The 90’s sound has influenced and inspired so many bands. That distinct guitar sound or the was the bass rumbles to the way the drums punch, there is no denying that “that” sound changed the world. There is a band hailing from Florida, that has captured the essence of the 90’s sound and expanded on it in a very cool experimental and noisy sort of way. The band is called WRONG and they are badass. Made up of members of Torche and Kylesa, WRONG has taken inspiration from 90’s stalwarts Helmet and Unsane and made bombastic heavy rock. Their new album entitled Feel Great, is rifftastic and full of groove that will get your head banging and your feet moving. Wrong is unrelenting and aggressive yet they understand the dynamics of their craft.
So I just found out about this rad cover Will Haven did of Pink Floyd’s classic “Brain Damage/Eclipse.” This is a b-side from their new album, Muerte, which came out earlier this year. What a cool cover!
On the bonus track edition of the new 10 Years album, (How To Live) As Ghosts, they did a cover of Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box.” It’s quite a cool cover with a very moody approach. It’s one of those covers that when you hear it, you’ll enjoy it. They did the song justice and put their own spin on it. The vibe of this song would be great in a movie trailer.
There is an album that came out back in 2011, that the world seemed to really take a rather negative turn on. You’ve all heard about the collaboration of the great Lou Reed and the mighty Metallica and their album Lulu. The majority of people that heard the album immediately called it atrocious and worthless. I’m probably, no, I am in the minority of people out there that actually like the album. Now before I tell you why I dig it, let me give you a little backstory on how all this came to be.
The inception of this collaboration began in 2009 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concert. Metallica was chosen to perform with a variety of different artists from the rock world. Lou Reed was one of the rock contemporaries that joined Metallica on stage for a renditions of The Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane” and “White Light/White Heat.” After the show Lou suggested to the band that they should work together. It wouldn’t be until 2011 that this finally came to fruition. Metallica was originally brought in to re-record various unreleased songs Lou Reed had written. There were a batch of songs that Lou had from a piece of work called Lulu, based on the plays of German playwright Frank Wedekind. Metallica brought a slew of different arrangements to the table and the rest played out with the band and Lou working together to create the album. Lulu is a piece of art that is very misunderstood. The full story of where the material comes from is quite dark and horrific and comes from a place that most people wouldn’t dare tread. There are two pieces Earth Spirit and Pandora’s Box that sum up all the parts of what Lulu is all about.
The critics of the music world truly denounced the album calling it one of the worst albums of all time. This is where I come to the albums defense. First of all, if you are not a Lou Reed fan, you are one, not going to like this album, two, if you’ve never listened to Lou Reed, you won’t “get” this, and three Lou had picked Metallica to be his backing band on this project due to the intensity of the content that Lou had written based on these plays. As a Lou Reed fan since I was a very young child, when I first heard about this collaboration, I was overjoyed. I was going to get to hear two of my favorites working together. Lou has and always will be one of the best songwriters of all time. His influence since the late 60’s is astounding. Many bands wouldn’t exist today if it weren’t for Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground. Lou has always been an unorthodox artist. Anyone that has taken the time to delve into his catalog can attest to that. The choice of Metallica for this project is one that is pretty astounding. Having a band that has gone against the status quo for most of their career link up with a guy like Lou is like kismet. The 5 of these guys created an album that is an art piece through and through. It’s not a Metallica album. This is a Lou Reed album.
If you were Metallica and one of rocks biggest titans asked you to work with them on a project, you’d jump at the chance to do that. You know you would. To the guys in Metallica, this was one of those instances when doing this would be fulfilling artistically. Metallica has never been a band about quantity, thankfully. They spend time crafting their material. Some of their output hasn’t been what the “fans” wanted, i.e. Load, Reload and St. Anger but, they have always stuck to their guns and did what they felt was right.
