Basslines and Protest Signs is Brett Callwood’s column looking at the intersection of music and politics. This week highlights Napalm Death’s album Scum.
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.
To celebrate Twitter’s tenth birthday, here are some of our favorite tweets of the decade.
The ten year anniversary of Elliott Smith’s death sparks a(n often emotional) remembrance of his life.
The years between 2000 and 2009 were very good for Beyoncé, ‘NSYNC, Michael Jackson and Nickelback, according to figures released by the Recording Industry Association of America on Wednesday.
Berkeley, Calif. pop-punk trio Green Day has grabbed Rolling Stone’s number-one spot for best single, best album and top artist of the decade.
The untimely death in 1996 of 33-year-old pop/jazz singer Eva Cassidy struck a deep chord with Chuck Brown. Washington, D.C.’s godfather of go-go had teamed with Cassidy on the 1995 release “The Other Side.” “After we lost her, I didn’t want to do anymore studio work,” Brown said. But cajoling from songwriter/producer Chucky Thompson and business manager Tom Goldfogle changed Brown’s tune. “We’re About the Business” (due April 24 from Raw Venture) is the musician’s first set of primarily original material since Cassidy’s death. That’s not all. Rapper Eve samples his No. 31 1974 R&B hit “Blow Your Whistle” on… Read more »
Los Angeles – Nearly 10 years into his career, Xzibit is on a roll. Now in the second season of hosting the popular MTV series “Pimp My Ride,” the West Coast rapper is busy promoting his fifth album, “Weapons of Mass Destruction,” which Columbia will release Dec. 14. His acting chops are also getting a workout. His cameo in Eminem’s “8 Mile” has segued into a role alongside Ice Cube in the upcoming “XXX” sequel, “XXX State of the Union.” Xzibit also has a part in the forthcoming Jennifer Aniston/Clive Owen suspense thriller, “Derailed.” While he enjoys the wider audience… Read more »
W. Axl Rose will exhibit his appetite for reconstruction when Guns N’ Roses re-emerge for their first U.S. tour in nine years with many new band members and a batch of new material. The first date of the group’s trek will be November 7 in Vancouver at General Motors Place. An additional 25 dates have been announced, the last of which will be December 21 in Dallas at the American Airlines Center. More shows will be booked in the coming weeks. Guns N’ Roses, who have been out of the U.S. spotlight for the past decade, performed on television for… Read more »
Bust-ups, divorce and family feuds have kept British rock band Oasis and the battling Gallagher brothers in the news as much as their music. But as Oasis nears its 10th anniversary, guitarist Noel Gallagher told Thursday’s Evening Standard newspaper that despite their well-publicized rows, his relationship with Liam was one of the few constants in his life. “Slowly but surely, my personal life started falling apart and all I had left was my brother and my band,” Gallagher told the paper. “And I thought, ‘well I’m not giving that up because that’s Our Kid and that’s my band. Why should… Read more »
