Music

Stephen Stills thought his vocal was out of tune. 45 years later, Neil Young thinks it was “magic”

• Stills replaced a vocal he thought was badly out of tune.
• Neil Young preferred the original take’s rough energy.
• The disagreement highlights polish versus spontaneity.

Stephen Stills replaced part of his vocal on Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s version of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock” because he thought it was badly out of tune. Neil Young later argued that the original take had a rough charm that made the track feel “magic”, showing how the…

At the height of Green Day’s fame, John Lydon dismissed them as “silly rich fat kids”

• Lydon accused Green Day of copying the Sex Pistols.
• The feud began during the Pistols’ 1996 reunion tour.
• He later criticised the band over *American Idiot*.

In 1996, John Lydon accused Green Day of copying the Sex Pistols, dismissing them as “silly, rich fat kids”. The dispute reflected Lydon’s longstanding criticism of bands he saw as borrowing punk’s sound without its substance, while Green Day were among the world’s biggest acts. The row began…

Alaska Senate-race probe, Russell Brand trial nears closing arguments

Alaska’s governor has ordered an investigation into an alleged effort to recruit a second Dan Sullivan. The Russell Brand trial is nearing closing arguments, while the bulletin also covers emerging British music talent and entertainment highlights.

3 Rock Songs From the 1990s That Became Hits Against All Odds

• Pearl Jam resisted making “Black” a commercial single.
• Rage Against the Machine’s protest song reached mainstream listeners.
• Semisonic’s “Closing Time” succeeded despite executives’ doubts.

Three 1990s rock songs became hits despite resistance from their bands or doubts from music executives. Their success showed that tracks considered too emotionally raw, combative or unlikely to sell could still find a wide audience and endure as cultural touchstones. Pearl Jam resisted releasing “Black” as a…

In 2003, Bill Murray made the most embarrassing mistake of his career. Three years later, he did it again

• Murray voiced Garfield in films released in 2004 and 2006.
• He reportedly mistook Joel Cohen for Joel Coen when reading the first script.
• The sequel fared worse with critics and received two Razzie nominations.

Bill Murray voiced Garfield in two live-action and animated films, despite later apologising for the first. The story presents the sequel as a repeat of a casting mistake that had already drawn heavy criticism. Murray reportedly agreed to the 2003 film after mistaking screenwriter Joel Cohen for filmmaker…

In 1989, Rush recorded a song that made no sense. Geddy Lee will defend it until his dying day

• ‘Anagram’ was designed as a playful word game.
• Geddy Lee still stands by the song.
• Rush never played it live.

Rush’s 1989 song ‘Anagram (For Mongo)’ uses elaborate wordplay without telling one clear story. Geddy Lee says that was deliberate: the track was a playful experiment, and he still believes it worked, showing how the band approached songwriting in different ways. The song appeared on Presto, an album…

In 1971, John Fogerty wrote the song he wants to be remembered for. Eerily it began to mirror his life

• Fogerty wrote the song amid Creedence’s growing unhappiness.
• It reached number eight in the US and number two in the UK.
• His daughter’s birth gave him a hopeful connection to it.

John Fogerty wrote “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” as Creedence Clearwater Revival’s success was giving way to internal unhappiness. The song’s image of rain falling in sunshine came to represent the band’s impending break-up, while also capturing a broader sense that the optimism of the 1960s was…

In 1978, Steely Dan released a song that didn’t fit ‘Aja’. It became one of their biggest hits

• Steely Dan wrote ‘FM’ as a film theme in under a week.
• The song was recorded around the time of ‘Aja’.
• Becker and Fagen kept it off the album.

Steely Dan wrote ‘FM’ in 1978 as the title song for a film, while they were working around the time of their album ‘Aja’. Though recorded by the band and several notable musicians, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen did not consider it a fit for the album, seeing…

3 Classic Country Songs That Remind 90s Teens of Being Young

• Three 1990s country hits became teenage touchstones.
• “Achy Breaky Heart” helped bring line dancing into the mainstream.
• “Strawberry Wine” reached No. 1 in the US and Canada.

A look back at three country hits that became part of many teenagers’ lives in the 1990s, during a period when country and pop were blending in the mainstream. Their chart success and memorable melodies helped make them familiar beyond country audiences. Billy Ray Cyrus’s “Achy Breaky Heart”…

How did the “psychobilly” genre get its name?

• The Cramps used “psychobilly” on flyers as early as 1976.
• The term later described horror-tinged, punk-inflected rockabilly.
• Its origin was linked to a lyric in Johnny Cash’s “One Piece at a Time”.

The term “psychobilly” first appeared in The Cramps’ promotional material in 1976, but the band used it playfully rather than to define a new genre. The label later became associated with a distinct style that blended retro rock ’n’ roll with punk energy and horror imagery, gaining wider…