All posts by Kev Brock

I'm a musician, singer/songwriter, blogger, writer, poet, bodybuilder, movie lover, music lover, video gamer, history/political buff, conservative/republican, etc. I like to do a lot of things.
music

Ac/Dc’s new record, “PWR UP”, sounds the same like the other albums? Not from what I’M Hearing…

Leave a comment

Man, I’ve been listening to the new Ac/Dc record at the gym on a non-stop repeated basis. I can’t help it. The new album is definitely the best album they’ve done in a long time. Looking at the AD/DC discography, I would say that “PWR UP” would have to be their best album since “The Razor’s Edge” released in 1990.

Ac/Dc’s last four or 5 albums: “Ball Breaker”, “Stiff Upper Lip”, “Black Ice” and “Rock or Bust” were all ok and so & so but I think Ac/Dc really stepped their game up with “PWR UP”.

A lot of AC/DC fans are saying that “PWR Up” sounds like every Ac/DC album but I’ve listened to the new record non-stop… probably like over 20 times, lol. The band still sounds the same but at the same time, “PWR Up” is slightly different than their previous records. I’m noticing more vocal harmonies and more backup vocals. The songs are a little more riffier, more darker and heavier than their past 4 or 5 albums. It’s definitely different I would say and Brian’s been doing different things with his voice on the new record too.

For example, a song like “Demon Fire”… that’s a song that sounds like they’ve never done before. Probably the heaviest song on the record too. I’ve been listening to “PWR Up” a lot. Such a fun album for sure.

Those saying that the album sounds the same like all the other albums just don’t know what they’re talking about. Angus’s guitar playing is a little different too and sounds like the riffs are more complicated than anything they’ve done in the past. They’re doing more than just playing power chords and basic open chords like they’re known to doing.

It’s a killer album. Love it so much.

Kev

Random/off topic posts

Admittedly, 2020 has been a difficult year… Christmas this friday should make things better, though…

Leave a comment

I know I’ve been quiet on this blog lately but I’m gonna try to post a lot more. I want to say, though, that I’ll admit that 2020 has been a difficult year even for me since this stupid pandemic hit since last March and it’s still going.

It’s been difficult year for me for a few reasons… first off, I went with several months without a gym which was terrible and you all know how much I love weightlifting and all. Secondly, I’ve dealt three deaths of important people that passed in my life… two family members and my lifelong best male friend. It’s hard going through all that ’cause when you have loved ones suffering, you can’t see them in the hospital and all that stuff, ya know? And when they pass on, you can’t have much for funerals, either that or not have funerals at all ’cause of pandemic. I don’t want to get into details but it’s been hard going through all those passings of those three important people in my life… especially my best friend who I did pretty much everything with over the years and can’t believe he’s gone and all but anyway, he’s no longer suffering ’cause he’s been battling different illnesses. It’s been tough dealing with these passings under this pandemic and I’ll go through it. Am a bit sad, though but trying to stay strong the best I can and Christmas Day this Friday should make things a little better.

Usually I take a week off of the gym on Christmas week every year but not this year. I figure I’ll keep the gym days going throughout the Holidays this year after dealing with these passings and continuing my gym days will help me stay strong, ya know? It seems to be working too. Helps get the stress off under this pandemic and tough times in life.

I went to my best friends funeral but the burial won’t happen until the Spring ’cause that big snowstorm hit. It sucked going through this but trying to stay strong the best I can and living life the best I can ’cause that’s what my best friend would have wanted. Yeah, it sucked losing a lifelong best friend but ’cause of that, I made a few new friends in my life which is cool.

Friday will be a good day and I hope you all have a good Christmas too and I’m going to keep posting on this blog this weekend.

Thanks for all your support and thanks for reading and following me. Things will get better, I know it will. I predict the country will come back in 2021 ’cause we’re not gonna live like this forever. Can’t happen.

Kev

Celebrity news

Tom Cruise going Off ON “MI: 7” Set, Is he an asshole and demanding on set??? No, he just has his good days and bad days…

Leave a comment

The Sun exclusively released Tom Cruise going on off on a tirade against MI:7 film crew. Going off about how they’re not following social distancing rules and angry that they might shut down the film. I’m sure there will be mixed reactions to this… some will think Tom is an asshole and a jerk for doing that and some will think that he’s a hero that he takes covid-19 and his art in film seriously, ya know?

I’m sure many will immediately think that Mr. Cruise is a jerk and a short tempered man but don’t immediately think that. People are human, ya know? We have feelings. Actors are real people like us so they’re gonna have real feelings like us. I think Tom is just one of those people who has his good days and bad days like everyone else. Nobody knows exactly what went on before this so everyone judging Tom needs to shut their mouth. I’m sure Tom is a cool guy in real life but sometimes he just has his bad moods like we all do.

