Polluted Airwaves
December 13, 2006 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment
The quality of music on our local radio stations is appalling, to say the least.
I can’t stand a minute listening to the obnoxious, fake-as-plastic, nasal-voiced teenage “singers†that have taken over the radio - I wonder how long Paris Hilton is going to torment us with that rubbish. The people responsible for giving her the license to kill (by driving us to suicide with her terribly irritating singing) should be sentenced to life in prison.
There is just no room for talent on the radio. It’s all about the big bucks, people.
Surrender your naïve thoughts. Don’t be a mindless drone - if you care about music, get some CDs, or listen to music online - the radio isn’t the gospel of all that is good, folks. There is a wealth of talent outside of the corporate-controlled radio stations, just begging to be discovered. Listen to what you want to listen, and don’t accept radio-friendly songs as your only choice of music. If the songs on the radio suit you fine, then by all means go ahead and buy your copy of Gwen Stefani’s latest CD - I won’t tell you what you can or can not listen to - but do not limit yourselves to what the money-minded radio stations are trying to feed you.
Our local radio stations, especially Hitz.fm, glorify these tasteless flavor-of-the-week pop artistes because they rake in the revenues. They achieve this by repeating songs from several selected artistes to the point of insanity - in an attempt to brainwash the listeners. If you think what I just said is a load of hogwash, Google up the term “ear wormâ€. It’s frightening how little people know of this.
Based on my observations, a radio station like Hitz.fm plays fewer than 30 different songs in the span of a week due to heavy repetition of the same few songs each day. So much for variety, huh?
Enter the savior: the internet.
The internet is a remarkable outlet for music without strings attached. It doesn’t only cater to trendy pop listeners like our radio stations do - there aren’t even decent rock or classical music stations in Malaysia - yet no one is complaining or making an effort to set up more radio stations.
Why?
Making music requires money, but the internet has somehow overcome that factor by allowing budding musicians and even established artistes to post their songs (either for streaming or for downloading) for someone else to pick them up for a listen. It even has the power to propel virtual unknowns into the limelight, thanks to online hype and publicity.
The internet allows almost anyone to endlessly try out fresh and exciting music - for little or no charge at all - with no constraints or limitations whatsoever. The same can’t be said for our local radio stations - listeners aren’t in control of what they want to listen to, simply because the songs played over the airwaves are hand-picked and closely-monitored by the elements of the music business: the music labels, the press, and the sponsors.
The radio is free for anyone to listen to, but it will never be an option for those who want freedom in music.
Real music enthusiasts do not conform to the rule set by the mainstream media and the corporations running the music industry. We find, listen, and sometimes, even make the music we want to listen to. We have given up on the radio a long, long time ago and know all too well that it is a medium for a generation that has given up on talent and artistry for trendy MTV.
Rest In Peace
December 13, 2006 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment
Performing musicians usually lead double lives - they put on a metaphorical mask to conceal their innermost troubles, thus casting a shadow over their turbulent existence. They construct mental barricades in between their stage personas and private lives so that they can uphold their larger-than-life stage presence - and keep their mortal weaknesses away from the prying eyes of the public.
Musicians are human, after all, and there comes a time when each and every one of them suffers a bout of reality - we mortal men and women go through this every day - and when we see their menacing façade crumble before our very eyes, we know only too well what they’re going through.
When you take away someone’s momentary pleasures and worldly possessions, they are left with only their minds and emotions. Sadly, some of these musicians never had a chance to return to reality, and their cruel fate was such that they were erased from our lives forever.
We pay a tribute to the tragic deaths of some of the greatest musicians in rock history.
Dimebag Darrell
Dime, was he was popularly known by the metal community, was brutally murdered on stage by a mentally-unstable gunman on the 6th of December, 2004. Arguably the best-known metal guitarist of all time, Dime’s tragic demise created waves in the music industry and his fans are still recovering from the incident.
His never-before-seen guitar wizardry and gargantuan stage presence riveted thousands of fans for years, right to the day he was shot on stage in the middle of a show in front of his fans and band members - his drummer was his elder brother, Vinnie Paul.
Dime was a down-to-earth man - which makes the killing seem even more absurd that it already is - and treated his fans like they were his friends.
Trivia:
Dime was laid to rest in a KISS coffin - KISS was his all-time favorite band.
Cliff Burton
Hugely popular ex-bassist of Metallica, Cliff was the reason why crowds thronged to see the band perform in the early 80s. He would play his bass guitar like it was an electric guitar - crazy bass solos included - and the greatest example of this is the track Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth) from their debut album Kill ‘Em All.
