Wednesday, January 6, 2016

GnR Rumors to Return

So Guns n Roses are "confirmed" to reunite at Coachella. I put "confirmed" in quotes because this is GnR so it's a crap shoot that it actually happens. I would bet it will, because there is a shitload of money at stake and even Axl has to appreciate that. But again maybe not.

I for one won't be going to Coachella to see this. Nor would I pay the astronomical price a ticket to the show would cost once they go on tour. Again, assuming they do. It's Axl and it's Slash and it's Duff, so that makes the reunion. Matt Sorum on drums is fine; it'd be nice to see Steven Adler, but for me Izzy Stradlin was the secret weapon in GnR. Gilbey Clarke is a good guitarist (his Pawnshop Guitars record is really good) but Izzy really brought that 70s Stones vibe to the band. GnR get lumped in with metal but they are not a metal band. They are a heavy rock band. They wanted to be the Rolling Stones. Izzy is so under-rated as a guitar player and song writer. He's doing his thing now and god bless him.

I got to see Guns n Roses in 1991 in Dallas at Starplex Amphitheater. This was right before the Illusion records came out. I don't remember much from the show except that Axl was late and water bottles and beer bottles were being thrown everywhere and girls were lifting their tops whenever the camera panning the crowd would show them on the big screens. To a 17 year old, it was awesome. Skid Row opened and they were adequate. When GnR hit the stage Axl said "If another bottle hits this stage we walk." Naturally three bottles landed at his feet but happily the band played on and it was a great show.

The thing about GnR is that with Appetite For Destruction they really sounded dangerous.  When the record came out I was listening to Iron Maiden and Metallica and Rush and Pink Floyd and Zeppelin. But GnR sounded so raw, crazy. My brother played me Appetite on tape and it was unlike anything I had heard. I was 13. Dangerous music. That opening riff to "Welcome to the Jungle". What is this?!? "You in the jungle, baby! Yur gonna diiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeee in the JUNGLE!!!" This sounded real and heavy.

Appetite still stands up today. Every song is great. "Pretty Tied Up" is the weakest track because it's lyrically dumb, but at least it fits the record. "Paradise City" might be my LEAST favorite track on that record, just because it's overplayed. "Mr Brownstone", "My Michelle", "Rocket Queen." FUCK! Those songs are just killer.

I'm not going to see them though. I wish I could have seen them in 87 or 88 but I saw them in 91 with Izzy and that is good enough for me. It won't be the same. Maybe it will be great. I was totally wrong about the Zeppelin Celebration Day reunion show. Maybe I will be wrong here. But GnR have a lot of baggage, and Axl just doesn't sound the same.  I hope it goes well for them, because I hope the people who do go and were too young to see them at the top have a great time. Plus I am old and cranky and am tired of big stadium shows.

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Favorite Non-Heavy Records of 2015

Yesterday was the heavy records, meaning metal, stoner rock, doom,  psychedelic, etc etc. Today I am going to do the comparatively mellower stuff. So this will be power pop, indie rock, alt country and that sort of thing.

The way I cull these down to ten is by thinking "If I could only listen to ten from 2015, which would they be?" So with that as the basis I narrow it down. I'd rather have this than that, even though I really like that.

Again, no order to these. Scratch that. My #1 of the album actually isn't on the list, because it is my band Braddock Station Garrison's album: A Hint of Recognition. Shameless self promotion. In fact, unlike the other list, these are bands that I would love to open for. In fact, we have played with one of them before!

The Dark Beautiful Sun by William Duke: Jangle-pop goodness. Has a real Byrds' flavor, if they stuck to playing their poppy stuff. Opening track "The Golden Ring" has a tempo change in the middle that I swear I am going to steal.

1989 by Ryan Adams: Sure, it is his Taylor Swift cover album, but that doesn't stop it from being amazingly good. I have a lot of respect for Taylor Swift. This album shows that she is a good song-writer; a cover can be well done and interesting, but the song needs to be strong or the whole thing falls apart. Ryan just puts his stamp on each of the songs, and it works. When Taylor decides to record a stripped down record, Ryan Adams should be behind the board.

Laugh In The Dark by Tommy Keene: I took my guitar player Tom to see him at Iota and he was impressed. The song-writing is just a clinic. Every track, both old and new, was fantastic. Tommy's new record is more of the same. Just great power pop songs, perfectly written and executed. I tried desperately to get on the bill when he played Iota, but to no avail.

Parking Lot Regrets by The Silverites: Disclaimer, these guys are friends. But that doesn't stop them from making the list. Again, great melodic, smart power pop songs.  Out of all the bands we play with, they are the ones I hate to follow, because it is damn hard to be as good as they were. That said, I will play with them any time, any where.

Lessons From A Shooting Star by Rene Bo: I heard this guy on a Swedish power-pop podcast that my band was honored to be included on. The thing about power-pop is that when it's done well, it really affects me musically. It makes me want to pick up a guitar and play, and write, and borrow. HA! And hearing this makes me want to write songs.

Monterey Canyon by John McAteer and Gentleman Firesnakes: Disclaimer 2, John is a friend from high school. And if his band ever got out of Little Rock and played DC I would beg to play with them. This record has a bunch more keyboards on it; has a positive 80s vibe to it.  John has a very strong vocal style that works very well with the songs. And the songs, they are great!

