Politics, Race, Religion and Society
1,380 articles
Screaming Lord Sutch: Two Sides Of Sutch
Report and Interview by David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 23 March 1963
ROCK SINGING, horror, comedy – and now politics. Such are the interests, professional and personal, of Screamin' Lord Sutch. ...
The arts in society: You're Sick, Daddy
Essay by Geoffrey Cannon, New Society, 25 April 1963
2018 author's note: My very first published piece, written for New Society, of which I was a founder-member of staff as the sub-editor and production ...
Oscar Brown Jr.: A Very Cheerful Man Is Oscar Cicero Brown
Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 29 June 1963
OSCAR BROWN JR. is an extremely cheerful person. From his riotously checked shirt to his shoes with funny little thongs at the side, he exudes ...
Pete Seeger: Rights Song Has Own History of Integration
Retrospective by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 23 July 1963
Theme Well-Known Despite Lack of A Single Disk ...
Anita Bryant, Brenda Lee: Teenage Marriage... Are You Ready For It? By Anita Bryant
Comment by uncredited writer, 16 Magazine, September 1963
WHICH OF THESE THREE ALL-IMPORTANT CATEGORIES OF TEENAGE ROMANCE DO YOU FALL INTO? ONLY ONE OUT OF THE THREE OPENS THE DOOR TO A HAPPY ...
Peter, Paul & Mary: Peter, Paul and Mary and the Sweet Smell of Cerebral Involvement
Profile and Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 28 September 1963
YOU DON'T often find a beard in the hit parade — or a waistcoat for that matter. We have Acker Bilk sporting both in ours, ...
The Beatles: Part II Of "The Year of the Beatles": This is where the 'O' level world becomes Rock...
Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 18 October 1963
WHAT DISTINGUISHES the Beatles and the Liverpool Movement from the rest is their self-confidence. ...
The Rolling Stones: This Horrible Lot – Not Quite What They Seem
Report and Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 21 March 1964
"BUT WOULD YOU LIKE your daughter to marry one?" is what you ask yourself about the Rolling Stones. They've done terrible things to the musical ...
Bob Dylan: If Bob can't sing it, it must be a poem or a novel or something...
Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 16 May 1964
SOME SAY that Bob Dylan is a genius; others say he is a very moderate folk singer but not bad at the guitar. I say ...
Dusty Springfield: Dusty — There Were Threats
Report by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 26 December 1964
DUSTY SPRINGFIELD flew home on Friday morning to a heroine's welcome. Half of Fleet Street waited at London Airport to greet her on her return ...
The Beatles: George, M.B.E., Always Knew...
Comment by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 12 June 1965
SO THE Beatles have the MBE; they may be pleased but I doubt whether they're surprised. If they'd been made dukes I doubt whether they ...
Report by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 9 July 1965
HOW MANY people thought that Joan Baez would be seen back in the NME Chart again, once 'We Shall Overcome' had faded into the distance? Not many, ...
Joan Baez, Donovan: It's School-Marm Joan Baez Now!
Profile by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 13 August 1965
JOAN BAEZ has turned school-marm. In a Californian town she has started an unusual "School For Non-Violence", where children turn up to sit in silence. ...
Report and Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 24 September 1965
SING A SONG of protest — and you, too, could find yourself there in the charts. Suddenly a whole flood of these let's-put-the-world-right numbers has ...
The Beatles: It's a keen pad... Cyril Lord could make a fortune in this place, say the Beatles
Report by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 26 October 1965
THE BEATLES went to Buckingham Palace this morning to see the Queen. The occasion was the presentation of their MBEs. But the confrontation was inevitable, ...
Interview by Jane Heil, Hit Parader, January 1966
AS EVERYONE already knows, folk songs have come off the back porch and out of the pads, and are now very big business. Everybody listens ...
Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler: Barry Sadler Sings Of War Without Protest
Profile by Carol Deck, KRLA Beat, 26 February 1966
ON THE POP charts right now are songs by attractive young men and women about love and the loss of it, about silence and stomachs ...
The Beatles, John Lennon: How Does a Beatle Live? John Lennon
Profile and Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 4 March 1966
ON A HILL IN SURREY... A YOUNG MAN, FAMOUS, LOADED AND WAITING FOR SOMETHING ...
Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler: Ballads: Of Men And Green Berets
Comment by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 26 March 1966
THE "GREEN BERETS" are a special group within the Army who carry out special missions beyond the scope of regular troops. ...
The Association: Vietnam: War!
Comment by Louise Criscione, KRLA Beat, 16 April 1966
THERE IS A war going on in Vietnam and whether the United States has officially declared war or not – it is there, it's happening. ...
Barry McGuire, Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler: Teen Panel Discussion: Green Berets and Barry McGuire
Interview by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 30 April 1966
THE ARTICLE you're about to read is the first in a series of teen discussions which will be sponsored and published in The BEAT. ...
Otis Redding: Local Girl Joins Otis Redding Show at the Apollo Theater
Interview by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 9 July 1966
AN ATTRACTIVE 23-year-old blond dancer from Hollywood is currently appearing at the Apollo Theater in New York with the fantastic Otis Redding Show. ...
Phil Ochs: Phil Ochs In Concert (Elektra EKL 310)
Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 20 August 1966
Vicious, brilliant dynamite from Phil ...
The Beatles: Beatles 'Ban-Wagon' Rolls!
Report by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 27 August 1966
Epstein Fears Security Dangers During U.S. Tour ...
Cliff Richard: Double Double Vision Vision
Interview by Dawn James, Rave, September 1966
Rave's Dawn James sees Cliff and gets double vision! Cliff the Christian who wants to quit the pop world, and Cliff the film star... ...
The Beatles, John Lennon: Letters to the Editor: Lennon Vs. Christianity
Readers' Letters by Various Writers, KRLA Beat, 10 September 1966
(Ed. NOTE: The BEAT has received hundreds of letters, both pro and con, concerning John Lennon's remarks about Christianity. Unfortunately, we do not have nearly ...
The Sir Douglas Quintet: Sir Douglas Quintet: "Adults Resent Groups"
Interview by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 10 September 1966
SOME ENGLISH performers, it seems, have done nothing recently but knock America: the people, their attitudes, their way of life. ...
Janis Ian: Censors and the "New Reality"
Comment by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 25 September 1966
A FOLK-ROCK disk issued earlier this month which spotlights a shining new singing and song-writing talent, also throws some rays of light into the shadowy ...
Janis Ian, Jimmy Ruffin, The Supremes: Who Else but the Supremes Would Pedal a Rickshaw?
Report and Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 30 September 1966
IMAGINE DIANA Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard in Taipei, pedalling rickshaws and letting the regular drivers ride in the seat. Picture Mary falling off ...
Cliff Richard: Empire Theatre, Liverpool
Live Review by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 4 November 1966
ON HIS LATEST TOUR CLIFF CHANGES DYLAN'S WORDS ...
Report by Mike Tuck, KRLA Beat, 17 December 1966
Teens Demonstrate For Dance Rights ...
Riots on Sunset Strip: Strip Of No Man's Land
Comment by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 31 December 1966
The following is the first half of an opinion poll where teenagers give their views on the Sunset Strip controversy. Part II of this series ...
Report and Interview by Rochelle Reed, KRLA Beat, 14 January 1967
WHEN THE curtains draw back and the spotlight silhouettes her against an empty stage, it's difficult to believe that slight, dark-haired Joan Baez is standing ...
Riots on Sunset Strip: Strip Of No Man's Land (part 2)
Comment by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 14 January 1967
This is the second half of The BEAT'S opinion poll where teens express their feelings about the Sunset Strip controversy. Part I appeared in the ...
Marvin Gaye: "The Music Really Saves Me"
Interview by Eden, KRLA Beat, 28 January 1967
THERE ARE some performers who succeed in escaping the boundaries and restrictions normally imposed upon their profession. They somehow manage to go "above and beyond ...
Teen Panel: The Use Of Drugs By American Teens
Interview by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 28 January 1967
In this issue, The BEAT's Teen Panel discusses another of the hottest subjects of the day – the use of drugs by teenagers. ...
The Rolling Stones: Sex, Stones & Sullivan
Comment by Tony Barrow, KRLA Beat, 11 February 1967
"I'M NOT superstitious" remarked Mick Jagger at London Airport on Friday January 13. And to prove his point he marched jauntily beneath a couple of ...
Teen Panel: Teenagers And Drugs, Part II
Interview by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 11 February 1967
This is the second half of The BEAT'S Teen Panel discussion on the subject of "drugs," Part One appeared in the last issue. ...
War Between the Generations: "This Thing Can't Be Stopped"
Report by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 11 February 1967
Or Beware The Postage Stamps You Lick! ...
Hippies take over from the Beatniks
Report by Lillian Roxon, Sydney Morning Herald, the, 4 March 1967
A new youth grouping, the Hippies, has sprung up in San Francisco and promises to spread over America and to Europe. Hippies are still way-out, ...
The Diggers: In Search of George Metesky
Report by Richard Goldstein, The Village Voice, 16 March 1967
ON A WINTER evening, knots of anxious hippies assembled at San Francisco's Howard Presbyterian Church, overlooking the treelined mall called the Panhandle. Now and then ...
MC5: An Interview with Rob Tyner
Interview by John Sinclair, The Warren-Forest Sun, May 1967
The following interview with ROBIN TYNER, the lead singer of the MC5, the major Detroit avant-rock band, was recorded by JOHN SINCLAIR in the first ...
The Beach Boys: Beach Boy Defies Draft, Would Rather Go To Jail
Report by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 20 May 1967
CARL WILSON of the Beach Boys has decided to risk jail rather than report for induction into the Army. ...
The Flower Children and How They Grow
Essay by Richard Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 1967
Richard Goldstein is a young writer with a special view of the Flower Children and their contribution to modern American culture. He has been called ...
MC5: 'Aid, Comfort For Parents Of Hippies'
Readers' Letters by uncredited writer, Detroit Free Press, 2 June 1967
In response to the story on the parents of hippies which appeared in the Free Press Women's Section last Sunday, and the two stories about ...
The Rolling Stones: Pop In The Police State
Comment by Mick Farren, International Times, 2 June 1967
"People try to put us down just because we get around."The Who – 'My Generation' ...
The Rolling Stones: The fearful treatment and unfair torture of the Rolling Stones
Comment by Derek Taylor, Disc and Music Echo, 15 July 1967
Our man in America Derek Taylor, Hollywood, Tuesday ...
The Rolling Stones, The Who: The Rolling Stones drugs bust: Time Is On Our Side
Report by uncredited writer, International Times, 28 July 1967
THE SUN isn't known to have two faces, only the moon, but in England we have the lunatic Sun (a newspaper it thinks) with as ...
The Mothers Of Invention, Frank Zappa: Frank Zappa: Meet the Boss Mother, Sussing Out Britain...
Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 26 August 1967
IF AFFLUENCE and power is the Great American Dream, Frank Zappa is the Great American Nightmare. ...
The Byrds, David Crosby: The Byrds' David Crosby (1967)
Interview by Ted Alvy, Rock's Backpages Audio, 30 August 1967
The Cros talks about the new vibe of co-operation between musicians, Monterey, the disintegration of Haight-Ashbury, seeing Cream play the Fillmore the night before, and all kinds of other fine stuff
File format: mp3; file size: 36.4mb, interview length: 39' 47" sound quality: ***
The Beatles, Arthur Brown, Pink Floyd, Soft Machine: The Flower Game
Report by Maureen O'Grady, Rave, September 1967
What do flowers mean to you? To the Flower People (the Gentle People, the Beautiful People) they signify love, freedom, goodness, fun and new experiences. ...
The Beatles, The Byrds: Allen Ginsberg: Poet Who Swam in the Ganges — And Started Something
Report by Lillian Roxon, Sydney Morning Herald, the, 10 September 1967
NEWS THAT the Beatles were flying to India for two months in October, that they were giving up drugs and taking up Indian mysticism may ...
The Beatles, Mick Jagger: Beatles And A Stone To Wales With Mystic
Report by Tony Barrow, KRLA Beat, 23 September 1967
ANY GOOD groupie and, indeed, any teenybopper of average intellect would assure you that one of the least likely places top pop people are to ...
Interview by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 7 October 1967
BUFFY SAINTE-Maric is one of the most unique performers around. Possessing an almost incredible voice which ranges from the deep blues tones to the pure ...
Comment by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 7 October 1967
NICK JONES is worried about British pop audiences. Here he explains why. ...
The Supremes: The Smell Of Flower Power
Readers' Letters by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 21 October 1967
Dear BEAT: ...
The Beatles: Harrison & Lennon Discuss Religion
Interview by Tony Barrow, KRLA Beat, 4 November 1967
BEFORE DEPARTING for India and the beginning of a two to three month meditation study course under the guidance of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Beatles John ...
The Beatles, George Harrison: Beatle George And Where He's At
Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 16 December 1967
For many people, the Beatles have long passed the stage where they are merely a pop group. The first indication of this development was probably ...
The Beach Boys: 1968 Will See Better Things From The Beach Boys
Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 30 December 1967
DESPITE THE fact that the Beach Boys new single, 'Wild Honey' is having a sticky time in the charts, the group is still able to ...
Dusty Springfield, Mickie Most, P.J. Proby, Spencer Davis Group: Right Then, Who's Backing Britain?
Comment by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 20 January 1968
IF BRITAIN is going to the dogs, it is obvious a large section of the (older) community are convinced that sinful pop stars are prime ...
The Beach Boys, The Beatles: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: The Politics of Salvation
Report by Richard Goldstein, The Village Voice, 25 January 1968
The question of the hour is: can an honest man still be a fraud? ...
Report from swinging London town
Report by Miles, Los Angeles Free Press, 26 January 1968
LITTLE HAS happened since winter came upon us and forced London's underground underground. The organisation called RELEASE has become one of the most valuable community ...
The Beach Boys: The Maharishi, The Beach Boys and the Heathens
Report by Loraine Alterman, New York Magazine, 6 March 1968
"IN BALTIMORE last night in the middle of the Maharishi's talk, a kid got up and yelled 'Maharishi, you're full of it'." Beach Boy Bruce ...
The Foundations: Foundation Clem Reveals Popland's 'Black Spots'
Interview by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 9 March 1968
MENTION SCOTLAND to Clem Curtis and he grimaces. Mention Ireland and you get an "Oh man" reply, with an anguished expression. But mention Amsterdam and ...
Report and Interview by Mike Jahn, Pop Scene Service, 23 March 1968
"OURS IS THE politics of ecstasy," said Abbie Hoffman, the New York Digger leader, for whom ecstasy is as much a public as a private ...
The Beach Boys, The Beatles: Maharishi links Beatles and Beach Boys
Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 6 April 1968
NME helps find World Peace venue ...
The Beach Boys: A Brave New World – Through Pop
Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 April 1968
IT'S GOING to be a Brave New World through pop. That's the hope of men like George Harrison, Donovan and Mike Love, bearded, humourous hell-raiser ...
Comment by Mick Farren, International Times, 14 June 1968
POP MUSIC is one of the last free mediums, but is quickly becoming entangled in its own and society's games. ...
The Fugs: Dirty Words Are Hurled At Public
Comment by Mike Jahn, Pop Scene Service, 14 June 1968
DESPITE THE fact that it is almost impossible to shock people anymore, the bad-word business flourishes. ...
Interview by Dave Godin, Blues & Soul, July 1968
ONE IS always apprehensive about meeting artists for whom one has a great admiration or burning passion – I deliberately avoided meeting the one and ...
O.C. Smith Fights For Poor People
Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 6 July 1968
THERE was a familiar face at the head of last week's Poor People's March in Washington, USA,the protest on behalf of America's underprivileged classes led ...
Report by John Sinclair, Fifth Estate, 18 July 1968
IN THE past two weeks since the last issue of this paper a bunch of new developments have taken place: Almost every job for the ...
MC5, John Sinclair: Flash! July 26th, 1968: MC5 Attacked By Police On Job
Report by uncredited writer, The Warren-Forest Sun, 26 July 1968
JOHN SINCLAIR, FRED SMITH BEATEN, MACED, ARRESTED — CHARGED WITH ASSAULTING POLICE OFFICERS ...
Press Release by uncredited writer, The Warren-Forest Sun, 26 July 1968
WHAT FOLLOWS is a deposition written by Rob Tyner, Wayne Kramer and Dennis Thompson of the MC5 upon their return from the Loft and the ...
Phil Ochs: The War Isn't Over for Phil Ochs Yet
Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 27 July 1968
WHEN PHIL OCHS arrived in England on his recent visit the immigration people almost didn't let him in. "They asked me did I want to ...
Report by John Sinclair, Fifth Estate, 1 August 1968
Poet-MC5 manager John Sinclair and MC5 guitarist Fred Smith were brutally assaulted, beaten, MACEd, and arrested by members of the National Security Police, the Oakland ...
Theatre of Fear: One on the Aisle
Report by Richard Goldstein, The Village Voice, 5 September 1968
CHICAGO — I brought the Fear out with me from New York, a white plastic helmet and a bottle of Vaseline. The same fear that ...
Up Against The Wall, Bill Graham!
Report by Lita Eliscu, East Village Other, 25 October 1968
PEOPLE WERE going around saying, It's an obscenity or an insanity or if they could get their heads together, they said both, fast and in ...
B.B. King Sings the Blues Evra Day, Evra Day
Report and Interview by Michael Lydon, The New York Times, 27 October 1968
A COOL breeze blew in the night outside, across the Mississippi and the cane fields that press against the town of Port Allen, La. Inside ...
Essay by John Sinclair, The Warren-Forest Sun, 1 November 1968
FIRST I MUST say that this statement, like all statements is bullshit without an active program to back it up. We have a program which ...
The Deviants: Revolution — With Guitars, Not Bullets
Interview by Hugh Nolan, Disc and Music Echo, 2 November 1968
FOR MICK FARREN, magnificently hairy leader of the (formerly Social) Deviants, the underground is a very definite force against the establishment, blind authority and the ...
The Deviants: From the Underground: The Deviants
Profile and Interview by Derek Boltwood, Record Mirror, 23 November 1968
IT'S BEEN SAID of the Deviants that they are the only real underground group. Like roots of the underground perhaps – because Mick Farren, first ...
Diana Ross, The Supremes: Diana Ross: A Talking Instead Of Just A Walking Doll
Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 November 1968
DIANA ROSS is a living doll. But as an all-talking living doll, her new image came as quite a surprise to the pop scene last ...
Country Joe & The Fish, Country Joe McDonald: An Interview with Country Joe McDonald
Interview by Paul Nelson, Hullabaloo, December 1968
I HAVE BEEN an admirer of Country Joe McDonald and the Fish ever since I first heard them years ago on tape at a friend's ...
MC5: The MC5: Rock frenzy points a way
Report by Lillian Roxon, Sydney Morning Herald, the, 4 January 1969
THOSE OF us who have watched rock with interest, believing it to be as good a barometer of the changing times as art or the ...
Poetry is Revolution: Underground Radio
Essay by John Sinclair, Ann Arbor Argus, 13 February 1969
"In a modern telecommunications society, the radio station is one of the real seats of authority; its seizure the seal of a successful revolution." — ...
Comment by Gene Guerrero, The Great Speckled Bird, 17 March 1969
IT WAS COUNTRY Music Week in Nashville, Tennessee, during the fall of 1966. Several of us from the Southern Student Organizing Committee were in town ...
MC5: The MC5: Kick Out the Jams (Elektra)
Review by Miller Francis jr., The Great Speckled Bird, 17 March 1969
"Works of art which lack artistic quality have no force, however progressive they are politically. Therefore, we oppose both works of art with a wrong ...
MC5: The Story Of The MC5 On The West Coast In March Part One
Report by John Sinclair, Ann Arbor Argus, 28 March 1969
John Sinclair, Minister of Information, White Panther Party ...
Nina Simone: Nina's The Medium For The Message
Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 19 April 1969
NINA SIMONE, the artist, is the High Priestess of Soul, the blues singer and the jazz pianist. Nina Simone, the person, is compelling, formidable, and ...
Profile and Interview by Lita Eliscu, East Village Other, 14 May 1969
ROCKET ROCKET ROCKET to the — YEAHHHHH the — Fuckit yeah yeah sheeeeit baby Get. Down. On. It. Cmon mothahfuckahs CMON MOTHAH-FUCKAHS MAKE FUCK A ...
Allman Brothers Band: The Allman Brothers Band
Special Feature by Miller Francis Jr., The Great Speckled Bird, 19 May 1969
Upon first seeing the Allman Brothers Band, an interracial rock and roll band from the heart of segregated, reactionary Georgia not only calling themselves brothers, ...
Country Joe & The Fish, Dr. John, Flying Burrito Brothers, The Fugs: Rocking into religion
Essay by Geoffrey Cannon, The Guardian, 27 May 1969
Gods, bishops, priests and worshippers ...
Interview by uncredited writer, Flip, June 1969
Sometimes you meet a person you can be happy just grooving with...rapping back and forth about how life should be lived and what's wrong and ...
Canned Heat, Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter: The Blues
Essay by Miller Francis Jr., The Great Speckled Bird, 16 June 1969
"All new technologies bring on the cultural blues, just as the old ones evoke phantom pain after they have disappeared." — Marshall McLuhan, War and ...
Atlanta International Pop Festival
Comment by Miller Francis jr., The Great Speckled Bird, 30 June 1969
"If you want to come up with a singular, most important trend in this new music, I think it has to be something like: it ...
The Beach Boys, Charles Manson, Dennis Wilson: The Continuing Story Of Beach Boy Dennis Wilson
Interview by Lon Goddard, Record Mirror, 5 July 1969
...and his house of seventeen women. RM'S Lon Goddard reports from the loo!!! ...
The Beach Boys: Beach Boy Mike Would Love To Convert You
Interview by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 26 July 1969
Richard Green Tries A Spot Of Meditation ...
John Lennon, Yoko Ono: John and Yoko: Can YOU Afford To Laugh At Them?
Interview by Tony Norman, Top Pops, 9 August 1969
In Vietnam, young men are killing each other every day. In Biafra, young children are dying of starvation. Across the Continents of the world there ...
Interview by Mark Williams, International Times, 26 September 1969
I'D NEVER seen Mick Abrahams in a suit before. In fact, he'd confessed to me that he'd never bought a suit in his life. He'd ...
Interview by Mark Williams, International Times, 26 September 1969
AS ALL OF us who diligently study the music press will know, Graham Bond is back in Britain after nearly 2 years in America and ...
The Supremes, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder: Motowners have Racial Problems
Report by Ann Moses, New Musical Express, 27 September 1969
SINCE SO many Motown artists are currently in the British charts, I thought I might pass on some things about them that have been circulating ...
Jane Birkin, Serge Gainsbourg: Jane Birkin: That Was The Week That Was...
Report by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 18 October 1969
JANE BIRKIN: the inside story of what happened when the BBC found her at Number One... and the BBC-TV programme that played the record with ...
Report and Interview by Miller Francis jr., The Great Speckled Bird, 20 October 1969
OURS IS AN age of reluctant ambivalence. The impact of the new is devastatingly real, but the clinging corpse of what has been and what ...
Radha Krishna Temple, London: Are You Getting Krishna's Message?
Report and Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 25 October 1969
...wonders ALAN SMITH ...
Charles Manson, John Phillips: You just don't know Hollywood
Report by Lillian Roxon, Sydney Morning Herald, the, 1 November 1969
More things there than murder are bizarre, reports Lillian Roxon ...
Charles Manson: Death Valley Drop-outs
Report by Ivor Davis, Daily Express, 3 December 1969
IVOR DAVIS • HOLLYWOOD • TUESDAY ...
The Beatles, John Lennon, Yoko Ono: John Lennon: Bore, Fool or Saint?
Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 20 December 1969
THEY SAY John Lennon is insane, a fool, and a bore. They call him an embarrassment, a joke, and a man too interested in his ...
Press Release by John Sinclair, Countdown, 1970
THERE IS NO way to get at the music without taking the whole context of the music too – there is no separation. We say ...
Chairmen Of The Board, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Yoko Ono: John and Yoko Envisage Super Jam
Report by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 2 January 1970
IT'S A WELL known fact that John and Yoko Lennon were in Toronto and Ottawa recently to talk about their Peace Festival to be held ...
Carry That Weight: Music In The ‘60s
Overview by Lenny Kaye, Fusion, 20 January 1970
THE WAY IT WORKS is that someone picks up the torch and carries it for a while, and when they get tired, or irrelevant, or ...
Live Review by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 29 January 1970
Garden Thronged for Songfest In Aid of Vietnam Moratorium ...
Black Widow, Myth and MAGICK...
Report and Interview by Lon Goddard, Record Mirror, 7 February 1970
BY THE GOAT, it was in the cards. Malcficium extends it's demonic fingers in the the sleeping bones of pop music and the Black Arts ...
The Beatles, John Lennon, Yoko Ono: John Lennon: A Private Talk With John
Interview by Ritchie Yorke, Rolling Stone, 7 February 1970
YOU'VE BEEN talking lately about the fact that the Beatles aren't the musical group they were two or three years ago — that you are ...
The Beatles, Ronnie Hawkins, John Lennon, Yoko Ono: John, Yoko & Year One
Report by Ritchie Yorke, Rolling Stone, 7 February 1970
TORONTO — The scene couldn't have been more appropriately peaceful if it had been staged by a film director. A color TV set flickered soundlessly ...
Comment by Gene Guerrero, The Great Speckled Bird, 16 March 1970
IF MERLE Haggard wasn't one of the two or three most creative persons in country music, it would be easy to dismiss him as just ...
Report by Miller Francis Jr., The Great Speckled Bird, 30 March 1970
SANTANA AND the Allman Brothers Band flew right into a hornet's nest last week when they showed up to play at the Municipal Auditorium: there ...
Black Widow: White Witch Warns Black Widow
Interview by Lon Goddard, Record Mirror, April 1970
A Crawling Eye special by Lon Goddard ...
Zabriskie Point (dir. Michelangelo Antonioni)
Film/DVD/TV Review by Miller Francis Jr., The Great Speckled Bird, 2 April 1970
"I understand man, with his faults and his virtues; those of many men I know, and no doubt my own as well. But what I ...
Essay by Miller Francis Jr., The Great Speckled Bird, 4 May 1970
Part 1 WOODSTOCK IS AN amazing piece of technology, one of the most important films ever made. We have long been accustomed to experiencing films as ...
Woodstock producer Bob Maurice
Interview by Miller Francis Jr., The Great Speckled Bird, 4 May 1970
(The following dialogue with Bob Maurice, producer of the Woodstock film, is an edited version of a long interview taped last week at the Marriott.) ...
Is Pop Music Putting The Boot In For Bovver?
Overview by Rob Partridge, Record Mirror, 9 May 1970
Robert Partridge argues that violence has taken on a different meaning ...
Black Sabbath: Black Magic Is Not Our Scene Say Black Sabbath
Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 13 June 1970
We're fed up with the confusion, they tell ROY CARR ...
The Who: Woodstock: Talking About My Generation
Essay by Miller Francis Jr., The Great Speckled Bird, 15 June 1970
"I'm looking for me, You're looking for you We're looking at each other and we don't know what to do." — 'The Seeker' by the Who ...
Country Joe & The Fish, Jefferson Airplane: Kent Aftermath: Teen Turmoil Poison At B.O.
Report and Interview by John Morthland, Rolling Stone, 25 June 1970
SAN FRANCISCO — Lou Rhode, a student at San Francisco City College, is a clerk at Tower Records, and wears an "Out Now" peace button ...
The Up: New Political Rock Group: The Up Begins Where the MC5 Left Off
Profile by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 3 July 1970
ABOVE AND beyond his highly publicized political life, John Sinclair had a great interest in the rock 'n roll world. His band, the MC5, attained ...
Essay by Frank Bach, The Ann Arbor Sun, 4 July 1970
THE LIFE of the young rock and roll musician is and has always been filled with the bitter contradictions of honko Amerika................. ...
Steppenwolf: On Politics and Pop
Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 July 1970
FOR YEARS popular rhythm artists have expressed often in fairly heated fashion, or occasionally with affected languor, political opinions. ...
Noir — and those good black vibrations
Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 18 July 1970
THERE ARE few groups around today who can boast that they are a "musicians' group" — a group whom musicians go out of their way ...
The Beatles, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane: Agnew urges curbs on "brainwashing" lyrics
Report by Lillian Roxon, Sydney Morning Herald, the, 16 September 1970
NEW YORK, Tuesday. — The Vice-President, Mr Spiro Agnew, last night accused some songwriters and motion picture makers of "brainwashing" young Americans with lyrics and ...
Comment by Mick Farren, Melody Maker, 3 October 1970
WHEN I first brought home Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry albums my parents didn't much like it. They made the mistake of thinking rock was ...
The Last Poets: Thoughts... and Music: The Last Poets
Comment by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 October 1970
AS EDITOR of Blues & Soul, I have always done my personal utmost to concentrate on the musical content of our music and the artists ...
Anthony Wedgwood Benn: Listening To The New Generation
Essay by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 24 October 1970
Former Technology Minister Anthony Wedgwood Benn replies to Mick Farren's analysis of Rock as a political force. ...
Mike Curb Congregation, John Sebastian: Mike Curb: Record Boss Keeps Mum
Report and Interview by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 6 December 1970
The 'Curb 18' Still Unidentified ...
Tim Leary: or, Bomb for Buddha
Interview by Robert Greenfield, Rolling Stone, 10 December 1970
JUST OUTSIDE Algiers, on the balcony of a white stone hotel by the sea, Timothy Leary sits in the sunlight. Aquiline nose, high cheekbones, eyes ...
Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Charles Manson: The Maggot in the Rose
Comment by Geoffrey Cannon, unpublished, 1971
Author's note, 2018: Nobody talked about flower power or summers of love or fun, fun, fun after the Manson and the Altamont murders, followed by ...
Germaine Greer: A Groupie in Women's Lib
Report and Interview by Robert Greenfield, Rolling Stone, 7 January 1971
LONDON — ON a crazy Sunday afternoon in London, Germaine Greer lolls in the corner of a crowded room with a silver knit flapper's hat ...
Caroline Coon: The Underground Angel Of Mercy...
Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971
Michael Watts talks to CAROLINE COON of Release ...
Charles Manson: The Girls On The Corner
Readers' Letters by uncredited writer, The Great Speckled Bird, 8 February 1971
(This letter in defense of Charles Manson and the Family was sent to The Great Speckled Bird and other underground papers by Family member Sandra Good ...
Report by Dave Marsh, Creem, March 1971
ALGIERS, Algeria (UPS) — Timothy Leary has once again spent some time in jail — and this time his jailer was none less than Eldridge ...
Live Review by Gene Guerrero, The Great Speckled Bird, 15 March 1971
FROM TOP TO bottom, the Shower of Stars last Saturday night was really fine. The sound system was much improved and the sound it carried ...
James Brown: The Cassius Clay of Music
Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 20 March 1971
JAMES BROWN — broad and stocky — America's Soul Brother Supreme, with a warm smile etched deep into his granite face — perhaps the very ...
Bob Dylan: They Won't Invite Bob
Report by Lillian Roxon, Sydney Morning Herald, the, 18 April 1971
BOB DYLAN is having a birthday party the day he turns 30 — May 23 — and everyone's invited except him. ...
Report and Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Columbia Daily Spectator, 22 April 1971
WE'RE SITTING there rapping just before camera time. This evening James Brown is taping the Johnny Carson Show and he is in a good mood, having just ...
MC5, John Sinclair, The Up: Rock & Roll Dope: John Sinclair
Retrospective by Frank Bach, The Ann Arbor Sun, 28 May 1971
IT WAS back in the fall of 1966 when Rob Tyner, lead singer for the then "Avant Rock" MC5, and myself got in Rob's beat ...
Quintessence — sincere, or a fraud?
Interview by Caroline Boucher, Disc and Music Echo, 29 May 1971
SHIVA IS a Christian Hindu who lives in Notting Hill Gate downstairs from his Guru. He is 22, born in Australia and arrived here two ...
Elephant's Memory: Take It To The Streets (Metromedia)
Review by Toby Mamis, Creem, June 1971
NEW YORK City has no readily identifiable musical identity, as, say, San Francisco or the Ann Arbor/Detroit regions. But the Big Apple does have a ...
Marvin Gaye: A Study of Marvin Gaye's Liberation
Interview by Phil Symes, Disc and Music Echo, 12 June 1971
MARVIN GAYE is a mystery man. Most people know him as the singer who made the biggest-selling Motown record ever – 'I Heard It Through ...
Comment by Frank Bach, The Ann Arbor Sun, 25 June 1971
IT WAS A Friday night back in the fall of 1966 when Gary Grimshaw, myself and some brothers and sisters from Detroit set up some ...
Profile and Interview by uncredited writer, Hit Parader, July 1971
There's a new, young breed of black singers coming up — a breed that is aware of the roots but doesn't get into the funky-jive-fingerpop-boogaloo ...
The Up: Rock And Roll Dope: the Up
Column by Frank Bach, The Ann Arbor Sun, 2 July 1971
UP PLAYED for the Scapegoat Six in Kennedy Square last Tuesday and after running a bunch of errands around the Motor City all afternoon we ...
Marvin Gaye: What's Going On (Tamla-Motown)
Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 23 July 1971
An in-depth review of Marvin Gaye's chart-topping American album, What's Going On. ...
Mick Farren: Rock Rebel with a Cause
Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 28 August 1971
TWENTY-SIX-year-old Mick Farren, ex-singer with the Deviants, writer, political activist and spokesman for the underground, has been called many things. However, he prefers to define ...
The Oz Obscenity Trial: Guilty
Report by Robert Greenfield, Rolling Stone, 2 September 1971
LONDON — Great Britain no longer need envy America its Chicago Conspiracy Trial. They've come up with a pretty good one of their own and ...
MC5, John Sinclair: Rock And Roll Dope: MC5 Kick Out The Jams At The Grande Ballroom
Column by Frank Bach, The Ann Arbor Sun, 29 October 1971
IT WAS back in the fall of 1966 when Rob Tyner, lead singer for the then "Avant Rock" MC5, and myself got in Rob's beat up ...
Spirit in Flesh: God Crazed Hippies Reap Boffo B.O.
Report by Nick Tosches, Creem, November 1971
HENNY YOUNGMAN SMASHES HIGHEST ENERGY FORCE IN UNIVERSE ...
Underground Press An Important Promotion Outlet
Overview by Lon Goddard, Billboard, 13 November 1971
THE BRITISH underground press, or experimental press serves the budding supporters of the "Alternative Society" in a manner that is easily digestible; from a literary ...
Interview by uncredited writer, The Great Speckled Bird, 22 November 1971
IT ALL started Wednesday at the royal coach inn with Viva. The inn is some architect's nightmare of Lancelot and Arthur's court, wooden chandeliers and ...
John Lennon, Yoko Ono, John Sinclair: John and Yoko "go protest"
Report by Lillian Roxon, Sydney Morning Herald, the, 19 December 1971
NO SOONER did Bob Dylan astonish everyone by going back to "protest" and coming out with a song protesting the death of convict George Jackson ...
Charles Manson, Ed Sanders: Charles Manson: Stalking Manson – The Sanders Saga
Essay by Nick Tosches, Fusion, 24 December 1971
Ed Sanders spent the summer of the Tate-LaBianca murders yodeling the ditties that were to come to comprise Sanders Truckstop into an overhead mike at ...
The Last Poets: This Is Madness (Douglas SDGL 69102, £2.49)
Review by Phil Symes, Disc and Music Echo, 15 January 1972
THIS ALBUM has had tremendous success in America over the last year and practically become the testament of the Black American. It's not hard to ...
David Bowie: Oh, You Pretty Thing: David Bowie
Profile and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 22 January 1972
DAVID BOWIE, rock's swishiest outrage; a self-confessed lover of effeminate clothes, Bowie, who has hardly performed in public since his 'Space Oddity' hit of three ...
Essay by Dave Marsh, Creem, February 1972
PICKS OF THE WEEK: BOB DYLAN, 'GEORGE JACKSON' (Ram's Horn, BMI). Bringing it all back home, the ever-relevant Dylan, who watched the river flow for ...
Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 12 February 1972
THE MC5 don't want to be stars, if you can dig that. They reason that they are there with you to fill the air with ...
Interview by James Johnson, New Musical Express, 19 February 1972
OF ALL THE groups who have dabbled in politics over the last few years, the MC5 seem to have gained the reputation as one of ...
Report by uncredited writer, Dave Marsh, Creem, March 1972
The new Plastic Ono Band comes to Ann Arbor to Free John Sinclair – Starring David Peel, Archie Shepp, Ed Sanders, Stevie Wonder, Commander Cody, ...
Review by Sheila Weller, Fusion, May 1972
THE BLACK cultural tradition has always depended for its survival on oral, rather than written, communication: from the chants of tribal Africa to the folk-tales ...
Comment by Bob Merlis, Words & Music, July 1972
WE'VE BEEN experiencing a remarkable phenomenon in recent months; the re-emergence of rhythm and blues as an important force in American popular music. Since it ...
John Lennon, Yoko Ono: Lennon-Ono: Deporting The Great Swan
Report by Jonathon Green, International Times, 2 November 1972
NEW YORK: 'It is with great pleasure that we wish to add PEN American Center's great Roc's voice to the vast chorus of poetic larks and ...
Curtis Mayfield: Curtis the Crusader
Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 18 November 1972
FIGHTING A DRUG MENACE IN AMERICAN GHETTOES ...
The Jackson 5 et al: Saving the Children
Report by Robin Katz, Record Mirror, 15 December 1972
AS I MENTIONED last week, the Jackson Five are currently appearing in a movie in the States. They're not the stars, and the film is ...
Stevie Wonder: The New Wonder Ingredient
Interview by Tony Norman, New Musical Express, 17 February 1973
BLACK AND PROUD, MUSIC FROM THE SOUL ...
David Bowie: Gay Guerillas & Private Movies
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 24 February 1973
ALRIGHT, SO you're a rock singer out of Beckenham, Kent called David Bowie and you're hotter than a stolen atom bomb packed with pictures of ...
John Sinclair: Guitar Army (Douglas)
Book Review by Dave Marsh, Creem, March 1973
TO MOST people, John Sinclair looks like just another mutant dinosaur relic of the First Golden Age of Psychedelic Apocalypse. But that's not any more ...
The Incredible String Band #2: Scientology and the Incredibles
Interview by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 17 March 1973
MacDONALD: Was there any consistent philosophical or spiritual attitude behind the group's work during the Elektra period, or were you just tossing in anything you ...
Henry Cow: Just Happy Playing Their Music
Interview by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 7 April 1973
HENRY COW, a quintet formed at Cambridge University five years ago, are probably best known — though the group themselves would rather forget it — ...
Gil Scott-Heron: Pieces Of A Man (Philips 6369 415)
Review by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 12 May 1973
Heron, with the sound of the black revolution ...
Mahavishnu Orchestra, John McLaughlin: John McLaughlin: Gimme Dat 11/8 Time Religion
Overview by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 14 July 1973
PART 2: IAN MacDONALD ON THE SPIRITUAL McLAUGHLIN ...
The Osmonds: Br-r-r-ring... Hi, this is Alan Osmond
Interview by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 4 August 1973
WIMP ROCK AND WEIRD CITY. IT'S THE OSMONDS GROWING UP. IAN MacDONALD REPORTS ...
Plastic, paper and petrol famine shakes the whole music scene — ROCK CRISIS!
Report by Colin Irwin, Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 1 December 1973
ROCK MUSIC is reaching a crisis point. The worldwide energy shortage threatens the future of the entire music industry while rock itself faces a ban ...