Unfortunately, a tragic bus accident in September 1986 took the life of this amazing musician - at the tender age of 24.
The bus skidded on an ice-covered road, catapulting him out - and it proceeded to land right on top of him. Cliff died at the scene, and from that moment on the band was never the same again. His departure threw Metallica into years of chaos and many fans can say that the band never actually recovered from the incident.
Trivia:
The remaining members of Metallica played the song Orion (Instrumental) in his tribute at Cliff’s funeral.
Stevie Ray Vaughan
One of the greatest blues musicians of all time, SRV had a memorable voice and unmistakable stage persona. The critics, though, closed their eyes to his brand of blues for being too rock-oriented, but SRV carved a name for himself, nonetheless by fusing the two elements together - and this made SRV appealing to both blues and rock fans.
A disciple of Jimi Hendrix, SRV even covered the Hendrix song Little Wing: not only did he do justice to Hendrix, but his version of the song sounds even more soulful than the original!
Tragically, the man was killed in a freak helicopter crash - just when he was about to grow into an even bigger incarnate than he already was. SRV can be credited for popularizing Texas Blues, and for influencing a younger generation of blues guitarists such as Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Johnny Lang.
Trivia:
SRV’s trademark song is Pride and Joy.
The Rotten Apples of Rock
December 13, 2006 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment
Axl Rose. Lars Ulrich. Kurt Cobain. What do these people have in common? Come on, take a wild guess…damn, you guys are pathetic! Actually, they have almost nothing in common but they are probably the most hated trio in rock ‘n roll.
Why, you ask?
Let’s start off with Axl Rose. One time front man of the original Guns ‘N Roses lineup (and only original member of the current one) Axl makes all the other troublesome rock singers look like nuns. I can’t deny that the man has an exceptional vocal range but his homosexual-looking fashion sense is already a good enough reason to hate the man - but it goes way deeper than that.
I’ll have to make a chronological list of what he did at only ONE concert to show you what a bastard he is.
1. Threatens a fan who is videotaping the show
2. Threats fall on deaf ears; Axl jumps into the crowd and starts punching the fan
3. Security personnel splits them up; Axl gets back on stage
4. Axl verbally attacks the security for not doing their job; and walks off stage soon after
5. Band follows Axl off stage; fans revolt and cause widespread rioting
6. Axl & Co. hide in a van until things cool off
Fans will hate him even more for not disbanding GNR when the other members started leaving (any true GNR fan will tell you that there is no GNR without Slash) and recruiting an eccentric posse of musicians to replace them. The latest GNR album, strangely titled Chinese Democracy, is the most expensive album NOT released - it’s been in the works for years and has swallowed a production cost of over US $13 million. Adding salt to the wound, Axl is still insisting the album will be released soon - he has said that for years without any trace of an album launch in sight.
Currently touring with an unrecognizable and equally uninteresting GNR lineup, Axl seems like the best example of the delusional, pompous rocker.
Next up is Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. This man has a history of being an asshole - he started early when he stole the name “Metallica†from a magazine editor companion of his who was going to use the name for a future publication. Not content with that, he played a huge role in the firing of the extremely-talented guitarist Dave Mustaine from the band. Lars and front man James Hetfield got Dave piss-drunk at a binge one night, and dropped him and all his equipment off at a bus station the following morning. Dave’s replacement Kirk Hammett from the Thrash Metal band Exodus was flown in shortly after. Dave soon founded rival band Megadeth, and has recently written a song in honor of his ex-friend entitled Something That I’m Not.
Wait, there’s more. Lars was also Napster’s fiercest enemy - he even went on to print a list of hundreds of users he threatened to sue for downloading his bands’ songs. A multi-millionaire musician intimidating a penniless bunch of college kids - real mature, Lars.
Fans were outraged at this - some even went as far as destroying Metallica CDs. Lars will never be forgotten for tarnishing the image and reputation of one of the world’s biggest bands.
This last character isn’t even alive, but Kurt Cobain deserves a mentioning here for making suicide seem like an option out of life’s issues.
Kurt’s meteoric rise to fame in the grunge-era-of-decay in the 90s was followed by a destructive fall. His band Nirvana reached near-impossible heights - a factor that took its toll on Kurt as well. The pressure of being in a breakthrough band of the genre, and perhaps even his marriage to big-time-bitch Courtney Love, drove Kurt into manic depression bouts - one of which involved an insane amount of drugs and a shotgun.
Some people believe he was murdered, some still stick to the more rational theory of suicide - but the fact remains that he will always be remembered as “that rock guy who shot himself.†Kurt’s demise was a tragic and unfortunate incident for rock music in general, more than it was to fans of grunge. We don’t need another negative stereotype - we don’t want to be labeled as losers who take the easy way out of things.
