Song Masterpieces

There are rock and metal songs that are catchy. Their simple and repetitive chords and relatively simplistic lyrics make them memorable and rather enjoyable. Everybody knows them, everybody likes them (smoke on the water is an example).  There are songs that make you happy, sad, those you can headbang to, those you can dance to.

Yet there are those rare sings, the masterpieces as I like to call them, that draw out all of your emotions - it's like the combination of music and lyrics personifies into a god-like hand that reaches into your psyche and grabs what's in there and pulls it out and lays it there in front you. "This is your soul, this is you" it says.

You know you've heard that song when you first of all have that familiar body reaction, the goosebumps. But it is more than that. It is a song that you feel in your core, in your spine, in your brain, your every heartbeat. It embraces your being. You may cry, you may smile, you may hold your breath. When it ends you feel exhausted, euphoric, fulfilled, awed. You want to kneel and worship the genius(es) that created it.

It is primal. I'm not going to explain that, I'm sure you can do your own research (e.g. Biological Templates for Musical Experience: From Fear to Pleasure).

I have my own musical/lyrical masterpieces that I want to share here. You may find that some are universal but each one of us have their own personal masterpieces. I'm sure there are more that I left out so I will be updating.

Stargazer by Rainbow: This is the only one I will describe because it is my ultimate song, the one that "touches" me the most. I can listen to it all day every day for a week and still react to it as if I heard it for the first time. This song is me, now you know me. The combination of Dio's voice, Blackmore's guitar, Powell's dumming, and the Munich philharmonic orchestra..... THE MASTERPIECE. Dio and Blackmore I thank you.

Song of Yesterday by Black Country Communion: Highlights include Bonham's drumming and Bonamassa's guitar solo and his overall delivery.

The Times They are A-Changing by Bob Dylan: Highlight is the whole song.

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Metallica: Highlights include Burton's bass.

When the Levee Breaks by Led Zeppelin: Highlights include Bonzo's drumming of course.

Diamond and Rust by Judas Priest: Highlights include Halford's vocals.

Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath: Highlights include the re-birth of the famous diabolus in musica interval.

Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones: Highlights include Merry Clayton's vocals.

Hurt by Johnny Cash: Highlights include the fact that Cash owned it. 

etc.

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Music Documentaries Worth Watching

I'm back! Well, sort of. Some of you may know I've been kept rather occupied by my PhD-nightmare, which is now finally submitted. I'm now waiting to hear about my defense date (i.e. the dreadful day I will be attempting to justify to two experts that what I did is the next big thing in science!). Wish me luck, I will need it!

Anyways, back to the point! Recently I had some time to catch up with Netflix etc (a lot) and watched a few music documentaries. I thought a post about some of my recent favourite/recommended watches would be helpful for those of you not familiar with them already. No intros needed but just a note that I'm not only looking at heavy metal documentaries.

Artifact (Dir. Jared Leto, 2012)
This documentary follows the American rock band of genius, in my opinion, Jared Leto Thirty Seconds to Mars as they fight the dark force (i.e. their music production company) that sued the band for $30 million. Yes, that happens apparently. It also offers a glimpse on how the band came to produce their album, aptly titled, This is War. Featuring appearances from Serj Tankian (System of a Down), Chester Bennington (Linkin Park), and Brandon Boyd (Incubus) among others the film is eye opening to music fans some of whom may think that their valued money go to the band instead of big multi-billion companies.
Takeaway: Save your money, spend it on gigs instead.

20 Feet from Stardom (Dir. Morgan Neville, 2013)

An American documentary that gives voice to back-up singers who are left in the shadows and beyond the spotlight. It highlights how our favourite tracks are "pimped up" by the harmonies of talented women and men. Notable appearances include Mick Jagger (The Rolling Stones), Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Stevie Wonder, and some of the most amazing back-up singers including Darlene Love (The Blossoms) and Merry Clayton (The Rolling Stones, the chilling voice behind gimme shelter).

Takeaway: Once again we are being reminded that sadly a perfect voice isn't the key to fame nor "success". 

