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.
movies, music

Report: Andre 3000 to cover the Beatles, Muddy Waters and others for Hendrix biopic…

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Since the Jimi Hendrix estate didn’t approve, the Hendrix biopic, “All Is By My Side” to use the original Hendrix recordings for the film, that’s still not stopping the film crew for allowing Andre 3000 to cover songs for the film instead. In Jimi Hendrix’s earlier career, he started off covering other artists material. That was way before he made Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower” his anthem. Listen to the videos below, Hendrix covering the Beatles, Muddy Waters, Cream, etc.

That pic above is Andre 3000 as Hendrix on set. I’m very impressed with the look as I figure Andre would be a perfect match. It’s pretty much dead on.

More on the story, here.

Honestly, I think Janie is a bit of a bitch for not letting them use Jimi’s catalog of music. Janie is not his actual sister anyway. So what gives her the right to take total control of Jimi’s music? If Jimi himself was still alive today, he would be very flattered that his music would be considered for a movie. I think he would be honored. She’s disrespecting his legacy.

Kev

Kev

Books, movies

Thought: Is the horror genre pretty much dead???

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I would say so, yes! When was the last book you’ve seen Stephen King do that was horror? He hasn’t done a horror novel in a long time. He’s been concentrating on other genres like science fiction, fantasy, mystery, etc. You don’t see other book authors writing horror anymore either. Dean Koontz has also been staying away from the genre a lot. Well, Stephanie Meyer released the “Twilight” series in books, but I don’t consider them horror, in my opinion.

As for the movie industry, the genre is pretty much dead there too. Most so called horror films these days are nothing but blood, gore, and naked women. Plus, most horror films of today’s are mostly popcorn action flicks anyway.

The horror genre was really big back in the 1930’s to the early 90’s, but the genre seemed to have slowly vanished in the 2000’s years. I’m a real big fan of horror. Always have been. Well, the “Saw” series sort of made horror a comeback, but I never liked the “Saw” series though, I only enjoyed the first one, not the sequels.

However, there were a few new horror films that came out that I thought was actual “horror”. Films like, “The Strangers”, “Quarantine”, and “Insidious”. I thought those three films were absolutely amazing and those films were scary as hell. I also love, “The Paranormal Activity” franchise. So good horror does come out once in a while.

I just watched the original, “I Spit On Your Grave” (the 1978) version on Netflix tonight and kept thinking to myself, this is how today’s horror films should be!

Freddy, Jason, Chucky, Hellbound, Michael Myers, all came and gone already. Now the industry is concentrating on reboots for all those characters. It would be nice if the horror genre made a comeback in a huge way. It tries to make a comeback but it fails in the box office. Seems that no one is interested in horror anymore. I just love the genre. Why do I love the genre so much? I just love the creativity of the writing. The unpredictability of the storytelling. The characters, and the intelligent writing. I just love the feeling of being dark and scary. Horror helps me become more confident in life and makes me a much stronger person. It helps makes me not get scared of anything. I’ve been reading horror novels and watching horror movies my whole life, so I’m used to the gross outs and scares.

If I was to ever become a book author myself, the horror genre is probably what I would mostly write. When I was a kid in school, all I would mostly write is short horror stories. I would write, blood, guts, and the nastiest murders you can think of. I would love to get back into horror fiction writing, but I would need to improve my writing skills and go to school for it, and all.

Horror fiction is awesome. The only time people would get interested in horror again is, if another “Paranormal Activity” or another “Saw” movie comes out, but everyone would ignore everything else. Sad really.

Kev

Celebrity/musician deaths

RIP: Andy Griffith 1926 – 2012

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Andy Griffith, was a childhood hero of mine. I’m sure he was a childhood hero for most people as well. While he is mostly famous for the TV shows, “The Andy Griffith Show” and “Matlock”, he was a multi talented man who did it all. He was a stand up comedian, actor, director, producer, singer, etc. He was also the one who helped launch the acting career of, Ron Howard (he started off as actor, he is now director full time). As a child, I would watch, “The Andy Griffith” show all the time. It was one of my favorite shows as a kid.

