Rock
Gwen Stefani Remembers Late No Doubt Member John Spence: ‘Today and Always’
Gwen Stefani honored the memory of one of No Doubt‘s founding members, John Spence, in a tribute posted 35 years after his death. Spence was the original lead singer in the earliest days of the Anaheim, Calif., group, while Stefani provided backing vocals. The first version of No Doubt — with a name inspired by a phrase Spence often said — was formed in 1986. “For some reason there was automatically this built-in following,” Stefani said in a 1996 interview with Spin. “People loved the fact that it was a girl, that it was 2-Tone, that it was me and John up there.” A year later, Spence died by suicide at the age of 18. “remembering John Spence today, and always,” Stefani wrote of the late singer and friend on Instagram Wednesday (Dec. 21). The pop star and Voice coach shared six photos on h...
Frank Zappa in 10 Songs
This feature was originally published in August 2012, but we’re dusting it off for Zappa’s birthday on December 21st. Ever felt overwhelmed by an artist’s extensive back catalog? Been meaning to check out a band, but you just don’t know where to begin? In 10 Songs is here to help, offering a crash course and entry point into the daunting discographies of iconic artists of all genres. This is your first step toward fandom. Take it. You’re a Serious Music Fan. You like artists who have a “Genius With a Capital G” tag affixed to them. You’re looking to immerse yourself in the world of a composer who will always keep you guessing, a musician who gave great interviews, broke new ground every time his or her feet touched the floor, and has a catalog so densely packed that it would make even Robe...
Every Pearl Jam Album Ranked From Worst to Best
This article originally ran in 2016 and has since been updated; we’re dusting it off for Eddie Vedder’s birthday on December 23rd. “Fuck.” That was the only word Michael Roffman texted me late Monday night. As I shrugged off sleep to try and figure out what exactly that meant, the rest of his message came through: “Tonight’s set was so much better.” I stopped getting dressed and sank back into bed. I knew what he was upset about. No apocalypse, no emergency, just a Pearl Jam setlist that he liked better than the one we got two nights earlier at Wrigley Field. I clicked on the setlist link, scanned down, and texted back: “Oh fuck…” Advertisement In words barely more eloquent than those, we spent the next hour, on and off, bemoaning that we had covered the wrong show — like two spoiled brats...
Pearl Jam’s 10 Best Deep Cuts
This article originally ran in 2020, but we’re dusting it off for Eddie Vedder’s birthday on December 23rd. Pearl Jam 30 continues with a look at the band’s finest Deep Cuts. Be sure to see all of our Pearl Jam content, old and new, here. The idea of a deep cut usually isn’t so complicated. They’re the padding, the filler, the less marketable tracks buried deep on records or used as buffers between the singles both band and record company pin their joint hopes on. Of course, what’s beautiful about deep cuts is that once we’ve grown tired of the singles we’re urged to consume again and again, we stumble upon these afterthoughts, and they can often become our favorite songs off a record. Advertisement Pearl Jam kinda throw a wrench into that idea, though. First off, the band at one point wer...
The Specials Singer Terry Hall’s Cause of Death, Final Days Revealed By Bandmate: ‘The World Has Lost a Unique Voice’
Just says after the death of The Specials singer Terry Hall at age 63 after what the band described as a “brief illness,” the group’s bassist revealed the beloved singer’s cancer diagnosis, as well as the previously undisclosed album the group was preparing to record. “We had it all planned out. Make the album we were going to do in 2020 – a reggae album,” wrote Horace Panter, an original member of the second wave British two tone ska revivalist group of the sessions that were already booked in Los Angeles during the first winter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Panter said Aggrolites keyboardist Roger Rivas was set to co-produce the set and famed street artists Shepard Fairey was on board to create the cover. With 8 songs prepped for the sessions by Hall, “confidence was high,” Panter wrote, not...
Booking Agents’ Insights: The What Podcast High Five Clip
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Amazon Music | Radio Public | TheWhatPodcast.com | RSS In this High Five Clip, Brad and Barry from The What Podcast speak with Ali Hedrick and John Bongiorno of Arrival Artists. Advertisement Related Video The insiders give our hosts some insight into what goes into being a booking agent for bands. They reveal their process of how they try to develop artists from being able to fill a 200-seat club to headlining Bonnaroo. Listen to what happens on today’s High Five Clip, and then check out the full original episode here. Then, remember to like, review, and subscribe to The What wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the Consequence Podcast Network for updates...
Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo Discusses the Sad, Elliot Smith-ness of SZNZ: Winter and Teases “Big Tour Announcement”
It’s ambitious, it’s sprawling, it’s creative, it’s Weezer‘s new SZNZ project. Back when the California band announced four EPs based on the seasons cycle at the beginning of this year, questions were raised: How similar to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons would this be? Has the band now entered the “Classical Weezer” era? Would Summer‘s songs all sound like “Island in the Sun”? Will Rivers Cuomo continue rocking the mustache + mullet combo he boasted on the “Hella Mega Tour”? Now that Weezer has released the final installment of SZNZ, Winter (out Wednesday, December 21st), we’ve got our answers. Though inspired by Vivaldi’s original concept, SZNZ is Weezer through and through — that being said, Cuomo has based each season around emotions, rather than lean solely into the environmenta...
John Mayer Reveals Who ‘Your Body Is a Wonderland‘ Is About on ’Call Her Daddy’ Holiday Special
John Mayer stopped by Call Her Daddy for the hit podcast’s first-ever holiday special and spilled some major tea about his breakout hit “Your Body Is a Wonderland.” The topic came up when host Alex Cooper asked the rocker what he was like in high school, in an episode that dropped Tuesday night (Dec. 20). “I didn’t have a presence,” Mayer admitted. “So I think that one of the bigger misnomers about me is that there’s like a jocky-ness to me, you know? Like there’s an alpha, musician jocky-ness to me and the bottom line is, like, I went to school to get it over with. And my life began at 3 o’clock in the afternoon when I came home and played guitar.” Cooper was quick to point out that just a few years after graduating from high school, he was winning his first Grammy for 2002’s “Your Body I...
Ozzy Osbourne Reacts to ‘Patient Number 9′ Grammy Nominations: ‘The Whole Thing Shocked Me’
Ozzy Osbourne earned four Grammy nominations for his Patient Number 9 album, and he tells Billboard that the nods were an unexpected, yet welcome, surprise. “The whole thing shocked me,” he says in a new interview with Lyndsey Havens. “I mean, if I won anything for the album I’ll be floored.” “That’s what I like about the business. It’s never short of — I love surprises,” he adds in the clip of the Q&A above. Osbourne says he’s “kind of excited for being nominated for the best rock album” for Patient Number 9, which topped Billboard‘s Top Rock Albums chart in September. He’s also nominated for best rock song and best rock performance, for the song “Patient Number 9” featuring Jeff Beck, as well as best metal performance for “Degradation Rules” with Tony Iommi. (A full list of nominatio...
Rage Against the Machine’s 10 Best Songs
When four Los Angeles punks formed a new band in 1991 called Rage Against the Machine, they likely weren’t expecting to become one of the most influential acts of the decade and beyond. But Tom Morello, Brad Wilk, Tim Commerford, and Zack de la Rocha stumbled upon a sound that… Please click the link below to read the full article. Rage Against the Machine’s 10 Best Songs Paolo Ragusa and Consequence Staff [flexi-common-toolbar] [flexi-form class=”flexi_form_style” title=”Submit to Flexi” name=”my_form” ajax=”true”][flexi-form-tag type=”post_title” class=”fl-input” title=”Title” value=”” required=”true”][flexi-form-tag type=”category” title=”Select...
Rage Against the Machine’s 10 Best Songs
When four Los Angeles punks formed a new band in 1991 called Rage Against the Machine, they likely weren’t expecting to become one of the most influential acts of the decade and beyond. But Tom Morello, Brad Wilk, Tim Commerford, and Zack de la Rocha stumbled upon a sound that was so vibrant, visceral, and urgent, that 30 years later, it’s easy to see why they are so revered. Sure, RATM’s novel sound is highlighted by funk rock, swampy riffs, and rousing grooves, but it’s their values and ideology that continue to make this band relevant. Zack de la Rocha’s fierce and prescient meditations on oppression, power imbalances, our country’s treatment of immigrants and people of color, and a capitalist system that pits us against each other are still important today. At the same time, Tom Morell...
Dave Grohl Plays Rarity “Marigold” for First Time in over a Decade: Watch
Foo Fighters fans must have been extra good this year, because Santa Foo Dave Grohl has dropped an extra special gift down the musical chimney in the form of a live performance of the rarity “Marigold,” his first such performance since 2010. “Marigold” was first recorded for Grohl’s solo project Late! in 1992. It appeared as a B-side on Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box” single, and was released by Foo Fighters on the live album Skin and Bones in 2006, earning it the distinction as the only song to be droped by both of Grohl’s blockbuster bands. Grohl dusted it off for Letters to Santa: The 24 Hour Comedy and Music Marathon, which provides toys, basic necessities, and cash to needy families around Chicago. He followed that up with an acoustic rendition of “New Way Home,” then “Skin and...
