A Salute to the Funniest Music Videos

For Cracked, I went through decades of music videos to select the 20 funniest of all time. What's No. 1? Read on.

'Studio 666' Review

Foo Fighters make funny videos. So how come their horror-comedy spoof Studio 666 isn't better? I dive into that question over at Screen International.

Rock Music's Age Gap

In the 1960s, young people had Jagger, the Beatles and Dylan: young guys like themselves. In the '90s, it was Nirvana and Pearl Jam. But these days? Rock's biggest acts aren't in their 20s; they're older dudes like the folks in Foo Fighters. That changes a listener's relationship to the music he grows up loving. I wrote about it for MEL.

Foo Fighters - "How I Miss You"

So, for no reason other than the fact that the idea came to me, I've decided that, in November, each week's Friday Video will be devoted to a song I've listened to on repeat while dealing with some sort of heartache. I'm calling this series "Songs of Pine." I'm sure this tour through my musical back pages won't be embarrassing at all.

First up: "How I Miss You," which was a Foo Fighters B-side from their 1995 self-titled debut. This is such an obvious mid-'90s alternative-rock track: quiet vocals, minimalist but tense arrangement and then, finally, an explosion of guitars and yells. This is how pining used to sound to me, as if that eruption of power chords was a way of letting all that pain and anguish out of my system. Hearing "How I Miss You" now kinda makes me cringe -- the song isn't even that great -- but the rawness of its misery (or was it my misery projected onto the song?) still stirs something deep in me.

Why Foo Fighters Won the Nirvana/Pearl Jam Rivalry

Foo Fighters have a new album out. I used that occasion to discuss how they're the real victors in the Nirvana/Pearl Jam debate that we didn't really get to have back in the 1990s. My piece is up at MEL.

foo fighters - 'wasting light' review

Being a Foo Fighters fan isn't easy these days. Foo Fighters and The Colour and the Shape are albums that most people can agree are good, but after that? It gets a bit harder, although I think there's a lot of great stuff on There Is Nothing Left to Lose. So Wasting Light is sorta what you'd expect, which is both a good and bad thing.

them crooked vultures album review

After my initial skepticism, I admit that I've been won over by the self-titled debut from Them Crooked Vultures, the supergroup made up of Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme, Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones. My full review.

my new gig at about.com

In early June, I was selected to be the Rock Music guide at About.com. Organizing a site from scratch, under the direction of the great people at About.com, has been a major undertaking, but now that I feel a little more comfortable in the role, I'm very much enjoying it.

At About.com, I'll be doing reviews, profiles, interviews, and a blog that covers everything that falls under the category of Rock Music -- we're talking Foo Fighters, Soundgarden, Daughtry, etc. It'll be updated just about every day with new content, so come by often to see the latest and greatest.

And because it's run by me, there will be lots of Top 10 lists as well.

foo fighters: a fond look back

The Colour and the Shape just celebrated its 10th anniversary with a new reissue, including bonus tracks. Idolator may not see the point, but I nevertheless reviewed it quite favorably over at Blender.