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The Guitar in #1 Hits of the 80s: 1980-84
by Michael Rays What role has the guitar played in America’s #1 hit songs? Over several years, I have analyzed each Billboard #1 song of the rock ‘n’ roll era, starting in 1955 with “Rock Around the...
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The Other Side of the Pen: Songs About Songwriters
by Jim Allen Singer/songwriters can be a self-examining lot, and plenty of their songs are about the face staring back from the mirror. But once in a while, they expand their focus to include their...
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Redefining the Influence of The Rolling Stones
by Jacob Lewin The Rolling Stones have long been heralded as the greatest rock and roll band of all time. This opinion is so widespread and so accepted that it has virtually become fact. Their impact...
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Lou Reed’s ‘New York’: The Reissue
by Eoghan Lyng Lou Reed was that strange contradiction: a bona fide man of the world, yet one who never felt as comfortable writing about anywhere but his hometown. U2’s Bono recognized Reed’s...
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Vince Taylor: Inspiration to a Few, Forgotten by Many
by Mark Daponte There have been songs covered so well by other musicians that listeners are shocked when they hear its original version…or learn that there even was an original version. R.E.M....
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The Influence of British Art Schools on Rock
By Steven Valvano Not all influential British musicians attended art college before making it big; some did as a way to bide time while developing their music. Others took their courses seriously...
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David Bowie and That One Damn Song (Five Years Later)
By Don Klees It’s been five years since that Monday morning in 2016 and the news report that nearly knocked me out of bed. I’d been living with – and loving – the new David Bowie album all weekend,...
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‘John Lennon: 1980 Playlist’– A Master’s Musical Taste
By Ellen Fagan The canon of books on The Beatles is ever-growing. The latest one in the pipeline tightens the lens on our favorite “working-class hero.” John Lennon: 1980 Playlist, written by music...
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David Bowie and That One Damn Song (Five Years Later)
by Don Klees It’s been five years since that Monday morning in 2016 and the news report that nearly knocked me out of bed. I’d been living with – and loving – the new David Bowie album all weekend,...
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Starman Lullaby (A Kid’s Intro to David Bowie)
Child sit down, I’ll tell you a story. There’s a Starman, waiting in the sky. He’s known as the great David Bowie, And he’ll sing you a lullaby. A man of self-reinvention, Icon of androgyny. A master...
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How To Talk To Your Kids About Bowie
Parents, have you gotten the look of concern? The interrogation, “what’s with the crying all day? And are you going to take that lightning bolt off your face?” If not, it’s probably time to prepare...
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When Johnny Kidd Was the Man
By Mark Daponte Way before Adam Ant could shiver any timbers while wearing pirate regalia, there was an earlier rockin’ piratical version called Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. Kidd wouldn’t be seen on...
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What Tom Petty Taught Me About Girls
By Bill Flanigin Rock and Roll heroes have been leaving this world. Gregg Allman, David Bowie, Prince, Glenn Frey, Dusty Hill, Charlie Watts, Tom Petty. Glenn Frey’s passing stung, but Tom Petty’s...
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Catching Up With Glen Matlock: Still a ‘Pistol’
By Eoghan Lyng “I did an interview with Bob Geldof a few weeks ago,” says singer-songwriter Glen Matlock. “I like Bob a lot, he’s a good bloke, but it’s hard to get a word in edgeways. There are...
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They Are the Champions: ‘The A-Z of Queen’
By Eoghan Lyng Although it’s been thirty years since Queen unveiled an album of new material, their popularity only continues to rise, as evinced by Magnifico!: The A-Z of Queen. Mark Blake’s...
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The Hunger
I hate myself and I want to die. That’s what I woke up to every day in the winter of 1994-95. A massive poster of Kurt Cobain with one of his favorite quotes adorning the lower third of it. It hung on...
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Have Yourself a Very Gen-X X-mas (But I Think I’ll Miss This One This Year)*
*Trigger Warning: Contains many inside jokes and references that only Gen-Xers will understand. Growing up in the 70s, the Christmas season kicked off pretty early—basically the day the Sears Wishbook...
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What Was the US Festival and Where Did It Go?
By Amy Hughes Before Lollapalooza, Coachella, and Bonnaroo, there was The US Festival. A coming together of music and technology that had success written all over it. What then has pushed this...
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It’s About Time: A New Year Begins
I first heard of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, while in High School, where I became a proud member and later graduated summa cum nothing of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Most of my...
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A David Bowie Story: “Here’s a Mask. It’s Magic. Invisible. Put It On…”
NEIL GAIMAN tells this story. I published it long ago as a Short Take, at the bottom of the main screen. I think about it often, more now than I used to. And I thought: At a time when there is so...
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