Best Of

A selection of our top stories, for your reading pleasure…

From the Lou Reed Archive/The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

LOU REED’S ARCHIVE HOLDS SIX HUNDRED HOURS OF MOSTLY UNRELEASED AUDIO, AND OTHER REVELATIONS FROM HIS ARCHIVIST

Michael ShelleyOctober 17, 2018

Don Fleming, rock musician (Gumball, Dinosaur Jr, Velvet Monkeys) and producer (Sonic Youth, Teenage Fanclub, Hole, Alice Cooper, Dictators, Joan Jett, Richard Hell) is also one of rock & roll’s preeminent archivists. In recent months, he helped ...

All Please Kill Me PostsBest OfHistoryInterviewsMichael ShelleyMusicians2 Comments 14

The Velvet Underground in 1970: Doug Yule, left, Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison and Moe Tucker. (Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)

DOUG YULE: THE FORGOTTEN VELVET

Richie UnterbergerOctober 16, 2018

He appeared on more Velvet Underground recordings than John Cale or Nico and yet he is seldom mentioned in documentaries about the band, and was not included in the induction of the VU into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Richie Unterberger...

All Please Kill Me PostsBest OfHistoryInterviewsMusiciansRichie Unterberger4 Comments 1

STERLING SPEAKS! STERLING MORRISON’S LAST INTERVIEW WITH LEGS MCNEIL, 1995

Legs McNeilOctober 11, 2018

Sterling Morrison (1942-1995) was the guitarist for the Velvet Underground, appearing on all four studio albums that the band made. He left the band in 1971 and moved to Texas to finish graduate school, became both a tugboat captain and a college pro...

All Please Kill Me PostsBest OfCool PeopleHistoryInterviewsLegs McNeilMusicians1 Comment 2

Herman's Hermits in 1968. From L-R: Keith Hopwood, Karl Green, Derek Leckenby, frontman Peter Noone, and Barry Whitwam. By NBC Television

PETER NOONE IS THE BIGGEST SEX PISTOLS FAN EVER! AND OTHER STARTLING REVELATIONS FROM THE HEAD HERMIT

Valerie SimadisOctober 4, 2018

The former child TV star was part of the British Invasion that conquered America, chums with Keith Moon, Brian Jones and John Lennon, recorded with Bowie, and still tours and tells tales on his Sirius XM show “Something Good With Peter Noone” In the...

All Please Kill Me PostsBest OfInterviewsMusiciansValerie Simadis1 Comment 0

THE JOYS OF RENT BOYS AND DRAG QUEENS, THE STOOGES AND BOWIE: A CONVERSATION WITH LEEE BLACK CHILDERS

PKM EditorSeptember 27, 2018

Photographer and scene maker Leee Black Childers on his wild and woolly ride with Iggy, the Stooges, David Bowie, Andy Warhol, Candy Darling, Jackie Curtis, Wayne/Jayne County, underage groupies, leather boys, and in the gay bars and bathhouses of NY...

All Please Kill Me PostsBest OfCool PeopleInterviews2 Comments 0

THE ‘5TH RAMONE’ SPEAKS!

Michael ShelleySeptember 24, 2018

Ramones Tour Manager Monte A. Melnick on the fights, the insanity, and the passions! The Ramones formed in March of 1974 and broke up in August of 1996 and Monte A. Melnick was a witness to almost every moment of their groundbreaking and influential...

All Please Kill Me PostsBest OfHistoryInterviewsMichael Shelley4 Comments 8

THE MC5’S WAYNE KRAMER TALKS ABOUT THE HARD STUFF

Todd McGovernSeptember 3, 2018

Fifty years after the recording of the MC5’s first album Kick Out the Jams and the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Wayne Kramer talks about his new memoir, the formation of the MC5, playing at the protest outside the Chica...

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GTOs with the Flying Burrito Brothers in front of the Whisky - Photo by Julian Wasser, courtesy of Pamela Des Barres

SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO: GRAM PARSONS

Pamela Des BarresAugust 30, 2018

First spotted at the premiere of the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, Gram Parsons - the new Byrd, then Flying Burrito Brother and later, solo artist - made an instant lifelong impression You know how potent that often unexpected moments in our lives stan...

All Please Kill Me PostsBest OfMusiciansPamela Des Barres8 Comments 13

BILL GRIFFITH: THE VIEW FROM HIS COMIX OBSERVATORY

Alan BisbortAugust 29, 2018

The brilliant cartoonist, comic strip artist, creator of Zippy the Pinhead, inspirer of Belushi/Ackroyd and keeper of the underground comix flame, turns his hand to his Levittown childhood and to the life and times of Schlitzie, circus sideshow star ...

Alan BisbortAll Please Kill Me PostsArtBest OfComedyCool PeopleInterviews0 Comments 1

Joe Strummer with Dicky Barrett of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Photo by Jay Hale

MY NIGHT WITH JOE STRUMMER

Margo TiffenAugust 21, 2018

On what would have been The Clash and Mescaleros frontman Joe Strummer’s 66th birthday, Margo Tiffen recollects a notable evening in Boston with Joe and friends. I was lucky to get to spend some time with Joe Strummer, and he was as cool and fun as ...

All Please Kill Me PostsBest OfCool PeopleMargo TiffenMusicians7 Comments 4

PROFESSOR RAT SCABIES MEETS THE HOLY GRAIL

Amy HabenAugust 16, 2018

Rat Scabies, longtime drummer for The Damned (real name: Chris Millar), has continued pounding the skins while also teaching at universities. PKM spoke to him about his collaborations with Donovan and the Dandy Warhols, his solo album, and more. We ...

