Ever wonder what’s haunting the heads of musicians? We do, so in celebration of Halloween, we figured we’d try to scare up some tales of the supernatural from a few of our favorite artists. And though we couldn’t conjure any tales about the ghosts of Jim Morrison or Kurt Cobain,…
With their knee-high boots and go-go dresses, it would be easy to dismiss the Gore Gore Girls as more gimmick than substance, but these four hard-rocking, Gretsch guitar-loving chicks out of Detroit Rock City have more in common with Kiss than they ever will the Spice Girls. Equal parts Motown,…
Juliette Lewis, the actress with the off-kilter gaze probably best known for her role as Mallory in Natural Born Killers, experienced a full-blown musical conversion a few years ago and formed a band called the Licks to record some Stooges-style rock. Lewis took some time while doing laundry to talk…
“Nobody wants to hear perfection, because nobody’s perfect,” Brandi Carlile declares over the phone as she lies on her lawn in Ravensdale, Washington — just outside the Starbucks capital. “It’s something I’ve learned playing live shows, too. People want you to fuck up.” The country-fried singer-songwriter, who’s as obsessed with…
We found this blurb on Yahoo!, describing the Kings of Leon’s official Web site: “Rock band from Tennessee whose songs teem with primal emotions and rangy rhythms.” First off, somebody from the Kings’ camp wrote this. Second, somebody in the Kings’ camp thinks their songs teem with primal emotions and,…
Miranda Lambert has sung about dousing exes in kerosene for their no-good ways, and on her sophomore effort, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, the country star takes aim at a few more men who have done her wrong. All twang and laughs, she recently spent some time talking about why you don’t mess…
Goodbye Tomorrow might sound like a ridiculously cynical name for a band that hasn’t even released its first album, but . . . well, okay, it is. One can’t help but imagine that lead singer Travis Bryant and his Phoenix-based crew are on some sort of suicide watch and, judging…
Cary Brothers isn’t a household name yet, but it’s been pretty hard to escape his music ever since his acoustic ballad “Blue Eyes” appeared on the Grammy-winning soundtrack to 2004’s Garden State. In the interim, Brothers has released two EPs, and his folksy pop has served as the emotional backdrop…
Here’s the thing: Hair rock is a lot cooler now that it’s become ironic. Every year, band after band that used to be something somebody once cared about sometime in the ’70s reunites and hits the road together to milk whatever celebrity they have left for a few more dollars…
In 1977, the Village People burst onto the disco scene, and by 1978, thanks to the success of their single “YMCA,” the homoerotic disco singers had become infamous for their costumes and “American man” personas: police officer, American Indian chief, construction worker, biker, cowboy, and military man. What you might…
Two married pop-country superstars, one stage, one burning question: Who would win in a celebrity death match between these two happily married artists? Why Faith Hill Will Win: With hits like “Wild One,” “This Kiss,” “Breathe,” and “Mississippi Girl,” Hill has established herself as one of the greatest country music…
Buy a ticket to the Projekt Revolution concert and your purchase could help eliminate an estimated 167 tons of carbon emissions this year. That should make you feel pretty good about yourself. In fact, give yourself a pat on the back for hitting up a tour that donates $1 of…
Fergie, probably the most lusted-after hip-hop artist in the world, released her solo debut, The Dutchess, last year. It features 13 tracks of brainless dribble, including “London Bridge” and the barely literate “Fergalicious,” which, upon topping the charts, proved once and for all that hip-hop often specifically targets the dumbest…
Vampire Weekend is a quartet of Columbia University graduates who are not vampires and do not sing about them. They do, however, sound a lot like what would happen if Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and one or two members of the Walkmen decided to record an album…
No Use for a Name has been around for 20 years now, which is staggering when you consider that just about as many people know the punk band’s name today as in 1987, though that may have something to do with the fact that it has no use for one…
The Fourth of July is right around the corner. In case you’ve ever wondered how “American” you really are, here’s a quiz to help you figure out some answers before the fireworks start. 1. Given the chance to actually wear the American flag, you would . . . A) Turn…
There’s a certain, what I call, celebration of summer in our culture. I don’t care who you are. If you live in New York City in a tenement or in Arizona on a ranch, there’s something about the freedom of summertime [that harks back to our childhoods]. You wake up…
Actors and actresses have a long history of falling for musicians. But, generally, those musicians are rock stars, sexually ambiguous pop stars, and members (or former members) of boy bands. Country stars used to rank on the “cool list,” below white rappers but higher than reality show music competition winners…
Whatever your feelings about John Mayer, it’s difficult not to appreciate his hair, much in the same way it’s difficult not to appreciate Hugh Grant’s. Both share the same thick, wavy, dark brown locks that, let’s face it, make the lady-folk swoon. For example, British thesp Grant dated supermodel turned…
The Hold Steady is not only one of the most critically acclaimed bands in the United States (their past three albums have landed on year-end best-of lists for three years running, including their latest, Boys and Girls in America), but they’re also one of the best rock ‘n’ roll bands…
Morrissey, England’s most dapper downer, isn’t quite as depressed as he used to be. In fact, he almost seems to be enjoying what he does these days. Nevertheless, the guy is still as press-shy as ever and just can’t be bothered to pick up a phone to chat with nosy…
In the suburbs outside Detroit during 1994 and 1995 — the years I followed horror-rap duo Insane Clown Posse’s rise to local infamy — there was, I now realize, nothing more uncool than an ICP fan. In any parking lot, in any neighborhood that wasn’t actually in Detroit, you could…
