut
The song is the list’s first newly released leader since April. Machine Gun Kelly and Blackbear‘s “My Ex’s Best Friend” becomes the first new song in nearly four months to top Billboard‘s Rock Streaming Songs chart, debuting atop the Aug. 22-dated tally. The track, released Aug. 7, bows with 6.2 million U.S. streams in its first week, ending Aug. 13, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. “Friend” is the first first-time leader on Rock Streaming Songs since Twenty One Pilots‘ “Level of Concern” started atop the list dated April 25. Since then, the No. 1 spot was exchanged between “Level of Concern” and Journey‘s 1981 classic “Don’t Stop Believin'”; in that span, “Concern” ruled f...
Nikki Sixx’s SIXX:A.M. Assembles Rock, Country, Metal All-Stars For a Great Cause
“Maybe It’s Time” is part of an industry-wide effort to spotlight National Recovery Month. Nikki Sixx has pulled together an all-star group of artists for a new version of the 2016 SIXX: A.M. song “Maybe It’s Time” in support of National Recovery Month. The Mötley Crüe bassist has roped in Slipknot‘s Corey Taylor, Def Leppard vocalist Joe Elliott, Brantley Gilbert, Five Finger Death Punch singer Ivan Moody, Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, AWOLNATION and Bad Wolves‘ Tommy Vext for a song that will be part of a music industry-wide effort to draw attention to the opioid criss while raising funds for the recovery community. The song’s release on Friday (Aug. 21) is timed to advance September’s National Recovery Month, which ...
Phoenix Unveil New Song ‘Identical’ Off Soundtrack to Upcoming Film ‘On the Rocks’: Listen
Phoenix is back. The group dropped their first new music since 2017, a track titled “Identical” via Loyaute/Glassnote Records on Wednesday (Aug. 20). The song, which will be featured on the soundtrack for the upcoming Apple Original Films and A24 release On The Rocks, is also included in the new trailer. Phoenix have written the score and assembled the film’s soundtrack. This is their fifth cinematic collaboration with director Sofia Coppola since she first used their song “Too Young” in Lost In Translation. The band have also shared the song’s accompanying Roman Coppola-directed video. Both the song and the video are dedicated to the band’s dear friend and collaborator Philippe Zdar, who passed away last year. Watch the “Identical” ...
Dave Grohl Made a Superfan’s Dream Come True by Crashing His ‘Grohlathon’ Livestream Jam Session
Performing covers on Instagram Live isn’t a new quarantine phenomenon. But for Pat Finnerty, his Dave Grohl-dedicated show finally caught the attention of the one person he was hoping for. The 40-year-old Scranton, Penn.-based musician started “Grohlathon,” a 24-hour IG Live performance from his West Philly studio apartment, on Saturday (Aug. 15), in hopes he could eventually get Grohl to sing Sting‘s part on Dire Straits‘ 1985 No. 1 hit “Money for Nothing.” Before this weekend, a cardboard cutout of the Foo Fighters frontman was the closest thing he could get to the celebrity appearance he wanted so badly on The Pat Finnerty Show, per his Instagram handle, that he’s been putting on for the last five months. “My whole f&#...
