movies, music

While I love Neil Young, “Journeys”, was one of the worst music documentaries I’ve ever seen! WOW!

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Yes, I’m a huge Neil Young fan, but his latest rockumentary with collaborator Jonathan Demme, was one of the worst music films I’ve ever seen. The live performances were amazing, of course, throughout the entire film was horribly shot. Really bad camera work. For a few songs, there was a point where the camera did a close up of Neil’s mouth, and you can actually see his teeth and the inside of his mouth when he is singing. I’m like, really? I’m not making this up, watch the film yourself. It’s creepy. I don’t see how Neil himself enjoys seeing himself like that. The live performances were at, Massey Hall, during the “Le Noise” tour.

The concert was just Neil and his guitar. Switching from electric or acoustic, with no back up band. In between songs, there are interviews with Neil driving around Ontario where he grew up, in one of his old fashioned cars. Those parts were interesting but we needed more of it.

I hope Neil will stop working with Jonathan Demme soon ’cause they already worked on 3 films together, and I don’t think I’ll bother watching the other two, after this one.

There was one part that I did like, though, was the ending of the film. When Neil finished a song, the last song of the concert, Neil went backstage, and the camera followed him and recorded everything he did backstage. He was eating some kind of fruit, either lemons or oranges, can’t tell which, and he was drinking some kind of alcohol, while his fans chanted for an encore. Then he went back out and played one last song. After the final song got over with, Neil once again walked backstage and outside to the tour bus and that was it. That was the only scene of the film that I liked, but the rest of the film was garbage.

Jonathan Demme should stick with making fictional movies ’cause music documentaries isn’t for him.

Kev

Random/off topic posts

Happy Thanksgiving all…

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Not doing too much today like everyone else. Spent most of the morning doing some reading. Starting to re-read the Dark Tower series all over again. Just started reading Stephen King’s, “Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three”. Had turkey dinner with the family this afternoon and will take it easy, enjoy the rest of the day for myself. Watch some movies on TV or whatever. Right now, I’m watching a Joe Strummer documentary titled, “The Future Is Unwritten” on cable TV, which is interesting stuff. Later I might watch Neil Young’s “Journeys” on DVD or watch more Sons of Anarchy on Netflix, not sure.

What am I thankful for?

I’m thankful for music and how great life is. That’s it really.

Hope all is having a good, Holiday today. Lets all be positive today.

Kev

Local music

Why the bar & club scene is not really my thing…

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I don’t go to bars & clubs that much. Once in a blue moon, I’ll go just to see a local band that I like or sometimes play a gig of my own, but that’s about it. I don’t go to bars on a regular basis. I don’t really like bars for a few reasons. 1) I don’t really enjoy being around a crowd of drunk people 2) They are not a place, I would meet women at. 3) Most bars are really a craphole and there are better places to have fun at.

I understand why bands need to play at bars just to play gigs and make money, but if bars & clubs aren’t really your thing as well, there are ways for your band to play non-alcoholic type of venues. There are ways to make your own alcohol free gigs. Maybe play at a church, a bookstore or a cafe. Maybe even a public park. You can even set your gigs at home if you have an area where a band can play. Just be creative and use your imagination.

I wouldn’t really meet women at bars, ’cause I kind of want a woman who doesn’t drink. Maybe an occasional drinker would be okay, but I prefer a woman who doesn’t drink at all. Meeting a woman at a bar, it’s most likely that she’ll hit on any guy that she lays eyes upon, and she’ll forget who you are the second she walks away from you, anyway. I’ve tried to meet women at bars before, and got nothing but bad experiences out of them. I would like a woman who doesn’t drink or smoke (it would be nice to find one who doesn’t smoke weed), but they are hard to find. Most women I know do that stuff. Crazy. It’ll be nice to meet a clean and healthy lady.

I just don’t like the bar scene too much. People are too crazy. Not a good place to socialize, in my opinion. Most people would defend criticism on bars, but you have to realize that bars are not for everyone. Don’t get me wrong, people are cool and can be friendly, but I prefer talking with sober people. I’m not a hard partier anymore like I used to be. I grew out of that stuff.

Kev

Random/off topic posts

Internet discussion…

I love internet discussions and debates, no matter the topic, but one of the things that frustrates me is the way people interact. It would be nice if we can get into friendly discussions. Like talk about the movies we like or the music that we like. Talk positively about discussions online with me, yet the only time I get people to respond if they disagree with something I say, or if my opinion is different than everyone else. Sometimes I get a lot of negative people just to write something negative to me ’cause they find it entertaining and funny.

What I want to see more are fun discussions, like that one topic I had on here, talking about “Guitar Legends & Heroes”, that was great! People were joining in on that discussion and taking it seriously. That’s what I want to see more of on here…but nope.

Sure enough, people feel the need to argue with me ’cause they find it entertaining. That’s it. I don’t mind people disagreeing with me. I know I’m not right on everything I say, but get over yourselves. I only delete comments if they don’t make sense or don’t add value to a discussion or if it’s something hateful and insulting. I approve comments if I feel they are worthy enough for a discussion. Adding something to it.

