Pearl Jam‘s Ten is now officially three times as old as its title.
The grunge band’s iconic debut album was released August 27, 1991 — 30 years ago today. The RIAA Diamond-certified record is now considered one of the defining records of the ’90s alternative rock scene.
Pearl Jam released Ten just one year after they were founded in 1990. After playing together in the band Mother Love Bone, which dissolved after the death of frontman Andrew Wood, guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament formed a new band with fellow Seattle musician Mike McCready. They then eventually recruited lead vocalist Eddie Vedder from San Diego, and drummer Dave Krusen.
Originally named Mookie Blaylock after the NBA point guard, Pearl Jam adopted a new moniker after they signed a record deal. The album title Ten is a reference to Blaylock’s jersey number.
Despite its now legendary status, Ten wasn’t an out-of-the-gate hit. That September, though, Nirvana released “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and Nevermind, and by the end of 1991 and into 1992, the grunge sensation was officially in full swing. Ten would eventually hit number two on the Billboard 200, and Pearl Jam joined Nirvana as the faces of the suddenly popular Seattle sound.
Ten‘s success was buoyed by singles including “Even Flow,” “Alive” and the Grammy-nominated “Jeremy.” “Jeremy” was also accompanied by a shocking video, which showed a young student killing himself in front of his classmates, though the scene of the student putting the gun into his mouth was infamously censored. Despite its controversy, “Jeremy” won the 1993 MTV VMA Video of the Year.
Interestingly, Ten isn’t the only PJ album celebrating a milestone anniversary today. The band’s polarizing fourth album, No Code, was released 25 years ago on August 27, 1996.
KISS was forced to cancel its concert Thursday night in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, after Paul Stanley tested positive for COVID-19.
“Tonight’s KISS show at The Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, PA is unfortunately postponed due to Paul Stanley testing positive for COVID,” the band announced on its official website Thursday. “More information about show dates will be made available ASAP. Everyone on the entire tour, both band and crew, are fully vaccinated.”
The message continues, “The band and their crew have operated in a bubble independently to safeguard everyone as much as possible at each show and in between shows. The tour also has a COVID safety protocol officer on staff full-time that is ensuring everyone is closely following all CDC guidelines.”
Stanley also took to his personal Twitter page to squash rumors that the Kiss frontman was having heart problems, insisting, “PEOPLE!!! I am fine! I am not in ICU! My heart allows me to do 26 miles a day on my bike! I don’t know where this came from but it’s absolute nonsense.”
In addition, the venue issued a statement on Twitter assuring ticketholders that the concert will be rescheduled and that “[a]ll previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new date once announced.” Ticketholders will be updated directly by email.
This is the second concert KISS was forced to postpone since kicking off the 2021 leg of its End of the Road World Tour on August 18 in Mansfield, Massachusetts. The band postponed its August 22 show in Hartford, Connecticut, because of Hurricane Henri.
KISS’ farewell tour was launched in January 2019 and was originally scheduled to conclude in New York City on July 17, 2021, but is now expected to last well into 2022.
(KABUL, Afghanistan) — When Waheed Arian heard of the two bombings out Kabul’s airport in Afghanistan, he rushed to call his family members to ensure that they were safe. Arian is a doctor and ex-refugee, who fled Afghanistan during the Taliban’s rule in 1999, and now lives in the United Kingdom.
With sweaty palms, a racing heart and the memories of death and destruction from his time in Afghanistan as a child, he’s wary of what the future might hold for him and his family.
“When I get off the phone, I break down in tears because I feel helpless,” Arian told ABC News. “This is the case for so many Afghans whose families are over there. … It haunts you forever.”
The bombings, for which the terrorist group ISIS-K has claimed responsibility, left at least 60 Afghan civilians dead, as well as at least 13 U.S. service members, according to the Pentagon.
The attack on Hamid Karzai International Airport, the main source of hope for those trying to escape the city and seek refuge elsewhere, has left many Afghans feeling desperate.
Waiting for news from home
Shabnam, who asked ABC News to use only her first name for the safety of her family in Afghanistan, said she can’t concentrate. The ex-refugee, who is now a citizen living in the U.S., said she is numb and can’t focus on her work, her schooling or her responsibilities as she awaits news about her family’s fate.
