nirvana
Fontaines D.C. have paid tribute to both Bring Me the Horizon and Nirvana during a recent cover performance.
The Irish rockers unveiled their cover of Bring Me the Horizon’s 2013 single “Can You Feel My Heart” as part of an appearance on Like a Version, the long-running covers segment from Australian radio station triple j.
The performance was recorded earlier in the month, during the band’s recent tour of Australia, though it was broadcast on the morning of Friday, March 21 (Australia time). Though triple j have long presented the covers as being live, Fontaines D.C. vocalist Grian Chatten told fans on Monday (March 17) the band were forced to cancel a run of shows in Mexico and Latin America after he suffered a herniated disc which left him unable to perform.
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As is standard for Like a Version, Fontaines D.C.’s appearance launched with a rendition of an original, with the band tearing through 2024’s “Starburster” before debuting their Bring Me the Horizon tribute. Though officially billed as a rendition of “Can You Feel My Heart,” the performance shifts focus after the first chorus and sees Chatten instead singing the lyrics to Nirvana’s 1993 single “Heart-Shaped Box.”
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“I think the sound of that song, the electronic elements, and just the general vibe of it kind of reflects stuff that we were touching on our last album, Romance,” explained guitarist Conor Curley in a post-performance interview.
“It kind of seemed like a good place to start, and it’s a moody, beautiful song. I always get a little a bit nostalgic about that band just because it reminds me of reading and crying as a teenager and stuff like that, so I’ve always kind of kept tabs on them.”
“‘Heart-Shaped Box’ is an absolute classic,” he added in reference to Nirvana’s appearance in the performance. “Grian just started singing it when we were getting the sounds, and it was almost kind of like, ‘Do we switch it to that and use the instrumentation?’ So, it kind of just made sense.”
Notably, it’s not the first time that Fontaines D.C. have been the focus of the Like a Version studio in recent months. In February, Porter Robinson used his appearance on the segment to cover the band’s 2024 single “Favourite.”
“’Favourite’ was, no pun intended, one of my favorite songs of the last year,” Robinson said after the fact. “It was the song that made me a fan of Fontaines D.C. I just love it. I love major-key music. I love music that’s extremely catchy and extremely hooky. And I love the way that this song feels like it’s constantly tumbling forward.”
Having first launched in 2004, the Like a Version series has gone from being a near-impromptu acoustic affair to featuring larger studio productions. Numerous artists have taken part over the past two decades, with the likes of Billie Eilish, Childish Gambino, Arctic Monkeys, and more reinventing classic tracks in the process.
Tony Hawk has taken to social media to lament the fact that Kurt Cobain isn’t alive to meet the grandchild they share.
In September 2024, it was announced that Hawk’s son Riley and Cobain’s daughter Frances Bean had given birth to a baby boy. “Ronin Walker Cobain Hawk,” Cobain wrote on social media, revealing her son’s birth date as Sept. 17. “Welcome to the world most beautiful son. We love you more than anything.”
While the couple’s 2023 marriage and subsequent parenthood was the dream pairing that ‘90s kids the world over could have hoped for, it also resulted in the newborn boasting two of the decade’s most iconic and influential figures as his grandfathers.
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Now in his own post on social media, Tony Hawk has reflected on the impact that Kurt Cobain had upon his life, reflecting on a Nirvana gig he once attended and sharing his desire that Cobain could have met their shared grandson.
Hawk’s post was shared to Instagram Stories over the weekend and featured a ticket stub to an Oct. 20, 1991 Nirvana concert at the long-gone Houston, TX venue The Vatican. According to Hawk, he was in the area for a skateboarding competition and went directly from the event to the show.
“It was as transformative as live music can possibly be,” Hawk wrote of the gig. “We all experienced something rare and powerful that night. The world would never be the same.”
The event itself took place right on the cusp of Nirvana’s massive global takeover. Priced at just $10, the show took place just shy of four weeks after the seminal grunge outfit had released their breakthrough album, Nevermind. Just under three months later, the record would topple Michael Jackson’s Dangerous to claim the top spot on the Billboard 200, and swiftly turning the group into household names.
“I wish Kurt were here so he could see the incredible woman his daughter has become, meet her devoted, caring husband, and hold our wondrous grandchild,” Hawk added to his post.
Both Nirvana and Tony Hawk have found themselves at the forefront of the news cycle recently. While the surviving members of Nirvana performed separate reunion sets with celebrity vocalists for the FireAid LA Benefit Concert and Saturday Night Live’s SNL50: The Homecoming Concert, Hawk’s eponymous video game series has been the talk of the gaming world thanks to rumors of a new volume to be announced next week.
The journals of late Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley will be collected in an upcoming book, with This Angry Pen to be released in November.
The 176-page volume will be officially released on Nov. 11 via publisher Weldon Owen, with its full title reading This Angry Pen: The Lost Journals of Layne Staley. According to a description of the book on the website of distributors Simon & Schuster, the book collects “handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes” and more.
“For the first time, this stunning collection unveils the deeply personal and creative side of the legendary Alice in Chains frontman,” it continues. “Through never-before-seen poetry, raw handwritten lyrics, intimate scribblings, and heartfelt notes, Layne’s inner thoughts and emotions come to life, offering a glimpse into the mind of a musical genius who defined a generation.”
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Staley began his musical journey in the ‘80s, performing in glam bands in the Seattle area such as Sleze, which changed its name in 1986 to Alice N’ Chains.
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In 1987, Staley – along with guitarist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Mike Starr and drummer Sean Kinney – formed a new band and renamed it Alice in Chains. The group would soon become one of the most influential grunge rock outfits of the ‘90s, with their 1995 self-titled album peaking atop the Billboard 200.
