The Song Blog

The Darkness, a band you will love or hate. I personally love the band. Their new release “One Way Ticket to Hell…And Back” rocks!. The Darkness reminds me of all the big hair, glam rock bands of the 80’s and 90’s. Some of those old bastards are still hanging on to their “stage”, Bret Micheals [ Bret shot at…MTV.com ] of Poison and Jon Bon Jovi of (of course) Bon Jovi [ Surprise Entry on Country Charts…AOL Music ].

So yeah, they remind me of glam rockers but that doesn’t mean they suck! like glam rockers. Actually, their sound is very ecletic and infectious with head banging riffs and solo’s. Sure they’re like the classic ballads, but the lyrics remind me of quirky bands like Weezer.

A power ballad about cafeteria workers’ wobbly appendages? A five-and-a-half minute hair metal melange? An anti-cocaine glam rock anthem? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s all included in your “One Way Ticket to Hell … And Back,” the sophomore CD from The Darkness, a ragtag band of English lads who throw light on irony with the rockstar flash of Queen and multifaceted panache of Led Zeppelin.
[ Review: the Darkness’ ‘One Way Ticket …’ 11/28/2005 12:08 PM, AP Derrik J. Lang ] [ Yahoo! Music ]

So if the glam rockers of the 80’s would have expanded their talents from power chords and porn chicks rubbin poles, The Darkness would be it. So, have I got you hooked? That is why I stick by my statement “The Darkness, a band you will love or hate” holds true. When you describe them, they sound lame. I thought this when I heard about “One Way Ticket” because I had down loaded what ever I could when I first heard their song “I believe in a thing called love” and I thought they were a one hit joke. But that is what a close minded person would do. Instead I went to AOL Music and listened to the whole disc. This is my third time in the two days since it’s release, and I still rock with it.

Read another opinion.

Darkness More Concerned About Hair Loss Than Coldplay, James Blunt

Flamboyant band addresses male-pattern baldness on new LP, denies tabloid rumors.
[ by James Montgomery ] [ via VH1.com ]

TSB Sounds Like

[ Garageband.com ]
15 Tickets to Live : “Growing Up is Hard (But it’s not that bad)”
Disposition of : “Breathe” or “Broken Future”
7″ Rockers : “Seventeen”
Crush : “Make Me Feel (Alive)”

Does it matter that David Ludwig — the 18-year-old alleged killer of his 14-year-old girlfriend’s parents — was a huge fan of hardcore Christian rock? [ Salon.com by Daniel Radosh ]

Nov. 24, 2005 | On the night of Oct. 6, David Ludwig, 18, and his 14-year-old girlfriend, Kara Beth Borden, went to church. There was no sermon, though — at least not a traditional one. David and Kara were at the Lancaster Bible Church in Manheim, Penn., for a Christian rock concert. As the punishingly loud guitars of Audio Adrenaline and Pillar strained the limits of the church sound system, the kids screamed and pumped their fists and banged their heads. “Pillar and Audio A rock my face off!” David wrote on his blog the next day. Kara spent almost all the money in her pocket on a Pillar sweatshirt. She was wearing it the morning of Nov. 13 when, police say, David shot and killed her parents and fled with her at his side.

I don’t know if you are old enough to remember this, but a news magazine did a piece on Metal music. They were linking teenage suicides to the bands they idolized. [ “We’re still looking for the easy answers”By, Anne Hendershott via Libertarianrock.com ]

Public health officials warned about the “epidemic” of teen suicide, and media watchdogs blamed the “demonic” influence of the heavy metal music of the times. ABC’s “20/20″ presented a feature on the link between heavy metal music and teen-age suicide. Indicted in the suicides were Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, and of course, Metallica’s ode to suicide, “Fade to Black.”

Tipper Gore’s Parents Music Resource Center attacked the music industry. The heavy metal music choice of some of the suicide victims was “evidence” of the cause. “Proof” was provided by the fact that one suburban teen in Alsip, Ill., had written down the lyrics to “Fade to Black” before taking her life.

Sure you cannot compare suicide packs to a isolated incident, but will it even be considered? Everyone compares and cannot help to mention the Columbine Massacre when reporting about another school shooting. Even in the case of Columbine, they linked Marylin Manson to their influences.

Doesn’t anyone else think that Christian Rock is hypocritical? Supporters and listeners would tell you it is a way to reach teens that would not be touched by the word of god otherwise. Isn’t it exploitation in the name of God? That breaks a commandment, “Though shall not worship any other God”. Idolizing and looking to a corporate created band for guidance could definitely be perceived as worship.

The argument is much deeper for me personally, and not one that should be played out here, but if you would like to…leave a comment supporting your blind faith!

Songs by Pillar - take the time to listen, you will notice a copycat vibe of a Pop Metal band.Fireproof is a full track sample.

