With all the buzz about new music on the horizon, how could we forget to mention the long awaited new single from AC/DC of which I have been craving since 2000 for? You’ll get a full review of the Black Ice album once October 28th rolls around and I’m forced to hit Wal-Mart to get it. Yet, I figured I’d write a quick blurp about the new track that just hit rock and roll radio. The song’s title is Rock & Roll Train and was worth the wait. It’s solid, and has that classic AC/DC sound that was missing on their last two albums (1996’s Ballbreaker & 2000’s Stiff Upper Lip) By classic, I don’t specifically mean that 70’s classic Bon Scott sound, but definitely the classic Brian Johnson sound from the early 80’s. It sounds like something from the Fly On The Wall album, and I’m surprised with all of the buzz over AC/DC, pop radio hasn’t decided to give it a chance to succeed.
Category: People
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Dearest Miss Aguilera: Hypocrisy Much?
From Blender Magazine’s December 2003 issue:
“The VMAs were so…so vanilla. So safe, so predictable, no edge. Apart from Madonna, Mary J. Blige and myself, I cannot think of another female performer who had her mic switched on. That is very disappointing to me…”
“I’d much rather just wash my hands of the whole nonsense, actually. These people aren’t artists, they’re just performers-fake and superficial, like the entire event. I’m very disappointed with MTV…”
Fast-forward five years. Ohhh how things have changed.
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“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 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.
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