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.
Random/off topic posts

Thinking I want to try writing more instrumental guitar music than music with vocals…

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I love “instrumental” music as I listened to so much of that over the years. Yeah, I listen to a lot of shred guitar music like artists such as Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Yngwie, Eric Johnson, Al Di Meola and artists such as those. I also listen to some jazz music too like Miles Davis and John Coltrane, things like that.

I listen to so much instrumental music that I want to give it a shot myself. In fact, I have already experimented with making my own instrumental guitar music but I wanna try and get better at it.

Yeah, I want to try making guitar shred music one day but I also want to do slower acoustic instrumentals too and try making some more jazzy & fusion type stuff as well. I wanna try instrumental blues rock as well.

Making instrumental music is something I’ve always wanted to do so I’m doing my very best to improve my guitar playing. I’m also trying to learn more fingerstyle guitar too. I’m gonna think about learning jazz guitar more too so I’m thinking of buying a few jazz guitar instructional books.

I like instrumental music and I would like to make my own just like my heroes.

I’m never giving up the singing, though ’cause I like that too. Just want to try something different and something new.

Kev

music

New Red Hot Chilli Peppers album “Unlimited Love” w/ John Frusciante being back is freakin’ awesome, the boys still got it…

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Man, I’m so freakin’ happy that John Frusciante is back. The Chilli Peppers are back in true form. I’m a longtime Chilli Peppers fan. Been a fan since the 90’s when “Under the Bridge” song exploded all over the place and then I went out and bought the “Blood Suger Sex Magick” album on CD which I still have sitting on my shelf.

I lost interest in the Chilli Peppers when that other guy took over after John left. I wasn’t that crazy about that Klinghoffer guy. Klinghoffer wasn’t the Chilli Peppers, it’s John that defines the band’s sound and John is the Chilli Peppers.

I listened to their new album “Unlimited Love” this week and it’s freakin’ awesome. Gonna be listening to this one a lot I think ’cause it’s their best new album since “By the Way”.

On “Unlimited Love”, it’s a way different album than past records but the Chilli Peppers still got the mix of funk, hard rock and ballads. They do a mix of all three. On “Unlimited Love”, they still have plenty of songs that make you wanna get up and dance ’cause that’s what they are pretty much, a dance band but they do have slower music.

I think the band is on fire more than ever and getting better. John’s guitar playing is way better than ever, his guitar tone is insane and Anthony’s singing is killer still. Of course, Flea and Chad are still a killer rhythm section but they are way tighter now. I think they’ve all gotten better with John being back. The album clocks in over an hour but it goes by fast.

It’s a great album. Definitely recommended for long time fans and newbies too. Definitely check it out, yo!

Kev

Random/off topic posts

More on HBO Max, I figured out how to use the HBO Max app with their Hulu add on so it’s all set…

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Took me a little while to figure it all out but I just figured it out. Not too long ago, I cancelled Netflix and swapped it with the HBO MAX add on through Hulu. So now I wanted to figure out how to use the HBO Max Hulu add on with the regular HBO Max app for the Smart TV since they allow you to do that. I finally figured it out today so I’m now officially an HBO Max subscriber. I tested the streaming on it today a little bit and it works perfect now. So now I’ll be able to stream stuff on HBO Max which is exciting. It is definitely way better than Netflix.

For the most part, the only reason I wanted to get HBO Max is for DC Movies/TV show that are on there and I also wanted HBO Max for the “House of the Dragon” Game of Thrones prequel show. Plus once again there are upcoming spinoffs for “The Batman” film… TV shows of Penguin and Arkham Asylum. Also for the upcoming “Batgirl” movie that will be HBOMax exclusive only, I want to see that too.

Last night, I watched the movie “The Last Duel” that medieval movie that stars Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Adam Driver. Also directed by Ridley Scott. I watched that one through the Hulu HBO Max since I couldn’t figure out that “provider” thing yet… but “The Last Duel” was surprisingly good. I liked it a lot so I might add that one to my BluRay collection. That movie was a reunion movie for Matt and Ben as the last movie they did together I think was “Good Will Hunting” in 1997.

Now I got this HBO Max “provider” thing figured out, I’m gonna stream a movie on there tonight. Soon I’m gonna start watching “The Peacemaker” show with John Cena ’cause I want to see that one as well.

First though, I gotta catch up with “Yellowstone – Season 4” on Peacock before I start other shows.

