May 17
Industrial rock's darkest architect Trent Reznor celebrates his 61st birthday today, the Nine Inch Nails mastermind whose nihilistic soundscapes and film scoring proved that anger and depression could create both disturbing music and Oscar-winning compositions across four decades… Grunge lost one of its greatest voices on this night in 2017 when Chris Cornell hanged himself after a Soundgarden show in Detroit, the 52-year-old's suicide shocking fans who didn't know his depression had returned, ending the career of rock's most powerful vocalist… Folk history began today in 1963 when the first Monterey Folk Festival started in California, the event establishing the template for the counterculture festivals that would follow while showcasing Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Pete Seeger for audiences hungry for acoustic authenticity… Blues lost its funkiest guitarist today in 1996 when Johnny Guitar Watson died at 61 from a heart attack while performing in Yokoha...
