On Repeat

Do you ever listen to the same song on repeat over and over? Recently, I've been listening to Tesla's "Modern Day Cowboy" several times in a row. Man, talk about a great song. I think "Modern Day Cowboy" is Tesla's greatest track. I can't get enough of the line "The USA - the USSR, with their six-guns at their side." I love that part!

Watch the video and hit repeat right along with me!

Hollywood Rocks

I love the Hollywood Rocks (Cleopatra Records) box set! It usually takes quite awhile to get through box sets, and this one is no different. Many of the bands are obscure Sunset Strips acts, so that meant discovering new bands. So far, disc one remains my favorite but I've found gems on the other three discs as well.

I won't put the entire track listing here because it is massive, but I want you to know I *love* "Time Warp" by Plain Jane, "Whatever Happened to Fun" by Candy,  "Hold On" by Rough Cutt, "Doghouse" by Sea Hags and many more.

All told, there are something like 78 songs in the box set. Sure there are some tracks you probably already own from artists like LA Guns, Poison and Pretty Boy Floyd - but the rarities are what make this collection so much fun.

The intro to Candy's song "Whatever Happened to Fun" is straight from radio! Two girls calling in to request their favorite song of the moment. The DJ asks the girls if Candy has a hit and they answer "yes" without wavering. 

Some bands I've dug for a long time are featured on Hollywood Rocks, such as Angora and Spiders and Snakes. Having so many great Glam bands together in one compilation is very exciting - and an easy way to sample tracks.

The box set also comes with a decent book. The best parts are the "then" and "now" photos. I love that sort of thing! There's also a pin and backstage laminate. As you can imagine, both are basically worthless. 

A note about sound: I typically *love remastered albums, but some of the tracks on Hollywood Rocks are...grainy. I actually prefer the diminished sound in this instance, as it adds some charm to the tracks. The first time I listened to the entire box set, I felt like I was on an archaeological dig. You don't get that very often when it comes to a favorite type of music. 

You can purchase Hollywood Rocks through Amazon.com

Up and Down Sunset

Do bands still make cool flyers to promote shows like back in the day? I don't mean the odd poster printed by a label to promote a big-scale tour. I mean those small, handmade flyers that were once the calling card of Glam bands.

Man, seeing old flyers is like a blast from the past. I was never old enough to truly enjoy Glam in its heyday (and by truly "enjoy" I mean walk up and down the Sunset Strip with a mane of teased hair wearing some fishnets). Anyway, when I see a homemade poster by a band I instantly think of 80s Glam. Back then bands had to be smart to play. They were hungry, and I don't just mean for fame. They were literally broke and starving! Those copied posters helped bring fans into the doors - and pay for beer, er - dinner.

I always thought it would be cool to have a bunch of framed vintage Sunset Strip flyers displayed as art. I know there are people out there that had the piece of mind to grab Motley Crue and Poison flyers from way back before either band was famous. Talk about a great collector's item. I'd guess they would be worth even more if the staple holes were visible. After all, most bands just stapled hundreds of flyers to telephone poles up and down Sunset.

Maybe the reason we don't see as many homemade flyers these days is because 1) they are no longer cheap and 2) there are probably rules against tacking items to telephone poles. I'm pretty sure that in Ohio, you can't just post stuff up willy nilly anymore. After all, there are laws against just about everything these days.

Are you lucky enough to have any classic Sunset Strip flyers?

Buy Lynam's New CD...Now!

You can buy Lynam's new album, Tragic City Symphony now. If you visit the band's official Myspace, you can click the CD art to their merchandise store. 

Tragic City Symphony is due out August 26...so in just a few days! August 26 is my husband's 30th birthday and I just purchased a copy of the CD for him as one of his gifts. It doesn't matter that I spilled the beans here - he knew he was getting this disc one way or another.

If the promoters of Rock the Bayou were smart, they would add Lynam to the bill - and not necessarily as a side stage act. I feel like I keep repeating myself and no one is listening. People - buy Lynam's music.  After all, Lynam owns you.

Photo credit: Lynam via Myspace.

To Sleep...Perchance to Dream

Do you ever listen to music to help you sleep?