Beware of Mr. Baker (Dir. Jay Bulger, 2012)
This is a documentary about legendary drummer Ginger Baker (Cream). It looks back on the career of one of the most important drummers of all time but also his many quirks and loss of fortune and his current reclusive life in South Africa. Featuring interviews from Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lars Ulrich (Metallica), and many more, this documentary is an ode to the trivial, enigmatic Mr. Baker. Must-see not only for keen drummers but every single musicphile out there.
Takeaway: Beware Mr. Baker's punch!

Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey (Dir. Ramona S. Diaz, 2012)
After searching all over for a new lead singer, Journey members take to YouTube to find their next front man. Their prayers were answered with Arnel Pineda, a Filipino singing in cover bands; the band felt that he could fill Steve Perry's shoes. The documentary is a very brief introduction to the new Journey lead singer and his background. A little bit boring at times but you will be captivated by Arnel's personality.
Takeway: Remember the film Rock Star?

Sound City (Dir. Dave Grohl, 2013)

A documentary about the history of recording studio Sound City Studios in Los Angeles. Dave bought several items from the studio when it closed in 2011 and was inspired to make a movie about it. Some very famous albums were recorded at Sound City Studios by Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, Neil Young, Slipknot etc. Some notable appearances include Vinny Appice (Dio, Black Sabbath), Paul McCartney (The Beatles), Neil Young, and Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) but many more share their experiences.
Take-away: There will always be eras greater than the present.

Roswell Films

Mission to Lars (Dir. James Moore & William Spicer, 2013)
This is a chronicle of William and Kate Spicer's mission to make their brother's dream of meeting Lars Ulrich (Metallica) come true. Tom is suffering from Fragile X syndrome, a genetic condition that causes developmental issues. Although I was a bit skeptical about William and Kate's intentions (you can feel they are also doing it for the spotlight), this documentary is informative and heart-warming as the siblings try to reconnect through the mission. Featuring Metallica but most importantly Lars himself, who appears to be more of a nice guy that many of us give him credit for.
Takeaway: Music does bring people together.

These documentaries are some of the most recent ones I watched and enjoyed. You can watch most of these on Netflix (it's worth the small subscription fee trust me), YouTube etc. I will be updating the list in the future with new releases and old favourites. But if you have any recommendations for me, I'd love to hear them.

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The Rolling Stones Un-reviewed

This is a belated report on the recent Rolling Stones gig I attended. Recent being July! I know, I've been really bad in keeping up with the demands of the blog; I do apologise to those very few people that check it very rarely!

Now, as per the legend it is the Stones, a review in the traditional sense is not appropriate now, is it? Still, we, common humans are entitled to an opinion (I hope).

Just to give a bit of a background, I may or may not have posted a really indignant piece on the price tags for the Stones mini-tour last year. Truth is I was broke, didn't have £300 to spare even for the Stones, and quite bitter I could not attend. Being hypocritical as we all are, I did spend money to watch them after all; this time though it was £100ish. Quite reasonable for such a legendary band, right?

This was a festival sponsored by Barclays bank (enter irony [here]) and for those unfamiliar it entails a number of useless opening bands before the good stuff come on stage. In this case the useless bit was infused with brit-pop, alt-"rock" (or whatever they are) bands.

These are bands that:

a) Somehow think that by putting a "The" in front of their name makes them reach the standards of legends like the The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Animals, The Who etc etc. It doesn't.

b) Probably invented the whole worthless hipster sub-culture. I am sorry BUT wearing glasses when you can see perfectly is... well.... kindly put.... messed up!

c) Sound the same. Seriously, copy.... paste.

d) Are more mundane than Steven Seagal's acting. Kidding! Who doesn't like the odd Seagal marathon with 50-year old dad.

Back to the Stones. This was their first gig in Hyde Park after 44 years. I spent about £20ish of my ticket (the part that I guess goes to the above-mentioned bands) going to the toilet, queuing for beer, eating, relaxing, posing for photographs (!) and trying not to listen to background noise! I do have to admit Mr. Gary Clark Jnr., probably the only one worth seeing, was there and also played on stage with the Stones. For the blues fans out there, search for him, he is kind of amazing.

This is what I've been doing while "The" bands played; Unflattering, annoyed, beer-filled poses!

