White Reaper
106 Musicians Predict the 2022 Baseball Season
The powers-that-be did their best to prevent this year’s Major League Baseball season from happening, but, alas, we’re back. By we, I mean the annual SPIN baseball preview. As usual, everyone (or almost everyone) is optimistic about their team’s chances in 2022. In 2021, a good chunk of the season was played with minimal fans in attendance, but things should be mostly back to normal this year. As I said last year about the season: Will it be weird? Probably. But aren’t they all? If it wasn’t a weird season with bizarre injuries, what kind of season would it be? Not baseball, Suzyn. Somehow, we almost doubled the number of participants from 62 to 105. Maybe we go for a cool 162 next year? If nothing else, we know that musicians love America’s Pastime (even if many feel that it doesn’t love ...
Our 21 Favorite Concerts of 2021
Ah, 2021 — the year live music (mostly) roared back. After 18 months of livestream drudgery, it felt like unicorns dancing on a rainbow every time someone so much as plugged in a guitar. It was a year of “post-vax concert stories,” where every show was a hard-won reunion, a triumphant homecoming, and a victory all at once. Strangest of all, it was the year when we found ourselves getting misty just being able to look out at a crowd, marveling at the gift of singing shoulder-to-shoulder with someone other than our cats. Okay, so we’re still a little sentimental. The point is, in a year when every show was a grand slam of catharsis and joy, it was slightly painful to narrow this list down. But after not getting to do one at all in 2020, we are ecstatic and proud to give you some of the highe...
30 Artists Reflect on 30 Years of Pearl Jam’sTen
The story has been told thousands of times, but it bears repeating: Pearl Jam should never have happened. The ’90s had just begun. In March 1990, the promising Seattle rock band Mother Love Bone was about to unveil their debut album. But on the eve of the release, the band’s lead singer, Andrew Wood, died tragically of a heroin overdose. His band members, guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament were blind-sided, devastated, and decided to end the band. Over the next few months, Gossard slowly found his way back to music. He made a few demos that landed in the hands of a surfer from San Diego via Chicago who got them from ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons. The surfer’s name was Eddie Vedder. The songs he sent back? “Alive,” “Once,” and “Footsteps.” Pearl Jam formed around t...
Watch Eddie Vedder Play With Josh Klinghoffer and Foo Fighters Perform With AC/DC’s Brian Johnson at Global Citizen’s VAX Live Event
On Saturday night, Global Citizen aired VAX Live: The Concert to Reunite the World — a virtual event aimed “to help end COVID-19 for all, end the hunger crisis, resume learning everywhere, protect the planet, and advance equity for all.” The hourlong show, hosted by Selena Gomez, kicked off with Eddie Vedder playing two songs with a backing band that featured former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer and the rhythm section of White Reaper. Together, they thrashed through a punky version of Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy track “Corduroy” and a cover of Little Steven Van Zandt’s 1984 anthem “I Am a Patriot.” “We need governments to stop stockpiling vaccines — and to share their excess doses. Now. We need pharmaceutical companies to provid...
62 Musicians Predict the 2021 Baseball Season
Somehow, some way, it’s baseball season again. Yes, already. Last year’s abbreviated run saw the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Tampa Bay Rays in six games to win their first World Series title in 32 years, something that Ben Gibbard predicted in our 2020 preview. As you can imagine, Dodgers fans — especially the ones below — are in great spirits heading into the 2021 season. So what does that mean about this year? Absolutely nothing. As COVID restrictions start to loosen and with more fans allowed back into stadiums, excitement is beginning to buzz, especially with our group of experts. Like last time, many are hopeful that this will be their team’s year. We searched far and wide to get predictions for the upcoming Major League Baseball season, creating a proper barometer of what these su...
