Friday New Releases – December 23rd

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To my surprise, there were actually some albums that were released today…two days before Christmas.  I pulled up Apple Music to see if there was anything and sure enough, there was.  In case you are interested for some last minute gifts, here are the handful of releases worth mentioning.  There are a couple (highlighted in Blue) that I will give a listen.  Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you all!!!

170x170bb-67  Nine Inch Nails – Not the Actual Events E.P. – (The Null Corporation):  NIN is back with a 5 song E.P. just in time for Christmas.  I am not a huge fan, but there stuff is interesting enough to at least give one spin.

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What Do You Want For Christmas? – Playlist

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Everybody wants something for Christmas.  There are a bunch of albums I would like to get on vinyl so if anyone is feeling generous, the new Motley Crue ‘The End’ Box Set would be nice.  My kids keep telling me what they want for Christmas despite the fact I keep telling them it is too late to put in new orders as Santa already has decided what they are getting.  Plus, Mommy and Daddy are done shopping.

Musicians are no different.  They want a lot of things for Christmas.  What do they want you ask?  I will tell you what they told me when I asked them.  Here is what they said…

Huey Lewis & The News – “I Want A New Drug” – I think someone has a problem!!

Queen -“I Want It All” – Greedy much?

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Concerts, Concerts, Concerts – The 80’s

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I have been going through this rock & roll trip down memory lane with this blog.  It started with the vinyl records I found in a box and than last week with the posters.  I actually found one more box from my younger days and this one had a ton of concert ticket stubs from over the years.  I also found a couple concert T’s and a couple programs as well.  I still can’t believe I kept all this stuff, but I am glad I did.

Going to a concert nowadays, they don’t give you a physical ticket anymore.  If they do, they charge you for it.  Nope, tickets are on your phone and get scanned in or you print it out on your printer.  Not the same as those dot matrix printers from the old days.

You also used to stand in line for tickets.  You had to arrive an hour or two before the tickets went on sale whether it was hot, cold, raining or snowing.  We did it each and every time we wanted to go see a show.  And we loved it!  Now you go online from the comfort of you home…not the same.

Whether you want to or not, I am going to take you on a journey of my musical concert experiences…at least most of them because I think I am missing quite a few ticket stubs.

The 80’s

Our journey begins back around 1983.  I was only 14 years old.  My parents finally agreed to let me go to a concert, but I had to go with my sister…REALLY!!!  Actually, it was okay.  My sister and I have been to many concerts together and even went to one 2 years ago some 3o+ years later.

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The Top Albums of 2016

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The year is almost over so it is time to look back at what was awesome in music during the year.  I have already looked back at the Top Rock Albums of 2016 (click to read).   This list will cover all other genres that I listened to over the year including Pop, R&B, Christian and whatever other genre you want classify these albums.  Rock is my favorite genre that is why it gets it’s own list, but that doesn’t take away from any of these choices as I think they are great on their own.

Note:  These albums were my favorites and not necessarily the most played on the radio (which I hate the radio) or even the biggest sellers.  These are just what I came across during the year and connected with me in some way.  So, we might as well get started…

The #1 Album of 2016

cover170x170-33Lady Gaga – Joanne (Interscope Records): This was an easy pick for me.  The album was such a pleasant surprise and a departure from her last album.  It had a little bit of everything from Pop to Country to Rock to Folk.  It was such a great mixture of songs that gave us one cohesive album.  The title track, “John Wayne”, “A Million Reasons” and “Perfect Illusion” were all great songs.  Even the Deluxe Edition was great with “Grigio Girls”.  All around classic album for Lady Gaga.  Check out my review here.

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My Sunday Song – “I Am” by JoJo

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My Sunday Song #20 is “I Am” by JoJo.  These last 10 songs were inspirational Non-Christian songs after the first 10 were Christian based.  This is the final song in that series. Next Sunday will be a special Christmas song and than after that, who knows what I will do for the next 10 songs.

Now on to “I Am”.  I took my family to the 95.1FM Kissmas Concert and the opening act was JoJo.  She talked about how she used to talk about herself very negatively and she needed to stop.  Instead of saying something negative, you should start saying positive things about yourself no matter how small it is.  Such as “I am smart”, “I am beautiful”.  I think it is a great idea and I hope my girls listen to that advice.

