RnR HOF induction ceremony

So I just finished watching the 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Following are my comments and thoughts on the show (kid of a play by play as it happened):

Little Anthony & the Imperials - performed wonderfully. Classic oldies. About fricking time. Smokey Robinson is 69. Really?

Wanda Jackson. Inducted by Roseanne Cash. Again, about time for the first woman rocker to be inducted.

Joe Perry looks awful. Weird hair, weird eye makeup. Yikes.

Wanda Jackson is so cute singing! Good for her.

Flea is going to induct Metallica? They couldn't get anyone else?

Paul Schaffer inducts sideman Spooner Oldham. Nice job. Spooner is stanky! Spooner looked more out of place in a tux than Bob Dylan, but he certainly deserves it. Hilarious thank you speech, very thankful but also like it was no big deal. Also, he had a spoon on his lapel. Fantastic. I think he was totally stoned.

Jason Newstead was interviewed. I think he seemed gracious and gave a lot of props to Cliff Burton. It's cool that he is there.

Bobby Womack was inducted by Ronnie Wood. Again, about time for Bobby. Ronnie did a good job, kind of all over the place and heartfelt at the same time. Bobby gave props to Sam Cooke and Obama. Pretty awesome. Good performances. Ronnie Woods watch matched his guitar.

Run DMC. RIP Jam Master Jay. So instrumental in bringing rap to the forefront of the music scene. Breakthrough song and video with "Walk This Way" with Aerosmith. Inducted by Eminem. He was, in fact, quite sincere. Comparison to The Beatles though? A little much for me. Rev. Run gave nice praise to Jay's mother and family. DMC gave a nice shout out to his family and said how important it is to give love to a kid since he is adopted. JMJ's mom was great. She was so strong and her faith is immovable.

Max Weinberg and Garry Tallent (E Street Band members) inducted sidemen: drummer - DJ Fontana and bassist - Bill Black who played with Elvis Presley. They had amazing careers, even though Bill Black passed away when he was 39. Max and Garry kind of went on and on like what they want people to say about them if they ever get inducted. Bill's kids accepted they award for him and they were great. His son was very emotional, but it was adorable (even for a 61 year old.) DJ Fontana was great. Thankful and cute, short and to the point.

Holy crap - Wanda Jackson is SHORT!

Jeff Beck. Makes Clapton look like a beginner. Ridiculous. Not to self - buy more Jeff Beck albums. Inducted by Jimmy Page, former bandmate with The Yardbirds. No stories from Jimmy though, probably too graphic for Fuse anyway. Jeff Beck looked good except for the top he's wearing that looks like a straight jacket without arms. Jeff is quite humble (well, as humble as an amazing guitarist can be) during his acceptance speech and hilarious when he flipped off the people who didn't help him. Also, he made fun of Rod Stewart's hair?

Wait, was that Joe Torre? It couldn't have been since the Dodgers played in LA that day, but I swear it was his twin!

Jeff Beck gave props to Scotty Moore (Elvis' guitar player.)

Who the F is this Fuse host guy? What a tool. Alfiero would have been SUCH a better host.

I think Jeff Beck forgot what song he was going to play - that was funny. Jeff Beck playing with Jimmy Page. Ridiculous. Do you think the Jeff Beck's entire thumb is a callous? I mean who freaking plays like that without a pick? My fingers hurt just watching him. He played Peter Gunn. F'ing fantastic. Did Steve Vai ever study with Beck? Sounds like it.

Metallica. Really? Fuse had to bleep the word ass? Give me a break. RIP Cliff Burton. Inducted by Flea. I'm sorry, did RHCP and Metallica ever even tour together? He actually gave a very nice induction speech. Quite eloquent and descriptive of Metallica as a band and as musicians. Cliff Burton's dad was there to accept for him. So cute. You've got to love an old headbanger. I'm glad Kirk grew his hair long again.

