There was no better feeling in the 1990s then flipping on MTV and having “Under The Bridge” flash on the screen. The John Frusciante outro guitar riff still rings in my head to this day. That’s the power of music and visuals, combined.
Music videos are a big part of The History Of Alternative. And The Red Hot Chili Peppers have a lot of great ones. Here’s ten.
This list was made from a compilation of Top 10’s [Rolling Stone, Louder Sound, Pop Matters, Noise Creep, Diffuser] as well as views and other fan feedback/polls. Ultimately, these 10 songs shook out in order of popularity — down from a list of 25+, which for ANY band would be an impressive resume of video hits. — [eric]
MTV is airing the VMAs tonight, an annual reminder that they used to feature music a lot more and still post content about it online. Their other annual event the MTV Movie Awards was postponed indefinitely due to the current pandemic, but that did not stop ‘SNL’ writer Steven Castillo from creating 40-minute hilarious spoof of an award show that was always just a pop culture curveball on the Oscars. From telling hammy two liners with spliced-in footage of bored celebrities to the gratuitous use of green screens, Castillo makes you think the MTV Movie Awards are somehow airing on Adult Swim.
Castillo spent several years on comedy stages around Chicago, before moving east a few years ago. It’s nice to see several other midwest converts like Tyler Snodgrass, Meg Stalter, and more contribute to this must-see mini-movie. SNL cast members Chriss Redd and Melissa Villasenor also make cameos here as well. If you really like this, go ahead and share the link
In the original video post, Castillo called for viewers to help out those in the need in New York City. Donate to Community Service Society of New York at: https://www.cssny.org/donate
They have 19 million impressionable people following them on Tik Tok and they are throwing huge parties in our current pandemic without any social distancing or masks, but the city of Los Angeles is not having it anymore. Blake Gray and Bryce Hall who have been hosting the huge house parties recently and documenting them online are now facing criminal charges for unsafe events. Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer announced the charges this week for defiance of local health codes, with the pair potentially facing up to a year in jail and $2,000 in fines.
“If you have a combined 19 million followers on TikTok in the middle of a public health crisis, you should be modeling great behavior…rather than brazenly violating the law,” Feuer said during a press conference according to CNN.
The controversial parties in question have gotten so out of control, they have faced multiple police calls. On August 19th, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti even ordered to cut the power off the Hollywood Hills house involved in one of the ragers.
Internet Today went off on the whole issue in their latest video here.
Green Day is the band that has ruled Chicago with a huge Wrigley Field show and a live streaming press conference today on the 101WKQX Facebook page. They are Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Famers, have sold millions of albums, played to hundreds of thousands all over the world, and they are still going with a vibrant energy that shows their time at the top of the alternative mountain is far from over.
Guitarist/singer Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool have been hustling to get they are today at the ‘stadium level’ shared by top tier bands like Foo Fighters and Coldplay, with an enduring focus to political activism, emotional truth, and constant dedication delivering on being so much more ‘just another punk band’.
So let the delightful debate begin about what songs are the best from this West Coast trio, here is a Top 20 according to me and suggestions of trusted music fanatics of GD. So if you don’t like it or you love it, let ME know on social media. Yeah, if you are upset in any remote way, it’s my fault.
10-year old Nandi Bushell has taken the internet by storm with her on-point rock covers, earning praise from the bands she is paying tribute to, and now she has even earned an answer to her dream drum off challenge. Foo Fighters leader and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl has answered the music community’s call to see him do a drum-off with Nandi, and he delivered in the following videos this weekend..
You might burst out laughing when the brash and bold Bushell yells “CHECKMATE!” at the camera after crushing this Foos cover.
Chadwick Boseman who starred the massively successful Marvel film ‘Black Panther’ has passed away at the age of 43 after a long fight with colon cancer. The sad news was confirmed by the actor’s publicist and has been garnering a massive reaction across the world online. Boseman was reportedly scheduled to reprise his Black Panther role for a solo sequel due out in 2022.
Boseman’s career was not limited to being a superhero, as he also portrayed groundbreaking baseball player Jackie Robinson in ’42’ and music icon James Brown in ‘Get On Up’.
His cancer diagnosis was not public knowledge. The Howard University graduate was fighting the disease since 2016. He filmed several hit films during the period including the critically acclaimed ‘Da 5 Bloods’.
His performance as Black Panther’s T’Challa gained him international fame and praise as the film became the cultural event of 2018.
