Pulse Music

It was 42 years ago Sunday (September 25th, 1980) that Led Zeppelin's John Bonham died of pulmonary edema, which is fluid accumulation in the lungs. The legendary drummer was just 32-years-old, and found dead by Zeppelin sound technician Benji LeFevre and bassist John Paul Jones. The clinical cause of death was asphyxiation from vomit and an autopsy found no other drugs in his body. Bonham was cremated on October 10th, 1980, and his ashes were buried at Rushock Parish Church in Droitwich, Worcestershire.

Led Zeppelin was set to begin its next North American tour on October 17th, 1980 in Montreal. On December 4th, the band issued a formal statement announcing their split, which read: "We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend, and the deep sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were."

Back in 2018 when pressed about Led Zeppelin's then-upcoming 50th anniversary, a somewhat somber Robert Plant explained to Mojo that Bonham's death still cast a long shadow, saying, "It's 50 years, but it's not 50 years -- it's 38 years of darkness for a family. So all that hullabaloo is great, and I'm sure there'll be some great things to come out of it. . . I really can't wait to hear (the archival releases) -- I might even get a free copy."

Bonham, who is regarded by most as the greatest rock drummer to ever sit behind a kit, got his start playing with Robert Plant in the Band Of Joy, and when invited by Plant to join Zeppelin, then called the New Yardbirds, he was reluctant to do so because he had just landed a steady gig playing with folk singer Tim Rose.

Robert Plant has always reminded fans and followers clamoring for a Led Zeppelin reunion that the loss of John Bonham goes far deeper than a band needing a new drummer in order to play: "Well, Bonzo and I, we'd been through so many things before the 'big time.' We kinda read each other like books -- we were like brothers. But in reality, and physicality, and spiritually, losing John, obviously we. . . everybody got together and said, 'This can never work again.' Our real concern then was to kind of protect (his wife) Pat and the whole family from this kind of surge of media stuff. And it's so debilitating really, and I experienced that a couple of years before that, myself. And to lose John was criminal."

John Paul Jones told us that when he and John Bonham first connected as a rhythm section, he knew immediately that history would be made between them: "When I first played with Bonzo, I immediately knew. 'Cause there's a lot of guitarists, and there's a lot of singers. There are less bass players, and there aren't that many drummers -- who are really good. And when a rhythm section recognizes each other, when you find each other, you go, 'Wow! Right! OK!' And Bonzo and I immediately recognized each other as we knew what we were doing, and we clicked."

Jimmy Page admitted to us that he knew from the beginning that the magic surrounding Led Zeppelin wouldn't last forever: "I said, basically around the time of the first album, it's all a race against time, and I think it is. It still is. It still is a race against time and trying to do good work and improve on what you've done. It's more difficult as you get older because you know your days are numbered, really. Within Zeppelin we had this amazing vehicle that we could continue and continue and just come up with amazing things -- which fortunately we did continue, and we did come up with amazing stuff. But I still thought it was a race against time. I had no idea how prophetic it would be with the loss of John Bonham."

E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg is no stranger to playing with power -- or nowadays, with his big band ensembles, with swing. He feels that John Bonham was capable of many different styles -- not least of which was swing: "Anyone would, I think, be hard pressed to disagree with me to say that John Bonham didn't swing -- incredible! You don't need to be a jazz or a swing drummer to swing. It's really about the lightness with which you play."

Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith told us that he became an instant Bonham acolyte the first time he heard him: "Bonham is the greatest rock drummer. He just is, hands down. Like as when people say Buddy Rich is the greatest drummer, technically, y'know, the greatest drummer ever? John Bonham, hands down, greatest rock drummer ever. Sound, he played those songs, everything he did was just, y'know, just felt good and it's just incredible. So for me, Led Zeppelin is my favorite band."

Jason Bonham has honored his father throughout his career -- not only subbing for him at such high profile Zeppelin reunions as the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert in 1988 and 2007's concert at London's O2 Arena -- but also with his own band, Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Evening. He says his greatest regret is that he never got to play live with his dad: "We never got to that stage. I mean, I have a teenager now, and time and again, she drives me mad. Y'know, I never got to that point. My dad left me when I was. . . Y'know, my God, he was God to me. Every word he said was the gospel."

