What is rock music again?

What is rock music again?

I know I talk consistently about rock music but I love it and sadly its dying out. I hate to admit but is it and it sucks... bad
Turn on the radio and what do we hear? T Swift's new heartbreak single. Switch it over, we hear a song called trumpets which clearly doesn't even have trumpets in the song. It's a synth, people. Katy Perry has some sort of flame coming from her chest again, Iggy always has an annoying girl to sing her hook. What in the hell happened to good rock music??!? Don't get me wrong, there are some good bands out there still, Sevendust, Hurt, The Pretty Reckless, but a lot of these band members are middle aged men. What happened to the young guys getting together with their buddies, playing Led Zepplin covers in the garage, then writing their own music and trying to make it big? I mean, I'm sure it still happens, but even if they do get picked up by a label, the label usually changes their style to make it radio worthy.
What the hell is radio worth anyway? Some mindless hook that we fall in love with for two days and then can't stand the song. What happened to music with depth. I always say you can tell it's a good album when you listen to the album for weeks straight, don't listen to it for a few months, then hear it again and if feels so good. I say it's like scratching an itch. It just feels so damn good to hear it again, and you're not tired of it. That is good music.
Now, don't get me wrong. I love my fair share if Lady Gaga, and Iggy (not Iggy pop for you true rock fans), but where is the talent? Where is the rawness of rock, good rock music? It's hard to find, and I'm afraid it's dying out. Rap and pop own the radio station. Music awards rarely show real bands, but show Bruno Mars dancing around in funny outfits instead.
I respect all music, but I wish we had a little more fresh rock. The record labels need to back down and let bands be themselves, not what they think the people are going to want.
Until rock makes a comeback, you can find me zoning off listening to Nirvana and Oleander hoping that true rock is on it's way back to the charts. And to all of you who say rock isn't dead, do the research, listen to today's music, and think about what it was like for our parents 30 years ago, and how it compares to our music now. There is a difference.
Rock on, blogger folk!

Why I hate E!

I hate it so much that flames, flames on the side of my face

So this is a blog about music which is a thing that is often ruined by sites like E! And sadly this makes me very angry and it does most people. Now this is a little off topic but lets talk first lady news.

“Michelle Obama says Sasha and Malia Watch E!” Ok, I’m not sure where to begin… I have no idea how to start this rant. Why in the world do I care if her children are watching E!, and why in the hell does this need to be an article? I mean really, the only reason this caught my attention was because it made me think of how much Mrs. Obama irritates me. And for all of you out there that are going to say I’m a Republic, Obama hating, close-minded bigot, no I’m not. I’m not Republican, I don’t hate anyone, and I most certainly am not a bigot, I just simply do not understand why this needs to be an article.

Now, as I read the short article Michelle was there to talk about an up and coming National Summer Learning Day Fair and how it gets young people ready for college and life, and other things that I’m going to have to worry about in the very near and scary future. But why E!, why did you take one thing Michelle said about her girls watching E! and turn it into a headline?! I get that you are trying to seem cool and popular, but come on!

We have managed to turn our president and his wife into Hollywood. They are out hob knobbing with celebs at awards and galas, inviting popular singers and performers to the White House. I feel we need to keep politics with politics and keep Hollywood IN HOLLYWOOD. Let’s no merge the two, please and thank you.

So, good for you Mrs. Obama for doing something good for the youth of tomorrow, even though sometimes your ideas aren’t good at all, but you’re trying, so I’ll give you that. But, shame on you E! for making a stupid article. It’s well written, and I’m not judging the author, but let’s find something better to write about. I’m sure you can find something better to write about in the world of nudes, Kim, and Amanda Bynes.

Rant complete. Thank you and goodnight!

Source: http://www.eonline.com/news/553496/michelle-obama-says-sasha-and-malia-watch-e

1D Predicted to Split in Near Future...

While I hate anything One Direction related, I need something to write about, and the ever-so-popular boy band of today is making teenage girls around the world sob because he has decided to flee the nest. Whatever his name is... Zayn, Zayn, I honestly didn't care enough to read the article that closely, anyway, he left and girls cries flooded the nation. Now there is speculation that the rest of the boys, young men, whatever they are are going to leave the group, causing even more tears and teenage girls screaming "why" into their pillows at night.

Apparently everyone though Styles would be the first to go since he is the "most famous" of the group, yet he is one who remains. It's said that he'll be the next to go since he has so many "connections" in the music industry. Anyway, the children (1D) feels pressured to all take on solo careers. Here's an idea... go ahead and don't start a solo career. Just, sort of fall off the face of the earth and we'll remember you in like 15 years for being a hit boy band. But by that time you'll be fat and no longer "attractive" and won't want to perform, which will be ok, because I still won't care.