Think about it, Tom is just returning to work after doing nothing for several months or more so maybe this pandemic got to him? Everybody is stressed out in this pandemic, even famous actors.

I’m sure Tom could have handled things differently and more professionally but he’s human. I hate it when the press like The Sun gets these leaks out there ’cause they’re just being paid a lot of money to make famous people look bad and play these stupid “gotcha” moments. The entertainment media obsessed with celebrities and it’s disgusting. That’s what these fuckers are paid to do.

I just think Tom was just having a bad day or something. It happens. With that being said, I still support Tom Cruise and have no problem with this.

Kev

movies

Are we about to see the death of the cinema going experience? I believe we are about to say RIP To Cinemas real soon…

Leave a comment

Welp, I’m sure you’re all noticing that Hollywood finding new and different ways of releasing new movies nowadays… thanks to covid and this stupid pandemic.

We have all these streaming services now from Netflix, Hulu, HBO MAX, APPLE TV Plus, CBS All Access, Amazon Prime Video and lord knows, I’m sure I’m missing some others but those are the ones I can think of at the top of my head. There is also VOD and online movie streaming where you can either buy or rent movies through Itunes movies, Google Play and things like that. VOD is a big thing right now too.

So many new movies getting released through either streaming service or VOD ’cause why? Pandemic shut down movie theaters for starters and yes, theaters are coming back but like I said in another post, it’s hard for theaters to release new movies nowadays. That is why Hollywood is releasing a lot of new upcoming movies for both streaming service and in theater at the same time. Like all those new releases coming for HBO Max, that got me thinking that Cinema is about dead.

Which is a shame, ya know? This is how we’re all supposed to be watching movies. We’re supposed to watch movies on the big screen and not the small screen but it’s amazing to me how quickly things change. I think we’re about to see the death of cinemas real fast. Sure, movie theaters are gonna come back but it’s gonna take a while for people to go to movie theaters again. No one’s gonna go back to the theaters when they come back and Hollywood knows it, that’s why they’re gonna release new movies to streaming services from now on.

This is why Netflix, Hulu and HBO Max getting a lot of new movies lately. Just last night, I watched the movie “Ava” with Jessica Chastain and it was pretty good. I’m sure that film would have gotten a huge theatrical release but because of Covid, it got a streaming release instead. I thought “Ava” was a great film, though… a good action movie you should check it out.

I also watched the live action version of “Mulan” on Disney Plus and I loved that one too. I’m sure that film would have gotten a major theatrical release as well but it ended up getting premiered on Disney Plus instead.

I am calling it now that movie theaters will disappear and the Cinema experience is about to come to an end. Streaming services and VOD Is gonna be the new future of movies sadly.

It’s a shame ’cause a lot of action movies, science fiction and horror films were meant to be watched on the big screen with all the special effects, cinematography, the loud music and loud sounds effects. All about the cinema experience. That’s what’s fun about watching movies on the big screen. We’re about to say goodbye to that.

Sad to say it but it is what it is. I used to love going to the movies too and haven’t been in a theater in a long time. Crazy.

Kev

music

Today Dec. 8th, is a day to remember 4 important musicians… John Lennon, Dimebag, Jim Morrison and Gregg Allman…

Leave a comment
John Lennon who died 40 years ago today.
Dimebag Darrell who died 16 years ago today.

Jim Morrison, known as the lead singer of the Doors was born on Dec. 8th, 1943 but died on July 3rd, 1971.

Gregg Allman, known as the singer, guitarist and organist of the Allman Brothers band was born on Dec. 8th, 1947 but died on May 27th, 2017.

Truthfully the music died when these 4 musicians died. All 4 were important to all of us. I’m a big fan of the Beatles and a big fan of John’s solo stuff too. I’ve also always been a Pantera fan before Dimebag was killed and was a long time Doors and Allman Bros. fan. Love all 4 of them.

These guys changed music and their music will always live on. Every year, I’ll always pay tribute to these guys on Dec. 8th and I always make sure I remember them. They should never be forgotten ever.

RIP to all 4 and thanks for all the great music they gave us.

Kev

music

Just got Ac/Dc “Power Up” album yesterday and a few other albums from Itunes…

Leave a comment

So yesterday, I finally bought the new Ac/Dc album, “Power Up” from Itunes for my Ipod Touch. It’s a great album and definitely their best new record in a long time so glad I got it now. I also purchased 3 other albums…

The Smashing Pumpkins: “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” (double album)…. I used to have this on CD but lost it so I got it again. I used to listen to this album a lot when I was young and yes I’ve been a huge Pumpkins fan since high school and I still love the band today.

