Back in 2005, when Will Ferrell hosted Saturday Night Live, Queens of the Stone Age made their SNL debut. They were promoting their album Lullabies To Paralyze at this time. Their SNL set consisted of “Little Sister” and “In My Head” both from that record. The reason why this performance is quite memorable is because of the special guest who comes out during the performance of “Little Sister.”
Queens Of The Stone Age on SNL 2005:
The renowned Ken Andrews, of the very amazing Failure, Year of the Rabbit and ON, as well as being an acclaimed producer and mixer has released the five-song What’s Coming EP via Red Swan Records. The EP arrives with a video for the first single “Sword and Shield,” which is a pointed rebuke of the current President of the United States and Andrews’ first ever politically-infused social commentary via song.
Ken Andrews- Sword and Shield:
Buy the EP:
Listen to the EP:
Apple Music:
https://music.apple.com/us/album/whats-coming-ep/1536806313
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/2MtKaIaXZgok297WbkwKkF?si=J7bZGMuiQD2Gu6mVg7XTCw
The other day, I wound up with the Helmet song “In The Meantime” stuck in my head. As always when that happens, I am compelled to go listen to the album. While doing that, I realized it’s been a minute since I listened to Helmet. Their early albums are exquisite and highly influential. Their more recent albums, have some really cool songs on them, and do hark back to their early days at times. So, with that in mind, here’s a ranking of their albums from not their best to the best.
8) Seeing Eye Dog:
7) Dead To The World:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qIoIgN7UOc&list=OLAK5uy_nvwIW222A6Aw_ALXK8Mr_2di3VGsJzVz0
6) Size Matters:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh_ga6mEO4w&list=OLAK5uy_kmU96gUGDKzZEzU_MZkBckbEmJGID2eyY
5) Monochrome:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0e2q0pNAbo&list=OLAK5uy_kPtJucBh7Dy3fd4y4dMpbSg5yVNyE9S4A
4) Aftertaste:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtYea59Juro&list=OLAK5uy_mxV9RC30gu6OPzQx2tW0gAiJDdA-miEwg
3) Strap It On:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K7Tmc7wnw8&list=OLAK5uy_lIJ1sNx4JTzp3SSGcPJ3U4djFXXFP6d-Q
2) Betty:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3a8Ow-DoAw&list=OLAK5uy_nqDP4Skga8SWAW2_twGp4eP0XxT8WmGXI
1) Meantime:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9346rQ1d8ik&list=OLAK5uy_k7kO962xkSQ5o-lRopWDDFLHo493kSNdo
There are so many albums celebrating monumental anniversaries this year. One of those albums is the Oasis album, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory. I remember when this album was released and I couldn’t wait to buy it. I played the hell out of it. I got so engrossed with this album, that I knew all the words and would constantly sing along to it with my best friend at the time. One of the songs that always stood out to me was the title track, “Morning Glory.” This song has a great rock sound to it with huge guitars, bombastic rhythms and great melodies. Oh, and the little guitar solo is subtle yet perfect. The intro to the song is one of my favorites of all time. And, the moment Liam Gallagher’s vocals come it, you just know it’s going to be one of “those songs.” This is one of the best title tracks of all time, in my opinion.
Oasis- Morning Glory:
One of the best things about rock music is the ability to mix different genres and styles. The end result of these concoctions often times end up making for some really intriguing bands. Which is exactly why I’m really digging the band Strangelight. They’ve been able to take rock n roll music and add bits of punk and an anthemic tinge and made something fun, lively and thought provoking. Their debut album, Adult Themes, is chock full of hard hitting rhythms, crunchy riffs and impactful vocals. The production on the album courtesy of Scott Evans (you might recognize him from his work in Kowloon Walled City) gives these songs the added realness their already raw and direct delivery. There are moments when listening to Strangelight, that you pick up on the inspiration and influence of bands like Fugazi, Hot Snakes and Rocket From The Crypt but, it’s apparent in a flattering way and not a straight up rip. Strangelight are the type of band that, I’m sure if you saw them live, they would straight up rip the roof off the venues they play.
Strangelight- Adult Themes:
The Smashing Pumpkins double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness celebrates it’s 25 birthday this year (actually October 24th is the official date). This album, was a huge game changer and has gone on to influence and inspire countless bands and artists throughout the years. I still remember buying the album when it came out, and the countless hours I’d sit in my room and listen to it. One of the memorable moments I have about this album is when I first saw the video for “Tonight, Tonight.” I was absolutely blown away by how visceral the video was along with how interesting it was. The video was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (who would go on to make other pretty awesome videos for Korn and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, to name a couple). The video won multiple MTV Video Music Awards as well as being a Grammy nominated clip. Another interesting tidbit about the video is that it stars Tom Kenny and Jill Talley who you might recognize from their work on Spongebob Squarepants and Mr. Show. This video is one of the all time greats and it deserves to get its acclaim and be celebrated along with the masterpiece of the album it belongs to.
The Smashing Pumpkins- Tonight, Tonight:
Sevendust’s new album Blood and Stone arrives this Friday, October 23rd. While it’s definitely been a very interesting year to say the least, at least we still have new music coming out. This new Sevendust album, is shaping up to be a pretty rockin one. The two songs released so far, “Blood From A Stone” and “Dying To Live,” both have a return to the early days kind of sound a la Animosity mixed with a little Seasons and some Cold Day Memory vibes. Sevendust have been one of the hardest working bands since they broke on the scene over 20 years ago. This new album, shows their commitment to the fans to keep being creative and releasing new tunes.
Blood From A Stone:
Dying To Live:
Architects have dropped a brand new single entitled “Animals.” This song will be on their upcoming new album, For Those That Wish To Exist. There is no release date for the album at this time but, this song is a banger for sure. This song is a bit of a departure from the last couple of Architects albums but, it shows a growth and adds some more elements to their already heavy sound.
Architects- Animals:
Back in 2001 on Chimaira’s debut album, Pass Out Of Existence, there is a track on there called “Rizzo” that was co-written by the band and Stephen Carpenter of this little band called Deftones. The band found out Stephen was a fan of the band after he had heard their song “Dead Inside,” and they wound up sending Stephen a shirt and he would then wear while on tour in support of White Pony. If you watch the video for “Digital Bath,” you can see the shirt they sent him. Stephen’s writing and playing style meshes really well with this era of Chimaira. “Rizzo” is a great example of how putting the tone and style of another guitarist can really work out well.
Chimaira w/Stephen Carpenter- Rizzo:
In a time when people are saying rock is dead, they obviously aren’t looking in the right places. Rock music is very much alive. Enter Sound & Shape, this three piece band hailing from Nashville, Tennesse, have the right amount of heaviness, soul and melody to keep rock music going. Through the course of the band’s career, they’ve released three full length albums along with two EP’s. They’ve also had the pleasure of touring with bands like Sparta, Kings X, and The Spill Canvas. One of the things that really intrigues me about Sound & Shape is the vocal harmonies. Those harmonies are striking and smooth and have this really cool 70’s vibe that has a nice bit of soul and r&b to them, thus making it stand out. Their new song “All Day Morning,”features those quite well I must say. Sound & Shape are the type of rock band that is needed to keep rock n roll music going.
Sound & Shape- All Day Morning:
