David Bowie was an observer of human beings with the specific, alert attention of someone who understands that the people around them are the raw material of art. This is not predatory exactly — it is the occupational reality of a certain kind of artist. The world they inhabit is simultaneously lived and witnessed. They … Read more
There are things that happen in recording studios in the hours after everyone has gone home that belong to a different category than professional recording. When the engineers have left and the producers have left and the band has dispersed to wherever the band disperses to — when the studio becomes simply a room with … Read more
Rush officially launched their highly anticipated Fifty Something reunion tour on June 7, 2026, at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum, marking a historic moment for one of rock’s most celebrated bands. The evening represented several major milestones: Rush’s first full-length concert in nearly 11 years, their first headlining performance since the passing of legendary drummer Neil … Read more
Afeni Shakur spent the years after her son’s death in September 1996 as the primary guardian of his legacy — the person most responsible for deciding what was released and what was held, what was said publicly about Tupac Amaru Shakur and what remained in the private inventory of a mother’s knowledge of her child. … Read more
The wait is over — and Rush made every second worth it. On June 7, 2026, prog rock icons Rush roared back to the stage for their first full concert in 11 years, delivering an emotional and electrifying performance at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum. The sold-out crowd of 18,000 witnessed the opening night of the … Read more
The mythology of Keith Moon is built almost entirely on destruction. The hotel rooms. The television sets launched from upper-floor windows into swimming pools. The cars driven into swimming pools that were not bodies of water anyone had intended to receive a car. The explosions — literal explosions, pyrotechnic charges set off in places where … Read more
The conventional wisdom about Fleetwood Mac is that they survived because the music was bigger than the dysfunction. This is true as far as it goes. But it doesn’t go far enough. Because the dysfunction in Fleetwood Mac was not a minor inconvenience — it was not the manageable friction of people with strong personalities … Read more
The Hendrix archive is one of the most discussed and most contested in popular music. He recorded constantly — the compulsive recording habit of someone who understood that ideas needed to be caught immediately or lost, who treated tape the way other people treat notebooks. The official releases represent a fraction of what exists. The … Read more
Few songs in rock history carry the weight and prestige of Rush’s iconic anthem “Tom Sawyer.” For drummers, the track represents one of the most challenging and recognizable performances ever recorded, thanks to the legendary Neil Peart’s intricate rhythms and explosive fills. That’s why fans at the Kia Forum erupted with excitement when acclaimed drummer … Read more
Pete Townshend has been making music and talking about music and theorizing about music and writing about music for sixty years with an intellectual energy that has produced, alongside the records, an enormous body of writing and spoken commentary on what music is for and what it does and why it matters. He is not … Read more