Billy Bragg On Rock’s Forgotten Roots Music, Seeing America, And The Momentum For ChangeLike all bits of art and protest that outspoken UK rocker, author, and activist Billy Bragg commits himself too, the book Roots, Radicals, And Rockers: How Skiffle Changed The World comes from the heart, and comes with a purpose. Bragg’s cause this… Jul 14 17July 14, 2017Article at UPROXX
Chris Cornell’s Death Transcends The Typical Celebrity Death Grief ProcessThe machinations of grief in the midst of celebrity loss are a lot like personal grief with those stages that we all gravitate towards, though they’re a little different and occur in rapid succession while being timed to a news cycle that never seems… May 22 17May 22, 2017Article at UPROXX
Don’t Let Eric Clapton’s Slow Bluesy Sunset Obscure His Rock God PastOver the last fifteen or so years, Eric Clapton has become a purveyor of a porch-sitting, iced-tea sipping kind of blues. Gone is the heavy blues rock of Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs, the island-inspired jams of 461 Ocean Blvd, and even the… Mar 30 17March 30, 2017Article at UPROXX
Ben Folds Looks Back On 20 Years Of ‘Whatever And Ever Amen’ Marrying Craftsmanship And DestructionIn 1997, The Ben Folds Five was at their peak. Whatever And Ever Amen came out, demonstrating the craftsmanship, depth, versatility, and pop sensibilities of the band with hits like the heartbreaking “Brick” and the piano slamming screw-off anthem… Mar 16 17March 16, 2017Article at UPROXX
These OK Go Songs Can Guide You Through The Haze Of Election Day DefeatAs a society, we look to Chicago-born power pop group OK Go for delightfully playful and unique music videos that contain treadmill dancing and Rube Goldberg devices, but what if we turned to them to guide us in our journey back from the edge of… Nov 08 16November 08, 2016Article at UPROXX
‘The Internet Before The Internet’: How ‘Pop-Up Video’ Changed The Way We Devour Pop CultureThe name should be familiar to you if you’re a ’90s kid who grew up watching MTV and VH1, or even if you’re a little younger and recall its second, more abbreviated run from five years ago or the re-runs on MTV Classic. Pop-Up Video was a little show… Oct 28 16October 28, 2016Article at UPROXX
The Death Of Andy Wood, The Birth Of Pearl Jam, And How ‘Grunge’ Ate ItselfNirvana’s Nevermind, which is now 25 years old, didn’t kick off the “grunge” movement and lead singer Kurt Cobain’s suicide didn’t kill grunge either. Embers burned long after that particular fire went out and there was smoke long before anyone… Sep 27 16September 27, 2016Article at UPROXX
‘A Lie You’ve Got To Rise Above’: Revisiting John Mayer’s ‘Room For Squares’ At 15There’s no real rhyme or reason for the albums that find you when you’re 20, but they get you in every way. You stay up late with them. They’re in your car and in your ear all time time. At 30, you can play the role of revisionist and pretend that… Sep 19 16September 19, 2016Article at UPROXX
Maybe It’s Time For Anthony Kiedis To Put His Shirt OnAll pop culture evidence indicates that Anthony Kiedis hasn’t worn a shirt in 30 years. This needs to stop, but before you nod your head, let me explain why. There’s an odd commonality between aging rock stars and aging wrestlers that I’m just now… Sep 09 16September 09, 2016Article at UPROXX
Evidence That Dido May Have Been Dead In Both The ‘Here With Me’ And ‘Thank You’ Music VideosI want to make an Adele comparison when I talk about Dido — not because of any kind of sonic similarity (the latter’s voice is more subtly arresting than powerhouse… not soft, but gentle), but rather in an effort to explain her initial impact. Dido… Aug 12 16August 12, 2016Article at UPROXX
’90s Kids Deserve A Fuller Version Of MTV ClassicIn the first week of MTV Classic, the network rebrand of VH1 Classic, the channel has gotten off to a bit of a rocky start. Instead of feeling like a time machine taking us back to the halcyon days before smartphones and social media, the programming… Aug 03 16August 03, 2016Article at UPROXX
Here Are All Of Billy Joel’s Music Videos, RankedMusic videos offer a unique chance for songwriters and musicians to see their stories fully realized, but most fritter away the opportunity and aim for cheap thrills, tributes to themselves, and the shine of their well-cultivated images. Billy Joel’s… May 09 16May 09, 2016Article at UPROXX
Prince, The Beastie Boys, And The Value Of ‘Lost’ MusicThough most artists aren’t quite as grandiose with their unreleased music storage as Prince was (leaving it in a bank vault that had to be broken into because he was the only person who knew the access code), it’s likely that most musicians will… May 07 16May 07, 2016Article at UPROXX
The Many Ways Merle Haggard’s ‘Okie From Muskogee’ And Don Draper ConnectYou never know how a song is going to connect with someone. Maybe it’s tied to a specific memory or a general mood. For me, Merle Haggard’s “Okie From Muskogee” is attached to Mad Men, which is, I recognize, an odd way to remember a song that became… Apr 08 16April 08, 2016Article at UPROXX
Five Videos: Remembering David Bowie’s Late Career TransformationThere is no sense in trying to stand David Bowie’s later era up against some of the most iconic runs of all-time like the Berlin trilogy, the Ziggy Stardust phase, or his time spent as The Thin White Duke, but Bowie’s post-Tin Machine career was… Jan 14 16January 14, 2016Article at UPROXX
We Decided To Rank Every Character In Taylor Swift’s ‘Bad Blood’ VideoIt’s been less than 48 hours since Taylor Swift dropped the “Bad Blood” music video (as well as all its spectacular GIFable moments) and put a crack in the Earth with her star and spectacle-laden salute to Kill Bill, sci-fi, and the cinematic… May 19 15May 19, 2015Article at UPROXX
A Brief History Of Hall & Oates’ Insane ‘She’s Gone’ Music VideoThe difference between being in the garage and on the road is that there are more possibilities in the garage. Theoretically, all directions are possible. The road took Hall & Oates to the highest heights that pop music can offer for a relatively… Apr 08 15April 08, 2015Article at UPROXX
From Beastie Boys To Weezer: A Thorough Look At Spike Jonze’s Most Iconic Music VideosThough the 90s didn’t have the honor of being the decade that housed the MTV revolution or music videos like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” that shook the world and announced the arrival of the art form, I’d still argue… Oct 22 14October 22, 2014Article at UPROXX
The 20 Greatest Examples of the Movie Tie-In Music VideoDedicated movie theme songs and their accompanying music videos transformed themselves from a clever gimmick into a fun excuse for singers, actors, and filmmakers to join forces, let their hair down and occasionally attain more cultural relevancy… Aug 29 14August 29, 2014Article at Den of Geek
An Essay on Sonic Reminders: Lovely/Painful/InvaluableIt’s a neat trick. Play a song and go back in time. “She’s Like the Wind” is playing and suddenly I’m in a car on the way to my grandmother’s house after my grandfather died — I was a kid and it was the first time that I had to deal with the fact… Aug 21 13August 21, 2013Article at Screen Invasion