Rock Stars: Wanted Dead or Alive
December 13, 2006 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment
Rock Stars. A lot can be said about these chosen, almost demigod-like people - we can marvel at how they splurge their seemingly endless riches, we can ridicule their notoriously dangerous and carefree way of life - but at the end of the day, these are the individuals that we, the people, have chosen - directly or otherwise - to be our heroes.
With the recent emergence of the outrageously-pretentious reality TV show Rock Star, the world is led to believe by the people behind the screen that these spoilt, wannabe youngsters are next in line to inherit the golden throne of Rock Stardom. And by “worldâ€, I mean people who think real rock ‘n roll heroes are made in television shows.
Oh boy…
I’ve grown up listening to true rock ‘n roll the day I stopped drinking milk from bottles. Queen, Dire Straits and The Scorpions at first; then Bon Jovi, Guns ‘N Roses and Thrash Metal legends Kreator later on - this informal education, from the ages of six to nine, via my uncle’s old cassette tapes set me up for a lifetime of great, rockin’ music. In high school I started experimenting with all sorts of different styles of rock - Alt and Modern Rock was at the top of my list back then. I also started playing guitar during that time so I began listening to a lot of virtuoso guitarists (Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, mostly).
Then came college, and I walked into campus life knowing I had a piece of my musical puzzle missing. Thankfully, file sharing via our on-campus intranet was rampant so I managed to get my hands on some Heavy Metal - and the rest, as they say, is history.
I dedicated my entire life to Heavy Metal. Needless to say, I made the transition from acoustic guitar to electric guitar and as a result of hours of playing along to the likes of Rage Against The Machine (not Metal, so to speak but Tom Morello is a great disciple of Heavy Metal guitar riffing) and slowly moving on to Slayer and Black Sabbath. Word got around that I was a kickass guitarist, and it’s amazing how people think musicians are made overnight.
Rock Star: INXS and Rock Star: Supernova hasn’t made it any easier.
It takes a lot of hard work, perseverance and dedication to your art. Spending a few weeks in a mansion while being fed with promises of instant riches and glory doesn’t. Every great rock band starts from the bottom up - even Guns ‘N Roses was once a garage band. Metallica used to live in their rehearsal rooms in their early days. Most Heavy Metal musicians still have their day jobs, just to make a decent living.
The problem is that the concept of rock ‘n roll has changed drastically over the years. Kids listening to manufactured bands on MTV get the idea that playing music in a band is a sure-fire way of making tons of money - when it’s the other way around. First, you have to understand what you want to do in a band; the questions are endless even at this stage:
Do I play an instrument, or do I sing?
If I sing, will I need lessons to improve my vocals?
Where do I find skillful band mates?
What genre or style of music do we play?
Should we do covers or start writing our original material?
That would take months, even years, to figure out. Trust me - I’m facing these problems even now.
Then you think of recording a demo, or an EP. No, that isn’t the same as an album. Your band might see the fruition of an album much later, and even so, how sure are you its gonna sell a million copies?
For the real musicians out there who know how hard it is to make music - keep it up. We need real rock stars, especially in a country where a selected group of manufactured rock bands are enjoying the lion’s share of resources and support from the media, especially the record companies and television stations.
Michael Jackson: The Dethroned King of Pop?
December 13, 2006 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment
Michael Jackson, MJ, The King of Pop - he has dazzled the pop world with his timeless hits and physically-impossible dance moves for decades, but has received more than his fair share of extensive (and negative) media scrutiny for the wrong reasons in recent times.
Once the poster child of all that was glorious and golden in the music business, MJ finds himself drifting further and further away in the tumultuous seas of mainstream music; seemingly, drowning underneath the sheer weight of his own name - the name so celebrated in pop culture, the name known by millions around the world, and arguably, the biggest name in music history.
But MJ has seen brighter days. The world has seen the decline of this larger-than-life pop star to an enigmatic persona shrouded in secrecy. All the chaotic legal battles, and subsequently, the bad publicity in the media have significantly and irreparably damaged his reputation and popularity. His critics are brutal and have been clinically-precise in casting him off as a fallen hero - rather successfully, I might add.
His last resort: The millions of fans around the globe who are hoping - praying, even - that their idol will soon bounce back from these setbacks and make a spectacular comeback. Will his die-hard fans charitably accept his efforts to regain a foothold in the cold and callous world of mainstream music?
