Rock
Ted Nugent Is Pissed Off About a 12-Year-Old List of the 100 Greatest Guitarists
A decade old list ranking the 100 greatest guitarists left Ted Nugent in a foul mood over the holidays. As Blabbermouth points out, Nugent went live on YouTube on December 30th to rant and rave about a list originally published by Rolling Stone’s David Fricke in… December 2010. “When you see the Rolling Stone magazine list of greatest guitar players, they list Joan Jett but not Tommy Shaw [of Styx],” griped Nugent. “How do you list the top 100 guitar players and not list Derek St. Holmes?” he continued. “How do you do that? You do that by lying. The same way you get Grandmaster Flash in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. You do that by lying. You have to be a liar.” Nugent took particular umbrage with Joan Jett’s inclusion on the list. “You have to have shit for brains,” he continued, “and yo...
Liam Gallagher Reviews Noel’s New Song: “Miserable Arse Cheer Up You Billionaire”
Even in this turbulent world, where seemingly every month brings a new crisis, at least one thing remains consistent: the Gallagher brothers’ sheer contempt for each other. On New Year’s Day, Noel Gallagher released a demo for a new song called “Trying to Find a World That’s Been and Gone: Part 1,” in which he sings longingly, “You give me the will to carry on/ In a place where I belong/ As we try to find a world that’s been and gone.” In response, Liam tweeted directly to his brother by writing, “Miserable arse cheer up you billionaire.” According to Noel, “Trying to Find a Word…” comes from his next album as Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, which “I finished writing/demoing… about 10 days ago.” It will mark the band’s fourth solo album to date and the follow-up to Who Built the Moon? ...
Happy New Year: Kacey Musgraves, Normani, Christina Aguilera & More Look Forward to 2022
Happy New Year! Music stars began to usher in 2022 with messages on social media on New Year’s Eve. Kacey Musgraves had an excellent suggestion on Twitter for those hoping for a better year ahead: “PSA: if you listen to Rainbow at precisely 11:56:39 on New Year’s Eve, you’ll be starting off 2022 hearing ‘it’ll all be alright,’” she noted in a tweet on Dec. 31. “Do with this what you will.” Meanwhile, Normani fans were in for an end-of-year treat: the singer’s name trended after she posted a video snippet that seems to play a few seconds of a new song, captioning it with “Dear 2022” — implying there’s more dropping in the new year. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Christina Aguilera looked back at the highlights of her 2021 — “a year full o...
Dave Grohl Uploads Hanukkah Sessions to Streaming Services
Dave Grohl is back with yet another surprise. After sharing a full-length recording of Foo Fighters’ recent gig at Madison Square Garden, he has now uploaded the first two seasons of The Hanukkah Sessions to streaming services. Beginning in 2020, Grohl marked the Festival of Lights by covering songs from prominent Jewish artists with his friend and producer, Greg Kurstin. The inaugural Hanukkah Sessions included covers of Beastie Boys (“Sabotage”), Drake (“Hotline Bling”), Mountain (“Mississippi Queen”), Peaches (“Fuck the Pain Away”), Bob Dylan (“Rainy Day Women #12 & 35”), Elastica (“Connection”), The Knack (“Frustrated”), and The Velvet Underground (“Rock and Roll”). For Season 2, Grohl and Kurstin put their stamp on songs by Lisa Loeb (“Stay (I Missed You)”), Ramones (“Blitzkr...
Foo Fighters’ Historic Madison Square Garden Concert Streaming for Free: Watch
On June 20th, 2021, Foo Fighters took the stage at Madison Square Garden to play the arena’s first full-capacity concert since the beginning of the pandemic. Featuring surprises, unmissable moments, and three full hours of material, the blistering, emotional, cathartic performance was later named one of our favorite live shows of the year. Highlights included an opening solo rendition of “Times Like These” by Dave Grohl, segueing into a full-band performance of “The Pretender”; a surprise appearance by Dave Chappelle, who sang a cover of Radiohead’s “Creep”; and a high-energy version of Queen’s “Somebody to Love” with Taylor Hawkins on lead vocals. For the night’s encore, Foo Fighters embodied their Dee Gees alter-ego for a cover of Bee Gees’ “You Should Be Dancing,” and then closed t...
Ghost Scores Fourth Mainstream Rock Airplay No. 1 With ‘Hunter’s Moon’
Ghost‘s “Hunter’s Moon” becomes the band’s fourth leader on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, rising to No. 1 on the tally dated Jan. 1. The song follows the group’s first three No. 1s, all earned consecutively: “Square Hammer” (for two weeks, beginning in January 2017), “Rats” (seven, July 2018) and “Dance Macabre” (two, February 2019). Between that streak and “Moon,” Ghost hit No. 6 in September 2019 with “Faith.” Concurrently, “Moon” rises 10-8 on the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart with 2.4 million audience impressions, up 5%, according to MRC Data. It’s Ghost’s first top 10 on the tally. On the multi-metric Hot Hard Rock Songs chart, “Moon” bullets at No. 8 after peaking at No. 2 in October. In the Dec. 17-23 tracking period, in addition t...
