My gem this week goes to “Words As Weapons” by alternative rockers Seether.
I’m really digging this song currently which is off the bands latest and sixth studio album Isolate and Medicate.
When I first heard Seether on the radio back in the early 2000s I did not care for them too much.
But over the years their songs started to grow on me like “Broken” featuring Amy Lee from Evanescence (2004) Even their known hit “Fine Again” (2002) also grew on me.
The bands songs in general carry that melodic catchy vibe that I like.
I also love frontman Shaun Morgan’s vocals because I hear the passion and yearning in his vocal delivery.
I think “Words As Weapons” has the impact to linger in your head.
According to the bands official site www.seether.com, Seether will be touring with Papa Roach. I checked the dates and their Detroit show is January 23rd. With this stellar combo I have to make it to this show.
Below is link shared from the SeetherVEVO You Tube channel for “Words As Weapons.”
My gem this week is “Black & White” by Static-X, in tribute to the metal bands former frontman Wayne Static who passed away on Saturday November 1st.
I first read the sad news on Rollingstone.com, stating that he was only 48 and how he was getting ready to go on tour with Powerman 5000 and Drowning Pool. After Static-X disbanded in 2010, Static had a successful solo career going releasing his album Pighammer in 2011
Static-X is one of those bands I briefly got into back in 2001 when they released the album Machine and were becoming more popular. I liked their brand of goth/metal sound, not to mention Static’s notable wild spiky black hair.
Loudwire.com actually posted the press release stating that Static passed quietly in his sleep and cause of death is not listed but it specified that it was not drug related.
I’m glad I got to see Static-X perform live during The Family Values Tour in 2001. I remember they rocked through a quick set but I did get to hear them do my favorite gem “Black & White,” which I still think is a great metal song.
Below is a link for “Black and White” shared from MetalAndRockHUN’s You Tube Channel.
Shot I took from their live show at The Fillmore in Detroit back in ’07 or ’08
My gem this week goes to bluesy hard rockers Clutch and their most recent album Earth Rocker which is hardcore at its finest and has been one of my favorite’s this year.
They released the album in 2013 and it is the bands tenth studio album. According to their official site www.pro-rock.com, they currently have dates scheduled for their north america 2014/2015 winter/holiday tour. I have seen them a couple of times in concert and I know first hand that they put on a great live show.
Earth Rocker is consistent hard rock throughout the album and I love lead singer Neil Fallon’s deep, preacher style vocals. My favorite song is “Gone Cold” I cannot resist the bluesy guitar riff and I feel it’s the most catchy song on the album.
I usually listen to this album while driving to work because It helps me feel pumped up for the day while venting some aggression too.
Clutch is actually my husbands favorite band and when we started dating they had released the Robot Hive/Exodus album (2005) and we used to listen to it all the time. That whole album is the gem that started it all with my favorites being “The Incomparable Mr. Flannery,” “Burning Beard,” and “Gullah.”
I would say the bands more recognized hits are “The Incomparable Mr. Flannery,” from Robot Hive/ Exodus and “Electric Worry” off their 2007 album From Beale Street to Oblivion.
I’ve been a Clutch fan for the last ten years and I consider their albums rock masterpieces in my collection. I also thank them for still making awesome music that is true hard rock.
Below I have the link to listen to “Gone Cold” shared from Sakaros Rockaine’s You Tube Channel!
My gem this week goes to the stellar mexican guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela and their latest album 9 Dead Alive.
According to their official site www.rodgab.com, this is their fourth studio album. They are also currently on tour and do have a Detroit show scheduled for October 25th at The Fillmore.
I came across their music recently through a live public television special and I thought they were truly awesome to watch.
I heard mostly a flamenco style influence which is one of my favorite styles. I think Rodrigo y Gabriela are impressive and skilled in the art of classical guitar playing.
I downloaded the album 9 Dead Alive and it has been my current favorite this week. I especially love the song “Misty Moses” and I can’t stop listening to that one over and over.
I also think its cool that they are exposing newer generations to flamenco and rumba styles.
I am looking forward to exploring more of their albums and I’m hoping to go to their upcoming show here in Detroit.
Below is a link for “The Soundmaker” shared from Rodrigo y Gabriela’s You Tube channel.
