Month: October 2016

Stryper – 30 Years of ‘To Hell With the Devil’

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Stryper is currently touring in support of the 30th Anniversary of their break-through album ‘To Hell With the Devil’.  The album was released back on October 24, 1986 and became the first Christian Metal album to go platinum.  It was the best selling Christian metal album all the way up to 2001 when P.O.D. outsold it with their album ‘Satellite’ (another great album).

The videos for the album were on regular rotation on MTV which was so unusual for a band that was labeled as Christian.  They actually made it cool to listen to music about Christ. They are the reason why I still listen to Christian music today (well Christ has a lot to do with it too).  Most Christian music was fairly boring and somewhat cheesy.  But not Stryper. They had screaming guitars, pounding drums, deep bass and soaring vocals. Perfect for the so called Glam era that was overtaking the radios at the time.

The band had its own gimmicks.  The hair of course…wow!!  The hairspray bill alone must of have been outrageous.  The most memorable was them wearing the yellow & black leather outfits during their shows (which they will don again during their anniversary tour for the album). The band also handed out bibles to the crowd (I never got one).  I did see them live on their tour in support of the next album ‘In God We Trust’, but was not close enough to get a bible.

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My Sunday Song – “Brand New” by Ben Rector

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I can’t believe I am on my 11th My Sunday Song post.  Time to change it up a bit.  I have a new picture for the next 10 weeks (thanks to my wonderful Mother-In-Law) and the song choices will vary slightly.  These next 10 songs won’t be songs by Christian based artists.   They are going to be by mainstream artists, but they will still be fun, up-lifting and have a positive message.

I am starting #11 with the song “Brand New” by Ben Rector.  The song is off his latest album of the same name for which he is currently touring.  Check out the album and the tour as you will not be disappointed.

The song “Brand New” is such a happy song and can put a smile on your face.  Everyone loves the brand new feel of a new car, new clothes, newly washed bedsheets and the feel of a new girlfriend/boyfriend.  This song makes you feel all those things and more all over again and again.

The video for the song is extra cool as it is a bunch of clips of fan-made videos for the song. He held a contest with Yahoo to hold an acoustic show in a fan’s living room.   So many great videos were sent in that they compiled them together to make this super fun video.

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Maroon 5 – “Don’t Wanna Know” – New Song & New Video

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Maroon 5 dropped a new song and video today.  The song is “Don’t Wanna Know” and features Kendrick Lamar for just around 18 seconds.  Sadly, he isn’t in the video.  No announcement of a new album, but hopefully soon.

The song is pretty good and is growing on me.  The video is massively disturbing.  The band is dressed up as Pokemon characters and they are being chased all around by idiots with cellphones trying to capture them.  Obviously poking fun at Pokemon Go.  The video features Sarah Silverman and Vince Vaughn (probably because it was directed by the director the “Wedding Crashers” , David Dobkin.

With the video, I think they are also poking fun at how they probably feel with the media and crazed fans.  They are always dodging the paparazzi and getting bothered by fans wanting a picture or an autograph.  Maybe I am putting too much thought into it.

Alright, here is the video.  Give it a view just to see the strangeness that is going on.  Enjoy!

Friday New Releases – October 14th

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Another Friday and another long list of New Releases.  The wife has gone to Michigan to tour lighthouses with her parents and left me with the kids.  I am going to need something to listen to so I don’t go crazy this weekend.  Good thing there are a bunch I am interested in listening to…and they are highlighted in Blue!

  • cover170x170-1  Tenth Avenue North – Followers – (Provident):  Tenth Avenue North is a pop/rock Christian band out of Florida.  They have been playing since 2000, but their first album didn’t come out until 2008.  Now on their 5th album, I am expecting more of the same energy from the new album and looking forward to it.

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The Top 20 Songs of Weird Al Yankovic

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Weird Al Yankovic has been doing song parodies for over 30 years.  If you are an artist in the music business, you haven’t really made it until Weird Al does a parody of one of your songs.  His songs are hilarious and so creative, most of the time, that I always look forward to each of his releases.

But what made Weird Al totally amazing were his videos of the songs he parodied.  Some were complete remakes of the original artists video and others were completely original to go with the song.  Either way, they were always worth watching.

After going through his albums and listening to loads of songs, it turns out I really like the stuff he has done since 2000.  Although his 80’s/90’s stuff is classic, some of it did not hold up well over time for me.

The Top 20 below are what I believe to be his best songs.  I am sure people will disagree as everyone has their own personal favorites.  Okay, my wife doesn’t. She doesn’t appreciate his genius. Go through the list and let me know what you think and what I might have missed.  A couple songs that just missed the cut were “Ricky” and “Alimony”.