OK, and F'ing tiVo didn't tell me this was a live showing so I have to wait until next week to catch the end?!?!? Thank the internet for YouTube.

Lars gave a nice speech too, surprisingly wasn't a dick about it, and thanked his dad very graciously. James was equally happy to be inducted and gave Lars a hilarious bear hug at the end. James also mentioned a ton of bands who are not in the HoF including Judas Priest. That is a crazy shame as I have already blogged about how awesome they are here. They played "Master of Puppets." Either something in the sound got f'ed up on YouTube or the sound on the show but something sounded off. They also played, "Enter Sandman." Sounded much better, in fact, they blew the roof off the place with that song.

The finale song was, "Train Kept A Rollin." Which I love. Now, don't get me wrong, it's a great song, but wouldn't you think the finale would've been a song by one of the bands that was inducted? Joe Perry was there and played on the song, but it was a little weird. The performance in itself was awesome. At least 6 guitars and 3 bassists was really cool.

All in all, a pretty good show.

Grammy's 2009

Well, the Grammy's happened on Sunday.  Per usual, I TiVo'd them and skipped through the stuff I didn't care about.  Since they only give out about 5 awards during the show, I usually skip through those too and look up the winners online.  Here are some of my brief notes about the show and some performances (in reverse order of their appearance in the show):

Stevie Wonder got screwed twice in the same Grammy show:  1st by playing with the Jonas Brothers, 2nd by playing during the credits when people are leaving.  Dude, just because he's blind, doesn't mean he doesn't know how annoying the Jonas Brothers are and it doesn't mean he doesn't know people are leaving while he is preforming.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss are awesome, but the wind effect for Alison was a little much during their performance.

Lil Wayne and Robin Thicke were actually not bad.  Hardly any bleeping required.  Allen Toussaint and The Dirty Dozen were awesome.

Hmmm, I never realized John Mayer was such a good guitarist.  If he wasn't so annoying, I probably would've realized it earlier.  I guess he is worthy to share the stage with BB King.

It is so cool that Dave Grohl got to play drums for Sir Paul.  It would've been cooler if Ringo have played on "I Saw Her Standing There."

What is the big deal about Radiohead?  I know a lot about music but I don't get it.  I must've missed something.  If someone wants to enlighten me - feel free.

Does Neil Diamond ever perform any song besides, "Sweet Caroline?"

Rick Rubin won Producer of the Year.  I guess he deserved it considering what he did for Metallica.

Why did some/most (?) of the Grammy awards go to albums/records that were released before 2008?  Wasn't this the 2009 Grammy's?  Did nothing worthy come out in 2008?

Justin Timberlake was all over the Grammys.  Again.

Another reason to love TiVo, no need to leave the room when Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift are singing - just skip through!

Coldplay performed great, waiting til the shine wears off.

U2 also performed well.  I liked that song - Get On Your Boots!  

Death Magnetic

The new Metallica CD was released today at midnight. Luckily, you can listen for free on MSN music. Here is my review if anyone cares:

Track 1: That Was Just Your Life - 7:05 - A very strong opener to the album. Fast, good guitar solos, upbeat. Makes you want to listen to the next song. A good riff, catchy but not lame. I immediately like this song. I think this should have been the first release.

Track 2: The End of the Line – 7:52 - This song is broken up into two parts. The first part is another strong, upbeat song. Good riff, different enough from track 1 to hold its own. Good strong chorus. Nice symmetry in the guitar work. Could do without the distortion. The second part is interesting and then breaks back into the first part like a coda.

Track 3: Broken, Beat & Scarred – 6:25 - What don't kill ya will make you more strong? Isn't that a line from an Usher song? Not really crazy about this song. Too much Lars.

Track 4: The Day That Never Comes – 7:56 - This was the first release from the album. I've heard it a lot on the radio. I like it but it feels confused to me, like the band doesn't really know who they are yet.

