Category Archives: Classic Rock

R.E.M. Makes a Mysterious Debut With ‘Chronic Town’

R.E.M.‘s debut EP, Chronic Town, landed in stores on Aug. 24, 1982. It’s safe to say music was never the same, although such historic hyperbole felt very far away upon the release of the five-song record. That’s because Chronic Town feels beamed in from another planet — a planet shrouded in murky atmospheres, Southern mysticism and […]

Bret Michaels on the End of Glam Metal: ‘I Blame Nobody’

Even though grunge is regarded as the music that brought glam metal’s popularity to an end, Poison‘s Bret Michaels doesn’t hold a grudge toward any of the genre’s artists. “Grunge was great,” the singer declared during a recent interview with AZ Central. “We used Nirvana‘s director, Sam Bayer, on the video to [1993 single] ‘Stand.’ Alice in […]

Ozzy Osbourne Predicts New Song Will ‘Cause S—‘

Ozzy Osbourne admitted that one of the songs on his upcoming album Patient Number 9 may be controversial. The song, “One of Those Days,” contains the lyric: “One of those days that I don’t believe in Jesus.” “That’s going to cause shit, I suppose,” the former Black Sabbath singer admitted to Classic Rock magazine. Still, he doesn’t want listeners to get the wrong […]

Elton John Teases Britney Spears Duet With Restaurant Performance

Elton John previewed “Hold Me Closer,” his new collaborative song with Britney Spears, by singing over the recording outside a restaurant in France. The singer-songwriter posted a video of the performance Tuesday on Instagram. The clip, tagged at La Guerite in Cannes, opens with John introducing the track: “Britney Spears, Elton John — here we go,” […]

MoFi Faces Fraud Lawsuit for Digitally Mastering ‘All-Analog’ LPs

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MoFi), a record label that specializes in high-quality vinyl reissues, is the subject of a proposed class action lawsuit seeking damages and restitution following the revelation that the company has been using digital mastering to make its “all-analog” reissues for more than a decade, Billboard reports. For years, MoFi records — labeled either […]

Big Brother and Holding Company Release Debut LP

For many aspiring rock bands, signing a record deal is a dream come true. For Big Brother & the Holding Company, it was more a matter of fiscal necessity. In September 1966, the San Francisco band – which included guitarists Sam Andrew and James Gurley, bassist Peter Albin, drummer Dave Getz and singer Janis Joplin – found themselves stranded in Chicago. Even though they […]

Little River Band Singer John Farnham Diagnosed With Cancer

Australian singer John Farnham has been diagnosed with cancer. Farnham, 73, underwent surgery on Tuesday morning at a hospital in Melbourne after doctors discovered a cancerous growth. “Cancer diagnosis is something that so many people face every single day, and countless others have walked this path before me,” Farnham said in a statement (via Billboard). “The […]