TSB Sounds Like [ Garageband.com ]
The Hollow: “So Glad We Met” , “Mother Was a Man”
Octane 69 : “Resolution” , “My Sacrifice”
Krank : “Carry On” , “Erased”

When I am older, will I still be able to perform? Whether you use Viagra or a more natural remedy like tiger penis, your junk probably can’t stand as tall as Rod Stewart’s. Sticking with the staying power theme, maybe buying your way in would work. Whether you have a juicy ass or a political agenda, you still need a little help from the man.

TSB Sounds Like [ Garageband.com ]
1047 “Innocent Bystandard”
Mr. Brown’s Talent Show “Girls of NYC”

John Mayer, and Trio is performing on Network Live from AOL Music. The intimate show is to promote his new album TRY!

This Thanksgiving I am grateful for the Internet, Streaming Video, AOL Music, and the time me and my 4yr old daughter spent watching the concert.

The most under appreciated day…Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Before they took the stage there was an interview, you didn’t hear the questions, just the answers. John Mayer responded to a question like, “John why did you decide to make an album like this?” [paraphrasing]

If you are a fan, you are a fan of the IPO. Following them from the clubs to the arenas. Once you reach a certain height, fans stop following. When I won two Grammy’s for Daughters, my fans said, John is up there now, we can’t take him any higher.

I believe John was trying to explain the fact that he was not taking a step backward, but growing as a musician. He was playing music now that he loves even more, the blues. If you don’t pick up on this you should not be crossing the street without assistance.

This (John Mayer Trio) is music that the fans want hear, but they don’t know that it is what they want to hear next.

Listening to TRY! is like experiencing a kid passed his puberty and is going the way of Stevie Ray Vaughan(not the death thing) or Eric Clapton. Heavier Things and Room for Squares, pop albums, little girly boy. Then he made TRY!, blues, testicles dropped, maturity and a love streaming through his voice and connecting to his guitar work. While watching this streaming video you can see the emotion in his face (he has always made constipated faces when he plays) and confidence at the microphone.

I wanted to make sure to gain the middle age, balding, 50 year olds…I nailed it….now I just offended the owner of AOL…

Let me qualify by saying I bought both the Heavier Things and Room for Squares disc’s because of what I heard form the Pop 40 hits. It is just that what I see, hear, and heard on the TRY! album is even more emotion. The kind of emotion, that makes YOU feel the music! I mean, he got my 4yr. old daughter up and dancing. She asked, “They are there to see this one guy sing so many songs? don’t other get to play?”

Right now John is sticking it to the man by sitting on the floor of the stage playing a drifting guitar solo. He then directs Steve to build up the drums and then asks Pino to build up a funky base line.

Now a voice tape comes on…we would like to apologize for the esoteric nature of that last song..John will play Daughters so please stay tuned…hurry go to the Jack Johnson tapes he is sitting in front of his pedals, go to the Jack Johnson tapes…

You must, even if you are not a John Mayer fan go and buy this disc!

Lindsay Lohan made her debut singing live on T.V.. Every bit as bad as Ashlee Simpson’s debut on Saturday Night Live.

Lindsay CAN NOT SING!

She began the song live, without a voice track underneath her own voice. Did not even make it through the first verse, there it was, obvious as night and day, voice track backup. Every once in awhile she would strike an off key and you could pick up the difference.

The should have dubbed it as Karaoke Night at the AMA’s!

I hope Lindsay was drunk…
She probably should’ve stayed at Disney.

As a band looking for it’s sound, you are tempted to sound like the bands you idolize. You may play one or two of their songs to get a crowd interested or keep their interest. So why would you try to make a career out of being a worse copy of a mediocre band? The crap copies I know of, or at least that I’ve heard of are Miseryand the KissNation. So do you appreciate a song remade, remixed, or covered? Some are fun, and I know there are a million, but I didn’t hear a million, I heard these in the last 3 days.

Cake’s Cover of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” is played in the same time and tempo and that is where the similarities stop. Instead of a womans voice and soul, they replaced it Cake style. Cakes taste will last longer than a Limp Bizkit. When LB needed to fire up a crowd they had to ask permission from George Michael. Limp Bizkit took “Faith” and added the testosterone needed to start a mosh pit. Another fun and easily recognizable cover would be Alien Ant Farm“Smooth Criminal“. They tried to make M.J. proud by staying true to the chirography. Imagine my surprise when I found out Offspring didn’t write “Next to you”. I felt like a bigger boob when I found out it was a Police song. It did seem strangely familiar, and I guess it says a lot about quality work. The lyrics, if you pay attention to such a thing, can make any band sound good.

Eric Clapton performs on the Today Show. He played an acoustical version of “Back Home”[AOL Music] on set. The sound quality was perfect and the Today Show set had it’s lights turned down low to set the mood. Sitting on a stool with a white acoustic guitar, he begins to play and his voice resinates with each note and cord played. It seems as though his voice is coming from the guitar, because it is within perfect tone and pitch no matter which cord he played. I am sure Eric has always played this way, but I had not noticed until I saw him play “Tears in Heaven”, a tribute to his young son. The sound of the album venture far from his latest blues themed discs.