When Shabnam was asked if her family was safe, she responded: “What does that mean? If I say that they are safe, they’re safe as prisoners. … The banks are closed. The businesses are closed. Everything is closed, and they don’t have freedom of speech anymore.”
Shabnam is calling on international forces to step up and help the Afghan people before the country reverts back to its old ways, particularly calling on the U.S. to take the lead.
“It is their responsibility as our leaders, the responsibility of the international community not to just not watch and be silent,” Shabnam said.
Uncertainty plagues Afghan families
With the Taliban taking over Afghanistan before the United States’ Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw troops, many citizens fear what could come of their country and their livelihood in the Middle Eastern nation.
Activist and Afghan journalist Mahbouba Seraj returned to Afghanistan from exile in 2003 with the mission to advance women’s rights in the country. In an interview with ABC News Live, she said she made a commitment to Afghanistan to continue to move the country forward and won’t leave the country despite the danger.
During the interview, her words were interrupted by a blast, later determined to be the U.S. military disposing of equipment before exiting the country.
“I cannot leave Afghanistan at this point,” said Seraj. “Everybody worked together to make this country really the way it is. … We all worked very hard, and then it disappeared, and I knew that I have to stick around. I have to stick around to prove it to myself, to prove it to whoever, as far as my young girls.”
Many women in the country fear that the Taliban will revert to the oppressive tactics they used when they ruled in the 1990s, like keeping women at home, out of work and out of schools.
Many also fear that the militant group will retaliate against citizens with connections to America, who’ve worked with the U.S. or Afghan government or who have criticized the Taliban in the past. Under the Taliban’s previous rule, citizens could be stoned to death, have their hands cut off or be publicly executed for violating the Taliban’s laws.
For Arian, the violence Thursday reminded him of the civil war he experienced as a child, when the Soviet Union withdrew from the country and mujahedeen forces turned on each other in 1992.
“Bullets flying, rockets flying and we had to just leave everything, abandon the house,” said Arian. “The schools were destroyed, the hospitals were destroyed, the whole infrastructure was gone.”
Arian believes he’s echoing the voice of the millions of Afghans who’ve lived through the civil war.
“They remember — that’s why they’re physically, mentally tired,” Arian said. “They’re exhausted from running. They’re exhausted from refugee camps, they’re on high alert constantly. And now we see today that there’s nowhere safe for them.”
The future of Afghanistan
For many, the future of Afghanistan and its people hangs in the balance as U.S. troops leave the country behind. While many continue to flock to airports and plan escape routes out of the country, some are hunkering down, determined to rescue the nation they call home.
Arian’s family is divided — his father wants to stay and his siblings want to flee.
“He just told me, ‘Son, I’m tired of running. I’ve spent my entire life running. I just want to die in peace here if there is any peace,'” said Arian. “When I speak to some of my sisters, they’re fearful for their lives. They don’t know whether we would go back again to the civil war that most of them had witnessed along with me, and they have children now.”
Seraj, who has dedicated her life to activism and bettering the conditions of Afghan women for decades, said that all her fears are coming true.
Without plans to leave Kabul, she’s faced with ongoing questions about what’s next for the nation.
“The control is getting out of everybody’s hands,” Seraj said. “We’ve lost a lot of our people. Our soldiers are no longer what they were and keeping us safe. The U.S. Army is no longer there. Nobody’s there. What is going to be happening?”
(KABUL, Afghanistan) — An explosion that killed at least 13 U.S. service members in Afghanistan Thursday was part of a “complex” attack near the Kabul airport, the Pentagon said.
Two ISIS suicide bombers detonated in the vicinity of both the Kabul airport’s Abbey Gate and the adjacent Baron Hotel, according to Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command.
The U.S. service members killed in the explosion near the Abbey Gate included 10 Marines, one Army, one to be determined and one Navy hospital corpsman, or medic, a U.S. official confirmed to ABC News. A 13th service member injured in the attack at Abbey Gate later succumbed to his wounds, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson said Thursday evening.
“We can confirm at this time 10 Marines were killed in the line of duty at Hamid Karzai International Airport. Additionally, several more were wounded and are being cared for at this time,” Maj. Jim Stenger, Marine Corps spokesperson, said in a statement Thursday night.
