Feed
Daily stories about music and vinyl: albums, artists, labels. Read on the web or in the CrateCore app.
330 STORIES
Filters & search
September 5, 2026
Cover of “The Best Damn Tour: Live in Toronto” by Avril Lavigne. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
STORY OF THE DAYAvril Lavigne: The Best Damn Tour Live in Toronto
Avril Lavigne's The Best Damn Tour: Live in Toronto captured a sold-out Air Canada Centre show on April 7, 2008, and arrived on DVD in September 2008.
September 5, 2026 · 4 min read · Alternative
STORY · Metal
A Studio on Wheels Parked in Monte Carlo's Tax Exile
A band with a decade of road-worn muscle retreated not to some pastoral English manor, but to a Mediterranean tax haven, hauling a custom-built recording truck …
September 5, 2026 · 4 min read
Cover of “Minstrel in the Gallery” by Jethro Tull. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
September 5, 2026
4 min read
STORY · World
Who Leaves a 400‑Meter Record Behind for Semba?
Angola’s José Adelino Barceló de Carvalho — known to millions as Bonga — once held the Portuguese 400‑meter record. The Estado Novo regime later exiled him for singing about independence.
September 5, 2026 · 3 min read
Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
September 5, 2026
3 min read
STORY · Metal
The Album That Survived a Nervous Breakdown
Stratovarius released their self-titled eleventh album in September 2005 after a nervous breakdown nearly ended the band. Guitarist Timo Tolkki later disavowed the record he wrote entirely.
September 5, 2026 · 5 min read
Cover of “Stratovarius” by Stratovarius. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
September 5, 2026
5 min read
STORY · Folk
The Guitarist Who Wrote Everyone Else's Hits
Joe South died fourteen years ago today, leaving a Grammy for Song of the Year and a catalog of hits made famous by other voices. His own name stayed in the background.
September 5, 2026 · 4 min read
Capitol Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
September 5, 2026
4 min read
STORY · Metal
When Motörhead Became a Quartet and Lost a Label
Six songs for a film soundtrack, a drummer who walked out three years earlier suddenly back behind the kit, and a bandleader moonlighting as a character called …
September 5, 2026 · 4 min read
Cover of “Rock 'n' Roll” by Motörhead. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
September 5, 2026
4 min read
STORY · Alternative
Bossa Nova Before Breakfast
The kid who would grow up to make a living writing film scores spent his childhood trying to slip out from under A-ha’s shadow. Sondre Lerche was born in Bergen…
September 5, 2026 · 3 min read
AI-generated illustration
September 5, 2026
3 min read
STORY · Pop
From Disney Channel to the White House Briefing Room
Caroline Mohr Sunshine went from Disney Channel's Shake It Up to the White House briefing room in three years. Her IMDb page now reads like a prologue to an entirely different biography.
September 5, 2026 · 4 min read
MingleMediaTVNetwork, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
September 5, 2026
4 min read
STORY · Alternative
108th on Billboard and Soundgarden Just Broke Grunge Wide Open
A band that spent its first album on an indie label suddenly had a sticker warning parents about its lyrics. That sticker appeared on Louder Than Love, the seco…
September 5, 2026 · 4 min read
Cover of “Louder Than Love” by Soundgarden. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
September 5, 2026
4 min read
STORY · Pop
Pet Shop Boys: Elysium's Los Angeles Gamble
In 2012, inside a Los Angeles studio, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe were chasing a sound they'd never captured before. The Pet Shop Boys had spent decades definin…
September 5, 2026 · 4 min read
Cover of “Elysium” by Pet Shop Boys. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
September 5, 2026
4 min read
September 4, 2026
STORY · Metal
The Drummer Who Turned Silence Into a Grammy Nod
Mike Wengren spent over three decades as the rhythmic backbone of Disturbed. A Simon & Garfunkel cover on 2015's 'Immortalized' earned the band a Grammy nomination.
September 4, 2026 · 4 min read
Sven Mandel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
September 4, 2026
4 min read
STORY · Rock
The Curious Case of Jay 'Cone' McCaslin and Sum 41
Three numbers trail this story like a half-remembered chord progression: 3, 9, and 41. The last one sits in the band's name, Sum 41, a rock act whose catalog de…
September 4, 2026 · 4 min read
AI-generated illustration
September 4, 2026
4 min read
STORY · Pop
What Happens When a Voice Outlives Its Band Twice?
Born Adolf Topić on September 4, 1949, he became Dado — the voice of Korni Grupa and Time. He later represented Croatia at Eurovision 2007, turning 77 with a 57-year career behind him.
September 4, 2026 · 4 min read
AI-generated illustration
September 4, 2026
4 min read
STORY · Metal
The Book of Souls: When Iron Maiden’s Longest Album Had to Wait
A double album running over 92 minutes, yet its release wasn’t delayed by creative indecision — it was sidelined by a cancer diagnosis. Eleven years ago, on Sep…
September 4, 2026 · 4 min read
Cover of “The Book of Souls” by Iron Maiden. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
September 4, 2026
4 min read
STORY
How a Jungle Doctor Made Bach's Organ Music Speak Again
Albert Schweitzer, born 14 January 1875 in Kaysersberg, spent his days treating patients in Lambaréné. His evenings were devoted to reimagining how Johann Sebastian Bach's music should sound.
