Back in the early 1980s, punk scenes started to develop in California. Bands like the Germs, Black Flag, X, and the Avengers took what they were doing seriously but appeared to be having more fun than punks from other cities. And one of the originals was Geza X.
Music videos are an interesting art form — they can be beautiful interpretations that reveal the inner meanings of the music, or they can make so little sense that they leave your brain feeling like scrambled eggs. We pay tribute to some of the biggest culprits in the latter category in this week’s Tuesday Ten.
Michael Jackson is swapping Neverland for Maryland. Doing his best to keep those bankruptcy rumors at bay, a rep for the dethroned King of Pop has confirmed that Jackson is currently house-hunting in the tony Chesapeake Bay region of the state. Jackson’s long-suffering publicist, Raymone Bain, told the Washington Post that the entertainer, accompanied by his three children, moonwalked over to the eastern shore “for about 24 hours” last week to scout out some vacation homes. “He’s always admired the properties on the East Coast because they have a lot of land,” Bain told the paper. “Neverland has 3,000 acres–he… Read more »
New York – San Diego veteran rockers, Unwritten Law return to the limelight with Here’s To The Mourning, the band’s long-awaited, new studio album which is scheduled for release on Lava Records February, 2005. Considered by many to be one of the founding fathers of the Southern California punk/skate scene, Unwritten Law continue to push the envelope while maintaining their credibility as one of the most successful bands to break out of the late 90’s SoCal arena. The band’s new album is undoubtedly one of the most highly anticipated, pure rock n’ roll records to be released in the New… Read more »
To hear No Doubt frontwoman Gwen Stefani tell it, she’s just a girl from Orange County following a dream. “I’m just like you, except I write songs,” Stefani says. “I feel like I’m doing something right. And right now, I feel like I’m in a good place in my life.” Indeed. Stefani – rock star, pop culture icon, fashion entrepreneur (clothing line L.A.M.B.), actress (Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator,” due in December), wife of Bush vocalist/guitarist Gavin Rossdale – is gearing up for the next chapter in a prolific career. Her solo debut album – or as she prefers to call… Read more »
Gwen Stefani’s getting a little help from a lot of friends on her upcoming solo record, but so far, her favorite pairing comes from one of her oldest friends of all – No Doubt bandmate Tony Kanal. Stefani’s not lacking for people to work with – if anything, she’s got enough names for several solo albums to span several different genres, with the Neptunes, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, Outkast, the Matrix, Linda Perry, Tim Armstrong, Nellee Hooper, the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart, Dallas Austin and Damon Elliott all among her known collaborators. The hodgepodge of songwriters and producers, though, was… Read more »
Liam Lynch was onstage about two minutes total, yet it was his song that best summed up Saturday’s 11-hour KROQ Weenie Roast. It was truly the “United States of Whatever.” As in, whatever goes. Good Charlotte unplugged, Pink got the party started with the Transplants, and Jane’s Addiction played unannounced, proving nothing was off-limits at the trend-setting radio station’s 11th annual summer festival. The lineup itself was a little bit of whatever, and certainly more diverse than last year’s “diet Ozzfest,” as Jack Osbourne called it. All three stages showcased a variety of bands, although it was surprisingly the main… Read more »
While Alice in Chains – whose singer, Layne Staley, was found dead Friday – influenced an incalculable number of bands, perhaps no one echoes their legacy like Godsmack. From Tony Rambola’s jarring bursts of guitar to Sully Erna’s angry, impassioned vocal delivery, Godsmack have sonically followed Alice in Chains’ lead while adding their own distinctive edge. To Erna, Staley was more than just part of the grunge foundation on which bands like Godsmack, Creed, Tantric and Puddle of Mudd built their sound. The Alice in Chains singer’s raw urgency vaulted the former drummer front and center before one of today’s… Read more »
Stevie Wonder was the surprise musical guest at the all-star Wave Of Peace smooth jazz fundraising show on Sunday (October 14) at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles. His appearance prompted an already highly charged audience to leap to its feet. Accompanying himself on piano during one of the last sets of the three-hour show, Wonder launched into some straight-ahead jazz variations on “Giant Steps” before playing compositions like “Overjoyed” and “Ribbon In The Sky.” Wonder was the only previously unannounced guest on a bill packed with smooth jazz greats. The event was organized by saxophonist Dave Koz and… Read more »
*NSYNC, Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion, and Britney Spears join traditional artists such as Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald on the upcoming holiday collection, Now That’s What I Call Christmas!, due October 23. The makers of America’s best-selling multi-artist album series Now That’s What I Call Music! get into the Christmas spirit with their first-ever holiday collection, which features 36 songs on two discs. Now That’s What I Call Christmas! was assembled through the combined efforts of Universal Music Group, the EMI Group, Sony Music, and Zomba Music. Universal Music Enterprises will release it. Complete tracklisting for… Read more »
