Seven Days Until I'm On an Island

Only a week away until the new David Gilmour album “On an Island” comes out and I can’t even begin to describe my excitement. I haven’t bee this excited for a CD in quite awhile. I’ve heard clips from all the songs and it sounds like it’s going to be a fantastic album, very surreal and dreamy, the way I like it. One song in particular does stand out to me and that is “Take a Breath” which sort of seems like something that would be taken from “The Wall,” now I’m not a huge fan of that album and I’m sort of surprised David would go in that direction for a song. Otherwise most of the songs are very soft and delicate opposed to the more rough sound of “Take a Breath.” It’s going to be great to hear some of the great solo work of his, and I can’t seem to get enough of the title track “On an Island.” The only thing I’m more excited for besides the album is actually going to see him in April at Radio City Music Hall. That should be quite a treat with Wright there as well. I’m not a big fan of Gilmour’s other solo work but this one sounds different and if I must say…more like Floyd although he claims that he was trying to go away from that direction with this album. I would hate to attack his two other solo albums without really giving them a few listens but from when I tried to listen to them I just couldn’t get through them, this album seems to be different. Rolling Stone reviewed “On an Island” and gave it two stars out of five which was somewhat disappointing but they are also the same magazine that barely put any Floyd albums amongst the top 50, only “Dark Side of the Moon” at 43. They claim the album is “too much of a headphone record that puts germs of ideas.” They also claim that the songs are not “fully realized.” It seems that Rolling Stone isn’t a big fan of progressive music that takes the listener on open ended journeys opposed to direct paths. I for one know that this album will be better than Rolling Stone gives it credit for.

Kurt Cobain Found Murdered on April 8th, 1994

I have a tendency to love controversies regarding death of musicians. In my first year of college I gave a presentation on why Jim Morrison was alive. I don’t honestly believe that he is but it’s quite an interesting topic, but one death conspiracy that I do go along with is the fact that Kurt did NOT kill himself. It was all too easy to pin a suicide against Cobain, the way he loved to be isolated and his infamous angst but I cannot find solace in the fact that everyone agrees that Kurt committed suicide. Now I have information to back up what people believe as an unorthodox idea of him being murdered.

First we must observe some important factors before the “suicide” had occurred. The most important factor to look at is the issues in the relationship between Love and Cobain. Cobain was getting ready to divorce Love and obviously that would be quite a blow to Love who was a wannabe rock star and would have lost a lot of money if Kurt had left her. Around a week before the “suicide” Love had hired a divorce lawyer, so clearly the fact that Kurt wanted a divorce was not unknown by Love.

Now on to the actual “suicide” itself. Kurt had enough heroin in his bloodstream to kill a man three times and apparently the injection was done in a rather sloppy way indicating that it was possibly done by force. Now this is where a great question comes into play. How can a man shoot himself with that much heroin in his system? With an injection it goes immediately into your blood system so it works immediately. No man can function with that amount of heroin in their system, and why would he shoot himself if he already would have killed himself with that amount of heroin in his system. The next big telling thing is the “suicide note.” Not exactly a suicide note if you ask me, more or less a note describing his feelings and states nothing about suicide. The note described Kurt leaving the music industry and not killing himself, the only part that could have been considered suicidal was a footnote and the handwriting just does not match up to Kurt’s, and this has been said by various handwriting experts. There is more evidence leading to this being a murder instead of a suicide but I don’t feel like writing a novel about it. I can only hope that the case can be re-opened so Kurt can receive some justice and not be seen as some suicidal maniac. The only maniac here is Courtney Love and this case needs to be re-examined. Kurt was a good man and that often gets overlooked, he cared about people on a high level and that is often forgotten.

Kurt Cobain: The John Lennon of his Generation?

