Doug O’Brien

When CBS announced on July 17, 2025 that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert would wrap up in May 2026, it marked the end of a franchise that began in 1993 and became a late‑night anchor for multiple generations. Stephen Colbert—who took over from David Letterman in 2015—signed off on nearly 1,700 episodes, blending sharp political satire […]

Phil Collins’s iconic 3-second drum fill on “In the Air Tonight” isn’t just a beat—it defined an era. Picture this: late 1980 at London’s legendary Townhouse Studios, and Phil—fresh off a tough divorce—was recording tracks for his solo debut, Face Value. In Studio One’s cavernous “stone room,” engineer Hugh Padgham experimented with a talkback mic […]

Heavy metal history was made at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, as Ozzy Osbourne said goodbye at his final show. The original Black Sabbath lineup reunited for the first time in two decades for the charity concert “Back to the Beginning.” The emotionally-charged farewell raised over $190 million, setting a new record as the highest-grossing […]

Entertainment Weekly’s “Best Sci-Fi TV Shows of All Time” list had me exploring the connection between sci-fi and classic rock. It isn’t just thematic—it’s sonic, cinematic, and loud enough to warp time. The analog whine of a phaser connects us to the sound of keyboards and guitars in any prog rock or heavy metal classic. […]

Velvet Sundown burst onto Spotify in early June 2025 with their debut album Floating on Echoes. Within weeks, they logged over 1 million monthly listeners—powered in part by their hit folk-rock single “Dust on the Wind,” which peaked at #1 on Spotify’s Viral 50 list in Sweden, Norway, and the UK Initially assumed to be a […]

Before cell phones, TikTok, and online multiplayer, there was one sacred place where everything happened: the video arcade at the mall. If you grew up in the ’80s, the arcade — usually tucked next to the food court or right inside the mall entrance — was more than just a place to play games. It […]

When Apple Music dropped its list of the Top 500 Most-Streamed Songs of All Time, it was clear: today’s charts belong to modern pop, hip-hop, and algorithm-approved anthems. But buried in the shuffle, a few classic rock tracks held their ground — not as nostalgia, but as proof that great songs can’t be contained to […]

On July 5, 2025, the last line of an amazing piece of rock history was written at Birmingham’s Villa Park as Ozzy Osbourne—aged 76 and battling the effects of Parkinson’s and past spinal surgeries—took the stage for what he confirmed would be his final live performance. The event, aptly named “Back to the Beginning,” reunited the […]

It’s “National Blame Someone Else Day,” which means for one glorious 24-hour stretch, you are legally, emotionally, and spiritually allowed to shove all your mistakes onto anyone who’s not currently holding a mirror.  Today, let’s not focus on who did it. Let’s focus on how we can pretend it didn’t happen.  RELATED STORY: 30 Great […]

Legendary rock band Triumph reunited for the first time in over a decade — not at a festival; not on a reunion tour, but at the most sacred of Canadian gatherings; a Stanley Cup Finals game.  Rogers Place in Edmonton, AL on Friday was already electric for Game 2 of the Edmonton Oilers–Florida Panthers series, […]

A band may have great musicians, excellent songs and writing, a fantastic stage presence and more: But none of that matters without a name. Coming up with a great name for a band can be challenging, something musicians can agonize over. For Guy Gelso, Felix Hanemann and Randy Jackson of Zebra, settling on their name […]

Randy Jackson of Zebra stops by the Houston BMW Studios ahead of his band’s show at the House of Blues Houston on Saturday. Jackson and Doug O’Brien talk about Zebra’s 50th anniversary, the band’s origins, their commercial breakthrough and the process of relaxing their upcoming album – PLUS MORE! RELATED: Zebra Setlist: ’50th Anniversary’ Tour RELATED: 25 […]