Alternative Music
Every Pearl Jam Album Ranked From Worst to Best
This article originally ran in 2016 and has since been updated; we’re dusting it off for Eddie Vedder’s birthday on December 23rd. “Fuck.” That was the only word Michael Roffman texted me late Monday night. As I shrugged off sleep to try and figure out what exactly that meant, the rest of his message came through: “Tonight’s set was so much better.” I stopped getting dressed and sank back into bed. I knew what he was upset about. No apocalypse, no emergency, just a Pearl Jam setlist that he liked better than the one we got two nights earlier at Wrigley Field. I clicked on the setlist link, scanned down, and texted back: “Oh fuck…” Advertisement In words barely more eloquent than those, we spent the next hour, on and off, bemoaning that we had covered the wrong show — like two spoiled brats...
Dave Grohl Covers Janis Ian’s “At Seventeen” with Almost-17-Year-Old Daughter Violet: Watch
Though the pipes she flaunted at September’s Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts belie her youth, Violet Grohl will celebrate her 17th birthday in a few months. She and her dad Dave Grohl covered Janis Ian’s apty-titled “At Seventeen” for the fourth night of the elder Grohl’s 2022 Hanukkah Sessions. Now on its third year, Grohl’s Hanukkah Sessions are meant to highlight the legacies of iconic Jewish musicians; Ian absolutely fits the bill, and we can’t think of few songs more heartwrenching for a father-daughter cover than the folk artist’s 1975 magnum opus. Watch the video of their performance below. The 2022 iteration of Grohl’s Hanukkah Sessions previously featured covers of Blood, Sweat & Tears’ “Spinning Wheel” with Judd Apatow and Greg Kurstin, “Get the Party Started” with P!nk, and ...
Journey’s Neal Schon Hits Bandmate Jonathan Cain with Cease and Desist over Mar-A-Lago Performance
Journey’s Neal Schon has hit bandmate Jonathan Cain with a cease and desist over Cain’s performance of “Don’t Stop Believin’” at Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort. In November, Cain participated in a singalong of “Don’t Stop Believin’” with Trump sycophants Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Kari Lake. The performance struck a nerve with Schon, who fired off a cease and desist. “Although Mr. Cain is free to express his personal beliefs and associations, when he does that on behalf of Journey or for the band, such conduct is extremely deleterious to the Journey brand as it polarizes the band’s fans and outreach. Journey is not, and should not be, political,” Schon’s attorney wrote in a letter (via The Guardian). Advertisement Related Video “Mr. Cain’s unauthorized af...
Pearl Jam’s 10 Best Deep Cuts
This article originally ran in 2020, but we’re dusting it off for Eddie Vedder’s birthday on December 23rd. Pearl Jam 30 continues with a look at the band’s finest Deep Cuts. Be sure to see all of our Pearl Jam content, old and new, here. The idea of a deep cut usually isn’t so complicated. They’re the padding, the filler, the less marketable tracks buried deep on records or used as buffers between the singles both band and record company pin their joint hopes on. Of course, what’s beautiful about deep cuts is that once we’ve grown tired of the singles we’re urged to consume again and again, we stumble upon these afterthoughts, and they can often become our favorite songs off a record. Advertisement Pearl Jam kinda throw a wrench into that idea, though. First off, the band at one point wer...
Life of Agony and Sick of It All Announce 2023 North American Tour
Two New York City heavy music staples are teaming up for a 2023 North American tour. Alt-metal veterans Life of Agony and hardcore heroes Sick of It All will hit the road together beginning in early March. The “30 Sick Years of Agony” outing kicks off March 9th in Albany, New York, and currently runs through an April 1st gig in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, with more dates set to be announced. Tickets for most of the shows are currently on sale via Ticketmaster. Life of Agony most recently released 2019’s The Sound of Scars, but will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of their debut album, River Runs Red, on this tour — playing the 1993 album in its entirety. Sick of It All’s latest album is 2018’s Wake the Sleeping Dragon! Advertisement Related Video In addition to the North American ...
Hans Zimmer Names Interstellar Score as Best Work of His Career
Hans Zimmer has offered his own assessment of his storied discography, naming his score for Christopher Nolan’s 2014 film Interstellar as his favorite with the caveat that his best is yet to come. The German composer revealed his answer in a video clip he shared over on TikTok. “People always ask me what’s my favorite score and I keep avoiding answering the question. And how about I don’t avoid it this time?” Zimmer said. “I’m going to tell you that the first, the favorite score that I’ve ever written, I think, is Interstellar. Or, I haven’t written my favorite score yet. So, maybe that’s the better answer.” Watch Zimmer name-check the Interstellar score below. Considering Zimmer has more than 100 soundtrack and film scores under his belt since the early 1980s, there is plenty of room for ...