Thanks to “moose” whose blog can be seen here I have decided to give my point of view on this question. It’s a question that could really spark a great debate; there are those who see Kurt Cobain as a deity and those who see him as just another fool in the music business. I am a huge Nirvana fan, and growing up they were my favorite band for a good ten years or so, from when I first started listening to music (about the age of 8) to until freshmen year of high school I loved Nirvana. My love for them never really diminished, I just caught on to different types of music. The problem with Cobain is I feel he receives more positive attention than he deserves. His music was incredible to say the least but they are often regarded as one of the best bands of all time, and considering they had only put out four albums it’s hard to really say whether they were or not one of the greatest. One gripe I have with Nirvana in regards to the media is the amount of attention their album “Nevermind” gets. You wouldn’t even know that Nirvana had put out another album the way they focus on it, and none of the others are ever mentioned. The irony of it all is that the media calls them one of the best although they really only give them credit for one solid album. The best album Nirvana put out was easily “In Utero” for its raw and heavy sound. Guitar World actually had a huge article on why “In Utero” was better than “Nevermind” and I was ecstatic when I saw it. Finally someone gave the great album justice.

Well now I’m going on quite a tangent and need to get back to the question. It is really difficult to compare anyone to John Lennon because he is just a legend, the impact he made on the world is ridiculously enormous. The gatherings on each anniversary of his death are just mind boggling. I’ve visited his anniversary of his death and birthday and both had ENORMOUS turnouts. Kurt Cobain’s anniversary doesn’t quite receive the same attention and in twenty or so years I think he will be forgotten unfortunately.

The question is though, was he a John Lennon of his generation and I would have to say yes he was. Kurt Cobain inspired a generation of teen angst and really started a movement. Not only did he inspire the mindset of his fans but he started a whole grunge rock style of flannel shirts and ripped jeans. His fans would die for him and when he died his fans felt like they lost all hope. This may just be rumors but when he had “committed suicide,” suicide hotlines were swamped with teenagers calling in needing help. I put quotations around committed suicide because I honestly feel he did not commit suicide and that Courtney Love was in on it, but that just might be my denial. Cobain is a legend and made some incredible music, and as Neil Young said “It’s better to burn out than it is to rust” and that’s just what Cobain did. It most definitely helps that he died while Nirvana was in its prime because that only escalated the amount that he was worshiped. I realize what I wrote was all over the place but I was just typing what came to mind and really didn’t have any order to it. Any questions or comments because this is an excellent question, THANK YOU MOOSE!

3) Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here

Lets all take time to thank Syd Barrett for this one. Although he had no contributions to the album let alone even a part of Pink Floyd at the time the album was dedicated to him. This is one of the most perfect albums anyone could ever listen to, just so melodic and surreal, this is the perfect album to strap on those big expensive studio headphones and lie down and relax. The album opens up with “Shine On You Crazy Diamond I-V” which lasts for a good fourteen minutes. What a perfect song to open up an album to, I think it would be perfect to open up anything to song. For about the first nine minutes of the song we have some nice jazzy sounds and some of the fantastic David Gilmour guitar work that is so distinctive. Gilmour’s style is completely different from anyone’s and it just proves it here, no matter what song your listening to you can easily pick out a Gilmour solo from any other guitarist. It’s really a shame that his guitar work goes overlooked but in my book he’s always one of the best. Before the vocals even kick in you’re already sent to a dream world and the vocals only keep you there. Fantastic lyrics and incredible vocals account for a perfect opening to the album. Next we fade into the sounds of a factory or machinery of some sort and get this fantastic feel. “Welcome to the Machine” is next and it’s a frightening song backed with haunting noises that really give the listener a feel of anxiety. Once again the lyrics of Waters never fail, this song being about the music industry and its affect. The acoustic guitar in the background can be quite infectious although barely noticeable; all in all this song keeps the album going strong. The lyrics about the music industry continue with “Have a Cigar.” The song doesn’t quite hold up to the two previous ones but that’s extremely difficult to do. It’s a fairly solid song with one unforgettable line “Oh by the way, which one’s pink?” The song opens up with some heavy usage of synthesizers and it leads into the vocals of Roy Harper due to the fact that Waters had his voice ruptured. Harper does a great job of capturing the angst of the song and this leads into easily the most famous Pink Floyd song. “Wish You Were Here” opens up with a recording of a radio and then into possibly the most recognizable acoustic guitar riff ever. The song is heart wrenching and really takes a different approach than most Floyd songs, it has a different feel to it but they couldn’t have nailed it any better. Very personal and emotional lyrics and Gilmour’s incredible voice gives it that melancholy tone that fits all too well with the lyrics. The album closes with “Shine On You Crazy Diamond VI – IX.” It completes the circle and has some fantastic guitar work by Gilmour and also his hypnotizing vocals just like the first track. This album shows Pink Floyd at their height and unfortunately for the band they broke down after this album because of the overwhelming ego of Roger Waters. This showcases Gilmour’s best work along with the band collaborating as a group and not as bickering individuals. If you have never listened to “Wish You Were Here” you never quite have listened to music, this album has changed my whole perspective on music. Wonderful guitar work, amazing lyrics, beautiful vocals, and masterful song writing account for one of the greatest albums of all time. “Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.”