MJ should be careful on the path he hopes to walk on once again. He, of all people, should know not to trust the listeners of mainstream music. These are the people who are responsible for placing him on a pedestal, and who are more than inclined to leave him out in the cold if his latest release doesn’t tickle their fancy.
This was the exact case when MJ’s Invincible album came out. Sure, he tried on some relatively fresher dance-tinged flavors on that record; he merely wanted to fit in a media that doesn’t stand still for long - should I list down the names of all radio-friendly artistes today that have at least one dance track in each of their albums? The outcome was a rather dismal and forgettable CD - it only managed to create notable waves in the UK, where any and all dance hits are lapped up by the people.
I don’t think the album was all that bad (pun intended), but it was up against some of the best selling albums of all time, from the biggest pop star the world has ever seen. Invincible is a miniscule entity when you compare it to the likes of Thriller and Bad - the album was a typical example of a Catch 22 situation; it just couldn’t do any right no matter what the circumstances were. The odds against it were just too great.
As with many people around the planet, I have been exposed to the music of Michael Jackson from a tender age - I can still recall listening to Bad on cassette tape, note that this was a time when compact disc technology was still in its infancy, or wasn’t even invented yet. I might not be his biggest fan, but I’m not one to overlook his contributions to music in general. He enthralled his fans, gave some of the greatest concerts and is fondly loved by the millions of Michael Jackson fans who are still screaming his name, loud and proud, in their hearts. The public, on the other hand, shouldn’t condemn him for being an eccentric, and should remove all the stains of prejudice in their minds. He should be allowed to carry on with his art, for which he has sacrificed his entire life for.
And we really do need some real talent on the airwaves.
Metalheads: Misunderstood?
December 13, 2006 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment
Music - is it a physical outcome in the form of sound waves created by acoustics and other auditory elements, or is it a sacred art form that transcends all known borders as it seeps into the hearts and minds of listeners?
Every individual has his/her own definition of the term “musicâ€, but in general it represents the final products of a singer, an instrumentalist or a band and it has been in the knowledge of man since the beginning of history. Music is just as important in popular culture as other forms of art; hence its ability to sculpt and influence the minds of millions of people worldwide.
Recent times have seen the popularity boom of the most extreme form of music known to man - Heavy Metal. Since the late 70s to this day, this label best represents all the other sub-genres of Metal - from the melodic sub-genres of Power Metal and Symphonic Metal to the eardrum-shattering Death Metal and Thrash Metal styles. Heavy Metal bands that tour and perform today owe everything to the pioneering Metal bands of days gone such as Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer. Some even consider Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple to be the first Heavy Metal bands, but that claim is highly arguable as Black Sabbath (first known as a Blues band by the name of Earth) laid the foundations of what was to become the signature sounds of Traditional Metal, Doom Metal, Thrash Metal and Death Metal.
That’s an all-too-brief summary of Metal music, class, and the fans of this form of music are called Metalheads. Write that down, kids.
I’m a Metalhead, first and foremost. Why this word isn’t recognized in dictionaries and thesauruses evades me, as it best represents a true fan of Heavy Metal. Hell, even “bootylicious†is a recognized word, and how that happened escapes me.
Right…back to the topic.
Heavy Metal is the genre of music that has the worst stereotypes and generalizations - and no, we don’t want a makeover, thank you very much. I can see you emo assclowns handing over your makeup!
Firstly, everyone looks down upon a Metalhead. You people are afraid of us, or think we’re a posse of uneducated troublemakers. Why? Is it our black band t-shirts? Or perhaps it’s because we live in a conservative society that’s always suspicious of Western influences?
No one outside the Metal community (no, we’re not a deviant cult of Satanists - really, we’re not) understands the commitment, dedication and loyalty we have to this form of music we’ve made our own; and this results in Metal fans being closer and friendlier (homosexual emo guys aside) to each other than fans of any other genre of music. My best experience of this was when a friend of mine forgetfully left my handphone on the roof of our car after using it right before we were about to leave the venue of a gig some years back. As we got in the car and were driving off, a bunch of guys started signaling and shouting at us - this got our attention, and we proceeded to stop the car. One of the guys took the phone from the top of the car and happily passed it back to me, when they could’ve easily kept it for themselves or sold it. After a quick exchanging of our devil’s horn hand gestures, I felt proud to belong in a sub-society that cares for our fellow brothers and sisters as much as we care for the music that binds us.
