“The perfect pop song is by definition the imperfect pop song”: Jack Antonoff on vintage gear, analogue synths and Taylor Swift’s Midnights
“If you buy one piece of music software this month, make it this one”: 5 plugins you need to know about, from bonkers multi-effects to fat saturators
Why a Led Zep classic has finally been licensed to a film: “It’s an epic song… a song that made sense to introduce the film to the world”
“If you missed a part, Prince would turn round and keep dancing, but hold up five fingers. That was $50”: The New Power Generation’s Levi Seacer Jr on learning songs fast, fines, and how funny his boss was up close
“Ozzy said, ‘It’s not an option. It’s what I want. If I miss a few months of my life, I want to go this way’”: Ozzy Osbourne went against medical advice to play his final show
“New metal has a lot to offer, but you take away the masks, and it’s the same stuff I was listening to in the ’70s”: Recently retired after a remarkable career with Judas Priest, veteran bassist Ian Hill reflects on the enduring power of heavy metal
“I was the first guitar player to play that instrument in public since Hendrix himself”: The time Kenny Wayne Shepherd played Jimi Hendrix’s Woodstock Stratocaster
“I don’t want anyone to think that I’m trying to step in and be the new Chuck. My mission was to allow these songs to be played the best way we can, for the people”: How Left to Die revived death metal icon Chuck Schuldiner’s teenage recordings
“Nobody sat me down and said, ‘I need this kind of song from you.’ There was more of a subtle, nuanced… withholding”: How Sara Bareilles’ failed co-songwriting sessions led to Love Song, her ‘stick it to ‘em’ smash
Jaco Pastorius, Phil Collins, Steve Gadd, John McLaughlin and more – Al Di Meola on collaborating with the best of the best: “I was using musicians who could walk into a studio, look at very difficult music, understand it, and play it”
“A total disaster… devastating on every level. I felt invisible and unimportant and manipulated”: How Sara Bareilles’ failed co-songwriting sessions led to Love Song, her ‘stick it to ‘em’ smash
“I wear it as a badge of honour that it was voted the worst song of all time. But that song has paid the rent for many decades”: Bernie Taupin doesn’t regret writing the lyrics for a much-maligned US No 1 hit – but he’s still embarrassed by it
“A master-quality listening experience that captures the full dynamics of the recording”: Forget vinyl and CD revivals – Joni Mitchell’s Court and Spark has just been reissued on reel-to-reel tape
How Beck and Nigel Godrich’s “simple and clean” philosophy produced one of the best-sounding albums of the 21st century: “When he opens his mouth, a canyonesque vibration comes out. It’s quite remarkable”
