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Noah Cyrus

Emerging in 2016 at the age of 16, Noah immediately captivated audiences with platinum singles such as “Make Me (Cry)” [feat. Labrinth] and “Again.” 2020’s The End of Everything EP yielded the triple-platinum “July” and gold “Lonely.” In between earning a GRAMMY® Award nomination for “Best New Artist,” she teamed up with PJ Harding for the People Don’t Change EP in 2021, where NME predicted, “it’s not hard to imagine her becoming a household name in her own right.” Along the way, she has performed at Coachella twice, and shined on The Late Late Show with James Corden, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live! Ellen, and The Today Show. In 2022, in the middle of a whirlwind of loss, heartbreak, and chaos, Noah Cyrus grabbed the reins, took control of her life, and told her story like never before. The GRAMMY® Award-nominated, multiplatinum Nashville-born and Los Angeles-based singer and songwriter uncovered the kind of strength you only find within. She’s lived every song, and the embers of her experiences burn bright over a soundtrack steeped in pop spirit, folk eloquence, and country soul. Noah stepped into herself on her critically acclaimed full-length debut album, The Hardest Part [RECORDS / Columbia Records].

XXXTENTACION

Controversial rapper Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy (aka XXXTentacion) played fast and loose when it came to genres, often incorporating elements of punk rock, hip-hop, R&B, and heavy metal. In the late 2010s, he experienced a quick rise with his dark and emotionally intense content, scoring a number one album with 2018's ?. Months later, at the peak of his popularity, he was shot and killed. Born in South Florida, Onfroy had a troubled upbringing, often getting into violent situations; his mother couldn't cope with raising him alone, so he was often forced to stay with various relatives as a result. At a very young age, Onfroy was sent to a juvenile detention center after committing armed robbery; it was there that he met friend and longtime collaborator <a href="spotify:artist:2rhFzFmezpnW82MNqEKVry">Ski Mask the Slump God</a>. After his release, both Onfroy and <a href="spotify:artist:2rhFzFmezpnW82MNqEKVry">Ski Mask</a> decided to get clean and pursue a career in music, setting up the Florida rap crew <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Members+Only%22">Members Only</a> in the process. In 2014, Onfroy uploaded his first track to SoundCloud, "Vice City," which quickly racked up hundreds of thousands of streams. Later the same year, he released two EPs, The Fall and Ice Hotel; the broad array of genres and vocal styles -- ranging from whispering and singing to rapping and outright screaming -- earned Onfroy a cult following in under a year. In 2015, he released two collaborative albums, Members Only, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 -- alongside <a href="spotify:artist:2rhFzFmezpnW82MNqEKVry">the Slump God</a> and various <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Members+Only%22">Members Only</a> associates -- as well as his third and fourth EPs, ItWasn'tEnough and Willy Wonka Was a Child Murderer. His debut album, Bad Vibes Forever, was originally intended to be a mixtape released in 2016; however, the expansion of the record into a full-length studio album, coupled with two separate incarcerations, repeatedly delayed the album's release. Single "Look at Me!," originally released in early 2016, became a sleeper hit and was re-released in 2017, at which point it hit the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. While serving a prison sentence in 2017, Onfroy signed a deal with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Empire+Distribution%22">Empire Distribution</a>. The label issued Revenge, an eight-song mixtape of previously released XXXTentacion material, in May of 2017. The set broke into the Top 50 of the Billboard 200 and climbed to 21 on the R&B/hip-hop chart. Onfroy's official studio debut arrived months later on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Bad+Vibes+Forever%22">Bad Vibes Forever</a>/<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Empire%22">Empire</a>. The moody 17 featured the singles "Revenge" and "Jocelyn Flores," his tribute to a friend who committed suicide. Upon its release, 17 climbed to the number two spots on the Billboard 200 and R&B/hip-hop chart, also topping the R&B albums chart. Early the next year, his sophomore full-length, ?, was released. Debuting atop the Billboard 200, the effort featured appearances by <a href="spotify:artist:2P5sC9cVZDToPxyomzF1UH">Joey Bada$$</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4exLIFE8sISLr28sqG1qNX">Travis Barker</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:21WS9wngs9AqFckK7yYJPM">PnB Rock</a>, and more. Onfroy soon signed a multi-million dollar deal with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Empire+Distribution%22">Empire Distribution</a>. Weeks later, on June 18, 2018, Onfroy was shot and killed in Miami. Following his death, the outpouring of his fans' grief helped push ? to platinum certification. His first posthumous album, Skins, arrived later that year. In late 2019, Bad Vibes Forever was released. Originally conceived of as his studio debut, the album was still a work in progress at the time of his death, shelved around the time of 17. The post-mortem collection ended up being 25 tracks and nearly an hour long, and featured guest appearances from everyone from <a href="spotify:artist:55Aa2cqylxrFIXC767Z865">Lil Wayne</a> to <a href="spotify:artist:7jVv8c5Fj3E9VhNjxT4snq">Lil Nas X</a>. ~ Liam Martin, Rovi

Lil Peep

An icon of the SoundCloud rap era that dominated the mid- to late 2010s, Lil Peep connected with his fans through both his genre-bending style and his lyrics, which vulnerably and transparently addressed issues of depression, addiction, and anxiety. A run of strong mixtapes and guest appearances generated media buzz around the rapper, his approach to life, and his music, which polarized both listeners and the press. Those who championed Lil Peep did so passionately, and his followers quickly grew into the millions. Peep would only live to see the release of one fully realized studio album, his brief 2017 debut Come Over When You're Sober, Pt. 1. The eight-song album was released shortly before the artist's untimely death just after his 21st birthday. Fans mourned the loss, and Peep's estate began posthumously releasing music the rapper had finished before his death, beginning with several singles and eventually leading to full-lengths like 2019’s Everybody’s Everything. His early mixtapes were commerically re-released as well, with 2016's Crybaby still in the charts six years after the rapper's untimely death. Lil Peep was born Gustav Elijah Åhr in 1996 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and moved to Long Beach, New York with his family when he was four. He began making music as a teenager, eventually adopting the name Lil Peep after a nickname his mother had given him. He began releasing his self-recorded music on SoundCloud in May of 2015, beginning with the Feelz EP and continuing with mixtapes like Lil Peep, Pt. 1 and Live Forever, both released that same year. His sound stood out in part because of his gloomy and expressive lyrics, and also for its inclusion of unlikely samples and other atypical musical elements. His breakthrough mixtapes, Crybaby and Hellboy, were released in 2016, and moved even further into a unique stylistic direction, including punk- and emo-inspired guitar lines and melodies. The following year, he collaborated with <a href="spotify:artist:5g63iWaMJ2UrkZMkCC8dMi">Lil Tracy</a> on a pair of Castles EPs. <a href="spotify:artist:5g63iWaMJ2UrkZMkCC8dMi">Tracy</a> would return the favor on Peep's official debut LP, Come Over When You're Sober, Pt. 1, which featured the singles "The Brightside" and "Awful Things." Months after the album's release, Peep was discovered dead in his tour bus on November 15, 2017. In the wake of his passing, previously unreleased material began to emerge. Singles like "Spotlight," the <a href="spotify:artist:5vSQUyT33qxr1xAX2Tkf3A">Clams Casino</a>-produced "4 Gold Chains," and the <a href="spotify:artist:15UsOTVnJzReFVN1VCnxy4">XXXtentacion</a> collaboration "Falling Down" all materialized before the second Lil Peep album, Come Over When You're Sober, Pt. 2, came out in November of 2018. Various unreleased tracks leaked out over the course of 2019, and a feature-length documentary focused on the life of the departed rapper. Everybody's Everything was announced for release in November of that year. Preceding the film's premiere, an unreleased three-song project, GOTH ANGEL SINNER, appeared, and a longer soundtrack was planned for release in conjunction with the film. That album, also titled Everybody's Everything, was the second posthumous collection of Lil Peep's music and contained all three tracks from GOTH ANGEL SINNER. In addition to previously unreleased material, commercial re-releases of his early mixtapes and extended-plays were included, and eventually accumulated over 15 billion streams across various platforms. Peep's 2016 mixtape Crybaby was still performing well enough in June of 2023 to enter the Top 100 reaches of the Billboard charts. ~ Neil Z. Yeung & Fred Thomas, Rovi

