Guarded by the Guitar Army

I must admit I was a bit surprised when I saw the list of artists elected for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (the ceremony will take place March 15, 2010)

• Abba – on their second nomination in ten years of eligibility
• Jimmy Cliff – first nomination, though eligible for twenty-one years!
• Genesis – also their first nomination, eligible for sixteen years
• The Hollies – another first nomination after twenty-one years
• The Stooges – finally, after eight nominations in sixteen years

Amazing to see that three of the artists were eligible for between sixteen and twenty-one years prior to even getting nominated, and then they get elected on the first try. That’s just odd. How do these bands never even get to the nomination stage and then make it all the way to the podium in one move? And what does that say about the rest of the talent pool still hanging by the telephone?

Alice Cooper is still waiting. So are Cheap Trick, Deep Purple, Todd Rundgren…and KISS, of course. I could name dozens more who made bigger marks than some of the current inductees – Rick Derringer, The Faces, Lou Reed, Mott The Hoople – but I’d just get pissed off again, even though I know in my heart that it just doesn’t matter.

But it’s great to see The Stooges finally beat the door down – one would expect that a band that had been nominated so many times would eventually break through. And maybe the election of The Hollies opens the door for The Turtles or Herman’s Hermits, and Abba legitimizes the induction of The Monkees. Outside of Guns’N'Roses, there aren’t many newly eligible bands in the next two or three years to provide fresh competition. (Want to feel old? Julian Lennon became eligible for induction in 2009.)

And I certainly can’t argue with any of the songwriter nominations except to say…what the hell took you so long? Mort Shuman (Doc Pomus’ partner), Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, Otis Blackwell, Jesse Stone…the real crime here is that Ellie won’t get to take that bow since she passed away earlier this year. Of course, the Songwriters Hall of Fame was on the ball and elected them way back in the 80s and 90s (only Stone is not yet inducted).

Let’s hope Iggy rips ‘em a new one come March.

About fucking time.

I’m listening Guns’n'Roses – Don’t Cry and waiting for that “give me a whisper” part…. that “Shhhhht”… I can just imagine…

This post is about what you want but cannot touch…. I had a flash of my desires….. It’s a pity I can’t really talk about ‘em. I’d describe right now with details all about it…. you’d want it to…

I can say thow…. it’s frustrating to have in front of your eyes the passion fruit and not have a bite…

The story it’s about this guy…..  he’s so f***ing irresistable…

He never talks to me but alway makes me feel like I already know everything I have to know.

It’s kinda like… with chocolate.

You eat it without ever asking “Can I eat you?”

I’d do that concerning THIS matter!!!

But how could I ever?

Can anybody explain how a touch get’s to be so addictive? (like chocolate again!!!)

I almost want nothing but his presence, his look upon me and his thoughts crossing mine….

Do you understand? I’m saying chocolate it’s orgasmic….

So be it!

Let’s have some chocolate !!!

Enjoy!

Welcome to the jungle, Buck. They’ve been talking recently about making a grittier remake of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, but, I don’t know, I’m getting tired of these gritty, dark remakes. I miss the cheesy, futuristic fun of the early 80’s Buck. (And I really miss the perfect bad girl/good girl tag team of Princess Ardala and Col. Deering…). I’ve got the entire series on DVD and occasionally need to relive my wasted youth watching the same Draconian fighter explode in episode after episode, or the same Stargate activate or, hey – didn’t I see that starship on an episode of Battlestar Galactica once? Oh, well – yeah, they did recycle some of the special effects, but it was all in the name of campy sci-fi goodness.

Oh, and sorry to poke fun at Axl Rose – I did actually quite like his Chinese Democracy album, once it was finally released after 15 or so years. Though, I think by that point he should have just called it an Axl Rose solo album, not a Guns’n'Roses one.

If Axl does make it to the 25th Century, maybe he can use that band Andromeda on his Chinese Democracy sequel.

