It’s a sad day in music land: Les Paul, inventor of both the electric guitar and multi-track recording, has died at 94. We are all mourning the loss of this music-changing innovator, who was as responsible for rock ‘n roll as Elvis (not to mention pretty much all other music you listen to these days). So since we kind of suck at playing the guitar, we decided to honor this guitar legend in the way we know best: with pictures of super hot chicks holding Gibson Les Paul guitars! R.I.P, Les. Now, go play Jesus a face-melter.

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Boys Like Girls used their explosion on the PureVolume“unsigned band” chart to land a major label record deal that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of records sold of their critically acclaimed self-titled album. Just two years ago, Boys Like Girls were playing small venues in the Boston area.  Today, they are gearing up to co-headline a five week national arena tour with Good Charlotte. On the verge of super-stardom, this quartet hasn’t forgotten their roots and the fans that helped them get to where they are today.

Check out our interview with Boys Like Girls’ lead guitarist Paul DiGiovanni after the jump! (more…)

Next week COED will be sitting down with The Kooks and we want to have them answer YOUR questions!

In the comment section below, submit as many questions for the band as you like, and come back next week for the answers.

We really will try to have them answer as many as possible.

Listen to The Kooks latest single “Sway”, and watch music videos for “She Moves In Her Own Way” and “Naive” if your in the mood for a solid throwback.

Most people’s first encounter with the ultra hip, uber talented band, The Ting Tings can be attributed to Steve Jobs and his brilliant iPod commercials. Their song, Shut Up and Let Me Go, was catchy, fun and piqued everyone’s interest…in more than an MP3 player. Fortunately, that song wasn’t the only trick up The Ting Tings’ sleeve.Their newest album, We Started Nothing, is further proof of this duo’s serious talent. Unable to get those songs out of our heads, COED just had to get the story behind the band. So, we did. The good news: Katie White is just as down to earth and cool as she is talented. And, though we didn’t get to chat with Jules, we are pretty sure the same goes for him.

COED: We Started Nothing is chock full of textured beats, irresistible melodies and witty lyrics- where do the songs come from?
The Ting Tings: We didn’t intend to form in a band so I think it came from a very honest place, because when we wrote these songs we didn’t think anyone would ever hear them. We just wrote them to play for our friends at parties. We were both feeling quite frustrated at the time and very sort of, I don’t know, like, invisible. We had been in a band that hadn’t worked out, we had a bit of a horrible time with it; I think it came from a real frustrated point of view, but they weren’t negative songs; they were just songs to make us feel better.

COED: Could you describe your song writing process?
TT: It’s completely different for every song. Both myself and Jules write everything together. Sometimes it will be that I will come up with something on the guitar and then we’ll come up with an idea on top of that. Or Jules might come up with something on the guitar or drums, or we’ll play keyboards or we’ll just have this little percussive sound. We just turn to sing like guy vocals and then an idea will come out of it. (more…)

You know the “jam face,” that nether region of expression the squeezes in somewhere between eternal ecstasy and taking a dump. Well, RollingStone.com has compiled the quintessential list–and made names for–ever species of jam face you could possibly imagine.

Everything from Neil Young’s “Defiant One” to Billy Corgan’s “Vampire Bat.” There’s a full 22 new faces and names to memorize. So do your homework–there will be a quiz.

 Check out Rolling Stone’s “Field Guide to Guitar Jam Faces” here!

[Props to Gorilla Mask for finding this one]

(image source: RollingStone.com)

Most of you are probably too young to remember who this guy is (hell, I’m too young to remember), or why you should care. But Bo Diddley’s signature beat helped father an entire genre of music, and can be found in the influences of everyone, from Jimi Hendrix to Eric Clapton.

Born in Mississippi and raised in Chicago, Diddley began his musical career playing the guitar on the windy Chicago streets, before being discovered by Chess Records. But after his break, Diddley kept his music based in a simple premise. When asked about good songwriting, Diddley said you should always write “[a] story with some funny lyrics, or some serious lyrics, or some love-type lyrics. But you gotta think in terms of what people’s lives is based on.”

Check out video of Bo Diddley after the jump! (more…)

Combining gritty guitar licks with back-breaking drum beats and a voice that seems to echo the pain of the world in its every note, The Black Keys‘ rich but simple grooves meld the wail of Southern blues with a rocked-out jam to deliver us a much-needed dose of 21st Century soul.

Take a listen after the jump! (more…)

With less than three months until Rock Band is in stores details and songs are still being announced. The most recent news is the confirmation of four alternative-rock staples – Pixies’ “Wave of Mutilation,” Hole’s “Celebrity Skin,” “I Think I’m Paranoid” by Garbage and “Maps” by Yeah Yeah Yeah’s. The total number of songs now revealed is 30 out of 40; the two albums available for download at launch remain Who’s Next by The Who and Nirvana’s Nevermind.

Considering that my only quibble with Guitar Hero II was the overabundance of “iffy” song choices (who the f*** wants to play “Carry On Wayward Son” by pansy-ass Kansas?) the inclusion of these jam-worthy tracks add greatly to Rock Band’s shelf-life. Yeah, I’ve heard “Celebrity Skin” ten-thousand-times-too-many, but at least it’s less-annoying than the repetitive, neverending mess “Message in a Bottle” turned out to be…I hope.

Also worth mentioning is the newly-revamped duel mode. While a two-guitar showdown is already one of the greatest parts of the Guitar Hero franchise, Rock Band’s drummer duel could make digital guitar-shredding obsolete – it’s that amazing.

Check out a video of drum-dueling to “Wave of Mutilation” after the jump.

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