Rock
Every Album by The Replacements Ranked From Worst to Best
This feature originally ran in August 2013, but we’re dusting it off in celebration of Paul Westerberg’s birthday on December 31st. Welcome to Dissected, where we disassemble a band’s catalog, a director’s filmography, or some other critical pop-culture collection in the abstract. It’s exact science by way of a few beers. This time, we sort through the best and worst of everyone’s favorite Trouble Boys. “Whose side are you on?” That’s the age-old question Paul Westerberg asks on “Left of the Dial” off of Tim. While he wasn’t exactly talking to his fans, he just as well could have been. At the time, the Minneapolis bard was already one foot in the door of another new era for The Replacements, a polarizing chapter that would see the band wave goodbye to their blitzkrieg of boozy basement pun...
A Figure Skater Just Recreated Wednesday Addams‘ ’Goo Goo Muck’ Dance on Ice
Kamila Valieva took the 2023 Russian Figure Staking Championships by storm last week by performing a routine to The Cramps‘ “Goo Goo Muck” dressed as Wednesday Addams. Starting outside the edge of the rink, the 16-year-old sensation nailed her recreation of the herky-jerky dance on the Jenna Ortega-led Netflix series — all the way down to the hand motions, gothic party dress and long black pigtails. “When the sun goes down and the moon comes up/ I turn into a teenage goo goo muck/ Yeah, I cruise through the city and I roam the streets/ Looking for something that is nice to eat,” Lux Interior’s voice sang as Valieva executed the choreography flawlessly and the audience in the stands clapped along to the beat. Then, halfway through the program, Valieva went full TikTok as the music abruptly ...
Foo Fighters’ 10 Best Covers
Covers have always been an integral part of the Foo Fighters lore. From Dave Grohl’s early demo doodling to extended live medleys to the late Taylor Hawkins’ fan-favorite side project Chevy Metal, the Foo’s love to pay homage to their influences — and have a damn good time while doing it too. Put simply, Foo Fighters just love music, and they can’t help but indulge in the sugary goodness of a cover. It’s as if there’s a cosmic pull willing them to perform the music they love but didn’t write. Like their multiple documentaries on the music-making process and their B-movie slasher flick, the band looks to revel in the magic and pure fun of music. Of course, a pillar of this rock-as-gospel mentality was the band’s celebrated long-time drummer Taylor Hawkins. While his aforementioned Chev...
Courtney Love: Lana Del Rey and Kurt Cobain “Are the Only Two True Musical Geniuses”
Courtney Love showered Lana Del Rey with the ultimate praise in a new interview, likening the pop singer to her late husband Kurt Cobain. “Lana and Kurt are the only two true musical geniuses I’ve ever known,” Love said during an appearance on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast (via Stereogum). “And by that I mean they can Spielberg anything.” Love specifically cited Lana Del Rey reciting Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and Nirvana covering Meat Puppets on MTV Unplugged as examples of how the two musicians “Spielberged” it. “[Del Rey’s] got the integrity that Kurt had,” Love added. “The only two people I know that I can say… By the way, [Michael] Stipe? Bono? Yes, these are people that I know and love. Billie Joe [Armstrong], sure. But Lana? She’s got a magic thing. And she’s not even fucked up.” Advertisemen...
Modest Mouse’s Jeremiah Green Diagnosed With Stage 4 Cancer
Jeremiah Green, drummer for rock band Modest Mouse, has been diagnosed with stage four cancer. The 45-year-old’s mother Carol Namatame took to Facebook on Christmas (Dec. 25) to share the news, without specifying the type of cancer her son has. “Please send healing vibes for my son, Jeremiah Green, who is battling stage 4 cancer. He’s is so strong and so brave and hanging in there!” she wrote alongside photos of the rocker. Radio host Marco Collins also shared a bit more information on Facebook, noting that due to chemotherapy treatments, Green pulled out of the band’s recently wrapped tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of their breakthrough sophomore album, The Lonesome Crowded West. “Despite having a stage 4 diagnosis, his prognosis is good! Also his oncologist is a big MM fan (s...
Dave Grohl and Friends Cover Randy Newman’s “I Love LA”: Watch
Winter, that occasionally charming burden, is not shared equally, as Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin reminded us on the eighth and final night of Hanukkah with their cover of Randy Newman’s “I Love LA.” Like previous covers in Season 3 of the Hanukkah Series, “I Love LA” was recorded live at Los Angeles’ Largo at the Coronet on December 5th. At the time they couldn’t have known that the midwest and northeast would be blitzed with snow storms at the end of the month. But right now, if you call one of those area home, it’s hard not take personally lyrics such as, “Hate New York City/ It’s cold and it’s damp,” and “Let’s leave Chicago to the Eskimos.” Dave, Greg, we hope you get sunburn. A note accompanying the cover’s release reads, “Merry Christmukkah! Our nondenominational gift ...
Listen to Magic Pills’ Deep House Remix of U2’s “Ordinary Love”
Multi-instrumentalist and electronic producer Magic Pills has released a deep house spin on U2’s 2013 track, “Ordinary Love.” Almost 10 years have passed since the original’s release as part of the iconic soundtrack of Nelson Mandela’s biographical drama, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, so Magic Pills reimagined it with dance elements to honor the anniversary. He takes the rock song to new heights, replacing the original guitar melody with a more brisk, driving rhythm and funky riffs. The upbeat, deep house result reflects the song’s emotive message. “In the case of U2, it was very important to save the energy that Bono invested in lyrics, but at the same time I wanted to make it deeper,” Magic Pills said in a statement. “Listening to the chorus, where Bo...
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...