Jason Bonham told us that playing drums is what keeps him tied to his father who died when he was only 14: "I have a helluva lot to live up to. A lot of people say, 'What's it like, y'know, you're the son of John Bonham!' And I say, 'Y'know, what? It's kinda cool, 'cause he was such an icon in such an iconic band.' It just gives me enough get up and go to say, 'Y'know what, I just wanna make him happy and prove to him and show him that, Dad, you've handed me down a business.' Y'know, like some fathers they hand them down their work -- even though he wasn't there to hand it down to me himself, to me, I feel -- if anything -- he left me at such an early age, but he gave me a career."

Set for release on November 25th is Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' four-CD / six LP-set, Live At The Fillmore (1997). The collection, which was produced by Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and longtime producer/engineer Ryan Ulyate, was culled from the band's legendary 1997 20-night stand at the San Francisco venue.

The shows from January and February 1997 have become legendary, with each night featuring a different setlist allowing Petty and the band to delve into their back catalogue and flex their muscles on old favorites and cover versions. The final night of the run -- February 7th, 1997 -- was broadcast live and proved to be the longest show of the stand, clocking in at a whopping three hours with the Heartbreakers tackling 40 songs.

According to the announcement:

Six of the shows were professionally recorded and this release features many of the high points of the residency. The small venue allowed the band to vary their sets each night; they included re-arranged and distinctive versions of their hits, deep cuts, and many cover versions - paying tribute to the artists that Tom and the band had been influenced by.

In addition to including many of Tom Petty's classic tunes, the collection includes guests appearances from the Byrds' Roger McGuinn and John Lee Hooker, and features the Heartbreakers performing covers by such formative favorites as the Rolling Stones, Little Richard, Manfred Mann, the Kinks, Bob Dylan, Bill Withers, Chuck Berry, the Kingsmen, Booker T. & The MG's, among others.

Tom Petty never took for granted the fact that he had a fan base that was willing to part with their money for his albums and shows -- and pretty much follow him and the Heartbreakers with whatever twists and turns they made: "It's my audience that's made me survive, honestly. Actually, it's the people (laughs) that we play to and that buy the records that have made us, a sort of, contradiction. Because, God knows, I mean, we've done the least -- I mean, the bare minimum of promotion in our life (laughs)."

The tracklisting to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' Live At The Fillmore (1997):

Disc 1: Pre-show (spoken interlude), Around and Around, Jammin' Me, Runnin' Down A Dream, Good Evening (spoken interlude), Lucille, Call Me The Breeze, Cabin Down Below, The Internet, Whatever That Is (spoken interlude), Time Is On My Side, Listen To Her Heart, Waitin' In School, Let's Hear It For Mike (spoken interlude), Slaughter On Tenth Avenue, Homecoming Queen Intro (spoken interlude), The Date I Had With That Ugly Old Homecoming Queen I Won't Back Down, You Are My Sunshine, Ain't No Sunshine, and It's Good To Be King.

Disc 2: Rip It Up,You Don't Know How It Feels, I'd Like To Love You Baby, Diddy Wah Diddy, We Got A Long Way To Go (spoken interlude), Guitar Boogie Shuffle, I Want You Back Again, On The Street Intro (spoken interlude), On The Street, California, Let's Hear It For Scott and Howie (spoken interlude), Little Maggie, Walls, Hip Hugger, Friend Of The Devil, Did Someone Say Heartbreakers Beach Party? (spoken interlude), Heartbreakers Beach Party, Angel Dream, The Wild One, Forever, Even The Losers, American Girl, You Really Got Me, and Goldfinger.

Disc 3: Mr. Roger McGuinn (spoken interlude), It Won't Be Wrong, You Ain't Going Nowhere, Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man, Eight Miles High, Crazy Mama, Everyone Loves Benmont (spoken interlude), Green Onions, High Heel Sneakers, John Lee Hooker, Ladies and Gentlemen (spoken interlude), Find My Baby (Locked Up In Love Again), Serves You Right To Suffer, Boogie Chillen, and I Got A Woman.

Disc 4: Sorry, I've Just Broken My Amplifier (spoken interlude), Knockin' On Heaven's Door, Honey Bee, County Farm, You Wreck Me, Shakin' All Over, Free Fallin', Mary Jane's Last Dance, Bye Bye Johnny, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, It's All Over Now, Louie Louie, Gloria, Alright For Now Goodnight (spoken interlude).

BTS may not be able to avoid entering South Korea's mandatory military service. According to the Korea Times, a lawmaker revised a bill this week that would have made an exemption for pop stars to swap their military obligations for an alternate service.

There is already a provision that paves the way for noted athletes, actors, directors and classical musicians who've made a significant international impact to complete their service in other ways.

