From 1969 to 1979, a series of field recordings appeared on the Atlantic label under the title Environments. Song titles included “The Psychologically Ultimate Seashore” and “Dawn in New Hope, Pennsylvania” (which would have made a dynamite title for a Ween album), presenting painstakingly recorded sonic representations of places and the sound-worlds they produce. The […]
Following a triumphant six-date tour of sold-out North American stadiums, System of a Down will play seven more dates in Europe next summer, beginning June 29 in Stockholm. Queens of the Stone Age and Acid Bath will support through a July 18 finale in Warsaw. The Serj Tankian-led group is planning an additional special show […]
It’s hard to explain if you weren’t there. I was there, though. It was one of the few times that I was there for one of those things you had to be there for. It was 2010-ish, in the steaming-hot basement of the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, a landmark venue for the city’s music […]
Westerns feel good, feel right, in volatile, contested times. But not just any Westerns — not kitsch dross like Joel Souza’s Rust, which even a real-life blood curse can’t make matter. No: we’re talking feral sagas of de-civilization which burn like a dirty-ass Book of Job, scorched to the bone with Job’s question, “Why did […]
“I’ve always felt ageless,” Debbie Gibson tells me, two days after her 55th birthday, adding that she’s “embracing” her age and loves seeing other “seasoned” women in her industry finally get their due. In a plain white tank, she’s the definition of natural beauty, owning midlife as we all hope to, with confidence, warmth, and […]
Lady Gaga has extended her MAYHEM Ball tour into next year with 21 new North American arena shows. Coming in support of her latest Interscope album, MAYHEM, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and has spawned several hit singles, the fresh leg starts Feb. 14-15 in Glendale, Az., and runs through April 9-10 in Saint Paul, Mn. […]
No one’s having more fun at the Aces’ Gold Star Baby record release party than the band themselves. On the Saturday Night Fever-style light block dancefloor at Los Angeles’ Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, vocalist Cristal Ramirez, her sister and drummer Alisa Ramirez, guitarist Katie Henderson, and bassist McKenna Petty throw shapes while singing along to […]
Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and has a handful of public screenings through Sept. 14, needs a subtitle, like “Why Elvis Was The King?”. The Elvis busts, Elvis impersonators, velvet Elvis, Elvis weddings, gaudy Graceland interior décor, later-life health struggles, pill dependency, […]
BABYMETAL came out of Tokyo in 2010 as an audacious mutation of Japanese pop and muscular heavy metal. With a very young Su-metal singing up front, and two other females dancing beside her, the band was both a curiosity and a genuine sensation, with songs that were both crushing and playful. By 2012, BABYMETAL had […]
Before the chimes of his doorbell stop echoing, Sebastian Bach throws open the front door of his Las Vegas home. His 6’4” frame fills the doorway, his iconic voice as recognizable when he speaks as when he sings. “You want some coffee??” he bellows, then runs in socked feet to the open-plan kitchen to make […]