Evanescence

Nirvana

Nothing was ever quite the same after Nirvana. The band's second album, 1991's Nevermind, revolutionized popular music by bringing alternative rock above ground, introducing mainstream audiences to sounds and concepts that had previously existed only in shadowy record store corners and on low-frequency college radio airwaves. Nevermind's noisy, dissonant guitar rock, mumbled or howled surrealistic lyrics, and generally angsty punk attitudes were unlikely candidates for chart success, but the band undercut their grungy songs with enough pop melodicism to create a sound unlike anything average listeners had ever heard before, striking at the exact right moment to become an unprecedented success. Since Nirvana were rooted in an indie aesthetic but loved pop music, they fought their stardom while courting it, becoming some of the most notorious anti-rock stars in history. They consciously attempted to shed their audience with 1993's abrasive, <a href="spotify:artist:52ZFTGbQ9miWMX8JYBvtOO">Steve Albini</a>-produced third album In Utero, but vocalist/guitarist/songwriter <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Kurt Cobain</a>'s growing mental health and substance abuse issues led to his death by suicide in 1994. Though Nirvana's story was cut tragically short, their legacy stands as one of the most influential in rock & roll history. <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Kurt Cobain</a> (vocals, guitar) met <a href="spotify:artist:4BZKfXia2RPZnzCgQ2fG8M">Chris Novoselic</a> (born <a href="spotify:artist:4BZKfXia2RPZnzCgQ2fG8M">Krist Novoselic</a>) (bass) in 1985 in Aberdeen, Washington, a small logging town 100 miles away from Seattle. While <a href="spotify:artist:4BZKfXia2RPZnzCgQ2fG8M">Novoselic</a> came from a relatively stable background, <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a>'s childhood had been thrown into turmoil when his parents divorced when he was eight. Following the divorce, he lived at the homes of various relatives, developing a love for <a href="spotify:artist:3WrFJ7ztbogyGnTHbHJFl2">the Beatles</a> and then heavy metal in the process. Eventually, American hardcore punk worked its way into dominating his listening habits and he met <a href="spotify:artist:6aVjo0xHSiuW5hkasoYSR3">the Melvins</a>, an Olympia-based underground heavy punk band. <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a> began playing in punk bands like Fecal Matter, often with <a href="spotify:artist:6aVjo0xHSiuW5hkasoYSR3">the Melvins</a>' bassist <a href="spotify:artist:4IRzt4Zde0xpbbc2BtsRGm">Dale Crover</a>. Through <a href="spotify:artist:6aVjo0xHSiuW5hkasoYSR3">the Melvins</a>' leader, Buzz Osborne, <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a> met <a href="spotify:artist:4BZKfXia2RPZnzCgQ2fG8M">Novoselic</a>, who also had an intense interest in punk, which meant that he, like <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a>, felt alienated from the macho, redneck population of Aberdeen. The duo decided to form a band called the Stiff Woodies, with <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a> on drums, <a href="spotify:artist:4BZKfXia2RPZnzCgQ2fG8M">Novoselic</a> on bass, and a rotating cast of guitarists and vocalists. The group went through name changes as quickly as guitarists, before deciding that <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a> would play guitar and sing. Renamed <a href="spotify:artist:4opTS86dN9uO313J9CE8xg">Skid Row</a>, the new trio featured drummer Aaron Burkhart, who left the band by the end of 1986 and was replaced by Chad Channing. By 1987, the band was called Nirvana. Nirvana began playing parties in Olympia, gaining a cult following. Around 1987, the band made ten demos with producer <a href="spotify:artist:5WPz1DmtxRJBajeTYGiftU">Jack Endino</a>, who played the recordings to Jonathan Poneman, one of the founders of the Seattle-based indie label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sub+Pop%22">Sub Pop</a>. Poneman signed Nirvana, and in December of 1988, the band released its first single, a cover of <a href="spotify:artist:5WimOFbBnCU5wI6t5PPpEk">Shocking Blue</a>'s "Love Buzz." <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sub+Pop%22">Sub Pop</a> orchestrated an effective marketing scheme, which painted the band as backwoods, logging-town hicks, which irritated <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:4BZKfXia2RPZnzCgQ2fG8M">Novoselic</a>. While "Love Buzz" was fairly well-received, the band's debut album, Bleach, was what got the ball rolling. Recorded for just over $600 and released in June 1989, Bleach slowly became a hit on college radio, due to the group's consistent touring. Though Jason Everman was credited as a second guitarist on the sleeve of Bleach, he didn't appear on the record; he only toured in support of the album before leaving the band at the end of the year to join <a href="spotify:artist:5xUf6j4upBrXZPg6AI4MRK">Soundgarden</a> and then Mindfunk. Bleach sold 35,000 copies and Nirvana became favorites of college radio, the British weekly music press, and <a href="spotify:artist:5UqTO8smerMvxHYA5xsXb6">Sonic Youth</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7LuYiSXiWs86rwWJjEEgB9">Mudhoney</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:267VY6GX5LyU5c9M85ECZQ">Dinosaur Jr.</a>, which was enough to attract the attention of major labels. In July 1990, Nirvana recorded "Sliver"/"Dive" with <a href="spotify:artist:7LuYiSXiWs86rwWJjEEgB9">Mudhoney</a> drummer Dan Peters on drums and producer <a href="spotify:artist:0gTi2zsOHn6wtlkx66uxXM">Butch Vig</a>. The band also made a six-song demo with <a href="spotify:artist:0gTi2zsOHn6wtlkx66uxXM">Vig</a>, which was shopped to major labels, who soon began competing to sign the group. In August, they hit the road with <a href="spotify:artist:5UqTO8smerMvxHYA5xsXb6">Sonic Youth</a>'s Goo tour (including <a href="spotify:artist:4IRzt4Zde0xpbbc2BtsRGm">Crover</a> on drums). That September, <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Dave Grohl</a>, formerly of the D.C.-based hardcore band <a href="spotify:artist:0wIhCBrT02x0GG5bKqcSAh">Scream</a>, became Nirvana's drummer and the band signed with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22DGC%22">DGC</a> for $287,000. Nirvana recorded their second album with <a href="spotify:artist:0gTi2zsOHn6wtlkx66uxXM">Vig</a>, completing the record in June of 1991. Nevermind was released in September, supported by a quick American tour. While <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22DGC%22">DGC</a> was expecting a moderately successful release, in the neighborhood of 100,000 copies, Nevermind immediately became a smash hit, quickly selling out its initial shipment of 50,000 copies and creating a shortage across America. What helped the record become a success was "Smells Like Teen Spirit," a blistering four-chord rocker that was accompanied by a video that shot into heavy MTV rotation. By the beginning of 1992, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" had climbed into the American Top Ten and Nevermind bumped <a href="spotify:artist:3fMbdgg4jU18AjLCKBhRSm">Michael Jackson</a>'s much-touted comeback album Dangerous off the top of the album charts; it reached the British Top Ten shortly afterward. By February, the album had been certified triple platinum. Nirvana's success took the music industry by surprise, Nirvana included. From the moment Nirvana were met with mainstream visibility, <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a> used his newfound fame to relentlessly push his favorite independent artists as if their music was more important than his own. This took the form of bringing Japanese alt-pop trio <a href="spotify:artist:4ukJlDdlvuQOHZdD2NVsFD">Shonen Knife</a> on tour, covering lesser-known but formative artists like <a href="spotify:artist:0sTTw3dw3EA0c7NaZnrJd2">the Wipers</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4wWQkHhmUNlXvhbHRUSqZW">the Vaselines</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:2h9yQhKyqOMex3QFMVeq7F">Meat Puppets</a>, or wearing a homemade <a href="spotify:artist:1jeYbk5eqo6wgsQPjLeU5w">Daniel Johnston</a> t-shirt during television appearances and high-profile concerts. <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a>'s enthusiastic fandom introduced untold numbers of Nirvana fans to artists they most likely wouldn't have known to seek out on their own, and in the process, energized those artists' careers. It soon became apparent that Nirvana wasn't quite sure how to handle its success. Around the time of Nevermind's release, <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a> appeared on MTV's Headbangers Ball in drag; the group mocked the tradition of miming on the BBC's Top of the Pops, with <a href="spotify:artist:4BZKfXia2RPZnzCgQ2fG8M">Novoselic</a> constantly throwing his bass into the air and <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a> singing his live vocals in the style of Ian Curtis; and their traditional live destruction of instruments was immortalized on a Saturday Night Live performance that ended with <a href="spotify:artist:4BZKfXia2RPZnzCgQ2fG8M">Novoselic</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a> sharing a kiss. By early 1992, questions began to arise about the band's stability. <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a> married <a href="spotify:artist:4vI0xGbQl2cMnMiagUEBOj">Courtney Love</a>, the leader of the indie rock/foxcore band <a href="spotify:artist:5SHQUMAmEK5KmuSb0aDvsn">Hole</a>, in February of 1992, announcing that the couple was expecting a child. A few months later, Nirvana canceled several concerts and refused to mount a full-scale American tour during the summer. <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a> complained that he was suffering from chronic stomach troubles, which seemed to be confirmed when he was admitted to a Belfast hospital after a June concert. While he went through these problems,<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22DGC%22">DGC</a> released the odds-and-ends compilation Incesticide late in 1992; the album reached number 39 U.S. and number 14 U.K. As Nirvana prepared to make their third album, they released "Oh, the Guilt" as a split single with <a href="spotify:artist:6r26MaDr8bqNALjXgYPXMa">the Jesus Lizard</a> on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Touch+%26+Go+Records%22">Touch & Go Records</a>. Choosing <a href="spotify:artist:52ZFTGbQ9miWMX8JYBvtOO">Steve Albini</a> (<a href="spotify:artist:6zvul52xwTWzilBZl6BUbT">Pixies</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1xgFexIwrf2QjbU0buCNnp">the Breeders</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5EYkvHZuGM3pwU3DZUrrZ3">Big Black</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6r26MaDr8bqNALjXgYPXMa">the Jesus Lizard</a>) as their producer, they recorded In Utero, in two weeks during. Februrary 1993. Later in the year, reports, including an article in Newsweek, circulated that DGC was unhappy with the forthcoming album, and making accusations that Nirvana deliberately made an uncommercial record. Both the band and the label denied such allegations. Deciding that <a href="spotify:artist:52ZFTGbQ9miWMX8JYBvtOO">Albini</a>'s production was too flat, Nirvana decided to remaster the album with <a href="spotify:artist:4KWTAlx2RvbpseOGMEmROg">R.E.M.</a> producer <a href="spotify:artist:1jBYxrGP7Ev7Qs0X5qJdDM">Scott Litt</a>, who also remixed the singles "Heart Shaped Box" and "All Apologies." In Utero was released in September of 1993 to positive reviews and strong initial sales, debuting at the top of the U.S. and U.K. charts. Nirvana supported it with an American tour, hiring former <a href="spotify:artist:39zgKjGWsiZzJ9h6gbrPFY">Germs</a> member <a href="spotify:artist:36AOO7vOYRSjm2nVgvu63E">Pat Smear</a> as an auxiliary guitarist. While the album and the tour were both successful, sales weren't quite as strong as expected, with several shows not selling out until the week of the concert. As a result, the group agreed to play MTV's acoustic Unplugged show at the end of the year, and sales of In Utero picked up after its December airing. After wrapping up their U.S. tour on January 8, 1994 with a show at Center Arena in Seattle, Nirvana embarked on a European tour in February. Following a concert in Munich on February 29, <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a> stayed in Rome to vacation with <a href="spotify:artist:4vI0xGbQl2cMnMiagUEBOj">Love</a>. On March 4, she awakened to find that <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a> had attempted suicide. When he returned to Seattle, his mental illness grew worse. <a href="spotify:artist:4vI0xGbQl2cMnMiagUEBOj">Love</a> and Nirvana's management organized an intervention program that resulted in <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a>'s admission to the Exodus Recovery Center in L.A. on March 30, but he left the clinic on April 1, returning to Seattle. His mother filed a missing persons report on April 4. On April 5, <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a> died by suicide at his Seattle home.After his death, <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Kurt Cobain</a> was quickly anointed as a spokesman for Generation X, as well as a symbol of its tortured angst. <a href="spotify:artist:4BZKfXia2RPZnzCgQ2fG8M">Novoselic</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a> planned to release a double-disc live album at the end of 1994, but sorting through the tapes proved to be too painful, so MTV Unplugged in New York appeared in its place. The album debuted at the top of the British and American charts, as a home video comprised of live performances and interviews from the band's Nevermind era, titled Live! Tonight! Sold Out!, was issued at the same time (the project began prior to <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a>'s passing and was completed by surviving bandmembers). In 1996, MTV Unplugged in New York's electric counterpart, From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, was released, debuting at the top of the U.S. charts. Following <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a>'s death, <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a> formed <a href="spotify:artist:7jy3rLJdDQY21OgRLCZ9sD">the Foo Fighters</a>, releasing their self-titled debut album in 1995, followed by The Colour and the Shape in 1997 and There Is Nothing Left to Lose in 1999. <a href="spotify:artist:4BZKfXia2RPZnzCgQ2fG8M">Novoselic</a> formed the trio Sweet 75, releasing their debut in the spring of 1997, and also appeared along with former <a href="spotify:artist:30U8fYtiNpeA5KH6H87QUV">Dead Kennedys</a> frontman <a href="spotify:artist:1ddbFlSqbqp2vuJd5CuRcE">Jello Biafra</a> and former <a href="spotify:artist:5xUf6j4upBrXZPg6AI4MRK">Soundgarden</a> guitarist Kim Thayil on the 2000 live set Live from the Battle in Seattle under the name <a href="spotify:artist:0l6DIGXp0GGVDEieOA0D0P">the No W.T.O. Combo</a>. By the late '90s, <a href="spotify:artist:4BZKfXia2RPZnzCgQ2fG8M">Novoselic</a> began research for a proposed box set of previously unreleased songs from throughout Nirvana's career. The project was supposed to surface in the fall of 2001 (to coincide with the tenth anniversary release of Nevermind), but legal issues delayed its release. Finally, the Nirvana LLC partnership -- which included <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4BZKfXia2RPZnzCgQ2fG8M">Novoselic</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:4vI0xGbQl2cMnMiagUEBOj">Love</a> -- came to an agreement and the album-length compilation Nirvana was released in October of 2002. Although that release included only one unreleased song, the long-awaited box set, titled With the Lights Out, appeared in late 2004, including three discs of rare and unreleased material plus a live DVD that featured material filmed as early as 1988. The band's 1992 set at the Reading Festival was released in 2009 as Live at Reading. The same year, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sub+Pop%22">Sub Pop</a> began a Nirvana studio album reissue campaign with Bleach; special 20th-anniversary editions of Nevermind and In Utero followed in 2011 and 2013, respectively. In 2014, Nirvana was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by <a href="spotify:artist:4KWTAlx2RvbpseOGMEmROg">R.E.M.</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:2G1Lyk7bWbBBrtwyl3obNB">Michael Stipe</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Cobain</a>'s place in the induction performance was taken by several vocalists, including Joan Jett and <a href="spotify:artist:3n8qeKQViV1waeCzZmS4Tx">Kim Gordon</a>. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, Rovi

