The Welsh singer has been dropped as a coach on the BBC’s talent show ‘The Voice’. He claims that it occurred with “no consultation or conversation of any kind” and called being kept out of the loop by the show’s bosses as “sub-standard behaviour”. His replacement, Boy George of Culture Club, will join Paloma Faith (acting as a replacement for Rita Ora), Ricky Wilson and Will.i.am as the celebrity coaches on the upcoming 5th series of The Voice.
Nirvana – Nevermind
With new drummer Dave Grohl in tow, Nirvana released Nevermind and went from being young upstarts in an underground scene to being the biggest band in the world. With songs like “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, “Come As You Are” and “Lithium”, the band was at their most inviting and radio friendly. This is the album that made Kurt Cobain a larger-than-life figure and the voice of a generation.
Pearl Jam – Ten
Pearl Jam were the most commercial and mainstream band in Grunge, but the duelling guitar interplay between Mike McCready and Stone Gossard and Eddie Vedder’s deep powerful voice silenced any doubt that they were the real deal. Their debut album Ten has remained their most loved and successful album, featuring the hit tracks “Alive”, “Black”, “Jeremy” and “Even Flow”.
Alice In Chains – Dirt
It’s a miracle that Dirt was even made what with all the drugs. Unsurprisingly the band’s music had become darker, focussing on depression, addiction and death. The hit songs “Would?”, “Rooster” and “Down In A Hole” showcase the band at their very best. Tragically frontman Layne Staley would later die from a heroin overdose, but he left a lasting impression with this incredible album.
Soundgarden – Superunknown
Following the success of their previous album Badmotorfinger, Soundgarden sought to experiment and explore a wider range of influences. Superunknown features alternate tunings, odd time signatures and Eastern tinges that took Grunge to new places. It’s perhaps most evident in their biggest hit, the surreal “Black Hole Sun”.
Canadian prog gods Rush have played what may possibly be their last ever concert, at The Forum in LA, the final stop of their 40th anniversary tour. The show included the seldom performed track ‘Losing It’ and a performance of ‘Xanadu’ featuring classic double neck guitars. A star studded crowd featuring members of Tool, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Foo Fighters assembled to see the band play a show packed with songs from their expansive back catalogue. Rush are hesitant to call ‘R40’ their farewell tour but they have gone on record saying it will be their “last tour of this magnitude”.
Lollapalooza festival has been put on hold due to adverse weather conditions. Following a severe thunderstorm warning for the city of Chicago, attendees were evacuated from the festival grounds. It is currently unclear when the festival will resume and how the scheduling will be affected.
It is one of the single most famous moments in the history of music. On the 25th July 1965, Bob Dylan made a spontaneous decision to play with an electric backing band at the Newport Folk Festival. His set, which included the first ever public performance of ‘Like A Rolling Stone’, was met by both cheering and booing. Folk traditionalists were shocked by the fact that Dylan, who was a key creative force in folk music and was considered the voice of a generation, would move away from his roots in writing acoustic, political themed songs.
I’m only human, and despite my best efforts to provide frequent and diverse reviews unfortunately sometimes good albums fall through the cracks. Here’s a couple of gems from earlier in the year that I wanted to share with you. Continue reading
