Hoo-boy, what a lot of music around here. I still haven't gotten to all of the records I found at the May garage sale, and have only given my little haul of cheap-o CDs a cursory listen so far. I grabbed some super deals at the nearby Value Village (a Goodwill/Salvation Army sort of shop), and also nabbed a handful of nice oldies for a song on the Discogs website. So I'm set for a little while.
To begin, I located a CD copy of In Trance, by Scorpions. Though it's excellent 70's hard rock/metal that sounds fine on disc, I would have preferred it on vinyl, but the record commands high prices on the used market... the CD wasn't so cheap either. But I sort of lucked out with this new (still sealed) Japanese import from a third-party seller through Walmart online. Not cheap for a CD, but reasonable given it's rarity and value elsewhere. A seriously rockin' album, pretty much every song a winner. Favourites are Dark Lady, In Trance, Robot Man, and Longing For Fire.
The vinyl LPs I discovered at the Value Village for only a buck apiece:
Rollin', by Bay City Rollers (I owned this on 8-track tape when I was a kid in the mid-70's; it's practically a greatest hits package, with all their catchiest songs on there. My current fave is Jenny Gotta Dance.)
Gold, by Marty Robbins (a cool compilation of the country storyteller's best... my first country LP, and I really like it. Kicks off with the ultra-cool El Paso.)
From the Heart, by Marty Robbins (another comp, packed with even more great tunes)
My vinyl score from a Discogs.com seller, again extremely affordable and terrific music:
The Age of Plastic, by The Buggles (never heard this before, besides the massive 80's hit Video Killed the Radio Star... very cool... perfect late night synth-pop music)
Bad Habits, by The Monks (had this briefly in the 80's... a tape-to-tape dub. The LP is a big improvement in sound. Punk-pop at its freshest here... like the snarling Johnny B Rotten.)
Love Crimes, by Harlequin (a really clean studio album by a band I once saw perform at my high school. Radio-friendly AOR (album-oriented rock) that still sounds great)
It'll Shine When It Shines, by Ozark Mountain Daredevils (contains a fave old song "Jackie Blue", though I need to give the whole thing a closer listen soon. Country rock sort of in the same vein as the Eagles).
When I wasn't busy spinning records or CDs, I tried out some tunes both old and new-ish. I put on my long-neglected Caress of Steel CD, by Rush, but was extremely underwhelmed. The only track that still grabbed me was No One At the Bridge, which I long ago learned to play nearly note-for-note on guitar. But the rest of the album... kind of dull to my ears now. I am no longer the rabid Rush fanboy I once was, and am very particular about the Rush music I now listen to. I may revisit their second album, Fly By Night, one of these days.
Over on Youtube, I tried out some Magoth, and their Anti Terrestrial Black Metal album. Just like the title says, this is black metal and man, it's insane. A thick wall of guitar mastery, heavy chilling music composed of alien chord progressions and interstellar soloing. Intense yet very easy to listen to... again and again and again. Check out these modern purveyors of the metal that is black on Youtube here.
I also checked out for the first time Exodus, who emerged on the California thrash scene back in the late 70's and rocked the scene during the 80's. How did I miss these guys back when I was knee-deep in Metallica, Anthrax, and Megadeth? Incredibly melodic guitar work overlays crushing rhythms - I'm thinking of Funeral Hymn here. Most of what I watched of these guys was filmed live at the Wacken Open Air metal festival in 2008.
Kreator is another thrash band that evaded me back in the day, but I am making that right by investigating them now. There is talent there, as you can hear on Gods of Violence... the live version at Bloodstock in 2017, again on Youtube. Ringing guitar licks and leads pop over the super-heavy chordage. These guys, too, have been hammering away since the early 80's, though their German heritage seems to inject a certain distinguishing quality to their music.
Now... back to the Rollers... Shang-A-Lang... "hey, hey rockin' to the music"!