Joeseph Grisamore of Minnesota proved he’s pretty dedicated to a hairstyle that could be ruined by a ceiling fan this week when he earned the Guiness World Record for the tallest mohawk. The impressive do stands at 42 inches and takes over an hour to create with a hairstylist or his very supportive wife helping him. He attempted a spiked mohawk some years back and was unsuccessful, but cut it all off before spending years to get follically fit for this current record.
The new Guiness World Record 2021 edition comes out next week.
The Smashing Pumpkins reformed with a majority of their definitive lineup a few years ago with Billy Corgan mending past issues with guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, with Jeff Schroeder staying in his role as guitarists which he has had since 2007. They had a very successful tour which included packed shows at the United Center and released the warmly received ‘Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol 1: No Past, No Future,. No Sun.’ Now Corgan and company have fulfilled the cryptic countdown on their social media accounts, with two new songs called ‘Cyr‘ and ‘The Colour of Love’
These tracks are expected to be a part of a new double album due out sometime soon. Scroll up and also enjoy our exclusive Lounge session with the Pumpkins telling stories about their suburban Chicago lives shaping their creative spirit and much more.
One of the most anticipated sequels of the year in a year, ‘Bill & Ted Face the Music’ hits theaters and on-demand today. The teenage wanna-be rockstars who stumble through time in a telephone booth are 30 years older, and according to reviews they have matured and gracefully work in new characters in the new film. Series creators Ed Solomon and Chris Mattheson penned the script with Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter back for another most excellent adventure that is getting solid reviews with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 78%.
Before you see the new movie, let’s hop in a bloggable blast to the past to our youthful consumption of Bill and Ted’s mischief that is fun and sometimes questionable. An animated spin-off, a not-so-well received live-action adaption and action figures that look very radical. Scroll down for that. We will be doing some fun things with YOUR past with History of Alternative [ON AIR] on 101WKQX starting September 8th.
Red Letter Media who are known for their dry wit and biting sarcasm, dig into why both of the original movies stood out and why a lot of Gen Xers love these movies. They make some great observations about how the first film was very 80’s and the second one is very 90’s. They also show in this Re:View episode that the script for the ‘Excellent Adventure’ predates the script for ‘Back To The Future’.
The party dude teens were so popular with the kids that it got it’s own animated Saturday morning show on CBS but as SyFy breaks it down in their Everything You Didn’t Know series. The cartoon took some really fun spins on the original movie concept. The actors from the original series provided voices to give it some real-life flavor and authenticity. The second season of the show took an unfortunate dip with some odd choices, production changes, and the animated show moved to FOX along a new live-action adaption.
The live-action series was just um….it was. Stoned Gremlin tells us how the live-action which somehow became a thing. It aired in prime time in the summer, which is never a good sign if you follow how TV shows are rolled out.
So if you like air-guitaring along with these two bros, then you likely wanted the action figures. Kenner made this playful series which also includes some noteworthy names from the past. Figure Collections shows off the toyline in mint condition which is worth more than a $100 now.
33-year-old Deana-Rae Clayton is from Montego Bay Jamaica, so it is safe to assume that she grew up having a Jamaican accent.
That was until she was in a horrific car accident that left her in a coma. When she awoke she no longer had her natural accent, but rather a British one!
How does the brain just switch your accent entirely?
That is so crazy! Thankfully she is still alive after the crash. That’s what really matters!
Sister Stephanie Baliga was disappointed when the Chicago Marathon was canceled this year, but that wasn’t going to stop her from still running a marathon!
And for a good cause too!
Thank you to ALL for your incredible support. Sr. Stephanie finished in 3:33, treadmill marathon raised almost $95,000, and lots of shout outs to #Jesus
Thanks @FleetFeetChgo@actioncoachpj AND EVERYONE who donated (over 780 individual donors) pic.twitter.com/cy6Kk21Vkg
It’s been a couple of busy years for the Killers. The alternative icons from Las Vegas with guitarist Dave Keuning taking a hiatus from the group, the massive touring behind 2017’s ‘Wonderful Wonderful’, and trying to release another world-dominating album as the pandemic got going. This brilliant new album was originally due to come out in late May but got delayed so Brandon Flower and Ronnie Venucci could get it just right. It looks like that extra time really helped.
The album has some fun cameos from former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and pop singer K.D. Lang adding flavor to a collection of grandiose songs that drip vibes that remind you of ’80s alternative from the Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, and something you would hear on the soundtrack for a John Hughes movie. Flowers and company paint a very pretty and hopeful picture on this album for life beyond all the stress we are dealing with currently. It’s the music we need now, maybe more than we may have realized.
