Stories written by Annie Zaleski

10 classic rock songs that radio stations need to stop playing now

We ran the numbers on classic rock radio and found empirical evidence for its staggering awfulness

Annie Zaleski Wednesday, Apr 13, 2016 10:29 PM UTC 0
Entertainment AC/DC, Classic rock, Journey

How “American Idol” destroyed itself: The reality game show changed the rules for music — and made itself obsolete

"American Idol"'s legacy isn't just the talent it discovered, but in how it shaped how fans and artists interact

Annie Zaleski Wednesday, Apr 6, 2016 10:59 PM UTC 0
Entertainment American Idol, Editor's Picks

When is a band not itself anymore?: As bands age and line-ups shift, fans get to decide

Rumors swirling around who may step in for AC/DC's Brian Johnson—some say Axl Rose—reignite the debate

Annie Zaleski Wednesday, Mar 30, 2016 10:58 PM UTC 0
Entertainment AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Cheap Trick

“My Springsteen sin” apology rings hollow: Wheelchair scam to score concert tickets isn’t funny — and this “confession” does even more harm

Billboard writer's "public apology" for faking a disability to get into '84 Springsteen show sets conversation back

Annie Zaleski Tuesday, Mar 29, 2016 7:16 PM UTC 0
Entertainment accessibility, Billboard

Sorry, but the Grateful Dead are cool now: This upcoming hater-proof tribute officially ends their decades of dorkdom

The Dead join the ranks of other previously reviled artists redeemed by today's genre-free pop landscape

Annie Zaleski Wednesday, Mar 23, 2016 10:58 PM UTC 0
Entertainment Day of the Dead, grateful dead

“Music is so abused these days”: XTC’s Andy Partridge opens up about songwriting, painting and developing the “cruel parent gene” toward your own art

Salon talks to the pop icon about the new collection of interviews, "Complicated Game: Inside the Songs of XTC"

Annie Zaleski Sunday, Mar 20, 2016 10:00 PM UTC 0
Entertainment andy partridge, Books, Music, xtc

“I’m feeling my way through the dark”: Grant-Lee Phillips on writing songs as a reflection of life

The Nashville-via-California singer-songwriter on sense of place & influence of his dad's death on his new album

Annie Zaleski Thursday, Mar 10, 2016 12:00 AM UTC 0
Entertainment grant lee buffalo

“It’s really terrifying”: Lizz Winstead on stealth antiabortion laws and fighting politicians in “their last grasp of hanging on to unearned power”

Salon talks to the "Daily Show" co-creator on Lady Parts Justice League and using humor to help abortion clinics

Annie Zaleski Tuesday, Mar 1, 2016 11:59 PM UTC 0
Elections Abortion

R.E.M.’s leap of faith: 25 years later, every curveball on “Out of Time” makes perfect sense

Even the much-maligned "Shiny Happy People" works when you look at the band's trajectory and the early 1990s

Annie Zaleski Thursday, Feb 25, 2016 12:00 AM UTC 0
Entertainment 1990s, Michael Stipe, Music

Taylor Swift is everything that’s wrong with the Grammys and the music industry: Sanitized, self-congratulatory and safe

Swift beat out Kendrick Lamar for Album of the Year—and his performance reminded everyone why he deserved to win

Annie Zaleski Tuesday, Feb 16, 2016 1:55 PM UTC 0
Entertainment 2016 grammy awards, aol_on

Why “Pretty in Pink” endures: John Hughes’ classic is more than just another teen movie

The iconic teen romance, screening in theaters for Valentine's Day, offers sharp commentary on class, too

Annie Zaleski Friday, Feb 12, 2016 11:00 PM UTC 0
Entertainment 1980s, Brat Pack, Class warfare

“Gilmore Girls” town troubadour Grant-Lee Phillips will return to Stars Hollow: “It was such a subversive show”

Salon spoke to Phillips about reprising his role as one of Stars Hollow's distinctive citizens for the TV reunion

Annie Zaleski Wednesday, Feb 10, 2016 10:04 PM UTC 0
Entertainment aol_on, gilmore girls

How Coldplay became cool: Haters keep saying they’re too soft, too earnest, too dorky — and they still don’t care

The much-maligned band headlining Super Bowl's halftime show seems more comfortable than ever just being themselves

Annie Zaleski Saturday, Feb 6, 2016 12:00 AM UTC 0
Entertainment coldplay, Editor's Picks

Bernie bros, stop this meme: Your dumb joke about Hillary’s music taste isn’t funny — it’s predictably sexist