Kev

movies, TV

5 Reasons why Netflix is mostly garbage…

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So why did I drop Netflix completely and why they are mostly garbage and not worth paying anymore???

Well I can think of 5 reasons…

  1. They keep raising their prices: I think this is the big reason. They won’t stop raising prices either. Soon it’s gonna be a $20 a month streaming service, just not worth it anymore.
  2. Their original content is mostly garbage: Overyhyped movies and overhyped TV shows, you actually try to watch ’em and most of ’em end up not being that good. I did like the new “Texas Chainsaw” and the 3 “Fear Street” movies, though. Still am a fan of “Stranger Things”, “Cobra Kai” and “The Witcher”. I would have kept Netflix for those shows but not when they’re gonna keep raising prices.
  3. Netflix gone too political and most of their content is “leftist” biased, anyway: What do you expect when the Obamas and Susan Rice are still running Netflix? That’s another big reason why I refuse to put my money toward them. Other streaming services are pretty leftist too but they’re not as bad as Netflix, though.
  4. Most of the shows taken off Netflix & moved to other services: Like with Marvel shows being moved to Disney plus is a good example.
  5. They keep cancelling the good shows: I was disappointed when they cancelled “The Punisher” with Jon Bernthal. Now that show moved to DisneyPlus and looks like Disney is giving us a “Punisher – Season 3”. I hope so ’cause that is one show that I loved.

Enough said? I would think those 5 reasons are why many others have cancelled Netflix too. I hardly ever watch Netflix anyways and like I said, I watch Hulu, Peacock, Disney Plus more. Now that I have Amazon Prime Video and HBO Max, I’ll be watching those a lot more too.

HBO Max is definitely the best streaming service and so far they haven’t raised their price yet and I don’t think they will so it’s a keeper. Prime Video is cool too, though… at some point, I’d like to watch the Prime Video shows “Goliath” w/ Billy Bob Thornton and “The Boys”, a superhero show that’s been getting a lot of buzz lately.

Netflix “used” to be cool but now it turned to complete shit.

Kev

music, Random/off topic posts

Bought the new Chilli Peppers album “Unlimited Love” now that John Frusciante is back… got some other albums too…

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Through Itunes, I bought the new Red Hot Chilli Peppers album “Unlimited Love” now that their guitarist John Frusciante is back. Haven’t heard the album yet but gonna get around to it this week. I’ll post a review of the album after a few listens. I’m sure it’s good.

Other albums I got were:

  • Slash and Myles Kennedy “No. 4”
  • Prince “Sign of the Times” (double album)
  • Foo Fighters (self titled debut)
  • Foo Fighters “Medicine at Midnight”
  • Abbath “Dread Reaver”
  • Alter Bridge “Blackbird”
  • Swans “Cop”
  • Jarboe “Sacrificial Cake”
  • The Batman “Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” score

I’m a huge fan of Slash and Myles Kennedy and have their other albums, just had to get their new one.

I’m gonna try to get the rest of the Foo Fighters albums as I still am a fan of them. I’ve been a fan of them long before Taylor’s passing. Used to have their first album but lost it so I decided to get it again.

I’ve been getting into Prince music more and more. Only have a few albums of his but I’ve been loving Prince music the more I hear him. Now I understand why so many love him.

I’ve been getting into Alter Bridge more as well as I think Myles Kennedy is one of the greatest singers in rock. Since I have his solo albums and his albums with Slash, I figure I would start getting into Alter Bridge music finally.

Abbath is a black metal band that I’ve been a fan of lately. Got their first two albums, now I got their new one they just released.

Swans is an experimental rock band that no one’s heard of that I’ve been listening to a lot. I have 6 albums by them so far, check them out.

Jarboe is a member of that band Swans and she is a solo artist as well so I picked out an album of hers that someone recommended to me by another Swans fan.

As far as “The Batman” soundtrack goes, I don’t buy a lot of movie soundtracks but I loved that score for the movie so I bought the soundtrack for my own enjoyment.

Hope you enjoy this read.

Kev

WWE

Watched “Wrestlemania – 38” over the weekend, pretty good… mostly predictable but a few shocking moments…

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Yeah, I watched Wrestlemania 38 over the weekend. It was a pretty good ppv. Mostly “predictable”, the matches went by quick and there were only a couple of long ones. While it was mostly predictable, it was entertaining as hell show, though. They did a good job.

Only match I didn’t like was Charlotte vs. Ronda which was disappointing. Other than that it’s a good show….

Here are my favorite matches over the weekend:

– Seth vs. Cody
– Bianca vs. Becky
– Stone Cold vs. Kevin Owens
– RKBro vs. Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy
– Johnny Knoxville vs. Sami Zayn (I laughed my ass off, so hilarious)
– The Pat McAffee vs. Theory/Vince
– Roman vs. Brock (Pretty solid main event match)

Couple of shocking moments this year: Ronda loses to Charlotte (does this mean that Ronda’s WWE comeback was part-time and then she’ll disappear again???)

Damien Priest teams up with Edge… what was that about? Is Edge re-forming and reviving the Brood but with different members?

Not only Stone Cold wrestled his last match, Vince ended up having his last match as well .

I’ve been watching Wrestlemania every year and still do.

On with RAW after Wrestlemania tonight.

Kev

movies

Bruce Willis has 8 more movies coming out that he already finished filming… after they’re released, that’s it…

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These are all “straight to VOD” movies of course and they’re probably gonna get released through “On Demand” and various streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max or wherever. Yup, this is it. After these last movies get out, you’ll see Bruce disappear from Hollywood.

Kind of sad. I was hoping Bruce would give us one last big screen blockbuster or another Die Hard film as a positive sendoff, a way to go out but that’ll never happen.

Ah well, that’s life, I guess. We can appreciate the years of entertainment he gave us over the years ’cause whether you want to admit it or not… we all grew up watching his films.

Not all of his straight to VOD movies are bad, some of it’s actually pretty good. I would agree that he gave us the best movies in his earlier years, though.

Yeah, I liked him in “Die Hard 1 & 2” and he was great in other movies like “Fifth Element”, “12 Monkeys”, “Sixth Sense” and “Unbreakable” were some of my other favorites. I also liked “Hudson Hawk” a lot and he was good in “Sin City”.

I’ve been hearing in the news that Bruce’s “condition” is nothing new. He had it for years and it’s looking like he’s already gotten worse that he can’t work anymore. I’m sure he was gutted about it and it broke his heart ’cause he really loved making movies. He certainly didn’t do it for the money at all.

People really need to realize that actors are “real” people. They’re just like us and they’re gonna have all kinds of problems just like us.

Kev

Random/off topic posts

So I’m all done with Netflix for good this time… now I’m on Amazon Prime Video and HBO Max!

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So I officially cancelled Netflix yesterday afternoon… I think I’m done with Netflix for good this time around. Simply ’cause they keep raising the prices and I have a feeling Netflix is gonna raise the price again later this year, don’t be surprised. I find it amazing that people keep Netflix even though they raise their price, really? Pretty soon, Netflix will be costing $20 a month and it’s just not worth it anymore. Plus, I don’t watch Netflix all that much anyway. I’ve seen most of the movies on there and most of their original films are pretty much garbage. I only kept Netflix ’cause of “The Walking Dead” pretty much but there are other ways I can watch the final season.

I’m thinking of collecting the “Walking Dead” series on BluRay anyway ’cause I love the show. I’ll probably wait for the BluRay release on “Walking Dead – Season 11”.

Anyhow, since I dropped Netflix, I’m now on Amazon Prime Video using someone else’s account in the house so I can start my own profile. Prime Video is way better than Netflix so that’s a keeper. They have better selections of shows and movies.

Also through Hulu, I went ahead and got the HBO Max add on so yesterday I figured out how to get the standalone HBO Max on my smart TV so now I’m on HBO Max. That’s another reason why I dropped Netflix so I can swap it with HBO Max and my god, HBO Max is definitely way better! They have way cooler selections of TV shows and movies.

Now I’m on HBO Max, I can finally finish the rest of “The Sopranos” since I only saw the first four seasons and I’ll be able to catch up with 5 & 6 real soon. That’s the first show I’ll watch on there.

Once again, I never wanted HBO Max but I had to get it ’cause of those Batman spinoff shows coming and the Game of Thrones spinoff show, “House of the Dragons” ’cause I want to see that too. I’ll also be able to watch “The Peacemaker” show with Cena ’cause I want to see that too. I’ll watch that one after the “Sopranos”.

There are other HBO shows I want to see on there too like “True Detective”, “Boardwalk Empire” and “The Wire” ’cause I’ve never seen those shows so I threw those on my watchlist.

On HBO Max there are a bunch of new releases on there that I haven’t seen yet and I’ve already watched “Cry Macho” with Clint Eastwood on there and it was really good loved it.

I’ve also watched a few older movies on HBO Max like “The Hitcher” an old thriller with Rutger Hauer and “Collateral” a thriller with Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx and loved both of those too.

HBO Max is way cool. I got Disney Plus for Marvel movies/TV shows and got HBO Max for DC.

Who needs that leftist trash Netflix, right? Another reason I don’t like that service ’cause it’s gotten too political bias lately.

I use 6 different streaming services now: Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Hulu, Disney Plus, Peacock and the totally free “Pluto TV”. So I’m good. I watch the other ones more than Netflix anyways. Netflix sucks now. I’m on Peacock ’cause WWE is there, that’s the only reason I got that.

Some of you may ask, how do I watch all these different streaming? Well I somehow watch through all of them. I switch it up. One week, I’ll watch through Hulu, next week after, I’ll watch through Peacock… I’ll switch back and forth week after week. I’ll find time to watch through each one but one at time.

I don’t like cable TV. I do my TV watching through streaming services, plus streaming is more affordable than cable if you think about it.

Kev

movies

Does this mean that the Die Hard franchise is dead???

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So far, Bruce Willis made 5 “Die Hard” films in the franchise. A 6th Die Hard, it’s been trying to get into development for a long while and doing some reading on it, it’s still struggling to get made so it was dead anyways? I’m not sure what’s going on with “Die Hard 6” but the original idea was that Bruce wanted it to be the final one to close out that franchise. It’s looking like a cancelled project due to all the setbacks and due to the poor reviews Die Hard 5 got.

I saw all the Die Hard movies. Although, I would say that the first two were the best ones… yeah, I thought “Die Hard 2: Die Harder” was freakin’ awesome but the first one will always be a masterpiece. The first one was incredible, greatest action flick of all time… I did like “Die Hard 3: with a Vengeance” (the one he did with Sam Jackson).

I also remember seeing 4 and 5 in theater when they first came out and hated both of those. Probably ’cause of bad writing, too much CGI… I thought it was the CGI that ruined it.

Given with the latest news of Bruce about that disease, it’s looking like the Die Hard franchise is dead for good ’cause they can’t go on without John McClane.

I would have liked the last Die Hard movie to be an all-out violent action movie like the first two were and I want McClane swearing his head off.

I think they should kill this franchise but they probably won’t. If they reboot then that would be silly. Only Bruce as McClane is “Die Hard”, that role belongs to him and him only.

From what I read Disney owns the Die Hard franchise now since they own 20th Century Fox. I’m okay with a “spinoff” or a “prequel”, though, just don’t reboot it.

We’ll see what goes on.

Kev

Random/off topic posts

Not trying to be a guitar god but wanna get better and improve as a player…

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A lot lately I’ve been so focused on guitar playing more. Other than going to the gym 4 days a week, guitar playing is one thing I do every day. I’ve grown so tired of playing basic stuff all the time… like basic open chords and bar chords. Now I finally want to expand my guitar chops and try to take it way to the next level.

Right now, I’ve been trying to figure out how to play chords up and down the neck, all over. Be able to play lead fills in between chords and all that stuff. I wanna be like those guitar players where your right hand is flying all over the fretboard. Yeah, I kind of do want to learn how to shred but I want to be able to play more rhythmically too.

I’m trying to be more complex at rhythm playing too. Still studying timing and rhythm. Practicing along with a metronome. I want to be able to play faster… be able to hold longer notes and play more syncopated/off-beat rhythms. I’m learning all of it too. Trying to study the road maps of the guitar so I can be able to play chords and scales all over.

When you’re playing chords, you don’t necessarily have to play the full chords… partial chords are pretty cool and I’ve bene messing around with partial chords like triads and double stops.

When I’m learning cover songs, I’m learning to practice more in time and even starting to learn the guitar solos of songs more.

I’m trying to work on my ear training and improvisation skills too. I’m always learning.

The goal is, I want to be able to make more complex and difficult songs. Kind of tired of writing easy originals and want to branch out. Become a better songwriter. I want to try and make my guitar playing a little more different and take people by surprise, hopefully. Try and mature as a songwriter and guitar player.

If you want to get better and improve, practice and patience is key. Been playing for a little over 20 years now and I still feel like I got a lot of work and learning to do.

Kev