Rolling Past Expiry Hard Rock 2010

The sounding like Bob Seger thing at jukebox was utterly baffling.

Doobie Brothers phenomenon, maybe? Uninteresting faceless band big with bikers, allegedly kind of rocking -- one song, maybe "China Grove" -- winds up with lots of play and raging success for no apparent reason. Eventually turn into total cheese, become ubiquitous, and still no one can name anyone in the band.

KoL have always (when I've bothered paying attention to them at all) sounded to me like the worst aspects of Nickelback and the worst aspects of the Strokes mushed together into one worst aspect of contemporary culture.

From the xhuxk link:

For those of us who’ve spent our lives sighing at rock ...

If only we could lift such weights and crosses from his shoulders. Heh.

By the way, in other "current (maybe) hard rock"/"music present-day bikers supposedly listen to" news, I Netflixed the pilot episode of the first season of Sons Of Anarchy last night (had never really heard of the show until last week -- I'm always way behind where TV is concerned -- though I'm pretty sure I'd seen people wearing the merch before.) Jury's still out on the show itself, and may continue to be for a few more episoides (want to give it a chance), but here's what was played in the one I saw last night. (Some of it sounded good, at least in context, and I definitely guessed Black Keys right though I couldn't have guessed the title. They also do the theme song of HBO's West Bloomfield, Michigan-based Hung, which I Netflixed through the first season of last month.):

1x01 - Pilot
The Black Keys - "Hard Row"
Year Long Disaster - "Fool and You"
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - "Stop"
Album Leaf - "Writings on the Wall"
Maylene and the Sons of Disaster - "Plenty Strong, Plenty Wrong"
Lions - "No Generation"
Lions - "Machine"
Fireball Ministry - "Kick Back"
Sun Kil Moon - "Like the River"
Gia Ciambottie - "Bobilicious"
Campana de America - "Tus Ojitos"

Had never heard of Lions before, though looks like their music shows up in some subsequent episodes as well.

You might as well give up on Sons right now if you're not planning on catching up with Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD. It's one long story.

Oh, I'll keep plugging if I don't get bored. I almost gave up on Breaking Bad after a couple episodes, but I'm happily through two seasons now. (That is, a season or more behind people who actually have cable TV, as usual.) Still, gotta say that Sons Of Anarchy pilot probably sounded more hard rock, soundtrackwise, than any other show I've bothered with lately, which should count for something. Not sure whether they keep it up later or not.

They do. Sometimes when they wanna use an expensive song (something by the Stones, say), they'll record a cover version with Katey Sagal singing. She's pretty good.

Still, gotta say that Sons Of Anarchy pilot probably sounded more hard rock, soundtrackwise, than any other show I've bothered with lately

Supernatural -- losts of classic rock. I used to even notice them using UFO.

http://fan.cha-otical.net/spnmusic/episode3.php

http://dickdestiny.com/blog1/2010/09/17/but-what-about-bob/

Where's Myonga? Leave a comment, I dare you.

Captain Beefheart style:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGkjQLkhZmQ&feature=player_embedded

Story about census resisters, such funny people, firsthand. Plus a hard rock tune made for it.

http://dickdestiny.com/blog1/2010/09/20/class-war-and-census-business/

Ha ha, definitely preferring the Friedman/Beefheart China toilet remix to the original, George. (Still need to check your census post.)

Barely got through those Tea Party Seger parodies though. (For those who haven't heard, Jamey Johnson has also apparently been covering Seger's "Turn The Page" on tour, though I haven't heard it, or checked youtube to see if it's up there anywhere. I wouldn't be at all surprised, though, if he first learned of the song from Metallica's version.)

Finally, anybody out there have any use/justification for late '70s New York City punk band the Stimulators? Listening to a CD reissue of their old R.O.I.R. cassette (which I never heard at the time) now, mostly live 1978 to 1981 and complete with a "Rock 'N' Roll All Nite" Kiss cover, and I can't for the life of me figure out why anybody would have given a shit about them then. Am I missing anything?