Track 5: All Nightmare Long – 7:57 - Reminiscent of some of the songs on Master. Very good. Hetfield's voice sounds great, especially on "luck runs out-ah." I love that. Nice guitar, not overdone, although sounds a little like video game music at one point. Fast.

Track 6: Cyanide – 6:39 - Catchy. Possibly the next release. Not a big fan. Not very cohesive. The middle drums try for some sort of transition. A little confusing - not in a good way. Pretty much all over the place.

Track 7: The Unforgiven III - 7:46 - I was wary of this song from the just the title. As it starts out though, I am afraid I may have judged a book by its cover. Another poor transition from the intro to the beginning of the song. The intro is beautiful. Strings are a nice addition. Nice bass work by Trujillo. Builds to a nice guitar solo. Baby seems to like this song the best so far. Weak ending.

Track 8: The Judas Kiss - 8:00 - I listened to this song yesterday and liked it the best of those I had heard so far. Nice intro. The instruments work well together unlike in some of the other songs where it sounds like they are fighting each other. Great chorus. A good song for a live video. Nice dual guitar work, solo sounds a little like it should be in the Twilight Zone and then Hammett ramps it up into overdrive.

Track 9: Suicide & Redemption - 9:57 - Great intro. Not old school though. Really great. Only orchestral track on the CD. Tempo changes keep it interesting. Fantastic despite another weak ending.

Track 10: My Apocalypse - 5:01 – The only song that mentions the title of the album. A strong song. Nice and fast. How does Hammett play like that? Strong ending to the album.

These are my 1st impressions of the album. I think I will go out and get it (yes, I still buy CDs). Hetfield's voice sounds great on all the tracks where he sings and overall the band sounds good. They still don't sound completely cohesive despite having been the same line up now for about 5 years. Some of the tracks sound weary of the listeners, with the feeling of "ooh, I hope they like this," causing confusion and lack of confidence in the song. All in all, Rick Rubin has yet again, helped create a great album.

Baby setlist

The place we are planning on giving birth is going to be a brand new hospital wing with private rooms with jacuzzis, a bed for Sean, a TV, a music player, etc. Some people suggest you bring music to listen to while you are laboring. I have been thinking about this for a while and am not sure if I will want music playing or if I will want it to be quiet, but I figure I should be prepared either way. I have been trying to think of stuff to put on the birthing setlist. This is what I have so far:

The Ode to Joy choral section of Beethoven's 9th.
Music for Royal Fireworks by Handel
Hallelujah chorus by Handel (if I could time it right, it would be awesome for this to be playing when Baby makes his debut - and yes, I know this is completely unrealistic unless I just have it on repeat)
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart

I also like a lot of requiems, but that doesn't seem quite appropriate for a birth. I was trying to remember which Mass the Chorus sang that Bunky said was a Mass for the Living. Anyone have any ideas here? Bee. Mass in C? For some reason Gounod is sticking in my head, but I don't think that's correct. Google isn't helping me much in this matter.

I'm going for stuff that I am really familiar with since they say you should be able to distract your mind and let your body do the work it's supposed to do. This is going to be difficult for me, but I am just going to work on trusting my body and not being in control (insert laughs here). Since my brain will need something else to do, I guess it makes sense to have it concentrate on something else.

Any other suggestions? For you moms out there, what do you think about music playing? A good distraction or annoying? Do you wish you had music playing or glad you didn't?

The Day That Never Comes

A little while ago I posted that Metallica is FINALLY releasing a new CD Sept 12. I finally heard the first single from this album titled, "The Day That Never Comes." The radio version that I heard was about 8 minutes long. I obviously haven't heard the rest of the album but it struck me as an interesting song to represent the album. It starts off as a ballad and then ends as classic Metallica with Kirk's signature guitar riffs and Lars' strong drums. At first, I wasn't crazy about the song. I was wondering why Metallica would release a ballad as their first single from this long awaited album considering they got so much flack for the Black album and especially for St. Anger. I thought they would've released something with more bite to it. I will have to hear this song again but right now I'm not too impressed.