1. Shine on You Crazy Diamond I-V
2. Welcome to the Machine
3. Have a Cigar
4. Wish You Were Here
5. Shine on You Crazy Diamond VI-IX

My Favorite Bands

Well I figured that maybe it would be interesting to give people some insight on what my favorite bands are opposed to the list that I made a few months ago. It's a good way to show that I'm not just posting my favorite bands on the list and that I try to be as unbiased as possible although I know I certainly can be. Here is a list of my favorite bands (very tough to put in order but it's right for the most part)

My Favorite Bands
1. Pink Floyd
2. The Beatles
3. Tool
4. Metallica
5. Bob Dylan
6. U2
7. The Doors
8. Nirvana
9. The Who
10. Jimi Hendrix

Some other favorites after that would be Rage Against the Machine, Yes, The Mars Volta, A Perfect Circle, Weezer, King Crimson, The Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains and System of a Down. I'm sure I'm forgetting some but those are my favorites for the most part.

Greatest Bands of all Time List

1. The Beatles
2. Pink Floyd
3. Bob Dylan
4. Metallica
5. U2
6. The Who
7. Jimi Hendrix
8. Led Zeppelin
9. Tool
10. The Doors

So now you can see my biases and lack there of. Hopefully I've done the greatest bands justice on my list but it's all opinion. If anyone else wants to show a list of their favorites or what they think the greatest bands are definitely leave a comment! I also should have the next album posted tonight.

What I Wouldn't Do To See...

Today I was asked the question what band would I want to see the most live, either dead or alive. For me it’s quite an obvious choice but after going past my number one choice I really had to think about it. I’ve come to this list.

1. Pink Floyd – My favorite band and aside from being my most favorite band they also put on a fantastic show. The lighting, the sound, the visuals, everything Floyd does live is just perfect. If only I could have seen them, I could only pray that they will form together for a live show but I highly doubt they will. I guess I will have to settle for Gilmour and Wright but that sure isn’t a bad thing.

2. Rage Against the Machine – Yes, Rage… I’ve never talked about them on my blog but I can assure you that I listen to them often. Not only do I listen but I watch, I have two of their live DVD’s and the energy of the band just can’t even be described. I’ve seen the remainder of the band who is with Audioslave and they put on such a great show although I’m not a big fan of the music. Zach De La Rocha and Tom Morello are just a force on stage. Once again I highly doubt I’ll ever see them but it would sure be a treat.

3. The Doors (With Jim Morrison) – I’ve seen a few videos of them live and Jim Morrison is just incredible on stage (when he’s not passed out on the floor.) Great music and Jim Morrison… You can’t ask for much more.

4. Jimi Hendrix – The only thing better than his studio albums are his live ones. His guitar work is ridiculous and would be one incredible thing to watch. He also has such a great vibe on stage and what I wouldn’t do to see him light his guitar on fire…

5. Metallica – Another band who puts on a fantastic live show and has such a large amount of incredible music. This is one band who I do have a good chance of seeing and hopefully this year.

I would like to hear from anybody else who could compile a small list of bands they want to see.

