Rapper Flesh-n-Bone of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony performs during the 93.5 KDAY Krush Groove 2017 concert at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. on April 22, 2017. Getty Images. Good news! It’s finally Halloween. Yes, I’m at Outside Lands this year, which means I can’t do much in the way of Halloween…

Insert Foot on what Nirvana and Boston have in common. This week rock music fans celebrated an important milestone in the history of guitar rock. Boston released its first single “More Than a Feeling” 45 years ago. That’s not incorrect, but you’re probably thinking of the other one. Kind…

The Foo Fighters should rename themselves The Old Standbys. No band produces as consistently at a decently high level. Dave Grohl and company can’t be accused of not doing their part to keep rock and roll alive. For a quarter century, they’ve waved the flag of uncomplicated guitar rock,…

It’s usually too much to ask for: a legitimately good new chunk of music standing on merit alone from the guy who could’ve retired 40 years ago and still been called the world’s greatest living songwriter today. Paul McCartney is 78 years old. He doesn’t have to make records anymore.…

We decided not to show you Mark Wahlberg’s most famous photograph from back in the day, because it makes us feel insecure. I’m sorry I have to be the one to tell you this, but you’re old. You’re so, so very old. For example Friends is making a nostalgia-fueled…

R.E.M’s ‘Monster’ is getting the 25th anniversary deluxe tissue treatment this week. In the early ’90s, R.E.M. was like our furry, little emotional support animal. The erudite alt-rock band from Athens, Georgia burst into the mainstream of American music with their jangly 1992 release, Automatic for the People. The…

Last week I finished the yearlong journey through the last half-century of music. It was quite the project; 52 weekly columns each taking on a year and culminating in the best five songs of 2018. Then RIFF’s editor, Roman, asked when I’d have this week’s column in. So… I…

You know how the music you liked as a teenager sticks with you, and you remain a fan for life? Those songs take you back to a simpler time when you were discovering your tastes and personality, separate from your parents,’ for the first time. What I’m saying is…

Photo: Che Holts Usually this column is the top five songs of each year. Sometimes, in an especially good year, I bend that and make it the top 10. This week has nine. The reasons for this are threefold: First, the longlist has 23 songs on it and that’s…

We’ve reached 1991 on our quest to list the best five (or more!) songs released each year. And guess what—1991 is one of the best years in modern music. Between Metallica’s eponymous black album and Nirvana’s groundbreaking Nevermind, that was two spots right off the top. And neither of the other…