Posted March 26, 2011 at 5:01 am | No comments
When Radiohead broke into the charts with their song “Creep,” they fit right in with the grunge-alternative sound of the times, but they’re foray into the harder side of modern rock took a more personalized and unique twist when they wrote and recorded the song “Fake Plastic Trees.” While the song would mark a step in a different direction for the band, away from the grunge sound of “Creep” and more towards the haunting and experimental sound of their later work, the song almost didn’t happen.
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Posted March 25, 2011 at 8:45 am | No comments
Besides being a classic track from Pink Floyd’s album Wish You Were Here, “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” is also tied into one of the strangest moments in the band’s long and storied history. After leaving the band years earlier, on the day that Floyd was recording “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” which they would later dedicate to Syd Barrett, the former singer walked into Abbey Road studios and listened to the track being played back to the band. Not recognizing him at first, mostly due to the weight he had gained in the meantime and that he had shaved his head, the band quickly realized that is was Barrett sitting there with them, an unplanned reunion of the band that would move bassist Roger Waters to tears.
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Posted March 24, 2011 at 10:37 am | No comments
Originally written by Hip-Hip, R&B megastars Outkast, “Hey Ya” has won a special place in guitarist’s hearts since it was released on their 2003 album Speakerboxxx. Though many fans still love the original version, it was Matt Weddle’s 2006 acoustic guitar version, which was recorded at an open-mic night, which brought the song into whole new light for guitarists the world over. Currently sitting at over 7 million views on YouTube, Weddle’s cover has grown to become a massive viral hit for the Obadiah Parker frontman, a then unsigned band that nobody had really heard of until the video went viral.
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Posted March 23, 2011 at 1:15 pm | No comments
Beethoven’s “Fur Elise” is one of the most recognizable classical songs in the world. Its gentle 3/8 cadence in A minor was written for piano, but easily migrates to guitar. “Fur Elise”was not published by Beethoven, as it was not discovered until forty-one years after his death, amongst his private papers. The song is said to have been composed as a tribute to Therese Malfatti, whom Beethoven had allegedly proposed to in 1810, but was rejected.
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Posted March 22, 2011 at 3:00 am | No comments
Though the song “Lake of Fire” is probably best known for being played during Nirvana’s iconic MTV Unplugged set, it was actually written in 1983 by The Meat Puppets. It was one of three Meat Puppet songs, along with “Plateau” and “Oh, Me,” that Kurt Cobain and company included on their Unplugged album, and it received steady radio play after a subsequent album was released by the band a few months after Cobain committed suicide in 1984. Members of the Meat Puppets joined Nirvana onstage during the concert, and lent their talents to the songs that they had penned a decade earlier. Aside from Nirvana’s most notable cover, “Lake of Fire” has also been played in concert by Wide Spread Panic during their Halloween Music Show in Austin Texas, in 2009.
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Posted March 21, 2011 at 9:16 am | No comments
Written at a time when Neil Young had just used his immense fame and fortune to buy a large Ranch, “Old Man” reflects the guitarist’s relationship to the caretakers of the Ranch, and elderly couple, and the contrast between the two generations. Besides featuring the iconic Canadian musician on guitar and vocals, folk-rock legend James Taylor contributed a banjo part to the song, and vocalist Linda Ronstadt sang background vocals as well, pulling together three of the top performers and songwriters of their, or any, era onto one track.
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Posted March 20, 2011 at 8:05 am | No comments
Peaking as the band’s top single at the time when it was released in 2001, “Plug In Baby” has become one of Muse’s most notable and recognizable songs in the years since it first appeared on their album Origin of Symmetry. Borrowing from a variety of influences, including Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” for the opening guitar riff, Air’s “Sexy Boy” for the bass line and DJ Shadow’s track “Organ Donor,” the song brings together many of the classic inspirations that have come together in the musical melting pot that is Muse.
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Posted March 19, 2011 at 6:00 am | No comments
I wonder if Metallica knew how big their fifth album was going to be when they recorded it, which was self-titled but is often referred to as the “Black Album” due to its all black cover. Already at the top of the thrash-metal world at the time, after Metallica was released the band became international stars in the rock world as well, as the album’s singles and videos received massive airplay on radio stations and video channels across the globe. Though the album was a bit of a departure from their previous, more thrash oriented, releases, it still remains a fan favorite to this day, and helped land the band in the upper echelon of rock stardom.
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Posted March 18, 2011 at 1:00 pm | No comments
Originally written by ‘80s metal band Diamond Head, the song “Am I Evil” has had an interesting journey over the years as it rose from relative obscurity to a metal powerhouse, helped along the way by some of the biggest names of the Thrash era. The song was given little acclaim when it was released on Diamond Head’s 1980 album Lightning for the Nations, but, in 1988, after it was featured on Metallica’s reissue of their album Kill ‘Em All, the song found mainstream success and has since gone on to make enough royalties for Diamond Head that the band has credited it with allowing them to continue as a band.
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Posted March 17, 2011 at 12:15 pm | No comments
Whether you’re a fan of Southern swamp rock or not, you have to admit that Lynyrd Skynyrd’s album Lynyrd Skynyrd (pronounced ‘lĕh-‘nérd ‘skin-‘nérd)is one of the best debut albums by any rock band of all time. With “Gimme Three Steps,” “Tuesday’s Gone,” and of course the iconic arena-rock anthem “Free Bird” all finding spots on the record, it’s no wonder that the album launched the band to national fame, a career which through many ups and downs continues to this day. For instance, the album cover features 7 members, though at the time of its release the band only had 6 members since bassist Leon Wilkeson had quite even before the first record was released.
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