Don’t be so quick to dismiss this album. It’s very involved and not for everyone that’s for sure. Lou Reed isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but if you give him a chance and take a deep look into the works of Lou, it will all make sense. Lou was an artist first and foremost. His lyrics told stories and hit on subjects many would find taboo. One day I will write up a whole thing about the greatness that was Lou Reed so you all can really delve into his works.
Lulu is like scotch, it’s acquired taste. As I’ve mentioned already, this is not an easy listen and you should not be expecting a Metallica album. If you really want to give this a chance, I highly recommend looking into what the plays are all about then go in knowing this is Lou Reed’s album with Metallica as his backing band.
Lou Reed & Metallica- Lulu:
Lou Reed and Metallica- Live:
Lou Reed and Metallica- Sweet Jane (Live):
Lou Reed and Metallica- White Light/White Heat (Live):
Since I’ve been on my Depeche Mode kick the past couple weeks, it has made me truly realize how amazing this band really is. Not that I didn’t think that before but, after delving deep into their catalog, starting with album number 1 till their newest, it’s not hard to come to the conclusion that Depeche Mode is one of those bands that will live on forever. While on this journey, I started to really look closely at their visual aspects. Over the years they have released some of the most artistic and unique music videos. Naturally, you know what that means… it’s time for a video rank! Here are the top ten videos by the one and only, Depeche Mode.
A couple years back the folks who make Game of Thrones released a “soundtrack” album of songs written about the show. One of the most stand out songs from that release was Mastodon’s contribution to it. The song “White Walker” is one of the bands most experimental yet wonderfully crafted songs. It’s also worth noting that a few of the members of Mastodon have appeared on the show and yes, they were killed, hahaha. Anyways here’s Mastodon’s awesome song!
A while back I posted about how the band Memento was back and well, they officially are. The have released their first new song in many years and it’s fan-fucking-tastic. This new track entitled “Legacy” is one hell of a rocker. The vocals and lyrics of singer Justin Stewart Cotta are top notch. He hasn’t lost a step at all. The riffs and leads of guitarist Jason “Space” Smith are killer. He’s always had a knack for writing catchy yet riff-tastic jams. If this is just the beginning for what’s to come for Memento, then the future looks pretty bright. Welcome back gents!!!
I’m sure you all know by now that Nine Inch Nails is my favorite band. While thinking of what to share with you all today, I wound up with the song “Only” in my head. There are a few things about the song that are really cool. For starters the song was the number one song on the modern rock charts for seven straight weeks when it was released. “Only” is the 20th most played song in the bands live history. And, the music video for the song, which was directed by David Fincher, is one hell of a great video and truly artistic. The CGI heavy video is one of the most intriguing videos in the latter part of Nine Inch Nails’ history. David Fincher and Trent Reznor are one hell of a team together. Their shared vision and ability to create genuine art is profound. Enjoy this great and now classic video.
Nine Inch Nails- Only:
Here’s a bonus… Check out this awesome remix EL-P (from Run The Jewels) did:
Nine Inch Nails- Only (EL-P Mix):
While I was digging around the other day through Cave In live shows and assorted songs, I came across a cover that I totally forgot about. A few years back there was a tribute album dedicated to Nirvana’s Nevermind entitled, Whatever Nevermind. On it bands like Cave In, Young Widows, Touche Amore, Torche, and many others took on the songs from Nevermind. Cave In did “Breed” and knocked it out of the park. Everything about their version is top notch, especially Caleb’s bass tone. Holy crap is it good!
The Smashing Pumpkins are a few weeks away from releasing their new album, Shiny and Oh So Bright Volume I (out November 16). This first collection of songs is the first in over 19 years with William Patrick Corgan (he has stopped going by Billy), Jimmy Chamberlain and James Iha. The first two songs released so far, “Solara” and “Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)” are fantastic songs that sound modern but still hark back to the bands heyday. There is a planned Volume II that is supposed to be released later on next year along with a full length tour.
The Smashing Pumpkins- Solara:
The Smashing Pumpkins- Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts):