Guns’n'Roses tillsammans med Sir Reginald Kenneth Dwight får sammanfatta denna vidriga månad november som äntligen är slut. Det har tamefan regnat varenda dag… Är det nån som ens minns hur solen ser ut?

Betydligt trevligare är det faktum att årets julklapp släpps idag; Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live Anthology. 4 CD proppfyllda med 30 år av lysande liveupptagningar. Det släpps även en speciell collectors edition med en hel del extra smågodis, som till exempel en remastrad vinyl av klassikern Official Live Leg (1976). Julen är sannerligen räddad!

Julklappstips nr 2. Mumma!

So here are my top five favorite songs!

5. Don’t Be So Hard by The Audition

When I first heard this song, I was already in love with this band. Hailing from Chicago, except for lead singer Danny Stevens, these pop-punk upstarts have never reached the height of fame like their counterparts in bands like All Time Low. However these guys blend narrative techniques and positive messages into their lyrics all the while showing impressive musical prowess with guitars and drums. Off their 2005 debut Controversy Loves Company, this song became an instant classic among fans. With the song starting of with “don’t be so hard on yourself/the name of the game is humiliation and thanks for your admiration,” it becomes an anthem to anyone who knows that it’s hard to let go of a situation and move on, whether it’s a break up or a friendship gone array. The band also contributed an acoustic version of this song to Punk goes Acoustic 2 and they still end each set with this song with the crowd singing along, drowning out the band. When relationships of all kinds, even the almost ones, it brings down the self-esteem. But it helps to hear coming through the speakers to not “be so hard on yourself.”

To watch Danny Stevens perform their hit single acoustically click here.

4. Punk Rock Princess by Something Corporate

To me, this song is my perfect romance (don’t I sound like I’m 16). But to be honest, when I was 15 years old and listening to this version and the acoustic, I immediately fell in love with the idea of this type of romance; wanting to be with someone so much that they would wait for them and look past all the awkwardness. A simple pop-punk song, yet Andrew McMahon (I really do love that man) turn it a song for any guy to love any girl. The main girl in the song seems to not know herself and trying to figure herself out all while the guy is just waiting for her, knowing that she is the one for him. With McMahon’s knack for sounding sensitive as if he is singing to every female in the audience, the song brings a sense of longing that makes every girl in the crowd wishes she was the object of the song. Still it’s the typical emo pop-punk song, catchy and with honest hopes. And still, I get giddy whenever it comes on.

Watch the official video for “Punk Rock Princess” here.

3. La Vida Es Un Carnaval by Celia Cruz

The only non-English song to make it on my list is by the Queen of Salsa herself, Celia Cruz. Despite my metal tendencies, I do love to dance since it was I grew doing so. While my dad preferred more rock music, my mother and grandmother loved salsa, mergueuge, and any form of Spanish dance music (can you say musically chaotic?). Celia Cruz was revered in our house and, of course, I used to say “¡Azúcar!” as if my life depended on it. The song “Carnaval” means “carnival” in Spanish and tells the listener simply that life is a carnival, you should enjoy it. It describes that you should avoid those who complain, make war. “Es mas bello vivir cantando” translates to “It’s better to live singing” which is her message in the song, to just live life and enjoy it by having fun.

Watch a live performance by this amazing singer here.

2. Sweet Child o’ Mine by Guns’N'Roses

The special connection to this song comes from the relationship between my father and me. He was always a lover of Guns’n’Roses and Appetite for Destruction was in constant play in the cars, despite my mother’s  protests. Everything about this song is recognizable; the guitar intro and riffs by Slash, Axl Rose’s distinct vocal styling and the simple chorus “whoa oh, sweet child of mine.” It was the definitive ballad on a decidedly metal album; yet the song is not the typical ballad of the 80s hair metal scene. The song had none of the grit and rawness that the other songs had; instead it was sincerity and a light-heartedness that the others hid. The one thing that it does unite it with the other songs is that Slash’s guitar solo right before the bridge. The opening riff was supposedly a joke amongst him and the band but the riff was recaps the song; slow at the beginning yet building up to a climax with pure power and skill.

