In 1989, Metallica was just about to become a household name. And Justice For All, the bands fourth album, was truly was a monumental album for heavy music. There is no denying the impact this album has had over the years. The songs are beyond classics and the influence has only grown.
We all know what happened at the Grammy Awards in that year with Jethro Tull beating out Metallica for the first Heavy Metal Grammy. While they didn’t win that, they did however perform that night and won the audience over that was in attendance as well as watching at home.
Metallica have been on top of the world since this point and with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Take a moment to enjoy this classic and memorable TV performance of “One” by Metallica.
The Smashing Pumpkins have always been a prolific band in terms of albums, live shows and songs. The songwriting and arrangements are some of the best ever. Billy Corgan has written so many great songs, sometimes it’s hard to keep up with them all.
Recently, I was revisiting the Pumpkins album, Zeitgeist. I distinctly remember when this album came out. It was one of those moments where one of your favorite bands return. Zeitgeist is a polarizing album with songs that now, almost twenty years later, ring more true than ever. There is a particular song though on this record that has always been a favorite of mine. And that song is “Stellar.”
“Stellar” is an absolute gem. There are shades of early Pumpkins on this song but, it doesn’t rely on that to shine. Clocking in at six and a half minutes, “Stellar” shoots you to the stars. The “big rock” sound that the albums production has too, showcases this song. The shoegaze vibe mixed with a bit of new wave and a dose of seventies era pop a la Cheap Trick is brilliant.
If you were lucky enough to see The Smashing Pumpkins 2008 on their European tour, there’s a good chance you might have heard this wonderful song. The live band during this run was fun to watch and hear. At the time of the release as well, if you bought the gray edition of Zeitgeist, which was a Best Buy exclusive, “Stellar” was found on this version along with “Ma Belle” and “Death From Above.” Zeitgeist is a hard album to find but if you find it in the wild, buy it, it’s so worth it.
Nine Inch Nails are one of those bands that truly have masterful deep cuts. You can go through each album and find premium choice cuts all throughout. Hesitation Marks is a great example of a Nine Inch Nails album with amazing deep cuts. I’ve recently been diving deeper into this record and it’s been quite the trip. The latter half of the album contains my favorite song off the record in “Various Methods Of Escape” but, that’s not the song that has been compelled to write this. The song that peaked my thought process on this was “In Two.” What a song! The way the quiet synth layers open the song, then sway into the drum loops and pulsating bass mixed with the delicate piano is slightly hypnotic. Then you add in the vocals which compliment all the dynamic parts so perfectly. The lyrics match the music in the best way possible. It’s also noteworthy to mention that Adrien Belew of King Crimson and Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac play guitar on this song. One other stupendous aspect of “In Two” is how the ending flows so well into “While I’m Still Here.” Seriously, you can’t go wrong with Hesitation Marks!
Every so often a mainstream artist really surprises me. For a while now, I’ve had my hear and eyes on Yungblud. When I first heard him in 2018, I wasn’t too into what he was doing. Then as time went on and the evolution of Dominic Harrison grew, I could tell that there was more than what was happening at first. Deep down, you could tell he wasn’t going to sit idly by and let others dictate where he was to go. So instead, Yungblud/Dominic committed to his vision and went for it. The end result is the album Idols. Since I don’t believe in guilty pleasures anymore, I have to say this album is quite enjoyable and full of rather interesting songs that explore more than just a surface level that pop music usually does. Instead, digging into the bands and artists that fed into Dom becoming “Yungblud” makes Idols a great listen. The song “Zombie,” and no it’s not The Cranberries song or a cover, has really taken things to another level. The song is now nominated for a Grammy and has an all new, reimagined version that features The Smashing Pumpkins. Since this alternate version with The Smashing Pumpkins arrived last week, I’ve been stuck on it. The original version of “Zombie” already had a Pumpkins gloss to it and now, it’s fully realized with this collaboration. When Billy Corgan sings the lyrics and especially the second verse, the chills and goosebumps will appear! If you get the chance to, check out Billy’s interview show, The Magnificent Others, and watch the couple interviews he’s done with Dominic/Yungblud. They are great intereviews and gives a really good insight into who he is as a person and artist. This kid is the real deal and I’m quite interested to see what comes next! And who can forget his absolute stellar performance of Black Sabbath’s “Changes” at the Back To The Beginning concert!