I express my opinion on something, and that’s all they are, just opinions, yet people just want to be jackasses about it. Debating can be a huge pain in the ass sometimes. I want intelligent discussions and people taking it seriously. Proves my point that people can be whacked in the head.

My online discussions are almost always positive. I like to stay positive ’cause I don’t have time for negativity and shit. I have a choice. Life is too short for drama. I choose to be a good guy because I can, that’s who I want to be. I try my best to ignore negativity of any kind and that’s why I’m strict on comment posting. People don’t start stuff in facebook ’cause they’re usually cool there.

Kev

music

Report: Jimmy Page speaks on the Led Zeppelin full reunion tour that never happened…

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There’s been a lot of speculation on why a Led Zeppelin full reunion tour never happened after their 2007 reunion gig at the 02. A lot of people blamed it on Robert’s aging. Some even went as far as saying the band didn’t want to embarrass themselves and they could destroy their legacy if they went on. None of that is true. Jimmy Page speaks to Rollingstone explaining the whole thing. Why the band never toured. The band wanted to, and I’m sure Robert was willing at the time, it’s just that he was busy with other projects. Led Zeppelin was going to go on with a different singer, but that never happened either.

Read the full story, here.

See? The band were just like us. Even they wanted the tour to happen like the rest of us but wasn’t sure.

Still though, I’m sure Jimmy Page will come out with a project of his own. I see Jimmy Page, planning a comeback with his own career in 2013. Maybe new solo album or a project with a different band? Hope, Jimmy is planning a comeback soon. I’m sure he is planning something.

Kev

music

In defense of Soundgarden’s “King Animal”… the album is getting mixed reviews…

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Soundgarden’s 6th album, “King Animal” is getting mixed reviews by critics and fans online. A large number of people are disappointed in the new album. I’m reading other people’s thoughts about this album in facebook, and other forums and blogs. Why? This is a true Soundgarden record. This album defines the band’s sound. Out of their six albums of their career, I think this is the best one. I think the reasons for people being disappointed from what I’m reading are: 1) They expected this album to sound like “Louder Than Love” and “Badmotorfinger 2) They expected something heavy 3) They expected an album of radio friendly singles like “Badmotorfinger”, “The Superunkown”, and “Down On the Upside”.

Maybe this is why people don’t understand,”King Animal”, because it wasn’t meant to be a radio friendly album. On “King Animal”, you’re certainly not going to hear radio friendly like songs such as “Black Hole Sun”, “Spoon Man” or “Blow Up The Outside World”. In fact, I can’t see any of the songs on “King Animal” being considered as hit singles, and I love albums like that. I love albums that wants to stay away from being mainstream sounding.

On top of all this, this album has the “Louder Than Love/Badmotorfinger” classic sound all over “King Animal”. It has it’s signature sound from almost every album. There are a few songs that sound like that it was from “Down on the Upside” as well. While these are all brand new Soundgarden songs on the album, “King Animal”, it celebrates the sounds from the earlier albums. Of course, there are also some new and different styles thrown in there too. While this new album certainly is a grower, I liked it the first time I heard it. It is a pretty heavy album from what I’ve heard.

Soundgarden are maturing as songwriters. This is a unique and different approach to songwriting. The time signatures are odd, the tempos are different, the riffs are awesome, and Chris can still sing really good. He may not be able to sing like he did in 80’s but the man still has some great pipes. Him doing Audioslave and a few solo albums, did not take the sound away from Soundgarden at all. They still sound like Soundgarden, even after a 13 year break.

Anybody who badly judges the album, the first time hearing it and didn’t like it, probably haven’t gotten over their past. Well get over it. The new album has all of their old classic sound all over it, as I explained. Some people didn’t like it ’cause the songwriting is so different than the earlier albums. It’s a pretty tight and sick album. Loved it!

Kev

music

Why bands & artists are starting to have a change of heart with Itunes…

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Possibly, the only reason that nobody’s buying CD’s anymore. I would think that’s the only reason. The Beatles had a change of heart with Itunes, and now Ac/Dc. There are more bands & artists out there that are holding out on Itunes most notably Kid Rock, Garth Brooks, Bob Seger, and the Ozzy Osbourne era of Black Sabbath. The digital age of music has taken over the industry big time. While it’s cool that digital music has taken over, I just wish the sound quality of downloaded music could be better. Itunes is an okay service, I bought a lot of stuff from them. I don’t mind ’cause I’m a music lover and listening to music is one of my favorite things to do. I like supporting other artists more than my own music.

I can see more and more artists having a change of heart with Itunes ’cause the digital age seems to be the only way for artists to get recognized. Record stores are no longer the same anymore. You never see record stores selling classic albums of bands anymore, they are all about new releases and re-issues these days. The compact disc is pretty much dead. I still like to buy CD’s, however, ’cause I like to have an actual cover and all, with booklet and everything. Album art work is cool but you don’t get that with the Ipod.

