For the 2012 iTunes Music Festival, 65 acts (including P!nk, One Direction, David Guetta , Jessie J, OneRepublic, Ellie Goulding, Andrea Bocelli, Matchbox Twenty, Muse and many others) performed at the Roundhouse in London throughout the month of September. 40 performances are available in full online. [more inside]
posted by zarq on Dec 29, 2012 - 9 comments

Bands often don't seem to be able to play on stage the way they did on their album; and we accept that for a lot of reasons having to do with the conditions, the production facilities and the sheer number of takes that were probably involved. But for a whole generation of hit music, there was often a more basic reason: it wasn't them playing on the album in the first place.

For nearly a decade, if you were an L.A. producer and you wanted to record a hit single, you'd call in The Wrecking Crew. Members of The Byrds, The Beach Boys, and The Mamas and the Papas would step aside as The Wrecking Crew laid down the instrumental tracks. Then, the members of the main band would come back to add the vocals on top.

The above link goes to the OPB radio story I listened to this morning, with an embedded player. Official site for the book.
posted by George_Spiggott on Apr 2, 2012 - 64 comments

200+ Famous Musicians Who Died Too Young. Ordered by age, from 17 to 54, with brief descriptions and links to their last.fm pages.
posted by madamjujujive on Dec 4, 2011 - 71 comments

Rock Scene magazine - scans of every page of all 54 issues from 1973-1982, featuring artists like Bowie, Queen Lou Reed, the Ramones, The New York Dolls, Blondie, Talking Heads, Willy DeVille, and more. (via Dangerous Minds)
posted by madamjujujive on Aug 20, 2011 - 10 comments

Rock historian Joseph Burns makes a case for why Arthur Big Boy Crudup's "That's All Right Mama" should be regarded as rock & roll's first song. Not everyone agrees - clips to some of the other contenders inside. Or explore Google's Rock & Roll Timeline. [more inside]
posted by madamjujujive on Nov 23, 2010 - 45 comments

John Lee Hooker performs Gloria and It Serves Me Right to Suffer with Van Morrison; I'm in the Mood with Bonnie Raitt; The Healer with Santana; Boogie Chilluns with the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton; and Roadhouse Blues with Jim Morrison & the Doors (audio only). [Also, Muddy Waters, Etta James and more blues legends & rock combos inside]
posted by madamjujujive on Aug 5, 2007 - 25 comments

The 50 Craziest Pop Stars Ever - unsurprisingly, there is some crossover with the 50 Most Awesomely Dead Rock Stars.
posted by madamjujujive on Feb 25, 2007 - 51 comments

Stripping The Gurus. Sex, violence, abuse and enlightenment. Chogyam Trungpa, the Dalai Lama, Zen masters, exposing the reality behind the facade of various spiritual teachers. Geoff Falk also writes about the spiritual beliefs of rock stars.
posted by nickyskye on Jun 5, 2006 - 66 comments

The ten most accurately rated artists in rock history! According to SPIN, at least.
posted by scottq on Dec 15, 2004 - 131 comments

The Greatest Week in Rock History (Salon link) - 34 years ago today, Billboard Charts had a outstanding album lineup - perhaps not the best albums ever, but for a single point in time, arguably unmatched for quality, originality, and longevity. Take a look back at the roster: the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Tom Jones, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Stones, Santana, the Temptations, Blood Sweat & Tears, Crosby Stills & Nash, and Easy Rider.
posted by madamjujujive on Dec 20, 2003 - 53 comments

Lester Bangs, rock critic. Some reviews to read and enjoy. Patti Smith. Astral Weeks. Captain Beefheart. The Shaggs. Black Sabbath. Weather Report. Lou Reed. There are books you can read about him, too. (Previous mention in this thread.)
posted by ashbury on Oct 7, 2003 - 18 comments

Diary for a New America: Because a toilet seat is a terrible thing to waste. Poison drummer Rikki Rockett says the "days of useless acts of hotel destruction are over." Now he's leaving his artistic mark in hotel loos nationwide. See for yourself in the gallery.
posted by acornface on Aug 1, 2002 - 12 comments

My hobby? Oh, yes. I used to garden, and collect ancient coins. Now, I just f*ck Rock Stars. I think maybe these girls got the wrong message from the movie Almost Famous. At any rate, it seems like this site maps out pretty clearly the best way for a young woman to be used sexually and then discarded by the musician of her choice.
posted by kristin on Nov 29, 2000 - 5 comments