The Dream Is Still Alive!

Dream Theater has released their first song without founding drummer Mike Portnoy. I was hoping with Portnoy gone they would lay off some of the nu metal edge they've had lately and if this songs an indicator, they have a little bit. While I wish "On The Backs Of Angels" would have had a stronger melody, it's still plenty good with a nice dose of proggy splash.

Double Shot Time

Time for a double shot of two recent songs made by bands I loved in the 80s.

First up, Whitesnake. I saw them live for the first time a few years back and it was awesome. And just in time, shortly afterwards David Coverdale had to cancel the tour to take care of his voice. Now the lead snake has slithered back to hear the wolf howl on "Love Will Set You Free" from the album Forevermore.



Next, Nor Cal rockers Night Ranger ditch their wanna be alt rock / nu metal ways of their last disc to go back to their Midnight Madness sound. Plus, they've managed to snag a guitarist and keyboardist who play and sorta look like the missing original members(though what I've heard of guitarist Joel Hoekstra's playing is good enough to stand on its own). The result is an effective time travel back to '84 on "Growin Up In California" taken from the upcoming album Somewhere In California.

Don't Call It A Comeback...

Why is it Duran Duran permanently considered to be in come back mode? I don't get that. They consistently perform at about the same level each album, why are we so desperate for a return to the Double D's glory days? They've released so many albums since the 80s. Yet we can't let them go. We don't want to admit it, but Duran Duran does things that keep us wistfully nostalgic. Because deep down in places you don't want to talk about at parties, we want them to come back. We need them to come back.

Oh yeah, their new song "All You Need Is Now" isn't too bad.

Raphael Saadiq Is Good, Man

Was kicking back checking out music vids today lots of entertaining ones out there, this one caught me by surprise and blew me away. Love retro soul done right.

Short Attention Span Theater

That's gnarly!

When music videos gained popularity in the early 80s, there was a lot of talk about how this was a new art form and would be like "mini-movies". After a few years that trend died and music clips were reduced to various performance miming bits. Now, in 2010, there are two music videos that are essentially "mini-movies" the first one directed by Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, From Dusk Til Dawn) no less. As Mel Allen used to say, "How about that?"

The first video I got as a free download from ITunes this week by a guy named Bob Schneider. I got the name confused with Fred Schneider of The B 52's and thought "Cool, I loved that song about the monster in the pants and it does a dirty dance" so I clicked on it. Turned out to be a pleasant sort of polished indie singer songwriter deal. The video is like the ultimate 3 minute rom com, just missing the oh-no-they-might-break-up second act. What makes this better than say The Proposal or She's All That is if you don't like the flick, it's only three minutes of your time. That's modern efficiency!

The embed code isn't working so you can click here to see it.

The second video is by Free Energy whose album overall I was disappointed with but I liked this tune "Bang Pop". This video is in the ever popular setting of high school (see She and Him "In The Sun") and has the early 80s teen sexploitation flick look down. You can't watch this video and not think of Porkys or Fast Times At Ridgemont High. Awesome! Totally awesome.

The embedding is disabled so to see it you can click here. Sort of like that old Porky's tv ads, "We can't show you what happens on tv so you'll have to see the movie". Or something like that.

Catching Up With...Your Oakland Athletics!

Man on the run: Rajai Davis ignites the A's with stolen bases

Baseball season has begun and with it a new year of Oakland A's baseball. Last year, my wife and I became fans of the local team and started attending games. They weren't a very good team (if you think of "good" as translating into more wins than losses) but they were ours.

First Place A's! - Yes the season is only like two weeks old, but the A's are in first place. No significant players have been injured in those two weeks. Rajai Davis and Daric Barton are producing runs. Hope is alive!

