Thanks for all the albums-to-listen-to-through-headphones suggestions!

And a couple new readers... yay! Thanks for stopping by.

Well guys, 2009 (and a decade) is coming to a close.

I'm sooooo ready for 2010!!! :)

I'm really excited for concerts in the new year.

I hope to be able to see Carole King & James Taylor, and not gonna lie... these Eagles with Fleetwood Mac tour rumours make me really happy. I will definitely spare a leg to catch that show.

New Year's resolutions? I don't make 'em. Not because I won't keep 'em, but mainly because I'll forget what they were and I would never keep up with the sheet I wrote 'em on.

What about you?

Listen to the Music

I hope all of you guys had a great Christmas with your family and friends!

I had lots of fun and got to see lots of family, so it was great.

I got some really great Sennheiser headphones for Christmas-- I'm one of those people who has never had a decent pair of headphones. I listen to music on my iPod or computer via Apple earbuds. Sad story, right?

My dad came to the rescue though and got me really nice headphones.

I've been listening to some albums with them and haven't realized how many instruments/vocals I hadn't heard before. It's outrageous all the "little" stuff you can hear with a good pair of headphones!

So my question for you: What albums sound particularly awesome through headphones?

An obvious one is The Dark Side of the Moon. My dad also told me to listen to some Robin Trower and Jeff Beck. What else?

Tender Texas Christmas

I'm back, y'all!

I've been listening to this...


(you know you had your awk '80s hair & wardrobe moments, too!)


And drinking some of this...



Bonus: a sweet Christmas card from Linda Lou! She's one of the funniest people ever-- if you're looking for any last minute gift ideas for people, seriously consider Bastard Husband. It's funny, sad and sentimental! You'll love it. Heck, I'm single and know next to nothin' about love, much less marriage and divorce. So if I liked it, you will too!

Lots of family stuff these next few days, so if you don't hear from me...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!

(I'll be back soon though!)

I wanna be home again & feelin' right

Thanks for all of your well wishes on my finals! I think I did just fine and I can't believe I have another semester of college under my belt. Eek!

Road trips are the best. Am I right?!

I freaking love 'em.

T- 15 hours until my best friend/roomie and I hit the road for HOME! Can.not.wait. It's gonna be a nice break.

It takes nine hours to get home. How do we keep ourselves entertained? Jam out, record videos of us singing and dancing (as much as you can while still safely driving, of course!) and take pictures. We're goofballs to the extreme.

Oh, and of course we eat tons of snacks. It's our specialty.

The above-mentioned BFF is a food science major. So I actually eat better at school than I do at home. Which is kinda funny. But I follow her lead (sometimes... most of the time?) on healthy snacks/drinks.

So, with her blessing, here's what will be consumed on that long drive tomorrow:








For me, the driver-- not that I will need any of this because I'll be so happy anyway-- oh yeah, and she didn't give me her blessing on this, but I think that's obvi haha I kinda got addicted to these while studying for finals. Oops?!



And now that I'm nearing the end of typing out this post, I just realized that I'm not on my Wordpress blog! Yikes. I promise this wasn't meant to be a shamless plug! Agh. Sorry, guys.


To try to add some rock and roll in here, here's a song about being home again and feelin' right. :)



Have a great rest of the week, yall!

Happy Birthday to Ted Nugent!

Uncle Ted celebrates his 61st birthday today!

Whether you agree with his politics or not, he's a pretty badass rocker.
Check out this crazy performance of "Cat Scratch Fever" at Cal Jam II (which apparently was THE place to be on March 18, 1978):




And for those of you who like his "tell it like it is" political views... this interview clip is pretty great. Warning: skip if you do not like the 2nd amendment.



"I don't like repeat offenders. I like dead offenders." -- Right on, Ted!

-------------------------

I hope everyone is having a great December so far! Sorry I haven't been around much lately, but I'm workin' on going around to all of yall's blogs and I promise to be back to normal later this week! I've got three finals down, one to go.
Almost there! :o)

Love in Vain

Hope everyone is staying warm with this cold weather (and snow for some of us)!

Just wanted to post this video because I was listening to this song earlier.



Kind of a depressing song to sing at a concert, granted it was only two days after Brian Jones' death.

Go Hyde Park! :)

Back to studying I go... can't wait until these next nine days are over and done with! Until next time...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow :)

This seems very appropriate...





It is chchchillay here! And it's been lightly snowing for the past four hours.

Does the snow know it's in Texas? I think it's as confused as the poor geese were that I heard this morning. They only thought they had flown south for the winter!

Is it snowing where you're at?!

Other random notes:
1. I am really sick of Tiger Woods. He may be the world's "best" golfer, but he's a horrible husband. Hate to tell his wife, but she should've seen all this affair nonsense coming from a mile away. That's what you get when you let your heart win...

2. Why, Ronnie Wood, why? He's looking real bad these days, btw.

My thoughts you can't decode

Thank you all for the postive thoughts! I appreciate it. :)


I'm taking a little break from classic rock-- shame, I know.

Latest obsession? Paramore.

Why?

I honestly have no idea. I've had the very popular Riot! sitting unlistened in my iTunes since January. The other day, I decided to listen to it and after one go through, I promptly downloaded their first album, All We Know Is Falling, and their newest, Brand New Eyes. I've been listening to all three albums on repeat ever since.


Now I usually don't like these types of bands. Anything where the heavy instruments tend to shadow the voices. You might know this as "emo" or "punk"-- y'know what I'm sayin'! But for some reason I really like this band and I'm glad I gave them a chance.

And the lead singer, Hayley Williams, has an amazing voice.


They do a great job with acoustic sets. I highly encourage you to watch this performance of an acoustic version of "Decode"-- if you know anything about Twilight (shame on you if you don't! No, just kidding.), you probably already know about this song.

But for those of you who don't know the song and haven't heard the album version, what do you think after just watching this??

Tis the Season!

Well, it's around midnight here on my last night home. :(
Except I'll be back here in two and a half weeks. :)

However... those two and a half weeks are going to be no fun at all. Studying for finals, taking finals, and trying to finish the semester on a positive & strong note. Boo.

Why is it that time flies when you're having fun and it doesn't fly when you're not having fun?
Lame, right?

Anywho, I hope each of you had a fun and safe Thanksgiving with loved ones.
Holiday season is upon us and I couldn't be happier! I absolutely love this time of year. :)

If I'm not too consistent in the next couple of weeks (heck, have I ever been consistent?), don't think I'm dead and gone. I'm just studying. ;)

I'll try my best to keep up with you guys!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope you have a wonderful day with loved ones.

I've got a lotta lot to be thankful for-- I'm blessed beyond belief. :)

Happy [Belated] Birthday to Joe Walsh!

