Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy: 2010

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Hilarious album cover of the week

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

I'm not sure there's anything more fascinating than this photo

ASIA! .early 1980s. The ultimate super-group: Steve Howe, Carl Palmer, Geoff Downes, & John Wetton.

Lisa's Book Recommendations

Mountains Come Out of the Sky:
The illustrated history of prog rock

Oh mannnnn, this is such an AWESOME book! Bill Bruford, of Yes (and the godfather of prog-rock drumming), provides a wonderful forward to the book, describing prog-rock as a subject for doctoral theses and learned discussion as well as a product of counterculture and major technological innovation. The author, Will Romanao, illustrates detailed histories of notable prog-rock bands, such as: Pink Floyd, King Crimson, ELP, Yes, Genesis, Rush, Gentle Giant, and others, while also highlighting sub-categories like Prog-Folk, German-Prog, and Italian-Prog. Other features include:

The Mini Moog...

Keith Emerson jumping on his keyboard...

and even a section on Kansas and Styx!

Strawbs

I picked up some really sweet Strawbs albums at the record store today. Great albums--I highly recommend checking out "Burning for you." True, it doesn't feature their classic lineup w/ Rick Wakeman, but it has a great sound and nice vocals. Very early Genesis/ELP-ish. Good stuff, peeps!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

What I've Been Listening To Lately

Jefferson Starship: Red Octopus

Dokken: Under Lock and Key

Asia: Astra

Toto: Toto I

You know who's cool?

Carl Palmer
Asia in a hard jam covering ELP!!!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YONZljHxg3A

"Karn Evil 9," Emerson, Lake, and Palmer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeQsZOQqO6I

"Toccata," Emerson, Lake, and Palmer (GIANT gongs in this one!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6vN9nadqtQ&feature=related

"Time Again," Asia (My fav Asia tune!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXLzSQ8qYbM

Official CP site: http://www.carlpalmer.com/

Friday, November 19, 2010

David Lee Roth picture of the week!

Hilarious album cover of the week

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Hilarious album cover of the week

Featured absolutely random but awesome song

"Jealous Lover" by Rainbow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vdOcfiQV6M

Why this song is awesome:

I heard that Ritchie Blackmore is kind of a jerk, but boy is he one hell of a guitar player!

Classic 80s rock formulas...love it.

Man, that intro is rockin'! Great behind-the-beat drum feel. Yay, RAINBOW!

Monday, October 25, 2010

You know who's cool?

Robert Smith

"Love Cats" (live 1984) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk08Zb6oyf8

"Why Can't I Be You" (live 1987) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itInfhK3aD4&feature=related

"Love Song" (live 2008) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlTjX8HyuMw

Interview w/ Robert, 1984 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra5w-RyJiiM

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

My mom is so cool!

My mom recently surprised me the coolest gift ever. She found this cute little box equipped with the most awesome 45's in it. What a treasure! It includes stuff by The Eagles, Elton John, Thin Lizzy, Three Dog Night, Jefferson Starship, Paul McCartney, Jethro Tull, Carly Simon, Gordon Lightfoot, and much, much more. SO AWESOME!

David Lee Roth picture of the week!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Hilarious album cover of the week

Featured absolutely random but awesome song

"White Punks on Dope" by The Tubes

Why this song/The Tubes is awesome:

They're CRAZY...and I love it!

Totally theatrical and over-the-top...costumes, glitter, platform shoes

Really cool analog synths

Bill Spooner's guitar is neat

WATCH IT here:

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4827325289004520517

Monday, September 20, 2010

Lisa's Book Recommendations

Take a Walk on the Dark Side: Rock and roll myths, legends, and curses (by R. Gary Patterson)

Including chapters entitled "Mr. Crowley," "Waiting at the Crossroads," "Welcome to the Hotel California," and others, Patterson's book covers the tales and ironies that have cursed rock 'n' roll and its icons. Patterson also reveals the mysteries behind hidden messages in songs you've always wondered about.

Classic Rock Stories (by Tim Morse)
A great collection of stories, memories, recollections, and opinions of some of the most beloved rock stars.

Here are some things I learned from reading this book (more useless knowledge--just what I need):

"Dust in the Wind" wasn't supposed to be a song. It's original form was actually a finger-picking exercise that Kerry Livgren was working on. In fact, Kerry fought with the rest of the members of Kansas over doing the song. "This is not us," he would keep saying.
Keith Emerson thought his Moog synth solo in "Lucky Man" was "shit." It was completely improvised, and the rough version ended up making the cut.
The song "Bad Company" by Bad Company was recorded at night in a field in one take.
Elton John and Bernie Taupin have no idea what "Take Me to the Pilot" is about. It's all just a bunch of jibberish.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Hilarious album cover of the week

Monday, September 6, 2010

Movie characters I wish were real so that I could hang out with them

William Miller (from Almost Famous). I imagine we would have been best friends growing up. We would have exchanged music and records and have had intense discussions about rock 'n' roll over cups of coffee. He would have taken me backstage to shows on occasion and introduced me to some of the hippest, coolest rock stars on the scene that he was interviewing.

Riff Randall (from Rock 'N' Roll High School). Riff would have been my rock 'n' roll partner-in-crime in high school. We would have attended every rock concert we could possibly manage together. We would wear matching shiny outfits, pigtails in our hair, and run around shouting "gabba gabba hey!"

Jam (from Detroit Rock City). Jam would have been another one of my closest chums. After school, I'd go watch him practice and rock out on his drums and then talk endlessly about the amazingness of KISS.