Pop Culture Time Machine
Saturday, June 30, 2018
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Movie Remakes Cage Match: Last Man on Earth vs Omega Man vs I Am Legend
Today's movie remake cage match pits three adaptations of the 1954 novel I Am Legend against each other. The original film, entitled The Last Man on Earth, was an Italian-American production, released in 1964. A sci-fi/horror film, it didn't make much of an impression on its first theatrical run, but over time, the movie has become regarded as a classic of the genre. Only real fans know about this one.
The Last Man on Earth starred the incomparable Vincent Price, who remained fond of the film long after his time on that particular job. Richard Matheson, author of the 1954 source novel and the movie's screenplay co-writer, on the other hand, was not happy with the final cut. So he had his name changed (to "Logan Swanson") in the film's credits. But I like it.
There is a low-budget charm about Last Man... Price elevates the picture from what could have been drudgery. Maybe less than perfect, the movie is still very watchable. The original black-and-white version (a colourized variant came later) set a suitable atmosphere for Price's bleak and morbid daily (and nightly) life: wake up, eat breakfast, collect bodies on the front lawn, haul them to the charnel pit, collect supplies, go home and carve more stakes, hunt down more vampires, then spend the rest of the evening drinking and listening to records as the creatures scratch at his barred doors and windows. Next day... same thing. On and on.
Price played his character with complexity. His multi-layered portrayal made this more than just another B-movie. Filmed in Italy to keep costs down, The Last Man on Earth manages more on story and Price's performance... and it succeeds thanks to the strength of those elements. I prefer this version to later re-tellings.
I have hazier memories of the 1971 remake, The Omega Man. It was so many years ago that I first, and last, watched it. This time, good ol' Charlton Heston is the star. Not nearly as atmospheric as its cinematic predecessor, this plays out like an action movie. There's almost an exploitation film feel about it, too, given the time period. Sort of Dirty Harry meets Night of the Living Dead. And these creatures aren't at all creepy, just robed albinos running around... not the zombie-like shamblers of the original film. But again, my memory of Omega Man is lacking. I checked out the trailer on Youtube as a refresher, and I have to say it doesn't look nearly as cool as Last Man. Ah, well.
I Am Legend, the movie, hit the big screen in 2007. This re-hash took its title directly from the '54 novel, so hopes were higher, I suppose. But with Will Smith at the wheel, who knew what was to come?
There are some stunning visuals in I Am Legend. The scenes of a deserted New York City, with wildlife running through the streets, were a sight to behold. Some of the CGI looks weak by today's standards, though... such effects realism has come a long way since then, so the "infected" (mutants created by a virus) and some of the animals just don't hold up. The fast-running, roaring zombie-creatures don't do it for me, either. Hey, I'm oldschool when it comes to this stuff. Will Smith had his day long ago, and as far as I'm concerned, his dramatic turns are hit and miss. I found I Am Legend fine at the time of its release, but there isn't much there to convince me to try it again. Only a little creepy in parts, this is an actioner (no big surprise, with Smith on board... machine guns blazing), closer to the Omega Man version, and thereby not as strong as it could have been. A so-so big-budget flick that fared well enough at the box office, but it's not a memorable movie by any standard.
Now... back to work... those stakes aren't going to sharpen themselves.
The Last Man on Earth starred the incomparable Vincent Price, who remained fond of the film long after his time on that particular job. Richard Matheson, author of the 1954 source novel and the movie's screenplay co-writer, on the other hand, was not happy with the final cut. So he had his name changed (to "Logan Swanson") in the film's credits. But I like it.
There is a low-budget charm about Last Man... Price elevates the picture from what could have been drudgery. Maybe less than perfect, the movie is still very watchable. The original black-and-white version (a colourized variant came later) set a suitable atmosphere for Price's bleak and morbid daily (and nightly) life: wake up, eat breakfast, collect bodies on the front lawn, haul them to the charnel pit, collect supplies, go home and carve more stakes, hunt down more vampires, then spend the rest of the evening drinking and listening to records as the creatures scratch at his barred doors and windows. Next day... same thing. On and on.
