✝ ✝ ✝ (Crosses) on Kimmel!

Watch ✝ ✝ ✝ (Crosses) make their live TV debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! as they perform "The Epilogue" and "Bitch's Brew."

Great Soundtracks: The Boat That Rocked / Pirate Radio

Earlier this month, as news spread about the sudden passing of Philip Seymour Hoffman, many immediately began to mourn the actor by posting some of his most famous scenes and characters on social media. One of his lesser known but still fantastic roles came in the 2009 film, The Boat That Rocked or in America as it was known as, Pirate Radio, where he played an American pirate radio DJ on board with a ship full of Brits. The star studded film which featured Nick Frost, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Chris O'Dowd, Emma Thompson, January Jones, and Kenneth Branagh. While the film was an enjoyable watch, what drove the film just as much as it's colorful characters and true story situations, was the soundtrack.

The film, which is a true story of when the British government banned rock and roll in the '60's, a group of music lovers boarded a ship and broadcasted off British waters and sent rock to the speakers and radios of the public. The double soundtrack featured the music of The Who, Jeff Beck, The Kinks, Duffy, Beach Boys, The Troggs, Dusty Springfield, The Turtles, Otis Reading, Cream, David Bowie, Cat Stevens, and many, many more. It captured the spirit and rebel notions that the film grabbed about these musical heroes on board a pirate ship.

Recommended Reading: My Appetite For Destruction

Since the fall of the real Guns 'N Roses, you know the version with Slash, Duff, and Axl, not fat Axl and the hired Guns 'N Roses, there has not been a band as dangerous, volatile, or violent since then. We may not want it in this day and age, but a small part of us still remembers the fun and thrill of watching these bands go balls to the wall night in and night out. In 2010, original Guns drummer Steven Adler released his autobiography, My Appetite For Destruction, of what it was like being among the craziness of what Guns 'N Roses was like.

We all know the phrase, "Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll," but that is not even a fraction of the full story. Adler goes in vivid detail of the drug use he encountered and became addicted to Slash turning his back on the band to Axl's temper and how this band was destined for glory but couldn't sustain it. My Appetite For Destruction is an E! True Hollywood Story and Behind The Music to the 10th power. A must read for any fan of the band or what not to do when in a band.

Quick News

Radiohead are joining Bjork in the app area by releasing an app called PolyFauna, which fans can download to their mobile devices. The band said in a statement, ""Your screen is the window into an evolving world. Move around to look around. You can follow the red dot. You can wear headphones. You can get some pretty strange looks on the train."

Conor Oberst has announced he will release his new solo album, Upside Down Mountain, on May 20.

Following the success of A Band Called Death, proto-punk band Death will release their third album of archival material called Death III in April.

Iconic rapper Chuck D has been named Record Store Day ambassador for this year. RSD takes place on April 19 this year.

In an interview with BBC's Zane Lowe, Faris Badwin has confirmed that The Horrors are done making their new album. He said, "The record is finished now. We're deciding a running order and the artwork and finally, the hardest thing of all is coming up with the name. It's a nightmare. It's the worst part of being in a band, or at least the most time consuming. I would honestly say it's my favourite record we've done. Because I feel like we finally got close to what we actually wanted from the songs... I'm happy with it, I'm really happy with it."

Responding to an open letter on Pussy Riot's website which denounced recently freed members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, speaking at a press conference in Berlin, Tolokonnikova said, "I don’t know who they are, these people who claim to be from Pussy Riot and write on social networks. We never left Pussy Riot.”

EXCLUSIVE! BIBLICAL INTV!

In the closing weeks of 2013, a band came across our radar that simply left us gobsmacked and gasping for air. The bone crunching sound they were producing was as if we were getting open-heart surgery without any anesthesia, but were being reassured by the surgeons we were going to live and it was going to be fine. That is the sound of Toronto's Biblical. They are totally pulse pounding but there is some sort of hope in the thunderous sound they are creating. After hearing their new single, "Second Sight," we wanted more and had to make them our first Rising Artist of 2014. The band, who are set to release their new album, Monsoon Season next month, are gearing up for the road and gigs ahead. We spoke to singer and bassist Nick Sewell about their journey, the making of Monsoon Season, and what it is like to hail from Toronto in a day and age where Justin Bieber and Mayor Rob Ford are giving a great city a bad name. Take a look at our interview with Sewell below:

Monsoon Season has been in the works for some time, how does it feel to finally be releasing it?

