Ronnie James Dio passed away yesterday at the age of 67 after a long battle with stomach cancer.
He finally faced a dragon too strong to slay on his own.
I have been a hardcore Dio fan since I first heard Black Sabbath's HEAVEN AND HELL in 1984. Some things about your teenage years will never be forgotten. I had an older friend named Rocky who lived a couple blocks from me who seemed to have the coolest music collection I had ever seen. He had everything Dio recorded. Elf, Rainbow, Sabbath, solo stuff. I will seriously never forget tooling around our neighborhood in his Gran Torino cranking "Neon Knights" on his cassette deck. I had never heard non-Ozzy Sabbath before and from then on I stayed neutral in the "Ozzy or Dio" campaigning that went on in my school.
I simply thought they both rocked.
RJD pretty much invented a style of heavy metal. It was serious but never too serious. It was fantasy without becoming whimsical. It was heavy and operatically tinged without becoming overblown and crossing over into ELP or YES territory, not that there is anything wrong with that. Whether working with Tony Iommi, Ritchie Blackmore or the half-dozen guitarists in his own band, his voice soared around these bold, metallic guitar riffs and it just carried the song into a separate dimension.
It is safe to say that any person fronting a metal band today owes a debt of gratitude to Dio for what they do. He commanded every stage he took and he never looked out of his element or lost. He always appeared gracious and truly thankful with the fans at the shows. I caught him at the height of his powers in 1984, at a rather lower point in his career in the late Nineties, and once more in 2007 during his triumphant but ultimately final lap fronting Heaven And Hell. The man owned the show and held the fans in his palm. He never phoned it in. He never lost his touch. He never said "Fuck the fans" by not giving us what we wanted. No matter what year you saw him, you bought your ticket knowing you were gonna rock out to Heaven And Hell or Long Live Rock N Roll or Rainbow In The Dark or Last In Line.
He was all class. He is already sorely missed.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
TOP TEN SONGS I CAN DIE HAPPILY WITHOUT EVER HEARING AGAIN....
Maybe it's just from going to see too many cover bands and lounge artists.
Maybe it's just from listening to the radio at work for too many years.
Maybe it's just from spending too many years slumped over in a booth at titty bars.
But I have got to say something.
To my musician friends, DJ friends, and my party friends.
We all love music. We all love to dance and rock out and get our party on.
But, for the love of God, please stop torturing me with your incessant requesting of, wasting your hard-earned jukebox money on, or drunken karaoke-ing the list of songs I am about to present to you.
The following songs MUST be put on some type of moratorium. You have officially played these bitches out.
In order:
10.Closer (Nine Inch Nails)-- this entry may just apply to strippers. It was really cool and edgy when you would grind to this in 1994. Now you might as well play "Tequila" for me and dance like Pee Wee Herman. I can't dig on this one anymore. I apologize to all those desperate Goth girls in their forties reading this. I hope this won't depress you more.
9.Sweet Home Alabama (Lynyrd Skynyrd)-- I honestly love Skynyrd a lot more than I let on but, seriously, if I get trapped in one more Coyote Ugly vibe bar surrounded by goofy sloppy bitches with cowboy hats on, it's gonna be Dukes Of Hazzard meets Columbine up in this motherfucker!!! PS. To that drunk guy who can't hold his Heineken, the "Play Some Skynyrd" line you love to yell out died on the plane with them in 77.
(Although I gotta admit, Billy Powell's piano solo at the end rocks..)
8. Enter Sandman (Metallica)-- I am primarily just burnt out on The Black Album entirely. Plus, I can think of so many other Metallica songs that will never get old (Creeping Death, The Thing That Should Not Be) that I just have a hard time fathoming why so many people insist on shoving this one down my throat after nearly twenty years.
7. Love Shack (B52s)-- Maybe I've wasted too many hours of my life at karaoke bars and parties and this song has got to be the reason why I stopped. Drunk girls who can't handle their Long Island Iced Teas have really made me violently ill when I hear this one nowadays.
6. Summer Nights (Grease Soundtrack)-- see "Love Shack".
5. You Shook Me All Night Long (AC/DC)-- I, like 30 million other people, played Back In Black so often I had to replace the LP, cassette and CD. But, I just wish I could live in a world where I didn't have to hear this song from a band or a jukebox when I go out.
4. Pour Some Sugar On Me (Def Leppard)--Unlike You Shook Me All Night Long, I don't think I ever liked this song. Hearing it regularly in the year 2010 has not endeared it to me yet. I actually would rather go driving with Def Leppard's drummer behind the wheel.