It's been busy, busy, busy around here. Thanks for all the well wishes, I'm feeling almost 100% back to normal!

I totes forgot about Joe Walsh's 62nd birthday on Friday!!

It's no secret he's not my favorite but nonetheless, he is a great guitarist.

Check out "Walk Away" from 1977 (I think this is a Houston show):


Anyways, if I'm not posting for the next couple of days it's because I'm trying to wrap things up here and then I'm flying home on Tuesday morning! I'll stop in before Thanksgiving though :)

Holiday Road

I first saw this movie when I was like nine or ten-- good thing I didn't know that it was my hubby Lindsey Buckingham singing this song until, like, a year ago. Cool.
Really though, the four Vacation movies with Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo are hilarious!

I wish there was a Thanksgiving Vacation movie. I hate having to wait til December to watch Christmas Vacation!



"I found out long ago,
It's a long way down the holiday road"

I go home for Thanksgiving in one week. This is going to be the slowest week everrr.

I'm currently ill-- pretty sure I have a little cold. I feel fine and all, but my nose is runny, I'm sneezing and coughing. And my eyes are watery. Too bad my mama isn't here to hold her hand to my forehead and give me a near-perfect temperature reading!
Off to go take some NyQuil...

You've Got a Friend x2

Thanks for the kind comments-- I'm glad you guys like the new look! I'm still tweaking things here and there, but I'm happy you like it.

Who else is pumped about the upcoming James Taylor & Carole King tour in 2010!?!

Now, I just saw James Taylor this past May on his Down Home tour, but if the dates are in my favor for this duo, I'm gonna do almost anything to catch a show.
They've only got seven dates so far, but more will be announced soon.

I would love to hear Carole go through all of Tapestry and James go through all of Sweet Baby James.



Anyone see Carole recently in concert? Judging from YouTube videos, her voice sounds almost exactly the same as it did forty years ago. :)

Let's hope for small venues! Do we even want to know what the ticket prices are going to look like? ;)

You like?

Do you guys like my new background/colors? I think it's nice and easy on the eyes. :)

I had to redo my blog list over there --->
So, if I missed you by chance let me know and I will add you!! Hope I got everyone.

Happy birthday to Neil Young today! Not a big fan, but it's better than talking about that silly balloon boy stunt (read: Aerosmith breaking up), right? ;)

I've got nothing for Guest Post Friday tomorrow :( but it was fun while it lasted! Thanks to everyone who wrote and shared their stories. :)

This week is almost over!!! Can I get an "amen"?

1. Alright, it's no secret I'm a chiffonhead but I still rep Christine! Watch this, in all of its amazing quality (I'm so glad Youtube made the video still be of John... he doesn't get enough publicity!):


Apparently I need to look into this "laser disc" business. Anybody know the lowdown on this?

2. Go check out my giveaway!

3. Check out my other, "personal" blog here!

:)

*New/Additional Blog on WordPress

Hi, bloggies!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have started up a "personal" blog over on WordPress.

I'm still keeping up with this blog -- no worries!!

Sometimes I feel like talking about politics, current events, movies, food, and other stuff going on in my life, but I didn’t feel it was fair to my music readers (YOU!) to have to read all that nonsense when you strictly come here for R&R. ;)

So, if you're interested, I'd love for you to come follow me over on WordPress:
Dreams of a Lifetime

You don't have to have a WordPress account to comment, but make sure you let me know who you are by filling out your username/name before you submit your comment.
For now I won't be requiring an email address for comments, so we will see how that goes.

Again, I'll STILL be here!!! :)

P.S. Apparently Steven Tyler quit Aerosmith? Can't say I didn't see that one coming -- I have no sympathy for any of those guys, sorry!

Happy [Belated] Birthday to Glenn Frey!

Yayay! My favorite Eagle (shh... don't tell Don) turned 61 yesterday!



Yes, please.


Okay so I love the stuff he did with the Eagles, however his solo stuff is a little dodgy. Maybe because it was so '80s, I dunno.

Here's "Peacful Easy Feeling" from 1973 -- I miss Randy and Bernie. This is my favorite lineup!



What's your favorite Eagles lineup? I know everyone loved when Joe Walsh joined, but I'm not all that crazy about him. :shrug:

P.S. Don't forget about my giveaway!

Guest Post: BeARockr

Morning, bloggies! I don't know about you, but this week flew by. Which is just fine with me! ;)

Today's guest post comes from Arjit at BeARockr -- if you don't read his blog, be sure to go over and say hi! He's always got some cool write-ups and videos. Let's go:

A good guitarist is not the one who can play 50 notes in one second... A good guitarist is that who can play just 5 notes which sound magical!

Hmm... to start with... as I have experienced, a guitar player doesn't need to have any kind of degrees in paper... or advanced formal training... your solos must come from within and reflect what your feelings are. They must talk to the world and express your emotions... now, of course expressing emotions can't be taught, right!

Two most important pre-requisites to be a true guitar player
1) Be unique, Be different, Be innovative
2) Play your emotions on the guitar... play from your heart

Here are some of my views on various guitar gods, taken from my own blog:

Jimi Hendrix-
Jimi Hendrix... the all time greatest guitarist in rock history. Actually to say... even Steve Vai could match his techniques easily and do a better solo than him... but guys, no one could match the originality of Hendrix. He invented his own great riffs and solos and was the first one to revolutionze guitaring... expressive guitaring (so to say).

Eric Clapton-
I really don't have words to describe Mr. Eric Clapton. He has been my greatest inspiration and for the rest of the world too! A really down to earth, simple person with such an immense understanding and extraordinarily unique and skillful guitar playing and really amazing vocals at the same time!
Well, just see Eric Clapton play live and you'll feel that you ain't seeing a full-to-attitude rocker playing, rather you feel intensely pure performer playing so naturally that he has always brought tears in my eyes, because seeing a great old man playing so wonderfully, I feel I could go up and say: "Sir, hope you live forever" (Same was for another great legend: Michael Jackson) "Clapton is God"

Jimmy Page-
If you ask why is he the most versatile, the reason is simple: his riffs and solos are a perfect plent of hard rock to heavy metal to blues and folk rock! With such a beautiful riff in "Stairway to Heaven" to a nice heavy metal kind of riff in "Black Dog" and "Kashmir," and a fascinating, highly acclaimed guitar solo in "Stairway to Heaven." He has done it all!

Also, some of my musician friends once asked me, "Why should we do covers of other songs, since our own originals can only define us better?"

Let me answer this too: Covers are basically songs of an established rock band performed by another band in its own style and understanding of the song! Though I can't say that covers are the ultimate or major way to judge a band, it may just be for only about 20-30% of the total points to a band... but yes, "Covers - A Trailer of What's Yet to Come!" They definitely reflect the band's actual knowledge and understanding of music as a whole...