Price played his character with complexity. His multi-layered portrayal made this more than just another B-movie. Filmed in Italy to keep costs down, The Last Man on Earth manages more on story and Price's performance... and it succeeds thanks to the strength of those elements. I prefer this version to later re-tellings.
I have hazier memories of the 1971 remake, The Omega Man. It was so many years ago that I first, and last, watched it. This time, good ol' Charlton Heston is the star. Not nearly as atmospheric as its cinematic predecessor, this plays out like an action movie. There's almost an exploitation film feel about it, too, given the time period. Sort of Dirty Harry meets Night of the Living Dead. And these creatures aren't at all creepy, just robed albinos running around... not the zombie-like shamblers of the original film. But again, my memory of Omega Man is lacking. I checked out the trailer on Youtube as a refresher, and I have to say it doesn't look nearly as cool as Last Man. Ah, well.
I Am Legend, the movie, hit the big screen in 2007. This re-hash took its title directly from the '54 novel, so hopes were higher, I suppose. But with Will Smith at the wheel, who knew what was to come?
There are some stunning visuals in I Am Legend. The scenes of a deserted New York City, with wildlife running through the streets, were a sight to behold. Some of the CGI looks weak by today's standards, though... such effects realism has come a long way since then, so the "infected" (mutants created by a virus) and some of the animals just don't hold up. The fast-running, roaring zombie-creatures don't do it for me, either. Hey, I'm oldschool when it comes to this stuff. Will Smith had his day long ago, and as far as I'm concerned, his dramatic turns are hit and miss. I found I Am Legend fine at the time of its release, but there isn't much there to convince me to try it again. Only a little creepy in parts, this is an actioner (no big surprise, with Smith on board... machine guns blazing), closer to the Omega Man version, and thereby not as strong as it could have been. A so-so big-budget flick that fared well enough at the box office, but it's not a memorable movie by any standard.
Now... back to work... those stakes aren't going to sharpen themselves.
Saturday, June 16, 2018
War Movies Are Hell
When I was a kid, I wasn't big on war movies. I preferred lighter fare, fun monsters and superhumans and comedy. I guess generations past of kids had fewer film genres to choose from, and might have had more interest in cinematic war stories... along with westerns, which haven't exactly been in style for decades. Anyway, once I hit my teenage years, I began to develop a taste for war movies, first the toned-down older ones on TV, and then graduating to darker, more serious modern ones on home video and in cinemas. Here are a handful of the war flicks that I feel stand out above the rest:
If you asked me what my favourite war film is, without even a pause to think about it, I'd say Apocalypse Now. It is both a "guy movie" (a man on a deadly mission) and a beautiful work of art. Visually and musically, Apocalypse Now has a sort of poetry about it, and has become a fixture in pop culture... maybe not quite the same way that Terminator and Superman have, but hey, I'm sure you've heard people quote (and misquote) lines from the movie: "I love the smell of napalm in the morning - it smells like victory". Or "The horror... the horror".
There have been homages to, and spoofs of, Apocalypse Now... and you know that old saying: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". Images and music and dialogue from the movie are imprinted on the minds of people the world over, even those who haven't even seen the film. Like Martin Sheen, covered in mud, creeping through the Vietnam waters on his night-time assassination operation. Or the famous village bombing by helicopter - with Wagner's Ride of the Valkyrie playing - to make way for a surfing outing. The final killing scene, with veteran actor Marlon Brando in full madness mode. As the movie progresses, the fairly straightforward story becomes more and more surreal... featuring memorable creative imagery and music. The Doors' song The End became even more widely known after its use in both the opening and ending sequences of Apocalypse Now. This highly-lauded 1979 movie truly cemented director Francis Ford Coppola's reputation as a master film-maker.