The discussion has been ongoing for a while now and BTS members have said they are willing to serve.

The eldest member, Jin, 29, will be the first in the group to face the mandatory enlistment, if it stays in place. He turns 30 in December.

TL;DR:

• BTS may not be able to avoid entering South Korea's mandatory military service.
• a bill has been revised that would have made an exemption for pop stars to swap their military obligations for an alternate service.
• The eldest member, Jin, 29, will be the first in the group to face the mandatory enlistment. He turns 30 in December.

Lil Nas X has been immortalized with very realistic, life-size sculpture of himself at Madam Tussauds wax museum.

The wax figure is wearing a replica of the gold Versace suit armor he wore at last year’s Met Gala, along with the jewelry and manicure he sported at the event.

When he first saw it, he kissed it on the lips. He posted the image on Instagram and wrote:  “Never thought i would get the pleasure of meeting myself. The sexual tension was too much to bare.”

It can be seen at the Hollywood location of Madam Tussauds.

Look for Little Nas X to release a new song on Friday (9-23) called “Star Walkin.'” The music will serve as the anthem for the 2022 League of Legends World Championship.

TL;DR:

• Lil Nas X has been immortalized with very realistic, life-size sculpture of himself at Madam Tussauds wax museum in Hollywood.
• When he first saw it, he kissed it on the lips.

Blink-182's Mark Hoppus released more positive news about his health. On Wednesday (9-21) he shared on Instagram that his most recent scan came back "clean" and he continues to be cancer-free.

He posted, "Thankful for every day I get to be here. Love you all."

Hoppus was diagnosed with lymphoma in April of last year and has been open with fans about his cancer journey, including his struggles with depression and thoughts of suicide.

He went through chemotherapy last year and 5 months following his initial diagnosis, he was declared cancer-free.

TL;DR:

• Blink-182's Mark Hoppus continues to be cancer-free.
• After a recent scan, he posted, "Thankful for every day I get to be here. Love you all."
• Hoppus was diagnosed with lymphoma in April of last year.

Journey's sole-remaining founding member and leader Neal Schon has lashed back at former-frontman Steve Perry's lawsuit. Perry is suing Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain over a trademark deal he allegedly wasn't aware of.

In 2020, Journey co-founder Ross Valory and longtime drummer Steve Smith were fired for an alleged attempted "coup d'état" of the band's corporate entity, Nightmare Productions, in hopes of securing control of the Journey name.

Back in 1985 -- after Valory and Smith were fired from the band for the first time -- Schon, Cain, and then-frontman Steve Perry entered into an exclusive partnership with each other, controlling all elements of the Journey brand and trademark, which was updated following Perry's departure. That 1998 written agreement between Schon, Cain, and Perry provided Schon and Cain "the sole, exclusive, irrevocable right to control the Journey (trademark), including the Journey name. They are, therefore, authorized to perform together as Journey, with or without anyone else."

Neal Schon's response to Steve Perry's lawsuit:

What a bunch of total crap.
Here's how it goes friends.

Jon Cain calls a board of directors meeting out of nowhere then before I found out about the meeting Jonathan came to me and said he didn't like what they (Ross, Smith, Perry and (former-manager) Herbie (Herbert)) were planning.

On that meeting Steve (Perry), Ross, Smith and Herbie voted myself and Cain off the board of directors and Steve and all voted Ross in my place and Smith in Jons (sic).

They all knew at this time I'd been investigating our Trade marks for years trying to get to the bottom of all corruption as we found (my wife and I) that nothing had ever been Trade Marked besides our music.

They all went for a take over and it didn't work. Quite simple.

So my Wife Micheale Schon found a legitimate Trade Mark attorney that wasn't in the corrupt musical circles and we were then Successful in attaining it to Protect everything we built. We had been getting ripped off since the beginning until I shut it down.

So the question is Why did Nobody else's (attorneys Steve's - who was actually ours at one time also and individual band attorneys and accountants) and other so called trade mark attorneys help us do this?

It was a giant corrupted ring of people that either Managnent (sic) or accountants hired to work for us cashing in on all our merchandise till now.

At this point I decided to go for All album titles as well as song titles. The more we got educated on how Song Writing and Copy rights have NOTHING to do with Trade Marks.

You haven't heard the last of this friends. We are going to peel back the onion.