It's pronounced Su Skee? Sah Skay? Shawshank? - Ultimate obstacle race program Ninja Warrior released footage of it's most recent tournament, an exciting one which saw many players go to the second round (there's four rounds/courses to beat). I was bummed to see my favorite who is always introduced as "gas station manager Shingo Yamamoto" go down in the third round because of a recurring dislocated shoulder injury (an injury that started years ago when competing in the final round of a prior Ninja Warrior). Controversy abounds when fan favorite Makoto Nagano got an unprecedented do over on round one because of equipment malfunction (this is a show where in previous tournaments equipment malfunctions were considered an additional obstacle to overcome. This included when you're gripping a rolling log and the log rolls off the tracks!). With the do -over, Nagano made it to the final round and came within a second of reclaiming his grand champion title. Brooks was here.

Undercover Lovers - After 3 years of sexual tension, spies Chuck and Sarah finally, uh, slipped each other the secret password on Chuck. They delayed this as long as they could because as anyone on previous shows driven by sexual tension can tell you, the partys over shortly after the lovin' begins (see Moonlighting). My favorite tv show still may have enough tricks up their sleeve to keep things entertaining, but combining this with having Chuck's sidekick Morgan turn from Buy More manager to goof ball spy reeks of "jumping the shark". Having said that, the story arc leading up to Chuck and Sarah connecting in Paris was awesome bro!

Jammin On The One - Musical luminaries Daryl Hall and Beck have formed separate loose knit groups of musicians to jam with on the internet. Hall (usually assisted by the late T Bone Wolk) has jammed with people like Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy), Todd Rundgren and Diane Birch at his web site Live At Daryls House. Meanwhile, Beck and friends decide to cover an album at a time at Beck's Record Club. Currently, they're covering INXS' classic Kick album. These sites give us music fans the rare chance to be a fly on the wall of these jam sessions we normally read about online or in magazines. Cool stuff.

Send Me Some Pizza Rolls Please! - VH1 News tipped me off to Red Letter Media, a You Tube channel that among other things makes detailed reviews of Star Wars and Star Trek movies. But the reviews aren't just some talking head going on and on, it's done like a video essay acted from the perspective of an elderly homicidal serial killer. The insightful criticism mixed with Saw like impulses and craggy impatience make for demented fun. Included below is part one of the seven part Phantom Menace review.

How Many Roads Must A Man Walk Down, Before You Call Him A Man? - I was watching tv and saw footage of Jakob Dylan at SXSW, totally blown away how much he sounds like his old man as he gets older. This song "Nothing But The Whole Wide World" is nice.

Retro Cool, 1976 Style

I've picked out two songs that I'm currently into that are new yet recall the Bicentennial age. So imagine if you will a suspenseful intro set to ChIps disco music while a car crashes in slow motion, 'cause Jon and Ponch are ready to ride to some hip tunes!

First up, power pop by a band called Free Energy performing a song called...uh, "Free Energy". Looks like the energy shortage of '76 hit song titles. Their jam has the most cowbell heard on the planet since "Don't Fear The Reaper" (from '76) and is well worth a spin on Wolfman Jack's turntable.

Second is the well known actress/indie wonder twins Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward as She and Him. Their sophomore set is being released and the lead single is AM radio ready. Lush, laid back pop. Love Deschanel's slightly deadpan vocal delivery.

All new music to take me back to a time when Pete Rose meant "Charlie Hustle" and not "Disgraced gambler whose amazing baseball career will never achieve the recognition it deserves because he's a jerk". Batter up!

Midnight Madness - Little Rascals Edition

While listening to REO Speedwagon I was reminded of the He Man Woman Haters Club and the Little Rascals (thanks to the song "Tough Guys" from Hi Infidelity, also the first song I owned that had a swear word. The danger!). I grew up watching Little Rascals reruns which I don't see on tv anymore as I guess because its old as hell. Even though I was insultingly nicknamed "Alfalfa" in grade school because my hair was uncontrollable, he was my favorite character. I even imitated his "Oh my darling Clementine" song. In life, I guess Alfalfa had a reputation for not being the nicest person sorta like the Dustin Diamond of his day. But whatchagonnado? On with the madness!

