Be the first to comment Just in time for the 20th anniversary of Nirvana’s album Bleach, Sub Pop records is rolling out an expanded and remastered deluxe edition of the album on CD and vinyl featuring unreleased songs and live tracks.
If you can’t wait until the November 3, 2009 release date, you’ll be happy to know that you can grab a free download of one of the album’s new tracks below Continue reading »
As readers of this site might have noticed, we don’t exactly idolize Kurt Cobain and his selfish suicide around here, but we still sort of recoil when confronted with all of the products cashing in on him. (Top 10 Worst Cobain-related Products)
In the years since his death, Cobain has endured all manner of abuse, including a ghoulish and tasteless book, Journals, that features Xeroxed pages of his private journal. (Seriously, when you die do you want people passing around photocopies of your diary?), and countless episodes of Law & Order loosely based on his death.
Today, videogame company Activision confirms that Guitar Hero 5 will include Cobain as a playable character for the songs “Lithium,” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
Will virtual Cobain smash guitars and knock over amps? Stand with a glazed over look on his face? Can players select his wardrobe of frayed cardigan sweaters and dirty jeans? The possibilities are endless. (see his creepy videogame image here)
Who would’ve thought that the ’90s grunge bands epitomizing the antithesis of corporate rock and over-studied guitar acrobatics would wind up stars sharing the same videogame stage with Aerosmith and the Beatles?
We can’t wait until G.G. Allin gets his own wii game or some other interactive platform lets rec-room rockstars roll around in virtual glass like Iggy Pop.
Ugh.
MORE Music News:
RIP: 15 Years Dead: Does Kurt Cobain Still Matter?
MONEY: Kurt Cobain Guitar Sells For $100,000
GRUNGE: Chris Cornell Goes Electronic, Kurt Cobain Spins in Grave.
MUSIC: Smells Like Teen Spirit: Rick Astley, Nirvana Remix-Love it or Hate It?
NEW: Preview: New Alice in Chains CD, New Singer 7 Years after Staley’s Death.
driver17ABOVE: Elton John caused a stir when he collaborated with Eminem at the Grammys (filling in for Dido). Will people be as impressed by his pairing with grunge has-beens Alice in Chains?
Ok, sometimes, you just see a headline and hope that it’s a joke–like this one from Spin online, explaining that inexplicably re-formed grunge band Alice in Chains has recruited a very special guest star to perform on its first album following the drug overdose death of singer Layne Staley in 2002.
That special guest? Elton John.
Um, really, guys? Who smells a tacky publicity stunt?
That’s right. It seems that somewhere in the twisted brains of this aged Seattle crew, the idea occurred to them, something like: “Hey! We’re already destroying whatever musical legacy we had by trying to cash-in with an album featuring a lame new singer, how can we make this more embarrassing? No, we won’t call Chris Cornell, that’s just silly…How about Elton John?”
So, will the Rocket Man’s collaboration with the band on the new album’s title track, “Black Gives Way to Blue,” sound like “Candle in the Wind: Grunge ‘97 Style”?
We hope not.
Do you think Alice in Chains should call it quits since Layne is Dead?
Tell us what you think in the comments section!
MORE:
Preview: New Alice in Chains CD: New Singer 7 Years after Staley’s Death
Still Standing: ’90s Bands You Thought Were Broken Up
Reunion: Stone Temple Pilots Reunion Tour
ABOVE: Pearl Jam is preparing to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Ten, featuring the hit, “Even Flow.” Check out the band’s new single, “The Fixer,” below.
With a new album, Backspacer, due on September 20, Pearl Jam is trying to get fans excited about the new music–with a scavenger hunt. The prize? Exclusive new music from Pearl Jam, of course! Continue reading »
Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament was mugged outside an Atlanta studio where the band was recording, according to an Associated Press report.
The report quoted the police as saying that three masked men wearing black came out of the woods behind Southern Tracks recording studio and attacked Ament and employee Mark Anthony Smith as they arrived in a rented Jeep late last month,
DeKalb County police further said that the men smashed three of the Jeep’s windows, snatched a Blackberry and two computers and demanded money. Ament jumped out of the passenger side and tried to run, but one of the men pushed him to the ground and stole his passport.
The thieves got away with $3,000 cash, along with computers and other equipment worth more than $4,000. Paramedics treated Ament for head injuries.
Above: Don’t hold this ’90s pop and creepy clown against ‘em, the new Meat Puppets LP is much better.
It is easy to get caught in a trap of trying to one-up your friends by touting the newest band on your iPod, but sometimes it’s nice to take a breath and see what your old favorites are up to.
Today, we’re happy to announce that the Meat Puppets are back on the scene and reportedly rockin’ the stage harder than ever (a fact we hope to confirm for ourselves at one of the band’s upcoming shows).