Neal Schon - Journey Lead Guitarist - Founder - Manager

Back in 2017, it didn't look like Journey would survive the growing public rift between Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain -- with fans bracing themselves for the end of the band at any minute due to their differing political ideologies. Jonathan Cain told us that ultimately, the two partners buried the hatchet and re-devoted themselves to the band's cause: "It was hard. It was hard to watch. But, again, I think time heals all things and, y'know, you move on. And I love this band too much and I think in the end, we all have to just tolerate and get along, y'know? And I'm, I'm prepared to do that."

Smashing Pumpkins singer / songwriter Billy Corgan admitted his guitar riff based-songs are usually inspired by his early metal guitar heroes. Corgan thrilled fans with the news of the latest Pumpkins project -- Atum (pronounced "autumn"), which will drop in April 2023.

The "three-act rock opera" is part of the trilogy that follows 1995's Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness and 2000's Machina/Machines Of God. The new 33-track collection will be "revealed chronologically each week on Corgan's podcast, Thirty-Three with William Patrick Corgan."

Morgan shed light on his guitar influences to Kerrang!, explaining, "Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath, he's my hero, and Tony wrote those riffs that, when you hear him, it's like a movie. In my mind, I always call it 'Cosmic Sabbath.' When I would listen to Sabbath, I felt like I was peering into the universe. That's the way it made me feel, even as a little kid. So for me a great riff has to kind of make you feel something bigger."

Corgan went on to say: "There's the thin line between cartoonish and owning the space. Bands like (Judas) Priest and Sabbath, and even Accept. . . (they all have) something about f***ing owning the metal. It's like, you've gotta believe it."

Billy Corgan told us a while back that he puts a painstaking amount of effort into every song he records: "I'm more detail-oriented probably than anybody I've worked with. People commonly call it perfectionism, but I feel a little bit like a painter, because as the person who sort of generates the original idea and writes the song, I have to sort of put it all together. So, it's like, if some element is not supporting another element that I'm intrinsically involved in, then there's some part of me getting disappointed."

John Fogerty admits that the footage of Creedence Clearwater Revival rocking London back in 1970 is a sight to behold.

Out now on streaming services is Travelin' Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival At Royal Albert Hall. The film and live concert soundtrack features the band's legendary concert along with new and archival documentary footage. The eagerly-awaited live set will be released physically on November 14th and comes with a bonus CD of previously released hits.

Fogerty, who while he was in Creedence, was too busy writing, producing, and performing to notice much else, told us that this footage shows why his old band connected with so many people: "I think at that time, for a period of about one year -- and perhaps the Albert Hall concert is, kinda, right in the middle of that one year -- as a band, Creedence could really strut its stuff, y'know? By then I'd written quite a few songs that were radio songs, so we had pretty unbeatable repertoire. There was certainly a certain amount of swagger to the whole presentation. That was a great feeling right during that time, having, kind of, having emerged from the shadows and standing directly center stage in the limelight there."

Cardi B received a vinyl copy of Beyonce's Renaissance album. It was signed with a personalized note. She posted the news on her socials to show it off and joked with fans about it. In a video, she said she was going to protect it by putting it behind glass and surround it with laser beams and anyone who touched it would be electrocuted.

Although it's been almost 10 years since Rihanna released her single for "Diamonds," lots of people are still watching the video. It has officially surpassed 2 billion views on YouTube. The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2012 and became her 12^th charting song.

It was 57 years ago today (September 22nd, 1965) that the Supremes recorded their Number One hit, "I Hear A Symphony." The song was written by Holland-Dozier-Holland -- the team responsible for the group's previous Number Ones, including "Back In My Arms Again," "Baby Love," and "Come See About Me."

Prior to releasing "I Hear A Symphony," the Supremes' string of five straight Number Ones was broken when their single "Nothing But Heartaches" stalled at a disappointing Number 11. Late-co-writer Lamont Dozier recalled that the failure of that single to dent the Top Ten forced Motown founder Berry Gordy to look outside the songwriting team to find the Supremes next hit. That spurred the team into producing a future classic.

Dozier remembered, "It was humiliating. . . it taught us humility (and) we started frantically looking for new ideas. . . Brian (Holland) was playing this melody. . . it was sounding sort of classical to me. . . Eddie (Holland) took it and ran with the lyrics." "I Hear A Symphony" hit Number One on November 20th, 1965, knocking the Rolling Stones' "Get Off My Cloud" out from the top spot and going on to hold the position for two weeks.