Stimulators ROIR cassette, had it. Like so much of that stuff, didn't age well. Selling point used
to be the very young drummer, Harley, who wound up more famous in the Cro-Mags. I think. I don't even remember a Kiss cover and I would have if it was even half good.

I remember going to a New York h/c show early on. The central part of it was some really big guy who climbed up on the stage and enjoyed jumping on people smaller than him. A couple years later he had a record out called The Beast ... Has Arrived. The title song encapsulated his grim world view of causing others pain -- I remember a lyric about breaking 'your fucking neck.' It was the best thing on the LP, the rest of which I forget.

And then there was the Nihilistics record, which I liked for awhile. Stuff like "Welfare for the Rich," "Death and Taxes."

http://www.nihilistics.com/review.html

The Newsday review is emblematic. I probably liked them because of such an interview, where they came off as more realistic than their ability allowed them to put into the music.

The Cro-Mags fans could probably explain why that bound were about the ultimate expression of this stuff and, therefore, eventually at the top of the heap. By that time I had no more interest in it, having seen more than enough beatings at hardcore shows.

Re the census link, another push for it because the recollection shows the dysfunction at a very low level. The linked videos, which are not mine, are worth going out to. It's a free country and while it's not necessary to watch them to the bitter end to get the flavor, it's remarkable how many people tried to incide trouble or who got their kicks from picking on census workers -- who, as a matter of fact, were often their neighbors. You were employed to canvas in the area where you lived. In a gentler society, there's an obvious benefit to that logic. And I didn't even link to all of the those were people are making up weird conspiracy stories or calling the cops. Alex Jones, for instance, on some use of GPS to pinpoint where people lived ofr nefarious purpose. Another guy insisting the census was in league with the local police in a drive to tourst the homeless out of a riverbank where they had their tents and boxes.

Holy shit!

German metal queen DORO PESCH
will be available for a limited number of phone interviews on:

Couldn't find the old Voice review that had me falling out of my chair. Encapsulated her appeal precisely, if hilariously so.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXks3Xjydh0

You'll understand in an instant why this was shrugged off in '74. As sub Ziggy & the Spiders, it's undone by the pink suit and headgear. And not being as good a tune as 1984. Or even John, I'm Only Dancing.

I had Mick Ronson's anthology, Main Man, out the other night. It collects his two solo albums, Slaughter on 10th Avenue and Play Don't Worry. And Bowie guests on it in spotsl the Spiders are the band. If you wanted sub Bowie glam, this was a good next stop. Probably better than Cockney Rebel and a couple Sparks records.

Ronson sounds a lot like Bowie, vocally, and everything spans the gamut from Kurt Weill-Euro cabaret style to here comes the Les Paul cocked wah into a Marshall sound. Covers some Lou Reed and, surprisingly, a hard rocked Pure Prairie League cover, Angel #9, which is great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5jwlGdNuDk&feature=related

Wrestling masks there, but difficult to discern.

A "Six Degrees of Heart's Little Queen" column I wrote for emusic (in which I also write about theoretically somehow related albums by Fotheringay, Led Zeppelin, Genya Ravan, Shakin' Street, and Carrie Underwood):

http://www.emusic.com/features/hub/six_degrees_heart/index.html

Other stuff:

-- Pulled out Burning Hot by theoretcially black metal band Xavion last week (Asylum 1984 -- #492 in Stairway To Hell, just made the cut!), and confirmed without a shadow of a doubt that, despite the leather clothes and steely fonts, they were just an electro-funk band masquerading as metal, not a lot heavier than Shalamar doing "Dead Giveaway" or Kool and the Gang doing "Misled" or Phils Collins and Bailey doing "Easy Lover." Definitely more musically similar to the Time than to, say, Twisted Sister or Quiet Riot in other words (not that I really mind -- of those three bands, I like the Time most anyway). Like, maybe as heavy as Surivivor or Aldo Nova in certain songs. Two keyboard players credited, one of whom doubles as a "band spokeseman." Favorite cuts: "Burning Hot," "Self-Built Hell," "You're My Type," the latter featuring fake British accents worthy of Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me."

