guns n roses
The 40 Greatest Music Video Artists
Music videos are the perfect bastard child of art and commerce, even more than pop music itself. A promotional visual accompaniment to a popular song doesn’t need a coherent narrative (although on rare occasions, they do). It just needs to suit the song, sell the record, and possibly make the artist look cool. But since the launch of MTV 40 years ago this week, a select few recording artists have helped raise music videos to an art form — sometimes by accident, and sometimes by carefully curating the work of brilliant directors like Mark Romanek, Hype Williams, and Spike Jonze. Here are 40 artists from the last four decades that helped video kill the radio star. 40. Lil Kim [embedded content] Although earlier female MCs like Salt-N-Pepa and Queen Latifah used music videos to help launch th...
Guns N’ Roses Announce Rescheduled 2021 Tour Dates
Guns N’ Roses have announced the rescheduled dates for their U.S. tour, which was pushed back due to the pandemic, and now begins July 31, 2021, in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The tour concludes on Oct. 3 in Hollywood, Florida, with a two-night stint at the Hard Rock Live Arena. There are currently a total of 25 shows scheduled. The support act will be Wolfgang Van Halen’s new band, Mammoth WVH, in their touring debut. The band will be performing songs from their upcoming self-titled debut album, out June 11, including their hit rock single “Distance.” The only show Mammoth WVH won’t be on is GN’R’s appearance at the Bottle Rock Festival in Napa Valley on Sept. 4 Tickets for the new dates will be on sale beginning June 4 at 12 p.m. local time. Guns N’ Roses 2021 tour dates July 31 – Hersh...
What Makes A Karaoke Song So Difficult?
Picture this: You’re riding the high of finally being in a crowded dive bar again. The drinks are flowing, possibly too much. You just heard someone absolutely nail “Sweet Caroline” on the karaoke stage. Now the DJ is calling for the next contestant. Your friends are egging you on. Your brain is saying no, definitely not, but the five (or was it six?) beers in you are saying yes, absolutely you got this. Stumbling up to the grinning DJ, you tell him to queue up “Where is the Love?” by Black Eyed Peas. A classic. You think: the crowd will love it… As soon as the first verse begins you realize you’ve made a grave mistake. The lyrics are flying by at a speed that isn’t suited for your inebriated state and you barely hold it together until the chorus. But thank God, the bar is joining you for ...
Foo Fighters, Guns N’ Roses and Stevie Nicks to Headline BottleRock
Cheers to BottleRock’s return to California’s Napa Valley, featuring big names including Foo Fighters, Guns N’ Roses, and Stevie Nicks for the Sept. 3-5 event. Also part of the three-day lineup are Miley Cyrus, Megan Thee Stallion, G-Eazy, Run The Jewels, Brandi Carlile, Cage the Elephant, and Young the Giant. The festival was originally planned for Memorial Day weekend but has been moved to Labor Day. Additionally, All 2020 tickets purchased will be honored for the September dates. BottleRock will also provide ticket return options. BottleRock takes place at Napa Valley Expo in Napa, California; pre-registration to obtain three-day tickets is now open. “We’re thrilled to be bringing live music back to the Napa Valley this fall, arguably the most beautiful time of the...
Duff McKagan Drops ‘Two-Generation Stand’ From His Teenage Punk Band The Living
Before he was bassist for one of the biggest bands in the universe, Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan was a punk rocker in Seattle. And now we can hear what a 17-year-old McKagan sounded like thanks to The Living: 1982, a previously unreleased LP from his early band The Living. Lead single “Two-Generation Stand” is out now, with the album due April 16 via Seattle’s Loosegroove Records, a label owned by Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) and Regan Hagar (Satchel, Brad). McKagan played guitar in The Living, which also featured vocalist John Conte, bassist Todd Fleischman and drummer Greg Gilmore (Mother Love Bone). “It doesn’t matter what year this music was recorded cause it is undeniable …. but the fact that Duff, Greg, Todd and John created these fully realized songs in 1982 gives credence to ...
Axl Rose Joins the Gang on an Episode of Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?
Scooby-Doo, the beloved Saturday morning cartoon that launched in 1969, will incorporate a new element in its latest episode: a guest cameo from none other than Guns N’ Roses’ frontman Axl Rose. The mystery-solving gang – Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, and titular pup Scooby — walk up to a diner on Route 66 when they first spot the singer. The “Welcome to the Jungle” singer is lounging on a motorcycle, wearing a hat and skull necklace. Spotting the GNR frontman, Velma exclaims “Jinkys” as the gang proclaims in unison: “it’s singer/songwriter/musician and total rock god Axl Rose!” Turns out Rose is already pals with Scooby and Shaggy, and he joins the group in an effort to find “a mysterious group of mud men who steal the Mystery Machine,” according to Rolling Stone. Check out a tea...