Nekfeu

A member of hip-hop acts including S-Crew, <a href="spotify:artist:4CH2uNha7qT33gsr1y60Ca">1995</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0uziZOQoq7GATTdJqMOX5s">L'Entourage</a>, Nekfeu is known for both political and personal subject matter. He became a chart-topping solo artist in his native France with his second album, 2016's Cyborg. A year later, he made his film acting debut in Tout Nous Sépare opposite the legendary <a href="spotify:artist:16XHvtzF0KN8PSvjkkCpTk">Catherine Deneuve</a>. Born Ken Samarás in La Trinité, Alpes-Maritimes, Nekfeu's status in the Paris rap scene rose as he participated in open-mike battles as a young teen. He eventually recorded his first album as part of the group S-Crew, which released Même Signature in 2010. Still a member of S-Crew, he also joined <a href="spotify:artist:4CH2uNha7qT33gsr1y60Ca">1995</a>, which issued La Source in 2011, and another one of his groups, <a href="spotify:artist:0dsrPInY7xTkhmjJIUc7ZT">5 Majeur</a>, put out a self-titled album the same year. All three projects released follow-ups: S-Crew's Métamorphose and <a href="spotify:artist:4CH2uNha7qT33gsr1y60Ca">1995</a>'s La Suite both arrived in 2012, while <a href="spotify:artist:0dsrPInY7xTkhmjJIUc7ZT">5 Majeur</a>'s Variations saw release in 2013. He continued to record with multiple groups; S-Crew delivered third album Seine Zoo, and <a href="spotify:artist:4CH2uNha7qT33gsr1y60Ca">1995</a> issued Paris Sud Minute, both in 2013. Nekfeu formed yet another collaborative hip-hop act, <a href="spotify:artist:0uziZOQoq7GATTdJqMOX5s">L'Entourage</a>, for the 2014 long-player Jeunes Entrepreneurs. Nekfeu released his first solo album, Feu, on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Seine+Zoo+Records%22">Seine Zoo Records</a> in 2015. It went to number three on the French album chart and number five in Switzerland on its way to winning a Victoire award for Urban Music Album of the Year. His second solo release, Cyborg, arrived in late 2016 and went all the way to number one in France. That year also brought a fourth S-Crew album, Destins Liés. In 2017, Nekfeu made his acting debut in the film Tout Nous Sépare (aka All That Divides Us), which co-starred <a href="spotify:artist:16XHvtzF0KN8PSvjkkCpTk">Catherine Deneuve</a> and Diane Kruger. The rapper's third album, Les Étoiles Vagabondes, coincided with the release of his directorial debut, a documentary of the same name. The album returned him to the number one spot in France. Later the same year, he was back in theaters, starring in the feature film L'Échappée. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi

The Smiths

The Smiths were the definitive British indie rock band of the '80s, marking the end of synth-driven new wave and the beginning of the guitar rock that dominated English rock into the '90s. Sonically, the group was indebted to the British Invasion, crafting ringing, melodic three-minute pop singles, even for their album tracks. But their scope was far broader than that of a revivalist band. The group's core members, vocalist Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, were obsessive rock fans inspired by the D.I.Y. ethics of punk, but they also had a fondness for girl groups, pop, and rockabilly. Morrissey and Marr also represented one of the strangest teams of collaborators in rock history. Marr was the rock traditionalist, looking like an elegant version of Keith Richards during the Smiths' heyday and meticulously layering his guitar tracks in the studio. Morrissey, on the other hand, broke from rock tradition by singing in a keening, self-absorbed croon, embracing the forlorn, romantic poetry of Oscar Wilde, publicly declaring his celibacy, and making no secret of his disgust for most of his peers. While it eventually led to the Smiths' early demise, the friction between Morrissey and Marr resulted in a flurry of singles and albums over the course of three years that provided the blueprint for British guitar rock in the following decade. Before forming the Smiths in 1982, Johnny Marr (born John Maher, October 31, 1963; guitar) had played in a variety of Manchester-based rock & roll bands, including Sister Ray, Freaky Part, White Dice, and Paris Valentinos. On occasion, Marr had come close to a record contract -- one of his bands won a competition Stiff Records held to have Nick Lowe "produce your band" -- but he never quite made the leap. Though Morrissey (born Steven Patrick Morrissey, May 22, 1959; vocals) had sung for a few weeks with the Nosebleeds and auditioned for Slaughter & the Dogs, he had primarily contented himself to being a passionate, vocal fan of both music and film. During his teens, he wrote the Melody Maker frequently, often getting his letters published. He had written the biography/tribute James Dean Isn't Dead, which was published by the local Manchester publishing house Babylon Books in the late '70s, as well as another book on the New York Dolls; he was also the president of the English New York Dolls fan club. Morrissey met Marr, who was then looking for a lyricist, through mutual friends in the spring of 1982. The pair began writing songs, eventually recording some demos with the Fall's drummer, Simon Wolstencroft. By the fall, the duo had settled on the name the Smiths and recruited Marr's schoolmate Andy Rourke as their bassist and Mike Joyce as their drummer. The Smiths made their live debut late in 1982, and by the spring of 1983, the group had earned a small but loyal following in their hometown of Manchester and had begun to make inroads in London. Rejecting a record deal with the Mancunian Factory Records, the band signed with Rough Trade for a one-off single, "Hand in Glove." With its veiled references to homosexuality and its ringing riffs, "Hand in Glove" became an underground sensation in the U.K., topping the independent charts and earning the praise of the U.K. music weeklies. Soon, Morrissey's performances became notorious as he appeared on-stage wearing a hearing aid and with gladioli stuffed in his back pockets. His interviews were becoming famous for his forthright, often contrary opinions, which helped the band become a media sensation. By the time of the group's second single, "This Charming Man," in late 1983, the Smiths had already been the subject of controversy over "Reel Around the Fountain," a song that had been aired on a BBC radio session and was alleged to condone child abuse. It was the first time that Morrissey's detached, literary, and ironic lyrics were misinterpreted and it wouldn't be the last. "This Charming Man" reached number 25 on the British charts in December of 1983, setting the stage for "What Difference Does It Make"'s peak of number 12 in February. The Smiths' rise to the upper reaches of the British charts was swift, and the passion of their fans, as well as the U.K. music press, indicated that the group had put an end to the synth-powered new wave that dominated Britain in the early '80s. After rejecting their initial stab at a first album, they released their debut, The Smiths, in the spring of 1984 to strong reviews and sales -- it peaked at number two. A few months later, the group backed '60s pop vocalist Sandie Shaw -- who Morrissey had publicly praised in an article -- on a version of "Hand in Glove" that was released and reached the Top 40. "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" reached number ten, becoming their highest-charting single amid a storm of controversy about its B-side, "Suffer Little Children," which was about the notorious Moors Murders. More controversy appeared when Morrissey denounced the hunger-relief efforts of Band Aid, but the group's popularity was not affected. Though the Smiths had become the most popular new rock & roll group in Britain, the group failed to make it outside of underground and college radio in the U.S., partially because they never launched a full-scale tour. At the end of the year, "William It Was Really Nothing" became a Top 20 hit and Hatful of Hollow, a collection of B-sides, BBC sessions, and non-LP singles, went to the Top Ten, followed shortly by "How Soon Is Now," which peaked at number 24. Meat Is Murder, the band's second proper studio album, entered the British charts at number one in February of 1985, despite some criticism that it was weaker than The Smiths. Around the time of the release of Meat Is Murder, Morrissey's interviews were becoming increasingly political as he trashed the Thatcher administration and campaigned for vegetarianism; he even claimed that the Smiths were all vegetarians, and he forbade the remaining members to be photographed eating meat, even though they were still carnivores. Marr, for his part, was delving deeply into the rock & roll lifestyle and looked increasingly like a cross between Keith Richards and Brian Jones. By the time the non-LP "Shakespeare's Sister" reached number 26 in the spring of 1985, the Smiths had spawned a rash of soundalike bands, including James, who opened for the group on their spring 1985 tour, most of whom Morrissey supported. However, all of the media attention on the Smiths launched a mild backlash later in 1985, when "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" was pulled from Meat Is Murder and failed to reach the Top 40. "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" revived the band's fortunes in the fall of 1985, and their third album, The Queen Is Dead, confirmed their popularity upon its release in the spring of 1986. Greeted with enthusiastic reviews and peaking at number two on the U.K. charts, The Queen Is Dead also expanded their cult following in the U.S., cracking the Top 100. Shortly before the album was completed, former Aztec Camera guitarist Craig Gannon became the band's rhythm guitarist, and he played with the band throughout their 1986 international tour, including a botched American tour. The non-LP "Panic," which was criticized as racist by some observers for its repeated refrain of "Burn down the disco...hang the DJ," reached number 11 late in the summer. A few months after its release, Marr was seriously injured in a car crash. During his recuperation, Gannon was fired from the band, as was Rourke, who was suffering from heroin addiction. Though Rourke was later reinstated, Gannon was never replaced. The Smiths may have been at the height of their popularity in early 1987, with the non-LP singles "Shoplifters of the World" and "Sheila Take a Bow" reaching number 11 and ten respectively, and the singles and B-sides compilation The World Won't Listen (revamped for U.S. release as Louder Than Bombs later in 1987) debuting at number two, but Marr was growing increasingly disenchanted with the band and the music industry. Over the course of the year, Morrissey and Marr became increasingly irritated with each other. The singer wished that Marr would stop playing with other artists like Bryan Ferry and Billy Bragg, while the guitarist was frustrated with Morrissey's devotion to '60s pop and his hesitancy to explore new musical directions. A few weeks before the fall release of Strangeways, Here We Come, Marr announced that he was leaving the Smiths. Morrissey disbanded the group shortly afterward and began a solo career, signing with Parlophone in the U.K. and staying with the Smiths' U.S. label, Reprise. Marr played as a sideman with a variety of artists, eventually forming Electronic with New Order frontman Bernard Sumner. Rourke retired from recording and Joyce became a member of the reunited Buzzcocks in 1991. Rank, a live album recorded on the Queen Is Dead tour, was released in the fall of 1988. It debuted at number two in the U.K. A widely criticized, two-part The Best of the Smiths compilation was released in 1992; the praised Singles compilation was released in 1995. Joyce and Rourke sued Morrissey and Marr in 1991, claiming they received only ten percent of the group's earnings while the songwriters received 40 percent. Rourke eventually settled out of court, but Joyce won his case in late 1996. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The Cure