In addition to performing and recording with supergroups Mad Season and Class of ‘99 through the decade, Staley became largely reclusive in the latter half of the ‘90s, battling depression and drug addiction during those years. In April 17, 2002, Staley’s body was found in his Seattle apartment, with an autopsy ruling his death as an accidental overdose of cocaine and heroin from two weeks prior.
Alice in Chains would later reform in 2005, with vocalist William DuVall joining the following year. The band have since released three studio albums, with 2018’s Rainier Fog serving as their last record to date.
“Through Layne’s scribblings and heartfelt musings are a window into the emotional depths of a man who gave so much of himself to his art and his fans, even as he struggled with his own battles,” the description for This Angry Pen continued. “For fans new and old, this is an opportunity to connect with Layne’s artistry and humanity in a way that’s never been possible before. His story, told through his own words, creations, and the lives he forever changed, is a testament to the enduring power of music, art, and the human spirit.”
The publication of This Angry Pen also draws some comparisons to the 2002 book Journals, which collected the drawings and writings of late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. Nirvana and Alice in Chains – along with fellow Seattle contemporaries Pearl Jam and Soundgarden – were often considered to make up the ‘Big Four’ of grunge music. Reaction to Cobain’s Journals was mixed upon its release, with Cobain’s daughter Frances Bean expressing her regret over its publication in 2018.
With under two weeks to go until Saturday Night Live host their homecoming concert as part of their 50th-anniversary celebrations, the prolific Dave Grohl has been added to the lineup of performers.
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Hosted by Jimmy Fallon, the SNL 50: The Homecoming Concert will take place at 8 p.m. ET on Feb. 14 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with live streaming available on Peacock. It’s part of the iconic show’s ongoing birthday celebrations which have also included the premiere of the 50 Years of SNL Music documentary on Jan. 27, and the SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night documentary on Jan. 16.
On Thursday (Jan. 30), SNL announced the names which will feature in their upcoming concert, with previous show hosts and performers Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus appearing atop the bill.
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Elsewhere, the likes Post Malone, Jelly Roll and the Backstreet Boys can also be found on the bill, in addition to Arcade Fire, Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Chris Martin, David Byrne, DEVO, Eddie Vedder, Jack White, Mumford & Sons, The B-52s and The Roots.
At the time, it was noted that more performers would be announced leading up to the show, with Consequence now confirming that Dave Grohl will also be joining the lineup.
Though absent from the initial announcement, a promotional video for the event has since mentioned Grohl’s presence. Notably, Grohl is the only artist featured in the video who was not named in last week’s lineup, though the clip also overlooks mention of confirmed performers Brittany Howard, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and Robyn.
The Foo Fighters founder has been largely absent from the public eye since September 2024 when he announced he had become the father of a new baby born outside of his marriage to Jordyn Blum. “I love my wife and my children, and I am doing everything I can to regain their trust and earn their forgiveness,” a statement released by Grohl at the time read.
Grohl’s upcoming contribution to the SNL’s Homecoming Concert makes sense, however. To date, he holds the record for most musical appearances on the show, with 15 performances taking place between 1992 and 2023.
These include nine times with the Foo Fighters, twice with Nirvana, once as a drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and once as a member of Them Crooked Vultures. The Foo Fighters have also appeared as a special guest with Mick Jagger in 2012, and Grohl also performed with his Nirvana bandmates alongside Paul McCartney later that same year.
More recently, Grohl also appeared in the 50 Years of SNL Music documentary, and on Thursday (Jan. 30), took part in a Nirvana reunion as part of the FireAid LA Benefit Concert. Appearing alongside bandmates Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear, the four-song set featured guest vocalists St. Vincent, Kim Gordon, and Joan Jett, with Grohl’s own daughter Violet closing out proceedings with a rendition of “All Apologies”.
Violet Grohl, the daughter of rock veteran Dave Grohl, is reportedly in the process of preparing her debut album.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Violet has been working on new material in a studio space that she had been gifted for her birthday by her father. Having performed alongside Dave in the past and also releasing music as a solo artist, Violet is has been described as being “incredibly committed” to the musical process and “to growing as an artist” by an unnamed source.
Currently, her studio time has seen her working with producer Justin Raisen, who has worked with artists as varied as Charli XCX, Drake, and John Legend, and most recently, Kim Gordon on her Grammy-nominated album The Collective.
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Violet first emerged as a musician in 2018 at the age of 12, performing a cover of Adele’s “When We Were Young” with her father. Since then, she has also joined her father and other surviving members of Nirvana for a cover of “Heart-Shaped Box”, in addition to providing backing vocals for the likes of St. Vincent and Beck.
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She’s also provided backing vocals on songs released the Foo Fighters‘ Medicine at Midnight and But Here We Are albums, and performed as part of the tribute concerts to late drummer Taylor Hawkins. In 2021, she also released her debut single, covering X’s “Nausea”, again in collaboration with her father.
“She’s a true torch singer,” a source told The Hollywood Reporter of her recent material. “Her vocals are tremendous. She’s very talented.”
Currently, official details relating to Violet’s full-length debut are being kept under wraps, including whether the music will be released via the Foo Fighters’ Roswell Records imprint of RCA Records – as was her “Nausea” single.
Dave Grohl and the remainder of his family have been relatively absent from the public eye since September, when Dave shared he had become the father of a daughter born outside of his marriage. “I plan to be a loving and supportive parent to her,” he wrote on social media.
“I love my wife and my children, and I am doing everything I can to regain their trust and earn their forgiveness,” he added. “We’re grateful for your consideration toward all the children involved, as we move forward together.”
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