Another 18 service members were injured in the attack, U.S. Central Command said, up from the 15 initially confirmed by the command.
“We’re still working to calculate the total losses,” McKenzie said during a briefing at the Pentagon Thursday afternoon. “We just don’t know what that is right now.”
The attack marks the third-deadliest single day for American forces in Afghanistan in the 20-year war.
The injured troops are being evacuated from Afghanistan on C-17s equipped with surgical units.
At least 60 Afghan civilians were killed and over 140 others injured in the attack, according to the Associated Press.
The “complex” attack unfolded Thursday evening local time in Kabul, with one explosion at the Abbey Gate causing “a number of US and civilian casualties” and another explosion near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from the gate, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said.
“The attack on the Abbey Gate was followed by a number of ISIS gunmen who opened fire on civilians and military forces,” McKenzie said.
McKenzie said it was his “working assumption” that a suicide bomber was going through the Abbey Gate — being searched and checked by U.S. service members — when the person detonated the vest. The general did not know the size of the bomb or have much information about the explosion near the Baron Hotel. No bomber got onto airport grounds, McKenzie said.
“Clearly there had been a failure” from the Taliban forces checking people outside the airport, the general said.
Hours after the explosions, the militant group ISIS-K, which stands for Islamic State Khorasan Province, claimed credit for the attacks, confirming a suicide bombing.
According to a translation from SITE intelligence group, the Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency issued a report on the attack and provided a photo of the bomber.
The message said the Khorasan Province fighter overcame all security fortifications and reached a distance of “no more than five meters from the American forces.” The fighter detonated his explosive belt, killing 60 and wounding over 100 others, the militant group wrote, citing “military sources,” according to SITE.
McKenzie said the U.S. “will go after” those responsible for the attack “if we can find who’s associated with this,” and that “we believe it is their desire to continue those attacks.”
President Joe Biden reiterated that message during remarks on the attacks Thursday.
“To those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes America harm, know this: We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay,” he said.
Prior to the explosions, the U.S. Embassy had warned citizens on Wednesday to leave the airport.
Acting U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ross Wilson, on the ground in Kabul, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” Thursday morning before the explosions that the threat was “clearly regarded as credible, as imminent, as compelling.”
The airport has been the site of tragedy and chaos for days as people rushed to be evacuated since Afghanistan’s government’s collapsed and the Taliban seized control.
Approximately 104,000 people have been evacuated since the effort began on Aug. 14, the White House said Thursday, with a withdrawal deadline set for Aug. 31. The U.S. State Department said Thursday afternoon it believes around 1,000 Americans remain in Afghanistan, a majority of whom want to leave.
Biden said the U.S. “will not be deterred by terrorists” and vowed to pull the remaining Americans and allies out of Afghanistan.
“These ISIS terrorists will not win. We will rescue the Americans in there. We will get our Afghan allies out,” he said Thursday. “And our mission will go on. America will not be intimidated.”
Biden called the service members killed in the attack “heroes who have been engaged in a dangerous, selfless mission to save the lives of others.”
The Pentagon is going through the next-of-kin notification process. Once that is completed, the president will call the troops’ families, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Thursday.
“We have some sense … what the families of these brave heroes are feeling today. You get this feeling like you’re being sucked into a black hole in the middle of your chest. There’s no way out,” Biden said. “My heart aches for you.”
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson, Conor Finnegan, Luis Martinez and Cindy Smith contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced an investigation into an outbreak of Salmonella that may be linked to Italian-style meats.
They reported 36 illnesses and 12 hospitalizations across 17 states and found that most people ate Fratelli Beretta brand uncured antipasto trays before they became ill, according to a release on Thursday.
This does not include Italian-style meats sliced at a deli.
No deaths have been reported.
The CDC is advising people not to eat Fratelli Beretta brand pre-packaged uncured antipasto trays, including uncured salami, prosciutto, coppa or soppressata. The trays were sold nationwide and have “best by” dates on or before Feb. 11, 2022.
The investigation is ongoing to determine if additional products are linked to illness. ABC News has reached out to Fratelli Beretta for comment, but has not heard back at this time.
