On Tuesday morning, the Recording Academy revealed the full slate of nominations for the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. Over the past few tumultuous years, the Recording Academy has overseen changes in leadership and nominating procedures, with one more twist being announced just this morning before the nominations were unveiled: the Big Four general field categories […]
The things we treasure when we’re young are often the most formative. For me, it was a black Sanyo cassette/radio combination with one speaker and an appetite for D batteries. This little radio provided access to the world that would smother my overactive and chaotic mind: all request radio, an hour block of programming on […]
The first word that ever came out of my toddler son’s mouth was “Daddy.” Okay, okay…this might be wishful thinking. His first utterance of the allegedly 30,000 words he will learn in his lifetime was actually “Elmo.” It was one of his earliest attempts at language and most importantly, his first acknowledgment of another soul […]
In many ways, the folks who own and work in record stores are some of the most important keepers of recorded music history. Digital music helped wipe out the big chains. Thankfully we still have mom and pop indie shops. They’ve kept the torches burning for genres that predate streaming, for artists that never had […]
Most local music scenes start innocently enough, at least they did before the existence of the internet. Case-in-point, Seattle, a small city that was often skipped by touring bands in the early ’80s. If you lived there then, you would often have to drive to either Portland or Vancouver B.C. to see your favorite band […]
To understand the slippery nature of bliss, to glimpse a stress-free manifestation of fleeting euphoria, I would direct your attention to Bill Walton at a Grateful Dead concert. The ancient Buddhists called this state “the divine abode.” Modernity might consider the NBA Hall of Famer as having fallen into the zone – a serotonin-rich wonderland […]
After skipping a year due to the pandemic, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted its 2021 class with a wild, surprise-guest-filled party held in the town many argue is the ceremony’s only rightful home: Cleveland, Ohio. What a homecoming it was. Paul McCartney became a seventh Foo Fighter. LL Cool J, Eminem, and […]
Matt Sorum was sitting poolside with his wife when he got a text on his phone from legendary Motörhead bassist/singer Lemmy Kilmister. Lemmy was asking Sorum to fill in on drums for a run of Motörhead shows. In a self-conscious moment, Sorum texted Lemmy back, asking “why me.” “And Lemmy wrote back, ‘Because Dave Grohl’s […]
Sweaty little hands yearn my wife and I, with some urgency, towards the giant bouncy castle in the distance. The inflatable structure is jouncing wildly with the flailing kids inside, this, in spite of the scorching heat and smoky haze from the nearly 300 forest fires burning around British Columbia that day. Bubbles slowly drift […]
This story originally appeared in the February 1993 issue of Spin, which was partially written and guest-edited by members of the SNL cast. Read interviews and stories from comedy icons of the era–Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Tim Meadows, Lorne Michaels and others–in our package of highlighted stories from the issue. The word genius is thrown around ever so loosely nowadays, but in the case of Todd Rundgren, anyone familiar with […]