-- Saw a copy of Widowmaker's second album Too Late To Cry from 1977 for $1 in Round Rock over the weekend, but didn't buy it because their debut has still never quite killed me. Popoff, though, seems to like the second one slightly more. Ever hear it, George?

-- Also passed up the Jigsaw LP with "Sky High" on it for $1, then noticed a couple days later that Scott had mentioned that song as a Badfinger-level powerpop classic on another thread. Which it probably is, but was their other stuff any good, or even at all rocking?

-- Been liking this lo-fi one-guy (plus maybe a pal?) South Carolina stoner-loner bedroom-doom album Animals by Dwarr (private-pressed in the mid '80s, just reissued by Drag City) that Scott raves about and sort of compares to George Brigman and Pentagram in the new Decibel. Not sure I hear similarites to those, really, beyond the fact that they were probably all Sabbath fans, and I wish the vocals were more assertive, but yeah, the notes are right: "For best results, crank it up."

-- Speaking of Decibel, is that 1980 debut by Angel Witch the oldest album they've put in their Hall of Fame? (Maybe there's a Priest or Maiden one older?) I haven't been keeping track. Makes me interested in those guys, either way. Never heard them, I don't think; still get them confused with Anvil Bitch (whoever they were). But Angel Witch sound like they might've been my kind of NWOBHM.

-- And oh yeah, Adrien Begrand also has a boxed roundup of four Metal-Blade-reissued albums by San Francisco's Hammers Of Misfortune in the new Decibel. I've had an advance Cruz Del Sur copy of 2006's The Locust Years (one of the reissued albums) around here for four years now; seemed okay to me at the time, and I'm playing it again now, and it still seems...okay. Not great. Had no idea these guys were ever considered a big deal; matter fo fact, from their picture on the back cover, I think I took them to be some kind of joke band. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Anyway, Begrand claims they bridge NWOBHM, pagan metal, old-school prog, and Ren Faire folke, and I guess I hear some of those on here. Just not sure how memorably they do it. Begrand also suggest that Mike Scalzi might be the best "heavy metal singer working today." Hmmm. Guess I'm liking his more straightforward songs better than the frillier ones that Jamie Myers sings this time out, for whatever that's worth. (Two ladies in the band, which counts for something.)

Whoops, a few typos there. Anyway, Begrand also says The Locust Years is more ornate than the Hammers' earlier albums, and places "stronger emphasis on the band's feminine side." Which might mean I'd like their earlier ones more, if I ever heard them.

Saw a copy of Widowmaker's second album Too Late To Cry from 1977 for $1 in Round Rock over the weekend, but didn't buy it because their debut has still never quite killed me. Popoff, though, seems to like the second one slightly more. Ever hear it, George?

Yeah, I have it. Like the first one better. They changed singers, not for the better. Abandoned the hard obstinacy and rootsy influence for more by-the-numbers hard rock. Nothing on it worth mentioning, except maybe Here Comes the Queen (which may, in fact, not be on it, could be my mind playing tricks) which was an old thing off Ariel Bender/Luther Grosvenor's solo album.

Angelwitch, one of the semi-famous 'witch' bands. In order of like -- Witchfinder General, Witchfynde, Angelwitch. Led by brother of Girlschool's drummer. If you liked Witchfynde, you'd like them. Nothing, however, like Witchfinder General.

No tunes. No one person in the band who stood out. Most points for being there first and not being bad. Lower working class, denim, sincerity, all the genre pieties which weren't such then but which became the foundations.

Time for a Vardis revival.