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats have premiered the video for “Survivor,” the lead single off the band’s upcoming album, The Future.
The black-and-white clip stars Rateliff as a boxer who needs to get into fighting shape for his next match. Despite a suitably inspiring training montage, the video ends with Nate going down after one punch.
You can watch the “Survivor” video streaming now on YouTube.
The Future, due out November 5, is the first Night Sweats album since 2018’s Tearing at the Seams. Rateliff released his own solo album, And It’s Still Alright, in 2020.
On September 23, the shock rocker will visit the Rock City Music Company in the Detroit suburb of Livonia, Michigan, where he’ll sign copies of the album for fans.
This will mark the first time Cooper has participated in this type of event in or near Detroit since 1999.
Detroit Stories, which was released in February, is Cooper’s homage to the hard-edged rock music of his childhood hometown. The album features contributions from various guest musicians, including the three other surviving members of the original Alice Cooper group, plus ex-Grand Funk Railroad frontman Mark Farner, MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer, and Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels drummer Johnny “Bee” Badanjek.
“I’m excited to do an album signing in Detroit again, especially for the Detroit Stories album, and for all the Detroit fans,” says Alice. “Detroit still feels like home in so many ways. And Rock City Music is the right place to do it.”
The event begins at 4 p.m. local time. Tickets are priced at $25 and include either a vinyl LP or a CD/DVD copy of Detroit Stories. Cooper will only sign copies of the new album, and will autograph up to two per person. No photos with Alice, including selfies, will be permitted.
Masks will be required for entry into the event. People who are experiencing a temperature above 100.4 degrees or have any other COVID-19 symptoms are asked to stay home.
Two days after the signing event, Cooper will return to the Detroit area for a concert in Clarkston, Michigan, part of Alice’s upcoming U.S. tour that kicks off September 17 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 2 Presented by Amazon Prime Video
While the Rihanna Navy anxiously waits for her first new solo music in five years, Bad Gal RiRi on Thursday announced her annual Savage X Fenty fashion show.
In a brief video clip on Instagram, Rihanna seductively gyrates her bare booty, alone, with the caption, “Rihanna Presents Amazon Original Savage X Fenty Vol. 3, 9/24/21.” She adds the comment, “Oh you think you ready?”
The show, streaming September 24 in over 240 countries and territories on Amazon Prime Video, will “combine fashion, dance, music, and iconic architecture.” Last year’s presentation at the Los Angeles Convention Center featured appearances by Normani, Roddy Ricch, Miguel, Ella Mai and Mustard.
Earlier this month, Forbes declared Rihanna’s fashion/music empire is now worth $1.7 billion, making her the wealthiest female musician in the world, and second to Oprah Winfrey as the richest female entertainer.
Here’s a deeper look at the reissue’s Super Deluxe editions, which will be available as a five-CD/Blu-ray set, a four-LP/EP vinyl collection and in digital formats.
The expanded reissue boasts a new mix of the original album; previously unreleased recordings from the sessions, including alternate takes, rehearsals, jams, studio chatter and a performance from the band’s historic rooftop concert; and a recreation of the unreleased 14-track Get Back LP compiled in May 1969 by engineer Glyn Johns.
The CD and vinyl Super Deluxe reissue will come with a book featuring a foreword by Paul McCartney; commentary, notes and essays by respected Beatles historian Kevin Howlett and journalist John Harris; previously unpublished photos; and rare images of handwritten lyrics, session notes, sketches and more.
Let It Be was released in the U.K. on May 8, 1970 — a month after The Beatles announced their breakup — and 10 days later in the U.S.
The album spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 in June and July of 1970, and yielded the chart-topping hit “The Long and Winding Road.” It also featured alternate versions of two other songs that reached #1 prior to the album’s release — the title track and “Get Back.”
As previously reported, the new three-part documentary The Beatles: Get Back created by director Peter Jackson from unseen footage shot during the Let It Be sessions will premiere on Disney+ on November 25, 26 and 27.
A companion The Beatles: Get Back book will be published on October 12.