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GLITTER MANIA AT THE RAINBOW FOR ELTON JOHN’S BIRTHDAY, 1974

Nora NovakAugust 6, 2018

Set the Wayback Machine for the Sunset Strip in 1974, at a decadent rock ‘n’ roll palace during the peak of glitter-mania, with special guests David Bowie, Elton John, and two ‘Rainbow Ready’ ladies It was a cool spring night as my fellow glitter go...

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THE LONESOME DEATH OF DANNY RAPP: THE FRONT MAN FOR DANNY & THE JUNIORS

Burt KearnsJuly 24, 2018

Danny Rapp, the man who first sang “Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay” and “At The Hop” stumbled and fell after stardom faded by Burt Kearns & Jeff Abraham The Juvenairs were four teenagers from southwest Philadelphia who got together in 1955 to ...

All Please Kill Me PostsBest OfBurt KearnsHistoryMusicians2 Comments 9

THE LEGEND OF WHITE BOY RICK – THE FBI INFORMANT WHO WAS SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON AT AGE 17

Chris SimunekJune 21, 2018

At 14, Richard Wershe Jr. infiltrated the Detroit drug trade for the FBI. He then turned his street knowledge into a lucrative cocaine business, until he was busted at 17 and sentenced to life in prison. Due to the journalism of Seth Ferranti, also s...

All Please Kill Me PostsBest OfChris SimunekCrimeDocumentary Film2 Comments 1

Carol Kaye started as a jazz solo guitarist, working the club scene of 1950s LA, when she was asked to work on some studio tracks for Sam Cooke. Though she loved the bebop jazz scene, Carol was a single mother with three kids and so to the studios she went, eventually switching to bass. She ultimately changed the very sound and role of that instrument in pop music as a member of what drummer Hal Blaine dubbed The Wrecking Crew (but which Carol has called The Clique). By any name, these were the session musicians who shaped some of the biggest hits of the 1960s, after which she went back to playing live gigs and working in movies and television, writing and teaching, which she is still doing in her 80s. Michael Shelley talks with the amazing Carol Kaye for PKM. Read more!

Fabrizio on VISUALIZING MARC ALMOND: JAMIE MCLEOD’S CAMERA EYEI dont agree at all on McLeod's view on "crowdfunding". The fans freely choose to support they're favourite artist's project, often knowing that they would buy the finished product anyway. I'm bei surprised by Jamie's strong statement, describing those who engage in this practice as "lowlives", as Marc Almond himself
Alan (V.) Karr on THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA: RIDING THE CAMEO PARKWAY WITH JOE RENZETTI“96 Tears” did not originate in Philly - it was recorded in Bay City, Michigan by an indie label based in San Antonio, Bego/Pa-Go-Go. ?...were from Michigan as well. Aggressive licensing tactics for masters originating with smaller labels by a young Neil Bogart gave C-P a short lived revival before
makingleftturns on YOU CAN’T WIN: WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS AND THE REAL JACK BLACKAbsolutely engrossing. I simply can't get enough. Even when the subject is someone I could care less about (this article is right up my alley), I still must read.

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HEAVY METAL PARKING LOT: UNRAVELING A MYSTERY

THE INTREPID TRAVELLER: KEN BABBS ON THE MERRY PRANKSTERS, THE BEATS, THE DEAD, WOODSTOCK, AND MUCH MORE

THE MEKONS: STILL THRIVING ON LOW EXPECTATIONS

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FRED WILLARD WAS FOREVER YOUNG: AND REALLY REALLY OLD

SHOOTING STIV BATORS AND LORDS OF THE NEW CHURCH

DENNIS HOPPER’S BLUE PERIOD: THE MAKING OF OUT OF THE BLUE (1980)

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LOU REED’S ARCHIVE HOLDS SIX HUNDRED HOURS OF MOSTLY UNRELEASED AUDIO, AND OTHER REVELATIONS FROM HIS ARCHIVIST

DOUG YULE: THE FORGOTTEN VELVET

STERLING SPEAKS! STERLING MORRISON’S LAST INTERVIEW WITH LEGS MCNEIL, 1995

PETER NOONE IS THE BIGGEST SEX PISTOLS FAN EVER! AND OTHER STARTLING REVELATIONS FROM THE HEAD HERMIT

THE JOYS OF RENT BOYS AND DRAG QUEENS, THE STOOGES AND BOWIE: A CONVERSATION WITH LEEE BLACK CHILDERS

THE ‘5TH RAMONE’ SPEAKS!

THE MC5’S WAYNE KRAMER TALKS ABOUT THE HARD STUFF

SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO: GRAM PARSONS

BILL GRIFFITH: THE VIEW FROM HIS COMIX OBSERVATORY

MY NIGHT WITH JOE STRUMMER

PROFESSOR RAT SCABIES MEETS THE HOLY GRAIL

GLITTER MANIA AT THE RAINBOW FOR ELTON JOHN’S BIRTHDAY, 1974

THE LONESOME DEATH OF DANNY RAPP: THE FRONT MAN FOR DANNY & THE JUNIORS

THE LEGEND OF WHITE BOY RICK – THE FBI INFORMANT WHO WAS SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON AT AGE 17

HEAVY METAL PARKING LOT: UNRAVELING A MYSTERY

THE INTREPID TRAVELLER: KEN BABBS ON THE MERRY PRANKSTERS, THE BEATS, THE DEAD, WOODSTOCK, AND MUCH MORE

THE MEKONS: STILL THRIVING ON LOW EXPECTATIONS

VISUALIZING MARC ALMOND: JAMIE MCLEOD’S CAMERA EYE

JONI MITCHELL: A RECKLESS DAUGHTER’S BRILLIANT JOURNEY