Paths of Glory is an older picture, released in 1957, but is no less compelling. Certainly less sprawling and artsy than Apocalypse Now, Paths of Glory's anti-war stance made it the subject of much attention and controversy. Director Stanley Kubrick contrasts WWI's intimate trench warfare and its grim reality of death with the privileged and powerful top brass engaged in glitzy galas far from the action. Generals, back in their cozy offices with tea service, order inhumane methods to be carried out on the battlefield. Yes, Kubrick pushed some buttons back in the day, and Paths of Glory was censored and even banned in some countries. An excellent cast, including Kirk Douglas, Adolphe Menjou, and George Macready, delivers taut performances all around... and the screenplay packs a fiery wallop of a message.
Guns of Navarone is a big budget World War II action movie that I still love after several viewings during my life. This 1961 classic is loaded with a gripping storyline that builds and builds, and a cast of Hollywood greats of that era, including Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn. Its epic quality is aided in no small part by the location photography on the Greek islands and the superior musical score, which featured traditional songs of the area. An exciting dramatic picture on all counts!
I'm a fan of submarine movies, but I talk about them elsewhere on the blog (here), so I won't go into any detail in this post. Let's just say that I consider Das Boot and Run Silent Run Deep among the best war pictures.
Other old classics I really like are: Platoon, M.A.S.H., Full Metal Jacket, The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Deer Hunter, Hamburger Hill, Lawrence of Arabia, and Hell in the Pacific. All of these are entertaining, though most are thought-provoking and often controversial. And some are nightmarish. Hey, it's war.
Modern wartime films that impress me are Black Hawk Down, The Hurt Locker, and Hacksaw Ridge. There are a handful that I've yet to see, like Dunkirk, and I have Jarhead on deck to watch very shortly. And I need to revisit The Thin Red Line one of these days... I saw it years ago, but have little memory of it today.
If you asked me what my favourite war film is, without even a pause to think about it, I'd say Apocalypse Now. It is both a "guy movie" (a man on a deadly mission) and a beautiful work of art. Visually and musically, Apocalypse Now has a sort of poetry about it, and has become a fixture in pop culture... maybe not quite the same way that Terminator and Superman have, but hey, I'm sure you've heard people quote (and misquote) lines from the movie: "I love the smell of napalm in the morning - it smells like victory". Or "The horror... the horror".
There have been homages to, and spoofs of, Apocalypse Now... and you know that old saying: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". Images and music and dialogue from the movie are imprinted on the minds of people the world over, even those who haven't even seen the film. Like Martin Sheen, covered in mud, creeping through the Vietnam waters on his night-time assassination operation. Or the famous village bombing by helicopter - with Wagner's Ride of the Valkyrie playing - to make way for a surfing outing. The final killing scene, with veteran actor Marlon Brando in full madness mode. As the movie progresses, the fairly straightforward story becomes more and more surreal... featuring memorable creative imagery and music. The Doors' song The End became even more widely known after its use in both the opening and ending sequences of Apocalypse Now. This highly-lauded 1979 movie truly cemented director Francis Ford Coppola's reputation as a master film-maker.
Paths of Glory is an older picture, released in 1957, but is no less compelling. Certainly less sprawling and artsy than Apocalypse Now, Paths of Glory's anti-war stance made it the subject of much attention and controversy. Director Stanley Kubrick contrasts WWI's intimate trench warfare and its grim reality of death with the privileged and powerful top brass engaged in glitzy galas far from the action. Generals, back in their cozy offices with tea service, order inhumane methods to be carried out on the battlefield. Yes, Kubrick pushed some buttons back in the day, and Paths of Glory was censored and even banned in some countries. An excellent cast, including Kirk Douglas, Adolphe Menjou, and George Macready, delivers taut performances all around... and the screenplay packs a fiery wallop of a message.
Guns of Navarone is a big budget World War II action movie that I still love after several viewings during my life. This 1961 classic is loaded with a gripping storyline that builds and builds, and a cast of Hollywood greats of that era, including Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn. Its epic quality is aided in no small part by the location photography on the Greek islands and the superior musical score, which featured traditional songs of the area. An exciting dramatic picture on all counts!
