Covers of The Velvet Underground’s ‘Loaded’ and The Stooges’ ‘Fun House’ (Rhino)
The Velvet Underground’s Loaded and TheStooges’ Fun House are the latest albums to get a high fidelity audio release.
Both are part of Rhino High Fidelity’s series of limited-edition, high-end vinyl reissues, cut from the original master tapes. Only 5,000 individually numbered copies have been pressed on 180-gram black vinyl and are available now via Rhino.com.
Loaded, released in 1970, was The Velvet Underground’s fourth studio album, and their last with lead singer and primary songwriter Lou Reed. It featured such iconic tunes as “Sweet Jane” and “Rock & Roll.”
Fun House, also released in 1970, was The Stooges’ sophomore record. Although it wasn’t a commercial hit when released, it went on to develop a cult following and has been included on lists of the greatest albums of all time.
“Something about this record that I like is the way it begins with a couple of very short, fully structured numbers, and then slips farther and farther out of control…yet it never loses a structure of its own,” The Stooges’ Iggy Pop writes in new liner notes. “This is not a meat-and-potatoes record. It’s not ‘ten really good songs that the consumer can depend on.’”
Bruce Springsteen performs onstage during the Academy Museum 5th Annual Gala in Partnership with Rolex at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 18, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Oscars/Getty Images for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures)
Just two days after releasing “Streets of Minneapolis,” Bruce Springsteen performed the protest song live for the first time.
The Boss was a special guest at Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello’s A Concert of Solidarity & Resistance to Defend Minnesota, which took Friday afternoon at the downtown Minneapolis venue First Ave.
Fan-shot footage posted to social media shows The Boss taking the stage to perform “Streets of Minneapolis” before being joined by Morello for an electric “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” during which they traded verses. That version of the song appeared on Springsteen’s 2014 High Hopes.
Springsteen, Morello and the rest of the performers then performed the John Lennon song “Power to the People.”
All proceeds from the concert will benefit the families of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were both shot and killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis in January.
Admat for ‘Foreigner: The Hits Orchestral – Celebrating 50 Years Live in Vegas’ (courtesy of Live Nation)
Foreigner is set to open a new Las Vegas residency in March, and they’ve just announced that the band’s original frontman, Lou Gramm, is joining them for two of the shows.
Foreigner: The Hits Orchestral – Celebrating 50 Years Live in Vegas at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Resort will consist of five shows running March 6 to 14. Gramm is set to host opening weekend, March 6 and 7.
Gramm, whose new solo album Released drops March 27, will also host a VIP book signing ahead of the shows, open to only 20 guests. It includes a meet and greet and photo op with Gramm, who’ll sign his book Juke Box Hero.
Foreigner: The Hits Orchestral – Celebrating 50 Years Live in Vegas will have the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band performing their biggest hits alongside a 20-piece orchestra, with arrangements written by Juilliard cello virtuoso Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer, who will also conduct.
“It’s a personal thrill for me to be hosting Foreigner’s opening weekend at the wonderful Venetian Resort,” says Gramm. “It’s a true delight to witness Foreigner performing all the hits with Dave Eggar’s amazing orchestra and I am so looking forward to welcoming many concert goers at my book signing event.”
Before Foreigner hits Vegas they’ll be playing a series of unplugged shows in Colorado, starting Feb. 25 in Beaver Creek. A complete list of dates can be found at foreigeronline.com.
Lenny Kravitz on Jimmy Kimmel Live!/(ABC/Randy Holmes)
Lenny Kravitz has unveiled his intro to NBC’s Sunday Night Basketball programming.
The “Let Love Rule” singer debuted the clip on Instagram Friday. In it, he performs a reworked version of the Elvis Presley track “Little Less Conversation,” with the lyrics adjusted to make reference to basketball and the Sunday night programming. The performance is cut with footage of various NBA highlights.
“I have been a fan of basketball and the NBA since I was a kid,” Kravitz said when his participation in the intro was announced in October. “I am happy to be invited to take part with NBC Sports and the NBA, and I celebrate their support of sports, music, and culture. I am looking forward to this special moment.”
Sunday Night Basketball debuts Feb. 1 on NBC and Peacock.
Kravitz is set to hit Mexico for three shows starting March 6 in Guadalajara. He’ll then head to Europe for a tour that launches June 12 in Florence, Italy. So far he has no U.S. dates on his 2026 schedule. A complete list of shows can be found at LennyKravitz.com.
Michael McDonald performs at ‘An Evening with Michael McDonald and Friends’ at The Canyon Club on November 4, 2015. (Photo by Michael Schwartz/WireImage)/Kenny Loggins performs during A Tribute to Brian Wilson September 27, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)
The Dobbie Brothers’ Michael McDonald and singer Kenny Loggins are set to appear on pop star CharliePuth’s upcoming album, Whatever’s Clever.
Charlie reveals in an Instagram video that he loves Yacht Rock, the term for smooth-sounding, jazz-inflected, highly polished soft rock hits from the ’70s and early ’80s. As an example, he plays a snippet of the Doobie Brothers’ “What a Fool Believes,” sung McDonald, and co-written by McDonald and Loggins.
“And I thought to myself, how am I gonna make a new album and not have Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins on it?” Charlie says in the video. “The answer is, you can’t. So what did a music lover like myself do? I called up Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins and they came over to my house.”