Honestly, we’re thrilled. We can’t wait for everyone to hear it. It’s been a ton of work to get to this point and the fact that the release is right around the corner is a little surreal. And so far the response has been amazing.  Making a record, there are many moments of uncertainty. Is this material up to snuff? Is that performance ‘the one’? Does that mix capture the vibe we’re going for?  To be able to look back on all those decisions and actually be excited about the result is a wonderful feeling. 

Biblical happens to be the most badass name of any new band emerging, who picked it and how did you land on it?

We’ve actually have a good story for that.  Back in early 2010, Ghostbusters seemed to be playing on TV like every other day.  There’s that scene where they’re trying to convince the Mayor to take action and Bill Murray says “this city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.”  I saw it and I thought Biblical Proportions would be a cool name for what we were doing. I brought it up at practice and everyone liked the sentiment.  After about half an hour we decided to drop ‘proportions’ and just go with Biblical. Good call. 

What does the title of the album, ‘Monsoon Season’ signify?

Monsoon Season started out as just a song on the record. It’s a pretty epic number that clocks in at over 11 minutes and has a really oppressive atmosphere. Originally, we were going to call the record something else, but as we got into mixing we started to feel more and more that both the song and the title really captured overall flavor of the record. Sonically, we try to create tension in our music by using dynamics. We like to let things simmer and then come crashing in with a big change. The image of a storm rolling seemed like a good fit. 

Lyrically, I was writing from a strange place. The last five years have been really up and down. There’s been a lot of illness in my immediate family and regrettably a number of deaths. So for me,  Monsoon Season was about getting through a period of sustained turmoil. There were many moments of hopelessness. Now that I’m on the other side of those experiences, I did my best to inject the record with as much of that as I could. 

On your site, you describe your sound as “The sound of mountains splitting and oceans parting.” What does that image mean when you hear that phrase?

We’re really into developing tension with our music. When we get loud, we like to do it suddenly, especially after longer passages of mellow. Giving people a reference point of a mellow dynamic versus a loud one makes those moments have way more impact. That phrase is trying to capture those feelings. 

There are so many styles within this band. You are part prog, part metal, part garage, what do you classify yourself as?

We never refer to ourselves as anything other than a Rock band. There are so many genres and so many amazing ideas they all have to offer.  People call us different things, but the only thing that always fits is Rock. 

Who are some of the influences that make up Biblical?

There’s the obvious starting point of 70s guitar rock as our foundation. But we’re much more interested in music that’s not related to what we’re doing. We’re all big fans of the 60s David Axelrod produced stuff, Brazilian psych/samba like Marcos Valle and Os Mutantes. We love heavy stuff like Funkadelic and even weird keyboard stuff like Bob James. All of it informs our music in some capacity.  Matt and Jay both work at record stores so they’re walking libraries of information.   I say Rock-wise, the one thing we all agree on is the MC5.   But when we’re on the road, we honestly don’t spin a lot of rock records in the van. If we do, it’s going to be obscure like T2 or Truth And Janey.  

The band has been praised for your live show, is there pressure now living up to the hype on an album?

Normally, I’d say yes. But in this case, we’re really satisfied with the record.  It’s got it’s own identity and a consistency that carries through the whole listen.  I think anyone who sees us live will really enjoy it. And conversely, anyone who hears the record first will be really happy to see what we do with the songs live. 

Hailing from Toronto, which these days is mainly known for the music of Drake and the city’s mayor these days, how has the city played a role in your music?  

Toronto is a great city to live in. There’s a pretty big and diverse music scene and a ton of venues to play.  If anything, I’d say the city has allowed for a lot cross pollination between different groups of people and different genres.  Matt, Jay and Andy regularly sit in with a ton of different groups that play everything from soul and funk to folk and experimental. I think the city is just big enough to allow for those genres and scenes to co-exist without being too isolated and impenetrable. 

So many heavy bands have come from Canada in recent years – Fucked Up, Metz, Death from Above, how does Biblical stand out from the pack while continuing the legacy of what already is?

Those bands are great and we’re thankful that there’s credible, heavy music coming out of Toronto. We’ve shared bills with some of those bands so it’s not totally incongruous, but I don’t think anyone would confuse what we’re doing. Really, the similarities begin and end with ‘loud’.  But hopefully that pedigree gives people a reason to check out what we’re doing. 

Where does Biblical go from here?

The focus right now is to play as much as we can.  The record comes out in March and we look forward to setting sail.  There are a lot of places we want to visit!