Interview by Mick Gold, Rock's Backpages Audio, 1974
Country Joe talks about being brought up by communist parents, his current musical and political interests, the Paris Sessions album, songwriting, the Beats, jazz and... Bowie!
File format: mp3; file size: 81mb, interview length: 1h 28' 27" sound quality: ***
John McLaughlin, Santana: John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana: Cruisin' With The Guru
Interview by David Rensin, Creem, March 1974
The backseat revelations of Carlos Santana & Mahavishnu John McLaughlin ...
Overview by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 16 March 1974
Is it time to shut the closet door? OUR HERO SEES THROUGH THE SEE-THROUGHS AND COMES TO THE CONCLUSION THAT ELEGANCE IS MORE THAN A LIMP ...
Todd Rundgren, Utopia: Todd. Wizard? Or Silly Sod?
Interview by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 14 September 1974
Genius is paid — and none more highly than T. Rundgren, ace gelding of the New York Production Stud. Count his teeth! Hear him neigh! ...
Ian Tyson: Ian's 1st Solo Album Marks Return to Country Roots
Report and Interview by uncredited writer, Billboard, 23 November 1974
TORONTO – With the release of his first solo album, Ian Tyson, once one-half of the duo Ian & Sylvia, has returned to his musical ...
Bob Marley & the Wailers: Bob Marley: Lively Up Yourself
Overview by Idris Walters, Let It Rock, December 1974
Idris Walters on the music, the history and the Rasta background of Bob Marley and The Wailers. ...
Toots & The Maytals: Fundamental reggae... that's Toots and the Maytals
Interview by Giovanni Dadomo, Record Mirror, 14 December 1974
"THE REAL meaning of reggae is that the roots come from the heart — if you don't have love you can't play reggae." Thus spake ...
Utopia: Todd Rundgren: Out of the Mainstream, Into the Mystic
Interview by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 26 January 1975
City in my head/Utopia/Heaven in my body/Utopia/It's time for me/For me to go — Todd Rundgren's 'Utopia' ...
Graham Central Station, Larry Graham: Graham Central Station: Platform Two
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 4 February 1975
THE WARNER Brothers Music Show concert package that is currently touring Europe marks the arrival of the six-piece Californian band, Graham Central Station's at platform ...
Charlie Daniels, Lynyrd Skynyrd: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels Band: Academy of Music, New York NY
Live Review by Wayne Robins, The Village Voice, 10 February 1975
Lynyrd Skynyrd's Closet Crackers ...
The Kids Are Not Necessarily Alright
Essay by Mick Farren, New Musical Express, 1 March 1975
Or how the '70s has seen a limp-wristed sell-out of the ideals of the 60s. MICK FARREN discusses the way the Uncle Toms of Teendom ...
God is Alive and Well and Living Off Rock'n'Roll...
Essay by Mick Farren, New Musical Express, 22 March 1975
Unfurling his roadmaps for the soul, MICK FARREN, Bachelor of Divinity of this parish, slumps grimly over his flea-ridden Olivetti to bang out the sandwich-luncher's ...
Dollar Brand/Abdullah Ibrahim: Dollar Brand: Improvisations on Life
Interview by Brian Case, New Musical Express, 29 March 1975
DOLLAR BRAND don't take music lightly. No sir! So fasten your seat-belts please for a guided tour of Allah, the meaning of life, Africa, the ...
Tammy Wynette: Truckers' Choice
Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 19 April 1975
No-one captures the ideals of Middle America quite like Tammy Wynette. And she's got the hits to prove it — an astounding 24 Number Ones. ...
Gil Scott-Heron: Black Interpreter
Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 17 May 1975
NEW YORK: "I hear they're asking Rockefeller to investigate the CIA. Well now, in my opinion that's stupid. Asking Rockefeller what's wrong with the CIA ...
Frank Zappa: What Did You Do In The Revolution, Dada?
Essay by Karl Dallas, Let It Rock, June 1975
Karl Dallas asks the pertinent questions... ...
Interview by Richard Harrington, Unicorn Times, June 1975
"I'VE BEEN doing what I'm doing for five years on records and for longer in my life," says Gil Scott-Heron, who seems to be approaching ...
Bob Marley & the Wailers: Bob Marley (1975)
Interview by Karl Dallas, Rock's Backpages Audio, 19 July 1975
The day after his legendary Lyceum show, Marley expounds on Babylon, Rastafari, Jamaica, his universal message, and the meaning of 'I Shot The Sheriff'.
File format: mp3; file size: 11.5mb, interview length: 25' 01" sound quality: ****
David Bowie: Watch Out Mate! Hitler’s On His Way Back
Interview by Anthony O'Grady, New Musical Express, August 1975
"WE THINK WE'VE got an audience," says the spokesperson in the Bowie suite. "We're pretty sure the operator will be listening in." ...
Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, September 1975
THE REVOLUTION will not be televised... but then, neither will it be recorded. Gil Scott-Heron, the singer/composer/poet whose angry eloquence has gradually found the attentive ...
Report and Interview by Andrew Tyler, New Musical Express, 4 October 1975
VICTOR JARA sang songs for the people of Chile. In 1973, in the Santiago boxing stadium, a soldier cut off Jara's fingers before six thousand ...
Joan Baez: Slack Time For The Revolution
Interview by Penny Valentine, Let It Rock, December 1975
JOAN BAEZ PUTS it bluntly: "If I'd done another political album at this point, I'd have been bankrupt. I had no money left. So I ...
Audio transcript of interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages Audio, February 1976
This is a transcript of Cliff's audio interview with Gil. Hear the interview here ...
Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages Audio, February 1976
The soulful polemicist talks about his and Brian Jackson's Midnight Band; his diverse influences and the Spirit of the Drum; being a successful musician while doing other work; how he started writing prose as a kid; how black artists and writers are not recognised in the USA; 'Johannesburg' and apartheid; the value of correct information, and 'We Almost Lost Detroit'; writing his first novel and starting to record; 'The Bottle' as message and dance groove, and finally he and Brian Jackson explain how they write together...
File format: mp3; file size: 61.8mb, interview length: 1h 02' 01" sound quality: ****
10cc, Donna Summer, Jane Birkin, Max Romeo, Serge Gainsbourg: Banned — Why?: What Turns Censors On…
Report by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 21 February 1976
It's Donna Summer at the moment, but the Beatles, Stones even Lena Horne have all run into radio censorship. So this week, MM examines that ...
Gil Scott-Heron: Manchester University, Manchester
Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 28 February 1976
Gil's the word! ...
Sex, Drugs And Violence In Rock: The Sexual Language Of Rock Part 1
Essay by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 28 February 1976
"Eddie please write me one line,Tell me your love is only mine,Please Eddie, don't make me wait so long,You left me last September,To return to ...
Gil Scott-Heron: Good Evening, Here Is The News on Gil Scott-Heron
Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 2 March 1976
The 'Jo'burg' man has a reputation for telling it like it is. However, John Abbey had his pre conceived notions of Gil completely and pleasantly ...
Sex, Drugs And Violence In Rock: The Sexual Language Of Rock Part 2
Essay by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 6 March 1976
"I'm gonna pick you up nowAnd carry you away,So you'd better pack up now, baby,Packin' up today,Here I come, just a big bad man,When I ...
Gil Scott-Heron: You Won't Be Able to Tune In, Turn On and Cop Out...
Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, April 1976
Davitt Sigerson goes to New York to rap with the angry poet of revolution, Gil Scott-Heron ...
Gil Scott-Heron: The Fire This Time
Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Playboy, July 1976
Gil Scott-Heron has been called the black Bob Dylan. He doesn't appreciate it. ...
Santana: The Ice Cream Man Cometh
Interview by John Swenson, Crawdaddy!, July 1976
LACROSSE, WISC – "Everything OK with the Dip?" ...
Bob Marley & the Wailers, Ras Michael & The Sons of Negus, Peter Tosh: Bob Marley with a Bullet
Report and Interview by Ed McCormack, Rolling Stone, 12 August 1976
Man to man is so unjust You don't know who to trust... Who the cap fit Let them wear it — 'Who ...
Clarence Reid (aka Blowfly): Sex and the Single
Comment by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 26 August 1976
TEN YEARS ago, the Kingsmen used to launch, full tilt, into their biggest hit, 'Louie Louie', then stop. "Hey, these guys never heard this song ...
Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 28 August 1976
IT HAS been a remarkable year for reggae, a year which has seen the full flowering of the music as a vehicle for social, political ...
Letter by uncredited writer, Sounds, 28 August 1976
WHEN I READ about Eric Clapton's Birmingham concert when he urged support for Enoch Powell I nearly puked. ...
Eric Clapton: Farther On Up The Road
Interview by Barbara Charone, Sounds, 9 October 1976
DROUGHT? What drought? The green green grass of Surrey looks so healthy you'd think the local farmers had been secretly pumping chlorophyl injections into the ...
Bunny Wailer: Reincarnated Soul Makes Year's Best Album
Interview by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 16 October 1976
"WHY DO THEY regard me with awe? I didn't know that people think of me as superhuman. I've never flown or anything of that type. ...
Allman Brothers Band: Elected! Rock and US Politics
Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976
After Jimmy Carter's victory in the U.S. Presidential elections, Chris Charlesworth in New York investigates the role of rock in American politics... ...
Sex Pistols: The Sex Pistols: Great Moments In Rock Part 4336 — It's Those F***ing Punks Again!
Report by Giovanni Dadomo, Sounds, 11 December 1976
Thousands outraged by four-letter words ...
Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages Audio, Summer 1976
Howard E. Scott and Harold Ray Brown of the funk formation War on their two-year recording hiatus; collaboration with harmonica player Lee Oskar; commercial success versus be-your-natural-self approach; the American economic ethos: investment versus bank savings, capitalist society and its effect on War, and the dreams and myths it triggers; the necessity of cooling your mind on tour, and Baptism and salvation.
File format: mp3; file size: 79.5mb, interview length: 1h 22' 47" sound quality: ***
Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages Audio, April 1977
The trilling songthrush talks about playing Las Vegas; about live arrangements; about her collaborators; her stage background; on relationships and self-awareness; on songwriting, and at some length on her struggle with breast cancer, and winning the American Cancer Society's Courage Award.
File format: mp3; file size: 42.1mb, interview length: 44' 54" sound quality: ***
The Sex Pistols: What Did You Do On The Jubilee? The Pistols on the Thames
Report by Jon Savage, Sounds, 18 June 1977
BEFORE THE POLICE came, it was a great party. Make that a capital G. ...
MC5: The MC5: How the Jams Were Kicked Out!
Retrospective by John Sinclair, ZigZag, July 1977
In Britain, the MC5 are now far more popular than they ever were in their heyday – a fact which has prompted the recent re-release ...
The Bay City Rollers, The Sex Pistols: GLC v Punk: Move Over, Sid Vicious
Report and Interview by Tony Stewart, New Musical Express, 9 July 1977
GLC Tory jumps on "Good Kickin'" bandwagon ...
The Clash: Who's In Love With Janie Jones?
Interview by Caroline Coon, Sounds, 15 October 1977
DURING THE hot summer of 1976, a No. 31 bus jolts through Notting Hill Gate. On the top deck is Mick Jones, humming a riff. ...
The Clash, Sex Pistols: Beyond the Dole Queue: The Politics of Punk
Essay by Simon Frith, The Village Voice, 24 October 1977
The Clash and the Pistols have established social realism as an essential part of punk ideology, but this does not make their music the "direct ...
Overview by Mick Farren, New Musical Express, 29 October 1977
THE MUTANTS, the dwarfs and the all night girls (that's right, the ones who still brag about escapades out on the D train, despite the ...
Bob Marley & the Wailers, Judy Mowatt: Judy Mowatt: The Grateful Dread
Profile and Interview by Susin Shapiro, Viva, November 1977
IN CORNERS cut off from the rude-boy violence in poor black Jamaican communities, reggae music took seed, an offshoot of calypso, ska, R&B, and, further ...
Bob Marley & the Wailers: Marley Beats the Devil
Report and Interview by John Swenson, Rolling Stone, 17 November 1977
A Rasta recovery ...
Tom Robinson Band: Tom Robinson: Rock Voice Of '78?
Profile and Interview by James Johnson, Evening News, London, December 1977
MUSIC WITH a hard-core political bias could soon become a regular feature of the Top ten if a singer called Tom Robinson continues his sudden ...
Sex Pistols: The Sex Pistols: "Money doesn't talk, it swears" — official
Report by Caroline Coon, Sounds, 3 December 1977
Pistols album not guilty ...
Tom Robinson Band: The Tom Robinson Band: Lyceum, London
Live Review by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 8 December 1977
IT WAS ONLY A matter of time before the new wave explosion brought forth a performer like Tom Robinson, articulate enough to put into coherent ...
The Last Poets: Wake Up Limeys, The Last Poets Are Among You
Profile and Interview by Mick Farren, New Musical Express, 14 January 1978
"Wheat's characteristics and nature make it wheat. It differs from barley because of its nature. Wheat perpetuates its own characteristics just as the white race ...
Tom Robinson Band: Tom Robinson: Happy The Way He Is
Profile by Paul Rambali, Trouser Press, February 1978
SOME PEOPLE are worried that the next few years in Britain will see the rise of extreme right wing sentiments turning the country into an ...
Bob Marley & the Wailers: Bob Marley: A Lickle Love An' T'ing
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 18 February 1978
Interview CHARLES SHAAR MURRAY. From the Court of the Ranking Dread. ...
Jacob Miller, Tapper Zukie: Jamaica: Peace Conference In A Western Kingston
Report by Penny Reel, New Musical Express, 11 March 1978
ON JANUARY 10 of this year, Samuel Dreckett — JLP (Jamaica Labour Party) Councillor for the Western Kingston district of Tivoli Gardens — entered the ...
It Can't Happen Here: The Man Who Would Be Führer
Interview by Caroline Coon, Sounds, 25 March 1978
Martin Webster: National Activities Organiser of the National Front ...
Eric Clapton: Return Of The Reluctant Hero
Interview by John Pidgeon, Creem, April 1978
THERE WAS once a movie actor who, having made his name as a heavy, took to playing the romantic lead. But no matter how often ...
Harry Chapin: Singing for the World's Supper
Report and Interview by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 6 April 1978
THE MORNING OF February 3rd, singer/ songwriter Harry Chapin flew to Washington D.C. from Ontario. He'd just done a concert and, having slept on the ...
Report by Chris Salewicz, New Musical Express, 6 May 1978
AS HE STOOD at the top of Whitehall at 10.35 last Sunday morning gazing impassively towards Nelson's Column, the optimism of Commander Walker of Scotland ...
Al Green: Crosstalk With Al Green
Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 9 May 1978
HE'S NOW acquired the tag "Minister of Soul" and "Love And Happiness" continues to be his message. He's racked up several millions in sales world-wide ...
Steel Pulse: Black Pride Don't Mean Black Racism... Meet — The Handsworth Klan
Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 10 June 1978
Steel Pulse guitarist DAVID HINDS talks to ROY CARR about the joys and vexations of a British reggae band. ...
Buzzcocks: Rock Against Racism's Carnival Of The North: Chaos & Concern
Report by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 22 July 1978
THE ANTI-NAZI LEAGUE and Rock Against Racism were formed specifically as a reaction against racism. ...
R. D. Laing: Vinyl Head Shrinker Tells Of Life Before Death…
Interview by Max Bell, New Musical Express, 21 October 1978
R. D. LAING – psychologist, psychiatrist, author, lecturer, institutional therapist and now rock star? ...
Jerry Lee Lewis (1978) [transcript]
Audio transcript of interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 9 November 1978
This is a transcript of Cliff's audio interview with Jerry. Hear the interview here ...
The Clash: Give 'Em Enough Rope (CBS)
Review by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 11 November 1978
White Punks On Rope ...
Mike Oldfield: This Is The Year Of The Expanding Man...
Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 25 November 1978
What Scientology did for Chick Corea (and John Travolta), Exegesis is doing for mild, retiring Mike Oldfield. He puts the stare on KARL DALLAS ...
Eric Clapton: Portrait Of The Artist As A Working Man
Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 9 December 1978
IT HAS OFTEN been said that one of Eric Clapton's major problems over the years has been to find his own identity, a role in ...
Van Morrison, Them: AUDIO: Van Morrison (1979)
Audio transcript of interview by John Tobler, Rock's Backpages Audio, 1979
This is a transcription of John's interview with Van. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
Stiff Little Fingers: Inflammable Material (Rough Trade)*****
Review by Garry Bushell, Sounds, 10 February 1979
POOR OLD Stiff Little Fingers. They stormed across the Irish Sea last year and confused most people by talking loudly about being Ulster Boys without ...
The Human League: Factory, Manchester
Live Review by Mick Middles, Sounds, 17 February 1979
Discovering silliness in League with severity ...
Tom Robinson Band: The Tom Robinson Band: TRB Two (EMI)
Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 10 March 1979
Just Easing The Liberal Guilt ...
The Pop Group: First Steps In The Primal Skank
Report and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 24 March 1979
Tribal customs live on, even in the era of Afterpunk. RICHARD WILLIAMS investigates The Pop Group. ...
The Pop Group: We Know There’s Something Wrong Somewhere: The Pop Group
Interview by Peter Silverton, Sounds, 24 March 1979
This and other astute observations on life, art and the consumer society in THE POP GROUP interview. ...
Crass, Poison Girls, The Wall: Acklam Hall, London
Live Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 7 April 1979
A SPARSELY attended benefit for the Anarchist Black Cross Cienfuegos Press; a slow night — both the cause and its supporting groups (safely) out of ...
Linton Kwesi Johnson: Roots Inna Inglan?
Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 7 April 1979
Linton Kwesi Johnson, black poet and activist, sees the Rasta dream of Ethiopian exodus as irrelevant ganja-talk. His life and his art deal with reality: ...
Misty In Roots: Misty: One more victim of the Southall riot
Report and Interview by Ian Penman, New Musical Express, 5 May 1979
"The scale of the violence in Southall, where 340 were arrested and more than 40 people were injured, has ensured that whichever party wins the ...
Misty In Roots: The Price Of Hate
Report by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 5 May 1979
Among the casualties of last week's confrontation between the police and anti-racist demonstrators in Southall was the Peoples Unite Centre, a haven for local musicians, ...
The Black Music Association Movement Of Jah People
Report by Carol Cooper, SoHo Weekly News, 28 June 1979
DURING A DEFINITIVE rendition of ‘Exodus’ which capped an hour-long show by the Wailers, Stevie Wonder joined Bob Marley on stage and moved 2,000 members ...
Elvis Costello: He'd Rather Be Anywhere Else But Here Today...
Report by Susan Whitall, Creem, July 1979
NEW YORK — By now, everybody but Bonnie Bramlett's dog have given their side of the Columbus, Ohio brawl between the forces of Stills and ...
Stiff Little Fingers: (F)Ireland Rockers
Interview by Garry Bushell, Trouser Press, July 1979
"TAKE A LOOK where you're living/You got the army on your street/ And the RUC dog of repression is barking at your feet..." Jake Burns ...
Peter Tosh, The Wailers: Peter Tosh: The Bush Doctor is in
Interview by Howard Wuelfing, Unicorn Times, August 1979
FIRST TACTICAL error: having arranged earlier in the day to meet with a long admired reggae legend at a given place and hour, I trust ...
Angelic Upstarts: Someone Else's Fight
Report and Interview by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 18 August 1979
INTOLERANCE FALLS like a heavy pall over the Angelic Upstarts – only they won't lie still and let it settle. Follow them round for a ...
Dire Straits, Bob Dylan: Bob Dylan: Slow Train Coming (CBS 86095)*****
Review by Hugh Fielder, Sounds, 25 August 1979
Rich man enters kingdom of heaven shock ...
Interview by Giovanni Dadomo, Sounds, 20 October 1979
JIMMY PURSEY talks about sex, Mod, the Pope, Christmas, Scum and stuff like that... GIOVANNI DADOMO listens and listens and listens and ...
Madness: Nice Band, Shame About The Fans
Report and Interview by Deanne Pearson, New Musical Express, 24 November 1979
Deanne Pearson puts the cat among the pigeons and scotches some nasty rumours. ...
Poison Girls: Old People Can Be Rebels Too: Poison Girls
Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, Sounds, 24 November 1979
LOOK AT Poison Girls on stage and you see a straight line of straight faces, clothes all red and black in front of a red ...
Deep Purple, Judas Priest, Marseille, Squeeze, Whitesnake: Are You A Whore For Rock 'N' Roll?
Report by Rosalind Russell, Record Mirror, 20 December 1979
ROSALIND RUSSELL thinks most of you are ...
Misty In Roots: Misty: Survival in Jah glory
Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 5 January 1980
Survival's the operative-word in Misty's case. Harassed for their prominent role in the Southall immigrant community, in and out of the magistrates' courts, you'd think ...
Comment by Dave McCullough, Sounds, 2 February 1980
IT SEEMS, at the present at any rate, there's no escaping The Crass Phenomenon. The "alternative charts" (the accurate few at that!) see them emerging ...
Linton Kwesi Johnson: a poet turns to reggae
Interview by Mick Brown, Rolling Stone, 7 February 1980
Summoning Forces of Victory in Britain ...
Siouxsie & The Banshees: Siouxsie And The Bitter Pill
Interview by Rosalind Russell, Record Mirror, 23 February 1980
Siouxsie isn't just concerned about being a rock musician, she has strong feelings on other matters as well. Interview by ROSALIND RUSSELL ...
Linton Kwesi Johnson: Hour Of The Electric Rebel
Interview by Kris Needs, ZigZag, May 1980
Muzik of blood Black reared Pain rooted Heart geared('Bass Culture' by Linton Kwesi Johnson) ...
Linton Kwesi Johnson: All The Way With LKJ
Interview by Deanne Pearson, The Face, July 1980
Whenever it rains/I think of you And I always remember that day in May When I saw you walking in the rain I know not what it was nor why For ...
T Bone Burnett: Born Again, But Still Looking
Interview by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 8 August 1980
IT HAPPENS nearly every year, and usually when you least expect it. From left field, you find a new record and end up with a ...
Interview by Rosalind Russell, Record Mirror, 16 August 1980
BLONDIE will head for the hills if there's a nuclear attack. ROSALIND RUSSELL will whitewash the windows and wrap her head in a towel. What ...
Review by Richard Riegel, Creem, October 1980
I NEVER bothered buying Bob Dylan's landmark albums when they were released, in the frantic 1960s. All my friends then already had all the albums, ...
Burning Spear: Searching for the Spear
Interview by Peter Murphy (British), The Face, October 1980
WINSTON RODNEY, a.k.a. the Burning Spear, is the enigma of the Jamaican music scene. In a dark and brooding voice that is the essence of ...
Interview by David Rensin, Playboy, October 1980
Ted Nugent on life, love, firearms, the coming holocaust and his own unique lifestyle. ...
John Lennon: Ghoulish Beatlemania
Essay by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 22 January 1981
WHEN A ROCK star dies in a plane crash or from an overdose of drugs and alcohol, the accident may seem tragic or repulsive, but ...
Interview by Garry Bushell, Sounds, 24 January 1981
...once again we bring together the finest minds of our generation. This week: New Punk/Skin music. Refereed by GARRY BUSHELL ...
Bruce Springsteen: The Man Who Would Save Rock And Roll
Essay by Greil Marcus, New West, February 1981
LAST OCTOBER Bruce Springsteen released his fifth album, The River, which went swiftly to number one in the States, and began a tour that will ...
Gang of Four: Outside the Bands Don't Toe the Line: Gang of Four Makes Music Their Way
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1981
WOULD YOU like your rock with politics or without? Today pop music offers a wide variety of choices: from the violent invective of stereotypic punk ...
Gang of Four, Sector 27: Gang of Four: Gang of Four (Warner Bros. EP); Tom Robinson: Sector 27 (IRS)
Review by Roy Trakin, Musician, April 1981
THE LAST twitches of the dying Left or the first angular thrusts of the New Right? It's your Move. The Gang of Four's solemn Marxist ...
Fela Kuti, Sonny Okosun, Sir Victor Uwaifo: Juju, Afrobeat and Highlife
Report and Interview by Peter Murphy (British), The Face, April 1981
Special report: Rock in Nigeria. ...
Misty in Roots: Must It Be Total Destruction
Interview by Penny Reel, New Musical Express, 9 May 1981
...brimstone, fire, death in a Sodom and Gomorrah?... Reasoning with Misty In Roots By Penny Reel ...
Sam Charters: Chains that Gave Birth to the Blues
Profile and Interview by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 6 June 1981
Mick Brown reports how the musicologist Sam Charters learned to stop feeling guilty about slavery ...
Essay by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 14 June 1981
ON SATURDAY nights in 1956, transistor radios in the hands of eager teenagers all over America shuddered with the sensual sound of Elvis Presley's 'Hound ...
Live Review by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 20 June 1981
Tea and Anarchy: Edwin Pouncey sees Crass in action ...
Black Uhuru: Stepping On The Dragon
Report and Interview by Edwin Pouncey, Sounds, 18 July 1981
THE COACH journey from London to Bristol went quicker than I had originally expected. It hardly seemed five minutes since we were stepping aboard the ...
The Specials: English Music Scene Like a 'Ghost Town'
Interview by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 15 August 1981
This town coming like a ghost town... Bands won't play no more — Too much fighting on the dance floor... Why must ...
Scritti Politti: Where Radical Meets Chic: Scritti Politti
Interview by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 31 October 1981
"SCRITTI POLITTI" – didn't you always wonder where their "political writings" were? I did. I always wondered whether their hearts were in their music or ...
Profile and Interview by Richard Grabel, New York Rocker, November 1981
SEE BLOOD! ...
Interview by John Tobler, Rock's Backpages Audio, November 1981
David Steele and Ranking Roger talk about playing political benefits; their unconcern with breaking America; changing producers; Malu Halasa's book about them; their record deal; their Go-Feet label, and working with the Congos' Cedric Myton; Saxa taking a back seat and his son Lionel taking over; doing cover versions; their new single 'Hit It', and their opposition to nuclear weapons.
File format: mp3; file size: 19.4mb, interview length: 20' 11" sound quality: *****
The Outcasts: Culture Shock Rock!
Report and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 28 November 1981
Barney Hoskyns and survives a night in Belfast with the town's longest surviving punk band, the Outcasts. ...
Dead Kennedys: Let Them Eat Jello Beings
Interview by Garry Bushell, Sounds, 5 December 1981
Garry Bushell exhumes a living Dead Kennedy ...
Devo: Sixties Idealists or Nazis and Clowns?
Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 10 December 1981
LOS ANGELES — "Someone wanted to know where your home is," the waitress said to Mark Mothersbaugh. "I don't have a home," Mothersbaugh replied softly, peering at ...
Retrospective by Dave Laing, The History of Rock, 1982
Pete Seeger spread the word throughout America ...
The Blank Generation — How Rock Moved From Political Opposition to Sheer Nihilism
Essay by Cynthia Rose, The History of Rock, 1982
ROCK HAS ALWAYS been about cultural and social conflict, ever since its birth in the Memphis-style boogie (over-amplified 'jump' tunes whose driving rhythms kept country ...
The Dilemmas of Sex and Romance in Fifties Rock
Essay by Cynthia Rose, The History of Rock, 1982
The screen door slamsMary's dress wavesLike a vision she dances across the porchAs the radio playsRoy Orbison singin' for the lonelyThat's me and I love ...
Fun Boy Three, The Specials: Fun Boy Three: Why?
Report by Fred Dellar, Andrew Tyler, New Musical Express, 16 January 1982
FRED DELLAR and ANDREW TYLER report on the vicious race attack that put Lynval Golding in hospital ...
Rhoda Dakar: Being Boiled – Rhoda Dakar
Interview by Mark Cooper, Record Mirror, 23 January 1982
2-Tone's follow up to 'Ghost Town' is equally timely and a good deal more controversial. The single is 'The Boiler' and its subject is rape. ...
Fun Boy Three, Rico Rodriguez, The Specials: Rico Rodriguez: Rastaman
Profile and Interview by Deanne Pearson, The Face, February 1982
From the Wareika Hills to Top of the Pops. A profile of Rico, the Specials trombone ace, with a side order of oaths for the ...
The Beach Boys, Charles Manson: Surfin' Death Valley USA
Essay by David Toop, Collusion, February 1982
"WE'LL GET THE ROUGHEST AND THE TOUGHEST INITIATION WE CAN FIND."from Our Car Club (Brian Wilson/Mile Love) Beach Boys, 1963 What were the connections between Beach ...
Bob Dylan: More Of An Outlaw Than You Ever Were? (Hold The Mayo On The Golden Globe Awards)
Essay by Richard Riegel, Creem, March 1982
During the '70s, Dylan got swept up into those overblown, superstarred ships of fools which claimed so many promising prophets from the '60s. ...
Special Feature by Nick Tosches, Penthouse, March 1982
IT WAS 3 O'CLOCK in the morning and the master bedroom of Graceland was still. Elvis Presley lay in his blue cotton pajamas dreaming. ...
Live Review by Garry Bushell, Sounds, 6 March 1982
RIGHT TO Work Marchers, like punks, skins and soccer herberts, are apparently fair game for any Old Bill trying to keep his 'nick-nick' quota up ...
Gil Scott-Heron: The Homeland Is Where The Hatred Is
Interview by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 13 March 1982
JUST ONE CHANGE of buses, and the sound stages of Century City, Ca., where platinum-plated cowboys bite the props department dust, are replaced by the ...
UB40: "UB40 is just a normal bunch of blokes. But people ask us heavy political questions"
Interview by Lesley White, Sounds, 20 March 1982
LESLEY WHITE is one of them ...
Gil Scott-Heron: The Venue, London
Live Review by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 10 April 1982
THERE CAN surely be few performances in London this year which for intelligence, authority, musical expertise, and sheer style can hope to equal this by ...
Gil Scott-Heron: The Venue, London
Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 12 April 1982
Cause for concern ...
Fun Boy Three, The Jam, The Special AKA: Letter From Britain: Jammed Up, Jelly Tight
Comment by Penny Valentine, Creem, June 1982
Struggle after struggleYear after yearThe atmosphere's a fine blend of ice.I'm almost stone cold deadIn a town called malice.— 'Town Called Malice', the Jam. ...
The Weavers: The Warp and Woof of the Weavers' Decade
Profile and Interview by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 24 June 1982
THE QUARTET came out of nowhere early in the decade and turned popular music around, taking over the Top 10 with a fresh sound that ...
Jimmy Page, Genesis P-Orridge, Throbbing Gristle: Mister Crowley
Retrospective by Sandy Robertson, Sounds, 17 July 1982
Who the Hell is ALEISTER CROWLEY and why do pop people keep saying weird things about him? asks Sandy Robertson. ...
Solomon Burke, Little Richard: Little Richard and Solomon Burke: Sex & God & Rock & Roll
Report and Interview by Vernon Gibbs, The Village Voice, 10 August 1982
THE FIRST time I encountered Little Richard, his face was plastered against a Bedford-Stuyvesant wall — the poster advertised a show at the Breevort Theater. ...
Gang Of Four: The Revolution Lightens Up
Interview by J.D. Considine, Musician, October 1982
While their political passion remains undimmed, these post-punk party comrades are now using heinous capitalist tactics like great melodies, gang vocals and good humor. ...
Michael (Mikey) Smith, Mutabaruka, Oku Onuora: Dub Poets Of The Eighties
Interview by Paul Bradshaw, New Musical Express, 30 October 1982
Jamaica '82: the DJs rule the nation's charts and hearts but alternative voices are making themselves heard in the roots poetry of artists like MUTABARUKA and MICHAEL SMITH. PAUL ...
Angelic Upstarts, Cockney Rejects, Splodgenessabounds, UK Subs: Oi! and Skinheads: Coming a Cropper
Comment by Garry Bushell, Sounds, 6 November 1982
A passionate defence of skinhead culture by GARRY BUSHELL. ...
Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, December 1982
ON A hot Wednesday evening I'm playing flick-yer-bic with the dial on my television, you know: flick — Three's Company — flick — Masterpiece Theatre ...
Elvis Presley: Elvis: The New Deal Origins of Rock 'n' Roll
Essay by Dave Marsh, Musician, December 1982
EACH YEAR, on August 16, the anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, Memphis State University hosts a memorial service and seminar in his honor. ...
Gregory Isaacs: Gregorian Rants
Interview by Jack Barron, Sounds, 4 December 1982
The elusive Mr Isaacs tracked down by Jack Barron ...
Interview by Mark Cooper, Record Mirror, 8 January 1983
TERRY HALL reckons the Funboy Three have grown up into a real group. The proof is threefold. First, the release of one of this year's ...
Report by Michael Goldberg, The San Francisco Examiner, 8 March 1983
WHEN BLACK superstar Rick James, who has sold more than 10 million albums during the past four years, first heard about MTV, he was enthusiastic. ...
Al Green: Sanctity & Sexuality on a Higher Plane
Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Musician, April 1983
LISTENING TO Al Green's three gospel albums for Myrrh Records is a disorienting experience. The songs are traditional hymns that have been sung in black ...
Robert Wyatt: Diving for Pearls
Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 4 June 1983
Adam Sweeting talks to ROBERT WYATT about shipbuilding, pop music, the Eurovision song contest, and revolutionary ideologies. ...
The Impressions, Curtis Mayfield: Curtis Mayfield: So Proud — The Moral Standard of Soul
Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 9 July 1983
Regarded by many people as the first conscience of American Black music, CURTIS MAYFIELD's illustrious career now spans 20 years — from being a teenager ...
Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger: Seeger and Guthrie: A Tradition Continues
Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 22 July 1983
WHEN ARLO Guthrie and Pete Seeger performed together at Wolf Trap three summers ago, they managed to convince the sell-out crowd that they weren't really ...
Heaven 17: The Luxury Gap (Arista)
Review by James Hunter, The Boston Phoenix, 9 August 1983
DISCRIMINATING rock-and-roll fans in this country can finally tone down their horrified wails about white British dance bands' ubiquitous, maddening, mosquito-whine electroboogie. Pride in shallowness ...
Michael (Mikey) Smith: Dub Poet Michael Smith Murdered
Report by Paul Bradshaw, New Musical Express, 27 August 1983
MICHAEL SMITH, Jamaica's foremost dub poet, was murdered last week, stoned to death by thugs suspected of being activists from the ruling Jamaica Labour Party ...
Fela Kuti: Fela: Return of the Afrobeat Rebel
Profile by Randall Grass, Musician, October 1983
KANO, NIGERIA, 1974: Sitting in the midst of a spacious, immaculate patio surrounded by manicured shrubbery and the graceful curved stone-and-glass walls of a post-modern restaurant, ...
Donna Summer: Sermon chanted evening
Interview by Graham K. Smith, Record Mirror, 15 October 1983
DONNA SUMMER is a star. ...
Al Green: "There are riders approaching"
Interview by James Hunter, Record, December 1983
THE CONTINUING TRANSFORMATION OF AL GREEN, MAN OF GOD ...
Fela Kuti: The Republic Of Kuti
Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 3 December 1983
FELA KUTI gives Lynden Barber a lecture in African culture. ...
Husker Du, Omega Tribe: Omega Tribe: No Love Lost (Corpus Cristi)/Hüsker Dü: Metal Circus (SST)
Review by Mat Snow, New Musical Express, 17 December 1983
"People talk about anarchy / and taking up a fight / Well I'm afraid of hings like that / I lock my doors at night" ...
Pete Townshend, The Who: AUDIO: The Who's Pete Townshend
Audio transcript of interview by Simon Witter, Rock's Backpages Audio, 1984
This is a transcript of Simon's audio interview. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
T Bone Burnett: Just Plain Folks
Interview by David Gans, Record, January 1984
T-Bone Burnett makes a case for himself as a regular guy ...
The Beach Boys, Charles Manson, Dennis Wilson: Manson and Drugs — A Beach Boy's Troubled Life
Retrospective by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 January 1984
DENNIS WILSON, the Beach Boy who drowned a week ago last Wednesday, never got that many headlines in life. He may have been the most ...
Live Review by Paul Bradshaw, New Musical Express, 14 January 1984
...THE POWER... THE GLORY... THE RED HARRINGTON!!! ...
Bob Dylan: Infidels (Columbia)
Review by John Swenson, Record, February 1984
BOB DYLAN is the most consistently misunderstood figure in pop music history. Dylan's approach to songwriting, and to his public persona in general, has always ...
The Redskins: Keeping On And On
Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 11 February 1984
Adam Sweeting weathers a storm of political invective from THE REDSKINS ...
T Bone Burnett: Proof Through The Night (Warner Bros.)
Review by RJ Smith, Creem, March 1984
LIKE A DUST devil rolling across the arid nothing of Texas, T-Bone Burnett was recently barnstorming the nation. Though he's long been a moralizing rock ...
Gil Scott-Heron, John Cooper Clarke: Gil Scott-Heron/John Cooper Clarke: Brixton Academy, London
Live Review by Penny Reel, New Musical Express, 24 March 1984
SCOTT-HERON OF THE ANTARCTIC ...
Keith LeBlanc: X Marks the Spot
Interview by Chris Roberts, Sounds, 14 April 1984
"You only get action as a black man if you are regarded by the white man as irresponsible." (from The Autobiography of Malcolm X) ...
Report and Interview by Carol Cooper, The Face, June 1984
In 1981 Stevie Wonder led the first of three marches in Washington D.C. calling for the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, the black civil ...
Joan Baez: The Folk Heroine Mellows With Age
Interview by Mary Harron, The Guardian, 22 June 1984
IN 1959 JOAN BAEZ walked out on stage at the Newport Folk Festival and touched off a wave of adulation that was to reach almost ...
Aswad, Jimmy Cliff: Jimmy Cliff, Aswad: Crystal Palace Bowl, London
Live Review by Mary Harron, The Guardian, 30 July 1984
THE ANNUAL Nelson Mandela festival was held in perfect sunlight in the secluded grassy amphitheatre at Crystal Palace. Unfortunately one reason why it was so ...
The Last Poets: The Last Poets (Celluloid)
Review by Sean O'Hagan, New Musical Express, 11 August 1984
THEY CAME, SORE... ...
Report by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 1 September 1984
Earlier this year, BARNEY HOSKYNS visited Prague to find out if Czechoslovakia's heavily repressed rock scene could have any effect on loosening the European blocs. ...
Heaven 17: The Heaven 17 Manifesto
Interview by Max Bell, No. 1, 1 September 1984
Once upon a time, Heaven 17 presented themselves as the dynamic young businessmen of pop. But now they've crossed sides to support the miners, the Labour ...
The Style Council, Wham!: Wham! Style Council: Miners' Benefit, Royal Festival Hall, London
Live Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 15 September 1984
Pit-Head Ballet ...
Live Review by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 22 September 1984
SLAG! ...
Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 13 October 1984
Kidnapped heiress Patti Hearst is said to have listened to him incessantly during her captivity and the hip-hop crowd regard him as a guru. His ...
The Last Poets: Last Poets: The First And Lost Poets Of Rap
Retrospective by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 14 October 1984
Group: The Last Poets. Record: The Last Poets (Celluloid 6101). Personnel: Abiodun Oyewole, Alafia Pudim, Omar Ben Hassen, vocals. Nilaja, percussion. ...
Steven Van Zandt: Little Steven: Threat or Menace?
Interview by Laura Fissinger, Creem, November 1984
ONCE UPON a time the Federal Bureau of Investigation was more talked about than Michael Jackson is now. Seems that lots of folks got disrespectful ...
Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 10 November 1984
SUNDAY, 'ROUND about lunchtime, and Jimi Bronski is scurrying around his small council flat in a vain attempt to clean up the mess. I stand ...
