Five years? Really? That should change.

I Like Black and White

There are a few songs in this world that just get me all jazzed up. Whig Wham Bam by Sweet, Gates Of Steel by Devo, Be My Lover by Alice Cooper, Do Anything You Want To by Thin Lizzy, and this song by Slade.
If you're old enough to remember Slade in their Glam heyday, then surely this was their crap 80's era single to you, or if you were my age you probably wondered what these old fogies were doing on your MTV, and if you're a young'un looking back on this now, you probably wonder how this was ever a hit. To me though, this song is a thing of beauty.

Kittens Inspired By Kittens

Funny Ha Ha

A couple of must reads that I've just got around to linking to.

Tom H. Head Knockoff and one of the finest men I know.

Lynn from Canada. Ok, I know Canada is a big place to designate one from, but that's how I've always referred to her.

Youtube took down the original videos, but the videos of stsanders are back and better than ever.

Case in point:



I was able to fix the links in this post from a few months back.

End Of Summer

A classic video made by Casey.

Mark

I’m not sure how I missed linking my friend Mark’s blog for so long, but you can check him out at the Big Reason.

My First Gig In The New Year

There's Only One Way To Shred

I like Van Halen pre Sammy Hagar, and I like Sammy Hagar pre Van Halen. Go figure.

I won't ruin it for you by saying too much about it, but really, you should watch this video. Trust me.



The video was made by this guy, and he's got plenty more to keep you enthralled for awhile.

May I suggest starting with this video?

Oh yeah, and even though I'm pretty pleased with myself for coming up with that opening line, the truth is that I wrote Van Halen off at Diver Down, and gave up on Sammy after he wrote I Can't Drive 55.

Original Sin

There is a new music blog looming on the horizon, and upon hearing about it, prompted me to have at least one entry dedicated to music, and share one of my favorite stories.

Sometime around the end of 1985 or beginning of 1986, my friend Ken and I made one of our monthly trips to the Record Vault on Polk Street in San Francisco, a haven of all things Metal; records, posters, and a much talked about 'Demo' cassette section.

There would always be a colorful assortment of Underground Metalheads hanging out and, of course, band members.

Lars Ulrich was in the store hanging out with the owners and talking about working on the follow up to the Metallica album Ride The Lightning (the album they were putting the finishing touches on would become Master Of Puppets).

Ken asked Lars to sign a poster he just bought, to which Lars replied "For a small financial contribution." He was a dick. Really. When Ken pointed to himself on the poster he was having him sign (it was a live shot), Lars couldn't have cared any less. I suppose that's fine, he can act however he'd like, but it just made us comment about how big of a jerk he was.

My favorite Record Vault story doesn't involve Metallica though, even though being 15, talking with one of the members of one of my favorite bands at the time while they were working on an album that would eventually stay on an endless loop for much of 1986 is probably pretty great, it can't top our chance meeting with the band Sin.

We met Steve Johnson and Dave Kong the day they were bringing their freshly printed single to the store for sale. (I have to admit shock at finding a link here, and makes this post even more grand, and really, should probably warrant a post devoted entirely to Mr. Kong)



"Can we get you to autograph it?" we asked. Unlike Lars, they were cool and proudly signed what was sure to be a much sought after limited release single someday.



Check out that photo shoot; marble busts, goblets, columns, cobra statues, and grapes. Good Lord (ha!) this photo shoot has it all!

As Ken and I made our way back over the Bay Bridge, we had a laugh talking about the silly declarations of the autographs; mine with Religion Sucks, and Ken's with an even more simply stated Fuck God.

Of course, that didn't even come close to preparing us for what the record itself looked like. I think Ken about drove right off of the bridge as I pulled the vinyl from it's sleeve.



The funny thing about putting this post together is how familiar the songs are and how well worn the single is.

The 'A' Side

Damn The Preacher

The 'B' Side

Night Caller

I guess the joke's on me though. I thought the boys were just following the fad in Metal of the day, but Dave Kong is still flying that flag. Oh yeah, he's still flying that God-awful (ha! again) haircut too.

Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?

It's been all downhill since.