Rock
Sting, Who Was in a Band as a Grown Man, Thinks Grown Men Can’t Be in Bands
Bad news for a good portion of your dating app matches: Sting doesn’t think grown men should be in bands. The 70-year-old former Police frontman shared his thoughts on aging out of rock stardom in a recent interview with MOJO (via Tone Deaf), asserting that “a band is a teenage gang.” “I don’t think any grown man can be in a band, actually,” Sting said. “A band is a teenage gang. Who wants to be in a teenage gang when you’re knocking 70? It doesn’t allow you to evolve.” The self-proclaimed heavy metal singer continued: “You have to obey the rules and the gestalt of the band. As much as I love the [Rolling] Stones and AC/DC, it’s hard to see growth in their music.” Advertisement Related Video Sting conveniently glossed over the fact that he fronted The Police between the ages...
Mick Jagger Touts Yungblud and Machine Gun Kelly as the Future of Rock Music
Mick Jagger has seen the future of rock ‘n’ roll, and their names are Yungblud and Machine Gun Kelly. “In rock music you need energy, and there have not been a lot of new rock singers around. Now there are a few,” The Rolling Stones frontman said in a new interview with Swedish radio station P4 as reported by The Independent. “You have Yungblud and Machine Gun Kelly. That kind of post-punk vibe makes me think there is still a bit of life in rock and roll.” Yungblud, who most recently released single “The Funeral” as a follow-up to 2020’s Weird!, has cited Jagger in the past as an inspiration for the type of career longevity he hopes to have, telling NME back in 2019, “I’m not arsed about being about for 10 minutes, have a hit song, get a fucking mansion, do too many drugs and kill myself. ...
Hayley Williams Joins Billie Eilish for ‘Misery Business,’ ‘Happier Than Ever’ at Coachella
Billie Eilish surprised the Coachella crowd this weekend by bringing “my friend Hayley Williams” out during her headlining set. The Saturday night (April 23) set, which had the pair teaming up on “Misery Business” and “Happier Than Ever,” was the Paramore singer’s first time performing at the Indio, California, festival. “Hi. Wow. It’s my first Coachella,” said Williams as she took the stage with Eilish. “Thanks for sharing this with me. This is sick!” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Williams sat on stool in between Eilish and Finneas to treat the audience to an acoustic rendition of “Misery Business,” the 2007 single off of Paramore’s Riot! album. She also joined in on Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever.” Eilish’s show during the first weekend of Coa...
The Who Kick Off 2022 North American Tour in Florida: Recap + Setlist
When it comes to playing guitar, Pete Townshend makes it look easy. Noodling up and down the frets and whipping his right arm about for a round of his signature windmills, he still looks every bit the rock star who once dramatically smashed his instrument onstage in a bid to outperform Jimi Hendrix at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. “This is what I do,” boasted The Who’s mastermind at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida on Friday night (April 22nd), as he kicked into the recognizable guitar groove of the band’s “Who Are You.” It was the ninth song from a cathartic 24-song set on the first night of “The Who Hits Back!” tour (grab tickets via Ticketmaster), and the band’s first proper concert in more than two years. The setlist mirrored that of 2019’s “Moving On!” tour, and for good rea...
Kirk Hammett Explains Why New Solo EP ‘Portals’ Shows a Musical Side of Him ‘Much Bigger Than What People See in Metallica’
As a member of Metallica for nearly 40 years, Kirk Hammett is one of the most accomplished and influential lead guitarists in hard rock. Even so, he’s about to venture into uncharted territory: On April 23, he’ll release Portals (via Blackened Recordings), his debut solo EP. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Part of the reason for Portals is, there’s always been a musical side to me that was much bigger than what people see in Metallica,” Hammett tells Billboard during a phone chat from his Hawaii home. “I’m way into all sorts of music: jazz, blues, country, classical, reggae. I’ve been a music fan for so long, and I’ve learned to play all different sorts of styles. So this is a way for me to show that.” Still, Hammett admits, releasing thi...
Watch Eddie Vedder Talk Unity & Climate Change With Astronauts in Space
April 22 is Earth Day, and in celebration, Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder teamed up with NASA to interview the crew aboard the International Space Station. In the nearly three-minute clip uploaded on Friday (April 22), the rocker asks the astronauts what lessons they recommend to us on Earth. “One of the lessons learned is that there’s no borders up here,” astronaut Raja Chari replied. “It’s actually surprisingly hard to figure out where you’re at over the Earth because it’s all land and water. There’s no recognizable lines. For us, it’s a great reminder that we’re all on one Earth, working together.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Fellow astronaut Thomas Marshburn added, “Living with so many nationalities up here, we discover that we...