Wham!: The Bigger They Come, The Harder They Bite
Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 17 November 1984
In an historic encounter, Colin Irwin confronts WHAM! on such burning issues as sexism, politics, wallyism and taking your shirt off in public. ...
Everything But The Girl: Take The Melancholy Strain
Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 1 December 1984
PUT SIMPLY, I wanted more than just a musical chit chat. ...
The Redskins: Red On Arrival: The Redskins
Report and Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 8 December 1984
"TUC LEADER Norman Willis tells Arthur Scargill a few home truths," they said on Channel 4 news last night (and this is the Left Wing ...
Interview by Mick Sinclair, ZigZag, January 1985
Contemporary Note: This interview took place at Virgin Records' London HQ during the height of the year-long miner's strike (led by the National Union of ...
Thomas Mapfumo: The Lion of Zimbabwe
Profile and Interview by Vivien Goldman, New Musical Express, 5 January 1985
Inspiration to freedom fighters and creator of the Zimbabwean sound, THOMAS MAPFUMO is ready to conquer the world. VIVIEN GOLDMAN talks to Africa's Bob Marley. ...
Interview by Jack Barron, Sounds, 19 January 1985
JERRY DAMMERS cut himself with a razor this morning. A short tear of paper covers the wound just below his equally brief right sideburn. ...
The Special AKA: Memoirs of a Survivor
Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 19 January 1985
Few artists are entitled to hold their heads as high as JERRY DAMMERS. He hasn't yet managed to free Nelson Mandela, but Dammers has managed ...
Profile and Interview by Jack Barron, Sounds, 29 January 1985
"LAYDEEZ AND gentlemen, will you please take your seats for Dick Whittington now, the show starts in five minutes," wheezes a voice from the Tannoy ...
Fela Kuti: Music Is the Weapon
Film/DVD/TV Review by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 23 February 1985
THE IDEA of combining music with a strong political message is a romantic notion to many young musicians, but the concept is a harsh reality ...
Interview by Ira Robbins, Rock's Backpages Audio, 6 March 1985
The erstwhile Fujiyama Mama talks about combining singing rock'n'roll with her deeply held religious beliefs; considers cover versions of her hits, and recording her recent rockabilly album in Sweden!
File format: mp3; file size: 18mb, interview length: 19' 38" sound quality: * (phoner)
Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 14 March 1985
"CHECK YOUR ego at the door." That was the message producer Quincy Jones sent to Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, Diana Ross ...
Little Richard: Even God can do better with Little Richard on his side
Interview by Maureen Cleave, London Express Service, 24 March 1985
GOD ALWAYS addresses Little Richard by name — it was the same with Moses and the prophet Samuel and St. Paul. ...
Interview by Sean O'Hagan, New Musical Express, 13 April 1985
THE LAST POETS were the first rappers — the voice of ghetto anger and fiery jazzoetry. Their "exile" over, they're back with a new LP ...
Special Feature by Randall Grass, Spin, May 1985
The King of Afrobeat enjoyed a reign of sex, hemp, jazz and rock 'n' roll — then the empire struck back, trumping up charges to ...
Steve Arrington: Robes to Freedom
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 4 May 1985
STEVE ARRINGTON SAYS NO MORE FORNICATING. PAUL SEXTON SAYS PSALM GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK... ...
Profile by Jon Savage, Spin, June 1985
They aren't teen idols, but have a number-one album thanks mainly to Morrissey, their asexual, charismatic singer-writer. ...
Gil Scott-Heron: Ronnie Scott's, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 4 June 1985
ALTHOUGH HE does not like being labelled, particularly as a "protest singer", Gil Scott-Heron may fairly be described as a radical black poet and jazz-funk ...
Live Review by Sean O'Hagan, New Musical Express, 22 June 1985
WORLDLY RAPPING HOODS ...
The Redskins: The Insanity Clause
Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 29 June 1985
Back on the road and with their new single 'Bring It Down' receiving accolades from all directions, THE REDSKINS are demonstrating that there's still life ...
The Communards: Heaven, London
Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 6 July 1985
GAY'S THE WORD ...
The Redskins: * William Shaw Sympathises With... The Redskins
Interview by William Shaw, Smash Hits, 17 July 1985
* They think Live Aid is sickening* They reckon the Queen must feel a complete wally"* They want to bring down "post-war consumer capitalism"* They're ...
Bob Geldof: Life After Live Aid? Keeping Pop's Conscience In Focus
Comment by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 20 July 1985
Can Live Aid really be more than a cosmetic exercise, a massive sop to the conscience of the West, or at best a temporary solution ...
Bob Geldof: Live Aid: Transmission Of Mercy
Comment by Don Watson, New Musical Express, 20 July 1985
JUST ABOUT the time that the 70,000 in the centre of the mediarena were filing, as instructed, towards the exits, I was emerging from the ...
Mutabaruka: Reggae Star Is More Than A Poet
Report and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 1985
"I DON'T LIKE being classified as a dub poet because dub poetry is a limit to one's expression," Mutabaruka declares. "It's like saying that you're ...
Review by J. Kordosh, Creem, August 1985
OUCHLESS BAND-AID ...
Rubén Blades: Casino de Montreux, Montreux, Switzerland
Live Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 3 August 1985
FLASHING BLADES! ...
Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 4 August 1985
SOLOMON BURKE looked more like Don Corleone surveying his domain in The Godfather than a preacher preparing to conduct a recent late-afternoon service. ...
Bob Geldof: Live Aid take may hit $60 million
Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 29 August 1985
As many as 2 billion people watched the event ...
Midnight Oil: The Only Band That Really Matters
Interview by J.D. Considine, Musician, September 1985
THERE'S A TV commercial running on television stations in Sydney that explains a lot about modern-day Australia. The ad is for McDonald's, and seeks to ...
The Style Council: Internationalists (Geffen)
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, September 1985
LEADING THE Jam, Paul Weller was usually eloquent about the ineloquence of youth. Now he's an adult, and he's learned all about monetarism (it's bad) ...
Jerry Lee Lewis: No Sinner Like An Old 'Un
Interview by Jim Sullivan, New Musical Express, 14 September 1985
Not for JERRY LEE LEWIS the cosy trail from rocker to rocking chair. Last year a rollercoaster life and career hit a new low when ...
J.G. Ballard: Closely Observed Trains
Profile and Interview by Don Watson, New Musical Express, 26 October 1985
He never listens to music but he inspired the writing of 'Warm Leatherette' and Magazine's 'Motorcade', his trilogy of Crash, High Rise and Concrete Island ...
Prince: Rock 'N' Roll Feels The Fire
Report by John Morthland, High Fidelity, December 1985
The PMRC isn't only out to censor sex and violence. John Denver could be next. ...
Interview by Tom Hibbert, Smash Hits, 4 December 1985
"I SUPPOSE many of the young rock fans who are always looking for something new and exciting find me terribly boring. But if you think about ...
Alan Hull: Hull's Teeth: An Interview with Alan Hull
Interview by Len Brown, New Musical Express, 14 December 1985
HARD TIMES on Tyneside. So what's new, pussycats? There's snow storms, there's no jobs (30% unemployment), and worst of all, the by-election bigwigs – Brittan, ...
Stevie Wonder: Ever Decreasing Circles
Interview by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 21 December 1985
Is STEVIE WONDER's giant talent exhausted or just sleeping? GAVIN MARTIN seeks the truth, but finds the man cocooned from the nitty gritty by an ...
The Redskins: Central Polytechnic, London
Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 4 January 1986
THE ONLY soul we got tonight was the pre-gig tape, sublime Seventies slices of Billy Paul, Fontella Bass, Womack... Personally, I was grateful — I ...
Alice Cooper, Twisted Sister: Twisted Sister: New Year's Dee
Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 4 January 1986
DEE SNIDER, fang-toothed leader of outrageous HM maniacs TWISTED SISTER lets his tongue gallop over a few topics suggested by Helen 'Tape-deck' FitzGerald. ...
Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul: Q&A: Little Steven
Interview by Fred Schruers, Rolling Stone, 16 January 1986
LITTLE STEVEN Van Zandt, to his simultaneous worriment and gratification, has become the symbol of the antiapartheid movement outside of South Africa. It's not surprising ...
Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 18 January 1986
Can RED WEDGE kick new life into old Labour? Will our lovable lefty pop heroes transform Kinnock's party into a stylish outfit prepared for government? ...
Interview by Jack Barron, Sounds, 18 January 1986
Kicking and screaming into '86 against injustices to the oppressed and themselves come THE REDSKINS. JACK BARRON explores the left side of their collective brain ...
Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 25 January 1986
StreetSounds supremo and entrepreneur of the modern dance MORGAN KHAN thinks the Welfare State sucks, that charity begins at home and that the Union Jack ...
Billy Bragg, Junior Giscombe, Spandau Ballet, The Style Council: Red Wedge
Report and Interview by William Shaw, Smash Hits, 12 February 1986
"It's no good just complaining in your beer about things — you've got to come out and say it..." So says Spandau Ballet's Gary Kemp. ...
The Smiths: Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool
Live Review by Betty Page, Record Mirror, 22 February 1986
"FROM MANCHESTER WITH LOVE", it was billed. But love was the last thing in the air on this freezing cold Saturday night at Liverpool's Royal ...
Jackson Browne: Lives In The Balance (Asylum EKT 31)*****
Review by Hugh Fielder, Sounds, 8 March 1986
BROWNE SUGAR ...
Fela Kuti: Zombie, No Agreement, Shuffering And Shmlling (Celluloid)
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 13 March 1986
ALTHOUGH HE is virtually unknown in the United States, Fela Kuti of Nigeria is the most dangerous musician in the world. For two decades, Fela ...
Live Review by Len Brown, New Musical Express, 15 March 1986
A WORKING-CLASS hero is something to be; it gets more difficult by the day. Under a Government that puts Profit and Progress before People (don't ...
Betty Wright: Getting It Wright
Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 15 March 1986
BETTY WRIGHT is back with 'Pain', but she doesn't feel any because she's got religion. Frank Owen is in two minds. ...
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 22 March 1986
Soaraway Sun scribe GARRY BUSHELL finds himself on the other side of the fantastic fact-finding fence. STEVEN 'Scoop' WELLS digs a grave. ...
Interview by William Shaw, Smash Hits, 26 March 1986
Were they wrong to play in Sun City? Did the cash in on Live Aid with their single 'One Vision'? At last their gracious majesties ...
Sweet Honey in the Rock: Sting in the Tale
Profile and Interview by Sean O'Hagan, New Musical Express, 19 April 1986
SEAN O'HAGAN makes a journey to the land of SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK where heavenly voices have their say. ...
Test Dept.: Freedom is Frightening
Interview by Biba Kopf, New Musical Express, 19 April 1986
On the abandoned building sites of Britain, a new life is stirring. TEST DEPT. sound the charge on scrap metal and bugle, waging a war ...
Sweet Honey In The Rock: B&S talks to Bernice Reagon — a lady with a mission...
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 22 April 1986
Her mission is to get black music the recognition it is due from the world at large and, equally important, to persuade America's black population ...
Jackson Browne: Lives In The Balance (Asylum)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, May 1986
JACKSON BROWNE is mad as hell. He's also a gentleman, which removes the sting from his expressions of outrage on Lives In The Balance. Although ...
Garry Bushell: The Most Evil Man In Pop
Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 10 May 1986
Scourge of the Looney Left, creator of Oi and prime exponent of the dreaded 'Sunspeak', GARRY BUSHELL makes a clean breast of it to Prof ...
Gil Scott-Heron: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 5 July 1986
NORMALLY, I HATE protest pop, especially the born-again Methodism of the likes of Bragg and Moore with that heavy evangelical tone. So why do I ...
Live Review by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 17 July 1986
Amnesty's rock & roll roadshow All-star lineup gives America the message ...
Gil Scott-Heron: Word War Fighter
Report by Len Brown, New Musical Express, 19 July 1986
Prophet, poet and rap pioneer GIL SCOTT-HERON was calling for sanctions against South Africa a decade ago in his hit ‘Johannesburg’. Currently due to appear ...
Interview by Larry Jaffee, Rock's Backpages Audio, August 1986
Scott-Heron talks about music and politics, Reron and B Movie, Sun City, Clive Davis and Arista/RCA, and ruminates on favourites old and new.
File format: mp3; file size: 18.1mb, interview length: 19' 42" sound quality: * (phoner)
The Fall: Watching The City Hobgoblins: The Fall
Profile and Interview by Mark Sinker, The Wire, August 1986
Author's 2005 note: In which I find my voice? In between all the "important rock does this" droning. ...
Stevie Wonder: Pop Music Or Politics, He Sings Out And Speaks Up For His Beliefs
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 14 August 1986
P.W. BOTHA was on television Tuesday afternoon and Stevie Wonder was steamed Tuesday night. Wonder had been listening to the South African president on a ...
Dead Kennedys: The Dead Kennedys: Goodnight, Democracy
Report by Chuck Eddy, Spin, September 1986
Sure, the Dead Kennedys are offensive, but obscene? It must be Jello, because jam don't shock like that. ...
LL Cool J, Run-DMC, Schoolly D: Yo Boys: Boys Keep Killing
Report by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 13 September 1986
The pervasive sound of hip hop becomes punctuated by an altogether more sinister noise — the bark of hand-guns — as, on the streets of ...
Fela Kuti: Africa's Cult Musician: Fela Anikulapo Kuti
Report by Nicholas Jennings, Maclean's, 13 October 1986
WHEN ONE OF Africa's most celebrated musicians receives visitors at his home in the Nigerian capital of Lagos, he lounges in little more than a ...
Interview by Hugh Fielder, Neil Perry, Sounds, 25 October 1986
Two years ago CRASS couldn't decide whether to blow up the country or grow cabbages — fortunately for the Tory Tyrants, they chose the latter. ...
Peter Guralnick's Soul Hits Sweet Spot
Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 9 November 1986
DO YA LIKE good music? (Yeah, yeah.) Then Peter Guralnick's new book Sweet Soul Music (Harper & Row) is right down your alley, two steps ...
Report and Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 15 November 1986
Hard core rapper JUST ICE is out on bail following a murder charge. Frank Owen talks to him and investigates the background to the case ...
Dexter Gordon: Bertrand Tavernier on Round Midnight
Interview by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 6 December 1986
THE DIRECTOR of Round Midnight is extremely un-Bebop in appearance. His supine bearing and serene features suggest a cross between Roland Barthes and Claude Chabrol, ...
What's Missing: On Pop's Eternal Dilemma
Essay by Simon Reynolds, Monitor, Summer 1986
SOMETHING'S WRONG. Everyone knows this, acknowledges it, but it's still hard to point out, precisely, what's supposed to have slipped into abeyance, eluded us in ...
Report and Interview by Sylvie Simmons, Mega Metal Kerrang!, 1987
Would you regard this issue off Mega Metal Kerrang! as 'subversive', 'pornographic' or 'objectionable'? No, of course you wouldn't – 'harmless fun' is a term ...
Jackson Browne: "A Dixie Cup of Nuclear Waste Could Kill the Planet"
Interview by Steve Turner, Q, January 1987
Jackson Browne used to hang his head and weep when he considered the folly of Man. These days he doesn't bother. These days he gets ...
Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Paul Simon: UN Group Attacks Paul Simon
Report by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 12 February 1987
Says Graceland broke cultural boycott of South Africa ...
Public Enemy: Hip Hop Wig Out '87: Public Enemy – Def Not Dumb
Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 21 March 1987
In the first of a series of reports from New York, Frank Owen steals the rhythm of the moment as he surveys hip hop's newest ...
The Margaret Thatcher Interview!!?
Interview by Tom Hibbert, Smash Hits, 25 March 1987
Come with us, why don't you, inside the hallowed portals of Number 10 Downing Street where the so-called "Iron Lady" awaits your "pleasure"... ...
Charlie Haden Recalls Lessons Of Cuba Visit
Report and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 27 March 1987
CUBA IS A RARE tour stopover for any American, artist, but Charlie Haden’s appearance in Havana last month fulfilled a dream the eminent bassist had ...
Paul Simon: The Boy in the Boycott
Report by Mark Sinker, Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 4 April 1987
Is PAUL SIMON "a genius and a loathsome coward"? Does the lack of anti-apartheid statements on Graceland amount to condonation of Botha's regime? Or has ...
Interview by Paul Elliott, Sounds, 18 April 1987
Nazi apologists or naive dickheads? Either way, SLAYER are the foulest, most provocative and probably the best speed metal band yet. But have they gone ...
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 2 May 1987
LABI SIFFRE is off his stool and back on the charts, singing against apartheid. LUCY O'BRIEN joins him on the fence. ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 2 May 1987
OK, SLAYER. So you're the world's top death-metal thrash outfit, and you're playing to thousands all over Britain. But now you must justify your appalling ...
The Blow Monkeys, Curtis Mayfield: Rejoice!
Interview by Michele Kirsch, New Musical Express, 9 May 1987
Surgery's open, and here's busy Doctor Robert of THE BLOW MONKEYS: banned by the BBC, co-singing with Chicago soul legend CURTIS MAYFIELD and activating with ...
Public Enemy: The Enemy Without
Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 16 May 1987
PUBLIC ENEMY are the latest hard rap attack from Def Jam's box of tricks, but very different from all that's gone before. Toting Uzi machine ...
Chumbawamba, Class War, Conflict, Crass, Flux of Pink Indians: Anarcho-Punk: Veg Wedge
Report by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 23 May 1987
With Crass, Poison Girls and Flux in either retirement or a state of change, and Conflict in trouble, the anarcho-punk movement is in tatters. STEVEN ...
Interview by Colin Irwin, Spin, June 1987
With a platinum-bound LP and sell-out tour, U2 have finally conquered America. But first they had to conquer the problem of being a political band ...
The Beastie Boys In Montreux: What Really Happened!
Report and Interview by Chris Heath, Smash Hits, 3 June 1987
• According to the "news"papers, the Beastie Boys arrived in Montreux, swore at a group of sick children, threw a bottle at Run DMC, turned ...
Eastie Boys: Real Life in London's East End
Report by Paul Wellings, The Evening Standard, 24 July 1987
IT IS A HOT day in London’s East End. I’m sitting in my home of Stepney, sipping an ice-cool lager outside the infamous Blind ...
The Christians: Rock On Commie: The Christians In East Berlin
Report and Interview by Len Brown, New Musical Express, 1 August 1987
WHERE AM I? The hotel receptionist says, "Have a nice day". There's Gershwin muzak in the lift. There's Sade on the radio. There's no bugging ...
Terence Trent D'Arby, Prince: Terence Trent D'Arby: Storm in a T-Shirt; Prince: Prince of Darkness
Report by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 1 August 1987
"RACIST" D'ARBY T-SHIRT ROW... DEMONIC PRINCE IS "SATAN'S TOOL"... STEVEN WELLS INVESTIGATES ...
Cliff Richard: The World According to Cliff
Interview by Jon Wilde, Blitz, September 1987
EXACTLY THIRTY YEARS AGO, Harry Rodger Webb was stripped of his prefect's badge for playing truant from school and going to a cinema in Edmonton ...
Hugh Masekela, Paul Simon: Hugh Masekela: Grazing in Graceland
Interview by Roy Trakin, Creem, October 1987
HUGH MASEKELA hasn't been back to South Africa since he left his homeland 27 years ago to study trumpet in London and New York, but ...
What's The Matter With Kids Today?
Comment by John Mendelsohn, Creem, October 1987
THERE ARE lots of wide open spaces around where I live. In the late spring, I can gaze out from the window of my study ...
Public Enemy: Rebels With a Cause
Interview by Sean O'Hagan, New Musical Express, 10 October 1987
They understand Malcolm X and they dig James Brown. Right now PUBLIC ENEMY are making all the noise and SEAN O'HAGAN is ready to take the rap. ...
Public Enemy: Strength to Strength
Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 17 October 1987
PUBLIC ENEMY PLAY BRITAIN IN NOVEMBER AND SIMON REYNOLDS TAKES A LONG HARD LOOK AT THE SURVIVALIST PHILOSOPHY BEHIND SOME OF THE TOUGHEST NOISE OF ...
Interview by Mat Snow, Rock's Backpages Audio, November 1987
Art vs. commerce; pop and politics; materialism; the Second World War – the Bard of Barking on all of that and more.
File format: mp3; file size: 59.8mb, interview length: 1h 02' 14" sound quality: ***
George Michael, Wham!: George Michael (1987)
Interview by Adam Sweeting, Rock's Backpages Audio, November 1987
On the release of his solo debut Faith, George Michael talks about his complex relationship with the press; his split from Simon Napier-Bell's management; his confidence from an early age and what excited him starting out; his run-in with miners' leader Arthur Scargill, the miners' benefit debacle and his personal politics; the crazy Wham! fame days; Boy George's attempts to out him as gay; the new album and its songs, including 'I Want Your Sex'... and his general outlook on life.
File format: mp3; file size: 59.5mb, total interview length: 1h 02' 00" sound quality: ***
The Beastie Boys: The Beastie Bit
Report by John McCready, New Musical Express, 21 November 1987
JOHN McCREADY on the Beastie Boys court case... ...
The Fall, Madness, The Smiths: England: Look Back In Anguish
Essay by Mark Sinker, New Musical Express, 2 January 1988
"Oh, grassy dale and lowland scene/Come see, come hear the English Scheme!" (The Fall)"You might sleep, but you will never dream/Oh, Manchester! So much to ...
The Clash, Joe Strummer: Joe Strummer (1988)
Interview by Adam Sweeting, Rock's Backpages, February 1988
The former Clash front-man on recording the soundtrack to Permanent Record; his musical and acting participation in Walker and Straight to Hell; on the Clash compilation Story of the Clash Vol. 1; how touring with the Who led to the end of the Clash; playing with the Pogues, and his hatred of being spat at onstage; on Reagan and Thatcher; his (now) dislike of drugs; on his diplomat father; forming the 101ers, and the Rude Boy movie.
File format: mp3; file size: 83.8mb, interview length: 1h 27' 20" sound quality: *** (background noise)
The Cure: Race and Gender: Thisism, Thatism
Comment by Iman Lababedi, Creem, February 1988
IN 1981 I interviewed the Cure for CREEM. That was three years after they'd released their paean to Albert Camus's superb existentialist novel, The Stranger. ...
Afrika Bambaataa: The Funky Cassandra
Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 19 February 1988
Adam Sweeting spreads Bambaataa's word for Planet Earth ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 23 April 1988
From presenting the only four nights a week show to play the Primitives next to Prince, JANICE LONG has felt the cold shoulder from the ...
KRS-One: KRS-1: View From The Bridge
Interview by Michele Kirsch, New Musical Express, 21 May 1988
KRS-1, tough turned thinker, raps for condoms and chillin' against crack and killin'. And yet he's seen toting a gun and posing a la Black ...
Public Enemy: Too Black Too Strong
Interview by Jack Barron, James Brown, New Musical Express, 21 May 1988
PUBLIC ENEMY — simply the most creative rappers around? Or a dangerous game with the politics of race? JAMES BROWN and JACK BARRON lay it ...
Ted Nugent: Crime and Punishment: The Ted Nugent Interview
Interview by Jeffrey Morgan, Creem, June 1988
IF ANYONE deserves the title of Hardest Working Man In Rock 'n' Roll, Ted Nugent does. It's a reputation that dates back to 1963 and ...
Scritti Politti: Pretension and polish
Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 10 June 1988
Adam Sweeting drops in on one of the pop world's top name-droppers ...
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 16 July 1988
Fast and furious ...
Nelson George: The Death Of Rhythm & Blues (Pantheon, 256 pages, $18.95 hardcover)
Book Review by Mark Dery, L.A. Weekly, 28 July 1988
SOLD BROTHERS ...
Joe Strummer: Your Money Or Your Life!
Report and Interview by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 6 August 1988
For over a month, JOE STRUMMER has blazed a trail of passionate, powerful, politico rock across the UK with his LATINO ROCKABILLY WAR. ROBIN GIBSON ...
Everything But The Girl, Tracey Thorn: Tracey Thorn: Doctorate feelgood
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 10 August 1988
A daughter of punk, Tracey Thorn is riding high in the pop charts. But academia looms just as large in her life. ...
Psychic TV: The Genesis P-Orridge stitch up — Is This Man Sick?
Report and Interview by Neil Perry, Sounds, 13 August 1988
NEIL PERRY goes behind enemy lines to discover the truth behind The People's expose off Psychic TV's GENESIS P-ORRIDGE ...
Profile and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 27 August 1988
DETROIT – "I'm still shaky from this," says Patti Smith, who's been driven by her husband, Fred Smith, through a hellish rainstorm and rush-hour traffic ...
Tipper Gore and the PMRC: Not In Front Of The Parents
Report and Interview by Ralph Traitor, Sounds, 10 September 1988
The PMRC scored major brownie points recently when its chief, Tipper Gore, appeared on MTV. RALPH TRAITOR hears the woman who Guns N' Roses' Slash ...
Public Enemy: Rockin' The Joint
Interview by Michael Azerrad, Rolling Stone, 22 September 1988
The incendiary rappers preach black self-sufficiency at New York's Riker's Island. But are they prisoners of their own racist doctrine? By Michael Azerrad ...
Interview by Mark Sinker, Rock's Backpages Audio, October 1988
The erstwhile Neville O'Riley Livingston ruminates on the Wailers' legacy; on returning to England after 16 years; on the poor state of reggae today and the serious side of the Jamaican genre; on Ziggy Marley as a successor to his father Bob; on political violence in Jamaica and Peter Tosh's untimely death; on the rise of African reggae and his new album Liberation.
File format: mp3; file size: 37.3mb, interview length: 38' 49" sound quality: *** (background noise)
Michelle Shocked: Shock Tactics
Interview by Ralph Traitor, Sounds, 1 October 1988
With her synthesis of folk and hardcore, Michelle Shocked has successfully created a new vehicle for political pop. Ralph Traitor tunes into the voice of ...
Midnight Oil Burns With Activist Fervor
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 6 October 1988
PETER GARRETT, outspoken singer of Midnight Oil, is on the phone, ticking off things the Australian rock 'n' roll group is not. ...
Jon Savage: Cool and the Crazy
Interview by Richard North, Offbeat, November 1988
Richard North tackles post-punk pessimist, writer, dreamer and rebel without a cause – Jon Savage ...
Run-DMC: Concert Violence: Who's to Blame?
Report by Michael Azerrad, Rolling Stone, 3 November 1988
Action needed in the wake of recent deaths at rap and metal shows ...
Acid Crackdown: Get Right Off One Chummy
Report by Paolo Hewitt, Sean O'Hagan, Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 19 November 1988
With the hysteria now reaching fever pitch and questions being asked in the (non-Acid) House, NME calls a time out to assess the damage in the tab-mad ...
Judas Priest: Heavy metal on trial
Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 1 December 1988
Judas Priest suicide suit takes 'subliminal message' tack ...
Interview by Mark Sinker, Rock's Backpages Audio, Fall 1988
La Galás talks about the impact of the AIDS crisis on her work; her latest album You Must Be Certain Of The Devil; the motivation for her work; how it informs the format of her current show; her concern for mortality. She also talks about her voice, on training it to become "the perfect machine"; her admiration for Gore Vidal; her fear of plane crashes; English free improvisers like Derek Bailey and Evan Parker; on San Diego and Berlin, and a whole lot more.
File format: mp3; file size: 130.8mb, interview length: 2h 16' 15" sound quality: *** (background noise)
Audio transcript of interview by John Pidgeon, Rock's Backpages Audio, 1989
This is a transcript of John's interview. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
Audio transcript of interview by John Tobler, Rock's Backpages Audio, 1989
This is a transcript of John's audio interview with Malcolm. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
Interview by John Tobler, Rock's Backpages Audio, 1989
The manager/artist/impresario bemoans the state of the music business today: the conservative corporate culture; the equally conservative artists; the inability to create new Gods; becoming an artists himself, and the manager as artist; his ambitions and predictions; how England hates artists, and his optimism for Europe.
File format: mp3; file size: 26.8meg, interview length: 27' 57" sound quality: *****
Dusty Springfield: Scandal In The Wind: Dusty Springfield
Report and Interview by Len Brown, New Musical Express, 1989
As the sex-in-high-places Profumo Scandal returns to this nation's screens, Dusty Springfield (with the Pet Shop Boys) brings us the single soundtrack. Len Brown met ...
Nelson George: Nelson's column
Interview by Andy Gill, The Independent, 6 January 1989
American Black Music writer Nelson George talks to Andy Gill about the "death of Rhythm and Blues" ...
Report and Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 7 January 1989
And the kids keep dying. Armed with only a Sony Walkman and a pen, PAOLO HEWITT goes looking for the solution to Rap's vicious side, ...
Diamanda Galás: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 14 January 1989
DIAMANDA GALAS' AIDS trilogy Masque Of The Red Death draws a mixed bunch to the Queen Elizabeth Hall on New Year's Day — 50 per ...
Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 14 January 1989
As a columnist for Billboard and The Village Voice, Nelson George has been America's most incisive commentator on the changing face of black music culture. ...
Interview by Adam Sweeting, Rock's Backpages Audio, 17 March 1989
The Man in Black on the controversy surrounding the 'Til Things Are Brighter tribute album; being threatened by the Klan for hugging Charley Pride; his friendship with Roy Orbison; the state of current country, and his Scottish roots. He also shows Sweeting his coin, gun and guitar collection!
File format: mp3; file size: 30.9mb, interview length: 32' 11" sound quality: ***
Cat Stevens: Fundamentally Speaking: Cat Stevens vs. Salman Rushdie
Comment by Penny Reel, Sounds, 25 March 1989
AN ASPECT of the Salman Rushdie episode that particularly intrigues is the way passions have been so readily aroused. It is as if the text ...
The Jungle Brothers: Pure Righteousness
Interview by Sean O'Hagan, New Musical Express, 1 April 1989
Can the creators of powerful positive Afro-rap THE JUNGLE BROTHERS also be true believers of Islamic fundamentalist, black separatist Louis Farrakhan? SEAN O'HAGAN explores the ...
Stevie Wonder: Breaking The Square Circle
Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 22 April 1989
Perhaps the most innovative musician of the '70s, STEVIE WONDER has enjoyed mixed fortunes in the '80s, dividing his time between duets with Dionne Warwick ...
Big Daddy Kane: Raw Like Sushi
Interview by Sean O'Hagan, New Musical Express, 6 May 1989
Christened The Grasshopper Of Rap for his black belt lyrics, Big Daddy Kane is a hero to rap's hard core followers. With hits for Roxanne ...
New Model Army: Henry Moore Gallery Forecourt, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 6 May 1989
THE PERFECT setting fora New Model Army open air bash: a drab, dull, grey, freezing cold afternoon in a rain-pelted northern town. The drizzle washes ...
Boogie Down Productions, KRS-One: KRS-1: We Are 1
Interview by Jack Barron, New Musical Express, 22 July 1989
Metaphysics... conspiracy theories...the harmony of the Universe...and YOU thought KRS-1 was just a hot rapper! JACK BARRON gets philosophical with the boss of Boogie Down. ...
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 5 August 1989
Just when you thought Public Enemy had pushed as far as it could go, just when you thought rap outrage had peaked, along come N.W.A. ...
Guns N' Roses, Public Enemy: Public Enemy and Guns N' Roses: Busted Axl
Report by RJ Smith, The Village Voice, 22 August 1989
FORTY-EIGHT hours in the feeding-cycle of New York City. There were Uzis, Public Enemy regrouping, and a clique of blond babes orbiting Axl Rose at ...
Ice Cube, N.W.A: N.W.A.: Wanted For Attitude
Report by Dave Marsh, The Village Voice, 10 October 1989
HOW'S THIS for government intimidation? In early August, a letter arrived on the desk of Priority Records president Brian Turner. Written on Department of Justice ...
Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 21 October 1989
Guns N' Roses Shows Some Mettle ...
Report by Jack Barron, New Musical Express, 25 November 1989
In search of Die Neue Deutsche Tanz (New German Dance) JACK BARRON travelled to Berlin to meet the artists behind the Teutonic Beats label — ...
Living Colour, Public Enemy: Talking Loud & Saying Nothing: The Electricity of Afrocentricity
Report and Interview by Chris Bourke, Rip It Up (New Zealand), December 1989
SUMMER IN THE city, New York City, and the place smells. Hot times, an expected high of 90 today, and more than the back of ...
Jello Biafra, Lydia Lunch, Henry Rollins: Spoken Word: Jello Biafria, Lydia Lunch, Henry Rollins
Report and Interview by Martin Aston, The Independent, Winter 1989
ONCE UPON a time, people took to the stage without the blast of music behind them, and people would take them seriously. Poetry and the ...
Audio transcript of interview by Ira Robbins, Rock's Backpages Audio, 1990
This is a transcript of Ira's audio interview with Kirsty. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
Report by Frank Owen, Spin, January 1990
Ecology is the greatest thing on a lot of rock stars' minds these days. But what about all the plastic wrap on their albums? ...
Book Review by Tim Riley, The Boston Phoenix, February 1990
WHEN PAUL MCCARTNEY announced his $8.5 million promotion deal with Visa at a recent press conference, he was challenged to explain how his new sideline ...
Report and Interview by Jack Barron, New Musical Express, 10 February 1990
Rave promoters gathered with Dance fans in London's Trafalgar Square last week to protest against proposed legislation to outlaw all-night parties. JACK BARRON joined the ...
Public Enemy: Public Service: Public Enemy
Interview by Frank Owen, Spin, March 1990
With their third album, Fear of a Black Planet, about to be released, Public Enemy proclaims the death of European predominance. Pop goes Afrocentric for ...
Report by RJ Smith, L.A. Weekly, 8 March 1990
The LAPD drops in on Public Enemy at the PALACE ...
Guns N' Roses, Frankie Knuckles, Tone Lōc: Friend or Phobic?
Comment by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 17 March 1990
STEVEN WELLS investigates American rock's backlash against gays ...
Professor Griff: 100 Per Cent Prof.
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 31 March 1990
Accused of anti-Semitism, dissing the President, condoning Idi Amin and generally being a bit of a foam-flecked Rottweiler, Public Enemy's Minister Of Information PROFESSOR GRIFF ...
Ice Cube, N.W.A: NWA: Hanging Tough
Interview by Frank Owen, Spin, April 1990
Hounded by the FBI and acclaimed as the new, new Sex Pistols, NWA's rise has been rapid and sensational. But now that chief spokesman and ...
The Jungle Brothers, KRS-One, Public Enemy: Rapped in Black
Report and Interview by Mark Cooper, The Guardian, 5 April 1990
An Africa-shaped pendant has become the new badge of honour for American rappers, reports Mark Cooper ...
The Jungle Brothers, KRS-One, Public Enemy: Rapped in Black
Report and Interview by Mark Cooper, The Guardian, 5 April 1990
An Africa-shaped pendant has become the new badge of honour for American rappers, reports Mark Cooper ...
Public Enemy: Fear of a Black Planet (Def Jam/Columbia)
Review by Tim Riley, The Boston Phoenix, 22 April 1990
Their Own Worst Enemy? Fear of a Black Planet; seductive music, muddled message ...
Interview by Larry Jaffee, Rock's Backpages Audio, May 1990
The Bard of Barking talks about being politicised, the Miners' Strike, experiences of racism in the Army, his new album The Internationale... and rather a lot about Margaret Thatcher.
File format: mp3; file size: 30.1mb, interview length: 32' 54" sound quality: ****
Book Review by Tim Riley, The Boston Phoenix, May 1990
IN A CLIMATE where the Reverend Louis Farrakhan can make a comeback on Donahue proposing a separate black state as a God-given right, the void ...
Guns N' Roses, N.W.A: At a Loss for Words
Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 31 May 1990
Record-industry acceptance of stickering is already having a chilling effect ...
Audio transcript of interview by Martin Aston, Rock's Backpages Audio, June 1990
This is a transcript of Martin's 1990 audio interview with the former Floyd man. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
Lee Atwater: Chairman of the Blues
Interview by Frank Owen, Spin, June 1990
Twenty years ago, a young down-home Southern white boy fell in love with black music and became a hot R&B guitarist, backing the likes of ...
N.W.A.: Some Muthas Do 'Ave 'Em
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 2 June 1990
Rubbing white America's nose in its own racism or blagging big bucks by glorifying gangsterism, NWA are not the FBI-pigs' favourite people. STEVEN 'Wild West' ...
2 Live Crew, Ice Cube: 2 Live Crew: Express Yourself
Report by RJ Smith, L.A. Weekly, 21 June 1990
AS WE go to press there is a Sheriff's Department search on inBroward County, Fla., for the two members of salacious rap group 2 Live ...
Steve Earle: And Justice For All
Interview by Paul Elliott, Sounds, 23 June 1990
Having had a severe brush with the law himself, Steve Earle is well placed to judge the American law. On his new LP, The Hard Way, he ...
Angry Anderson, Rose Tattoo: Angry Anderson
Interview by Steve Mascord, Hot Metal, July 1990
ANGRY ANDERSON is intently thumbing through an English heavy metal magazine. It's the one which described him, following the release of soppy 1988 Neighbours hit ...
Tracy Chapman, Jimi Hendrix, Living Colour, Prince, Dan Reed Network: Black Rock
Essay by David Toop, The Face, July 1990
White Rock we know about, but why should the idea of Black Rock be so difficult to comprehend? When Prince says his current tour is rock'n'roll based, he ...
Comment by RJ Smith, L.A. Weekly, 5 July 1990
WHEN RUDY Ray Moore talked dirty to the house parties, when Dolomite told inner-city movie audiences "fucking up motherfuckers is my game," when Redd Foxx ...
Comment by Tim Riley, The Boston Phoenix, 27 July 1990
DEFENDING 2 LIVE Crew's right to party feels more like a chore than a privilege. Graphic slapstick writ large, As Nasty As They Wanna Be ...
2 Live Crew: Fear Of A Black Penis
Report and Interview by Frank Owen, Spin, September 1990
A media moral panic about their alleged obscenity has catapulted Miami rappers 2 Live Crew to national notoriety. FRANK OWEN reports from Florida. ...
AUDIO: AC/DC's Angus Young (1990)
Audio transcript of interview by Martin Aston, Rock's Backpages, October 1990
This is a transcript of Martin's audio interview with Angus. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
Geto Boys: Censorship Isn't Def American
Interview by Frank Owen, Spin, November 1990
Sexually explicit and graphically violent, the Geto Boys are Rick Rubin's latest rap signing. Now Geffen won't release their album. FRANK OWEN reports. ...
Comment by Dave Marsh, Vox, November 1990
WHEN SINEAD O'Connor refused to allow 'The Star Spangled Banner' to be performed at her late August concert at the Garden State Arts Center in ...
Woody Guthrie, Curtis Mayfield, Sinead O'Connor: 'The Star Spangled Banner'
Comment by Dave Marsh, Vox, November 1990
WHEN SINEAD O'CONNOR refused to allow 'The Star Spangled Banner' to be performed at her late August concert at the Garden State Arts Center in ...
Professor Griff, Public Enemy: Professor Griff: Putting America On Trial
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 3 November 1990
In the past year, Professor Griff has been thrown out of PUBLIC ENEMY, accused of being a racist, a Jew-hater and an American-basher. PUSH talks ...
Public Enemy: Black Appeal in the Hour of Power
Report and Interview by James Brown, New Musical Express, 3 November 1990
JAMES BROWN catches PUBLIC ENEMY'S spectacular show in San Diego and speaks to CHUCK D. ...
A Tribe Called Quest: Why Are You Being So Treasonable Now?
Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 15 December 1990
Our reigning monarch scores as highly on the diss-o-meter as pop rapper Vanilla Ice for hip-hop hotheads A TRIBE CALLED QUEST. But a spot of ...