To watch the 1989 music video click here.

1. Burn, Burn by Lostprophets

A call to arms for independence, Lostprophets’s “Burn, Burn’ off their 2004 release Start Something is a slap to the face of stereotypes and scenes. The Welsh band first captivated my attention with their first album which had a nu-metal sound. However, with this release, especially this song, they kept the grit, but exchanged the turntables for a heavier rock sound. With a prominent bass line throughout the song and the double guitar action through the chorus, this song is a fist-in-the-air-mosh-til-you-drop song. The bridge “Burn, burn the truth, the lies, the news/Burn, burn the life, that you can choose/Burn, burn the hate, that gets, you through/Burn, burn for us, for them, for you” sets up the end nicely and makes sure the crowd is going mental, cheering, and chanting the rest of the song as a battle cry with singer Ian Watkins leading the madness. The band put on extremely high energy shows and this is one of the better captures of them in a studio setting where you end the song wanting to move around and chant. I’ve loved this band since I was 15 and I was lucky enough to see them as my first concert. And the old Welsh lads aren’t letting fatherhood slow them down; they next full length The Betrayed drops January 2010.(aside: the bridge is also what I have taken as my personal motto and will soon have permanently inked on me)

Watch their high-enegry performance from 2004’s Rock Am Ring Performance right here.

Idag gratulerar vi batteristen Matt Sorum som fyller 49 år. Han har hanterat trumskinnen i ett flertal kända orkestrar; The Cult, Guns’n'Roses, Neurotic Outsiders, Slash’s Snakepit, Velvet Revolver och Camp Freddy till exempel. Och Darling Stilettos.

Och minsann hoppade inte Matt Sorum in i Motörhead på årets turné när Mikkey Dee istället valde att medverka i TV-succén Kändisdjungeln med Pippi Långstrump och Thorleif Torstensson of Thorleifs… Rock on!

რომის პაპმა მუსიკალური ალბომი ჩაწერა, რომელიც “Geffen Records”-მა გამოუშვა. დისკში შესულია ბენედიქტ XVI-ის მიერ შესრულებული ლოცვები და საგალობლები იტალიურ, ლათინურ და მშობლიურ გერმანულ ენებზე. პონტიფიკს არ მოუწია სტუდიაში წასვლა, რადგან ჩანაწერები სტუდიას ვატიკანის რადიომ მიაწოდა. ალბომის ხანგრძლივობა 49 წუთია, პაპს აკომპანიმენტს ფილარმონიის აკადემიის გუნდი და ბრიტანეთის სამეფოს ფილარმონიის ორკესტრი უწევს. ალბომში შესულია, როგორც ტრადიციული ასევე თანამედროვე საგალობლებიც.

ხმის ჩამწერ სტუდია Geffen Records –ში ალბომები Nirvana, Guns’N'Roses, The Cure და Mary J Blidge-ის აქვს ჩაწერილი.

წყარო: ახალი ამბების სააგენტო “ექსპრესნიუსი“

WTF? não é q ficou bom!!

vc não sabe o q é? é isso mesmo. slash+cypress hill+fergie!

October 25 I went to the U2 show at LA’s Rose Bowl.  It can be summed up in two words: hypnotic and inspirational.

But when Slash took the stage with the Black Eyed Peas, it reminded me of the Rolling Stones/Guns n’ Roses concert I attended exactly 20 years ago, October 18, 1989 at LA’s historic Coliseum.

Axl Rose could probably be described as the anti-Bono, and he wasn’t exactly auditioning for the part of UN Goodwill Ambassador, played unofficially by AIDS-fighter Bono and officially by Angelina Jolie.

In fact as soon as Rose took the stage he offered this impassioned defense of himself and his song “One in a Million” against criticism that he was a racist, just because it was about “police and niggers and immigrants and faggots.”

