Shouldn’t every red blooded American know that early in his career Mr. Terry Bollea, who later morphed into the Hulkster, was once billed as “Sterling Golden” and was a heel? And, I would argue, the whole “good guy/bad guy” issue entirely misses the point when it comes to Elvis Costello.
After more than four decades of hitless releases, Hubbard returned to Oak Cliff, Texas, where he attended high school with Michael Martin Murphy and B.W. Stevenson, to record a live album over two nights
On Tuesday, the Chicago Tribune reported that Richard Nielsen, Thomas Peterson, and Robin “I’ve Never Used a Nickname” Zander have sued Bun E. Carlos (Brad Carlson), claiming that their long time drummer was “validly removed from the board of Cheap Trick Unlimited Inc and two other band-related corporations.”
He separated himself from the Nashville assembly line crowd by writing and performing not just traditional hard country music (which was a pretty daring artistic statement in 1980), but also by incorporating elements of rock and bluegrass
Viewing his life as a terminal battle between sin and salvation, Jerry Lee’s fierce energy was permeated with darkness;h e was dragging his audience to hell and he wasn’t happy about it.He has spent almost a decade watching “Gunsmoke” reruns
After more than two decades of recording, he’s established himself as a King of Heartbreak, The Melodic Marvel of Melancholy
boatloads of banal pop-tarts to frat boys/girls scared of rap music
Nobody could figure out how to let a white blues singer from Colt, Arkansas follow his artistic vision and simultaneously make money.
His die was caste. Bar rooms and heartbreak, loneliness and whiskey
“Do you really think that a man fucked a frog?”
“I’m still in the band, but I don’t tour. I don’t hear from them. I prefer to be out on the road performing with them. Maybe we’ll kiss and make up…”
The Austin based Hot Club of Cowtown meld Wills with Django Reinhardt and spice up their combo dish with astonishing musicianship.
After Twitter, Facebook, paying your bills, mowing the sheep, completing your bug collection, and waxing your eyelids, do you really have time to spin “Whipping Post” or “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree”? Deep down, you know you’ll never get to the second disc of the Can box set
Heart wrenchingly sad, yet astonishingly beautiful, a failure of commerce, but an artistic triumph
It has been said that Elvis remained a fan of Memphis wrestling throughout his life and given his fascination with comic book superheroes, there is no reason to doubt that assertion, even the large, bejeweled belts he wore, while performing in capes, resembled championship wrestling straps.
The tagline, “I belong to the blank generation,” became the battle cry for the CBGB’s punk rock crowd. The perfect angst anthem for self-designated outcasts.
“Dazz” was so hook filled and undeniable that it hit #3 on the pop charts, but you probably don’t hear it on your favorite ‘70s nostalgia station
Steve Crawford has compiled every major song from the 1970s on one gigantic list! Now tell him to cut short his vacations and get to work on the 1980s
As a band whose main strength has always been the ability to transcend their material in a live setting, performing at 80% of peak capacity is a somewhat depressing new reality
Many places I have lived are not exactly live music meccas (ladies and gentlemen, I give you MANHATTAN, KANSAS) and I’d rather not skip meals to attend arena shows
Isbell doesn’t have the vocal presence of a natural born rocker and doesn’t try to be on this primarily acoustic based record. When wearing his comfort pants, Isbell specializes in a devastatingly forlorn sadness/regret voiced with schmaltz-free honesty
Starting with a twelve-bar blues piano progression, Fagen incorporated jazz chords and a swing band style chorus into “Peg.” Chuck Rainey’s melodic bass playing is prominently displayed, while Jay Graydon contributed a Polynesian pedal steel influenced guitar solo
Shaver is as authentic as a dirt road and he’s an engaging stage performer – dancing to the music, shadow boxing, leaning back and bracing himself to put his entire body into the song, displaying a huge, beaming smile most of the night. His discusses his Christian faith repeatedly during a show, leading to some of the oddest proselytizing you’ll ever hear
Wills incorporated blues, country, big band, tin pan alley, and folk music into his unique brand of exhilarating Western swing.
Swift inspires a somewhat unimaginable level of idolatry in her fans. Women of all ages wore homemade Swift homage garb to the show; they screamed incessantly and reacted to their heroine’s every move, statement, song, and gesture. Taylor has gone beyond the realm of both country and pop music, proudly serving as a pop culture celebrity.
