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  • Mikey’s Ultimate Album Review- “Black Ice” by AC/DC

    Black Ice cover

    As I get older, a lot of things I used to enjoy simply don’t mean much to me anymore.  Things like baseball cards, professional wrestling, and going to the movies are just three examples that just don’t measure up like they used to.  But there is still one event that always brings me a smile to my face when it occasionally happens. That special occasion is when the new album of the band you love hits the the market.  And it’s so much more special when you hold the album in your hands because the band has made you wait eight long years for it.  Finally, on October 20th of 2008, AC/DC released their long awaited new album, Black Ice.  I’m still shaking with excitement as I write this article while listening to some new rocking tunes from the greatest hard rock band of all time.  With AC/DC, you know what you are getting.  They aren’t going to surprise you with a concept album, a political album about their thoughts on George Bush and the war, or a surprise collaboration with Bono.  The only thing you have to be concerned with is how many of the songs will include legendary melodies that will compares to classics like Highway To Hell, Whole Lotta Rosie, and Back In Black.  Even though there will be a lot of filler material, you are still going to get your dozen or so rock and roll themes.  The album was released exclusively at Wal-Mart, which means you ain’t getting it on Amazon, itunes, Best Buy, or your local indie record shop (well, unless they are willing to buy and sell at a loss!).  Although I hate giving Wal-Mart my hard-earned money, in a case like this, do I really have a choice?  I was at Wal-Mart at 8:00 this morning right before work ready to get my hands on the new album and experience that feeling which other passionate music fans know all about.    So you probably want to know what I think about the record, huh?

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  • The New Music Files 10/21/08: Featuring AC/DC, Kenny Chesney, HSM3 and More!!

    I figured it was time to change the title of the column into something a little less…you know, boring. Anyhow, here’s what you should be expecting to see on store shelves and in your trusty little iTunes browser this week:

    AC/DC: Black Ice:

    Those rascally Aussies have pretty much made the exact same album for thirty + years now, but damn if people don’t go out and buy tons of it each time. Black Ice is their first album of new material in almost a decade, and it’s receiving a little extra notice not only because they’re crisscrossing the globe in support of it, but because, much like The Eagles album from last year, this album is being released exclusively at Wal-Mart and walmart.com (actually, the album went on sale yesterday, but who’s counting). If you’re anywhere near rock radio or VH-1, I’m sure you’ve already heard the first single “Rock & Roll Train”.

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  • Infatueighties: #77: “Break 4 Love” by Raze

    House music began at some point in the mid-Eighties in Chicago. The bridge between disco and techno (with a little hip-hop thrown in), the genre reached widespread fame in the early Nineties via acts like C&C Music Factory, Technotronic and Madonna-one of the first mainstream proponents of the genre.

    That said, the genre’s best songs are the earliest, more underground songs, the ones that were made before house began floating with pop. Along with Marshall Jefferson’s “Jack Your Body (House Music Anthem)” and The Jungle Brothers’ “I’ll House You”, Raze’s “Break 4 Love” is one of the earliest examples of house music at its’ finest.

    Along with making you wanna dance, this song oozes pure sex, something I noticed even when I first heard this song at age 11. Of course, then, the pounding beats, the smooth male voice and the alarmingly pornographic moaning elicited giggles. Now? A whole different story. Those of you who thoughtfully consider your sex (or are world class pervs like yours truly) are well aware of what I mean.

    Raze was the brainchild of producer/musician Vaughn Mason, of “Bounce, Roll, Skate, Rock” fame. He is also the guy that appears in the video, although if you are to believe the comments in this YouTube clip, the actual vocalist goes by the name of Keith Thompson and had nothing to do with the video (and this is yet another song for which I had no clue a video actually existed). Who did the moaning? Who knows? Who cares?

    This was one of those regional hits…people went crazy for this in New York, but I had no idea anyone outside of the tri-state area (and maybe Chicago) had any idea what this song was until I found it on the “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” soundtrack a few years back. As far as I know, that’s the only way you can get this song. But it’s worth it.