‘I had taken a risk that I was going to make it on my own, and not gain notoriety as the guitar player for Nine Inch Nails anymore.’ Richard Patrick spent the last weeks of the winter of 1994 with Ben Grosse at Pearl Sound in Canton, Mich., overseeing the final mixes for what would become his vitriolic industrial outfit’s inaugural offering, Short Bus. Cut off from the outside world, with his focus squarely on finishing his 1995 debut LP, the Filter frontman had no idea one of the unfinished record’s tracks was already in heavy rotation at rock radio stations nationwide thanks to a last-minute request from the producers of the soundtrack for an underknown Billy Zane-anchored horror film. The song, of course, was “Hey Man, Nice Shot,” which appeared in Tales From the Crypt ...
Bob Dylan has been busy of late. The master songwriter and Hall of Famer dropped a new song in March, the 17-minute epic “Murder Most Foul,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Rock Digital Song Sales, his first-ever leader on a Billboard chart. Then in April, he shared “I Contain Multitudes.” At midnight, Dylan released another new track “False Prophet” and announced a new album Rough And Rowdy Ways, due out next month. “False Prophet” is accompanied with a sinister piece of artwork that could be an old poster for a Hammer Horror film. We’re greeted by a skeleton in a sharp suit and top hat, carrying an old-school hypodermic in one hand, and a mystery present in another. His shadow is that of a man hanging from a noose. The song itself isn’t quite so grim. It’s a slow blue...
On Location is a new series that brings to life the places you know from songs, album covers, and music history. Consider it a blur between travel guide and liner notes to your favorite albums. The Beatles: you’ve heard the songs, seen the footage, and heard about the places. What you may not have done yet, though, is step into their world. The Midas touch of the Fab Four has turned everyday locations from London to Liverpool — such as a crosswalk, an office building, a local street, and a pub — into some of the most iconic locations in music history. To see these locations in person for the first time is like finally being in the same place as a partner with whom you’re in a long-distance relationship: they’re always there, but to be able to actually see them adds an almost indescri...
Jordan Cook of Reignwolf has been isolating like the rest of us, and like the rest of us he’s going a bit crazy. He’s channeled those emotions into the new quarantine banger “Cabin Fever”. Cook recorded the song in his garage using one mic and a a 4-track recorder. He pounded out that violent drum beat himself, while attacking the guitar riffs with nervous, almost jittery fingers. The lyrics are urgent and wild. “I go insane! Insane! Insane! Insane!/ Wait for tomorrow to be yesterday.” In a statement, he explained how the song came together with “tension” baked in. “The song came together quickly and I didn’t want to wait to record it so I used what was available. I dusted off the 4-track, set up a single mic in the garage and went to work. It felt like old times when I used to r...
Axl Rose is the most enigmatic of rock stars. The Guns N’ Roses front man doesn’t release music nearly often enough, and he’s not prolific on social media. When he does unleash, oh boy, folks pay attention. The Hall of Famer let fly with a tweet Wednesday night, taking full aim at Steve Mnuchin, the polarizing Secretary of the Treasury. “It’s official! Whatever anyone may have previously thought of Steve Mnuchin he’s officially an asshole,” Rose tweeted. It’s official! Whatever anyone may have previously thought of Steve Mnuchin he’s officially an asshole. — Axl Rose (@axlrose) May 6, 2020 Mnuchin, who looks like a guy who’s great at counting money but not big on beefs, actually shot back. “What have you done for the country lately?,” reads his tweet, which he completed with an emoji...
Lollapalooza is hoping to wait out the coronavirus pandemic, delaying the lineup announcement but not cancelling just yet. In the meantime, the Chicago institution has begun releasing classic performances from the vault. First up was The Strokes 2010 comeback concert, and now today, Thursday May 7th, the festival has shared the Foo Fighters’ legendary show from 2011. Tune in below beginning at 8:00 p.m. EDT. That 20-song gig was notable for bad weather and a great performance to overcome it. “I don’t give a fuck if it’s raining tonight!” frontman Dave Grohl howled into the audience. The torrential downpour reached its zenith during “My Hero”, as the audience shouted along in one wild and muddy mass. At the end of the show, Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction joined Grohl on stage for a ...
Milky Chance hosted a Billboard Live At-Home performance Wednesday (May 6) to raise money for the National Coalition for the Homeless. Lead vocalist/guitarist Clemens Rehbein and bassist/percussionist Philipp Dausch kicked off the set with their Jack Johnson-assisted single “Don’t Let Me Down,” which the German folk group released last Friday (May 1). “We listened to Jack’s music since we were teenagers, so we’ve been big fans for years now,” Rehbein said after wrapping up the acoustic tune. “And it was such a nice experience meeting him on tour two years ago, I guess, for the first time? That already felt like a life goal. And we kept in touch and then we started working together on that song. And now it’s out and it’s just ...
The Pretty Reckless is among the performers; funds raised by merch sales will benefit Crew Nation. Fearless Records will host a global virtual event, Fearless at Home, featuring acts from its roster on May 9 at 3 p.m. EST on Fearless’ YouTube channel. The “festival” will benefit Crew Nation, the fund that Live Nation launched in April to benefit members of the touring industry whose livelihoods have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Funds will be raised through the sale of a Fearless at Home T-shirt and poster, priced at $25 each. The bands Wage War, The Plot in You, The Pretty Reckless, Plain White T’s, The Almost, Locket, Set It Off, Grayscale, As It Is and Ice Nine Kills will provide acoustic performances. “I’m proud to be involved [in this event] for a charity that supports th...
Gimme a Reason takes classic albums celebrating major anniversaries and breaks down song by song the reasons we still love them so many years later. This week, we celebrate 50 years of The Beatles’ Let It Be. It’s become an iconic scene: The Beatles carrying out their last-ever live performance on the roof of Apple Corps, joined by keyboardist and general legend Billy Preston, their long hair flipping around in the London wind while they recorded live takes of songs like “Dig a Pony” and “Don’t Let Me Down” before eventually being shut down by the Metropolitan Police. The event was unannounced. Onlookers gathered on their lunch breaks, looking up at the midday sensation. This was the concert from which the final version of the Let It Be album would in part manifest, preserving takes of thr...