Female music journalists, fans and musicians themselves deal with these false and stupid assumptions all the time

Annie Zaleski Tuesday, Feb 2, 2016 8:35 PM UTC 0
Entertainment 2016 presidential election

“Boys for Pele” turns 20: Revisiting the year when Tori Amos truly came into her own

By 1996, Amos was already an icon—but this album moved her into a whole new level of power

Annie Zaleski Friday, Jan 22, 2016 11:13 PM UTC 0
Entertainment boys for pele, Music, Tori Amos

On life, death and love, Savages offer no easy answers: “To keep the ambiguity and the tension has been an intention”

Salon talks to vocalist Jehnny Beth about the new album "Adore Life" and why the band insists on accessible venues

Annie Zaleski Thursday, Jan 21, 2016 11:59 PM UTC 0
Entertainment accessibility, adore life

Wow, you hate the f**king Eagles: When uncool celebrities die, jerks just can’t help themselves

Social media mourning can be a powerful collective experience—but only for the "right" kind of artist

Annie Zaleski Thursday, Jan 21, 2016 12:00 AM UTC 0
Entertainment celebrity deaths, David Bowie

A David Bowie for every mood: From “Space Oddity” to his farewell “Blackstar,” Bowie’s shape-shifting always felt right

In Bowie's music, darkness, desolation, loneliness or alienation were never taboo VIDEO

Annie Zaleski Monday, Jan 11, 2016 3:39 PM UTC 0
Entertainment aol_on, David Bowie, Music

Guns n’ Roses reuniting, all grown up: How trading rock debauchery and drama for stability and unity will pay off

The rock controversies of middle age have more to do with line-up rumors than the band's past problems

Annie Zaleski Wednesday, Jan 6, 2016 6:41 PM UTC 0
Entertainment aol_on, axl rose, coachella

The lost pop genius of Scott Miller: “Whatever makes you fall in love with a pop song … he did that”

With his band Game Theory's masterpiece "Lolita Nation" about to be reissued, Salon talks to Miller's biographer

Annie Zaleski Saturday, Jan 2, 2016 12:00 AM UTC 0
Entertainment Books, Brett Milano

“This is why people are panicking here”: Björk takes on an “extreme right-wing redneck government” to preserve Iceland’s open spaces

Björk on green energy, the climate change tipping point and why "nations have to drop their ego and collaborate"

Annie Zaleski Saturday, Dec 19, 2015 8:30 PM UTC 0
Entertainment Björk, Climate Change

Trent Reznor was robbed: Nine Inch Nails’ Rock Hall snub proves electronic music still doesn’t get respect

This blind spot is only going to become more obvious in the decades to come, too

Annie Zaleski Friday, Dec 18, 2015 12:00 AM UTC 0
Entertainment Nine Inch Nails

“Come from nothing, blow up and die”: Reflections on Scott Weiland dig into the self-destructive rock star myth

In the week since Weiland died, the tributes have said so much about what we think we know about musicians

Annie Zaleski Friday, Dec 11, 2015 11:59 PM UTC 0
Entertainment addiction, Mental Illness, Music

Playing by Johnny Marr’s rules: “I love living in the modern world, but I just don’t accept a laptop as being a band member”

As the legendary guitarist's solo and frontman career rises, he's found himself more comfortable calling the shots

Annie Zaleski Friday, Dec 4, 2015 11:59 PM UTC 0
Entertainment

Stop hating on Christmas music: The only thing more predictable than yet another Wham! cover is the backlash

Holiday music is the best part of the celebration — don't have to buy, sell, eat or untangle anything to enjoy it

Annie Zaleski Friday, Nov 27, 2015 3:30 PM UTC 0
Entertainment Christmas music, holiday music

Free Kesha now: Sony is forcing her to work with her alleged abuser — or she doesn’t work at all

Kesha's safety and career are still at risk in the fight against her producer and alleged sexual abuser Dr. Luke

Annie Zaleski Friday, Nov 20, 2015 12:00 AM UTC 0
Entertainment dr. luke, kesha, Music

Grimes isn’t a novelty act: Maybe we’ll see more female producers when we stop treating them like kooky freaks

Too often, female producers and songwriters are seen as outliers rather than legitimate artists

Annie Zaleski Thursday, Nov 12, 2015 11:28 PM UTC 0
Entertainment Art Angels, Feminism, Grimes, Music

The Adele factor: What the phenomenal success of “Hello” could mean for Apple Music, Spotify and good old-fashioned cd sales

