Remixes... Sometimes A Good Thing

Remixes... Now before I go on, let me say this... For me I have to say that I have been a fan of a fair amount of remixes over the years, don't get me wrong, for my money, the original will always be the best, but some times a good remix can take a fun song and make it better... And some times they cannot!

In the world today there are many great examples of remixed music that I found that I have really liked, like stuff from Rob Zombie... And most directly a song that I recently have discovered that was remixed recently, a song that he did when he was in White Zombie called, 'Thunder Kiss '65'... Now the truth is, is I liked this song a lot when White Zombie did it, but I found the take on this song to be an awful lot of fun as well!

For more information on this song, please enjoy!

Another talent that I have found that I really like a lot on his own, but I have also found that the remixed versions of his music to also be a lot of fun is, 'Michael Jackson's' music!

Now for the fans out there, don't crucify me... But it is true! Michael Jackson was when he was alive and maintain's posthumously being an absolutely amazing musical genius... But what some people have done to his music... (Well let's be honest, nothing beats Michael's music,) but what some of these people have done to his music, may not be better then the original, but is actually a fair amount of fun!

For more information, please enjoy!

Now for the more darker side to remixes... For this, before I continue I should say that I don't know a whole heck of a lot about this type of remix music, but that is those songs that just suck (I don't know a lot about these because I honestly prefer the original over the remix,) but still...

For this I wanted to mention a remixed song that Skrillex did for Rob Zombie's song, 'Sick Bubblegum'... It just plain sucked... This song was given a weird electronic techno butchered version of the song (which in my opinion, in and of itself is not cool, because the original song pretty well rocks!)

Either way, check it out for yourself...

In the end, there is a lot of really good and really bad remixes out there, and I got to thinking about them recently... especially due to the fact that I was recently listening to the Rob Zombie one that I first mentioned... And I have to say that I truly enjoyed it... And if you give it a try, you might as well!

Four Prolific Musicians/Bands Whose Contributions Helped To Define Heavier Music In The 20th Century!

There are and always will be some truly spectacular musicians out there that really know what the hell they are doing, and it really shows... But in all truth, there are a particular subset of musicians out there that I would say their music is so prolific that even decades after they broke up and or died, that these bands are still heavily influencing new musicians all over the world... So I thought I would let you guys in on a couple of these...

At number 4: Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="240"] Elvis Presley... 'The King Of Rock' now and for ever![/caption]

Now here is a guy that not only had some amazing tunes that really rocked, but when he was still alive, his music helped trailblaze the, 'Rock 'N Roll' genre from being something that annoying old people tried their very best to outlaw, to being a respectable musical form the people admired... And still do! When he was alive, Men wanted to be him, and women wanted to be with him... In the end he had been crowned, 'The King Of Rock' before he died, and to this day he still holds that title!

For more information on, 'Elvis Presley' please enjoy this song:

[embed]http://youtu.be/gj0Rz-uP4Mk[/embed]

For number 3: The Beatles (1960 - 1970):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="434"] The Beatles... Truly a force to be reckoned with![/caption]

The Beatles... When these guys were together, like Elvis Presley, were people that were frowned upon by old people, but they also held the interests of their ever growing fan base... But as for Elvis making the way for, 'The Beatles' and other bands and musicians to make there way in to the genre in an era of respectability, The Beatles didn't do that... They both had very distinct sounds, but in the case of, 'The Beatles' I am going to have to say that these trailblazers were really the direct ancestors of the modern, 'Metal' scene!

For more information on, 'The Beatles' please enjoy this song:

[embed]http://youtu.be/_HONxwhwmgU[/embed]

For number 2: Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="460"] Michael Jackson is truly one that will be missed...[/caption]

Now this guy was something different... I mean he had his harder music, but as for Michael Jackson... He had the tendency to meld Rock 'N Roll, with Pop/R&B type of music in a  pretty fun melding... And ultimately rather he was doing Disco (which it does seem like he did a lot when he was kid, or playing his more heavier stuff, Michael Jackson was crowned the, 'King Of Pop' before he died, and at this point it is pretty safe to say that he still owns that crown!

For more information, 'Michael Jackson', please enjoy this song:

[embed]http://youtu.be/dsUXAEzaC3Q[/embed]

At number 1: Nirvana (1987 - 1994):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="533"] At truly prolific band that is missed...[/caption]

The truth is, is that I am not putting these guys up at number 1 on the strength of their music (all though there music is pretty awesome), in this case I am giving them the number #1 spot because these talented musicians, when they were all still apart of, 'Nirvana' were producing music that was so good that it helped pave the way for, 'Grunge', and it is the type of music that has remained extremely popular even after decades after the band dissolved itself!

