Welching out on a legacy.

I promise I will not spend the rest of my blogging days bitching about the house that rock built, but I read something pretty disturbing today that made me quite mad.

Bob Welch is not in the rock and roll hall of fame.

Before you say "who?", "so what", or something else dismissive, know this: It may be the single biggest travesty in the history of that dipped in shit and steamrolled institution, maybe even bigger than dissin' Kiss.

Bob Welch carried Fleetwood Mac through 4 years of changing times, aka "The Bridge Period". This is the time after Peter Green and before Lindsey/Stevie, or 1970 - 1975. He maintained the brand to the best of his ability despite the ego's that made up the 'Mac, and in a way, dude kind of rocked.

Right now I am listening to the 'Mac's Bare Trees album, thinking about how killer it is, and being dumbfounded by this snub...

Fleetwood Mac was inducted in 1998.

Mac Members in the Hall?

• Peter Green - Duh... He is the shit of the shit.
• Jeremy Spencer - Ok... He was there with Pete. I give him that.
• Danny Kirwan - Yes... Hell yes. Albatross is bitchin, he was a great second fiddle to Peter.
• Mick Fleetwood - One of the most underrated rock drummers ever.
• John McVie - Bass line in "the Chain" enough justification for you?
• Christine McVie - She made lovin fun, didn't she?
• Stevie Nicks - I believe It could have worked had we had a chance...her loss I guess.
• Lindsey Buckingham - So amazing. I love his playing.

Criteria to be nominated for the R&RHOF? You must have played on a major label studio LP. Bob should be in on that fact alone. In fact, he played on 5 Fleetwood Mac albums. Consider this also: his last official FM record, Heros are Hard to Find, broke US top 40 Billboard Charts.

 Copied from Wiki:

Date	Album	US	UK	Additional information
September 3, 1971	Future Games	91	–	Debut album with Fleetwood Mac
March 1972	Bare Trees	70	–	Features the original recording of "Sentimental Lady"
March 1973	Penguin	49	–	–
October 15, 1973	Mystery to Me	68	–	Features "Hypnotized", written by Welch
September 13, 1974	Heroes Are Hard to Find	34	–	Welch quit Fleetwood Mac after this album
November 24, 1992	25 Years – The Chain	34	–	Compilation

He ran the band with Mick. He moved them to California. His Fleetwood LP's sold over 2 Million copies. He was also a platinum selling solo artist in the late '70's, and just for good measure, he fronted the criminally unknown band PARIS (which rocks my face off and just plain rules).

Bob's legacy is recorded, yet not carved in stone. I love/hate you hall of fame, but today I just hate you. They say it was his California style that got him the snub or possibly the lawsuit he had against his former band, who knows? Everybody sues eveybody in the music biz, right? Big deal. It is no reason to leave him out of the history books.

Sadly, Bob Welch committed suicide last year. He was struggling with chronic pain resulting from spinal surgery, and did not want to be a burden to his wife of 27 years. Rest in peace my brother.

They need to induct him posthumously. No fanfare is necessary, just his name on the wall alongside Peter Green's. It's the right thing to do.

 

Others not included in the hall despite there contributions to inducted artists:

Mark Evans
Bass; AC/DC; 1975 to 1977

• TNT
• High Voltage
• Dirty Deeds
• Let there be Rock
• '74 Jailbreak

What a bunch of dicks.... This guy should be in.


Dave Navarro
Guitar; Red Hot Chili Peppers; 1993 to 1998

• One Hot Minute
• Various Soundtracks

I am no Navarro fan outside of Jane's Addiction, but he was another bridge guy that got the shaft by the hall. That record sold 8 million copies.


Dave Mustaine
Guitar; Metallica; 1982 - 1983

• No Life 'Till Leather (demo)

Ok... I know... It was a demo, not a studio LP. I get it. I could go on about how he wrote material that appeared on the first two LP's. I could say that Dave was Metallica early on. Dave believes that one day his other band, Megadeth will get in. I am not convinced of that, but he is a legend that should be preserved, with Metallica. 'Nuff said.