Wind Of Change - long time German metalheads The Scorpions are calling it quits after a farewell album and tour. Gotta give it up to the Scorps, they were old even before hitting it big in the 80s. It's a well deserved retirement for Klaus Meine and gang. My favorite Scorpions memory? I had a friend in college who would replace the word "City" with "Titty" when singing "Big City Nights". Ah the memories...

Conan The Destroyer - So Conan O'Brien got booted off the Tonight Show to the tune of a $44 million severance package. The real prize in entertainment terms was with nothing to lose, Conan was sharper and funnier. That bit with Steve Carell and the exit interview was classic. Watching Conan thumb his nose at NBC was great fun.

Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere - The Who are prepping a greatest hits set for their Super Bowl performance. To make up some drama, will Daltry nail the screaming in "Won't Get Fooled Again"? Big game pressure on that one.

Helping Haiti - A telethon, Radiohead concert and a charity CD have been put together to help the extremely poor country with their recent disaster. Very sad to see the large scale tragedy in Haiti.

I Know What I Like - And it's not a Genesis reunion. Peter Gabriel nixed that despite their induction in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. With Phil Collins on the disabled list, Genesis may need to have their music performed by someone else come ceremony. Mike and the Mechanics?

Clap For The Wolfman - The overexposed movie commercial this week is The Wolfman. I can't bring myself to totally trash this since they got Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins slumming at the same time. Looks like Twilight is going to spark a reboot of all the classic monsters. However, I can rip on From Paris With Love for running a close second. First, stealing a James Bond title is not cool (I know Bond is From Russia With Love, but same diff). And while I sympathize with John Travolta's personal misfortune, didn't he already make this movie? Wasn't it called Swordfish? Oh well, up your nose with a rubber hose.

Last Off The Ponderosa - Pernell Roberts of Bonanza and Trapper John MD fame passed away from cancer. Roberts was the last of the Cartwright clan and beloved for his performance as brainy Adam. I knew him more from Trapper John M.D., a show I watched because I thought it was cool to live in a trailer just outside of your work and the blonde beauty with a boys name (Christopher Norris).

It Takes Diff'rent Strokes - Gary Coleman in trouble again.

Avatar! - Avatar, Avatar, Avatar, Avatar, Avatar. Avatar.

Extreme Measures - Whenever the advertisement for this movie comes on and Brendan Fraser asks if Harrison Ford can save his children, I shout "Of course he can! He's Harrison Fucking Ford!!".

Straight Up- A series of female guest judges have been brought in to fill the spot Paula Abdul had on the American Idol audition trail. Of them, the one I like the most so far is Katy Perry for her willingness to stick it to everyone, particularly fellow judge Kara Dioguardi. Their bickering was almost as entertaining as the bad singing. When Kara mocked Perry's hit by singing "I Kissed A Dolphin And I Liked It..." Perry's reaction was priceless.

Mini DVD Reviews:

• Man On Wire (2008) - Fascinating documentary of a French wire walker who with a team of people infiltrated the Twin Towers to wire walk between them in 1974. An interesting tale of obsession and innocence not just for the wire walker, but for recalling a time when the Twin Towers stood and building security didn't have to be invasive.


• Sunshine Cleaning (2009) - It's indie film paint by numbers with a story about a dysfunctional family which includes a downtroden lead, a burn out, a flim flam daddy and an eccentric precocious little kid. Despite these faults, the actors kick ass (Amy Adams and Emily Blunt are believeable in their characters and draw you into their pathos) and the modest production quality work in their favor. A cut above Lifetime movie of the week thanks to these traits.

I Have Dreams - Brandi Carlisle's single "Dreams" has been popping up in tv commercials and shopping intercoms lately and has become a flavor of the month for me. So here's Carlisle with "Dreams"!

Battle For Heaven And Earth

Khan is taken aback by the never ending struggle of Mick Jones versus Lou Gramm.

