Written by GE 138. Ya know, I gotta give Dave "I'll comment on anything Rock 'N' Roll related" Grohl credit for this one. After the recent events in Paris, where I thought the big story was that the Eagles Of Death Metal were so popular over there, he announces to the world that he's releasing this 5 song collection of songs that the Foo Fighters had just recently recorded as a way to help out the victims of that horrific tragedy, on a pay-what-you-can basis, with all the money collected being used to help out with things over there. They also put a link on the bands website for people to donate money to help out the victims as well. All very commendable stuff. It's cool that he can use his and his bands celebrity status to do things for whatever charitable cause he sees fit to serve, I don't got a problem with that. What I do have a problem with is the repackaging / opportunistic manner in which he puts this thing out there. Apparently, there was some sort of a countdown clock on the Foo Fighters website that was counting down to the release of this EP, it was scheduled for a Christmas time release, and when the Paris attacks happened, then suddenly he repackages / restates it's purpose and rush releases it as a way to help out the victims of the Paris tragedy. Is it just me, or does that kind of suck? I mean, it was already mixed, artwork done, etc., and he could of just released it on it's own timetable, and then announced that all proceeds are going to the victims in Paris, but his re-branding of this EP, like he just put it together just for the victims is a bit of a horseshit sandwich. Again, good thing for a good cause, but to me, comes off as a bit greasy. I'm sure it will generate millions for the victims, and it beats donating from your own personal coffers, doesn't it? ;-) Oh... and as for the music on here... it fucking sucks. 5 songs and they're all equally as crappy as the one before them and the one after it. I don't know what happened to these guys. They used to be good. They used to rock. They used to have balls. They used to make music that was listenable. Somewhere along the way they turned into Loggins And Messina / Seals And Crofts of modern day music, and that's in no way, shape, or form a compliment... The Foo Fighters have built a website specifically for the Saint Cecilia EP, and you can click here to check it out. It's also available on iTunes for free by clicking here. To donate to the victims fund please click here.
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Written by GE 138. Oh, Motörhead. <3 I will forever always love you, but man, I cannot stand some of your recent output... lol It's not that it's all terrible - it's really not. It's just more like, that feeling you get when you put on an old pair of what you once thought were the most comfortable boots in the world, and realizing that they're not that comfortable anymore, that's the feeling I get when I listen to some of these new Motörhead songs. I mean, sonically, it's all still there, the blistering bass thumping, the excellent thunderous drumming, Lemmy's gravelly, snarled out vocals, and the dirty, raw guitar sound that thousands of bands have tried (and failed) to emulate, but it's like, you've heard it all before. You know what it sounds like, because you've heard it so many gawd damn times before, because it's like embedded in your DNA. It's not that it's boring, it's just... familiar. Motörhead have got the formula figured out on how to put out the perfect Motörhead album, because they've been doing it for years now, releasing the same album over and over again, with only a slight, few variations. Why fuck with a good thing, ya know? You know what you're gonna get when you slap a Motörhead record on the turntable - you're gonna have some raging rockers (Victory Or Die, Tell Me Who To Kill), songs that start with some incredibly catchy drum runs (Shoot Out All Of Your Lights, Evil Eye), the well crafted pop sensibility song (Fire Storm Hotel), the song that would make a great video (Choking On Your Screams) and the groove heavy new song for strippers to work the pole to (The Devil). The weird thing for me was hearing the ballad on here (Till The End) - when did Motörhead start doing that?? LOL And that Rolling Stones cover (Sympathy For The Devil) - UGH!!! Less said the better. Anyways, there's all sorts of new Motörhead music here, and it sounds fucking great when turned up LOUD, which is how Motörhead's music is supposed to be listened to. I suppose we should be glad that somebody is still making this type of ornery, pulse pounding type of real Rock 'N' Roll music in this day and age, and leave it to the Legends known as Motörhead to do it so well. <3 I wouldn't say that