My gem this week goes to Jimmy Fallon and Black Eyed Peas singer, Will.I.Am’s official music video for “Ew!” based off The Tonight Show sketch.
If you are not familiar with the sketch Ew! it’s Fallon’s alter ego as a teen girl named Sara who says Ew about everything she dislikes.
The first Ew! sketch I watched featured Will Ferrell and First Lady Michelle Obama talking about being active. I thought it was absolutely hilarious.
Yesterday Fallon premiered Ew! on his show and I instantly loved it. He also talked about how the collaboration came together after Will.I.Am told Fallon that he was a fan of the sketch.
Will.I.Am did a great job making the song catchy and of course he added some old school influence which I think he is good at.
The video is hysterical with Will.I.Am wearing a headgear retainer and tights while Fallon has a pink bow and shows off his decent rap skills towards the end of the song.
Fallon also stated yesterday on his show that his goal for the song was to break into the Billboard top 100 and he asked fans to download the song and to call local radio stations to request it.
Below is the link to the video shared from The Tonight Show You Tube channel.
My gem this week goes to Motown legend Aretha Franklin and her passionate cover of Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep.”
The queen of soul is releasing a cover album on October 21st called, Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics. I can already tell by hearing her do Adele’s song that it’s going to be a great album.
As a fan I have always loved her voice because it’s so soulful and powerful.
I have some of her compilation albums and I love all of her well-known hits like “Respect,” “Natural Woman” and “Chain of Fools.” But my favorite has always been her version of “A Deeper Love.”
I’m looking forward to this cover album especially after I clicked the iTunes link from Franklin’s official website www.arethasings.com. and read the fantastic track listing!
On iTunes you can only listen to “Rolling In The Deep” for now but the listing shows all the songs which includes classic covers like “Midnight Train To Georgia” by Gladys Knight and “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” by The Supremes.
I also must add how flawless the soul queen looks on her new album cover and of course her voice can still bring the roof down.
Below is a link from her official site that shows her recent live performance on David Lettermen.
My gem this week is Australian punk/psychobilly band The Living End.
This is a great band that I dug out from my collection to feature because I’ve always admired their style which fuses 50’s rock, punk and rock-a-billy all into one.
I first got into The Living End in 2002 when I was in a band and listening to everything experimental and punk hardcore for inspiration. I heard their hit Prisoner of Society and I liked it right away and bought their album Roll On (2000).
I loved that album and listened to it a lot. My favorite tracks included Astoria Paranoia for its catchy drum opening and Roll On. My other favorite album is Modern Artillery (2003) I absolutely loved the track End of the World.
I was fortunate to see them live in 2006 when the band had released their State of Emergency album. I carry a memorable experience of how-spur-of-the-moment decisions got me to that show.
Basically, I had found out the band was playing in Detroit a day before their show and on such short notice I didn’t have much hope that I would make it to the show. I also worked retail then and was working that day until 9:00 p.m. At work I started telling my manager about how upset I was that I was going to miss seeing this great band live because I found out about it too late. My manager sympathised with me and decided to let me go home early so I could make it to the show. I couldn’t believe my luck, so I called my then-boyfriend-now-husband to pick me up and we raced to the show hoping they didn’t sell out of tickets. We walked in just as the openers finished playing and tickets were still available! We paid at the door and I’ll never forget how awesome It felt to know I wasn’t going to miss this after everything that happened.
I can say first hand that they put on a great live show! The Living End put that punk rock attitude, rock-a-billy swagger and hardcore energy in their performance. Another cool thing about them is the bassist plays an upright bass and it’s a different touch that I liked about their stage presence.
Since 2006 and aside from touring with The Warped Tour, I have noticed The Living End has not played Detroit since then.
I am really glad I made it to that show and even though I don’t follow their music as closely these days, I still have great albums by them that are gems and I’ll never forget the memory of going to their show.
Below is an old clip of the band performing on Letterman shared from Raffaello.35’s You Tube Channel.
This past Saturday I saw The Offspring perform live and the show was special for fans because they performed their ’94 album Smash in its entirety!