Live Pix: Arctic Monkeys @ MSG

On Saturday night, Arctic Monkeys headlined Madison Square Garden for the very first time. Take a look at our live review, and live pix from correspondent Le-La Cloutier below:

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Live Review: Arctic Monkeys @ MSG

It was almost ironic that in the midst of a Polar Vortex and bitter cold in New York City that Arctic Monkeys would stage their very first headlining concert at The World's Most Famous Arena. After 12 years as a band, Sheffield, England's Arctic Monkeys have had the fastest selling-debut album in British music history with their 2006 classic, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not, won the Mercury Prize in 2006, have had a variety of No. 1 singles on the British charts, and they headlined Glastonbury last year. They have been praised by critics the world over, yet, it all seems as if their biggest accolades come from their Mother Land. They have surprisingly never headlined any U.S. music festivals, never won a Grammy, just last month they finally topped the Billboard alternative chart for the first time ever with their single, "Do I Wanna Know?," and have played Madison Square Garden before -- only as openers to The Black Keys, two years ago. Now, months after the release of their fifth and fantastic album, AM, things seem to be picking up States side for the Monkeys as they celebrated with their largest North American headlining gig to date at the Garden.

Just after 9:15, as the houselights dimmed and a guitar echoed off stage, Arctic Monkeys confidently walked on stage to thunderous applause and deafening screams as they collected their instruments, took their final sips of water or alcohol, and hit the opening strumming chords of AM's opening track, "Do I Wanna Know?" It was then into "Brianstorm," and "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair," that was a triple whammy to the crowd. Singer Alex Turner who looked like a cross between a young Johnny Cash and Danzig guitarist Doyle with his hair, addressed the crowd, "New York City! How are you? It is nice to be back and be here at Madison Square Garden," before they jumped into "Snap Out of It." With a giant lighting grid behind them that created the letters "A" and "M" to signify the album title they are touring behind and of course, the initials of the band, they were dropping a subtle retrospect of their career in their setlist with the the sprinkling of songs like "Crying Lightning," "Dancing Shoes," "Pretty Visitors," "Florissant Adolescent." In the AM-heavy setlist, they left out a majority of songs from 2011's flawless Suck It and See, and concert favorites like "The Sun Goes Down," "Mardy Bum," and "Teddy Picker," it shows that this band is evolving far beyond the songs that have gained them acclaim in their live concerts. With that being said, they still snuck in fan favorites like "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor," and "Dancing Shoes," to reflect on where they came from and energize the crowd. Headlining Madison Square Garden is a big deal for anyone, whether you are Arctic Monkeys or Garden resident Billy Joel, so many artists make playing this arena extra special. Before closing their main set, Arctic Monkeys brought out fellow Brit Miles Kane to lend his guitar work to the closing number "505." Kane, who has a side-project with Turner called The Last Shadow Puppets have rarely appeared on stage together since their 2008 tour, showcased a special moment to longtime fans of the band. After 75-minutes on stage, they retreated to the wings with fans chanting for an encore.

After a few minutes, the band reemerged and ready to rock again. Turner spoke to the crowd, "It is almost 50 years to the day since Ed Sullivan brought The Beatles to America and had them play on his show." With the help of Kane, they played a very beautiful and reworked rendition of "All My Loving." Jumping into "One For The Road," and then closing with "R U Mine," a song that made it's live debut at MSG in March 2012 when they opened for The Black Keys, was a near poetic and perfect way to end the night. After all of these years rising in the United States, Arctic Monkeys have made it and a sold-out Madison Square Garden was proof of their deserving achievement.

Arctic Monkeys 2/8/14 Madison Square Garden Setlist:

Do I Wanna Know?

Brianstorm

Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair

Snap Out of It

Crying Lightning

Old Yellow Bricks

Fireside

Knee Socks

Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?

Arabella

Dancing Shoes

Pretty Visitors

I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor

Cornerstone

I Wanna Be Yours

Fluorescent Adolescent

505

Encore:

All My Loving (Beatles cover) 

One for the Road

R U Mine?

The National's FULL Sydney Opera House Concert

 This past week, The National played their first headlining set at Sydney, Australia's famed Opera House. The concert has now been made available to stream online. Take a look at this historic gig for this incredible band!

Lauryn Hill Covers The Beatles on Letterman

 It was a star-studded week on The Late Show with David Letterman as he celebrated "Beatles Week" leading up to CBS' big Sunday night special to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Fab Four performing on The Ed Sullivan Show. To cap it off, Letterman got Lauryn Hill to sing "Something," take a look!

VINTAGE CLIP: Morrissey on The Tonight Show

Tonight marks good riddance to Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show as Jimmy Fallon will now step up into the hot seat and take over. However, before Leno was host, their was the infamous and iconic Johnny Carson. As we celebrate the transition of Tonight Show hosts, take a look at this vintage clip of Morrissey in his first U.S. TV appearance as a solo artist on The Tonight Show in 1991 performing "Sing Your Life" and "There Is A Place in Hell."