The Rolling Stones...What a show! Not surprisingly, they were (ridiculously) incredible. Charlie played the drums like the veteran that he is and Ronnie was being The Ronnie from all the legendary "The" bands he was part of in the past. Mick sang and danced and played his harmonica like he had the lungs of a 17 year old. Seriously, that energy, those moves! I thought he may dislocate a hip before the end of the gig but how wrong I was; that guy is F-I-T physically and vocally. And Keith, aka Keef, played his skillful blues, wore a green jacket, and kept being as cool as always. He is officially the best ancient "thing" I've seen live in my life. And I've seen lots of ancients like Ozzy, Lemmy, Tyler, Dio* and the lot.

All in all, I feel honoured and very very lucky that I got to see them. I felt like this was my last chance and I managed to do it! Now, considerably poorer from all the summer festivals, I get to take a break from gigs for a while. Ok, perhaps not that long; maybe 'till November when Lemmy comes back.

[*Disclaimer: Dio was and will forever be my top gig-attendance accomplishment. Period.] 

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Stone-Rolling the Money Dough

Yes I am pissed off. Who wouldn't be? But not with the band. Not really.

I am talking of course about the "outrageous" ticket prices for The Rolling Stones gigs. First, let's get things straight. They are The Rolling Stones and, yes, a logical person would have expected the ticket prices to be as high as they are. I mean, come on, did you really think you can watch the Stones for free? Have you heard about a thing called money? You know, the most important thing in the world, the moving force? No? Then take some socio-economical lessons, or simply look around you.

I don't understand how would anyone think the Stones are above money; why would they be? Sure, you paid for their food in the last 50 years [and their Bentley, their villas, their drugs etc] but didn't you get something in return? Records, cassettes, CDs, gig experiences. This is a two-way process, they offer a "service" for your money. It is an exchange; you pay, you get. You did not "make them a favour" as I heard many say. The only favour you make, is to yourself; passing through life with a good taste in music.

Now that I cleared things in that front, I'll move to the angry part. Of course, I am angry. But as I said not with the band or the ticket prices. And here I mean the prices as set by the Stones management and not the re-sell ones. As a logical person would do [and I do not praise myself here], I set a limit on how much I was willing to pay to see them live. I said, given my current circumstances, I'd pay a maximum of £250, the approximate price for a festival ticket. 'Cause lets face it, the Stones are worth 100 bands together. Yet I wouldn't pay significantly more than I paid for the legend that it is Bob Dylan, or Black Sabbath, or even Dio.

BUT! As it happened with the Zeppelin tickets, the posh "disagreeable persons" (that is the kindest version of the word assholes) and the ticket touts got them all. As a fan, I made sure I got access to the pre-sale by hunting down my O2 friends for their "priority" benefits. Priority my ass! It shouldn't surprise me that my "connection is down", or that their "server is down", or that I "have been placed in a queue", or even that my "request is being processed" while all the touts with their tricks, fiber-optic broadband, and hundreds of staff, where already purchasing all the lower priced tickets and re-selling them for 4 times their face value.

Unsurprisingly, same thing happened on the general sale day. And I ask! Why do we, the fans, allow this to happen? These people put a £106 ticket for £19,000!!! Seriously, instead of boycotting the gig, why not boycott these websites? You are part of the problem, so stop complaining about the prices when you would happily pay these websites your money on other occasions. If the price is right [and I mean face value] go for it. But stop being hypocritical... It's all about the money after all, be it selling or buying.

The best solution for me is The Rolling Stones playing a three-day festival-like gig somewhere in a big empty space where 400,000 people could attend each day; not the O2 "arena". Do the maths: nearly a million proper fans [cause the posh disagreeable persons would not go into the muddy fields even for a Stones gig] each paying £100, and the Stones having a cash in of more millions they can ever spend in their remaining years! And that's just in UK. But hey, what do I know, right?

In the meantime, I take control of my rage, wish The Rolling Stones good luck with their gig and with having Paris Hilton and all the other "disagreeables" in the front row (!), and head off to buy my Alice Cooper Halloween tickets for no more than £44 per head!