Although Holland-Dozier-Holland were never too self-congratulatory with their many Motown successes, years after its release Brian Holland admitted to us that the lyrics to "I Heard A Symphony" actually reduced him to tears: "Only one song ever really got me. I talked to my brother about it years ago, it was 'I Hear A Symphony.' Somehow, I was coming out of a health club, and it was on the radio. And then I just start taking in the lyrics, (I) pulled over and my eyes started tearing up, y'know what I mean. There were some hell of a lyrics on that, man. 'Cause it kept going on and building. What he did, he built upon top of emotion on top of emotion -- which really got me. 'I hear a symphony. . . as you talk to me. . . (laughs) as you touch me. . . as you. . .' Y'know what I mean? You just build upon emotion and it really got to me."

Eddie Holland was mainly responsible for writing the lyrics to the team's classic songs, and explained the legendary Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting progress: "The basic thing is that, sometimes the track, they'd cut it, they'd give me a demo with the melody line. Sometimes it would have an idea, sometimes it wouldn't. But whatever the situation was, I would have to come up with an idea, write the song, teach the artist the song, take the artist in the studio to dub them in. "

The Supremes' late-co-founder Mary Wilson told us that although she still enjoyed performing many of the Supremes hits in concert, "I Hear A Symphony" is one she admits is too tough to sing: "I sing all of our songs, but some of them I can't sing. Some of them were so much Diane (Diana Ross) songs -- y'know, so much her -- that it's hard, 'cause I can't sing 'I Hear A Symphony.' I mean, I try, but I just can't sing it, and I just think that they were just such a match with Diane and Holland-Dozier-Holland."

Not long before his death last month at 81, Lamont Dozier told us he's especially proud of the fact that Holland-Dozier-Holland was able to take people minds off the atrocities of the 1960's: "The '60s were a very terrible time. I think we brought some balance; I like to think we brought some balance to the emotions that people were feelin'. We constantly wrote about love, and being happy, dance music, things like 'Mickey's Monkey' -- that had nothin' to do with the times, but sort of an escape for the people with all of these changes that were taking place. We tried to keep people focused on 'Hey there's a better life, there's good things in life to look forward to' and I like to think we were optimistic in our music."

In addition to "I Hear A Symphony," Holland-Dozier-Holland are responsible for writing and producing such Motown classics as Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is," the Four Tops' "Standing In The Shadows Of Love," "Bernadette," "It's The Same Old Song," "I Can't Help Myself," and "Reach Out (I'll Be There)"; Martha & the Vandellas' "Nowhere To Run," "Heatwave" and "Jimmy Mack"; and the Supremes' Number One hits "Where Did Our Love Go," "Baby Love," "Stop! In The Name Of Love," "Come See About Me," "Back In My Arms Again," "You Can't Hurry Love," "You Keep Me Hangin' On," "Love Is Here And Now You're Gone," and "The Happening."

Adam Levine may have "crossed the line" with more women than just Sumner Stroh.

TMZ reports that more women have come forward accusing the Maroon 5 front man of sending flirty messages.

A comedian named Maryka posted screengrabs Tuesday (September 20th), in which the singer allegedly tells her, "Distract yourself by f***ing with me!" Another woman, Alyson Rosef, shared a series of DMs sent from Levine in which he refers to her as a "hot chick," and wrote, "I shouldn't be talking to you you know (right)?"

In a statement posted to his Instagram Stories Tuesday, Levine denied having an affair with Stroh, writing, "I used poor judgment in speaking with anyone other than my wife in ANY kind of flirtatious manner. I did not have an affair, nevertheless, I crossed the line during a regrettable period of my life."

Levine is currently married to Victoria's Secret model Behati Prinsloo, who is pregnant with their third child. On Monday (September 19th), Stroh revealed that Levine wanted to name the baby Sumner, after her.

Former-Journey frontman Steve Perry has filed a lawsuit against former bandmates and current Journey members, Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain. The Music Universe reported Perry is suing the pair, "over the use of 20 of the band's songs as registered trademarks. Between February and May 2022, Schon and Cain were granted trademarks for some of the band's biggest hits for use on merchandising, such as hats, jackets, shirts, etc., without Perry's consent."

According to the report, even if a song was entirely written by only one member of the partners, it "would require unanimous approval and consent by the Partners prior to use, as a trademark or otherwise, on or in connection with any products."

Perry's filing states in part, that per his legal agreement with the two, ". . . no Partner may authorize, approve or disapprove any use or exploitation, or grant or license any rights in or to any Group Composition(s), in whole or in part, (including, without limitation, the titles thereof) in connection with any Product or otherwise, without the prior, written, unanimous consent of all of the Partners in each instance, and any purported authorization, approval, disapproval, grant, or license in violation hereof shall be deemed void from inception."