The 35 Best Albums of the Last 35 Years
Let’s face it: With most “Best Albums” lists, you know the broad strokes of the ranking before you even click. Part of that predictability is understandable: Most iconic records earn their reputation. But these rankings shouldn’t be fossilized, and a shit-ton of amazing LPs have been shoved aside in the pursuit of maintaining the status quo. We didn’t ignore the unimpeachable on our list — you’ll see plenty of the staples you’ve come to expect. But we also hope we’ll spark your curiosity and encourage you to hunt for a title you may have missed over the last 35 years. 35. Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love (1987) CREDIT: Columbia Records How does one follow up a rock album that recalibrates stadium sound systems and offers a stark look at hard times in America? With love songs, of course. ...
The 35 Greatest Concerts of the Last 35 Years
We know, we know — the best concert of all-time is your friend’s obscure indie-punk band playing a sweaty neighborhood basement back in ‘94. We admit that one slipped through the cracks. Maybe it’s a fool’s errand, but this list is our attempt to narrow down three and a half decades of worthy live music events — legendary festivals, headlining tours from major artists, one-off stage collaborations, multimedia spectacles — into an eclectic and satisfying blend. – Ryan Reed 35. Heilung at Castlefest (8/5/2017) CREDIT: Gonzales Photo/PYMCA/Avalon/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Music-related viral clips tend to be silly and easily digestible, like the dude riding a skateboard to Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” while sipping on Ocean Spray. So it’s heartening that Heilung’s debut l...
The 35 Best Videos of the Last 35 Years
SPIN launched in the peak MTV era, when an innovative — or even just salacious — music video could make or break an artist. Thirty five years later, YouTube is an obligatory part of any promotional push, but no one’s counting on a mind-blowing clip to sell a record. (The views do often matter — just not always the creativity.) A sizable chunk of the best videos came out during the ‘90s alternative bloom, when directors like Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry and Hype Williams experimented with the style and substance of this malleable medium. But the format hasn’t died with MTV: artists like Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar and Miley Cyrus all made this list for a reason — and it wasn’t to meet a decade quota. Here are the top 35 from the last 35. Ready or not, here we go again. – Ryan Reed 3...
The Most Influential Artists: #11 Guns N’ Roses
As part of our 35th anniversary, we’re naming the most influential artists of the past 35 years. Today, we’re at #11. From Los Angeles, California, here are the Guns N’ Roses. CREDIT: L. Busacca / Contributor Bursting out of the Sunset Strip faster than you can say “Welcome to the Jungle,” Guns N’ Roses became both a sensation and a cautionary tale for overindulgence. And that was just in their first eight years as a band. At a time when pop-metal and big hair ruled the airwaves, Axl, Slash, Duff, Izzy and Steven Adler crept up like dirt under your fingernails. Appetite for Destruction brought L.A.’s underbelly to MTV before drugs threatened to rip it apart. The album spawned hundreds of copycats, but none could compete with the real thing, who commanded the respect of revered elders (the ...
Slash on His Love of Pinball, Making New Music While at Home
“The idea behind the whole thing was basically to recreate a full Not In This Lifetime concert experience,” Slash tells SPIN, then laughs. “You know, I sound like a fucking salesman now…” Perhaps so. But at least the product the guitarist is promoting is a pretty killer one — the new Guns N’ Roses Not In This Lifetime pinball machine. Make no mistake: While plenty of artists — everyone from ‘70s rockers KISS and Ted Nugent to more recent subjects like Metallica, Iron Maiden and AC/DC — have lent their names and likenesses to pinball machines over the years (Guns N’ Roses did it in 1994 as well), none of them jumped into it with as much enthusiasm and know-how as Slash and company have. A collaboration with industry leader Jersey Jack Pinball, the Not in This Lifetime table is a ridiculousl...
The Damned Reunite With Original Lineup for 2021 Tour
The Damned have been releasing albums (most recently The Rockfield Files EP on Oct. 16) and touring (2018 was their last U.S. jaunt), but without all of the original members. The classic founding lineup —Dave Vanian, Rat Scabies, Captain Sensible and Brian James — have reunited for the first time in more than two decades to celebrate the 45th anniversary of their first single “New Rose.” Guitarist James, who was also in Lords of the New Church, left the band in 1991 and drummer Scabies left in 1996. As of now, the limited tour is to take place in the UK and will feature songs from the Damned’s first albums, Damned Damned Damned and Music For Pleasure and is slated to begin in July 2021. The Damned influenced numerous bands: “New Rose” was covered by Guns N’ Roses —...
