Rant Rant Rant

I don't really have a blog to write. Nothing comes to mind. So, I thought I'd pass along things that piss me off. Whether they irritate me... annoy me... or just plain piss me off. So here is a list of things that burn me up in no particular order... 1. Michael Stipe... no talent, bald freak of R.E.M. 2. Paris Hilton... white trash, ugly blonde idiot 3. American Idol... what happened to working hard to get a record contract, not win a TV contest? 4. Pop Ups... why why why? I have a pop up blocker and it simply doesn't work! 5. Reality TV... my reality sucks. why must I suffer through someone else's 6. Buying a house... impossible 7. Julia Roberts... I just don't get it 8. Ska... hated it in '98, so why would I like it now? Horns don't belong in rock and roll 9. Gas Prices... enough already! 10. The End of Football Season... it should never end! Just a few of the things that tick me off. Not that you care, but I felt the need to pass it along... Checking out Bon Jovi at Boardwalk Hall this Saturday. They were my first concert back in '87. I've seen them numerous times and they usually deliver. The latest record, Have A Nice Day, pretty much sucks. A few good tunes, but overall... garbage. You wanna rock out with Bon Jovi, when they were a true rock band and didn't buy into being a safe, loved by 40 something house wives band... check out the first 4 records... Bon Jovi, 7800 Fahrenheit, New Jersey, and especially... Slippery When Wet, a masterpiece. Rock On my homies!

Buying a Home sucks... it really does!!!

So you grow into adulthood, kicking and screaming, and along comes responsibility. Bills, full time job, bills, owning a home, and more bills. Responsibility sucks!!! I wanna go back to the day when I could sit home and play video games all day, go to concerts whenever, play basketball a half a dozen times a week, and drink, drink, drink. Some of those things still happen, like I said kicking and screaming. So I recently decided to look for a new house. I own a little condo already and I need more space. Stuff has just taken over my current home... shoes, clothes, bags, rubbermaid containers. None which are mine, go figure? I should have known when my condo more than doubled in value that finding a home at a decent price was going to be impossible. They are either too small... too expensive... or in the wrong neighborhood. I found a bunch of nice homes, but they are an hour away from work. I hate driving. Or I can afford it, but it's in need of some "TLC". WTF? It should be "TLK"... Tough Luck Kid. Buying a home sort of reminds me of going to college. Everybody tells you to go to college (or buy a nice home)... but the system is set up that it's way too expensive (college or home... take your pick)... by the time you finish college, you're so far in debt that all the money you make at your job if you're lucky enough to get one goes back to the student loans (or your mortgage sucks you dry and the rest goes into "TLC" and you're broke). The system is ass backwards. They want you to suceed and have nice things, but it set up that if you're not a doctor or lawyer or a trust fund kid, YOU ARE SCREWED!!! Hey, I work just as hard as the next person, maybe even harder, and would like the big house filled with nice stuff too. So I will continue to look for a home. I will continue to complain. And will probably continue living in my small condo tripping over bags and shoes. Oh well, I guess it could worse. I could live with mom and dad.

On to happier things. Time to drop some music on ya. I was recently told I was old because I went to a concert on Saturday night and didn't like the ska band (what is this 1998?) Big D and the Kids Table. If my kids played like that, there would be no kids table, it would be directly to your room with no dinner and Big D wouldn't be allowed over. Anyway, since I'm old, I will recommend old music. Lets talk about Cheap Trick. Awesome band. There first three records... Cheap Trick, In Color, and Heaven Tonight influenced everyone from Def Leppard to Nirvana to Motley Crue. Live at Budakon was next and they hit it big with the single, I Want You to Want Me. They continued to release great records in the 80's and 90's like Dream Police, One on One, Busted, Woke Up With a Monster, and few greatest hits collections. They've toured with the like of Motley Crue, Aerosmith, and most recently, Def Leppard. But check out Budakon... tracks like Big Love, Hello There, and Surrender are classic. Also check out the extended Budakon double CD released in the 90's with a second CD recorded in '78 at the same show. Peace out my little chick-a-dees!!!