The band has been touring this summer celebrating the 20th anniversary for Smash. For their Detroit show they headlined the 2nd annual local radio sponsored festival called Chill on the Hill, which included other great bands on the bill like Bad Religion. (another one of my favorite bands)
The band also reissued a 20th anniversary collector’s edition of Smash on Cd/Vinyl. I have not purchased the collector edition yet but you can order it from the bands official website at http://offspring.com.
Over the years I have seen The Offspring play live a few times but this show meant a lil’ more to me because 20 years ago I wanted to see The Offspring when they came with Greenday back in ’94. I still remember the tickets were only $10.00 but I was too young to go to shows alone or buy tickets myself. I tried to win tickets over the radio in hopes that if I got the tickets free that my brother would take me to the show but it never happened. So getting to go to this great reminiscent anniversary show was awesome.
As for their live performance, The Offspring did not disappoint as they poured through the album in their usual high energy and speed. They played Self Esteem last and as an added treat they finished the last half hour of their set playing’ their other hits like Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) and The Kids Aren’t Alright.
I still remember when I first heard the song Come Out and Play and that catchy middle eastern influenced guitar riff instantly hooked me. I also remember Frontman Dexter Holland’s dread-lock era in the b&w music video. I think he looks better now.
Smash will always be a gem of an album to me and I will never forget my first impression of listening to it. It just kicks off in full force with Nitro and doesn’t stop. As a teen there is so much to relate to in that album with songs about things like abuse and addiction. Every track on Smash is catchy and I still love every single song with my personal favorites being Bad Habit and Something To Believe In.
I will never tire from listening to that album. I also figure the band had to name it Smash when they finished recording it because it really could not be called anything less than Smash!
Below is a link shared from Epitaph Records YouTube Channel of Something To Believe In from Smash.
My gem this week goes to the episode of Tosh.0 (2012) featuring rapper Krispy Kreme’s video called Me and Daniel Tosh.
Watching stupid viral videos has become a guilty pleasure and the video for Me and Daniel Tosh is a great indulgence.
Tosh featured Kreme on the show for his then viral video called The Baddest. Kreme used a rap persona of being southern and not too sharp making ridiculous rap videos with his best friend Money Maker Mike.
But it’s the rap with Tosh that I loved, especially the video. Tosh looks like he is towering over Kreme in height and I liked their silly facial expressions and the cliché moves with the fisheye shots.
I guess Kreme changed his name to Froggy Fresh and he has an official website under his Froggy Fresh name at www.froggyfresh.com. Whichever persona he was, is and will be all I know is his videos are funny and the one he did for Tosh is my pick.
Under a quick wiki search I read that his real name is supposedly Tyler Cassidy and he is actually from Detroit.
I am not sure why I like this guy so much maybe it is because I found out he is from Detroit or maybe I just like his stupid funny brand of comedy rap.
I’ll admit some of his videos made me laugh hysterically and some made me wonder if he really is pretending but despite the guessing game his videos have gone viral.
Below I shared the link from ComedyCentral You Tube Channel showing the video for Me and Daniel Tosh.
The song Flood by christian alternative band Jars of Clay came to mind after Detroit got hit with historic heavy rain last week. This song is an old gem from my 90s collection.
I remember when I first heard Flood back in ’95 It surprised me that it was such a good song coming from a christian band. This song changed my perception that not all christian rock was lame. There was nothing lame about Flood it was catchy and fast with a raw acoustic quality. The lyrics were uplifting and passionate. The band’s style also fit in with the rest of the alternative grungy sound of the time.
I didn’t follow the band all these years even though I liked their ’95 self titled debut album which had other good tracks I listened to like Love Song for a Savior and Blind.
The band is currently celebrating 20 years of success as indicated by a creative You Tube clip when you go to their website www.jarsofclay.com. They just released a 2 CD fan favorite greatest hits titled 20 yesterday. (August 19th)
According to their website the songs are all newly recorded and includes two new tracks. Basically they did not compile your run of the mill collection. I noticed that it actually doesn’t even include Flood but I listened through 20 on iTunes and I really like it. The songs are acoustic with a fresh spin on things.
I guess my timing to reflect on their debut hit from the 90s fits right into their 20 year celebration which is cool!
Below is the link for the music video to Flood, You Tube had some different versions of the video. I found the original video on Daily Motion.
Music Reportage 