Don McLean Is Open to Collaborating With Taylor Swift: ‘Anything Is Possible’
What’s better than one “major rock and roll force of nature”? How about two! Don McLean is still showing Taylor Swift love after her 10-minute, 13-second version of “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” became the longest ever No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 song in terms of its run time, dethroning McLean’s 8-minute, 37-second smash from 1971 “American Pie (Parts 1 & 11).” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In a new interview with People, the 76-year-old singer-songwriter contemplated on the idea of them coming together on a track. “Anything is possible, if it’s done the right way,” he told the publication. “I’m always interested in doing anything.” He clearly doesn’t view the pop superstar who broke his half-century record as an opponent, but as a ...
What Was Your Favorite Cover by BLACKPINK’s Rosé This Year? Vote!
As Rosé once said, “BLACKPINK is the revolution!” On Tuesday (Dec. 28), the New Zealand-Korean singer shared her cover of Cautious Clay‘s “Wildfire.” The acoustic take, which the BLACKPINK member filmed in front of a stunningly vivid sunset, added to the collection of impressive covers she’s released throughout the year in the wake of her debut solo single “On the Ground.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news To celebrate, Billboard rounded up the K-pop idol’s five best cover performances from her streak this spring and summer on South Korean variety show Sea of Hope. Often paired with fellow K-pop stars Onew (of SHINee) and Lee Su-hyun (of AKMU), Rosé showed off her wide and varied range of musical influences, performing everything from rock (The K...
Henry Rollins On Retiring From Music: “There’s No More Toothpaste In the Tube”
Few — if any — artists have left as much of a legacy on punk rock as Henry Rollins, so it makes sense that fans were surprised at the former Black Flag frontman’s decision to stop making music 15 years ago. In a recent appearance on producer Rick Rubin’s podcast, Broken Record, Rollins explained how he arrived at the conclusion. “The smart thing I did as a younger man was one day I woke up in my bed and I went, ‘I’m done with music. I don’t hate it. I just have no more lyrics. There’s no more toothpaste in the tube,’” Rollins said. “Luckily, I had enough movies, voiceover, documentary work, writing, talking, where that just filled in, and now I’m busier than ever. But I walked away before I had to start saying, ‘Hey, kids, remember this one?’ So I didn’t have to put it on and go up t...
Jared Leto Celebrates Turning 50 With Shirtless Photo
Jared Leto sat back with a slice of rainbow cake, but with no shirt, for his 50th birthday. The actor and Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman gave the camera a thumbs-up for a shirtless snapshot he shared on Instagram Sunday (Dec. 26). “Thx for all the bday wishes!” he captioned the picture that put his abs on display. The photo might have been taken on the set of his upcoming Sony and Marvel film Morbius, as it happens to capture (what looks like) blood dripping from his mouth. One top comment on the post spoke for many who saw the picture of a seemingly ageless Leto on their feeds: “how are you 50.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In a second Instagram update on his birthday, Leto shared a personal family photo: “Me and my mother in Louisiana,” h...
COVID-19 Is Playing at My House: How LCD Soundsystem and Their Fans Gambled and Lost
LCD Soundsystem have made a career out of iconic lines, from, “Daft Punk is playing at my house,” to “I’m losing my edge,” but nothing they’ve written has been quite as prescient as, “[U]s playing the show is no way an indicator that it’s safe to attend.” The band posted those words in a December 17th statement explaining why they wouldn’t be cancelling their residency at Brooklyn Steel, despite private misgivings and a COVID-19 surge in New York City. Two days later, they finally pulled the plug, bowing to outside pressure as well as a growing unease within the band. Before that happened, scores of concert-goers may have been infected with the novel coronavirus. Consequence has spoken to over a dozen people who attended the residency, all of whom say they have had at least the first ...
Chris Martin: Coldplay Will Stop Making Music After 2025
Chris Martin has announced that Coldplay will stop making music after 2025, prompting thousands of Facebook and Twitter users to post in unison, “They weren’t making music before.” Via i News, Martin made the announcement in a conversation with BBC Radio 2 presenter Jo Whiley. The interview will air Thursday, but Whiley teased a clip when she appeared on Wednesday’s The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show. “He’s always very funny and I’m never quite sure if he’s joking or being deadly serious,” Whiley said. “Towards the end of the time we spent together he shared something pretty honest and pretty intimate which was a huge revelation.” In the clip, Martin said, “Well I know I can tell you: Our last proper record will come out in 2025 and after that I think we will only tour.” He ad...
