Zep II

Big weeks for birthdays. Happy 40th Zep II!! Yeam, um, not much to say here. Track list says it all. Turn it up and wake up the neighbors!

Whole Lotta Love
What Is and What Should Never Be
The Lemon Song
Thank You
Heartbreaker
Living Living Maid (She's Just a Woman)
Ramble On
Moby Dick
Bring It On Home

Make Layne proud, or else!

With Alice in Chains' long awaited release Black Gives Way to Blue, they have done just that.

I can hear the doubters on the web “They’re just trying to replace the late Layne Staley” or “I can’t believe they’d carry on without Layne”. Well, before you blanket this release with a negativism, take a listen. You’ll find that it’s pretty damn good. Is it classic Dirt Alice in Chains? Nope. Does it stand alone, and is it good enough to carry the Alice in Chains name? Definitely.

Alice in Chains needs a specific type of singer that not only compliments their broody, dark approach, but can also carry it. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce William DuVall. His tone and approach is very similar to that of the late Layne Staley. Is it a coincidence? Maybe so. Maybe not. Could Arnel Pineda, the replacement lead singer of Journey carry this band, not only with this release but also their catalog? Ummmm. Yeah. Probably not. But this new combination works. And in my opinion it works very well. Sample "Check My Brain", "Last of My Kind" or "All Secrets Known" and tell me you don’t hear AIC? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Now stop reading this and go out and buy it! Seriously.

Happy Birthday Pretty Hate Machine

A day late. Sorry Trent! 20 years ago yesterday Nine Inch Nails released Pretty Hate Machine. 20 years. Damn I'm getting old. Long before Limp Bizkit, Korn, Linkin Park et al were doing their "I did it all for the nookie" thing, along comes Trent Reznor with this mish mosh of hard rock, industrial rock, and for good measure throw in some goth and there you have it. And I gotta say, what a freakin' masterpiece! I gave it another listen today. Still relevant. Still edgy. Still very angry! Definitely stands the test of time.

It's a shame NIN faded into the sunset a few months ago. Reznor called it quits from touring. I've heard some of the farewell shows. My lord. Top of his game.

My only regret is never seeing NIN live.

Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio? Did you take Bon Scott with you?

I might be going off the plantation a little here, but I absolutely love AC/DC. Let me qualify. OLD SCHOOL AC/DC. A good friend of mine calls Van Halen audio Red Bull, and if you think about it, let it sink in you’ll find yourself saying “Abso F’n Lutely!” You get extra credit for saying it while throwing the metal salute. Points off if you're saying "Huh"?

Well, AC/DC for me is Jolt. A little dirty, a little raunchy, a little more trailer trash, but equally as good and satisfying. Try it sometime when you need a lift and you’ll find Bon Scott’s booze induced wail coupled with Angus Young’s rock strut will take you to the place you need to be.

I’m convinced Bon Scott and Keith Moon were nursed from the same mother. That immense sense of reckless abandon is mind boggling. According to the death certificate he died from Acute Alcohol Poisoning and Death by Misadventure?!? Who the hell dies from Death by Misadventure??

(For the record, Brian Johnson-led AC/DC doesn’t exist. Just a figment of your imagination. With the obvious exception of Back in Black. Damn that’s a masterpiece!)

Are these guys gonna win the Pulitzer Prize for such masterpieces as ‘’Big Balls’’? Please. But if you need a pick me up throw on Dirty Deeds, High Voltage, If You Want Blood You’ve Got It or Highway to Hell and get back to me. You’ll be glad you did. Give me a call when you’re done and I’ll have a smoke and a shot ready for you!

The day the music died….and nobody cared

For those of you waiting on pins and needles to see if Oasis will reconcile their brotherly spat and get back together, wait no longer. They’re done. Yep the band that brought us such memorable hits as “Champagne Supernova” are history. Finis. And I say good riddance.

I thought these guys were supposed to be on par with the Beatles? Just reading that makes me laugh. Oasis is better than arguably the best songwriting duo in history? The coffee hasn’t kicked in yet, or I might just be too lazy right now, but I think their first release is the highest selling album ever in England?? Or was that the Arctic Monkeys? Hmm. As far as I’m concerned they were about as relevant as Bush. They cut out a nice little niche in the mid nineties with a few alternative (that word gets sooooo overused) hits and have been holding onto that success ever since. Thirty years from now they’re a speed bump in the history of Rock n’ Roll.

While I’m on the topic, what is it with brothers and keeping a band together? And yes, I’m looking straight at you Chris and Rich Robinson from the Black Crowes!

Now here’s a band that should take out an ad on the back of a milk carton because they went from vital in the early nineties to completely irrelevant today. How does a band go from the tops of the charts with Shake Your Money Maker to completely no fanfare when their new release Before the Frost...Until the Freeze came out? It came out about a month and a half ago. Never heard of it? Thought so.

Some may argue that they’re a perfect candidate for the ‘'Quit While They're Ahead’’ award. Think Boston. And I’d say yes if it wasn’t for their sophomore release Southern Harmony and the Musical Companion. This is the height of their talent and then went to shit from here. Take a listen. I hear a nice blend of southern blues and a fun lovin' party vibe that fits nicely into the jamband genre. Put them on the same bill with the Allman Brothers, Widespread Panic, Dave Matthews Band, etc and it works. But where did they go from here? Bad songwriting? Crappy management? Bad karma? Kate Hudson effect? Not sure.