THEN
NOW
Along with the first OASIS LP Definitely Maybe (1994) and the eponymous first
one by THE STONE ROSES (1989), the SEX PISTOLS‘s debut Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols is one of the three best debut albums ever (thus far) to my ears.
.
1973
1992
2025
Top singles from the past
23 June 2025
Artist: Barry McGuire – American artist born 89 years ago in
Oklahoma City (for all NBA basketball fans out there, like me,
kudos to the Oklahoma City Thunder who just won the 2025
championship).
Single: EVE OF DESTRUCTION n
Written by: singer-songwriter P.F. Sloan in 1964, covered
by many with McGuire’s version the most successful.
Note: The song refers to lots of social issues of the (mid)sixties,
including the Vietnam War, the threat of nuclear war, the Civil Rights
Movement, turmoil in the Middle East, and the American space
program. Some American radio stations banned it.
Released: August 1965 – 60 years ago
Score: #1 in the UK and #3 in the US
“Don’t you understand, what I’m trying to say?
And can’t you feel the fears I’m feeling today?
If the button is pushed, there’s no running away,
There’ll be no one to save with the world in a grave,
Take a look around you, boy, it’s bound to scare you, boy,
And you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
Ah, you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction”
BARRY McGUIRE: Bio
1992
Los Angeles rock heroes WEEZER formed on Valentine‘s day 1992 and a month later,
on March 15th, they played their very first gig, in a small club in Hollywood, along with Dogstar, movie actor Keeanu Reeves‘s band.
BUDDY HOLLY
Their first big hit, 1994. More than 500 million streams
on Spotify. From their self-titled debut LP (The Blue Album).
2025
Still smoking their hash pipe after 33 years and 15 albums
with 2021’s Van Weezer as the most recent one.
8 May 2025
Californian daydreamers GRANDADDY, today centred more than ever around
singer-songwriter Jason Lytle, started their musical cruise back in 1992. Between
2006 and 2012 they took a long break, but are happy again together since.
ALBUMS
Under The Western Freeway (1997)
The Soptware Slump (2000)
Sunday (2003)
Just Like The Fambly Cat (2006)
Last Place (2017)
Blu Wav (2024)
Concert Poster 2003
Under The Western Freeway
Debut album
.
Their 2nd LP The Soptware Slump turns 25 on May 29.
The band will celebrate the anniversary with a handful
of American shows.
The Sophtware Slump
Band: BON IVER
Who: Indie folk ensemble from Wisconsin (US),
fronted by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon.
Press photograph
– FOR EMMA FOREVER –
Debut LP 2008
Pitchfork said: “A ruminative collection of songs full of natural imagery and
acoustic strums—the sound of a man left alone with his memories and a guitar.
Soulful performance.”
STREAM
.
– SABLE, FABLE –
5th longplayer
11 April 2025
NME: “A record that grapples with his own identity as much as it does the twists and turns of life. Though some fans feared this might well be an epilogue to the Bon Iver project, it comes across as more of a rebirth.”
Wayward as usual, with Vernon communicating with
the outside world from his own beloved bubble.
STREAM
1977
Cleveland, Ohio
2025
Europe/UK
All dates here
At the age of 77, the passenger still can’t stop having lust for life.
Historic performance on Dutch TV in 1977.
22 March 2025
Band: THE SLOW READERS CLUB
Who: Outfit that evolved in 2003 from a group
named Omerta. They released their self-titled
debut album in 2011.
The band underwent a number of line up changes before settling on the current
four-piece line-up of Aaron Starkie on vocals, Kurtis Starkie on guitar and backing
vocals, James Ryan on bass and David Whitworth on drums.
Album: OUT OF A DREAM.
Their 7th one.
Press info: A kaleidoscopic collection of 10 songs spanning dark but danceable guitar pop, euphoric electro and low-fi introspective ballads. Lyrics explore themes of self-identity and the notion of truth in a bewildering world where our lives are lived increasingly online. A collection of abstract visions that question reality, celebrate love and long for connection.
Louder Than War says: “Seven albums in, ten years on from the release of their slow-burn breakthrough second album Cavalcade, five years on from their top ten debut The Joy Of The Return being cut off just as the band were about to embark on a huge tour on the crest of a wave, you’d forgive The Slow Readers Club for having jacked it all in and returned to their day jobs. Out Of A Dream though is the sound of a band that still has something to say, their steadfast belief in their music and their voice still shining through like the brightest beacon.”
TUTV: Guitar-synth pop at its vitalizing best. 10 zippy first-class tunes that perk up
your daily rat race frame of mind and have a boosting impact on your restless psyche.
5-star songwriting quality is what you get and what you hear for 38 minutes. Mighty orchestrations, gripping vocals. Not one dull moment. This is a fulfilling album you’ll
go back to quite frequently in the coming months.
SINGLE
Already on my best-tracks-of-2025 list.
Masterly pop splendour. Ecstatic gem.
ALBUM
Whether your a fan or not (I’m in the middle), superstar LADY GAGA
(born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, 38 years ago, in New York)
is a musical phenomenon and doesn’t need an introduction anymore.
So without further ado, let’s have a look at and listen to her debut LP
and her brand new one.
Debut album
THE FAME
2008 (reissued a year later,
titled The Fame Monster)
It hit number one in the UK, Canada, South-Africa
and in several European countries. It peaked at #2 in
the US.
The Guardian (English newspaper) wrote: “An album, packing an immensely
addictive melody or an inescapable hook, virtually everything sounds like another
hit single.”
KEY SINGLE
New album
MAYHEM
Her 7th one
7 March 2025
#1 almost everywhere in the world.
Pitchfork says: “It is among Gaga’s strongest ever full-length statements. For all its
range, there is a clear guiding vision, one both seductive and punishing. Gaga’s singular
brand of loud, soul-bearing bubblegum teeters on the edge of art and commerce, taking
big risks while seemingly unafraid of chart failure. Almost twenty years into her recording career and more famous than ever, she is right where she’s supposed to be.”
KEY SINGLE
ALBUM
17 March 2025
Band: THE MEN
Who: Hard-hitting rockers
from Brooklyn, NY.
Debut LP
IMMACULADA
2008
STREAM
.
New, 10th Album
BUYER BEWARE
28 Feb 2025
Louder Than War says: “An album that draws in the blistering power that the prolific group are now known for, brushing it with touches of pop while at the same time lashing it with the ferocity of their 2011 album, Leave Home, and the proto-psychedelia of their 2010 debut. Bringing it all together, Buyer Beware just might be their most accomplished album to date.”
TUTV: Garage punk rock racket at its sharp-teethed best.
A non-stop salvo of pyrotechnics projectiles. Pretty insane.
SINGLE
ALBUM