Two cool r&b videos and a rant on the $180 harmonica:

http://dickdestiny.com/blog1/2010/10/01/swiss-watch-harmonica/

Pretty good article on Keith Richards and his book at the NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/arts/music/24richards.html?src=me&ref=general

playing today:

the rockets - back talk

peter green - in the skies

gary moore - back on the streets

rory gallagher - irish tour '74

MSN blog post about '70s Australian hard rock - Coloured Balls, Rose Tattoo, Buffalo, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs.

I've fallen way way way behind on chronicling my old-hard-rock listening on this thread, and probably won't have time to do much ketch-up in the near future, but suffice it to say I've been listening to a lot. Biggest recent revelation, maybe (though no doubt already obvious to some folks) is how much Alex Harvey (at least in non-Music Hall kitsch mode, though maybe sometimes then too) had in common with Bon Scott. And in songs like "Midnight Moses," SAHB don't sound all that far off from early AC/DC as a whole, either.

Sampled from the Buy-That-For-$1 thread, some records I've been hearing lately (a bunch of which only cost me 25 cents actually):

The Babys - s/t (Chrysalis 1977) GREAT-- George rightly compared to Bad Company, I think
The Jags - Evening Standards (Island 1980 - with all-time early-Costello Xerox almost-hit "Back Of My Hand") not bad, keeping it
John Parr - s/t (Atlantic 1984 - w/ Billy Squier Xerox hit "Naughty Naughty") -- better than I would've guessed; has some Bryan Adams and Robert Palmer in his chromosomes too, and at least one cool quasi Judas Priest type fake metal song
Rosetta Stone - s/t (Private Stock 1978 - (Bay City Rollers types maybe?? w/ Kinks and Cream covers) -- actually a Bay City spinoffk apparently, and a good one
Rachel Sweet - Blame It On Love (Columbia 1982) A sellout, kinda, but catchier than most quasi-Benatar LPs of the day
Pat Travers - Putting It Straight (Polydor 1977)GREAT, especially the punk-dissing "Life In London" as George said
babys - union jack (chrysalis 1980) ALSO GREAT; had forgotten how good the title track and "Turn Around in Tokyo" are, and also like "Jesus Are You There" a lot, and those aren't even the two hits!
climax blues band - sense of direction (sire 1974) SNOOZE, AS GEORGE PREDICTED
climax blues band - fm/live (sire 1973 - double LP) A KEEPER, MARGINALLY, BUT GEORGE HAS A HIGHER TOLERANCE FOR STODGE-BLOOZE DOUBLE LIVES THAN I DO APPARENTLY -- BIT OF A CHORE TO GET THROUGH
fm - city of fear (passport 1980 -- produced by larry fast; synth-rock trio??)Catchy/weird enough pomp-rock power trio sans guitar
grand funk railroad - on time (capitol 1969) liked this less than I'd remembered
grand funk railroad - shinin' on (capitol 1974) liked this more than I'd rememered
grin - grin (spindizzy 1971) -- really good
jigsaw - jigsaw (chelsea 1974 - w/ 'sky high') - Boooooooooring beyond the hit
eddie money - eddie money (columbia 1977) -- passable; rocks commercially toward side-ends, but the two hits are the best it gets
pat travers band - heat in the street (polydor 1978) like this so far
johnny winter - still alive and well (columbia 1973) like this, but george likes it more
wishbone ash - locked in (atlantic 1976) - another snooze, as george predicted
The Dingoes - Five Times The Sun (A&M 1977 -- Aussies, I guess; could suck but plenty of '70s Aussies didn't) mediocre; not a keeper, though "sucks" would be too strong. Popoff called it "avocado rock," ha ha.
Doug & The Slugs - Wrap It! (RCA 1981 -- Never even considered buying anything by them before but I liked the LP cover and funny liner notes) - fun so far
Family - Bandstand (United Artists 1972 -- supposed to be of their better ones, I think; also, complicated die-cut cover and sleeve!) -- "interesting" so far, in maybe a boring way; george would probably say I'm trying to hard to like it, like I did with the streetwalkers before, and the streetwalkers are more compelling and harder-rocking anyway
Glass Harp - Synergy (MCA 1971 -- Scott could tell me if this is one of their good ones; passed on the 1980 Resurrection Band LP I saw though.) -- Pleasant so far, with flashes of brilliance
Robert Gordon w/ Link Wray - Fresh Fish Special (Private Stock 1978 - bought this for Link not Robert, but have nothing against him really) -- a bore
Grave Digger - Heavy Metal Breakdown (Megaforce 1984 -- Martin Popoff gave it a 9 out of 10; I still might hate it though) -- historically impressive in a super noisy thrash-before-thrash existed way; ocassionally shaping itself into hooks, sort of; occasionally screeching like Die Kreuzen before the fact; occasionally okay gothic druid metal ballad music.
Happy The Man - Crafty Hands (Arista 1978 -- made Jon Pareles's Pazz & Jop ballot that year, and he was Super Art-Rock Guy in those days) -- "interesting." I think. Maybe weird. But not hard rock. Also, they could use a singer
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Vambo Rools: Big Hits And Close Shaves (Vertigo c. 1975??) -- kind of love this, despite the schmaltz ballad parts; bought a live LP and a SAHB LP without Alex too, but haven't gotten to them yet
(Various) - Maiden Australia (A&M 1983 - w/ Skyhooks, Split Enz, Mental As Anything, Hunters & Collectors, Jo Jo Zep, plus seven bands I never heard of) -- Skyhooks song about women in uniforms is great; enough of the rest are likeable that I'll keep this
Alcatraz - No Parole From Rock 'N' Roll (Roshire 1983. Promising song titles: "General Hospital," "Bigfoot," "Hiroshima Mon Amour," "Kree Aakoorie," "Jet to Jet," "To Young To Die, Too Drunk To Live." Popoff 10 out of 10) -- so far, as tedious as proto-Queensryche pomp concept metal with Yngwie Malmsteen on guitar could be expected to be, but I'll give it at least one more try