So, there's that story. I'm not even sure where to go from here... Do I talk about how shallow their music is, how untalented they truly are. How idiotic people act over this pathetic boy band? What do I even say? I don't know, maybe I'll talk about how I really don't care. For all I do care, they leave and never come back... or better yet take all of the teenage girls who scream their names, and they all can disappear together. The world can thank me later, it's all good.

Well, now that you have all had your 1D information overload for the day, I bid you farewell. I wish you the best boy band idiots from today. I hope you live a fulfilling life and never return. Thank you, and goodnight.

Source:  http://www.music-news.com/shownews.asp?H=1D-planning--solo-futures&nItemID=89126

Iggy and Britney... This Should be a Hot Train Wreck...

Apparently early Saturday morning, an interesting thing happened. A video of Iggy A. and Britney S. was leaked. No, it's not what you're thinking... not as hot as you're thinking. It's a music video of the two who have recently came together to do a song together. Now, you may be thinking what I'm thinking. What the hell could these two be doing? Don't get me wrong I love 1999 Britney just as much as the next, and I have a slight guilty pleasure for Iggy, but the white rapper who sounds black, and our, now put together, southern belle (except not really) doing music together. Well, I'll give it a shot.

After Iggy found out about the leak she asked fans to please not share the link because it's not an early release, just a leak. She's happy that the fans have taken to the music already, but it's not time yet people. Fans are for the first time hearing Iggy actually sing too! Which, apparently people were wondering who was singing with Spears when they listened to the song. Iggy tweeted and said "That's me singing the chorus with Britney. I guess you guys have never heard my singing voice before."

Fans seem to be taking a liking to what is about to happen with these two. But what do you think? Is this collaboration a good idea, or simply another pop music failure upon us? I'm not sure what to think... It could go either way. I have managed to stray away from the song and video so I can't actually give my opinion on it yet. But, let it be known that when the song is released I will be one of the first who buy with the mind set of expecting the worst, yet hoping for the best. Once again, judge this rock music lover for having the guilty pleasures of today's horrible pop music. I like it and always will.

Source: http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/6553806/iggy-azalea-addresses-leak-of-pretty-girls-her-new-song-with-britney-spears

My Girlfriend is a Little Joan Jett...

Joan Jett stands at a microphone in a Manhattan recording studio, almost ready to sing. Dressed for rock & roll work in a tight gray jersey, weathered jeans and sneakers, she shakes her arms and bounces on her feet like an impatient boxer. Her jet-black hair is a riot of feathery spikes. And she has a fat, torpedolike joint hanging from her mouth. The smoking, Jett says later, loosens up the edges and range of her distinctively craggy voice.

Jett is making new music today with her longtime band the Blackhearts: the title song to a forthcoming film, Miss You Already, byTwilight director Catherine Hardwicke. Written by Jett, Laguna and guitarist Dougie Needles, the track is a razor-toothed surge of guitars with a hot chorus from the same pop-smart punk-rock pocket as the records that got Jett, 56, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 18th: the 1981 New Wave anthem "I Love Rock 'N Roll"; her hit covers of Gary Glitter's "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" and Tommy James and the Shondells' "Crimson and Clover"; Jett's first solo LP,Bad Reputation; and The Runaways, her 1976 debut, at 17, with that pioneering all-teen, all-female Los Angeles band.She also has "the best shit," according to Kenny Laguna, Jett's manager, co-producer and co-songwriter for the past 35 years. "Keith Richards had some of that," he announces with a hearty laugh, as Jett rolls her number on the mixing board before the take. "Said it gave him flashbacks to 1968."

She still sings like a woman with unfinished business. When she steps to the mic and sings "Miss You Already," a song about loss and precious memories, her performance is feral, frayed and direct. "Great ending, great last verse!" Laguna shouts as Jett returns to the control room. She's not so sure. The two are soon bantering over pitch and timing – Laguna with the high-volume brio of a New York beat cop, Jett in a deep rasp – with the flammable affection of an old married couple, which in a way they are. Laguna has been married to his wife, Meryl, for 44 years. But he and Jett, who is single, have been creative partners since 1979. She was reeling from the collapse of the Runaways and the sexist stigma attached to the group: that girls can't rock. Laguna had a long history in Sixties pop and bubblegum as a writer, producer and keyboard player. 

