sing a long

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Fuck yeah!!! Fifty years ago. I don’t know about you, but to me this is the real beginning of what we now call “Heavy Metal.” I’m not sure the term was even used back then. Don’t know what they called it? It’s more extreme than “Hard Rock” or “Acid Rock.” De-tuned and distorted guitar and bass (Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler ). Evil lyrical themes. Unbelievably heavy drumming (Bill Ward ). Love the old “Slingerland” Jazz kit. They used to be made in Chicago, IL. Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa played them. He beats the shit out of it. I’m surprised it didn’t break into pieces. Eventually he would add another bass drum. What else was like this at that time?

Here’s what Wikipedia had to say:

The original title of "War Pigs" was "Walpurgis", dealing with the witches' sabbath. "Walpurgis is sort of like Christmas for Satanists. And to me, war was the big Satan", said bassist and lyricist Geezer Butler. "It wasn’t about politics or government or anything. It was Evil itself. So I was saying 'generals gathered in the masses / just like witches at black masses' to make an analogy. But when we brought it to the record company, they thought 'Walpurgis' sounded too Satanic. And that's when we turned it into 'War Pigs'.

I know the lines “cast the priest into the fire” and “watch them eating dead rats innards” are not in the version from “Paranoid.” So this was even too much for their record company I guess. Today Ozzy is 71 and still going. Although I have read he suffers from Parkinson’s. I have seen them at an “Ozzfest” in the mid 2000’s. They had an air raid siren like on the record. It was loud as hell. I’m glad I got to see them. If I ever were to meet any of them all I could say would be “Thanks.”

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Alice Cooper was born Vincent Furnier in 1948 in Detroit, Michigan. “Billion Dollar Babies” was released in 1973. I was going to post “Eighteen” which is perhaps better known but it was the heavier sound, in particular, the drumming of Neal Smith and bass of Dennis Dunaway as well as the dual guitars of Glenn Buxton and Michael Bruce that convinced me to post this song instead.

One of the coolest sounding drum intros ever. Always wondered how he came up with that. A friend who knows much more about music than I do, told me that “machine gun” effect is actually the bass. He’s picking very rapidly as he slides down the neck. Whatever, it sounds awesome.

Alice Cooper was years ahead of pretty much everything. Experimenting with elaborate stage shows and “theatrical” production. “Extreme” hard rock (especially for it’s time). Sexual lyrics and themes. Mock executions. Snakes. And of course the name “Alice.”

From all I’ve read, the 60’s and 70’s was an era when anyone gay, lesbian, or transgender had to live “closeted” lives much of the time. Doing research for this post I discovered that “Alice” is considered by many today to be one of the first LGBTQ Ally’s. Here is an “excerpt” of an interview with him from 1974:

SPEC: Would you admit it if you were homosexual?
Alice: Of course, and I wouldn’t just admit it, as if it were something you’re supposed to conceal. I’d just be it. I’d be natural about it, and I don’t see where it would be very much different for me, except I’d be making it with men instead of women.

SPEC: Aren’t you even just a little bit bisexual?
Alice: You mean do I mostly like girls, but do I like boys sometimes? No, I only like girls, but if I could have chosen my own sexuality, I think I might have chosen to be bisexual.

SPEC: Do you really mean that?
Alice: Sure—I think in the future everyone will be bisexual. And everything would be so much simpler then—you’d just make love with anyone you liked, and it wouldn’t matter what sex they were, and maybe it also wouldn’t matter what color they were, or what age, or anything, except that you liked them.

The album cover was a green “snakeskin” wallet with pictures of the band as well as a “Billion Dollar” bill folded inside. This one happens to be signed by Alice himself. Pretty cool. You don’t get that with Spotify…

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Watching “The Matrix” the other night brought me here.

The song in the movie was “Du Hast” from the album Sehnsucht (“Desire” or “Longingness”). Released in August 1997, this was another one I had to explain the album cover to my mom…

You could get the album with a 6 different covers, each featuring a picture of a band member. This was the most popular and the one I had. Below are the six covers. Which one did you have?

A slightly “different” sound than what I normally listened to, Rammstein were popular with people my age and still play today. Wikipedia classifies them as “Industrial Metal.” It was also good music to workout to.

Not without controversy, many of their songs had sexual themes. However most people I knew couldn’t understand it because it was in German. So I never got in trouble. Till Lindemann their lead singer, was a Junior swimming champion, setting records, and was picked for the 1980 German Olympic team but unfortunately suffered an injury.

