With the upcoming release of their debut album, “I Waited For You”, Valora will redefine the male ego. The alternative rock genre is in dire need of this shake-up. The music industry doesn’t yearn for a band that can deliver a Daughtry hit, followed by a Nickelback hit, a Foo Fighters’ hit and topped off with the ultimate mimic, a Nirvana hit. The industry needs originality and what better way to spice up the bland rock stew than with some female flavoring? Shockya readers, say hello to the ultimate alternative ingredient, Syd Duran. Don’t worry, she is not a duplicate of Paramore’s Hayley Williams. Duran will not simply dismiss the…

With 2011 coming to an end, you should prepare to be flooded with countdowns from the year’s top movies to the top music videos. Yes, some of these lists are entirely trivial, but they are also short and sweet and sum up a year in less than five minutes. A trivial list in this context would be the top ten reality stars, which is a completely unnecessary countdown since a Kardashian is at every number. You, Shockya readers, deserve an unpredictable list that can benefit you, not make you wish you could be famous for doing absolutely nothing. So, open up your iTunes and get ready to purchase the Top…

Forever 21 is the store that quite a few young people go to in order to get the latest trends. However, Forever 21 is being called out in deploying an iconic shirt design without giving credit. According to MTV and Seattle Pi, the popular store has been given an earful by many after getting wind of the fact that the “Flipper” shirt design, drawn by Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain on a sweatshirt he wore during the band’s performance on a 1992 “Saturday Night Live” appearance, was being used by Forever 21 without credit. The store has since taken down the shirt from the site, more than likely to avoid any legal…

Title: Pearl Jam Twenty Director: Cameron Crowe Most bands don’t stick around long enough to make it a career. Hell, most bands don’t stick around long enough to even play their first show. So it’s quite an accomplishment for a band to stay together for twenty years and still retain the excitement, fan base and artistic integrity from their first day as a band. And I concede, as much as I am not a fan of Pearl Jam or their music, I can appreciate the longevity and their intent. In the new film from Cameron Crowe, “Pearl Jam Twenty” he examines the band from their birth, their highs and lows…

Our parents know best is a saying that we have often grown up hearing, but neglected to absorb. We spent most of our teenage years fighting those wise words, but in our twenties now, we have come to terms that it is true. Listening to the music therapists within us, we credit the music of the past for opening up the doors to our parents. The bands of the past give us our music foundation, much like our parents’ knowledge builds our values. So, we give much thanks to The Beatles, Janis Joplin, Nirvana and Jimi Hendrix for setting us on the right path and to resurrecting groups like Jane’s…

Usually, the autumn days have us thickening our clothing layers with a dismal expression on our faces, but this fall we think our frowns will be permanently flipped around. We credit our surge of optimism to Grace Potter and The Nocturnals. We got to check out the genre-fusing band on Saturday night, September 24th, at Rumsey Playfield Central Park and the night was magical. That description might sound a bit corny, but Grace Potter and The Nocturnals remind us just why we fell for music in the first place. We have had the band’s 2010 self-titled album on constant replay for the past year, but seeing them perform the tracks…

It is not every day that we come across bands that remind us of why we fell in love with music. We grew up listening to the psychedelic sounds of The Dandy Warhols, Zero 7 and The Shins. The beauty that is exuded from these 90s bands, both instrumentally and vocally, is largely non-existent in the auto-tone society we live in today. Despite this “factual” statement, we will not spend anymore time discussing the musical negativity of the 21st Century because we have found a band that has resurrected the 90s traits we have been missing since our teenage years. So, there is hope that the whimsical sounds of the…

20 years ago Nirvana released the album that propelled them into spotlight. Within a few months Nevermind was in the No. 1 slot on Billboard’s U.S. sales chart. It was propelled to No. 1 across the globe by their young fans worldwide that identified with the band and embraced their anthem “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and its landmark music video. Since then Nevermind has sold more than 30 million albums. The 20th anniversary of Nevermind will be marked throughout the year, with various events and releases. Universal Music Enterprises announced a 4-CD/1-DVD Super Deluxe Edition of Nirvana’s Nevermind will available September 19, 2011, in the U.K. and September 20, 2011,…

‘Hormoaning’ from Nirvana is set to gain a full re-issue on April 16, 2011 to coincide with Record Store Day. Originally the limited edition EP was released in Australia to surprise fans during the 1992 tour. Containing five tracks, the ‘Hormoaning’ EP will be kept to a very limited pressing of only 6000 copies. The tracks included in the EP are the Following: ‘Turnaround’ ‘Aneurysm’ ‘D-7′ ‘Son Of A Gun’ ‘Even In His Youth’ ‘Molly’s Lips’ The ‘Hormoaning’ EP will be available on April 16th. For more information visit the Record Store Day website here. By Brent Butler

Amazing footage of Nirvana performing “School” at the 1992 Reading Festival was recently made available for fans. The video comes from the CD+DVD Nirvana Live At Reading which hits stores November 17th, with the CD only version arriving on November 3rd. Often heralded as one of the greatest Nirvana performances of all time, the gig featured front man Kurt Cobain rocking out in a hospital gown. Fans can now own a color-corrected video from the original film with audio sourced from the original multi-track masters. Nirvana Live At Reading DVD: 1. Breed 2. Drain You 3. Aneurysm 4. School 5. Sliver 6. In Bloom 7. Come As You Are 8….