Gregory Peck, iron-jawed and all business
in Guns of Navarone
I'm a fan of submarine movies, but I talk about them elsewhere on the blog (here), so I won't go into any detail in this post. Let's just say that I consider Das Boot and Run Silent Run Deep among the best war pictures.
Other old classics I really like are: Platoon, M.A.S.H., Full Metal Jacket, The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Deer Hunter, Hamburger Hill, Lawrence of Arabia, and Hell in the Pacific. All of these are entertaining, though most are thought-provoking and often controversial. And some are nightmarish. Hey, it's war.
Modern wartime films that impress me are Black Hawk Down, The Hurt Locker, and Hacksaw Ridge. There are a handful that I've yet to see, like Dunkirk, and I have Jarhead on deck to watch very shortly. And I need to revisit The Thin Red Line one of these days... I saw it years ago, but have little memory of it today.
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Earworm Part II
Your alarm clock/radio wake-up song sets the tone for the day ahead. An irritating tune can positively dominate and ruin your mood for the morning... if you're lucky enough to shake it loose by the afternoon.
I set my alarm clock radio on a station that plays innocuous music that I never recognize, so it never sticks in my head and bothers me. I can never identify the song or even the artist... it's just loud enough to wake me, but beyond that, I'm home free.
The real challenge is when I arrive at my workplace, a store where the management pumps the vilest modern pop crap via satellite radio into the establishment. And it plays havoc with our (us, the monkeys who toil on the salesfloor) poor ears and brains. I mean, if it were a bigger mix of music with more turnover on the playlist, it wouldn't be that big a deal. But hearing the same short set of tracks several times a shift... every single day... for many months. Well, that's just crazy. Bordering on CIA waterboarding-type tactics. Yeah, one of these days, one of us is gonna snap.
I've always been such a music fan that I have hours (no, days or even weeks) of music in my memory that I can play in my head whole songs and albums... even the entire catalogues of favourite artists. My internal music station isn't always able to drown out the store's teeth-grinding audio, but I do my best to tune out the drivel from the surrounding speakers and keep my own favourite songs going inside my skull. Occasionally, I have the ability to run whole albums or at least album sides... like the twenty minute 2112 suite by Rush, or if I'm lucky, the entire 2112 album.
More often than not, despite my best efforts, I am besieged by the tinny, screeching racket that is forced on us. Those poor excuses for music can get lodged in my grey matter and I find myself humming unwanted mindless melodies.
Then there are the songs stuck in my head that I don't mind so much. These are almost never from the store's satellite playlist, though. They might just pop up from my subconscious, buried there after a few hours or days, or several years. As long as I like them, I don't worry about the repetition so much. A little annoying maybe, but I can live with them. And this is the music I'd like to document here today... welcome tunes that stick in my head for hours and even days are:
Radar Rider, by Riggs... a very strange thing to come up, but hey, it's catchy as hell. I have always known the song from the soundtrack of the 1981 animated movie Heavy Metal. A seriously catchy heavy song by a rather obscure and even under-rated band.
Bon Appetit, by Katy Perry... frowned upon by some of my peers, this 2018 light electronica ditty frequently worms its way into my mind-grapes and settles in for a nice long stay. Yet I never tire of it. Some pop, done just so, like this, appeals to me.
Invader, by Judas Priest... a metal gem off the '78 Stained Class album. Among my fave Priest songs, I can keep this running on a loop all day long sometimes. Not quite as refined and technical as the band's 80's output, oldies like this possess a charm all their own.
The Conjuring, by Megadeth... just one of the 80's thrash metal classics off side one of Peace Sells, it's my top choice off the album and is easily among my all-time faves from the band. The whole side one sometimes gets a spin on my mental turntable... Wake Up Dead, The Conjuring, Peace Sells, and Devil's Island.
