Month: February 2019

Alternate Versions: A Perfect Circle- Weak and Powerless- Danny Lohner Mix

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Way back when A Perfect Circle released their covers album eMOTIVE, there was an edition that also included an additional disc entitled aMOTION. This disc was all remixed version of their songs. There has always been one that has stood out to me over the years and that is the Tilling My Grave mix of “Weak and Powerless.” This version was remixed by Danny Lohner (former Nine Inch Nails memeber and for a time was a part of A Perfect Circle during the Thirteenth Step era) and it was also featured on the soundtrack for the first Underworld movie. Anyways, this version always seemed to have more “balls” to it and that gave it a much “heavier” vibe. Another interesting note is that this version features work by Wes Borland and Josh Eustis.

 
A Perfect Circle- Weak and Powerless (Tilling My Grave: Renholder Mix):

 

 

 

A Perfect Circle- Weak and Powerless (Album Version):

 

Band Of The Week (Updated): Spirit In The Room

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I’ve written about Spirit in the Room many times before and it’s because they are awesome and deserve your attention. This group is the brainchild of vocalist and multi instrumentalist Dennis R. Sanders and to put it bluntly, they are fan-fucking-tastic. Spirit in the Room has been described as “If Nick Cave, Lemmy, Elvis, Harry Dean Stanton and Iggy, had a child in a church gone mad.” I’d say that’s pretty spot on. Throw in a bit of The Doors, Black Sabbath and some very out there experimental bands and you have the recipe for what makes Spirit in the Room so damn good. Their live shows are volatile and full of piss and vinegar that will leave you talking about the band for days, even weeks to come. Today, February 8th, Spirit in the Room has released Volume 1 of their EP series. The three tracks on Volume 1, set a tone and leave you wanting a whole hell of a lot more. There is an energy about the new music from Dennis that truly feels inspired and makes a statement as to what this band is capable of. I personally can’t wait for the other parts to come out. It’s one of my most anticipated albums er EP’s of the year. Do yourselves a favor and take a listen to Spirit in the Room and let the music take you places you haven’t been. You won’t be sorry. 

 
Spirit In The Room- Volume I:

Cover Song: Rammstein (Depeche Mode)- Stripped

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Ever since I made my Ultimate Set List for Depeche Mode, I’ve been in that frame of mind. Which got me thinking about all the Depeche Mode covers out there. One of the ones I remembered being interesting and not bad was Rammstein’s cover of “Stripped.” There is some interesting history about this cover as well. Released as a single in 1998, this cover also appears on their album Sehnsucht, the one that has “Du Hast.” It was also the bands first song sung entirely in English. Their version cuts the line “Let me see you stripped down to the bone” to “Let me see you stripped”, which was due to singer Till Lindermann’s difficulty singing the “down to the bone” line. Though that part was restored in a remix done by former Nine Inch Nails member Charlie Clouser. Rammstein are supposed to release a new album in 2019 and tour it so, hopefully when they do, they decide to do this live.

Rammstein- Stripped:

 

Great Music Videos: Fiona Apple- Criminal

 

 

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Last night I was watching an old episode of Family Guy and in the one I was watching they did a parody of the Fiona Apple video for “Criminal.” So of course, that would lead me to this. Back in September of 1997, the video for the single “Criminal” by Fiona Apple was released. Her debut album Tidal, had already been out for a bit and singles like “Shadowboxer” and “Sleep To Dream” had been out as well. The album itself was met with critical and audience acclaim but it wasn’t really until the release of the video for “Criminal” that solidified the impact Fiona Apple would have. The video was directed by the extrodinary Mark Romanek (Nine Inch Nails, Johnny Cash, Jay Z, etc). Romanek and cinematographer Harris Savides created a video that was sensual and dangerous yet uncomfortable at the same time. Either way, the song by Fiona Apple and the video by Mark Romanek are truly gems and deserve to be recognized as that.

 
Fiona Apple- Criminal:

 

 
Family Guy Parody:

 

 

B-Sides: Audioslave

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The other day I woke up with the Audioslave song “Moth” in my head. That song is from their highly underrated third album, Revelations. If you haven’t ever delved into that one, I suggest you do, it’s incredible! While on my little Audioslave kick, I remembered that there are a few songs that were “B-Sides” and I thought I’d share those with you. So here we go!

Audioslave- Give (from their debut):

 

 

Audioslave- Super Stupid (Funkadelic Cover from Out Of Exile):

 

 

Turn To Gold (Quick Story:  Audioslave was originally called “Civilian.” After they got together and starting recording, a sound technician leaked this song on the internet):