For more information on, 'Nirvana', please enjoy this song:

[embed]http://youtu.be/G3qRYGopZMU[/embed]

The Continued Relevance Of Dead Superstars

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Presley hits are still being released decades after his death![/caption]

Sadly some of musics greatest most historically memorable musicians, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, most of the Beatles... Etc, etc... Have passed away...

It is one of those unfortunate situations in the music scene today... Don't get me wrong, there are still many great musicians out there, but in the case of who I am talking about are those people who were sort of trailblazers that made their specific genres what they are today!

These are the people with whom most musicians may have grown up listening to, but some of them were the inspiration behind a lot of the modern musicians that are around today!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="463"] The BEatles playing live are just one example of the trailblazers that are still relevant today, decades after they stopped making music together![/caption]

There is also another side to these guys that I thought that you guys might find to be rather interesting... The fact that sometimes decades after they stopped being able to produce music, not only are these people having regular posthumous albums being made in their names, but some of them are starting to have a high number of awards and #1 hits posthumously!

A great example of this is, Elvis Presley!

Between 1977 & 1981 10 singles from the King Of Rock were released as #1 hits... Graceland has become one of the most well visited homes in the United States (just behind, 'The White House'.) And after the King passed on, he was inducted in to four different music hall of fames, including: the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame (Which he was inducted in to in 1986), the Country Music Hall Of Fame (which he was inducted in to in 1998), the Gospel Music Hall Of Fame (2001) & even the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame in 2007!

Another great example is, The Beatles... Don't get me wrong, I know that they are not all dead, but most of them are, and they have been broken up since the 1970s... But that didn't end it for these guys... You see, after the break up all four of them would continue to make music as solo artists, but not only that but they each one of them would collaborate at one time or another.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="460"] The Beatles & their family reuniting after the death of John Lennon in 1980.[/caption]

As a matter of fact, after John Lennon died in 1980, the remaining Beatles along with Linda McCartney would come together to make a tribute album in honor of their fallen friend!

And the most latest that I discovered is, 'Michael Jackson'... It looks like the King Of Pop will be back entertaining audiences one last time in his second posthumous album called, 'Xscape' which was recently release on May 2nd 2014!

For more information on these guys, and the music they made, please enjoy these songs that were arranged for posthumously albums: Elvis Presley, The Beatles & Michael Jackson!

http://youtu.be/Aa3ZGXRBS-Y

http://youtu.be/_0O0BkKdMx0

http://youtu.be/zqdxYJ3uXuQ

 

5 Classic Weird Al Parodies That Rock

I know this blog is is dedicated to, Heavy Metal, Rock 'N Roll and the various sub genres associated with this type of music, but I thought that I would take a change of pace this one time and talk about something a little bit off topic (not entirely... But a little...)

This topic being, '5 Classic Weird Al Parodies That Rock'.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="475"] Weird Al doin a parody of Michael Jackson's, 'Bad'[/caption]

Now I know this is a little bit of a switch from the norm, but with Christmas coming up, I thought that it would be fun to do a list with some great songs that Weird Al has done, that not only rock, but you will laugh your ass off!

At number 5 we have: Ride The Bus (1980), a parody of Queen's 1980 hit song, 'Another One Bites The Dust':

http://youtu.be/NeMrttj8Ucg

http://youtu.be/7Dmd1b-sfUw

At Number 4: Fat (1988), a parody of Michael Jackson's 1987 classic song, 'Bad':

http://youtu.be/dsUXAEzaC3Q

http://youtu.be/t2mU6USTBRE

At Number 3: Smells Like Nirvana (1992), a parody of Nirvana's 1991 hit song, 'Smells Like Teen Spirit':

http://youtu.be/hTWKbfoikeg

http://youtu.be/FklUAoZ6KxY

At Number 2: Gump (1996), a parody of The Presidents Of The United States Of America's 1995 hit song, 'Lump':

http://youtu.be/_sj_U6vObUA

http://youtu.be/hQwWaWFjd0Y

At Number 1: The Saga Begins (1999), a parody of Don McLean's classic 1971 song, 'American Pie':

http://youtu.be/ih7N9_VUU4U

http://youtu.be/hEcjgJSqSRU

In the end, I know this is a little turn in a different direction, but I found that Weird Al is not only absolutely hilarious, but he also rocks in the same time, please enjoy!

