Category: Rock

RISING DURING THE PANDEMIC: AN INTERVIEW WITH RORIE KELLY

May 23, 2020

interview by Michael McCarthy photos courtesy of Rorie Kelly “You can’t keep this fucker down,” sings indie favorite Rorie Kelly on her ferocious new song, “Up From Here,” which she just uploaded a live version of on Youtube this week. It’s just one of several new songs the powerful singer-songwriter has unveiled as of late,…
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LUCKY SEVEN: CHATTING WITH MICHAEL SWEET OF STRYPER

May 1, 2020

interview by Michael McCarthy If you’ve been following Love is Pop for any period of time then I’m sure you’ve realized that one of my favorite people to interview is Michael Sweet of the legendary heavy metal band Stryper. In fact, this interview is the seventh time we’ve spoken since we started chatting about his…
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#songoftheday = JON BON JOVI: “DO WHAT YOU CAN” (LIVE FROM JERSEY4JERSEY) #songsforourtimes #22

April 23, 2020

“When you can’t do what you do / You do what you can,” sings Jon Bon Jovi on his Covid-19-themed song “Do What You Can,” which he debuted last night during Jersey4Jersey, a benefit show on behalf of the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund (NJPRF) to
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#songoftheday = METALLICA: “ONLY HAPPY WHEN IT RAINS (LIVE)” (#songsforourtimes #20) + A-HA: “LIVING AT THE END OF THE WORLD (#songsforourtimes #21)

April 20, 2020

Yeah, yeah, I know, this isn’t exactly a hopeful song and it isn’t about the end of the world either. But I do feel like “Only Happy When It Rains,” a Garbage song which Metallica covered at the Bridge School Benefit on 10/27/07, has the vibe many of us are feeling right now.
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#songoftheday = BUTCH WALKER: “END OF THE WORLD (ONE MORE TIME)” (#songsforourtimes #18)

April 8, 2020

“Skyrockets in flight / Get ready for a fight!” proclaims Butch Walker excitedly before a “hey, hey” during the bridge of his ultra-catchy ode to the end of the world, appropriately entitled, “End of the World (One More Time).”
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#songoftheday = BON JOVI: “ROOM AT THE END OF THE WORLD” (#songsforourtimes #14)

March 31, 2020

One of my favorite songs on the album is “Room At The End Of The World,” which isn’t a song devoid of melancholy, but it’s also one that I find full of hope.
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#songoftheday = CHRIS CORNELL: “SAFE AND SOUND” (#songsforourtimes #13)

March 30, 2020

The late Chris Cornell left us with this gem from his 2007 album, Carry On, entitled “Safe And Sound,” something I hope this finds you all.
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BEING A CHAMPION IN THE TIME OF THE CORONAVIRUS: AN INTERVIEW WITH BIF NAKED

March 29, 2020

interview by Michael McCarthy Doing music interviews in the time of COVID-19 is weird, man. You want to talk about music, but at the same time, it’s the nasty virus that’s at the forefront of everyone’s collective mind. So, I knew we were due for a new interview here on Love is Pop, but at…
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#songoftheday = DONNIE VIE: “HOW ARE YOU” (#songsforourtimes #10)

March 27, 2020

Former Enuff Z’Nuff frontman Donnie Vie took to Youtube today to release this version of his classic “How Are You?” recorded live in his home studio.
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#songoftheday = Bad Marriage: “Mourning Hope” (#songsforourtimes #9)

March 26, 2020

The guys in Boston hard rock/heavy metal band Bad Marriage have taken their usual sound and flipped it upside down for their new single, “Mourning Hope,” which finds them ditching their usual four on the floor drums and blazing guitars in favor of an almost ambient sound consisting solely of Mike Fitzmaurice’s gentle, acoustic guitars…
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#songoftheday = CITY AND COLOUR: “HOPE FOR NOW” (#songsofourtimes #8)

March 25, 2020

Today’s song of the day is “Hope for Now” by City and Colour, which is the moniker the insanely-talented singer/songwriter Dallas Green goes by. It’s a bit of a somber song, but we also feel like it’s an inspiring one.
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#songoftheday = ASH: “THERE IS HOPE AGAIN” (#songsforourtimes #6)

March 23, 2020

We thought we’d go with something with a more upbeat with #songofourtimes #6, hence our choosing “There Is Hope Again” by Northern Island rockers Ash, a spirited, uptempo number that would surely make you want to sing and dance if you heard it in a packed club.
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#songoftheday / #amlistening = BIF NAKED: “JIM”

February 18, 2020

Bursting with layers and layers of guitars atop sonorous drum beats, “Jim” tunnels its way deep into your head and runs circles around whatever song you had stuck in there before it.
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#songoftheday / #amlistening = ADAM JENSEN: “INMATE 8576”

February 8, 2020

“Lost my head inside this cell / I’m all alone / This place is hell,” sings alt-pop/electro-pop singer/songwriter Adam Jensen on his powerful new single, “Inmate 8576.” It’s the first new song we’ve heard from Mr. Jensen in quite some time and it turns out he has a good excuse for not releasing anything new…
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DISCOVER A SUPERSTAR IN THE MAKING: AN INTERVIEW WITH MICKY JAMES

October 1, 2019

interview by Michael McCarthy When I went to see Phantom Planet at The Sinclair in Cambridge, Massachusetts on the 19th of September, I couldn’t have cared less about whoever was going to open the show. I’d been a big fan of Phantom Planet for around 15 years and had never seen them live so they…
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