Def Leppard, “Diamond Star Halos.” When Def Leppard got progressively softer and more radio-friendly after their first two records, there was a definite tradeoff that kept the scales balanced for another decade or so. Diamond Star Halos Def Leppard Universal, May 27 5/10 It didn’t thrill the metalheads, but…

Gang of Youths perform at The Fillmore in San Francisco on May 16, 2022. Matthew Medina/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — Why beat around the bush? I’ll just say it: Gang of Youths is probably the best all-around rock band on the planet right now. Their latest record, Angel in Realtime, released…

Insert Foot vs. the drought. I saw a story last week saying, as California goes into year three of its historic drought (journalists are no longer allowed to just say “drought”) we idiotically used 18.9 percent more water in March 2022 than the previous March. How is that even…

Duran Duran performs at Outside Lands in Golden gate Park on Aug. 5, 2016. Che Holts/STAFF. It’s annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame week, which means the music snobs have arrived in force, and are currently crying about the good old days and how new inductee Pat Benatar…

Insert Foot (now an official member of the vikings, vs. DNA tests. Since I did one of those DNA test thingies, I can’t stop watching shows about vikings. Because I’m gullible. The stupid test – which is probably “processed” by some pimply kid in his mom’s basement making shit…

Insert Foot. vs. Alcohol Awareness Month. I see it’s officially that time of the year again: Alcohol Awareness Month. I know this because part of my day job is writing about local governments, which do these things called “proclamations” at the beginning of their public meetings. These proclamations serve to…

Mogwai performs at the Fillmore in San Francisco on April 22, 2022. Gary Chancer/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — It doesn’t matter if you know the blast is coming. If it’s big enough, the shock wave can still knock you over. For the first time in a long history of going…

Insert Foot asks, “What is the purpose of Coachella?” Original photo courtesy Coachella. An editor and I had our weekly chat about what we care about this week, and he mentioned Coachella is happening in Southern California, and suggested I take a deeper dive into what’s happening at the…

Insert Foot vs. giant wine glasses in dating profiles. I’ve been doing the computer dating thing since it seemed safe to come out of the corner of my bedroom where I’ve been dressed like an astronaut and hiding since 2020. You get to an age (actually, your liver gets…

Eric Church performs at Chase Center in San Francisco on Sept. 28, 2019. Original photo: Sean Liming/STAFF. Country star Eric Church canceled his sold-out April 2 show at AT&T Center in San Antonio. It happens. Maybe his vocal cords dried up. Maybe his guitar strumming hand exploded. Maybe someone…