Throwback #1. Ragin' in the name of..

A couple of things... 

1. I missed the boat on Rage Against The Machine back in the 90's. I was busy...

2. "Killing in the Name" is 22 years old.

I am a huge fan of this band today. It all feels very fresh to me now. Killing in the Name is the perfect song on some level.

Is it because of its virtuosity? No, it's pretty basic. Because of its musical originality? No, jumping octaves is nothing new. Because of its political statement? Not really anything new there either.

The sum is greater than the parts. It's definitely not everyone's cup of tea either.

As a metalhead, RATM didn't seem like a metal band to me, however, they pre-dated the New Metal scene, and spoke to a generation of kids bored out of their minds with Grunge. I kinda feel like they had more in common with Punk than Metal or Rap, and the proof is in the pudding. I don't believe you will ever see any RATM music playing over a Taco Commercial (see blog on Ramones http://nerdyrocksnob.blogspot.com/2015/04/blitzkrieg-bop-with-sour-cream.html ).

Time has treated the band kindly. They could be as relevant today if they wanted to, but they don't. That's pretty respectable. The music holds up also (for me anyway). I secretly want to be that kid with his middle finger in the air screaming "fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!" If I had a time machine, I wouldn't change anything.... But still, I should have invested in this band back then.

These guys lean to the left, and that's ok. I stay independent because that's where my heart and head is. I can separate art from politics. I like Billy Brag, and he is a straight up socialist, so there is plenty of room for a leftist band on my phone. I don't have to agree with any of it. God Bless America.

Their statements were rudimentary and repetitive, but not all lyrical art is Springsteen. 

So why now do I talk about them? It is a throwback time of year for me, that's why. I do this shit all the time. I find a band that was before my time and dig in. I've done it quite a bit. Problem is that now that I am a little older, the stuff I used to dig into now feels like golden oldies. Stones, Who, Credance, James Gang, Blue Cheer, Cream and the like is so played out and dated that it becomes a little stale to revisit with any regularity.

So naturally I'm rediscovering music I missed from the 90's and beyond these days. I stay relevant in today as well, but as a nostalgic kind of guy, I'll always have some roots in History.  

That's how I am, and I won't do what you tell me.

For anyone interested, Tim Commorford's new band, Future User, has a video that features the water boarding of John McEnroe. Can't make this shit up.

http://youtu.be/AycZ_9goeS4

Have a great weekend.

Nago

 

Who in the actual F*** is Jonny Solinger?

Ok kids, I am getting on a soapbox about this for a minute. 

The metal boards are all abuzz about Skid Row firing Jonny Solinger as their lead singer. Jonny who? 

They hired the guy from TNT to replace him. Who?

Ok, I know who TNT is (I am a metalhead afterall), and I guess the new guy will bring something...........

Rachel and Snake, give fans what they want. You know exactly what I am talking about. Take the money, tour the big venues, quit being clowns.

I challenge anyone to name one Skid Row song without Sebastian Bach. One step further, name one Sebastian Bach song without Skid Row.

All of them need their heads examined. There is Motley Crüe money sitting on the table waiting for them. They would create a buzz so loud that they might actually be relevant again. 

I saw Skid Row open for Aerosmith. They blew a young Nago away. It was right around the time 18 and Life hit the radio. They were better than the hair bands of the day, heavier than the hair bands of the day, and Rachel had a nose ring.

I saw Skid Row again on the Kiss farewell tour in 2000. It was probably Jonny Solinger singing. Who knows? More importantly, who cares?

There are so many egos in that camp that Axl Rose is like "dude, those guys are fucked up."

Next year is the 25th anniversary of Slave to the Grind. How about a reunion tour? One tour? Hire Doc McGee, Ross Halfin and get a kick ass tour bus. Even Kiss did that much for the fans. 

I could go on all night, but I'll just shake my head and move on with life.

 Nago

Blitzkrieg Bop with sour cream?

I am a Ramones fan. I've talked about it before, but tonight I have an extra special reason to talk about them. They are now selling tacos...

Blitzkrieg Bob in a Taco Bell commercial? That's right... This is a few years after the same song appeared in a Nissan commercial.

Normally, I have no issue with artists selling their music to make money. The Biz today is much different than previous years. Artists have to go to extreme measures to generate income.

However, I have 2 very obvious problems with the Ramones selling out to Taco Bell.

1. All of the original Ramones are dead.

2. Punk rock was supposed to stand for something.

The spirit of Punk pointed a middle finger at the establishment and created art for the misfits of society. To quote the Refused: "new art for the real people."

Radio was bogged down with dinosaur rock and disco. Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles, albeit great music, was lost on a generation of kids trying to make sense of the world handed down to them. The ass end of the Baby Boom was tired of the formulas laid out for them by the previous generation. 

Punk was pure. 

People site bands like Iggy and the Stooges, MC5 and New York Dolls as the spark that ignited the scene, but the Ramones are the Black Sabbath of Punk and the godfathers of the movement. The band that inspired other New York bands like Talking Heads, Patti Smith and Blondie, as well as across the pond with Sex Pistols, The Clash and Generation X.

Ramones lived punk until the day they all died. Joey, Jonny, Dee Dee, and Tommy changed everything and burned themselves into the underground of American culture. 

Dee Dee Ramone was a main songwriter for a while. His contributions to punk rock puts him at a status above other influential Punkers. He was crazy, he was a drug addict, he even tried his hand at Hip Hop, but the thing he did best was counting off 1,2,3,4, and writing some of the most iconic, simple and catchiest songs ever put to vinyl.

I will always think of the original Ramones as a perfect storm. 4 awkward guys that decided to take over the world, and actually believed that they could. They were odd, not well trained, but magical and very musical in their own way. DIY never got much better.

So now they sell Tacos? How in the fuck did that happen? They are all dead, so they don't need the money, and that means some greed is in play. To see that makes me ill. The only thing I can even imagine being worse would be Lennon's "Working Class Hero" in a Walmart commercial.

The Clash sold out London Calling a long time ago, yeah I know. That bothered me too. Again, it's only because the spirit of what it all stood for is diminished by shit like this. What did it all mean? 

That's the way of things when greed gets involved. Someone is cashing in. Shame on them. I don't eat Taco Bell, so I can't even boycott.

Sheena is A Punk Rocker, the KKK Took My Baby Away, and Carbona not Glue are probably my favorite Ramones songs, but everything pre 1986 is golden to me. Whenever Ramones comes up randomly on a playlist or the radio, I get sucked in and everything else gets tuned out.

The Taco Bell commercial did not have that effect on me.

Gabba Gabba Hey

Nago