Sunday's Best: Week 5, 2022

Yesterday's post about Eddie Vedder vs. Nikki Sixx got me thinking about all the awesome albums that came out in 1991. Yes, Pearl Jam's Ten came out in 1991 and as I said, I did enjoy it. Still, there were way more albums released in 1991 that I loved more - and still do! - to this day.

Sunday's Best this week looks at some of the awesome albums released in 1991. Did I leave off one of your favorites? There were gobs more great albums that came out in 1991. A truly great year for music.

Skid Row - Slave To The Grind.

Metallica - Metallica

Tesla - Psychotic Supper

Ozzy Osbourne - No More Tears

Kix - Hotwire

Guns n' Roses - Use Your Illusion

Van Halen - For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

Sunday's Best: Week 3, 2022

Welcome back to Sunday's Best! I swear, January is like the month of Mondays or something. It just feels never-ending. Cold, dark, boring... at least we've got some good playoff football as a distraction. Did you hear? A little team called the Cincinnati Bengals are going to the AFC championship game next week. That's right - the team won their first road playoff game in franchise history last night. Obviously, I'm pumped!

WE'RE GOING TO THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME! pic.twitter.com/gXde7z27DP

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) January 23, 2022

But back to the music. Way back in the dark ages of 2009, both Jeff Beck and Metallica were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Toward the end of the induction ceremony, there was a big jam session featuring Beck, Metallica, plus Joe Perry (Aerosmith), Ronnie Wood (Rolling Stones), Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin). This group of wealth and talent got together to do "Train Kept A Rollin.'" Most people know the song because of Aerosmith, but the track was originally recorded in the early 50s and covered by The Yardbirds in the sixties. The performance below is magic: simply one of the best gatherings of music legends on a single stage at the same time. Enjoy.

We're All Getting Old...

It's been 30 years since the Recording Academy screwed up and gave the best hard rock/metal Grammy to Jethro Tull instead of Metallica. Jethro Tull won for their album Crest of a Knave.

I've never been a Jethro Tull fan. I just don't get them. I went to high school with a guy who was an absolutely rabid Tull fan. His dad was a fan and he passed that love on down I suppose. I remember going to school after the bizarre Grammy win and Aaron being so pumped. We were so incredibly young back then, but I was already obsessed with music and so were a lot of my friends. I'm talking like 4th grade here. We would watch MTV after school and loved all the Glam bands we still talk about here today.

On this day in 1989, the very unheavy Jethro Tull win the first Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, beating out Metallica. pic.twitter.com/M4HODTRBnV

— Monsters Of Rock® (@MonstersOfRock) January 22, 2022

This Show Excites Me - But I Won't Be Going

It's been awhile since a special package tour or one-off show has really excited me. Metallica, Ice Nine Kills and Greta Van Fleet playing together in Las Vegas definitely caught my attention. The show will be at Allegiant Stadium on Friday, February 25. Unfortunately the tickets are bonkers expensive. I'm talking the bottom level tickets are like $325 each, plus fees. There are no regular Ticketmaster seats left, just "verified resale" which means crazy high prices. Add in the cost of travel plus trying to avoid the current COVID surge (who knows how long it's going to last at this point), I won't be seeing this dream show live. If you are going, know I am so jealous and I demand a full rundown of the event.

Beyond honored to be opening for @Metallica on February 25th at @AllegiantStadm with @GretaVanFleet. We’ll see you Psychos in Vegas.. Tickets available at https://t.co/mvIRSRzIoy pic.twitter.com/swr4wYcv3w

— ICE NINE KILLS (@ICENINEKILLS) January 19, 2022

Sunday's Best: Week 1, 2022

Welcome to Sunday's Best, where we talk about the best of... something! There will be a new topic or list each week. This week, the best commercials featuring hair metal and rock bands!

Metallica - AOL - 2003

Geico - featuring RATT - 2020

Warrant - Rockline - late 80s probably

Aerosmith - The Gap - 1999

Alice Cooper - Marriott - 2002

KISS and Little Kiss - Dr. Pepper - 2010

... and the best memory of them all... when CDs and cassettes were advertised on television! Monster Ballads Hit Collection. - Circa 1999

Metallica Announce 40th Anniversary Free Concert Stream

TIGF - it's been a really long week.

I'm on a Metallica kick right now. I've been listening to them more than normal and really enjoying their songs all over again. Imagine my pleasure when I see the big announcement of a free streamed concert on Amazon Prime - and you don't have to be a subscriber to watch. 

Here's the release about the free concert:

It’s almost here… our 40th anniversary celebration is right around the corner! We’re looking forward to hitting the stage in San Francisco at Chase Center with so many of our friends visiting from around the globe those two nights next week. While we wish each and every one of you could join us, we know you can’t all be in the house. So we’re incredibly excited to announce that our friends at Amazon will be streaming both shows live, as they happen, worldwide and for free!

Kicking off our partnership with The Coda Collection, the exclusive free, global live streams on December 17 and 19 will start at 9 PM PST / 12 AM EST / 6 AM CET / 2 PM JST. No matter where you are those nights – or depending on your timezone, the following day – you’ll be able to watch live from home or on mobile via Amazon Music, Amazon Music’s Twitch channel, and Prime Video (with or without Prime on-demand viewing Membership). The shows will then be made available exclusively at The Coda Collection/Prime Video Channel for subsequent viewing in 2022.

In between shows during the weekend, you can continue your virtual 40th anniversary experience with the “SF Takeover Film Fest,” including Cunning Stunts and Orgullo, Pasión, y Gloria: Tres Noches en la Ciudad de México at the Coda Collection/Prime Video Channel. The 40th anniversary live stream and films are just the beginning as The Coda Collection will include a full slate of concert films, documentaries, and other nuggets, all airing on the channel exclusively throughout 2022. We’ll be joining an impressive array of artists, including the Foo Fighters, Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead, and many more featured on the streaming service.

Get information on Metallica 40th Anniversary LIVE and sign up for a tune-in reminder on our official Coda Collection page. And if you’ll be in San Francisco, view the complete list of in-person Metallica San Francisco Takeover activities. If you can’t make it to the Bay Area, watch the live shows Amazon Music or Amazon Prime Video.

Is The Metallica MasterClass Worth It?

MasterClass is an online subscription service that offers classes from top performers in about any field you can imagine. Now Metallica has a class that teaches us regular mortals "how to be a band." I didn't know this class existed until I heard an ad for it on satellite radio today during my coffee run. I was like "Whoa, that's cool" and made a mental note to check it out when I had some time today.

The trailer definitely looks interesting. I don't know if I would get anything out of the course because I am not in a band, but I suppose watching the videos would still be entertaining. I think MasterClass is $15 a month. I really don't need - or want - another monthly subscription charge, but I would be curious if anyone has done this course and their thoughts on the value.