Friday New Releases – Aug. 5th

I can’t believe it is August already.  This year has flown.  And it is time for yet another Friday of new releases.  A couple of albums I am really excited to hear – The Dead Daisies and Skillet.  There are also a bunch I will try to listen to as well.  As usual, all the ones I am interested in the most are highlighted in Blue.  It appears it is a Hard Rock Friday for me.

  • 61+XgETNCSL._AC_US160_  The Dead Daisies – Make Some Noise – (SPV) – The Dead Daisies are are Super Group mixed with Australian and American musicians.  There have been several rotations in the band and on this album the band consists of David Lowy (Mink), Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake, Dio & Burning Rain), Marco Mendozza (Whitesnake, Blue Murder & Black Star Riders), John Corabi (Motley Crue, The Scream) and Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Ozzy, Billy Idol).  This should be another great release with such great musicians.

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Tour Dates – Updated

I have finally tried something with my Tour Dates Page.  I have been struggling with what I wanted to do with it and I finally decided the first step was to actually have something on the page.

What I have done is put a list of bands that are currently on tour.  The bands are either coming to or near the Charlotte Area or a band I have seen or want to see.  The band name is a link to their website tour page and shows all their upcoming shows.

I will eventually think of something creative to do with it, but for now this is what I have.  I will do my best to keep it updated and if a band name doesn’t have a link anymore, they are no longer on tour.  If there are bands you would like to see added, please let me know in the comment section or email me at jts@2loud2oldmusic.com.

Thanks!

MTV Debuted 35 Years ago today – August 1st, 1981

It is hard to believe, but it was 35 years ago today that MTV debuted and changed music forever.  It also changed me forever.  When we got cable, MTV was the channel I had to watch.  It was the channel that shaped my music tastes and helped make me so obsessive about music.

It allowed us to not only listen to our favorite music, but actually get to see our favorite artists.  We no longer had to wait for American Bandstand to come on or get the latest music magazine to see the artists.  We could watch them every day, all day in their videos.

The first video played on MTV was The Buggles – “Video Killed the Radio Star”.  This was the most appropriate opening video they could have possibly chosen.  Although it didn’t really help their career as I couldn’t name another song they did.  It did make them famous forever for being known as the song that was the first video on MTV.  If you want to see a list of all the videos played on the 1st day, click on this link to wikipedia.

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Friday New Releases – July 29th

July has been lackluster with the number of albums out mainly due to August & September being such huge release months.  There are some good ones coming out this week, at least I hope they are good.  The ones that have my interest peaked the most are in blue.

  • 517YSRrNH9L._AC_US160_  3 Pill Morning – Never Look Back – (Countdown Ent):  3 Pill Morning followed me on Twitter so I gave their music a listen and I have to say I am really excited about their new album.  If you haven’t heard of them, you should check them out.  What type of music, well they have toured with Theory of a Deadman, Shinedown, Blackstone Cherry, Saving Abel, Fozzy and others so that should give you a good idea.

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Needtobreathe – Hard Love – Album Review – 91%

‘Hard Love’ is Needtobreathe’s sixth studio album and one I have been anticipating for quite awhile.  Needtobreathe is one of my favorite bands and their last album wasn’t one of my favorite albums they have done.  It had a darker tone and overall message and didn’t leave with me the great feeling I usually have with a Needtobreathe album.

When I heard about the new album, I was hoping they would lighten up a little and to my surprise they did more than that.  They actually did deliver a much lighter, happier sounding album, but so much so that it feels more like a pop album.  A POP ALBUM???  Needtobreathe is a southern rock, country, folk and straight up rock band.  They are a Christian based band. They are not a POP Band.  Maybe working with Gavin DeGraw on the song “Brother” influenced them greatly.

If you listen to their songs on this album, there is a drum machine.  Not real drums, but a freakin’ drum machine.  And dance grooves on some of the songs.  WTF???  My mind is spinning, what is going on.  The world has gone crazy!.

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Friday New Releases – July 22nd

This is a very quiet week for new releases.  Only one new one that I am eager to hear, Leeland’s ‘Invisible’.  There are 2 greatest hits that you should check out if you don’t have all their stuff already – Dio and Dragonforce.  Outside of that, not real excited about the others.

  • 515hrNs8fbL._AC_US160_  Leeland – Invisible – (Provident) – It has been about 5 years since their last album. The band’s line-up has changed significantly and only 2 members left.  If you like Christian music, they are worth giving a listen.

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Billy Joel – “It’s Still Rock & Roll To Me”

Did you know that Billy Joel’s song “It’s Still Rock & Roll To Me” was #1 on this date, July 19th, back in the year 1980?  And amazingly was his first #1 single!!  He had been releasing albums since 1971 and this was his first #1???  Incredible!!

If I am not mistaken, it was also his first Gold Record, but the song went on to sell over 2 million copies in the U.S. alone.  It is featured on his album from 1980, ‘Glass Houses’ (which I proudly have on vinyl that I have recently rediscovered).

From what I can gather, the song is about how the press was talking up the “new wave” of music at the time and He thought that this so called “new sound” wasn’t really new but it was just rock. It seems also that the label said he needed to change up his style and sound to stay relevant. He felt he would stay relevant and it didn’t matter how he dressed or what he did.  Below is the video and check out the lyrics below.  Enjoy!

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Friday New Releases – July 15th

I have been waiting for this Friday since I found out Needtobreathe was releasing a new album.  That pretty much means I don’t give a rat’s ass about anything else coming out today.  There are some I will check out after several days of listening to ‘Hard Love’.  Those will be highlighted in Blue.

  • needtobreathe-hard-love  Needtobreathe – Hard Love – (Atlantic):  Nothing else matters.  This is the release to check out.  They have been one of my favorite, if not my favorite, band over the last decade.  “Happiness” is classic Needtobreathe so I have high expectations this release.

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Def Leppard – High & Dry – 35th Anniversary

Today, July 11th, marks the 35th Anniversary of Def Leppard’s best and heaviest album, ‘High & Dry’.  Everyone knows the albums ‘Pyromania’ and ‘Hysteria’, but the album that started it for me was ‘High & Dry’.  My brother had their first album on vinyl ‘On Through the Night’, but that album didn’t really do much for me.  I liked it, but it was lacking in a lot of areas.

It was this album that changed my views on Def Leppard.  This album is what a Rock & Roll album was supposed to sound like.  Once I heard this album, my world was never the same.  Def Leppard became a part of my life and has not stopped since.

What was so special about this album?  For starters, the producer was the legendary, Mutt Lange.  He went on to produce ‘Pyromania’ and ‘Hysteria’ as well.  Mutt Lange was able to take the elements that were missing on their first album and put them together here.  The improvements from their first album to here are huge.  They sounded like a band that had a plan and an idea of who they were that they didn’t have before.

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Switchfoot – “Looking For America (feat. Lecrae)”

The new Switchfoot album,’Where the Light Shines Through’, is incredible and there were 2 songs that really spoke to me that I have to share.  The first one is “Looking for America (Feat. Lecrae)”.  The second one I will post tomorrow.

“Looking for America” is so timely for the tragic events of this week.  First the tragic killings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling by the police and then last night’s equally tragic killings of 5 police officers in Dallas, Tx.  Words can not express how I feel about these events and I feel this great country is losing itself.  When I heard this song, I pushed repeat and continued listening to it the whole drive home from work.

I know the song isn’t about the killings this past week, but about America’s problems overall.  However, it is seems so relevant for what is currently going on that I felt I needed to share.

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