Dale Maplethorpe

Look, there's no denying how much of a massive song ‘ Hotel California ' is, so I'll start things with a bit of praise for what we now recognise as a classic track.

If you wanted to pick a genre to comfortably label Metallica , it would be thrash metal, but there is a lot more to them than that.

So, how well have you been paying attention this past week?

Eddie Van Halen is a unique guitarist who has been influenced by a variety of musicians, including this legendary instrumentalist.

There are a number of different approaches that Sammy Hagar had to writing songs, and they all birthed pretty great music.

The beauty of music lies in its subjectivity. That said, there are some songs which are recognised as universally beautiful, and we have The Beach Boys to thank for a lot of them.

I once wrote a piece called “ Jimi Hendrix was the best guitarist to ever live, and your favourite guitarist agrees”.

The world of prog-rock remains one of the most elusive and complicated corners of music. The issue with this style is that it's not really something you can define.

I've always said that the blues are a genre which will outlive all others, and let me explain why.

Jack Black spoke about how big a fan he was of the perpetually unpredictable Radiohead , and how that fandom can often result in a bit of confusion, because the jump between albums is so vast that people often fall through them.