Manic Street Preachers: Manic On The Streets Of London
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 5 January 1991
"SMASH HITS is more effective in polluting minds than Goebbels ever was…" ...
Will to Power: Gimme Back My Bullets: Will to Power shoot for disco Valhalla
Profile by Chuck Eddy, L.A. Weekly, 17 January 1991
ON NEW YEAR'S Eve, I stayed home and went to bed early, as anybody with respect for planetary alignment and his own safety and disrespect ...
A Tribe Called Quest: Storm Warnings
Interview by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 2 February 1991
Besides achieving Top 20 success with their new single, 'Can I Kick It?, A Tribe Called Quest have also been heavily involved with the re-recording ...
Interview by James Brown, New Musical Express, 9 February 1991
Pop music isn't all lying around the pool with GUNS N'ROSES, frugging with PRINCE and getting pissed (on) with the MONDAYS. Except, that is, in ...
Interview by Steffan Chirazi, Kerrang!, 23 February 1991
SLAYER guitarist JEFF HANNEMAN is into war, the hardware and the psychology, plain and simple. But since January 15, and the commencement of hostilities in ...
Retrospective by Steven Wells, Vox, March 1991
From protest to punk, rock'n'roll has provided the soundtrack to every conflict since World War II. Reaching its climax in Vietnam. Steven Wells gets up ...
Boogie Down Productions, KRS-One: KRS-One: Wisdom From The Street
Profile and Interview by Alan Light, Rolling Stone, 30 May 1991
Kris Parker once lived in the subways and shelters of New York. Now the rapper known as KRS-One is hip-hop's righteous voice — and one ...
The Last Poets: Hip-Hop's Secret Historians
Profile and Interview by Gene Santoro, Pulse!, July 1991
Rap's godfathers the Last Poets drop some truth on the gangsta ethos. ...
Professor Griff: Kao's II Wiz 7 Dome (Luke/All formats)
Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 10 August 1991
GRIFF IS the liberal's worst nightmare. A young black radical who is something of a lyrical and musical whiz and who's made anti-Semitic and anti-white ...
Robert Wyatt: Wheelie Saying Something
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 21 September 1991
Beardy-weirdy radical ROBERT WYATT may have ended up in a wheelchair pursuing rock 'n' roll Nirvana with '70s experimental cases Soft Machine, but he refuses ...
Billy Bragg: Who The Hell Does Billy Bragg Think He Is?
Interview by Tom Hibbert, Q, October 1991
Here he comes again: "pop's political conscience" in his dilapidated trousers and sensible shoes, worthily correcting the unenlightened and uplifting the downtrodden with his unsubtle ...
Public Enemy: The Boy-Ees are Black in Town
Interview by James Brown, New Musical Express, 12 October 1991
1991, and PUBLIC ENEMY — purveyors of The Noise — are busy flexing their new, improved mainstream muscle. Fresh from 'that' Anthrax collaboration, Chuck 'n' ...
The Fatima Mansions: Fatima Mansions: The Evil That Men Do
Interview by David Burke, Irish in Britain News, 25 October 1991
Just when you thought it was safe to turn on your radio, Fatima Mansions are back with Bertie's Brochures, a bruiser of an EP – ...
Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 28 October 1991
A Potent 'Rock for Choice' at Palace ...
Billy Bragg: Don't Try This at Home (Elektra)
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 31 October 1991
ALTHOUGH BILLY Bragg is often a great songwriter, it's no surprise that his socialist-propaganda ditties haven't converted young Americans to the teachings of Marx and ...
The Bhundu Boys Take Up Whistle-Blowing
Interview by Len Brown, The Independent, 27 November 1991
David Mankaba, of Africa's best-known band, decided to tell the whole continent he was dying of AIDS. It was his challenge to ignorance and apathy, ...
Cannibal Corpse, Guns N' Roses, Ice Cube: Pop's new voices of rage
Comment by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 22 December 1991
THERE WAS a time, not so long ago, when rebellious rockers took on the establishment. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young railed against Richard Nixon's America ...
Body Count, Ice-T: Ice-T (1991)
Interview by Andy Gill, Rock's Backpages Audio, Summer 1991
The erstwhile Tracy Marrow talks about acting in movies; his gang roots; pioneering West Coast gangsta rap and telling the truth about black L.A.; still rapping though no longer in the hood; his Body Count thrash-metal band and the Black roots of rock'n'roll; "the intoxicating values of gangs"; white kids listening to rap, and America's need to separate the races.
File format: mp3; file size: 58.2mb, interview length: 1h 00' 26" sound quality: ****
Neneh Cherry: Strictly personal
Interview by Helen Mead, i-D, January 1992
No product-pushing, no image-making, no small talk: Neneh Cherry talks personal about AIDS, life and the death of her friend. ...
Comment by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 9 January 1992
IT'S TIME TO re-evaluate that good ol' time rock 'n' roll. Or, as you may discover, not so good ol' time rock 'n' roll. ...
Report and Interview by David Toop, The Face, February 1992
Rap music has become less experimental, but on America's West Coast, groups like The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy and New World Rhythm are trying to ...
Horace Andy, Massive Attack: Keep on Runnings
Report by Sean O'Hagan, The Guardian, 15 February 1992
Bob Marley's music is not the young music in Kingston today. Ragga not reggae is king. And that took the British group Massive Attack to ...
Report and Interview by David Quantick, New Musical Express, 7 March 1992
OH DEAR. I am going to marry Billy Bragg. It's like this; Billy and I are in a tacky sort of '50s retro gift shop ...
The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy: Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy: Telly It Like It Is
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 18 April 1992
Prime your remote controls for the anger and eloquence of powerful San Franciscan panthers of polemic rap, THE DISPOSABLE HEROES OF HIPHOPRISY, telling it like ...
The 25th of May: Praise The Barricades
Report and Interview by Richard North, Siren, May 1992
"IN A WAY it's beyond words. I've got so much respect for the way he lifted himself above the surroundings, that he was brought up ...
Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 2 May 1992
IT'S, UH, KINDA TRAGIC ...
Fun-Da-Mental: Turban Warriors
Report and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 9 May 1992
"FORGET THE IMAGE of Asians as passive, happy people," begins Prince Haq, MC with Fun-Da-Mental, a Bradford group who are fast making a name for ...
The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy: The Riot Stuff
Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 23 May 1992
An uneasy truce hangs over America in the aftermath of the LA riots. Is there worse to come or has the anger, for the moment, ...
The Levellers: An Honest Crust
Report and Interview by Stephen Dalton, Vox, June 1992
The Levellers have a reputation for being anarcho-veggie activists, thanks to folksy songs about travellers and police oppression. Yet their Crass-for-the-'90s image is not strictly ...
Erasure, Right Said Fred: When the flirting stops
Report and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 9 July 1992
Sex is back in the charts. But it doesn't seem to be using a condom. Caroline Sullivan reports ...
Profile and Interview by Kodwo Eshun, i-D, August 1992
Five years on, the Black Panthers of rap are still in your face. They've lost none of their controversial power, as their recent argument with US presidential ...
Morrissey, The Smiths: Morrissey: Caucasian Rut
Essay by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 22 August 1992
POP STARS are especially strange creatures when it comes to giving that all-important 'image' an overhaul. ...
Throwing Muses: Kristin Hersh: Tortured by the Muse
Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 10 September 1992
Caroline Sullivan on the nightmare illness which drives singer-songwriter Kristin Hersh ...
Sister Souljah: Empire, Liverpool
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 12 September 1992
DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE Bill Clinton wants to be President of the world's only superpower — a nation capable of swatting any other off the globe at ...
The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy: Axe of Faith
Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 26 September 1992
THE DISPOSABLE HEROES OF HIPHOPRISY don't piss about like most groups who claim to be 'political'. The Disposables just get on down and do something ...
Pet Shop Boys: Hate – Neil Tennant on the Power of Negative Thinking
Comment by Neil Tennant, Select, October 1992
IF NOT FOR hatred, I wouldn't be doing what I do now. I became a pop star because I hated football at school. I hated ...
Sinead O'Connor: The Enemy Within Sinead O'Connor
Interview by Mal Peachey, Mail On Sunday, 11 October 1992
Revealed ... the childhood terrors that drove one of our hottest female pop stars to tear up a photo of the Pope live on American ...
Interview by Andy Gill, Rock's Backpages Audio, November 1992
The Queen of Folk on her stage repertoire; on the definition of folk; on the end of the Vietnam War; on her political activism – and letting it go; on her new album Play Me Backwards... and not paying taxes for weapons!
File format: mp3; total file size: 41.3mb, interview length: 42' 58" sound quality: ***
Nazi Noises: Right-Wing Rock in Europe
Report by Dave Rimmer, Select, November 1992
NOTE: This piece about Nazi rock music in Germany was commissioned and published by UK music magazine Select in autumn 1992. It ran alongside a ...
Ice Cube: Cube Missive Crisis: Ice Cube: The Predator (4th & Broadway)
Review by Angus Batey, New Musical Express, 21 November 1992
YOU ARE NOT going to believe this. ...
Leonard Cohen: The Loneliness of the Long-Suffering Folkie: Leonard Cohen
Interview by Wayne Robins, Newsday, 22 November 1992
ON HIS NEW ALBUM The Future (Columbia), Leonard Cohen views history's changing currents with more than a little bit of wariness. "Give me back the ...
Overview by Kodwo Eshun, The Wire, December 1992
Kodwo Eshun digs up the history of Clubland UK, from Boodles to Style Wars to all-day nights on the Cybernet. * ...
Ice Cube: The Predator's Decision is Final
Interview by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 5 December 1992
The nigger you love to hate is now The Predator. As the controversy over Ice-T's 'Cop Killer' dies down, ICE CUBE — rapper, film star ...
Megadeth's Dave Mustaine (1992)
Interview by Andy Gill, Rock's Backpages Audio, Fall 1992
The Megadeth leader talks about taking up Martial Arts; keeping it simple on stage; about not being such a dickhead anymore; his time with Metallica, and getting fired; his huge drug intake, and getting clean; being a father; his religious beliefs, and his view of the world and politics.
File format: mp3; file size: 55.2mb, interview length: 57' 27" sound quality: **** (after a dodgy start)
Audio transcript of interview by Adam Sweeting, Rock's Backpages Audio, 1993
This is a transcript of Adam Sweeting's interview. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel: Paul Simon (1993)
Interview by Adam Sweeting, Rock's Backpages Audio, 1993
In the context of his retrospective box set Paul Simon 1964/1993, the veteran singer-songwriter looks back over his relationship with Art Garfunkel; 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'; his artistic evolution in the shadow of the Beatles and Dylan; his black NYC influences; Graceland's success and controversy; accusations of cultural appropriation; his longevity and place in the world.
File format: mp3; file size: 59.7mb, interview length: 1h 02' 19" sound quality: ****
Interview by Mark Rowland, Musician, January 1993
LET'S BEGIN with Ice-T'S Top Seven reasons for pulling 'Cop Killer' off the shelves: ...
Jason Donovan: Identitiy: Jason Donovan — What's Your Problem?
Interview by Mal Peachey, Vox, January 1993
Jason Donovan was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1968. Neighbours made him a teeny idol in 1986, and SAW made him a pop star. He ...
The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy: Michael Franti: Hero of Hiphoprisy
Interview by Mark Rowland, Musician, January 1993
"ONE THING I try to do when I perform a song is go back to where I was in my mind when I wrote it," ...
Spiral Tribe: You Can't Beat The System!
Interview by Stephen Dalton, New Musical Express, 9 January 1993
Back to the future! SPIRAL TRIBE set out on the road to Stonehenge two years ago and never came back, lost in a world of ...
Gil Scott-Heron: Jazz poet shuns rap spotlight
Report and Interview by Nicholas Jennings, Toronto Star, 28 January 1993
HE HAS BEEN called the godfather of rap, but Gil Scott-Heron steadfastly refuses to bask in any hip hop glory. ...
Rage Against The Machine: Rage Against The Machine (Epic/All formats)
Review by Keith Cameron, New Musical Express, 6 February 1993
THE RAP-rock crossover is a long-cherished ideal that has invariably tarnished the credentials of its various practitioners and collaborators. Just as Run DMC were consigned ...
Elvis Presley: The god of rock, warts and all
Comment by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 13 February 1993
"Dead Elvis is the western world's new Christ figure" — discuss ...
Rage Against The Machine: Livid In The Material World
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 13 February 1993
From Comershop to Consolidated, politics is most emphatically back on the pop agenda. And throwing up the high-wire act between semtex and spandex to beat ...
Nirvana: Never Mind The Bullets
Interview by Edwin Pouncey, New Musical Express, 27 February 1993
Deep in the woods of Minnesota, a sleepy CHRIS NOVOSELIC is just finishing a major magazine article on the Bosnian/Croatian conflict, while Steve Albini helps ...
Body Count, Ice-T: Ice-T: Rebel with a cause
Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, March 1993
When Ice-T was witch-hunted by the American establishment over his 'Cop Killer' song last year, he changed from LA gangster rapper to hip hop elder ...
Ice-T: "Bring Me The Head of Charlton Heston"
Interview by Angus Batey, New Musical Express, 13 March 1993
America's most wanted... public enemy one... ICE-T's reputation is just about as real as he wants it to get right now. Ever since the 'Cop ...
Dismember, N.W.A: Art on Trial
Comment by David Toop, The Wire, April 1993
By downplaying or ridiculing the potential impact of extreme artforms such as death metal and hardcore HipHop, do the defences in censorship trials call into ...
Report by John Robb, i-D, April 1993
Three years ago Manchester was famous for flares, clubs and the Happy Mondays. Now it's guns, drugs and violence. How accurate is the city's media ...
Buju Banton, Shabba Ranks: "Using Guns. That's Nothing To Do With Any Sort Of Music."
Report and Interview by Lloyd Bradley, The Independent, 17 April 1993
A man was hurt in a shooting at a ragga concert. Is violence taking over? Lloyd Bradley looks for some answers ...
Profile and Interview by Frank Broughton, Mixmag, May 1993
ALLAH — NUMBER one deity in the world of Islam. Almighty soul controller, master and one God. Inspiration and divine power behind the words of ...
Dr. Dre: Ain't nothing but a gender thang?
Interview by Amy Linden, Request, May 1993
Dr. Dre and writer Amy Linden go one-on-one on sexism and The Chronic. Nobody wins. ...
Elvis Presley, Sex Pistols: Greil Marcus: A Surfer on the Zeitgeist
Profile and Interview by Andy Beckett, The Independent, 23 May 1993
This isn't exactly life on the edge: Greil Marcus is married, nearly 50, and lives in a nice big house in northern California. But he ...
Essay by Stephen Dalton, Vox, June 1993
Ever since Woody Guthrie scratched "This Guitar Kills Fascists" on his six-string, musicians have exploited rock's confrontational possibilities, from anti-racism to sexual revolution, in a ...
The Beatles, Sex Pistols: Pointing Pistols at the throne
Essay by Jon Savage, The Guardian, 2 June 1993
There is something Rotten in the state of England. Republicanism is emerging as an option even for Tory meritocrats — thanks to the punk's subversiveness ...
Report and Interview by RJ Smith, L.A. Weekly, 17 June 1993
One Nation Under An Overpass ...
The Undertones: Sounding Out Stroke City
Interview by Sean O'Hagan, The Observer, 11 July 1993
The pop star's tale: Michael Bradley has lived most of his life in the thick of the Troubles — but he has not let them ...
Burzum, Mayhem: Euronymous Murdered!
Report by Paul Elliott, Tore Øien, Kerrang!, 21 August 1993
Black Metal 'Godfather' stabbed to death; rival Swedish Satanists suspected! ...
Emperor: Second Black Metal Murder!
Report by Tore Øien, Kerrang!, 18 September 1993
Emperor drummer killed homosexual and burned chapel! ...
Paul Weller: invisible jukebox: Paul Weller
Interview by Philip Watson, The Wire, October 1993
Every month we play a musician a series of records which they’re asked to identify and comment on — with no prior knowledge of what they’re ...
Janis Ian: Protest and Survive
Profile and Interview by Andy Gill, Q, October 1993
AT THE age of 42, Janis Ian is making a comeback (her second, or is it third?), which would be unexceptional save for the fact ...
Letter Of The Week: The Beauty of Words
Readers' Letters by Neil Kulkarni, Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 9 October 1993
Letter of the Week ...
Michael Jackson: An Abuse of Trust: Michael Jackson Defends His Honor
Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 14 October 1993
FOR MICHAEL Jackson, a man who has spent an enormous amount or time and millions of dollars helping underprivileged, sick and disabled children, it was ...
Retrospective by John Harris, New Musical Express, 16 October 1993
ON APRIL 16, 1990, a proud man who'd spent 27 years in the custody of a vicious racist regime arrived in London. He'd come to ...
Snoop (Doggy) Dogg: New Waves — The insider's guide to the Next Big Thing: Snoop Doggy Dogg
Comment by David Toop, The Times, 29 October 1993
SOMETIMES A musician is so obviously the next big thing that hailing the fact in advance seems like cheating. Only a small sample of Snoop ...
Rage Against the Machine: Cross: Rage Against The Machine: Élysée Montmartre, Paris
Live Review by Stuart Maconie, Q, November 1993
Grrrr! It's Rage Against The Machine. ...
Guide by Mat Snow, Johnny Black, Q, November 1993
... and the law, being an all-powerful customer, usually won. Johnny Black and Mat Snow investigate the link between the crazy, hot-headed outlaws of rock ...
Comment by Jon Savage, The Guardian, 23 November 1993
THEY'RE AT it again. Yes, even here in the Guardian, the thirtysomething zombies, with their litany: Pop isn't what it used to be, there are ...
Fun-Da-Mental: Rebels Without a Pause
Interview by Kodwo Eshun, i-D, January 1994
Asian rappers Fun-Da-Mental burst onto the scene in a blaze of angry political rhetoric and eclectic samples. Now, even though the original band has split ...
Essay by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 15 January 1994
Is the current wave of Little Englandism just a mask for the fact that Brit rock is becoming increasingly irrelevant? STEVEN WELLS looks at the ...
Snoop (Doggy) Dogg: Snoop Doggy Dogg: A Dogg's Tale
Interview by Steven Daly, The Face, February 1994
Snoop Doggy Dogg is currently America's top rap star. He's also due to be tried later this year as an accessory to murder. In his ...
Country Joe & The Fish: Country Joe McDonald
Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, March 1994
ONE FIGURE straddles the two polar events of the '60s – Woodstock and the Vietnam War – and that's Country Joe McDonald. In fact, such ...
Body Count, Ice-T: Ice-T: Sold on Ice
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, GQ, March 1994
Never at a loss for words, gangsta rapper Ice-T has taken the literary plunge and produced a provocative manifesto, modestly titled The Ice Opinion ...
Mayhem: Black Metal: Bloody Hell!
Report by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, April 1994
Of course, it's all a right old laugh, Death Metal, isn't it? But in the long Scandinavian nights, some people have failed to see the ...
Charlatans, The (UK): The Charlatans: The Ballad of Redditch Jail
Interview by Stuart Maconie, Select, April 1994
If a star goes 'inside', it's usually for drugs or drink driving. Not so for Rob Collins of the Charlatans. He went for a quiet ...
Report and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Vox, April 1994
Singing hairdos? Not any longer. Britain's new breed of single black females are feisty, independent and take no prisoners ...
Report and Interview by Carl Loben, Simon Reynolds, Ngaire Ruth, Melody Maker, 30 April 1994
For decades, squatting, free festivals and illegal parties have played a vital role in alternative pop culture. The Criminal Justice Bill — which has been ...
Audio transcript of interview by Andy Gill, Rock's Backpages Audio, May 1994
This is a transcript of Andy's audio interview with Henry. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
Interview by Eric Weisbard, Spin, May 1994
Broadcast cowboy, spends his Sunday nights hidden in the dark hills of Berkeley, California, illegally transmitting his version of alternative radio. Is he a transistor ...
Burzum, Mayhem: Black Metal Court Report: Blood, Fire, Death
Report by Tore Øien, Kerrang!, 7 May 1994
Heavy Metal has seen nothing like it before. In Norway's infamous Black Metal scene, murder and arson are rife. Emperor drummer Bard Eithun is already ...
Burzum, Mayhem: Black Metal Court Report: The Killer Cracks!
Report by Tore Øien, Kerrang!, 14 May 1994
Norwegian Black Metal star Varg Vikernes — aka Count Grishnackh — is charged with the murder of rival musician and Satanist Oystein Aarseth. Kerrang!'s exclusive ...
Burzum, Mayhem: Black Metal Court Report: Mass Slaughter!
Report by Tore Øien, Kerrang!, 21 May 1994
Black Metal star Varg Vikernes (aka Count Grishnackh) stands accused of the murder of rival Oystein Aarseth — but incredibly, he was planning a worse ...
Burzum, Mayhem: Black Metal Court Report: Guilty As Hell!
Report by Tore Øien, Kerrang!, 28 May 1994
The verdict is in — and Black Metal star Varg Vikernes, aka Count Grishnackh, has been found guilty of murdering rival Oystein Aarseth. The sentence ...
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 28 May 1994
SHIRT UP AND DANCE ...
Rage Against the Machine: Marx Out Of Tension
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 18 June 1994
All festival trails lead to Glastonbury. At least they do for RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, stall angry, still shouty and still not talking about their ...
Liz Phair: Sexual Perversity in Chicago
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Details, July 1994
Where and when did you write the famous line "I want to be your blowjob queen"? ...
Interview by John Harris, New Musical Express, 6 August 1994
PUBLIC ENEMY were once unerring occupiers of the moral high ground, but guns, drugs, liquor and arrests have shown them to be as fallible as ...
Public Enemy: White Light, Black Noise
Interview by Kodwo Eshun, i-D, September 1994
PUBLIC ENEMY USED TO BE THE BIGGEST, FIERCEST RAP ACT IN THE WORLD. THEN GANGSTA SILENCED THEIR RIGHTEOUS RANTS. NOW THEY'RE BACK WITH A STARTLING NEW ...
East 17, PJ & Duncan, Shampoo, Take That: The New Bottom Line
Report by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 19 October 1994
There was a time when sex in pop meant a shuttlecock down the jeans. The days of innocence are over. The steam age has begun. ...
Audio transcript of interview by Andy Gill, Rock's Backpages, Summer 1994
This is a transcript of Andy's audio interview with Ice-T. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
Sting: The South Will Rise Again
Interview by Adrian Deevoy, Q, January 1995
It is the biggest dilemma in the caring career of Pop's Very Own Captain Conscience. Sun City: should I stay or should I go? Sting ...
Richard Hell: Victor Bockris presents Susan Sontag & Richard Hell, New York City, 1978
Interview by Victor Bockris, The Poetry Project, February 1995
IT WAS THE EVENING of the fifteen-foot snow blizzard and SUSAN SONTAG was due at my Greenwich Village apartment from her 107th Street penthouse at ...
Gil Scott-Heron: A Frail Godfather
Profile and Interview by Mark Mordue, Sydney Morning Herald, the, 1 March 1995
GIL SCOTT-HERON greets me genially. He's slightly spidery in his dangled movements, surprisingly slight and aged. At 45 the man oft referred to as The ...
Interview by David Nathan, Rock's Backpages Audio, 21 March 1995
Mr Wonder talks about why he started to write socially conscious songs: the Vietnam War, inner city unrest and deprivation; being empowered by Marvin Gaye's What's Going On; his relationship with Motown; his new album Conversation Peace — its title, and key songs and on lyrics as poetry.
File format: mp3; file size: 47.8meg, interview length: 49' 47" sound quality: **½
Kurt Cobain, Manic Street Preachers: Is This Music To Die For?
Report by Andrew Smith, The Guardian, 31 March 1995
AN ARTICLE in this week's Melody Maker describes some of the dozens of letters the paper has been receiving every week since Richey James's departure ...
Kurt Cobain, Manic Street Preachers: Cries that won't go away
Comment by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 21 April 1995
When a pop icon disappears or kills himself, teenagers recognise that their own despair is being mirrored. ...
Bound for Glory, Rahowa, Skrewdriver: Hate, Rattle & Roll
Report by William Shaw, Details, July 1995
For years, skinhead rock has remained safely in the lunatic fringe. But now, white-power outfits like Resistance Records are using the music to rally the ...
Report and Interview by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 9 September 1995
IAN WATSON talks to the bands who are contributing to the Help album and how this project compares to pop's last major charity initiative, the ...
Blur, Oasis: The Marketing Of Britpop
Overview by Jon Savage, Artforum, October 1995
RECENTLY I returned from the US into a British news media dominated by a by-election in the North West of England. The point about the ...
Al Green: Still Spreading The Good Word
Interview by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 31 October 1995
THE REVEREND Al Green is explaining why, after 18 years of singing sacred music, his gospel fans will understand why he has re-entered the world ...
KRS-One: KRS–1: 1 From The Heart
Interview by Sonia Poulton, Muzik, November 1995
KRS-1 the grand daddy of hip hop takes to the soap box for a speech on record labels, street cred and 'The Goddess Theory'. Listen ...
"Mad" Frankie Fraser: Criminal records
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 24 November 1995
Dave Simpson talks to former gangland killer turned recording artist 'Mad' Frankie Fraser about his foray into pop music ...
Report by Sonia Poulton, Muzik, December 1995
Following the release of Mike Tyson and the acquittal of DJ Simpson the media circus is now focussing its attention on the spate of R&B ...
Joe Carducci's Rock and the Pop Narcotic
Retrospective by Simon Reynolds, Artforum, February 1996
WHEN Rock And The Pop Narcotic was first published in 1990, it incited a fair bit of controversy, startling many by the sheer aggression with ...
Michael Jackson, Oasis, Pulp: A word from our censor
Report by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 23 February 1996
In with the old, out with the true. How the Brit Awards were turned into a TV farce ...
Jarvis Cocker, Pulp: Jarvis Cocker: Serious about songs
Profile by Andy Beckett, The Independent, 25 February 1996
Andy Beckett on the wry idol who was more than ready for overnight success ...
Billy Bragg, Paul Weller, Tom Robinson Band: Red Wedge
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, March 1996
Only one thing could possibly save us from vicious '80s Conservatism: the assembly of pop pinkos that made up the Labour-supporting Red Wedge organisation. Johnny ...
Report by Chris Campion, The Village Voice, April 1996
A LONG-RUNNING saga of legitimacy has embroiled the Last Poets in a situation that is rapidly echoing the sentiments of one of their own poems, ...
Interview by Ted Kessler, New Musical Express, 4 May 1996
'The Return Of The Mack'? OK, so it might be all trendy trenchcoats round your way, but we're talking MACKS proper — the Mr Bigs ...
Geto Boys: Southern Discomfort
Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 25 May 1996
Deep in the heart of the redneck Bible Belt, squillion-selling rap supergroup GETO BOYS are living up to their paranoid bad-boy reputation. Bushwick Bill has ...
Johnny Clegg, Juluka, Savuka: Johnny Clegg: Scatterlings of Africa Regroup
Report and Interview by Nicholas Jennings, Toronto Star, 18 July 1996
HIS TOUR BUS has broken down. His cellular phone is running low on batteries. But Johnny Clegg has faced far greater obstacles in his career. ...
Dodgy: What's So Funny About Peace, Love & Understanding?
Report and Interview by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 24 August 1996
People thought DODGY were barking when they turned down an offer to play with Oasis at Loch Lomond and Knebworth. But they had more serious ...
Blur, Oasis, Pulp: The Nineties: Going for Bloke
Comment by Johnny Cigarettes, The Face, September 1996
In the Nineties, we are all everyday people, says Johnny Cigarettes ...
Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 28 September 1996
CHUCK D is back with a new solo album and a new mission — to destroy gangsta rap. The Maker listens in ...
Retrospective and Interview by Mark Cooper, MOJO, October 1996
IN THE GOOD old bad old days,Christy Moore was the Brendan Behan, the Shane MacGowan, of his generation. A wild troubadour lashing out at himself ...
Audio Adrenaline, DC Talk, Jars of Clay, Newsboys, Rebecca St. James: Jesus Rocks
Report and Interview by William Shaw, Details, October 1996
But does he mosh? William Shaw follows Jars of Clay to Creation '96 — the Godstock of Christian contemporary music — and pitches his tent ...
Rage Against the Machine: Red, Hot and Bothered
Report and Interview by RJ Smith, Spin, October 1996
Rage Against the Machine have scorched America with their Molotov cocktail or hip-hop, hardcore, and extreme politics. But are they too rad for Russia? RJ Smith ...
Obituary by Sonia Poulton, Muzik, November 1996
At the age of 25, TUPAC SHAKUR was gunned down and died six days later in a Las Vegas hospital. His death was inevitable, but ...
Alexander O'Neal: Alexander the grateful
Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 8 November 1996
Finding God helped soul survivor Alexander O'Neal to straighten up and fly right. Paul Sexton reports ...
Kula Shaker: Mystic mug goes pop
Comment by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 8 November 1996
What have cosmic Kula Shaker and reality got in common? Blowed if Caitlin Moran knows ...
Chuck D, Tricky: Chuck D and Tricky: Conversation Terrorists
Interview by Dele Fadele, Vox, December 1996
It was a most unlikely summit meeting when Chuck D, Public Enemy's motormouth mainspring and founding father of political rap, met Bristol maverick Tricky, hip-hop's ...
Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson: Marilyn Manson: Wrong Is Right
Essay by Chuck Eddy, L.A. Weekly, 19 December 1996
Marilyn Manson's diet for an evil new planet ...
Interview by Andy Gill, Rock's Backpages Audio, Spring 1996
Ms. Sainte-Marie talks about making art in the digital domain: creating music and pictures on computers, the importance of technology to artists, having her own website; working online with indigenous American communities; her early musical experiences; revisiting older material on new album Up Where We Belong; on 'Soldier Blue', the song and the film; and being part of Sesame Street.
File format: mp3; file size: 49.5mb, interview length: 51' 31" sound quality: ****
John Coltrane: Honk If You Love Jesus! The Saint John Coltrane African Orthodox Church
Report by James Maycock, MOJO, 1997
EVERY TUESDAY afternoon, Sister Deborah spreads Coltrane consciousness through the San Francisco airwaves. ...
The Beatles: The Sound of Acid
Overview by Jon Savage, The Guardian, 31 January 1997
Hey man — it's time to beat that cosmic tabla and slap on a droning tape loop. Drug-infused psychedelia, says Jon Savage, never went away ...
Interview by Angus Batey, Vox, June 1997
The songTHE SECOND single to be taked from Primal Scream's forthcoming Vanishing Point LP, 'Star' finds Bobby Gillespie drawing on his personal vocabulary of revolutionary ...
Comment by Sean O'Hagan, The Guardian, 13 June 1997
U2 are that rarity, a clever rock band. So why do the English press hate them? By Sean O'Hagan ...
Fela Kuti: Fela Anikulapo-Kuti 1938-1997
Obituary by Vivien Goldman, Rolling Stone, 18 September 1997
KING OF AFRO BEAT DEAD AT 58 ...
Norman Jay, Kylie Minogue, Primal Scream, Danny Rampling: "This will not be a party weekend."
Report by Toby Manning, Jockey Slut, October 1997
CAFE DEL MAR ALBUM ON ROTATION, TIM WESTWOOD SILENT, RECORD SHOPS SHUT AND CLUBS PLAYING 'WONDERWALL'. HOW DID DIANA'S DEATH AFFECT THE CLUB WORLD? ...
Drop The Dread, Honky: Why White Artists Wanna Be Black
Essay by James Maycock, The Guardian, October 1997
IN 1959, JOHN Howard Griffin, a white journalist, dyed his skin black and travelled through the southern states of America. He found the experience ...
Charles Mingus: a musical misfit in black and white
Film/DVD/TV Review by James Maycock, The Independent, 28 November 1997
A traumatic childhood and a dramatic life characterised the career of the bassist Charles Mingus. James Maycock looks at a documentary on a "phenomenal musician ...
Bob Geldof, Michael Hutchence: Whatever Happened to Saint Bob?
Profile by Sean O'Hagan, The Observer, 30 November 1997
He fed the world. Now the world is feeding on him... ...
Bob Dylan: Drop-kicked by Jesus: Bob Dylan's Conversion
Retrospective by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, December 1997
In which the eternal sceptic did a Damascus and managed an unlikely artistic rebirth. Phil Sutcliffe takes confession... ...
Cassius Clay: "Nobody is going to beat me": Cassius Clay's I Am The Greatest!
Sleeve notes by Paul Gorman, Rev-Ola Records, 1998
AUTHOR'S 2016 NOTE: I was commissioned to write these sleeve-notes by Joe Foster for his label Rev-Ola's 1998 reissue of I Am The Greatest, the ...
Steve Earle's Politics and Prose
Report and Interview by Geoffrey Himes, The Washington Post, 6 February 1998
IT WAS the kind of night that could only take place in Nashville, a town with as many songwriters as Washington has bureaucrats. ...
Judas Priest: Eyewitness: Judas Priest on trial
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, March 1998
EVENT: The Trial of Judas Priest DATE: 23 Dec 1985 – 24 August 1990 LOCATION: Washoe County Courthouse, Reno, Nevada ...
Blur, Oasis: Labour's Love Lost
Comment by Sean O'Hagan, The Guardian, 13 March 1998
According to this week's NME, the honeymoon between pop and the Government is well and truly over. Sean O'Hagan isn't surprised ...
Retrospective by James Maycock, The Independent, 17 March 1998
Thirty years ago the Vietnam war awoke the hippy generation to politics and drove them to revolt, writes James Maycock ...
De La Soul, Puff Daddy, Run-DMC, Wu-Tang Clan: All About the Benjamins
Essay by Miles Marshall Lewis, L.A. Weekly, 2 April 1998
Hip-hop: The need, not the greed ...
Interview by Tom Cox, The Guardian, 3 April 1998
A new tribute CD confirms folk singer Pete Seeger as the patron saint of hippy radicals — and he still hasn't lost hope. ...
Report and Interview by Sean O'Hagan, The Observer, 24 May 1998
THE PHONE rings at 10.30 on a Monday night. It is Bono. "We're going to Belfast tomorrow night," he says, "and we're trying to come ...
The Beastie Boys: Adam Yauch on His Spiritual Journey: "I Don't Care If Somebody Makes Fun of Me"
Interview by Anthony DeCurtis, Rolling Stone, 28 May 1998
ALONG WITH his group, the Beastie Boys, Adam Yauch, 33, has grown up in public. Since their days of dodging the local authorities in city ...
Tupac Shakur: Afeni Shakur: The Kick Inside
Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 1 July 1998
It is two years since gangsta rapper Tupac Shakur's short life ended in a hail of bullets. Caroline Sullivan talks exclusively to his mother about ...
Billy Bragg, Woody Guthrie, Wilco: Songs For Woody: Billy Bragg & Wilco's Mermaid Avenue
Review by RJ Smith, The Village Voice, 7 July 1998
WOODY GUTHRIE bequeathed us his jumble. Willing in life to play straight man for many right causes, in death he left a tangle of words ...
Interview by Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 13 July 1998
Tony Elliott talks about founding Time Out at university as a project in 1968; reading the underground press but not being a dope-smoking hippie; his awareness of both the pop, art and political scenes, and the need to package a variety of information; extending the editorial content, and the people he interviewed; their successes and failures, and missing punk and club culture; political and investigative journalism, and run-ins with the law; increasing lifestyle emphasis after the 1981 strike, and the magazine's philosophy and brand.
File format: mp3; file size: 67.6mb, total interview length: 1h 10' 26" sound quality: ***
Sinead O'Connor: Eyewitness October 1992: America Slays Sinead O'Connor
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, September 1998
Two weeks after tearing up a picture of the pope on Saturday Night Live and receiving a lifetime ban from the US TV show, Sinead ...
David Bowie, T. Rex: Glad to be Glam!
Retrospective and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, The Independent, 12 September 1998
What do the original devotees think of Ziggy, Bolan, platform boots and glitter 25 years on? Will the latest revival of '70s androgyny take off? ...
The Pop Group, Mark Stewart: The Pop Group: The Politics of Dancing
Profile and Interview by Nick Hasted, The Independent, 29 October 1998
THE POP GROUP'S life was brief and fierce. Begun in 1978, collapsing in 1980, the Bristol teenagers' insertion of black funk, free jazz, dub and ...
Atari Teenage Riot: The Garage, London
Live Review by Nick Hasted, The Independent, 6 November 1998
The revolution has been postponed ...
Now That's What I Call Censorship!!
Essay by Phil Sutcliffe, The Big Issue, 23 November 1998
WHAT DO THE SEX PISTOLS, ABBA AND FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD HAVE IN COMMON? THEY’VE ALL BEEN BANNED IN BRITAIN, THAT’S WHAT. PHIL SUTCLIFFE FINDS ...
Cradle Of Filth: This Is My Uncouth
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 19 December 1998
It was a meeting made in hell — quite literally. A gathering of the forces of evil — namely Cradle Of Filth — and the ...
Report and Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, 1999
IN THIS ISSUE of Q, Michael Stipe, whose public utterances have crept closer to coming out of late, finally does the deed in a cool ...
Report by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, 1999
There’s a knock at the front door. You open it. A slight young man standing there says, "Today I’m here to talk to you about ...
Grateful Dead: Carol Brightman: author of Sweet Chaos: The Grateful Dead's American Adventure
Interview by David Gans, Grateful Dead Hour, January 1999
Carol Brightman was an anti-war activist in the '60s and later the biographer of the writer Mary McCarthy. She sometimes wondered why so many of ...
Myth and the Mississippi: PBS explores the songs and heart of Middle America
Report and Interview by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 4 January 1999
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER covers a lot of history along its 2,350 miles. Sometimes literally. There are communities that have been washed under its high waters, ...
Woody Guthrie: Nora Guthrie on her father Woody (1999)
Interview by Chris Smith, Rock's Backpages Audio, 15 January 1999
Nora Guthrie talks about setting up the Woody Guthrie archive: discovering, preserving and cataloging old paperwork; the involvement of archivist Jorge Arevalo; setting up the travelling exhibit with the Smithsonian; taking it to Woody's home state of Oklahoma; the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame tribute concert, tribute albums by other artists, and putting Woody into a present day context with the help of artists like Billy Bragg.
File format: mp3; file size: 52mb, interview length: 54' 11" sound quality: ***
Everlast: the Neverending's Story
Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 13 February 1999
EVERLAST, THE former lead rapper in House Of Pain, has never seemed more humble. The arrogant extrovert on the Irish-American crew's worldwide Number One pop ...
Review by Stephen Dalton, New Musical Express, 20 February 1999
ROBERT WYATT has been a ghostly presence in progressive British pop for the last 30 years. ...
Interview by Andy Gill, Rock's Backpages Audio, March 1999
Between lengthy expositions on conspiracy theories and American politics, the Godfather of Gonzo Journalism expounds on the music he selected for "personal favourites" album Where Were You When the Fun Stopped: his love of Robert Mitchum; his friendship with Jimmy Buffett; and on his relationship with music and how Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was written to the sound of the Stones' Get Your Ya Ya's Out.
File format: mp3; file size: 31.5mb, interview length: 32' 51" sound quality: * (phoner)
Crass: Shibboleth: My Revolting Life by Penny Rimbaud aka J.J. Ratter (AK Press £6.95)
Book Review by Nick Hasted, Independent on Sunday, 21 March 1999
Incoherent, angry, incompetent and Crass ...
Kurt Cobain, Nirvana: Kurt's Gone. So What?
