Guides
When the stadium lights went outYuyu Myinthan’s career took an unusual turn: he walked away from the machinery behind major rock stages and took a job among record sleeves, turntables and…How a Band Turned Scrap Metal into Percussion PowerSome rock bands start with a shopping list: drum shells, cymbals, hardware and a soundproofed rehearsal room. A Melbourne group did the opposite, filling a…Playlist: Songs for a Late-Night Jam Session Around a CampfireA great campfire playlist should feel loose, warm and slightly unpredictable. It needs enough rhythm to keep a circle of friends awake, but plenty of space for…Why the wah-wah pedal is overused in modern rock—and when it worksThe wah-wah pedal gives a guitar a voice of its own. A touch of the toe sends a resonant filter sweeping through the bass and midrange. It can turn a plain…The best rock songs named after real towns and citiesSome rock songs treat geography as more than scenery. A town name can carry an entire adolescence, a migration story or the sound of a room where a band found…When the tour van became home, gearbox and unwanted houseguestA tour van can look like mobile storage until you spend a week inside one. Its rear doors hide a drum kit; its benches hide a bed, a wardrobe and a recording…The most unforgettable rock concert openers that stole the showAn opener has less time, fewer resources and far less certainty than the act it precedes. The great ones treat that pressure like fuel, turning a support slot…Review: An album recorded in a converted fire stationConverted spaces leave fingerprints on music. A room built for hoses, iron shutters and shouted instructions rarely disappears beneath studio polish, and The…How a Waitress Song Became an Eighties Cult ClassicFew pop songs turn a single line of backstory into an entire emotional battlefield. “Don’t You Want Me” opens with a waitress remembering her rise from a…Rock, roads and the idea of freedomMotorcycles have long been rock’s favourite machine: chrome, speed, dirt and the promise of departure. The history of rock’s relationship with the motorcycle…