Charlie details how they all recorded a song together: Kenny played guitar, Michael played keyboards and they both sang on it. “Hearing his voice makes me wanna cry,” Charlie says of Michael’s soulful pipes.
After playing additional elements he recorded for the song — an orchestra, drums and background vocals — Charlie notes, “You put it all together and you have Yacht Rock in 2026 with the guys who invented it.”
Charlie concludes the video by playing a snippet of the unnamed song.
Cream ‘Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005’ reissue/(Surfdog Records)
Cream, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band made up of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce, has released an official video of the 2005 Royal Albert Hall performance of their iconic track “White Room.”
The performance is featured on the newly reissued live album Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005, which captured the band’s four-night reunion at the venue after 37 years apart.
The album is out now on triple blue and green splatter vinyl, and double blue and orange CD.
Released in October 2005, Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005, captures Cream’s first shows together since their farewell concerts at the same venue in November 1968. The band did reunite one other time, in 1993, for their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Mick Mars performs at SSE Arena Wembley on November 6, 2015 in London, England. (Neil Lupin/Redferns)
Mick Mars‘ lawyer has responded to Mötley Crüe declaring a “decisive victory” in their legal battle with the band’s former guitarist.
In a press release issued Wednesday, Mötley’s lawyer, Sasha Frid, of Miller Barondess, LLP, wrote that an arbitrator’s ruling “rejects every claim Mars made against the band and orders him to pay damages back to the group.”
“Mötley Crüe was fortunate to find an arbitrator who knows so little about the music industry and so little about the law,” says Mars lawyer, Ed McPherson. “He ruled that there was no difference between [vocalist] Vince [Neil] and [drummer] Tommy [Lee] quitting the band for a short time in the [’90s], and Mick spending his entire life in the band, and then, at age 72, having to stop touring because of a hideous crippling disease (Ankylosing Spondylitis).”
Mars first sued Mötley Crüe in 2023 over a financial dispute stemming from his retirement from touring in 2022. Mars, who was replaced by guitarist John 5, claimed that while he was no longer touring with Mötley due to health issues, he still remained a member of the band and deserved to be compensated as such.
Also in the suit, Mars accused the other Mötley members — Lee, Neil and bassist Nikki Sixx — of using prerecorded tracks during the band’s 2022 reunion tour, specifically claiming that Sixx “did not play a single note on bass” live.
According to the press release issued by Mötley’s lawyer, Mars “was forced to admit under oath that his statements were false” regarding the miming allegations.
“Mötley Crüe is correct that the recordings that they gave to the arbitrator had Nikki playing,” McPherson’s statement reads. “However, to this day, none of them has been able to explain the videos of Nikki’s bass sound blaring while his hands are nowhere near his bass, or the sound of Tommy’s drums playing before he steps up to them. I guess fans will have to make up their own minds as to whether the signature sound of Mötley Crüe is Nikki’s bass, Tommy’s drums, Vince’s voice, or Mick’s guitar.”
“Meanwhile, Mick will maintain his dignity, which he has done throughout this demoralizing process, focusing on his new music,” McPherson continues. “As always, the behavior of his former bandmates speaks for itself, as does the band’s press release on Wednesday.”
Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash were among the artists who performed at the FireAid benefit concerts, held to raise money for those affected by the January 2025 California wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes in the Los Angeles area.
The event took place at two venues: the Intuit Dome and the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California.
Other artists who performed included John Fogerty, Joni Mitchell, The Black Crowes, Sting, a reunited Nirvana joined by Joan Jett, Kim Gordon and Violet Grohl, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Earth, Wind & Fire and Green Day.
The concert was broadcast live on several streaming platforms.
Anthony Kiedis and Hillel Slovak of Red Hot Chili Peppers pose together during a soundcheck before a sold-out performance at the Ritz, New York, New York, December 12, 1986. (Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)
A new documentary on Red Hot Chili Peppers is coming to Netflix.
The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers focuses on the early years of the “Californication” outfit and specifically the artistic vision of original guitarist Hillel Slovak, who died in 1988. It will feature interviews with RHCP frontman Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea, as well as “others close to Slovak,” according to the doc’s description.
“The film explores the band’s early evolution on the LA music scene and the deep bond of their childhood friendship,” the description reads.
The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers will premiere on Netflix March 20.
Paul Mescal is Paul McCartney in Columbia Pictures ‘THE BEATLES – A Four-Film Cinematic Event.’ (Photo by: Chiabella James)
We’re getting our first official look at Sam Mendes’ films about The Beatles.
Sony has released a set of photos revealing Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr. They were also posted to the movie’s official Instagram account and to the accounts of The Beatles and the individual band members.
On Thursday, the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, founded by McCartney, revealed on Instagram that it had received “exclusive postcards” promoting the films, which were hidden around the school for students to find. Students then shared photos of themselves with the postcards, which were posted to the school’s Instagram Story.
According to Variety, the postcards also appeared at other Beatles-related locations, including the Cavern Club in Hamburg, Germany, the Lennon memorial Strawberry Field in New York’s Central Park, Lennon’s childhood home in Liverpool and the Abbey Road Live in Tokyo.
The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event will consist of four films, each told from the perspective of one of band member. Due to hit theaters in April 2028, the cast also includes Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, Mia McKenna-Bruce as Maureen Starkey, Anna Sawai as Yoko Ono and Aimee Lou Wood as Pattie Boyd.