But as with all families, we do have our own share of bastard sons - the Nu Metal fans. Let me employ a metaphor we Metal fans use to describe this forgettable and embarrassing sub-genre: If you can imagine Metal, in general, as being a house; then Nu Metal is the toilet of this metaphorical house. The best examples of Nu Metal bands are Korn and Limp Bizkit - and there’s nothing to be proud of when the size of their egos are even larger than the size of their hideous baggy jeans. When you see a guy in a Korn t-shirt, give them a swift kick in the nuts for me - I’ll pay you back in Starbucks sugar packets.
See, I told you we’re not mean people!
The Power of J
December 13, 2006 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment
I’ve been noticing a strange phenomenon going on in the Metal and Rock music categories for years, and I’ve decided to share it with the rest of world (if the world cares, that is). See, I’ve realised that many guitarists and bassists from said genres of music have their names beginning with the letter “Jâ€, and naturally I remember all these names by heart because my name starts with that letter as well.
At first, I got myself to believe that the only reason I noticed this was because of my own name; but as I delved deeper into music I realised that I had more and more names to add to this list - and here, folks, are seven of the more famous guitarists in the list (complete list is at the end of this article) and a short description of each musician.
Jimi Hendrix
Probably the greatest rock guitarist to have ever lived, Hendrix had a revolutionary impact to the genre. His groove-laden, multi-textured guitar playing contributed heavily to the overall sound of rock ‘n roll and if it wasn’t for his tragic and untimely death he would have gone on to achieve greater heights.
Writer’s Note: Jimi showed the white boys how it’s done.
Jimmy Page
The icon of legendary rock heroes Led Zeppelin, Page fused the melodies of blues and the raw emotion of rock, creating his signature sound in the process. Enthralling the world with timeless rock anthems like “Stairway to Heaven†and “Whole Lotta Loveâ€, Page was also gifted with charismatic stage presence and a spectacular taste in fashion.
Writer’s Note: Jimmy Page rocks!
James Hetfield
The brains behind one-time Thrash Metal titans Metallica, Hetfield single-handedly wrote the band’s best pieces such as “Ride The Lightning†and “Master Of Puppets†- resulting in the band selling over 100 million albums worldwide. Hetfield successfully battled alcohol addiction later on in his career, sadly, at the expense of his musical ingenuity; which strangely disappeared altogether after he became “cleanâ€.
Writer’s Note: One of the brightest talents in Metal.
Joe Perry
Idol of James Hetfield and millions of budding musicians worldwide, Joe Perry is the best known figure in rock ‘n roll giants Aerosmith; second only to enigmatic vocalist Steven Tyler. An incarnation of Jimmy Page, as both guitarists share the tendency of fusing blues and rock influences together - hell, Perry even looks like a young Page at times!
Writer’s Note: Believe it or not, Joe has his own brand of hot sauce.
John Frusciante
Guitarist of funk-rock pioneers Red Hot Chili Peppers. His contributions to rock ‘n roll may seem trivial compared to the larger, more established names in this list but credits to John for overcoming severe drug addiction to help propel a band plagued with inner struggles to great achievements. John is known for breaking into face-melting solos in between his water-tight rhythm playing; all while singing backup vocals makes him THE mainstream rock guitarist of recent times.
Writer’s Note: John injects some class into a genre full of kohl-eyed posers.
Jeff Hanneman
Arguably the meanest and toughest guitarist in the bunch - Hanneman has been with Thrash Metal kings Slayer since the start - contributing more to the band than any of the other three members in the process. Razor-sharp leads and hyper-speed rhythm parts aside, Hanneman’s writing credits include most of the songs in the band’s breakthrough albums “Reign In Blood†and “South Of Heavenâ€. One guy you don’t want to mess with.
Writer’s Note: Someone you don’t wanna mess with. Ever.
Jennifer Batten
Yes, she’s a lady. Jennifer breaks the “boys-only†stereotype when it comes to rock guitar - she has performed with only the biggest pop star of all time Michael Jackson. Jackson is rather choosy when it comes to his touring and recording guitarists - only the best (Eddie Van Halen and Slash, anyone?) make the cut so you know Jennifer can play as well as the boys in this game.
Writer’s Note: She could’ve moonlighted as MJ’s body double if she wanted to.
The List
Jimi Hendrix
Jim Sheppard
James MacDonough
James Hetfield
Jason Newsted
Zakk Wylde (born Jeffrey Wielandt)
Jake E Lee
John Frusciante
Jon Schaffer
Jesper Stromblad
Jack Owens
Jeff Walker
Jeff Hanneman
Jeff Loomis
Jim Root
John Petrucci
John Myung
Jimmy Page
Jari Maenpaa
Justin Hawkins
Joe Perry
John Lee Hooker
Jennifer Batten
Jesse Pintado
Jon Nodtveidt