“I don’t give a goddamn fuck what color you fucking are, as long as you’re ain’t no goddamn thief drug selling piece of shit.

“I used the word fucking nigger but that don’t mean every black man is a fucking nigger, that means if you go downtown and some fucking asshole wants to charge you fifteen dollars for free parking kick him in the fuckin nuts.

“I don’t give a shit about gay people either but I don’t need some faggot trying to rape me.

“Immigrants? I don’t care what goddamn fucking country you’re from, you’re in America just act like it.

“You want to call me a racist shove your head up your fucking ass.

Either the audio cut out early, or my aging memory is going, but I remember his stirring conclusion: “Anyone who thinks I hate niggers can suck my dick.”

Non sapevo quale canzone postarvi dopo i Green Day. Mentre ascoltavate The Static Age, ho preso la mia fedele chitarra e mi sono messo a strimpellare un po’ Patience, la canzone dei Guns’n'Roses. Così mi sono detto: “Ma perchè non posto proprio quella canzone lì?”. Quindi ecco a voi i Guns’n'Roses con Patience!

La prossima canzone (prima della pausa cena) è così bella che non so decidere in quale versione postarla. Così la posto in entrambe le versione, semplice no?
La canzone è Bohemian Rhapsody, uno dei grandi successi dei Queen. Nel primo video ascoltiamo la magica voce di Freddy Mercury in un live, mentre nel secondo troviamo il duetto Elton John – Guns’n'Roses (oltre agli stessi Queen) al Freddy Mercury Tribute Concert del 1992. Buona cena e buona visione a tutti!

Eccoci nuovamente qui per il programma pomeridiano. Siete pronti? I primi protagonisti sono.. – rullo di tamburi – i Guns’n'Roses. Bè certamente loro non potevano mancare all’inaugurazione. La canzone che stiamo per ascoltare si intitola You Could Be Mine. Una curiosità, nel film Terminator 2, prima che il giovane John Connor scappasse via da casa in sella a un motorino, stava ascoltando proprio You Could Be Mine. E non è tutto, nell’ultimo capitolo della saga, Terminator Salvation, Christian Bale che interpreta il John Connor ormai adulto, a un certo punto del film si procura una moto (in un modo tutto particolare, andate a vedere il film se non l’avete ancora visto) e, anche qui, la canzone che suona allo stereo in sottofondo è… indovinate un po’? You Could Be Mine.
Miei cari radio-lettori, vi ricordo che se volete inviarmi suggerimenti, critiche o quant’altro (comprese le proposte di collaborazione nel caso voleste) potete o commentare qui sul radio blog, oppure (proprio per le collaborazioni) mandare un’email all’indirizzo radioblog235@live.it
Ascoltiamoci adesso questa bella canzone, sono i Guns’n'Roses, qui su RadioBlog 235.

Heute vor 60 Jahren wurde der sozialistische Arbeiter- und Bauernstaat ausgerufen. Wer sich fragt, wo so ein Staat eigentlich landet, wenn er durch eine neue Staatsform ersetzt wird (im Nirvana?) dem kann ich nun eine Antwort geben.

Gerade war wieder ein Mann vom Schlüsseldienst da, genauer: ein Metaller (also nicht IG-Metall, sondern Mötley Crüe und so). Er schaute kopfschüttelnd auf meine Wohnungstür, musterte sie von oben bis unten, sein Blick verweilte auf dem Schloss, dann auf dem wattierten Kunstlederbezug, dann brummte er: “Dit is allet DDR da drin”. So, jetzt wissen wir’s. Gratulation, Tür.

Vi se intampla sa ramaneti cu vreo melodie nesuferita intepenita undeva in creier, playing over and over and over again, pana simtiti ca va vine sa urcati pe pereti si sa-i roadeti? Iata ce fredonez eu pentru a ma vindeca de astfel de enriques, alte gaga (care numai lady nu-s), sau felurite scalambaieli autohtone:

I’ve said over and over on this blog that patience is a virtue I just wasn’t born with. But when I look back over this last year and chapter of my life, I feel this is also one of the biggest lessons I have been taught…. have tried to learn…. have seen that I need more than anything. Am still working on…..