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My Sunday Song – “God’s Not Dead (Like a Lion)” by Newsboys

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My Sunday Song #10 is “God’s Not Dead (Like a Lion)” by the band Newsboys and from the movie called “Gods Not Dead”.  My wife had mentioned that the movie “God’s Not Dead 2” was out now on DVD and we should watch it.  That of course brought me back to this song which I felt I would share.

The inspiration for the movies was this song.  The first movie “God’s Not Dead” was based around the premise of a college philosophy professor demands the students sign a petition declaring God is dead to pass his class.  One student refuses and has to defend to the professor and the class why God is not dead.  We watched with our family and it was a great family movie.  The sequel “God’s Not Dead 2” is about a teacher who gets sued for mentioning God in class and how she goes defends herself.  Looking forward to seeing it.

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Bruno Mars – 24k Magic – New Song & New Album

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Bruno Mars is back with a new song, new video and an upcoming new album.  ’24k Magic’ is Bruno’s new album coming out on November 18th on Atlantic Records.  My daughter and I were listening to “Uptown Funk” a few weeks ago and were wondering when he would release something new and now we have an answer.

I have to admit that I love Bruno Mars and I am excited about some new music from him. The song is typical Bruno sound and pure pop magic.  I would imagine he puts on a great live show with all that energy he and the band always show.  Give it a spin and get out of your chair and dance baby!!

Friday New Releases – October 7th

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Another fantastic Friday of new releases.  There are so many albums coming out today that if you can’t find one you like, you are not looking hard enough.  Alter Bridge’s new album is the one I am going to get immediately and crank it up on the way to work.  The other ones I am interested in hearing are highlighted in Blue.  I talk about a few them, but there are just so many I want to listen to this week.  I hope I can get through them all.

  • 61ho1rFQ5fL._AC_US160_  Alter Bridge – The Last Hero – (Alter Bridge):  Alter Bridge is back and in full force.  They are one of the best rock bands out there and have the hardest working man in the music business as lead singer, Myles Kennedy.  He has one of the best voices for rock as well.  Mark Tremonti on guitars, Brian Marshall on Bass and Scott Philips on Drums…what else do you need.

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Bon Jovi – Tour Dates 2017

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Bon Jovi announced their new tour dates in support of their upcoming album ‘This House is Not For Sale’.  Not sure how excited I am about seeing them again as I have seen them several times.  Plus, they are not coming to Charlotte so I will not be traveling anywhere to see them.  But maybe you can.

People who have seen them in concert recently have already heard the whole album, but I have only heard three songs off the new album. Two are okay “This House is Not For Sale” and “Knockout”.  The third song, “Labor of Love”, is just plain awful. Nothing is GREAT!! so far.  Here is to still holding out a little hope for some great songs.

Bon Jovi Tour Dates

February 8 – Greenville, SC @ Bon Secours Wellness Arena
February 10 – Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena
February 12 – Sunrise, FL @ BB&T Center
February 14 – Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena
February 16 – Birmingham, AL @ BJCC
February 18 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
February 19- St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center
February 21 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Chesapeake Energy Center
February 23- Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
February 25- Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena
February 28- Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center
March 1 – San Jose, CA @ SAP Center
March 4 – Phoenix, AZ @ Talking Stick Resort Arena
March 5 – San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
March 8 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
March 14 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
March 16 – Memphis, TN @ FedExForum
March 18 – Columbus, OH @ Nationwide Arena
March 19 – Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena
March 22 – Indianapolis, IN @ Bankers Life Fieldhouse

Joseph – Concert Review

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The opening act for the James Bay concert on September 25th at the Fillmore in Charlotte was a female trio called Joseph.  Joseph are three sisters who come to us from Portland, Oregon. My daughter has really enjoyed their new album ‘I’m Alone, No You’re Not’ that only came out a few weeks back.  She got me to listen to it as well so I would be familiar with the band when we went to the concert. And I have to say the album is really great and worth a listen.

Now before the show, as we were standing behind the sound boards, there was a young lady standing in front of them talking to the sound guy.  My daughter started getting exciting as she turned to me and said that it was one of the girls from Joseph.  And sure enough, it was Natalie.  Why my daughter didn’t snap a picture of her I don’t know.

The band consists of only Natalie, Allison & Meegan Closner and when the show started, the three sisters walked out on stage by themselves with only Natalie carrying a guitar. A very simple set up.  They did have a drummer during the show, but he was off stage and out of sight.  When they started singing, it was apparent they really didn’t need anything more than their voices.  They were amazing.  The 3 part harmonies were spot on and I have to tell you these women can sing.

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