I missed the birth of a tradition – the advanced, instrumental ecstasy, cliff-edge improvisation and impromptu theatrical hijinks of Frank Zappa‘s annual Halloween concerts in New York City – by less than a week and a 90-minute drive. On November 5th, 1974, I saw Zappa in performance for the first …
Read More »See Fleet Foxes Perform Reverent 'Fool's Errand' on 'Colbert'
Fleet Foxes brought multi-part harmonies and shambling folk-rock to The Late Show on Thursday, performing “Fool’s Errand” from their Crack-Up LP. “Fool’s Errand” mixes dogged, earnest strumming and ornate singing arrangements. The performance opened up around the one minute mark when Fleet Foxes started to demonstrate their vocal firepower. “I …
Read More »Charlie Daniels Talks Hard Knocks, Bob Dylan Endorsement in New Book
Charlie Daniels, true to his manner, offers up some straightforward, no-nuanced reasons for writing his just released memoir, Never Look at the Empty Seats. “I wanted to tell my whole story and the story of the Charlie Daniels Band,” he says. “I think it has been a fascinating life and …
Read More »Hear Elizabeth Cook, Chris Shiflett Talk David Letterman, Americana
Elizabeth Cook has been the hippie hillbilly queen of East Nashville’s Americana community for more than a decade. With an accent rooted in rural Florida and a small-town backstory that’s equal parts tragic and picturesque, she’s the real deal – a genuine country girl who loves the genre and the …
Read More »Throbbing Gristle's Genesis P-Orridge Diagnosed With Leukemia
Genesis P-Orridge’s upcoming European tour is canceled after the Throbbing Gristle co-founder announced he was diagnosed with leukemia. In a Facebook post (via Pitchfork), P-Orridge detailed his leukemia battle. “This last [year] we and the band noticed we were getting more exhausted than usual and after almost every tour we …
Read More »Dhani Harrison Imagines Bleak Future in 'All About Waiting' Video
Hurricanes wreak havoc, forest fires burn and the polar ice caps melt in the new video for Dhani Harrison‘s “All About Waiting.” The song appeared on his recently released debut album, IN///PARALLEL. The animated clip centers on a character who works in a lab specializing in genetic manipulation. She starts …
Read More »Peter Wolf Recalls Turning Down Tom Petty's 'Don't Do Me Like That'
“To be on this last tour was such a thrill,” singer Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band said, reflecting on his working vacation this past summer as an opening act – with his solo group, the Midnight Travellers – on Tom Petty‘s last tour with the Heartbreakers. A few …
Read More »Hear Steve Angello's Politically Charged 'Freedom' With Pusha T
DJ-producer Steve Angello, formerly of EDM group Swedish House Mafia, has unveiled two new songs, “Freedom” featuring Pusha T and “I Know.” The artist will be releasing his new album, Almost Human, later this year via Kobalt. Slinky beats and dark melodies anchor the politically charged “Freedom,” which finds Pusha …
Read More »Belle and Sebastian Detail Three New EPs
Belle and Sebastian will release three new EPs – all under the umbrella title How to Solve Our Human Problems– in quick succession this December, January and February. The band released a new song, “I’ll Be Your Pilot,” to accompany the announcement. “I’ll Be Your Pilot” is serene and affectionate, …
Read More »Kid Rock 'Applauds the Courage' of Harvey Weinstein Accusers
Kid Rock blasted producer Harvey Weinstein and commended the courageous women who exposed the film executive’s pattern of harassment in a post on the singer’s site. “Most of us in the entertainment business have heard of these disgusting stories for years about these scumbag heads of studios, record labels, Fortune …
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