So this is why if I ever made my first album, I wouldn’t press it on CD ’cause 1) I can’t afford it 2) Nobody’s buying CD’s anyways. So if I ever made my first real studio album, I’ll figure out a way to get it on Itunes. I don’t know how to get music on Itunes yet, but I’ll look into it.

I miss the old days of buying albums in record stores when it used to be cool. You could buy all the classic albums on CD and find everything you needed back then, but everything has changed, thanks to the digital age of Mp3 and Ipods. The only way you’ll be able to get classic albums that you can’t find at stores is go to Used record shops, that’s your best bet. Sad, but that’s the way it is today.

Kev

music, TV

The media will always shove Justin Bieber in our faces as long as he’s alive… or even dead…

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I know how much everyone is getting sick of Justin Bieber in the media and seeing him everywhere, I am too, but the media will always hype Justin Bieber until he’s dead. Or worse, they’ll keep hyping him after his death just like they constantly do with Elvis Presley or Michael Jackson. Justin Bieber is never going away no matter what happens. I used to have no problem with Bieber, but like everyone else, the media hype over him is starting to drive me crazy too. Justin will keep doing the music thing until the day he dies. Of course, as he gets older, I’m sure he will switch genres ’cause I can’t see him doing pop music when he’s 50.

I didn’t watch the AMA’s last night. I got better things to watch on Sundays like “Dexter” and “Walking Dead”. I’m all fed up with music award shows. They are garbage, all of them. Like most people, I hate how today’s industry is. It’s hard to find good music lately. Pop music is still taking over the mainstream, and it’s sad really. I don’t like it. Although, I’ll admit that I am a fan of Lady Gaga, Adelle and Katy Perry, that’s about it but most pop music today is garbage.

The only good mainstream and commercial band who plays real instruments are, Mumford & Sons. They are very talented and phenomenal songwriters. I love their album, “Babel”. That’s probably the best thing going in today’s industry.

Today’s industry continues to get worse and worse as you can see. I hate it myself. I don’t post about Bieber here anymore for a reason ’cause it’s just giving him more attention, I just had to rant about it just once. Bieber isn’t going away anytime soon folks. We’ll have to put up with him, whether we like it or not. He’s just like Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan. Everything he does, it have to be huge news. Pathetic. I’m sure you guys will finally agree with me on a post for once. So enjoy.

Kev

music

Report: Ac/Dc finally has change of heart with Apple, you can now buy the band’s entire discography in the Itunes Store!!!

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Ac/Dc, the legendary Australian rockers, have always avoided Apple and Itunes, but it seems the band recently had a change of heart. Out of no where, the band announced that today that they released their entire discography on, Itunes. That includes the balds 16 studio albums (both the Bon Scott and Brian Johnson eras), live albums, and compilations.

Read the band’s announcement, here.

I wonder what made the band, finally change their mind? They probably came to a realization that nobody’s buying CD’s anymore and the band’s CD sales are dropping. It’s understandable why they are so late getting on Itunes ’cause they are old geezers who don’t understand today’s technology yet. I think the main reason is they are releasing “Live at River Plate” on CD this week, and they want the album to sell big. It’s their way of promoting the new live album in a big way.

I love Ac/Dc. Always have! I’m glad they’re on Itunes and would get more of their albums that I don’t have yet. Record stores don’t sell their classic albums anymore. I only have a few Ac/Dc albums and would love to get more of their stuff. Especially more of the Bon Scott era.

Kev

movies

About the “Lincoln” ending… (With NO spoilers)

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In facebook or on this blog, when I responded to how the film “Lincoln” ended when a few people asked me about it, I didn’t give a lot of details on the ending. All I said was the film did show the Ford theater scenes and it dragged on, after that. While everyone should know how Lincoln died, does the film actually show John Wilkes Booth shooting Lincoln on the balcony while watching a theater play? Like I said, I’m not getting into details at this time. Just so you know, I didn’t give out any spoilers at all with my “Lincoln”, reviews. I didn’t give away too much. People kept asking me how the movie ended, and I say to myself, “Are you serious?” Why know about the ending now? Go see the film yourself. I can see why people are curious about the ending to “Lincoln”, ’cause of his assassination. I’ll have to say that Spielberg ended this movie in a different way, than most Lincoln biopics out there (yes, there are other “Lincoln” biopics).

I would love to talk about the ending, but I’m not gonna. It’s too early and I don’t want to anger a lot of people. Maybe when the BluRay/DVD comes out, I’ll talk about it then. I need to give people more time to see it first. It’s interesting why people are already asking me about the ending. I didn’t give it all away, just a tiny little bit.

Seriously, you should go see this flick before this stops playing. I’m sure this film will be in theaters for a long while.

Kev

The Official Music Website of Kevin Brock – Brocking N' Rolling