Thursday, November 29, 2007

Dismantling Henry Rollins, Episode 2

Episode two of Heidi May's hilarious documentary series "Dismantling Henry Rollins" was just made available over at HenryRollins.com - check it out HERE!

Henry Rollins.com / The Henry Rollins Show / Harmony In My Head / Rollins Archive / Henry Rollins @ IMDb / Henry Rollins @ Wikipedia

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Quiet Riot - Metal Health (1983)

Quiet Riot vocalist Kevin DuBrow passed away past Sunday at the age of 51.
"Kevin DuBrow (October 29, 1955 – November 25, 2007) was an American rock vocalist, best known as the lead singer of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot. During Quiet Riot's commercial heyday in the 1980s, Dubrow was known for his on-stage charisma, gravelly bluesy voice, and suspenders".
"Metal Health was the breakthrough album for the American heavy metal band Quiet Riot and their first record without deceased legendary guitarist Randy Rhoads. It was released on March 11, 1983, bolstered by a #5 hit single, "Cum On Feel the Noize," a Slade cover. Metal Health was the first heavy metal debut album to hit #1 on the Billboard Music Charts pop albums list. It knocked The Police's Synchronicity out of #1 in the U.S. The album went on to sell more than 6 million copies and is considered a classic among heavy metal fans to this day. However, some, such as the All Music Guide, perceive it as a one-hit wonder, owing to Quiet Riot's relative lack of critical and commercial success with following albums (and subsequent disintegration) towards the end of the 1980s.
Source: Wikipedia

Tracklist: 1. Metal Health, 2. Cum On Feel the Noize, 3. Don't Wanna Let You Go, 4. Slick Black Cadillac, 5. Love's a Bitch, 6. Breathless, 7. Run For Cover, 8. Battle Axe, 9. Let's Get Crazy, 10. Thunderbird.
Download (59 MB): MegaUpload / Rapidshare

Kevin DuBrow @ Wikipedia / Quiet Riot @ Wikipedia / Metal Health @ Wikipedia

Sunday, November 25, 2007

The Rationals - Discography 1965-2001

"Of all the Michigan talent that flirted with stardom but never got invited to the party, there is probably no other band of the era so beloved and still so mourned as Ann Arbor's The Rationals. Certainly, here was a group that deserved fame and fortune but, incredibly, failed to get the notice and air-play that should have landed them among the best recording acts of all time. They were that good.
Blessed with a sterling vocalist, a brilliant guitarist who could more than hold his own as a singer, an inventive bass player and a propulsive drummer, The Rationals infused their stratified, garage-rock with rich vocalizing and harmonies, making local hit records out of a series of rhythm & blues nuggets such as "Leavin' Here", "Hold on Baby", and Otis Redding's "Respect" (their 45 pre-dating the Vagrants version and providing the inspiration for Aretha's) as well as an incredibly soulful take on Goffin-King's "I Need You" — which may be the finest version of that song ever waxed. The Rationals also had a fierce stage act that was the cornerstone of their fan following around Detroit and environs. One of the highlights of their live performances during the height of their popularity was a stunning soul-song medley built around Tony Clarke's "The Entertainer" that was truly a show-stopper, unleashing every element in their talent arsenal.
As local heroes, they are legend but The Rationals never caught that big break which would have let them cash in and grab the prominence of their contemporaries and friends like Bob Seger (who contributed singing and arranging on some of their singles) and the MC5. By most accounts, it appears that the same management that helped lead them from their early Kinks/Beatles influenced stylings ("Little Girls Cry", "Feelin' Lost") toward the harder rhythm and blues that became their trademark also, probably inadvertently, kept them just shy of the payoff: Instead of freeing the band to work with other producers, their manager Hugh "Jeep" Holland (A-Square Productions) apparently couldn't let go when the recording opportunities came and squandered several chances for the group to land a major label deal.
By the time they did break away from Holland and finally got an album to market via Bob Crewe's small label (with the help of local DJ Robin Seymour who often featured The Rationals on his television show) the group's depth had increased considerably. Their musical vocabulary had become expansive, reaching well beyond the tightly-arranged singles toward a newer sound that built on ever-maturing vocal and instrumental strengths. And, despite a protean effort in extending their reach with superb original compositions like "Guitar Army", the Corell/Morgan vocal tour-de-force "Ha-Ha" and the blazing "Sunset" as well as a cover of "Handbags & Gladrags" that simply destroys Rod Stewart's rendition, the album went nowhere (only for lack of good promotion and distribution) and The Rationals fans began moving on. Without the success of the long-awaited record to finally catapult them into the national spotlight, the band threw in the towel and by mid 1970 they had also gone the way of so many of the area's best groups.
If just barely missing the brass ring was their legacy, it's almost tragic that their recordings are yet to receive a properly produced modern day re-issue. Despite years of efforts by the band members and others interested in seeing this music released again, nothing in the way of an official (from the master tapes) nature has, thus far, materialized although bootleg CD's copped from old vinyl have filled some of the void. Their Cameo/Parkway releases remain captive to the rapacity of Allen Klein (except for "Respect" which did show up on the recent C/P box set) and for many years, their electrifying early work on A² Records created under the direction of Holland was withheld from re-release for reasons known only to Jeep. Holland's death in March 1998 only seems to have clouded the issue even further, compounding the coincidence that continues to deprive the world of the brilliance that was The Rationals".
Source: The Rationals @ Detroit area rock 'n' roll bands/musicians 1966-1972

