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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: Black Ice

  • Zac Brown Band Shreds All-Stars – Grammys 2010

    JoBros in the house, and the screams start early.  Need You Now and Lady Antebellum take the stage.  They’re not really country no matter how much music companies want to slot them there.  Brilliant harmonies.

    CBS shills The Big Bang Theory during Best Comedy Album.  Six nominees and Colbert wins for a cute skit that turned into a record.  And for this we’ve given up a Kings of Leon or a jazz or a blues performance?  Or maybe even that, whaddya call it?  Classical.

    Off of commercial, Norah Jones and Ringo Starr.  Remember, Norah’s dad and Ringo go way back.  Bobby Darin gets a Lifetime Achievement Award as Mack The Knife plays.  Ringo pumps up the audience for Norah.

    Beyonce’s Halo, I Gotta Feeling by the Peas, Use Somebody by Kings of Leon, Gaga’s Poker Face and Taylor Swift’s You Belong With Me are the nominees.   Kings of Leon pull off another huge upset.  Peas and Swift were safe here.  Good for the Academy voters.

    Robert Downey, Jr. is introduced as the most self-important actor of his generation which is a joke gone bad or a horrible intro.  He is Sue’s at Movie Rewind’s main dude. Gotta give it to Jamie Foxx who can make an intro.  Autotune at The Grammys is a big no-no in my book especially when we all know Jamie can sing.  Some weirdness when Jamie’s mic seemed to cut in and a different timbre was heard.  I’m just saying…  T-Pain who is never losing AutoTune regardless of venue prances a bit. The whole thing is a bit muddy for stars this talented.

    It’s the big jam as Slash enters with hat and blazing guitar.

    Katy Perry, kind of looking like his daughter, shows up with Alice Cooper.  They give  Florence Greenberg a posthumous  Trustee Award and start naming   Best Rock Album nominees.

    Best Rock (Kid Rock?  Rock of Ages?) whatever that means anymore, goes to Green Day.  That’s a strange choice with Dave Matthews and the album I thought had won, AC/DC’s Black Ice.  Insiders Butch Vig and Chris Lord-Alge get name checked by Billie Joe Armstrong who doesn’t let anyone else talk.  He writes great hooks, but I’m getting bored with Billie Joe again.   This happened after Dookie too.

    Chris O’Donnell shills one of the NCIS shows.  He throws a lifetime award to Harold Bradley.  He then gives way for Zac Brown Band and Leon Russell.  I would say Leon looks great, but between the shades, big white hat and beard, I couldn’t say.

    He sounded great though as did the protracted acapella version of America that opened the segment.  Brilliant, brilliant band.  Harmony.  Lyrics.  America.  Shredding acoustic guitar solo.  These guys will be around on a decade.

  • 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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  • Rock N Roll Train (Thoughts on the New AC/DC Single)

    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.

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