There are certain collaborations that should have never happened. One HUGE one that has stuck in my head for years is when Jimmy Page gave permission for Puff Daddy, Diddy, or whatever he calls himself, to use Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir.” If you don’t recall this atrocious moment, it was during the Godzilla soundtrack and the song was called “Come With Me.” I don’t know why or how this came about to be but it’s something that should have NEVER happened. It almost, actually it did ruin that song for quite some time. Also it’s worth noting that Tom Morello was also featured on this song. The sheer association of Zeppelin and P Diddy is about as wrong as oil and water, they just don’t go together!
To this day, I will always remember the first time I heard “Lady, You Roof Brings Me Down.” I was sitting in my room doing my homework and listening to the radio and then there it was. I thought to myself, this doesn’t sound like Stone Temple Pilots but, that’s Scott singing. I was absolutely engrossed by what I was hearing. Then the song ends and the DJ says that it’s a song from Scott’s upcoming solo album and from the film Great Expectations.
Fast forward a bit and I now have Scott’s solo album, 12 Bar Blues in my stereo and I’m playing it on repeat. There was something odd and strange about this album and at that age I wasn’t quite sure what I was hearing and where this influence was coming from. So, I did what I’ve always done and really looked into it. To me 12 Bar Blues was an album Scott made to pay homage to those that really influenced and inspired him over the years. There is a real David Bowie and Iggy Pop element to the record among many others like Lou Reed and some in the R&B world.
The album was also made while Scott was deeply into his addiction and you can hear those nuances in the instrumentation, chord progressions, melodies and lyrics. You could tell, even back when STP made Tiny Music From The Vatican Gift Shop, that Scott was looking to explore different styles and sounds to break away from the “rock” sound, and he managed to create something that really stood out in a good way. When you listen to songs like “Desperation No. 5,” “Barbarella,” “Where’s The Man,” “Cool Kiss,” and “Mockingbird Girl” you can really hear the escape Scott was plotting as well as the influence. The album as a whole is a true piece of art and deserves to be acknowledged as such. For Scott’s first foray into making a “solo album” he really set a high bar for himself and others in his genre to follow.
I remember back in 1996 when Marilyn Manson released his version of the Eurythmics song “Sweet Dreams” that it would be really cool if one day he did a version of Gerard McMann’s “Cry Little Sister” from The Lost Boys. Well now over 20 years later, my wish has been granted. Marilyn Manson finally did a cover of the song and it’s just what I expected it to be.
There are certain bands that I will always go see no matter how many times I’ve seen them live. Nine Inch Nails is atop that list and I’ve now seen them 17 times. Each time has been it’s own experience which makes all the shows that much more unique. This past weekend I had the pleasure to see my favorite band at The Joint in Las Vegas and it was just as epic as you would think it was. Trent and company would be performing on 3 different dates and I was lucky enough to be at 2 of the 3. I have to say I’m pretty sure I was at the best shows of the weekend.
2003 saw the release of an anticipated movie that sort of (well not sort of) fell flat on its face. That movie was Freddy vs Jason. There was so much potential as to what that movie could have been but instead we got what we got. One thing that actually was cool about the movie was the soundtrack. Over the 20 songs featured on the soundtrack, you got to hear the end of the “nu-metal” era and the beginning of the “metalcore” era. You had bands like Slipknot, Killswitch Engage, Chimaira, Sevendust, Lamb Of God, Spineshank, Ill Nino, DevilDriver, Stone Sour and even Type O Negative, to name a few. Something else about this soundtrack that is worth noting is that 14 of the 20 songs on this soundtrack were previously unreleased songs by that bands.
So as you can tell I’m still really digging on The Atlas Moth. Since I saw them live a couple weeks back, I’ve been searching for all things related to the band. I recently stumbled upon this cover they did of Pink Floyd’s “Fearless” and I have to say it’s pretty damn good. Check it out and enjoy what The Atlas Moth brings to this Pink Floyd gem.
Over the last few years I’ve noticed a musical explosion happening in France. There seems to be something in the water out there because the quality of bands coming from that region is astounding. One band that I’d like to focus on is Birds In Row. This post-hardcore/punk band is really about to set the world on fire with their new album We Already Lost The World (out July 13 via Deathwish Records). The two songs released so far, “15-38” and the album opener “We Count So We Don’t Have To Listen” are beautifully devastating while packing quite a hooky punch. With this being the bands second full length album, you can tell that Birds In Row have found their sound and are set to take flight.
Birds In Row- 15-38:
Birds In Row- We Count So We Don’t Have To Listen:
Let’s take a trip back to February 1993 when the video for the Alice In Chains epic “Rooster” was released. The Mark Pellington directed video was poignant, dark ,deep and realistic. The video featured real Vietnam War documentary/news footage as well as some very realistic, graphically re-enacted combat scenes. Jerry Cantrell’s father was a consultant on the video, as it explores Cantrell Jr.’s interpretation of his father’s war experience. Something else that is interesting about this video is, at the time the video was also the longest music video ever aired in full on MTV (running approximately 7 minutes long).
They really don’t make videos like this anymore and that is a real shame. I will always remember how impactful the video was and still is.
Alice In Chains- Rooster:
I’m sure most of you know about the 3/4 reunion of The Smashing Pumpkins. They have announced a full scale US Tour and will be releasing a new album (their first with Billy, James, and Jimmy in over 18 years) to coincide with the tour. The first song released by this newly reunited Pumpkins along with longtime Corgan collaborator Jeff Shroeder is called “Solara.” It’s a very Pumpkins sounding track. The real highlight of the song is Jimmy Chamberlain’s drumming on it. Jimmy is seriously one of the most underrated drummers of the last 25-30 years. That guy is a beast behind the kit. Anyways check out the song below. I’m interested to know what you all think of it.
There is a soundtrack/compilation being put out by DC Comics for their upcoming Dark Nights series. Composer Tyler Bates, who you might know from doing the music for Guardians of the Galaxy, Californication as well as working with Marilyn Manson on his The Pale Emperor album, is at the helm for this project. Chino has contributed to this soundtrack with one hell of a song called Brief Exchange. It’s badass. I seriously hope that Chino takes some of this style with him to the writing sessions for the new Deftones album.
It’s worth noting too that Brann Dailor, the drummer and one of the vocalists from Mastodon has also contributed to this soundtrack as well. His song is pretty badass too.
![DC_Brief-Exchange_PAComp-1[1]_5b1aad07cf4818.07758718.png](https://audioeclectica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/dc_brief-exchange_pacomp-11_5b1aad07cf4818-07758718.png?w=620)