Perry is seeking a cancellation of their trademark registrations, accusing Schon and Cain with "fraud (due to) false or misleading information with the intent to deceive or defraud the USPTO into granting Registrant the Registrations."

Steve Perry's petition was filed this past September 11th in Woodland Hills, California and specifically cited the following songs: "Any Way You Want It," "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'," "Wheel In The Sky," "Stone In Love," "Separate Ways," "Open Arms," "I'll Be Alright Without You," "When You Love A Woman," "Who's Crying Now, "Raised On Radio," "Good Morning Girl," "Only The Young," "Trial By Fire," "Stay Awhile," "Still They Ride," "Hopelessly In Love," "Send Her My Love," "After the Fall," "Girl Can't Help It," and "Ask the Lonely."

This year marks the 45th anniversary of Steve Perry joining Journey. Perry recalled joining the band in 1977 during the recording of the following year's Infinity album and partnering with Neal Schon: "I certainly was the new kid on the block when I joined them, but I was okay with that -- bring it on! And wasn't afraid of reachin' and I think we pushed each other. The more I would reach, the more I was demanding on him to do something and the more he would come up with things, the more I'd be demanding him to come up with something that would work with him. It was a very important driving force."

We asked Steve Perry if over the years when he's heard one of his Journey classics on the radio, he keeps it on or switches it off: "(Laughs) On a good day, I'd listen -- on a bad day, I'd turn it off. Sometimes it was too reminiscent and I wasn't ready for it. But sometimes I would listen to it with fresh ears and I would go, 'Wow. That's pretty cool. That's actually (laughs) pretty cool."

Taylor Swift has revealed the first song title from her forthcoming album, Midnights.

Early Wednesday (September 21st) morning, the singer announced that she'll be using an old-fashioned bingo cage to "allow fate to decide" which song titles will be shared in a segment called, "Midnights Mayhem with Me."

Track 13, entitled "Mastermind" was the first to be announced.

Apple TV+ has released the official trailer for Selena Gomez's documentary, My Mind and Me.

The 30-second teaser shows the Only Murders In The Building star crying in bed, hugging friends and traveling the world.

According to AppleTV+, the documentary, will follow Gomez's life over the course of six years, "covering her highs lows and everything in between."

My Mind and Me will begin streaming on November 4th.

Gene Simmons admits he simply doesn't have friends. During a long chat with Goldmine, he touched upon his "lone wolf" persona, explaining,"I kept reading about what friends do. They hang out with each other. They call each other, 'Hey, I need a favor.' I never had any of that."

He went on to admit, "Even today, as I sit here, other than Paul (Stanley), and we only get together when we do stuff with the band. How do I say this without sounding inhuman? I don't have friends. Yeah, if friends means, 'Gee, I don't know what I'm going to do this afternoon. Hey, you want to come over and hang out?' I don't hang out. I've never hung out. I'm more interested in what I want to do, and I don't want to pretend that I'm interested in what you want to do because I'm not."

As Kiss winds down its career, Gene Simmons stands by his and Paul Stanley's decision to pack it in they way they are: "Considering we started in '73 and we're in the year 2022 now and probably by 2024 we'll be done. That's enough. 50 years is enough for anybody. And also out of respect and love for the fans, you want to get off the stage while the getting is good; It's 'quit while you're on top.' Of course, everything comes to an end at some point, and you're lucky and blessed if that last lap around the track is your victory lap."

Simmons went on to say, "You celebrate the past. But of course, that thing is going to be over at some point in your life. You've got to leave home. You've got to leave mom and dad and go off on your own and start that next chapter. And by the way, at some point, life itself is going to be over."

A while back we caught up with Paul Stanley and asked him how he feels about Gene Simmons' highly opinionated beliefs and high profile persona apart from the band. Stanley explained that Simmons is free to do whatever he likes -- as long as it doesn't negatively impact Kiss: "I think Gene has earned the right to do whatever he wants to. Gene certainly in all venues has the freedom and the right to do whatever he chooses, as long as it doesn't directly impact on anything that he's only part of. He's come away unscathed 'til now."

Kiss kicks off its latest string of North American dates tonight (September 21st) at West Palm Beach's IThink Financial Amphitheatre.