3. Don't Stop Believin' (Journey)-- the sudden resurgence of this song just makes me more irritated with the Sopranos finale every time I hear it, which lately is too often.
2. Sweet Child O Mine (Guns N Roses)-- like the AC/DC story, I wore out my copies of the Appetite For Destruction album when it first dropped. I just noticed now that I have heard this song so many times I realize it's way too fucking long. I mean it just seems to take forever to end. And again, with the passage of time, I don't know why everyone climbed on to this song and not Nighttrain or Used To Love Her, but then I can't explain why people watch Two And A Half Men, either.
1. You Give Love A Bad Name (Bon Jovi)-- Please. I can't even feel dread or pain or anything when I hear this one anymore. It's just reached such an apex of crappiness for me it defies explanation.
I need to go take a long relaxing bath now. This list just made me feel really douchey.
Maybe it's just from listening to the radio at work for too many years.
Maybe it's just from spending too many years slumped over in a booth at titty bars.
But I have got to say something.
To my musician friends, DJ friends, and my party friends.
We all love music. We all love to dance and rock out and get our party on.
But, for the love of God, please stop torturing me with your incessant requesting of, wasting your hard-earned jukebox money on, or drunken karaoke-ing the list of songs I am about to present to you.
The following songs MUST be put on some type of moratorium. You have officially played these bitches out.
In order:
10.Closer (Nine Inch Nails)-- this entry may just apply to strippers. It was really cool and edgy when you would grind to this in 1994. Now you might as well play "Tequila" for me and dance like Pee Wee Herman. I can't dig on this one anymore. I apologize to all those desperate Goth girls in their forties reading this. I hope this won't depress you more.
9.Sweet Home Alabama (Lynyrd Skynyrd)-- I honestly love Skynyrd a lot more than I let on but, seriously, if I get trapped in one more Coyote Ugly vibe bar surrounded by goofy sloppy bitches with cowboy hats on, it's gonna be Dukes Of Hazzard meets Columbine up in this motherfucker!!! PS. To that drunk guy who can't hold his Heineken, the "Play Some Skynyrd" line you love to yell out died on the plane with them in 77.
(Although I gotta admit, Billy Powell's piano solo at the end rocks..)
8. Enter Sandman (Metallica)-- I am primarily just burnt out on The Black Album entirely. Plus, I can think of so many other Metallica songs that will never get old (Creeping Death, The Thing That Should Not Be) that I just have a hard time fathoming why so many people insist on shoving this one down my throat after nearly twenty years.
7. Love Shack (B52s)-- Maybe I've wasted too many hours of my life at karaoke bars and parties and this song has got to be the reason why I stopped. Drunk girls who can't handle their Long Island Iced Teas have really made me violently ill when I hear this one nowadays.
6. Summer Nights (Grease Soundtrack)-- see "Love Shack".
5. You Shook Me All Night Long (AC/DC)-- I, like 30 million other people, played Back In Black so often I had to replace the LP, cassette and CD. But, I just wish I could live in a world where I didn't have to hear this song from a band or a jukebox when I go out.
4. Pour Some Sugar On Me (Def Leppard)--Unlike You Shook Me All Night Long, I don't think I ever liked this song. Hearing it regularly in the year 2010 has not endeared it to me yet. I actually would rather go driving with Def Leppard's drummer behind the wheel.
3. Don't Stop Believin' (Journey)-- the sudden resurgence of this song just makes me more irritated with the Sopranos finale every time I hear it, which lately is too often.
2. Sweet Child O Mine (Guns N Roses)-- like the AC/DC story, I wore out my copies of the Appetite For Destruction album when it first dropped. I just noticed now that I have heard this song so many times I realize it's way too fucking long. I mean it just seems to take forever to end. And again, with the passage of time, I don't know why everyone climbed on to this song and not Nighttrain or Used To Love Her, but then I can't explain why people watch Two And A Half Men, either.
1. You Give Love A Bad Name (Bon Jovi)-- Please. I can't even feel dread or pain or anything when I hear this one anymore. It's just reached such an apex of crappiness for me it defies explanation.
I need to go take a long relaxing bath now. This list just made me feel really douchey.
THE RUNAWAYS
A couple weeks ago, I got to catch the long-awaited (for me, anyway) biopic on The Runaways, the seminal female punk band who knocked over some very big doors in the late Seventies to little or no acclaim or wealth during their time.