So, covers are very important for a band to establish itself firmly. A band can also show its originality and creativity by covering other songs since the base OF the song has to remain the same!

My most favorite cover would be "Along the Watchtower" done by Jimi Hendrix!

Have a nice day!
Do check my blog for updates! (BeaRockr)

Have a great weekend!

P.S. Be sure to go check out my giveaway, guys!!! And email me if you'd like to write a guest post :)

GIVEAWAY!

The kind folks at Sideways Media have generously offered to send me a copy of Clarence Clemons' autobio "Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales" for one of my readers (...you!) :)

Big Man has been a vital part of Bruce Springsteen's very successful E Street Band. He's also worked with tons of other greats, including Jackson Browne and Aretha Franklin. He is a very interesting person and I can't wait to read his book, especially since I love musician biographies anyway.

Here's a little video for you, it's Big Man talking about the saxophone:



Okay, so now you know what you're getting!
How the heck do you win?
Here's three different ways that you can enter:

1) Tell me in the comments of this post your favorite artist autobiography or biography.
2) Tell me in the comments of this post who you would like to see write a book about their years in rock and roll.
3) If you have your own blog, link back to this post and leave the LINK back to your blog post in your comment.

You have a maximum of three entries. I'm going to choose the winner by using Randomizer.org. This website will generate a random number and that number will correspond with the comments. The first person who comments will be number 1 and will continue until the last person who will be n.

You have through Monday, November 16th (all the way up until midnight of that day)!!
I will announce the winner on Tuesday. Your book will then be mailed to you one week later when I am home for Thanksgiving break and am able to make sure everything is done properly.

*U.S. residents only, please!

If for some reason you're hesitating as to whether you want to read this book, please email me at classicrockforthesoul[at]yahoo[dot]com and I will send you a press release with more information!

"Don't carry the world upon your shoulders..."

I came across this flow chart today and thought it was pretty cool! So I'm sharing it with you guys:


And here's a clip of "Hey Jude" from Across the Universe -- don't freak out because I'm not using the Beatles' version! I just think this is really cool and I haven't seen this movie in a long time, but I remember it being pretty trippy.



Remember... if you ever wanna do a guest blog post for me (featured on Fridays), email me at classicrockforthesoul[at]yahoo[dot]com! :)

Guest Post: Carolina

Happy Friday, bloggies!!
Today's guest post comes from the blogless Carolina, but she's been a longtime reader of my blog.

It's her story about a lady she knows who has met tons of cool people through her then-husband's job! Here it is:

It was the fall of 1998 in a new subdivision of custom homes nestled in the trees of suburbia just a few miles away from a major metropolitan city. There was an area called an enclave – 3 streets of homes with limited access from the main road. So, it was a very quiet area with no through streets. If you were on one of these streets you either lived here or were visiting someone who did.

Since many of us were moving into our new homes at the same time, we had two factors in common that bonded us right away: we were new to the street and we had kids. So, very quickly several of the ladies decided to have a “ladies dinner” once a month and all women in the enclave were invited and we would break bread together and share some wine. The idea was to rotate hostesses so that eventually, we could all see each other’s home – a very “Martha Stewart” idea.

So, here we all are at Julia’s (her name has been changed) house for our monthly get-together. Part of the fun of these gatherings is getting to see how that particular person decorated their house. Some of these women were fabulously creative. So, someone asks Julia to give us a tour and she agrees. Sometimes these tours were just of the downstairs, but usually involved a quick peek upstairs to see game rooms, theater rooms, etc.

Someone asks if we can go upstairs and Julia hesitates for just a second and then says okay. Up we go.

We walk into the game room and everyone is stunned. The walls are filled with gold records and photographs, lots of photographs. All the records are from Journey. We are glancing at the photos and realize that our Julia (much younger) is in photos with lots of musicians including Boz Scaggs, ZZ Top, Steve Perry and other Journey members, and ohmygod is that Mick Jagger? Yes, it was. The photographs were beautiful, mostly black and white and all candid and intimate shots. Not your typical smile at the camera to prove you had a backstage pass. We were all overcome. We’re a group of soccer moms and we now have one among us who lived with the rock gods in the ‘70s and ‘80s.

Julia shyly explained that her ex-husband was the tour manager for Journey for years and then added, it was a lifetime ago. She suggested we go downstairs and eat. We walked down the stairs in silence and then began to talk about what bonds each of us – our children. It was quite a surreal night in suburbia!

Awesome story, Carolina! Thanks for sharing. :)

Have you had any cool connections to famous people?!
I actually know a friend who is BFFs with Sara Fleetwood (Mick Fleetwood's ex-wife, Stevie's BFF, the namesake of FM's song "Sara") and my friend is moving out to California to LIVE with her! Crazy stuff. I'm expecting some Stevie shawls for Christmas. ;)

Have a great weekend yall!

It's been a Carole King kind of a day over here.

Raise your hand if Tapestry is near and dear to your heart! *raises hand*
I listened to it four times in a row while studying this afternoon. Loves it.

If you're a big C.K. fan -- tell me, what album do I go to next??

I leave you with this lovely lil video -- "So Far Away":




Don't forget to come back on Friday for a guest post! Woocha!

Essential Christmas Albums

Okay, I know you guys are looking at that title like, "Whaaaaaat? It's not even Halloween yet! Why is this crazy lady talking about Christmas already?"
Well, my friends, it's about 50 degrees here right now and late last week, while studying for miderms, the hot chocolate was busted out. Along with the Christmas tunes.

Here are some Christmas albums that I've been listening to already:


James Taylor's voice on just his regular ol' albums makes me happy and calm.
Him singing Christmas songs? Pure bliss.


Amy Grant has several Christmas albums which makes it hard to choose just one. So I'm going to say that this one is a must-have since it's a compilation and has all the good ones. "Breath of Heaven" is beautiful.


Ray freakin' Charles. The particuarly amazing song on this one is "That Spirit of Christmas," from Christmas Vacation (the funniest movie ever, in case you didn't know).


Michael Buble needs to make a full Christmas album right now. This EP is only five songs, but it's so good. He's got a great voice for Christmas music -- he's kinda like the Bing of my generation (well, you know what I mean).


Speaking of Bing, Christmas can't be complete without him. This is some top notch Christmas music.

Here's one last one for ya:


I distinctly remember my mom having this CD and I'd always love singing along to Madonna's "Santa Baby" upstairs in our game room.

I always have more room for Christmas albums, so spill.

What are your December essentials?

Guest Post: Seano on Uriah Heep

Howdy, bloggies!

Today's guest post is from Sean!
I highly encourage you go over and check out his blog -- he just recently finished going through all the Beatles albums, giving very detailed notes and Youtube videos about each one. He has a true talent and you can learn so much from his posts!

Without furthur ado...