Coming on November 11th is Guns N' Roses' massive super deluxe box set for Use Your Illusion I & II. In addition to the two 1991 albums, the new collection features a whopping 97 tracks, 63 of which are previously unreleased.

The Use Your Illusion set will be available in multiple configurations including a Super Deluxe Seven-CD + Blu-ray, a Super Deluxe Twelve-LP + Blu-ray, Two-CD Deluxe Editions of Use Your Illusion I & II separately, standard single-CD and double-LP versions of Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II separately.

In all formats, the original studio albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II have been fully remastered for the first-time ever, from high-resolution 96kHz 24-bit transfers from the original stereo 1/2-inch analog masters.

Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II were released simultaneously on September 17th, 1991. Illusion II debuted at Number One on the Billboard 200 and sold 770,000 copies its first week. Illusion I, which came in at Number Two, fell short only selling 685,000 units.

According to the press release:

Super Deluxe Editions include the complete live audio recording Live In New York, taped at the Ritz Theatre on May 16, 1991, with sound newly mixed from original multi-track tapes. This legendary show is one of three warmup shows for the Use Your Illusion Tour and features Izzy Stradlin on guitar, the original version of "Don't Cry" and a special performance of "You Ain't The First" both of which features the late Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon on guest vocals.

Also included is the complete audio recording of Live In Las Vegas taped at Thomas & Mack Center on January 25, 1992, newly mixed from the original multi-track tapes and features the band's new guitarist Gilby Clarke.

The bonus disc is a Blu-ray Video of the complete Live In New York concert film, newly transferred from 35mm film prints to 4K UHD and presented in 1080p 24fps HD, in its entirety, along with audio mixed in Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround, and PCM 48kHz 24-bit stereo.

The Blu-ray menu features the brand-new live music video "You Could Be Mine." This is the first-time release of any complete audio and video concerts from the Use Your Illusion-era GN'R.

For the first-time ever, the single-CD versions of Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, both available separately, have been remastered from high-resolution 96kHz 24-bit transfers from the original stereo 1/2-inch analog master tapes onto 44.1kHz 16-bit CD. Use Your Illusion I includes the newly recorded "November Rain (2022 Version)" with a first-ever real 50-piece orchestra.

Gilby Clarke replaced co-founding guitarist Izzy Stradlin's as the second guitarist in Guns N' Roses in 1991 when the band was knee deep in road dates behind the Use Your Illusion collections. A while back, he recalled how it went down upon scoring one of the most coveted gigs in rock: "It was strange at first because when it all happened, I don't think anyone knew that it was a permanent situation. Y'know, because Izzy left so abruptly, that we really didn't know if I was just filling in temporarily, or if it was going to go on for a long time. And why had happened was that as time went on — it just became a permanent situation."

Slash told us that it's a miracle he and fellow Guns member Duff McKagan are even still around after their hard-partying days in the '90s: "We took it basically to the limit. The fact that we're actually sitting here right now is a hard-pressed thing for anybody that's close to us to even fathom. We shouldn't even be here. They should have had us put away a long time ago, and we managed to get through that."

New York University's Clive Davis Institute will introduce a course on Lana Del Rey this fall.

Variety reports that "Topics In Recorded Music: Lana Del Rey" will be taught by journalist and author Kathy Iandoli from October 20th until December 8th.

A rep for the university says that the course will examine Del Rey's contributions to 21st Century pop stardom, her relationship to feminism, and her connection to varaious social justice movements.

The official course description reads: Over the course of eight critically-acclaimed albums, the six-time Grammy nominated artist has introduced a sad core, melancholic, and baroque version of dream pop that in turn helped shift and reinvent the sound (and mood) of mainstream music beyond the 2010s. Through her arresting visuals and her thematic attention to mental health and tales of toxic, damaged love, Del Rey provided a new platform for artists of all genders to create "anti-pop" works of substance that could live in a mainstream once categorized as bubblegum.

Earlier this year, the university offered a class on Taylor Swift taught by Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos.

As we had previously announced, Elvis Costello has officially rolled out the details to his "100 Songs And More," a 10-night run at Manhattan's Gramercy Theatre, which will play between February 9th to February 22nd, 2023. Tickets go onsale to the general public this Friday, September 23rd.

The Gramercy announcement said in part:

Costello will perform a completely different set each night, the first five nights solo and the following nights with his longtime pianist Steve Nieve, ultimately playing more than 200 different songs picked from his vast 600-plus song catalog and other favorites.

