Sunday, September 30, 2007

September - Third Week's Chart

1. object Values = 90 points
2. Cassandra = 50 points
3. Gareth = 40 points
4. Petrica the Cat=20 points
4. Malcom = 20 points

Making a strong comeback this week, our old friend object Values.
Second place this week with only 50 points (but leading this month chart with 170 points - so far) Cassandra. Go Cassandra, go :))
And we are welcoming two new players: Gareth and Malcom. I hope they're enjoying themselves and will continue taking part in this competition.

I'm surprised no one recognized Backyard Babies. After all, they had a concert here in June...

Friday, September 28, 2007

Quiz #95 - The Black Crowes "Hard to handle"

If you know the band and the song provide your answers in the comment form til Friday, October the 5th. Don't fret if the comments don't appear right away, they will be posted after the quiz is ended.

UPDATED:

At the time of their 1990 debut, the kind of rock & roll the Black Crowes specialize in was out of style. Only Guns N' Roses came close to approximating a vintage Stones-style raunch, but they were too angry and jagged to pull it off completely. The Black Crowes replicated that Stonesy swagger and Faces boogie perfectly. Vocalist Chris Robinson appropriated the sound and style of vintage Rod Stewart while guitarist Rich Robinson fused Keith Richards' lean attack with Ron Wood's messy rhythmic sense. At their best, the Black Crowes echo classic rock without slavishly imitating their influences.

"Jealous Again," the first single from Shake Your Money Maker, was a moderate hit but it was the band's cover of Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle" that made the group a multi-platinum success. "Hard to Handle" climbed its way into the Top 40, propelling the album into the Top Ten. The acoustic ballad "She Talks to Angels" became the band's second Top 40 hit in the spring of 1991. Shake Your Money Maker would eventually sell over three million copies.


[more about this band here]



The Black Crowes "Hard to handle"
Album "Shake your money maker" - 1990

















Thursday, September 27, 2007

Quiz #94 - Billy Idol "Cradle of Love"

This video quiz ends next Thursday, October the 4th. More than enough time anyone should need...

UPDATED:

Along with Duran Duran, Billy Idol was one the first pop/rock artists to achieve massive success in the early '80s due to a then brand-new U.S. television network, MTV. Mixing his bad-boy good looks with an appealing blend of pop hooks, punk attitude, and a dance beats, Idol quickly rocketed to stardom, before hard living derailed his career and almost proved fatal.

Around the time of Idol's 1990's release,Charmed Life, the singer was involved in a serious motorcycle accident (in which he almost lost his leg), forcing the singer to walk with a cane for a period of time; the video for the album's lead-off single, "Cradle of Love," featured the singer filmed from the waist up. The ploy worked, as the single (which was also used as the theme song in the failed Andrew "Dice" Clay movie, Ford Fairlane) was another smash hit, making Charmed Life the fourth Idol album in a row to achieve at least reach platinum sales.

[source]



Billy Idol "Cradle of Love"
Album "Charmed life" - 1990




















Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Quiz #93 - Warrant "Cherry Pie"

yum yum

That's all I have to say, and it should be enough...:))

UPDATED:

With a pair of double-platinum albums, Warrant was one of the most popular pop-metal bands of the late '80s. Formed in Los Angeles in the mid-'80s, the group featured vocalist Jani Lane, guitarist Erik Turner, guitarist Joey Allen, bassist Jerry Dixon, and drummer Steven Sweet. They released Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich in 1989; by the middle of that year, it had climbed into the Top Ten and launched the hit singles "Down Boys," "Sometimes She Cries," and "Heaven," which reached number two.

Released in the summer of 1990, Cherry Pie was an even bigger success, climbing into the Top Ten and featuring the Top Ten hits "I Saw Red" and "Cherry Pie." Warrant had some trouble continuing their multi-platinum success during the alternative explosion of 1992, although their third album, Dog Eat Dog, did go gold; 1995's Ultraphobic, however, failed to chart. Under the Influence, the band's first proper release in more than six years, was issued in spring 2001.