But today, we have no patience, we just need to vent!

Said, woman, take it slow
It’ll work itself out fine
All we need is just a little patience(Guns’N'Roses: Patience)

I have tried to patiently wait for my heart to heal itself medically. I get that my heart didn’t fail overnight and it won’t get better overnight. Maybe my patience is running thin on the small improvements, I need to see something bigger. And now I am supposed to be patient while we figure out if some suit did put a price tag on my heart? How do I have patience for that, why should I have patience for that? Maybe I’m tired of having patience with this. If you screwed up my heart, you don’t deserve my patience. And now you want to throw in my face that “It was just understood that heart failure was a serious possibility by taking this drug”, so this is actually my fault? You are one insane lady if you think I will have any patience for that load of bullshit!

I have patiently waited for the time to come when I can get back into my dance class. I don’t know how much more patience I can have with this one, I need to dance like I need to breathe. I have accepted that there are certain activities I will never be able to do again, or even try for the first time. But I can’t sit here and patiently wait as the last bit of happiness in my life gets stripped away….. Maybe I’m just tired of having patience with this.

For 12 years I have patiently waited for a cure for MS. For the longest time I was told there would be a cure by the time I was 30. Just turned the dial to 32 this year, and nothing. We have stronger medicines, but nothing that can just wipe this out for me. Nothing that can take away my worry of waking up tomorrow and not being able to walk.  Nothing that can wipe away the seizures. Nothing that can give me the peace of mind that one day I won’t need someone to take care of me. And there is amazing research out there – medicines and procedures that could get us a lot closer to where we need to be. But there is too much political bullshit holding this progress back. And I have patiently waited 12 years. I get there are people who have lived with this disease for 25 years. But at the current moment, I am walking like a drunk person thanks to MS, hooked up to an IV that is supposed to make me better and dealing with the realization that this may be my life, alone. And I guess my patience has just run out here too.

I waited patiently for my broken heart to mend itself with time. And just when you think it’s all over, everything is in the past you get a rude little email to remind you of just how bad it hurt. I patiently went thru all the grieving stages, and I’m done with it. I guess my patience has just run out here. I’ve been waiting patiently for the time to come that I was ready to venture back out into the dating world. Only it seems everytime I dip my toe in that pool, I get burned.

“If I lay here, if I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world….” (Snow Patrol: Chasing Cars)

I’ve waited patiently for someone to chase cars with me…. Maybe my patience is wasted in this arena. Maybe I had that one shot at love with someone who could look into my heart and see me, see past the MS and see me, see past the heart failure and see me, see past the sickness and see me – someone to just forget the world with me. Maybe I’m stupid for patiently waiting that someone could come around again. Because right now, I honestly don’t think he is.

“Said, woman, take it slow
And things will be just fine
You and I’ll just use a little patience
Said, sugar, take the time
‘Cause the lights are shining bright

I been walkin’ the streets at night
Just tryin’ to get it right
hard to see with so many around
You know I don’t like
Being stuck in the crowd
And the street don’t change
But baby the name
I ain’t got time for the game”(GNR: Patience)

I have patiently waited to see some vision, some sign of what direction I am supposed to go in this life. I have a road tattooed on my back (mixed in with a bigger tattoo) that is symbolic of this journey I have yet to travel in this life. Maybe my patience has run out on trying to figure this out. Why can’t a big piece of the sky just fall and hit me in the head with the road map for my life?

I know at the end of the day I need to just trust God and be patient in Him. But today has just been one of those days that I needed to vent, and my patience has run out…..

This sold like millions at the time and still is hailed as a landmark in the field of rock music. It made these guys. They drew millions to their concerts. It was the craze. Or so I guess.