Comment by Tom Cox, Guardian Unlimited, 5 April 1999
ROCK KILLS. The list of victims is too long and depressing to print here. We still raise an eyebrow when another tortured Narcissus bites the ...
Ol' Dirty Bastard, Wu-Tang Clan: Ol' Dirty Bastard: America's Most Wanted
Report by Stephen Dalton, New Musical Express, 10 April 1999
Ol' Dirty Bastard's rap sheet pisses on Mark Morrison's. But are the cops really out to get him? Are gangstas gunning for him? Or is ...
Marilyn Manson Blamed For Tragic High School Murders
Report by uncredited writer, Kerrang!, 1 May 1999
Manson speaks out over the tragedy as the world's media condemns him ...
The Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy, Tupac Shakur: Suge Knight Linked to Notorious B.I.G. Murder
Report by Fred Schruers, Rolling Stone, 27 May 1999
LOS ANGELES homicide detectives have reportedly identified jailed Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight as a prime suspect in the murder of rap star Notorious ...
The Rolling Stones: White Men Sing The Blues: The Rolling Stones and Black Culture
Essay by James Maycock, The Independent, 4 June 1999
A bitchy look at how the Rolling Stones’ career is excessively/artfully indebted to black American culture. ...
The Fugees, Lauryn Hill: Miss Education: Lauryn Hill
Interview by Simon Witter, The Times, 19 June 1999
With five Grammies on her mantelpiece, two children and a charity to her name, singer Lauryn Hill has achieved an awful lot at the tender ...
Report by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 26 June 1999
When the Glasto Green Field vibes work their magic, we all come over a bit hippy. But for the good folk of Glastonbury, being a ...
Generation Ex: Some Get A Decade; We Get A Moment
Essay by Eric Weisbard, The Village Voice, 7 July 1999
THIS TIME IT'S personal. High school student Reese Witherspoon leaves teacher Matthew Broderick cursing his so-called life in Election. No shocker; couldn't be a teen ...
Tim Westwood: White Lies, Black Truth
Comment by Barbara Ellen, The Observer, 25 July 1999
A FRIEND OF mine was at the Notting Hill carnival a couple of years ago, and happened to catch Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood in ...
Live Review by Colin Harper, The Independent, 5 August 1999
God plays a mean guitar ...
Marilyn Manson: Moral Minority
Interview by Steffan Chirazi, launch.com, 1 September 1999
IF YOU DIDN'T see Marilyn Manson at some point in 1997, you either spent 12 months in a commune in the Canadian wilderness, or it's ...
The Dixie Chicks, Shedaisy: Dixie Chicks: Fly; Shedaisy: The Whole Shebang
Review by Eric Weisbard, The Village Voice, 15 September 1999
EVERYONE IN NASHVILLE understands that the New Country formula-slick production with a seamless touch of roots and updated suburban family values-isn't enough anymore. ...
Funkapolitan: Bish, Bash, Posh: Class and British Pop
Essay by Barney Hoskyns, The Guardian, 1 October 1999
As Tony Blair calls for a classless society, he might be surprised to learn that the world of pop music is riddled with toffs. Self-confessed ...
Rage Against the Machine: Hello, Hello...It's Good To Be Back: Rage Against the Machine
Report and Interview by Ben Myers, Kerrang!, 16 October 1999
Humourless revolutionaries. Po-faced militants. Volatile insurrectionists permanently on the verge of splitting. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE have been called all of these and more. Which ...
Jimi Hendrix: Street Fighting: Jimi Hendrix
Essay by Charles Shaar Murray, MOJO, November 1999
Your starter for ten: what do Jimi Hendrix and George Orwell have in common? ...
Nina Simone: Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Retrospective by James Maycock, The Independent, 10 November 1999
In the Sixties, Nina Simone's music radically espoused black civil rights. But by the turn of the decade she had rejected politics. Why? ...
System Of A Down: It's The End Of The World As We Know It…
Interview by Ian Fortnam, Kerrang!, 18 December 1999
…and SYSTEM OF A DOWN feel fine. But then, this is the band who will celebrate the new millennium by attempting to drug the Backstreet ...
Charles Mingus: Growing Up Absurd
Book Excerpt by Gene Santoro, 'Myself When I Am Real' (Oxford University Press), 2000
THE BABY, barely three months old and pudgy but with bright eyes and an inquiring air, was the center of attention as he fussed on ...
Norman Jay: Good Times: The Stately Sound of London
Sleeve notes by Frank Broughton, Nuphonic Records, 2000
"IT'S VERY SIMPLE," says Norman Jay behind his shades, as we drive round the hallowed sites of the Notting Hill Carnival. "Good Times is about… ...
Tupac Shakur: Life and Death in South Central LA
Book Excerpt by William Shaw, The Observer, 9 January 2000
South Central Los Angeles is notorious both for its violent gang warfare and for the gangsta rap that celebrates it, yet the media rarely ventures ...
Mos Def: Are You Def Or Somefink?
Interview by Stevie Chick, New Musical Express, 20 January 2000
Er, yes, actually. Mos Def, Brooklyn rapper, dontcha know… ...
The Notorious B.I.G.: New Allegations Link Suge Knight to Murder of the Notorious B.I.G.
Report by Fred Schruers, Rolling Stone, 20 January 2000
DEATH ROW RECORDS HEAD Marion "Suge" Knight, currently serving time for a parole violation at California's Mule Creek State Prison, has again been named as ...
D'Angelo: Groove is in the heart
Interview by Vivien Goldman, Daily Telegraph, 22 January 2000
Five years since revolutionising soul music with his debut album, Brown Sugar, D'Angelo is back. Vivien Goldman meets the preacher's son with a taste for ...
Primal Scream: "I Am A Drug Addict"
Profile and Interview by Dorian Lynskey, Select, February 2000
Primal Scream are off the smack (but not the speed, coke and E) and on a mission – kill Sporty Spice, kick the shit out ...
Curtis Mayfield: The Soul of Soul: Curtis Mayfield 1942–1999
Obituary by Anthony DeCurtis, Rolling Stone, 3 February 2000
"EVERYTHING WAS A SONG," Curtis Mayfield once said. "Every conversation, every personal hurt, every observance of people in stress, happiness and love ... if you ...
Dave Haslam: Manchester, England – The Story of the Pop Cult City (Fourth Estate)
Book Review by Andy Beckett, London Review of Books, 17 February 2000
ON TIB STREET in the centre of Manchester, in the part of the city keen to promote itself as the Northern Quarter, a new delicatessen ...
Femi Kuti, Fela Kuti: Femi Kuti's Family Tradition
Report and Interview by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 17 March 2000
A FEW YEARS ago, Femi Kuti's 'Beng Beng Beng' was banned from Nigeria's airwaves by that nation's military regime. When a civilian government took over ...
Inner City Jam: A musical about rundown north London. In Leeds
Comment by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 11 April 2000
Inner City Jam is a colourful portrait of King's Cross. So why couldn't it find a theatre in the capital, asks Dave Simpson ...
Eminem: "Let's Get Raping You!"
Interview by Sylvia Patterson, New Musical Express, 22 April 2000
Yup, no need to worry about Eminem going "soft", he's as angry and fucked up as ever — threatening to rape NME, railing against boy/girl ...
Book Review by Ian Penman, The Wire, May 2000
HIP HOP NEEDS its users' manuals. How many of the millions who bought their in-vogue Fugees CD, say, could untangle the dialectic that daisychains together ...
Essay by Victor Bockris, Gadfly, May 2000
Somebody once asked who Andy Warhol reminded me of. My answer, Muhammad Ali, tickled the artist so much that he used the statement in a ...
Three Lions: Fat Les and 'Jerusalem'
Report and Interview by Andrew Smith, Observer Music Monthly, 21 May 2000
After scoring with their World Cup hit 'Vindaloo', Damien Hirst, Keith Allen and Alex James are back with the official song for Euro 2000. But ...
Wu-Tang Clan is Sumthing ta Fuck Wit
Report by Frank Owen, The Village Voice, 23 May 2000
The world-famous Staten Island hip-hop collective has a government informer working within its ranks; at the same time, the group is being investigated by the ...
Cat Stevens, Yusuf: Cat Stevens: Time to Make a Change
Profile and Interview by Colin Irwin, MOJO, June 2000
It's one of music's most overdue reconciliations. Yusuf Islam has made peace with Cat Stevens. ...
Modest Mouse: Caught in a trap
Interview by RJ Smith, Spin, July 2000
For seven years, Modest Mouse have been writing songs about being stranded in boom-time America. Now they’re signed to a major label and more lost ...
The Rolling Stones: Sonny Barger: Hell's author
Report and Interview by Deanne Stillman, salon.com, 10 July 2000
IN 1982, AFTER smoking three packs of Camels a day for 30 years, Sonny Barger, the founder of the Oakland Hells Angels motorcycle club, was ...
Caroline Coon: Still fighting the bad guys
Profile and Interview by Barbara Ellen, The Observer, 30 July 2000
In the '60s, Caroline Coon was famous for helping people caught in drugs busts. In the '90s she defended her right to paint penises. Now, ...
Interview by Jason Gross, Perfect Sound Forever, August 2000
AS ONE OF the first people who decided that rock and roll was something that could and should be something that could be seriously written ...
Report and Interview by RJ Smith, The New York Times, 6 August 2000
As entertainment entrepreneurs align the fantasy lands of rap, rock, wrestling and pornography, a generation of fans grows ever more brutish. ...
Profile and Interview by Chris Campion, Dazed & Confused, September 2000
ANTICHRIST. MESSIAH. Celebrity. Pariah. Marilyn Manson, the celebrity death cult leader everyone loves to hate, is a dark star whether the religious right like it ...
The Clash, King Tubby, Bob Marley & the Wailers, Lee "Scratch" Perry: Reggae: Back to the Roots
Essay by Simon Reynolds, The Wire, September 2000
According to the remixologists' gospel, the dub virus was so successful, it took out the word and eradicated its reggae song hosts. Simon Reynolds rediscovers ...
Report and Interview by Carol Cooper, Crawdaddy!, September 2000
As an acronym, the term A.S.E.A.N. has become the name of a small regional trade & tourism organization known as the "Association of South East ...
Retrospective by Lloyd Bradley, The Evening Standard, 15 September 2000
This is the story of reggae in West London — from the sound systems of the Fifties to the Carnival of today. Lloyd Bradley celebrates ...
Craig Werner: A Change Is Gonna Come – Music, Race & the Soul Of America
Book Review by Gavin Martin, Uncut, October 2000
Potent history of black American music, from Gospel-fuelled Civil Rights-era freedom marches, through Motown, Monterey, The Million Man March and much, much more. ...
Part-Time Writer: Tom Smucker Keeps Us Hangin' By the Telephone
Interview by Steven Ward, rockcritics.com, October 2000
TOM SMUCKER writes about music when he wants to. I wish he would "want to" more than he does. ...
Proxy Music: Electing the Pop Star in Chief
Essay by Eric Weisbard, The Village Voice, 25 October 2000
IN 1822, NOAH Ludlow dressed himself in a buckskin hunting shirt and leggings, donned moccasins and an old slouch hat, put a rifle on his ...
Profile and Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, November 2000
From Brixton jail to fragrant Hell's Angels bunfight: a weekend with Alabama 3 is one worth "tooling up" for. So hide your shiv in a ...
Merle Haggard: Workin' Man Blues
Profile and Interview by RJ Smith, Spin, November 2000
MERLE HAGGARD'S DONE MORE TIME THAN OL' DIRTY BASTARD AND HAS BEEN MAKING HARDCORE COUNTRY RECORDS SINCE BEFORE YOU WERE BORN. AT 63, HE'S GOT ...
Elvis Presley: Presley/Clinton: Bill Has Left The Building
Book Review by Charles Shaar Murray, The Independent, 4 November 2000
Double Trouble: Bill Clinton and Elvis Presley in the land of no alternatives by Greil Marcus (Faber & Faber, £9.99, 248pp) ...
Rage Against the Machine: Zac De La Rocha: "Every song I've ever written is a love song!"
Report by Stephen Dalton, New Musical Express, 11 November 2000
…but now that Zack De La Rocha has penned his last for legendary polemic rockers Rage Against The Machine, will anyone fill the hole in ...
Marilyn Manson: "I suffered for Columbine, but everyone's responsible"
Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 20 November 2000
No stranger to guns, Marilyn Manson tells us about Columbine, Courtney and Holy Wood in the Melody Maker interview ...
Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001
b. Charles Edward Haden, 6 August 1937, Shenandoah, Iowa, USA ...
Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001
Tim Commerford, b. Irvine, California, USA; Tom Morello, b. 30 May 1964, New York; Zach de la Rocha, b. 1967, Irvine, California; Brad Wilk, b. ...
Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001
b. 2 May 1924, Vienna, Austria ...
Sigur Rós: Desolation Angels: Icelandic music
Report and Interview by Rob Young, The Wire, January 2001
Spearheaded by Sigur Rós, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson and the Kitchen Motors collective, Iceland’s hardy children of nature are proving stubbornly resistant to the World Rock ...
Comment by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages, January 2001
Fans of European football (soccer to all you Americanos out there) will already know that Italian maestro Roberto Baggio – he of the Buddhist beliefs ...
Richard Pryor: ...And It's Deep Too! – The Complete Warner Bros Recordings (1968-1992)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, MOJO, January 2001
A 9-CD box showcase for the greatest stand-up comic who ever lived... and it's funny, too! ...
Visions of the Seventies: The Rise And Fall of a Cultural Challenge
Retrospective by Victor Bockris, Gadfly, January 2001
The 1970s were America's low tide. Not since the Depression had the country been so wracked with woe. Never—not even during the Depression—had America's pride ...
Ani DiFranco: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London
Live Review by John Aizlewood, The Guardian, 1 February 2001
WITHOUT A HINT OF MAINSTREAM chart or media attention over a decade-long career, without a new record to promote and without any discernible music industry ...
Heshima: Do the Harlesden Shuffle
Report and Interview by Lloyd Bradley, The Evening Standard, 16 February 2001
NW10 is a patch of London that suffers a reputation for drugs and violence — a "murder hotspot" according to the Met. But Harlesden has ...
Eminem: It's Rock 'N' Roll, Stupid!
Comment by David Dalton, Gadfly, 22 February 2001
I KNOW NOW I really have turned into my parents. Did I really spend three hours watching this dopey, homogenized, pre-packaged pap? Dear Lord, I ...
Comment by Amy Linden, Honey, March 2001
IT WAS A seminal moment — as if life had just been discovered on Mars. The world's biggest boy band was on BET's 106 & ...
Manic Street Preachers: Our Manics in Havana
Report and Interview by Simon Price, The Guardian, 2 March 2001
Wales's fab three have just become the first major western rock act ever to play in Cuba. Simon Price went with them ...
Manic Street Preachers: Our Manics in Havana: Manic Street Preachers
Report and Interview by Andrew Smith, The Observer, 18 March 2001
THURSDAY MORNING and the short journey to the national radio station affords a first look at Havana, which turns out to be exactly what I ...
Linton Kwesi Johnson: Wardrobe, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 23 March 2001
IT'S 26 years since Linton Kwesi Johnson became the world's first and foremost dub poet with the single 'Dread Beat An' Blood'. For this rare ...
Profile and Interview by Tim Cooper, The Observer, 25 March 2001
He was on stage by five, on tour by eight and receiving 50,000 fan letters a week by 13. But behind his success lay loneliness, ...
Review by Jim Irvin, MOJO, May 2001
SOME YEARS ago I interviewed Paul Buchanan of The Blue Nile for MOJO. A musician known for his restless lifestyle, I asked him if there ...
Ice-T: Iceberg Slim: The Best-Selling Pimp Remembered By His Widow
Retrospective and Interview by James Maycock, Pride, June 2001
"YOU SEE, pimping's big business," growled an experienced pimp to Goldie, his aspiring protégé in the classic 1970's film, The Mack. Concluding his informal lecture, the ...
Patrick Sky: Songs That Made America Famous (Adelphi/GENES Records, Inc.)
Review by Gary Pig Gold, In Music We Trust, June 2001
IN 1965, YET another Greenwich Village folkie signed to Vanguard Records and released an album full of pleasing if inconsequential singalongs, more or less in ...
Comment by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 27 July 2001
Everyone is clamouring for CDs brought out by hip restaurants and bars, says Lisa Verrico ...
Memoir by Charles Shaar Murray, The Guardian, 2 August 2001
It's 30 years since Oz was prosecuted in an infamous obscenity trial. The underground magazine had been guest-edited by a bunch of teenagers – and ...
Björk: Alone in the Dark: Björk on Vespertine
Interview by David Toop, The Wire, September 2001
Björk's eerie night songs are infused with the mythological landscapes of her native Iceland and the concrete fjords of Manhattan. She tells David Toop about ...
Lester Bangs: Loud Bangs and Bestial Noises
Essay by Mark Sinker, The Wire, September 2001
In the 20 years since Lester Bangs wrote his 'Reasonable Guide to Horrible Noise', the multi-mediated world has largely assimilated the hostile sounds he espoused. ...
Apocalypse Now: Reeling from the terrorist attack on America
Comment by Michael Goldberg, Neumu, 15 September 2001
"THIS WICKED TONGUE says, 'God is a million miles away'," sings P.J. Harvey on her latest album. ...
War Within War: Black Americans And The Vietnam Conflict
Retrospective by James Maycock, The Guardian, 15 September 2001
The Vietnam war saw countless numbers of America's young men – both black and white – thrown into combat. They were there to fight the ...
Cannibal Ox: The Anti-Bling Kings: Cannibal Ox
Profile by Simon Reynolds, The Village Voice, 2 October 2001
Wormholed futurism with a mouthful of parables ...
Interview by Sylvie Simmons, MOJO, November 2001
He stole hearts and sought refuge in Hydra, bagged a celebrity fiancée, then disappeared to a monastery. Sylvie Simmons talks through the many lives of ...
Phil Ochs: Bringing It All Back Home
Comment by Nick Hasted, The Independent, 9 November 2001
"WHILE THE Movement died a natural death, the music died by hanging," Esquire's headline said when the protest singer Phil Ochs committed suicide in 1976. ...
So Solid Crew: Ghetto Blasters: So Solid Crew
Profile and Interview by Andrew Smith, Observer Music Monthly, 25 November 2001
SHOTS RANG OUT and a man collapsed in a heap near the dance floor. Another lay slumped, bleeding profusely, in a doorway near the toilet. ...
Emmett Miller: Nick Tosches: Where Dead Voices Gather
Book Review by David Dalton, Gadfly, 10 December 2001
MINSTRELSY (1843-1928): the mere mention of the word is politically incorrect. You know, white performers blackening their faces with burnt cork and performing skits and ...
Harry Belafonte: Island in the Sun
Sleeve notes by Colin Escott, Bear Family, 2002
WHEN "WORLD MUSIC" became a phrase on everyone's lips a few years ago, it sometimes seemed as though an interest in other countries' musics was ...
From Hard Rock to Rock of Ages: Former Hit Parader Writer, Father Charley Crespo
Interview by Steven Ward, rockcritics.com, February 2002
BACK IN THE '70s and '80s, Charley Crespo frequented the rock clubs of New York and New Jersey gathering info for his fan-obsessed dispatches for ...
Interview by Chris Heath, Rolling Stone, 28 February 2002
The tumultuous past and glorious present of Scott Stapp and America's biggest rock band ...
Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, March 2002
Star-Spangled Bummer: Record of benefit concert/telethon for victims of September 11 ...
Femi Kuti and Positive Force: Ocean, London
Live Review by John L. Walters, The Guardian, 11 March 2002
SAXOPHONIST FEMI KUTI fronts a 14-piece band, with drums, two percussionists, guitar, bass, keyboards, four horns and three singers. Like a soul review or a ...
Dexys Midnight Runners, Kevin Rowland: Kevin Rowland: A dark knight of the soul
Interview by Simon Price, The Independent, 5 April 2002
When his solo album bombed in 1999, Kevin Rowland considered retiring. Now he's back on tour and plugging a re-release of Dexy's Midnight Runners' greatest ...
Hey, It's OK To Think About Rock Too!
Comment by Michael Goldberg, Neumu, 19 April 2002
When journalists and academics met in Seattle for a pop music conference, they learned that you can think about the music and and feel it ...
John Denver, Twisted Sister: Let Freedom Sing: Tipper Gore versus Twisted Sister
Retrospective by Jason Cohen, TV Guide, 20 April 2002
TIPPER GORE is showing way too much leg. The future second lady shimmies on both knees across a conference table, chest out, hips on a ...
Sigur Ros & Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson: Odin's Raven Magic
Preview by John Lewis, Barbican show programme, 21 April 2002
• Sigur Ros, Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson and Steindor Andersen with the London Sinfonietta and members of The Sixteen Choir • Music composed by Sigur Ros and ...
Billy Bragg: I Smell the Blood of a Half-Englishman: Billy Bragg
Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Harp, May 2002
What does it mean to be an Englishman? Billy Bragg explains it to Geoffrey Himes. ...
Interview by Jason Gross, Perfect Sound Forever, May 2002
Depending on how you see music journalism, Simon Frith is either a sinner or a saint. After the late '60's, rock criticism began to show ...
The Coup: Working Through His Anger
Profile and Interview by Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2002
Boots Riley of the rap group the Coup lashes out against the war in Afghanistan and the corporate co-opting of hip-hop music. ...
The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur: Director's Cut: Nick Broomfield on Biggie & Tupac
Interview by Neil Kulkarni, Uncut, June 2002
THE DIRECTOR OF KURT & COURTNEY ON HIS BRILLIANT NEW DOCUMENTARY INVESTIGATING THE MURDERS OF RAP SUPERSTARS TUPAC SHAKUR AND BIGGIE SMALLS. ...
Allman Brothers Band: Song O' The South: How the Allman Brothers made a Redneck Negress out of me
Special Feature by Kandia Crazy Horse, Rock's Backpages, June 2002
AN UNORTHODOX daughter of Dixie, born in the year of their classic Fillmore East live album, my life truly began when I heard the exotic, ...
The Rolling Stones: The Maysles Brothers' Gimme Shelter (Criterion DVD)
Film/DVD/TV Review by Rick McGrath, Culture Court, June 2002
Directed by David Maysles, Albert Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin ...
Junkie XL, Elvis Presley: Junkie XL: The King is dead cool
Interview by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 17 June 2002
Elvis is back at No 1 with a soccer song. Lisa Verrico meets the DJ responsible ...
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blender, July 2002
Performers: Eddie Vedder: vocals Jeff Ament: bass Mike McCready: guitar Stone Gossard: guitar Dave Krusen: drums Rick Parashar: keyboards Producer: Rick Parashar Released: September 1992 Highest chart position: 79 ...
Queens of the Stone Age: Mean Fiddler, London
Live Review by Ian Winwood, Kerrang!, 6 July 2002
THERE ARE people everywhere. Crowded at the front of the stage, clogging the bar, hanging on the stair rails, queuing for the toilets. The room ...
George Michael: Who's a Cheeky Boy?
Comment by Charles Shaar Murray, The Observer, 7 July 2002
'WITH THE RELEASE of his George Bush and Cherie Blair-referencing new single,' snickers the Popbitch website, 'we would like to commiserate with George Michael on ...
System of a Down: Messiahs of metal
Interview by Ben Thompson, Daily Telegraph, 11 July 2002
System of a Down look set to be the first band to break out of the hard-rocking nu-metal ghetto, says Ben Thompson ...
Isaac Hayes: A Black Woodstock: Wattstax
Retrospective and Interview by James Maycock, The Guardian, 20 July 2002
Intro: This is about 1000 words longer than the version published by The Guardian. There’s much more on the concert, more quotations and more on ...
Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, Kim Weston: Loud and proud: Wattstax
Retrospective and Interview by James Maycock, The Guardian, 20 July 2002
When Los Angeles erupted in the bloodiest racial uprising of the 1960s, the black citizens of Watts sent a message to the world, demanding that ...
The Polyphonic Spree: Polyphonic Spree: Songs Of Praise
Interview by Ian Watson, New Musical Express, 27 July 2002
LAST MONTH, London was invaded by the strangest musical gathering the capital has ever seen. ...
The Pink Fairies: Neverneverland;What A Bunch Of Sweeties; Kings Of Oblivion
Review by Carol Clerk, Uncut, August 2002
First three albums by heroes of early '70s UK underground. ...
Bruce Springsteen: Hey, He's Bruce
Essay by Gene Santoro, The Nation, 29 August 2002
WHEN BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN and the E Street Band, reunited to tour behind The Rising, came to Madison Square Garden on August 12, they juxtaposed '41 ...
Steve Earle: The Dissent Of Man
Report and Interview by Andy Gill, The Independent, 20 September 2002
Forget Springsteen's posturing and the redneck mentality of Toby Keith; it's Steve Earle's response to September 11 that has been causing a stir in the ...
The Ohio Players, Sly & the Family Stone: In Pursuit Of The Pimp Mobile
Essay by James Maycock, Nine, October 2002
A look at how black pimp culture has crossed into black popular culture, for which I interviewed Antonio Fargas. I refer to Miles Davis, the ...
Musica Della Mafia: Omerta Onuri E Sangu
Report and Interview by Graeme Thomson, The Herald, October 2002
IT SAYS MUCH for the myth-making powers of Hollywood and beyond that the mere mention of the mafia tends to conjure up images of sharp-suited, ...
Steve Earle: John Walker Sings His Own Blues
Essay by Tony Fletcher, iJamming.net, 5 October 2002
STEVE EARLE'S decision to write from the perspective of the 'American Taliban' in the controversial song 'John Walker's Blues' appears to have stemmed from the ...
Interview by Bill Brewster, Rock's Backpages Audio, 15 October 2002
The Equals' guitarist/writer/producer remembers his first impressions of London on arrival from Guyana in 1960; the epiphany of seeing Chuck Berry live in '64; forming the Equals at school; the London black music scene; getting signed and having hits; his heart attack and the end of the band, and getting his studio.
File format: mp3; file size: 134.6mb, interview length: 2h 20' 13" sound quality: *****
Comment by RJ Smith, The Village Voice, 5 November 2002
IN THE money scene of 8 Mile, the young white Detroit rapper Rabbit Smith (played by young white Detroit rapper Eminem) battles a series of ...
Comment by Richard Goldstein, The Village Voice, 12 November 2002
TWO EVENTS of lasting significance occurred last week: the breakdown of the Democratic party and the breakthrough of Eminem. His debut film, 8 Mile, became the ...
Ani DiFranco: Blowin' in a New Wind
Essay by Gene Santoro, The Nation, 26 November 2002
AS THE 2002 election results came in, I surfed through 100 cable channels with nothing on and hit an infomercial hosted by John Sebastian for ...
TLC: T-Boz: "The doctors told me I wouldn't live to see 40"
Interview by Precious Williams, The Evening Standard, 27 November 2002
She's a member of the famous girl band TLC. Here, T-Boz talks about her daily battle with sickle cell anaemia ...
Bruce Springsteen: People of the year: Bruce Springsteen
Interview by Anthony DeCurtis, Rolling Stone, 12 December 2002
His album The Rising dealt with life after 9/11. His world tour confronted the realities of war ...
Steve Earle: Country Maverick Steve Earle vs. The Nashville Machine
Report and Interview by Michael Simmons, L.A. Weekly, 20 December 2002
"LATELY I FEEL like the loneliest man in America," writes Steve Earle in the liner notes of his most recent album, Jerusalem (Artemis). ...
Sweet Soul Music: Gerald Posner's Motown – Music, Money, Sex, and Power
Essay by Gene Santoro, The Nation, 23 December 2002
As Trent Lott struggled to "repudiate" segregation fifty years after it was outlawed, about the only point he left out of his incoherent counterattack is ...
John Sinclair: Invisible Jukebox: John Sinclair
Interview by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, January 2003
John Sinclair — poet, journalist and former manager of 60s revolutionary rockers The MC5 — was born in Flint, Michigan in 1941. His father worked ...
Comment by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 6 January 2003
DOES HIP-HOP glamorise gun culture? It depends who you ask. Guns have been part of the baggage of hip-hop since 1988, when Los Angeles's NWA ...
Comment by Andrew Mueller, The Guardian, 18 January 2003
A FEW WEEKS ago, a nationwide leap in gun crime was lent grim focus by the murder of two young women at a party in ...
Asian Dub Foundation: Rappers With A Cause: Asian Dub Foundation
Report and Interview by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 24 January 2003
They helped secure the release of the warehouse worker Satpal Ram from prison. Now they're tackling domestic violence, asylum, the war on terror and the ...
Asian Dub Foundation: Foundation Course
Report and Interview by Stephen Dalton, unpublished, February 2003
JOHN PANDIT is hopping mad. We were supposed to be discussing the latest album by Pandit's multi-cultural protest-pop collective Asian Dub Foundation, but our interview ...
Josh T. Pearson: Josh Pearson: Upstairs At The Spitz, London
Live Review by Nick Hasted, Uncut, February 2003
The real fired-up deal — Lift To Experience frontman's acoustic solo debut ...
Steve Earle: The Progressive Interview
Interview by Michael Simmons, The Progressive, February 2003
"LATELY I FEEL like the loneliest man in America," writes Steve Earle in the liner notes of his most recent album, Jerusalem (Artemis). ...
Report by Phil Sutcliffe, Los Angeles Times, 22 February 2003
Celebrity dissent grows during U.K.'s music awards, as Coldplay's singer and Ms Dynamite protest an Iraq war. ...
Comment by Michael Goldberg, Neumu, March 2003
Michael Goldberg finds comfort in music as the war rages. ...
Why Great Footballers Like Really Crap Music
Essay by Steven Wells, Guardian Unlimited, March 2003
WITH ALL THE current hoo-hah about how all gun crime in the UK is obviously caused by listening to gangsta chaps rapping about ho's and ...
Now Ain't The Time For Your Tears
Comment by Mick Farren, Rock's Backpages, April 2003
Where are the dissident voices in Bush's gung-ho Amerika? MICK FARREN writes in fury not sorrow. ...
Neil Young: "Will I be deported?"
Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 22 May 2003
IT IS DIFFICULT to find supportive things to say about George Bush unless your construction company is rebuilding Iraq, but it would be a droll ...
The Dixie Chicks: I Shall Be Free: The Blacklisting of Dixie Chicks
Comment by Dave Marsh, Harp, June 2003
IN CHRIS BUHALIS'S 'Talkin' Sounds Just Like Joe McCarthy Blues', John Ashcroft declares questioning him un-American, to which the singer replies, "It's called a democracy. ...
Nina Simone: Always Searching for a Key
Obituary by Ian Penman, The Wire, June 2003
The realisation that she was black in a country run by whites, a woman in a world run by men, turned Nina Simone into the ...
Jimi Hendrix: Midnight Lightning: Jimi Hendrix and the Black Experience by Greg Tate (Lawrence Hill)
Book Review by Charles Shaar Murray, MOJO, July 2003
Erudite, eclectic and pungently demotic polemic on Hendrix's centrality in the 20th century African-American cultural pantheon. ...
James Brown: Death Or Glory: James Brown In Vietnam
Retrospective by James Maycock, MOJO, July 2003
JUNE, 1968. Seven US Army lieutenant colonels - six Afro-Americans and one Caucasian - are collected from Tan Son Nhut, Saigon’s international airport, and ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, Uncut, July 2003
THE SINCERE generational belief in the socially transformative powers of love and peace which marked the peak of the high '60s had, by 1974, dissipated ...
Interview by Mark Hudson, Daily Telegraph, 11 September 2003
What makes a protest singer really angry? Well, being labelled a protest singer, for one thing. Folk star Dick Gaughan talks to Mark Hudson ...
Patti Smith: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London
Live Review by Nick Hasted, Uncut, October 2003
IT ALL STARTS so politely, you could never guess the raw shock that's coming. When Patti Smith saunters on like a collision between the 17th ...
Review and Interview by Mike Barnes, Jim Irvin, MOJO, October 2003
Wyatt's first album for six years features guest appearances by Annie Whitehead, Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera, David Gilmour and Paul Weller. By Jim Irvin. ...
The Dixie Chicks: Weapons Of Mass Destruction
Interview by Andria Lisle, MOJO, October 2003
When they criticised President Bush's war, the Dixie Chicks went from being new country darlings to enemies of the state. Now they’re unlikely keepers of ...
Erykah Badu: Worldwide Underground
Review by Mark Anthony Neal, PopMatters, 15 October 2003
SHE WAS QUEEN of the head-wrap set. A generation of young black folks trying to navigate the pitfalls of cultural negation in an era when ...
Retrospective and Interview by Angus Batey, The Times, 23 October 2003
For more than 20 years, hip-hop culture has shaped the face of popular music, fashion, even political debate. And for the past decade, Vibe magazine ...
Isaac Hayes: Various Artists: Music From The Wattstax Festival & Film
Review by James Maycock, MOJO, November 2003
ON 20TH AUGUST, 1972, Isaac Hayes was celebrating his 30th birthday. But Ike wasn't chilling at his gilded Memphis mansion ripping into a skyscraper pile ...
Eminem, DJ Kool Herc, Vanilla Ice: How to get hip to rap
Guide by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 21 November 2003
EMINEM IS in trouble again, this time over lyrics he wrote a decade ago. The owners of the American hip-hop magazine The Source have outed ...
David Amram, Jack Kerouac: David Amram's Beat Memories
Retrospective and Interview by Victor Bockris, High Times, December 2003
David Amram is an American treasure. A multi-instrumentalist who can play in all styles, he's composed classical concertos and symphonies, accompanied poets on spoken-word records, ...
Michael Jackson: Can You Remember?
Comment by Mark Anthony Neal, PopMatters, 11 December 2003
Can You Remember when we were babies? — Michael Jackson (Age 11) ...
Profile by Devon Powers, PopMatters, 18 December 2003
THE ONLY thing that tops hearing 'Succexy' — the shit-kicking superpop social commentary that is an instant calling card for Metric's debut Old World Underground, ...
Michelle McManus: The stars in our eyes
Comment by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 30 December 2003
Pop Idol winner Michelle McManus may claim to be happy with her size, but pop's obsession with image could well put an end to that, ...
Charles Manson: Charlie Don’t Surf
Retrospective by Jim Yoakum, unpublished, 2004
THE NIGHT THAT the four members of the infamous Manson Family drove out to a secluded Benedict Canyon mansion and brutally butchered Sharon Tate, Abigail ...
Johnny Cash at San Quentin was my idea
Memoir by Geoffrey Cannon, unpublished, 2004
2018 note: Steve Turner emailed me in 2004 and said he was working on the official biography of Johnny Cash, and had been told that ...
Book Excerpt by Gene Santoro, 'Highway 61 Revisited...', 2004
ON APRIL 16, 1944, a slight, wiry-haired man with a guitar and harmonica wandered into Moe Asch's little recording studio on West 46 Street off ...
Interview by Roy Wilkinson, MOJO, February 2004
Post-punk guitars, and looking back to go forward ...
Gang Of Four: A Brief History Of The Twentieth Century
Review and Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, February 2004
Reissued best-of follows renewed interest in scabrous post-punk politicos ...
Retrospective by Danny Baker, The Word, February 2004
"The Seventies' attitudes, cultures and repercussions are almost too incredible for a modern youth to imagine" By Danny Baker ...
Retrospective by Chrissie Hynde, The Word, February 2004
"In the Sixties our motto was: never trust anyone over 30. It was all about youth — and youth was a huge threat", by Chrissie ...
Comment by Andrew Mueller, The Guardian, 21 February 2004
YOU MAY HAVE heard this yarn – it's one of those things people email each other, that they might share a chuckle at the foibles ...
Outkast: It's a Double Standard, Kemosabe
Comment by Kandia Crazy Horse, africana.com, 25 February 2004
Whatever led André to think that even an inkling of "redface" would be any more acceptable than blackface minstrelsy has been to Americans of African ...
Special Feature by Phil Mershon, Hackwriters, March 2004
When we come to the place where the road and the sky collide Run me over the edge and let my spirit glide They told ...
Steve Earle: Proud to be an American
Interview by Graham Reid, The New Zealand Herald, 16 April 2004
STEVE EARLE'S career has been one of the most extraordinary in American music. He crashed into country music with his 1986 classic rockin' country album ...
Phil Spector: L.A. Proved Too Much For Blake and Spector: Bring On the Trials
Report by Deanne Stillman, New York Observer, 19 April 2004
TWO VERY STRANGE courtroom spectacles are about to unfold in Los Angeles: the murder trials of Robert Blake and Phil Spector. I've been covering these ...
Elijah Wald: Escaping The Delta: Robert Johnson And The Invention Of The Blues
Book Review by Tony Russell, New Humanist, May 2004
FOR A MUSIC that has always been resolutely secular, the blues has attracted a remarkable crowd of hierarchs and hierophants. Scholars, musicians, record collectors and ...
Steve Earle Gives New Meaning To The Expression 'Lifetime Achievement'
Interview by Toby Manning, The Word, May 2004
MARRIED SIX TIMES TO FIVE DIFFERENT WOMEN, HE'S ENDURED THE JUNKIE'S LIFE, DONE TIME AND LIVED TO TELL. NOW A CHANGED CHARACTER, HIGH PROFILE CAMPAIGNER ...
Interview by Mick Brown, Daily Telegraph, 12 June 2004
Though he has become a Jehovah's Witness, Prince's stage act remains sexually charged. Having bitterly spurned the record industry giants, he now has a deal ...
Hugh Masekela and D. Michael Cheers: Still Grazing – The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela
Book Review by Eric Weisbard, The New York Times Book Review, 13 June 2004
IN THE MID-1950s, as Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and all the rest were leading a rock 'n' roll revolution across America, Hugh Masekela found himself ...
Comment by Andrew Mueller, The Guardian, 10 July 2004
THERE IS NO PERSON more deluded than he or she who has a song programmed into their mobile phone. ...
Live Review by Simon Price, Independent on Sunday, 5 September 2004
And the name of the world's worst band is... ...
Manic Street Preachers: Just Another Manic Day
Interview by Ian Watson, The Scotsman, 30 October 2004
WHEN Nicky Wire was at school, as soon as someone he hated got into his favourite band he went off them. ...
Retrospective and Interview by Sylvie Simmons, MOJO, November 2004
A year on, the world is still reeling from the death of Johnny Cash, the speed-crazed rock'n'roller who became America's defining voice. From tragedy to ...
Dolly Parton: Interview: Dolly Parton
Audio transcript of interview by Gavin Martin, Rock's Backpages Audio, 2005
This is a transcription of Gavin's audio interview with Dolly. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
The Rise and Rise of the Casual: Football and Music
Book Excerpt by Paul Wellings, 'Spend it Like Beckham', 2005
THE BEST FANZINES in the mid 80’s were The End (from Liverpool, written by Pete Hooton, lead singer of The Farm, whose single ‘Altogether Now’ ...
Tim Booth: The iJAMMING! Interview: Tim Booth
Interview by Tony Fletcher, iJamming.net, January 2005
I HAVE AN instinctive aversion to conducting phone interviews. The medium is fine for quick research, or immediate answers to pressing questions, but when it ...
Bright Eyes: Burning Like Fire
Report and Interview by James Medd, Esquire, February 2005
Bright Eyes, the sharpest act in the US today, turns his gaze from his navel to the world. ...
Jessica Vale: Symphony for Moans and Rampant Rabbit
Report and Interview by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 28 February 2005
Jessica Vale's album is made up entirely of samples of people having sex. So what exactly was that sound? Or that one? ...
Konono No. 1: Konono No 1: Congotronics
Review by Rob Young, The Wire, March 2005
IN AFRICA, corrupt and irresponsible governance has led some of the continent's most prominent modern musicians to cast themselves as surrogate leader figures — think ...
