The west coast’s answer to the New York Dolls: The Hollywood Stars (with a DM premiere)
The ‘70s rock ‘n’ roll band the Hollywood Stars were managed by Kim Fowley, and their songs were recorded by the likes of KISS and…
Author: Bart Bealmear
Color footage of the Velvet Underground performing in 1969 unearthed!
Yes, you read that right—previously unseen color film of the Velvet Underground has been discovered! Left sitting on a shelf for who knows how long,…
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’s lustful song about ‘Twin Peaks’ star Sherilyn Fenn, 1993
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (1929-2000) was an early rock ‘n’ roll/rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, and one hell of a performer. Hawkins had an outrageous, tongue-in-cheek…
The blissful ‘80s power pop of Julian Leal
If I had to sum up Julian Leal’s self-titled 1985 LP with only a handful of words, I’d go with “power pop bliss.” I knew…
When Johnny Thunders jammed with the Replacements
The Replacements and Johnny Thunders in the late 1980s. In the spring of 1989, Johnny Thunders opened a couple of shows for the Replacements. For…
Iggy Pop and David Bowie: Their final times on stage together
In 2017, we told you about the time when David Bowie was in Iggy Pop’s band, specifically the final concert of The Idiot tour. But…
The Pixies cover the theme song from an ultra-violent video game, 1991
In addition to their fabulous full-length records, the Pixies issued a number of great B-sides during their original late ‘80s/early ‘90s run. One of their…
The transcendent psychedelic country rock of one-album-and-out ‘70s band, Space Opera
I recently heard the song “Holy River” by ‘70s group Space Opera and was blown away. Space Opera are a little-known act. Widely believed to…
‘Lost in a Whirlpool’: The earliest known recording of both Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart
In the mid 1950s, after Frank Zappa moved from San Diego to Lancaster, California, he and Captain Beefheart (a/k/a Don Van Vliet; born Don Vliet)…
Check Johnny Harris’s skronky jazz-funk masterpiece, “Stepping Stones”
Johnny Harris is a composer, musician, arranger, conductor, and producer, who’s been active since the mid ‘60s. Harris made a name for himself working with…