House of Pain, by Van Halen... oddly, I gave this song a miss many times back in the day, while cranking my 1984 cassette tape and later, the CD. I've been known to spin the entire album at times (Friday afternoons at work, watching that clock tick toward Miller Time) on my private radio station. But when I finally "got" this song, I couldn't get enough of it. A heavy and menacing track, not nearly as bright and carefree as the rest of the album.
Nightrain, by Guns'n'Roses... not exactly my favourite - musically - off that infamous debut album, yet the lyrics are just so evocative and "street" that they are fun to recall and cycle around the noggin. I sometimes struggle with the words and get them out of order, but that's half the fun... even just recite a few lines to entertain co-workers.
I set my alarm clock radio on a station that plays innocuous music that I never recognize, so it never sticks in my head and bothers me. I can never identify the song or even the artist... it's just loud enough to wake me, but beyond that, I'm home free.
The real challenge is when I arrive at my workplace, a store where the management pumps the vilest modern pop crap via satellite radio into the establishment. And it plays havoc with our (us, the monkeys who toil on the salesfloor) poor ears and brains. I mean, if it were a bigger mix of music with more turnover on the playlist, it wouldn't be that big a deal. But hearing the same short set of tracks several times a shift... every single day... for many months. Well, that's just crazy. Bordering on CIA waterboarding-type tactics. Yeah, one of these days, one of us is gonna snap.
I've always been such a music fan that I have hours (no, days or even weeks) of music in my memory that I can play in my head whole songs and albums... even the entire catalogues of favourite artists. My internal music station isn't always able to drown out the store's teeth-grinding audio, but I do my best to tune out the drivel from the surrounding speakers and keep my own favourite songs going inside my skull. Occasionally, I have the ability to run whole albums or at least album sides... like the twenty minute 2112 suite by Rush, or if I'm lucky, the entire 2112 album.
More often than not, despite my best efforts, I am besieged by the tinny, screeching racket that is forced on us. Those poor excuses for music can get lodged in my grey matter and I find myself humming unwanted mindless melodies.
Then there are the songs stuck in my head that I don't mind so much. These are almost never from the store's satellite playlist, though. They might just pop up from my subconscious, buried there after a few hours or days, or several years. As long as I like them, I don't worry about the repetition so much. A little annoying maybe, but I can live with them. And this is the music I'd like to document here today... welcome tunes that stick in my head for hours and even days are:
Radar Rider, by Riggs... a very strange thing to come up, but hey, it's catchy as hell. I have always known the song from the soundtrack of the 1981 animated movie Heavy Metal. A seriously catchy heavy song by a rather obscure and even under-rated band.
Bon Appetit, by Katy Perry... frowned upon by some of my peers, this 2018 light electronica ditty frequently worms its way into my mind-grapes and settles in for a nice long stay. Yet I never tire of it. Some pop, done just so, like this, appeals to me.
Invader, by Judas Priest... a metal gem off the '78 Stained Class album. Among my fave Priest songs, I can keep this running on a loop all day long sometimes. Not quite as refined and technical as the band's 80's output, oldies like this possess a charm all their own.
The Conjuring, by Megadeth... just one of the 80's thrash metal classics off side one of Peace Sells, it's my top choice off the album and is easily among my all-time faves from the band. The whole side one sometimes gets a spin on my mental turntable... Wake Up Dead, The Conjuring, Peace Sells, and Devil's Island.
House of Pain, by Van Halen... oddly, I gave this song a miss many times back in the day, while cranking my 1984 cassette tape and later, the CD. I've been known to spin the entire album at times (Friday afternoons at work, watching that clock tick toward Miller Time) on my private radio station. But when I finally "got" this song, I couldn't get enough of it. A heavy and menacing track, not nearly as bright and carefree as the rest of the album.
Nightrain, by Guns'n'Roses... not exactly my favourite - musically - off that infamous debut album, yet the lyrics are just so evocative and "street" that they are fun to recall and cycle around the noggin. I sometimes struggle with the words and get them out of order, but that's half the fun... even just recite a few lines to entertain co-workers.