September 4, 2026 · 4 min read
AI-generated illustration
September 4, 2026
4 min read
STORY · Metal
50 Years Since the Synth Wove a Dream That Never Faded
Gary Wright spent a lifetime refusing to be just one thing, but the paradox of his career is that one shimmering track from 1975 ultimately defined him.
September 4, 2026 · 4 min read
Dr Jean Fortunet, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
September 4, 2026
4 min read
STORY · Folk
What Made Dottie West Testify Against Her Own Father?
Dottie West testified against her father at 17, sending him to prison for 40 years—and later became the first female country artist to win a Grammy.
September 4, 2026 · 4 min read
AI-generated illustration
September 4, 2026
4 min read
STORY · Electronic
How Hildur Guðnadóttir made history with Chernobyl
The Geiger counter on the Chernobyl soundtrack doesn't just tick — it becomes a pulse, a voice, a warning. Hildur Guðnadóttir, born September 4, 1982, in Reykja…
September 4, 2026 · 4 min read
Martin Kraft, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
September 4, 2026
4 min read
STORY · Metal
How Audioslave Made Their Final Album a Funk-Soul Reckoning
Audioslave closed their studio career with September 2006's Revelations. Tom Morello described the sound as Led Zeppelin meeting Earth, Wind & Fire.
September 4, 2026 · 5 min read
Cover of “Revelations” by Audioslave. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
September 4, 2026
5 min read
STORY
Ariel Ramírez: The Teacher Who Lasted Two Days
He walked into the classroom, faced the students, and within forty-eight hours the whole experiment was finished. Ariel Ramírez, born 4 September 1921 in Santa …
September 4, 2026 · 4 min read
Anatole Saderman, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
September 4, 2026
4 min read
STORY
The Audition That Built a Hollywood Legend
Irene Dunne trained for the Metropolitan Opera, was rejected, and instead built a Hollywood career that earned five Oscar nominations and zero wins.
September 4, 2026 · 4 min read
AI-generated illustration
September 4, 2026
4 min read
STORY · Metal
How Does a Shock Rocker Walk Away from His Own Anthem?
Blackie Lawless, the architect of W.A.S.P.'s shock rock empire, turned seventy today, having spent the back half of his life systematically dismantling the monster he created.
September 4, 2026 · 5 min read
Jonas Rogowski, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
September 4, 2026
5 min read
STORY · Alternative
The Garage Rapper Who Bought a BMW at 27
Steve Harwell, the voice of Smash Mouth, died three years ago in Boise at 56. His 27-year run began in a San Jose garage with a kid who once thought his future was in hip-hop.
September 4, 2026 · 5 min read
Eric Liesse, U.S. Army, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
September 4, 2026
5 min read
STORY · Metal
How a London Club Gig Became Dream Theater's First Live Document
In April 1993, Dream Theater recorded their first official live album at London's Marquee club. The document later became as famous for its omissions as its inclusions.
September 4, 2026 · 4 min read
Cover of “Live at the Marquee” by Dream Theater. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
September 4, 2026
4 min read
STORY · Metal
Sitar, Prison Cells, and a Seven-Times Platinum Headache
System of a Down's Toxicity turns 25 this September. A seven-times platinum album that topped the Billboard 200 with sitar drones, banjo lines, and lyrics about CIA operations and prison overcrowding.
September 4, 2026 · 4 min read
Cover of “Toxicity” by System of a Down. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
September 4, 2026
4 min read
STORY · Alternative
a-ha: Cast in Steel — The Album That Broke a Retirement
Eleven years ago today, a-ha released Cast in Steel — the album that reversed a very public farewell and arrived with a fixed two-year expiration date.
September 4, 2026 · 4 min read
Cover of “Cast in Steel” by a-ha. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
September 4, 2026
4 min read
STORY · Metal
Lucidity: The Studio Project That Refused to Be One
Delain's debut Lucidity was conceived as a one-off studio project by Martijn Westerholt, but its chart success forced the band into existence.
September 4, 2026 · 5 min read
Cover of “Lucidity” by Delain. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
September 4, 2026
5 min read
September 3, 2026
STORY · Alternative
Tomo Milicevic: From Sarajevo Violin to Arenas
Tomo Milicevic spent fifteen years as the lead guitarist for Thirty Seconds to Mars. His story begins at age three with a violin bow in Sarajevo and a family flight to Michigan before the war.
September 3, 2026 · 5 min read
AI-generated illustration
September 3, 2026
5 min read
STORY · Metal
42 Years Later, an Iron Maiden Album Broke a Dave Murray Streak
When the letters 'WOTW' turned up on a European tour poster in April 2021, Iron Maiden fans went straight to work. No press release, no official word — just thr…
September 3, 2026 · 4 min read
Cover of “Senjutsu” by Iron Maiden. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
September 3, 2026
4 min read
STORY · Pop
How a TV Regular Became K-Pop's Most Haunting Loss
EunB spent eighteen months as a recording artist with Ladies' Code before a 2014 highway crash ended her life and fractured the promising K-pop group.
September 3, 2026 · 4 min read
AI-generated illustration
September 3, 2026
4 min read