Category Archives: music

music

Report: Springsteen battled depression and was suicidal in the earlier days of his career…

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Did you think Bruce Springsteen, the boss of rock n’ roll, was a happy man, when he was just becoming a big superstar in rock n’ roll music in the early 80’s? Think again! The Boss, made a public confession that he has been battling depression and was suicidal in the earlier days of his career. It started back around 1982, when he first made his big breakthrough in the music industry. Bruce have been seeing a psychiatrist ever since then. He was never an alcoholic and never did drugs, but he had his problems like most people.

Read more on the story, here.

So some of you may ask, why would fame & fortune make a rock star depressed? I’ve explained it on the blog before, fame & fortune can be pretty risky if you’re not careful. It’ll get to you, believe me. How fame & fortune, can ruin you? I can definitely see how having loads of money would make someone depressed. With fame, you will get no privacy. You will get rabid fans every where you go in public, trying to get after you. You will also get paparazzi after you and non stop interviews with the media. The work load in your career will get to you. You will be away from home and away from your family & friends, a lot. You will be on the road all the time, not having free time for yourself.

That’s what fame will do to you. If you want more examples, look at how many rock stars from the past who drove themselves into drugs and alcohol over the years. Some rock stars have even committed suicide, look at Kurt Cobain. I’ve explained plenty of times before that fame can destroy you if you’re not careful. Look what happened to Amy Winehouse, another perfect example. When famous musicians die, you shouldn’t always blame it on drugs and alcohol. It’s the fame and fortune that causes musicians to drive into depression, so it gets them into drugs and all that stuff.

Fame may sound cool and fun, but the reality is, most rock stars hate being famous. They play music ’cause that’s what they want to do for a living. I know some unsigned musicians want to break into the industry, but it’s not an easy world as you all think. Depression even killed, Elvis Presley too, go figure, another perfect example.

While I’m sure Bruce is all better now and he can handle fame today just fine, I’m sure he still gets depressed at times. His world is not perfect, just like we aren’t. Fame can be dangerous and evil. I don’t know why so many people want it so bad. I don’t care to get famous at all. It’s not what I would want.

Kev

music

Cool Video: Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden calls fan a “Wanker” for texting while band is performing on stage…

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As Iron Maiden began to perform their song “Wasted Years”, at a concert in Indianapolis, Indiana, the lead singer, Bruce Dickinson calls out a fan for texting while the band is performing on stage. You can hear Bruce saying, “Oh for fuck’s sake, the guy with the bald head with the white shirt, you’ve been texting for the last fucking 3 songs, you’re a wanker!”. LOL…

In the fan’s defense, as long as the venue allows them gadgets, then the fan had his right to text, all he wants to. On top of that, I just think Bruce didn’t mean what he said, he was just joking. Having way too much fun. Come on, Bruce, you old wanker, get used to the gadgets ’cause this isn’t the 70’s/80’s anymore, HA! I’m sure the fan is flattered that Bruce called him out, that had to be exciting for the fan! I know I would be thrilled as fuck if a rock star gets in my face and orders me to stop texting or using the cell phone or whatever.

I love Iron Maiden too, they’re great, but these guys aren’t used to today’s technology yet. So to those Maiden fanboys going, “Bruce is the man!”, need to get over themselves, ’cause they are wankers too.

Kev

music

Are Jimi Hendrix’s vocals his most overlooked talent? I would say so, yes…

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If you read through guitar forums and other music websites on the internet, when it comes to Jimi Hendrix discussion, we all know that he is most famous for his amazing lead guitar playing skills. What a lot of people seem to forget that he was also a singer, and he wrote his own lyrics as well. His singing and songwriting skills is often overlooked by music fans. Yes, his lead guitar playing skills is great, but what grabbed me the most about Hendrix is the way he wrote his songs, with his vocals and the lyrics.

Hendrix was never a classically trained singer. He did it because he wanted to. His voice always had a blues and R&B feeling. When he wrote his songs, he would sing catchy melodies that never leave your head. Why do you think songs like, “Purple Haze”, “Hey Joe”, or “The Wind Cries Mary” are so great? Not just because of his great guitar playing, it’s his vocals. His vocals is what attracted people to his music. Do you think those songs would be big hits if he didn’t sing them? Hell no. Hendrix’s vocals was something special.

Back in the day, when Jimi performed live, there was no such thing as lip syncing or auto tune. Musicians had to play everything for real, so there was nothing fake about Hendrix’s singing back in the day. His lyrics was also the most important part of his music that people miss out. He wrote some pretty amazing stuff. Jimi Hendrix had many different talents in his music, not just his guitar playing. The man had the full package and did it all. He also produced a lot of his own music.

It is weird how the music industry gets all over his guitar playing, yet his singing is almost always ignored.

Kev

music

Congratulations to the Rolling Stones on 50 Years!!!

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50 Years ago today, the Rolling Stones played their debut gig at the Marquee Club in London England, on July 12th, 1962. I’m not a really big Stones fan, but I love Keith Richards as a guitar player and I do respect their legacy. So congrats to the Rolling Stones on their 50 years. Incredible, they survived this long, and I don’t see them stopping anytime soon. Yes, I think they will get back together for a new album and tour, it’s only a matter of time. The only Rolling Stones music I own is their “40 Licks” Greatest Hits album, that’s probably all I’ll own by them. I won’t buy any of their full albums.

Here are a few of my favorite Stones songs in the videos below.

Kev

movies, music

Film Review: “Katy Perry: Part of Me”

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Starring: Katy Perry

Directed by: Dan Cutforth

Today, I’ve seen Katy Perry’s documentary film, “Part of Me” in theater, and here is my review.

Plot/Synopsis: The main focus of the film is that it tells the life story of iconic pop star, Katy Perry, who got her shot at fame with her hit song, “I Kissed A Girl”.

I’m a really big Katy Perry fan, and I’m not sure why. She is addicting to me for some weird reason. It’s not just her beautiful looks and her big cleavage. It’s who she is as a person. She has a personality which makes you feel like you’ve already known her for years. Plus, her music rocks. I’m a fan of her music and I’m not ashamed of it either. When I first heard about Katy Perry, I didn’t know much about her before I saw this film. This film has pretty much everything you need to know about, Katy Perry.

She has been largely accused of being a fake manufactured pop star by the industry, but this film wants you to prove that she is the real deal. She did all the work herself. She definitely did not become famous over night. Before her pop star days, she started off being a Christian singer/songwriter. She started off being an acoustic singer/songwriter performing small clubs and cafes before her fame. Before her Katy Perry name, she released a Christian album under her real name, Katy Hudson, back in 2001 before she changed into the pop star that we all love. Since that albums failure, she was inspired by Alanis Morissette, and she wanted to get into the rock & pop genre. So she hooked up with producer, Glen Ballard, to work on an album, but she kept getting dropped from a few different labels including Def Jam Records, Columbia, etc. She finally got one of her songs called, “Simple”, to be included for the, “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” movie. Later on, Katy finally got a record deal with Capitol Records, in which she released her debut album as Katy Perry titled, “One of the Boys”, which was obviously a huge hit. Then she released, “Teenage Dream”, also a hit album. Her fame wasn’t easy as many people claimed it was. It was a difficult road for her to get there too.

The film would show stuff about Katy Perry performing on stage, and they would even show behind the scene stuff on the tour. They would film backstage stuff. The film had interviews with her stage crew, managers, family, etc. Even Russel Brand made a few appearances, of course. Speaking of Russel Brand, they had to bring up his divorce with Katy Perry. The film got pretty emotional and sad, when Katy found out that Russel filed for divorce, and she was heartbroken toward the end of it. It really showed that Katy can be human and real. The film wanted to show people that she really loved, Russel. I believe they also filmed those scenes ’cause Katy wanted to publicly show Russel how heartbroken she was. Remember, Russel was the one who filed divorced on Katy. Katy wanted to stay married to him. Katy crying and being all emotional in the movie seemed like it was real to me (not sure if it was acting).

This is actually one of the best music documentaries I’ve seen. I was pretty surprised by it. The film was heartfelt and it was enjoyable to see. Makes me a fan of Katy Perry even more. I also like her being the Candy Queen. Did you know that her brunette hair is not her real hair? I’m sure everyone knows that, it is actually a wig, of course. The film even showed hair stylists putting the wig on her in her dressing room. Her natural hair is actually, blond. Look it up yourself. This was a pretty inspiring and moving film. I respect Katy Perry even more. She has a lot of haters and doubters, but sooner or later, I think they will have a change of heart with her soon, once they realize that Katy Perry is a special performer and woman. I’m looking forward to all of her upcoming albums. Katy Perry is great.

You don’t have to be a die hard fan to see this film. If you’re curious about her and want to learn more about her and her music, this would be the film to see for everyone.

Score for Katy Perry’s “Part of Me” = **** (4 stars as in “Excellent”)

Kev

music

Lamb of God finally releases statement about Randy Blythe arrest, also asks the public for legal fund donations…

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The rest of the Lamb of God guys, have been pretty silent for a while about Randy Blythe’s Czech arrest, but today the band finally releases a statement. Read what they have to say, here.

Of course, the band would find him innocent. Randy’s supporters will always find him innocent, no matter the situation. I also find their legal fundraisers for Randy, pretty ridiculous. The other band members are wealthy enough, I’m sure they can afford legal funds themselves.

Kev

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

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

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