The Cranberries

Combining the melodic jangle of post-<a href="spotify:artist:3yY2gUcIsjMr8hjo51PoJ8">Smiths</a> indie guitar pop with the lilting, trance-inducing sonic textures of late-'80s dream pop and adding a slight Celtic tint, the Cranberries became one of the more successful groups to emerge from the pre-Brit-pop indie scene of the early '90s. Led by vocalist <a href="spotify:artist:55s643XPig11NyYM8do64C">Dolores O'Riordan</a>, whose keening, powerful voice was the most distinctive element of the group's sound, they initially had little impact in the United Kingdom. It wasn't until the lush ballad "Linger" became a worldwide hit in 1993 that the band achieved mass success. Following "Linger," the Cranberries quickly became international stars, as both their 1993 debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?, and its 1994 follow-up, No Need to Argue, sold millions of copies and produced a string of hit singles. By the time of their third album, 1996's To the Faithful Departed, they had added distorted guitars to their sonic palette and began crafting more socially conscious music. They continued down this path into the 21st century before taking an extended hiatus in 2003 to pursue solo efforts. After nearly a decade, the quartet returned with 2012's Roses and 2017's Something Else. However, in early 2018, <a href="spotify:artist:55s643XPig11NyYM8do64C">O'Riordan</a> died from an accidental drowning in London. Her last vocal recordings were used to construct the Cranberries' final work, 2019's Grammy-nominated In the End, a goodbye to <a href="spotify:artist:55s643XPig11NyYM8do64C">O'Riordan</a>, fans, and the band itself. Originally, the Cranberries were a band called the Cranberry Saw Us. Brothers Noel and <a href="spotify:artist:467JmWxc2Gap3uh2d7qTgx">Mike Hogan</a> (guitar and bass, respectively) formed the band in Limerick, Ireland, with drummer Fergal Lawler in 1990. Following the departure of the group's original singer, Niall Quinn, the trio placed an advertisement for a female singer. <a href="spotify:artist:55s643XPig11NyYM8do64C">Dolores O'Riordan</a> responded to the advertisement and auditioned by writing lyrics and melodies to some of the band's existing demos. When she returned with a rough version of "Linger," the group hired her on the spot. Shortly after she joined, the band recorded a demo tape and sold it in record stores throughout Ireland. After the original run of 300 copies sold out, the group truncated its name to the Cranberries and sent another demo tape, which featured early versions of both "Linger" and "Dreams," to record companies throughout the U.K. The tape was made at Xeric Studios, which was run by Pearse Gilmore, who would later become their manager. At the time the tape was made, all of the members were still in their late teens. The demo tape earned the attention of both the U.K. press and record industry, and there was soon a bidding war between major British record labels. Eventually, the group signed with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Island%22">Island</a>. The Cranberries headed into the studio with Gilmore as their producer to record their first single, "Uncertain." The title proved to be prophetic, as the band did indeed sound ill at ease on the single, leading to poor reviews in the press in addition to tensions between the group and Gilmore. Before they were scheduled to record their debut in 1992, the Cranberries discovered that Gilmore had signed a secret deal with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Island%22">Island</a> to improve his studios. The tensions within the band became so great they nearly broke up. Instead, the Cranberries severed all relations with Gilmore, hired Geoff Travis of <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Rough+Trade%22">Rough Trade</a> as their new manager, and hired Stephen Street, who had previously worked with <a href="spotify:artist:3yY2gUcIsjMr8hjo51PoJ8">the Smiths</a>, as their new producer. The band's debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?, was released in the spring of 1993, followed by a single of "Dreams." Neither the album nor the single gained much attention, nor did the second single, "Linger." In the summer and fall of 1993, the band toured the United States, opening for <a href="spotify:artist:7cKtqv9cYVlOwnuCFH95ce">The The</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6PHIK3kjWggLtVygsOtpqS">Suede</a>, respectively; frequently, the Cranberries were given a friendlier reception than either of the headliners. Their strong live shows led MTV to put "Linger" into heavy rotation. By the end of the year, the single was on its way to becoming a crossover hit. Eventually, the single reached number eight on the U.S. charts, while the album went double platinum. Everybody Else and "Linger" began to take off in Britain in early 1994; the album eventually peaked at number one during the summer. <a href="spotify:artist:55s643XPig11NyYM8do64C">O'Riordan</a> married the band's tour manager, Don Burton, in a much-publicized ceremony in July 1994. The marriage, as well as the group's videos, emphasized the singer as the focal point of the band. <a href="spotify:artist:55s643XPig11NyYM8do64C">O'Riordan</a>'s position in the group continued to rise with the fall release of the group's second album, No Need to Argue. Boasting a slightly harder, more streamlined sound, yet still produced by Stephen Street, the record debuted at number six on the U.S. charts and eventually outsold its predecessor; within a year it went triple platinum, spawning the enduring modern rock hit "Zombie" and "Ode to My Family." During the tour for No Need to Argue, rumors began to circulate that <a href="spotify:artist:55s643XPig11NyYM8do64C">O'Riordan</a> was going to leave the band to pursue a solo career, all of which the band vehemently denied. Nevertheless, the rumors persisted until the Cranberries began recording their next album with producer Bruce Fairbairn, who had previously worked with <a href="spotify:artist:7Ey4PD4MYsKc5I2dolUwbH">Aerosmith</a>. The resulting effort, To the Faithful Departed, was a tougher, more rock-oriented affair that centered upon loss and the pitfalls of fame. Released in April 1996, it rose to number 4 in the U.S., a chart peak, and shot to number one in Australasia. Lead single "Salvation" became their second U.S. Alternative chart-topper, with "Free to Decide" and "When You're Gone" charting across the globe. During the fall of 1996, the group canceled its Australian and European tours, sparking another round of rumors about <a href="spotify:artist:55s643XPig11NyYM8do64C">O'Riordan</a> launching a solo career. Yet, in 1999, the group released Bury the Hatchet, their last album to top multiple charts. The platinum-certified set featured more pop-oriented fare than its predecessor, spawning modest hits "Promises," "Animal Instinct," and the MTV favorite "Just My Imagination." The band quickly followed with 2001's Wake Up and Smell the Coffee, home to "Analyse" and "Time Is Ticking Out." Shortly after the release of a greatest-hits compilation in 2003, Stars: The Best of 1992-2002, the Cranberries officially declared that they were taking a break. This finally gave <a href="spotify:artist:55s643XPig11NyYM8do64C">O'Riordan</a> the time she needed to work on her long-teased solo album, Are You Listening?, which hit shelves in 2007. In 2009, <a href="spotify:artist:55s643XPig11NyYM8do64C">O'Riordan</a> released her second solo album, No Baggage. Around the same time, the Cranberries reunited for a North American tour that continued throughout Europe in 2010. Several live sets also appeared at the turn of the decade, including Bualadh Bos - The Cranberries Live, which charted in Europe and North America. In 2011, the band began work on a new album in Toronto with longtime producer Street. Released nearly a decade after the start of their extended hiatus, the resulting album, Roses, arrived in March 2012. A supporting tour followed, recorded for posterity on London 2012: Live at The Hammersmith Apollo. At the end of 2013, <a href="spotify:artist:55s643XPig11NyYM8do64C">O'Riordan</a> performed a New Year's Eve concert in Limerick with a string quartet from <a href="spotify:artist:5BEsC9s9MiyK1GKlef4TMN">the Irish Chamber Orchestra</a>. Inspired by the classical interpretation of the Cranberries sound, she approached the band with an idea to celebrate their silver anniversary. The result was a full album comprising string quartet renditions of the band's biggest hits. Something Else arrived in the spring of 2017, featuring their ten most successful singles culled from their first four albums, as well as three new songs. The band kicked off a tour in support of the album, but it was cut short due to <a href="spotify:artist:55s643XPig11NyYM8do64C">O'Riordan</a>'s ongoing back problems. On January 15, 2018, <a href="spotify:artist:55s643XPig11NyYM8do64C">O'Riordan</a> died of an accidental drowning at the age of 46 in London. At the time of her death, the Cranberries were in the middle of recording a new effort. After taking some time to process the tragedy, the remaining bandmembers decided to finish the project. Along with Stephen Street, they completed the LP using <a href="spotify:artist:55s643XPig11NyYM8do64C">O'Riordan</a>'s demo vocals. Released in April 2019, In the End featured the single "All Over Now" and served as the Cranberries' final album. Peaking in the Top Ten across Europe and in the U.S. side charts, the farewell set was later nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Album. In the years that followed her passing, the band continued efforts to honor <a href="spotify:artist:55s643XPig11NyYM8do64C">O'Riordan</a>, issuing Remembering Dolores, a 2021 compilation of favorites that was released on what would have been her 50th birthday, and a 2023 deluxe reissue of To the Faithful Departed, which included the original album-era B-sides, outtakes, and demos recorded in Paris, as well as live recordings from 1996 shows at Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto and Pine Knob in Clarkston, Michigan. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi

Korn

Foo Fighters

With alt-rock anthems heavy on melody and personality, Foo Fighters have grown from <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Dave Grohl</a>'s humble solo project into one of the biggest -- and most enduring -- acts in modern rock. Once his self-recorded debut became a hit in 1995, the former <a href="spotify:artist:6olE6TJLqED3rqDCT0FyPh">Nirvana</a> drummer turned Foo Fighters into a full-fledged band whose lineup coalesced after the 1997 release of The Colour and the Shape. With 1999's There Is Nothing Left to Lose, the group's sound gelled into a recognizable signature built upon the hooky loud-quiet-loud dynamics of <a href="spotify:artist:6zvul52xwTWzilBZl6BUbT">Pixies</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6olE6TJLqED3rqDCT0FyPh">Nirvana</a>, a modern rock sound anchored by <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a>'s love of classic guitar rock. Alone among their peers, Foo Fighters displayed a rigorous work ethic, recording and touring relentlessly into the 2020s, racking up hit albums, multiple Grammy wins and, eventually, a 2021 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. All this activity allowed the Foos to experiment, whether it was on 2005's double-album In Your Honor, the travelogue of 2014's Sonic Highways, or the danceable, feel-good anthems on 2021's Medicine at Midnight. The dedication to work also carried Foo Fighters through tragedy when their drummer <a href="spotify:artist:6bI8H2TnlKYGJSo52wcTP4">Taylor Hawkins</a> unexpectedly died in 2022. <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a> rallied the group to deliver the Grammy-nominated But Here We Are, a cathartic tribute to their colleague, the following year. All of this industriousness stems from <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Dave Grohl</a>, who had been playing guitar and writing songs long before he began drumming. Throughout his early teens he performed in a variety of hardcore punk bands and in the late '80s he joined the Washington, D.C.-area hardcore band <a href="spotify:artist:0wIhCBrT02x0GG5bKqcSAh">Scream</a> as their drummer. During <a href="spotify:artist:0wIhCBrT02x0GG5bKqcSAh">Scream</a>'s final days, <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a> began recording his own material in the basement studio of his friend Barrett Jones. Some of <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a>'s songs appeared on <a href="spotify:artist:0wIhCBrT02x0GG5bKqcSAh">Scream</a>'s final album, Fumble. After the band's 1990 summer tour, <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a> joined <a href="spotify:artist:6olE6TJLqED3rqDCT0FyPh">Nirvana</a> and moved cross-country to Seattle. After <a href="spotify:artist:6olE6TJLqED3rqDCT0FyPh">Nirvana</a> recorded Nevermind, <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a> went back to the D.C. area and recorded a handful of tracks that would appear on Pocketwatch, a cassette released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Simple+Machines%22">Simple Machines</a>. For most of 1992, he was busy with <a href="spotify:artist:6olE6TJLqED3rqDCT0FyPh">Nirvana</a>, but when the band was off the road, he recorded solo material with Jones, who had also moved to Seattle. The pair kept recording throughout early 1993, when <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a> returned to <a href="spotify:artist:6olE6TJLqED3rqDCT0FyPh">Nirvana</a> to record In Utero. He had toyed with the idea of releasing another independent cassette in the summer of 1993, but the plans never reached fruition. Following <a href="spotify:artist:6pAuTi6FXi6qFQJ1dzMXQs">Kurt Cobain</a>'s suicide in 1994, the drummer kept quiet for several months. In the fall of 1994, <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a> and Jones decamped to a professional studio, where in the space of a week, they recorded the songs that comprised Foo Fighters' debut album. Boiling down his backlog of songs to about 15 tracks, <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a> played all the instruments on the album. He made 100 copies of the tape, passing it out to friends and associates. In no time, <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a>'s solo project became the object of a fierce record company bidding war. Instead of embarking on a full-fledged solo career, <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a> decided to form a band. Through his wife he met Nate Mendel, the bassist for <a href="spotify:artist:2lZkXWxkZsZzBocxMjN1or">Sunny Day Real Estate</a>. Shortly before the pair met, <a href="spotify:artist:6jUpCAtHPCEowkiAo4bpWK">Jeremy Enigk</a>, the leader of <a href="spotify:artist:2lZkXWxkZsZzBocxMjN1or">Sunny Day Real Estate</a>, had converted to Christianity and quit the band, effectively ending the group's career. Not only did Mendel join <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a>'s band, but so did <a href="spotify:artist:2lZkXWxkZsZzBocxMjN1or">Sunny Day</a>'s drummer, William Goldsmith. Former <a href="spotify:artist:39zgKjGWsiZzJ9h6gbrPFY">Germs</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6olE6TJLqED3rqDCT0FyPh">Nirvana</a> guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:36AOO7vOYRSjm2nVgvu63E">Pat Smear</a> rounded out the lineup. The band, named Foo Fighters after a World War II secret force that allegedly researched UFOs, signed a contract with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Capitol+Records%22">Capitol Records</a>. The band's self-titled debut, consisting solely of <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Dave Grohl</a>'s solo recordings, was released in July of 1995. It became an instant success in America, as "This Is a Call" garnered heavy alternative and album rock airplay. By early 1996, the album was certified platinum in the U.S. Throughout 1996, Foo Fighters supported the album with an extensive tour, enjoying a crossover hit with "Big Me." Late in the year, the group began recording its second album with producer Gil Norton. During the sessions, William Goldsmith left the band due to creative tensions, leaving <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a> to drum on the majority of the album. Before the record's release, Goldsmith was replaced by <a href="spotify:artist:6bI8H2TnlKYGJSo52wcTP4">Taylor Hawkins</a>, who had previously drummed with <a href="spotify:artist:6ogn9necmbUdCppmNnGOdi">Alanis Morissette</a>. The Colour and the Shape, Foo Fighters' second album and the first they recorded as a band, was issued in May of 1997. <a href="spotify:artist:36AOO7vOYRSjm2nVgvu63E">Smear</a> left the group in the wake of the album's completion and was replaced by guitarist Franz Stahl, whose stay proved short-lived; 1999's There Is Nothing Left to Lose was recorded as a three-piece, with ex-<a href="spotify:artist:5p3WimI9yquAF6Lqhlm4Ol">No Use for a Name</a> guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:5tv5SsSRqR7uLtpKZgcRrg">Chris Shiflett</a> signing on soon after. One by One, the group's most polished production, appeared in late 2002, followed by 2005's In Your Honor, which narrowly missed the top of Billboard's album chart. After releasing a live album titled Skin and Bones in 2006, the band returned to Norton's studio and started constructing a dozen fractured, eclectic rock songs to be released in 2007 under the name Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace. Two years later, the group released its first compilation, Greatest Hits, as <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a> launched his new supergroup <a href="spotify:artist:4zYQWYmtimAEmI6WWEzGfO">Them Crooked Vultures</a>, which also featured <a href="spotify:artist:03xb2BUdIFzuRQ6o88yfCB">Josh Homme</a> of <a href="spotify:artist:4pejUc4iciQfgdX6OKulQn">Queens of the Stone Age</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:36QJpDe2go2KgaRleHCDTp">Led Zeppelin</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:6RhcZuUOb20IZvR8BbdnJX">John Paul Jones</a>. Foo Fighters reconvened for 2011's Wasting Light, a <a href="spotify:artist:0gTi2zsOHn6wtlkx66uxXM">Butch Vig</a> production that doubled as the official return of <a href="spotify:artist:36AOO7vOYRSjm2nVgvu63E">Pat Smear</a>, who hadn't played on any of the band's albums since 1997. Wasting Light wound up as a smash success for the Foos, debuting at number one on the Billboard charts, going gold in the U.S. and garnering the band another four Grammy Awards. In the wake of Wasting Light, several other Foo projects emerged -- a limited-edition compilation of covers called Medium Rare released for Record Store Day 2011; a documentary of the band called Back and Forth -- and the group toured the album into 2012. In 2012, Foo Fighters announced they were taking a hiatus and <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Dave Grohl</a> immediately returned to the confines of <a href="spotify:artist:4pejUc4iciQfgdX6OKulQn">Queens of the Stone Age</a>, drumming on their 2013 album, ...Like Clockwork. He also threw himself into directing a documentary about the legendary Los Angeles recording studio Sound City. The film appeared early in 2013 to positive reviews, and it was accompanied by a soundtrack called Sound City: Reel to Real, which featured <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a>-directed jams including a variety of Sound City veterans, plus <a href="spotify:artist:4STHEaNw4mPZ2tzheohgXB">Paul McCartney</a>. Not long after its release, Foo Fighters announced that their hiatus had ended and they were working on a new album. Sonic Highways, released late in 2014, was their most ambitious project yet; each track was recorded in a different city, some with special featured guests, a process documented on an eight-episode documentary series for HBO. Sonic Highways saw international release in early November 2014. During the Sonic Highways world tour, the Foos had the honor of being the final band to perform on The Late Show with David Letterman on May 24, 2015. Soon after, as touring resumed, <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a> fell from the stage during a stop in Sweden, breaking his leg. He performed from a throne for the remainder of the tour, which was rechristened the "Broken Leg Tour." In late 2015, both as a gesture of appreciation to fans and a tribute to the victims of the Paris terror attacks, Foo Fighters released the Saint Cecilia EP, a five-song blast that featured <a href="spotify:artist:01aC2ikO4Xgb2LUpf9JfKp">Gary Clark, Jr.</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:7bhMBjjQhgPX0q9S4Ajncn">Ben Kweller</a>. It returned the band to the Billboard charts, peaking in the Top 20 on the Hard Rock, Alternative, Tastemaker, and Vinyl charts. Soon after, the band announced an indefinite hiatus and would not release new music until two years later, when they returned with the single "Run." This was the first taste of their ninth album, Concrete and Gold, which appeared in September 2017. Produced by <a href="spotify:artist:2sWf9Tj6EsTxURcgil3NTG">Greg Kurstin</a>, the album found <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a> incorporating some prog rock influences into the group's sound. It also featured a handful of unexpected guest performers, including <a href="spotify:artist:4STHEaNw4mPZ2tzheohgXB">Paul McCartney</a>, who played drums on a track, saxophonist <a href="spotify:artist:0ZcJXldoq09BRIMl0Qh1Vm">Dave Koz</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6O74knDqdv3XaWtkII7Xjp">Boyz II Men</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:19dyJWLCu4CSuTgZN1l9Zn">Shawn Stockman</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:5BYuBzqmTXwUDw2rYkwExr">the Kills</a>' <a href="spotify:artist:5rexG906fVLfq8H9m8J9P9">Alison Mosshart</a>; the latter two both added backing vocals. Along with topping the rock charts, the album was also the group's second to debut at number one on the Billboard 200. Foo Fighters toured extensively throughout 2017 and 2018, including making an appearance at the Glastonbury Festival. By 2019, they were back at work in the studio, recording in an historic house in Encino, California, and again working with producer <a href="spotify:artist:2sWf9Tj6EsTxURcgil3NTG">Kurstin</a>. Initially scheduled for release in 2020, Medicine at Midnight was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a lead single, "Shame Shame," did appear in November 2020, topping the mainstream rock chart. Two more songs followed, "No Son of Mine" and "Waiting on a War," paving the way for the album, which ultimately arrived in February 2021. In March 2022, the Foo Fighters traveled to South America to play a handful of concerts, headlining the Lollapalooza festival in Argentina on March 20. On the morning of March 25, 2022, drummer <a href="spotify:artist:6bI8H2TnlKYGJSo52wcTP4">Taylor Hawkins</a> was found dead in his hotel room in Bogotá, Colombia, where the group was scheduled to perform that evening; he was 50 years old. At the end of 2022, Foo Fighters announced they planned to continue as a band following the death of <a href="spotify:artist:6bI8H2TnlKYGJSo52wcTP4">Hawkins</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:7mRVAzlt1fAAR9Cut6Rq8c">Grohl</a> and his bandmates processed the loss of their colleague on But Here We Are, an album that occasionally echoed the spirit of the first Foo Fighters album while also featuring the assured, precise execution of <a href="spotify:artist:2sWf9Tj6EsTxURcgil3NTG">Greg Kurstin</a>, who returned for his third record with the Foos. The LP earned nominations for Best Rock Album and Best Rock Performance at the 66th Grammy Awards. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