Andy was born in Mount Airy, North Carolina. He shares the same birthday with, Marilyn Monroe. Andy grew up listening to music. As a student at Mount Airy High School, he grew interest in arts and studied acting at the schools, drama program. Andy also learned how to sing and play the trombone, by Ed Mickey who was a minister. After Andy graduated high school in 1944, he was offered a role in, “The Lost Colony” by Paul Green. In college, he continued to study both music and acting in drama.

In 1953, Andy released his first vinyl record titled, “What It Was, Was Football”, which is a monologue of a college football game. He also continued to star in various plays and musicals. In 1957 he made his acting debut in, “A Face In the Crowd”, in which the film is about a power hungry country boy who becomes a television host, and uses the show as a gateway to political power.

In 1960, he was hired to play a county Sheriff, for the show “Make Room For Daddy”, which the “Andy Griffith Show” spun off from there. The show was a huge hit and lasted for 8 seasons. Even though Andy left the show to star in “Matlock”, the “Andy Griffith Show” continued to be a big hit. “Matlock” was also a very successful show as it lasted for, 9 Seasons.

Andy Griffith legacy continues to inspire everyone to this day. Griffith died at his home in North Carolina. He was 86 years old.

Kev

Health and Fitness

Leg workouts can sometimes be brutal…depending on how heavy you lift…

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I think the Hack Squat machine is a better quad workout than the regular leg press. The Hack Squat is more powerful. Last Sunday, I did the Hack Squat, and I decided to lift a heavy one. I put 90 lbs. worth of weights on it, and considering the machine is like 20 – 30 lbs to lift without weights, that adds a little more, so in reality, I probably lifted the hack squat a little more than 100 lbs. It was brutal but I did the full 3 sets to 12 reps each.

My quads has been really sore all week. Not injured, just really sore. They can get sore when I stand up from a chair or walk around. It makes your legs feel really weird. It’s not bad, it’s actually a good thing. You want to feel sore in your workouts so you can have some great muscle gains.

You don’t want to lift real heavy all the time, but it’s good to do once in a blue moon. I like to mix it up all the time. Lift light, medium and sometimes heavy.

I’ve been working out all summer long with no breaks. I used to work out 4 days a week, but now I dropped down to three. If I don’t feel like going to the gym, I just do the workouts at home with my dumbbell set. I’m not going to the gym today, just going to take it easy and relax. Plenty of resting is important.

Kev

movies

In honor of Tom Cruise’s 50th Birthday, his top 10 best films in his career…

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Well today, iconic actor Tom Cruise, turns the big 5-0, yes he is officially 50. No matter how bat shit crazy you think he is, (I agree he is a bit of a whack job), you can’t deny that he has been in some great movie roles over the years. Instead of talking about his divorce with Katie Holmes, I think it would be great idea to celebrate his work over the years.

Here’s a list of my favorite roles that he has been in, this list is in no particular order:

  • The Outsiders – Tom’s role wasn’t very big in this film, he’s more like a supporting star, but I liked his character in it. This is one of my favorite films of all times too.
  • Risky Business – Everyone thinks movies like “The Breakfast Club” or “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” were the best teen comedy films in the 80’s, but to me, my favorite was, “Risky Business”. Tom was young in this role but his acting was great, especially that one classic scene in this movie, where he stands up from the couch, puts on the sunglasses and gives that big smile.
  • Legend – A great film by Ridley Scott, I’ve always loved the this movie.
  • Rain Man – A great drama film which also has Dustin Hoffman’s best acting.
  • Top Gun – Can’t leave this classic off the list? I’ve always loved this movie too.
  • Eyes Wide Shut – One of Stanley Kubrick’s best films. A lot of people didn’t get this movie but I did. I thought the story was great. Plus, Tom’s acting was really good in this one too.
  • Minority Report – A great sci fi adventure, directed by Spielberg. I thought this was the best Cruise/Spielberg collaboration, it’s better than the “War of the Worlds” remake.
  • Valkyrie – This was a really great film by Bryan Singer, about a group of men trying to hunt down Adolf Hitler. This is also one of Tom’s best acting roles.
  • Collateral – A good thriller by Michael Mann.
  • Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol – Probably the best Mission Impossible film.