Saturday, June 2, 2018
The Listening Booth & New Records
Whew... what a couple of weeks. I scored some pretty sweet deals on vinyl and even some (gasp!) CDs.
Last weekend, I found myself a selection of cool records at a massive community garage sale (see my previous post about that). I also walked away from an estate sale with a small stack of much-wanted CDs at rock bottom prices. I had to restrain myself from doing more damage to my wallet. Though I try to avoid adding to my already bursting CD shelving units, these discs were so low in price - and some are never going to make it to vinyl - that I couldn't refuse. In fact, several of the CDs are "testers", to see if I might like to explore those bands' music further... on vinyl.
My little CD haul:
Gold, by the Scorpions, a 2-CD compilation
Gold, by Whitesnake, also a double disc comp
Motley Crue's Greatest Hits
Painkiller, by Judas Priest (never checked this out in its entirety before)
Greatest Hits, by ABBA (includes a few tunes not on the vinyl record Hits Vol. 2 I have)
Van Halen II, a remaster upgrade (I'll gift my old copy to a friend)
Women and Children First, by Van Halen, also a remaster upgrade
1984, by Van Halen, again an upgrade, even though I also have the vinyl LP
Love at First Sting, by Scorpions (a re-buy, used to have this years ago... re-lovin' it!)
ln the vinyl department... I snagged a couple of very affordable Kylie Minogue 7-inch singles, "vintage" from 1989 and '90 . I got them mainly for display purposes and to add to my little Kylie collection. Both have nice sleeves bearing photos of the much younger, and always photogenic, Princess of Pop.
A few weeks back, I got a used copy of Taken By Force, by the Scorpions. This 1977 record sounds amazing: here the German band played more of a hard rock, almost funky, almost progressive style, and it really rips. Not as metallic as the Scorps' subsequent albums (Lovedrive, Animal Magnetism, Blackout, Love at First Sting, etc), Taken By Force shows off their chops and songwriting far better.
And just in, my friendly neighbourhood postal worker delivered to me the brand spankin' new Ghost album, Prequelle... on vinyl. I spun that baby last night, and while I certainly did not dislike the album, I think I need a little more time to decide how I feel about the music. Definitely some strong songs on there that impressed me right away, but others might need extra effort. The single "Rats" really stands out, that's for sure.
I did some other listening, all on Youtube, to investigate some other albums, bands, and genres. It was a nice surprise discovering the early 70's music of the Scorpions, albums like Lonesome Crow, Fly to the Rainbow, and In Trance (got my eye on that one, though it's rare and expensive on vinyl).
I also had the itch to try out more Black Metal. From what I'd heard so far, I wasn't over the moon about much from that extreme music genre, but a few years back, I did find something to like about Satyricon, Carpathian Forest, and Agalloch (bleak, creepy acoustic "folk" black metal). Even though I don't love this music, it's fascinating in a dark and hypnotic way. Probably subliminal messages in the songs, right?
For my recent foray, I scanned several Top Black Metal Bands lists online, then tried to hit as many as possible of the key artists in the genre... Behemoth, Gorgoroth, Mayhem, Destroyer 666, Emperor, Burzum, Darkthrone, Enslaved, Blut Aus Nord, more Agalloch, Immortal, Dissection, Bathory, Dimmu Borgir, Marduk, Watain, Magoth, more Satyricon, more Carpathian Forest... and a few others.
I think I covered all the main ones, those that fans agree are among the most talented. Again, while I'm not enamored with the genre, I can appreciate some bands, or at least the odd album by them. I can't really explain what it is I like about Carpathian Forest... they just sound so EVIL... chilling sometimes... and that must appeal to my horror movie fan self. Plus there's a more rock'n'roll feel to some of their stuff - like actually discernible guitar riffs and slightly slower, bashier drums... and dare I say it, Carpathian Forest sounds more musical, almost melodic, than their BM kin. And if it needs to be said, their raspy vocals are far easier on my ears and brain than the "cookie monster" gutteral style of other bands, which is actually far more prevalent in Death Metal. Which explains why I can't stomach much of that genre for any length of time. Yeah, I'm picky about my noise.
