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Latest Humorous T-shirt Slogan: "Baltimore Colts", this one had the logo of the Baltimore Colts as well. Why is that humorous? How many decades have passed since the Colts were in Baltimore? (the answer is slightly over two decades).
It's fun to hate:
When Shadowtwin reigns supreme:
Music lost to history:
Alice Cooper is basically what Marilyn Manson has become. He sang about really taboo subjects at a time
when taboo actually was taboo. This particular tune is one that I began listening to after being dumped by the girl that I was supposed to marry
back in the early nineties. It is actually one of three songs that play back to back on most albums. Those three songs are, if memory serves,
"chop, chop, chop", "Gail" and "Roses on White Lace". I never really appreciated the other two quite as much as this one, but then I have
never hacked anyone to death, so check back later... This song stands alone as being pretty cool just because it states the anger that I was having at the time (back in the '90s). At the same time, it illustrates that Marilyn Manson is following the course of another very successful rocker. While Cooper's songs were not earth-shaking, they were provocative. That single fact is what has led to Manson's success. I have never heard or read Marilyn Manson say that Alice Cooper was an actual influence on his music, but here is an example of it from twenty years ago. Obligatory Linkage: BlackChampagne.com- Without his site, my site would never have existed. Is It Porn? The first site in this experimental category is Was.com, the idea here is that you have to guess if it is porn or not based on the name.
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I had absolutely no intention of putting anything up here today. Nothing on my mind, just thought I would go ahead and take care of a couple
of Pogo.com challenges. Not a lot on my plate for bitching tonight, or so I thought.
I have previously bitched (at some length) about the fact that I really hate it when bands remake (cover) songs, yet I never really thought that I would get as angry about it as I am right now.
Some of the songs that get remade later, 'Smokin in the Boy's Room' for instance, stayed true to the song, while beefing it up a bit for the ears of the people who would listen to it a couple of decades later.
Sure, Motley Crue took a few liberties and changed little things about the song, but the song remained the same, though the names had changed. That is the same thing that has happened with every fifties classic that I can even think
of. It is almost like there are only four actual songs (I mean only four songs that have ever existed, and everyone is ripping them off) and everyone tries to spin them in their own way...
I truly believe that most of the remakes are coming from a band trying to pay homage to their roots; It is what they grew up on, it is what they played while they were alone in the
garage, it is a kind of a 'thank you' to whatever band made the song that made them, in turn, go ahead and form a band. If that is the way that it happens/happened, they should really try to pay a bit of respect to the source
material itself. I will mention Metallica'a cover of the old song 'turn the page', Metallica nailed that one right on the head (even though I don't really care for what metallica has become), and brought an old song back to life.
There are times when a remake can introduce new fans to old music, but, not only are they few and far between, they also require a bit of talent. Unfortunately, I seem to be more talented (at the guitar anyway) than about 80% of the hacks (I mean bands) that do their best to totally destroy
the song that they are trying to 'cover'.
I suppose that I am being a little bit more bitter than usual (at least I hope I am being more bitter than usual) because of the
remake/cover of just one song. The band Nonpoint tried to do the old Phil Collins classic; "in the air tonight", and they tried to make it a power-chord-laden, Old Metallica song.
The thing is that the song was not written that way. The silence that follows all of the verses was done intentionally to set the mood. The original song is powerful for its silence, for its lyrics, for the fact that you don't want to listen to it without
someone next to you, or at least someone else in the house. The song is very dark, very morose, and impossible to listen to without someone holding you... Unless, of course, you have listened to that horrible cover of the song.
Trying to turn this particular song into some sort of a speedy, punk-rock type of song is just so, so wrong. The song was what it was, and it is still played on classic radio stations all over the country. If you really want to try to make a name for yourself, why not try to remake some old 'Beatles' or 'Zepplin' songs?
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