Alternative Rock
Iggy Pop Streams 2016 Concert with Arctic Monkeys, Queens of the Stone Age Members: Watch
Arctic Monkeys (David Brendan Hall), Iggy Pop (Thaib A. Wahab), and Queens of the Stone Age (Philip Cosores) Iggy Pop has announced he will livestream his iconic 2016 concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall in support of Post Pop Depression, the album he released that same year. While all Iggy Pop shows are highly entertaining in their own right, this one was pretty dang special as he was backed by Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders and Queens of the Stone Age members Josh Homme and Dean Fertita. The gig will stream live at 3:00 p.m. ET today on YouTube. The recent Lifetime Achievement Grammy-winner teased the event with a simple tweet, writing, “Ready to re-live it?” For most viewers, it will be a chance to witness that show in all of its glory for the first time. Post Pop Depression is a ...
Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil on the Prospects of a Solo Album
Kyle Meredith With… Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil jumps into the Delorean with Kyle Meredith to revisit the Screaming Life/FOPP compilation, the “Room Without a View” single, and how the Seattle band found inspiration in The Melvins, Malfunkshun, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and The Beatles. The guitarist also recalls writing page-turner music for the Encarta 95 program, the label issuing the Alive in the Superunknown CD-ROM, and forming The No WTO Combo alongside Krist Novoselic and Jello Biafra. Upon their return to the present, Thayil also says he was about to do a tour with The Blasters’ Dave Alvin before t...
Josh Homme Performs a Queens of the Stone Age Song in His Bathroom: Watch
Musicians are staying busy during the coronavirus pandemic by doing everything from reading children’s books to hosting interviews in a shower. Now, Josh Homme has served up his own slice of quarantine-induced creativity by playing Queens of the Stone Age song “Villains of Circumstance” in his bathroom. In the clip below, Homme can be seen playing a small acoustic guitar in his bathroom at home in Los Angeles. The original version of “Villains of Circumstance”, as heard on 2017’s Villains, is a six-minute-long sprawler full of eerie backing reverb and trickling guitar parts. It’s ominous and sinister, as if hiding a tender heart at its core. Homme reels things back for his quarantine rendition, taking the emphasis off the instrumentation and putting it onto his warbling vocal par...
Song of the Week: Puscifer’s “Apocalyptical” Dances Towards Doomsday
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify New Sounds playlist. If you don’t think the last few months of isolation have changed anything, think again. In a normal time, Maynard James Keenan fans — fresh off the first Tool album in more than a decade — would’ve been satisfied with the first Puscifer single in five years. But a song only goes so far when it feels like you have all the time in the world, and Keenan seems to have tapped into that need. Not only does “Apocalyptical” come as a ready-made anthem for these troubled times, but Puscifer also decided to bestow upon fans the blueprint for an alternative dance craze and a memeable answer to whether or not bright, red lipstick is the shadow...
Puscifer Unveil New Song “Apocalyptical” with Dancing Maynard James Keenan in Video: Stream
Puscifer recently teased new music coming soon, and they’ve delivered with the brand-new song “Apocalyptical”. The track is accompanied by a surreal video featuring singer Maynard James Keenan showing off a few dance moves. While Puscifer had recorded much of their new album last year, the band originally planned to release new music in 2021, to allow Keenan to complete his touring duties with Tool. But with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing Tool to postpone their tour, Keenan decided to unveil the first new Puscifer song in nearly five years much earlier than expected. “Apocalyptical” is a groovy mid-tempo tune with a dance-like beat, as Keenan and co-vocalist Carina Round deliver whispery lines like, “Go on, moron/ Ignore the evidence/ Skid in to armageddon/ Tango apocalyptical.” The video f...
Muse’s Matt Bellamy Releases New Solo Song “Tomorrow’s World”: Stream
Muse frontman Matt Bellamy has shared his second-ever solo song, and its release couldn’t be more timely. The one-off single is titled “Tomorrow’s World” and finds the veteran rocker holding onto optimism despite these incredibly trying times. “Your body is stronger/ Your mind is a wonder/ Your heart is so full of love,” Bellamy sings over a layer of piano and strings, steadfastly focusing on the positive in his life. “Don’t you waste it… Look to tomorrow.” In a statement, the UK musician said that today’s offering “captures my mood and feelings whilst in lockdown.” He continued, “I have been reminded of what really matters in life and have discovered growing optimism, appreciation and hope for the future. The song title comes from an old BBC TV show called ’Tomorrow’s World,” which I watc...
