Guides

The best rock playlist for a firepit night under the stars
A great firepit soundtrack should feel bigger than the speakers: warm enough for conversation, loud enough for a chorus, and varied enough to carry the evening…
Why Dylan’s 1974 Tour Still Feels Like Rock’s Toughest Road Test
Bob Dylan’s 1974 reunion tour with The Band was a short, punishing blast through American arenas. It lasted roughly six weeks, packed in 40 concerts, and…
The Forgotten Art of the Rock Album’s B-Side
For decades, the B-side was rock’s secret handshake. It sat behind the single, away from radio programmers and casual listeners, waiting for the fan willing to…
When Rock Music Challenged Racial Barriers
Rock music emerged from a collision of Black rhythm and blues, gospel, boogie-woogie, country and swing. In the 1950s, that mixture travelled through…
The Stratocaster And The Guitar That Changed Rock History
Few electric guitars have become as recognisable as the Fender Stratocaster. Its sculpted body, three-pickup layout and sharp, glassy tone helped define the…
The best rock songs about ghost towns and abandoned places
Few rock images carry as much emotional weight as the empty settlement: rusted signs, boarded windows, a pub with no customers, and a road disappearing into…
Why Pacific Northwest Rock Has a Pulse All Its Own
The Pacific Northwest has always sounded like a place rather than a genre. Seattle’s rain, Portland’s restless creativity, Vancouver’s coastal isolation and…
Review: Black Wattle’s Folk Rock Meets Heavy Metal
Black Wattle’s new EP, Ashes Under Gumtrees, sounds like it was forged between a country pub stage and a smoke-filled metal room. The Melbourne quartet blends…
How the Motorcycle And Electric Guitar Became Symbols Of Rebellion
The motorcycle and the electric guitar emerged from different machines, yet both became shorthand for refusing to behave. One turned the open road into a…
The Rock Lyrics That Made Censors Reach for the Red Pen
Rock has always treated polite language as an invitation to cause trouble. A sharp lyric can challenge a government, mock religion, expose hypocrisy or simply…