Also curious what people here think about Triumph. I've always assumed they were total mediocrities not worth paying attention to (Popoff kind of hates them, and solo Rik Emmett even more so), but driving back from San Antonio to Austin a few days ago, "Fight The Good Fight" from '81's Allied Forces (a Popoff 6, his highest score for them) came on the S.A. classic rock station (KZEP -- surprisingly good station, they even played "Low Rider" so they must be paying attention to ethnic demographics, and then Stevie Ray Vaughan who always bores me so I'm clearly not a true Texan), and I thought it (the Triumph song) sounded really good though I had no idea what it was. (My best dumb guess in my head was real early, hard-rock-period Journey!) Am I nuts? Do they have anything else that anthemic? Was I just in a very good mood? Popoff calls that song and "Magic Power" "shamelessly overblown, but they do manage to serve the encouraging, bright purpose for which they were written (to help extra-stupid 12-year-olds)," ha ha. Apparently Allied Forces was their biggest hit album in the U.S., fwiw (#23), and "Magic Power" got to #51 on the pop chart.

Triumph had a couple of good songs, but basically they were a cross between Rush at their most boneheaded and least complex and, yeah, Journey and other AOR Trans Am rock of the period. A relative gave me their double live album for my birthday when it came out; I never made it through the whole thing, and I was in junior high then (1985) and would listen to anything.

Triumph -- huge with young boy punters in LV, too. I ignore them after the second album which was heading way into Journey land. Very poor man's Toto, too. Tended to always have at least one good rock song per album, all the way through. Just wasn't worth coming back to the albums to fish them out.

Pat Travers - Putting It Straight (Polydor 1977)GREAT, especially the punk-dissing "Life In London" as George said

After all these years I am vindicated.

Big ups again for the Babys title track on Union Jacks, their 'rock opera.' By then they'd left the Bad Company/Free licks way behind. Boy did they look gay on the album cover, though.