4) The Doors: The Doors

When I wrote about “Are You Experienced” I said that it may have been the strongest debut album by any band, but there is one debut album that most certainly gives it a good run for its money and that is this self titled piece by The Doors. Obviously I believe it tops it, and I have good reason behind it. The Doors busted on the scene in such a strong fashion with this album and unfortunately could never quite meet the high standards they set for themselves. The album immediately grabs the listeners attention with the intense “Break on Through.” Right from the beginning the listener hears one of the best songs put out by The Doors but the fantastic music doesn’t just end there. “Soul Kitchen” follows and Robbie Krieger’s guitar work certainly goes overlooked, but it’s not hard to understand why he’s overlooked. When you have someone as charismatic as Jim Morrison as your lead man it’s nearly impossible to even be known which was something that The Doors had to deal with. On “The Crystal Ship” we get a glimpse of the incredible writing skills of Jim Morrison, it’s such a lovely song backed by his passionate voice, it’s pretty hard to not fall in love with him. Then there is the fun and up-tempo “Twentieth Century Fox,” which is one of my personal favorites on the album. Eventually we get to the song that made The Doors “Light My Fire.” The song was cut down for the public when played on radio but on the album they didn’t hold back. They gave us a nice lengthy instrumental section by Manzarek and some nice guitar work by Krieger. Next is “Backdoor Man” which is actually a cover but opens up with the primal scream of the infamous Morrison and they make it their own by giving it their own touch. The only time the lyrics are sub par on this album is on “I Looked at You,” and just because they lyrics are rather pathetic doesn’t mean the song is bad, it’s actually an incredibly catchy song. From the catchy “I Looked at You” we go to the haunting and glum “End of the Night.” The album ends with the Oedipal tragedy “The End.” Many write off the song saying it’s too pretentious but it is far from that. If anything it is the best mixture of poetry and music by any band. It’s cryptic, haunting and moving, and is also the highlight of the album. The whole album builds to this epic ending and it’s perfect. Without this song there is no doubt in my mind that it would be taken off this list. Now I’m not going as far as saying that “The End” is the album, but I do believe that it’s the most important aspect of it. The Doors will be remembered for The Shaman himself Jim Morrison but The Doors were much larger than a Lizard King. They pushed the minds of their listeners and they pushed the boundaries of music. They were a band willing to cross the lines set by the music business and this album does just that.

1. Break On Through (To The Other Side)
2. Soul Kitchen
3. The Crystal Ship
4. Twentieth Century Fox
5. Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)
6. Light My Fire
7. Back Door Man
8. I Looked At You
9. End Of The Night
10. Take It As It Comes
11. The End

It's Going to be a Great Year!

When putting into perspective the possibilities of tours this year I think it's going to be the greatest year regarding concerts I've ever seen. I must say 2005 was definitely an amazing one with some fantastic shows like U2 (which might never be topped), System of a Down, The Mars Volta twice, Weezer twice, and I feel like there were more that I'm forgetting but it was certainly a great year for concerts. Here is a list of possible shows this year and some definite ones

1. David Gilmour - Not to mention Wright will be touring with him, basically 50% of Floyd!
2. Tool - I saw Maynard James Keenan once with A Perfect Circle and it was amazing, and since Tool is definitely one of my favorite bands and I hear they put on an amazing show this is very much anticipated.
3. Radiohead - They're playing Bonnaroo and are supposed to be going on tour this summer
4. The Smashing Pumpkins - Finally back together and I am more than just excited to see Billy Corgan and company, hopefully they can bring back James Iha and D'arcy
5. System of a Down - Darron told Rolling Stone that they will be touring this summer and based on the amazingly intense show they gave the last time I saw them I cannot wait!
6. The Offspring - Are working on a new album so I'm being optimistic thinking that there will be a tour this year.
7. Bob Dylan - He's working on a new album and once again and he normally tours so I'll be crossing my fingers.
8. Metallica - Working on a new album and all my life I've wanted to see them so bad. Hopefully this year I'll get the chance.
9. The Who - They've announced a global tour for this year and I missed them two years ago because of a dumb decision to spend it with my girlfriend for our one year anniversary. I still regret it to this day. What could be better than Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend
10. I'm sure there will be some fantastic classic rockers going around like Yes or something.

