“The one thing I wanted to avoid was the sophomore slump,” says Wolfgang Van Halen — and if anything, his just-released second album as Mammoth WVH, Mammoth II, is a major step up from his impressive 2021 debut. The choruses and riffs are both big enough to match his band …
Read More »Watch Robbie Robertson's Finale Encore With The Band at 'The Last Waltz'
The life of Robbie Robertson — who died Wednesday morning after a long illness — can neatly be divided into everything that happened before The Last Waltz and everything that happened afterward. The 1976 all-star concert at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom marked the end of his career with the Band, …
Read More »Producer Dave Cobb Remembers Robbie Robertson: 'One of the Godfathers of Americana'
Dave Cobb had just gotten off a plane when he learned that Robbie Robertson, the leader of the Band and one of rock & roll’s great lyricists and guitar players, had died Wednesday at 80. The Nashville producer behind such modern-day milestones as Jason Isbell’s Southeastern, Chris Stapleton’s Traveller, and …
Read More »'Chrome Dreams': A Track-by-Track Guide to Neil Young's Newly Unearthed Seventies Album
Sixteen years ago, in 2007, Neil Young puzzled quite a few people when he released a new album called Chrome Dreams II. Only his most devoted followers knew that the title was a reference to Chrome Dreams, an entirely different album he had put together in 1977 before shelving it …
Read More »How Cash Cobain Plans on Taking Over the Rap World
Cash Cobain slides into Bed-Stuy’s Loudmouth Records alone, wearing a cream shirt, black jeans, and white forces. His publicist daps him up and asks if he drove from his home in Queens to Brooklyn by himself. He scoffs at the notion; at least two people are waiting outside. I agreed …
Read More »Celebrate Hip-Hop's 50th Birthday With These Concerts, Exhibits, and Events
Hip-hop turns 50 on Aug. 11, and it seems that the whole world is celebrating. From concerts organized by Amazon and Mass Appeal to block parties put on by New York City, the festivities are plentiful. There is also a wide range of exhibits and galleries curated by artists of …
Read More »The Most Ridiculously Right-Wing Country Songs of All Time
If you really want to understand where Jason Aldean‘s “Try That in a Small Town” comes from, you have to go all the way back to Richard Nixon —and before that, George Wallace. Wallace, a former Alabama governor and segregationist independent candidate for president in 1968, got significant support from …
Read More »Normani Signs New Management: 'New Music on the Horizon'
Normani has a new management team and music on the way. Rolling Stone has learned that the former Fifth Harmony member is now being managed by Brandon Creed (Charli XCX, Troye Sivan) and Lydia Asrat (Coco Jones, others) after parting ways from S10 Entertainment’s Brandon Silverstein in May. “With new …
Read More »RZA on the Future of Hip-Hop and Why Ol' Dirty Bastard Would Be 'One of the Greatest Artists Alive'
HIP-HOP WAS BORNINTHEBronx in the summer of 1973. To celebrate the music’s 50th anniversary,“Rolling Stone” will be publishing a series of features, historical pieces, op-eds, and lists throughout this year. IT’S THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER when RZA hops on Zoom one afternoon, but the Wu-Tang architect and Hollywood maven isn’t …
Read More »Red Hot Chili Peppers Play the Hits, Lana Del Rey Is Perfectly Moody at Lollapalooza 2023
Lollapalooza 2023 is a wrap. During the festival’s fourth and final day, rain continued to soak Chicago’s Grant Park. Thankfully, by headlining time, the bad weather had subsided, but not before leaving plenty of puddles for festival attendees to navigate and slippery mud all around. It wouldn’t have been a …
Read More »