Contrast with Rose Tattoo's look -- awesomely lowdown -- on the videos Phil selected.

i love the cream cover on that rosetta stone album. techno bubblegum!

best song i have heard all week is on the self-titled 1979 debut album by CREED. album opener "keep on rockin'" is totally smoking southern rock mayhem. love it to death. sadly, the rest of the album never hits the same heights, but worth keeping for the first track.

xp Yeah, the Cream cover is definitly Rosetta Stone's Eurosyntdisco move. But the more rocking originals on that album (mostly the second side I think) reminded me more than a little of The Sweet. So you might not think to look at them that they'd belong on this thread, but they sort of do. (Apparently their guitarist, Ian Mitchell, used to be in the Rollers.)

http://www.bsnpubs.com/nyc/privatestock/ps7011.jpg

some stuff i have been digging lately. wish i had time to talk about each one, but i iz a buzy bee. got thousands of 45s to price. most are new to me. some are old faves. bloodrock, nitzinger, etc:

rock rose - s/t (columbia - 1979)

thundermug - ta-daa!! (mercury - 1975)

charley ainley - too much is not enough (nemperor - 1978)

charlie ainley - bang your door (nemperor - 1978)

airwaves - new day (a&m - 1977)

derringer - if i weren't so romantic, i'd shoot you (blue sky - 1978)

stillwater - i reserve the right! (capricorn - 1978)

jet - s/t (pacific arts - 1979)

lucifer's friend - mind exploding (janus - 1976)

john paul young - s/t (scotti brothers - 1978) (don't think i knew that vanda & young wrote "love is in the air". anyway, an essential album for vanda & young completists.)

the strand - s/t (island - 1980)

pat travers - s/t (mercury - 1976)

blackfoot - flyin' high (cbs - 1976) (such a good album)

straight eight - shuffle 'n' cut (rca - 1980) (power poppers who could rock. yay!)

trooper - money talks (rca - 1982)

driver - no accident (a&m - 1977)

edgar winter - jasmine nightdreams (blue sky - 1975)

city boy - dinner at the ritz (mercury - 1977)

jukka tolonen - crossection (janus - 1975)

nantucket - long way to the top (epic - 1980)

mike berry - i'm a rocker (epic - 1979) (really enjoy this!)

automatic man - s/t (island - 1976)

alpha band - the statue makers of hollywood (arista - 1978)

rick springfield - comic book heroes (columbia - 1973)(one decent guitar track and that's basically what i've been playing. not anywhere near as good as the andy kim album i got last week. his second album called Rainbow Ride. love that thing. guitars aplenty.)

le roux - s/t (capitol - 1978)

boxer - absolutely (epic - 1977)

river city - anna divina (enterprise - 1972)

bloodrock - 3 (capitol - 1971)

nitzinger - s/t (capitol - 1972)

I liked that Automatic Man LP (and their other one) more than I expected; thought the Le Roux was spotty but passable enough. Neither all that hard rock, though, I don't think. Like that Nantucket LP a lot, and love the one Thundermug album I have -- Strikes from 1973. Have written about all of those on this board somewhere, in the past couple years. Wish I still had the first two Nitzinger LPs (both of which are in my metal book.) Picked up Bloodrock's second one (with "D.O.A.") for a buck back in March, and it was about as good as I remembered. Blurbed about Trooper's not-bad Thick As Thieves upthread I think. Thought Alpha Band's self-titled was a lot more keepable than T-Bone Burnett's 1972 B-52 Band and the Fabulous Skylarks record (but those aren't remotely hard rock either, of course.)

The Pat Travers debut is one of my favorites. Excellent version of "Hot Rod Lincoln" is deployed. Plus his stage set show-stopper, "Makes No Difference." And the original showing of "Boom Boom Out Go the Lights."

All of which I think I've said before.

