KISS - Kiss

KISSes first three studio albums are often instantly dismissed by the Critics, KISS fans, and even some members of the band themselves as not being very good.

This is a grave over-sight.  An Alternative Rocker like myself who is totally into Lo-fi/ No-fi type of productions can find something to like in the less then ideal '70s era production values of these records.

Also the tempos of many of the songs are quite a bit slower then the versions on the 'Alive' series.  All of this adds up to a sort of proto-Grunge vibe on the 'Kiss'.  After a good listen one can see why Buzz Osbourne and Dale Crover of the Melvins groove to KISS.

'Kiss' starts off with and awesome one-two punch of 'Strutter' and 'Nothin' to Lose', two of my favorites.

'Strutter' can really rock and I am surprised that (to my knowledge) KISS has never used it to open a show.  Usually they open with 'Deuce' or lately 'Detroit Rock City'.

Really the only song on here I dislike is the version of 'Black Diamond' on here.  It is just a really bad version and the 'Alive' version is so much infinitely better and also the version that Eric Singer did on 'KISS Klassics' is my favorite so far.

Leonard Cohen - Live at the Isle of Wight 1970

Just listened to this for the first time the other day.  It blew me away!

Modern sound engineering has gotten to the point where they can make live recordings sound just totally awesome and that is what they have done on this special live album.

There is so much that is good about this record.  Leonard Cohens voice sounds really cool and deep on here.  It sounds way better to me then on his actual studio recordings from this time period of the late '60s and early '70s.

The band is no slouch either, and the female back up singers are a welcome addition to Cohens songs when played live.

Crazy Uncle Joe Biden strikes again with inappropriate behavior!

About the only good thing a freedom-loving Libertarian, who has been rebelling against The State since High School, has to look forward to during the next few years of the liberal Obama Administration is observing the antics of Joe Biden.

Here is the latest outburst:

As vice president, it was part of Joe Biden's duty to swear in the 34 new senators elected to take office this year. But after the actual ceremony took place Thursday, Biden took the following less-formal photo-op to yuck it up with the senators, their families and onlookers.

[...]

 But it's also true that some comments Biden made were borderline inappropriate.

 "Spread your legs, you're gonna be frisked!" he said to the husband of Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. "You say that to somebody in North Dakota they think it's a frisk. They think you're in trouble right?" Heitkamp's spouse did not appear totally comfortable.

The bachelor senator from New Jersey, Robert Menendez, had a brunette in a red dress in tow.

Biden said to her, "You are so pretty. God love you. Holy mackerel."

http://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/joe-biden-senate-swear/2013/01/04/id/470141

Megadeth - Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?

Megadeth might be my favorite thrash metal band.

They were certainly the first one I was exposed to and I vividly remember seeing one of their videos on MTV and being awe-struck at how fast they played.  Too this day they get me pumped!  

'Peace Sells' is their 2nd album, but is the first 'old' album I was able to find on Itunes for my IPOD nano.  Have never had a copy before because the only Megadeth albums I have ever had were just greatest hits CDs.

This album has a great one-two punch where the song 'Peace Sells' is followed by 'Devils Island'.  Both of those songs kick total metal ass.

Also the edition I got had a live concert tacked onto the end!  That is a pretty cool bonus.

Nirvana - Bleach

Nirvana.  Saw them live in Dec. 1993 only 5 months before Kurt tragically took his own life.

I have some great memories of Nirvana.  They were the first band I ever got to see in concert (and it was a great gig, with the Melvins and Breeders opening!  Totally awesome!)

But I digress, back to 'Bleach'.  This is easily Nirvanas heaviest album.  It is totally influenced by Heavy Metal and in fact reminds me quite a bit of early Soundgarden too.

But since it is so heavy, it has little mainstream appeal compared to Nirvanas later records.  So sometimes it does not get the attention it deserves.  However that may be changing. as 'Velvet Revolver' recently covered 'Negative Creep'

Wow.  The Seattle bands and the L.A. bands used to feud quite a bit, and it is nice to see an L.A. band give a hat tip to Nirvana like this.

Juliana Hatfield - Hey Babe

ZOMG!

I have such a massive crush on Juliana!

Believe me there is an entire generation of guys between the ages of 30-40 who grew up crushing on her whenever she was on Alternative Nation or 120 Minutes back in the day!

But there is even more, Hatfield is a great songwriter who writes an astounding range of tunes from acoustic ballads, to pop, to noise rock.

Oh and she is a guitar goddess as well.

And yes I even like her voice.  After listening to so many male artists it is nice to hear her girlish vocals.  A nice change of pace.

I would say she is probably my 4th favorite musical artist and it is just a crime, a total crime that she is not more popular or well known (how many millenials have heard of her?  They are too busy listening to canned pop acts like Britnery or Cristina... sigh, grumble)

'Hey Babe' features several classic songs.  'Everybody Love Me But You' is a great mid-tempo alt-rocker.  The video is awesome too.

