Guy With Guitar Averts Probable Riot At Newark Airport

This video has probably spread pretty well by this point, but I’m posting it now because…well…because I can, dammit. During the lockdown at Newark Airport earlier this week, a guy by the name of Josh Wilson decided to try his best to make the most of a crappy situation, and got folks together for a [...]

On Fame, “Real” Fans, and Kings of Leon

In my daily search of music sites to see what may have happened with bands I care about and love (or bands I hate that I have schadenfreudic feelings toward), I came across this story, about Kings of Leon being tired of their runaway, Grammy nominated hit “Use Somebody”. It’s not surprising that they feel [...]

The VLM Awards, 2009 Edition, Part II

Here be the much delayed Part II of my VLM Awards. Part I is over here. Album Everyone Else Loved that I Couldn’t Get Into: A couple albums probably fit this category, but the one that sticks out most in my mind is Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear. At first I had misgivings which probably clouded [...]

Awesome Music You Missed in 2009 (But Can Still Obsess About in 2010)

In the final weeks of 2009, a bunch of stuff came into my inbox that’s only making it to you, my loyal readers, right now. In the interest of giving these folks their due, they are all getting named the Awesome Things You Should Have Heard in 2009 (But Probably Didn’t). First up we’ve got [...]

Looking Ahead to 2010

Now that the year-long Album A Day series is in the books, I’ve done a lot of thinking about where ¡Viva La Mainstream! is going to go over the next year and perhaps beyond. The Album A Day was fun, but also incredibly tiring, and at the end of it all, I didn’t get to [...]

Chris Cornell Cements Soundgarden Reunion, Denies Fans Scream, Part II

2010 wasted no time in delivering its first big music-related story. At the stroke of midnight last night, Chris Cornell confirmed the much speculated Soundgarden reunion with the following post to his Twitter: The 12 year break is over & school is back in session. Sign up now. Knights of the Soundtable ride again! www.soundgardenworld.com [...]