Hockey sucks... but maybe not

I'm a big sports fan. Love basketball. Love football. Baseball is great. Hell, I'll even watch tennis from time to time. PTI... Around the Horn... Sportscenter... can't live without them. I bowl. Play basketball. And if asked, I'll play some football and baseball. But one sport I could never master or watch... Hockey. I couldn't hit a slap shot. Tripped over my stick. Watching hockey? I could never follow the puck on TV. I own a Flyers jersey and that is far as I go with hockey. Until last night... I went to a Flyers game with my nephew. I wasn't totally excited. But my nephew digs hockey, plays hockey, and never had been to a Flyers game. So what the hell? AWESOME!!! Hockey is SOOOOOOO much better live. We were sitting high up, which is great because you can see everything. I could follow the puck. The hits into the boards a louder. The game seems so much quicker. It was... well... AWESOME. I have a new found respect for hockey. I'd go to a game again in a heartbeat. I apologize to my friends... Art, Chris, Bill, and Tom... for ripping them for talking about hockey. Now, I'm never putting on pads and grabbing a stick anytime soon. But as for going to another game. Sign me up! Now to music. Lets talk about something new. System of a Down. They released two records in 2005... Mezmerize and Hypnotize. Great records. But I want to talk about Toxicity. This is the record that turned me onto System. Songs like Aerials, Prison Song, and the title track. Then I saw them on Ozzfest... unbelievable. Intense is the best word to describe them in concert. I was amazed. System isn't for everybody, but check them out... you never know.

HOSTEL

Do you like movies? Do you like horror movies? Well, if so, I've got one for ya. Now, it might night scare you, but it will indeed make you squirm, cover your eyes, and pray that the things on the screen will never, ever happen to you. If you like House of 1000 Corpses... The Devil's Rejects... Saw I & II... then you'll love Hostel. You might have heard of this movie. It just made 20 million last weekend. A few people needed medical attention while watching the flick at the Toronto Film Festival. Mr. Pulp Fiction endorsed the movie presenting the it. Do you like lots of blood? Check. Fingers and tendons being severed? Check. Faces burned by a blow torch? Check. Ankles sliced? Check. Torture by drill, chain saw, scissors, and many others devices that will inflict pain... lots of pain. If this sounds like a good night out, run to your nearest movie theater and check out Hostel. And best of all, it has a pretty good story line to go along with it. You don't usually get that in a horror flick. Hostel... 5 stars... 2 thumbs up... unless they're cut off, which means I'm in alot of pain right now, then I'll just hold up the other 4 in approval. HOSTEL. Music. Lets pass on some Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin, simply the greatest rock band of all time. Page, Plant, John Paul, and Bonham. Amazing. Not a bad record. Not a bad song. To pick one record is tough, but my fav is Zeppelin II. Whole Lotta Love... What Is and What Should Never Be... Heartbreaker/Living Loving Made... Ramble On... I should just list the whole damn record cause it's that damn good. Turn it up... and Get The Led Out Baby!!!

The Most Perfect 4 Minutes of Music

Is there a song that you could here a million times... and then another million times and it never gets old. A song that sounds as fresh today as it did the first time you ever heard it? There are a few songs for me like... Stone Temple Pilots "Plush"... Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer".... Cheap Trick's "Surrender"... and Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker/Living Loving Maid". But one stands apart from the rest... Def Leppard's "Photograph". Lets discuss...

From the moment I first saw Def Leppard on MTV, which happened to be the "Photograph" video, they were my favorite band. I was at the ripe old age of 7. We just got MTV and I never turned it off. You know, back in the day when the M meant Music... not Laguna Beach, Road Rules, and Diary of (insert Flavor of the Month here). From the opening guitar riff to Joe Elliott's British Flag t-shirt, that will forever symbolize where I first discovered rock music. Years before, I discovered Rick Springfield and Shaun Cassidy, but Springfield doesn't really rock... and Cassidy really isn't music. I used to wait all day for the "Photograph" video to come on... and soon videos for "Rock of Ages" and "Foolin". They were great also, but "Photograph" was a step above both. From the sing-a-long chorus to the ripping guitar solo by Phil Collen, it was, and still is, perfect everytime I listen to it. I don't know how there wasn't a groove in my sister's "Pyromania" vinyl where "Photograph" was, because I played it constantly... over and over and over again... everyday! That song will always be my favorite song of all time... and along with the other 9 tracks, "Pyromania" will always be my favorite record. This is where rock music was truly first introduced to me and I've been hooked on Def Leppard ever since. I've seen them 18 times in concert... met everyone but Rick Allen... and own countless items of memorabilia. Here's to my favorite band of all time... Def Leppard. Cheers!!!

