Z-Rock Metal Militia

 

I wonder how many other metalheads still have their Z-Rock Metal Militia tags.  I can't remember exactly when I got these but it was probably in 1990 or 1991.  There was this rock music station I used to listen to  called "Z-Rock" whose slogan was "If it's too loud, you're too old."  They played mostly heavy metal music.  I was really into a lot of Guns N Roses, Ozzy Osbourne, Skid Row, and Motley Crue back then (and still do, by the way!) so it made sense for me to join the Metal Militia.  

But you see, we didn't have Internet or Email back then so it's like we could only communicate by phone or postal mail (other than over the radio station, that is!).  I don't know what happened then but I guess after I moved from Hawaii to the mainland US, I lost touch with Z Rock.  Next thing you know, the station was no longer available and I didn't have a metal militia to belong to anymore.  :(

I've kept my membership dog tags, though, as you can see.  Over 20 years and I still have them!!!  Do I rock or what?!!!  LOL!

Time for a Tuesday Tune...

It's Top Sites Tuesday at Blogdumps and I thought I'd share two short thoughts...

I've been listening to some of my old CDs and wondering how some of my favorite old bands are doing these days.  Many of them (if they're still alive) do have some new music out...and they're still rocking it!!!  One of my favorite classic hair band days rockers, Def Leppard, shows us in this music video that they are an ageless band.



Another band I really liked (back in the day) was this supergroup Damn Yankees whose members included Tommy Shaw (of Styx), Jack Blades (of Night Ranger), Ted Nugent (I always think of NRA when I hear his name), and Michael Cartellone (of Lynyrd Skynyrd. 

Dilana is Back

 

Do you remember Dilana, one of the top five competitors from the reality show contest, Rockstar Supernova? 

ABachalypse LIVE!

So I finally got my ABachalypse Now Ultimate CD/DVD set in the mail the other day... Rightaway, I ripped off the plastic wrapping, turned on my home theater system, and put in the DVD!  Boy, it was awesome, I tell ya!!!  It was like being there in concert, except without the screaming, sweaty crowd pushing each other around me.

Sixx AM's 7

Were you guys aware that Sixx AM has an acoustic 7-song EP available on iTunes? You can get it here: http://bit.ly/rK9tMp. There is also a FREE download of the track "Codependence" available at: http://bit.ly/uH8jBe.

Toryn Green and For The Taking

This week on BlogDumps Top Sites Tuesday, I wanted to share two things about an up- and-coming band which features someone we've heard before from two other famous bands. We previously heard Toryn Green in Fuel, when he replaced Brent Scallions as lead singer from 2006 through 2010. We also heard him with Apocalyptica a couple of years ago, lending his sexy vocals to their unique orchestral style of heavy metal during their US tour.

Jani Lane Tribute

I am still in disbelief over the news that Jani Lane is gone...I don't think I ever felt this sad about a singer dying since Andy Gibb.  Jani Lane is an immensely talented musician, singer, and songwriter.  I was really looking forward to hearing the new music he was working on.

In any case, I wanted to pay tribute to this amazing person who shared his artistic talents with the world and contributed to the art of music.  Here's one of my favorite Warrant songs from the 80s:

I will miss you, Jani Lane...

Black Stone Cherry Music Online

I just thought I'd let my rockin' friends know that you can stream Black Stone Cherry's new album "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" (from RoadRunner Records) online. The album hit music stores on May 31st. Click on the album cover picture to start streaming now! Don't forget, if you enjoy it online, you'll definitely want to go out and buy a copy of the CD to take along in your car with you, too! Or, you can order the Special Edition with 15 tracks (instead of just 12 like the edition you can stream online for free). I order my music from Amazon, where you can get that special edition for only $9.99. I tell you, that's some kick ass rock on that album!

This Is Gonna Hurt

Since I got my copy of SIXX AM's latest CD early this month, I've been playing it in my car over and over every time I drive to and from work.  I really love this album - even more than I love The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack, their first release.   Like the first album, This Is Gonna Hurt is basically a soundtrack for Nikki Sixx's New York Times best-selling book of the same title.

Def Leppard, Take Two

 

Joe Elliott of Def Leppard

This Tuesday, I wanted to look back in time to the 80's - when the long-haired rockstars were the ultimate dream guys of girls my age.  The 80s was also the peak of glamour rock and the so-called hair bands.  And one of the guys I really, really dug was Joe Elliott of Def Leppard.  While other popular long-haired musicians  fit LiggyzDreamz's definition of "hot", Joe Elliott was different because he had a very rugged, masculine sex appeal.  That was unlike my other 80's rockstar crushes - Jani Lane of Warrant, Sebastian Bach of Skid Row, or Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme.  I listened to their music over and over on my stereo while dreamily gazing at every magazine picture I could find of them.  Yeah, they were all eye candy to the giddy teen that I was.  But they were probably all teeny-bopper material compared to Joe Elliott, whose majority of female fans were (I would guess) probably all over the age of 20. 

Firefox Themes for Music Lovers

 Three Days Grace

Hinder

Thirty Seconds to Mars

If you use Mozilla's Firefox web browser, did you know that you can customize your browser theme with their Personas add on?  Yes, you can!  And if you love music as much as I do, there are tons of music themes available in their gallery.

No More Brent Smith!