Hayley Williams’ Petals for Armor Discovers the Strength in Vulnerability: Review
The Lowdown: Hayley Williams once said on the writing of Paramore’s Brand New Eyes album, “Some of it hurt, some of it was like, ‘Am I being too honest even with myself?’’’ Honesty has long been a trend with Williams’ approach to music-making; she’s been the principal songwriter for Paramore since 2005, and her scathing, dynamic vocals have granted her ever-evolving lyrics the perfect expression of painful, angry, at times heartbroken truth. On Petals for Armor, she dives inward at a new level, using dark pop melodies to not only vocalize her innermost thoughts, but also battle them, untangle them, and reckon with them in a way that feels personal to her own experience. She sings on the blistering “Watch Me While I Bloom”, “You only got one side of me/ Here’s something new/ I’m alive in sp...
Peter Hook on 40 Years Without Ian Curtis, Working with Gorillaz, and Keeping the Party Going
“The best thing you can do in life is stick on that smile and get out there and enjoy as much as you possibly can,” Peter Hook says over our lunch on Skype. “Because as we’ve seen from the way that you’ve suffered in America — the way that we’ve suffered here in the UK — time can be very short. You don’t know what’s around the corner do you?” With the utmost tragic timing, an alert flashes on my iPhone screen, informing me of the death of Kraftwerk legend Florian Schneider, who I learn has passed away from his battle with cancer. Absolutely destroyed, I tell Hook, who reflects, “There you go Phillip. A prime example isn’t it? Life can be very short. Too short … and not filled with harmony…” Hook knows a thing or two about harmony, both off stage and on it. The veteran musician, who laid do...
Weezer Will Appear on The Simpsons This Weekend
Weezer have many accomplishments during their 28-year career, and yet they’ve never achieved the nerd rock dream: being written into an episode of The Simpsons. That changes this Sunday, May 10th, when the California outfit will appear in an episode called “The Hateful Eight Year-Olds”, where they’ll play some recent singles as well as teasing the new song “Blue Dream”. According to a press release, Weezer will voice a cover band called Sailor’s Delight, who supply the musical entertainment on Homer and Marge’s romantic cruise. They’ll play some favorites from The Black Album and Pacific Daydream, but the big news for devout Weezer fans (other than the whole Simpsons thing) is the reveal of the new song “Blue Dream”. It’s expected to be another metal-inspired cut, and will a...
Paramore’s Hayley Williams Unveils Debut Solo Album Petals for Armor: Stream
At long last, Hayley Williams has released her debut solo album, Petals for Armor. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. As fans can attest, the roll-out for this record has been quite unusual. In addition to sharing individual singles, the Paramore frontwoman chose to break up the album into three separate EPs. The first was surprise-released in February, while the second followed in late April. Today brings the complete full-length — all three parts — to listeners for the first time. In a press statement, Williams explained her reasoning behind this distribution process. “There are a lot of themes covered on the album as a whole and I thought it best to separate some of these themes so that there can be time for everyone to digest some of the songs before we move along to others,”...
Radiohead Streaming Legendary Bonnaroo 2006 Concert on YouTube
Radiohead are continuing their quarantine concert series and releasing another gem from the vault. Today, Thursday May 7th, the legendary rockers are sharing footage from their legendary 2006 performance at Bonnaroo. Tune in below beginning at 5:00 p.m. EDT. The Bonnaroo performance arrived three years after Hail to the Thief and a year before Radiohead’s most recent consensus masterpiece, 2007’s In Rainbows. What’s remarkable is how much of In Rainbows they played: “15 Step”, “Bodysnatchers”, “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi”, “Nude”, “House of Cards”, and “Videotape” all made appearances. They played more In Rainbows than they did Hail to the Thief! Via Setlist.fm, they also performed six songs from OK Computer, five from Kid A, and four from Amnesi...
Tom Morello Is “Disgusted” That Young People Won’t Practice Guitar Eight Hours a Day
Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello had some choice words for young musicians trying to cut corners to get famous, especially when it comes to practicing. In an interview that previously ran in Metal Hammer’s print edition but was just shared online this week, Morello lamented over the current lack of guitars in popular music. “I’m disgusted by the fact that a lot of young people these days aren’t willing to sit down and practice the electric guitar for eight hours a day,” said Morello. “They are all looking for an easier route to becoming famous. Look at the Top 50 songs on the radio in the U.S. — there are no guitar solos in them.” While it’s tough love from the ever-opinionated guitarist, he went on to suggest that young musicians likely don’t have a chance of topping th...
