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Rockline, hosted by Bob Coburn, is a radio show that I used to listen to in the 80’s where fans get to call in and ask their favorite artists questions.  Up until a couple of years ago, I didn’t even know that the show was still around.  Last night I listened to Rockline for the first time in 20 years.

Def Leppard was on the show and they have their new album coming out April 29th called Songs from the Sparkle Lounge.  Last night on Rockline, the band answered questions and they played seven songs from the album.  The best of the bunch was a song called “Go” that was very high energy and more comparable to a NIN Stabbing Westward song than anything else.  The first single, “Nine Lives” has gone to radio and features Tim McGraw on the track.  Despite that, and its not a bad thing, the song has some great hooks in it.  Classic Leppard.

Def Leppard in Guitar Hero IV
The interesting news to come out of Rockline with Def Leppard last night was a question at the end of the show from a girl calling from Honolulu who asked the band, ‘Why don’t you have any songs on Guitar Hero or Rock Band?’  Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen responded immediatley saying the band would have three songs on Guitar Hero IV.  When asked by the host which songs would be in the game, Collen said he thought the songs that had gotten publishing clearance were Photograph, Animal, and Rock of Ages.  Sounds like a download pack to me, but Collen specifically said Guitar Hero IV, so it appears we have our first insight into the game scheduled for release late in 2008.

With Rock Band upping the ante, one would imagine that the Def Leppard tracks for Guitar Hero IV would be original studios recordings, since the songs - even though 25 years old - were produced by Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange, who’s Mr. Multitrack Recording.

Now if the guys at Guitar Hero can mix in some AC/DC and Van Halen, I’d be all set. 

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 at 11:08 am and is filed under Music.

If no one shows up for a concert, does it really exist?  That’s the two dollar question for this nameless band that has become somewhat legendary on the Internet. 

I was in a “band” in high school and we once performed a cover of Van Halen’s Panama.  Trust me, it was nothing special, but I’m proud to say that it wasn’t this bad.  Joey Tempest, the lead singer Europe, must be rollin’ in his spandex after hearing The Final Countdown butchered this bad.  Despite the vocals being horrid, I would agrue that the guitar solo is even worse.

Enjoy!

Thanks to Joey Joe Joe at A Cup of Joe.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 at 8:53 pm and is filed under Music, Comedy.

Did you know that 24 years ago (!!) that Van Halen had the number one song in the America with Jump.  While revealing that fact might make me feel old, hearing the song changes all of that.  I feel that I could dance with Diamond Dave and the guys on this all-time classic.  I would say that Jump is one of the greatest pop songs of all-time and that Panama (the next track on Van Halen’s 1984) is one of the greatest rock songs of all-time.  Talk about diversity.

Dave always said they spent more money on the after-party then on the video for Jump and perhaps that is why the video is so cool.  Call me crazy, but I always thought that the dust on Eddie’s keyboard was so cool.  I don’t know why, but looking like that keyboard had just been pulled out storage seemed very cool to me.   You can check out the dust at the 2:39 mark of the song.  Yep, I’m crazy.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 17th, 2008 at 1:07 pm and is filed under Music.

It’s not that Top Gun isn’t a good movie, but making it your favorite movie of all-time seems a little strange, especially when the whole Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs), Stanley Kubrick (Full Metal Jacket), and the Coen Brothers (Fargo) catalogs are available.  Well, that’s what our Director of Software Development has deemed as his favorite movie of all-time.   I will give EB aka Eric aka Funny aka Happy that Top Gun has an amazing soundtrack.  From Berlin to Cheap Trick to Loverboy to Jerry Lee Lewis to The Righetous Brothers, the soundtrack is one of the greatest of all-time including this classic song from Kenny Loggins. 

As for the movie… EB, you can be my wingman anytime!

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 16th, 2008 at 7:14 pm and is filed under Music.

Journey are back with the full force of Wal-Mart’s marketing department behind them as they get set to release their new album called Revelation, due on June 3.  Like the Eagles and Garth Brooks, a lot of musical acts have been using the power of Wal-Mart to sell albums.  The Eagles did a deal with Wal-Mart and it resulted in “sales” of over 7 million albums for Garden of Eden.  Now when I say “sales”, that means Wal-Mart shipped 7 million albums.  I’m guessing only about a million were actually sold to consumers (the cynic in me) and the rest will end up at Big Lots shortly. 

Back to Journey - If you don’t know, they have a new lead singer.  That’s right, no Steve Perry which is unfortunate.  No Steve Augeri, just as I was getting used to him.  Now Neal Schon and company have hired a young man out the Phillipines named Arnel Pineda.  One of the greatest American bands of all-time is now international. 

You’ll be able to hear Pineda on vocals with the release of Revelation which will also include a 11-classic Journey songs re-recorded with Pineda on vocals, plus a live, in-concert DVD of the band.  All three discs will be part of the Wal-Mart exclusive Journey package.

Before I leave, I have to say that hearing that the band has re-recorded 11 of the bands classics with the new singer is bush league in my mind.  All due respect to Pineda - I’ve heard him and he’s good.  But Steve Perry is one of the all-time bests.  Don’t Stop Believin’ and Faithfully shouldn’t be bastardized.

Thanks to Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoh at Cup of Joe.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 at 12:10 pm and is filed under Music.