Michael Jackson: Bad (1987) - Song Review

[caption id="attachment_557" align="alignright" width="307"] Official Score = 3 1/2 Devils[/caption]

Michael Jackson (Beat It), now it is really something to say that you are the, 'King' or, 'Queen' of something... But Michael Jackson truly was some one who legitimately earned his title as, 'King Of Pop'! This guy had many great songs under his belt, and was one of the hardest working entertainers in the industry since he was a kid, but despite all the weird stuff that would surround him later in life, he was still one of the most beloved entertainers of all time!

And a song that was personally relevant to me (I can't say for certain that it was the first song that I ever heard of his, but it was definitely the first music video that he did that I ever say...) That song being, 'Bad'!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="220"] A classic song from a great album![/caption]

Written by the King Of Pop himself in 86 and then recorded a year later, this song, which stayed at the top of the, 'Billboard Hot 100' for 2 weeks, was generally well received by people... And helped signify Michael Jackson's attempt to remake his image at that time as being little more, 'edgier'!

Now for those of you who were either to young or not around when this song first became it's own sensation... Well this song was great because it was a dramatic switch from Michael's more R&B/Soulful roots (even though in a minor way I always thought they were still there to some extent,) but also blended it with Rock 'N Roll, to make a sort of truly bad ass song... That I really do feel helped usher the entertainer in to the 90s!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320"] Michael Jackson doing the, 'Bad' Music Video![/caption]

And the Music Video... Forget about it! I mean this music video (which was inspired by the, 'Cool' scene from, 'West Side Story') and which was directed by Martin Scorsese (Casino) and which helped Wesley Snipes (Blade) while he was still pretty new to his career, was truly a cut above most of the music videos that I had seen at that time, blending in all truth, I felt, elements that made both movies and music great! (And trust me when I say that this is coming from the guy who still is not a fan of, 'American Idol' or any of the shows like it!)

In the end, this song may be one of the more iconic songs in music history, and if you haven't heard it yet, then check it out, you might like it!

http://youtu.be/dsUXAEzaC3Q

5 Great Musicians Taken Before Their Time!

You know, you would think that one of the most dangerous art forms to work in would be like, 'The Circus' or, 'Daredevil Stunt Work' and the truth is, is that those are some of the more dangerous art based professions to work in, but the truth is, is that I wouldn't say that these are the only dangerous art professions at all! Oddly enough, believe it or not, I would say that becoming a famous actor at a young age, or being a musician are some of the other ones!

Now I am not saying this because the professions is inherently fraught with risks, and thus you should not be working in these professions...

No, I guess what I am trying to say is that these professions are definitely not the most risky jobs in the world (Any job more or less has a slight degree of risk associated with it, but acting and music are by far some of the least professions fraught with peril!) No in this case what I mean is that they are some of the most dangerous because they have some of the biggest pitfalls there are! And because of that we have lost some truly phenomenal actors/actresses and musicians in the hole!

And that is why I thought that I would honor some of the great musicians that died before their time with this list of, '5 Great Musicians Taken Before Their Time'!

At number 5: Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009).

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="562"] Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009)[/caption]

Michael Jackson entertained audiences all over the world since he was a kid, to this day he is still a beloved artist by legions of fans all over the world... Unfortunately though, when Michael Jackson was preparing for his swansong tour, he passed away due to an accidental overdose!

http://youtu.be/h_D3VFfhvs4

At number 4: Darrell 'Dimebag' Abbott (1966 - 2004):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Darrell 'Dimebag' Abbott (1966 - 2004)[/caption]

This guy has kicked ass in many bands including such bands as: 'Pantera', but unfortunately his career was cut short when while on stage performing with, 'Damageplan' he was murdered...

http://youtu.be/cvHDSTf3At4

At number 3: The Big Bopper, Ritche Valens & Buddy Holly...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="516"] Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper & Ritchie Vaiens, 3 legendary musicians that will never be forgotten![/caption]

In a lot of respects, these guys could be said to be the direct ancestors of a lot of the modern rock 'n roll scene! So it is a shame that when they were tired of taking their tour bus, Buddy Holly chartered a Plane for them... the only problem is that it crashed, killing these legendary talents!

http://youtu.be/SaXA_Hr0CE8

http://youtu.be/jNrpAgTXiC4

http://youtu.be/bfu_gfPBPWc

At number 2: Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="512"] Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977)[/caption]

