One of the best things about growing older is leaving behind that teenage fear of liking things that are uncoolLast week I spent some time recording an audiobook version of these columns (cough, out in October, cough). One thing I noticed was the numbe…
‘It was the happiest time’: The Beach Boys on their strange second coming
They helped define the 60s, but were hopelessly uncool as the 70s began – and Brian Wilson was unravelling. The band discuss the masterpieces they made against the oddsIn the 1960s, the Beach Boys staked their claim as the US’s most popular band, as th…
‘Not just a drummer – a genre’: Stewart Copeland and Max Weinberg on Charlie Watts
The Police and Bruce Springsteen drummers share memories of their late Rolling Stones counterpart, explaining his technical brilliance, his verve – and his clothes-folding skillsI’m an early-period Stones fan, and not so much because of losing interest…
Big Red Machine: How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? review | Alexis Petridis’s album of the week
(Jagjaguwar)Aaron Dessner and Justin ‘Bon Iver’ Vernon recruit Taylor Swift, Fleet Foxes and more for this album full of misty autumnal beauty – and a quiet punchAaron Dessner cuts a very low-profile figure, even by the standards of both bookish US alt…
‘I’m a one in a billion’ – how Diane Warren penned windswept power ballads for Cher, Gaga and Dion
She’s the queen of the power ballad mega hit – and has even written songs for Biden, Harris and Ringo Starr. Now the world’s most successful female songwriter is finally releasing her own albumAt the end of the 1990s, when Diane Warren was the unrivall…
Sam Fender: ‘Leftie is now a slur in working-class towns’
In a brutally honest interview ahead of his stunning second album, the Tyneside chart-topper discusses politics, family, fame and mental healthIn 2011, Sam Fender was, by his own admission, “a little stoner” who had flunked out of his A-Levels in his h…
Charlie Watts: a rock’n’roll legend whose true love was jazz
He may have backed the world’s most successful rock band, but the late drummer worshipped his jazz heroes through big bands and other projectsEveryone knew that Charlie Watts’s heart was always in jazz. Even when he grew his hair long and put on hippie…
Bloodthirsty review – a beast-within horror film puts gore front and centre
Released soon after Amelia Moses’ intriguing feature debut Bleed With Me, this is a far more camp and cliched workFollowing quickly on the heels of the intriguing Bleed With Me, released in the UK just a couple of weeks ago, this beast-within horror fi…
Baby on Nevermind cover sues Nirvana over child sexual exploitation
Spencer Elden, who appeared at four months old on iconic album design, claims the image is child pornographySpencer Elden, who appeared as a naked baby on one of rock music’s most iconic album covers – Nevermind by Nirvana – is suing the band, claiming…
Kanye West formally applies to change name to Ye
Rapper, whose new album Donda is expected this week, previously announced name change in 2018Kanye West has filed court documents to formally change his name to Ye.In the filing with Los Angeles Superior Court, West aims to distil his full name – Kanye…