Available for research, band bios, liner notes, marketing copy. Early rock and roll / classic rock / punk / NYC. Most recent book: WHY PATTI SMITH MATTERS.
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Live at the Fillmore (1997)
Compiled from a marathon run of shows at the Fillmore Auditorium, this live set is a joyful, relaxed, and abundant journey through Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ personal rock’n’roll history.
Patti Smith’s Worldview Finds a New Format in the Beautiful A Book of Days
The first image Patti Smith posted on Instagram in 2018 was a photograph of her hand, palm up, fingers outstretched, a thin gold band at the base of her middle finger; it was set against a white wall with a narrow line of wainscotting along the right side and a small crack in the bottom right corner. The gesture could have been swearing an oath or waving hello or perhaps meant to serve as both. The caption simply read, “Hello Everybody!,” her favorite way to greet the internet.
Artist residencies used to be a punch line. Adele shows who gets the last laugh now.
After being abruptly postponed in January, Adele’s Las Vegas residency, “Weekends With Adele,” made its debut at Caesar’s Palace on Friday. Adele highlights how it’s been transformed into an artistic achievement, why it’s never going away and reminds us how Las Vegas made residencies cool.
‘My Hometown Thought I Was a Freak’
Agnostic Front, Cro-Mags, Warzone, Murphy’s Law, Bad Brains. Ancient band names, at this point as legendary and distant as Ozymandias. But in the early 1980s, when the smoke cleared from the remnants of first-wave New York City punk rock, another self-made scene evolved: New York hardcore (or NYHC, as its adherents referred to it).
Review: Bruce Springsteen's Only The Strong Survive
In 2003, Bruce Springsteen was still doing Christmas shows in what was still a deserted Asbury Park. If you went to AP back in the pre-gentrification era, you probably remember that feeling of stepping into a time machine.
All 234 U2 Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best
On the occasion of the release of U2’s 14th studio album, Songs of Experience, it is worth noting how remarkable it actually is that this band has remained a going concern for over 40 years, since Larry Mullen Jr. put up a notice at Mount Temple Comprehensive School: “Drummer seeks musicians to form band.”
Against the Odds: 1974 - 1982
A new archival box set collecting Blondie’s first six albums and assorted rarities and outtakes makes the case for their singular presence in American music.
Patti Smith Only Cares About Doing The Work
"Why Patti Smith Matters" author Caryn Rose on the 75-year-old icon and the attitude that frees her mind for endless creativity.
Why the Sex Pistols Still Matter
The Sex Pistols didn't invent punk rock. That honor goes to American upstarts at CBGB. But the Pistols deserve—and accept—the blame for bringing it to the ’burbs. When a teen turns up with spiky hair, a dog collar,and a leather jacket, the response is “What are you, the Sex Pistols?” It’s a generic term now, like Xerox or Kleenex. The band blazed that trail. With flamethrowers.
Why The Supremes Deserve To Be Held In The Same Regard As The Beatles
What if you found out that there was another group who achieved twelve No. 1 singles, who knocked The Beatles out of the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 100 not once but three times?
Everyone Wanted to Be Like Ronnie Spector
The first time Ronnie Spector, who passed away this week at age 78 after a short bout with cancer, altered the course of music history it was as the central voice of the essential 1960s girl group the Ronettes. With hair teased up to the heavens, dramatic black eyeliner, and skintight outfits, the Ronettes — the name the family act stuck with after stints as the Darling Sisters and then Ronnie and the Relatives — transcended the art of hitmaking. They set trends. What was originally a gimmick...
RONNIE SPECTOR, WE WILL ADORE YOU 'TIL ETERNITY
Remebering Ronnie's mid-'70s ride down E Street
The Simple Genius of Charlie Watts, As Told Through 6 Classic Rolling Stones Songs
His most memorable moments with the Stones aren’t five-minute drum solos, but rather small, precise elements that could only have been created by Charlie Watts.