Together for nearly 30 years (with a few scattered break-ups in between), you may know these psychedelic country trailblazers as the band behind influential albums such as 1980’s Meat Puppets (SST), or you may recognize the band as one of Kurt Cobain’s favorites (Nirvana famously covered “Lake of Fire” during its Unplugged performance).
Or, perhaps you remember the band’s ill-fated stint in the majors and semi-hit grunge songs like “Backwater.”
In any case, the group is worth remembering.
The band is back with a new LP, Sewn Together, a solid, energetic disc that blends melody and experimentation, country twang and rock noise, happily skipping ’90s gloss in favor of vintage grit, thereby restoking the musical fire of the band, and hopefully its fans, in the process.
We like what we’ve heard so far, check out the “Rotten Shame” mp3 and see what the buzz is all about.
Free Mp3 Download and 2009 Meat Puppets Tour Dates, after the jump. Continue reading »
Above: Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder rocks Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man”…on a ukulele, for some reason. Really.
Pearl Jam has just announced the dates of its 2009 tour. The band isn’t straying too far from home, but we imagine more dates will be added soon, so stay tuned for updates, if you’re into this kind of thing.
2009 Pearl Jam Tour Dates:
August 21 - Toronto, ON @ Molson Amphitheatre
August 23 - Chicago, IL @ United Center
Headlining: August 28-30 @Outside Lands Festival San Francisco
Headlining: October 4 @ Austin City Limits Festival
Eddie Vedder solo show: June 17-Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium.
Sorry, that’s it, Pearl Jam fans.
Ok, so it’s not exactly a world tour, but technically it is international since the band is crossing the border into Canada. Good job, guys.
In their defense, the Pearl Jam fellas are probably just tired from sitting around counting cash. The band has been celebrating the (almost) 20th anniversary of the breakthrough album Ten. (Wanna buy a copy for $125? Eddie Vedder is happy to oblige).
News of the band’s not-so-ambitious tour schedule comes after Pearl Jam’s depressingly lame-o TV appearance last week when dozen or so PJ songs were used in a special two-part episode of Cold Case, one of those dumber-than-Law & Order cop-shows on CBS.
Lame TV sell-out attempts aside, Pearl Jam remains one of the cooler groups of grungy Seattle granddads still making music (yes, Chris Cornell, we’re still rolling our eyes at you).
djCOMPARE: AinC’s new singer performs “No Excuses” in the video (above) with the original version of the song (after the jump).
Former alt-rock posterboys Alice in Chains will reportedly be releasing a new album in September. Even with grunge buried, the band’s popularity endures among many rock fans thanks to hits such as “Man in the Box,” “Would,” “Angry Chair” and “No Excuses.”
However, there is one slight problem with a new Alice in Chains CD: lead singer Layne Staley has been dead since 2002, when he died of an apparent heroin overdose.
Rather than dusting off an Ouija board and calling up Layne to find out if he’s jamming with Kurt Cobain in the afterlife, Alice in Chains has enlisted a singer named William DuVall to fill Layne’s Doc Martens.
Um, who?
In AinC’s defense, hiring an unknown singer was probably a better idea than Continue reading »
Quick how many bands can you name from Arizona?
If you forgot to say the Supersuckers, you’ve failed today’s pop quiz. Sorry.
Over the years, the Supersuckers have released a solid string of rock albums for labels such as Sub Pop, successfully dabbled in slightly stoned country music and even served as Willie Nelson’s backing band, making it hard to argue with the boys when they declare themselves the Greatest Rock’n'Roll Band in the World.
Almost always on tour (tonight they play Belfast), singer/bassist Eddie Spaghetti and the boys are celebrating their 20th Anniversary with the release of a double disc live album (thanks to Snob’s Music for the tracklisting tip).
Featuring 36 songs on two CDs, the album collects music from the band’s entire career, including several songs that are appropriate considering today’s date (go on, look at the calendar). “I Want the Drugs,” “Non Addictive Marijuana,” and “Killer Weed.” Subtle, right?
Fans of everything from AC/DC, Kiss, Willie Nelson, Spinal Tap and the Ramones are likely to find something to enjoy with the Supersuckers cartoonish rock’n'roll.
Keep reading for more info on the disc, tracklisting, the current list of Supersuckers tour dates and a video, too! Continue reading »
Courtney Love intends to file a lawsuit within the next month in an effort to recoup the millions of dollars “looted” from her late husband’ Kurt Cobain’s estate, E! reports.
According to E! the suit targets “former assistants, former managers, CPAs, lawyers and a couple of banks” who Love says bilked roughly $30 million in cash and another $500 million in false real estate ventures from Cobain’s fortune.
“Courtney’s main interest is ensuring that her daughter gets the assets back that were stolen,” San Diego attorney Rhonda Holmes told E!. Cobain’s mother and siblings are also listed as plaintiffs in the suit.
Cobain, Nirvana’s lead singer-guitarist, was discovered dead in his Washington home this week 15 years ago.