When Adele releases her long-awaited "25," it may not stream for free—but it's almost guaranteed to be a hit anyway

Annie Zaleski Friday, Nov 6, 2015 4:12 PM UTC 0
Entertainment 21, 25, Adele, Apple Music, downloads

The Hillary and Katy power alliance: Their savvy blend of pop and politics could be a game-changer for both

Clinton gets to woo Perry's cheery fan base, and Katy gets to show off her grown-up political consciousness

Annie Zaleski Wednesday, Oct 28, 2015 11:00 PM UTC 0
Entertainment 2016 presidential election

The genius of “Gilmore Girls”: When your writing is this good, you can always go home again — even to Stars Hollow

This is one reboot we're thrilled about

Annie Zaleski Wednesday, Oct 21, 2015 10:58 PM UTC 0
Entertainment alexis bledel

“No one can live with this much pain and anger, it’s gonna kill me”: Throwing Muses’ Kristin Hersh on Vic Chesnutt’s suicide, PTSD and why songwriters are “pretty broken”

Salon talks to Hersh about music, mental health and her new book "Don't Suck, Don't Die: Giving Up Vic Chesnutt"

Annie Zaleski Saturday, Oct 17, 2015 2:45 PM UTC 0
Entertainment Books, Don't Suck Don't Die

Prison inmates recorded the most amazing album in 1979: “The guard was at the door saying, ‘Y’all got to go, y’all got to go'”

Listen to an exclusive preview of the reissue of Edge of Daybreak's crazy-rare "Eyes of Love" VIDEO

Annie Zaleski Thursday, Oct 15, 2015 2:52 PM UTC 0
Entertainment aol_on, Edge of Daybreak

Quit chasing “passionate millennial males”: Their tastes shouldn’t dictate what we read and hear

Pitchfork's sale to Condé Nast brought some deeply-ingrained biases against women and older readers to light

Annie Zaleski Tuesday, Oct 13, 2015 11:00 PM UTC 0
Entertainment conde nast, Media, millennials

“If we came out now, we wouldn’t have a chance in hell”: Shirley Manson looks back at 20 years of Garbage

The Garbage frontwoman looks back at the leap of faith that took her to the U.S. to play with guys she'd never met

Annie Zaleski Thursday, Oct 8, 2015 11:00 PM UTC 0
Entertainment alternative music, garbage, Music

Laura Jane Grace’s rebel music: “I doubt you’re gonna find a successful civil movement or social movement that doesn’t have a soundtrack”

Salon talks to the Against Me! singer about protest songs, her docu-series "True Trans" and writing her memoir

Annie Zaleski Friday, Oct 2, 2015 10:58 PM UTC 0
Entertainment Against Me!, Laura Jane Grace

“We’re not living in a golden age of music”: Joe Jackson on why the ’90s were better than the ’80s and the “musical doldrums” we’re in right now

Salon talks to the new wave pop legend about his long career and his new album "Fast Forward," out Friday VIDEO

Annie Zaleski Tuesday, Sep 29, 2015 10:58 PM UTC 0
Entertainment Fast Forward, Joe Jackson, Music

Hillary’s Taylor Swift problem: What the fight over “authenticity” — in politics and in pop — is really about

Are scrappy individuals — like Ryan Adams and Bernie Sanders — inherently better than machine-backed players?

Annie Zaleski Wednesday, Sep 23, 2015 11:00 PM UTC 0
Entertainment Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton

Lucero loves Crowded House: How the masters of whiskey-drinking, Southern-rocking bar-room punk made their delicate, sophisticated new album

Salon talks to frontman Ben Nichols about the influences and choices behind the new album "All a Man Should Do"

Annie Zaleski Tuesday, Sep 22, 2015 8:14 PM UTC 0
Entertainment Ben Nichols, Big Star

“Shut up and sing” syndrome: Why do fans hate it when pop stars get political?

R.E.M. says no to Trump, dudes on Twitter freak out: "I loved your music but U hate conservatives like me"

Annie Zaleski Wednesday, Sep 16, 2015 10:59 PM UTC 0
Entertainment Donald Trump, janelle monae

There’s a recipe for an iconic Bond theme song — does Sam Smith have what it takes?

The British soul singer's been tapped to sing the theme for "Spectre" — can his song be the next "Skyfall"?

Annie Zaleski Wednesday, Sep 9, 2015 10:58 PM UTC 0
Entertainment 007, aol_on, Bond theme songs

Annie Zaleski

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