It looks like there’s a Metallica and Elton John collaboration in the works. During the most recent episode of his Apple Music 1 show Rocket Hour, John told guest SG Lewis that he recorded “something” with the rock legends. “I’ve just done something with Metallica, he divulged. “During this lockdown period, I’ve been working with Gorillaz and people like […]
It’s become a cliché, even for post-Baby Boomers, to look back wistfully on the early ’70s as some kind of untouchable golden age for popular music. But when you survey all the era’s best albums in list form, it’s hard not to trust that instinct. I mean…holy shit. In 1971, the psychedelic era hadn’t completely […]
While Metallica preps their 11th studio album, Miley Cyrus is collaborating with A-listers for a cover album in homage to the metal behemoths. “I did a Metallica cover of ‘Nothing Else Matters’ featuring Elton John on piano. I’ve got Yo-Yo Ma, Chad Smith; so many all-stars. I’m so excited about this collaboration. I’m really stoked. I […]
COVID-19 brought the concert industry to a screeching halt in 2020. But all that disposable income music fans generally spend on concert tickets and tour merch has been redirected to the retail front: supporting artists and labels by shopping online during quarantine. And this holiday season brings an overwhelming amount of worthy box sets, books, […]
As fans lament the loss of live music during the nearly year-long pandemic, many who work in the live music business are struggling to survive. In a report published on Friday, music industry magazine Pollstar says that the live music business lost a projected $30 billion worldwide in 2020 It’s the first time in history where […]
Elton John is gearing up to release songs from his upcoming massive box set, and he’s gone deep into his archive to uncover songs that have never been publicly shared. That includes today’s unveiling of “Regimental Sgt. Zippo.” In introducing the song, John wrote on Twitter, “From the album that never was… Regimental Sgt. Zippo […]
In the 1980s, music and film collided for cross-promotional blockbusters both transcendent (Purple Rain) and transcendently cheesy (Footloose). In the ‘90s, soundtracks continued to sell in the millions, capturing cultural moments like the Seattle grunge of Singles or the Britpop and electronica of Trainspotting. Auteurs like Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson reached deep into their […]
Elton John has spoken out on the current state of modern pop music, and it’s not pretty. “Everybody else there’s four or five writers on (a track),” John told BBC Radio 6 Music. “You look at most of the records in the charts – they’re not real songs. They’re bits and pieces and it’s nice […]
This year may be a disaster for the music biz, but that doesn’t (obviously) mean that 2019 wasn’t. Last year, a number of artists made a shit-ton of money on the strength of touring. Billboard shared its ranking of last year’s highest-paid musicians, and the Rolling Stones top the list. The band made $65 million last year, including […]
Lady Gaga is one of those artists you wish wasn’t such a crowd-pleaser, because her crowd is often wrong. And maybe we’d play it safe too if our most sonically adventurous album garnered the nickname Artflop. But ever since 2013’s absurd, problematic, and musically astonishing Artpop didn’t meet commercial expectations (despite reaching no. 1 and […]