ver wonder where Nigel Tufnel came from? Turns out, not from eleven, but from a Los Angeles hotel lobby. While speaking at The A.V. Club Comedy Festival in 2017, comedy legend Christopher Guest shared the moment he witnessed a British band checking in—only to spark a hilariously awkward exchange about a missing bass guitar. That moment, he said, gave birth to the gloriously oblivious genius of Spinal Tap’s Nigel. “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier,” Guest admitted, “except for the night that I met my wife.” And now, we’re all turning the volume up on that origin story.
Talking Heads Reflect on Cover Band Origins, Velvet Underground Sets, and Early CBGB Days
Before they were art rock pioneers, Talking Heads were just trying to get a few friends to dance. On The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Chris Frantz, and Tina Weymouth looked back on their beginnings as a humble cover band at the Rhode Island School of Design—playing songs by Smokey Robinson, The Who, and Velvet Underground—just to entertain their friends. From braving the bass to getting blown away by The Ramones at CBGB, these early days were the raw material for something legendary.
The Cure’s “Lovesong” Gets a Smoldering 1940s Jazz Makeover by Postmodern Jukebox and Emma Smith
Postmodern Jukebox and Emma Smith team up for a sultry big band twist on The Cure’s “Lovesong,” slowing it down and swinging it back to the smoky lounges of the 1940s. It’s Peggy Lee meets goth romance—and it works beautifully.
Feist and Choir! Choir! Choir! Lead a Heartfelt Tribute to Sinéad O’Connor With “Nothing Compares 2 U”
When the world lost Sinéad O’Connor in 2023, the voices rose. Choir! Choir! Choir! hosted a sold-out tribute at Toronto’s Opera House, and just before the show began, a surprise text from Leslie Feist turned the night into something transcendent. Together, they performed Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U”—a song immortalized by Sinéad—with a room full of voices, stories, and love.
The night was a powerful, fast-moving tribute made possible by friends, fans, and a music community ready to rally. Featuring Chris Birkett, Lucas Silveira, Byron Wong, and support from Live Nation and Ticketmaster Canada, it raised funds for CAMH and reminded us why voices in unison still matter. For Sinéad. For healing. For each other.
Ringo Starr on Joining The Beatles, Loving Bands, and 30 Years of All-Starr Magic
Before he became the world’s most beloved drummer, Ringo Starr was playing sweaty club gigs with Rory Storm and The Hurricanes—until a call from Brian Epstein changed everything. On The Big Interview with Dan Rather, Ringo talks about the moment he joined John, Paul, and George, the early days of fandom before friendship, and why he still thrives being part of a band.
Johnny Marr Turns a Guitar Collection Into a Living Soundtrack of His Life
If guitars could talk, Johnny Marr’s would sing an entire history of modern music. Marr’s Guitars is a visually rich, deeply personal look at the instruments that shaped the sonic identity of one of Britain’s most innovative guitarists. From jangly riffs with The Smiths to film scores and collaborations with the likes of Modest Mouse and Hans Zimmer, each guitar in Marr’s collection is linked to a moment, a melody, a milestone.
Presented through the lens of renowned photographer Pat Graham, the book captures each instrument with reverence—full portraits and detailed close-ups showing every worn fret and custom mod. Marr pairs these images with his own reflections, telling the stories behind the sounds. Whether it’s his cherished Rickenbacker 330, the Gibson ES-355, or the Fender Jaguar that bears his name, every guitar unlocks a memory.
Some guitars come with legends attached: the Stratocaster once owned by Nile Rodgers, the Hagstrom from Bryan Ferry’s Roxy Music era, the Yamaha passed down from folk legend Bert Jansch. Others have moved on to new hands—like the Stratocaster used by Noel Gallagher to record “Wonderwall,” or the Goldtop Gibson that Ed O’Brien wielded on Radiohead’s In Rainbows. Marr gives each of these instruments the respect of a fellow traveler on his creative path.
With behind-the-scenes photos from studios, stages, and backrooms across decades, Marr’s Guitars isn’t a tech manual or a glossy showcase—it’s a living museum. One filled with resonance, memory, and a relentless pursuit of tone. Johnny Marr may be the guitarist’s guitarist, but through this book, he also becomes a historian of feeling, showing how six strings and a vision can change the sound of everything.
“Bowie at the BBC” Brings the Starman Back to Earth in His Own Words
Before he was Ziggy, before the Berlin years, before the global icon status—David Bowie was a curious teenager sneaking onto the BBC as part of a youth panel. That’s how Bowie at the BBC: A Life in Interviews begins, and from there, it unfolds like a cosmic radio transmission, tracing a shape-shifting genius through four decades of conversation, confession, and cultural transformation.
Compiled by journalist Tom Hagler, this beautifully curated collection doesn’t analyze Bowie from a distance. It brings him close, allowing readers to experience the art and ideas as he articulated them in real time—from his earliest stirrings of fame to his final interviews. Whether he’s discussing space, fame, fear, fashion, or failure, Bowie remains sharp, self-aware, and often disarmingly funny.
