Mott the hoople roll away the stone

“Playing with this group made me want to create something really positive, because the music was really positive,” Thurston Moore says. “Originally, the working title was Detonation, which has a different vibe to it.” He laughs. The group that put Moore on the path to positivity features Nought guitarist James Sedwards, My Bloody Valentine bassist Debbie Googe and Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley. Together, they made a record that pits lush, anxious guitar lines against propulsive post-punk rhythms in a surprisingly direct manner, uncovering the essence of his Sonic Youth recordings while keeping experimental tangents to a minimum. Songs like the intensely romantic “Forevermore,” darkly acoustic “Vocabularies” and indie rocker “The Best Day” present Moore in his most refined state. The album cover features a picture Moore’s father took of his mother swimming with her dog in a lake in the 1940s. “I called it The … [Read more...] about Thurston Moore’s New Day: Inside His Upbeat Rock & Roll Solo Album

After months of rumors, Pink Floyd have finally announced the details of their new album The Endless River, which hits shelves on November 10th. It’s the group’s first new release since 1994’s The Division Bell. According to a press release, The Endless River is a “four-sided instrumental album,” though one track, “Louder Than Words,” has lyrics by David Gilmour’s wife Polly Samson. It was produced by Gilmour, Phil Manzanera, Youth and Andy Jackson and is available for pre-order right now. The project began with Gilmour and Floyd drummer Nick Mason sorting through music they recorded with keyboardist Rick Wright (who died in 2008) during the Division Bell sessions. “We listened to over 20 hours of the three of us playing together and selected the music we wanted to work on for the new album,” Gilmour said in a statement. “Over the last year we’ve added new parts, re-recorded others and generally harnessed … [Read more...] about Pink Floyd Roll Out Plans For ‘The Endless River,’ First LP in 20 Years

Just days after the film and music world lost icon David Bowie, Hollywood is mourning the loss of another legend. Alan Rickman, best known for his roles as Hans Gruber in Die Hard and Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies, has passed away at the age of 69. The Guardian reports that the actor had been battling cancer, and that he died "surrounded by family and friends." Here's what Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling had to say in a statement. "There are no words to express how shocked and devastated I am to hear of Alan Rickman's death. He was a magnificent actor & a wonderful man." After a number of minor roles in British TV shows, Alan Rickman made his feature film debut in the 1988 action classic Die Hard, portraying the iconic villain Hans Gruber. He went on to star as Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, along with roles in Bob Roberts, Sense and Sensibility and Dogma before he took on the role of Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. … [Read more...] about Alan Rickman, Snape in Harry Potter, Passes Away at 69

Was Fyre Festival, in all of its disastrous non-glory, the millennial Woodstock? Sort of! In the new episode of Rolling Stone Music Now, Brittany Spanos, David Browne and Andy Greene join host Brian Hiatt to break down the utter mess that was Fyre, as chronicled in documentaries on both Hulu and Netflix. It was, in theory, a music festival — with Blink-182 and Major Lazer, among others, booked to perform — but no one involved, from the organizers to the attendees, seemed to care very much about the actual performances. Our panel also ponders Ja Rule’s mysteriously exalted status among a certain set of young people and the odd ways of Instagram influencers. Then they take a look back at some infamously calamitous festivals, including Altamont and Woodstock ’99, while also exploring the dual planned Woodstock 50th anniversary concerts planned for later this year, one at the original festival site in Bethel, New York, the other — a much more ambitious venture … [Read more...] about Fyre Festival and the Long, Wild History of Disastrous Music Fests

As the flames climbed high into the night, to moonlight the sacrificial rite, I saw Kid Rock laughing with delight. Maybe it only seemed that way, but it sure makes a handy metaphor for Woodstock ’99 to go up in smoke: the Red Hot Chili Peppers covering Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire,” fiddling while Rome, New York, burns. On TV it must have looked like Conquest of the Planet of the Apes with louder guitars. But whatever else Woodstock is – commercialized, dangerous, full of good music and stupid fun and casual cruelty – it’s also a recurrent part of American history, dredging up what’s ugliest about our culture as well as what’s exciting.  Flashback: Rage Against the Machine Burn an American Flag at Woodstock ’99 Sunday night’s violence didn’t produce many serious injuries (one broken leg) or arrests (seven). But the trouble was brewing long before the looting and burning. The promoters were outrageously clueless about … [Read more...] about Woodstock ’99: Rage Against the Latrine