Sweet Setlist

Aerosmith isn't on tour this year so I live vicariously through their website and updates. Recently, Steven Tyler played with Billy Joel at Shea Stadium as a final farewell to Shea (it's the last year of this ballpark too). Check out the setlist:

New Metallica

The new album (which was promised three years ago) is finally supposed to come out in September. I can't wait!

Bo Diddley

Today, Bo Diddley, famous rock musician passed away. I must admit I am not too familiar with his music, but I do know that he was a great influence on many of the classic rock artists. Read this article about his music and life.

My radio stations

I know, WHO listens to the radio anymore you ask? Well, me. I don't have satellite radio since baseball is on XM and football is on Sirius, it just doesn't make sense to get one until they decide to merge. And oh yeah, I don't have an iPod. Well, Sean lets me use his old nano, but I can't hook it up in my car. I refuse to get one of those tuner devices because the one sound I cannot stand is static. Even a little. Finally, I only have a single disc player in my car and often forget to bring a CD (yes, I also listen to CDs and still buy them) into the car, so unless I want to listen to Daughtry for the 5000th time, I usually end up listening to the radio.

I also listen to the radio at work. If I wasn't able to have music during the day, I think I would go crazy. This is why I love Pandora.com. Usually I listen to Pandora, but some days, I'll listen to the local alt. rock station, like this morning, until the play the lunch bunch during which the crappiest music from the 80s and 90s (Wall of Voodoo anyone?) is played and I have to turn it off.

Just now, I turned on my old radio station from the smallest state. I freaking love this station. They play the Doors, Metallica, Georgia Satellites and Led Zepplin. Where else can you get that kind of variety? I'm not saying it's good day after day, I'm just saying it's fun to listen to. Plus, I get to listen to the cheesiest commercials ever!

Aerosmith

Most of you know that Aerosmith is one of my favorite bands. Today I have been able to listen to them all day so far and not hear the same song twice. I have listened to Honkin on Bobo, the two new songs from Ultimate Hits Disc 2, Just Push Play and all 3 discs of Pandora's Box. Up next is Pump and after that Toys in the Attic ( my fav album). When I hit Toys, I will hear some songs that are on Pandora, but that's ok. I love not having an office mate.

New video

If ANYONE has any connections at VH1, MTV, Fuse, etc. SEND THEM THIS VIDEO!

"Into the Light" by Honor By August

For Bon Jovi fans

One of the great songs done very well by Bon Jovi......

Still here

Just a quick note to say I am still here. Not much happening. We went on vacation which was nice. Did some snowshoeing, watched movies, read books, ate too much. Then I came back to work. OK. That was really boring, so let me try to think of something in my life that is interesting.

Hmmm.

OK - You know those tickets I ordered? Yeah, they still haven't come yet. If they don't come I am blaming all of you who said you hated me because I got the tickets!!

Sorry, that was kind of mean (does that show the kind of day I am having?) Sorry.


Ooh, I know! I went to a really great concert a few weeks ago that was the Music of English Cathedrals performed by the Chorus of Westerly. It was awesome. Mostly because I knew almost every piece performed by heart and we got to sing along. To go along with this show, the people who were in the Chorus in 1995 and went to England finally got our tour books. They are awesome. It's fun to look at it and remember all the things we saw and did there. I celebrated my 18th birthday in the Roman Baths, man that was a long time ago (but I'm still not as old as Scott). :) Joe Banana's anyone? Do the Randy!

2008 Grammy Awards

So the Grammy's were Feb 10th so I apologize for getting this post out a little late. I must admit overall, the show was ok, nothing spectacular stood out, except for maybe Herbie Hancock and Lang Lang's performance. So, in no particular order here are some of my notes on this year's Grammys (probably not in sequential order of the show since I watched it a week ago).

