I’m gonna handle this one backwards: “The Last Watchman”, the closing track of this EP, it’s a beautiful, shining, Progressive Rock song with a friendly, warm vibe. Somehow it sticks in your head and can’t get rid of it.
Now I’m gonna get back to the beginning and I tell ya a secret: you can download for free this EP from the band’s Bandcamp page.
From Moscow, Russia, Cosmonauts Day delivered a quite unique mixture of post-rock, stoner/sludge metal and space/progressive rock with some exotic aromas, original structures and harmonies. Read more Cosmonauts Day – Live Demos, EP (2011)
rock
Yes – Drama (1980)
Yes without both, Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman, might be still Yes? The answer is “Drama”, the band’s tenth studio album released 31 years ago, on 22 August, 1980 and which introduced Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes of The Buggles. Horn and Downes came after the #1 hit in the UK with “Video Killed the Radio Star” and being Yes fans they landed in Yes because they were managed by the same Brian Lane. Still, hardcore Yes fans considered unacceptable the replacement of Anderson and Wakeman. Although, “Drama” fared very well in the UK charts, reaching #2 there, but in America, “Drama” became the first Yes album in years not to reach top 10 or go gold. Read more Yes – Drama (1980)
Rollins Band – Nice (2001)
“Your number is one, your mind decided, your number is one, you are undivided…”
Without MTV and generally speaking, any media support and striking favorites such as “Low Self Opinion” and “Liar”, the last two albums – at least, up to date – of Rollins made no impression outside his fan base. It’s quite unfair, the 2000’s “Get Some Go Again” and the follow-up “Nice” released next year was two quality Post-Hardcore/Modern Rock albums. Released exactly ten years ago, on 21th August 2001, “Nice” perhaps it isn’t the best Rollins Band album, but it’s a… nice one. And still, I can’t figure out what the f*ck best means?! Harder, faster, bigger, stronger, louder? Whatever!
And actually good songs were plenty on it, just to mention a few: “Up for It”, “Your Number Is One”, “I Want So Much More”, “Hangin’ Around”, “Going Out Strange”, “Let That Devil Out”, etc Read more Rollins Band – Nice (2001)
Bob Dylan – Slow Train Coming (1979)
We’ve gotta serve somebody? In one way or another, definitively yes. “Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, But you’re gonna have to serve somebody”.
It’s pretty odd, I think Christianity is just another kind of mind-poison as any other organized religion and I have my doubts about the so-called “born-again thing”, but still, everybody have to do as he/she please. I’m not even what might be called a huge Dylan fan, and once again, still, I love “Slow Train Coming”. My mom had it in her record collection – obviously talking bout the good old vinyl’s – back in the 80s and somehow it felt alright to listen it. It has magic. Released on 20th August, 1979, 32 years ago, “Slow Train Coming” still is one of my favorite records.
In the late 1970s, Dylan became a born-again Christian and released two albums of Christian gospel music: “Slow Train Coming” in 1979 and “Saved” one year later.
American author, music journalist and cultural critic, Greil Marcus wrote “Dylan selling a prepackaged doctrine he’s received from someone else” – but I actually took Jesus out of this, I was listen to the music and I “translated” the lyrics out of any Christian and religious context and prejudices.
Dylan took five months off at the beginning of 1979 to attend Bible classes. His subsequent album “Slow Train Coming” reached No.3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and included the Grammy-winning song “Gotta Serve Somebody”. In response to Dylan’s song, shortly before his murder, John Lennon wrote and recorded “Serve Yourself”… Dylan is 70 years old, Lennon were gunned down at age of 40… Still, if there’s a God, something is very wrong with him, with us and generally speaking with our communication and relation with others and ourselves. Read more Bob Dylan – Slow Train Coming (1979)
Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet (1986)
Like it or not, this is also a classic. A big one of the 80’s just like U2’s “The Joshua Tree”, Ozzy’s “Diary of a Madman”, Queen’s “A Kind of Magic”, Van Halen’s “Women and Children First”, etc. After all the 80’s weren’t that bad, isn’t it? Actually sometimes I miss my vinyls collection, the CDs just not the same, not to mention the mp3s.
Their previous two albums, “Bon Jovi” (1984) and “7800° Fahrenheit” (1985) didn’t sold bad and the band toured with bands such as Scorpions and Ratt in the US and Kiss in Europe and make appearances at the Texas Jam and Castle Donnington’s Monsters of Rock. The debut album peaked at #43 on the Billboard 200 album chart in U.S. and a year after its release it was certified Gold while “…Fahrenheit” peaked at #37 on Billboard 200 and certified Gold in U.S., but Bon Jovi had much higher commercial ambitions.