Last weekend, I found myself a selection of cool records at a massive community garage sale (see my previous post about that). I also walked away from an estate sale with a small stack of much-wanted CDs at rock bottom prices. I had to restrain myself from doing more damage to my wallet. Though I try to avoid adding to my already bursting CD shelving units, these discs were so low in price - and some are never going to make it to vinyl - that I couldn't refuse. In fact, several of the CDs are "testers", to see if I might like to explore those bands' music further... on vinyl.
My little CD haul:
Gold, by the Scorpions, a 2-CD compilation
Gold, by Whitesnake, also a double disc comp
Motley Crue's Greatest Hits
Painkiller, by Judas Priest (never checked this out in its entirety before)
Greatest Hits, by ABBA (includes a few tunes not on the vinyl record Hits Vol. 2 I have)
Van Halen II, a remaster upgrade (I'll gift my old copy to a friend)
Women and Children First, by Van Halen, also a remaster upgrade
1984, by Van Halen, again an upgrade, even though I also have the vinyl LP
Love at First Sting, by Scorpions (a re-buy, used to have this years ago... re-lovin' it!)
ln the vinyl department... I snagged a couple of very affordable Kylie Minogue 7-inch singles, "vintage" from 1989 and '90 . I got them mainly for display purposes and to add to my little Kylie collection. Both have nice sleeves bearing photos of the much younger, and always photogenic, Princess of Pop.
A few weeks back, I got a used copy of Taken By Force, by the Scorpions. This 1977 record sounds amazing: here the German band played more of a hard rock, almost funky, almost progressive style, and it really rips. Not as metallic as the Scorps' subsequent albums (Lovedrive, Animal Magnetism, Blackout, Love at First Sting, etc), Taken By Force shows off their chops and songwriting far better.
Just good clean family fun with Carpathian Forest,
purveyors of the blackest of Black Metal
I did some other listening, all on Youtube, to investigate some other albums, bands, and genres. It was a nice surprise discovering the early 70's music of the Scorpions, albums like Lonesome Crow, Fly to the Rainbow, and In Trance (got my eye on that one, though it's rare and expensive on vinyl).
I also had the itch to try out more Black Metal. From what I'd heard so far, I wasn't over the moon about much from that extreme music genre, but a few years back, I did find something to like about Satyricon, Carpathian Forest, and Agalloch (bleak, creepy acoustic "folk" black metal). Even though I don't love this music, it's fascinating in a dark and hypnotic way. Probably subliminal messages in the songs, right?
For my recent foray, I scanned several Top Black Metal Bands lists online, then tried to hit as many as possible of the key artists in the genre... Behemoth, Gorgoroth, Mayhem, Destroyer 666, Emperor, Burzum, Darkthrone, Enslaved, Blut Aus Nord, more Agalloch, Immortal, Dissection, Bathory, Dimmu Borgir, Marduk, Watain, Magoth, more Satyricon, more Carpathian Forest... and a few others.
I think I covered all the main ones, those that fans agree are among the most talented. Again, while I'm not enamored with the genre, I can appreciate some bands, or at least the odd album by them. I can't really explain what it is I like about Carpathian Forest... they just sound so EVIL... chilling sometimes... and that must appeal to my horror movie fan self. Plus there's a more rock'n'roll feel to some of their stuff - like actually discernible guitar riffs and slightly slower, bashier drums... and dare I say it, Carpathian Forest sounds more musical, almost melodic, than their BM kin. And if it needs to be said, their raspy vocals are far easier on my ears and brain than the "cookie monster" gutteral style of other bands, which is actually far more prevalent in Death Metal. Which explains why I can't stomach much of that genre for any length of time. Yeah, I'm picky about my noise.
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