Essay by Kandia Crazy Horse, Perfect Sound Forever, April 2005
Feels so good inside myself Don't wanna move Feels so good inside myself Don't need to move –'Luv 'N Haight', Sly & the Family Stone ...
Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 22 April 2005
She's a revolutionary's daughter and her music oozes attitude. Dorian Lynskey meets MIA. ...
Obituary by Ken Hunt, The Guardian, 12 May 2005
THE BRITISH FOLK scene has been characterised as insular, but African-American Dorris Henderson, who has died aged 70, disproved that. When she arrived in London ...
Van Morrison: Johnny Rogan: Van Morrison – No Surrender (Secker & Warburg)
Book Review by David Sinclair, The Guardian, 28 May 2005
Johnny Rogan supplies everything you wanted to know about Van Morrison – and even more that you didn't. David Sinclair digests an almost comically unflattering ...
Bruce Springsteen: Devils & Dust
Review by Phil Sutcliffe, MOJO, June 2005
The E Street Band stand down again. So more for fans of Nebraska and The Ghost Of Tom Joad as Bruce leaves politics for the ...
Comment by Pete Paphides, The Times, 11 June 2005
Songs about conflict and warfare are guaranteed to destroy a musician's credibility ...
Ry Cooder: Ode to a lost shangri-la
Report and Interview by Robert Sandall, Daily Telegraph, 11 June 2005
After the Buena Vista phenomenon, Ry Cooder has made an album about his home town of LA. He talks to Robert Sandall. ...
Yoko Ono: Profile: Yoko Ono, 70, New York City, N.Y.
Profile and Interview by Jaan Uhelszki, Harp, July 2005
YOKO ONO is diminutive in size, but huge in spirit. A fearless avatar, she will attempt anything whether it’s topping the Billboard charts as a ...
Interview by Alan Light, Mother Jones, July 2005
Ry Cooder's new album tunes into L.A.'s Chavez Ravine and the dawn of Chicano consciousness. ...
Coldplay, Bob Geldof: Live8: Less global jukebox, more local radio
Live Review by Kathryn Flett, The Observer, 3 July 2005
AS THE LIVE8 afternoon shift got under way, it was soon clear that, although the BBC must have been rubbing their hands at the prospect ...
Curtis Mayfield: Soul Brother No. 1
Retrospective by Nick Hasted, Uncut, August 2005
Ghetto-funk pioneer, civil rights activist, blaxploitation soundtrack master — the late Curits Mayfield is one of the all-time soul greats ...
Coldplay: My Travels With Oxfam: Chris Martin's Ghana Diary
Report by Sheryl Garratt, GQ, August 2005
Day 1: Accra ...
Bon Jovi, Jon Bon Jovi: Jon Bon Jovi: "I feel I've found my niche"
Interview by Precious Williams, Daily Telegraph, 16 September 2005
Jon Bon Jovi expected nothing less than to be a rock star. But, he tells Precious Williams, he's never counted celebrity for the sake of ...
Paul Robeson: Pride & Prejudice: Paul Robeson by Martin Duberman (New Press) *****
Book Review by Fred Dellar, MOJO, October 2005
From child prodigy to civil rights activist and outcast, the rise and fall of America's highest-paid concert singer is both touching and tragic, says Fred ...
Emmanuel Jal: Straight Out of Sudan: A Child Soldier Raps
Interview by Will Hermes, The New York Times, 2 October 2005
THE CONSENSUS among American rappers may be that happiness, as John Lennon once sang, is a warm gun, but Emmanuel Jal is more ambivalent on ...
Retrospective by RJ Smith, The Village Voice, 18 October 2005
August 23, 1988 ...
Burt Bacharach: At This Time: Burt Bacharach
Report and Interview by Gene Sculatti, ICE, November 2005
AFTER 40-PLUS YEARS, one of America's greatest songwriters finally has something to say. Which is not to suggest that songs like 'Close to You' or ...
Santana: Carlos Santana: Many hippie returns
Interview by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 6 November 2005
He played at Woodstock while out of his brain on LSD. But at 58, Carlos Santana isn't just a 1960s relic: stars like Beyoncé and ...
Nik Cohn: Triksta – Life and Death and New Orleans Rap
Book Review by Will Hermes, The New York Times, 4 December 2005
The Rap Before the Rain ...
Interview by Scott McLennan, Rip It Up (Australia), Spring 2005
With her father formerly a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel and her debut album Arular referencing bombs, warfare and violence, hot new UK star M.I.A. is ...
P. F. Sloan: P.F. Sloan Reveals the Jewish Origins of 'Eve of Destruction'
Retrospective and Interview by Steven Rosen, Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, 2006
'EVE OF DESTRUCTION', the famous folk-rock-protest hit record from 1965, isn't usually regarded as a specifically Jewish song. Or even a religious one, for that ...
Dave Matthews Band: Dave Matthews: Gospel according to Matthews
Profile and Interview by Tim Cooper, The Independent, 20 January 2006
He's the biggest music star in the USA, but probably couldn't get arrested here. Tim Cooper meets a man for whom success means having the ...
Comment by Mark Anthony Neal, PopMatters, 1 February 2006
By making public his struggles with living a devout life, Kanye West makes such a lifestyle so much more accessible and valuable to the very ...
The Jam, Paul Weller: Paul Weller: "The Jam? They were a way of life."
Retrospective by John Harris, The Guardian, 3 February 2006
As Paul Weller prepares to receive a Lifetime Achievement Brit, John Harris salutes a giant. ...
Dominic Sandbrook: Never Had It So Good – A History of Britain from Suez to the Beatles
Book Review by Nicky Charlish, Culture Wars, 8 February 2006
WE THINK WE know the basics about the '60s and the social changes that they ushered in. Against a background of mini-skirts, mods and rockers, ...
Au Pairs: Stepping Out of Line
Retrospective and Interview by Kieron Tyler, MOJO, March 2006
THE MIDDLE OF the first decade of the 21st century has seen a reappraisal of the music which followed punk. Not an academic, clinical exercise, ...
Mark Morrison: ’I'm the most reallest black artist in England'
Interview by Sophie Heawood, The Guardian, 8 March 2006
After the court cases, the jail time and the unfounded rape allegation, Mark Morrison is keen to put his bad boy image behind him. He ...
John Robb: Punk Rock – An Oral History (Ebury Press)
Book Review by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 19 March 2006
WHAT IS THERE still to say, really, about the British punk rock movement? As this year marks the 30th anniversary of its uproarious debut in ...
Blues In The Bottle: American Vernacular Music and the Medicine Show
Book Review by Tony Russell, Catalyst, May 2006
A review of the compilation Good For What Ails You: Music of the Medicine Shows, 1926-1937 (Old Hat Records) ...
Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen: Bruce Springsteen: We Shall Overcome – The Seeger Sessions
Review by Phil Sutcliffe, MOJO, June 2006
What Bruce did next: a hoedown gospel blues klezmer-zydeco celebration of Pete Seeger. Obviously, says Phil Sutcliffe. ...
Interview by Sophie Heawood, The Guardian, 9 June 2006
In a bid to shake off their clean-cut image, Keane have been exploring murkier territory — and hanging around with Bret Easton Ellis and Irvine ...
The Dixie Chicks: Dixie Chicks: How The Chicks Survived Their Scrap With Bush
Interview by Adam Sweeting, Daily Telegraph, 15 June 2006
Adam Sweeting assesses how the Dixie Chicks have weathered a political storm ...
Paul McCartney: Lady Madonna: In defence of Heather Mills-McCartney
Comment by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 15 June 2006
IN THE WEEK in which Lady McCartney has been accused of being, quite literally, a lying whore, I hope it is of some small comfort ...
Don't Mention The War – Unless You're Over 50
Comment by Andrew Purcell, The Guardian, 23 June 2006
NEIL YOUNG'S latest album, Living With War, was supposed to be more than a collection of protest songs. To optimistic critics of the occupation of ...
Review by Sylvie Simmons, MOJO, July 2006
A "metal folk protest album", says Neil. Made in 10 days, and remarkably good too. ...
Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 7 July 2006
MIX THE rudest bits of Madonna, Goldfrapp, Pink, Lil’ Kim and Princess Superstar and — arguably — you get Peaches. ...
Spice Girls: The Spice Girls: It Was a Power Trip
Retrospective by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 14 July 2006
Ten years after the release of the first Spice Girls album, our writer argues that the social legacy of "girl power" is still with us. ...
Michael Franti: "The troops thought: this guy's got balls"
Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 26 July 2006
IT'S ALL VERY well to sing anti-war songs in California — but in Baghdad? To American soldiers? Michael Franti tells Dorian Lynskey why he took ...
Crosby Stills Nash & Young: Still politically outspoken, CSNY brings its message to L.A.
Report and Interview by Fred Shuster, Los Angeles Daily News, 26 July 2006
AGE IS SUPPOSED to make you more accepting. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young apparently didn't get the memo. ...
Sufjan Stevens: Liturgical sounds for restaurant place-mats
Interview by Craig McLean, Daily Telegraph, 29 July 2006
Sufjan Stevens makes dazzling celestial music from the minutiae of everyday life. Craig McLean meets him. ...
Fun-Da-Mental: Angry in the UK: Fun-da-mental
Interview by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 4 August 2006
Fun-Da-Mental's new album gives voice to Muslim rage, says its creator Aki Nawaz ...
Book Review by Miles Marshall Lewis, The Washington Post, 20 August 2006
The early years of a reggae superstar who gained worldwide renown. ...
Dominic Sandbrook: White Heat – A History of Britain in the Swinging Sixties
Book Review by Nicky Charlish, Culture Wars, 5 September 2006
THE IDEA OF the '60s as an era of exciting change for everyone has remained more or less the accepted orthodoxy – until now. Few ...
Howard Sounes: Seventies – The Sights, Sounds and Ideas of a Brilliant Decade
Book Review by Nicky Charlish, Culture Wars, 21 September 2006
AMUSINGLY STUPID, vulgar, a time of endearingly foolish fashions. These views – according to the book's author – represent the consensus thinking of cultural pundits ...
Comment by Michael Simmons, Huffington Post, 18 October 2006
Dear Jann, We both know that Rolling Stone – the magazine you founded and remain Editor and Publisher of – has been the subject of endless ...
The Dixie Chicks: Dixie Chicks: United Centre, Chicago
Live Review by Bob Mehr, MOJO, November 2006
President-baiting Texans gain new fans but lose musical momentum. ...
Madonna tackles her critics head on
Comment by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 2 November 2006
HAD ONE CONSIDERED, five years ago, which controversy Madonna would next be embroiled in, it is unlikely that many of us would have guessed "something ...
All Saints: Saintlier than thou
Interview by Barbara Ellen, The Observer, 5 November 2006
Older and wiser after their acrimonious split, Britain's bitchiest girl group are back together — as friends, mums and bandmates. ...
Comment by Laura Barton, The Guardian, 6 November 2006
Want to know what to shout at Tony Blair when he makes his Farewell Tour next year? Then read on. ...
The Cultural Politics Of 'Pop': Hanif Kureishi's Life In Popular Culture
Essay by Steve Redhead, Rock's Backpages, 13 November 2006
THIS ESSAY IS on the cultural politics of Pop. It situates an emblematic writer, Hanif Kureishi, in the context of post-war Pop art and culture ...
The Dixie Chicks: The Playboy Interview
Interview by Alan Light, Playboy, December 2006
IT IS MARCH 10, 2003. The Dixie Chicks – Natalie Maines, Emily Robison and Martie Maguire – are playing an SRO show in London at ...
Douglas Wolk… Dean of American Comics Critics
Interview by Steven Ward, rockcritics.com, 2007
THAT TITLE WAS not self-proclaimed by Douglas Wolk. I came up with the unofficial designation as soon as I finished the last page of Wolk's ...
David Bowie: Blue-and-green-eyed soul
Essay by Daryl Easlea, Record Collector, January 2007
Young Americans is David Bowie's most underrated album, but its bold cross-cultural concept deserves reappraisal, says Daryl Easlea ...
James Brown: The Last Soul Brother: James Brown (1933-2006)
Retrospective by Mark Anthony Neal, PopMatters, 2 January 2007
JAMES BROWN was of a generation of black men—mythological in many ways—who helped define the contours of freedom and possibility for black folk in the ...
Bloc Party: Party people turn political
Interview by Sophie Heawood, The Times, 10 February 2007
Their fiery mix of pop and passion is turning Bloc Party into a key band. Our writer met them. ...
Interview by Maureen Paton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 23 February 2007
The now-veteran Mormon popster remembers his days touring the UK in the '70s, being pursued by screaming girls; on being a father and grandfather; his new album Love Songs of the '70s; narrowly surviving his surfing accident; being a poster boy for clean living; nearly losing everything in 1980; on his religion, and staying fit.
File format: mp3; file size: 44.4mb, interview length: 46' 16" sound quality: ***
Bright Eyes: That Vision Thing
Interview by Stevie Chick, MOJO, April 2007
As Bright Eyes he's spent half his 27 years as the boozy Dylan of disaffected youth. On the eve of a new album, Stevie Chick ...
Elvis Costello, Robert Wyatt: The lasting legacy of 'Shipbuilding'
Retrospective by Robert Sandall, Daily Telegraph, 5 April 2007
During the Falklands war, Elvis Costello wrote a passionate elegy for a lost way of life that still resonates today, says Robert Sandall. ...
The kids are all right: Jon Savage's Teenage – The Creation of Youth
Book Review by Andy Beckett, The Guardian, 14 April 2007
Andy Beckett enjoys Jon Savage's compelling and meticulous prehistory of adolescence, Teenage. ...
The Plastic People Of The Universe: Egon Bondy, 1930-2007
Obituary by Ken Hunt, The Guardian, 20 April 2007
Dissident Czech writer and lyricist for Plastic People of the Universe ...
Wayne Kramer, MC5, John Sinclair: MC5: The making of Kick Out The Jams
Interview by Jaan Uhelszki, Uncut, May 2007
How Wayne Kramer and his Detroit proto punks turned a stage heckle into a battle cry to herald the death of the hippy dream ...
Lily Allen, Joss Stone, Amy Winehouse: Digital Venuses: Lily Allen, Joss Stone, Amy Winehouse
Comment by Kandia Crazy Horse, San Francisco Bay Guardian, 8 May 2007
CALL THEM the new British bitch pack: barefoot soul shouter Joss Stone and her ascendant sistren, skankin' Lily Allen and torchy Amy Winehouse (Corinne Bailey ...
Soweto Kinch: Absolute Beginners: Lyric Theatre, London
Report and Interview by John Lewis, The Times, July 2007
COLIN MACINNES'S 1959 novel Absolute Beginners remains a landmark in post-colonial literature, a brash, idealistic voyage through the Notting Hill race riots, seedy jazz dives, ...
George Michael, Wham!: George Talks: His Frankest Interview Ever
Interview by Steve Pafford, Richard Smith, GAY TIMES, July 2007
ALTHOUGH IT'S probably not what George Michael would like to be remembered for, something happened a year ago that summed him up beautifully. George was ...
Interview by Alan Light, eMusic.com, July 2007
IT WAS PERHAPS the most shocking crash and burn in pop music history. With her 1987 debut, The Lion and the Cobra, 20-year-old Sinead O'Connor ...
The Boys Next Door, Radio Birdman, The Saints, The Scientists: Come the Revolution: Oz punk
Retrospective and Interview by Keith Cameron, The Guardian, 20 July 2007
You thought punks in the UK had things to be angry about? Over in Australia, bands had a real fight on their hands, says Keith ...
Retrospective by Will Hermes, The Village Voice, 31 July 2007
OH YES, it was wicked cool: getting jacked at machete-point on the subway after a night of clubbing, and at bayonet-point outside of high school. ...
Report and Interview by William Shaw, The Word, August 2007
In years to come, will the picture on the right be as unacceptable as the one above? The music business has a green problem, and ...
Retrospective and Interview by Ian Fortnam, Classic Rock, August 2007
Rock Against Racism: Tom Robinson thinks of it as "the punk Woodstock" and it was the moment that punk went overground and people's band the ...
Mark Ronson, Amy Winehouse: Mark Ronson: Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
Interview by Alan Light, Guilt & Pleasure, September 2007
Shedding the mantle of socialite DJ to become a critically successful producer, Mark Ronson is Jewtastic. ...
Kula Shaker: Crispian Mills: Big Mouth Strikes Again
Profile and Interview by Tim Cooper, The Independent, 24 September 2007
Ten years ago, Kula Shaker's Crispian Mills revealed an admiration for the swastika, and the band imploded. Now they're back, and the lead singer is ...
Harry Connick Jr: Renewing New Orleans
Report and Interview by Angus Batey, Daily Telegraph, 30 September 2007
Hurricane Katrina almost killed the New Orleans music scene. Now many of its players are coming back – to a musicians' village in the heart ...
Report and Interview by Nicholas Jennings, Inside Entertainment, October 2007
WHEN I FIRST met her, she spoke in a whisper, protecting the gold-plated vocal cords that had made Eurythmics one of the top musical acts ...
The Specials: The Making of 'Ghost Town'
Retrospective and Interview by Nick Hasted, Uncut, October 2007
Spring 1981: the Coventry boys' eerily funky hymn to their home city nailed the spirit of the times, and remains the best piece of political ...
A Love From Outer Space: Why Greg Tate Matters
Essay by Michael A. Gonzales, Blackadelic Pop, 25 October 2007
THIS MORNING, I couldn't write. Though I'm on deadline to finish a Village Voice critique about my favorite band Apollo Heights (whose disc White Music ...
Tinariwen: A shot from the Sahel
Comment by Kandia Crazy Horse, San Francisco Bay Guardian, 30 October 2007
MANY MOONS AGO, when I moved as a child to Africa, my mother, my sister, and I resided in the Sahel. ...
Interview by Andrew Mueller, Uncut, December 2007
PLAYWRIGHT, NOVELIST, activist, actor... when Steve Earle has found a moment over the past couple of decades, he has also managed to string together a ...
Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse: I need a break, what shall I have: heroin or a baby?
Comment by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 20 December 2007
As Amy Winehouse's problems mount, and Lily Allen announces that she is pregnant, Caitlin Moran explains that the two young singers are under the same ...
The Beatles: When Acid Reigned
Retrospective by Harry Shapiro, MOJO, Summer 2007
Hippies tripped, tabloids raged and police cheered as Engelbert Humperdinck's Jan '67 hit, 'Release Me' became the real theme tune for the Summer of Love. ...
Sheryl Crow: Why Sheryl Crow is starting over
Profile and Interview by Sheryl Garratt, Daily Telegraph, 26 January 2008
Battling cancer and adopting a child led Sheryl Crow to reassess what is important in life. No longer concerned with what people think, she has ...
Carolina Chocolate Drops: Digging the new-old roots
Comment by Kandia Crazy Horse, San Francisco Bay Guardian, 30 January 2008
YODELING IS AFRICAN? Well, one could certainly trace the practice from the Ituri of the Congolese rainforest, described as the first people by ancient Egyptian ...
Craig David: A Star Called David
Profile and Interview by Paul Lester, The Jewish Chronicle, 31 January 2008
He is a black soul singer with a reputation as a ladies' man. So how come Craig David seems like such a nice Jewish boy? ...
Review by Jon Savage, MOJO, February 2008
Second full album as Vancouver heavy psychers turn up the heat with their dark magick. ...
Book Review by Jon Newey, Jazzwise, February 2008
FOR A BOOK that takes a very protracted look at the role played by rock music and its, mostly, over-paid and over-pampered stars in the ...
The Levellers: Radical heroes: The Levellers are celebrating 20 years together
Retrospective and Interview by Gavin Martin, Daily Mirror, 29 February 2008
INSPIRED BY PUNK and folk, and named after a radical 17th-Century collective, the Levellers became synonymous with a huge underground anti-authority movement, supporting green issues ...
Joe Jackson: Still Looking Sharp
Profile and Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, March 2008
David Burke catches a rare sighting of pop music's invisible man. ...
Review by David Quantick, The Word, March 2008
There's a lot of Morrissey's newer, louder, less subtle music on his latest greatest hits. David Quantick finds his patience is at an end. ...
American Music Club: The Golden Age of American Music Club
Report and Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, March 2008
MARK EITZEL sounds very chipper – not at all the lugubrious character that comes across in his songs. With the release of American Music Club's ...
The Hot 8 Brass Band: Basin Street Boogie
Profile and Interview by Jude Rogers, The Word, March 2008
The Hot 8 Brass Band are the missing link between traditional New Orleans jazz and hip hop. But three members have been shot dead along ...
Arthur Lee, Lightspeed Champion: Alone again, or
Comment by Kandia Crazy Horse, San Francisco Bay Guardian, 19 March 2008
In memoriam: Ike Turner, Buddy Miles, Teo Macero, and Arthur Lee ...
Interview by Jude Rogers, New Statesman, 27 March 2008
Independence Day: Björk's cry of "Tibet, Tibet" at a recent concert in Shanghai pre-empted the riots in Lhasa and outraged the Chinese authorities. It was ...
The Black Crowes: The Return of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers
Interview by Paul Elliott, MOJO, April 2008
After seven years in the wilderness, the Black Crowes, America's freewheelin', dope-smokin', warring Blues Brotherhood are back. And this time their singer Chris Robinson is ...
Ed Sanders: The American Bard Takes On Katrina
Essay by Michael Simmons, Huffington Post, 1 April 2008
THERE IS A GIANT in our midst and his name is Edward Sanders. Ed was born in 1939 in Kansas City, Missouri. He moved to ...
Pop Staples, The Staple Singers: Freedom Song
Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, May 2008
David Burke talks to the indefatigable Mavis Staples ...
Joan Osborne: Between the Covers
Report and Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, May 2008
SOME ARTISTS are indelibly associated with one piece of work their whole lives. What once was a gift in terms of eliciting public acceptance can ...
The Special AKA, The Specials: The Specials: Original Gangsters
Retrospective and Interview by Lois Wilson, MOJO, May 2008
Out of the inner-city misery and post-punk experiment of the late '70s came a group of black and white Coventry kids called the Specials who ...
Overview by Kandia Crazy Horse, San Francisco Bay Guardian, 7 May 2008
AFROFUTURISM BEGAN in earnest with those "20 odd Negroes" brought to Jamestown. Truly, long-ago Africans brought to New World shores invented modernity on the fly, ...
Martha Wainwright: "I like old guys cos they like me!"
Interview by Adam Sweeting, Daily Telegraph, 10 May 2008
Singer Martha Wainwright tells Adam Sweeting about the soap opera of her family life ...
Roger Waters: O2 Arena, London
Live Review by Adam Sweeting, Daily Telegraph, 20 May 2008
Roger Waters continues to infuse his work with almost diabolical intensity, writes Adam Sweeting ...
Neil Young: Deja Viewed: Neil Young on CSNY and Living with War
Interview by Stephen Dalton, unpublished, June 2008
NEIL YOUNG IS in mischievous mood this morning. Sinking into his plush hotel armchair, the veteran Canadian rocker keeps his distance behind mirror shades and ...
Ice Cube: Make A Date: Ice Cube
Interview by John Lewis, Metro, June 2008
THERE WAS ONCE a time when Ice Cube was actually considered a threat to civic order. Police would bust NWA shows. Op-ed columns in U.S. ...
Neil Young's anti-war documentary
Report and Interview by Tim Cooper, The Sunday Times, 29 June 2008
The singer has fire in his belly — with a film about his antiwar tour — but his passion is a hybrid car he thinks ...
Review by Andrew Mueller, Uncut, August 2008
Back with a blinder after almost a decade. ...
Rodriguez: Detroit's comeback king
Retrospective and Interview by Stevie Chick, The Guardian, 8 August 2008
We meet Rodriguez on the eve of his first headlining show in America, 38 years after his debut Cold Fact. ...
Review by Alan Light, MSN.com, September 2008
"THIS IS OUR twenty-third Farm Aid," said John Mellencamp, "and when we started this thing, we were naïve enough that we thought we'd have this ...
Cheech & Chong: Lost in the ozone again
Interview by Bill Holdship, Detroit Metro Times, 17 September 2008
CHEECH MARIN AND Tommy Chong require little introduction. The countercultural comedy heroes turned movie superstars took several decades off to pursue solo careers (and Chong ...
DJ Kool Herc: D.J. Kool Herc: The Holy House of Hip-hop
Report and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, New York Magazine, 28 September 2008
On August 11, 1973, D.J. Kool Herc didn't know he was revolutionizing pop music – he was just trying to keep people dancing. The rec ...
Crosby Stills Nash & Young: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: Déjà Vu Live
Review by Jaan Uhelszki, Uncut, October 2008
Military madness! Live album, to accompany documentary film. ...
Estelle, John Legend: John Legend: Why His Name Is Legend
Interview by Jude Rogers, The Observer, 19 October 2008
Barack Obama is a fan of soul star John Legend, and Estelle was his protégée. Jude Rogers speaks to him in the UK for the ...
Review by Kandia Crazy Horse, San Francisco Bay Guardian, 29 October 2008
A FEW weekends back, I rose at the crack of dawn to see Allen Toussaint perform at Joe's Pub in Manhattan for the venue's 10th ...
Wilco: Ahead of the Curve: Jeff Tweedy on Barack Obama, 9 May 2005
Interview by Bud Scoppa, Rock's Backpages, 5 November 2008
I FIRST POSTED the following in February, but the occasion demands that I pull it out of the archives and put it up again. What ...
Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2008
Soul survivor Solomon Burke has endured bigger setbacks than most, but continues to make records as lauded as his perceived '60s heyday. ...
The Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy: Notorious (dir. George Tillman Jr.)
Film/DVD/TV Review by Bill Holdship, Detroit Metro Times, January 2009
Despite some excellent acting and drama, Notorious biopic whitewashes Biggie Small’s gangsta life and death ...
Report and Interview by Robert Sandall, The Word, January 2009
The cold wind of recession is already freezing record companies — but what will it mean for the kind of music that artists want to ...
TV On The Radio: Golden Agents
Interview by Scott McLennan, Rip It Up (Australia), January 2009
Big Day Out commitments might have prevented TV On The Radio's Jaleel Bunton from attending Barack Obama's presidential inauguration last week, but he'd already played ...
The OZ trial: John Mortimer's finest hour
Memoir by Felix Dennis, The Week, 19 January 2009
The great barrister, novelist and playwright – who died last Friday aged 85 – stood up to and beat the British establishment, recalls a grateful ...
Staff Benda Bilili: Music from diversity
Profile and Interview by Rob Fitzpatrick, The Sunday Times, 22 February 2009
The band is formed of homeless paraplegics and polio victims from Kinshasa, Congo, and travel in customised wheelchairs ...
Bikini Kill, Huggy Bear: Grrrl Power
Retrospective and Interview by Laura Barton, The Guardian, 4 March 2009
The Riot Grrrl scene brought feminism to alternative rock in the '90s. Fifteen years on, the aftershocks are still making waves, says Laura Barton. ...
MC5: Memoirs of rock mentor John Sinclair
Profile and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, The Sunday Times, 29 March 2009
Poet, activist, entrepreneur, critic, journalist, manager of MC5 and kingpin of US punk scene still performing and writing. ...
Report and Interview by Stephen Dalton, The Times, April 2009
CHOOSING THE soundtrack for your own funeral is every modern music fan's dilemma. How much simpler things used to be when religious and classical pieces ...
Pete Seeger: The Voice Of America
Comment by Phil Sutcliffe, MOJO, April 2009
WHEN PETE SEEGER, the man Bruce Springsteen calls "the father of American folk music", walks on stage at Madison Square Garden on May 3 for ...
The Fields Of Annie Road: Song For The 96
Comment by Steve Redhead, Rock's Backpages, April 2009
ANFIELD ROAD, or 'Annie Road' (Allt, 2005), is the opposite 'end' to Liverpool's Kop at their world famous football stadium of Anfield. ...
Billie Holiday: 'Strange Fruit' At 70
Retrospective by Phil Sutcliffe, MOJO, May 2009
SEVENTY YEARS AGO this month Billie Holiday released 'Strange Fruit'; man's inhumanity to man made manifest in precisely three minutes, 12 scalding lines, inspired by ...
Report and Interview by Pat Long, The Guardian, 2 May 2009
New wave oddballs Devo used to warn that consumerism was crumbling. Now they're back to say we told you so. Pat Long tips his funny ...
Recession Rock: How the credit crunch will make Britannia cool again
Comment by Dan Gennoe, Rock's Backpages, 26 May 2009
MONEY. IT'S NOT everything. It's a lot. But not everything. In music, it's actually more curse than blessing. Commerce is an essential element in any ...
Interview by Chris Heath, Daily Telegraph, 16 June 2009
No one nailed the rock idol act like Lenny Kravitz. Love god, guitar hero, wild thing, he lived the life — multiple women, homes and ...
Steven Wells 1960-2009: A Tribute
Memoir by John Doran, Andrew Mueller, John Robb, Terry Staunton, David Stubbs, The Quietus, 29 June 2009
David Stubbs ...
Buffy Sainte-Marie: Running for the Drum (Cooking Vinyl)
Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 3 July 2009
BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE'S first album in 17 years finds her spirit as undiluted as her charm, still making persuasive, engaging arguments for Native American attitudes, and ...
Neil Young: Out of the blue: Neil Young's archives
Essay by Kandia Crazy Horse, San Francisco Bay Guardian, 7 July 2009
THIS IS THE briar patch, the place from which all funky thangs flow. On the anniversary of the death of my Afro-Algonquin Southern (re)belle mother, ...
The Demise of Vibe and the Future of Criticism
Comment by Mark Anthony Neal, PopMatters, 23 July 2009
THERE'S NO SMALL irony to the fact that the announcement of the folding of Vibe magazine occurred the day after the death of Michael Jackson. ...
U2: Ego Warriors: U2 Speak Out On Rock-Star Hypocrisy
Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 30 July 2009
Over the years, U2 have taken many a kicking. But the band believe they're unjustly maligned for their unique brand of "stadium activism" ...
Blur, Oasis: Look Back In Anger: Britpop
Retrospective by Jude Rogers, New Statesman, 13 August 2009
Fifteen years ago, a teenage Jude Rogers was enchanted by a new pop sound and a new politics, both of which promised to change the ...
Jello Biafra Of The Dead Kennedys Interview
Interview by Alex Ogg, The Quietus, 20 August 2009
Biafra's back — and this time he's packing a "real" band. The former Dead Kennedys frontman is re-energised by fronting a new group, The Guantanamo ...
Sinead O'Connor: Faith and Courage
Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, September 2009
TRUTH WILL always out in the end. And the truth-sayers will be vindicated where once they were vilified. ...
Irma Thomas: Time's still on her side
Interview by Bill Holdship, Detroit Metro Times, 2 September 2009
NOTE: This is the complete transcript of an interview that appeared in the paper edition of Metro Times in an abridged form. ...
The Magazine Explosion: UK Pop Publications in the '60s
Retrospective by Jon Savage, The Observer, 6 September 2009
IT'S FEBRUARY 1963. The Beatles are No 2 in the charts with 'Please Please Me' and it's time to meet the press. An anonymous reporter ...
The Cribs, Johnny Marr, The Smiths: The Cribs
Interview by Luke Turner, The Quietus, 11 September 2009
In a revealing interview, Johnny Marr and The Cribs discuss what went wrong with indie, why LA destroys creative thought, the curse of the lad, ...
Bikini Kill, Huggy Bear: The 10 Myths of Riot Grrrl
Comment by Everett True, The Guardian, 14 September 2009
YOU READ a lot of stuff about Riot Grrrl, most of which isn't true. Things such as ... ...
Gang of Four: Andy Gill meets Andy Gill
Profile and Interview by Andy Gill, The Independent, 17 September 2009
After 30 years of being mistaken for him, The Independent's music critic Andy Gill meets the Gang of Four's Andy Gill to discuss a shared ...
Retrospective and Interview by Don Waller, MOJO, October 2009
Motown's square-peg bombshell on cultdom, comebacks and Jimi Hendrix ...
Miriam Makeba : Mama Afrika 1932-2008
Review by Colin Irwin, bbc.co.uk, 5 October 2009
Majestic recordings by a genuine world music pioneer. ...
Review by Colin Irwin, bbc.co.uk, 5 October 2009
A chance to grasp the full essence of the man behind the legend. ...
Noir Désir: Bertrand Cantat: Rock Idol Kills Lover
Report by Paul Moody, Q, November 2009
In 2003 Bertrand Cantat was France's biggest rock star. Then his girlfriend, actress Marie Trintignant, was found dead in his hotel room. ...
Louis Armstrong: Terry Teachout: Pops – The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong (JR Books)
Book Review by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 22 November 2009
AS TERRY Teachout makes clear in this terrific biography, the world that Louis Armstrong inhabited was anything but wonderful. It was, for most of his ...
David McAlmont, Michael Nyman: This Just In: David McAlmont and Michael Nyman
Report and Interview by Kate Mossman, The Word, December 2009
A bizarre collaboration between David McAlmont and Michael Nyman revives the dying art of the topical news story in song. ...
Retrospective by Phil Sutcliffe, MOJO, December 2009
THE SMALL, GRIZZLED man in the check shirt indicated he'd like a cigarette. The small, curly-haired, young man sitting opposite handed him a Raleigh. The ...
Snoop (Doggy) Dogg: The new mellow Snoop Dogg still has bite
Interview by Sophie Heawood, The Times, 4 December 2009
Snoop Dogg: "Now that I'm more concerned and caring and a father and a husband — it seems the less respect I get" ...
The Special AKA: The Making Of 'Nelson Mandela'
Interview by Nick Hasted, Uncut, January 2010
"ALL I DID was write a song. People in South Africa gave up their lives..." Jerry Dammers & Co on 1984's earth-shaking political hit. ...
Book Review by Leyla Sanai, Rock's Backpages, 26 January 2010
FATHER OF hip–hop, granddaddy of rap, articulate polemicist and early pioneer of the fusion of black politics with poetry and music, Gil Scott–Heron has been ...
Interview by Rob Fitzpatrick, Daily Telegraph, 17 February 2010
NOTE: This is the original "director's cut" version of the piece that ran in the Daily Telegraph. ...
Gil Scott-Heron: Back on Message: Gil Scott-Heron retools for a new generation
Interview by Alan Light, Mother Jones, March 2010
The revolution will not go better with Coke The revolution will not fight the germs that cause bad breath The revolution will put you in ...
The Chieftains: Hail to the Chief: Paddy Moloney
Profile and Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, March 2010
Paddy Moloney talks to David Burke about the band's latest album, a collection highlighting a "forgotten" chapter in the history of neighbouring Mexico and America. ...
Interview by Larry Jaffee, Shindig, March 2010
Note: The interview with Joey and Dee Dee Ramone took place in July 1985 at their favourite East Village dive. "The world knew in '76 ...
Various Artists: Gastonia Gallop – Cotton Mill Songs & Hillbilly Blues
Review by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, March 2010
Piedmont Textile Workers On Record, Gaston County, North Carolina 1927–1931 ...
Damon Albarn, Gorillaz: Monkey see, monkey do, monkey tour: the Gorillaz are back
Interview by Pete Paphides, The Times, 10 May 2010
"I SAY! They're fancy!" exclaims Jamie Hewlett when Damon Albarn strides into the pair's West London headquarters. The object of his fascination? Albarn, his sidekick ...
Rage Against the Machine: Finsbury Park, London
Live Review by Ian Gittins, The Guardian, 7 June 2010
LAST CHRISTMAS a Facebook campaign powered Californian rap-metal veterans Rage Against the Machine to the top of the singles chart, pipping The X Factor victor ...
Rage Against the Machine: Finsbury Park, London, N7
Live Review by Pete Paphides, The Times, 8 June 2010
THE MOST POPULAR T-SHIRT at the merchandise stands depicted a scoreboard that read "Rage 1 Cowell 0." As a means of explaining why Rage Against ...
Brad Paisley: A Different Kind of Cowboy
Interview by Angus Batey, The Guardian, 10 June 2010
Brad Paisley is not your usual Nashville country star. He talks about how Obama made him proud to be American – and why he dreams ...
The Fugs: For The Benefit Of Tuli Kupferberg
Report by Michael Simmons, Huffington Post, 15 June 2010
For those who trot out the tired cliché of hippies morphing into stockbrokers, check out the Fugs. No sell-out here. ...
Laurie Anderson: Electronic Expressions in the Service of the Soul
Profile and Interview by Will Hermes, The New York Times, 25 June 2010
LAURIE ANDERSON was home for a few hours last month — a rare occurrence. This musician and multi-media artist had returned from Poland, where she ...
Janelle Monáe: The ArchAndroid
Preview by Pete Paphides, The Times, 9 July 2010
Another girl, another planet, another experience ...
Devo: You Say You Want A De-Evolution
Retrospective and Interview by Andrew Mueller, Uncut, August 2010
Well, you know, Devo changed the world. Uncut hears the story of Ohio's plantpot-hatted chroniclers of human absurdity. Or: how five snarky art-rockers consorted with ...
Jackson Browne: Album By Album
Retrospective by Bud Scoppa, Uncut, August 2010
"MUSIC HAS AN impact because a lot of people experience it at the same time, and that can't happen exactly the same way again " ...
Pulp: The Making of 'Common People'
Interview by Nick Hasted, Uncut, August 2010
From three chords on a cheap Casio keyboard, via Glastonbury, to the huge summer anthem of 1995. It's the song that broke Jarvis and co! ...
Comment by Pete Paphides, The Times, 12 August 2010
Modern pop stars are corrupting the young, says pop veteran Mike Stock. But isn't that what they've always done? ...
Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga: Is Lady Gaga Corrupting Our Kids?
Comment by Pete Paphides, The Times, 12 August 2010
Modern pop stars are corrupting the young, says the pop veteran. But isn't that what they've always done? ...
The Last Poets: After The Party: Music and the Black Panthers
Retrospective and Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 2 September 2010
ONE DAY LAST DECEMBER, Umar Bin Hassan of the Last Poets attended a gathering in Chicago to commemorate local Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton, ...
John Legend, The Roots: John Legend and the Roots: Wake Up!
Review by Lloyd Bradley, bbc.co.uk, 21 September 2010
A masterclass in how to respectfully update and enhance classic music. ...
Gong: The Gong Remains The Same
Retrospective and Interview by Jack Barron, Record Collector, October 2010
Jack Barron celebrates the 40-year celestial trip of "Europe's Grateful Dead". ...
Bikini Kill: Sara Marcus: Girls to the Front
Book Review by Evelyn McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 10 October 2010
BROOKLYN-BASED writer and musician Sara Marcus deserves a medal just for daring to write a book about Riot Grrrl, the fiercely uncompromising feminist movement of ...
John Legend, The Roots: John Legend and the Roots: Hearts, Minds and Soul
Report and Interview by Angus Batey, The Guardian, 19 October 2010
John Legend and the Roots' album of '60s and '70s protest songs is no mere history lesson – it's an open letter to a divided ...
Bobby Jameson rages against the Vietnam war
Retrospective by Jon Savage, The Guardian, 10 November 2010
A FANFARE OF slow, church organ chords – straight out of a horror film – resolves into a brutal Bo Diddley beat. A few blasts of ...
Wyclef Jean: "Fans are calling me the new Dylan"
Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 5 December 2010
WHAT SCUPPERED Wyclef Jean's bid to be president of Haiti? Well, it wasn't modesty. On the eve of the election result, the rapper talks death ...
Arcade Fire's Band Aid for Haiti
Report and Interview by Alan Light, Mother Jones, January 2011
The dynamic duo behind Arcade Fire on charity, indie cred, and staying sane. ...