By the time I actually get to put my head against the cool side of a pillow, I'm pretty much out. It's a very rare occasion that I have sleeping troubles and for that I am thankful. Still, I sometimes find it is soothing to lull myself to sleep with some music. On days that I am upset, there are particular songs that I enjoy. If I'm feeling really morose the Heroin Diaries soundtrack usually does the trick. Otherwise, I like to mix it up.

My choices for a perfect slumber:

The Last Mile - Cinderella
Love Song - Tesla
Amanda - Boston
Trampled Rose - Alison Krauss and Robert Plant
Restless - Alison Krauss and Union Station
Forever and Always - Bullet for My Valentine
I Won't See You Tonight (Part 1 and 2) - Avenged Sevenfold

Then... if I still can't sleep...I move straight to Tori Amos.

When I was younger I slept with music a lot. Sometimes the music would meld right into REM sleep and eventually dreams. I suppose listening to Aerosmith while sleeping when I was a kid made for some rocking dreams that I can't remember. I only know that I seemed more calm after listening to favorite songs while sleeping. I'm sure some doctor has researched the effects of music on the sleeping brain.  I'd be interested in reading such research.

Do you sleep with music? If so, are you like me and try to select songs that will make your heartbeat a little slower?

You Just Have to Be There

Friday night, DeepRockDrive presented an Internet stream of Motley Crue performing live in Las Vegas. The show was at the Mandalay Bay Events Center and one of the only indoor stops on the Crue Fest 2008 tour. Like many Motley fans, I watched the show - even though it didn't end until 3 a.m. in my part of the world and I had a bass lesson just a handful of hours later.

Let me preface this by saying I'll be seeing Crue Fest on August 19 from the fourth row and I am very excited. I have a lot of anticipation for the show, even though I wish the set list was a little longer.

Watching the concert on the Internet didn't do much for me. In fact, I thought Motley Crue sounded pretty bad - but Mick Mars was the true highlight. Of course, the Internet feed didn't provide any energy of actually being part of the audience and you couldn't hear the crowd because the audio was coming straight from the sound board. Also, the camera angles left a lot to be desired.  The set:

Kickstart My Heart
Wild Side
Shout at the Devil
Saints of Los Angeles
Live Wire
Sick Love Song
Mutherfucker Of The Year
Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
Same 'Ol Situation
Primal Scream
Looks That Kill
Girls, Girls, Girls
Dr. Feelgood
Home Sweet Home

Vince skipped a lot of words Friday night. That part of the show made me a little sad, but maybe Motley was just having an off night. I was talking to people from around the world while the concert was happening. We all seemed to agree the crowd looked dead. Apparently, the crowd was actually at (or near) capacity and really excited for Vince, Nikki, Mick and Tommy. Every crowd pan showed otherwise, but I'll be inclined to believe the people who paid to see the show.

I don't think the DeepRockDrive show did Motley Crue justice. This isn't to say the band wasn't shaky - because they were for a lot of the performance. Still, there's a certain energy that happens during a concert that is impossible to replicate. I own lots of concert DVDs. I enjoy quite a lot of them - but just owning such DVDs would never take the place of me buying a seat to a live show.

I think it is cool that the Internet allows bands to reach fans all over the world. I'm sure a lot of people watched online Friday night and were excited to see a free show. Brilliant marketing - but not the same as being there.

Concerts are a snapshot in time. Some shows are bad. Some are good. Some are truly life changing. I just don't think a DVD, Internet stream of television broadcast can replace the emotion of seeing a beloved band from the first (or last) row.

Thoughts?

Saturday Scattergories

Last night, Heather forwarded me one of those email games where you use your name to answer a bunch of questions. At first I immediately dismissed the message (sorry Heather!) and then had a second thought: what if the game turned Glam?

Here are my modified rules:

*Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following:
Band, song title, album title, musician. Yes, you have to use the first initial of your name (either your real name of that which you post under).

What is your name? Allyson
Glam band?            Alleycat Scratch
Song title?               Anytime (Mcauley Schenker Group)
Album title?            After the Rain
Musician name?      Alice Cooper

This looks easy, until you sit down to actually think about it for a few minutes. The goal here is to name as many bands, song and album titles and musicians as possible. Of course, the next "A" person can't pick any of my choices. Hopefully, we'll create a nice chain of Glam. At least it's a game to occupy five minutes of your lazy summer Saturday.