I was playing guitar at a backyard BBQ last summer and there was a guy who kept requesting older tunes. Each time he called one out, I was able to reproduce it. He then said, "OK, I'm going to stump you. Play 'The Wizard' by Uriah Heep."

I went right into it, without a pause, and he nearly lost his mind. No one else in the crowd (except him) had a clue what I was playing. He brought me a fresh beer and told me that this was one of his favorite records when he was a kid. So I went one better and told him that the guy who wrote the song sat with me and a friend and showed us exactly how to play it.

"No fucking way!"

Yep.

(Cut to hazy flashback interlude with harp-laden, dream sequence music)

It was 1989, I was in university and mainstream music smelled worse than a rotted carp placed in your disc-player. You say that you don't remember the suckage? Allow me to refresh your memory with the "top songs" from that year:


1. Look Away, Chicago
2. My Prerogative, Bobby Brown
3. Every Rose Has Its Thorn, Poison
4. Straight Up, Paula Abdul
5. Miss You Much, Janet Jackson
6. Cold Hearted, Paula Abdul
7. Wind Beneath My Wings, Bette Midler
8. Girl You Know Its True, Milli Vanilli
9. Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird, Will To Power
10. Giving You The Best That I Got, Anita Baker
11. Right Here Waiting, Richard Marx
12. Waiting For A Star To Fall, Boy Meets Girl
13. Lost In Your Eyes, Debbie Gibson
14. Don't Wanna Lose You, Gloria Estefan
15. Heavan, Warrant
16. Girl I'm Gonna Miss You, Milli Vanilli
17. The Look, Roxette
18. She Drives Me Crazy, Fine Young Cannibals
19. On Our Own, Bobby Brown
20. Two Hearts, Phil Collins
21. Blame It On The Rain, Milli Vanilli
22. Listen To Your Heart, Roxette
23. I'll Be There For You, Bon Jovi
24. If You Don't Know Me By Now, Simply Red
25. Like A Prayer, Madonna

Ewwwwwwwww!

In the midst of all this crap, my buddy and I would pass the time playing our guitars in the dorm, drinking, smoking and listening to GOOD music, which at the time was anything that was NOT on the list above. (think sixties/seventies, any genre) We were dating two sisters at that time and they violently hated the stuff we were into. They generally left us to our own devices when it came to going to live shows. When we heard that Uriah Heep was going to be doing a couple of nights at a local club, the news seemed too good to be true.

Poor Uriah Heep. They were always knocked as a "second-rate Deep Purple" because keyboards figured prominently in their sound. (which is unfair) Despite some great albums and success in the early 70s, they never really hit it big in North America and were relegated to has-been status by the end of the decade. As a teen metalhead, I got into them in 1983 after hearing Abominog and was advised to go back and check out their "classic" material.

It was well worth it.

To get primed for the show, we drank, smoked and watched an old Don Kirschner's Rock Concert set (on VHS tape) from '74, which featured the "classic" lineup.




We then proceeded to roll over to the the Crazy Horse, ordered more beer and got ready to be blown away. By this time, the band's lineup had drastically changed. Newcomer (and fellow Canadian) Bernie Shaw was now the lead singer, Phil Lanzon was on keys and Trevor Bolder (formerly Bowie's bassist in the Spiders from Mars) had slotted in to replace the dead and departed. Lee Kerslake (drummer on Ozzy's Blizzard of Oz and Diary of a Madman albums) and guitarist Mick Box were the only ones left standing from the early seventies version of the group.

Didn't matter, as Shaw did note perfect imitations of David Byron and the band kicked throughout their sets. They had a new album called Raging Silence that they were promoting and they played a few cuts from that, though they mostly delivered the early material.

It was a devastatingly good show and we were positioned right in front of the stage, catching every nuance, buzzed and hollering so much that we practically lost our voices. All five musicians sang and the harmonies were brilliant. Highlights were "The Wizard", "Stealin'", "July Morning" and "The Way That It Is", though they could have did the alphabet all night and we would have been happy.

The great shame is that there couldn't have been more than 150 people there that night. Being a small club, they came out afterward and we walked up to Mick Box and told him how much we enjoyed the set. Seeing that we knew the tunes, he asked us to come back and meet everyone else. Keep in mind that these guys were my age now (early forties) and were playing music that was out of step with the times. They were genuinely happy to have younger people who knew their stuff note for note. I didn't realize this at the time and figured that we would go back, get a perfunctory "hello" and head home.

We hung out well past closing time. Trevor Bolder and I sat and talked for almost an hour. He told me all about the beginnings of the Spiders and how they came to play with Bowie, who was then virtually unknown, with only "Space Oddity" under his belt. The conversation really got going when I told him that I was a bass player, playing with a local group (we did university pub gigs). Ziggy Stardust and Suffragette City were in our set list, so I had studied and learned the lines he played on the record. He told me a few stories that I can't repeat here regarding some of the people that he played with. Both of us, it turned out, were Jack Bruce disciples. He also, like John Entwhistle (another common influence) played brass instruments as well. He told me that being a bassist, I would likely have to throw the instrument into the air and catch it between my teeth to get noticed on stage. It was quite an educational talk for me. He said that for him starting out with Bowie, it seemed like one week he was playing in a shitty little club and next he was onstage in the US in front of 20,000 people. It happened fast and went by in a blur.

Mick Box, for his part gave us a quick tutorial on how to play "The Wizard" properly. ("tune the E string to D, mate, and pick it like this")and Lee Kerslake went on the best rant that I ever witnessed regarding the music business. He said that he almost came to blows with a record company executive over the lack of attention given to their new record. He also had a few Ozzy stories that I can't print here. He and Bob Daisley (along with Randy Rhoads) played a large role in writing and arranging those tunes on Ozzy's first two (and best) solo LPs and were dumped before the Diary of a Madman tour. Lawsuits flew. Enough said about that.

He rejoined Uriah Heep shortly after.

All things considered, these guys loved to play and were very generous to hang out and share their road stories.

I have never been much for trying to meet famous people, so I don't have a wall of fame in my music room. When I have chanced to meet musicians that I respected, the aim was always to have a conversation and not to force them into a photo op or tell them that "they rocked". Perhaps sensing this, my buddy and I were treated like peers by these guys and, more importantly, they knew that two more kids were going to buy their new album and pass on the word.

Hard to believe that it's been twenty years. You always remember the people that genuinely love what they do and have respect for people that support their work.

Uriah Heep has just released a new disc called "Celebration" It features updated recordings of their 70s material. The lineup we met has remained intact, excepting Lee Kerslake who has left the band recently due to ill health. Check it out, if you like the band.

I'll be the first to honestly say that I had never heard of this band before, but I'm definitely checking them out now.
Have a great weekend, guys!