Paul Stanley recommended Desmond Child to help them out with the songwriting – Desmond being responsible for one of the biggest Kiss hits: “I Was Made for Loving You” – and the result was three songs “You Give Love a Bad Name”, “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “Without Love”. Ironically, Jon Bon Jovi was initially reluctant to include “Livin’ on a Prayer” on the album, believing that it was not a good enough song and it became one of the band’s most popular and well-known songs.
It was a play to win situation, and 25 years ago, these guys made it through, the 10 songs of “Slippery When Wet” quite rocks. But you can’t start a fire without a spark, isn’t it? “Slippery When Wet” was the best-selling album of 1987 in the United States, and eventually reached Diamond certification by the RIAA and current sales stand at 12 million copies, making it the 48th best-selling album in the United States. Read more Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet (1986)
Garbage – Garbage (1995)
Today I’m gonna take you back only 16 years. 😀
The self-titled debut album by Garbage released on August 15, 1995 was considered innovative for its fusion of Pop melodies with Alternative Rock, Trip-Hop and Electronica genres and its use of loops and sampling. 6 songs out of 12 became successful singles. “Garbage” spent over a year on both the US and UK charts, reaching the top 20 on charts worldwide and receiving multi-platinum certification in numerous territories. The album’s success was helped by the band promoting it on a year-long tour, including playing on the European festival circuit and supporting the Smashing Pumpkins throughout 1996, as well as by a run of increasingly successful singles culminating with “Stupid Girl” which in 1997 was nominated for Grammy Awards for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group. Read more Garbage – Garbage (1995)
The Who – Who’s Next (1971)
The Who became known for their energetic live performances which mainly were finished by smashing their instruments and ended up by selling over 100 million records. If this isn’t Rock’N’Roll, what is it?
Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips said, “I already believed in rock & roll, but seeing The Who really made me feel it” while Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder said, “The one thing that disgusts me about The Who is the way they smashed through every door in the uncharted hallway of rock ‘n’ roll without leaving much more than some debris for the rest of us to lay claim to.”
Influencing artists from Led Zeppelin and The Clash to The Stooges, Queen, U2, Nirvana and Green Day, The Who managed to merged Blues-Rock with the aggressive and explosive energy of what later was labeled being Protopunk and often they have been called “The Godfathers of Punk”.
Most of the people at least heard about them because of “Tommy” and eventually their anthem “My Generation”. Youngsters maybe noticed the song “Behind Blue Eyes” on Limp Bizkit 2003’s “Results May Vary” which is actually a Pete Townshend composition and it was recorded in 1971 and released on 14 August, exactly 40 years ago on the album “Who’s Next”. Read more The Who – Who’s Next (1971)
Fuseboxx – Animated (2011)
Quality progressive metal/rock from this Manila, Philippines band. Formed in 2001 by Abby Clutario – vocals/Chapman Stick/Keyboards, Mico Ong – 6 and 7 String guitars, Eric Tubon – synthesizers/keyboards/Keytar and Lester Banzuelo – drums/V drums, Fuseboxx delivered a quite exciting blending of traditional and modern progressive metal/rock, but sometimes building in smooth pop or jazz constructions and textures or explode in intense metal hurricanes.
Read more Fuseboxx – Animated (2011)
Combat Astronomy – Flak Planet (2011)
I stumbled into Combat Astronomy last year on their Bandcam page. It worth to check out their page, there you can get all their previous releases, some of them are still for free (and donation based) as their latest EP “Barricades” released in July 2011.
Mastermind, composer – and project manager 😀 – James Huggett explore the interference area of post-rock, doom and industrial with the outbursts of free jazz and avant-garde music. Space rock elements and dirty stoner rock riffs are melting down in the contorted noises and explosive outbreaks of horns. Freaky and heavy, cutting and exciting, in a fair world Combat Astronomy should be far better known as they are. But this isn’t a fair world, Britney Spears and Take That are famous and popular and I can’t blame them, not even the industry, the subordinated media, but I blame ourselves, the undefined, comfortable, predictable, lazy, fat and careless consumer. Nobody would be able to sell us shit if we wouldn’t bought it. Read more Combat Astronomy – Flak Planet (2011)
O.A.R. – King (2011)
Of a Revolution (O.A.R.) due to massive online distribution over campus networks, become a hit among college students. The band is also well known for its live performances, they often creates variations to songs at each concert, making it rare to hear a song played exactly the same way twice. The band incorporates jam elements in their concerts, resulting in many of their live songs running anywhere between 5 and 18 minutes each.
Founded in 1996 by Marc Roberge and Chris Culos, recruited Richard On and Benj Gershman and one year later recorded their debut album “The Wanderer” at Gizmo Recording Company in Silver Spring, Maryland.
They graduated from Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland, then moved to Columbus, Ohio to attend Ohio State University where they met Jerry DePizzo. In 2000 they returned to Gizmo Recording to record “Soul’s Aflame”, their second album. Read more O.A.R. – King (2011)
