25 Years Ago Today – High On Fire Released Debut Album ‘The Art of Self Defense’
25 years ago today (3/7/00), High on Fire released their debut album, The Art of Self Defense. The debut immediately established the band as a force in the sludge/stoner metal scene. Formed by Matt Pike after the dissolution of Sleep, High on Fire took the heavy, riff-driven sound he was…
55 Years Ago Today- The Temptations Abandon Motown Sound On ‘Psychedelic Shack’ LP (Listen to “War”)
Today, 55 years ago (3/6/70), The Temptations released their twelfth album, Psychedelic Shack. The album marks a drastic shift from the vocal group’s previous familiar Motown sound for something that hits on rock cylinders with help from guitars, synths, and pounding drums. The instrumentation on the album is credited to…
Happy 55th Birthday John Frusciante
Happy 55th birthday to guitarist, composer, and producer John Frusciante (born 3/5/70), who is now on his third stint with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Aside from serving as the Chili Peppers’ guitarist during their most commercially and critically successful periods, Frusciante is also a buoyant and prolific musician and…
30 Years Ago Today – Mike Watt Releases First Solo Album ‘Ball-Hog or Tugboat?’
30 years ago today (2/28/95), bassist Mike Watt of Minutemen and Firehose released his first solo album, Ball-Hog or Tugboat?, with an all-star team of guest musicians including Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, Flea, Henry Rollins and Frank Black. Vedder and Grohl join his band for the subsequent tour. Watch the…
30 Years Ago Today – PJ Harvey Releases Third Studio Album ‘To Bring You My Love’ (Watch Glastonbury ’95)
30 years ago today (2/27/95), PJ Harvey released her third studio album To Bring You My Love. It is arguably one of her most defining works, and it marked a shift in her sound, production, and overall aesthetic, moving away from the raw, jagged punk blues of Rid of Me…
30 Years Ago Today – Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Launch ‘No Quarter’ Tour
30 years ago today (2/26/95), former Led Zeppelin duo Jimmy Page and Robert Plant kicked off a year-long world tour in Pensacola, Florida, supporting their live No Quarter reunion album. Led Zeppelin’s primary songwriters reunited on April 17, 1994, for the Alexis Korner Memorial Concert in Buxton, England. Later that…
40 Years Ago Today – Tears For Fears Release ‘Songs From The Big Chair’
40 years ago today (2/25/85), Tears For Fears released their second Songs from the Big Chair, a significant departure from the synth-based sound of their 1983 debut, The Hurting, to a more guitar-rock-oriented effort. The album features some of their biggest hits, including “Everybody Wants To Rule The World,” “Shout,”…
50 Years Ago Today- Led Zeppelin Release ‘Physical Graffiti’ Album (Watch “Ten Years Gone” Live 1979)
50 years ago today (2/24/75), Led Zeppelin released their sixth studio album, Physical Graffiti, one that many consider their finest. These eight songs stretched the total time of the record beyond the typical length of a single LP, so the band decided to make Physical Graffiti a double album by…
75 Years Ago Today- The Late Walter Becker (Steely Dan) Was Born
75 years ago today, the late Walter Becker, co-founder/conspirator of Steely Dan, was born (2/20/50). Becker, along with Bard college buddy Donald Fagen, co-wrote one of rock’s most ambitious and polished catalogs, where studio perfection and jazz-rock experiments were perfected with help from several session aces along the way; albums…
40 Years Ago today- The Breakfast Club’ Soundtrack Was Released (Watch Simple Minds “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”
40 years ago today (2/19/85), The soundtrack for the John Hughes film The Breakfast Club was released. Released on A&M Records, the soundtrack blends pop, new wave, and rock, perfectly complementing the film’s teenage angst, identity, and connection themes. Simple Minds will be back on the road this summer, celebrating…