Primus Share Conspiranoid EP, Their First New Project in Five Years: Stream
Today, funk-metal icons Primus have returned with the three-track EP Conspiranoid. Out now via ATO Records, it marks the band’s first new body of work in five years. Stream Conspiranoid on Apple Music or Spotify below. Conspiranoid includes the whopping 11-minute epic “Conspiranoia,” which Consequence premiered earlier this month. “I’d been itching to record an opus — basically a long, winding, bastard of a song, reminiscent of some of the compositions I cut my teeth (or ears) on, in my music-hungry adolescence,” frontman Les Claypool explained. He continued: “‘Conspiranoia’ was sprouted from a seed I had planted in my notebook a year or so ago — a few lines commenting on the mental state of the contemporary world.” Meanwhile, the EP’s other two tracks, “Follow the Fool” and “Eri...
Rage Against the Machine Announce UK/European Tour with Run the Jewels
Rage Against the Machine’s long-anticipated reunion tour is finally set to kick off this summer. In between the band’s initial North American leg in Summer 2022 and a second leg in Spring 2023, they’ll embark on a tour of the UK and Europe. Taking place between August and September, the newly announced UK/European leg includes a smattering of festival appearances and headlining shows with Run the Jewels. Other tour stops include Antwerp, Belgium; Zurich, Switzerland; Vienna, Austria; Krakow, Poland; Prague, Czech Republic; and cities elsewhere. Tickets for the UK/European tour dates go on sale the week of April 25th. You can find individual ticket links and information for the shows below. Advertisement Related Video Notably, RATM will also headline Mad Cool Festival’s new offshoot festiva...
R.I.P. Cynthia “Plaster Caster” Albritton, Artist Known for Sculptures of Musicians’ Penises Dead at 74
Cynthia “Plaster Caster” Albritton, an artist best known for creating plaster casts of famous musicians’ penises, has died at 74. According to a press release, Albritton died in Chicago after “a long illness.” Albritton was born in Chicago in 1947. She began her career in 1968, creating plaster genitals belonging to artists including Jimi Hendrix, The Buzzcocks’ Pete Shelley, MC5’s Wayne Kramer,and The Dead Kennedys’ Jello Biafra. Later on, Albritton included breasts in her plaster repertoire, making casts of bosoms belonging to The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O, Peaches, Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier, and The Mekons’ Sally Timms. Albritton had a close friendship with Frank Zappa. Though the avant-garde musician was never the model of a sculpture himself, he found much amusement in Albritton’s wo...
Smashing Pumpkins’ Jeff Schroeder: “We Finished That Big, Epic Album”
Today is one of the greatest days we’ve ever known, because Smashing Pumpkins’ next album isn’t too far away. Speaking recently on the Audio Ink Radio podcast, the band’s guitarist Jeff Schroeder revealed that they’ve finished their next LP. “We finished that big, epic album we were working on,” Schroeder told host Anne Erickson. Though he added that there’s “nothing I can give details on quite yet,” he had previously noted that the long-awaited project is the third in a years-spanning trilogy, following Smashing Pumpkins’ 1995 masterpiece Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and 2000’s Machina/The Machine of God. It shouldn’t come as too much of a shock that Smashing Pumpkins are still chipping away at new music, considering they’re about to embark on their “Rock Invasion 2 Tour” a...
The Killers Kick Off “Imploding the Mirage Tour” with Raucous Hometown Gig in Vegas: Recap + Photos
It has been said there is nothing quite like a Killers show in Las Vegas, and that statement will echo three times over to sold-out crowds April 15th, 16th and 17th as the city’s unofficial “house band” launches the “Imploding The Mirage Tour” at The Chelsea in The Cosmopolitan. For Friday’s opening night, The Killers showed up with everything which has endeared them to their hometown crowd for more than two decades—a jumping, pumping, sing-along dance party for 3,200 brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends. Frontman Brandon Flowers, backed by drummer Ronnie Vannucci, Jr., and guitarist Dave Keuning delivered a 90-minute, soulful, thunderous, biographical musical journey, performing songs from six of the band’s seven studio albums. (Absent from the setlist, Wonderful Wonderful). Roundi...
Gavin DeGraw on Writing a Tribute to His Late Parents with Face the River
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Amazon Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Gavin DeGraw sits down with Kyle Meredith to take us into Face the River, his new album that serves as a tribute to his late parents. Related Video The singer-songwriter tells us about his dad getting to listen to the entire record before passing; working with Dave Cobb as a producer; and wanting to write in the story-style of Bob Seger, Springsteen, and Billy Joel mixed with Sam Cooke and Jimmy Cliff. DeGraw also talks about taking artistic chances; playing the album in full during upcoming shows; and the time he found himself on stage with Lars Ulrich, Mike Mills, and John McEnroe. Advertisement Listen to Gavin DeGra...