[source]



Warrant "Cherry Pie"
Album: "Cherry Pie" - 1990























Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Quiz #92 - Lita Ford "Shot of poison"

This should be easy :P

UPDATED:

One of two solo stars to spring from the ashes of the '70s all-girl hard rock band the Runaways, Lita Ford has long been a more frustrating, contradictory proposition for critics than former colleague Joan Jett. Ford is subtly feminist in her musical approach, displaying guitar heroics on the level of any male metal hero; the mere fact of her existence in the otherwise testosterone-driven heavy metal genre has made her a hero to some, but her persona has often been criticized as calculated to appeal to male adolescent sexual fantasies, simply embodying the standard wild-girl stereotypes of many male metal artists' lyrics. When she has the material to back her up, though, Ford is inarguably capable of rocking out aggressively and assertively.


[source]



Lita Ford "Shot of poison"
Album "Dangerous Curves" - 1991













Monday, September 24, 2007

This Blog Rocks recommends: Win a guitar

If you like Dream Theater, you might consider entering this contest. John Petrucci's signed guitar could be yours. Deadline for entries: 30th of September.

Written in small prints: "This contest is only available for US residents. Nothing personal."

Oh well...

Quiz #91 - Terrorvision "My House"

I - wouldn't invite them over to trash my place.
You - have til next Monday to tell me who they are :P

UPDATED:

Alongside New Model Army and a fertile bhangra scene, Terrorvision are the Yorkshire city of Bradford's chief musical export. And, after capturing a UK number 1 single in 1999, there is every reason for them to be a source of local pride. After abandoning the name Spoilt Bratz in 1991, Terrorvision (named after a cult B-movie) formed around vocalist Tony Wright, guitarist Mark Yates, bass player Leigh Markley and drummer Shutty.

A single demo tape was enough to convince EMI Records to offer them not only a deal, but their own imprint, Total Vegas. A succession of albums followed, melding pop hooks with metal guitars (akin to a harsher Cheap Trick). These included Formaldehyde (1992), How to Make Friends and Influence People (1994) and Regular Urban Survivors (1996). These spawned a series of chart appearances for singles such as "New Policy One," "Pretend Best Friend," the excellent "Alice, What's the Matter?" and "Perseverance." The latter took them into the UK top five, illustrating their broadening commercial appeal.

That was confirmed with the release of 1998's Shaving Peaches, a heady mix of wacked-out pop and rock piledrivers with a real dumb charm that some compared to the Ramones. Despite attendant single "Tequila" topping the charts, Terrorvision were nevertheless dropped by EMI before the end of the millennium. However, their own label scored a working relationship with Papillion in May 2000. A sixth appearance on the "Never Mind the Buzzcocks" Christmas special soon followed prior to the band returning to the studio the next year. Good To Go, their fifth album which sparked the hit single "D'Ya Wanna Go Faster?," appeared in February 2001.

Sadly, after a string of spring shows, Terrorvision's 13-year career came to a halt when the band disbanded in June. A small farewell tour in the UK was scheduled for late fall to coincide the release of the retrospective, Whales & Dolphins, in September.


[source]



Terrorvision "My House"
Album "Formaldehyde" - 1993




















Sunday, September 23, 2007

September - Second Week's Chart

1. Cassandra = 90 points
2. Joeri = 50 points
3. object Values = 20 points
4. Petrica the Cat=10 points

I was a bit late posting the answers to the contests last week. Therefore, I accepted overdue answers. This won't happen again :)

(maybe)

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Quiz #90 - Backyard Babies "Brand new hate"

Nothing like a punk song to pump the blood right on a Saturday afternoon...

UPDATED:



Swedish punks the Backyard Babies formed in the city of Nässjö in 1987, originally comprising singer Tobbe, guitarist Dregen, bassist Johan Blomqvist and drummer Peder Carlsson. After recording a rough demo and playing a few local live dates, in 1989 the group dismissed Tobbe and replaced him with singer Nicke Borg; two more demos followed, as did a national tour, and in 1991 the Backyard Babies launched their first offical release, the EP Something to Swallow. Signing with the Megarock label in 1993, the following year the quartet issued their first full-length effort, Diesel & Power, before going on hiatus to allow Dregen the chance to work with his other band, the Hellacopters. The Backyard Babies reunited in 1997 for the single "Look at You" and the album Total 13; "Bombed (Out of My Mind)" appeared the next year.

[source]



Backyard Babies "Brand new hate"
Album "Tinnitus" - 2005