• Pop Goes the Weezer

    Is there any musician who digs pop music more than Rivers Cuomo? The Weezer frontman has professed his love for Debbie Gibson and Kiss; curated an Internet radio station that plays everything from Fall Out Boy to the Turtles; and spent the summer covering Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” in concert. Now, on his band’s seventh album, the awesomely titled Raditude, comes a cameo by Lil Wayne and a collaboration with Swedish bubblegum merchant Dr. Luke, whose most recent smash was Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.” A smash, incidentally, that Cuomo can’t stop listening to. “It’s a great song,” he gushes.

    Weezer have certainly come a long way since the nerdery of their early albums. These days you’re more likely to hear Cuomo singing about partying than (ugh) feelings—an evolution some fans have deemed insincere. But those detractors miss the point: For Cuomo, loving pop music is the most sincere thing in the world. “Weezer was always a pop band first,” he says. “Even our most abrasive music had a beautiful melody.” Nowadays when they cowrite a song with, say, hip-hop hit maker Jermaine Dupri (as they did on Raditude), it’s not to be ironic; it’s because Cuomo can’t resist a guilty pleasure. “If it moves you, it moves you,” he says. “To me that’s the definition of genuine.”

    Which is not to say Raditude is totally carefree. “Can’t Stop Partying” (the Lil Wayne, Jermaine Dupri track) is less a champagne-popping celebration than a sinister cautionary tale, and despite its vaguely douchey title, “I’m Your Daddy” was actually written about Cuomo’s infant daughter lying sick in a hospital bed. But now that he’s 39 and married, Cuomo says, “All the knots inside me are slowly unwinding.” Life is rad, and he just wants to kick back and have a little fun. And who could be mad at that?


  • EXCLUSIVE: The Story Behind Motley Crue's Classic "Girls, Girls, Girls" [Video]


    On the heels of the November 17th release of Motley Crue's Greatest Hits compilation, Mick Mars and Tommy Lee come clean about their 1987 strip-club anthem in this exclusive behind-the-scenes interview.

     


    See the original "Girls Girls Girls" video here.

     


  • Video Exclusive: Behind The Scenes of Lil Jon's "Give It All U Got"

    We got an exclusive sneak peek at making-of video for Lil Jon's new single "Give It All U Got" featuring Kee from his upcoming album entitled Crunk Rock. If you want to own your own lil piece o' Lil Jon, you can buy the song here.


  • 11 Awesomely Bad Pieces of Kenny Rogers Art

    He may not have had a hit in over a decade, but you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't think Kenny Rogers is a beloved cultural icon, not to mention a flat-out badass. Hell, after Elvis and Tony Montana, Kenny gets the velvet painting treatment the most often. Some of these attempts have turned out better than others, so with that in mind, here are 11 pieces of Gambler tribute art - velvet and beyond - that prove you gotta know when to walk away ... and when to run.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     


  • John Fogerty Releases Royal Albert Hall Concert on DVD (Exclusive Video)

    Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Fogerty's new DVD 'Comin' Down The Road: The Concert at Royal Albert Hall' will be released November 3 on Fortunate Son / Verve Forecast. The historic concert features Fogerty roaring through hits from both his solo career and his days leading Creedence Clearwater Revival.

    Fogerty said, "The Royal Albert Hall. It's hard to imagine that I am walking on to this stage that I left 37 years ago. I had no idea coming off that stage what was ahead me. I sure didn't know it would take so long to come back! Tonight is a celebration of my music and my personal revival. And when I walk off this stage tonight it will be with a happy heart."

    Fogerty's band includes Kenny Aronoff (drums), Billy Burnette (guitar), Jason Mowery (fiddle/mandolin), Matt Nolen (keyboards/guitar), Hunter Perrin (guitar), David Santos (bass). The concert also features guest appearances from John's sons Shane & Tyler on guitar.

