The official video for Kansas’ “Dust in the Wind” is typical of many music videos from the late Seventies: There’s an endless amount of hair, a few questionably ruffled tuxedo shirts, and some more hair. In the same way that Journey’s 1978 video for “Lights” humorously featured light literally beaming …
Read More »Flashback: Carly Simon Performs Cat Stevens-Inspired 'Anticipation' in 1971
Shortly after the release of her 1971 self-titled debut, Carly Simon received an unexpected opportunity: a five-night stint opening for Cat Stevens at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. The singer-songwriter was hesitant for several reasons, including the fact that she had never performed solo or been to Los Angeles and …
Read More »Flashback: Led Zeppelin Rock London's Earls Court for Nearly Four Hours
There’s no one definitive Led Zeppelin concert that fans point to as their finest moment. Some dig late-period gigs like the L.A. Forum 1977 or Knebworth 1979, while others point to early ones like the Texas International Pop Festival of 1969 or the Royal Albert Hall 1970. They’re one of …
Read More »Flashback: Bruce Springsteen Resurrects 'Blinded by the Light' in 1999
Earlier this month, Bruce Springsteen dug into his vault and released a killer E Street Band show recorded at Philadelphia’s First Union Center on September 25th, 1999. It was the culmination of a six-night stand in the city where he celebrated his 50th birthday and resurrected songs he hadn’t played …
Read More »Flashback: Pearl Jam Cover Daniel Johnston's 'Walking the Cow'
The sad news arrived on Wednesday that Daniel Johnston, an outsider folk musician who created incredible art throughout his life despite a debilitating mental illness, died of natural causes at his home in Houston, Texas. “Daniel was a singer, songwriter, an artist, and a friend to all,” he family said …
Read More »Flashback: Bob Dylan Stumbles His Way Through 'Dancing in the Dark'
Bruce Springsteen has been covering Bob Dylan songs in concert since the early Seventies when his pre-fame group the Bruce Springsteen Band would play “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” as part of their club show. And even when Columbia burdened him with the “New Dylan” moniker after signing him …
Read More »Flashback: TLC Release 'FanMail' in 1999
With their 1994 breakthrough LP, CrazySexyCool, TLC members Tionne ‘T-Boz’ Watkins, Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes and Rozonda ‘Chilli’ Thomas had finessed their R&B-to-pop crossover with flying colors. Hit songs like “Waterfalls” and “Creep” not only garnered the group multiple Grammy wins, but reflected a zeitgeist of sexually assertive and self-educated …
Read More »Flashback: The Monkees' Peter Tork Makes a Deal With the Devil
When Stephen Stillsturned down a role in a TV show about a Beatles-like fictional band in 1965, he suggested his friend Peter Thorkelson instead. The two had met in the Sixties Greenwich Village folk scene back in New York, and Thorkelson had a similar “Nordic look” the producers were looking …
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