Oh yeah- if you're interested in writing a guest post here, please leave me a comment or feel free to email me at classicrockforthesoul[at]yahoo[dot]com.

Get up and dance!

Well guys, this is going to be a short post because I've got toooons to do this week!
Make sure to come back on Friday though for another special guest post! :)

For now, check out what song I woke up to this morning. It never fails to make me wanna get up and dance:

The Rolling Stones ~ Beast Of Burden

Oh, Mick. I love you and all your prissiness.

While searching around Youtube, I found tons of other artists covering this song.
I wouldn't really think a girl would sing this, but here is Colbie Caillat's version -- Colbie is Ken Caillat's daughter and she's kinda like the female version of Jack Johnson in terms of her singing style:



It's different, but I think it's alright.

What's a song that makes you want to jump out of bed in the morning and dance?

Guest Post: Whizkid on Concert Venues

It's Friday... you know what that means!
Guest blog post time! :)

Today, Whizkid (who, even with his amazing knowledge of R&R and amazing stories, is blogless) shares with us his favorite concert venue. Read on to hear about it and then share your favorite venue. Enjoy and thanks for sharing with us, Whizkid!

I Want To Go Home With the Armadillo…
What’s your favorite concert venue? Is it the place where you saw your favorite band? A place where the acoustics are good? Where you like the ambiance, the people, the intimacy, or for that matter, the adult beverages? Or is it the place where you have that special memory with that special person?

For me, it’s the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, Texas. Or as we called it: “The ‘Dillo.” From 1970 to 1980 it was the center of the musical world in the city that has since become world renown as a hotbed for music, new artists, and the annual SXSW festival. For the last half of the ‘70s, I lived in Austin and, in turn, at The ‘Dillo. I was privileged to see literally hundreds of local and national music artists of all kinds… rock, country, jazz, and classical. Bands came from all over the world just to play there. It’s something that just couldn’t happen in today’s music business.



The ‘Dillo had it all…except the acoustics. They were terrible. But no one cared. We had unlimited pitchers of Lone Star beer to drink as we sat on the concrete floor of the old metal-roofed skating rink…a floor covered with a cheap, tattered outdoor carpet. It was uncomfortable and usually hot. But literally ten feet in front of us might be B.B. King wailing away on Lucille or the triple-guitars of Lynyrd Skynyrd or the sweet sounds of Steely Dan. The place oozed ambiance and hipness and pot smoke. It was the place in Austin to see and be seen. It was an Austin icon.

Some of my favorite concerts I saw at The ‘Dillo were: Toto, Journey (before Steve Perry!), ZZ Top, Boz Scaggs, Jeff Beck, Edgar Winter, Gino Vannelli, a local band called Too Smooth, The Kinks, The Police, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Ted Nugent, Golden Earring (remember “Radar Love”?), and AC/DC (their first show ever in the USA). It wasn’t unusual for me to show up there two or three times a week. Tickets were usually $5 or $10 even for the biggest acts.

Another thing that was unique was that The ‘Dillo had several artists on staff to create concert posters. Every single concert had its own unique poster art. They turned out hundreds of posters and flyers and they are collector’s items today, fetching hundreds of dollars. The artwork was terrific and one of the things everyone looked forward to seeing. Here are a few examples, but you can find many more. Just Google “armadillo world headquarters posters.”






So, I want to hear from you. What’s your favorite concert venue? And---if you’re out there---I’d especially like to hear from anyone who got to go to The ‘Dillo.

Have a fabulous weekend, bloggies!

"It Doesn't Matter Anymore"

Hope everyone had a good weekend!
I was gone for the weekend so I'm working on getting caught up.

For now, check out this lovely video featuring Linda Ronstadt singing the oldie-but-goodie "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" by Mr. Buddy Holly:



Story of my life.

Have a good rest of the week!!

Guest Post: Layla's Classic Rock

Alright peeps, today I'm proud to present a truly wonderful story brought to you by Layla from Layla's Classic Rock. This lady is fabulous - she was one of my very first blog readers and I ended up winning a saaaweet shirt in one of her contests.

So here she is telling us about when she met LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM. Yes, that's right. Layla has met LB!! How fantastic. Here's what went down, in her own words:

It was a late summer afternoon and I was sitting on the boardwalk with my dog, Scooter. Scooter was one of those dogs everyone stopped to pet, he was just cool. I noticed this guy with wild hair wearing these paisley blue pants and a white shirt walking towards us. He was hot. He stopped and pet Scooter and sat on the bench by me. We introduced ourselves. When he said his name was Lindsey I tried to act cool. I thought he looked like Lindsey Buckingham but what would he be doing here in Laguna Beach? We talked a bit and he said "where can you get a good beer?" I said "The White House" we walked over there but then went to the Saloon instead so we could sit outside with Scooter. He was nice and we talked about Laguna Beach and he never brought up who he was and I didn't want to since he didn't. I gave him the history of Laguna and then he paid for my beer said it was nice meeting me and Scooter and he split. I ran home and told my roomates and of course they did not believe me, but I know it was him. It was like he was avoiding being known but I KNOW it was him.

Super jealous, right?
Bloggies, he was probably lookin' a little something like this that fine day:



Thanks for sharing that cool story, Layla!!

Everybody have a good weekend!! I'm heading home for my 5-day weekend :)

Bye bye, DSOTM

So we all know that Dark Side of the Moon was on the Billboard 200 for over 14 years. Yeah. Crazy, right? See here:



As you can see, Pink Floyd had a huge lead (almost 5 years) on runner-up good ol' Johnny Mathis! Wow.

Well, this day back in 1988 marks the day of it finally bowing out of the charts.

If you haven't seen the Classic Albums episode of the making of DSOTM, check it out! It's very interesting. Here, I'll help you out. A user on Youtube has up the entire episode in HD. Here's part one:


Oh, stay tuned tomorrow for a very special guest post from one of the nicest ladies around this blogosphere... Layla!

When the lights go down in the city...

...and the sun shines on the bay
Oh I want to be there in my city...

Alright so I just watched Journey on Oprah today.* So naturally, I've been listening to Journey (Steve's Journey and Arnel's Journey) for the past hour while working on homework.

I love this song... it makes me really want to go back to San Francisco. According to my parents, when my family & I were there one summer when I was young on one of our road trips, I cried when we had to drive away. I want to go back sometime soon!
So, here's "Lights" with Arnel. Close your eyes, and it's Steve Perry. Minus the HUGE ego, of course.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So I was thinking about having a guest post on Fridays. It would be a time for you, my reader, to get a chance to tell a story on my blog. It can be about a concert, an artist, an album, a life-changing music experience... basically anything you want that's related to music in some way. What do you think? Who would be interested? I love hearing everyone's stories - especially anything in the '70s and '80s since I feel I got completely gypped on those decades. Anyway, let me know your thoughts!!