Jett will continue to create music and bring together people together with her angst, passion and hook lines. Keep doing your thing, Joan!

Source: Joan Jett Rolling Stone Magazine. 

Music... That's My Kind of Protest

After  a glimpse of what it takes to be the "Michael Jackson Protestor," Baltimore's Dimitri Reeves shows off his moves and optimism with a performance of Michael Jackson's cover of the Beatles' classic "Come Together." Atop the yellow semi-truck that transports Reeves and his manager Vaughan Mason around the city, the singer and dancer does his best imitation of the King of Pop's iconic performance ticks before jumping into the growing crowd of onlookers.

"We try to show positivity," Reeves says in an interview with the Rolling Stones. "We actually go to the hood areas and try to show love and support for those who are less fortunate and those who just need their minds taken off the negativity."As the city he loves is being torn apart by the controversy and tragedy surrounding Freddie Gray's death due to a mysterious spinal injury while in police custody, Reeves has gained national attention this week for performing classics like "Man in the Mirror" and "Beat It" in front of riot police. He's become known as the "Michael Jackson Protestor," trying to lighten Baltimore's darkness.

The Beatles originally released "Come Together" on their 1969 album Abbey Road. Following Jackson's mid-Eighties purchase of the publishing rights to the Beatles' catalog, the King of Pop recorded and performed his cover several times throughout his career, including a live version that appears in the film Michael Jackson: Moonwalker. A studio version appeared on the album HIStory, which blended a greatest hits compilation with original material.

Keep on keeping on my friend, your pomposity and and peaceful protest is what it's all about. 

Source: Rollingstones.com

"Woo Hoo" ... Song 2

Earlier this week, Blur released an album called The Magic Whip, the first in 16 years from their classic four-man lineup. It's a strong album, one that hits many familiar sweet spots from their days as the most consistently inventive band in Nineties Britpop. It sounded even better last night at Blur's show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. That gambit worked particularly thrillingly on guitar-heavy songs like the growling "Go Out," the punchy, crunchy "Lonesome Street," and the sunny "I Broadcast." This is a sound and an energy that none of lead singer Damon Albarn's many other projects, as great as they are, can create. It's incredibly fun to see in person, and it felt like Albarn, singing over Graham Coxon's distorted noise, Alex James' swaggering bass and Dave Rowntree's solid drumming, was where he belonged.

The free show, hastily arranged with Converse Rubber Tracks, was presented as a gift to Blur's fans. And it was that – Blur have scarcely toured North America in more than a decade, and getting to see them in a venue as intimate as the 550-capacity Brooklyn club was a surreal treat. For the band, it was also a chance to play salesmen: They performed The Magic Whip start to finish (minus the tricky "Ice Cream Man"), making the case directly to fans that this is an album worth caring about in terms more vivid than any Spotify stream or pre-release press could manage.

Albarn isn't much for nostalgia, and his feelings about reuniting with his old band are complicated. "There's a part of me that was always trying to avoid doing this," he told Rolling Stone recently. "But there's a part of me that delights in it, too." Last night, he was all-in. The singer strode across the stage with the biggest grin on his face, liberally splashing the crowd with bottled water. The other guys were smiling, too. 

Finally, they closed with 1997's "Song 2," their biggest American hit. A subversive jolt of satire when it was first written, "Song 2" has long since flipped into a sincere headbanger. All around the room, grown men pogoed high in the air and spilled their beers in excitement. Of course the fans went wilder for those old favorites than the new album they've had barely a week to get to know. But last night, Blur proved they are very much alive and well."I suppose we owe it to you to play a few old songs," Albarn said after a brief encore break. They gave us three. 1997's "Beetlebum" was glorious; the whole room sang along to Albarn's sighing falsetto chorus, and Coxon built up to a raging feedback bonfire. 1994's "Trouble in the Message Centre" was a sweaty present for the true heads (of which there were many, judging by the crowd's reaction). 

Source: iheartradio.com

A Little Cobain... Montage of Heck

Coming this summer is something I personally cannot wait for... 

Something Nirvana fans will flock for and listen to with hungry

 ears. Kurt Cobain's daughter Frances is executive produced what 

will be described as sort of hanging out with Cobain CD, called 

Montage of Heck.

Montage of Heck will premiere on HBO on May 4th, and in the latest clip from the acclaimed documentary, director Brett Morgen focuses on the relationship between the Nirvana singer and Courtney Love. In a new interview with Love recorded for the film, the Hole frontwoman discussed her eagerness to start a family with Cobain and how they would have had more children if they "had had more time."

