Rock
Dave Grohl Accepts 10-Year-Old Girl’s Challenge for a Drum-Off: ‘Your Move!!!’
It is on! Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has finally accepted a challenge by Nandi Bushell. The 10-year-old British girl issued the drum battle in an Aug. 17 YouTube video during which she covered the band’s hit “Everlong.” The 51-year-old rocker responded in a tweet from the band’s official account on Saturday (Aug. 29). “Challenge accepted,” he wrote, tagging the young musician. “Haven’t played these songs in a loooooong time…..thanks for the inspiration!!!” “Your move,” he added before noting that he’s playing on his daughter Harper’s drum set in the accompanying video. In the 5-minute clip, Grohl shares that he’s seen all of Bushell’s videos. “You’re an incredible drummer, and ...
50 Reasons We Still Love Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited
Gimme a Reason takes classic albums celebrating major anniversaries and breaks down song by song the reasons we still love them so many years later. This time we make like a rolling stone with Bob Dylan and Highway 61 Revisited. Highway 61 Revisited is unanimously considered not only one of Bob Dylan’s greatest albums, but also one of the most influential and enduring records of its genre and time. Released mere months after the highly controversial Bringing It All Back Home (whose focus on electric instrumentation and cryptic lyricism — punctuated by Dylan’s appearance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival — left many devotees feeling betrayed and incensed), the LP saw its creator delve further into those polarizing elements. The end result was a collection that brilliantly and bravely mixed ...
John Legend, Mariah Carey, The Weekend & More Pay Tribute to Chadwick Boseman
Tributes are pouring in for late Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, who died Friday (Aug. 28) after a four-year battle with colon cancer. He was 43. In the hours after his passing, music stars like John Legend, Mariah Carey, The Weekend and G-Eazy took to social media to honor Boseman, who also starred in roles portraying funk legend James Brown in 2014’s Get On Up and baseball icon Jackie Robinson in 2013’s 42. “I’m so shocked and heartbroken about Chadwick,” Legend tweeted. “He was such a bright light, such a gifted performer. He brought grace, elegance and power to everything he did. He always seemed to carry our ancestors with him. And now he joins them far too soon.” Boseman died at his home in the Los Angeles area with his wife and family by his ...
Elvis Costello Shares New Song “Phonographic Memory”: Stream
Elvis Costello has shared a new song called “Phonographic Memory”. It’s the B-side to previously-released single “We Are All Cowards Now”. “Phonographic Memory” is unusual within Costello’s discography, and perhaps even unprecedented. Over an open-tuned guitar, the veteran songwriter recites a short story in which someone called “President Swift” conducts a ceremony while the voice of Orson Welles (played by Costello, of course) is heard on an archive recording. The prose is knotty and poetical, full of observations like, “After the peace was negotiated and the internet switched off, knowledge returned to its medieval cloister, in this and that illuminated volume, the jealous possession of the pious and the superstitious, who might once again wield ignorance like a scythe.” Check out “Phon...
The 13 Best Things That Happened in Music This Week (August 28)
If you’re just waking up on this glorious Friday, you’re about to discover what much of Twitter already knows: Selena Gomez and Blackpink’s epic new collaboration “Ice Cream” has arrived. We know what we’ll be doing for the next few days: “Ice cream chillin’, chillin’, ice cream chillin’!” Plus, we’re heading into VMAs weekend, and you can brush up on your music video history ahead of the big night by checking out our list of the 100 greatest music video artists of all time. Take a look at all of that — and more of the week’s biggest music happenings — below. Taylor Swift’s Folklore ruled for a fourth week Swift’s latest set topped the Billboard 200 chart once again, with 101,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 20. Billboard’s...
Smashing Pumpkins Return With ‘Cyr’ and ‘The Colour of Love,’ Confirm New Album Is Coming
The Smashing Pumpkins are getting ready to smash it up once more with a brand new studio album, kicked off by the new tracks “Cyr” and “The Colour of Love.” Recorded in Chicago and produced by frontman Billy Corgan, the two tunes and the others to come feature Corgan and his fellow founding members James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin, along with longtime guitarist Jeff Schroeder. The synth-powered “Cyr” has a retro sonic sheen, and it’s accompanied with an official performance video, directed by the Pumpkins’ creative partner Linda Strawberry. Released early Friday (Aug. 28), it’s a snapshot of 2020. A commentary on these strange times. “This is a goth fever dream of pent up emotion – an artistic visual release attempting to create a momentary escape from the emotional black cl...
Mike Noga, Solo Artist and Former Drummer With The Drones, Dies at 42
Mike Noga, the Australian singer, songwriter and former drummer with celebrated alternative rock outfit The Drones, has died at the age of 42. The sad news was announced on social media by Noga’s sister, Ali. “We are absolutely devastated to inform you of the passing of our beloved brother, son, uncle and dearest friend Mike,” the message reads. “We know how much he and his music meant to so many of you and there’s nothing we can say to make this hurt any less. We miss you and love you so much, Mike.” We are absolutely devastated to inform you of the passing of our beloved brother, son, uncle and dearest friend Mike. We… Posted by Ali Noga on Wednesday, August 26, 2020 The cause of death has not been revealed. Taking his spot behind the kit for the Drones, Noga...
Smash Mouth Received Angry ‘Fan Mail’ After Their South Dakota Performance
Smash Mouth got bad press for their concert in South Dakota earlier this month. They also got hate mail. Despite the raging pandemic which has taken more than 170,000 lives across the U.S., and against conventional medical advice, Smash Mouth went and performed Aug. 9 at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally’s Buffalo Chip concert series. Images from the show traveled fast on social media, in particular footage of singer Steve Harwell who could be can be heard saying, “We’re all here together tonight. F–k that COVID s–t!” The message fell flat with some. Earlier this week, the California rockers uploaded a photo of an angry hand-written letter, framed by a Smash Mouth CD snapped into small pieces. “Recent fan mail,” the post reads. The “All Star” band and th...
Bob Marley Crowns Top Facebook Live Videos Chart Thanks to Ziggy Marley Tribute Set
Bob’s son performed a set on his father’s official Facebook page to help commemorate his 75th birthday year. A video of Ziggy Marley performing songs by his legendary father Bob on the latter’s Facebook page rules Billboard’s Top Facebook Live Videos chart for July 2020. The chart, the latest of which recaps July 2020 activity, is a monthly look at the widest-reaching and most-reacted-to videos posted by musicians on Facebook Live, as tracked by media analytics company Shareablee. Rankings are determined by a formula that blends reactions, comments, shares and first-seven-days views. Since removed from Bob Marley’s page, the hour-long upload, which was posted July 19, featured Ziggy Marley performing multiple songs, the latest in a series of tributes to Bob in 2020, during which he would h...
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...