There's more I am sure. Like the dude that replaced Joe in Aerosmith for an album, the Firm drummer that was in ACDC for 2 studio albums and a live LP, Mike Watt for being the man in the van with the bass in his hand (and a member of the Stooges), Richie Ramone and so on. These guys deserve better.




Should I tell you about my life? They say I'm a nerd of the world.

A.D.H.D. and the Beatles: Part 2

Earliest coagulated memory of the Beatles for me? I almost hate to admit this, but although I had heard their music since the womb (my mother is an admitted Mop Top fan),  I can honestly say that Mork and Mindy had something to do with it.

That's right, Robin Williams and that Pam Dawber creep into my Beatles Fanboy memory...in the form of a montage. Yup, I can say with 80% confidence that there was a montage of Mork and Mindy done to the tune of "Yesterday" somewhere in the shows history. I was 6 to 8 years old when I saw it, but I knew it was the Beatles (through osmosis I guess).

I looked on YouTube and could not find the clip, which bums me out, but not enough to stop this blog. Enjoy the following anyway:

My second (and more palatable) encounter with Beatles fandom? I was barely 11 years old when I bought a compilation tape from Millcreek Mall McCory's bargain bin called "Beatles Hits Volume 2"(or some shit like that). I was with a foster family at the time, and my foster parents giggled at me for actually being interested in the Beatles. To be fair, I remember being infatuated by the fact that Paul McCartney wrote the song Helter Skelter, as I was a freshly minted Motley Crue poser at that time.

The cassette blew me away... Back in the USSR was the bomb for me back then. Unfortunately, I was also into Dokken, so take that for what it is worth... (and F-U 'cause Tooth and Nail owns, and George Lynch is a beast).

I bring all of this up because I am feeling especially connected to George Harrison today. Hare Krishna bitches....

I should be sleeping, but instead I am thinking about you....stupid Beatles.





Whatever happened to, the nerd that we once knew? Can we really live without each other?

Morrison's Hotel is dumpy, but do stop for a drink.

Sorry if the title offends. VH1 Classic is doing some Doors thing today in honor of Jim's Birthday, and I am too much of a nerd to not weigh in. I am not now, nor have I ever been, a very big Doors fan. I share the opinion that the best thing that happened to them was Jim dieing before his time, making himself a martyr and the rest of the Doors rich (with all due respect to the dead, of course).

I take issue with Jim's psycho babble "poetry". I mean, Street Pizza?, c'mon people.

Jim was stoned. I bet you came up with some far out shit when you were high too. The crystal ship...man...think about it bro....far out.

As far as Jim's legendary status goes, I get it. It's a good story. But I am older now, and I realize that a drunken stoned idiot, regardless of his stardom, is still a drunken stoned idiot. Be that as it may we still idolize stars like Jim, and when they slip up, we crush them with gossip columns and TV coverage, then we move on to the next clown.

Can you imagine Jim Morrison with a Twitter account?

Don't get me wrong, The Doors were a popular band and deservedly so. I don't think they were a fluke. My biggest problem with the Doors is the over saturation of that damn organ and the drawn out songs. I want to shoot the unknown soldier myself by the time that song is all over. It is just awful.

HOWEVER: When that band put down the pipe, picked up some beer and upped the tempo, they were awesome.

Peace Frog: This song shows the Doors rocking. Over the years it has grown some teeth with the dreaded "rock radio" programmers club, but rightfully so. It rocks.

Roadhouse Blues: I have a soft spot for this tune due to a resurgence of it's popularity when I was a teenager. That said it is a shining example of how good the Doors really were.

LA Woman: If any song is worth the hype, it's LA Woman. Like it or not, it is great vinyl for it's time.