Here is another amazing musician who when he was about to go back on tour ended up passing away before he could go back on tour... That light may have been snuffed, but the King Of Rock will always reign supreme!

http://youtu.be/gj0Rz-uP4Mk

At number 1: Cliff Burton (1962 - 1986):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Cliff Burton (1962 - 1986)[/caption]

Still considered to be the best bassist Metallica has ever had, Cliff Burton passed away after a tour bus accident while Metallica was on the European leg of their, 'Damage Inc.' tour...

http://youtu.be/6O9zMnwD65Q

Why I Am Still A Huge Fan Of Michael Jackson!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] RIP: Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009)[/caption]

When I was a kid one of my favorite musicians that I was a huge fan of (and kind of grew up listening to his music) is Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009), I followed his career as much as any kid could through the late 80s, and even through out the early to mid 90s when he was starting to loose his standing with his fans due to the scandals and allegations, and I remained (and still remain) a fan of this master musicians work to this very day!

Why I am still such a fan, despite the fact that his last (well this is my opinion, but I do think there is some element of truth in this,) but the last truly great album that he did was the one that he did around 1995... Well that is simple... And I will admit that I kind of lost interest in some his more easy listening albums of his later years... But the truth is, is that his more hardcore songs, (Smooth Criminal, Scream & even Thriller), definitely had that R&B Pop element that was pretty much always there, (although sometimes it was little harder to see then others), but there was also other genre influences that I saw in his music (like rock 'n roll in the songs that I mentioned above)...

Another thing that I found to be most fascinating is the fact that in a lot of ways I found that the songs (especially when you see the music videos) were very strongly representative of the time in which the music video was made (with probably one of the few exceptions being, 'Smooth Criminal'... What with the story line in that song taking place in the, 'Gangster' Days.)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320"] Michael Jackson in the music video, 'The Way You Make Me Feel' (1987)... A song that was very representative of the late 80s![/caption]

A great example of this is, 'Beat it'! Now Beat it was made just barely after what I would say is the look between the 1970s and the 1980s, so there was definitely an element of the 70s (very small... But like most decades, the early part of it does seem to draw some minor inspiration from the decade that preceded it!)

But besides some minor inspiration from the 1970s, for the most part this song had the look, the feel, and the sound of just about everything that in my opinion made the early 1980s great! (Granted most of what I know about that part of the 80s is based on what I saw in movies and TV shows because I was still in diapers when, 'Beat It' came out in 1983!)

Nevertheless another truly great song, a song that I felt was strongly representative of the look/feel/style of the late 80s (really all the way up through the early early 90s was another truly classic song that he did, 'The Way You Make Me Feel'!

And you know what, I will admit that when I first heard about the Child Molestation scandal that rocked his career... I will admit that once I found out what all that was, I thought it was pretty odd, and it did color my perceptions of him and his career... But in all truth, I thought (and still do think) that despite that, Michael Jackson was still an amazing musician (sadly I think that this may have roughly been about around the time when he started having his problems with medications...)

Never the less, I was sad to see him go in to relative obscurity... I mean the guy had a truly legendary career!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="573"] Michael doing a part of one of his signature dance routines![/caption]

And when he started popping back up in the world, in the new millennium, I gotta say that I was truly impressed with some of the work that this amazing talent still had in him, and when I heard about his second set of child abuse allegations, I gotta admit that I was truly shocked and appalled to hear about the second sexual abuse scandal... But I was also glad to hear that he made it past all that!

The truth is, is I strongly suspect that due to the fact that Michael Jackson was an international superstar since he was pretty young, he ended up having some unusual tendencies, and so was he an odd guy... Sure, but he was not a bad guy, and was a truly a prolific musician/actor, and I was truly saddened to hear when he had past away back in 2009!

With that said, absence truly does make the heart grow fonder I suppose, because I have to admit that I was a little shocked to see just the true outpouring of love for the guy and his work... The truth is, is he absolutely deserved (and still does) every ounce of love and respect he got at his death, but if he had gotten that same outpouring when he was alive, I suspect he still would be entertaining audiences all over the world with his live performances!

Anyway, I don't mean to attack anyone for anything, but being a fan through thick and through thin, I have to say that I am sorry to have seen such an amazing talent gone from the world, but for me, I am still a huge fan of Michael Jackson's work and always will be!

http://youtu.be/1glqdih1LsM

http://youtu.be/sOnqjkJTMaA

http://youtu.be/0P4A1K4lXDo