Now if you lost track of Def Leppard after "Hysteria", they've released 7 records since... Adrenalize (3 million), Retro Active (1 million), Vault (4 million), Slang (gold), Euphoria (gold), X, and Rock of Ages The Definitive Collection (1 million). So they have been successful even after the 80's came crashing down. And coming soon, Yeah!, a cover record of seventies glam rock like Bowie, T-Rex, Mott the Hoople, Blondie, Roxy Music, and more. It's already been leaked on the internet and it rocks. Now Def Leppard since "Hysteria" isn't as strong as they were in the 80's, but I still love their music and it still rocks. Here is a brief list of some highlights...

White Lightning - Adrenalize
Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad - Adrenalize
Desert Song - Retro Active
Two Steps Behind - Retro Active
When Love and Hate Collide - Vault
Turn to Dust - Slang
Slang - Slang
Promises - Euphoria
Demolition Man - Euphoria
You're So Beautiful - X
Four Letter Word - X
Long, Long Way to Go - X
No Matter What - Rock of Ages

Check it out. Check it all out. It's quality rock and roll with no gimmicks.
ROCK ON!!!

The Train Wreck That Is Mariah Carey

I'm a Rock guy. I've always been, I always will be. The music first music I listened to was Queen and Rick Springfield. A few years later, I was turned onto Def Leppard, Quiet Riot, and Bon Jovi. So from an early age, it was all about the rock. My sister had quite a record collection. I can remember playing her records constantly... Def Leppard's Pyromania... Motley Crue's Theater of Pain... Ratt's Out of the Cellar, and Bon Jovi's debut. She had other records though... Donna Summer... Neil Diamond... Michael Jackson... I never once played them. And I never once wanted to know what was on them. They didn't look rock and roll... therefore, I didn't care. Through the years, I added more bands that I liked... Van Halen... Poison... moved into the 90's with Pearl Jam... Alice in Chains... Stone Temple Pilots... 2000 came and so did System of a Down... Nickelback... and Butch Walker. All rock... all the time. But there was always one artist that always intrigued me. She wasn't rock. She wasn't even close. Mariah Carey. MTV played the hell out of her videos throughout the 90's. She sold like a trillion records. And boy she could sing! Hit after hit... Vision of Love... Emotions... Always Be My Baby... Hero. She was a machine. She was cute, kind of like the girl next door. And then it all changed. I think it was Fantasy (if I'm wrong, my girlfriend will correct me. I live with the biggest Mariah fan on the planet.)... she all of a sudden had a dance routine... boobs... and next to NOOOO clothes on. What happened? Next thing I know, she was kicking her own ass in the Heartbreaker video... made a movie called Glitter, maybe one of the 5 worst movies of all time... and then a breakdown! Before all this, she got divorced from some famous dude named Tommy, you might have heard of him. He was calling the shots... after all, he was the driving force that made Hall and Oates the most successful duo of all time. Well, the divorce came and along with it... Mariah's sanity. On Glitter, she once said "it was ahead of its time." Right? And the new Johnny Knoxville movie will be robbed because it doesn't get nominated for an Oscar! Mariah was always seen, not heard... unless she was singing. Tommy Boy knew what he was doing. The next brilliant move from Mariah was Charmbraclet. The record sold a few million, really didn't have any hits, and she butchered, and I mean butchered Def Leppard's Bringing on the Heartbreak. Unforgiveable. It seemed Mariah was all but done. But 2005 came and she released The Emancipation of Mimi (come to find out, she's Mimi!) I was nice enough to take the girlfriend to NYC for the release. She played the Today show, we went. Freezing cold and we couldn't even see her perform... and she was lip singing at that. WTF? The return of the Voice my ass? We then taxied it over to Best Buy to get wrist bands to get her autograph later that night. Freezing again... we got wrist bands after about one hour of standing in line. She's supposed to arrive around 8pm, but the Best Buy people tell everyone to get in line early, because the wrist bands don't guarantee an autograph? WTF? I hate her, Mariah not the girlfriend. We get there at 5:30pm. I really, really love my girlfriend, otherwise this WOULD NOT BE HAPPENING. She doesn't arrive til 9pm... and to make matters worse, I'm surrounded by Mariah freaks. These are not my people, I'm cold, and I'm not happy. So around 10:45pm, we finally get in. The instructions are... one autograph per person... no pictures... she will not personalize the autograph... do not look directly into her eyes or she will crack. I felt like I was ordering soup from the Soup Nazi. I get up there, someone takes the item I'm getting autographed and inspects it. They then put it in front of her and I walk to the table directly in front of her. She never once looked at the record she was autographing. She looked directly at me with a constant smile and thanked me for coming out. Hah!!! She looked like a robot sitting there. She was definitely on some meds. They rushed me out of the building and that was it. Now, who knew Mimi would sell 5 million copies, she would win a ton of awards, and get nominated for several Grammys. But everytime I saw her on TV this year, she was lip singing. Where's the goddamn Voice? Where is the Mariah that was this tiny, cute girl next door. She got her boobs done and some how, her bones expanded too. She's not fat, but big boned. But she wasn't big boned in '91... or '94? I don't understand? Now, the latest rumor is she is going to act again... oh good greef!!! As a female boxer? Boxers always have D cups and a million dollar dress on right? She couldn't pull off a female singer in Glitter? How the hell is she going to pull off a female boxer? She finally made it back to the top and now she's going to leap of the mountain and screw it all up again. Hey Mariah, the next time you go to get your boobs done, just get one big nipple implanted on the top of your head... cause you're ONE BIG BOOB!!! My music recommendation is DO NOT listen to any Mariah Carey... just because she's any idiot.