When I heard this the first time, way back in 2005, I had only a vague idea of all that. All I knew was all I had heard. All I heard, was a hard rock band, with the loud guitars and booming drums, 4/4 time, and it was fun. It was fun listening to this on the school bus and feeling cocky and manly and rough. This is great fun for high school kids and college students. Its hard rock man!!! This is the kind of music you put on loud, it is the definition of rock’n’roll man. Easy to understand, cock rock riffs. Yay!!

Of course, as an album, it’s not very good. This is not meant to be heard while sitting down or reading something. It’s not meant to be heard as an album in the first place. But then 90% of the albums are not meant to be heard in one sitting. This is an album which is meant for big arenas, parties, for the times when you feel like jumping up and down banging your head and imagining yourself singing these songs surrounded by an admiring crowd who think you are so cool, and of course you imagine that that sexy girl whom you have got a crush on is in the crowd too, watching you holding your guitar and singing “Welcome To the “JUNGLE”, We have what you need, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!” Of course, when the songs ends you come back to the painful realization that you are sitting in your room, the songs are playing on your speakers, you don’t have a guitar, and more importantly, even if you had one, you wouldn’t know how to play it.

So a big yay for fantasies!! Its what I listen to rock music for!!!

This album is all about the song, “Welcome to the Jungle”, which comes very high in my list of memorable, top notch hard rock songs. Aww, that is an all time classic. It’s the song that G’n’R should be remembered by, and I assure you, nothing they ever did after this matches this song in its cockishness, meanness, horniness, catchiness, oh my goodness!! This is their artistic peak, their Mona Lisa. When we first heard this one, me and my friend used to argue about the meaning of the song. I said it was about urban America and he said that it was about oral sex.

Ok, it was the other way around. I am the dirty one. But cmon, “welcome to the jungle”?

Apart from that hormones increasing, brain buster of an opener, the main treat they have for us is the pseudo-ballad, rock radio staple, “Sweet Child o’ Mine”. This is a song that is known even by people who do not hear rock…..its that famous and iconic. And that great. The opening lines are very emotional after all, and instantly connect with the listeners, and are sung in a very heart felt manner by that ass, Axl Rose, who later became obsessed with November Rain type balladry and therefore degenerated into a prick who think that people want to hear him. Well, Axl, this album is almost the last time that you were decent. You hear that, rock star?

As for the rest of the album, yes some of the songs are decent, “Mr Brownstone”, “Paradise City”, “Nightrain” all kick some ass, and are fun, but my oh my, is this album, and the band , overrated or what? The album fails to grab my attention all the way through and the riffs grow old very quickly , and the clichés all grow old, so after some time apart from “Welcome to the Jungle” , you won’t find any song in my playlist, or in my “all time great” list for that matter.

It doesn’t sound all that right, but the good songs, yes they sound very right.

Baba T

Nun ' n 'Moses everybody!!!

Nada como um pouco de nostalgia, ainda mais quando a gente sabe que boa parte do melhor do rock ficou para trás.

Então, para inaugurar essa sessão, vamos conferir o clipe dos Guns’n'Roses que se tornou clássico: o épico November Rain.

Hai, ca merita si blogul asta niste GnR.

Twitter is great for generating business but it’s main attraction is for you to connect with the people who inspire you. I found out from @SlashHudson (lead guitarist of Guns’n'Roses) that Les Paul (the man who invented the guitar Slash plays) died today. This was Slash the man who brought the Gibson Les Paul sound to a whole new global audience with his intro of Sweet Child O’ Mine telling me that the man who was responsible for his guitar sound was dead. That rocks! And obviously I found from him before it broke on the rest of the news. Awesome.

Here’s Les Paul with my mate Graham Parker Luthier:

Sure seemed like Art Alexakis and company would take over the world at the turn of the Millenium. Everclear had just come off two popular albums in Sparkle And Fade and So Much For The Afterglow and ambitiously slated two CDs in rapid succession for 2000, despite the odds – neither Bruce Springsteen nor Guns’N'Roses was able to turn that parlor trick into success. But no one ever called Art Alexakis shy…at least not as an adult. Hence the first (and better of the two) salvo, Songs From An American Movie Volume One.