See you on the next Pirates of the Caribbean Keef!
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Image credits:
http://www.billboard.com
http://noisey.vice.com

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Religion Vs Rock N' Roll

I know, the title couldn't be more kitschy and lame. But here is what the world has come to! I have been avoiding to get into this debate (i.e. the religion, not the Rock N' Roll one) for obvious reasons:

1. I am not religious, at all, so my thoughts and ideas are probably biased (or maybe scientifically researched, educated, and rational);
2. I will defend Rock N' Roll (not intentional Christian Rock, Satanic Rock or whatever useless piece of propaganda out there, just pure Rock N' Roll);
3. I despise ignorance and people who are comfortable with it.

I will probably make more enemies than attract followers with this piece of writing but a person has to do what's honest to them. So here it is then!

I've recently read another piece of "creative writing" (and I am being very kind here) by a certain person, of certain religious beliefs, through a certain propagandic website. I will not disclose any more details as I do not want to advertise them more than I need to.

This piece starts off by describing how the Rock N' Roll scene has shocked parents around the world; from Elvis' hip moves, to The Beatles' haircut (!), The Rolling Stones' vulgar rock, Jefferson Airplane's hippie ways, and last but not least, Heavy Metal's advocation of sexual promiscuity, homosexuality, drug abuse, and Satanism (notice the capital S!).

Then it goes on to defend the Rock music that suits them best, i.e. the one infused with relevant religious elements and in their opinion human sensitivity, poetry, and constructive social criticism and ditch the Rock music that is EVIL.

Evil Wrong Rock music (could be a new sub-genre, don't you think?) according to these people is the music of Sex & Lust (i.e. Mötley Crüe). It goes into a detailed discussion about scenes of sex & lust in specific songs and the androgynous look of Mick Jagger. Then we have Rebellion, a condition promoted by Rock music along with attacks towards society, parents, school, and god....!

Then follows Aggression & Violence, apparently evident on MTV. Here is the argument that mostly got on my nerves (politely put): Heavy Metal music is not intellectual, it's meant to connect to the "most base and low levels of the unconscious mind". There are so many wrongs in that sentence, that as a Psychologist, I'm offended by the lack of interest, understanding, and pretentious use of what they think is deep and science-y enough to impress the readers.

The fourth danger of Rock is Immediate Gratification, enjoying life in the present and avoiding thoughts about the future. Finally, we have Satanism, which as always cannot be excluded from any discussion on Rock music. Here we are presented with examples like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and MTV. The blame for satanism is settled then!

Reading this article evoked many feelings in me: mainly the EVIL ones! I was surprised how people can be so narrow-minded, ignorant, and dishonest all at the same time. I don't wish to attack people personally, that is not my purpose in life. I worry how religious propagandas undermine the intellectual ability of people. Especially when these propagandas come from people who change their religious affiliations like dirty underwear.

Surely a well-educated, wise, and rational person can understand that Rock music cannot be blamed for all social problems. And by well-educated I don't necessarily mean people with University level degrees etc. On the contrary, I mean people with life experiences that teach more than a University doctorate.

People are way smarter than the person who wrote the article thinks (or is). Surely, from a psychological perspective, the teenage years are a very challenging and sensitive period in our lives. But most problems derive from inadequate familial, educational, and societal support and guidance. Music, in the same way as books, movies, and TV, does carry some challenges and thought-provoking views, ideas, even fantastical elements. 

It's the way children are equipped that will determine whether they succumb to stupid ideas such as satanism, gods, and mythological creatures. I wish that people would simply stop blaming general vague umbrella-type terms such as Heavy Metal for all the problems society (another vague umbrella-type term!) faces.

Just to be clear: As I do not believe in a white-bearded, long-haired, sandal and cape-wearing man, sitting on a white cloud and picking his next "miracle" victim, the same way I do not believe in a red-faced, goatee-bearer, goat-like man, with horns, sitting in the deepest parts of earth, stirring an imaginary soup made with humans in a giant cauldron.     

Imagination can help with creativity but sometimes it can get in the way of reality as well.

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Image credits:

http://www.rokpool.com/

http://www.motley.com

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