(There is a better version of this vid. out there if you type in 'HQ' and '1992')

'Lost and Saved' has a real bottom-endy vibe and is another favorite.

Oh and I would be remiss to not mention 'Forever Baby' which has a great sense of dark humor in the lyrics.  That is one of the things I love about Juliana, she totally, just really nails the whole Generation X vibe with her lyrics.  She writes these alterna-pop songs, but when you peel back the onion there is great depth that people may not realize.  Sort of like Sting with his lyrics and yes even Gwen Stefani with her lyrics.

Lets not forget the B-sides to this album, there were quite a few released and they are all good as well!

The two B-sides I like the most also showcase her considerable ability to craft songs of different genres.

'Feed Me' is a sad acoustic ballad, and Raisans is a cover of the classic Dinosaur Jr. rocker.

Leonard Cohen - Songs From a Room

'Songs From a Room' continues much in the same vein as Cohens first album, but adds some more essential hits to his discography.

'Bird on a Wire' is a great country ballad.

It is also highly ironic that it became the theme song to one of Mel Gibsons action flicks!  (Mel doesn't seem to get along with Zionist types like Leonard Cohen now-a-days!)

One of my personal favorites is 'The Old Revolution'.  It is written from the point of view of a Right-Wing Royalist just after the French Revolution.  Even though many mistake Leonard Cohen as some sort of mega-liberal singer-songwriter from the 1960s, he actually has some Right-Wing views (like supporting Israel) and writes songs that Libertarians can relate to.

THE LIBERALS MASK IS DROPPING: Moore hates troops, Gore loves terrorists!

With the Obama electoral victory complete, it seems that liberals are feeling their oats and are more willing to let their masks down and show their real beliefs, which are invariably of a Statist Authoritarian nature and/or anti-American.

First up is Michael Moore:

Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore took to his Huffington Post blog to announce 10 of his 2013 New Year's resolutions.

The fourth and fifth resolutions in particular, in which he criticizes American citizens for joining the armed forces, have sparked particular controversy. The fourth reads:

4. Stop saying, "I support the troops." I don't.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/01/02/michael-moore-resolves-to-stop-saying-support-troops-in-2013/#ixzz2H1n7njw7

The following meme is my reaction:

And here is Al Gore:

Former Vice President Al Gore has made himself a much, much richer man by selling his little watched cable channel Current TV to the Emir of Qatar-funded Arab news channel Al-Jazeera.

Gore netted $100 million with his 20 percent stake in the network when it was sold for a reported $500 million on Wednesday.

Al-Jazeera plans to euthanize the struggling, seven-year-old Current TV and turn it into Al-Jazeera America by adding five to 10 new U.S. bureaus beyond the five it has now. More than half of its content will be U.S. news, and the network will have its headquarters in New York, according to a rep.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/01/03/al-gore-nets-reported-100-million-in-sale-current-tv-to-al-jazeera/#ixzz2H1oCn9gA

Al Gore is clearly helping anti-American terrorists to gain propaganda outlets into America and thus Al Gore loves terrorists and is thus anti-American.

Metallica - Kill 'Em All

Guess what?  It is ok for alternative rockers to like Heavy Metal (like Metallica).  Soundgarden made it safe to do so:

Soundgarden made a place for heavy metal in alternative rock. Their fellow Seattle rockers Green River may have spearheaded the grunge sound, but they relied on noise rock in the vein of the Stooges. Similarly, Jane's Addiction were too fascinated with prog rock and performance art to appeal to a wide array of metal fans. Soundgarden, however, developed directly out of the grandiose blues-rock of Led Zeppelin and the sludgy, slow riffs of Black Sabbath. 

 http://www.allmusic.com/artist/soundgarden-mn0000001098

Something like 'Kill 'Em All' is especially tantalizing.  It has real indie label production values.  Hetfields and Hammetts twin guitar attack can churn out a sound that is listenable to noise rockers.

Also since J Mascis brought back guitar solos with Dinosaur Jr., it is A-OK to enjoy Hammetts solos!

Even Kurt Cobain liked Metallica!:

Is it true that the album cut "Whiplash" was Kurt Cobain's favorite Metallica song?
Absolutely. He told me that himself. He came to one of our shows in Seattle, on the Black Album tour. I remember at one point, we were playing "Whiplash," and he looked at me and kept punching the air with his fist, and gave me a big thumbs-up sign. I was like, "Cool. Kurt, I know you love this song. This one's for you!" I knew Kurt kind of well, and I hung out with him quite a bit. He was a pretty big Metallica fan – I was surprised at how much of a Metallica fan he was. He loved Ride the Lightning. He loved that album.

 http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/q-a-metallicas-kirk-hammett-on-horror-fans-hanging-with-kurt-cobain-20121001

'Kill 'Em All' is another album that is all killer/ no filler.  My favorite track is the first one 'Hit the lights', The beginning drum into and guirar intro just rule!

