I was a huge fan of Eric Clapton for many years, but I felt like he got way too namby-pamby back in the ‘9os.  That being said, I’ve always liked this one: But not as good as this one: I think I’m a huge fan again… UPDATE: Nice to see him bringing the kids along.  I have […]

The ones who’ve brought us a minivan commercial featuring Judas Priest’s “The Hellion,” that is. Dont’ get me wrong.  With all the drivel on TV, I welcome hearing KK Downing and Glenn Tipton’s guitars screaming at me from my set.  But for a minivan? And what’s with the chinless androgyne who is apparently, to the […]

Grunge.  Everyone wearing shorts and flannel shirts.  What was with that? So I came to Alice in Chains late, years after Layne Staley was in his grave.  But they were the very embodiment of the music, I think — even if you can’t escape Nirvana and Pearl Jam embodying the personae. Good stuff. Say, to shift […]

I’ve always liked his “Hello It’s Me,” so I went hunting for it on YouTube last weekend.  Little did I know the horror that awaited me. Showed it to Sweet Miss ViVi tonight, and we both agreed we hope the Toddster looks back on this and thinks, “Wow, I don’t remember that AT ALL!  I […]

How does one at all cover the whole Deep Purple oeuvre?  (How, indeed, does one even use the word “oeuvre?”) Well, I won’t even try. I’ll just throw out a random sampling of their gems. This one from Machine Head should’ve gotten at least as much play as “Smoke On the Water” (if only for […]

I’ve got to say, while Roland Orzabal (below, left) just looks like an older version of his early-’80s-heyday self, Curt Smith is one of those rare lucky bastards whose appearance actually benefited from his aging a couple decades.

The song is from 1969.  The concert is from ’82, about the time I served these guys barbecue at John Wills Barbecue in Memphis, Tennessee, after their concert there.  Pretty nice, down-to-earth fellas as I recall.

He died 40 years ago today.  (Thanks to Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit for the reminder.)

I have GOT to learn the dance Arthur Brown does on this video.

I’d forgotten about these guys until my wife plugged a bootleg CD someone gave us a long time ago into the car player when we were on our way to dinner last night.  They totally rock — and getting re-acquainted with Henry Garza’s guitar and his and his brothers’ Tejano sound is all too appropriate as we remember […]