Jason Kempin / Frank Micelotta, Getty Images The grunge scene of the early ’90s has been credited for flipping the music world on its ear and effectively shoving the hair metal dominance of the late ’80s to the side. However, grunge’s takeover didn’t just affect hair metal, and rapper Jay-Z says in a new interview that even the growing popularity of hip-hop stalled out a little bit when Nirvana came to prominence. In the new coffee-table book ‘Pharrell: The Places and Spaces,’ (excerpted by Spin ) singer-producer Pharrell Williams interviewed rap icon and music mogul Jay-Z, who recalls in particular what an important record Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was in the history of music. Jay-Z says, “First we’ve got to go back to before grunge and why grunge happened. Hair bands dominated the airwaves and rock became more about looks than about actual substance and what it stood for – the rebellious spirit of youth … That’s why ‘Teen Spirit’ rang so loud because it was right on point with how everyone felt, you know what I’m saying?” The rapper adds, “It was weird because hip-hop was becoming this force, then grunge music stopped it for one second, ya know? Those hair bands were too easy for us to take out. When Kurt Cobain came with that statement, it was like, ‘We’ve got to wait awhile.’” Jay-Z says that while keeping an eye on the big picture, he’s always been fascinated by the acts that emerge as a powerful force, regardless of the genre. He adds, “When those forces come on the scene, they are inescapable – can’t take your eyes off them, can’t stop listening to them. [Cobain] was one of those figures. I knew we had to wait for a second before we became that dominate force in music.” The ‘Pharrell: The Places and Spaces I’ve Been’ book is due Oct. 16. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-grunge-bands/” title=”Next: 10 Best Grunge Bands of All-Time” align=”center”]
Epitaph Records Stop what you’re doing immediately and check out this awesome news. Extreme hardcore heroes Converge have released a full stream of their insanely anticipated eighth studio album, ‘All We Love We Leave Behind.’ For those of you who are still reading this, we’re assuming that you’re already listening to the album and somehow remembered that you were reading words a short time ago, so for everyone still with us, lets go a little bit in-depth about the new Converge record. Produced by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou, ‘All We Love We Leave Behind’ is a perfect continuation of Converge’s constant evolution while still sticking to their roots. The album holds the same intensity and nuances found on previous Converge albums, but the overall product doesn’t at all begin to play off of their prior material. It’s still Converge, but it remains incredibly fresh and surprising even to the more devoted followers of the band. In a recent interview with JohnLongbottom.co.uk , Converge vocalist Jacob Bannon explains the process in creating ‘All We Love We Leave Behind.’ “We put a lot of emotional investment in writing our material,” begins Bannon. “It takes a lot of time, emotionally and psychologically to actually write the music and write the lyrics, so when you’re recording you just try and record the best piece of music to fit your vision. We’re definitely perfectionists, this is our craft. Some people don’t understand that and just hear our music as a lot of noise, they don’t necessarily understand what’s going on, apart from perhaps the loud volume, but there’s a lot of method to what we do.” Listen to Converge’s ‘All We Love We Leave Behind’ in full below. Converge, ‘All We Love We Leave Behind’ Full Album Stream [button href=”http://loudwire.com/converge-fault-and-fracture-top-21st-century-metal-songs/” title=”Converge: Top 21st Century Metal Songs” align=”center”]
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Bassist Frank Bello has had a busy year. On top of touring with Anthrax throughout the year and playing Richard Hell in the film ‘Greetings From Tim Buckley’, he has also been a vital part of the all-star Metal Masters clinics. Loudwire spoke to Bello about the clinic’s latest installment, Metal Masters 4 , which took place in his hometown of New York City, his bond with Pantera / Down singer Phil Anselmo and his enthusiasm for a possible Metal Masters 5. You guys killed at Metal Masters 4 in New York City. What did that experience of being in your hometown mean to you? Well, No. 1, it was easy – I can get a taxi home, I was feeling the Jager the night before. [Laughs] It was really rough and I like being in my bed when I feel like that – it’s just way easier I can just get there. The funny thing about it was I wasn’t at home for that long because rehearsal was that night and everybody had drinks that night, we got pie-eyed a little bit and I had to be at soundcheck and there’s so much pressure for the [fourth edition]. This thing took a life of its own now, I had to be down there at [noon], so I was literally home for six, seven hours. But It was so nice, they give you that home vibe, it’s New York, let’s face it that was a great crowd. It was an insane crowd and I thought it was one of the better ones because it had its edge to it that night. We all came off stage that night and we knew it was amazing because the vibe from the crowd was amazing. The crowd was also hopped up on free tubes of Jager. [Laughs] It never hurts though. That