Charlie Louvin: The Battles Rage On
Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, January 2011
Old stager returns to his post for military-decorated album ...
Pet Shop Boys: Neil Tennant: "Twitter Is Sickly"
Interview by Jude Rogers, The Word, January 2011
Social-network agnostic, high-church robe-fancier; supreme pop strategist — Neil Tennant casts a weather eye over the wind-lashed landscape of learning. ...
Retrospective and Interview by Michael Simmons, Huffington Post, 3 January 2011
The late Phil Ochs, one of the greatest singer/songwriters of the 1960s in a rarified perch with Dylan, Joni and Cohen, wasn't a household name ...
Cradle of Filth: Is Dani Filth Suffolk's greatest icon?
Comment by Johnny Sharp, The Guardian, 5 January 2011
When the county's tourist board launched a poll, it didn't count on it being hijacked by Cradle of Filth fans ...
Book Review by Richard Williams, The Guardian, 8 January 2011
Richard Williams hails the man who devoted his life to recording the songs and soundscapes of America and beyond. ...
Gang of Four: Old punks, new Content
Profile and Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 20 January 2011
Post-punk masterminds Gang of Four are back with their first new recorded material since their 2004 return to action. But why does it come packaged ...
The Edgar Broughton Band: The Harvest Years 1969-1973
Review and Interview by Rob Young, Uncut, February 2011
Out, hippies, out! Four CD set captures the righteous, blues-rocking anger of Warwickshire's counterculture warriors. ...
Review by John Doran, The Quietus, 11 February 2011
THE SPANISH PAINTER Francisco Goya was in an ideal position to comment on The Peninsula War of 1804-1808. ...
Lady Gaga, Valentino: Lady Gaga's New Gay Anthem
Comment by Jon Savage, The Guardian, 14 February 2011
Has Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' got what it takes to be a classic gay anthem? Jon Savage on the debt she owes to a ...
Maggoty Lamb goes behind the barricades in Rock Writers' Class War
Comment by Ben Thompson, The Guardian, 23 February 2011
Journalists would have us believe it's public-school leavers v the salt of the earth in the battle of the charts. Is that really the case? ...
Review by James Medd, The Word, March 2011
PJ Harvey is "a human being affected by politics" in an absorbing new record suffused with imagery from wars past and present. And they said ...
Beth Ditto: Winning The Fame Game With No Regrets
Interview by Luke Turner, The Quietus, 1 March 2011
As she prepares to release her new EP with Simian Mobile Disco, Luke Turner sits down with Beth Ditto and finds that, a million record ...
Review by Johnny Sharp, bbc.co.uk, 8 March 2011
Chicago rapper's delayed third album features several inspired moments. ...
Bob Dylan: In Concert: Brandeis University 1963
Review by Steven R Rosen, Blurt, 8 April 2011
WHILE LIBRARIES are filled with books about what's been gained from Dylan going electric, it's worth taking a couple minutes – maybe while listening to ...
PJ Harvey: Polly Harvey reflects on a career marked by exploration and taking chances
Report and Interview by Gavin Martin, Daily Mirror, 15 April 2011
SAT IN THE ornate lounge room of a salubrious London hotel, Polly Jean Harvey apologises that she's finishing off a mouthful of nuts. With her ...
PJ Harvey: "I feel things deeply. I get angry, I shout at the TV, I feel sick."
Profile and Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Observer, 24 April 2011
Polly Harvey opens up to Dorian Lynskey about 20 years in music and the emotions behind her latest dark masterpiece. ...
Profile by Phil Sutcliffe, MOJO, June 2011
SIGNIFICANTLY OR NOT, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's best known product/gift to the world, Transcendental Meditation, was trademarked — and "TM" is a TM too, along with ...
PJ Harvey: Polly Harvey: An Interview
Interview by James Medd, The Word, June 2011
SHE'S SO ON-BRAND, it's like 20 years never passed: a black sleeveless vest top over a physique suggesting food is not an interest, the black ...
The Fugs — Suppose They Gave A War And Nobody Came?
Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Word, June 2011
"KILL FOR PEACE" ironists The Fugs have reunited after 27 years and are "preparing to go out in a blaze of leaflets". ...
Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, Chubby Checker, Joey Dee & the Starliters: Let's Twist again
Retrospective by Richard Williams, The Guardian, 4 June 2011
Fifty years ago, a new dance craze swept the world and changed for ever the way people move. Richard Williams, up on his feet when it ...
The Plastic People of the Universe
Retrospective and Interview by Archie Patterson, Eurock, 10 June 2011
"When modes of music change, the fundamental laws of the state always change with them." (Plato) ...
Gil Scott-Heron: Growing Up With Gil Scott-Heron: In Loving Memory
Memoir by Danny Goldberg, AlterNet, 11 June 2011
GIL SCOTT-HERON'S death last week at the age of 62 stimulated a wave of appreciation from critics and the jazz and hip hop communities who ...
Interview by Adam Sweeting, Rock's Backpages Audio, 22 June 2011
The Who frontman on touring Tommy as a solo artist; on Cousin Kevin, Uncle Ernie and paedophilia; on Prince Charles; on CSI using Who songs as title music, appearing in that show, and his acting career in general. He then, at great length, airs his frequently reactionary political opinions.
File format: mp3; file size: 64.5mb, interview length: 1h 07' 09" sound quality: *****
Frankie Goes to Hollywood: Beyond the Pleasuredome: Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Liverpool
Retrospective by Wyndham Wallace, The Quietus, 4 July 2011
Wyndham Wallace follows last year's celebration of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's landmark album, Welcome to the Pleasuredome, with a look at its neglected follow-up, Liverpool, ...
TV On The Radio As Soundtrack To Bush & Obama's America
Essay by John Calvert, The Quietus, 3 August 2011
Don't Let The Devil In: John Calvert takes a look at the work of TV On The Radio through the prism of a turbulent decade ...
Comment by Simon Reynolds, The New York Times, 12 August 2011
1: 'NOW' POP WILL REPEAT ITSELF Museums, Reunions, Rock Docs, Re-enactments ...
Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Wax Poetics, September 2011
"White people had Judy Garland. We had Nina." — Richard Pryor ...
Interview by Alan Light, MSN.com, October 2011
"NOBODY'S EVER known what to call me," says Harry Belafonte. "Was I a folk singer, jazz, pop? Or was I even a singer at all? ...
Chrissie Hynde, The Slits, X-Ray Spex: Lasses of the Mohicans
Retrospective by Vivien Goldman, New Statesman, 31 October 2011
Vivien Goldman charts the history of Britain’s rebellious female punks. ...
The Fugs Levitate the Pentagon
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Classic Rock, November 2011
NOT IN HIS wildest imagination could David Copperfield have dreamed this one up. Levitate the Pentagon, America's stark and forbidding Defense HQ, 300 feet skyward, ...
The Chitlin' Circuit: Celebrating a Secret History of American Music
Book Review by John Morthland, Wondering Sound, 1 November 2011
FOR YEARS, the Chitlin' Circuit — the network of mostly-Southern, mostly-rural clubs where black artists performed from the 1930s into the '60s — has been ...
Andrew Bird's sonic arboretum reminds me of the natural music we are losing
Report and Interview by Laura Barton, The Guardian, 24 November 2011
IN CHICAGO'S MUSEUM of Contemporary Art this December, there will sprout up a peculiar kind of forest: 50 horned speakers, each standing between 19 and ...
The Last Poets: Waiting For The Revolution
Retrospective and Interview by Graeme Thomson, Uncut, December 2011
From the volatile streets of Harlem in the late '60s, THE LAST POETS were among the earliest voices of radical black youth in America. With ...
Lily Allen, Billy Bragg, Elton John: Britain in song
Essay by John Lewis, Do Not Disturb, Summer 2011
How do the British address their cities in song? With bathos, pathos and a large helping of silliness, says John Lewis ...
Memoir by Michael Gray, Michael Gray Outtakes, 2012
IT'S 20 YEARS since the writer, socialist and East End of London doctor David Widgery died prematurely, and I want to join those who have ...
Childish Gambino: The Basement at the Camp, EC1
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 27 January 2012
IT IS ABOUT time someone challenged the "get rich or die trying" stereotype that has dominated hip-hop music on its journey from ghetto art to ...
Don Cornelius: Love, Peace, and Hair Grease: Remembering Soul Train's Don Cornelius
Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Complex, 2 February 2012
Artists from Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys to Charlie Wilson of the Gap Band reminisce about the life and legacy of the late Don Cornelius, whose show ...
Review by John Calvert, The Quietus, 16 February 2012
COMEDY RAP act or conceptual art project? Whatever your opinion on rave-rappers Die Antwoord, their new album is a rare treat — South African pop ...
Bruce Springsteen: Wrecking Ball
Review by Peter Stone Brown, CounterPunch, 24 February 2012
IN 1944, WRITING a script for a radio show Woody Guthrie wrote: "I hate a song that makes you think that you are not any ...
The Pop Group, Mark Stewart: Bristol Fashion: Mark Stewart of the Pop Group's 13 Favourite Albums
Interview by Julian Marszalek, The Quietus, 22 March 2012
Julian Marszalek talks to post-punk agitator Mark Stewart about his 13 favourite albums. ...
Retrospective and Interview by Sean O'Hagan, The Observer, 25 March 2012
Dennis Morris is celebrated for his iconic photographs of the Sex Pistols and Bob Marley. But few knew that in that pivotal era he was ...
Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd: Alabama Shakes: The Saga of Southern Rock
Comment by Barney Hoskyns, The Guardian, 6 April 2012
IT WAS ONLY a matter of time before BBC4 green-lit a Friday night documentary about the sub-genre Southern Rock. The subject is irresistible to connoisseurs ...
Joan Baez: "Don't re-live the sixties"
Interview by Jude Rogers, The Word, May 2012
Martin Luther King support act, first folk superstar, Downton Abbey obsessive — Joan Baez offers a little steely-voice sagacity ...
Fela Kuti: Live in Detroit 1986
Review by Stevie Chick, bbc.co.uk, 14 May 2012
Rediscovered concert recording from the king of afrobeat. ...
The Beautiful South, The Housemartins: Paul Heaton: "Armed Revolution Is The Only Cure"
Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, June 2012
Baleful tunesmith, habitual cyclist, pub-owner, radical — Paul Heaton puts a foot on the ball and surveys the pitch ...
Paul Heaton: "Armed Revolution Is The Only Cure"
Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, June 2012
Baleful tunesmith, habitual cyclist, pub-owner, radical — Paul Heaton puts a foot on the ball and surveys the pitch. ...
Screaming Lord Sutch Is Alive And Well And Living At Number Ten...
Retrospective by Alan Clayson, unpublished, June 2012
...10, PARKFIELD ROAD, South Harrow, that is – where the mere mortal christened David Edward Sutch had tumbled out of bed just prior to the ...
Live Review by Carol Cooper, The Village Voice, 4 June 2012
Better Than: Being sad that Alice Coltrane and Cesaria Evora are dead and that Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill don't make albums together. ...
Bruce Springsteen: Marc Dolan: Bruce Springsteen and the Promise of Rock 'n' Roll (Norton)
Book Review by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Chronicle, 15 June 2012
WHILE MOST classic rockers his age are either slowing down, retired or dead, sexagenarian Bruce Springsteen (who might also be called "sexy-genarian" by legions of ...
Retrospective and Interview by Sheila Weller, Vanity Fair, July 2012
It was billed as "the Summer of Love", a blast of glamour, ecstasy, and Utopianism that drew some 75,000 young people to the San Francisco ...
Frank Ocean Comes Out: A Brave Move In The Exaggeratedly Heterosexual World Of Hip Hop
Comment by Dorian Lynskey, New Statesman, 4 July 2012
What it means to be the first out gay star in urban music. ...
Damon Albarn, Afel Bocoum: Damon Albarn in Mali
Report and Interview by Sheryl Garratt, Seven, 23 July 2012
Between staging an opera and preparing for Blur's Olympic show, Damon Albarn travelled to Mali to spend quality time with an old friend. But Islamic ...
Interview by Kate Mossman, The Word, August 2012
ANTONY HEGARTY is a very persuasive man. He rarely smiles, he doesn't crack jokes, but there's something about that whisper, which at first sounds cool ...
Ed Sheeran: And another thing: Miserable songs
Comment by David Hepworth, The Word, August 2012
Writing miserable songs doesn't make you deep, boys and girls ...
Pussy Riot: The Riot Girls' Style
Comment by Vivien Goldman, New York Times magazine blogs, 8 August 2012
IT HAS BEEN a shock to see the bravely smiling faces of three girls from the Russian punk collective Pussy Riot locked in a glass ...
Pussy Riot Sentenced To Two Year Jail Term
Report by John Doran, The Quietus, 17 August 2012
RUSSIAN PUNK BAND Pussy Riot have been sentenced to two years in jail each after being found guilty of hooliganism earlier in the day. ...
Pussy Riot and the Politics of Grrrl Punk
Comment by Evelyn McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 13 September 2012
I WONDER, as they sit in their separate cells, what songs the three jailed members of Pussy Riot sing to themselves to keep their spirits ...
Chely Wright's Rediscovered Country
Profile by Charles Bermant, No Depression, 24 September 2012
WE ALL HOLD our own set of prejudices and preconceptions, with clear ideas about politics and religion, tolerance and hatred for country music singers and ...
Jimmy Savile: Young girls were just another victim of the rock'n'roll years
Comment by David Hepworth, The Independent, 2 October 2012
THE MUSIC INDUSTRY has always been awash with salacious rumours about the sexual tastes of its more prominent figures, particularly when they look as though ...
Green Day: Mossman on music: Green Day's musical
Live Review by Kate Mossman, New Statesman, 19 October 2012
The Green Day-inspired musical reviewed. ...
Darren Hayman & The Long Parliament: The Violence
Review by Ben Myers, bbc.co.uk, November 2012
A concept album about the 17th century witch trials of Essex? Yes please. ...
Hurray for the Riff Raff: Protest and Survive
Profile and Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, November 2012
MUSIC AS AN instrument of change – remember that concept? It may seem a little naïve at a time when even the mighty have fallen ...
Jimmy Savile: DJ Originator Or More Smoke And Mirrors?
Comment by Greg Wilson, Rock's Backpages, November 2012
JUST OVER 12 MONTHS AGO, on October 29th 2011, the TV and radio personality Sir Jimmy Savile died two days before his 85th birthday (he ...
Report and Interview by Frank Broughton, GQ, 8 November 2012
As the fallout from the Jimmy Savile abuse allegations continues, dance music historian Frank Broughton asks whether the next revelations may be his connections to ...
Comment by Mark Kemp, Creative Loafing, 14 November 2012
WHEN MADONNA drolly announced to fans packed into the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 24, that "we have a black Muslim in the ...
Interview by Alan Light, MSN.com, December 2012
"THERE’S A day of reckoning coming," says Neil Young. "These superstorms and disasters—they're not a surprise, they were predicted, and they're only going to increase ...
Pussy Riot: Activists, not Pin-ups
Comment by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 20 December 2012
Clever, committed and courageous, Pussy Riot are the only band that mattered in 2012. They have used their year in the spotlight to expose injustice. ...
Essay by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, Fall 2012
FOR TRAMPLED UNDER FOOT, my oral history of Led Zeppelin, one of the interviews I conducted was with Dave Bates, an almost-famous A&R man from ...
The Village Voice and the Birth of Rock Criticism: Two Excerpts from Writing the Record
Book Excerpt by Devon Powers, University of Massachusetts Press, 2013
1) From the Introduction: "Village" ...
Johnny Marr, The Smiths: Johnny Marr on the Smiths, Morrissey and putting politics back in pop
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 11 January 2013
With the release of his first solo album The Messenger, the former Smiths guitarist talks about finally embracing his old sound, David Cameron and why ...
Graham Stewart: Bang! A History of Britain in the 1980s
Book Review by Andy Beckett, The Guardian, 17 January 2013
A study of Thatcher's era that leaves vital questions unanswered ...
Report and Interview by Colin Irwin, The Observer, 27 January 2013
The folk scene is changing – there are songs about police shootings, Occupy London and rape. Colin Irwin meets the singers who are shaking things ...
Steve Mason: "I don't think rioting is the answer any more"
Profile and Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Observer, 10 March 2013
Former Beta Band frontman Steve Mason explains why not everything on his new solo album is political. ...
Barry McGuire's Living Room Anthems
Profile and Interview by Charles Bermant, No Depression, 23 March 2013
BARRY MCGUIRE was around in the 1960s, and remembers them well enough to present a historical narrative of songs and stories for the benefit of ...
Retrospective and Interview by Amy Linden, Red Bull Academy Magazine, April 2013
IT'S DIFFICULT for a generation raised on Carrie and the girls, luxury condos and cabs that have no problem taking you to Brooklyn to wrap ...
Yip Harburg and the Story of 'Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead'
Retrospective by Fred Dellar, Rock's Backpages, April 2013
THOUGH I HAVE tremendous sympathy for those who lost their jobs, their dignity and sometimes their lives, following the pit closures and ensuing strike of ...
Memoir by Michael Simmons, Huffington Post, 5 April 2013
"I WANNA BE a neuron – I don't wanna be the brain," said all-night radio host Bob Fass in the 1960s to his audience. "We're ...
Primal Scream: Vitamin Gee: Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie Sees The Light
Interview by Julian Marszalek, The Quietus, 30 April 2013
Julian Marszalek talks to the Primal Scream frontman about their new album More Light, the state of rock music in 2013 and living in post-Thatcher ...
Michelle Shocked: "My reputation was sacrificed years ago!" The strange return of Michelle Shocked
Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2013
AS LIVE MELTDOWNS GO, it wasn't quite up there with George Jones announcing he was Donald Duck or Grace Slick goosestepping across a Hamburg stage. ...
Profile and Interview by Sean O'Hagan, The Observer, 2 June 2013
Last year, the multi-millionaire publishing mogul and drug-addled dissolute Felix Dennis was diagnosed with throat cancer. But don't count him out yet, he tells Sean ...
Sinéad O'Connor: Institutionalised: The Faith and Courage of Sinead O'Connor
Interview by Wyndham Wallace, The Quietus, 5 June 2013
Though her personal life has often overshadowed her career, Sinead O'Connor remains a treasured musical force. Belatedly back on the road to promote her most ...
Janelle Monáe: "I'm a time traveller. I have been to lots of different places"
Interview by Kate Mossman, The Guardian, 30 June 2013
She's an android-dating style queen who's been compared to Bowie. Is the R&B singer the saviour of pop? ...
Massive Attack meet Adam Curtis: The Unlikely Double Act
Report and Interview by Sean O'Hagan, The Observer, 30 June 2013
At July's Manchester festival, the boundary-breaking band and radical film-maker will tackle the perilous state of democracy in a show that redefines the notion of ...
Mick Farren: You Say You Want A Revolution: Mick Farren Looks Back
Book Excerpt by Paul Moody, 'Search For The Lost Chord', July 2013
RBP contributor Paul Moody interviewed Mick earlier this year while researching his new book Search For The Lost Chord: Looking For The Spirit Of Rock'n'Roll. We're ...
Lynyrd Skynyrd: On Lynyrd Skynyrd's Ed King, and Trayvon Martin
Letter by Mark Kemp, Rock and Rap Confidential, 17 July 2013
JUST WANTED to let you folks at RRC know that Ed King, ostensibly one of the more enlightened original members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and a former member ...
The Deviants, Mick Farren: Goodbye, Mick Farren, activist, rabble-rousing rocker and NME journalist
Memoir by Charles Shaar Murray, The Guardian, 29 July 2013
Mick Farren, who died onstage in London on Saturday, was a "living banner for the psychedelic left". He was also a friend who joined me ...
Memoir by Paul Gorman, Rock's Backpages, 31 July 2013
GROWING UP IN London in the '60s and '70s with an interest in the counterculture, music and street politics meant that the shaggy-headed figure of ...
The Who: Richard Weight: Mod – A Very British Style (Bodley Head)
Book Review by Ian Penman, London Review of Books, 29 August 2013
IN A LOVELY 1963 piece on Miles Davis, Kenneth Tynan quoted Cocteau to illuminate the art of his "discreet, elliptical" subject: Davis was one of ...
Nas: The Golden G's: On Nas and Aging in Hip-Hop
Report and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Complex, 10 September 2013
How Nas has been able to stay relevant through 20 years in hip-hop. ...
Kitchens of Distinction: An Accidental Comeback: Reassembling Kitchens of Distinction
Retrospective and Interview by Wyndham Wallace, The Quietus, 23 September 2013
The return of Kitchens of Distinction was unexpected, even for the band. Wyndham Wallace joins them for their first face-to-face interview together in almost two ...
Lloyd Bradley: Sounds Like London – 100 Years Of Black Music In The Capital (Serpent's Tail)
Book Review by Karl Dallas, Morning Star, 8 October 2013
Authentic account of black music's capital origins ...
Wynton Marsalis Toots His Own Horn
Interview by Miles Marshall Lewis, Ebony, 8 October 2013
YES, WYNTON Marsalis has soul. The knee-jerk criticism of the 51-year-old jazz trumpeter ever since his self-titled 1981 album has been that, while always technically ...
Book Review by Greg Wilson, electrofunkroots.co.uk, 9 October 2013
JUST FINISHED a captivating and, to my mind, long-overdue book, which covers the history of black music in the capital spanning (almost) 100 years, the ...
Vatican Shadow: Remember Your Black Day
Review by Luke Turner, The Quietus, 11 October 2013
IT WAS INEVITABLE that an event as grand, terrible, momentous and world-changing as the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington would ...
Review by John Doran, The Quietus, 13 November 2013
Note: Contains Spoilers for the HBO TV show Treme ...
Retrospective by Wyndham Wallace, The Quietus, 10 December 2013
Band Aid raised awareness of a disastrous famine, as well as huge sums of money to try ease it. But, one year ahead of its ...
Lostprophets: Rock Music Isn't Evil — it's the rock star myth that creates men like Ian Watkins
Comment by Ben Myers, New Statesman, 18 December 2013
Music journalist and author Ben Myers has been doing some soul-searching on the day the former Lostprophets singer was sentenced to twenty-nine years' imprisonment plus ...
Book Excerpt by Charles Shaar Murray, 'Elvis Died For Somebody's Sins But Not Mine', Spring 2013
MICK FARREN IS a man of many parts, an impressive number of which are still working despite the natural wear and-tear incurred by decades of ...
Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, January 2014
DR JOY DEGRUY coined the term Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome to describe the multi-generational trauma experienced by African Americans as a consequence of slavery. In ...
Pete Seeger: The road goes on for ever
Obituary by Richard Williams, The Guardian, 28 January 2014
The folk singer believed in handing on the traditions he had done so much to save, so that others could carry them forward. It was ...
Review and Interview by Richard Williams, Uncut, February 2014
Good-time title, sombre message on The Boss' 18th studio album proper. ...
St. Vincent: St Vincent on St Vincent (Caroline)
Interview by Nick Hasted, Uncut, February 2014
Annie Clark's explores our "digital reality" on fourth LP ...
The Smiths: Life in Rough Trade: How Geoff Travis became a major player for indie bands
Profile and Interview by Paul Lester, The Jewish Chronicle, 17 February 2014
AS FOUNDER of the Rough Trade record store, distribution company and label, Geoff Travis has done as much as anyone to promote indie music as ...
Microdisney: An Improbable History: Microdisney Interviewed
Interview by David McKenna, The Quietus, 20 February 2014
David McKenna talks to Cathal Coughlan and Sean O'Hagan about the Rough Trade years. ...
Sex & Drugs & Herring rolls: Punk's Jewish Roots Revealed
Retrospective by Nick Hasted, The Independent, 26 February 2014
PUNK ROCK'S transatlantic fuse was lit when Malcolm McLaren saw Richard Hell in New York in 1975. McLaren, whose Jewish family background was in the ...
Retrospective by Vivien Goldman, The Guardian, 27 February 2014
Punk Svengalis Malcolm McLaren and Bernie Rhodes were Jewish, and the faith had an influence on UK labels and journalists. For Jewish kids, meanwhile, the ...
Jean-Jacques Burnel, The Stranglers: Mr Dojo Rising: JJ Burnel of The Stranglers interviewed
Interview by Julian Marszalek, The Quietus, 4 March 2014
Julian Marszalek looks beyond the ugliness, violence and "intellectual thuggery" to find punk's genuine outsiders. ...
Report and Interview by Graeme Thomson, The Guardian, 10 April 2014
Country music is known for tears, beers and big hats – not gay anthems. One singer set out 40 years ago to change that, but ...
Blur, Elastica, Oasis, Pulp, Suede: Modern Life Isn't Rubbish: The Trouble With Britpop Nostalgia
Comment by Luke Turner, The Quietus, 10 April 2014
The mainstream media are currently engaged in a collective misty-eyed throwback to the 'glory days' of the mid 90s. Luke Turner, who was a teenager ...
Jay Z, Public Enemy: Still Smokin': 30 Years of Crack's Influence on Pop Culture
Essay by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 2 May 2014
With Showtime announcing John Singleton's upcoming Snowfall series, crack cocaine's sway on pop culture continues to grow ...
Interview by Paul Lester, The Jewish Chronicle, 15 May 2014
Why star producer intends to have a ball ...
Chrissie Hynde: Talker Of The Town: Chrissie Hynde
Interview by Simon Price, The Quietus, 10 June 2014
Chrissie Hynde is releasing her first-ever solo album. But never mind that. Just let her talk. Because the legendary Pretenders leader can talk for London, ...
Bob Dylan: Unlike a Rolling Stone
Comment by Robert Dean Lurie, The American Conservative, 20 June 2014
Why Bob Dylan, troubadour of the revolution, turned homeward. ...
Lynyrd Skynyrd: An Interview with Rickey Medlocke
Interview by Jim Sullivan, Cape Cod Times, July 2014
IT COULD HAPPEN at any rock show, any time, any place, anywhere. The band is revving up for its encore, and you hear a cry ...
Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull: The Fast-Moving Mind (and Mouth) of Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson
Report and Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 2 July 2014
IT SEEMS THAT Gerald Bostock, the noted writer and lyricist, is at it again. ...
Duke Ellington, Sun Ra: The secret history of the jazz greats who were freemasons
Essay by John Lewis, The Guardian, 2 July 2014
Jazz and freemasonry are unlikely bedfellows, but in the 1950s, the secret society became a support network for musicians and the world's largest fraternity for ...
Black Sky Thinking: White Power And Black Pop: The Real Problem With 1Xtra's Power List
Comment by Neil Kulkarni, The Quietus, 16 July 2014
Neil Kulkarni dissects the recent BBC 1Xtra Power List which featured three white acts in the top four... ...
Essay by Deanne Stillman, Los Angeles Review of Books, 23 August 2014
FOR THE PAST three years, I've been away from California, living in Arizona but returning to the Golden State as much as I could. It ...
Bad Brains, Fishbone, Living Colour: Afropunk Before Afropunk
Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 29 August 2014
LAST WEEK, for the first time in years, I missed the Afropunk festival. The musical movement began as an extension of a 2003 documentary of ...
U2: Songs Of Innocence: On U2, Tax & Hypocrisy
Comment by John Doran, The Quietus, 10 September 2014
John Doran is singularly unimpressed by U2's invocation of William Blake's Songs Of Innocence. Shouldn't they stop cosying up to morally bankrupt corporations, banks, philosophers, ...
Kate Tempest: Poet, performer, novelist: the rise of the uncategorisable Kate Tempest
Report and Interview by Laura Barton, The Guardian, 12 September 2014
Mercury nomination and place on prestigious list of poets are well-deserved accolades for bright young performer ...
Julian Casablancas: "I have nothing against gentrification"
Interview by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 9 October 2014
The Strokes singer on brunch and banks, dictatorship in the US and his Voidz protest album, Tyranny. ...
Leonard Cohen: Tea and Oranges on High Holy Days
Retrospective by Kirk Silsbee, Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, 17 October 2014
LIKE MANY OF us, author Harvey Kubernik first heard Leonard Cohen through his interpreters. Judy Collins recorded Cohen's obliquely lyrical 'Suzanne' and the sardonic suicide ...
Jackson Browne: Standing in the Breach
Review by Peter Stone Brown, CounterPunch, 21 October 2014
IN 1974, JACKSON BROWNE released his third album, his masterpiece Late For The Sky, a record that was brilliantly constructed in every way from the ...
Robert Wyatt: Soundtrack of my life: Robert Wyatt
Interview by Jude Rogers, The Observer, 26 October 2014
The prog-rock pioneer on his love of jazz, falsetto singing, the thrill of meeting Bulgarian folk singers and why Pharrell Williams is as good as ...
Bruce Cockburn: Rumours of Glory
Sleeve notes by Nicholas Jennings, True North Records, November 2014
IN HIS ILLUMINATING memoir, also called Rumours of Glory, Bruce Cockburn writes: "My songs are influenced by what I read, where I travel and what ...
Interview by Adam Sweeting, Rock's Backpages Audio, November 2014
The singer/songwriter talks about his appreciation of the tribute album Looking Into You; on Los Angeles then and now — the cheap rents, and sharing with JD Souther and Glenn Frey, and the emergence of country rock; his new album Standing In The Breach, and avoiding writing political songs; modern American politics, school massacres and the NRA; the role of David Geffen, and his memories of his father.
File format: mp3; file size: 45.3mb, interview length: 47' 13" sound quality: ****
Iggy Azalea, Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj, Meghan Trainor: The Booty Myth
Report by Evelyn McDonnell, Cuepoint, 10 November 2014
Are female pop stars glorifying their bodies or objectifying them? Well, it's complicated. ...
The Beach Boys, The Eagles, Charles Manson: Charles Manson and the Death of the Californian Dream
Retrospective by Gavin Martin, Sabotage Times, 17 November 2014
The swinging '60s in the Golden State – California. A decade of sex, drink, drugs and debauchery soundtracked by the Beach Boys, the Eagles and ...
Jess Glynne: The chart-topper who lives with her mum
Profile and Interview by Paul Lester, The Jewish Chronicle, 25 November 2014
The pop sensation explains how being a family girl helps her keep fame in perspective ...
Gil Scott-Heron: Shut 'em Down: Reflections on Ferguson and Gil Scott-Heron
Essay by Michael A. Gonzales, soulhead, 2 December 2014
AFTER THE Michael Brown decision in Ferguson, Missouri last week, amid the expected disgust about the so-called fairness of a legal system that allowed murderous ...
Billie Holiday: Blood on the Leaves: Eric Garner and 'Strange Fruit'
Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 5 December 2014
"I CAN'T BREATHE," Eric Garner moaned moments before dying on a Staten Island street on July 17 of this summer. As one of millions who ...
Come See about Me: Why the Baby Boomers Liked Stax but Loved Motown
Essay by Gary Kenton, 'Baby Boomers and Popular Culture' (Praeger Books), 2015
ETHNOMUSICOLOGIST and anthropologist Steven Feld studied how meanings are reconstituted when music moves from indigenous communities to a global market. He argues that you cannot ...
Guide by Kieron Tyler, Q Classic, 2015
Author's note, 2020: The Harder They Come, conspicuous by its absence from this list, was not included, since it was the subject of a feature ...
Report and Interview by Laura Barton, The Guardian, 1 January 2015
From the spirituals of the deep south to the White Stripes, it's a music that has constantly reimagined itself. But is anyone really ready for ...
Pharrell Williams: From spreading happiness to saving the planet: The rise and rise of Pharrell
Comment by Edward Helmore, The Observer, 25 January 2015
What is driving Pharrell Williams's new global conscience as he joins Al Gore's fight against climate change? ...
Hozier: O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, W12
Live Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 2 February 2015
PERHAPS EVERY Hozier show now starts with the audience screaming for so long that the wild-haired Irishman has to wait awkwardly, a grin frozen to ...
Comment by Stuart Maconie, New Statesman, 4 February 2015
With school music spending down and the benefits system crippled, the voices of pop have lost their bite. ...
Gil Scott-Heron: The Revolution Lives On
Report and Interview by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 22 February 2015
Political activist, rap pioneer and poet Gil Scott-Heron shaped the sound of today – from Talib Kweli and Kanye West to Kendrick Lamar. His friends ...
The Pop Group: Have the Pop Group finally become a pop group?
Retrospective and Interview by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 26 February 2015
Bristol's post-punk provocateurs have released Citizen Zombie, their first album for 35 years. In 1975, they drew on dub, free-jazz and Baudrillard; 2015 finds singer ...
tUnE-yArDs: "Most rock shows are pretty boring"
Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 27 February 2015
BENEATH WILD PERFORMANCES and infectious tunes, Merrill Garbus's band tUnE-yArDs is tackling serious subjects. ...
Kendrick Lamar Voices the Ferguson Era
Review by Miles Marshall Lewis, Ebony, 17 March 2015
WE CAN FINALLY take Black Messiah off repeat; masterpiece two has arrived. To Pimp a Butterfly, Kendrick Lamar's thematically and musically layered 16-track sophomore album, ...
Sleaford Mods: Grammar Wanker: Sleaford Mods 2007‑2014 by Jason Williamson (Bracketpress)
Book Review by John Harris, The Guardian, 18 March 2015
Drug comedowns and fist fights — an angry and uncompromising collection of lyrics. Who else in modern English music is doing anything quite like this? ...
Umar Bin Hassan: Last Poet Umar Bin Hassan Returns for Revolution
Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 7 April 2015
Are We Trapped, the latest from the voice of the Last Poets, flaunts the original Black revolutionary spirit that still inspires the likes of Kendrick ...
Curtis Mayfield: Revisiting Curtis Mayfield's There's No Place Like America Today
Retrospective by David Bennun, The Quietus, 16 April 2015
NOTE: This article was adapted by its author from a piece in the 1995 Melody Maker book Unknown Pleasures. ...
Book Review by Barney Hoskyns, The Guardian, 23 May 2015
WHEN RICHARD GOLDSTEIN got married, Murray "the K" Kaufman – the famous New York disc jockey who'd anointed himself "the Fifth Beatle" in 1964 – ...
Kendrick Lamar: "I am Trayvon Martin. I'm all of these kids."
Profile and Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Observer, 21 June 2015
LAST YEAR, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presented research demonstrating that "youth living in inner cities show a higher ...
Nina Simone: "Are you ready to burn buildings?"
Retrospective by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 22 June 2015
From singing the soundtrack to the civil rights movement to living in self-imposed exile in Liberia, Nina Simone never chose the easy path. As a ...
Profile and Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, July 2015
DON'T TELL THE wife, but I've fallen for Buffy Sainte-Marie. She probably doesn't feel the same way about me, but then being well-versed in the ...
Curtis Mayfield: 10 of the best
Guide by Stevie Chick, The Guardian, 5 August 2015
Deploying sweet soul and blistering funk – and pouring his gorgeous, honeyed falsetto over it all – Curtis Mayfield veered between breezy optimism and hard-edged ...
Elton John, Mika: Is There a "Gay Aesthetic" to Pop Music?
Comment by Geoffrey Himes, Smithsonian , 12 August 2015
From Elton John to Mika, the "glam piano" genre may be as integral to the Gay American experience as hip-hop and the blues are to ...
Hot Tuna, Jefferson Airplane, Jorma Kaukonen: Jorma Kaukonen Finds Somebody To Love
Retrospective and Interview by Wayne Robins, Tablet, 12 August 2015
The former Jefferson Airplane guitarist and Hot Tuna lead man comes home to his mother's faith at his Fur Peace Ranch in Ohio ...
William Onyeabor, Sinkane: Ahmed Gallab: "I want to make people feel the joy of being alive"
Interview by John Aizlewood, The Evening Standard, 14 August 2015
Ahmed Gallab is all set to blow minds at David Byrne's Meltdown festival, and he hopes his hip sound will inspire youngsters back in his ...
POTUS playlist: Barack Obama shares his favorite summer tracks on Spotify
Comment by Maura Johnston, The Guardian, 14 August 2015
The US president freshens America's musical palate with a survey of tried-and-true classics and discoverable new artists ranging from soul to rock to jazz. ...
Sing along with the common people
Report and Interview by Lisa Verrico, The Sunday Times, 16 August 2015
As gritty, working-class performers get eclipsed by the posh brigade, major labels thirst for the next Oasis. ...
Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones: Black and Blue: Keith Richards interviewed
Interview by Julian Marszalek, The Quietus, 16 September 2015
Julian Marszalek meets the Rolling Stones guitarist and living legend to talk race, drugs and persistence. ...
Book Review by Evelyn McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 17 September 2015
There's no pretending in Chrissie Hynde's spare, deft memoir Reckless ...
Morrissey: Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith
Live Review by Kate Allen, Fashion Music Style, 21 September 2015
"THIS IS MY LIFE," are the words Morrissey welcomes the crowd with. And what a life it is at the moment: playing a large number ...
Elvis Presley: Elvis and Black Music
Retrospective by David Burke, Vintage Rock, October 2015
SO THE STORY goes that Elvis stole black music, exploited the influences he absorbed while growing up on the blurred edges of the coloured line ...
Ezra Furman: MOJO Rising: Ezra Furman
Profile and Interview by Kieron Tyler, MOJO, October 2015
The "gender-wobbly", weirdo Springsteen talks doo wop, fearlessness and Judaism. ...
Björk on Iceland: "We don't go to church, we go for a walk"
Interview by Laura Barton, The Guardian, 16 November 2015
Björk used to walk across the tundra singing at the top of her lungs. John Grant left America for its rocky grandeur and Sigur Rós's ...
Report by Paul Rambali, Rock's Backpages, 19 November 2015
THE DICTATORS played in central Paris on Wednesday night and Handsome Dick Manitoba was in exhilarating Noo Yoik form. ...
Jon Savage: 1966 – The Year the Decade Exploded
Book Review by Bob Stanley, The Guardian, 20 November 2015
THE POP MUSIC you hear in your teenage years affects you more deeply than at any other time in your life. People who don't go ...
Gloria Estefan: how her rhythm got America … and the world
Retrospective and Interview by Maura Johnston, The Guardian, 25 November 2015
Pop hits with Latino influences are de rigueur now — and no one has had a greater impact on this state of affairs than Cuban-Americans ...
Book Review by Robert Dean Lurie, National Review, 31 December 2015
WRITING ABOUT Bob Dylan's politics would seem to be a thankless task. The famously curmudgeonly songwriter claims to know and care little about the subject, ...
Sleeve notes by David Burke, Repertoire Records, 2016
THEY WERE Native American culture in vivid sound and colour, contemporary scions of a proud people, renewing primordial rhythms and imagery, making them new again ...
Sleater-Kinney: Carrie Brownstein: Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl: A Memoir (Virago)
Book Review by Jamie Atkins, Record Collector, January 2016
ARTISTICALLY, 2015 has been quite a year for Carrie Brownstein — the band that brought her to public attention, Sleater-Kinney, returned with No Cities To ...
P. F. Sloan: P.F. Sloan: Requiem For An Icon of Song
Retrospective by Kirk Silsbee, Glendale News-Press, 2 January 2016
SONGWRITER P.F. Sloan died in November of pancreatic cancer, at age 70. Though the general music audience has seldom known his name, among singers and tunesmiths ...
Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Red Bull Academy Magazine, 25 January 2016
At the height of their careers, Sam Cooke, Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, George Clinton and Prince all formed their own imprints. Michael Gonzales tells the ...
Panic! at the Disco: Brendon Urie on his new album, Death of a Bachelor
Interview by Pip Williams, Coup De Main, 22 February 2016
Hot on the heels of his new album release, we had a chat with Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco. Now we've had a ...