The Rationals (1970)(35 Mb): MegaUpload / Rapidshare
Unreleased Tracks 1965-1968 (71 Mb): MegaUpload / Rapidshare
Temptation 'Bout to Get Me - Live (1995)(65 Mb): MegaUpload / Rapidshare
Singles (2001)(50 Mb): MegaUpload / Rapidshare

The Rationals - Official Page / Scott Morgan's history of The Rationals / The Rationals @ Wikipedia

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Henry Rollins - Moore Theatre, Seattle, Washington 31.10.2007

When I first start I'm hard to stop... Here's another new spoken word show by Henry Rollins! This time at the Moore Theatre in Seattle, Washington on Halloween, October 31st this year. This show has way better quality than the previous two, but the first 30 seconds are missing - no big deal. Enjoy!
A big thanks to Angela for pointing me in the direction of these new shows!

Download (171 Mb): MegaUpload

Henry Rollins.com / The Henry Rollins Show / Harmony In My Head / Rollins Archive / Henry Rollins @ IMDb / Henry Rollins @ Wikipedia

Monday, November 19, 2007

Henry Rollins - Keswick Theater, Glenside, Pennsylvania 06.10.2007

As a quick follow up to my Rollins post earlier today - here's a spoken word show from the Keswick Theater in Glenside, Pennsylvania on October 6th this year. This show is both longer and of better quality than the one posted earlier, but don't expect to be blown away by some high fidelity recording - I would rate it as a good C+. As I stated in my previous post Hank will be taking his Provoked tour overseas in 2008 - starting in Gothenburg, Sweden January 14th. You can see his tour plans HERE.

Download (161 Mb): MegaUpload

Henry Rollins.com / The Henry Rollins Show / Harmony In My Head / Rollins Archive / Henry Rollins @ IMDb / Henry Rollins @ Wikipedia

Waiting for Rock Band to arrive...

Our good friends over at Harmonix - the developers of Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero II and Rock Band - have put together a nice little list of things you can do while waiting for Rock Band to arrive:
"There's barely a week to go before you can get your hands on a copy of Rock Band, get your group together and start your rise to virtual superstardom. We like to think it will change your life just a little, or at least keep you off the streets for a long while. We understand there's a lot of anticipation building over the release, so as a public service we offer a list of ten things to do while you're waiting for Rock Band:
1: Polish your air-guitar technique. Remember how you jumped around your bedroom pretending to be in Aerosmith with the CD blasting, so it never mattered if you were in time or not? Now it will.
2: Canvas your friends for the best people to be in your Rock Band. See, it's just like forming a real band, but with one difference: You don't have to let someone you don't like play bass just because s/he owns the practice space.
3: Watch a film of your favorite band performing, even if that means sitting through “The Song Remains the Same” for the 100th time. Look for some great onstage moves to lift from your favorite performers. But no, you won't have any occasion to ask if anybody remembers laughter.
4: Get out of the house. It may be your last chance for a long while.
5: Brush up on your stock of drummer jokes. (What's the difference between a drummer and a savings bond?)
6: Get the new Radiohead album without paying for it. Hey, it was their idea, not ours.
7: Recite the entire lyrics of Nine Inch Nails' “Machine” to the next telemarketer who calls. This won't help you at all with Rock Band, but it's fun.
8: Search the web for that video clip of Van Halen turning “Jump” into a total trainwreck. Not only is it truly priceless, but it will make you feel better about your own playing. (HINT)
9: Familiarize yourself with the crazy drum fills in “Tom Sawyer” by Rush. This will help you later on—unless you know them already, in which case you're a terminal music geek with too much time on your hands (in other words, part of our target audience).
10: Put the lime in the coconut, and call us in the morning".

