Latest articles by Amit Sharma
“The best revenge is to live on and prove yourself”: How Pearl Jam created a powerful signature song inspired by a real-life tragedy
“I guess they can’t sue us because I’m writing about it after it happened”
“I was working on this song which he liked, and then he died, and it turned into a tribute to him”: The tragedy behind a classic Pretenders hit
And why George Harrison claimed to have inspired the song
“As an English boy at the time, you’re encouraged not to show your emotion”: How the young Robert Smith created one of The Cure’s definitive songs
The band’s first song to pass one billion streams on Spotify
“Slacker my ass! I was working a $4-an-hour job trying to stay alive”: How the “worst rapper in the world” became an alt-rock icon
“Slacker my ass! I never had any slack. I was working a $4-an-hour job trying to stay alive”
“Prince had rented out the theatre with free popcorn for everyone”: Cory Wong on the night Prince ditched a jam session for a movie
“People never knew what they were going to get”
“On the spur of the moment I said, ‘I’m going to do the backing vocals in Spanish’”: How The Clash created their biggest hit
“It was just a good rockin’ song – our attempt at writing a classic”
“When that song came out, it changed everything”: How Stone Temple Pilots created one of the great alternative rock anthems
Singer Scott Weiland called the track “a metaphor for a lost, obsessive relationship”
Why Cory Wong needed the signature wah pedal that could do it all
The funk guitar maestro explains why he needs a wah pedal, volume pedal and expression pedal in one housing – and what he would change about it if given the chance (hint: not much)
“Undoubtedly the most versatile lunchbox amp Victory has ever made”: Victory MKX review
The British amp specialist unveils its most advanced lunchbox amp to date
The groundbreaking hit that saved Faith No More’s career – and saved the life of Slipknot’s Corey Taylor
The enigmatic lyrics continually allude to “it” – while never quite articulating what “it” actually is
“An absolute steal when it comes to quality and value for money”: Harley Benton ST-Modern Carlos Asensio CGM review
The Guitarraviva YouTuber teams up with Harley Benton to deliver one of the most spec’d-out affordable guitars we’ve ever seen
“My advice is play the song. Can you find a part that is tailored to the music”: Cory Wong’s tips for better rhythm guitar
“If people like how I play the guitar – great. But I’ll only play what I feel is appropriate for the song”
How Cory Wong reimagined Ernie Ball Music Man’s iconic bass for a signature electric with “that George Benson sound”
With the funk guitar maestro’s signature StingRay II now available in an affordable Sterling By Music Man version, Wong checks in to talk about the making of a dual-humbucker doozy and what it gives him that the Strat can't
“It’s quite funny when people ask us what it means”: How Wet Leg's breakout hit was written in a single day
“We’d just hit our guitars sometimes. Actually hit them!”
“Prince told me, ‘You sound so great, man. Keep doing your thing’”: Cory Wong's encounters with The Purple One
“It was by far the biggest compliment I’ve ever gotten”
“I had no idea that song would become what it became": The hard-rocking Lenny Kravitz hit that’s full of surprises
“I’m singing ‘I am the chosen, I’m the one’, but it’s not about me – it’s about Christ”
“Avril and I thought, ‘Let’s just make up the most stupid opening line for a song’”: Avril Lavigne's “super special” hit
“I wrote it about my high school experience”
“I’d rather go in and just be Jaco”: The genius of Jaco Pastorius in one of the greatest jazz songs of all time
“One take, man! One of the greatest tunes ever”
“People who like that song aren’t actually fans of The Cure”: How Robert Smith created one of The Cure’s greatest hits
“I thought, why don’t I do a song about that Friday feeling?”
“It used to be, like, 25 minutes long!”: The classic Guns N’ Roses ballad inspired by Elton John
Rose called it “a song about not wanting to be in a state of unrequited love”
“I was the first person to actually have a Super Fuzz Big Muff”: How Courtney Love created a grunge classic
Hole’s song Violet came out just a week after Kurt Cobain’s suicide
“She sang it once. From a vocal standpoint, no one has that much courage”: How Alanis Morissette made You Oughta Know
"I thought maybe ten people would hear this song,” she said
“I would come into the studio and people didn’t want to listen to me”: Avril Lavigne’s fight to create her first big hit
It also kick-started the career of production team The Matrix
