Kevin O'Donnell | Rolling Stone

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145 items by Kevin O'Donnell

After 22 Years, The Vaselines Finally Invade America | ARTICLE

Scottish indie-pop band the Vaselines formed in 1986 and existed just long enough to release a handful of much-loved cult EPs and a single album (and become Kurt Cobain's self-proclaimed favorite band) before splitting. This week the...
July 11, 2008 5:09 PM ET
Q&A: How Mike Gordon Got His Groove Back | ARTICLE

Bassist Mike Gordon's solo album The Green Sparrow might not have come to fruition if it wasn't for some advice from Sting, Twyla Tharp's self-help book or Phish's 2004 split. With a possible Phish reunion and a...
June 27, 2008 10:06 AM ET
Phish Reunion? Mike Gordon Is "Optimistic," Says Band Met With Lillywhite | ARTICLE

Last month, Trey Anastasio set off a flurry of Phish mania when he told Rolling Stone, "At this point in time I would give my left nut to play ['You Enjoy Myself'] five times in...
June 26, 2008 1:06 PM ET
Kanye West Rankles Bonnaroo With Tardy Pre-Dawn Set | ARTICLE

Kanye West delivered the most controversial performance at Bonnaroo this weekend, leaving thousands of festival-goers bummed out when his late-night set didn't kick off until nearly 4:30 in the morning — an hour and 45 minutes after...
June 16, 2008 11:49 AM ET
Rogue Wave Embrace Bonnaroo's Jammy Spirit for Mellow Sunday Set | ARTICLE

For the first set on the last day of Bonnaroo, California rockers Rogue Wave offered a remedy to fest-goers' hangovers after Kanye West's epic sunrise performance, which started at 4:30 and didn't wrap until sometime around 6...
June 16, 2008 8:28 AM ET
Pearl Jam Showcase Rarities, Politics, Dylan and Who Covers at Bonnaroo | ARTICLE

While most bands used Bonnaroo as a platform to play hits, Pearl Jam used their Saturday night closing set to unleash some rarities. Around 10:15 p.m., the band strolled onto the stage and kicked off with "Hard...
June 15, 2008 1:05 PM ET
Cat Power's Slow-Burning Bonnaroo Set Attracts Vedder, Olsens | ARTICLE

While Mastodon bashed away across the field, as the sun began to set Cat Power's Chan Marshall — backed by a crew of jazzbos — turned out a gorgeous set of slow-burning tunes from The Greatest and...
June 15, 2008 11:46 AM ET
Mastodon Debut (Slightly) Mellower Epics at Bonnaroo | ARTICLE

Unlike Metallica last night, Atlanta's Mastodon showed off some killer new epics from their forthcoming album due out later this year. For the new tunes — one of which was titled "Quintessence" — the group was joined...
June 15, 2008 11:39 AM ET
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings Bring the Funk on a Soulful Bonnaroo Saturday | ARTICLE

Soul shakedowns were all over the place at Bonnaroo on Saturday afternoon, as the drizzle gave way to sunshine. Over at This Tent, roots-rock duo The Wood Brothers jammed with keyboardist extraordinaire John Medeski; at the What...
June 14, 2008 8:38 PM ET
Metallica Bring Metal Thunder and Heavy Pyro to Bonnaroo | ARTICLE

Throughout Metallica's two-hour headlining set at Bonnaroo on Friday night, singer James Hetfield kept teasing that the band would be playing new songs from their just-finished album, at one point saying: "If you want, we'll just play...
June 14, 2008 10:07 AM ET
M.I.A. Delivers High-Energy Bonnaroo Dance Party at "Last Show" | ARTICLE

No one really knew whether M.I.A. was going to show up for her Bonnaroo performance. Days before her set, the Sri Lankan MC announced that she was canceling her European tour due to exhaustion. But as soon...
June 13, 2008 10:35 PM ET
"Petrified" Adele Wins Over Bonnaroo Crowd | ARTICLE

Early afternoons at Bonnaroo offer the best chances to catch up-and-coming acts and upstart British singer Adele delivered one of the day's higlights. Like Amy Winehouse, Adele Adkins is a neo-soul singer and a graduate of Winehouse's...
June 13, 2008 4:45 PM ET
Vampire Weekend Debut New Song as Bonnaroo Kicks Into Gear | ARTICLE

Midway through Vampire Weekend's Thursday night closing set, frontman Ezra Koenig jokingly asked the crowd, "Did anyone take public transportation to get here?" Judging by the hours of traffic it took thousands of cars and RVs to...
June 13, 2008 11:24 AM ET
Battles Bring the Space Funk on Bonnaroo's Opening Night | ARTICLE

Battles may be one of the stranger acts to play at Bonnaroo, the annual Tennessee festival that has a tradition of hosting jammier bands like Phil Lesh and Friends and Trey Anastasio. But with the lineup more...
June 13, 2008 11:02 AM ET
Metallica's Ulrich & Pearl Jam's McCready Lay Out Bonnaroo 2008 Plans | ARTICLE

Bonnaroo is less than a month away, so we checked in with Metallica's Lars Ulrich and Pearl Jam's Mike McCready to see what's in store for their performances. Although they're working on a new record with producer...
May 16, 2008 8:40 AM ET
Video: Duffy Talks Duetting With Legends, New Album "Rockferry" | ARTICLE

May 13, 2008 2:44 PM ET
Sting, Brian Wilson Rock a Family Affair at Carnegie Hall for Rainforest Benefit | ARTICLE

Over the last 15 years, Sting and his wife Trudie Styler have hosted a bi-annual charity concert at New York's Carnegie Hall to celebrate the Rainforest Foundation Fund, which the two founded in 1989 to preserve rainforests...
May 9, 2008 2:34 PM ET
In the Studio: Of Montreal | ARTICLE

For Of Montreal's previous disc, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? Kevin Barnes wrote freaked-out synth-pop tunes that explored the depression he felt when he became a father and moved to his wife's native Norway....
March 21, 2008 3:25 PM ET
Wilco Open Up the Vault | ARTICLE

"It's a very exhaustive way to approach a string of shows," Jeff Tweedy says backstage at Chicago's Riviera Theatre, where Wilco have pledged to play every song from all of their albums during a five-night homestand. "This...
March 13, 2008 4:20 PM ET
Nick Cave, Dizzee Rascal Attempt to Rescue Dull Plug Awards | ARTICLE

Does the music industry really need another way to celebrate albums released in 2007? Last night's Plug Awards seemed to answer the question by irreverently referring to its trophies as Butt Plugs. At New York's Terminal 5,...
March 7, 2008 1:35 PM ET