    'Comin' Down The Road: The Concert at Royal Albert Hall' track listing:

    1. Comin' Down The Road
    2. Born On The Bayou
    3. Lookin' Out My Backdoor
    4. Rambunctious Boy
    5. Don't You Wish It Was True
    6. My Toot Toot
    7. Commotion
    8. Creedence Song
    9. Ramble Tamble
    10. Gunslinger
    11. I Will Walk With You
    12. Somebody Help Me
    13. Broken Down Cowboy
    14. Keep On Chooglin'
    15. Southern Streamline
    16. Blue Ridge Mountain Blues
    17. Almost Saturday Night
    18. Rock And Roll Girls
    19. Down On The Corner
    20. Hey Tonight
    21. Up Around The Bend
    22. Old Man Down The Road
    23. Fortunate Son
    24. Travelin' Band
    25. Rockin' All Over The World
    26. Proud Mary

     


  • Nirvana Live At Reading (VIDEO)


    On November 2 at 11pm ET, Fuse will televise the worldwide premiere of Nirvana Live at Reading, the band’s legendary, never-before-released 1992 Reading concert. The broadcast, marking the first time that Nirvana fans will experience the epochal August 30, 1992 headlining appearance at UK’s Reading Festival, contains nearly the entire Nevermind tracklist. Other noteworthy tracks are early performances of three as yet unrecorded songs which wouldn’t be released until 2 years later on In Utero: "All Apologies,” “Dumb,” and in its first ever public performance, “Tourettes."

    The career-spanning setlist also reached back to the band’s 1989 Sub Pop debut album, Bleach, for “Blew,” “About A Girl,” “School,” “Negative Creep” and first single “Love Buzz,” and even further back to the mid-‘80s for “Spank Thru.” Other songs from the Reading set would appear in studio form on the Incesticide compilation later in the year: “Aneurysm,” “Been A Son” and “Sliver.”

    Additionally, the band played a pair of beloved covers by two bands that helped shape the formative Nirvana sound– “The Money Will Roll Right In” by Fang and “D-7” by The Wipers.

    Nirvana Live at Reading will be issued in a limited edition CD+DVD Deluxe Edition as well as DVD-only and CD-only configurations mixed in 5.1 on November 3, 2009, followed by a 2-LP version on November 17, 2009. For more information visit, www.hereisnirvana.com



  • 12 Questions With Jon Spencer

    Jon Spencer has worn many hats over the years. First with D.C. noise and 'groovy hate fuck' combo Pussy Galore, then later with the punk/blues Boss Hog and of course his own eponymous Blues Explosion. And wherever Spencer goes, he always takes American roots music and dips it in a modern moonshine laced with a dash of punk.

     

    A natural destination on Spencer's musical travels has been rockabilly, which his project Heavy Trash explores with equal parts beauty and ferocity on Midnight Soul Serenade, their third full-length.

     

    Spencer took time to speak to Blender only a few hours before boarding a flight to Europe, calling us as he emerged from a New York City subway on an afternoon packed with last minute errands.

     

    How the hell are you?

    A little frazzled. We're leaving for a tour, flying to Portugal via Madrid—a hectic day. Frazzled, again, is the word.

     

    Do you like playing Europe?

    Yeah—it's awful nice. They seem to like us over there, and we get to see some pretty nice places.

     

    Pick five words to describe Midnight Soul Serenade.

    [Thirty-five second pause...]

    It's hard, because the words that come to mind are 'love,' 'devotion'... Uh... 'mature'?

    You know, I wouldn't make a good ad man. The words i should be saying are 'stupendous! fantastic!'

     

    Describe one of the highlights of making the album. Anything stand out?

    I enjoyed very much working with Alap Momin (aka Oktopus) from the group Dalek. We mixed a few songs with him at his studio in Union City, NJ. I got along well with him, we had a nice working relationship, and I think the songs we did with him that are on the record—"Isolation," "Sweet Little Bird," "In My Heart," and "Pill"—came out awful nice.


