Posts by Zach Johnson

Ever wonder what would happen if you combined groovy sludge-metal, haunting Bowie-esque vocals/ballads, hardcore punk/thrash, chaotic psychedelia, a dash of black metal, a pinch of industrial, and some of the most disturbingly poetic and remarkably dark lyrics ever committed to tape? Well, that already happened, courtesy of legendary Louisiana death-rock band Acid Bath, who only […]

Over the years, Tom Waits has made a name for himself by exploring the dark underbelly of American society and culture, telling evocative tales of dimly lit bars, seedy back alleys, and all the unsavory characters that go along with it. With his distinctly raspy, gravelly voice, he’s always had the uncanny ability to suck […]

While October may be synonymous with Halloween for most folks, the beginning of the month doesn’t always feel like Halloween, per se. Indeed, it’s still relatively warm most places, fall foliage hasn’t kicked-in yet, and although nights are technically longer than days now, you don’t really notice it this early in the month. So, as […]

Much like the nuclear weapons program they were named after, Operation Ivy was a combustible band that burned hot, bright, and all too briefly back in the late 80s before officially breaking up in 1989. Through their legendary live shows at Berkeley’s famed 924 Gilman Street, they effectively established what would become known as the […]

New wave was always an inherently weird genre of music. It could often be cold, icy, eccentric, and avant-garde in nature. So, it only makes sense that it would flourish in the coldest and iciest of places, as this remarkably bizarre video from Soviet-era Russia aptly demonstrates. We honestly can’t tell you a lot about […]

After two consecutive days of scorching temperatures, the skies opened up for the final day of Riot Fest, bringing a soaking rain to Chicago Sunday morning and most of the early afternoon as well. But, of course, that did nothing to dampen the spirits of the scores of fans who came pouring (pardon the pun) […]

Another equally toasty day greeted the masses who descended upon Chicago’s Douglas Park Saturday for a new day of action-packed music and attractions at Riot Fest. After a fun-filled Friday highlighted by legendary hip-hop groups, Saturday promised to be equally memorable, with some fantastic artists and bands from the world of alternative rock scheduled to […]

In a world packed with homogeneous festival lineups, a few still deliver on original billings and relish in delivering worthwhile reunions and staring far away from anything Pop, EDM, or trendy.  Big blue skies, sunshine (perhaps overly abundant), and borderline sizzling temperatures greeted the masses for the inaugural day of Riot Fest in Chicago’s beautiful […]

Continuing our spotlight on Riot Fest this week, does anyone else remember when Beck was weird? In fairness, you’d be forgiven if you’ve forgotten, especially considering the dude has effectively been in full-on popstar mode since the release of 2017’s Colors. But back when Beck first burst onto the alternative-rock scene 3 decades ago with […]

Sticking with our Riot Fest-themed selections in the run-up to the festival this weekend (stay tuned for daily recaps from Glide), for today’s Tuesday’s Gone, we’re throwing it back to 1992 with this rad performance from Pavement, who are scheduled to take the stage Saturday evening. Since their breakup in 1999, they have only reunited […]

To help get everyone rightfully stoked for the return of Riot Fest in Chicago later this week (which Glide will be covering), we’ll be showcasing some classic performances from a few select artists scheduled to appear this year. And while there is no shortage of visceral acts on tap this weekend, it would be hard […]

It’s interesting how anniversaries of significant historical events can trigger memories of the music you were listening to. For example, this writer happened to be bumping Tame Impala’s The Slow Rush quite a bit during March 2020, so that album is now forever synonymous with those surreally dystopian days when COVID hit the fan. And […]

Dinosaur Jr. is a band that proved to be hugely influential to the alternative rock explosion that occurred in the 90s. Still, despite releasing plenty of critically acclaimed material over the years and being well respected in the scene they helped create, they never exactly hit the “big time” so to speak. Indeed, there always […]

There was a brief time, back in the mid-late 90s, when electronica acts started experimenting with harder-edged sounds and more aggressive rhythms, which often led to some explosively awesome results. And nobody did that better than The Prodigy, led by Liam Howlett and the late great Keith Flint, who often brought a distinctly frenetic punk-rock […]

Rounding out our pseudo-tribute to Labor Day this week, we offer up this peculiar performance from the perpetually peculiar Devo, covering the Lee Dorsey classic “Working in a Coal Mine”. Here we find Devo faithfully performing their distinctive vision of the song, on a literal coal mine set decked out in full miner attire. Indeed, […]

For most people, it’s back to work and school today after a long Labor Day weekend. And, not to pour salt on that wound or anything, but today’s Tuesday’s Gone selection seems like a fitting soundtrack for such an occasion, a sobering yet somewhat amusing reminder of the circle of life if you will. But […]

For a special Labor Day edition of Manic Monday, we’re paying tribute to all those hardworking people out there who unfortunately do not have today off. Indeed, for those folks, it could be said that Labor Day “Ain’t No Picnic”, so this classic video from the Minutemen goes out to them. R.I.P. D. Boon: “Working […]

For yesterday’s edition of Manic Monday, Kurt Cobain snarled about the angst of his school days, but on the other side of the coin, plenty of people remember their school days quite fondly.  Indeed, a little school nostalgia isn’t always a bad thing, as high school, in particular, could admittedly be a lot of fun […]

Although the back half of August is usually getting into the final “homestretch” of summer in most places, by this time, all that cumulative sticky-icky heat and humidity can start to take a toll, especially in the concrete jungles found in big cities like Chicago or New York for example. Whether or not the urban […]

Everybody knows The Clash was one of the most critically acclaimed and highly influential punk bands ever. Everybody knows the hits like “Train In Vain”, “London Calling”, “Rock the Casbah”, and “Should I Stay or Should I Go” (just to name a few), but The Clash of course had plenty of outstanding deep-cuts as well. […]