*No, I don't watch Oprah on a regular basis -- this was an exception.

Happy Birthday to Lindsey Buckingham!

^Look at dem curls! So cute :)
Lindsey Buckingham turns the big 6-0 today!! Fleetwood Mac kicks off their greatest hits tour (round two) overseas in a couple weeks. I know I'm completely biased when I say this, but LB is soooo underrated as a guitarist. This little blog post pretty much sums up my feelings on the subject: LB Underrated

I'mma leave you with some muy fantastico guitar work by Linds:

1976


What's not to love? (Besides all the abusiveness. But there's classes for that kind of stuff! Oh, and the fact that you'd never be able to completely trust him... his poor wife. She is one trusting lady.)

And from the first night of the current tour back in March -- check out this massive solo:

The boy's still got it, wouldn't ya say?

RANT: Rock and Roll Hall of Stupidity

Thanks, guys for all the positive comments! I'm glad to be back.
I'm still playing with my banner, so I'll let you guys know when it's 100% done.

Okay, I know a lot of you guys have already been biatching about the 2010 R&R Hall of Fame nominees, so now it's my turn. The R&R Hall of Fame has turned into one of stupidity. Here's why:

ABBA
The Chantels
Jimmy Cliff (... who?)
Genesis
The Hollies
KISS
LL Cool J (more on this insanity later)
Darlene Love
Laura Nyro
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Stooges
Donna Summer

WTH. This hall of fame inducted its first round of artists in 1986, and KISS is just now getting inducted? Twenty-three years later??? I really don't understand how a mega-popular band like that is just now getting inducted.

And LL Cool J? Really? Even rappers don't like this guy. He's horrible.
The only ones that I think truly deserve to be in there are The Chantels (hey, they were a big influence on future black girl groups - don't kid yourself... you know you like some '60s doo wop!), KISS, and The Hollies. Genesis is on the fence.
RHCP should have to wait 15 or 20 years after they become an "inactive" band like so many other big '70s and '80s bands had to.
Unfortunately for those bands, some are still waiting...

Bad Company
Chicago
Deep Purple
Heart
Jethro Tull
Journey
The Moody Blues
Rush
Yes

^And those are just a few. You've got to me kidding me! Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks that those yahoos at the Hall of Fame are complete idiots -- it's turned into a thug and wannabe exhibit over there. Is there something in the water in Cleveland? I demand that we stick to pop rock, classic rock, soft rock, heavy rock, arena rock, blues rock, jazz rock, country rock, prog rock, southern rock...! Let's leave gangsta beats and disco balls outta the equation, capish?

It only took them until 1995 to induct Led Zeppelin -- aren't they like the universally accepted greatest hard rock band of all time? That should have been our first clue that these voters were loonie, folks.

Let's have more of this:


And less of this nonsense:


If y'all will let me take Mr. Peresman's job (he's the president and CEO of this hall of stupidity), I promise I'll put in only legit artists. And find a way to kick Run-DMC and LL Cool J to the curb.

At this rate, they'll be letting in Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lady Gag-Me, and Amy Winehouse any year now. Sheesh.

The blog is back in town!

Hello, blogsters!
After one month and several "I-miss-my-blog"'s later... I'm back! Finally.
I've got a new look here and I've decided to drop my comment moderation -- nothing bad was going on, guys. I just wanted to moderate there for awhile. But now, come one, come all! I'm still reading everybody's comments so no need to worry about that. Your voice is being heard!

Hope you've been well & I hope your fall is off to a great start. (I love fall!!! Football and cooler weather. Plus the holidays are within reach.)

I know I lost some of you, so I'm going to go back and find you guys. :)
Well, let's get this partay restarted!

Have yall heard about Tom Petty & the Heartbreaker's massive live anthology that's coming just in time for Christmas? Take a look:
http://mog.com/blog_post/content/439/1504914

Wowzers. Tom Petty overload.
I love Tom Petty's greatest hits album, but honestly I could listen to just that and be fine. I just can't get into all of his other songs (which I'm sure are great) that aren't as popular (or accessible, I suppose). There's TONS of them, too.

He was 56 in this -- he's definitely still got it:


So... whaddya think? Do you like Tom? I think his voice is one of those that either you love it or hate it. There's no in between. Kind of like the lovely lady that joined TP&tH on this tour: Stevie Nicks (see, I always manage to relate my thinking back to Fleetwood Mac somehow! Can't help it... all my fave peeps are connected in some way). As well as Bob Dylan or Janis Joplin or Jim Morrison or Bob Marley.

I say: Alright, Tom, grab Mike and Benmont and bust out on another tour!

**UPDATE: What do you guys think of my new header? I just whipped it up in about ten minutes, but I think it came together quite nicely!! Hope you like it :)

Not feeling it...

Hey guys!

I haven't posted in almost two weeks... I've been settled here for about a week, but I don't know... I'm just not feeling it (the blog) right now.

I'm catching up on all of you guys' blogs and then I'll be deciding what I'm going to do with mine.

Until then...

"The time has come," the Walrus said...

"To talk of many things..."

Well, this summer is coming (quickly) to a close.
It's been a good one -- I got to see some great concerts (see here, here and here), I got to travel to a foreign country, and I was able to get six hours of college classes out of the way. :)

Friday morning I'll be hitting the road back to school! I've got tons of packing to do until then. Yikes. So more than likely I won't be posting again until early next week since I'll be busy setting up my room and getting all settled in.

Until next time...

1997: The Dance

On this day twelve years ago, Fleetwood Mac's live reunion album The Dance was released.

If you haven't seen this live performance of "Silver Springs" from the DVD, you need to watch it. Pronto. If you know anything about the history of this band, it will most likely give you chills. :)

Fleetwood Mac Silver Springs
Uploaded by rasc1944. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

If you didn't know, "Silver Springs" was recorded and actually supposed to be on Rumours. There's a great piano demo of SS floating around out there that could possibly break your heart as well as the original recording on a re-issue of the album.

Random note: Has anyone seen that new picture of Steven Tyler? He looks like a little old lady and it's really... yuck!

Elvis Death Anniversary

I know I don't talk about Elvis much on here (actually come to think of it, I don't think I ever have... oops. My grandmother would disown me if she knew!), but today I am.

Today marks the 32nd anniversary of his death. Nobody can give Elvis enough credit. He is the King of Rock & Roll. He was a great talent that was lost too soon. If you actually look into his journey, he made an incredible mark on music.

I remember this past fall semester when I took History of Rock and Roll, the day we talked about Elvis we watched some footage of his last live performance. The teaching assistant put on this video and stood facing us (in a huge lecture hall filled with 350 people) and she just started bawling:



At the time, I thought "Jeez, this girl is crazy. Why is she crying? This happened such a long time ago and she wasn't even alive."