    What musician, living or dead, would you most like to collaborate with?

    For many years I wanted to do something with Tony Joe White. Tony Joe White is a singer-songwriter from the south... he was most famous for a song called "Polk Salad Annie" in the early '70s. He still writes and records. He's sort of the real version of John Fogerty; beautiful voice, great songwriter, and a great, funky blues guitar player. I've always held him in high regard.

     

    Besides you, who's had the best sideburns in rock?

    Besides me? Well, Tony Joe White's always had some nice sideburns.

     

    Is there a particular rockabilly artist that you draw inspiration from?

    My all time favorite rockabilly artist is Charlie Feathers, I think he was the greatest rockabilly guy ever. He was a Memphis musician who played rockabilly his whole life; devoted his life to rockabilly. He was around Sun Records in '55, and he claims to have taught Elvis everything. Just an incredible vocalist.

     

    What's the worst rock n' roll injury you've ever suffered?

    I cut my ear open at a Blues Explosion show somewhere I think in South Carolina. It was back in the '90s and we were playing with Southern Culture On The Skids. It was towards the end of our set, and I somehow got hit in the side of the head with the face of the microphone stand. It punctured and left a hole—a nice, neat hole—in my ear. There was a ton of blood, but I finished the set and then just walked to the hospital. The venue was close to the hospital; I just went over and got stitched up.

     

    What's your favorite city to play and why?

    When I first started out with Pussy Galore I was very enamored with Columbus, Ohio, and really all of those Ohio cities—Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. I enjoyed visiting those places early on, and made some good friends in those places.

    And these days, well, we did some shows in the Balkans. We did Ljubljana, Zagreb and Belgrade, and Belgrade was very nice. We played in this beautiful old building that had been many things over the years, including a secret police headquarters, or so we were told.

     

    Do you have a least favorite place?

    Least favorite? Well, England can be a little rough, you know? And we always seem to find ourselves there in November, or March. But the food's gotten a lot better... and so has the coffee.

     

    MP3s, digital files, music today... Thoughts?

    The way people consume music these days is OK with me. Technology has always been changing. The vinyl LP is not something that was carved in stone and brought down from the mountain, you know. There's always been changes in technology and the way people consume music. It's all OK with me!

     

    What's the rock n' roll dream?

    It's being able to play music. To go to Ljubljana, to go to Columbus, Ohio, to go to Manchester, England. To be able to make a record, to release a record, then do a tour.

    For me, I came out of hardcore, so it's all about responsibility; about trying to do things for yourself.

     

    Midnight Soul Serenade is out now.

     

    Heavy Trash 2009 Tour Dates

    * Appearing with Elliott Brood
    Tue 10/13/09 New York, NY @ Bowery Electric – CD release show! (w/Bad Girlfriend)
    Tue 10/20/09 New York, NY @ Santos’ Party House – CMJ showcase
    Wed 11/11/09 Cleveland, OH  @ Beachland Ballroom & Tavern
    Thu 11/12/09 Pontiac, MI  @ Pike Room
    Fri 11/13/09 Columbus, OH  @ The Summit
    Sat 11/14/09 Champaign, IL @ Cowboy Monkey
    Sun 11/15/09 Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
    Mon 11/16/09 Cincinnati, OH @ Northside Tavern
    Tue 11/17/09 Louisville, KY @ Vernon Club
    Wed 11/18/09 Nashville, TN @ The End
    Thu 11/19/09 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
    Fri 11/20/09 Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506 *
    Sat 11/21/09 Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern Cafe and Music Hall *
    Sun 11/22/09 Washington, DC @ DC9 *
    Mon 11/23/09 Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie *


  • VIDEO: A Drink with Sammy Hagar

    The "Red Rocker" talks about Cabo, his new band Chickenfoot and why he still can't drive 55.

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