Soundgarden - Screaming Life/ Fopp

Soundgardens first two EPs!  Chris Cornell is probably my favorite vocalist.  (later Leonard Cohen might be as well though)  Cornell can just project like nobodies business.

Cornells vocals on these two EPs are the real diamond in the rough.  The rest of the band hadn't really developed fully as musicians yet (however they are still very good comparatively speaking)

'Fopp' is a real interesting song.  It is like no other song that Soundgarden has ever recorded before (to my knowledge, and I have most of their B-sides).  It is this fun pop party song.  It would be really strange if Soundgarden had decided to go 'the Fopp route' and become a band like the Red Hot Chilli Peppers instead!  Based on this track they probably could have pulled it off.

Ironically I think the best song of the bunch though is the B-side 'Toy Box'.  It has this real dark vibe and one can hear alot of fore-shadowing of the 'SuperUnknown' album which would be Soundgardens biggest album in a few years.

Dinosaur Jr. - Dinosaur

Dino is my second favorite band!  I love the loud noise rock they create.  J.s guitar playing is also my favorite.  I like his solos more then I like Eddie Van Halens!

'Dinosaur' is their first album and truth be told it is little more then a glorified demo in studio quality.  One wonders how much they spent to record it.  Wouldn't be surprised if it was less then for other legendary cheap-o debuts like Bathorys ($2,000) or Nirvanas ($600).  However the lack of production isn't really an issue for an alternative rocker like me who actually likes noise rock and lo-fi type acts.

To me the highlight of this album is the amount of songs where Lou Barlow is the lead singer!  It is probably more then half.  It is nice to see Big Lou get a chance to shine.  Not only is J my favorite guitar player, but Lou is my favorite bass player.  He just gets this real cool loud bass sound to come out of that thing.

The highlight of this album is most likely 'Repulsion'.  It has that signature Dinosaur Jr. sound and has become a regular on their set-list ever since.

Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill

Hell yeah this is one of the great party albums ever!

The B-boys have created just a totally fun jam with this one.  Remember back in the 1980s rap music was mostly a dance/ party type genre.  Sure there was N.W.A. and 2 Live Crew, but they were at that time oddities.  There was none of this violence-prone anti-White stuff that has permeated this degenerating Nation.

Sure listening to this album is an exercise in nostalgia, but at this point in time during the Obama-nation, is that really such a bad thing?  Back in the '80s I had so much fun with friends, playing on our Commodore 64s, listening to 'Girls' in the background.  It is still a fun song to this day!

Can't decide what the best song is on this album though.  It is just all killer, no filler (well maybe except for 'Rhymin' and Stealin', but even that is a good song, just not a great song.  Would have been great if it had been replaced with 'She's On It' though)

The big question I have about this album though... When is there going to be a remastered version with some bonus tracks or live tracks?!?!?  Remastering albums seems to be a big thing now-a-days and I would kill to here some out-takes from this album.  (How about a nice version of 'Scenario'??)  Heck Scenario could probably be remastered and turned into one of the better tracks on this album based on what I have heard before!

Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen

On his debut album Leonard Cohen lays the ground work for much of later amazing decades long career.

The album starts off with the classic 'Suzanne'.  It seems pretty minimalist, but with this song less is more and the version that Cohen does on his 1994 live album is a favorite of mine.

I've always kind of liked 'Master Song', it is a little more up-tempo then the rest of the album and has a really dark cool vibe.

There are a few misfires on this album, but that is to be expected from the first album from a new artist.  Like there is one song on the B-side that uses alot of Spanish guitars and stuff and that whole summery Mediterranean style, mixed with Cohens dark mellow-ism doesn't work for me.

Probably the best song of the bunch is the albums closer: 'One of Us Cannot Be Wrong'.  It really sets forth the blue-print for much of Cohen later output and its style can still be heard I think mostly on 'Recent Songs'.

Heroes of the fiscal cliff!

All is not lost for fiscal conservatives and Libertarians who are concerned about an over-spending and all encroaching Federal Government.  (Look at TSA agents who want to grab your 'junk'!  Yikes!)

Two have emerged from the darkness to shine the light of hope: Marco Rubio and Rand Paul!

Cliff Campaigners? Marco Rubio, Rand Paul Say ‘No’ to Deal:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/01/cliff-campaigners-marco-rubio-republicans-up-for-election-say-no-to-deal/ 

Rubio is cool and all, but the truth of the matter is his dad is not Ron Paul and he may not have the all-powerful Aqua Buddha in his corner either!  So Rand Paul is just a notch higher on the totem pole so-to-speak in my mind:

 There is still time to re-group in time for the 2014 mid-term, and with Aqua Buddha on our side the chances of healing this New World Order devastated Nation remain good!