And that's my rant for the day!

The Velvet Revolver show (did not) suck!

Happy New Year everybody (but not for T-bone, he's getting ready to complain). I guess it's time I get back to updating this "blog" thing more often. And what a topic to start with. Alright, so it's December 30th, my birthday begins at midnight (happy b-day tommy!), so I'm ready to get fired up at a quality rock show (you could have, you're just too old to realize it). I get to Borgata with some time to spare so I sit down at a slot machine. Literally 2 SPINS LATER I'm up 40 bucks (call the accountant, honey we're rich!). Sweet...my beers are now paid for. Cash Out!!!! The old guy next to me must have been pissed. Win and gone...that's how I roll (roll? alright t-dogbone from the westside... are you packing too?)!!!So then I head up to the show. It's all been established ahead of time. NO OPENING ACT AND SHOWTIME IS 8 PM. Being that this is a concert it's a given that 8:15 or so is when the show will start. 8:15 comes and goes.....8:30 comes and goes.....8:45 comes and goes 9:00....9:10.....9:15.....9:20..... (though they were playing some great tunes... ac/dc, alice in chains, metallica, etc.) you've got to be f'n kidding me........9:30.....9:45 the lights go down. An hour and 45 minutes from the advertised showtim (okay, i can't argue with this point, it was ridiculous)!!!!! I half expected AXL ROSE to show up (so did I).So VR starts to play and it's just loud (t-bone... welcome to a rock show... LOUD... just like it's supposed to be). Scott Weiland's voice is getting lost in the mix(not to mention he's dressed like the gay biker grom the village people (sorry he doesn't ROLL with a hawaiian shirt, a parrot on his shoulder, and a corona... this is rock and roll, not a gay beach party)), Slash just appears to be noodling away (that's called amazing guitar playing you old fart), overall a very shaky start.Here's the real problem. Velvet Revolver was a great band on paper (and live... 2 million records sold, 3 top ten rock hits, and a year and a half on the road... they must be doing something right?). Take one part S.T.P. and three parts GNR put them together and it's rock and roll heaven, right???WRONG (sorry they don't sing songs about cheeseburgers)!!! While "Fall to Pieces" and "Slither" are good (great!)songs the rest of the CONTRABAND album is filled with songs that may "rock" but are not catchy in any way (sucker train blues?, you have no right?, dirty little thing?... come on now) That does not translate well in a live setting (bullsh#t). All you had to do was look around at the crowd. All the band was getting was the courtesy clap at the beginning and end of the song with blank stares in the middle (flat out lies... the crowd, though small for a VR show, was totally into the show... a few mosh pits started, people pushing their way up front, wanna be rock stars belting out every word to every song). The only time the level got above tepid was when they broke out a GNR or STP song."It's So Easy""MR. Brownstone""Sex Type Thing" all got a bit of a frenzy going (no shit? GnR only sold about 50 million records and STP about 30 million... no kidding they got huge responses?) but then it's back to a CONTRABAND song and the energy would take a nosedive (we were at the same show right?).So, and hour and 15 minutes go by and guess what .....it's over (funny... the show started at 9:40 and I walked directly to my car after the show and it was 11:40... more like 1 hour and 40 minutes, but who's counting)!!!(not that I was all that upset). But I didn't pay for my ticket (but still manages to bitch and complain)!!! At $100 a pop (the wife would have never approved it)I would have wanted more....lots more (what? a cheeseburger in paradise with a talking parrot and a corona? would that have made you happy?)!!!!So overall on a scale of 1 to 10......it's only a 1 (though i will admit it wasn't a 10... i would totally give it an 8 easily)...I really was that dissapointed (you got out of the house, gambled, drank some beer, and saw a kick ass show... and you're disappointed?).Ohwell, here's to better concerts in 2006!!!Rock On!!and remember:THE BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES (what exactly is this supposed to mean anyway?)!!!! Anyway, as you can see, T-bone and me disagree on the Velvet Revolver show. The only thing is... I'm right and he's wrong. Clearly, another birthday has made him deaf (the show rocked), blind (the crowd was totally into the show), and over the hill before his time ($40 and cash out.... no real man does that!) Not only was the show good, CONTRABAND was one of the best rock records of 2005 and I look forward to VR's follow-up. Rock on T-bone? For some, but not you!

