Category: Rock
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by Michael McCarthy It’s been nearly a decade since Tyketto released their previous studio album, but the wait for Closer to the Sun has certainly paid off. The band’s sixth studio album reached number one on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart, and frontman Danny Vaughn says the band is enjoying one of its…
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by Michael McCarthy We recently featured Nicotine Dolls’ single “Here to California” as a song of the day on Love is Pop, and it’s a great tune. But their new single, “Gimme Sympathy,” is even better. It’s a much heavier, almost grimy hard rock song that kicks your ass from start to finish. Sam Cieri’s…
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by Michael McCarthy First of all, I don’t mind telling you that I’m not a particularly big Keith Urban fan. In fact, I’m generally not a big fan of modern country music. To my ears, much of it sounds more like country pop than actual country music, and something about that has always put me…
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Today, New York City rockers Nicotine Dolls have released the new single andmusic video “Here to California,” a joyful, breezy anthem about “choosing forward motion over regret,” from their self-titled sophomore album, which will be out October 23 via BMG. The single was co-produced by frontman Sam Cieri and renowned hitmaker Marti Frederiksen (Aerosmith, Ozzy…
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by Michael McCarthy photos by Rob Loud; used with permission Last night on the 23rd of September, 2026, I finally caught a solo performance by Brandon Flowers of The Killers. The Killers are one of my favorite bands and I’ve seen them several times, but circumstances had prevented me from catching either of their two…
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by Michael McCarthy Last night I saw Matthew and Gunnar Nelson perform at City Winery in Boston, Massachusetts. I’ve seen Matthew and Gunnar Nelson perform quite a few times during recent years. They frequently play The Wolf Den, the free club venue at Mohegan Sun Casino, but the last three times I saw them there…
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by Michael McCarthy On Sunday, July 26th, 2026, I finally saw Bon Jovi live again for the first time since Richie Sambora parted ways with the band in 2013. Honestly, when Richie left the band, I just found it so frustrating and depressing that I just needed a break from Bon Jovi. For one thing,…
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by Michael McCarthy Last night on May 23rd, 2026, I finally saw the influential doom metal band Pentagram in concert for the very first time. And it will likely have been the last time because the band’s current tour, The Last Rites Tour, is being framed as a farewell tour. And given frontman Bobby Liebling’s…
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interview by Michael McCarthy I first interviewed Rorie Kelly for Love is Pop back in 2016 after their significant other invited me to a house concert they were performing. To this day, that remains the only house concert I’ve ever been to, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I can still picture the…
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by Michael McCarthy Def Leppard has just released a new live album, Diamond Star Heroes Live From Sheffield (Live). Not that the world really needed another live album by Def Leppard, but this might actually be their best one so far. Joe’s voice just sounds really, really good on this one, whereas I thought his…
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by Michael McCarthy MM: First of all, congrats on being inducted into the Illinois Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. That was last Sunday night, right? CZN: That’s correct. MM: Cool, cool. And when did you find out you were being inducted? CZN: Well, we actually were told a few months ago through the Rock…
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by Michael McCarthy Today my favorite band has released a delicious new single. The band, of course, is Garbage and the song is called “There’s No Future In Optimism.” Sonically, the Garbage album it sounds the most like would have to be Bleed Like Me, which is largely considered their rock album since they favored…
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by Michael McCarthy I went to the Marvelous 3 show in Boston. It was quite marvelous indeed. To tell you the truth, I had slightly mixed feelings going into the show because I do much prefer Butch’s solo stuff over M3 but as soon as they hit the stage and started playing “Little Head” I…
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by Michael McCarthy Last Friday night I saw Vain at Taffeta in Lowell, Massachusetts. Vain is one of my favorite bands of the genre and has been since their debut No Respect came out way back in the day. When they basically vanished from releasing music in most of the world, I always bought their…
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by Michael McCarthy 32 years ago today Warrant released their third album, Dog Eat Dog. It just so happens to be one of my top five albums of all-time. What are they?1. Butch Walker – Letters2. Motley Crue – Shout At The Devil3. Warrant – Dog Eat Dog4. Bon Jovi – These Days5. Mylene Farmer…