If a Doors LP would would find it's way into my collection, it would probably be LA Woman. Riders on the Storm (side 2, track 5) is worth the purchase all by itself, even if it is over my head lyrically.

One final note: The Doors are an aquired taste, and with any aquired taste, you have to pick and choose what you like about it. Door's fans (past, present and future) who buy completely in? I say good for you for being left of the dial. I would not want a world without variety. Just be safe with your intake.






When the music's over, nerd out the lights...

Cover the world in Green.

Peter Green was the creme de la creme of British Blues-Rock guitarists from the 1960's "Guitar God" era. BB King and Eric Clapton both hold him in high regard. Countless others have sung his praises over the years, and yet countless more have no idea who the hell he is, even if they unwittingly know his material.

Peter's art is something special to me though. When I was in my mid 20's, his music spoke to me from a dark place spiritually. His best material bleeds with a heaviness that tears at my soul to this day. He was coming from a different perspective than his contemporaries of that era. Very few really executed dark and heavy material as well as Peter did in the late 60's.

When I first discovered Peter, it was the late '90's and thirty years after Peter introduced his blues band to the world. I admit, I never would have known his genius were it not for a Fleetwood Mac box set ordered through Columbia House, but when I saw that Peter was the sole writer of Black Magic Woman, it sparked my interest enough to give the early years a listen.

Before I dissect his material, there is something I should mention for those not in the know: In 1967, Peter Green founded Fleetwood Mac, a little band that broke every LP sales record known in 1977. It's drummer Mic Fleetwood and bassist John McVie were the only mainstay members from Peter's original group, but the iconic band of the '70's rise to international fame is another story entirely. Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac had some impact in the UK in the late '60s (his star shines brighter still across the pond than here in the USA), but the real breakthrough success was not going to happen with Peter, as he quit his band.

Yes, Peter quit the Mac (and music almost entirely) in 1970. That was 5 years before the aquisition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks that led Fleetwood Mac to super stardom. Why did Peter quit? Because he went LSD bat-shit crazy. Hey, it happens. There is a thin line between genius and insane, or so they say.

Peter came back to the land of sanity in the '90's, and even started a band featuring Cozy Powell. They released 9 LP's under the name Peter Green Splinter Group. Unfortunately, by the time he finally came back, his ship had sailed many moons prior without him aboard. It is hard to create second chances in life, and you have such a small window in the Music biz anyway. Oh well.

Enough about that, for the sake of keeping this short, I am moving on to the music, but only looking at three selections. Not by coincidence, they are three of the most covered, coveted and copied of Peter's catalog:

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Green Manalishi:

I'll say it, and let it float out there. With all due respect, Judas Priest butchered this song. The sped up gnt..gnt..gnt..gnt.. JP signature makes this beast sound radio and the 16th notes on the high hat is borderline disco. Oh, I'll admit, this version kicks ass... but it's not really supposed to kick ass, is it? Worst yet, the signature line "cause you're the Green Manalishi with a two pronged crown" makes very little sense coming from Rob Halford.

Peter Green's original Green Manalishi is Hammer of the Gods heavy. It's evil and doomy. It's honest and did not need any "Metal Treatment". For you metal elitists getting ready to aim some strongly worded mud at me for calling out JP, I say this: Judas Priest does not really need this song (they have more "staples" then, well, Staples), nor do they need Diamonds & Rust or Johnny B Good.

It's simple math: Judas Priest > Cover Tunes
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Oh Well:

I have heard many covers of this song, none of which even comes close to Peter's, except for the one that kinda does. It is a live tribute sung and played by Lindsey Buckingham while fronting Fleetwood Mac. The rest, well, I get it, but it's tough to re-capture magic.

General rule of thumb: don't cover stuff just because the lyrics are cool.
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Black Magic Woman:

I almost hate to admit this: I really don't like Santana's version very much. I respect Santana, but more for his calculated resurrection in 1999 than his classic version of this song. However, when I hear the forgotten Fleetwood version, I almost forget the former. The original is a stripped down blues tune with swing. The lyric is witty. Gone is the over embellished keyboards and trippy dippy hippie-ness.

