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Kid Congo Powers on his new EP and the LGBTQIA+ roots of punk
Kid Congo Powers, one of avant garage punk’s secret weapons, was interviewed March 9 from his Tucson, Arizona, home that he shares with his husband. On the brink of releasing his amazing new EP with his longtime band the Pink Monkey Birds, Swing From The Sean DeLear, he explained to us in part one what […]
These 15 albums from 1997 irrefutably proved that punk was far from dead
1997: All media is declaring the alternative–rock explosion—for which Nirvana lit the fuse—over. This means the commercial pop-punk wave Green Day touched off was over in their eyes, too. That selfsame media could not have been more wrong. Green Day had just issued their fifth album, Nimrod. The Offspring, the band who made the catchphrase […]
10 reasons why Oasis are the most influential Britpop band of all time
Britpop was the sound of England taking back rock ‘n’ roll after American grunge and alt rock had annexed the world’s airwaves and charts for the first half of the ‘90s. Vox amps, Union Jacks, 1964 Paul McCartney haircuts, Ben Sherman shirts and Chelsea boots became all the rage, as bands plundered their British Invasion, […]
15 artists who show that the Velvet Underground’s influence is eternal
Lester Bangs, the greatest rock journalist ever, felt eternal Lower East Side musical royals the Velvet Underground were “our Beatles and Bob Dylan combined” and that “modern music begins” with them. He wasn’t wrong. They existed only for a handful of years—1965 to 1970. But five years was enough for them to create virtually everything […]
Bob Dylan announces first broadcast show in nearly 30 years with Veeps
Alongside Hank Williams, Bob Dylan is arguably the greatest American songwriter of the 20th century. Last year’s blues-drenched Rough And Rowdy Ways proved that he’s hardly lost any of his gifts in this century, even as he approached his 80th birthday this past May 24. But the minute he walked into New York’s Columbia Studio […]
Architects have a platform and they’re using it for issues that matter
Architects knew heading into their latest writing sessions that they needed to change. After pouring their hearts out for the world to see their grief in vivid detail on Holy Hell, a change of perspective was necessary to keep the band evolving. Now emerging from the darkness, they are turning their focus outwards and creating […]
10 punk vocalists from the ’70s who upended mainstream rock standards
Nashville songwriting great Harlan Howard once defined country music as “three chords and the truth.” Many have said that definition could also be applied to punk rock. Therefore, it stands to reason that the figure writhing behind the mic stand might be the most essential member of any punk band. After all, it isn’t the […]
10 influential Australian punk bands who defined the nation’s current sounds
“Detroit is the capital of Australia.” That phrase got thrown around a lot in ’80s American fanzines as our underground discovered Australian punk’s loud-and-aggressive charms. The basic sound: U.S. protopunk, especially of the Stooges/MC5 variety, mixed with ’60s garage, played with thermonuclear energy through modern heavy metal amplification. There was also an especial appreciation for […]
18 alternative songs that were actually nominated for Oscars
There are three types when it comes to songs in feature films: The first is the song that you just know isn’t only going to be nominated for an Academy Award but in all likelihood will win it; the second is the song that’s snubbed by the Academy in a year jam-packed with standard Oscar […]
Skullcrusher channels Radiohead, My Bloody Valentine and more in new EP
When asked if she’d ever expected for her 2020 debut under Skullcrusher to receive such immediate and widespread critical acclaim, singer-songwriter Helen Ballentine at first answers with a simple “No.” “It’s quite overwhelming,” she goes on to explain. “I didn’t have that smooth transition of playing a few shows and maybe getting one blog write-up. […]
10 alternative duets from the '90s that deserved more recognition
Duets are all the rage these days, and largely without the intention of releasing said duet as a single. Case in point: YUNGBLUD’s recent sitdown with Avril Lavigne to blaze through her hit “I’m With You.” That’s just all about making it go viral. But there was a time when duets were truly something special—two […]
10 Dominic Fike collabs that prove he can make music in any genre
Dominic Fike is a powerhouse in music, combining elements of electro-pop, SoundCloud rap and grimy rock that make a sound all his own. And it’s a sound that many other artists want a piece of. Fike got his start on SoundCloud and has amassed a huge fanbase, including BROCKHAMPTON, the Kardashians, Paul McCartney and more. […]
10 drum performances that prove Josh Dun can really play anything
Josh Dun, one-half of twenty one pilots, has done impressive drum covers onstage and offstage with Tyler Joseph, other artists and on his own. He’s also filled in on drums for fellow scene vocalists with ease. Undoubtedly, he can play anything with anyone. It’s safe to say that he can tackle everything from a kid’s […]
Gene Simmons says that rock is still dead and fans are to blame—here’s why
Rock legends KISS brought 2020 to a close in spectacular fashion, breaking two world records for pyrotechnics during their Dec. 31 Kiss 2020 Goodbye livestream show. The group has pushed back their End of the Road World Tour dates to Spring 2021, and opinionated music icon Gene Simmons is using this time off to get back […]
10 hidden tracks from the '90s that you definitely shouldn't skip over
Today’s kids have no idea what they are missing when it comes to CDs being a thing of the past. Namely, the hidden track. What a thing of beauty, truly embraced in the ’90s by musicians and fans alike, only to slowly fall away come the 2000s, popping up sporadically, until the true death knell […]
10 albums from the ’90s that need to be listened to front to back
Interestingly, some of our favorite albums ever recorded always seem to have one or two, if not more, tracks that we can just do without. The songs we hit the forward button on robotically, just as the one before it fades completely or comes to its triumphant cymbal-smashing final note. We have conversations about how […]
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