Apart from a printed program of ten songs per night, Costello will select a number of other tunes to be played impromptu, completing each performance without repeating any songs from the printed program over the 10-night stand, although it's safe to assume that a couple of well-known tunes may serve as an encore.

Costello posted a limerick describing the Gramercy run, which reads:

For ten nights at the Gramercy Theatre
I'll name ten songs to set the scene
I'll play those ten and then ten more
Shake off the old routine

Each night will tell a different tale
So come to one or come to all
"100 Songs" is what I promise
But twice that number is quite a haul

I will start this stand alone, that's fine
Nights One to Five, the Feast Day of St. Valentine
Steve Nieve will join me for Nights Six, Seven, Eight & Nine
But what else may happen is a secret of mine
Let's just set up the chair or two and play
In case some friends turn up along the way

Critics have long tried to categorize Elvis Costello's music throughout the decades. He told us that pigeonholing any type of art ultimately saps it of any originality: "All these labels -- when they called it 'jazz,' originally, they weren't saying a good thing. Y'know, they were actually denigrating the music. They called it 'rock n' roll' -- it was slang for something that was taboo, but it was also used to denigrate the music. Y'know, sometimes the labels that are attached to things are a way of confining it. When I started out, they wanted to say what we were doing as distinct from punk was 'new wave.' It meant nothing to me because I never identified myself with such an idea, y'know?'

Elvis Costello will next perform on September 30th at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall for the special event, "Costello Sings Hunter - Garcia," which will feature an evening of Costello tackling Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia's classic songs from the Grateful Dead's songbook. The charity event will benefit Prader-Willi Homes of California.

A lawsuit accusing Machine Gun Kelly of elder abuse has been dropped.

According to Radar Online, 49-year-old parking attendant John Martin Tilli claimed that the rocker and Mod Sun threatened and assaulted him in a Studio City parking lot in August 2021.

Kelly and his friend Mod were filming their movie Good Mourning With A U when Tilli approached to let them know he needed a permit to film on the property. According to his account, the two stars and their friends surrounded him and became aggressive.

A police report was not filed for several days and the Los Angeles Police Department closed the case because they were unable to find any evidence of the attack.

According to Radar, Kelly had not responded to the lawsuit and Tilli was attempting to obtain a default judgment. However, the two appear to have made an arrangement which led to the case being dismissed for good.

Ozzy Osbourne's latest album, Prisoner Number 9, has debuted big across the Billboard charts. The set scored "The Prince Of Darkness" his first Number One hit on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart and sailed to the top spot on the magazine's Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Hard Rock Albums, Top Current Album Sales, Tastemaker Albums, and Vinyl Albums charts.

Patient Number 9 also debuted at Number Three on the Billboard 200, selling 52,000 copies in its first week and hit Number Two in the UK -- marking Ozzy's best-charting solo set to date in Britain.

The Ozz, who turns 74 in December, told us a while back that he never imagined being around this long: "Let me tell you, when I was 20 I was going, I'd go, 'I'm gonna die by 40.' And that was all right until I was 39-and-a-half." (08: OC: . . . and a half)

An Instagram model named Sumner Stroh has a video that is now viral on TikTok where she explained that she was manipulated while having an affair with Adam Levine, who is married to Victoria's Secret model, Behati Prinsloo.

Not only that, Stroh says Levine asked for her blessing to name his unborn child with Prinsloo after the model.

In the video, Stroh said that she was manipulated and shared DMs between herself and Adam Levine because she shared the conversations with a friend of hers, who was going to expose the messages to a tabloid.

One DM says, "Ok serious question. I'm having another baby and if it's w sic boy I really wanna name it Sumner. You ok with that? DEAD serious." He added a shrugging emoji.

Shroh also said in the clip that she was "having an affair with a man who's married to Victoria's Secret model." She then explained, "I was young, I was naive. And I mean, quite frankly, I feel exploited. I wasn't in the scene like I am now. So I was definitely very easily manipulated."

She continued, "Maroon 5 is practically elevator music at this point. So, I'm sure you know who Adam Levine is. Adam and I were seeing each other for about a year, after I stopped talking to him over a period of months, this is how he came back into my life."

Shroh later shared that she "sent some screenshots recklessly to a few friends I thought I trusted, and one of them had attempted to sell to a tabloid—so here I am."

Shroh went on to say that she never wanted to come forward because she knows "the implications that come with doing what I do, making money the way I do, and being an Instagram model" and the stereotypes that influencers face.

Neither Adam nor his wife appear to have spoken out on these allegations.