Matt Laurer asked Eric Clapton, “Why make music that isn’t exactly what the people want” (I am paraphrasing so don’t jump down my throat.)

Eric just replied with a simple, “I don’t make what the people want I make the music I am feeling…: (again paraphrasing same disclaimer as above.)

Matt Laurer again comes from outfield with, “What does it say for your industry that people your age, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, are still making music that is so acclaimed…I mean the fact it is not coming from the fray in rock-n-roll now?”

I left scratching my head, and Eric did not really answer the question but if he did, I would hope it would be “Get your head out of your ass Matt, it means we are seasoned and these wet behind the ears Green Day fuckers have along way to go to rise to our level. So don’t start praying to these fuckers because it takes them 8 years to make a album that is good, and happens to be filled with angst of the moment!… So suck on that!” as he throws the chair and flips Matt Laurer off no peaky.

With kids in the house, you don’t exactly get to watch what you want when you want to. Damn you Noggin. When I did get the channel switched I was able to turn it to “I Walk The Line- A Night With Johnny Cash”. I felt duped. If you did catch the special you know what I mean. Returning from each commercial break you saw a scene from the movie “Walk the Line”. Was this really a night dedicated to a influential artist? All I could see was a big and very well packaged product placement.

“Country music legend Johnny Cash will be celebrated in concert by artists who have been profoundly influenced by his unique style and songs…” [CBS]

One performance was quite poor, Jerry Lee Lewis and Kid Rock. The Big Bopper was fine, but when he cued Kid, and Kid began singing, it was low (projection) and out of key. I believe he was frustrated, because the Bopper was playing too fast, or he was signing too slow. Either way the performance lacked emotion or strength.

Norah Jones, was the first performance that you felt as though she wanted to be there. She sang with soul, emotion, and as though she had lived the lyrics Johnny Cash wrote. Norah then introduced Kris Kristofferson, the actor. Kris was quite close to Johnny Cash, he was his janitor for a year. He recalled pushing every song he wrote on to Johnny. When they did collaborate, they created an album that won Album of the Year. That is when he said

“I never had to work a normal job for the rest of my life.”

That album was “Sunday Morning Coming Down”. Kris performed a song with Norah, but showed even more of his talent while performing with The Foo Fighters. Kris performed playing the harmonica and the guitar at the same time.

Basically the show was a hack job and there is more thought putting together an award show. The booking of some of the performers made no sense, especially when you get the feeling they were signing the song for the first time. No one could sum up Johnny Cash better than…

“There’s qualities about that gangsta rappers like to put within themselves. Cash was somebody special in the game.” [Snoop Dogg and Walk the Line Movie site]

Listen to the Walk The Line Soundtrack for FREE! [AOL Music]

November 16, 2005

To Our Valued Customers:

You may be aware of the recent attention given to the XCP content protection software included on some SONY BMG CDs. This software was provided to us by a third-party vendor, First4Internet. Discussion has centered on security concerns raised about the use of CDs containing this software.

We share the concerns of consumers regarding these discs, and we are instituting a program that will allow consumers to exchange any CD with XCP software for the same CD without copy protection. We also have asked our retail partners to remove all unsold CDs with XCP software from their store shelves and inventory. Please click here for exchange program details.

We deeply regret any inconvenience this may cause our customers and we are committed to making this situation right. It is important to note that the issues regarding these discs exist only when they are played on computers, not on conventional, non-computer-based CD and/or DVD players.

Our new initiatives follow the measures we have already taken, including last week’s voluntary suspension of the manufacture of CDs with the XCP software. In addition, to address security concerns, we provided to major software and anti-virus companies a software update, which also may be downloaded at http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/english/updates.html. We will shortly provide a simplified and secure procedure to uninstall the XCP software if it resides on your computer.

Ultimately, the experience of consumers is our primary concern, and our goal is to help bring our artists’ music to as broad an audience as possible. Going forward, we will continue to identify new ways to meet demands for flexibility in how you and other consumers listen to music.[Sony BMG press release]

List of the CD Titles with the Root Kits. Do you think these are all the titles?

WARNING:This CD Contains “Extended Content”

That’s right kids, this should be a WARNING label. Flip over that CD…is it from Sony/BMG label? YES!…set it down, walk away, and go home to download the disk. Have you ever heard of DRM? I have, but all I understand (care to) is it writes code on to your computer. The code will write in a time limit or verification id to a MP3 or the new Windows OS. In the case of your CD, play it on a Windows system and it will install a “Root Kit”. You will get the usual EULA and ask, “can we install this easily removable software on to your hard drive?” When actually it is modifying your kernel with this Root Kit. Sony/BMG didn’t stop there though, it will also scan your disk 8 times a second (? slows your system to a crawl) and then communicates back to the mother ship. Sending information concerning how many times you have listened to the disk, or songs on the disk, along with your system information.

So do you feel like you have just been anally raped by the Bill of Rights?
Are you going to be purchasing a Sony/BMG disc?
Do you still feel like downloading songs legally or illegally?

How discovered this tidbit:
twit
sysinternals