That’s it, enjoy.

Kev

music

Brock defends Lars Ulrich of Metallica…

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Is Lars Ulrich, the drummer of Metallica, one of the most hated musicians on the internet? It certainly seems so! Where ever Metallica is posted anywhere on the internet, he is almost always getting bashed on by most of the haters. Why? It’s usually people saying the same things about him. His drumming skills always get slammed and people call him a crazy meat head. He still gets criticized for his lawsuit threats at Napster years back, even to this day. He also gets criticized for the way he performs on stage at Metallica concerts. Usually the same old arguments, nothing new, with nothing to back it up.

You see, I respect Lars as a musician. I mean, if he was a shit drummer, then Metallica wouldn’t become one of the biggest bands in the world right? It seems that Lars Ulrich is the leader of Metallica. I watch all the Metallica video blogs in youtube, the studio stuff and all the backstage stuff at concerts, and it does seem that Lars have creative control of everything. Why? Because Metallica is Lars band! He was the one who formed the band himself way back in 1981. Lars put an advertisement in the newspapers and James Hetfield was one of the first musicians to respond. Metallica formed from there.

No matter what you think of Lars, you can’t deny his work ethic. He is a pretty hard working guy. Lars is the one who helped James write all the songs for Metallica. Watch all the videos for proof. Lars will instruct James to play better and Lars won’t be afraid to say what is great and what is bad, about James playing. Metallica is always touring non stop. Always on the road, whether in the USA or over seas. Yes, Lars maybe a little crazy but in a good way. He seems like a very friendly and down to earth guy to me, after watching most of the Metallica meet & greet videos. Lars may be a huge pain in the ass to the other members of the band at times, but Lars wants what’s best for Metallica. That’s all he’s doing. He cares for the band and Metallica fans. He wants to put on the best music as possible, he is just doing whatever it takes to make that happen.

Metallica continues to sell millions of records and sell out arenas all over the world, so they must be doing something right. So I don’t understand the hate toward Lars? Lars survived 30 years of Metallica. 30 fucking years, long days of recording, touring, playing the same songs over and over. You can’t deny that’s pretty impressive. This is also part of the reason I respect Metallica. I respect their legacy, their work ethic, their talent, and songwriting. They certainly know what they’re doing and they aren’t afraid to do different things whether people liked it or not. I never had a problem with Lars.

Also, Metallica supports other bands & artists. Doing their own Orion festival is proof that they support other music, other than their own. So it shows that Metallica, don’t have an ego problem at all. They’re pretty respectful to other talent and they don’t think they’re better than others. I will always respect Metallica no matter what people think. With Metallica’s next album, if they plan to move away from speed metal again I’ll have no problem with that either. It’s called creative control with your music. Metallica just wrote whatever comes out of them when it comes to songwriting together. They can’t help it if they write out of the speed metal genre. It is pretty sad that Metallica has so many haters though. I just try to ignore them all, the best I can.

Kev

TV

Brock briefly reviews “Breaking Bad – Season 4″…

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So over the weekend, I finally finished the last of Breaking Bad, “Season 4” on DVD. I just had to buy it on DVD since Netflix wasn’t streaming the season yet. I wanted to catch up before “Season 5”, the final season that is. A few words to explain “Season 4”: It was the best season. It was the darkest season of them all. It got very violent too. In this one, it focused on the heated feud between Walt and Jesse. It was pretty much Walt vs. Jesse Pinkman throughout half of it ’cause they had a falling out. Even though they didn’t get along this season, Walt still cared for Jesse and worried for his safety. Why? Because Jesse agreed to team up with Gustavo (better known as Gus), the villain of the show. I don’t want to give too many spoilers, but I thought Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston both played their feud pretty well. Pretty good acting between the two of them. I also liked the guy that played Gustavo. Gustavo is a villain that you want to hate. I also really liked Skyler this season as well.