Foreigner. Lou Gramm. Since the beginning of time...or 1987...these two forces that once stood proudly together became destined to fight for gravelly throated melodic rock superiority. This came to mind (in much less overblown dramatic fashion) while I was reorganizing my CDs and decided to redo my homemade greatest hits discs. I put Gramm's solo tracks on the same discs as Foreigner because to me there isn't a lot of stylistic difference between the two - some difference but not a lot. Then I noticed of Gramm's three solo releases, they all coincide with timing of a Foreigner release. He even matched the fifteen year gap from 1995 to 2009 by waiting to release a new solo disc until this year (Foreigner's last album before this year was 1994's Mr Moonlight - the last Foreigner album with Gramm singing also). Gramm's new album is called Lou Gramm Band (creative titling there!) while Foreigner (with singer Kelly Hansen) has put out Can't Slow Down (not the Lionel Richie record).

So here we are, 2009 as Mick Jones and Lou Gramm duke it out in the music scene once again. One ring to rule them all! Lou has upped the ante this time by calling on the big man (not Clarence Clemons) to help out as he has recorded a Christian rock album. Jones, not to be outdone, has called on the all powerful Wal Mart to back him up. Both sides are loaded for bear, as Khan said "To the last I will grapple with thee. With my last breath I will spit at thee..." He probably would have said more but Khan died at that point just before the Genesis device exploded (not the band Genesis). So here we go Lou Gramm's song "Baptized By Fire" against Foreigner's "Can't Slow Down" locked in a chart battle that doesn't really exist anymore since neither have been on the pop charts for decades. But hopefully it made for a fun post. And then for even more fun, a video clip from the classic Jones / Gramm years of Foreigner in the form of the awesome "Break It Up". The video is pure Foreigner magic.

Joan Jett Jr.

I was weeding songs out of my IPOD to remove those tunes that show up under shuffle play that don't do it for me when I stumbled on this track that came from a PASTE sampler. After clicking on this not expecting much, I listened while scanning through other song titles and thought "Did I click on Joan Jett?". So I took a look at what I clicked on and it was someone named Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles. A quick look on the internet makes it appear that she's normally a little quirkier so I don't know if I'd like all of what she does, but this song "Do It For Free" is a sneering double barrelled blast of bar band hard rock!

Make Me Smile

Some humorous music videos floating around cyberspace good enough to make a double shot of the funny. The first is from the Jimmy Fallon show doing a perfect imitation of Neil Young singing...The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air theme song. Second up is the viral video of The Muppets performing Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody". Both brought a smile on my face and if you haven't seen these before, enjoy!

The Return Of Shred?

Is it cool to play guitar again? I don't mean just pose with a guitar and fake strum while the song plays which has been the norm in music for a while, I mean full on finger flying speed of light over indulgent guitar solos. The guitar has long been the symbol of rock rebellion, however in the past ten years or so it's been used more as a style accessory than an actual instrument. So to see young 'uns actually play something on it is a big shock. This week's free Itunes download is a singer/guitarist named Orianthi whose song is dull but shreds up a storm with her guitar (even classic 80's metal style hands all up on the neck and everything) suggesting maybe people are ready for this lost art to return.

Then I saw the much maligned (but I personally like 'em) Creed release new stuff. Usually Creed makes the same album each time out and though the beginning of "Overcome" fit in that mold it seemed to hit a little harder. Then when they got to the guitar solo the dude tore it up in a way I can't remember happening on any of their previous three albums. Sure you can still ridicule their sub Pearl Jam post grunge religious rock but hey, I like rock music that has the subtlety of a sledgehammer. So hammer away Creed.

Could this be a hint of things to come? Even Richie Sambora had to go back to the recording studio to redo his solo for Bon Jovi's "We Weren't Born To Follow" because people didn't think he was ripping it enough. Will rock fans have a real reason to pump their devil horns in the sky again? It just may happen.