Whether the song required soulful blues, piercing slide guitar, tidal wave metal riffs and solos, or simple punk rock chords, Vaden hit every mark perfectly. Expert timing, wonderful tone. He knows when to lay back and when to take the reins
I would love to hear the True Believers play live with a proper sound system and I’d also love to see them perform a full set. After forty minutes, the Grapevine Main Street Festival organizers told the band to exit the stage. The True Believers were booted for being too loud.
Extended acoustic sets typically have a noticeable deficit in the oomph department and this night was not the exception
Of course, anyone that listens to Det var så länge se’n is eternally altered. What does one do with all of that Scandinavian street cred?
Like the best of any art, listening to Moondance gives you the experience of opening a new world to you. On this album, Van Morrison wasn’t dwelling on the threshold of his beautiful vision. He was completely enveloped in it.
The 2013 edition of Parliament Funkadelic doesn’t have the elaborate stage production of the Mothership era, but is still a glorious celebration of excess.
Jones imparted gravitas to everything he sang. Knowing sin and salvation, he could effortlessly convey anguish, hope, and humor. He stuck to his knitting
While the Johnson Reader currently hasn’t sold as many copies as the Holy Bible, you, dedicated fan of the Rock NYC website, have the power to change this unfortunate course of history and commerce.
One of the fun things about rock ‘n’ roll has always been the dark alley element of shock and weirdness, which Henderson has in spades. He’s a junk shop/thrift store treasure.
I have no idea why Hayes is performing his usual setlist with a clearly inferior unit. Whether it was the lack of rhythmic propulsion or inspiration, he was unusually flat vocally. The difference between a good band and a bad one was clearly on display
I doubt that Shocked is a savvy enough media presence to have purposely orchestrated the event. If one were in the diabolical public sentiment manipulation business, there are better end states than career suicide. It’s almost too easy to play armchair psychiatrist with Shocked.
Far below the surface of mainstream music, blues records were being made by Blind Willie McTell, Big Bill Broonzy, and a few others with scary adjectives in their names. The charts were more diverse than one might suspect – African- American performers Louis Armstrong, the Mills Brothers, and Cab Calloway were scoring hits
Flansburgh, who seems to be more disheveled and heavier each time I see him, mugs for crowd, jumps up and down in time with the music, and dramatically plucks out one note at a time while jerking his guitar at different angles. He’s the nerd rock Rick Nielsen.
Foley played in small Austin bars, when they weren’t banning him due to drunkenness, and lived in a car. He released a few singles in his life, but album releases were never meant to be – master tapes were continually lost or stolen.
The trio is comprised of three outstanding musicians – violinist Elana James, guitarist Whit Smith, and stand-up bassist Jake Erwin. Performing jazz and pop standards and Western swing classics, the virtuosos rotate playing rhythms/melody and taking solos. They know when to be unobtrusive and when to take the spotlight. They simmer and burn with equal aplomb.
The Essential Songs of 1991 have all turned 21 now. They’ve discarded their fake IDs – some are in college, some are in the military, and there’s a trust fund baby in the crowd. They grow up so fast.
Cub Koda and company are best known for their pro lung cancer anthem “Smokin’ in the Boys Room” which made it to #3 in 1973 and was covered by Motley Crue in 1985, becoming that band’s first Top 40 hit.
“They have never achieved competence – they are actively untalented.”
“Such a tricky question, Steve!! But truly – anyone who stays true to their own vision and doesn’t allow the music business machine to sabotage their art is my hero – or heroine!”
Steve married Beth in 1990 and this Valentine Day’s he shares the essential songs in the year of his wedding.
Memo to Blake. It may be that people aren’t nostalgic for their grandpa’s country music. They may be nostalgic for country music with heart and substance.
Inspired by exciting yet technically challenged groups like the Buzzcocks, Undertones, and The Damned, the Adverts were non-musicians ready for stardom. In 1977, the group released their first single on Stiff Records, “One Chord Wonders”
Scott-Heron’s catalogue is a mess, many of the albums he recorded for Arista from 1974 to 1983 are no longer on the market and there are too many bargain bin compilations to address. It’s hard to know in retrospect if Scott-Heron was a brilliant artist that never had the opportunity for the following he deserved
In 1998, the twenty year old, second generation bass player founded the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. B.R.M.C. have released two albums that achieved gold status in England and remain respected by music fans on both sides of the pond.
Public Enemy fought the power and The Beastie Boys released their brilliant Paul’s Boutique album. As we look back at the decade, we were able to survive a decade of synth-pop, kitschy videos, and electronic drums. As we peek around the corner to the ‘90s, I’m seeing flannel.
