Bryan Wawzenek is a freelance journalist who writes for Diffuser.fm and Ultimate Classic Rock. He learned more from a three-minute record than he ever learned in school. His mind is racing, as it always will. Don't start him talking, he could talk all night. The sunshine bores the daylights out of him. Don't touch him, he's a real live wire. Most things he worries about never happen anyway. But he's been smiling lately, thinking about the good things to come.
Bryan Wawzenek
27 Years Ago: Tom Petty’s House Burns Down
Tom Petty's house was set on fire by an arsonist on May 17, 1987.
The Story of the Pretenders’ Comeback Album, ‘Last of the Independents’
'Last of the Independents' was a return to form for the Pretenders, arriving at the apex of alternative rock's popularity.
45 Years Ago: The Kinks Release ‘Village Green Preservation Society’
‘The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society’ was both ahead of and behind the times when the British rockers released the album in November 1968. A critical success, but commercial disappointment at the time, the ‘Village Green’ LP eventually became the Kinks’ bestselling studio album, prompting frontman Ray Davies to once refer to it as “the most successful flop of all time.”
50 Years Ago: The Beatles Release ‘With the Beatles’
‘With the Beatles’ was a hit before it was even released. By November 1963, Beatlemania was raging across the U.K.. On the heels of the Fab Four’s debut LP, ‘Please Please Me,’ and the smash singles ‘From Me to You’ and ‘She Loves You,’ ‘With the Beatles’ could have featured 33 minutes of Ringo Starr performing Shakespeare and it still would have topped the charts.
48 Years Ago: Roger Daltrey Walks Out on the Who
The early days of the Who were tumultuous times. Four different personalities were learning to coexist. The band changed its name three times. Pete Townshend and Keith Moon began to revel in the joy of destroying their instruments. And Roger Daltrey often found himself at odds with the rest of the band...
30 Years Ago: The Clash Fire Mick Jones
In 1983, “the only band that matters” was poised to become the biggest band in the world. Over the course of a few years, the Clash had gone from punk upstarts to a passionately eclectic band capable of rocking stadiums.
30 Years Ago: Jackson Browne Releases ‘Lawyers in Love’
As Jackson Browne prepared to release his sixth studio album, the singer-songwriter was at the peak of his pop success. His previous LP, 1980’s ‘Hold Out,’ was Browne’s first (and only) album to hit #1 on the Billboard charts. Plus, he had scored his biggest hit single with 1982’s ‘Somebody’s Baby,’ featured on the soundtrack to ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High.’
35 Years Ago: Bob Dylan’s ‘Street-Legal’ Album Released
'Street-Legal,' Bob Dylan’s 18th album, was created during a period of personal and artistic strife. The year before the record's release, Dylan finalized the divorce of his 11-year marriage to Sara, underwent a custody battle for his kids and continued to edit his ill-fated, four-hour movie ‘Renaldo and Clara,’ which had been shot in 1975.
35 Years Ago: The Band Releases ‘The Last Waltz’ Soundtrack
Is it better to burn out than fade away? Or is it best to have one last, blow-out show? ‘The Last Waltz,’ as a concert, a film and an album, served as the Band’s farewell to performing and recording – at least in its original incarnation.
46 Years Ago: Beatles Pose for ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Cover Photo
At the time, it was one of the most expensive album covers ever created. And in the end, it would become one of the most iconic images in rock 'n' roll history.
How the War in Iraq Impacted Bruce Springsteen’s Music
The U.S. invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003, led to a shift in setlists, and then subject matter, for Bruce Springsteen.