Music Features

So, You Want to Get into Radiohead?

The alt-rock legends' fifth album Amnesiac turns 20 years old today.

By: Chris Lever/Shutterstock

When it comes to a band as versed as Radiohead — whose fifth album Amnesiac turns 20 years old today — it's nearly impossible to imagine the sheer quantity of all their recorded material.

Much to the appeal of diehards, the British alt-rock legends have made their intimidatingly expansive history a little easier to parse. In January 2020, they launched the Radiohead Public Library, an infinite-scroll database filled with virtually every TV performance, newly-reissued merchandise, iconic live shows, B-sides, music videos, and plenty more. It's all neatly sorted by studio album, making it easy for fans to fully dive into their favorite era. But, for those not in the loop, the Radiohead Public Library might make getting into the band even more daunting.

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MUSIC

13 of the Most Controversial Music Videos Ever

From Kanye West to Madonna, these gory and graphic clips got people talking — for better or for worse.

Photo by Gordon Cowie on Unsplash

Music videos are a perfect opportunity to expand the story of a song.

The best music videos can showcase killer choreography, Halloween-ready attire, or movie levels of cinematic gold; others can spark controversies, no matter how well-intended. Whether centered around copious bloodshed or near-pornographic nudity (sorry, Mom and Dad), there's one thing all controversial music videos have in common: They get people talking.

Here are 13 music videos released over the past 30-plus years that have sparked disputes. Watch at your own risk.

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Music Features

On This Day: Fleetwood Mac’s "Rumours" Was Destined to Be Terrible

The legendary masterpiece was born out of so much drama that it should have been a mess.

Fleetwood

Photo by Larry Marano on Shutterstock

On this day in 1977, Fleetwood Mac's magnum opus Rumours soared to the #1 spot in the US.

The album was a masterpiece, a "diamond of opulent late 70s rock" as Rolling Stone put it. But the album was very much born out of personal turmoil, with the mythos surrounding its creation still discussed to this day. Ripe with heartache, drug abuse, infidelity and so much drama, it should have been a terrible album.

After a passionate relationship, Stevie Nicks tumultuously split with her musical partner, Lindsey Buckingham. Meanwhile, Christine divorced the band's bassist, husband John McVie, all while Mick Fleetwood's convoluted marriage was additionally on the rocks. The latter would go on to have a wild affair with Nicks. When the group entered the studio to begin the recording session behind Rumours, tensions were high, and the personal chemistry behind the band was all but shot. Rumours was destined to be a mess, but somehow the group's tragedy translated into their most raw and powerful music of their careers. "All who listened to Rumours [became] a voyeur to the painful, glamorous mess," wrote Rolling Stone.

Fleetwood Mac ~ The Chain ~ Live 1982www.youtube.com

The legendary work spawned some of the best rock songs to ever exist. "The Chain," an emotional rock ballad about lost love, is one of the greatest bops of all time, and due to its spliced nature (it was composed of various unfinished demos), to this day it is the only song technically written by every member of the band. "Dreams" was composed by Nicks in Sly Stones bed, Mick Fleetwood credited his "own ineptness" and dyslexia for the famous drum pattern on "Go Your Own Way," and Buckingham had to have her guitar restrung every 20 minutes during the recording of "Never Going Back Again." It was all a hot mess, but what emerged was one of the finest creations in music history, like a phoenix from the ashes. "We refused to let our feelings derail our commitment to the music, no matter how complicated or intertwined they became," Fleetwood wrote in his memoir. "It was hard to do, but no matter what, we played through the hurt."

Revisit this classic masterpiece below:

Rumours (Deluxe Edition)

MUSIC

The Best Performances of Eddie Vedder

One of the original purveyors of grunge continues to rock on. Happy 55th birthday!

Eddie Vedder of the Pearl Jam

Photo by Matteo Chinellato (Shutterstock)

Pearl Jam's beloved baritone turns 55 today.

The multi-instrumentalist has enriched American rock music since Pearl Jam's debut in 1990. Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Jeff Ament (bass), and original drummer Dave Krusen helped bring forth the era of grunge and speaking out against the soulless corporatization of the music industry (we still love that the band sued Ticketmaster for creating a monopoly over concert ticket sales). When it came to finding their name, Vedder once claimed that "Pearl Jam" was an homage to his great-grandmother Pearl. "Great-grandpa was an Indian and totally into hallucinogenics and peyote," he said. "Great-grandma Pearl used to make this hallucinogenic preserve that there's total stories about. We don't have the recipe, though." In true rock and roll fashion, he later clarified the story was "total bullsh*t" (though to be fair, he did indeed have a great-grandmother named Pearl).

As a band (and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees), Pearl Jam has more classics than we have time to list, but Eddie Vedder shines brightest on these gems:

Black

Back in the days of MTV spotlighting musicians rather than lonely strangers playing online games of catfishing and ghosting, there was MTV Unplugged. Your favorite musicians gave raw, stripped down performances of their biggest hits, revealing new layers of their talent as well as new emotional vulnerabilities of their work.

Breakerfall

The lead song on Binaural is beloved by true Pearl Jam fans, despite it never being released as a single. The pulse-quickening pace is matched with Vedder's vibrating energy and his signature rasp.


Baba O'Riley (The Who cover)

Pearl Jam's 2003 cover of The Who's classic proved that they match the talents of rock's greatest bands. Even dressed in full dad-fresh-off-the-golf-course gear, Vedder gets all of Madison Square Garden on their feet with rock and roll energy.

Baba O'Riley (The Who Cover) - Live at Madison Square Garden - Pearl Jamyoutu.be

Jeremy

As one of Pearl Jam's most well known songs, "Jeremy" can seem overplayed to some. But their 1992 performance at the Pinkpop Festival in Landgraaf, Netherlands saw Vedder at his sharpest, crooning in perfect sync with McCready and "unleashing the lion" in true Grunge spirit.

Oceans

No words. Experience this. You're welcome.