Across more than 35 interviews on BBC radio and television, we see the artist’s evolution: from anxious outsider to global trailblazer, from the glam alien to the grounded innovator reflecting on a career that reshaped pop music. Read together, these transcripts don’t simply show what Bowie did—they reveal how he thought. That’s what makes this book so compelling.
Bowie at the BBC is more than a collection of interviews. It’s a time-lapse of transformation, a conversation between past and present, and an invitation to understand Bowie’s creative journey from the inside out. For longtime fans and newcomers alike, it’s a reminder that behind every reinvention was a voice—calm, clever, and always looking one step ahead.
The Amplified “Come As You Are” Book Revisits Nirvana’s Legend with New Depth and Devastation
When Michael Azerrad first published Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana in 1993, he captured lightning in a bottle. It was the only biography written with full access to Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl—and it landed mere months before Cobain’s tragic death. Now, three decades later, The Amplified Come As You Are doesn’t just revisit that story—it reanimates it, annotates it, and digs even deeper into the music that defined a generation.
Azerrad’s updated edition is a cultural time machine. With hundreds of new annotations, essays, and personal reflections, he gives context to the band’s rise, the push-pull between punk idealism and major label success, and why Nevermind still feels like a gut punch in a flannel shirt. Azerrad knew Cobain. He shared meals with him. He listened. And now, he’s reflecting on that friendship, and on the burden and brilliance that surrounded Nirvana’s unlikely mainstream explosion.
For those too young to remember MTV Unplugged or zines or mixtapes, this book is a roadmap to the 1990s—the rage, the disaffection, the way music could crack open a kid’s worldview. For those who were there, it’s a chance to relive it all with the benefit of hindsight—and heartbreak. Cobain’s voice may be gone, but Azerrad gives it back to us, raw and defiant and unfinished.
This new edition answers the eternal question: Why was this music so powerful? It does so by showing us the scars and the sparkle, the brilliance and the breakdowns. And in doing so, it reminds us that Kurt wasn’t a myth—he was a human being, trying to tell the truth, one three-chord masterpiece at a time.
5 Surprising Facts About Meat Loaf’s ‘Bat Out Of Hell’
What do you get when a theatrical madman (Jim Steinman), a belting operatic force of nature (Meat Loaf), and a rock production wizard (Todd Rundgren) walk into a studio? You get Bat Out of Hell—a rock ‘n’ roll rollercoaster that blew up the rulebook and sold over 43 million copies while doing wheelies on its burning motorcycle solo. It’s dramatic. It’s decadent. And it’s still a full-body experience. But even if you know every lyric to “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” you might not know these deep cuts…
The Japanese Gave It the Greatest Song Title Translation of All Time
In Japan, the legendary breakup anthem “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” was translated into something far more precise: “66% Is Good Enough.” Cold. Hilarious. Accurate. It’s like a heartbreak spreadsheet set to power ballad mode.
The Motorcycle Solo? That’s Todd Rundgren on Guitar
Jim Steinman demanded a motorcycle revving into oblivion on the title track. Rundgren didn’t bother with sound effects. He played the motorcycle with his guitar. That rev you feel in your bones before the solo? That’s not a bike. That’s Todd, shredding like he’s got exhaust pipes instead of fingertips.
“You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth” Was a Spoken-Word Vampire Scene First
The iconic intro where a guy asks, “Would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?”? That came from Neverland, Steinman’s dystopian Peter Pan rock opera. It started as a weirdly sexy stage scene before becoming a radio hit. Only Jim Steinman could turn Broadway horror monologues into Billboard gold.
They Were Rejected So Often That New Labels Were Basically Invented Just to Say No
Meat Loaf and Steinman shopped Bat Out of Hell around for two and a half years. Clive Davis at CBS told them actors couldn’t make records and mocked Steinman’s song structure as “A, D, F, G, B, D, C.” Eventually, Cleveland International picked it up. Bless them. Because this album wasn’t weird—it was revolutionary.
This Album Is a Musical, a Meltdown, and a Meteor Strike—All in One Take
“Bat Out of Hell” the song was inspired by Psycho, Springsteen, and motorcycles exploding in midair. Steinman wanted boy sopranos, choirs, orchestras, and operatic crashes. Rundgren mixed the first version in one night. Meat Loaf howled like a creature breaking out of classic rock’s cage. And in the middle of it all, they built a teenage epic where a baseball metaphor actually works.
Bat Out of Hell didn’t fit in. It exploded. In a time of punk minimalism and disco grooves, this album showed up like a Shakespearean biker musical drenched in fire and fog. And somehow, it still feels like the most over-the-top and honest thing ever recorded. Now go scream “I would do anything for love!” to your rearview mirror and mean it.
John Mayer Weaves Grateful Dead Magic Into His Own Songs and Nails the Transition
John Mayer proved that musical worlds can collide beautifully during his solo acoustic show in Chicago on October 18, 2023. The longtime Dead & Company guitarist opened “Your Body is a Wonderland” with a dreamy “Dark Star” intro, delighting in the surprising fusion. Later, he slipped the beloved “Bertha” right into his reflective tune “The Age of Worry” — showing reverence for the past while making it his own. A true student and steward of the Dead’s legacy, with a touch of wide-eyed wonder.