Rock Music
Des Rocs Premieres New Song “Nothing Personal”: Stream
Rising New York musician Des Rocs is set to unleash a new EP, This Is Our Life, on December 4th. In advance of its release, he’s teaming up with Consequence of Sound to premiere the new single “Nothing Personal”. Des Rocs broke out as part of the duo Secret Weapons, and is now establishing himself as a dynamic solo act. His brand of rock ‘n’ roll features a frenetic and dramatic edge, with “Nothing Personal” offering up slices of post-punk and art rock. “‘Nothing Personal’ is music of the night,” Des Rocs tells us of the song. “It’s about bad people doing bad things and paying the price in this life and the next. It’s a firecracker of a record that I dare you to sit down to while listening.” Lyrically, Des Rocs paints a vivid scene with the opening lines, “I found you sleeping in my coffin...
Pearl Jam’s Legendary MTV Unplugged Live Album Finally Available on Streaming Services: Stream
Today marks the 30th anniversary of Pearl Jam’s very first concert, something they are celebrating with a vinyl reissue and the first-ever CD release of their classic MTV Unplugged set. Both formats are out as of today, though unsurprisingly, the LP version is long sold out. But thankfully, there’s yet another way to hear the beloved album. In a surprise move, Pearl Jam’s MTV Unplugged has been released on streaming services for the very first time. You can listen to it right now via Spotify and Apple Music below. Captured on March 16th, 1992, the seven-song Unplugged session saw Pearl Jam playing acoustic versions of material from their Ten debut. Also included is the track “State of Love and Trust”, originally released on the Singles soundtrack. Over the years, these recordings have...
Bruce Springsteen Talks E Street Band, New Album, and Favorite Bob Dylan Songs on Colbert: Watch
Bruce Springsteen is just one day away from releasing his new album, Letter to You. Ahead of its release, the Boss appeared on Wednesday night’s Late Show with Stephen Colbert to talk about the inspiration behind the record, putting it out during a pandemic, and his favorite Bob Dylan songs, among other topics. After joking about not being able to take Letter to You on the road (“I do a lot of work in front of my bedroom mirror with the tennis racket… I go for three hours, just like the show”), Springsteen spoke extensively about its creation. He said the album only took seven days to write and four to record, and was largely inspired by the loss of his old friend George Theiss, the last surviving member of Springsteen’s original band, The Castiles. “I guess being the last guy in...
R.I.P. Spencer Davis, “Gimme Some Lovin” Rocker Dies at 81
Spencer Davis, founding member and namesake of the UK rock band The Spencer Davis Group, has died at the age of 81. His agent, Bob Birk, confirmed to the BBC that Davis passed away in a California hospital on October 19th after suffering heart failure while being treated for pneumonia. Davis formed The Spencer Davis Group — originally called The Rhythm & Blues Quartet — after he saw brothers Steve and Muff Winwood performing at a local pub. He asked them to join a band with him, and eventually brought in drummer Pete York to complete the lineup. Though bearing his name, Davis wasn’t the singer of the group, as might be expected. Instead, it was a teenaged Steve Winwood providing vocals on The Spencer Davis Group’s biggest hits, such as “I’m a Man”, “Gimme Some Lovin”, and “Keep on...
Foo Fighters Play First Show Since Pandemic at the Troubadour for #SOSFest: Watch
On Saturday, the members of Foo Fighters reunited for their first show together since the beginning the pandemic. As part of #SOSFest, a three-day digital festival benefiting independent music venues, Dave Grohl and co. delivered a five-song acoustic set from the Troubadour in Los Angeles. Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel, and Rami Jaffee stuck to their greatest hits, playing songs like “Skin and Bones”, “My Hero”, and “These Days”. The performance then concluded with a pair of Grohl solo performances, as he crooned his way through “Times Like These” and “Everlong”. In between songs, Foo Fighters reminisced about their personal history with the Troubadour over the years. Grohl recalled playing the venue with his pre-Nirvana band Scream, while Smear remembe...
Foxy Shazam Announce Comeback Album Burn, Share “The Rose”: Stream
Even after a six-year hiatus, Foxy Shazam are unstoppable. The glam rock revivalists have announced their comeback album, Burn, which is due for release on December 11th. Frontman Eric Nally began formulating ideas for the new album while touring with Macklemore (he of the “Downtown” collaboration) last year. From there, Burn came together from across the continent, with writing and recording happening remotely. Nally and horns player Alex Nauth added their parts in Ryan Lewis’ Mundon Canyon studios in Washington; Sky White (piano) and Teddy Aitkins (drums) tracked their contributions in Seattle’s London Bridge studio; and guitarist Loren Turner and bassist Trigger Warning recorded at the LodgeKY studio in Dayton, Kentucky. “I will stand for 2020 and say I made moves during this time,...