Anyway, also but unrelated:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/11/04/us_census_data_reveals_joblessness/

yeah i know that le roux and some others don't really belong here, but i figured as far as the timeline goes i'd throw them in. i listen to tons of 70's soft and/or country rock.

also been playing this wacky privately pressed kub coda-produced album by michigan rockers The Blue Money Band. from 1981. i think. on blue vinyl, naturally. chuck would dig it. some novelty numbers. some 50's rock hijinx.

http://www.waykoolrecords.com/pics/Rare/BLUEMONEYSEALED3.jpg

did i already mention on here how much i dig the reddy teddy album? boston band. album is from '76. local label. mix of the dolls, aerosmith, and garage/punkiness. so entertaining. this guy came in my store and it turned out that he used to be the guitarist for DMZ! boston garage punks from the 70's. one album on sire. then he joined the lyres. anyway, he wasn't a reddy teddy fan. oh well. he was nice though.

http://fredpopdom.free.fr/images/Reddy-Teddy/Reddy-Teddy-Front.jpg

http://fredpopdom.free.fr/images/Reddy-Teddy/Reddy-Teddy-Real-Kids-Poster.jpg

http://crazykids70.free.fr/bloglam/reddy2.jpg

reddy teddy are connected somehow with boston band the atlantics. i know i have their one album, but i can't remember much about it. i should dig it out. and one member of reddy teddy later joined robin lane & the chartbusters. robin plays around here all the time. she lives right up the road.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ZNPLfbw0gtg/RsnaUFEEucI/AAAAAAAAAl4/7_tlFZnjWBw/s320/Atlantics.jpg

Yes you did:

was excited to find the reddy teddy album from 1976 two days ago -its been on my want list- even though the copy wasn't that great. but for 2 bucks i couldn't complain. so today my friend bugsy came by to sell me stuff and he had a perfectly perfect copy. what great timing! love this album. boston's answer to the new york dolls. some hard rock, some punkiness, some glam stomping and it also sounds like they were listening to the kings in aerosmith a little too. plus, lots of humor. and willie alexander's help. "a child of the nuclear age" kills me! love "moron rock" too. which seems to be an anti-glam, anti-alice cooper, anti-punk song all in one. "but its all gonna stop, have to chuck it all up/it's just lollipops that you suck/the truth of the matter is your eardrums are shattered playing the moron rock!"

― scott seward, Monday, August

But you can always say it again!

Bump.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKlCZ1OdrdA

I'll be doing a pre-Xmas party on Dec. 11, the first live performance in well over a decade. Don't think any of the readers here are Pasadena/LA-based, but it's going to be free. And when the on-line poster is ready, it will have directions.

I'm LA-based! If I'm not doing anything that night, I may check it out.

I'll post the final details here. It's at a studio/home in the theatre district of Pas just off Colorado.

Someone sent me this. Dig the guy with the missing tooth. They have a -lot- of stuff from an Austin 2007 gig, including an amusing interview on how they're aiming for a record contract.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgeZVH1o31w

Complete were all the rage around here around 2007:

Complete: this band is amazing

I missed the train in '07, loving it today. They're like the mutant child of DNA and Black Oak Arkansas.

The current Top 10 songs for soldiers preparing or riding into combat. From Tom Ricks, who wrote Fiasco," an account of the Iraq war, writing as a columnist at Foreign Policy.

http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/11/12/the_best_defense_list_of_the_top_10_songs_for_heading_into_combat

Not a lot of surprises.

Oh, backhanded lists of heavy metal songs written by people who don't understand heavy metal.

Ricks made a genuine effort. He's older than me. But I know him, too, because he was an old subscriber to a newsletter I made.

The deadening presence of "Bodies Hit the Floor" is very real. It's inescapable on security video, if you are familiar with that -- on commercial TV and private stuff, of which I know a lot. And that's all leakage from noncom military positions.

That song is very effective at its intended purpose -- there's a reason it's still being used in action movie trailers a good decade later.

That's for sure. Royalties from reality shows on prison life and cop/swat engagements alone must be really eye-opening.