The Smashing Pumpkins “Shiny and Oh So Bright”… one of their newer albums that they released two years ago in 2018, the 8 track comeback album. I got it pretty late but that’s because it grew on me. It’s a great album surprisingly. I haven’t gotten their newest one they just put out, “Cyr” but I’ll get it real soon.

Van Halen “1984”: The hit Van Halen album with songs like “Jump”, “Panama” and “Hot For Teacher”. Some of you may say you’re a Van Halen fan now ’cause Eddie just died. No, not really. I’ve always been a big Van Halen fan since high school, just didn’t buy their records much over the years and now I’m starting to get into them more. I did hear most everything the band has done, though.

Didn’t get much albums this time ’cause it’s the Holiday season, ya know?

Kev

movies

Actor Nicolas Cage has interesting insight on today’s movie DistribUtion, watch what he says…

Leave a comment

I was just watching some Nicolas Cage interviews through youtube out of pure boredom and this one kind of caught my attention. I love Nic Cage’s insight on today’s movie distribution.

In the old days, the only way you could watch the new movies is in a movie theater but now there’s all kinds of options like streaming services and VOD things like that. Cage here explains that he was once against the VOD format but it grew on him over the years. Why did Cage have a change of heart over VOD format of movie watching? Well, Cage here says that the format does have an audience and he’s right. VOD is very popular right now… people’s been renting and buying movies via VOD which is why so many movies being made straight-to-VOD lately… and also Nic Cage here says that VOD gives screenwriters a chance for their films to get made into films since the major movie studios won’t buy ’em, ya know?

Nic also explains that the reason he’s been doing a lot of straight-to-VOD independent low budget movies lately well, he’s just going back to his roots where he just started. Remember, Nic started out doing low budget indie films before moving on to becoming a blockbuster star… Nic later moved on to starring in some pretty huge movies over the years: “Leaving Las Vegas”, “Con Air”, “The Rock”, “Face/Off”, “National Treasure”, “8MM”, “Snake Eyes”, “City of Angels”, “Gone in 60 Seconds”, “Lord of War”, “Matchstick Men”, etc. The list goes on…

Later in the years, though, Nic went back down to doing low budget movies again.

I don’t know why people make fun of this guy. He’s one of my favorite actors really… the guy can act and love him or hate him, he’s one of the hardest working actors in Hollywood than anybody really. He’s always working and this man never stops. He’s very talented, in my opinion.

Honestly, though, I think some of his best work are the VOD low budget films he’s been doing lately like “Mandy”, “Color out of Space”, “Joe” and “Mom and Dad” were some of his best indie films. You should check ’em out.

When will Nic Cage start doing big screen blockbusters again? Not for a long while but never say never, I hear Disney is still working on “National Treasure 3” and Nic is committed to playing Ben Gates again so ya never know.

I’ve been watching a lot of Nic Cage movies lately and not sure why. I guess I respect him a whole lot. He’s a talented guy… can play anything that throws at him.

Kev

Health and Fitness

Getting stronger and stronger in powerlifting training week after week but I think it’s time to call it a deload finally…

2 Comments

While my powerlifting training getting better and better, feeling stronger and stronger week after week… I’m thinking it’s time to call it a deload for two weeks or three. Reason being is my body is starting to get beatup and worn out ’cause I’ve been doing so much heavy lifting on the big three since I returned to the gym.

I don’t think I’m injured or anything, I’m perfectly okay but do feel beatup a little so I think it’s time to settle down for a few weeks and go light.

I know I’m getting stronger and stronger on the big three lifts in powerlifting: squat, bench and deadlift.

For squats, I’m now able to do 115 lbs. for 4 reps.

For bench, I’m now able to bench 140 lbs. for like 4 or 5 reps.

For deadlift, I’m now able to deadlift 265 lbs. for 5 reps for one set which I was never able to do before until now.

I know I’m able to move on up in numbers on the big three lately. I’m careful on never missing a lift on bench but I seem to keep missing 130 lbs. on squat and miss 300 lbs. a few times on deadlift… that’s because I was doing heavy sets and not leaving enough in the tank in the previous sets. I know I’m getting stronger and getting close to getting a 300 lb. single on deadlift and I’m not quite there yet but getting there.

I got to calm down for a weeks, though. Sometimes I do that once in a blue moon in the gym. Go light on everything ’cause you gotta have those light weeks, ya know? Can’t lift heavy all the time. Heal up and recharge, that’s why you gotta do that. Lifting heavy all the time could lead to injuries and frying up your CNS (Central Nervous System) and all that stuff. Gotta calm down once in a while.

Feels great to get back into lifting finally though.

Kev

music

Why Ac/Dc never changing their sound and style is actually a good thing!!!