Everclear is still around – the website has been recently revitalized – but the creation of new music has slowed to a crawl. In 2008 there was an album of covers, and they are currently working on re-recording old hits and fan favorites for a 2009 project titled In A Different Light. But back in 2000, Everclear was on top of it all. Here’s my original thoughts about that classic effort nine years ago…

Little pink houses for you and me

Subtitled Learning How To Smile, the first of two Everclear disks slated for 2000 finds Art Alexakis on the rebound and channeling it into his music. Although if I were a label guy, the entire Everclear catalogue could be gathered in a boxed set called More Songs About Depression And Reality. Alexakis now seems to see the silver lining in his personal clouds and equates this optimism with recollections (or yearnings for) youthful innocence and the simple joys of life, like AM radio. And if the “American Gothic” cover pose doesn’t clue you in, the lyrics certainly hammer the point home.

The song “AM Radio” opens with an aircheck and features some peppered period dialogue, a sample of the old hit “Mr. Big Stuff”, and a refrain that will put a smile on your face (“I like pop/I like soul/I like rock/But I never liked disco.”). The last note segues into a loose and funky cover of Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl”; a not so subtle reminder that radio used to be the land of classic pop music of all types, not today’s demographically segregated offerings (FM) and shock-jock talk babble (AM). As the song fades, Alexakis adds his own coda – “sing along when I hear it on the radio now..”.

Several of Art’s new songs offer cautionary promises within their supposed optimism. In “Learning How To Smile” Art says tells the girl that he will “never let them break your heart” and that “life just keeps getting smaller and we never ask why”. “Unemployed Boyfriend” finds Art promising that he “will never be like those other guys”, and in the song to his daughter (“Annabella’s Song”) his repetitive chorus reassures her that “you are never alone”. The over-the-top strings on the last track make it sound like the soundtrack from an old afternoon movie; perhaps metaphorically a pointer back to simpler times when family life was far less complicated and seemingly much more secure.

Alexakis explored his personal history (broken home) on the last record with songs like “Father Of Mine”, and spends much of his time away from music campaigning against deadbeat dads. Recently divorced, he dives into his angst again with “Wonderful”, which sounds like the type of song that would be all smiles, but is anything but. Speaking from the perspective of a child (young Art, now also his daughter), he longs for “my life to be the same just like it used to be” and pleads “please don’t tell me that everything is wonderful now”.

Many of Alexakis’ songs sound like branches from the same root, as his lyrics often have a similar cadence. But where So Much For The Afterglow sounded like variations on the same demo song, here the diversity of his production approach yields much greater results. The pseudo hip-hop beat and na-na-na chorus on “Wonderful” and “Here We Go Again” are infectious as hell, and Songs From An American Movie is littered with hooks. As much as Art’s public persona can seem to be a little overbearing at times, with every record he proves that he is one hell of a songwriter. We are a long way from “Santa Monica”, Toto.

Weltweit gibt es Millionen von Simpsons-Fans und ich gehöre dazu. Fast täglich genieße ich es mich vom tollpatschigen Homer, der wunderbar perfekten Lisa, dem Lausbuben Bart, der liebevollen Marge und der süßen Maggie unterhalten zu lassen. Heute sah ich mir wieder eine Folge an und da stach mir das T-Shirt des verfressenen Comicverkäufers Jeff Albertson ins Auge. Vor allem darum, weil es mich ein wenig verwirrt hat. Auf dem Shirt stand einfach nur CBGB. Habe zum Glück im Internet ein Bild gefunden, um es euch zu zeigen:

Als die witzige Folge zu Ende war, suchte ich im Netz nach diesem Buchstabensalat und wurde schnell fündig. Es handelt sich um den Namen des wohl kultigsten und legendärsten Underground-Clubs in New York!

