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Pop Rock Nation

Category: People

all-about-musicians-and-the-people-who-help-them-make-music

  • “Out There!”- “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” by Hanoi Rocks

    When most people think of “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams”, they think of the smash hit from Green Day off the American Idiot album. Not me! When I think of this song title, I think of the rockin’ little ditty from a lesser-known 80’s hair band, Hanoi Rocks. Music fans usually know very little about this hard rock band from Finland except for the fact that their drummer Razzle was killed by Vince Neil of Motley Crue in a terrible automobile accident. The fact that Vince Neil got away with manslaughter was outrageous (read the Crue’s bio The Dirt! for more info), but he also killed the future of Hanoi Rocks. The band was on the cusp of greatness until this unfortunate incident which really affected the band in a major way. Two members of the band left right after the incident and Hanoi Rocks faded away.

    Hanoi Rocks' 1984 album "Two Steps from the Move"
    Hanoi Rocks

    1984 saw the release of their final album, Two Steps From The Move, which features the classic tune, “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams”. Although the song wasn’t officially released as a single, a video was still made and aired briefly on MTV. The song has a fun chorus that immediately sinks into your head. “Take me Baby..(Guitars- NUH NUH NUH NUH) on the Boulevard Of Broken Dreams!” Who knows how big Hanoi Rocks could have been if Razzle hadn’t died, as the hair metal explosion really wouldn’t take full effect until two years later. Perhaps Hanoi Rocks would have been ranked in the Top 5 on one of VH1’s plethora of music lists if not for the tragedy. For my fellow “hair metal” aficonados who may have overlooked this great song, take a ride down the boulevard of broken dreams.

     

  • New Music: Christina Aguilera’s “Keeps Gettin’ Better”

    Christina Aguilera. Photo by John Yale.
    Christina Aguilera. Photo by John Yale.

    It’s been said a million times, but out of the whole influx of teenage girl singers that arrived on the scene, Christina Aguilera was obviously the one blessed with the talent. Her albums haven’t always been easy listens, but there have been some great spots within them. Her work with DJ Premier on 2006’s “Back to Basics” was excellent,and it seemed that those great pipes would work fantastically with hip-hop production.

    Maybe I should cut her some slack because of the whole new mommy thing, but I was a little distressed by what I saw on the VMAs from her last night. Not only did her outfit look like it belonged on the set of Janet Jackson’s lame-ass “Feedback” video, but the song she performed sounded like a Britney castoff with better (OK, much better) vocals…which weren’t live, by the way. I decided to check out the studio version of the song (which will be on Xtina’s upcoming Greatest Hits album…apparently only available at Target and Target.com…way to piss retail off Christina), and…well, it’s not as bad as I thought it was the first time. It’s a bouncy, electro-influenced tune, way different from anything she’s released prior, and fits right in with what’s going on at radio these days. Maybe the not-explosive sales of “Back to Basics” (about 1.6 mil, which is not too shabby) scared Christina and her people enough that they played it safe this time around? Either way, if we’re going to get “commercial and radio friendly”, at least the girl can sing, right?

    I love the chorus…”sometimes I’m a super bitch!!”…at least she gets it, right?

  • New Music: Fall Out Boy’s “I Don’t Care”

    Yet another dirty little secret that might cause you to question my musical taste: I love Fall Out Boy. I think what snared me first was their videos-these guys obviously don’t take themselves too seriously. Pete Wentz is a very likable character, and Patrick Stump can legitimately carry a tune. They’ve sort of transcended the whole “emo” tag and are a damn fine pop/rock group. Can you hum any Panic! at the Disco tunes? Probably not, but you can sing the fuck out of just about every FOB song.

    They’re releasing a new album called “Folie a Deux” in November, and the rumor is that it’s going to be a “political” album.This scares me. A lot. However, the album’s first single, “I Don’t Care”, is so good that it almost allays my fears about the rest of the album. They threw in everything but the kitchen sink here: stabbing synths, a bone-crunching guitar riff (that sounds like some other song that’s right on the tip of my tongue and will frustrate me to no end until I figure out what song it is), and you’ve gotta love any song with the gang-style chanted choruses. Talk about anthemic.

    Check the song out and let us know what you think, while you ponder whether the two guys in Fall Out Boy who aren’t Pete Wentz or Patrick Stump care about the fact that no one knows or cares who the hell they are.