ROLLING STONE: The film, Finding Fame, directed by Francis Whately (who previously worked on David Bowie: Five Years), will premiere Friday at 9 p.m. ET and PT. It focuses on the period in Bowie’s life from the late Sixties through the emergence of his Ziggy Stardust character. In the middle of that period was the release of his breakthrough single, “Space Oddity,” in 1969. In addition to archival interviews with Bowie, the film also features commentary from the singer’s collaborators in the early days. Some of these people include members of Bowie’s early backing group, the Lower Third, his school […]
THE BYRDS: Eight Miles High
The Byrds were the coolest looking band of the ’60s. In this video, David Crosby is wearing the coolest hat anyone ever wore in the ’60s. This is also one of the coolest songs of the ’60s. This is non-negotiable.
THE DEVIL’S BIZNESS: Q&A With Philadelphia Lawyer & Rock N’ Roll Evolutionist James A. Cosby
BY JONATHAN VALANIA By day he’s a mild-mannered Philadelphia lawyer, but by night James A. Cosby is a rock philosopher-cum-theoretician mapping out grand unifying theories about the origin mythos of rock n’ roll. Turns out it’s a lot more complicated than ‘the blues had a baby and they called it rock n’ roll’ and there is far more nuance in the grey zone between heaven and hell than is dreamt of in your Birth Of Rock Spotify playlist, Virginia. His 2016 book Devil’s Music, Holy Rollers And Hillbillies: How America Gave Birth To Rock N’ Roll ties together the […]
VIAGRA BOYS: Sports
You don’t need to have erectile dysfunction or a crippling amphetamine addiction to loathe the oppressive and oversaturated infatuation with all things sports-related in pop culture today. Luckily, the Swedish post-punk outfit aptly named Viagra Boys has already done it with their summer 2018 single “Sports.” What’s lost in the depths of flaccidity and pill-popping is recovered as a concoction of equal parts cocaine and malt liquor; a hungover voice for absurdity and postmodernism. What may very well be the ramblings of a stimhead 36 hours deep into a binge as he attempts to achieve sleep via blackout could just […]
BEING THERE: The Rolling Stones @ The Linc
Photo by JOSH PELTA-HELLER Getting old is not for pussies. But let us not kid ourselves, there is no shame in living a long life, especially if you are a man of wealth and taste. By design, you don’t realize this until you get there but growing old is the best revenge. It gives you the license to finally admit to yourself just how silly and absurd you have been lo these many years. And that, my friends, is freedom. The Rolling Stones are as old as the devil — maybe older. They’ve been around for a long long year […]
BEING THERE: Mountain Goats @ Union Transfer
by JOSH PELTA-HELLER Woe betide the naysaying snickerer that mistakes indie legends The Mountain Goats for folky meanderers. Live, John Darnielle and co. invest their goat music with a visceral immediacy and all-in emotionalism that, even in its moments of accidental grace and pin-drop quietude, utterly commands the collective attention of the room, which was pretty packed Friday night at Union Transfer for the first of a two-night stand. Touring the new album In League With Dragons (2019), Darnielle curated a set list that featured new songs, a solo section with deep cuts from Nothing For Juice (1996), and crowd […]
BUTTHOLE SURFERS WEEK: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The Motherf*cking Butthole Surfers But Weren’t Sure It Was Even Legal To Ask
EDITOR’S NOTE: To mark the auspicious occasion of infamous Butthole Surfers frontman Gibby Haynes performing choice selections from the Surfers skidmarked back catalog with the kids from The Paul Green Rock Academy at Connie’s Ric Rac on Friday and Saturday (July 19th and 20th), we are officially declaring this Butthole Surfers Week here at Phawker industries. We will be re-posting choice nuggets of Butthole Surfers jetsam and effluvia that has run on the site over the years, culminating with our brand spanking new no-holes-barred Q&A with Gibby on Thursday. Look for it on a Phawker near you. In the […]
INCOMING: The Locust Abortion Technician Live
At Connie’s Ric Rac this Friday and Saturday!
INCOMING: Destroy Your Safe And Happy Lives!
Legendary British punk/country/folk/post-whatever vets The Mekons, in the midst of a rare full-band tour, play Johnny Brenda’s on Thursday July 18th in support of their fresh-from-the-oven new album, Deserted. Mekons mainman/cult leader/lovable madman (and visionary painter) Jon Langford said of the album’s inspirations: “The idea was to go to a brand new studio our bassist the Baron had set up just outside the Joshua Tree national park in Yucca Valley CA and see what happened – we were in the middle of a hectic tour and had been attempting to write material first by email and then in the van… […]
TONITE: Orchestral Manuevers In The Dark
EDITOR’S NOTE: I wrote this after seeing ELO at the Wells Fargo Center last summer. They return to the Wells Fargo Center tonight, with George Harrison’s son Dhani in tow. The year is 1977. Eleven-year-old me is sitting on my best friend’s bunk bed listening to his older brother’s copy of Electric Light Orchestra’s Out Of The Blue on the Hi-Fi, staring at the neon starburst-colored spaceship on the gatefold sleeve which, he informed me, was used to clean your weed on. Being 11 I had no earthly idea why somebody would collect weeds nor why they would want to […]
INCOMING: The Songs Remain The Same
Photo by RON RAFFAELLI THE MANN: 50 years ago, on July 12, 1969, Led Zeppelin played the Spectrum in Philadelphia. 50 years later, on July 12, 2019, Classic Albums Live will be performing at the Mann Center, playing both Led Zeppelin I and Led Zeppelin II albums, back to back, note for note – cut for cut. Performing these albums since 2003, Classic Albums Live focuses entirely on the music. They don’t wear cheesy costumes or do bad impersonations. Their first show at the Mann is going to be an event that brings a sense of nostalgia and community, paying […]
INCOMING: Return Of The Red-Headed Stranger
A man who needs no last name, Willie is to Country what Neil is to rock: the Buddha, bestowing laid-back grace on all those who bask in his benevolent THC-tinged glow. Born April 30, 1933, in Abbott, Texas, Nelson begins writing songs at age seven. After serving briefly in the Air Force during the Korean War and studying agriculture at Baylor University, Nelson moves through a series of luckless, low-paying career changes– from disc jockey to door-to-door vacuum and encyclopedia salesman. By 1958, in dire financial straits and married with children, Nelson is forced to sell his songs for […]
BECK: Saw Lightning (Freestyle)
Beck’s new “Saw Lightning (Freestyle)” video captures the GRAMMY-winning artist stripping his latest single down to its bare bones. Rendered in striking minimalist black and white, “Saw Lightning (Freestyle)” relies solely on the impact of raw talent and passion: a man, a harmonica, a camera and nothing more. Beck’s vocals, stomping feet and solo harmonica somehow fill the same space occupied on the original by his raw acoustic slide guitar and Pharrell Williams’ drums, keyboards and mumbles. Directed by Giovanni Ribisi and edited by Nick Roney, “Saw Lightning (Freestyle)” is a radically different take on Beck’s first single from his […]