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Spins: Rush ⢠Permanent Waves 40th Anniversary
Rush Permanent Waves (40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition) (Anthem/Mercury/UMe) With the passing of beloved drum virtuoso Neil Peart early this year, the days are gone when Rush fans can anticipate new music from the Canadian progressive rock heroes. However, itâs a great time to celebrate Peartâs memory and rediscover the bandâs rich catalog. The trio […]
Hello, My Name Is… Butch Walker
Mega-producer and solo artist Butch Walker fully understands the dire scope of our current coronavirus pandemic, which is forcing folks all over the world to shelter in claustrophobic place while the worst passes. But â truth be told â heâs noticed no tangible difference in his day to day Malibu activities, he swears. âIâm at […]
Featured: Jay O’Rourke Band
Like many musicians releasing music during the pandemic, Jay O’Rourke had different plans before the virus hit. His bandâs new 5âsong EP was originally scheduled as a full-length album, but COVID-19 changed all that. The acclaimed guitaristâs third release in four years shows heâs incredibly prolific. Boom Daddy Boom continues a course he charted on […]
Media – June 2020
Marc Silverman was already having a tough go of it, trying to do a sports talk radio show (Waddle & Silvy, afternoons, ESPN Radio AM 1000) in a time with no live sports, when he began to suspect there might be something wrong with his health. âI didnât really have any symptoms. I wasnât feeling […]
Spins: Local H ⢠LIFERS
LOCAL HLIFERS(AntiFragile) Twenty-five years after their debut, Scott Lucasâ Local H continues to defy the odds – not only by producing aggressive music that still matters but by being a band that appeals to both city and suburban crowds. Their musical magnetism continues to be strong across both musical spectrums, and thatâs no small feat. […]
Media – May 2020
The Mix Morning show (WTMX, 101.9FM) is now officially called Eric in the Morning with Melissa and Whip. After an unprecedented run of success during morning drive time in Chicago, everyone knows Eric Ferguson, the star of the show. Most also know Melissa McGurren, a trusted co-host for many years. But who in the world […]
Cover Story: Lucinda Williams
Many artists â when looking back on their catalogs â often wish that they could have done better, compositionally speaking. Hindsight, of course, is 20/20. But when Grammy-winning folk-rocker Lucinda Williams undertook her comprehensive tour last year, celebrating the 20th anniversary of her landmark third Car Wheels on a Gravel Road effort, she never once […]
Q&A: Randy Blythe from Lamb of God
D. Randall Blythe â Randy to friends and family â understands that it doesnât quite fit his profile as the dreadlocked, feral-throated frontman for molten metal outfit Lamb of God. But this Virginian doesnât care. Right now, at this perilous point in time, and after everything heâs survived â including detention in a Czech Republic […]
Sweet Home – April 2020 ⢠Blues Rona Playlist
A Blues Rona Playlist These are challenging times as the Covid-19 pandemic has touched all corners of the globe, all countries, and all societies. The quarantine forces us inside to piece together new routines around an uncertain situation. Music has always been a refuge in fearful circumstances, and blues literally evolved from pain, so thereâs […]
Spins: Stephen Malkmus ⢠“Traditional Techniques”
Stephen Malkmus Traditional Techniques (Matador Records) When Pavement first entered the rock scene nearly 30 years ago, they stood out like a sore thumb. While they were lo-fi, they werenât punk, and while they had pop melodies, those were buried under tape hiss and inside jokes. Frontman Stephen Malkmus never went for a stylistic makeover, […]
Spins: Greg Dulli ⢠“Random Desire”
Greg Dulli Random Desire (Royal Cream/BMG) Calling this âthe first solo albumâ by The Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli isnât technically truthful â unless itâs a deliberate attempt to erase 2005âs Amber Headlights altogether. Whether first or second, it was time for another musical road less traveled for Dulli. Surviving way longer than most rock […]
Spins: Pearl Jam ⢠“Gigaton”
Pearl Jam Gigaton (Monkeywrench/Republic) Pearl Jamâs timing for the end of the world record is impeccable. The Seattle-based quartetâs recorded output has been stalled for nearly seven years, and apparently, they have some shit they want to get off their chests. The bandâs eleventh record, Gigaton, also finds its members looking for new ways to […]
Media – April 2020
Steve Darnall remembers the exact moment he became obsessed with old time radio. âIt was 1977, and I was driving in the car with my dad. I asked him to turn on the radio, and he turned on Chuck Shaydenâs program, which aired old-time shows from the Golden Age of Radio. Dad told me that […]
Cover Story – Best Coast
Best Coast anchor Bethany Cosentino admits that her duoâs chiming new Always Tomorrow set, it’s fourth, just might be the Feel-Good Album of the Year. But in retrospect, she only wishes that she at first didnât have to feel so incredibly bad just to compose it. And she isnât waxing poetic when she describes the […]
Cover Story: Green Day
On the most instinctual gut level, Billie Joe Armstrong gets it. No question. A la cinematic director Godfrey Reggioâs 1983 visual masterpiece Koyaanisqatsi, life â nationally and around the world â has tipped completely, horribly, maybe irrevocably out of balance. On one recent day alone, the headlines said it all: Freakish, climate-change-spurred floods are swamping […]
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