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John Fiddler is an indefatigable old trouper- despite some health challenges over the last year, he was back at the Eel Pie Club for the second time in 12 months with his revamped Medicine Head line up. Initially slow to … Continue reading →

The post Gig review: MEDICINE HEAD- The Cabbage Patch, Twickenham, 19 February 2026 appeared first on Get Ready to ROCK!.

People love to tell artists to “stick to the music,” as if melodies exist in a vacuum, untethered from the world that bleeds into them. They want the song, but they don’t want the soul behind it, especially when that soul has something uncomfortable to say. But art has never been a vacuum. It is a mirror, and sometimes the reflection is jagged. If you want to understand what it looks like when a creator refuses to blink, you have to look at Nina Simone.

Nina was a technician of the sublime who carried the weight of a classical education into a world that tried to lock its doors. When the prestigious institutions rejected her, not because of her talent, but because of her skin, she took that cold, technical perfection and bled it into jazz and blues. She created a genre that didn’t have a name yet, built entirely on her own terms. She commanded her notes with a terrifying precision, where every lyric was a deliberate choice, and every silence in her performance felt like a sharp edge. She held total authority over the air in the room.

In an era where performers were expected to be “safe” to keep their careers alive, Nina chose to be dangerous. She saw the world breaking and refused to pretend it was whole. After the murder of Medgar Evers and the Birmingham church bombing, she didn’t write a polite letter of protest. She wrote “Mississippi Goddam.” She used works like “Backlash Blues” and “Four Women” to dissect systemic racism and the suffocating stereotypes placed on Black women. She sang about police violence and economic chains at a time when the radio only wanted love songs.

She understood the gravity of those choices. Her defiance cost her airplay, venues, and money, yet she remained indifferent to the loss of status. She traded the hollow comfort of a mainstream career for the heavy authority of her own conviction. She refused to soften the blow just so the audience could sleep better at night.

Nina Simone’s legacy is a blueprint for how to exist as an artist without losing your pulse. She proved that a woman could hold absolute power over her craft and her politics simultaneously. She remains a haunting presence for the uncompromising, vibrating in every artist who knows that if your craft doesn’t stand for something, it is just noise. She claimed her power in a world that tried to keep her small, and she lived completely in charge of her own shadow.

The post She’s In Charge: Nina Simone and the Sound of Protest first appeared on FemMetal – Goddesses of Metal.

In the 2010s, Grace Bennett and Jade Alcantara were living in separate cities, bonding online over their stan-level fandom for One Direction (Bennett) and the 1975 (Alcantra). That turned into a real-life friendship that involved meeting up at shows multiple times per year and, in 2019, buying guitars to start their own band despite not…

The post Sub*T Announce Debut Album <em>How My Own Voice Sounds</em>: Hear “Overcomplicate” appeared first on Stereogum.

Happy birthday, “NUXX,” you sound as good as the day we met.

The post Underworld Celebrates Three Decades of Born Slippy at The O2 Brixton Academy appeared first on Louder Than War.

Ex-Quiet .

The post Ex-Quiet Riot bassist Chuck Wright’s biggest regret — ‘not being aware of business side earlier’ in his career first appeared on Sleaze Roxx.

ANGER MGMT. dive headfirst into psychological turbulence on Under My Skin, delivering a track that simmers with tension before erupting in waves of raw intensity. The build up is deliberate, tightening its grip until the first drop lands with force, pulling everything into a darker, heavier current.

There is a restless pulse driving the song forward, reflecting that inner battle between collapse and resistance. Thick guitars and a commanding low end give the track weight, especially as the bridge opens into a more expansive, almost suffocating atmosphere. By the final moments, the bass resurfaces with striking emphasis, grounding the chaos in something physical and undeniable. Under My Skin is not subtle. It is immersive, confrontational, and emotionally charged from start to finish.

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The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has unveiled its 2026 nominees, once again placing several new wave-era heavyweights back in contention. Joy Division and New Order return to the ballot for a second nomination, joined by fellow returning nominee Billy Idol and renewed contenders INXS.

Few nominees loom as large as Joy Division and New Order—two bands linked by loss, reinvention, and seismic influence. From the stark architecture of Unknown Pleasures to the electronic blueprint of “Blue Monday,” their legacy threads through post-punk, alternative rock, and modern dance music. Long championed by peers such as U2 and The Cure, their stature has only grown over time. Henry Rollins once put it plainly: “Joy Division is one of the greatest bands ever, and Unknown Pleasures is the proof.” Billy Corgan has gone even further, arguing that outside of The Beatles, Joy Division may be the most influential band of the 20th century.

Billy Idol also returns to the ballot this year after helping define the MTV era with his peroxide sneer and fist-raised hooks. From Generation X to “White Wedding” and “Rebel Yell,” he bridged punk’s bite with arena-sized choruses.

INXS, meanwhile, made sleek, groove-driven rock a global export. Fronted by the late Michael Hutchence, whose magnetic presence helped define the band’s mystique, the Australian group delivered hits like “Need You Tonight” and “Never Tear Us Apart,” balancing dancefloor rhythm with new wave anthems and arena-sized hooks.

Eligibility begins 25 years after an artist’s first commercial release. The Class of 2026 will be announced later this spring, with the induction ceremony expected in Cleveland in the autumn.

Here is the full list of nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2026:

• Joy Division / New Order

• Billy Idol

• INXS

• The Black Crowes

• The White Stripes

• Oasis

• Mariah Carey

• Sade

• Cyndi Lauper

• Soundgarden

• Outkast

• The Smashing Pumpkins

• Bad Company

• Iron Maiden

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Follow Joy Division:

• Instagram
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Spotify

The post Joy Division / New Order, Billy Idol, and INXS Nominated for 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame appeared first on Post-Punk.com.