whole last Mayhem tour that Anthrax dig, we had a shot called a 9:28 shot. At 9:28 right after Slayer played we would all congregate in Slayer’s dressing room and the Jager party pretty much started from that time on pretty much through the wee hours – I’m telling you every night. So after that last Mayhem tour, I was drained I needed to come home and just chill for while. How would you describe your friendship with Phil Anselmo? Very close, brothers in arms. It’s great communication, we know each other so well. I think I’m one of the people he actually trusts — and the other guys on the stage, you can tell Phil trusts us. It’s a really nice tight bond, he wouldn’t just jam with anybody, let’s put it that way. [Laughs] Is it safe to say that Phil Anselmo might have a little bit of a crush on you? [Laughs] You know, we have so much fun together. The whole “crazy legs” thing – that’s the first thing he’s ever said to me – with all the crazy, stupid things I do onstage with Anthrax ‘cause I’m always moving, that’s why he brought up the name “crazy legs.” His girlfriend says the same thing and they emailed me right after, “Can’t wait to do it again,” and that’s so cool to hear Any plans for a Metal Masters 5? As soon as that was done we all said to Mark Menghi, the guy who runs all the stuff: “Whenever, let us know, it was a lot of fun.” [Laughs] We’ll take it all up again and see what happens. It probably won’t be in New York but you know what’s crazy, there are a lot of people asking for this thing now, which is great. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/anthrax-bassist-frank-bello-reflects-on-one-year-anniversary-of-worship-music/” title=”Frank Bello Talks One Year Anniversary of ‘Worship Music'” align=”center”]
Twitter: Wye Oak Papa Roach have a lot of fans out there, and they may have taken the first step to winning over one more. In a special feature for a recent interview, Wye Oak’s Jenn Wanser chose Papa Roach’s ‘Scars’ as her most hated song, but did have a few reservations about doing so. Rather than a war of words erupting between the pair, Wasner was surprised to receive flowers from Jacoby Shaddix . As part of an ongoing piece for the AV Club , they’ve asked musicians for the most hated tracks and somewhat begrudgingly Wasner chose ‘Scars.’ She stated, “When I heard this song for the first time, it sounded like ‘Butt Rock Band Goes to Therapy and Picks Up a Few Therapy Buzz Phrases and Then Writes a Song.’ It was also like, ‘Singer of Said Butt Rock Band Discovers What a Metaphor Is.’” But having said that, Wasner explained, “I’m actually feeling really bad, picking this person’s song apart, because how could it not be completely genuine when you read these lyrics?” The singer says after breaking down the song a little bit, she realizes that despite her own opinions, it definitely connected with a lot of people. She added, “Who am I to say this is the worst song of all time? … And I guess that’s not what this feature is … the song is most hated song. It doesn’t mean that it is objectively bad or that I’m trying to say that it is objectively bad. Disclaimer, everybody!” It didn’t take long after the article was printed for it to reach Papa Roach, and Shaddix took the high road by sending flowers to Wasner at her New York show with a message that read: “Compassion’s in my nature. From Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach.” Initially thinking she was being set up for a joke, Wasner posted a photo of the flowers on Twitter with the message, “OK fess the F— up, WHO DID THIS?? Is this for real??” Papa Roach tweeted back, “Yes it’s for real. Those are some pretty flowers! Haha all good girl … Take care and good luck in this crazy biz we call show! Jacoby.” According to Brooklyn Vegan , after receiving the confirmation, Wasner shared with the audience at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg, explaining, “Tonight is a very special night. Tonight is the night I got flowers from Papa Roach … The moral of the story is, if you talk s—, people will send you flowers.” [button href=”http://loudwire.com/papa-roach-preview-new-song-before-i-die-in-behind-the-scenes-video/” title=”Next: Papa Roach Preview ‘Before I Die'” align=”center”]
Pearl Jam‘s next record may be a little bit further off than initially thought. Though Matt Cameron stated in an interview that he was recording drum parts prior to leaving for Soundgarden‘s tour in November, bassist Jeff Ament revealed that there’s still plenty of work to be done on their forthcoming release. Speaking to Fuse in a video interview (seen below), Ament explains, “We’re halfway through. We have a ton
Stone Sour may have taken a little bit of a break between records, but they’re definitely making up for it with a double dose of new songs. ‘Gone Sovereign‘ and ‘Absolute Zero’ are interconnected tracks that show exactly how hard-hitting their upcoming album ‘The House of Gold and Bones Part I’ can be. The first part of the journey is ‘Gone Sovereign,’ a track that is completely off to the
Last week, Incubus fans took pause when it was reported that frontman Brandon Boyd had mentioned a possible break for the band in the future, but now the band’s manager has stepped forward to clarify the statement. Manager Steve Rennie has confirmed that the band has no plans of actually taking a lengthy hiatus and that the quotes in the interview were misinterpreted a little bit. “Incubus has always taken a