Was listening to my ipod at the gym… realized some songs ramp it up towards the end leaving me either wanting more, or replaying the song… A few of note:

Led Zeppelin Stairway to heaven… I know, its cliche, but it’s the original song that just keeps building and building until is rocking your balls off… if you want to go deeper try Achilles last stand… you’re probably saying “damie, that song is 11 minutes long, and hammers from the start”  to which my response is fuck you, it’s my list, it’s led zeppelin, and if you can’t appreciate the way bonham is smashing those drums through the floor then i can’t help you

Pearl Jam – Rearview mirror – for my money, their best song.  I always listen to it twice.

Prince – Purple Rain – try watching the movie, then listening to that song as he closes it out with the guitar… I can’t keep my eyes dry, and I know Patrick you can’t either

speaking of Patrick, Navar’s Big Orange just goes off… thank you PB, BB and JM

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Wet Sand – John Frusciante kills it at the end.  Anyone who thinks they can keep making songs like that without him is a retard

Metallica – One – ’nuff said

Guns ‘n Roses – Double talkin’ Jive – get the money motherfucker… Slash does some work… and if you can get some footage of him doing it live back in 92-94ish, i strongly recommend it

Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms – i found a live version of this song where Mark Knopfler really uncorks it  at the end

Great White – Rock me – this is the rural minority after all… just staying true to the roots

Queens of the Stone Age – 3’s & 7’s – just an awesome song…

Tool – Forty Six & 2 – another awesome song…. Eulogy should be given a listen too

Last weekend the official rag of the Vatican published their list of the top 10 Rock albums of all time.  See below (in order of release):

1. Revolver - The Beatles
2. If I could Only Remember My Name – David Crosby
3. The Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd
4. Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
5. The Nightfly – Donald Fagen
6. Thriller - Michael Jackson
7. Graceland - Paul Simon
8. Achtung Baby – U2
9. (What’s the story) Morning Glory - Oasis
10. Supernatural – Carlos Santana

This has to be the most absurd list of all time.  I verified this story from four different sources to make sure it wasn’t a complete joke.  I even headed over to The Onion to make sure this wasn’t one of those times that some dumb ass picked up one of their satirical stories and ran it elsewhere.  Of course, there are some worthy entries on the list but they’re completely overshadowed by the more confusing choices.

CSNY?  The Byrds?  Nah, fuck it, I’m the Pope and I like David Crosby’s solo work.  Simon and Garfunkel?  Sure, but not before solo Simon.  To be perfectly honest, I had to wiki Donald Fagen and its just more of the same.  Steely Dan was great but The Holy See much prefers Mr. Fagen’s work post-Steely.

The Catholic Church endorses this album as one of the best ever.

But by far the most egregious inclusion is Sanata’s Supernatural.  The sales of that album were driven mainly by a duet he did with Rob Thomas called “Smooth”.  Remember?  Other collaborators on the album: Dave Matthews, Everlast, and Eagle Eye Cherry.  Anyway, judge for yourself:

Why can’t every year be as awesome as 1991?  Why you ask?   Just look at some of the all time great albums released that year:

1.  Guns ‘n Roses – Use Your Illusion I & II

2.  Nirvana – Nevermind

3.  RHCP – Blood Sugar Sex Magik

4.   Pearl Jam – Ten

5.  Soundgarden – Badmotorfinger

6.  Metallica – Black album

Can anyone find a year with 6 better albums?

I couldn’t decide how I felt about this new Wolfman flick. Though a very solid cast in Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, and Hugo Weaving, the trailer seemed pretty cheesey. Upon further research I found the release date has been pushed back three times, from February 13th of 2009 to April 3rd to November 6th to finally next Friday. A full year of set backs? I’ll pass. Will any of you go see it?

A good friend, Josh Walters of Leroy Townes and the Lonestars, sent me a cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Mr. Self Destruct” that he recorded on a whim.  He whipped up a nice slide show to accompany it and I’ve embedded it below.  I’ve had the privilege of performing music with Josh on a number of occasions and, in fact, he was my next door neighbor for a number of years.  I post the video here because I know a few members of the Minority who are big NIN fans and I found the cover to be quite haunting.

I think this is a good example of a cover worth recording.  If you’re familiar with the Trent Reznor’s original piece you’ll quickly notice how much of the cover was created out of whole cloth.  This approach to covers either works well or ends disastrously.  I enjoyed this.  Anyway, here’s props to childhood friendship:

I haven’t posted in a while so you’re probably all wondering what I’m reading these days.  I’m a few years late on this but Daniel J. Levitin’s “This Is Your Brain on Music” has been a page turner since I started it on Monday.  Its a must-read for any musician who, ya know, can actually read.  Levitin is a session guitarist turned neuroscientist who details how music engages our minds.  The book is wildly informative and, so far, has taught me a whole lot about timbre (rhymes with amber).  That’s actually a good gauge as to whether you should read the book.  If you like music and don’t know what timbre is then get your ass to the bookstore.

Finally, I feel I owe everyone an explanation for the reason my posts have been few and far between.  For art’s sake, I’ve cleverly hidden the explanation in the haiku found below.  Enjoy!

Some health insurance?

I have none.  But I might have

A staph infection.