Of course in the United States they are remembered by many fans for the following performance:

“During Rammstein's US tour with Korn in 1998, Lindemann and his bandmate Christian "Flake" Lorenz were arrested in Worcester, Massachusetts for lewd conduct performed during their song "Bück Dich" ("Bend Over"), which consisted of Lindemann using a liquid squirting dildo and simulating anal sex on Lorenz. Both Lindemann and Lorenz were released the following day after bail was met. This incident did not stop Lindemann from performing in the same manner for future shows outside the United States, particularly in Australia when they performed at the 2011 Big Day Out, but the United States performances of this song were changed into a sadomasochistic theme that did not feature dildos, although this was not the case for all remaining US shows on the tour. For example, on 18 June 1999, "Bück Dich" was performed in the same manner at the Roseland Theater in Portland, Oregon.”

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Before there was Hayley. Before there was Miley. Before there was Taylor. There was:

Amy

Easily my #1 “celebrity crush” at the time. No contest. Of course I owned this CD! You should add her to my list of the most beautiful women I have seen in real life. That list would include of course Hayley and Taylor. Never would’ve guessed… That, and she’s an amazing singer as well. Went to see them with my “ex” back around this time. Probably contributed to the breakup of our marriage.

Interestingly, the last time I heard Evanescence was on the iHeart Radio Paramore Channel. I tell people that I REFUSE to get drawn into any Amy/Hayley comparisons. I’ve seen people in heated arguments about who is better. That’s one of the many reasons why I hate “social media” so much. Can’t you like them both?

(Screaming out a marriage proposal to Amy and trying to climb on stage in front of my “ex” probably didn’t help matters… You DO know I’m just kidding, right?)

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Need some music from the 60’s for my date with Diane McBain this weekend. This was released in May 1967 according to Wikipedia. So yes we could have listened to it (bet she’d just love “Slipknot” ) Lots of good music back then. Wonder what the 60’s were actually like? I’ve always thought I’d like the music, cars, and women.

Interesting to read the comments. Quite a few are about “Coronavirus.” Why? As typical of YouTube, most strike me as “posers” likely born after 2000. Wonder how many who claim they were alive back then really were? One said he had seen Hendrix when he was 13 and claimed he and his friends “smoked ganja” at the concert. Jimi died in 1970. This guy would be in his 60’s today. Maybe. But I don’t think so… The way he talked for one. Didn't sound like a "60 year old."

This album is one that I “inherited” from my Mom’s older sister who REALLY WAS around back then (she is about Diane’s age). But nothing to play it on… Very worn. Must have been listened to a lot.

If only it could talk.

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Christ! This is the direction they should have gone IMHO. My favorite KISS album predates me by almost 10 years. From New York, many fans don’t realize they started out as a much heavier band musically with a rougher image. Very sexual. Their first album featured songs like Strutter, Deuce, and Black Diamond.

“Hotter Than Hell” was the logical next step.

Except that back in 1974 the world wasn’t quite ready for something like this. The album sold relatively poorly. Fortunately for them, they were gaining fans among younger kids and teenagers. So their next album “Dressed to Kill” featured lighter pop songs like “Rock and Roll All Nite” and featured a relatively “tame” picture of the band wearing suits. Yes, business suits!!!

The big breakthrough would come in late 1975 with the release of “Alive.”

Recorded at several venues during their 1975-76 US tour much of it was taken from a concert at Cobo Hall in Detroit (Fuck Yes!). They connected with younger fans and the “KISS Army” was born. The rest is rock and roll history.

Still I love the heavier guitar sound, bass, and drums of this album. A completely different image. More like the 80’s or 90’s to me. That is Peter Criss, their drummer, singing. He also sang “Black Diamond” from their first album. Some consider him to be the best singer in the band. I also like Ace Frehley’s guitar solo on this song.

That is allegedly Peter Criss’s wife in the photo. A similar picture appeared on the back cover except her nipples were covered up.

An older friend told me once he had seen them during this time and Criss was playing a double bass drum set. I haven’t been able to find any pictures to confirm this but it makes sense given the more “metal” sound of this album. All their other drummers have used double bass kits.

That symbol on the front means “Power.”

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The awesome 80’s. Big hair. Sexy women. Fuck yeah! I really don’t give a shit about those “Born Before 1985” ads featuring the “87 Year Old Man” anyway. This video to me represents what the decade was really all about.

Heard this on an “oldies” station playing at the gym the other night. Good song. Thought I’d use it for my example. Check out the pictures below. You should be able to follow what I did. Getting the “code” and the “tags” right can be tricky. Hope it helps.

Maybe others will share their favorites. Yes, I'm getting ready to leave TLB for good this summer. It’s been a long time. Seven years. June 6, 2013. I realized I'm like the “oldest” member on here anyway. No wonder no one wants me around! I guess everyone "Born Before 2000" is a "Boomer" right? And what would I know about sex?

Maybe now we will get to hear some more recent stuff in this thread? Never meant to "hijack" it. There’s a lot of good music out there today. Just have to look harder for it. Post away!

(Hint: I do all my posts in Word first. That way I can paste them when I'm ready. I hate that I get kicked off here otherwise. And don't have much time to edit my posts. It's been fun. See you around. )