The band, which consisted of Cherie Currie on vocals, Joan Jett and Lita Ford on guitars, Jackie Fox on bass and Sandy West on drums. All the members were in their mid to late teens in 1975 when they were assembled by Kim Fowley, one of rock music's most colorful and bizarre songwriter/producer/mogul types. None of these girls had ever played music for very long, and the movie shows the struggles they faced writing songs, performing them, and getting any interest or respect from their peers.
The Runaways recorded several albums and toured The U.S. and Japan for several years, with just minor success along the way, but nothing to cement their status enough to insure a very bright future. On top of that, the movie shows that they were not managed very well by Fowley, who was extremely abusive and manipulative towards them, and because of their youth and lack of experience, the girls were not emotionally prepared for the lifestyle that comes with being in a rock and roll band.
The movie marks the writing and feature film debut of Floria Sigismondi, who has directed some remarkable videos for the likes of Marilyn Manson and The Cure. The visuals are stunning at times and there was an intangible Seventies feel captured in this movie. I also greatly enjoyed the placement of the music, particularly The Stooges "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and David Bowie's "Lady Grinning Soul".
My regret is that the script, Sigismondi's first, is just not that great. The lines are rather pedestrian, as is the pacing of the events. I also was unhappy with its portrayal of Cherie Currie, whose biography the script was derived from. Although Dakota Fanning did a fine job in her acting, Cherie's character just comes off as rather emotionless and dull. Kristen Stewart did slightly better as Joan Jett, surprising when you consider that Stewart has based an entire career on playing dull and flat characters. The real star of this film is Michael Shannon as Fowley. He is psychotic, flamboyant and every bit as manic as I imagined the real man to be, and I actually regret this movie was not about his life instead.
I won't place The Runaways up there with the truly inspirational Music Biopics like Walk The Line or The Buddy Holly Story. Hell, I didn't even think it was as good as Ray or The Doors, unfortunately. It won't leave you with any newfound appreciation for the band members and their struggles, but if you want to feel like you are back in the late 70s for an hour and a half but can't stomach the thought of watching KISS Meets The Phantom for the 132nd time, give this one a try.
PS. This movie did reaffirm my appreciation for Suzi Quatro. She was a real badass and WAY ahead of her time.
The band, which consisted of Cherie Currie on vocals, Joan Jett and Lita Ford on guitars, Jackie Fox on bass and Sandy West on drums. All the members were in their mid to late teens in 1975 when they were assembled by Kim Fowley, one of rock music's most colorful and bizarre songwriter/producer/mogul types. None of these girls had ever played music for very long, and the movie shows the struggles they faced writing songs, performing them, and getting any interest or respect from their peers.
The Runaways recorded several albums and toured The U.S. and Japan for several years, with just minor success along the way, but nothing to cement their status enough to insure a very bright future. On top of that, the movie shows that they were not managed very well by Fowley, who was extremely abusive and manipulative towards them, and because of their youth and lack of experience, the girls were not emotionally prepared for the lifestyle that comes with being in a rock and roll band.
The movie marks the writing and feature film debut of Floria Sigismondi, who has directed some remarkable videos for the likes of Marilyn Manson and The Cure. The visuals are stunning at times and there was an intangible Seventies feel captured in this movie. I also greatly enjoyed the placement of the music, particularly The Stooges "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and David Bowie's "Lady Grinning Soul".
My regret is that the script, Sigismondi's first, is just not that great. The lines are rather pedestrian, as is the pacing of the events. I also was unhappy with its portrayal of Cherie Currie, whose biography the script was derived from. Although Dakota Fanning did a fine job in her acting, Cherie's character just comes off as rather emotionless and dull. Kristen Stewart did slightly better as Joan Jett, surprising when you consider that Stewart has based an entire career on playing dull and flat characters. The real star of this film is Michael Shannon as Fowley. He is psychotic, flamboyant and every bit as manic as I imagined the real man to be, and I actually regret this movie was not about his life instead.
I won't place The Runaways up there with the truly inspirational Music Biopics like Walk The Line or The Buddy Holly Story. Hell, I didn't even think it was as good as Ray or The Doors, unfortunately. It won't leave you with any newfound appreciation for the band members and their struggles, but if you want to feel like you are back in the late 70s for an hour and a half but can't stomach the thought of watching KISS Meets The Phantom for the 132nd time, give this one a try.
PS. This movie did reaffirm my appreciation for Suzi Quatro. She was a real badass and WAY ahead of her time.
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