this is an essential piece of plastic that you should have, but owning it will certainly make your music collection all that much better because of it. Available at every gig that Motörhead plays, and that's a lot, but go see them soon, because you just don't know how long they're gonna be around, ya know? ;-) I don't know if it's available digitally, but you can hear 5 songs from the album on Soundcloud by clicking here. It's also available on iTunes (click here), Amazon (click here), and everywhere else that music is marketed for the masses to consume. Written by GE 138. Hey! Remember when this album came out a few months ago? Do ya? Yeah, I don't either - and neither does anybody else, apparently. I certainly forgot all about it, because from what I heard it was just a rehashing of previously released material, so I had no rush to buy what I already had, no matter how pretty the repackaging, and when I recently asked around about it, because a friend of mine had given me a copy (gray vinyl!) that he says he stole from the record release party when it went down, and I was asking my friends if they had gotten this new Vermin release, responses varied from out and out laughter to quizzical looks that basically said 'Why would I do that?'. lol Yeah, The Vermin have established themselves as one of those bands that you suffer through their sets when they play, where you're putting up with 25 minutes of bad jokes and shit talking, and 10 minutes of actual Punk Rock music. They've been doing their shtick for years now, either you dig it or you don't, but if you can get past the purposeful annoyance thing that they've perfected to a science, the band really had a couple of great fucking tunes in their repertoire, songs like Girl Says No, Boredom Was The Reason, Lipstick Smears And Bloodshot Eyes, Just Another Nightmare, songs that were mega hooky, super catchy, heavy guitar riff filled, short venomous bursts of Fury and Spite, with memorable, anthemic, shouted out vocal work, like drunk soccer hooligans on the terraces, songs which highlighted the musicianship of the band, which was limited, yet powerful in the right moment. If this album was a comic book, it would be called The Many Adventures Of The Vermin, because it's got a little bit of everything that the band has done in their musical career - their be-bop pseudo Lounge music, a little Rockasilly, a little Country, some beatnik spoken word shit, some Rock 'N' Roll, and loads and loads of fast as fuck Punk songs, all embellished with the Vermin's trademark snotty, 1-2 fuck you vitriol and Devil may care attitude. Some of the songs sound better on here than I remember them sounding, and some of them don't. Whatever. Is this a greatest hits collection of sorts? Guess so. If you need a stand alone collection to simplify your Vermin musical collection, then this is the album for you. If you already have most of this stuff, like most of us do that live in Las Vegas, well then maybe you can buy it for the colored vinyl aspect of it. The gray vinyl is very cool looking. Is this the first release by The Vermin on vinyl? Don't know. If you need a bit more incentive to buy this album, on the digital download that comes with every copy of this record, there are 5 extra songs you can get that are covers by the Vermin of some of their favorite bands that have influenced their sound, songs by bands like the Ramones, The Damned, Elvis Presley and Van Halen, all songs from various compilations and a few that (I think) that have never been released before. Too bad they didn't include their 20 minute version of Bauhaus' Bela Lugosi on here. I think that was a missed opportunity! I can still hear it going on forever... Bellllaaaaaa Luuuuugooooosssiiiiii... hahahaha This is supposedly the last ever release from the Vermin, as they've supposedly broken up just after the release of this album, but I believe that about as much as I believe that Las Vegas will let the old casinos stand around forever and not blow them up and watch them fall down in a cloud of debris and dust. The Vermin will be back, in some form or another. Wouldn't be a proper Las Vegas Music Scene without them. ;-) Available on vinyl from SquidHat Records by clicking here. It's also available from SquidHat on CD right here, where you get 7 extra songs of "popular Vegas bands" doing Vermin covers, which I'm sure is laughable. Oh, the things you have to do when you're "signed" to a label... LOL It's also available digitally via Bandcamp by clicking here, it's also available on iTunes (click here), Amazon (click here), Target (click here) and any other place their TV popularity has opened the doors to their music being peddled. |
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