Glad I’m caught up with the show in time for “Season 5” on the 15th of this month. While “Season 4” was the best season, I’m sure “Season 5” will be even better. It’ll be interesting to see how Season 5, is going to end. Everyone knows, Walt and Jesse will continue to cook meth in “5”. They’ll find new people to work for since Gustavo won’t be around next season. Looking forward to “Season 5”.

Kev

movies, music

Would I go see Katy Perry’s movie, “Part of Me”, in theater? Yes, I’ll see it real soon…

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I love Katy Perry! Yes, I absolutely love her! I hate most current pop music but thankfully Adele, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry came around to save the world of pop music. Why? Because those three women are the true pop divas in today’s industry. Katy Perry is a real artist and her songwriting is great. This would probably be the next movie, I’ll see in theater. Maybe next week.

I’m not sure if I’ll cover any of Katy Perry’s songs ’cause most of her songs were meant for a woman to sing them. I just listen to her for my listening pleasure. Her songs are very catchy and they never leave your head, ya know? That’s how addicting her music is. She’s pretty inspiring to me in many ways. Can’t explain it. Her music may not be everyone’s cup of tea but if you actually listen to her, the music will grow on you.

I wish Katy would perform a concert around here, the Albany area, but she hasn’t yet. I would go right out and see her if she did come around here. She’s a fantastic artist, and she’s not a guilty pleasure either.

Kev

music

Brock speaks out on Randy Blythe manslaughter controversy in Prague…

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Lamb of God frontman, Randy Blythe, has been arrested in Prague, which is the Capital of the Czech Republic. He was arrested for an incident back in 2010 during a concert where he is accused of an onstage altercation with a fan, in which later, the fan died of injuries. He was charged for manslaughter. He is now out on bail.

Of course, fans of Lamb of God, try to stick up for Randy. Claiming it was for self defense. The fan jumped on the stage when he wasn’t welcomed. All that stuff, blah blah blah blah. Okay, here is my honest thoughts on this story…

While I’m a fan of Lamb of God myself. I have their first two albums, and even saw them in concert when they opened for Metallica a few years back, I would have to agree with the manslaughter charge and Randy should be investigated. Before you get pissed, here’s why. Fans getting killed at concerts is nothing new. It’s been happening for years. Especially at metal concerts. Metal concerts can get worse, with the aggressive mosh pits and all. There are a lot of fans in facebook and other places online saying, that the fan got what he deserved ’cause he jumped on the stage where he didn’t belong. I mean, really? People jump on stages at concerts all the time, it happens. Usually when that stuff happens, the security will walk them off to the side of the stage, not throw them off. Why do fans jump on the stage? A lot of reasons: 1) To get a closer look at the rock stars. 2) They like to jump off the stage and into the crowd themselves. The list can keep going, but those two are the big reasons.

You see, you can’t always side with the rock stars on these things. I mean, what if they start it, sometimes you know? Rock stars can get a little aggressive and excited on stage, that sometimes they can get into a destructive mode and they want to start acting tough. Yes, the fan may have been drunk or on drugs that night and he was acting way out of line but there are better ways to handle things. Watching the video below, Randy wasn’t alone on throwing the fan off the stage. He got help with a huge man on the video, which looks to be a bodyguard or security or something.

I’m pretty sure Randy himself is feeling pretty horrible about this. I’m sure he even feels bad about the fan and his family/friends. I’m sure Randy didn’t mean what he did, ’cause he is a performer and even rock stars can make mistakes too. They’re not perfect, just like we aren’t. No matter what you think of the fan, he did not deserve it. Think about the family and friends. We don’t know how the whole thing happened, we weren’t there, so you can’t immediately call, Randy, an innocent man. Just because you’re a fan, doesn’t mean you have to be on his side. Like I said before, I’m a fan of Lamb of God, I love their music, but I think it’s wrong that Randy did this. He should have handled it better. All fans deserve to be treated safely at concerts, no matter how rough they can get. The fan was a human being and he was young. He didn’t deserve that. Just wait for the trial and then we can judge.

Kev