All of these shows are sure to be expensive. All I can say is that all of these bands are worth every penny. Another summer of being poor, but it's all worth it!

Valentines Day

In the spirit of Valentines I will focus on something that is even more important than music to me (believe it or not it’s true) and that is my beautiful girlfriend Chelsey. This girl is better than Pink Floyd in their golden age when they released Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here, she’s even better than the greatest musical duo John Lennon and Paul McCartney. I’ve never met someone who makes me feel so comfortable, and I’ve certainly never met a girl that I can actually act myself around. I must admit I’m quite intimidated of the opposite sex but Chelsey makes me feel right at home. I can scream the lyrics of “Hey Jude” right by her side without feeling the least bit dumb. I can even show off my rather sad talent of being able to sing “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” by REM, and not even think twice about her listening to me. I must say I am extremely lucky to be dating this incredible girl for three years, and it’s been the best three years of my life hands down. I’ll forever be in debt to her for the great gift of love she’s given me but I want to do my best to fulfill all her wants and needs. She deserves the best and I am clearly far from that, all I can do is give her everything I have to offer and hope that is sufficient. She deserves someone as good looking as Jim Morrison and unfortunately I’m more on the level of Ringo Starr (I’m trying to keep this as music related as possible and still get the point across, so please forgive me.) There is no real way of describing how magical she really is, nothing I say could possibly do her any justice. She’s just the closest to perfection one can get and boy do I love it. Three years into the relationship and not one ounce of love has been lost, of course there are ups and downs but we always forge through and we always come out on top. It’s unfortunate that I can’t spend this Valentines Day with her but I’m certainly with her in spirit and that doesn’t just account for Valentines Day, it’s for every day we’ve been together. So for this Valentines I’ll be listening to our song “Wonderful Tonight” and I’ll remember exactly what wakes me up each morning and what gives me the motivation to keep going day in and day out…You, Chelsey. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I’m positive that our love is everlasting and we will stay together until the day we die. You have changed my life in every way imaginable and I’m lucky to say the least to have someone like you by my side. Every time I see you, you take my breath away!

Only Took Ten Years

According to Slash the longggggg awaited Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy will be released in just a month. Apparently this album has been in the making for the past ten years but due to conflicts and such within the band it's been delayed and delayed and delayed. I don't know how excited I am for this but it is Guns N' Roses so I will certainly have to give it a listen. My last memory of Guns N' Roses was pretty sad, and it wasn't even Guns N' Roses, it was just Axl Roses and his own group of musicians. It was at the VMA's where Axl was out of breath after the first 15 seconds of the first song. Not only that but he looked completely out of place, with his huge football jersey, bulging stomach and ridiculous looking hair. Hopefully they can bring back the glory days of "Appetite for Destruction." For a full look at the fairly short article here it is GigWise.

