Rock
Shirley Watts, Widow of Rolling Stones Drummer Charlie Watts, Dies at 84
Shirley Ann Watts, a former art student and prominent breeder of Arabian horses who met drummer Charlie Watts well before he joined the Rolling Stones and with him formed one of rock’s most enduring marriages, has died. She was 84. “Shirley died peacefully on Friday 16th December in Devon after a short illness surrounded by her family,” her family announced Monday (Dec. 19). The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood was among those mourning her. “We will miss you so much, but take comfort that you are reunited with your beloved Charlie,” Wood wrote on Facebook. While Wood, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards all have had multiple wives and girlfriends, Charlie and Shirley Watts remained together for more than 50 years, until Charlie died in 2021. Their only known crisis happened in the mid-1980...
Dave Grohl, Judd Apatow, and Greg Kurstin Cover Blood, Sweat & Tears’ “Spinning Wheel”: Watch
For the third year running, Dave Grohl is celebrating Hanukkah by teaming up with friend and producer Greg Kurstin to cover songs made famous by Jewish artists. This time around, Grohl and Kurstin recorded their covers in front of a live audience at the Largo in Los Angeles earlier this month. To kick things off, they’ve shared a performance of Blood, Sweat & Tears’ “Spinning Wheel” as performed by Judd Apatow. Watch it below. According to Variety, other performers included P!NK, Violet Grohl, Beck, Karen O, Jack Black, and Kyle Gass. Proceeds from the event benefited the Anti-Defamation League. Advertisement Related Video Launched in 2020, the inaugural Hanukkah Sessions included covers of Beastie Boys (“Sabotage”), Drake (“Hotline Bling”), Mountain (“Mississippi Queen”), Pe...
Metallica Delivers Live Debut of ‘Lux Æterna’ at Benefit Concert in Los Angeles
Metallica gave the first live performance of their new song “Lux Æterna” during the legendary rock band’s Helping Hands benefit concert in Los Angeles on Friday (Dec. 16). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news After releasing “Lux Æterna” in late November, the track launched at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart and topped Mainstream Rock Airplay. “Lux” previews the metal legends’ 11th studio album, 72 Reasons, which is scheduled for release on April 14, 2023. “We thought that this is such a special gig here that we’d play ‘Lux Æterna,’ which is the first single from it,” Metallica’s James Hetfield told the roaring audience. “We’ll play that for the first time here live. How about that?” The sold-out benefit show, held at Los Ange...
Watch Rolling Stones Co-Founder Keith Richards Create Ambient Electronic Music
Who knew Rolling Stones guitarist and songwriter Keith Richards also played with modular synthesizers? In a clip unearthed by Far Out Magazine, the legendary musician is seen making experimental electronic music on a modular synthesizer. The footage shows Richards arranging cords and cables to create ambient sounds as a soft, dreamy hum emanates from the machine, most likely a Moog. The clip comes from an obscure documentary called Umano Non Umano, which was screened at the 30th Venice International Film Festival. The film’s title translates to “Human Not Human.” Mario Schifano, an Italian painter known for exhibiting alongside Andy Warhol, released the doc in 1969, per Far Out. According to IMDb, “artists and poets meet in a dreamlike space be...
Get Reintroduced to Billy Joel’s The Stranger on New Season of The Opus Podcast
The Opus returns this holiday season with a true gift for music fans. Season 19 of the hit music history podcast from Consequence Podcast Network and Sony Legacy is set to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the album that made Billy Joel a world renowned star: The Stranger. With episode one debuting on December 22nd, The Opus: Billy Joel’s The Stranger will track the entire story of the career-making collection. Long Island’s favorite son had had a handful of hits to his name (“Piano Man,” “New York State of Mind,” “The Entertainer”) at the time, but he’d yet to see an album crack the Top 10. His genius was on the verge of going down as underappreciated, but Joel made a bet on himself when approaching his fifth studio effort. He brought his touring band into the studio, linked up with ...
Adam Lambert Yearns for an ‘Ordinary World’ With Haunting Duran Duran Cover Off Upcoming Album
Pop-rock superstar Adam Lambert knows his way around a good cover. And on Tuesday (Dec. 13), the singer continued the trend with his latest ode to some ’80s rock icons. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Lambert unveiled his cover of Duran Duran‘s 1993 hit single “Ordinary World,” in which the American Idol alum slows the track down to create am almost eerie version of the grief-stricken original track. Backed up by a smooth piano and some orchestral strings, Lambert carefully croons out the aching lyrics of the track, never going as far as emulating Simon Le Bon’s signature vocal, but paying homage all the same. Lambert is set to debut his live rendition of the song on Wednesday’s season 22 finale of The Voice. The singer also announced that the ...
