Category: Featured Articles
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The 2026 Touring Paradox: Why Most Bands Are Struggling While Legacy Acts Make Bank
If you’ve noticed that fewer bands than ever are touring in 2026, that’s reality kicking in. More than a few contemporary artists have said, flatly, that they can’t make money on the road anymore. Garbage is an established alternative rock band on a major label (Bertelsmann Music Group aka BMG), with a loyal fan base…
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We Don’t Even Get the Guy: AI and the Paradox of Dual-Use Technology
Part 3 of a three-part series on the influence of AI and digital technology in music and the rise of push-button monoculture in the arts. At the time of writing, there are dozens of dedicated commercial AI music generators available, along with hundreds of smaller, niche, or open-source applications. The industry is dominated by a…
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Analog vs. Digital: It’s About the Process, Not the Sound
Part 2 of a three-part series on the influence of AI and digital technology in music and the rise of push-button monoculture in the arts. On 12 separate occasions over the last 14 years of posting on BSM, I have written something along the lines of “digital technology ruined rock music in the early 1990s.”…
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The Persistence of Wesley Willis
It’s been 23 years since Wesley Willis passed away, and I still think about him almost daily. Perhaps the hallmark of a solitary character, my internal dialog never stops. Every time I leave the house and pass the KFC on the corner, I repeat, “Rock over London. Rock on, Chicago. Kentucky Fried Chicken. We do…
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I Don’t Want to Hear It: An Aging Musician’s Take on Modern Music
Part 1 of a three-part series on the influence of AI and digital technology in music and the rise of push-button monoculture in the arts. The only sounds in my apartment right now are the Vornado fan on high, the buzz of the fridge, vague construction noise from five floors above, and my cat meowing…
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20 Van Halen Deep Cuts Only True Fans Know (2026 Update)
The David Lee Roth-era(s) of Van Halen spawned 7 albums and 98 songs, with roughly 25 songs receiving heavy radio airplay. Considering Van Halen’s influence and popularity, it’s hard to say anything they ever did—especially in the DLR era—could be “under-appreciated.” The six classic albums with Roth have sold 50+ million copies (worldwide). It’s safe…
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Hated vs. Overrated in Rock Music: Definitions & Distinctions
If you’ve read anything on BSM, you know that I have more than a few strong opinions about rock music. However, if this is your first time reading my work, the distinction between “hated” and “overrated” might get lost in the narrative. Most reader comments are rebuttals to my lack of appreciation for this, that,…
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Discovery of the Week: Harry Nilsson | All Time Greatest Hits
Discovery of the Week is a weekly series that digs through a box of 40 well-traveled CDs I’ve carried across the ocean for nearly two decades. Each disc has its own history—where I found it, why I kept it, and what it means to me. Some are classics, others are obscure relics, but all survived…
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Discovery of the Week: Pure… Hard Rock | 4-CD Set
Discovery of the Week is a weekly series that digs through a box of 40 well-traveled CDs I’ve carried across the ocean for nearly two decades. Each disc has its own history—where I found it, why I kept it, and what it means to me. Some are classics, others are obscure relics, but all survived…
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Rejected! Songs That Didn’t Make the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Original motion picture soundtracks (OSTs) can be wildly inconsistent in terms of listening value and experience. Sometimes, they include (many of) the songs played in the movie, such as Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Purple Rain (1984). Others, like the Star Wars OSTs by John Williams—one of the most recognizable and influential scores in cinematic…
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150+ Rock Memoirs: The Ultimate List
Have you ever wondered why there’s been a two-decade wave of rock star memoirs and autobiographies on the bookshelves and in our virtual bookstores? We’ve compiled the ultimate list of the best rock memoirs to demonstrate the incredible variety of musicians who’ve added “author” to their resumés. But first, let’s understand why this phenomenon is…
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What’s With the Rock Star Memoir Boom?