Here’s the track list for the CD version of the Let It Be Super Deluxe reissues:
CD 1: Let It Be (new stereo mix of original album)
“Two of Us”
“Dig a Pony”
“Across the Universe”
“I Me Mine”
“Dig It”
“Let It Be”
“Maggie Mae”
“I’ve Got a Feeling”
“One After 909”
“The Long and Winding Road”
“For You Blue”
“Get Back”
CD 2: Get Back — Apple Sessions
“Morning Camera” (Speech – Mono)/”Two of Us” (Take 4)
“Maggie Mae”/”Fancy My Chances with You” (Mono)
“Can You Dig It?”
“I Don’t Know Why I’m Moaning” (Speech – Mono)
“For You Blue” (Take 4)
“Let It Be”/”Please Please Me”/”Let It Be” (Take 10)
“I’ve Got a Feeling” (Take 10)
“Dig a Pony” (Take 14)
“Get Back” (Take 19)
“Like Making an Album?” (Speech)
“One After 909” (Take 3)
“Don’t Let Me Down” (First rooftop performance)
“The Long and Winding Road” (Take 19)
“Wake Up Little Susie”/”I Me Mine” (Take 11)
CD 3: Get Back — Rehearsals and Apple Jams
“On the Day Shift Now” (Speech – Mono)/”All Things Must Pass” (Rehearsals – Mono)
“Concentrate on the Sound” (Mono)
“Gimme Some Truth” (Rehearsal – Mono)
“I Me Mine” (Rehearsal – Mono)
“She Came In Through the Bathroom Window” (Rehearsal)
“Polythene Pam” (Rehearsal – Mono)
“Octopus’s Garden” (Rehearsal – Mono)
“Oh! Darling” (Jam)
“Get Back” (Take 8)
“The Walk” (Jam)
“Without a Song” (Jam) — Billy Preston with John and Ringo
“Something” (Rehearsal – Mono)
“Let It Be” (Take 28)
CD 4: Get Back LP — 1969 Glyn Johns Mix
“One After 909”
“I’m Ready” (aka “Rocker”)/Save the Last Dance for Me”/”Don’t Let Me Down”
“Don’t Let Me Down”
“Dig a Pony”
“I’ve Got a Feeling”
“Get Back”
“For You Blue”
“Teddy Boy”
“Two of Us”
“Maggie Mae”
“Dig It”
“Let It Be”
“The Long and Winding Road”
“Get Back (Reprise)”
CD 5: Let It Be EP
“Across the Universe” (unreleased Glyn Johns 1970 mix)
“I Me Mine” (unreleased Glyn Johns 1970 mix)
“Don’t Let Me Down” (new mix of original single version)
“Let It Be” (new mix of original single version)
Blu-ray: Let It Be Special Edition audio mixes
–Dolby Atmos
–96kHz/24-bit DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
–96kHz/24-bit High Res Stereo (2019 Stereo Mix)
(RAMSTEIN, Germany) — In one of the largest airlift operations in history, Ramstein, Germany, has become the central hub to evacuate and process Afghan evacuees. According to the U.S. Air Force, the vast majority of people fleeing Afghanistan will come through Ramstein, and the base has already received at least 15,000 people as of this morning.
Upon arrival to Ramstein, refugees are immediately given medical aid, food and shelter while they undergo a final security check. Air Force officials say the goal is to get people in and out as quickly as possible, and aim to have people on their way to America within three days.
According to an internal report obtained by ABC News on Monday, officials estimate that some 20% of evacuees at Ramstein lacked documentation.
Top U.S. general in Europe Tod Wolters spoke with Pentagon reporters Wednesday and said that overall European bases could potentially process as many as 25,000 evacuees.
“We’ve received 55 flights at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and we currently have 5783 evacuees on deck at Ramstein. We’ve received three flights at Naval Air Station Sigonella,” said Wolters on Wednesday.
The makeshift tent camp in Ramstein has the capacity to hold 10,000 evacuees, and 7,000 refugees have already been processed, according to Walters.
But, some are concerned that the increasing number of evacuees will overwhelm resources and facilities at the Ramstein base in coming days.
In addition to Ramstein, Germany has also agreed to let the U.S. use the nearby U.S. Army garrison in Kaiserslautern and a joint training facility in Grafenwoehr in eastern Germany to house evacuees, ABC News reported on Monday.