New Years Resolutions

It's that time of the year. I'm going to lose weight. I'm going to quit smoking. I'm cutting out chocolate. No more potato chips... candy... new career... yada yada yada. New Years resolutions? Do they ever work? And why at the turn of the year? Why not May 17? August 8? December 1? You're not really buying the "whole new year, new way of life, a change in lifestyle with the change of the year" routine? Does anyone really keep their resolutions? Is it just a reason to make people think you're going to change? That you have some type of motivation? And does anyone really care? And with that being said... I made a few resolutions for the first time in my life. I'm going to lose weight. Yeah, I just said no one keeps resolutions. But I'm going to try. I think I was 22 or so and I cut out potato chips for like nine months. I was proud of myself. But of course, I caved and haven't stopped since. I'm 218 right now. By my birthday, which is May 14, I want to be 205. 13 pounds? Not much, but I'll struggle. Maybe I'll even make it. We'll see. Potato chips... gone. No more soda. Fruit... lots more. Had a banana today and will enjoy an apple later. Lots of chicken. It's healthy and I like it. Go figure? And no more food after 8pm unless it's a piece of fruit. Small changes, but give me a break, I hate change. I love to eat!!! But I'll keep ya posted on my resolution. Will I become what I complained about in the beginning? Or will I really make a change and lose the weight and eat a bit more healthy? We'll see. I saw Velvet Revolver on Friday night. They rocked just like the other times I've seen them. They even tossed in a Pink Floyd cover. A couple of G-n-R tunes... and the highlight for me... a couple fo STP songs. They covered Sex Type Thing and Crackerman. Which leads me to Stone Temple Pilots... Core. Released in 1992, STP was written off as a Pearl Jam rip off. B*llsh!t. Core was more hard rock and metal than alternative and grunge. Songs like Dead and Bloated, Wicked Garden, and Piece of Pie rocked way more than Nirvana or Pearl Jam ever did. STP's first tours were opening for Megadeth and Aerosmith. Not really grunge huh? They could slow it down with Creep and Where the River Flows... rock out with songs like Sin and Sex Type Thing... and of course... Plush. One of those songs that never gets old, still sounds fresh, and will always rock. Velvet Revolver is great, but they are no Stone Temple Pilots. STP released many more great records... Purple, Tiny Music, No. 4, and Shangra-La Dee Da. But Core is their masterpiece. Check it out...