Algorithms are funny things. I was searching Amazon for an album when I noticed a bunch of suggested products further down the page. I paused at Confess: The Autobiography by Rob Halford—mainly because it was news to me—but the books keep coming from Slash, Mike Campbell, Prince, Kenny Loggins… Soon, my feed was absolutely flooded…
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Discovery of the Week: Noise Pop 2006 Sampler
Discovery of the Week is my ongoing dive into a battered box of 40 CDs that’s followed me around the world for almost 20 years. Every disc has a story attached—where it came from, why I bothered dragging it across borders, and what it still says about who I was at the time. Some albums…
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Get Their Greatest Hits: 50+ Rock Bands Best Experienced Through Compilation Albums
Some rock bands are built for albums. They reward patience, headphones, liner notes, and the kind of long-distance devotion that only comes from growing up with their music. Other bands? They require a specialized type of curation. This post is about the second group—the artists whose best selves appear when someone else trims the fat.…
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Discovery of the Week: Guided by Voices | Human Amusements at Hourly Rates
Discovery of the Week is a weekly series that digs through a box of 40 well-traveled CDs I’ve carried across the ocean for nearly two decades. Each disc has its own history—where I found it, why I kept it, and what it means to me. Some are classics, others are obscure relics, but all survived…
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Top 50 Rock Drummers of All Time (According to Me)
We’ve covered three of the Big Four positions in rock music—vocals, guitar, and bass—so it’s time to list the top rock drummers of all time (according to me). But before we get to the list, you deserve some backstory, and, of course, I’m increasingly fond of an early bird spoiler. My number one pick is…
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Discovery of the Week: Cheap Trick at Budokan | The Complete Concert
Discovery of the Week is a weekly series that digs through a box of 40 well-traveled CDs I’ve carried across the ocean for nearly two decades. Each disc has its own history—where I found it, why I kept it, and what it means to me. Some are classics, others are obscure relics, but all survived…
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Discovery of the Week: Hüsker Dü at the Ritz, NYC, 10/17/87
Discovery of the Week is a weekly series that digs through a box of 40 well-traveled CDs I’ve carried across the ocean for nearly two decades. Each disc has its own history—where I found it, why I kept it, and what it means to me. Some are classics, others are obscure relics, but all survived…
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Discovery of the Week: The Beta Band | The Three EPs
Discovery of the Week is a weekly series that digs through a box of 40 well-traveled CDs I’ve carried across the ocean for nearly two decades. Each disc has its own history—where I found it, why I kept it, and what it means to me. Some are classics, others are obscure relics, but all survived…
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Discovery of the Week: The Cure | The Top (2006 Remastered Deluxe Edition)
Discovery of the Week is a weekly series that digs through a box of 40 well-traveled CDs I’ve carried across the ocean for nearly two decades. Each disc has its own history—where I found it, why I kept it, and what it means to me. Some are classics, others are obscure relics, but all survived…
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Discovery of the Week: The Introduction
As a long-term expat, I’m keenly aware of stuff, and by stuff, I mean shit you own and take for granted at home. Books, records, lamps, furniture, appliances, etc. For many aspiring and current expatriates, the main source of anxiety about leaving is: What Am I Gonna Do With All My Stuff? It’s one of…
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Artist Spotlight: Grand Funk Railroad
Explore the story of Grand Funk Railroad — from their Michigan roots to sold-out stadiums and everything in between.
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Great Rock Bands from the 2000s (You Might Have Missed)
Not that anybody is keeping track, but I’ve probably said “rock music died in 1991” at least a dozen times in print and hundreds of times in conversation. I believe that once digital audio software (ProTools), samplers, sequencers, and synthesizers, i.e., computers, became a driving force in music, that’s when the soul of rock n’…
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Artist Spotlight: Them Crooked Vultures
Supergroups have the potential to really be special. Them Crooked Vultures prove that with their unique modern take on rock and roll.
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What Does a Rock Music Producer Do?
Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the music we love and cherish was created under the guidance of a music producer. Only a minuscule fraction of listenable music has been created without production values. Even a lack of production can be part of the rock aesthetic. If a piece of music wasn’t “produced,” the decision not to use…