My copy shipped from Amazon yesterday, so hopefully I'll have it sometime next week!

Get all the songs from this amazing game in my previous post - located HERE!

Henry Rollins - The Canal Club, Richmond, Virginia 29.09.2007

It's been a looong time since I've posted any Rollins spoken word shows, but here's a new one from The Canal Club in Richmond, Virginia on September 29th 2007. His ongoing Provoked tour will also take him back over to us good folks in Europe early next year.
The sound quailty on this one is pretty bad, but it's absolutely listenable.

Download (141 Mb): MegaUpload

Henry Rollins.com / The Henry Rollins Show / Harmony In My Head / Rollins Archive / Henry Rollins @ IMDb / Henry Rollins @ Wikipedia

Bad Religion - New Dark Ages



The brand new video for "New Dark Ages", of Bad Religion's latest album "New Maps of Hell".
Download the AVI version HERE!

Monday, November 12, 2007

Bob Seger - Back In '72 (1973)

"With the single exception of "Smokin' O.P.'s", rereleased on compact disc by Capitol in 2005, all of Seger's albums prior to Beautiful Loser (1975) (the pre-Silver Bullet Band releases) have long remained out of print and command extremely high prices if offered for sale. As of March 2007, genuine prints of the brief 1993 Capitol CD release of Ramblin' Gamblin' Man are offered for over US$180 on various on-line marketplaces".
Source: Wikipedia

"Returning to independent status, Bob Seger recorded Back in '72, not only the finest of his early-'70s albums but one of the great lost hard rock albums of its era. Seger didn't limit himself to self-penned songs on this excursion; borrowing an idea from Smokin' O.P.'s, he covers quite a few tunes, providing a balance to his own tunes. He makes "Midnight Rider" sound as if it were a Motor City raver instead of a sultry, late-afternoon Southern rocker, while casually tossing off "Rosalie," an irresistible ode to a local DJ that turned into a hard rock anthem when Thin Lizzy decided to record it later in the decade. That's the brilliance of Back in '72 -- there's no separation between the original and cover, it's all united in a celebration of rock & roll. That's why "Turn the Page," perhaps the weariest travelogue ever written, never feels self-pitying -- that's just the facts, according to a first-rate Midwestern band that never got a break. All the same, Back in '72 is a testament to great rock & roll, thanks to Seger's phenomenal songwriting and impassioned playing".
Source: Allmusic.com

Tracklist: 1. Midnight Rider, 2. So I Wrote You a Song, 3. Stealer, 4. Rosalie, 5. Turn the Page, 6. Back In '72, 7. Neon Sky, 8. I've Been Working, 9. I've Got Time.
Download (34 MB): MegaUpload / Rapidshare

Thursday, November 8, 2007

South Park - Guitar Queer-O (Season 11 Episode 13, 2007)

As both a Guitar Hero and South Park fanatic this latest episode of SP really made my day.
"Obsessed with the Guitar Hero video game, Stan and Kyle make a great team and score record points when they play. Stan realizes he has the potential for enormous success if he plays with another partner. He and Kyle break up but, without his friend, Stan quickly folds under the pressure of being a rockstar".

Download (173 Mb): MegaUpload / Streaming: South Park X

South Park Studios / South Park @ Comedy Central / South Park @ IMDb / South Park @ Wikipedia / South Park X

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

HelloHenry.com

On one of my trips to the fabulous Rollins Archive I stumbled across a link to this weird but enjoyable new Henry Rollins tribute site - HelloHenry.com:
"A web blog dedicated to all the crazy funny things found online relating to Henry Rollins and his fans. Vids, pics, stories, comics, from the down right weird through to the moderately amusing. HelloHenry.com brings you a daily dose of Hank humor for your viewing and listening pleasure".

Hank's official site also has a new feature you don't wanna miss - the highly entertaining Clip of the Month, where Heidi May gives us her best shot at dismantling the aging alternative icon that is Henry Rollins.

Henry Rollins.com / The Henry Rollins Show / Harmony In My Head / Rollins Archive / Henry Rollins @ IMDb / Henry Rollins @ Wikipedia