I Saw It On TV

For today's KRQR Double Shot, I have two songs that I've gotten into through commercial means. These songs were probably hot months or years ago but you know me, a little slow.

First up is The Moldy Peaches song "Anyone Else But You" aka the song that Ellen Page and that Hugh Grant of the teen set (meaning working the befuddled charm angle) Michael Cera sing at the end of the film Juno. I also heard the melody of this song used in a recent commercial I think it was for either a theme park or state tourism. Anyway, the song has a nice trade off of male and female voices like they're having a musical conversation. Pleasant and intriguing stuff.

The second one is The Submarines "You, Me and the Bourgeoisie" aka the AT&T song. Everytime I listen to it I can't help but think "More bars in more places, the new AT&T" which takes some of the fun away but lets face it, without the commercial I wouldn't know this song from dirt. Now that I've heard it, I like it!.

Walking With The Panther

For a couple of years I've been hearing about and seeing this sort of joke hair metal band on television that currently is called Steel Panther (I think they've had a few names before this one). They've made a name at being a comedy metal band while playing blazing covers of 80's metal classics. Now they've released an album of original material that accurately rocks in the spandex and scissor kicks style while simultaneously poking fun at the shallow excess of the genre. Their humor is crude so other than the "clean" version of the Warrantesque power ballad "Community Property" (which I mean clean in a comparative way) below the rest I'll have to include in links. If you're a fan of old school pop metal and nasty R rated non pc jokes, this is a really funny and entertaining band. And if you love sappy epic power ballads like I do, this song "Community Property" shoots holes through 'em to reveal the true message of these tunes that we all knew but never had spelled out for us. Their album Feel The Steel includes Motley Crueish "Death To All But Metal" and also the "dirty" version of "Community Property" (which is really dirty, but really funny). So put your lighters, I mean cell phones, up in the air and watch out for Riki Rachtman sightings because it's Steel Panther time!

More New Music

Senators, tennis pros and rappers oh my! Having an outburst is the hot new thang. I haven't had much time for posting this week so I'm gonna do an outburst myself with some odds and ends new music I meant to feature last week but forgot about.

William Elliott Whitmore popped on my IPOD from a Paste sampler, I was impressed by this track with its old school feel. "There's Hope For You" makes me feel like I'm at the end of one of those movies where some dramatic thing happened and now we see a montage of different characters acting reflective while doing different things in different places.

This next band I can't criticize too harshly because they're kids. Somebody please think of the children! Won't someone think of the children? I saw this video on tv and spent the whole time wondering if this was a marketing trick or if they're really playing? From seeing this clip on Letterman it looks like they really play their instruments, pretty impressive. The song is just OK. Their name definitely sounds like a marketing construct made for their Disneyfied pop punk - Care Bears On Fire.

One of my favorite 90's bands, The Black Crowes, have a new set out. I'm on the fence on the first single "I Ain't Hiding", I'll have to give it a few more plays on the Pod to get a real opinion on it. It has a dance groove that I'm not entirely sold on though I like that it displays more energy than anything from their previous album.

After coming up with one of the best 70's sounding rockers of the 21st Century, Wolfmother is back (well, at least Andrew Stockdale is back with new band members) to try to do it again. Groovy!

Death Cab For Cutie has a new song for I think Twilight called "Meet Me On The Equinox" which isn't too bad, but what I'm hooked on is a song from their recent The Open Door Ep called "Little Bribes". I like the fuzzed out jauntiness and lyric about slot machines being like one armed robot amputees waving hello. That's clever.

And last, I've gotta give props to Dream Theater's new power ballad "Wither". Easily the best song from the new disc (an album I liked less and less the more I played it which was a bummer 'cause I love that band) they get some nice flick your bic moments packed into this hair metal sounding weeper.

Buzz Clips

Mastodon...you like...yes?

