Life House was intended to be Pete Townshend’s life’s work, so to speak, following the somewhat unexpected runaway success of The Who’s May 1969 groundbreaking 2LP rock opera,Tommy. But for various reasons, portions of Life House were instead transmogrified into the nine songs that comprise one of the truly seminal albums of the rock era, August 1971’s Who’s Next.
Is he or isn't he? That's the question at the heart of Series 1 (2006-07) of the highly stylized British cop drama Life on Mars (later adapted for a 17-episode U.S. run). Is Detective Sam Tyler (John Simm) mad, bad, or dangerous to know - which is to say, is he delusional, disjointed, or actually in a coma imaging Manchester circa 1973?
One thing our ongoing pandemic lockdown continues to remind many of us music lovers of on a daily basis is just how much we all miss attending live concert events.
Chris Isaak can't sit still. The second successful season of Showtime's art-imitates-life-imitating-art pseudo-reality series The Chris Isaak Show is wrapping up, but that leaves little time for the quick-draw 45-year-old crooner to relax. The third season is already in development, and a summer tour supporting his latest album, Always Got Tonight (Reprise), is coming up.
It's always nice when the good ones cut through the dross. Case in point: the admirable ascension of London's Coldplay, which has built an appreciative following with its Gold-selling debut album, Parachutes (Nettwerk/Capitol). This disc has all the makings of a future classic as its songs swing from light balladry to intense jamming in the turn of a friendly chord.
Buffalo's favorite sons the Goo Goo Dolls are at it again, this time barnstorming on a cross-country shed tour to support the ever-catchy Let Love In (Warner Bros.) while teamed up with the Counting Crows. Singer/songwriter and all-around nice Goo guy Johnny Rzeznik recently took some time out from the road to chat Web-exclusively with S&V.
This one's been 36 years in the making - or you could call it 100 years ahead of schedule, depending on how you look at it. I'm talking about the DTS-HD Master Audio 96-kHz/24-bit 5.1 Blu-ray version of it's-about-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Rush's 1976 epic 2112 (Anthem/Mercury).