Each month, the editors and critics at Rolling Stone compile a list of our favorite new albums. Our picks from August include a bold return from the Killers, a return to reggaetón from Colombian star Maluma, a stripped-back sound from singer-songwriter Angel Olsen, and Katy Perry‘s latest pop-star reinvention. Angel …
Read More »The 10 Best Moments From Radiohead's Streaming Concert Series
In April, Radiohead began releasing an archival concert on YouTube each week, drawn from the decades-spanning material in their newly-launched Public Library. “We will be releasing one a week until either the restrictions resulting from current situation are eased, or we run out of shows,” the band said. “Which will …
Read More »Jarvis Cocker Will Never Give Up on Pop
Jarvis Cocker has built one of rock’s weirdest, wittiest, most fascinating careers. But he’s still not finished experimenting. In the Nineties, he crashed the British charts as the frontman of Pulp, turning into an unlikely sex god purring hits like “Common People” and “Disco 2000” on classics like Different Class. …
Read More »The Last Word: Judas Priest's Rob Halford on the Joys of Leather and 40 Years of 'Breaking the Law'
“There was a time when ‘heavy metal’ was a dirty word,” Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford says. “But we have always said that we fly the flag of British heavy metal. It’s something that we’re extremely proud of. We take it seriously.” For nearly half a century, Halford has been …
Read More »New Protest Anthems: Songs of the Uprising for George Floyd
In the wake of George Floyd‘s killing by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25th, streaming numbers for protest songs have soared. Vintage tracks like N.W.A’s “Fuck tha Police” that specifically call out police violence serve as a reminder that our current national crisis is nothing new. As Black Lives …
Read More »Rock's Greatest Sidewoman on What Springsteen Taught Her, Why Billy Joel Is the Perfect Boss
In 1989, Crystal Taliefero got a call from someone she knew from her days touring as a percussionist and backup singer in John Mellencamp‘s band. He wanted to know if she was available for a recording session in New York and a possible tour with another artist. “I said, ‘Sure. …
Read More »Flashback: The Kinks Debut With a Cover of Little Richard's 'Long Tall Sally'
In early 1964, a few months before “You Really Got Me” made the Kinks into stars, they released their debut single: a cover of Little Richard‘s “Long Tall Sally.” Like the Beatles, who also covered “Long Tall Sally” in 1964, the Kinks were captivated by the late rock & roll …
Read More »Life Without Live
Every night I dream about going out to hear music. The bands in my sleep are terrible, but I’m always sorry when I wake up and it’s over. The other night I dreamed I stood in a Brooklyn basement watching a god-awful punk band called “Bestie.” The singer pogo’d on …
Read More »Listen to Michael McDonald's Unexpectedly Timely Remake of Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On'
Certain songs are timeless in unexpected ways, which is surely the case with Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.” Recorded 50 years ago this June, the song — written by Gaye, Al Cleveland and Renaldo Benson — touched obliquely on the Vietnam War, civil rights, anti-war protests and those who “judge …
Read More »Song You Need to Know: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, 'She's There'
Melbourne, Australian, guitar ninjas Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever made a near-perfect indie-rock gem with 2018’s Hope Downs. They worked their own little sliver of history beautifully, essentially the airily melodic song poetry of the Go-Betweens or if they had R.E.M.’s melodic-but-driving rhythm section, or the twisty guitar weaves of Television …
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