From a nerds perspective Santana's production is light years better, but sometimes sub-par producing adds character. Peter's delivery speaks for itself.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Joe Perry, Billy Gibbons, BB King, Tom Petty and many others covered Peter's music. Peter's art is loved by his peers, and he has gotten huge recognition over the years by the rock community. I am sure he will remain under the radar to the masses however, and quite frankly, thats where I like him.

Peter's story is a great read. Fleetwood Mac's story is a better one. Big props to Mic and John for keeping that beast together. Little known fact: Nago loves the Mac in most of it's incarnations. Peter Green and Lindsay Buckingham are both in my top 10 guitar players list, and Mic Fleetwood may be the most underrated Rock drummer of all time (save one Louie Rice).

Go Green.......


Baby stop nerdin 'round, you're nerdin' round all the time.

Edison versus Tesla in the first person: A musical.

I

Bon Scott

1946 - 1980

I would like to start this blog with a disclaimer: I DIG BON SCOTT. If you think that the following exercise in the obvious is in anyway disrespecting the deceased, then you need to punch yourself in the a-hole as hard as you can. Think about that for a minute.... Ouch, and really???

That's how Bon would want it. Difficult, destructive, fun, painful, confusing and just damn crazy.

Bon Scott is one of my favorite rock stars for several reasons. He was anti-everything. He was the opposite of a rock star. He was a perverted silly drunk, and the baddest muther to ever grace vinyl. He was older than the other kids in the band, yet he absolutely understood what they needed to portray. Neigh, he portrayed himself into that band. Converting them from another heavy blues band, into the monster they became. Yet Bon was too cool to hang around to reap the rewards. Like the best rock starts, he burned out before he faded away.

Bon's voice, as nontraditional as it was, complimented the distorted 3 open chord 4/4 back drop that was AC/DC. The 70's AC/DC was amazing (and I don't throw that word around lightly). That band, with all of it's short comings musically, was the complete package. Gimmick, Sound & Attitude + the ability to burn a hole in a stage live, made for a perfect storm that is something we don't see anymore.  It just doesn't exist... Not even AC/DC is that good anymore.

Ahh.... Yes. He was great, but this a study into the first person. 

As great as Bon Scott was, his songwriting consisted of scattered moments of brilliance combined with some seriously delusional self image fantasy that would make Twain proud.

I picture a 70's AC/DC band meeting going something like this:

Angus: Ok lads, I have this riff... (strumming A..E.. E...D) whaddaya think?

Bon: I like it, I have some lyrics, whaddaya think about: "I'm a candy dealer, dealing shit to your little girl..."

Malcom: Um... It's good Bon, but maybe you could be something else?

Bon: Ok, yeah... How about this: "I'm a wheel, rolling over the road, to you honey...And I'm shiney..."

Malcom: Uhhhh... Not really what I was thinking. Do you fancy any other lyrics?

Bon: Ok, yeah, it's rough but how about "I'm a gorilla man, raping your boot..."

Angus: NO MATE!!!!!

Bon: Um, ok I could change it to "Ice Scraper"?

Malcom: No... but almost?

Bon: "Night prowler?"

Angus: Yes, Bon! Be a Night Prowler for phucks sake!!!!

You know what though, I love him for it. Bon had imagination. Lets dive into it, shall we? I want to list everything Bon was or was going to do:

• I Wanna be a Rock and Roll Singer
• I'm a Live Wire
• I'm TNT
• I'm a Rocker
• I've got Big Balls
• I'm a Problem Child
• I'm gonna Ride On
• I'm going in, to Sin City
• I'm on the highway to hell
• I'm gonna walk all over you
• I'm a love hungry man
• I'm a night prowler

Honorable mentions (because they own):

• Gimme a bullet to bite on, and I'll make believe it's you (note: that's effin brilliant)
• I've been up to my neck in pleasure, up to my neck in pain, up to my neck on the railroad track, waiting for a train (that is so badass).

