Oasis

“We Were Spectacular”: The Art of the Band Breakup Statement

By Tom Hawking on Mar 26, 2013 12:30pm

As you’ve probably read, My Chemical Romance announced earlier this week that they were going their separate ways, and this morning singer Gerard Way published a lengthy missive explaining the reasons behind the split, along with a whole bunch of other stuff about coffee, birds, talking amplifiers, and acting on stage. As far as these kinds of statements go, it’s really pretty great — honest, funny, and heartfelt — and it got us thinking about some of the more notable breakup announcements of our time. Some of these are funny, some of them gloriously bitchy, and all thoroughly memorable. … Read More

Celebrity

Celebrities and the Countries From Which They’ve Been Banned

By Jennifer Lewis on Jan 8, 2013 1:01pm

Once upon a time, two of your doting Flavorpill staffers were banned from a “ruin pub” in Hungary. The whole debacle was a bit of a silly misunderstanding, but hey — at least we weren’t banned from the entire country, eh? The same can’t be said for the following celebrities, who have somehow landed themselves on a handful of nations’ naughty lists. We’ve got everyone from drug addicts to human rights activists to drug rights activists. Check ‘em out after the jump, and hit the comments to tell us your thoughts and dreams. … Read More

Music

The Bands Who Inspired Your Favorite Bands

By Tom Hawking on Jun 7, 2012 3:30pm

We ran a rather lighthearted feature earlier this week about endearingly silly hair metal bands, one of which was the enduringly awesome Hanoi Rocks. At the time, we noted that despite inspiring many of the bands who’d rule the Sunset Strip in the 1980s, Hanoi Rocks had already broken up by the time hair metal went global. This got us thinking about how often this pattern has been repeated over the years — it’s not always the bands who are the first to play a new sound who enjoy that sound’s success. And in a happy coincidence, there’s a new album by one such band — Seattle proto-grunge pioneers Melvins — out this week, so it seems a fine time to explore the idea further. … Read More

Music

The 30 Harshest Musician-on-Musician Insults in History

By Tom Hawking on Jan 1, 2012 2:00pm

[Editor's note: While your Flavorwire editors take a much-needed holiday break, we're revisiting some of our most popular features of the year. This post was originally published August 15, 2011.] Our recent, wildly successful posts about author-on-author insults and filmmaker-on-filmmaker insults got us thinking about similar cattiness in the music industry, which has long been a breeding ground for both feuds and lunatics. An investigation of the history of musician-on-musician insults didn’t disappoint, and we’ve collated 30 of the harshest after the jump. It’s interesting comparing them to the previous pair of posts, too. The verdict: what musicians might lack in verbosity, they more than make up for with vitriol. And UK musicians are far bitchier than US ones (or, perhaps, the UK music press just delights in reporting on insults). Anyway, don’t let your boss catch you reading this… … Read More

Pop Culture

Staff Picks: What Flavorpill Editors Are Thankful for This Year

By Caroline Stanley on Nov 24, 2011 12:01am

Over the past week, we’ve done features on mouth-watering feasts on film and parental-friendly playlists for your Thanksgiving dinner. We’ve looked at some of the most culturally-relevant birds that we could find and ranked TV’s best Thanksgiving-centered episodes — Zagat-style. Now it’s finally game day. But rather than forbidding you to eat things like Cherpumple Pie while simultaneously encouraging you to indulge in a booze-tastic four-course meal, we’ve decided that today we’re going to focus on what this holiday is really about: giving thanks. Click through for a list of the cultural gems that Flavorpill staffers have been the most grateful to experience this past year, and if you’re feeling in the holiday spirit, keep it going in the comments! … Read More

Film

Liam Gallagher Wants to Make an Oasis Movie … Again

By Alison Nastasi on Nov 9, 2011 7:30pm

Liam Gallagher is currently developing a screen adaptation of Richard DiLello’s Beatles book, The Longest Cocktail Party, but the musician took time out of his schedule to let The Independent know that he’d be interested in making an Oasis biopic. Gallagher previously expressed an interest in being the focus of a new film… Read More

Photography

James Mollison’s Hilarious Photos of Rabid Music Fans

By Alison Nastasi on Oct 11, 2011 6:30pm

Italy-based artist James Mollison left no musical genre untouched when he spent three years photographing various fans outside concert venues. “I was fascinated by the different tribes of people that attended them, and how people emulated celebrity to form their identity,” he writes on his website. After the collection debuted in a New York gallery, it was compiled into the book The Disciples, which showcases the dynamic fan base and their sometimes questionable apparel.

While images of Iron Maiden fans in Milan could almost be of any heavy metal fan (the iconic tee is one of the only real giveaways), other musical devotees are identifiable based on attire alone (hello there, Dolly Parton). It escapes us why anyone would actually want to look like Rod Stewart, but then again we’re reminded that “Rod the Mod” was really your mom’s sex symbol (respectfully) — which explains the age bracket of Rod’s wannabes below. Check out Mollison’s fun fan photos after the jump, and let us know which disciples look most like their idols. … Read More

Music

15 Weird and Beautiful Collaged Album Covers

By Emily Temple on Apr 16, 2011 10:25am

To many, collage is an under-appreciated art form – perhaps merely because often it’s too accessible to be considered Capital-A Art. After all, every semi-creative teenage girl’s walls will inevitably become a massive collage, and even in our age of recycling and DIY, there is often an establishment resistance to art that is built out of the art of others. There’s also a movement for exactly that idea, of course. Regardless, we love us some collage, and since music is ultimately nothing but a very grand tonal collage anyway (Girl Talk aside), we think album covers are the perfect vehicle for this particular form. These album covers, created from found paper, disparate ideas, reassembled photographs and pieced-together letters, manage to be strange, lovely, and completely apt all at once. Click through for 15 of our favorite collaged album covers, and let us know your own favorites in the comments! … Read More

Daily Dose

Daily Dose Pick: Beady Eye

By Doug Levy on Mar 1, 2011 2:00pm

Former Oasis members Liam Gallagher, Gem Archer, and Andy Bell didn’t waste any time after their world-conquering band dissolved, storming back into the studio and the spotlight as Beady Eye.

Led by Gallagher, one of rock music’s most iconic frontmen, the band stretches its wings on debut album Different Gear, Still Speeding, featuring tracks by all three songwriters (with the lineup completed by drummer Chris Sharrock). The record, produced by Steve Lillywhite, indulges heavily in the classic-rock influences for which the band members are known, ranging from T-Rex stomps to Beatles-esque romps, all uniquely stamped with Gallagher’s unmistakable, inimitable vocals. … Read More