Like MTV of old, I'm going to feature some Buzz Clips. These are bands that are new to me that I'm checking into based on the media buzz around them. I read about these groups online, in magazines and what not which leads me to wonder "What's the big deal?" so I play a song and give them a chance. Because as much as I love my old favorites, I'll never hear anything new by just playing the classics.

Fleet Foxes "White Winter Hymnal"

This band has had a buzz for months now, an interesting return of 60's style chamber pop. Strangely hypnotic, I like it.

Silversun Pickups "Panic Switch"

Often compared to one of my favorite bands The Smashing Pumpkins, the SSP come across like a modern update to that classic band. Good stuff.

Kings Of Leon "Use Somebody"

This band hasn't had a buzz for months, it's had it for years. I've given then a chance before with their loose limbed Southern rock and while I thought they were OK I didn't really dig them. They're having a lot of commercial success now and I can see why: they changed their sound to a tighter, more accessible approach. And yet I still can't get into them.

Mastodon "Oblivion"

21st Century hard rock doesn't appeal to me yet this band does. They rock hard but get almost prog metal in parts plus they look like regular rock dudes instead of posers. This is the second song I've heard from them, I've been impressed both times. And this video reminds me a bit of that movie Sunshine.

Iron & Wine "Flightless Bird, American Mouth"

I mentioned strangely hypnotic before, ditto this guy who goes by the name Iron & Wine. I can't even figure out what this song is about exactly, I just like the sensitive mewing and lilting melody. This song I think is from 2007 but appears to have renewed exposure through the Twilight movie. Haven't seen Twilight, but now before playing this song in concert he can say "Hey, suck on this!" Heh heh...vampires.
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Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat "Lucky"

My mother in law recommended this song to us because it reminded her of me and my wife. It's a pleasant song. A love song that has enough of a beat to avoid being cloying. Plus, it comes in espanol (different girl singer included)! And I think it's very nice that the song reminded my mother in law of us :)

Hey, I did it! I found some new bands to write about. Will any of them stick with me? Only time will tell...

Let The Flannel Fly

I was hoping to dig up artists I was less familiar with this week that would catch my ear but so far no luck. But there does seem to be a glut of bands I know pretty well and in 2009 it looks like there's some room for a 90's revival to begin. One of my favorites of the Grunge era, Pearl Jam, has lined up a new album of material to follow up on their excellent self titled disc a few years back. The jury's still out on their first single "The Fixer", I didn't love it the first time I listened but Pearl Jam makes songs that grow on me after a little while. It's been a wild year for PJ, bassist Jeff Ament got mugged outside of the recording studio and the band has set up a deal with Target for the album release. The Target deal has some crying "sell out" to the group that made its name battling big corporations like Ticketmaster (the nickname "Ticketbastard" floated around a lot at that time). While I find the deal out of character for this hyper conscienscious liberal politicking band, I'm not going to judge them because I got bills to pay too. Their upcoming new disc is called Backspacer.

Alice in Chains is also returning sans deceased front man Layne Staley, who sadly OD'd in his angry chair a while back. The guy replacing Staley seems capable though certainly less charismatic. The rest of the band can still do the low sludgy droning thang they do so well, but there was never a question about that. It does remind me of a little story though that I'll call "Man In A Box".

I saw Jerry Cantrell live about ten years ago at the Fillmore, he showed up hecka late for the gig. Once he got there he did play well, maybe a little too well. The crowd was enthusiastic throughout the program while I patiently waited to see if he would play my favorite AIC song, "Them Bones". When the band launched into that mighty opening riff, the Fillmore became unglued. A mosh pit formed all around us and I spent the whole song facing away from the stage so I could block running fools from slamming into us like an offensive guard. I hate mosh pits, if I wanted to tackle people I would do it for free in the street and not somewhere I paid to be. Anyway, that's my ranty Alice in Chains story. No mosh pit for any other song by the way, just the one I was waiting to hear. Their new disc coming up is called Black Gives Way To Blue and the single is "Check My Brain".