Bon is not the only songwriter guilty of over playing the first person. If time had gone on, I am sure the handlers would have put him to task over it, and I think he would have thumped them for it. I've often thought that Bon's over the top personality was probably an issue for his band mates, but I have done zero reading into the functions of the band in the '70's, and to tell you the truth, it's a stone better left unturned by me. 

Besides, Bon spent many hours crafting his self image via pad and pencil, far be it for me to look beyond his body of work.

Lastly, Ride On... It's somber tune, and probably the closest thing AC/DC ever did to a ballad. It is still one of my favorite Bon Scott moments, and it means a lot to me on a spiritual level.

Nago




It's a long way to the top, if you wanna be a nerd.

Can a Zombie be cool? Sometimes, I guess.

After attending a Rob Zombie show here in Pittsburgh last Wednesday, I came home and dissed him pretty hard on Facebook. Not because he is a bad performer, no... he is an amazing performance artist. Not because his show was lame, no... it was as high energy as any show I have seen. I dissed Rob because of the music he puts out.

Before the Zombie fanatics come crawling out of their fantasy graves to feast on my inner skull, I would like to give some insight into my bashing.

I know that when it comes to some things I come off as an elitist jerk, and I am sure that is the case in regards to Rob Zombie. I mean no disrespect to Rob as a person or as an artist. I really liked White Zombie back in the day. They were a beach party to me in a sea of grunge era depression.

For those of you who don't know the difference between Rob Zombie and White Zombie, you are not alone I am afraid. I can sum it up in a few words: Groove, Content and Material. You can't fake groove and it is really hard to re-create White Zombie's natural groove with hired guns. They pull it off OK live, but when it comes to the studio material, well, it really is an exaggerated version of Rob's gimmick mixed with what radio friendly White Zombie sorta sounded like.

It's impossible for me to talk about Rob without talking Alice Cooper (his hero and mentor).

Do you remember the time when Alice Cooper was great? Me neither. I was not even born when the classic line up, The Alice Cooper Band, belted out their Detroit fueled burners like "Billion Dollar Babies" and "Elected". The original band tearing shit up was 10+ years dead when I first saw the amazingly raw video for "18" on MTV's Closet Classics.

Alice Cooper broke up the Alice Cooper Band, but he kept the name. He went on to do some decent, yet mostly forgettable Solo LP's in the 70's (my personal fav being "Goes to Hell"), and some awful Platinum selling hair metal LP's in the 80's, and even dabbled in Metal in the 90's, but the fire that was The Alice Cooper Band has never been recaptured on wax. I guess I feel the same way about Rob Zombie.

I am not afraid to admit that I don't like Hellbilly Deluxe. At the time of it's release, I though it was a parody of White Zombie, and I still do today. I realize that Rob did not make that album for me. Rob made that album for 13 year old posers, strippers and meatheads.

• I have nothing against 13 year old posers, strippers or meatheads. I used to be a 13 year old poser.
• I respect Stripping (if you got it, don't mind showing it off and can keep your head on straight, I say "Get that money"). If you are thinking about taking to the stripping pole, then I strongly suggest dancing to anything by Rob Zombie. I saw it the other night, chicks like gettin' low and dirty to Rob Zombie. Half of that crowd were women, and half of them were dancing like it was their last chance to get their white girl moves on.
• Meatheads, well somebody has to make me feel smart, right? You get no hate from me, it's not your fault your parents weren't very cool.