Man, what a bummer it was for me to learn that Brent Smith (lead vocalist of Shinedown) "released himself" from further work with Apocalyptica recently.  The band had to replace his vocals in the song Not Strong Enough, the newest single release from Apocalyptica's latest album "7th Symphony". 

Chris Cornell is back

Yeah, he's back...but not solo. This time Chris Cornell is back with Soundgarden. Thank goodness! I wasn't really fond of that solo album Chris Cornell put out a year and a half ago. SCREAM really wasn't my cup of tea. I prefer Chris Cornell with that grungy rock sound of Soundgarden.

If you love video games, then you're gonna really get down with Soundgarden. The band has teamed up with Guitar Hero for the release of their new album, TELEPHANTASM. Telephantasm, by the way, is more of a retrospective look back at Soundgarden.  It features a few unreleased tracks as well as their previously released smash hits (Outshined, Spoonman, Black Hole Sun, and more).  There is also a CD/DVD combo with 20 music videos you'll love even more.

By the way, here's a recently released  video preview for the game release:

Now, is that kick ass rock or what?! Welcome back, Soundgarden! Welcome back to that hot rockin' sexy Chris Cornell we loved in Soundgarden!

Party Time!

Guess who's having a birthday?  No, not me!  BlogDumps, the blogging community site which I've been joining for Top Sites Tuesday memes fairly regularly for some time now, is turning four this week.   And to celebrate, we're having a virtual pool party. Whoot whoo!!!

Being the rock music lover that I am, I thought I'd bring along some fun music to jam to.  How about the good ole American sound of the Beach Boys singing "Surfin' USA"?  That would be fun to listen to especially if you're trying to cool down by the poolside.  If you're holding a drink though, don't sit too close to Wolfbernz  - I heard he tends to tip over in his seat! LOL!




Yes, it's been a scorching hot summer in the East Coast this year.   (Remember last week BlogDumps asked us all what we're doing to stay cool?).  Well, the heat isn't letting up just yet around here.  I'm just glad my house is surrounded by tall trees.  It helps keep it a lot less hotter than it is elsewhere.  They also provide a good amount of shade for those times you just need to stretch your legs outside (just ask my dog!).

Well, I'll be going through my music collection for more music to listen to.  Bring along other music you like to hear, too.  I like dance music, too, if anyone's got any to share.  Meanwhile, stop by BlogDumps and join the party!  Click the blinking button below so they know I invited you ;)





Come Join Top Sites Tuesday and be  #1 on BlogDumps!
The purpose of this Meme is to encourage
Networking  between bloggers to have fun while doing it!
Make sure to visit all the other participants and leave comments.

Remembering my very first CD purchase

 Heartbreak Station

I can't forget this album because it was the very first CD I ever purchased.  This CD is a great combination of upbeat rock and mellow ballads. Some of the tracks ("Shelter Me" and "The More Things Change") also gave me a classic rock feeling as well.  

What is interesting is that the raspiness in the voice of Tom Kiefer (Cinderella's lead singer) reminded me of ACDC's Brian Johnson but with Cinderella's more youthful style and image, I've always felt they were more attractive for the younger generation of glamour rock/hair band fans. 

Too bad Tom Kiefer had hemorrhaging problems with his vocal chords and had to quit singing.  I would've liked to hear Cinderella perform live.  Oh well!

Rock Me Amadeus

What a shock it was to me when I first heard in 1998 that Johann (Hans) Hölzel - known to us as Falco, died in a vehicular accident just before his 41st birthday.  I really enjoyed his music during the 1980s.  After "Rock Me Amadeus" hit number one on the Billboard charts, I purchased his album Falco 3 so I could listen to his music more, especially when I'm out driving around in my car. 


I didn't always understand what he was singing, even though the album was in English.  Perhaps his Austrian accent was a little stronger than I could make out at the time, but I still enjoyed what I heard.  It's not like you could always understand everything even by American artists singing in English anyway!

FALCO 3 Track listing:

Rock Me Amadeus (The Gold Mix) (U.S. version substitutes "The Solieri Version")
America (The City Of Grinzing Version)
Tango the Night (The Heart Mix)
Munich Girls (Lookin' for Love) (Just Another Paid One)
Jeanny (Sus-Mix-Spect Crime Version)
Vienna Calling (Waiting For the Extended Mix) (U.S. version substitutes "The Metternich Arrival Mix")
Männer des Westens-Any Kind of Land (Wilde Bube Version)
Nothing Sweeter Than Arabia (The Relevant Madhouse Danceteria Jour-Fix-Mix)
Macho Macho (Sensible Boy's Song)
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (No Mix)

I was very fond of dancing to Falco's music and playing around at home with his album playing.  My younger sister and I would even sing along to some parts as though we were back-up vocalists performing along with him, especially with the songs "Vienna Calling" and "Munich Girls".  Although I didn't think much of it at the time, I recently read some reviews online about "Jeanny" having been somewhat controversial.  All along I thought it was just a sad story in a song with a very theatrical music video (you know, just like Madonna and her "Like A Prayer" video).  I didn't realize it was based on a real kidnap and ransom story and that Falco was criticized for having poor taste in making a song out of it.  These days what he did probably would not be such a shocker.

The album is still a great album to listen to even after all these years.  You know it's good when artists today like to incorporate clips from his hits into their own songs and the phrase "Rock Me Amadeus" is still used as a common expression.

(Post imported from my Music Closet blog which is no longer open).