Well, now I bite my tongue because I watched this late last night:



And guess what? I cried. I don't know why, but I did.

Maybe a few of you guys were old enough to remember his death -- if so, how did you find out and where were you?
Today I encourage you to remember Elvis. Break out that silly Blue Hawaii movie or just randomly search Youtube for some classic live footage.

Les Paul

I think this quote from Keith Richards pretty much sums up the importance of the late Les Paul:
"It has to be said, we must all own up that without Les Paul, generations of flash little punks like us would be in jail or cleaning toilets. This man, by his genius, made the road that we still travel today. I don't know how he did it, but I'm so grateful he did."

Famous Les Paul Players:
Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, Pete Townshend, Slash, Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Paul McCartney, Frank Zappa, Don Felder, Lindsey Buckingham, Peter Green, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, Neal Schon of Journey, Nancy Wilson of Heart, and the list goes on and on.

There would not have been rock and roll if it weren't for him.

Best Albums of 1973

I'm glad I'm not the only music nerd out there. :)

To kick off this week, let's list our favorite albums from 1973-
Here's mine:

~Desperado - Eagles

~Brothers and Sisters - Allman Bros.

~Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert (Thanks, r&rguru!) Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Ronnie Wood, Steve Winwood, and Ric Grech all jamming together? Yes, please!

~Goats Head Soup - Rolling Stones

~Pronounced... - Lynyrd Skynyrd's debut album

~Mystery to Me - Fleetwood Mac - Although I prefer "Ebony Eyes" (on Bob Welch's solo French Kiss) over "Emerald Eyes," I listen straight through just to get to Christine McVie's "Why." There's plenty of good songs on there besides "Hyponotized."

So... what new records were spinning on your turntable in '73?


P.S. This just makes me extremely happy:

Nerd Alert: Vinyl Album Frames

First, on an unrelated note, I'd like to say that I was saddened to hear of John Hughes' passing.
Not only did he help write some classic '80s movies (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Pretty in Pink, Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, etc), but he was involved with probably my favorite movie of all-time:
Christmas Vacation.

My family and I quote that movie year round, and we've been watching it every Christmas as far as I can remember. The writing in that movie is seriously brilliant. And hilarious.

Moving on...

I had quite a successful day today at my local Half Price Books.
Check out what I left with (each about $4):



You can't make fun of me yet. I know, it's ridiculous. I cleared them out of all their Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks albums.

Here's where you can start making fun of me: I don't have a turntable. I can hear you laughing at me. But all I wanted them for was the covers, which I am going to hang up in my new dorm room in two weeks when I move back to college.

I then proceeded to Target, where I cleared them out of all their 12.5 x 12.5 black album frames (which happened to only be four).

Here's what they look like all framed! Not too bad for used vinyl.





All in a day's work. :)
Oh and if you're wondering why I have them propped up against the windows in my room, it's because my parents didn't see the point in putting holes in the wall for only two weeks. So for now, they stay on my window sills.

I'll be back sometime later this weekend so we can continue our favorite albums discussion!

P.S. Please tell me I'm not the only person that showcases vinyl records?!

Love it or hate it

Wow, you guys listed some awesome albums from 1968.
I highly doubt that any of us could make such long lists from the music in 2009. They just don't make music like they used to. Simple fact.
Whizkid suggested 1973 for the next round -- any other suggestions?


This afternoon I was reading this article and this part jumped out at me:

Saying Rumours is my favorite album is about as bold as saying that my favorite book is The Great Gatsby or my favorite movie is The Godfather.

Which got me thinking...

What are some stereotypical "awesome" albums that pretty much everyone is supposed to like, but for one reason or another you just don't?

I'm not as "musically open" as most of you are -- for instance, I refuse to listen to Bob Dylan. I won't even try. Call me close-minded. I guess I am. I know what I like and I like what I know.

Just as an example, I can take the top 10 of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" that Rolling Stone magazine put together and I don't like over half of them.

I'm sorry but (in my ears) there's no way that London Calling is superior to Who's Next. And the first time a Led Zeppelin album appears is at number 29? Give me a break. Isn't it pretty much universally accepted that they are the greatest hard rock band ever?

Well I sort of got off topic there, but comment with your opinions on the RS's messed up list or what albums you're supposed to like as a rock and roll fan, but just can't get into.

Best Albums of 1968

Well like I said, summer school is taking over my life. It's all over two weeks from today, and three weeks from today I will be moving back up to get ready for school to start back up! Eeeek.
Sorry for the short post - it's better than nothing though!


Suggested by Sean, let's list our favorite albums from 1968. What were you listening to back then?
Here's what I've got going on in my music from '68:

-Beggars Banquet - Rolling Stones

-CCR's first album!

-Cheap Thrills - Big Brother & the Holding Co.
Not a fan of Janis Joplin, but who doesn't like "Piece of My Heart"?

-"Voodoo Chile" from Hendrix's Electric Ladyland. If you know me at all, you know I just don't like Jimi. But this song is killer.

-The Animals also had a couple albums drop that year too.

-Cream's Wheels of Fire with "White Room" on it.

Speaking of which, here's a cool clip from '68 of Cream at one of their last shows together:


Have a great weekend!!

"Wild horses, we'll ride them someday"

Happy Birthday to Mick Jagger!! He's 66 today.

My two all-time favorite Rolling Stones songs are "Angie" and "Wild Horses." Since Rock and Roll History already has "Angie" covered, I'll show ya a live performance of "Wild Horses" from 1976:



On a related note, why did it take me reading this month's Rolling Stone to hear about Allen Klein's death?! He died on July 4th at the age of 77 from Alzheimer's. In case you didn't know, he was most popular as being manager of the Beatles and the Stones. He was somewhat, shall we say, controversial...

Taken from the article in RS:

Mick Jagger chased Klein down the hallway of a London hotel screaming, "Where's my fucking money?" Klein was the subject of a number of scathing songs by former clients... By 1970, the Stones had fired him (the band alleged that, among other things, he had placed its advance cash in his own company's account).

I think we'll take Sean's idea and do albums from 1968 in the next post. Stay tuned! :)

Happy Birthday to Don Henley!

Would you check out that hair? Happy Birthday to Don Henley!! He's 62 today!

I was going to show you "The Boys of Summer" music video, which happened to win a bunch of awards at the '85 MTV Video Music Awards (you know, back when MTV was actually about the music), but instead I want to show you this:


That right there is the Eagles I know and love! Great music. Great harmonies. And the "Desperado Reprise"? Genius.

"Your twisted fate has found you out
And it's finally turned the table
Stole your dreams and paid you with regret"

Thoughts? Comments? Am I totally crazy? ;)

P.S. I really enjoyed reading everyone's lists of top albums from 1975 -- I think we should do that again with a different year! Let me know what year you would like to do!