My wife and I were on the floor, about 7 or 8 rows from the stage, talking openly about what we thought Rob would play. When we got through the 4 songs we could name we were laughing about how unmemorable and sound alike most of Robs music is, and his constant use of the word "YEAH" (seriously....Rob, every sentence does not have to end with the word "Yeah"). Based on the look of shock I got from the kid standing next to me, I realized that this was not the forum for such banter. Once Rob started playing, this young man started jumping up and down like a retarded bunny. It was quite funny, but as an old dude, I had to retreat to calmer waters by the third song to avoid a severe case of the Imgonnafuckhisshitup's, a medical condition that creates a violent reaction in old dudes like me.

We found ourselves ready to leave shortly after Rob split the venue in two for some audience participation. Half the crowd was told to scream "Rock", and the other half "Motherfucker". I am not sure if anyone really bought that. It was a little embarrassing for him. I found myself thinking "Dude, play your hits", but then he played the song "Sick Bubblegum" that included the chant "Rock Motherfucker"... Who knew? Certainly not me. Was that a hit?

We did leave early, but I have been known to do that to avoid traffic. I have to say it again, Rob is a fantastic performer with a high energy show. The actual show was very cool despite his cheesiness, his music is just not my thing. That said I saw a video posted of my bro's local cover band playing Superbeast yesterday, and it rocked. They played it with so well that for a second I thought maybe Rob is just over my head or under my radar.....................But then I remembered the animated movie "The Haunted World of El Superbeasto", and thought, "nope". Rob is lucky to have a band of that caliper cover that song.

Torture-porn/Slasher film Rob: I think Rob is amazing. He somehow got House of 1000 Corpses made, same with that his disturbing movies The Devil Rejects and the Halloween re-makes. Can you imagine that sales pitch: "yeah, so its kinda like every other slasher movie from the '70's, only gorier". He helped launch the current Torture-Porn trend and he might actually transcend it at some point. I look forward to someday seeing his movie equivalent to the album Educated Horses.

Wow... I just read through this blog, and I realize that I do sound like an elitist jerk. For that I can only say this: keep doing what you do, Rob. I am the ultimate love/hate fan. I like your live action movies, hate your animated movie, like White Zombie and hate your solo work.  I also love your commentary on Sam Dunn projects. The quote "I'd like to meet the guy who says : I remember that one summer when I was into Slayer" is worth watching the entire movie "A Headbanger's Journey".

Lastly, I dig the Zombie persona. You look way cool and I dig theatrics.

Here is some classic White Zombie to bob your head to:

Dig through the ditches and Nerd through the witches

Big Mega History... The where's and whens.

May 16th will mark the 8th time I have seen Megadeth live. That is kind of crazy. It is also over a 20+ year span, so it is not like I followed them Grateful Dead style. To tell you the honest to god truth, they really aren't that great live, or maybe it's better to say that they are not very animated, and Dave's voice is pretty much shot at this point. BUT for me, being at a Megadeth concert is more than going to see an amazing live show, it is about celebrating the band that helped mold me and supporting a hero of mine.

I often say that I don't get star struck, and that is mostly true. Once at the Airport, directly behind me on the escalator, was Hines Ward. I was completely tongue tied as I stared directly at him. Angi and I both did not know what to say, and I honestly think that was the only time I can remember being absolutely wordless in someones presence. So maybe I was star struck, but I think maybe I was just shocked to see him that close up. All I kept thinking was "damn, that phucker is small in person" and "wow, that is a big diamond earring".

One of my music heros was eating at the same local bar Angi and I were at before a concert one night, and I just let him eat. I kind of regret that now, because I may not ever get the opportunity to thank him or just let him know how much his music means to me, but at the time I thought it was the right thing to do. Mikael Akerfeldt, if I ever get the opportunity to meet you again, I am going to make you sign my frontal lobe.

My point.... If Dave Mustaine and I ever met, I am sure I would go directly into idiot mode and trip over my tongue. Dave is the exception to my "starstruck" rule. That dude is a demi-god to me. I would feel like a 3rd grade math teacher waxing poetic with T S Eliot.

Nice intro, eh?