5) King Crimson: In the Court of the Crimson King

I’m sure nobody would have expected this album to make the list unless you have seen a previous post I wrote awhile back saying how this album does not receive the credit it deserves. Obviously I believe it is by far one of the best albums of all time ranking it among the top five. Not only is this album overlooked but I feel King Crimson is overlooked, they have a plethora of fantastic material and this one certainly tops the list. The album opens up with the intense “21st Schizoid Man,” and if this is not one of the most powerful songs I have ever heard I don’t quite know what is. Ian MacDonald’s shows some of his best work right from the beginning of the album on this track and Michael Giles’ fast pounding of the snares gives the song the incredible energy it has, and not to mention haunting voice of the eternal Greg Lake gives this song the passion it has. Right after that we have the soft and subtle “I Talk to the Wind.” It’s a beautiful song, and it’s quite a gigantic leap from “21st Schizoid Man” in terms of its sound. This song has some of the best harmonies I’ve ever heard along with a mean flute solo. Fantastic and surreal lyrics also certainly account for the majesty of this song. Right from there we come to what I believe is the greatest song ever written by any band at any time “Epitaph.” The song has unmatched emotion and power. It opens up with a rather haunting feel to it but builds into as I said earlier one of the most powerful songs ever. Wonderful lyrics, incredible vocals, great guitar work by the under rated Robert Fripp, and deep emotion make this song easily the height of the album. The first time I heard it I nearly broke down and cried. I could right a whole review on just this song (If you want an even better version check out their bootleg “Live at the Filmore East” in 1969) but it would probably be better that I move on to the final two tracks which also deserve much credit. Next there is “Moonchild” another slow and haunting song like “I Talk to the Wind.” Although it is a fantastic song it doesn’t quite match up to the others which is not exactly a bad thing by any means. It is the longest song on the album clocking in at over 12 minutes and possibly if it was cut down in length it would stand up to the other songs. Normally I’m not one to say that I believe a song should be cut down in length considering I always say the best song is a long song. About three minutes into the song it seems to go nowhere and is mainly just silence with an occasional tapping of the symbol and some other occasional random noises and this continues for the rest of the song which is about ten minutes. Normally I don’t like to say that music is going nowhere but this is just quite excessive, ten minutes of random noises is quite a lot, if they cut it down by five or so minutes they could have really hit with a great song. All in all it is a good song but doesn’t quite match up to the others. The album closes with the title track “In the Court of the Crimson King” which doesn’t falter one bit. It has that epic feeling to it just like “21st Century Schizoid Man” and “Epitaph.” Also just like the rest of the songs, it has a heap of raw emotion. It has a very poetic touch to it which sounds rather nice with the flute playing of McDonald behind it. To sum up this album in a few adjectives I would say: haunting, powerful, emotional, and surreal. Just a must have album especially if you are a fan of progressive rock.

1) 21st Century Schizoid Man
2) I Talk to the Wind
3) Epitaph
4) Moonchild
5) In the Court of the Crimson King

The Grammy's Finally Got it Right!

Normally I despise the Grammy's and find it quite hard to watch it. This year I decided I'd give it a shot since a lot of the bands I like are nominated and a few of them even performing. To my surprise the Grammy's actually succeeded in what they set out to do, to give the awards to the most deserving bands. Finally real incredible music is winning over Pop's one hit wonders. Congratulations to U2 for winning 5 well deserved Grammy's, it was great to see them win over the hyped up Mariah Carey (although I do give her respect considering she is one of the very few pop idols who writes their own material.) Not only did U2 come out with some awards but so did System of a Down and The White Stripes, two incredible bands that surely deserved awards over the other nominees. Not to mention the performances were pretty good, U2 with Mary J. Blige was interesting but the highlight of the night was easily Paul McCartney. Two great songs from the knight himself, one of them being the first metal song ever written "Helter Skelter." One of my personal favorites, and then he even came out later in the night while Jay-Z and Linkin Park were on to do a little rendition of "Yesterday" with them. It was also pretty nice to see Jay-Z wearing a John Lennon shirt (same one I own.) Now I hope my girlfriend realizes that I do have a good sense of style, even Jay-Z wears the same clothes as me. Classic Rock t-shirts are always in style! This just may be the first Grammy's ceremony I have ever enjoyed and watched from beginning to end.

Some Lyrics From the True Winners of the Ceremony

Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same
Will it make it easier on you
Now you got someone to blame

You say
One love
One life
When it's one need
In the night
It's one love
We get to share it
It leaves you baby
If you don't care for it

Did I disappoint you?
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without

Well it's too late
Tonight
To drag the past out
Into the light
We're one
But we're not the same
We get to carry each other
Carry each other
One

Have you come here for forgiveness
Have you come to raise the dead
have you come here to play Jesus
To the lepers in your head
Did I ask too much
More than a lot
You gave me nothing
Now it's all I got
We're one
But we're not the same
We hurt each other
Then we do it again

