Month: August 2017

Apple Music vs. Amazon Music Unlimited

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Back when I first started the blog, I did a comparison of Apple Music vs. Amazon Prime Music.  Apple Music easily won that battle as the Music streaming service with Prime was very limited.  That has since changed.  Amazon now has their own full streaming service called Amazon Music Unlimited.  During Amazon Prime Day last month, Amazon offered the service for $0.99 for four months.  I figured for that price, it was worth a try. Now, it is time to see how Amazon Music Unlimited compares to Apple Music.

Apple Music vs. Amazon Music Unlimited

 There are definite differences between the two and one is edges out the other and as a result, one will no longer be used. First, lets talk about what each service offers and which is the better service for that item.

Music Selection

There are two features that I think are the most important. The first feature is music selection. What artists and songs does each service offer? Are they artist I like? Is the selection enough to satisfy me? Here is what I have found:

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“My First Time” with Stone Temple Pilots – “Purple”

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When Grunge came on the scene, I refused to listen.  I was still a hard rock enthusiast and didn’t quite get this new style of music.  I will admit that I never got the fascination with Nirvana, even to this day I don’t get it and I don’t think I ever will. I am sure I am in the minority. I didn’t care for Soundgarden or Pearl Jam either at the time, but have since found them both to be outstanding with Soundgarden now my favorite of the two.  But there was one band out of the Big Four, that I found to be incredible.  They were Stone Temple Pilots.

I didn’t jump on board with the first album although it started me leaning in their direction.  It was ‘Purple’ that was “My First Time” experience with Stone Temple Pilots.  When I heard the song “Vasoline”, I was hooked and there was no looking back.  The late, great Scott Weiland was one of the greatest frontmen in Rock and the swagger and charisma he brought to the stage is unmatched by most singers.

The band might have been considered, Grunge, but to me it was more like the rock & roll I grew up loving.  Yes, they had the Grunge elements, but the way these guys played just screamed Rock and that is probably why I connected with them more than the others.  The band consisted of the following members:

  • Scott Weiland – lead vocals
  • Dean DeLeo – guitar
  • Robert DeLeo – bass, backing vocals
  • Eric Kretz – drums

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My Sunday Song – “Barracuda” by Heart

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My Sunday Song #54 is by the one and only Heart.  The song is “Barracuda” off their 1977 album ‘Little Queen’.  The song was their second highest charting song at the time and it was their second Top 20 hit peaking at #11.  “Magic Man” was their only song higher charting at #9.

Why do I like this song?  Easy, that guitar riff that opens the song and is played throughout is enough!!  It was one of their heavier rock songs and showed they could kick some serious ass.  The aggressiveness of the music and the lyrics made them a powerhouse and I think made people take note of how great they can be.  This was the song that made me a Heart fan.

From what I can find on the song, it is mostly about Ann Wilson’s disdain for their former label Mushroom Records.  Apparently Mushroom Records had placed ads in magazines/papers that hinted that Ann & Nancy were lesbian lovers having an incestuous relationship.  Needless to say, this angered her greatly and from great anger comes great music. (thanks to Songfacts.com).  You can see the add that was placed by clicking on HEART AD. That would have pissed me off as well.  The band left the label shortly thereafter and the rest is history.

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Friday New Releases – August 25th

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It is the last Friday of August and school is back in session for most people (my kids actually start this coming Monday).  August has really sucked for new releases (for the most part).  This week is no different. There is only one I am interested in and it is Degreed.  I already have enough Motley Crue as I have Girls, Girls, Girls on Vinyl and CD and plus they aren’t really offering anything I don’t already have.  Queen of the Stone Age has a new album out as well, but really don’t care…never have.  Man, I am just a downer today…sorry.  My interest is highlighted in Blue.  September looks to be a much better month for releases as Fall generally is the best time of the year for new albums as everyone wants to get it out before Christmas.

  • download-2  Degreed – Degreed – (Gain/Sony):  Degreed came to my attention thanks to a little label called MelodicRock Records and I have been following them ever since.  They are a melodic rock band with a very modern sound and are actually pretty great.  Give them a try if you haven’t.  Each album has some gems (CD is out next week, MP3/Streaming today)

  • 518DpWvkoML._AA160_  Queens of the Stone Age – Villains – (Matador Records)

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Scooby-Doo and KISS – Rock and Roll Mystery – Movie Review

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For some reason, my youngest daughter has been fascinated by the band KISS.  I am sure it stems from all the KISS albums and videos I have. When she was younger, we would joke that her tongue was like Gene Simmons, so the Demon became the character she liked best.

My youngest also loves Scooby-Doo.  So when KISS and Scooby-Doo joined forces for a video, naturally she had to have it.  And being the great father and Kisss fan that I am, I made sure she had it.

Instead of me trying to be creative and explain this hard to explain movie, I will let the editors of Amazon.com do it for me…

Get ready to Rock! Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. Gang team up with the one and only KISS in this all-new, out-of-this-world adventure! We join the Gang at Kiss World – the all-things-Kiss theme park, as they investigate a series of strange hauntings. With help from Kiss, they discover that the Crimson Witch has returned to summon The Destroyer from the alternate dimension of Kissteria! The evil duos ghastly plan, to destroy the earth! Can the Gang’s cunning and Kiss’s power of rock save the day?! Tune in to this Rock and Roll Mystery for some thunderous, heavy FUN!