Oscars 2023: LCD Soundsystem, Mitski and David Byrne, Taylor Swift on Shortlist for Best Original Song
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revealed shortlists for 2023 Oscar nominees in several categories, including Best Original Song, Best Original Score, and Best Documentary Feature. In the original song category, a longlist of 82 initial nominees has been whittled down to 15. They include songs by LCD Soundsystem (“New Body Rhumba” from White Noise); Mitski, David Byrne, and Son Lux (“This Is A Life” from Everything Everywhere All at Once); Taylor Swift (“Carolina” from Where the Crawdads Sing); Rihanna (“Life Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever); Lady Gaga (“Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick); and The Weeknd (“Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” from Avatar: The Way of Water). The shortlist for Best Original Score includes compositions from Composer of the ...
Kyle Meredith With… Celebrates 700 Episodes with Jared Leto, Maya Hawke, Jack Black, and More
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Amazon Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Today’s episode of Kyle Meredith With… marks the 700th edition of the interview podcast series! To celebrate and thank everyone who listens to the show, we’re celebrating with a special release spotlighting some of the film and TV stars that have dropped by the show this year. Advertisement Related Video Of course, as is always the case on KMW, there’s more than a tangential connection to music. In this special episode, you’ll hear from Jared Leto, Maya Hawke, Jack Black, Kate Siegel, Jamie Campbell Bower, Suki Waterhouse, and Kiefer Sutherland, all who discuss their latest film and audio projects, ...
Fix Stuff: Fred Durst and Limp Bizkit Offer to Help Elon Musk Run Twitter
If you’re worried about the future of Twitter under the guidance of soon-to-be-former CEO Elon Musk, worry no more! Fred Durst and his merry band of Limp Bizkit mates are here to save the day. The nu-metal frontman has offered his services to the multibillionaire mogul in the form of a … tweet. It’s been a rough go of it in the two months since Musk closed the deal on the purchasing Twitter for $44 billion. Under his guidance, the company has laid off half its staff, instituted an $8-per-month blue verification check mark, and banned some journalists from the platform, among other lowlights. Most recently, he promised to step down as CEO as soon as he finds “someone foolish enough to take the job.” But never fear, y’all! Durst and company are ready to do their part to turn it all around. “...
Booking Agents’ Insights: The What Podcast High Five Clip
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Amazon Music | Radio Public | TheWhatPodcast.com | RSS In this High Five Clip, Brad and Barry from The What Podcast speak with Ali Hedrick and John Bongiorno of Arrival Artists. Advertisement Related Video The insiders give our hosts some insight into what goes into being a booking agent for bands. They reveal their process of how they try to develop artists from being able to fill a 200-seat club to headlining Bonnaroo. Listen to what happens on today’s High Five Clip, and then check out the full original episode here. Then, remember to like, review, and subscribe to The What wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the Consequence Podcast Network for updates...
Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo Discusses the Sad, Elliot Smith-ness of SZNZ: Winter and Teases “Big Tour Announcement”
It’s ambitious, it’s sprawling, it’s creative, it’s Weezer‘s new SZNZ project. Back when the California band announced four EPs based on the seasons cycle at the beginning of this year, questions were raised: How similar to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons would this be? Has the band now entered the “Classical Weezer” era? Would Summer‘s songs all sound like “Island in the Sun”? Will Rivers Cuomo continue rocking the mustache + mullet combo he boasted on the “Hella Mega Tour”? Now that Weezer has released the final installment of SZNZ, Winter (out Wednesday, December 21st), we’ve got our answers. Though inspired by Vivaldi’s original concept, SZNZ is Weezer through and through — that being said, Cuomo has based each season around emotions, rather than lean solely into the environmenta...
Dave Grohl, Greg Kurstin, and Inara George Cover 10cc’s “The Things We Do for Love” for Hanukkah: Watch
Grab the shamash and crank up the volume, night has fallen on the third day of Hanukkah and Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin are back with another entry in their annual Hanukkah Sessions cover series.This time around, the duo teamed up with Kurstin’s The Bird and the Bee bandmate Inara George to shine a light on 10cc’s “The Things We Do for Love.” This is the third annual edition of the Hanukkah Sessions, which are committed to celebrating the life and work of Jewish musicians. “The Things We Do for Love” served double duty, both honoring 10ccs only constant member Graham Gouldman, as well as Grammy-winning producer Brooks Arthur, who died earlier this year and to whom this song was dedicated. Check it out below. Previously during the 2022 Hanukkah Sessions, Grohl and Kursti...
