Chris Cornell had become one of the most lauded and respected contemporary lead singers in rock music, thanks to his charismatic energy onstage and wide vocal range. He was a leader of the grunge movement with Seattle-based Soundgarden — with whom he gained critical and commercial acclaim — but also found success outside the band … Continue reading
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Donald Trump, domes and minarets are out. Rock ‘n’ roll and guitars — lots of guitars — are in as the Hard Rock chain re-does Atlantic City’s former Trump Taj Mahal casino. The company owned by Florida’s Seminole Indian tribe on Wednesday unveiled its $375 million plan for the shuttered … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — Depeche Mode’s new album kicks off with a dire warning that we’re going backward as a society. Things go quickly downhill from there. “Spirit” then tells us we’ve been lied to and advocates revolution, convicts everyone of treason and urges selfish scum to turn their guns on themselves — and that’s … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Simon Tam has openly criticized the Washington Redskins team name as a racist slur that demeans Native Americans. But Tam and his Asian-American rock band, The Slants, have formed an unusual alliance with the NFL franchise as they both battle the U.S. government over trademark protection for names that some consider offensive. … Continue reading
“Play your early stuff,” is the advice given to the punk band The Ain’t Rights when their dirt-broke, gas-siphoning tour lands a last-minute gig at an Oregon backwoods roadhouse in Jeremy Saulnier’s brisk and brutal genre exercise “Green Room.” The tip from the spikey-haired ‘zine reporter who’s set up the show (an excellent David W. … Continue reading
KILEY ARMSTRONG, Associated Press Willie Nile, “World War Willie” (River House Records) Willie Nile is loud and proud. While other rockers merely strut around leathered and weathered, Nile takes one giant leap for mankind: glorifying the aging process with the party-hearty song “Grandpa Rocks” (its featured character depicted in a Clash T-shirt and dirty combat … Continue reading
Bachman, “Heavy Blues” (Linus Entertainment) Where has THIS been for the past four decades? Randy Bachman, who made classic rock history with Bachman-Turner Overdrive and The Guess Who, has recorded his best album since 1976. The name says it all: heavy blues, delivered with help from an All-Star cast of guests, including Neil Young, … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — The family of a comedian killed in the New Jersey Turnpike crash that seriously injured Tracy Morgan last summer has settled a wrongful death claim with Wal-Mart. The out-of-court settlement between Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and the estate of James McNair is the first stemming from the June 7 crash in … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 