Foo Fighters Play Acoustic Version of “Learn to Fly” on Kimmel: Watch
This weekend, Foo Fighters return to the stage for their first live performance since the beginning of quarantine. They’ll set up shop at the Troubadour in Los Angeles as part of the #SOSFest. Coming in support of the National Independent Venue Association, the three-day virtual festival will see 35 artists performing from 25 concert venues across the US, with proceeds benefiting music venues impact by the pandemic. As a test run of sorts, Foo Fighters appeared on last night’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. Broadcasting remotely from the Troubadour, Dave Grohl and co. delivered an acoustic rendition of their classic track “Learn to Fly”. Catch the replay below, and watch Foo Fighters’ full set on Saturday, October 17th at 10:35 p.m. ET via NIVA’s YouTube page. Editors’...
Bring Me the Horizon Announce New EP Featuring BABYMETAL, Amy Lee, and More
Babymetal (photo by Kevin RC Wilson), Bring Me the Horizon Horizon (photo by Raymond Ahner), Amy Lee (photo by Joe Russo) Bring Me the Horizon have announced a new EP, Post Human: Survival Horror, that features some prominent guest spots. The nine-song effort, due October 30th, boasts appearances by BABYMETAL, Evanescence vocalist Amy Lee, UK singer YUNGBLUD, and British rock duo Nova Twins. The UK band has already unveiled three songs from the EP over the past year. The track “Ludens” came out in November 2019 as part of the soundtrack to the video game Death Stranding, while “Parasite Eve” and “Obey” (featuring YUNGBLUD) arrived over the past few months. Japanese pop-metal act BABYMETAL appear on the song “Kingslayer”, while Amy Lee provides guest vocals on the poetically titled “One Day...
Pearl Jam Unleash New Song “Get It Back”: Stream
Pearl Jam’s new song “Get It Back” is now available on digital streaming services. Take a listen below. The song was originally released last week as part of Good Music to Avert the Collapse of American Democracy Vol. 2. Proceeds from the Bandcamp exclusive compilation benefited the Voting Rights Lab, a nonpartisan organization that brings state advocacy, policy, and legislative expertise to the fight for voting rights. The driving rocker was penned by Matt Cameron, and marks Pearl Jam’s first new music since releasing their album Gigaton earlier this year. In related news, Pearl Jam will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their live debut by streaming a recording of their 2016 concert in Philadelphia. Notably, the setlist featured a full performance of PJ’s debut album, Ten. [embedded...
Pearl Jam to Celebrate 30th Anniversary of First Concert with Archival Performance of Ten
October 22nd, 1990 marks the 30th anniversary of Pearl Jam’s first-ever concert. To commemorate the occasion, the band will unlock another legendary performance from their vault and stream it live online for the first time. A full recording of Pearl Jam’s April 29th, 2016 concert in Philadelphia, newly mixed in stereo and 5.1 digital surround sound and featuring full-color HD footage, will be available to stream on Nugs.tv from October 22nd to 25th. The 32-song, three-hour performance opened with a full performance of PJ’s debut album, Ten, and also touted rare performances of “Breakerfall” and “Who You Are”. The two-song encore was packed with a number of covers, including Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb”, Neil Young’s “Throw Your Hatred Down”, Dead Boys’ “Sonic Reducer”, and The Who’s “Ba...
Jack White Comes to the Rescue as Last-Minute SNL Musical Guest
Saturday Night Live has found a last-minute replacement to fill in as musical guest for this weekend’s episode: Jack White will take the stage at Studio 8H for his first live performance in nearly a year. White is replacing country singer Morgan Wallen, whose appearance was canceled after he violated COVID-19 safety protocols. As SNL head Lorne Michaels explained, due to the last minute nature of the booking, “It has to be somebody who is ready to go,” and Jack answered the call. Comedian Bill Burr will host the episode. It’ll mark White’s fourth appearance on SNL and third as a solo artist. He most recently served as musical guest in 2018 in support of his most recent solo album, Boarding House Reach. Earlier this week, The White Stripes announced their first-ever greatest-hits compilatio...
Jack White Reworks “Ball and Biscuit”, Plays Eddie Van Halen Guitar on SNL: Watch
Not all heroes wear capes; some rock out on guitar. After this weekend’s original musical guest, country singer Morgan Wallen, violated COVID-19 safety protocol, Saturday Night Live found itself in need of a last-minute replacement. Jack White answered the call. Accompanied by drummer Daru Jones and bassist Dominic John Davis, White ripped through some of his greatest hits with a few unexpected twists. For his first performance of the evening, White played a bit of his Beyoncé collaboration, “Don’t Hurt Yourself”, before transitioning into “Ball and Biscuit”. The Elephant track was reworked to feature lyrics from “Jesus is Coming Soon”, a traditional gospel song about the 1918 Spanish Flu that was famously performed by Blind Willie Johnson. The lyrics are just as relevant to...