You say
Love is a temple
Love a higher law
Love is a temple
Love the higher law
You ask me to enter
But then you make me crawl
And I can't be holding on
To what you got
When all you got is hurt

One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should

One life
With each other
Sisters
Brothers

One life
But we're not the same
We get to carry each other
Carry each other

One

One.
-U2

6) The Beatles: Revolver

“Rubber Soul” ushered in a new era for The Beatles and “Revolver” only confirmed that. The Beatles had developed and it showed in this fine piece of work. “Revolver” could actually be the second disc in a “Rubber Soul” double disc because they sound quite the same, but who says that’s a bad thing? “Revolver” proved that The Beatles were a force to be reckoned with, so many of these songs are the best The Beatles ever recorded and there is really no lull in the album. In this album we really get some great material from George Harrison, for example the lively rocker “Taxman.” Other George songs include “Love You To” which shows his love for Indian style music and the fun “I Want to Tell You.” Aside from George’s great work we still have the greatest duo in music history McCartney and Lennon. These two contributed most of the great work on the album like the somber but beautiful “Eleanor Rigby” which is always regarded as one of their best works especially lyrically. Following that there is the ominous “I’m Only Sleeping” which sounds so sleepy due to the fact that Harrison actually played his guitar notes backwards on the track. Later on we have the incredible melodies on “Here, There and Everywhere.” Ringo was not without a song on “Revolver” and we can see hear his unique vocals on the childish and amusing “Yellow Submarine.” A few songs later there is my personal favorite “For No One.” A melancholy song that makes you really feel the emotion McCartney is feeling, such wonderful lyrics and the height of the album. The album closes on with the experimental “Tomorrow Never Knows.” I think it’s a great song to close the album because it reiterates the fact that The Beatles have changed and they are no longer that straight forward upbeat band everyone once knew. “Revolver” was rated the number one album of all time by VH1 and although I don’t have it quite as high there is no way to deny their call. Seems fitting that if you take out the "r's" in Revolver you have Evolve.

1) Taxman
2) Eleanor Rigby
3) I'm Only Sleeping
4) Love You To
5) Here, There and Everywhere
6) Yellow Submarine
7) She Said, She Said
8) Good Day Sunshine
9) And Your Bird Can Sing
10) For No One
11) Dr. Robert
12) I Want to Tell You
13) Got to Get You Into My Life
14) Tomorrow Never Knows

Just a News Filled Weekend

Well I was busy this weekend like most and wasn't able to post on some of the great news which occurred. For Instance

1) The Smashing Pumpkins Reunion is FINAL! They will be coming back together, there is no word if James Iha or D'Arcy will be joining which would account for the full Pumpkins lineup but either way it is good news and hopefully we can get a new album and a tour to go along.

2) Bob Dylan is also working on a new album, his first one since 2001's "Love and Theft." Never hurts to hear some more Dylan. There is no word on who his band is at this current stage of the process.

3) Tool's newest album has been mastered and is set to be released in early May or early April. It's ok if they take their time, I've waited long enough and I want the best material Tool can offer.

4) Radiohead will be headlining the famous Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee. This is great to hear, again a band that we haven't heard much of in the past few years and they are also working on a new album and will be going on tour this year.

That about rounds up this exciting news weekend and I will hope to have the next album on the countdown posted late tonight.

Tool to Headline Coachella

I realized that nobody who reads my blog really cares about Tool but regardless I think they are easily one of the best bands ever and will only get better considering they only have three full length albums and a fourth coming out this year. As my title says, Tool has been scheduled to headline the Coachella festival in California which I normally think has a great lineup but this year I find it to be a bit lackluster. It is a two day festival of I guess you would label "alternative" music, such bands who are set to play are Depeche Mode, Sigur Ros, Franz Fernidad, The Eagles of Death Metal, and many more. It would sure be nice to go and see Tool headline this festival but it's all the way on the other side of the country and I don't have an adequate amount of funds nor do I have the time so it's looking like I'll just have to wait for them to go on a full tour of America. Even though I'm not going to see this it's still exciting news knowing that they're back in full force and playing. First time since 2001!