Well, one of my favorite bands - Alright, they’re my favorite band - is set to release their new album on April 29th.  Songs from the Sparkle Lounge is the name of Def Leppard’s new album.  The first single called Nine Lives, which was co-written by country superstar Tim McGraw, has been released radio.  Good luck hearing it though, as radio has obviously changed a lot since the 1980’s.  As far as the Def Leppard streaming the single online from DefLeppard.com?  Unfortunately, the band seems to still think its still 1988, so don’t count on that.

This is actually Def Leppard’s first album since 2002 and only their 11th album, despite having been around for 28 years now.  They’re set to tour with REO Speedwagon and Styx this summer (Yawn!) and will be performing their new song Nine Lives on the April 29th version of ABC’s hit reality show, Dancing with the Stars.   So much for Def Leppard being cool anymore, huh?  Oh well. 

I have heard the new single Nine Lives and I have to admit it’s a very good song - It’s got a couple of nice hooks in it that will get stuck in your head.   The band says the new album sounds like High ‘N Dry meets Hysteria.

In the meantime, lets take a trip back to 1988 in Denver, Colorado and Def Leppard’s In The Round, In Your Face tour….

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 at 11:50 am and is filed under Music.

After the cancelation of two shows in Virginia and Georgia, there are rumors that Diamond David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen are once again butting heads.  “They” say that Dave has become increasingly frustrated by Ed’s guitar playing, if you can believe that.  Apparently Eddie has been forgetting where he is while playing, leading to him playing a different part of the song while the rest of the band is playing the correct part.

It doesn’t help either that ”they” are saying that Ed might be drinking again and health problems including hearing loss could be affecting one of the great guitarists of all-time.

My Top 5 Guitarists of All-Time:

1) Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen)
2) The Edge (U2)
3) Brian May (Queen)
4) Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, Rainbow)
5) Angus Young (AC/DC) and Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) (tie) 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 26th, 2008 at 9:29 pm and is filed under Music.

Our friends over at Activision, the publisher of the Guitar Hero series of games for the PS2/3, XBOX360 and Wii, have announced the first Guitar Hero game to feature a one specific band and that band is Aerosmith. 

If you haven’t played any of the Guitar Hero games or the newly released Rock Band and you’re a fan of rock music, you are missing something.  If you’ve ever wanted to be Eddie Van Halen or Angus Young, this is your chance without the sore fingers and years of practice.  Of course, Van Halen and AC/DC music hasn’t come to any of these games, yet hopefully its just a matter of time.  I’d love to see Guitar Hero: Def Leppard, but my favorite band is stuck in 1983 when it comes to technology and marketing, so I’m probably going to be waiting a long time.

So what’s the scoop with GH: Aerosmith?  Sounds like they’ll be 30+ original songs from the band that you’ll be able to rock out with.  To fill out the roster of songs, Aerosmith will call on friends who they’ve played with over the years.  I’d expect to see a band like Cheap Trick featured, who’s opened for Aerosmith countless times.  Other bands it would be cool to see in the game - Ted Nugent, REO Speedwagon, The Cult and Kid Rock, all who have opened for Aerosmith over the years.

In addition, the rumors are that the game will include new Aerosmith music to coincide with the release of their new upcoming album this summer.  Pretty sweet! 

This entry was posted on Monday, February 18th, 2008 at 11:46 am and is filed under Music, Games.

Recently the D.A. and I went to see the new IMAX movie, U2 3D.  You can probably guess that U2 is indeed the rock band U2 and 3D is the way the movie is presented when you wear those funky glasses.  Everyone in the theater ends up looking like Flavor Flav. 

So how was the show?  I must admit the 3D was awesome, making it feel like you could reach out and touch Bono.  And making it feel like Bono could reach out and touch you.  I really enjoyed the show.  Some of the songs that the band did weren’t that familar, but they did enough of their classics to keep even the most passive fans satisified.

One you hit the middle of the show, Bono gets a little political.  I, myself, cannot stand it when celebrities go off about politics, but Bono is different that most celebrities.  Its clear that he respects everyone in the audience and only asks you to look at the problem.  That I can respect, as where most celebrities are condenscending which makes them appear ugly and shallow as they insult people.

By the end of U2 3D I found myself having really enjoyed the show.  The 3D is so very cool.  If you like U2, even just in passing, I would suggest this amazing IMAX movie.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 7th, 2008 at 5:07 pm and is filed under Music.

Rumors are that Heart, Journey and Cheap Trick are hooking up for a 2008 summer tour. 

That might be a show for you to consider for your summer itineary.  Out of the three, I’m probably the biggest fan of Journey.  Yeah, Steve Perry is not in the band anymore, but they still always find a guy who sounds just like him to sing and the band sounds great always.

The Wilson Sisters who front Heart are very talented.  Unfortunately, they seem to leave a lot of their 80’s hits off their setlist now.  Why they do that, no one knows.  They do have sort of a 60’s vibe to them, so perhaps they didn’t enjoy the decadent 80’s.  Me, I’ll take the 80’s over any other decade!

And as for Cheap Trick?  They’re one of those bands that have never acheived the success they probably deserved.  Dollar for dollar, they have written some great songs over the years including some that didn’t get much airplay in the United States.

“Can you honestly tell me you forgot? Forgot the magnetism of Robin Zander, or the charisma of Rick Nielsen?”

This entry was posted on Monday, February 4th, 2008 at 1:48 pm and is filed under Music.