Archive: 2010

Guitarist Marc Ribot appeals to an eclectic taste, producing music characterized in no small way by his long standing relationship with John Zorn and the Lower East Side freak jazz scene, and his Ceramic Dog post-punk noise band. Some of his best and most accessible work, however, is with comrades in that downtown universe, Medeski, […]

Over on the HeadCount blog, Phish: The Biography author Richard Gehr recently posted the highlights of his conversation with Phish: The Biography author Parke Puterbaugh. These fine writers have probably spent more time interviewing the band and the extended Phish family than anyone else and they have both covered music for Rolling Stone and other […]

Part singer-songwriter, part soul singer, Bill Withers occupied an interesting space in the 1970s as an unconventional African-American artist that sang social conscious songs that straddled the lines between funk, soul and folk. Best known for songs like Lean On Me, Use Me and Ain’t No Sunshine and his two seminal albums Still Bill and […]

For the second time in as many years, Mad Men star Jon Hamm served as the host for Saturday Night Live for arguably their strongest episode of the season. While last year’s highlight was Jon Hamm’s John Hams, this year he was paired with night’s musical guest retro-crooner Michael Buble for this hilarious sketch for […]

One of the greatest rock albums of all time is the focus of Classic Albums when the series takes a look at The Who’s Who’s Next (Tuesday, 5PM – VH1 Classic). Learn how Pete Townshend’s Lifehouse project evolved into this masterpiece…and of course the story behind the controversial cover that showed the quartet taking a […]

Friday ended another fast and furious week on Hidden Track as we presented a full slate of features, columns and news stories.  For this week’s Cover Wars, DaveO looked at one of the most covered songs of this new year, Neil Young’s Harvest Moon. In fact, Josh Groban covered the tune on Friday at the […]

It's a pleasure to watch a band develop as songwriters, recording artists and performers, especially if their audience grows along with them. January 28th is the first time Dr. Dog's commanded the stage in Higher Ground's Ballroom rather than it's smaller Showcase Lounge and the audience filled the larger room comfortably. And happily too.

Amidst continuing reports of other singers being approached to front Aerosmith, Steven Tyler and his handlers are taking steps to reassert his position in the band. Tyler’s Los Angeles-based attorney, Skip Miller, fired off a letter to Aerosmith manager Howard Kaufman last week, independently obtained by Billboard.com, requesting that Aerosmith’s management "immediately cease and desist […]

Scott Kannberg isn’t known for baring his soul.  As a co-founder of Pavement, Kannberg – better known as Spiral Stairs – was a major part of the whole tongue-in-cheek, ironic aura that surrounded the band.  With songs like “Date with Ikea” and “Passat Dream,” Kannberg’s music with Pavement was anything but introspective.  And, after Pavement split in 1999, Kannberg started Preston School of Industry, which was a break from his past in some ways, but still relatively light on soul searching.

Neil Young won his first-ever Grammy Award tonight (January 31) for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package. This was the first-ever Grammy for the veteran rocker whose career has spanned almost half a century and who has bad-mouthed the awards ceremony for years.Young shared the award with his co-art directors Gary Burden and Jenice […]