HIM

Limp Bizkit

TV Girl

Laufey

Mitski

Metallica

System of a Down

Striking a balance between '80s underground thrash metal and metallic early-'90s alternative rock, Armenian-American quartet System of a Down effectively pushed their socially conscious, politically charged messages into the mosh pits during the turn of the century's nu-metal wave. Their dark and wild style led them from a cult following to a full-blown movement with breakout hit Toxicity, which debuted at number one in 2001 and planted them at the top of the charts through the early 2000s with a pair of related albums, Mezmerize and Hypnotize. Soon afterward, the band took an extended hiatus, branching off into various solo projects while maintaining a cultural presence with sporadic concerts and continued efforts to spread awareness of the Armenian genocide. They would not return until 2020 when they released their first fresh material in 15 years, "Protect the Land" b/w "Genocidal Humanoidz," the proceeds of which went to the humanitarian needs of families displaced by the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. Vocalist <a href="spotify:artist:0BEI7i5sgUuivcfwXLzFmM">Serj Tankian</a>, guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:2MqLs2L4iNhAUNwJQwjmdm">Daron Malakian</a>, bassist Shavo Odadjian, and drummer John Dolmayan formed System of a Down in Southern California in the mid-'90s. They quickly earned a strong following in Los Angeles, largely based on strong word of mouth. A three-song demo began circulating through metal collectors, and their fan base soon spread throughout not only America, but Europe and New Zealand. By the end of 1997 the group had signed to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22American%22">American</a>, distributed by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Columbia+Records%22">Columbia Records</a>. <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22American%22">American</a>/<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Columbia%22">Columbia</a> released the group's eponymous debut in the summer of 1998, securing the band opening spots on the <a href="spotify:artist:1IQ2e1buppatiN1bxUVkrk">Slayer</a> and Ozzfest tours. Carried by alternative radio hits "Sugar" and "Spiders," System eventually went platinum, leading to the September 2001 release of the even more ambitious Toxicity. Their first chart-topper, System's second effort was another heavy music triumph, shaming the majority of their nu-metal competition and running away with multi-platinum honors around the world. Featuring the singles "Chop Suey!" and "Aerials," the album would become a landmark release for the period and their defining statement. Without losing momentum, <a href="spotify:artist:2MqLs2L4iNhAUNwJQwjmdm">Malakian</a> started the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22eatURmusic%22">eatURmusic</a> imprint, and <a href="spotify:artist:0BEI7i5sgUuivcfwXLzFmM">Tankian</a> founded a label called <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Serjical+Strike%22">Serjical Strike</a>; <a href="spotify:artist:0BEI7i5sgUuivcfwXLzFmM">Tankian</a> also collaborated with Armenian avant-garde folk musician <a href="spotify:artist:13TxYlQsBj3sUlIuyqMz6g">Arto Tuncboyaciyan</a> in a project called <a href="spotify:artist:5KcAXbeH3b692beV9FSWzy">Serart</a>. In November 2002 System issued the bare-bones but no less powerful odds-n-ends set Steal This Album!, culled from the Toxicity sessions. By 2004, System of a Down was back in the studio with <a href="spotify:artist:1EpmQFTiJbcxzwbLpuUL8L">Rick Rubin</a>. The bold result of those sessions was a single epic album released in two parts. Mezmerize/Hypnotize kept System's furious creativity alive, incorporating the wild vocal melodies, lyrical passion, and rabid structural shifts that had become their trademark. Mezmerize (Pt. 1) appeared in May 2005, while Hypnotize (Pt. 2) appeared later in the year, and both hit the top of the album charts. The following year, the group went on hiatus, with <a href="spotify:artist:2MqLs2L4iNhAUNwJQwjmdm">Malakian</a> forming <a href="spotify:artist:2BUrLolMFK48vn3scYOSMf">Scars on Broadway</a>; Dolmayan opening an online comic book store and forming the group Indicator (he also briefly played with <a href="spotify:artist:2BUrLolMFK48vn3scYOSMf">Scars on Broadway</a>); Odadjian working with <a href="spotify:artist:4iCwCMnqsNZ6atvRiADgtn">RZA</a>, AcHoZeN, and <a href="spotify:artist:2GVBp7QyHckoOg7rYkLvrA">George Clinton</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0BEI7i5sgUuivcfwXLzFmM">Tankian</a> embarking on a solo career. While they toured off-and-on throughout the 2010s, the foursome remained split, working on their personal musical projects while continuing to raise awareness for Armenian causes. One of those -- the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war -- prompted System to reunite for the charity single "Protect the Land" b/w "Genocidal Humanoidz," which raised over half-a-million dollars for families displaced by the fighting. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi

