Rock's Backpages

Say A Prayer For The Pretender: Jackson Browne

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:09:08 -0800

Jackson Browne, the singer-songwriter's singer-songwriter, turns 60 on October 8th – a birthday marked by the release of the fittingly-titled Time The Conqueror. Late in '76 Jackson was at the peak of his acclaim, with the bestselling masterpiece The Pretender just out.

30 Years Of "Teenage Kicks": The Undertones

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:56:20 -0800

The late great John Peel regularly cited "Teenage Kicks" as the greatest single of all time. ...

The Rock's Backpages 50 Funkiest Tracks Ever, Pt. 2

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:53:27 -0800
Five years ago, the Rock's Backpages posse knocked their fevered crania together and came up with the 50 greatest tracks ever laid down in the name of F.U.N.K. Here are the next ten, from Cameo to Grover Washington, Jr.-- Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages

The Rock's Backpages 50 Funkiest Tracks Ever, Pt. 1

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:38:52 -0800
Five years ago, the Rock's Backpages posse knocked their fevered crania together and came up with the 50 greatest tracks ever laid down in the name of F.U.N.K. This week we're starting with the first ten. -- Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages
Once upon a time there was Funk. The Rhythm of the One. Funk's true One was James Brown's epochal 1965 single "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"--and what a bag it was. ...

"The Best Band I've Ever Heard": The Replacements

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 19:26:29 -0800

With their back catalogue reissued in expanded form this week, RBP revels in the ragged glory that was the early Replacements. Herewith a rave review from Minneapolis native Blake Gumprecht, penned for Op in summer 1983. ...

Mercury Revved: The Triumph Of Elbow

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:11:33 -0800

Eighteen years after they first formed as Mr. Soft, Manchester's Elbow finally came good this week when their fourth album The Seldom Seen Kid scooped the U.K.'s Mercury Music Prize. ...

Some Kind Of Monstrosity: Metallica

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:44:40 -0800

There's a movie just out about how Metallica made their unlistenable album St. Anger. And it got stellar grades at Sundance, no less, from people who couldn't distinguish "Whiplash" from "The Unforgiven" in a blindfold test. ...

Keith Moon: The White Tornado

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:37:44 -0800
It's hard to believe it's 30 years since Keith Moon – genius drummer and genial hellraiser – died at his flat in London. Melody Maker mainstay Chris Welch, who knew the man all too well, penned this obituary in the days after the Who lost their engine house.

Try To Set The Night On Fire: Jimi Hendrix And The Flaming Stratocaster

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:08:06 -0800
On March 31, 1967, Jimi Hendrix set fire to a 1965 Fender Stratocaster that sold for £280,000 at auction on Thursday. Pop reporter Keith Altham was not only watching at the Finsbury Park Astoria that night – it was he who egged him on to do it! This is how he remembers the night.

The Girl From Guyville: Liz Phair In Exile

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:19:51 -0800
Fifteen years ago, Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville galvanized indie rock with its fearless lo-fi articulations of female lust in Chicago's Wicker Park. Gerrie Lim met her as she surfed the ensuing wave of acclaim.