10 Tenacious D Covers That Just Might Be the Greatest Covers in the World
“This is not the greatest song in the world,” Tenacious D sang on their biggest hit, “No, this is just a tribute.” Ah, but what a tribute. The genius of Jack Black and Kyle Gass — apart from face-melting guitar skills and a lead singer that can sound like the voice of the angels or Satan himself on any given line — has always been their joy in the music: even when it’s not the music they are playing, and even when it was written by someone else. These dudes love rock and roll. That love comes out in their live shows, which tend to be celebrations of their influences as much as they are presentations of music by Tenacious D. Few artists have spent as much time practicing such a wide variety of covers. In that spirit, we’ve collected 10 of their most thrilling performances of other peop...
Steven Page on Excelsior, His Friendship with Ryan Reynolds, and the “One Week” Video
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Amazon Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Steven Page catches up with Kyle Meredith to talk about Excelsior. The former Barenaked Ladies co-lead’s latests is a three-act LP that touches on grief, loss, and loneliness, all told through his trademark brand of exceptional melodies and creative storytelling. Advertisement Related Video The singer-songwriter discusses the beauty of happy accidents, how music videos were the visual representation of songs and being forever tied to the “One Week” video, and the difficulty of being a touring musician in 2022. Page also talks about why space and the universe plays an important role in his...
Alanis Morissette Plays Her Best for Us With New ‘Little Drummer Boy’ Cover
Alanis Morissette released her take on the holiday classic “Little Drummer Boy” on Friday (Dec. 9) via Epiphany Music/Thirty Tigers. For her rendition of the song made famous by the Harry Simeone Chorale in 1958, the alt-rock icon adds a flurry of floating harmonies, bell-like synths and the requisite snare drum as she rum-pum-pums her way through her cover of the 1951 yuletide tune. “Little baby, pa-rum-pum-pum-pum/ I am a poor girl too, pa-rum-pum-pum-pum/ I have no gift to bring pa-rum-pum-pum-pum/ That’s fit to give our king pa-rum-pum-pum-pum/ Ru-pu-pum-pum, ru-pu-pum-pum/ Shall I play for you, pa-rum-pum-pum-pum/ On my drum?” “I played my best for you. #thedrummerboy #happyholidays #feelingitall #loveyou,” Morissette added on Instagram alongside a look at the single’s cover art, whic...
Jet Black, Founding Drummer of The Stranglers, Dies at 84
Jet Black, one of the co-founders and the original drummer in beloved British new wave/punk band The Stranglers has died at 84. “It is with heavy hearts we announce the passing of our dear friend, colleague and band elder statesman Jet Black,” the band wrote in a statement on Thursday (Dec. 8). “Jet died peacefully at home surrounded by his family. Fond adieu, fly straight JB.” In a lengthy tribute, the band said that Black (born Brian John Duffy on Aug. 26, 1938 in Essex, England) died on Tuesday (Dec. 6) of unspecified causes. “As the ‘elder statesmen’ of the group, Jet was already a successful businessman in the Guildford area when The Stranglers formed in 1974,” they wrote. “Jet owned a fleet of ice cream vans, one of which, as many fans will fondly remember, was used to tour the UK in...
Paramore Break the Cycle on Latest Single “The News”: Stream
Paramore have released “The News” from their upcoming sixth album, This Is Why, along with a horror-filled music video that might as well be ripped from the headlines. The single follows the band struggling to break free from the negative news cycle as Hayley Williams pleads, “Turn on/ Turn off the news.” In a statement, the singer shared that “The News” felt “exciting from the start. It feels like a happy medium between classic Paramore angst and bringing in some influences we’ve always had but never exploited.” She also added that “watching Zac [Farro] track drums for this one was one of my favorite memories from the studio.” The frenzied force of the production fits with Williams’ fluctuating ability to overcome the constant information overload. “The 24-hr news cycle is just impossible...
Tom Petty’s ‘Live at the Fillmore’ Lights up Billboard Charts, Debuts In Top 10 on Album Sales
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ archival release Live at the Fillmore, 1997 debuts in the top 10 across a range of Billboard charts (all dated Dec. 10), including Top Album Sales, Top Current Album Sales, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Tastemaker Albums. It also launches in the top 40 of the all-genre Billboard 200, arriving at No. 35 — Petty’s 21st top 40 album. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Also in the top 10 on Top Album Sales: Taylor Swift’s Midnights holds at No. 1 for a sixth consecutive week as it surpasses 1.5 million in U.S. sales while the Cure’s Wish re-enters at No. 4 after its 30th anniversary reissue. Plus, Matteo, Andrea and Virginia Bocelli’s A Family Christmas hits the top 10 for the first time as i...