Aber wie kommt man bitte auf den Namen CBGB? Eigentlich heißt der Schuppen CBGB OMFUG. Schwer auszusprechen, oder?! Man füllt sich dabei als würde man bei einem Buchstabierwettbewerb mitmachen, finde ich. Für was die aneinander gereihten Buchstaben wirklich stehen, kann ich euch verraten -> Country, Bluegrass, Blues and Other Music For Uplifting Gormandizers!

Diesen ungewöhnlichen Namen für einen Club ließ sich 1973 Hilly Kristal einfallen. Schnell wurde über den ausgefallen Nightclub in Manhattan gesprochen, die New Yorker wurden neugierig und entwickelte sich bald zum Szenetreffpunkt von Punk-, Rock- und New Wave-Bands. Sogar Größen wie die „Talking Heads“ traten dort auf und begeisterten die Nachtschwärmer:

Auch “The Ramones” rockten das CBGB:

Kein Wunder also dass dieser Club international bekannt wurde, aber leider stieg die Miete 2006 auf einmal auf 35.ooo$ und konnte von Hilly Kristal nicht mehr finanziert werden, also wurde der Mietvertrag gekündigt. Das letzte Konzert fand am 15.Oktober 2006 statt – Patti Smith erwies dem CBGB OMFUG die letzte Ehre:

Die Hoffnung so schnell wie möglich eine Neueröffnung zu feiern war groß, aber leider erkrankte Hilly an Lungenkrebs und verstarb im August 2007. Wo sonst traten schon “Television”, “The Police”, “Johny Thunders&The Heartbreakers”, “The Ramones”, “Talking Heads”, usw. auf einer Clubstage auf ?! It’s never gonna be the same…Mit der Schließung dieses Szenelokals wurde gleichzeitig ein großen Kapitel der Musikgeschichte beendet. Die Stars lassen den Club allerdings weiterleben, tragen mit Stolz CBGB-T-Shirts und gedenken so dem „Home of the Underground Rock“!

The Kooks

Shakira

Clem Burke von Blondie

Tommy Lee

Madonna

Colin Farrell

Living Colour

Guns’n'Roses

Daniel Radcliffe aka Harry Potter

David Gahan von Depeche Mode

Ja, ja, ja, dieses Shirt ist anscheinend echt kultig, weil sie eben für einen historischen Club stehen. Ich muss zugeben, dass ich jetzt auch ziemlich in das CBGB-Shirt verschossen bin. In Österreich kann man es sogar online bestellen!!!

Revista Sunete nu încetează să ne capteze atenţia prin neatenţia redactorilor sau lipsa de interes a capului limpede pentru informarea corectă a cititorilor.

La rubrica Disc Flash (pagina 26) se prezintă albumele preferate ale unuia dintre componenţii formaţiei care îşi lansează albumul prin revista Sunete.

Luna asta (Sunete, nr. bilunar 60, iulie-august 2009), totul arată frumos la prima vedere. Paginile sunt lăcuite. Culorile sunt vii. Artistul din fotografie este drăguţ.

…

…

DAR, unii chiar încep să citească conţinutul articolului.

… şi Stoi de la EMIL ne prezintă 17 albume …

PROBLEME.

• În coloana 1 şi coloana 3 sunt prezentate două albume diferite Guns’n'Roses (Use Your Illusion, Appetite for Destruction), ilustrate prin aceeaşi copertă (Use Your Illusion).
• În coloana 1 şi coloana 3 sunt prezentate două albume diferite Green Day (Dookie, American Idiot), ilustrate prin aceeaşi copertă (Dookie).

Believe it or not!

Probabil persoana de la revista Sunete care a compilat textul cu pozele pentru articol crede că fiecare artist scoate un singur album … pentru că acea persoană şi-a adunat acasă o colecţie doar de Best of-uri cu artiştii străini!