the pretenders
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 […]
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 […]
Chrissie Hynde never really wanted to be punk-rock royalty
Since 1978, the Pretenders’ outspoken singer/songwriter/rhythm guitarist Chrissie Hynde and her band have brought sophisticated compositional smarts and instrumental chops to punk rock. They took the music to radio and MTV in the early ’80s, subversively selling it to people who thought they were just listening to exciting rock ’n’ roll. Hynde spoke exclusively to […]
Chrissie Hynde sees protest anthems and love songs as one and the same
Akron, Ohio born and bred Christine Ellen Hynde has led the Pretenders from the top of the charts since the band’s debut single, a 1979 rethink of Ray Davies’ “Stop Your Sobbing” that killed the Kinks’ 1964 Mersey Beat-ish original on contact. Sort of a spiritual big sister to Joan Jett, she led that gang […]
These 15 punk records from 1980 were complete game-changers
By 1980, U.S. major labels abandoned punk with Sid Vicious‘ corpse. The American underground reacted, hard: “Don’t want us? Fuck you, we’ll do it ourselves!” The independent record distribution and touring network kicked off in earnest, as the harder/faster/louder hardcore punk sound started revving up, initially in Los Angeles before spreading across America through the […]
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