I heard U2 for the first time almost 25 years ago. A friend of mine was a huge fan. As they became one of the biggest rock bands in the world, I wondered, “How did he know?” Now I wonder, “How did I not know?” In every respect, they are as important to the 80s (and everything after) as the… Read more »
Metal Mark had a post about covers and Jeff had one about tribute albums, so I thought I’d get in on the act and post a list of some of my favorite covers. Slayer – “In-a-gadda-da-vida” – Slayer does an amazing job with this Iron Butterfly classic. They trim it down to a manageable length and turn it from trippy… Read more »
It seems like most people my age have long ago put away their band shirts and grown up. Not me. I wear a t-shirt everyday and 90% of them are music-related. It kinda makes me sad, because I love looking at t-shirts in the same way that I love looking at album art.
May 4, 2007, The Ottobar, Baltimore, Maryland Last night, Ray and I caught the Necromantix show at the Ottobar. Since the Necromantix have a decided retro feel, I kind of expected that there would be some degree of nostalgia to the evening, but it wasn’t all what I expected. As it turned out, with varying success, each band was a… Read more »
On Rush’s new album, Snakes & Arrows, they have a song called “Faithless.” It’s a bit of light fare typical of their output over the last 20 years, not particularly good and not particularly bad. It contains the following lines: I don’t have faith in faithI don’t believe in beliefYou can call me faithlessI still cling to hopeAnd I believe… Read more »
I found Mike Kelly on a Myspace bulletin from none other than Mike Watt. I thought with that kinda recommendation he desrved at least a listen. Let me first offer Mike’s own disclaimer, because it’s a good one and something you should know going in. He writes of his songs, “ALL WERE RECORDED IN FIRST TAKE,IN ORDER TO CAPTURE THE… Read more »
Myspace has a lot of faults, including horrible design, semi-porn peddling and just general stupidity from people I don’t really give a crap about. However, it has proven to be a pretty good way to find some new music and keep up to date on tours, releases, etc. So, I’m going to add a feature to my blog where I… Read more »
Black metal is not at all my thing, but I somehow stumbled upon Leviathan on Myspace. When I saw they had a song called “My War,” I figured I’d at least check to see if it was the Black Flag classic. Sure enough, it was. Now, Black Flag is probably in my top ten of all time and “My War”… Read more »
Label: No Idea Records (vinyl) and Thick Records (CD) Released: March 26, 2007 After seeing the Bomb light up the stage (despite Pezzatti’s drunkenness) last February, I was pretty shocked by how dull their 2000 debut, Torch Songs, was. But a lot of time passed between the debut and the show, so I gave Indecision a chance. I’m glad I… Read more »
Metal Mark’s post about the Rocklahoma nostalgia fest got me thinking about how so many of these bands continue on in name only with only one original member or proceed without a crucial member. One or both of two things can be true here: The latest version of the band is a disingenuous attempt to cash in on past success… Read more »