Earthquakes & Tidal Waves by Dot Dash: Another local band that I think are just great. These guys have an edge to them more than the others, power-pop mixed with punk in a good way, not in a cheesy Green Day way. They were the other band on the bill with Tommy Keene I was desperate to get on to, to no avail.

Kintsugi by Death Cab For Cutie: Knowing that Ben Gibbard broke up with Zooey Deschanel, you can hear where that seeps into the songs.  When it was about to come out, I read interviews where he said this would be a different DCFC album and fans might not dig it. That is true, but if you don't like it, then you really aren't interested in seeing the band evolve. It's not a drastic evolution; it feels natural for them.

California Nights by Best Coast: This record I was most torn about putting on my list, because it is very simple lyrically.  One of the things I like about the other records is that they are all smart. Clever. That isn't happening here, and that is not meant to be a swipe at them. It is what it is. But the music and the melodies and the performances are fantastic. I keep coming back to this record because it's great to listen too.

The Traveler by Rhett Miller: This record was the last to make the list and had to fight it's way out of a very good crop. But Rhett always does great stuff. Another of his power-pop records he gets to make when not with the Old 97s. It's more of that and it's just plain good.

Friday, January 1, 2016

Favorite Heavy Records of 2015

Wow! Not a single post in 2015. That is sad. As my second resolution for 2016, I will write more often. Let's set a goal of at least once a week.

For my first entry of the year, I will list my favorite heavy records of 2015. I decided to break my list into two because a) it gives me an opportunity to write two lists; and b) while I think good music is good music, I am also somewhat nitpick when it comes to genres. So instead of going deep into Best Heavy Rock and Best Metal and Best Power-pop and Best Acoustic-Driven-Singer-Songwriter, I am just going to do heavy and not-heavy.

There's no order to these, except for alphabetical. Which I guess means there is an order. Just not favorite-like.

Purple by Baroness: After nearly killing themselves in a bus crash in the UK, Baroness returns (with a new rhythm section) for their latest LP. What I like about them is that they are an evolving band. They stick to their heavy roots, but they aren't afraid to branch out. This new one does that by incorporating synths alongside their heavy-riff-based muscle. That's a good thing, because it is used really well.

Meliora by Ghost: Papa Emeritus and the Nameless Ghouls return for more Dio-inspired pop-metal. The Satan-worhsiping schtick is still there, but it is so tongue-in-cheek you can't help but chuckle at it. That said the music and the melodies are fantastic. They are not going to "save metal" like some articles I read have suggested, but they are good trashy fun.

Innocence & Decadence by Graveyard: If I was ranking the records by which I liked best, this would probably be number 3 or 4. This is what I call heavy blues rock. It's one of the records I felt my friend Tom would like (and his record collection taps out after 1985...hahaha!) so he got it for Christmas. It has the classic rock sound of the 70s that I think never goes out of style, especially when it is done well.

The Book of Souls by Iron Maiden: Iron Maiden is one of the two dinosaur-bands (the other being Rush) that still make records that are not only worth listening to, but worth coming back to. This would have been #1 on my list. A triple LP (or double CD) and it is a masterpiece, which is really hard to do when you are 40 years into your career and have records like Piece of Mind and The Number of the Beast in your catalogue. This isn't the same old thing; they challenge themselves with long songs, short songs, classic Maiden sounding songs, and boundary pushing prog songs. This is a band that is still at the top of their game. Gave this to my friend Michael for Christmas and he loves it.

Mondo Drag by Mondo Drag: A late fine in 2015 and what a find. If I had discovered it earlier it would have been given as a gift to Tom. More heavy blues with organ work at the front end. Very Deep Purple-ish and that's a compliment. Really excited for their new record in 2016.

Love, Fear and the Time Machine by Riverside: The most progressive of the records here. They remind me of Dream Theater but without the pretension and the show-offy-ness. Or what Pink Floyd would sound like if they gave into their prog side. They are from Poland so that's another reason to like them. How many bands come from Poland!?! It's a bit long but it's worth the commitment.

High Country by The Sword: Austin isn't really known for heavy rock but here is The Sword. Like Baroness these guys are building on their heavy rock base, adding synthesizers to positive effect, no matter what their core fans might say.

Crooked Doors by Royal Thunder: More heavy blues rock, this time with lady on vocals. I like that. We'll get another in a moment. Lots of bands these days have a heavy sound amplified with a female singer and it is a great dynamic. This would be in my top 2 if I was ranking them in more detailed. Maybe I should explain more about heavy-blues-rock: guitar riffs with a fat rhythm section. Not really metal, but definitely close to that.

The Night Creeper by Uncle Acid: Here's an album that was initially a bit of a disappointment but is still in my list. Trick is these guys are such a good band and have such a great sound. Their records sound muddy, though, and that's probably why it took me a while to appreciate this record. That and the packaging, which was supposed to be special edition, sucks: there are fancy pictures and whatnot, but no slip case for it. WTF, Rise Above Records? Anyway, if you miss what Black Sabbath used to sound like, these guys will take good care of you.

Grief's Infernal Flower by Windhand: Pure sludge-stoner-doom metal, heavy and slow and fierce. Another female singer and one of the best around (Dorthia Cottrel...and her acoustic solo record this year is also great). This is another record that took a while for me to appreciate.

Later this weekend I will go through my favorite non-heavy records. That will be more alt-country and power poppy kind of stuff.