Once you're done reliving 1976 at Wal-Mart, just jump on over to Target for a healthy dose of 90's renaissance. You better check yourself before you wreck yourself, you feel me playa? Run Forrest Run! Help, I've fallen and I can't get up. Wassup!

Feels Like The Third Time

Aw man, they don't let KISS replacement members pick out their own makeup anymore. At least Eric Carr got to be a...was it a fox or something? And Vinnie Vincent had an ankh on his face? At least they didn't have to go out and look like Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. I'm sure any woman would tell you, you wouldn't want to be caught dead in someone else's make up. Was that sexist or what?

Last year when Journey surprised naysayers by having a Platinum release via an exclusive deal through Wal-Mart, other classic rock bands took note. It could be argued that Journey took note of AC/DC, but we all knew AC/DC was going to sell wherever they went. No, Journey set the bar by snapping up a controversial lead singer and selling two cds/1 dvd as a $12.00 set and being successful at it-even with the extra handicap of including a disc of new material.

Two bands seek to repeat Journey's comeback, one being the totally logical choice- Foreigner. Though Mick Jones is now the sole original member, he's spent the last few years touring with a reliable set of musicians including Kelly Hansen (ex-Hurricane) and Jeff Pilson (ex-Dokken). And like Journey their signature vocalist is no where to be found (with Foreigner that is, Lou Gramm released a Christian rock album and played the local state fair earlier this year). In the grand tradition of Foreigner releases there is an awkward album title Can't Slow Down (hoping for some of that Lionel Richie magic twenty years too late) and a bad album cover that looks like the view screen from the original Star Trek series.

But with heaven on their side and Producer Mick Ronson at the boards, Foreigner just may rock it out of the box yet. Their new single is called "When It Comes To Love"

Never one to miss out on a lucrative financial deal, KISS will also jump on the Wal Mart bandwagon too. Sonic Boom is coming and though the original membership is down to Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley again, hope is still alive that KISS can still pack 'em in the seats. And if you think AC/DC had things to cross market at Wal-Mart display stands, KISS can pretty much take over the whole store. KISS clothing, KISS toilet paper, KISS coffins, KISS microwave popcorn probably - is there anything they don't market with their brand? Even their personal life is for sale (I have to admit Gene's Family Jewels tv show is an occasional guilty pleasure). For some reason their lead single "Modern Day Delilah" has a guitar riff that reminds me of Pearl Jam's "Animal". Could be just me though.

So get ready for those rollbacks Wal Mart shoppers, because Foreigner and Kiss are gonna rock you like it's 1976 again. Back when you shopped blue light specials at K-Mart instead of Wal Mart, back when Ken Griffey Sr. played baseball instead of Ken Griffey Jr., back when people knew what a bicentennial was. The Spirit of '76 lives on!

In The Heat Of The Night

Every once in a while I like to poke my head out and see what's happening in music that's new...or at least new to me. This week I'm dedicating to looking at new music either from artists that I haven't heard of before or established artists releasing new stuff. Plus, I get to be a little lazy about posting because I know the topic for a whole week of what I'm gonna write about. A win - win situation.

So, first up is an artist I came across on one of the music samplers that come with PASTE magazine. PASTE has been a great resource for finding great new music in the past, I've gotten into Rilo Kiley, The Bridges, Spoon, Arcade Fire and others through this awesome periodical. While playing a recent sampler, this tune jumped out at me that sounded real old school soul. It was a song by Shemekia Copeland called "Never Going Back To Memphis". Cool jam, reminds me of the sort of thing that shows up on a Quintan Tarantino soundtrack. Whoever plays guitar on this is pretty good too.

Time Passages

One of my favorite bands, Dream Theater, is set to drop a new disc in a few weeks called Black Clouds and Silver Linings. They have a new video out for the first single, the heavy rocker "A Rite Of Passage." Looking forward to some brand new Dream Theater!