• Beyonce introduced Tina Turner as the Queen. Queen of what? Hot legs? 'Cause I know she ain't no data queen, nor the queen of soul. Luckily, Aretha (who gave a great performance later in the show, let it roll off her back).
• Tina Tuner still can dance, her voice may be aging, but her moves sure aren't.
• Cirque du Soleil performed a few pieces from their Love show, which showcases Beatles songs. It made me want to listen to my Red and Blue Beatles albums again and made me NEVER want to see Cirque du Soleil.
• Kanye West wore a very weird outfit, something Michael Jackson-ish (maybe it was his tribute to the 25th anniversary of Thriller?) but did a very nice rendition of his song, Mother.
• Cyndi Lauper helped to present an award to Amy Winehouse. She looked terrible, I never heard much about Cyndi doing a lot of drugs, but she looks like it.
• Foo Fighters were relegated to the outside stage with three young musicians (2 violinists, 1 cellist) who were finalists to play The Pretender with the Foos. They were voted on by people watching the Grammys after playing only about 8 notes. The prettiest girl won, but all three got to play the song anyway.
• Carrie Underwood actually gave a great performance singing Before He Cheats. Why did she do country again?
• John Mayer should stick to playing the guitar and not sing.
• Keely Smith and Kid Rock performed a duet - WHAT??
• Herbie Hancock and Lang Lang played Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the Grammy orchestra. They were fantastic. It was up until this point I seriously considered not watching the rest of the show.
• Amy Winehouse performed two songs from London. Despite all her drama, she was worthy of all her awards (5).
• Herbie Hancock won album of the year - the first time a jazz album has won in 40 years.
  

Funny lyrics

So, I think we have all had that moment where you and your friend are riding around in your car and you are singing along to a favorite song and belt out the impressively wrong lyrics. I think there are many websites dedicated to the exact phenomenon of misheard lyrics. Today, the one that I came across for myself was from the song "Sample in a Jar" by Phish. I will admit that Phish is not one of my favorite bands, despite my dedication to the Dead. But, I enjoy the light-heartedness of "Sample in a Jar" and "Bouncing Round the Room." As I was listening to SIAJ, I realized that I didn't really know the words to one of the lines - in fact, in my mind, the words were: "Dancing with a legume, up on Leroy's bed." Who doesn't like to dance with legume's, right?? :) For the correct lyrics, click here.

HONOR BY AUGUST

Check them out. The guitarist on the right was one of my best friends in middle school.




Here is their website:

http://www.honorbyaugust.com/

THEY ARE AWESOME!!!!

You've Got A Friend

So I have been streaming the new JT album, "One Man Band" from MSN (I guess MSN is good for something). It's a great album. There aren't any new songs on it, but it's live and there is good audience interaction. Some of the songs are completely redone, for example, Slap Leather is completely different from the original recording, but is awesome! There are a few songs I wasn't familiar with, such as "You Can Close Your Eyes" which is a beautiful song. As this video shows, he sounds the same as he did 36 years ago!!!!

Classical music

Pandora finally has added classical music to their library! It's quite limited as of yet, and most of the choral music is Christmas music, but there's nothing wrong with that! Yeah! (I am using a lot of exclamation marks today!)

A great loss

Well, today Lucianno Pavarotti passed away. He was one of the best known opera singers of our time. I, myself, am not so familiar with opera, but I know who Pavarotti was. His life was full of accomplishments and controversy, but his contribution to this dying art was paramount. A lot of us used to know this terrible old woman (Miss Bette) who would travel the globe to see Pavarotti.


Personally, I will take "The Cowardly Lion" any day.

Holy Cow!

Today Phil Rizzuto passed away. He was a Yankee. This was not his fault. He was actually part of the reason the Yanks won all those pennants in the 40s and 50s and was finally voted into Cooperstown due to some persuasion by the Sox great Ted Williams. The article is quite nice and highlights a lot of Phil's attributes and accomplishments. Curiously enough, it does not mention the fact that one of the things he did as an announcer was call a play by play in the song "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" by Meatloaf.