Numerous clips from the film have already been released, including Cobain covering the Beatles' "And I Love Her," rocking out in a living room and deciding on the band name "Nirvana." Although Love appears in the documentary, she had no editorial input in the creation of Montage of Heck, which Frances Bean Cobain executive produced.

After a run of film festival screenings, Montage of Heck embarked on a U.S. theatrical run April 24th, in part to make the film eligible for a Best Documentary Feature Academy Award nomination. Morgen, who revealed that the film would likely come to DVD in November, also promised that the Montage of Heck soundtrack would feature an unreleased Cobain acoustic recording, though details of that album have not yet been revealed.

Source:http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/videos/watch-courtney-love-talk-cobain-marriage-in-montage-of-heck-clip-20150501

Metallica... Heavy Metal guys with huge hearts

If you are a music fan at all you have heard of and probably have a decent amount of respect for the heavy metal rock band Metallica. Little did you probably know, this amazing band is also a large advocator for cancer awareness and fundraising. It's not very often that you meet heavy metal guys like the band member of Metallica that have such a soft spot for kids struggling with cancer. But these guys not only have big sound but even bigger hearts. 


The leader of this fundraiser is Metallica frontman James Hetfield. Also involved will be Sammy Hagar, and Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell will all take part in the second annual Acoustic-4-A-Cure concert on Friday, May 15th at The Masonic in San Francisco. Also joining the show's killer lineup are Red Hot Chili Peppers (Holy S***, yes) and Chickenfoot drummer Chad Smith, Chickenfoot guitarist Joe Satriani, singer Linda Perry and so many amazing artists more.


Tickets will go on sale for this awesome event, this Friday (April 10th) at 10:00 a.m. You can find them on ticketmaster.com or on Metallica official website.


If you do decide to buy tickets to this killer heavy rock phenomena, all proceeds from the concert will be donated to fund children's brain tumor research at the Pediatric Cancer Program at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, one of the nation's leading children's medical facilities.


This amazing organization; Acoustic-4-A-Cure was created by Hagar and Hetfield, who are both Bay Area residents, who wanted to raise funds and awareness for the Pediatric Cancer Program at UCSF. They saw no better way to do so then by rocking out of course.


This is only the second concert but, last year's inaugural sold-out concert included Hetfield's acoustic rendition of the Beatles' "In My Life," Hetfield, Satriani and Billie Joe Armstrong doing a medley of Bob Seger's "Turn The Page" and Green Day's "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams," and an all-star closing jam of Bob Dylan's "Rainy Day Women" With all this to measure but to, This year's concert definitely has it's work cut out for it. But, I promise it will knock your socks off, I mean just look at that line up! so buy tickets now!!!


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Long Live AD/DC

Imagine being a nurse or an aide at a nursing home. You start your shift, dragging your feet because you are dreading the work day. You're told there is a new resident in the home and you will be taking care of him. Before you start roaming the halls you put in an earbud and Back in Black is first on the shuffle list... You didn't take the time to read up on your new resident because, you're just not feeling it. You sigh and open the door, and who is it you see in the room. Malcolm frickin' Young. The quite guitar playing brother from AC/DC.
Now, this didn't happen, but the talented Young brother is indeed in a nursing home these days, and no longer touring beside his band mates. The 61 year old guitarist was placed in a nursing home by his wife this year due to dementia. Young's band mates had stated that he had been having trouble remembering the music during one of the last tours, and decided it was time to move forward.
It's hard to believe these rock gods that I have looked up to for so many years are now becoming unable to preform the way they used to. Brian Johnson, now lead singer of AC/DC struggled to hit his once strong rock notes, Ozzy tries to stay sharp with his music, but from years of heavy drugs struggles. Pete from The Who, one of the greatest guitar players of all time, struggles with the quickness of playing Pinball Wizard. Ronnie Jame Dio is dead.
Rock is becoming a thing of the past. Music out fathers and mothers used to die for are becoming classics, and music isn't measuring up to how it once was. It's sad to think that I will never have the chance to live in the glory of all of these bands I have listened to for so many years. It breaks my heart to hear the popular music on the radio today having no depth to it.
Malcolm, I hate to say it, but you're probably going to be happier with the music world by not knowing what's going on in it. You classic rock gods paved the way for rock music only for my generation to tear it down. Best of luck to Malcolm and his wife, and his former band mates. Even though Malcolm's brother was always the star of the show, my quiet man, Malcolm will always be my favorite of the Young brothers.