My Top Ten Best Albums of 1975

1975 was a great year for music. (That's what I hear, anyway. Ha.)


So I have a fun little task for you to do - make up a list of what YOUR top ten best albums of 1975 are. Let's stick to studio albums (not live or compilations). If you can't think of ten, then just tell me one or two that you loved listening to over and over again (and maybe still do!).

Based on my tastes & preferences, here's my top ten best albums of 1975 (this is kind of ironic considering I wasn't anywhere near to being alive, but trust me - I've been listening to a lot of this music since I was in the womb):


10. A Night at the Opera - Queen
Because we wouldn't have "Bohemian Rhapsody" if it weren't for this album. And that song is a must. So I'd say it's a pretty important album.

9. Fool for the City - Foghat
Because where would we be without "Slow Ride"?

8. Gorilla - James Taylor
Because of all these big names that helped on this one: Linda Ronstadt, Valerie Carter, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Carly Simon, Danny Kortchmar. Plus, "Mexico" is one heck of a catchy song.

7. Nuthin' Fancy - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Because it's just a good ol' southern rock album. Two years before everything went to hell. Allen Collins is one tall and creepy dude.

6. Toys in the Attic - Aerosmith
Because you have to have Aerosmith on the list. Plus, what's not to like?

5. Straight Shooter - Bad Company
Because Paul Rodgers' voice is awesome. Plus, Bad Company was the first group to have an album released on Led Zeppelin's Swan Song Records label. That's pretty great.

4. Physical Graffiti - Led Zeppelin
Because of the way the album cover worked (so I'm told, there's a little insert with different images that come up in the windows). Plus, it's 16x Platinum in the United States.

3. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
Because of the emotions of the band during the recording of it. Plus, the whole thing is a tribute to a guy who isn't even dead yet. (Not literally.)

2. Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac
Because now the greatness that is Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks have teamed up with the mostly underrated rhythm section of John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, and the lovely Christine McVie. Plus, no one knew it, but the best is yet to come (i.e. Rumours, Tusk).

1. One of These Nights - The Eagles
Because "One of These Nights", "Lyin' Eyes", "Take It to the Limit", and "After the Thrill is Gone". Plus, this is the first album that Don Felder appears. Even though it was Bernie Leadon's last. :(


Your turn!!! :)
I'm interested to know your picks. I know a lot of the big ones I left out, such as Dylan's Blood on the Tracks and Springsteen's Born to Run. But if you know me, you know why. Haha.

Grab your record collection (or more realistically, your iTunes library) and get to work - ready, set, GO!

Happy Birthday to Linda Ronstadt!

She turned 63 today.
I'm not a huge fan of Linda, but of course I have to respect her for pretty much starting the Eagles! :)


Here she is in 1974, with the Eagles, singing their lovely "Desperado":




If it seems like I'm posting short posts, it's because summer school started last week and it's basically taking over my life. I'm enjoying my classes (an English class and a history class), but there's so much to do in only 5 weeks! Yikes.
I'm trying to get to everybody's blogs though! Thanks for hanging in there.

Happy Birthday to Christine McVie!

(I have no idea why Christine didn't go back to her maiden name, Perfect, after her divorce from John. Perfect is just such a fabulous last name!)



The oldest member of any of her Fleetwood Mac bandmates throughout the group's forty-plus years, she turned 66 today! As most of you know, Fleetwood Mac has been out on a greatest hits tour (sans Christine) since March. Chris hasn't been with them since their reunion tour, The Dance, which was in 1997.
I think she's perfectly happy living in England, occasionally doing her own music thing, and living a quiet life. Definitely a drastic change from her vodka tonic, cocaine filled days during the '70s and '80s.

She did write some great songs for Fleetwood Mac. Some of my favorites from her are "Why" (pre-Lindsey & Stevie joining), "Over My Head", "Songbird", "You Make Lovin' Fun"... oh heck, I like all of her contributions to FM with the exception of "Don't Stop" - I skip this one when it comes on on my iPod. The Bill Clinton inaugration pretty much ruined it for me. :(


Here's a pretty fabulous video that you should probably check out :)



Oh, and one last picture!!

The past has gone... it went by like dusk to dawn

^Name that song!

Poor Steven Tyler is injured yet again. Aerosmith is on tour right now with ZZ Top, but they've been having to postpone/cancel shows due to a "band injury."

Joe Perry recently Tweeted (*shudder*): “Sincere apologies out 2 all Aero Fans regarding the canceled shows. It really bums me out too- you have no idea. Pray 4 Stevens speedy return.”
We don't know if it's an illness or an injury, but judging by this Tweet (*shudder*), it could be illness.

So, let's go back to 1997, shall we? Then maybe you'll be able to answer what song those lyrics are from in the title :)


Has anyone seen Aerosmith lately in concert? I just find it hard to believe that Steven Tyler can still sing like that. His voice is so unique and he does those weird noises/screams in a lot of the songs (like this one)... I'm just wondering (due to his age, etc) if he's still able to do all those crazy vocal strains?

It's almost Friday, which means it's almost the weekend! :)

Something a little different...

I'm going to share with you guys something I recently came across on Youtube. It's Chris Daughtry's acoustic cover of "Poker Face" (Lady Gaga) - pretty cool!




I hope everyone had a fun July 4th weekend! It's way too hot and humid here to even want to be outside unfortunately.

P.S. Is anyone else as sick as I am of hearing about Michael Jackson? I think the media is going to milk this "story" for as long as they can. Just put him in the ground already for crying out loud. Don't even bother watching television on any of the major networks tomorrow.

I heard this crazy rumour going around that Led Zeppelin (and ABBA, too) was asked to consider playing at London's 02 Arena now that, oh, 50 dates have opened up.
Fat chance! I think Zep will reunite when hell freezes over. And I'm talking about when hell actually freezes over (not the kind of "hell freezes over" like in the Eagles' story)!
I suppose that Robert Plant is just happy as a clam singing weird bluegrass songs with that Krauss lady.

Happy Birthday to America!

Well, Independence Day weekend has arrived!

But before you break out the hot dogs, beer and fireworks, take a moment to think about our military serving around the world.

We wouldn't be here today as a country without past, present & future men and women who fight for our country's freedom on a daily basis.

I won't get all preachy on you. That's all I'm going to say.

Three videos follow. One is for those of you who tend to lean to the right of the political spectrum, one for those who tend to lean to the left of it, and one just for the heck of it!

(I think what I'm talking about will be obvious...)

Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Red, White & Blue" + Military Tribute:




Bob Dylan - "Blowin' in the Wind" (a classic and one of the most popular anti-war songs):




Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - "American Girl":

Everyone have a safe, fun Fourth of July weekend! =)