David Bowie: The Gender Politics of David Bowie
Essay by Larry Jaffee, Women Across Frontiers, 29 February 2016
DAVID BOWIE embodied the fictional character of Ziggy Stardust for only about 18 months circa 1972-1973. Yet it's usually an image of that garishly made ...
Stick in the Wheel: What's Cookin', Leytonstone Ex-Servicemen's Club, London
Live Review by Nick Hasted, Uncut, March 2016
From the London riots to 18th-century laments on English injustice, the critically acclaimed band bring folk back home. ...
Interview by Adam Sweeting, Rock's Backpages Audio, 8 March 2016
The ex-Hollie and CSN(Y) associate talks about his new album This Path Tonight; about seeing the Everlys in Manchester as a youth, harmony singing, the recent changes in his life; about Trump, religion and the state of the world, and his continuing love of photography; and about the tribulations of David Crosby and the health of old flame Joni Mitchell.
File format: mp3; file size: 49.5mb, interview length: 51' 35" sound quality: *****
Billy Bragg: English national anthem: Is 'Jerusalem' the hymn we've been looking for?
Comment by Peter Silverton, The Independent, 10 March 2016
In its 100 years, the hymn 'Jerusalem' has been sung with feeling by those of all political colours, says Peter Silverton. ...
Ani DiFranco: Righteous Babe: Ani DiFranco On Music, Politics, And Staying Independent
Interview by Mark Leviton, The Sun Magazine, May 2016
SINGER-SONGWRITER Ani DiFranco doesn't like her music to be labelled. Some have called it "folk-punk," but when asked to define what she does, DiFranco says, ...
Report and Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, June 2016
WHEN BEN HARPER reunited with his band, the Innocent Criminals, for a sold-out four-night run at San Francisco's Fillmore in March, 2015, seven years after ...
Prince: The Sexual Politics of Prince
Essay by Larry Jaffee, Women Across Frontiers, 15 June 2016
PRINCE'S UNEXPECTED passing on April 21, 2016, shook popular culture and resulted in the long-overdue recognition of his unique musical genius. Yet Prince enigmatically contradicted ...
Profile and Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, July 2016
WHEN YOU THINK about it, email is only a truncated form of letter writing. The art of literary correspondence re-imagined. And every bit as revealing ...
Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, July 2016
IF THE Haitian government wants to improve the international perception of its country, appointing Leyla McCalla as cultural ambassador with a roaming brief could be ...
Ani DiFranco, Woody Guthrie: Ani DiFranco Seeks a Higher Truth
Interview by Jim Sullivan, Cape Cod Times, August 2016
"THE IMPORTANT thing in poetry or songwriting is to ignore the facts and tell the truth," says singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco, on the phone from her ...
Guide by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, August 2016
Channelling the magick of Aleister Crowley and the neo-paganism of witchcraft, occult rock is the sound of rock 'n' roll's secret society. Edwin Pouncey reads ...
Eric Clapton, Morrissey: Eric Clapton & Enoch Powell To Morrissey: Race In British Music Since '76
Essay by David Stubbs, The Quietus, 9 August 2016
During an August 1976 gig in Birmingham, Eric Clapton made racist comments and praised Enoch Powell, inadvertently inspiring the Rock Against Racism campaign. Four decades ...
The Get Down Proves Why The Bronx Will Always Matter
Memoir by Miles Marshall Lewis, The Fader, 11 August 2016
Why the 1970s depicted in Baz Luhrmann’s new Netflix series is an accurate portrait of that era. ...
"Landmark clubs are evidence of creativity and energy in a city": why Fabric's closure matters
Report and Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 8 September 2016
Britain's clubland is shrinking but the world-famous London venue had survived the trend – until now. What does its loss mean for the capital's cultural ...
Escape from Sanity: An Englishman in San Francisco in 1967
Memoir by Andrew Tyler, unpublished, October 2016
NOTE: This is an excerpt from an as-yet unpublished memoir by the former Disc/NME writer and Animal Aid activist, who very sadly died on 28 ...
Solange's A Seat At the Table Is The Epitome of #Woke Music
Review by Miles Marshall Lewis, Essence, 3 October 2016
Solo comes with Nina Simone, 'Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair' levels of intra-cultural adoration all over A Seat at the Table. ...
Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah (Christian Scott): Jazz artist of the week: Christian Scott
Profile by Jasper Murison-Bowie, Under City Lights, 16 October 2016
Who is he? Fully conscious of jazz tradition but also deeply embedded in today's music landscape, trumpeter Christian Scott draws on indie rock, hip-hop and beyond ...
PJ Harvey: O2 Academy Brixton, London
Live Review by David Bennun, The Guardian, 31 October 2016
The musician brings her Hope Six Demolition Project on tour to rail against social ills, and confirm her status as a forceful commentator. ...
Jon Bon Jovi on Trump, Bono, Bieber — and the agony of his split with Richie Sambora
Profile and Interview by Kate Mossman, New Statesman, 1 November 2016
IT'S SOMETHING unheard of in the modern PR junket, but Jon Bon Jovi interviews are running early. Breaks have been built into his day but ...
Leonard Cohen and his eternal search for peace
Retrospective by Mick Brown, Sunday Telegraph, 13 November 2016
IN 1999 LEONARD COHEN travelled to India to see a spiritual teacher named Ramesh Balsekar. Cohen was a man in search, if not exactly of ...
Drake, Green Day, Sting: American Music Awards: anti-Trump sentiment peppers pop's timid party
Report by Maura Johnston, The Guardian, 21 November 2016
Usually the awards show is a chance for those who turn up to walk away with a gong, but this year several acts and presenters ...
Psychic TV's Genesis P-Orridge (2016)
Interview by Jim Sullivan, Boston Rock/Talk, 22 November 2016
The Psychic TV mainperson talks about the sonic evolution of PTV; collaboration and connectivity, fear and totalitarianism; the 1992 police raid and exile; the changing personnel, and about S/he, Lady Jaye and Pandrogeny.
File format: mp3; file size: 29mb, interview length: 31' 41" sound quality: ** (phoner)
Beyoncé, Drake, Amanda Ghost, Solange, Taylor Swift: Where are the political pop stars?
Report and Interview by Lisa Verrico, The Sunday Times, 11 December 2016
Selfie-obsessed stars are selling out to the power of branding. ...
Phil Ochs: How Phil Ochs Went from Folk Hero to Rock & Roll Revolutionary
Retrospective by Mitchell Cohen, Music Aficionado, 2017
PHIL OCHS had been on the stage of Carnegie Hall before. He first headlined there in January 1966, armed with incendiary topical material and witty ...
Gary Glitter: Rock 'N' Roll Part 3? Gary Glitter's future
Comment by Alan Clayson, unpublished, 2017
IN 2015, 74-old Gary Glitter began a sixteen-year prison term for crimes that, seemingly, were beyond the prerogative of a rock star's outlaw chic. This ...
Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson: The Girls of Rhythm Nation
Retrospective by Mitchell Cohen, Music Aficionado, 2017
THEY COULD have been rivals in a pop soap opera. Whitney Houston prim and buttoned-up, Janet Jackson frisky and up for anything. Whitney was a ...
Review by Jamie Atkins, Record Collector, January 2017
WITH 2012's EP True – the wonderful lead single 'Losing You' in particular – Solange Knowles minted a melancholy kind of lilting soul; as in ...
Austra: "How psychedelic would our world be if technology wasn't just about making someone money?"
Interview by Maura Johnston, The Guardian, 5 January 2017
Depressed at the state of the world, Canadian vocalist and producer Katie Stelmanis dove into Naomi Klein, Star Trek, cyborgs and Latin American dance music ...
The Impressions, Curtis Mayfield: Beautiful Brother: The Gentle Genius Of Curtis Mayfield, Part One
Retrospective by Kris Needs, Shindig, February 2017
How a poor boy from Chicago became the voice of the civil rights movement in soul's greatest vocal group, defined the black pride anthem and ...
Comment by Maura Johnston, The Guardian, 14 February 2017
After Perry's #wokepop at the Grammys, there's an argument about how subversive pop can be in 2017. History shows it will take more than hashtags. ...
Curtis Mayfield: Move On Up: Curtis Mayfield Part 2
Retrospective by Kris Needs, Shindig, March 2017
VASTLY EXCEEDING his hopes when it was released that September, Curtis was greeted as the most exciting soul album since Isaac Hayes' Hot Buttered Soul ...
Run the Jewels: Run The Jewels 3
Review and Interview by Stephen Dalton, Uncut, March 2017
Alt-rap activists Killer Mike and El-P rage against the obscene on politically charged third album. ...
Prefab Sprout: Why Prefab Sprout's return with 'America' is a whim and a wonder
Report by Pete Paphides, The Guardian, 6 March 2017
Paddy McAloon surfaced on Friday with a new track that is heartbreaking in an entirely unexpected way. ...
Hurray for the Riff Raff: The Navigator
Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 9 March 2017
"I FEEL THAT the soul of New York is under attack," Americana songwriter and Bronx native Alynda Segarra recently said. Her sixth album as Hurray ...
Chuck Berry: The Complicated Truth About Chuck Berry
Memoir by Caryn Rose, MTV.com, 20 March 2017
How I figured out a way to love his music in spite of his often-unsavory story ...
Declan McKenna on debut album What Do You Think About The Car?
Interview by Pip Williams, The Line of Best Fit, 13 April 2017
It's no mean feat, being labelled the voice of a generation. ...
U2: In Trump's country: U2 takes Joshua Tree politics back on the road
Live Review by Caryn Rose, salon.com, 16 May 2017
30 years after their blisteringly political album and tour, U2 opts for subtle anti-Trump imagery over big speeches. ...
PWR BTTM: Rock BTTM: Why PWR BTTM Were Dropped So Fast
Comment by Pip Williams, Hiskind, 16 May 2017
Content warning: assault This Friday, rising queer punk duo PWR BTTM released their sophomore album, Pageant. What looked set to be a celebration of non-conformity and ...
Lou Reed's friends dismiss claim that 'Walk on the Wild Side' is transphobic
Report and Interview by Edward Helmore, The Guardian, 20 May 2017
Defence came after Canadian student body apologized for "hurtful" lyrics to the trans community after including the 1972 hit on a playlist at a campus ...
Retrospective and Interview by Holly Gleason, No Depression, 23 May 2017
IT WAS EARLY 2003. The Dixie Chicks were easily the biggest girl group in history — and also the biggest act in country music post–Garth ...
Report and Interview by Jude Rogers, The Guardian, 17 June 2017
The band's new album, Every Valley, chronicles the destruction of the Welsh coal industry and how its legacy still resonates in these uncertain times. ...
Benjamin Booker: How I turned my personal meltdown into a rallying cry for black America
Profile and Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 21 June 2017
He was overweight, abusing drugs and fleeing from his self-harming past. So he took all his problems – and turned them into the sensational new ...
Public Service Broadcasting: Every Valley
Review by Luke Turner, The Quietus, 6 July 2017
The nostalgia merchants remember the miners with turgid, insipid, bizarrely misjudged pap. Luke Turner is righteously appalled. ...
Morrissey: When did charming become cranky? Why a middle-aged Morrissey is so hard to love
Comment by Dorian Lynskey, The Observer, 23 July 2017
As a new biopic England is Mine charts the Smiths singer's early life, fans speak of their disillusion at his increasingly outspoken views. ...
Feist: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 28 July 2017
The Canadian indie-folk star transforms the sparse songs of recent album Pleasure into luminous ballads and splenetic blues-rock shredding. ...
Profile and Interview by Alan Light, MOJO, August 2017
IN JULY 1978, the members of Pink Floyd gathered at Britannia Row, their studio in London. It had been almost exactly a year since the ...
Soweto Kinch: A Singular Jazz Odyssey
Profile and Interview by David Burke, All About Jazz, 10 August 2017
SOWETO KINCH was a curious teenager when an encounter with Wynton Marsalis impelled him on his own jazz odyssey. An odyssey characterised by the creation ...
PJ Harvey: Playhouse, Edinburgh
Live Review by Graeme Thomson, Mail On Sunday, 13 August 2017
THERE'S NO NEED to ask how PJ Harvey takes her coffee. From the all-black dress code and shadowy stage lighting to the dense, dusky music, ...
Bruce Springsteen: Live In Belfast 1996 – The Ghost Of Tom Joad Revisited
Review by Rod Tootell, Rock's Backpages, October 2017
RUNNING THROUGH October and November, Bruce Springsteen will play a series of solo shows at the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway. It seems a fitting ...
Stormzy is the star the world was waiting for
Profile by Dorian Lynskey, GQ, October 2017
He's the showman his scene's been waiting for and grime's thunderous hit-maker is setting the record with guts and grace. ...
Herbie Hancock, Omar, Courtney Pine: Courtney Pine
Profile and Interview by David Burke, All About Jazz, 16 October 2017
COURTNEY PINE didn't pick up his beloved tenor saxophone for more than a decade, until an album exploring the black British experience demanded it. The ...
Burial: Why Burial's Untrue Is the Most Important Electronic Album of the Century So Far
Retrospective by Simon Reynolds, Pitchfork, 26 October 2017
Delving into the politics, emotion, and musical history behind the disquieting masterwork a decade after its release. ...
Big Mama Thornton: Big Mama's Blues
Retrospective by David Burke, Vintage Rock, November 2017
BIG MAMA THORNTON – alias Willie Mae Thornton – knew how it worked. Like her black R&B contemporaries, male and female (but especially female), she ...
The Eagles: Trouble in Paradise: The Eagles' Hotel California and mid-'70s Los Angeles
Retrospective by Ed Doheny, Rock's Backpages, November 2017
DON HENLEY once described the Eagles' 1976 album Hotel California as "our interpretation of the high life of Los Angeles", adding that the band had ...
Alice Coltrane: "It's like you're on top of the Alps": Alice Coltrane's spiritual jazz rediscovered
Retrospective by Jude Rogers, The Guardian, 17 November 2017
This weekend sees a host of London jazz festival events revisit the work of Alice Coltrane, who broke the rules of jazz to blaze a ...
Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 15 December 2017
THE MAIN THING that sets Eminem apart from virtually all other rappers is the conflicted nature of his character. Where most wallow in wearyingly cliched ...
Memoir by Alan Clayson, unpublished, 2018
50 years later, Alan Clayson recalls a pivotal year of a '60s that was far from Swinging. ...
Cliff Richard: Arise, Sir Cliff
Retrospective by David Burke, Vintage Rock, 2018
FOR SOMEONE who'd enjoyed a consistent run of success, not to mention the adulation of the public since 'Move It'launched him as Britain's answer to ...
Little Richard: Great Gosh A'Mighty
Retrospective by David Burke, Vintage Rock, 2018
THE FIRST SIGN appeared on a flight from Melbourne to Sydney in 1957. Little Richard was travelling up country as part of a touring bill ...
Mary Gauthier: Rifles & Rosary Beads
Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 25 January 2018
MARY GAUTHIER'S reputation as one of today's greatest songwriters, admired by peers such as Tom Waits and Bob Dylan, is rooted in her relentless commitment ...
Beck: "I miss people. I have a longing for connection and human contact": Life on Planet Beck
Profile and Interview by Kate Mossman, New Statesman, 30 January 2018
THE CHILSTON PARK Hotel in Lenham, Kent, was once owned by Judith and Martin Miller, the antiques stars of the '80s who wrote the Miller's ...
Manic Street Preachers: Melancholy Optimism: Manic Street Preachers
Interview by Patrick Clarke, The Quietus, 19 February 2018
The Manic Street Preachers thought they might never make another album again, then along came Resistance Is Futile. Patrick Clarke meets Nicky Wire to discuss ...
Joan Baez, Bob Dylan: Joan Baez
Interview by Graeme Thomson, Mail On Sunday, 24 March 2018
She's the queen of the '60s protest song, who helped make her lover Bob Dylan famous. Now, as she prepares for her farewell tour, Joan ...
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, April 2018
FOR AN ALBUM on which he takes stock of a 21st century US riddled with crises and uncertainty, Cooder astutely plunders the grammar of the ...
Sampa the Great: After the Australian Music Prize, Sampa the Great wants to set her story straight
Interview by Jenny Valentish, Sydney Morning Herald, the, 5 April 2018
SAMPA THE GREAT didn't get the memo that artists should be of the tortured persuasion. She peppers her speech with gales of laughter. She wants ...
The Clash: Casbah Rock: A Death Threat against the Clash
Book Excerpt by Stuart Bailie, 'Trouble Songs' (Bloomfield), May 2018
Excerpted from Trouble Songs: Music and Conflict in Northern Ireland ...
Journey's Jonathan Cain: Still Believin' in Music and Other Higher Powers
Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 1 May 2018
YOU COULD practically hear the piercing screams of millions of HBO viewers across the land on the night of June 10, 2007 as they were ...
Stiff Little Fingers: Stuart Bailie on Trouble Songs: "I wanted to do something beautiful and pure"
Interview by Peter Murphy, The Irish Times, 12 May 2018
For his new book, about the music that soundtracked the Troubles in Northern Ireland, Belfast journalist Stuart Bailie followed the DIY aesthetic of the punk-era ...
Frank Turner: Roundhouse, London — big-hearted anthems and love songs to America
Live Review by Ian Gittins, The Guardian, 14 May 2018
The provocative singer-songwriter balances the profane and the polite with a set that triggers a joyous mass sing-along ...
Courtney Barnett: Coping Mechanisms
Interview by Pip Williams, The Line of Best Fit, 15 May 2018
Ahead of her second album, Tell Me How You Really Feel, Courtney Barnett tells Pip Williams how she's embraced anxiety and used it as a ...
Retrospective and Interview by Mark Kemp, Creative Loafing, 16 May 2018
THE SINGER AND guitarist for the Mighty Shamrocks was packing up his gear one night after an early-'80s pub gig in the Bogside neighborhood of ...
Retrospective and Interview by David Burke, Classic Pop, June 2018
IT WAS A PARTY staged to express solidarity with the world's most famous political prisoner, while concurrently expressing vehement opposition to an overtly racist system ...
The Special AKA: When Pop Went Political: Nelson Mandela's 70th Birthday Tribute Concert
Retrospective and Interview by David Burke, Classic Pop, June 2018
IT WAS A party staged to express solidarity with the world's most famous political prisoner, while concurrently expressing vehement opposition to an overtly racist system ...
New Order: Why New Order's football song 'World in Motion' was a game-changer
Retrospective and Interview by Nick Hasted, The Independent, 13 June 2018
In 1990, English football wasn't cool – and English football songs certainly weren't. New Order's shambolic, ecstasy-tinged World Cup hit was the first sign everything was about ...
Kamasi Washington: Heaven and Earth
Review by Nick Hasted, The Independent, 20 June 2018
THE CHAIN REACTION from Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly was explosive enough to blow a hole in America's musical ghettos. Hip hop's newly anointed ...
Sudan Archives: I'm new here: Sudan Archives
Profile and Interview by John Lewis, Uncut, July 2018
This month: heady, Afro-futurist R&B from the violinist and singer otherwise knownas Brittney Denise Parks ...
Brian Eno: In the Hot Seat with Larry LeBlanc: Brian Eno, musician, artist, producer, thinker
Interview by Larry LeBlanc, Celebrity Access, July 2018
IT IS APPARENT that there's no measure in contemporary culture to absolutely gauge Brian Eno. His staggering command of several creative disciplines places him alongside ...
Report and Interview by Tim Cooper, Little Atoms, 12 July 2018
In 1993, as war raged in the Balkans, the Eurovision circus descended on the tiny Irish town of Millstreet. It was with the emergence of ...
Run-DMC: Run DMC: Won't stop rockin'
Interview by Graeme Thomson, Uncut, August 2018
They've survived splits, breakdowns and the unsolved murder of DJ Jam Master Jay, but Run-DMC are still causing hard times for sucker MCs ...
The 1975: How The 1975's Matty Healy Kicked Heroin and Took the Band to New Heights
Interview by Dorian Lynskey, Billboard, 2 August 2018
The most ambitious pop-rock band of its generation nearly succumbed to Matty Healy's heroin addiction. Now clean, the flamboyant frontman is taking his group to ...
Chrissie Hynde, The Pretenders: Chrissie Hynde
Interview by Adrian Deevoy, Event Magazine, 4 August 2018
Still super-hip (and all lip) at 66, the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde tells Event why she swears at fans, enrages sex abuse victims… and has swapped ...
Wayne Kramer: MC5's Wayne Kramer Testifies about Music, Drugs, and Not Being "Revolutionary" Enough?
Report and Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 13 August 2018
IT'S HARD TO fathom today that the FBI would be interested in the daily activities of, say, the Foo Fighters, Imagine Dragons, or Fall Out ...
Obituary by Caryn Rose, salon.com, 16 August 2018
The following is a chapter from Women Who Rock: Bessie to Beyoncé, Girl Groups to Riot Grrrl (Black Dog & Leventhal, 2018), edited by Evelyn ...
Charlie Daniels, Bob Dylan: In concert, Daniels doesn't mix politics with music
Interview by Jim Sullivan, Cape Cod Times, 16 August 2018
CHARLIE DANIELS is pretty clear about what you will hear and will not hear when he and his five-piece band take the stage Saturday night ...
Aretha Franklin: Aretha: The Voice of America
Obituary by Carol Cooper, The Village Voice, 17 August 2018
IT MAY BE difficult for anyone born after 1980 to fully grasp how important Aretha Franklin has been to America. There is simply no longer ...
Patty Waters: Jazz from the abyss: Patty Waters' Sings
Retrospective and Interview by Kieron Tyler, MOJO, September 2018
This month's communique from the haunted dancehall: intense, free vocalisations which sustained the young Patti Smith. ...
The Beatles, Paul McCartney: The Untold Stories of Paul McCartney
Interview by Chris Heath, GQ, 11 September 2018
He's as famous and accomplished as a man can be. He could just stay home, relax, and count his money. But Paul McCartney is as ...
Booker T & The MGs: How Stax Records Merged the Music and the Message in 1968
Retrospective and Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 22 October 2018
AS BOTH THE history books and an endless stream of 50th anniversary documentaries have taught us, 1968 was an Especially Important Year in the United ...
Report and Interview by Steven R Rosen, Cincinnati CityBeat, 23 October 2018
Kramer and members of Soundgarden, Faith No More and Fugazi perform MC5 classics at Bogart's on Oct. 25. ...
Joan Baez: Royce Hall, Los Angeles
Live Review by Michael Simmons, L.A. Weekly, 13 November 2018
ON SATURDAY, NOV. 10, Royce Hall at UCLA was sold out for Joan Baez's Fare Thee Well… Tour 2018. At the age of 77, the ...
A Top 40 Countdown & A Plea For a Mitzvah in the Streaming Age: The Best Music Journalism of 2018
Guide by Jason Gross, Rock's Backpages, December 2018
2018 WAS A really good year, just not politically, socially, psychologically and spiritually... well, there was plenty of good music, as Fader, Consequence of Sound ...
Manic Street Preachers: James Dean Bradfield
Interview by Henry Yates, Classic Rock, December 2018
The Manic Street Preachers frontman on fame, hecklers and getting beaten to UK#1 by the "fucking Greatest Showman…" ...
Kanye West: Inside the mind of Kanye West: Searching for... Kanye (BBC Three)
Preview by Patrick Clarke, bbc.co.uk, 14 December 2018
The rapper has hit the headlines almost as much for his mental health as his music this year, but what's really going on? ...
The Dis-Education of Rock 'n' Roll
Essay by Gary Kenton, 'Teachers, Teaching, and Media' (Brill), 2019
This essay first appeared in Teachers, Teaching, and Media, Mary M. Dalton and Laura R. Linder, editors. ...
The Doubts Aired As Gags: Three Decades of Cross-Cultural Utopianism in UK Music-Writing
Book Excerpt by Mark Sinker, Strange Attractor Press, January 2019
Extract from Mark Sinker's introduction to A HIDDEN LANDSCAPE ONCE A WEEK: The Unruly Curiosity of the UK Music Press in the 1960s-80s, in the words ...
Beyoncé: I'm More Than What You Made of Me: Making Sense of Beyoncé's Curious Film Career
Essay by Jason King, Red Bull Academy Magazine, 18 February 2019
Jason King explores the best and worst of Beyoncé's movie roles – and how they help us better understand her path to global superstardom. ...
Review by Luke Turner, The Quietus, 27 February 2019
Sleaford Mods new album is a huge leap forward and a welcome exploration of the nuances of masculine identity, says Luke Turner ...
Foals: Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part I
Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 8 March 2019
Foals have found a new zip to their grooves: this is a fitting soundtrack for a world mired in uncertainty ...
Wheatus: How We Made 'Teenage Dirtbag'
Interview by Henry Yates, The Guardian, 22 May 2019
Author's note: This is the original version of the piece submitted to the Guardian. ...
Retrospective and Interview by David Burke, Classic Pop, June 2019
Reggae may have been born in Jamaica, but it grew up in '80s Britain at a time of evolving multiculturalism, finding an unlikely ally in ...
Report and Interview by Ian Winwood, Daily Telegraph, 1 July 2019
Playing with fire ...
Retrospective and Interview by Liz Thomson, Tortoise, 21 July 2019
As Joan Baez prepares to give her final performance, Liz Thomson talks to her and traces a 60-year career filled with courage and conviction. ...
De La Soul, Public Enemy, Wu-Tang Clan: Gods of Rap: Manchester Arena, May 11
Live Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, August 2019
Believe the hype: Public Enemy, Wu-Tang Clan and De La Soul deliver a hip-hop masterclass ...
Retrospective and Interview by Adrian Deevoy, Event Magazine, 3 August 2019
FOR FANS of The Sopranos, Steven Van Zandt will forever be Sil, consigliere — chief adviser — to troubled mob boss Tony Soprano. In reality ...
Sleater-Kinney carry on with new album and new purpose
Interview by Andrew Stafford, Sydney Morning Herald, the, 15 August 2019
THE CENTRE Won't Hold, the title of Sleater-Kinney's ninth album, is taken from W.B. Yeats' 1919 poem The Second Coming, the words of which have ...
Billy Bragg interview: "I can't watch Question Time anymore — it's like the Coliseum"
Interview by Ian Winwood, Daily Telegraph, 18 September 2019
ON THE SONG 'Old Clash Fan Fight Song', a bash-em-out deep cut from the Fight Songs album of 2011, Billy Bragg sings of "a mate ...
Brittany Howard: History Repeats
Profile and Interview by Alan Light, Relix, October 2019
"THAT'S SCARY, but don't worry," says the tarot card reader. "The devil is kind of weirdly positive, though it looks crazy." ...
The Kinks' Arthur: Its genius and its fate
Retrospective by Geoffrey Cannon, Rock's Backpages, October 2019
Arthur (the Decline and Fall of the British Empire), the Kinks's second song-cycle, was released half a century ago, in October 1969. It is now ...
Review by Nick Hasted, The Arts Desk, 10 October 2019
Brutal times put Guy Garvey at bay. ...
Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Ke$ha, Kendrick Lamar, Usher: Activism, Identity Politics, and Pop's Great Awokening
Comment by Jason King, Pitchfork, 11 October 2019
From Beyoncé to Kendrick to Kesha, pop's turn to political activism produced some of the decade's most memorable moments. ...
Interview by Sophie Heawood, The Sunday Times, 13 October 2019
CHRISTINA AGUILERA was just 14 when she made her first record — a child in an industry where older men made all the decisions. Now ...
Billy Bragg: Best Of Billy Bragg at the BBC, 1983–2019
Review by Tony Burke, Morning Star, 24 October 2019
The radical pedigree of Billy Bragg's latest compilation release shows why he's in danger of becoming a national treasure, says Tony Burke. ...
Richard Dawson: Anthems for a blighted nation
Interview by Jude Rogers, The Observer, 27 October 2019
Celebrated for his incredible voice and outsider-folk charm, the musician is stepping out of the shadows with his new album, 2020, a one-of-a-kind opus that ...
Beck: "I think there's a misconception": Beck on Scientology
Profile and Interview by Andrew Stafford, Sydney Morning Herald, the, 22 November 2019
BECK LOOKS toasted. Under round vintage sunglasses and a broad-brimmed black hat, the cheeks of one of the most inventive, elusive artists of the last ...
Coldplay: Natural History Museum, London
Live Review by Rick Pearson, The Evening Standard, 26 November 2019
Arena mainstays downsize for whale of a night at the Natural History Museum ...
Retrospective by David Burke, Vintage Rock, December 2019
America was riven by racial conflict when rock'n'roll breached the colour line, uniting black and white youth in a precursor to the hard-won equalities of ...
Report and Interview by Stevie Chick, The Guardian, 7 December 2019
A new series of Slow Burn re-examines the deaths of two of music's biggest stars. "We still haven't had closure," says its host. ...
Retrospective by Alan Light, MOJO, February 2020
JOHNNY CASH stood on the makeshift stage at Folsom Prison, set up in the cafeteria, behind death row. Almost a hundred men had been executed ...
Cab Calloway, August Darnell, Gene Krupa: Time Machine: June 1943 – L.A.'s Zoot Suit Riots
Retrospective by Fred Dellar, unpublished, February 2020
CAB CALLOWAY was something of a superstar by 1943. A would-be Harlem Globetrotter, he'd had that possible career nixed by his big sister Blanche, who ...
Max Raabe: Life is a postmodern cabaret for Germany's cult singer
Interview by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 10 February 2020
Max Raabe brings the music of 1920s Jazz Age Berlin to Britain next month. Stephen Dalton meets him ...
Ice-T: "I don't hate cops – I hate racists"
Interview by Ian Winwood, Daily Telegraph, 13 March 2020
ON SEPTEMBER 30th, 1992, Ice-T performed a concert with his metal band Body Count at the Jack Adams Stadium in San Diego. On a bill ...
Morrissey, The Smiths: The Cult Of Steve: Morrissey Live At Wembley Arena
Live Review by John Calvert, The Quietus, 17 March 2020
John Calvert is dragged by his lifelong Smiths fan girlfriend to Wembley — but will he finally see what all the fuss is about? ...
Retrospective by Ian Winwood, Daily Telegraph, 27 March 2020
IT IS ALMOST eight years since the video clip for 'Don't Give Up' first appeared on YouTube. Written and sung by Peter Gabriel, and featuring ...
Retrospective by Edward Helmore, The Observer, 19 April 2020
There was a feminist outcry when the band used a tied-up model to promote their 1976 album. Is rock'n'roll more enlightened now? ...
Cher Lloyd is bigger than the bullshit
Interview by Pip Williams, The Line of Best Fit, 4 May 2020
Cher Lloyd cannot think of anything worse than taking up breadmaking in lockdown. ...
The Scorpions: Can a power ballad change the world?
Retrospective and Interview by Ian Winwood, Daily Telegraph, 20 May 2020
A hit podcast investigates the theory that the German rockers' global smash was written by the CIA. But the truth is even more incredible. ...
Memoir by Gary Pig Gold, Ballbuster Music, 1 June 2020
THE CHRISTMAS following my Pancakes with Pat, a strange package arrived on my doorstep from a hitherto unknown address in Burbank, California. "Boone Productions, Inc.," ...
Paul Simon: How Graceland saved Paul Simon — and offended the anti-apartheid world
Retrospective by Ian Winwood, Daily Telegraph, 10 June 2020
Forged in South Africa, the 1986 masterpiece drew accusations of 'cultural appropriation', offence and theft. What were Simon's intentions? ...
The Chicks: Gaslighter (Columbia)
Review by David Bennun, Metro, July 2020
THE CHICKS formerly known as Dixie haven't released a new studio album in 14 years, which makes Gaslighter a pretty big deal. ...
Public Enemy: Chuck D: "The presidency aged Obama – what will it do to Biden?"
Interview by Ian Winwood, Daily Telegraph, 13 July 2020
The hip-hop pioneer talks about the ongoing protests in America, the forthcoming presidential election and how to face down the KKK. ...
Review by Luke Turner, The Quietus, 15 July 2020
Not your bog standard lockdown project, Heather Leigh's Glory Days feels like a new lease of life, finds Luke Turner ...
Interview by Jude Rogers, The Guardian, 23 July 2020
The musician talks about missing Glastonbury, being inspired by Abigail's Party and turning the tables on music critics. ...
Review by Ian Winwood, Daily Telegraph, 29 July 2020
AT FOUR PM on Tuesday 28th July, the English singer Frank Turner leans over a table in a small room in South West London and ...
Sam Fender: Virgin Money Unity Arena, Newcastle — the return of live music, at a distance
Live Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 14 August 2020
Sam Fender was the first to perform at the socially distanced Virgin Money Unity Arena music venue ...
Malcolm McLaren: Jewish manager as professional troublemaker
Retrospective by Gary Lucas, Please Kill Me!, 13 October 2020
A new doorstopper-sized (900+ pages) biography of Malcolm McLaren by Paul Gorman got musician Gary Lucas thinking about one part of the former Sex Pistol/Bow ...
Interview by Pip Williams, The Line of Best Fit, 18 November 2020
Singer Beth Cornell chats to Pip Williams about songs, sex, and famous fans as she reveals the new Litany single 'Uh-Huh'. ...
Enemies of the sheeple: why do pop stars fall for conspiracy theories?
Comment by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 30 November 2020
From Madonna to Ian Brown, musicians seem to be drawn to wild theories about JFK and 5G. There's a reason for that… ...
Report by Rob Hughes, Uncut, January 2021
WHILE IT'S been a highly challenging year for the music industry – particularly in terms of cancelled tours, venue closures and a disrupted retail market ...
Pink Floyd: Raving and drooling: How Pink Floyd made Animals
Retrospective by Daryl Easlea, Prog, January 2021
Pink Floyd's Animals was released in 1977, but its themes continue to strike a chord in the modern day. ...
Covid has pushed pop culture into nostalgia. It's time for something new
Comment by Mark Sinker, The Observer, 10 January 2021
Hopefully this crisis marks the high tide of the tendency endlessly to remake, remodel and recycle the past ...
Yvette Janine Jackson: Freedom (Fridman Gallery)
Review by John Lewis, The Guardian, 15 January 2021
The composer’s two new works, exploring slavery and homophobia, are like immersive non-visual films ...
Aretha Franklin: Preacher's Daughter
Book Excerpt by Tony Scherman, PopMatters, 12 March 2021
Our recent glimpse of Tony Scherman's biography in progress, I Gave My Heart and Soul to You: The Triumph of Aretha Franklin, told the story ...
Interview by Lisa Verrico, The Sunday Times, 28 March 2021
The pop star turned author on her memoir of the Go-Betweens drummer Lindy Morrison ...
Various Artists: Jon Savage's 1972-1976 – All Our Times Have Come
Review by Kieron Tyler, The Arts Desk, 28 March 2021
Tracking the route to punk without stating the obvious ...
Wolf Alice on that Marilyn Manson "upskirting incident"
Interview by Laura Barton, The Evening Standard, 27 May 2021
Wolf Alice were making a third album when Covid hit — now it's arrived and its creators are itching to get back to business. They ...
Slept on Soul: Paul Mooney's Race
Column by Michael A. Gonzales, soulhead, 28 May 2021
AS A CHILD of the 1970s, I grew-up as a fan of racy Black comedy albums. My "summer mother" Aunt Ricky had a stash of ...
Lydia Lunch's Infinite Rebellion
Profile and Interview by Jim Farber, The New York Times, 28 June 2021
FOR NEARLY two hours on a recent afternoon, Lydia Lunch sat in her bright Brooklyn apartment and spoke with bracing speed, and at an alarming ...
Retrospective and Interview by Stevie Chick, The Guardian, 15 July 2021
As the US boiled with violence, 1969's Harlem cultural festival nourished spirits with soul, jazz and gospel. Now, Questlove has turned lost footage of it ...
Jimmy Cliff: The return of Jimmy Cliff: 'Rebel spirit is still in the Jamaican people'
Retrospective and Interview by Lloyd Bradley, The Guardian, 6 August 2021
As he releases new music at the age of 77, one of reggae's foundational figures charts his astonishing life in music, via swinging London, Brazilian ...
Jack Kerouac: Still Rockin' in the Beat world
Essay by Simon Warner, Perfect Sound Forever, October 2021
How Kerouac cool continues to fuel popular music passions as the writer's Centenary nears in 2022 ...
Janis Joplin, Iggy Pop, Frank Zappa: Cancel Culture: Starring Iggy, Janis, Zappa & Others
Memoir by Gary Lucas, Please Kill Me!, 25 October 2021
Long before it became a conversation-stopping mantra of the extremist right wing, "cancel culture" visited rock 'n' roll on numerous occasions. Guitarist, deejay, scenemaker and ...
Billy Bragg: "Boris was trolling me the whole time. We've got a wind-up merchant as PM."
Interview by Jude Rogers, The Guardian, 29 October 2021
As the bard of Barking tours a new album, he reflects on modern politics, his scraps with the Daily Mail and why he could do ...
Gilles Peterson: Lockdown FM: Broadcasting in a Pandemic
Book Review by John L. Walters, Eye, Fall 2021
GILLES PETERSON is known for his unfeasibly large record collection and an unstoppable enthusiasm for Black music. The pandemic forced radical changes to the DJ's ...
Cornershop's Tjinder Singh: "My dad said, 'They'll not always want you here'. That stuck."
Profile and Interview by Jude Rogers, The Observer, 2022
Three decades since the band formed, Cornershop's genre-defying political music is still making a stand. Ahead of a new album, we join them on a ...
John Singleton: How John Singleton's Soundtracks Brought The Black Experience To The Big Screen
Guide by Ben Merlis, uDiscoverMusic, 6 January 2022
Director John Singleton left behind more than just a cinematic legacy; his soundtracks brought the black experience to life on the big screen. ...
Interview by Patrick Clarke, Marvin, 6 January 2022
Hailing from Dublin, the indie rockers of Fontaines D.C. stay true to their roots during rapid growth. ...
Janis Ian: "I make people uncomfortable"
Retrospective and Interview by Liz Thomson, i, 4 February 2022
56 years after her first single was banned, the musician and songwriter is still causing a ruckus. She tells i about learning from Hendrix, and ...
Kanye West: Kim and Kanye divorce poised to be glitzy, messy and very public
Comment by Edward Helmore, The Observer, 12 February 2022
Epic split between Kim Kardashian and rapper now known as Ye, with wealth, parenting disputes and trolling is perfect divorce for the Instagram Age ...
"My aim was Oyé, not Glastonbury": Liverpool's beloved African music festival turns 30
Retrospective and Interview by Patrick Clarke, The Guardian, 14 March 2022
Africa Oyé attracts the world's biggest African artists, inspires local Black musicians and remains free to all. So what next for the community-minded festival that ...
Depp for Men: Scene and Not Heard
Comment by Gary Lucas, Culture Catch, 5 May 2022
"AS A punishment of myself and as a lesson to others," wrote Ivan Turgenev after witnessing a public execution in Paris, "I should now like ...
Zola Jesus on spirituality and overcoming the lone genius archetype
Interview by Pip Williams, The Line of Best Fit, 20 June 2022
Against a striking backdrop of towering ancient rock formations in Turkey, Zola Jesus filmed the video for recent single 'Lost'. Blanketed in snow, this landscape ...
Book Review by Barney Hoskyns, The Critic, August 2022
ROCK'N'ROLL years are all the rage these days. Ever since Jon Savage published his monumental 1966 (in 2015), the anni – particularly the 1970s – ...
Chuck Berry: RJ Smith: Chuck Berry – An American Life (Omnibus)
Book Review by Chris Charlesworth, Just Backdated, November 2022
"HE DIDN'T have personal friends," says Dick Allen, a showbiz agent who worked with Chuck Berry for years. "I travelled all the time with him. ...
Book Excerpt by Mick Brown, 'The Nirvana Express' (C. Hurst & Co.), September 2023
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