1 Comment

As a lot of music lovers know, Ac/Dc has had that same sound and style of music ever since the mid 70’s when they first started. Their sound and style stayed the same every album, even to this day. This bothered some music fans and they complained and whined to Ac/Dc about it so much that they finally explained why they don’t change their style.

Angus Young responded back with a simple answer:

“With us, it’s to be expected,” he told The Project TV. “As my brother [late AC/DC rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young] used to say, when somebody said, ‘Every album you’ve ever made sounds the same,’ he said, ‘Yeah. It’s the same band!’ ”

Angus continued, “When we started, we weren’t reinventing the wheel. This is what we do best. We make rock and roll.”

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/angus-young-responds-to-the-charge-that-every-acdc-album-sounds-the-same-this-is-what-we-do-best?fbclid=IwAR36N5Q6gZmzhwwxLpHHTMwg-ZYR-Ko2qbbIBnExpJLGxc_bdHEUnvQXYY4

Makes a whole lot of sense, in my opinion.

I think it’s actually cool that Ac/Dc doesn’t change their sound. Ya know, that simplistic rock n’ roll feeling. They sound like Ac/Dc and a band should sound like themselves. When a band is always reinventing the wheel, sounding different every album, that’s not sounding like themselves.

If Ac/Dc changed their sound then they probably won’t sound good anymore. It would turn fans off and would alienate a lot of fans. I mean, just ask Metallica when they ditched thrash metal and changed their sound for “Load/Reload”. They got a lot of backlash for that, remember that. Also, when Bob Dylan went electric for the first time with his 1965 album, “Bring it all Back Home”, Dylan got a lot of backlash for that too. David Bowie got a lot of backlash when he ditched rock n’ roll to dance music for his album, “Let’s Dance”. The band U2 got a lot of backlash when they ditched rock n’ roll and went pop for their two albums, “Zooropa” and “POP”. The Smashing Pumpkins alienated their fanbase when they went full on electronica for their album, “Adore”. I can go on and on with this.

Bands changing their sound and style every album is so dumb and honestly, that’s why I lost interest in Pearl Jam and Neil Young ’cause they are always changing.

There are very few bands out there that never change their sound and yes, Ac/Dc is one and there is more…. Slayer comes at the top of my head. The Ramones, Motorhead, The Clash, Oasis and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers are just some more to keep in mind. Queensryche is another one even though they have a different singer now, they still sound like Queensryche. I love that band as well. Iron Maiden is another metal band that never changed their style from what I’ve heard over the years.

Even if Ac/Dc finally decided to change their sound, I’m not saying they will but what if they did… people will continue to bitch at them.

Bands just do what they want to do and I love Ac/Dc when they have that attitude. They just play what makes them happy.

Kev

Celebrity/musician deaths

RIP: Hal Ketchum 1953 – 2020

Leave a comment

In the early 90’s, Hal Ketchum a Greenwich native in my hometown was a country star who was commercially successful in the mainstream of country music. Thanks to his hit song “Small Town Saturday Night” which is one of the biggest country songs of all time and made Hal a superstar. The album “Past the Point of Rescue” became one of the biggest selling albums of all time because of that song.

When I was a kid in high school, I was a huge fan of Hal’s music. Owned three of his records on CD which I still have sitting on my CD shelf: “Past the Point of Rescue”, “Sure Love” and “Every Little Word”. He was a mainstream star then with those three albums. After those three albums, though, people started losing interest in his music and people totally forgot who he was over the years. Despite all that, he kept releasing records and touring so it wasn’t about the fame and money for him at all. It was about the music for him.

Admittedly, I stopped buying Hal’s albums after “Every Little Word” but I’ve always respected him and admired him. I try to follow his career to see what he’s up to and even though he no longer had the superstar status like he had in the 90’s, he continued to play live up until dementia hit him. He never gave it up. Kept playing and touring until he couldn’t do it anymore. He no longer play those huge arena shows anymore and went back down to playing smaller venues but that didn’t matter. It was about the music for him. He loved performing live. When he perform live before dementia hit him, he was still playing all the hits that was all over country radio. He continued to play live with his longtime guitar player and collaborator, Kenny Grimes.

If you want to listen to real country music, listen to Hal Ketchum. This is what real country is supposed to sound like. Too bad country music doesn’t sound like this anymore.

I got to meet the man briefly myself at a show backstage at the Washington County Fairgrounds back in the 90’s, I think. It was just a “Hello” and a handshake and he signed my CD too which I still have. I’ll never forget that show, though.

We lost another good one. A hometown hero in my hometown of Greenwich, N.Y. Hal had a helluva a voice and his songs were awesome. Definitely an inspiration with my own music as well.

RIP Hal and thanks for the great music.

Kev