Radiohead

Radiohead are a touchstone for all that is fearless and adventurous in rock, evolving from self-loathing anthems to moody prog rock suites to weathered, if shimmering ballads. Inheritors of a throne previously occupied by <a href="spotify:artist:0oSGxfWSnnOXhD2fKuz2Gy">David Bowie</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0k17h0D3J5VfsdmQ1iZtE9">Pink Floyd</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:2x9SpqnPi8rlE9pjHBwmSC">Talking Heads</a> (from whom they took their name), the British band spliced <a href="spotify:artist:0k17h0D3J5VfsdmQ1iZtE9">Floyd</a>'s spaciness with <a href="spotify:artist:51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ">U2</a>'s messianic arena rock heft and bridged the gap with guitar skronk borrowed from the '80s American underground. The jagged interjections on "Creep," the band's Top Ten U.K., Top 40 U.S. breakthrough from their debut album Pablo Honey (1993), recalled <a href="spotify:artist:6zvul52xwTWzilBZl6BUbT">Pixies</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6olE6TJLqED3rqDCT0FyPh">Nirvana</a>, but in the throes of the alternative rock explosion, Radiohead were the odd band out, seen as dour art-rock students at home and as one-hit wonders in the States. During the peak of Brit-pop, Radiohead released The Bends (1995), a leap forward that gained them some traction, but it was OK Computer (1997), a bold set fueled by film music, Krautrock, and electronica, that broke down doors for the band upon its entry at the top of the U.K. and U.S. charts. Soon, whenever rock bands dabbled in electronics, it was derived not from tightly sequenced rhythms, but rather, from glassy textures and introspection, a sensibility pioneered by the quintet. Radiohead doubled down on this aesthetic with Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001), favoring minimal arrangements and elements of avant-garde jazz over concise hooks. From that point on, Radiohead have occasionally worked with conventional song structures but have been drawn toward unusual paths heard on Hail to the Thief (2003) and In Rainbows (a surprise, pay-what-you-want 2007 release), followed the next decade by The King of Limbs (2011) and A Moon Shaped Pool (2016). Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, Radiohead have focused primarily on catalog releases, side projects, and solo pursuits during the 2020s. Every member of Radiohead was a pupil at Oxfordshire's Abingdon School. <a href="spotify:artist:3E7aH1Yv84NoaP9JWcrMpE">Ed O'Brien</a> (guitar) and <a href="spotify:artist:2A59wav3PGiJij2rK7HQYH">Phil Selway</a> (drums) were the eldest, followed by a year by <a href="spotify:artist:4CvTDPKA6W06DRfBnZKrau">Thom Yorke</a> (vocals, guitar, piano) and <a href="spotify:artist:6bdotkIeFswBydfQqzHnKS">Colin Greenwood</a> (bass). These four musicians began playing in 1985, dubbing themselves On a Friday, and before long they added <a href="spotify:artist:6bdotkIeFswBydfQqzHnKS">Colin</a>'s younger brother <a href="spotify:artist:0z9s3P5vCzKcUBSxgBDyLU">Jonny</a>, who'd previously played in Illiterate Hands with <a href="spotify:artist:4CvTDPKA6W06DRfBnZKrau">Yorke</a>'s brother <a href="spotify:artist:6CbjCavKWLrR6J3FzUwwJI">Andy</a> and Nigel Powell. <a href="spotify:artist:0z9s3P5vCzKcUBSxgBDyLU">Jonny</a> started on keyboards but moved to guitar, yet this incarnation proved short-lived. By 1987, everyone but <a href="spotify:artist:0z9s3P5vCzKcUBSxgBDyLU">Jonny</a> left for university, where many members pursued music, but it wasn't until 1991 that the quintet regrouped and started gigging regularly in Oxford. Eventually, they came to the attention of Chris Hufford -- then best-known as the producer of shoegaze stars <a href="spotify:artist:72X6FHxaShda0XeQw3vbeF">Slowdive</a> -- who offered the group the chance to record a demo along with his partner Bryce Edge; the two soon became the band's managers. <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22EMI%22">EMI</a> bit at the group's demo, signing them in 1991 and suggesting they change their name. On a Friday became Radiohead and they recorded their debut EP, Drill, with Hufford and Edge, releasing the record in May 1992. Next, the group entered the studio with producers Paul Kolderie and <a href="spotify:artist:1pYe8ZSmmg4LJDdLDlVh9b">Sean Slade</a> to record their full-length debut. The first fruit from these sessions was "Creep," a single released in the U.K. in September of 1992. "Creep" didn't go anywhere at first. The British music weeklies slagged it, radio didn't play it, and it limped to number 78 on the charts. Pablo Honey, the band's full-length debut, appeared in February 1993, supported by the single "Anyone Can Play Guitar," but neither release gained much traction in their native U.K. and that May's non-LP single, "Pop Is Dead," didn't help matters much, either. By that point, however, "Creep" started to gain attention in other territories. First, the song became a hit in Israel, but the bigger waves came from the United States, which was in the throes of the alternative rock revolution. Influential San Francisco radio station KITS added "Creep" to their playlist and it spread along the west coast and onto MTV as it became a genuine hit, nearly topping Billboard's Modern Rock chart and reaching 34 on the Hot 100, a big achievement for a British guitar band. A re-released "Creep" turned into a British Top Ten hit, peaking at number seven in the autumn of 1993. The band who'd had no success suddenly had more than it could handle. Radiohead kept touring Pablo Honey into 1994, but no subsequent hits were forthcoming, raising the specter of the band as a possible one-hit wonder -- a criticism that weighed heavily on the group, who were anxious to record their new songs. They received the opportunity early in 1994, entering the studio to work with producer John Leckie -- then best-known for his work with <a href="spotify:artist:1lYT0A0LV5DUfxr6doRP3d">the Stone Roses</a> -- with My Iron Lung, an EP released in late 1994, being the first music released from the sessions. Muscular and ambitious, the EP provided a good indication of what would come on 1995's The Bends. Released in March 1995, The Bends not only found Radiohead growing musically -- it was dense and expansive, without skimping on songs -- but also in reputation, as critics in the U.K. embraced the band with the audience eventually following: none of the first three singles ("High and Dry," "Fake Plastic Trees," "Just") rose above 17 on the U.K. charts but the final single, "Street Spirit (Fade Out)," wound up reaching five in early 1996. Radiohead's rise may have been assisted by the mania cultivated by Brit-pop, a term that didn't quite suit the band -- they were far artier and rock-oriented -- but nevertheless stoked interest in indie guitar bands, which the quintet certainly was. Over in the U.S., The Bends stalled out at 88 on the Billboard charts but the record gained a cult following among listeners and the band never stopped touring, taking North American opening slots for <a href="spotify:artist:4KWTAlx2RvbpseOGMEmROg">R.E.M.</a> in 1995 and <a href="spotify:artist:6ogn9necmbUdCppmNnGOdi">Alanis Morissette</a> in 1996. During 1995 and 1996, the group recorded new material with <a href="spotify:artist:0g7gHEXKEHU4snTwOZSxNO">Nigel Godrich</a> -- an engineer on The Bends sessions who was now the band's producer -- with songs slowly creeping out during the course of the year. "Lucky" showed up on War Child's 1995 charity LP The Help Album, "Talk Show Host" appeared on a B-side, and "Exit Music (For a Film)" showed up on the soundtrack to <a href="spotify:artist:7HhTERkBV4Ot14KphgBfSh">Baz Luhrmann</a>'s Romeo & Juliet. The latter showed up on OK Computer, the June 1997 album that proved pivotal in Radiohead's career. "Paranoid Android," a twitchy suite released as a single in May of that year, suggested the ambition of OK Computer -- and by reaching number three, it was the band's biggest hit to date in the U.K., placing them on the cusp of a breakthrough. A breakthrough is precisely what OK Computer turned out to be, a record that proved pivotal not just for Radiohead but for the direction of '90s rock. Greeted with enthusiastic reviews and corresponding strong sales, OK Computer closed the doors on the hedonism of Brit-pop and the dour after-effects of grunge while opening a new path to sober, adventurous art-rock where electronics co-existed with guitars. Over the next few years, the band's influence would become readily apparent, but the album made a sizable impact upon its release, too, debuting at number one in the U.K. and earning a Grammy for Best Alternative Album. Radiohead supported it with an international tour, documented in Meeting People Is Easy. By the time Meeting People Is Easy showed up in theaters, the group began work on their fourth album, once again reuniting with producer <a href="spotify:artist:0g7gHEXKEHU4snTwOZSxNO">Godrich</a>. The resulting Kid A doubled down on the experimentalism of OK Computer, embracing electronics and threading in jazz. Appearing in October in 2000, Kid A was one of the first major albums to be pirated through file-sharing services, but this bootlegging had no apparent effect on the sales of the record: it debuted at number one in the U.K. and the U.S., becoming their first American chart-topper. Once again, the album took home the prize for Best Alternative Album at the Grammys and although it didn't produce any hit singles -- indeed, no singles were released from the record -- it was certified platinum in several territories. Amnesiac, a collection of new material initiated during the Kid A sessions, appeared in June of 2001, topping the U.K. charts and reaching two in the U.S. Two singles were pulled from the album -- "Pyramid Song" and "Knives Out" -- a signal that the album was more commercially accessible than its predecessor. At the end of the year, the band issued I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings, and by the summer of 2002, they turned their attention to recording a new album with <a href="spotify:artist:0g7gHEXKEHU4snTwOZSxNO">Godrich</a>. The resulting Hail to the Thief appeared in June of 2003, once again debuting in the upper reaches of the international charts -- number one in the U.K. and number three in the U.S. -- and the group supported the album with live dates culminating in a headlining appearance at the 2004 Coachella Festival that coincided with the release of the B-sides and remix collection COM LAG, a record that helped close out their contract with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22EMI%22">EMI</a>. Over the next couple of years, Radiohead entered a hiatus as individual members pursued solo projects. <a href="spotify:artist:4CvTDPKA6W06DRfBnZKrau">Yorke</a> released the heavily electronic solo collection The Eraser in 2006, and <a href="spotify:artist:0z9s3P5vCzKcUBSxgBDyLU">Jonny Greenwood</a> embarked on a side career as a composer, beginning with 2004's Bodysong and then striking a fruitful collaboration with Paul Thomas Anderson for 2007's There Will Be Blood; <a href="spotify:artist:0z9s3P5vCzKcUBSxgBDyLU">Greenwood</a> would also work on Anderson's subsequent films The Master and Inherent Vice. During all this, the group tentatively chipped away at their first post-<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22EMI%22">EMI</a> album. Some unsuccessful sessions with Spike Stent led the band back to <a href="spotify:artist:0g7gHEXKEHU4snTwOZSxNO">Godrich</a> by the end of 2006, and the group completed recording in June of 2007. Still without a record label, they decided to release the album digitally through their official website, letting users pay whatever they wanted for a download of the album. This novel strategy acted as the album's own promotion -- most of the articles about the release claimed it was revolutionary -- and In Rainbows allegedly moved over a million downloads on the first day of its release in October 2007. In December, the album received a physical release in the U.K., followed by a January 2008 physical release in the U.S.; the record sold well, debuting at number one in the U.K., and it earned Grammys for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package. Radiohead toured in support of In Rainbows into 2009, during which time <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22EMI%22">EMI</a> released Radiohead: The Best Of in June of 2008. The band took time off in 2010, which allowed <a href="spotify:artist:4CvTDPKA6W06DRfBnZKrau">Yorke</a> to form a band called <a href="spotify:artist:7tA9Eeeb68kkiG9Nrvuzmi">Atoms for Peace</a> with producer <a href="spotify:artist:0g7gHEXKEHU4snTwOZSxNO">Godrich</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0Xl5J6iOgiQHFqgri7TF8j">Flea</a> from the <a href="spotify:artist:0L8ExT028jH3ddEcZwqJJ5">Red Hot Chili Peppers</a>. During this time, drummer <a href="spotify:artist:2A59wav3PGiJij2rK7HQYH">Phil Selway</a> released his debut solo album, Familial. By early 2011, the group finished a new album and, like In Rainbows before it, Radiohead initially released The King of Limbs digitally through their website. The downloads appeared in February, with the physical copies appearing in March; the album reportedly shifted upwards of 400,000 digital copies upon its release. That autumn brought the release of the remix album TKOL RMX 1234567, and the band continued to tour The King of Limbs material into 2012. Once the tour wrapped up, the group took some quiet time as a new round of solo projects appeared. <a href="spotify:artist:7tA9Eeeb68kkiG9Nrvuzmi">Atoms for Peace</a> released Amok in February 2013 and <a href="spotify:artist:4CvTDPKA6W06DRfBnZKrau">Yorke</a> put out Tomorrow's Modern Boxes in September 2014, just a month before <a href="spotify:artist:2A59wav3PGiJij2rK7HQYH">Selway</a> issued his second album, Weatherhouse. In the autumn of 2014, the band began work on a new album and continued to record throughout 2015, releasing only "Spectre" -- a proposed James Bond theme rejected by the filmmakers -- that year. The ninth Radiohead album, A Moon Shaped Pool, appeared on May 8, 2016, preceded earlier in the week by the singles "Burn the Witch" and "Daydreaming." Radiohead supported A Moon Shaped Pool with an international tour, and in June 2017 they celebrated the 20th anniversary of OK Computer with a double-disc reissue dubbed OK Computer: OKNOTOK 1997 2017. Featuring a host of bonus cuts and previously unreleased material, its number two showing on the U.K. chart was bolstered by a major televised live performance at Glastonbury. Over the next year, <a href="spotify:artist:2A59wav3PGiJij2rK7HQYH">Selway</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4CvTDPKA6W06DRfBnZKrau">Yorke</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0z9s3P5vCzKcUBSxgBDyLU">Greenwood</a> each issued film soundtracks with the latter earning an Oscar nomination for his score to Phantom Thread. Radiohead were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, honored with a speech from <a href="spotify:artist:2x9SpqnPi8rlE9pjHBwmSC">Talking Heads</a>' <a href="spotify:artist:20vuBdFblWUo2FCOvUzusB">David Byrne</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:4CvTDPKA6W06DRfBnZKrau">Yorke</a> released his third solo album, Anima, that June. Two years later, Radiohead issued Kid A Mnesia, a collection of previously unreleased material from the Kid A and Amnesiac sessions. It was promoted with the singles "If You Say the Word" and "Follow Me Around." All bandmembers were active during the first half the 2020s. <a href="spotify:artist:3E7aH1Yv84NoaP9JWcrMpE">Ed O'Brien</a> released Earth under the alias <a href="spotify:artist:4CX6yOoTFQeiwL5yxuFuIG">EOB</a> in 2020. <a href="spotify:artist:4CvTDPKA6W06DRfBnZKrau">Yorke</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0z9s3P5vCzKcUBSxgBDyLU">Jonny Greenwood</a> performed and recorded (with drummer <a href="spotify:artist:6U9Bsog9PLNE5hrw45ecDm">Tom Skinner</a>) as <a href="spotify:artist:6styCzc1Ej4NxISL0LiigM">the Smile</a> and continued separate soundtrack work. <a href="spotify:artist:6bdotkIeFswBydfQqzHnKS">Colin Greenwood</a> toured with <a href="spotify:artist:1RM5gp0RFfjpJhCYFPB30p">Nick Cave</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0A8tch4LePxVn1Cn60wGXu">Warren Ellis</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:2A59wav3PGiJij2rK7HQYH">Phil Selway</a> released Strange Dance, his third solo album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi