Category Archives: music

music

Gotta love James Hetfield’s attitude toward Metallica haters… awesome!!!

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It’s no secret that Metallica gets a lot of haters. I believe all the Metallica hate started after their Napster controversy and it started after the release of their Load/Reload albums. Before the Black album was released, Metallica was the most respected band on the planet. Now they happen to be the most hated band on the planet.

I can never understand why. I see nothing wrong with them at all. I’ve always loved Metallica and been loyal to them through and through.

James Hetfield has something to say about the Metallica haters and just simply says, “We don’t give a crap”. Then James goes on to say that they love what they do and they make music for themselves ’cause they like it.

http://loudwire.com/metallica-james-hetfield-on-haters-we-dont-give-a-crap/

That’s a great attitude to have. If you’re in a band and a solo artist who gets a lot of haters, best attitude to have is not give a shit what anyone thinks about you. If you like music and being a musician just play music ’cause you like it.

In the past, I used to have a problem with dealing with a lot of haters myself. Believe me, I’ve had a lot of haters back then and I’m sure I still do but you know what? I don’t give a fuck anymore! If you want to have a successful music life, you can’t let negativity bring you down so the best thing to do is to ignore all negativity. When you get out there playing music, whether you like it or not, you’re gonna have to deal with some negativity ’cause not everything in your music life will be positive, ya know? You gotta stay above the haters & negativity as best as you can.

I’m pretty sure a lot of people out there still don’t like me but that’s alright. It’s all cool. You don’t play music to please the haters, you’re there to please yourself.

Whether you like Metallica or not, you can’t deny their passion for music ’cause they really do show it. Watch their live concerts for proof on that. When Metallica plays on stage, they’re one of the very few bands who looks like they’re having fun on stage. You don’t see it that much with bands these days ’cause most bands look bored playing on stage. Not Metallica. They have a lot of energy on stage and they know how to give their fans a good time.

Metallica freakn’ rules. I will always love them and can’t wait for their new record!

Kev

Books, music

Sorry Bruce Springsteen but why call it a “book-signing” if the books are gonna be pre-signed???

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So Bruce Springsteen confirmed a book signing tour to help promote his upcoming memoir, “Born To Run”. To attend these so-called book signings, you must order these wrist-bands online which are free but in order to get a wrist band you must also buy a pre-signed book of “Born To Run”. Yes, you heard that right. “Pre-signed” as in the books were already signed before the event, not at the event.

It gets even better though, the signing also has all kinds of strict rules like you won’t be allowed to bring any other Bruce Springsteen memorabilia for him to sign. You won’t be allowed to bring CD’s, posters, T-shirts and things like that. The only thing that you’ll be allowed is one photo with Bruce and you will be allowed to take it with your Iphone.

It won’t be much of an event. No book discussion by Bruce, no Q&A session… just a photo with Bruce and that’s it? I bet you won’t even be allowed to talk with Bruce yourself. Maybe Bruce will allow a “hello” and a “handshake” but that’s about all.

Here’s how to get a wristband for Bruce Springsteen’s book signing at the Harvard Coop

Um, sorry Bruce but I’m losing my respect for you more and more. In my opinion, this is a bit egotistical for Bruce and he obviously thinks he’s more important than you.

Ah well, that’s just the way it is, though. A lot of famous bands & artists are great with their fans and some are horrible with their fans. Bruce turns out to be one who is horrible with his fanbase.

There are plenty of bands & artists who are great with their fanbase though. There are kind and down to earth musicians who will sign just about anything that gets handed to them. There are plenty of musicians who will get into long conversations with their fans at “Meet & Greets” and hang out with their fans. One band who I can think of who are great with their fans is Metallica. Watch all their “Meet & Greet” videos in youtube for proof on that.

Bruce is clearly into it for the money alone. He don’t care about the fans at all which is a shame. Bruce is just one of those who are not for autographs much. I think his book is just a big cash grab. Nothing more. I won’t be getting his book.

Kev

music

5 Reasons Why I Stopped Going To National Concerts… seriously fuck ’em…

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When I was young, I used to go to national concerts all the time. I used to buy a lot of tickets to see famous bands & artists at arenas and smaller theaters. I’ve seen too many national bands like everything & everyone from Stone Temple Pilots to Metallica to Red Hot Chilli Peppers to Phish to John Fogerty to Dave Matthews, etc. The list can go on. I haven’t been to a national concert in a long long time. Probably the last national concert I went to was Metallica back in 2009 during the “Death Magnetic” tour. There’s a pretty good reason why I stopped going to national concerts or don’t go to them much anymore and here are those 5 reasons:

  • Overpriced tickets: This is pretty much the main reason. It’s pretty much the no. 1 reason I don’t go. Ticket pricing way too high these days. In this day and age, it can cost $300 – $500 or way more to get the good seats. I remember in the old days concert tickets used to be around $50 – $100. I hate the music industry!
  • Technology has taken over the audience: Whatever happened to people clapping their hands or throwing their fists up in the air to bands playing? These days people stick their Iphones in the air instead. Really sad.
  • Bad live sound and concerts are getting too loud these days: Need I say more? Some national concerts can have horrible sound systems and a bad soundman too. A lot of times you can’t hear the bass very well. You can’t hear the guitar or even the singer. Bad p.a. and bad sound system at a lot of shows.
  • There’s no real talent anymore on the stage: These days singers would get caught lip-syncing or use “auto-tune” to improve their voice live when their singing is actually shit. When there’s a band that plays instruments, most concerts these days bands don’t actually play their instruments at all and a lot of so-called musicians on stage just “miming” along to a pre-recorded backing track.
  • Overcrowding at concerts and rude people: I don’t go to concerts anymore for this big reason ’cause they’re a little overcrowded I think. You can hardly see the bands on the stage anymore ’cause there’s so many people standing and in your way and stuff. Plus people at concerts can be pretty rude to you.

Well there’s a few good reasons why I don’t like going to national concerts anymore. I can explain many more reasons but those are just a few big ones.

Kev

music

Why listening to shred guitar music is good…

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A lot lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of instrumental shred guitar music. I’ve been listening to this stuff for years actually. I’ve been trying to listen to all the popular shred guys. Since last year, I’ve gotten into Al Di Meola and Joe Satriani a lot. I’ve actually been listening to Joe Satriani for many years so I’m already a fan of his. I’m trying to listen to all the popular shred guys like Steve Vai, Jason Becker, Eric Johnson, etc. I’m also gonna make my way to listen to some Yngwie Malmsteen as well. I love listening to instrumental shred music for a lot of reasons. I listen to that stuff for guitar playing inspiration pretty much, just to get some ideas of what lead guitar would sound like. Plus, most importantly this is cool music to listen to. Shred music isn’t a mainstream genre anymore but it is still popular but it seems that only guitar players listen to that kind of music these days.

Thanks to Guitar World magazine, that magazine inspired me to get into Steve Vai more. I’ve read many Steve Vai interviews through Guitar World and finally, I decided to get his new album “Modern Primitive” and also get the “Passion & Warfare” (25th Anniversary remaster edition) from Itunes. Got them both and both albums floored me. Then I thought to myself, man, I really need to listen to Steve Vai more. So just the other day, I bought his earlier album, “The Story of Light” which was also badass. I was never much of a Steve Vai fan but I am now. I can see why he matters to so many people. Even though Steve Vai is cool, I will always like Joe Satriani more ’cause Satriani will always be my no. 1 shredder with Al Di Meola close behind him. Steve Vai would have to be my third favorite.

I’ve just started listening to Jason Becker’s music ’cause I just bought his album, “Perpetual Burn” from Itunes and I was floored by the album too. Jason Becker freakin’ rules and I can see why he matters to other guitar players.

I think people should listen to instrumental shred music more ’cause it’s good for ya. That kind of music helps relax you too.

Someday, I would love to make an instrumental shred guitar album myself. It’s always been a dream of mine to make a record like that and I would like to make it happen too. That’s part of why I’m trying to improve my lead guitar playing and ear training chops, ya know? In order to play shred guitar music well gotta have the technical skills and a good ear, I’m trying to work on both.

Shred music is awesome and wish that kind of music would get recognized more.

Kev

music, TV

MTV VMA’s same usual bullshit every year…

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I didn’t watch all the MTV VMA’s last night. I only watched some of it. It’s the same usual bullshit like every year but this year is worse, in my opinion. Like usual, it’s full of left-wing “race-relations” politics. I was trying to figure out whether I watching the MTV VMA’s or the BET Awards.

This year Beyonce made the clean sweep of awards which is ridiculous. No wonder why Taylor Swift was snubbed this year ’cause MTV wanted this year to be Beyonce’s year. Kanye interrupted Taylor Swift at the VMA’s one year to send a message and hope Kanye is happy that Beyonce won more this year. *sigh* Beyonce sweeping all the awards instead of Taylor Swift or Adelle? Well, it’s MTV what do you expect? If they didn’t have Beyonce win, then liberals will be crying “No Diversity”. They would have called the MTV staff racist.

The VMA’s continue to be garbage like every year, though. If you want more rock & metal on the VMA’s you can forget it. Rock & metal on VMA’s is pretty much dead. The award shows will always be dominated by pop & rap just like the Grammy awards. I hate award shows. They’re all getting worse and worse. I really gotta stop watching them and I think I will.

Kev

music

Video: Dee Snider sings piano version of “We’re Not Gonna Take It”…

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This is a pretty amazing remake of one of the greatest metal songs of the 80’s. Like most people I’m really impressed with this song myself. In the full band version that made Twisted Sister famous had heavy guitars, distortion, shredding solos, Dee Snider’s screaming vocals and in this new version doesn’t have any of that. Snider turns “We’re Not Gonna Take It” into a piano version. He made this video for a good cause, promoting a fundraiser and to help promote Criss Angel’s “Help” event which will happen on Sept. 12th. They’re doing all this in honor of children with cancer.

As far as this song goes, I’m amazed like everyone else. Dee Snider has got the vocal chops for sure. That guy can sing real good. He can sing all genres of music, not just metal and rock n’ roll. People are surprised ’cause people didn’t think he could sing other music other than metal. Well Snider can. That guy can sing just about anything. This song “We’re Not Gonna Take It” can be played on any instrument too. It’s a real simple song, really. I read somewhere that Dee Snider inspired “We’re Not Gonna Take It” from a Christmas song. I read about that in Dee Snider’s book.

I remember when “We’re Not Gonna Take It” first came out in the 80’s, that song was a huge hit. MTV played the video constantly and the song was all over the place. Well, the song turned out to be a big hit once again once this piano version came out.

Who said metalheads can’t do piano ballads??? Of course they can.

Kev

music

Like I predicted, people are still bashing Metallica even when they wanted a new album from them… lame…

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So Metallica announced a new album and released a new song, sure enough, people are still bashing the band like I predicted. I don’t get so-called Metallica fans. They beg & beg the band to release something new and when they do, they continue to bash them like hell. Really? I think it’s pretty obvious then that fans are looking for an excuse to criticize the band even more. That’s why they want Metallica to release more music so they can have something to criticize.

Me? I’ve never been that type of person. I’ve always done my best to treat bands positively even the famous bands.

I find nothing wrong with the new song at all as I think the sound quality is a huge improvement, I think. The new song “Hardwired” is tight as hell. I’ll admit that Lars’s drumming improved a lot too. Like I keep saying, Metallica can never make everybody happy no matter what they do. Wait until the new album comes out, the haters will be bashing it like crazy, I’m sure.

No matter what the haters & critics think, I’ll always be a loyal Metallica fan. The boys in Metallica still have it even if they are aging. They can still play thrash metal well and it’s unbelievable they can play a thrash metal song in 3 minutes. Gotta give them props for that right? Most Metallica songs are between 5 – 20 minutes. They very rarely write a 3 minute song. Sometimes they do, though.

I remember Lars and James saying that the new album is gonna sound like the Black Album a little bit but after hearing the new song “Hardwired”, I can hear a lot of Black Album on it so they must be right.

There’s always gonna be people bashing the musicianship of Metallica and there will always be critics of the sound quality of the album too. Regardless of the critics, Metallica is still a great band. Hate ’em all you want to but like they all say, “Haters are gonna hate”. Just ignore the haters and just enjoy the music. I don’t listen to haters & critics. Just because they say it, doesn’t make it true. They’re all opinionated. Let ’em be.

Kev

music

Metallica finally announces new studio album and releases new song…

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Well, it’s finally here… the wait for new Metallica album is almost over! For a long time now, Lars Ulrich kept promising that a new Metallica album will be out in Nov. Well, the new Metallica album titled, “Hardwired… To Self Destruct” will get a Nov. 18th release like Lars promised. The album cover has been revealed too as you can see in photo above.

As far as my thoughts on their new song, “Hardwired” they just put out. WOW! The new song reminds me of back in the 80’s thrash days. My god, the sound quality is a huge IMPROVEMENT too! You can actually hear Rob’s bass this time which sounds awesome and pretty tight as hell. Lars’s drumming is not as annoying. His snare is not that loud either and they turned it down some which is awesome. So far, so good!

Can’t wait to hear the rest of it in Nov. I’m a huge Metallica fan. Heard everything they did and I will buy this album when it comes out.

Kev

music

When is the new Metallica album coming? Will it actually come out this year?

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One thing I find pretty unfair is how Metallica gets criticized for taking a long time to make an album. Really? I think it’s actually a good thing that Metallica takes their time making an album ’cause they just want to make it really good, ya know? In this day and age, there are way too many bands rushing to make albums. Rushing an album isn’t a good idea ’cause most bands that rush to get their albums made quickly usually don’t turn out good anyways. I love it when bands & artists take their time to make an album. Keep in mind that making an album is not an easy job as it looks. It really isn’t. Many bands & artists make their album differently. Making an album can be a lot of work and can be an overwhelming job.

First, a band has to do all of their tracking. Like recording all the instruments, the vocal tracks and then they have to put it all together to make a song. Then they have to do all the mixing and mastering which will usually take a long time. Making an album is not easy at all. Sometimes it can take a year or way longer to make an album.

I’m gonna wait patiently for the new Metallica album and I say they should take however long they want to make the album. Try to make it as best as possible, ya know? It’s pretty lame that bands would rush to get their albums made ’cause a lot of times making an album doesn’t work like that.

I’ve read a lot of interviews with bands through Guitar World and read a lot of rock memoirs so I’ve read how these famous rock stars make their albums. Once again, making an album isn’t easy as it looks.

A lot of Metallica fans complained and bitched about how horrible “St. Anger”, “Load” and “Re-load” were. They complained how those three albums were rushed so Metallica decided to take their time with “Death Magnetic” which they did but fans are still complaining. Once this new album comes out whenever they get it done, fans will be bitching and complaining about this one too. Just wait for it. I don’t get these so called Metallica fans. They want them to make a new album but once they put the new album out for them, the fans will still be complaining. I’ve always felt that Metallica can’t make their fans happy no matter what they do even though they try.

Lars Ulrich kept saying that the new Metallica album will be out in the fall of this year but the new album could end up getting out next year in 2017 instead. Who knows. I say they should take their time with it. I’ve always been a huge Metallica fan no matter what they did. Yes, I still believe “St. Anger”, “Load and “Re-load” were all great albums. I even thought “Lulu” with Lou Reed was great as well. I’m sure their new record will be great. What will the style of the new record will be like? You just never know what direction the band will go in this new album ’cause they’re always doing different things each album they do. Give them more time and they’ll release the new record soon.

Kev