The year is 2006 and Alice In Chains have begun their triumphant return. Getting out there and bringing the songs we all know and love back to life was one of those things that the universe got right. When this all started going again, you could tell that the fans were really glad to have Alice back. Granted the late Layne Staley was not a part of this but, William DuVall has truly shown he is up for the job and does a stellar job. During Alice In Chains summer festival run in Europe back in 2006, the band welcomed a very special guest to join them on stage for “Would?” That guest was the one and only James Hetfield of Metallica. This version of “Would?” is fantastic and will give you chills for sure. I still hope for the day we can get a Metallica and Alice In Chains tour! Can you imagine the how awesome that would be? I sure can! Enjoy this really memorable performance!!
I’m not sure where or how Incubus popped in my head the other day. It was definitely out of nowhere and then suddenly I wound up with their song “Sick Sad Little World” playing in my head on repeat. I’ve always enjoyed this song. In fact I’d dare say it’s one of the best songs in the Incubus catalog. So, as it always tends to happen, I went down the rabbit hole of Incubus and remembered their captivating performance at Red Rocks in Colorado that happened during the A Crow Left Of The Murder tour cycle. This version of “Sick Sad Little World” is otherworldly and epic! The song is already epic by nature but with the extended version and added live goodies, it just makes the song so much better! Here’s to hoping Incubus can at least get back to this level on their upcoming new album!
Incubus- Sick Sad Little World (Live At Red Rocks / 2004):
Over the past couple days, I went on a bit of a Joy Division/New Order binge. It’s truly amazing how many bands have been influenced/inspired by these two bands. New Order’s debut album Movement, is one of those albums that is truly special. It’s part continuation of where Joy Division left off but, there’s new ground being explored in a subtle manner that will eventually lead to where New Order wound up. One of the songs off of this album that stands out in a really great way is “Senses.” One of my best friends loves this song so, I thought I’d dig up an alternate version of it and see if you can tell the difference between the two.
A friend of mine recently got into Baroness and ever since he told me that, I went back down the rabbit hole of Baroness and found a slew of alternate versions, acoustic renditions and live versions of some of my favorite songs in the bands catalog. Baroness’s last album Gold and Grey features some of my now all time favorite Baroness songs as well as my favorite lineup of the band. One song in particular that always gets me when I have Gold and Grey on is “Tourniquet.” There is something so gripping about this song. It’s delicate, powerful and one hell of a well written song. Plus the addition of Gina Gleason to the band really has taken Baroness to a whole level of writing and performance. Check out this killer version the band did during the quarantine of “Tourniquet.” It’s quite fantastic!
The deep cut is something that I feel has become a lost element of music today. Everything is so focused on singles and the “hit” that so much of the time, there are songs that get left out and bypassed. As you’ve noticed the past couple years that my level of postings about The Smashing Pumpkins has gone up over that time and that’s because I’ve really delved deep in their catalog. One of the albums that I’ve truly come to love is 2007’s, Zeitgeist. Not only does this album foreshadow a lot of what our society has become but, it’s also one hell of a great album start to finish. There is a particular song on Zeitgeist that I keep going back to and that is track 3, “Bleeding The Orchid.” This song is quite interesting and profound. The song is indirectly inspired by the death of Alice In Chains singer Layne Staley and it also features a bit of an homage to the band with the harmonies you hear in the song. Also the guitar solo on this track by Billy Corgan further proves my point that he is truly an underrated guitarist. This song is one that I really wish would make it’s way into upcoming set lists as it’s an absolutely great and touching song.
The Smashing Pumpkins- Bleeding The Orchid (Live at The Viper Room, 2010):
This is one of my favorite side projects I’ve heard in quite a while. If you aren’t familiar with Mrs. Piss you have been missing out. Comprised of Chelsea Wolfe (vocals/guitar) and Jess Gowrie (drums), Mrs. Piss is a departure from what they do in Chelsea’s solo stuff. The project began while the two were touring around together during Wolfe’s Hiss Spun album in 2017. This music is heavier and channels some of the gnarliest, noisiest grunge-sludge sounds of the Nineties, plus plenty of the era’s riot grrrl attitude. This session was recorded in December of 2020 in Northern California and it offers a different take from the studio recordings.