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Def Leppard – ‘Hysteria’ 30th Anniversary (Deluxe Edition) – Album Review

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Thirty years ago on August 3rd, 1987, Def Leppard released their fourth studio album, ‘Hysteria’.  Little did they know this ground breaking album would go on to sell over 25 million records, produce 7 hit singles and go to #1 on the Billboard Charts.  The album was a labor of love for the band as it took several years to record and they struggled so much during this time.

There were so many setbacks during the recording of the album.  First, Robert John “Mutt” Lange turned down the producing job for the record after he had recorded “High & Dry” (my personal favorite) and “Pyromania” although he did help in the initial song writing for the record.  The band went through several producers during the recording including working with Jim Steinman of ‘Bat Out of Hell’ fame.  Their relationship did not go smoothly and he was later fired (they paid him a lot of money to get out of the contract so it must have gone badly). Later in the process, “Mutt” did come back and produce the final product and then history was made.

The second big obstacle was Rick Allen’s car accident that severed his arm.  Yes, the drummer of the band lost an arm.  With all respect to the band, they did not abandon Rick.  They stood by him and supported him until he was capable of playing the drums with one arm using an electronic drum set and a set of foot pedals to compensate for the lost arm.  It definitely was a trying time.  I won’t go into much more as you can watch the documentary included to learn more.

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My Sunday Song – “Vasoline” by Stone Temple Pilots

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For My Sunday Song #53, I have gone with “Vasoline” by Stone Temple Pilots.  This is one of my favorite STP songs…one of many.  The song was the second single off their second album ‘Purple’.  It is also the second most successful song they had.  It reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Rock Album Tracks chart for two weeks.  The most successful song was “Interstate Love Song”.

What do I like about this song?  That opening bass part is flat out amazing.  The best part of the song.  I also dig the uptempo, fast driving feel to the song.  The guitar solo is also fast, but impactful.  And of course, Scott Weiland’s vocals.  The song is short at under 3 minutes, but what an impression it leaves.

In researching the song, I found out how they came up with that sound effect on the bass.  Robert DeLeo ran his bass through a wah wah pedal.  As I am a fan and not a musician, I had to look up “wah wah pedal”.  Here is what wikipedia says…

A wah-wah pedal (or simply wah pedal) is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name “wah-wah”. The pedal sweeps the peak response of a frequency filter up and down in frequency to create the sound, a spectral glide, also known as “the wah effect”.

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Friday New Releases – August 18th

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Welcome to another Friday of new releases.  There is not a whole lot I am interested in and might give one or two a listen (highlighted in Blue) but still undecided.  Next week will have more to offer.  Hopefully there is something here for you.  Since there isn’t many, I will leave some videos for a number of the artist so you can try them out.

  • 51IGBakil2L._AC_US218_  Nathan Angelo – A Matter of Time – (Nathan Angelo Music):  Nathan Angelo is a singer/songwriter and more on the pop side. I have liked some of his older offerings, so if I am in the mood, I will throw this on and give it a spin.

  • 51jN2sjEiQL._AC_US218_  Steven Wilson – To The Bone – (SW Records):  I am not familiar with Steven Wilson, but this song was good and has peaked my interest a little.  Maybe I will play this one as well.

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Quiet Riot – ‘Road Rage’ – Album Review

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Quiet Riot isn’t really Quiet Riot as there are absolutely ZERO original members in the band.  The closest thing they have is Frankie Banali who was in the band during their 80’s heyday. For starters, this is not a good thing.  Next, the album was supposed to be released back on April 21st with then lead singer Seann Nichols, however, Seann left the band (or fired) in March prior to its release.

So Quiet Riot needed a new lead singer.  They quickly added former American Idol alum, Jason Durbin to be the new singer.  They smartly decided to delay the album release and re-record it with their new lead singer.  All that is fine as James has released a couple good solo albums; however, his last one was a little subpar.  Despite that, I had a little bit of hope as I do like James Durbin.

Now here is something weird.  They went back in an actually re-wrote all the songs, but kept the same song titles probably because the artwork and design of the album was already done and Frontier Records didn’t want to spend anymore money.  My first question is how bad were the original songs that you had to completely re-write them. That definitely doesn’t bode well.

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The Debut: Wolfmother – ‘Wolfmother’

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Welcome back to the second episode of “The Debut”.  For this round, we talk about another retro rock band out of Australia called Wolfmother.  The name alone would have made me listen to this album, but it is certainly the music that has kept me coming back again and again.

Like Jet, Wolfmother is not the most original band out there.  The band has been accused of ripping off some of the great metal bands of the 60’s & 70’s, most especially Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and even a little Jimi Hendrix.  If you were into those bands, than this album is something for you.  If you need a comparison to some more recent bands, I can hear a little White Stripes as well, but mostly for me it is Sabbath with Plant vocal stylings.

They also stick to themes you would have expected from that era as well.  You get mystical unicorns, vagabonds, pyramids, witches and so much more.  To hear this heavy, distorted and screaming guitars and listen to the Zeppelinesque song stylings at the time were like nothing else on the radio.  It took me back to a good place and I have never stopped loving this album.  I enjoy it just as much today as a did upon its release in the States back in 2006.

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