BTW…she sounded amazing at the concert.  I wasn’t familiar with her music, but was impressed.  She was one of the very few acts that were worth seeing.  I will save that discussion for another post.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we have as a family.  Enjoy!

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Friday New Releases – December 16th

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Happy Friday.  This is the last Friday New Release update of the year.  The next two weeks might have some new releases but nothing on my radar.

This week’s list is very limited as well. The only one worth writing home about is the 40th Anniversary of Rush’s classic album 2112.  Outside of that I might listen to the Bon Jovi live album (won’t buy it) and I will always listen to anything Tony Bennett.  See if there is anything you are interested in hearing.

  • cover170x170-13  Rush – 2112 (40th Anniversary) – (Mercury Records):  Hard to believe it has been 40 years since this album came out. Amazing.  And I am getting old.  It will be great to go back and listen to this amazing classic.  If you have 20 minutes to kill, check out the video.

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The Top Rock Albums of 2016

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2016 is about to be over so it is time to look back on the year and see what amazing albums rocked my world this year.  It was a great year indeed.  This was the year I started this blog back in April and it has been a blast. I have listened to a lot of albums this year so I had stuff to write about and it really made the year special.

This list will be my favorite “Rock” albums of the year.  All other types of music will be for a later post.  I am going to leave this one to my favorite genre.  It is a broad genre, but these are the albums that I consider to be ROCK!!

Also note, these are MY FAVORITES!!  These are not the most popular or possibly even the ones that have sold the most.  These are the albums that I connected with during the year and kept coming back to again and again.  And without further adieu, here are the Top Rock Albums of 2016:

My #1 Album of the Year:

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Hellyeah – UnDen!able (Eleven Seven Music):  This album screams Rock & Roll to me!  It is heavy and pounding with aggressive vocals and lyrics and was perfect for me when I got stuck in traffic and needed to vent a little.  With songs like “Startariot”, “X”, “Scratch A Lie” and “Be Undeniable”, I was completely satisfied with this gem.  Check out the review at this link to see what I thought in detail about the album.

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Posters, Posters, Posters

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I was in the garage getting down the Christmas decorations and I came across a box that strangely said…”Posters”.  It dawned on me rather quickly that these were posters that I had when I was younger and posters from when I worked at the Sam Goody Music Stores.

I couldn’t get the box down fast enough to see what was in there.  I was surprised at how many I still had after 25-30 years and what great shape they were still in.  There were a few slight rips or tears and maybe a little discoloration, but all-in-all I thought they were in great condition.

We will start with those from my personal collection that actually hung on my walls when I lived at home in my parents house around 25+ years ago.  First, you will notice the crystal looking candlesticks holding down the posters.  They have been rolled up for quite some time and wouldn’t stay open, so I had to have some help.

If you know me, then you know I had to have either Def Leppard or Kiss on my wall. Actually, I had both.  The Def Leppard posters were from High & Dry and Pyromania era live shows.

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My Sunday Song – “Good To Be Alive Today” by Michael Franti & Spearhead

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My Sunday Song #19 is from Michael Franti & Spearhead called “Good To Be Alive Today”. The song is a very poignant song for what is going on in the world today.  It would be nice to wake up one day and everything was perfect and every one could say it is a good day to be alive.

I think that way everyday. No matter how bad things get, I feel a day above ground is better than a day in the dirt.  If we all do our little part to make the world better, maybe someday it will be.  For my kids sake, I hope so.  During this Holiday Season, it would be nice if everyone does a little something to make this world a better place.  I know my family will, I hope yours does too!

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2016 In Memoriam – Playlist

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2016 has seen it’s share of tragedies with Musicians.  I know each year there are a lot of musician’s that pass away, but for some reason this year seems to have taken quite a few from us.  Now that the year is almost over, I have updated the list to include musicians that have passed away in the last few months.  I started this back in April/May.  Hopefully that will be it for 2016.  Let’s hope 2017 doesn’t bring more of the same.

In memory of all the artist we have lost so far this year, here is a playlist so we can remember the gift of music that they left us that will live on forever.

David Bowie – January 10th, 2016:  David Bowie just released his album, Black Star, two days earlier on January 8th (his birthday).  He had so many great songs and it was really hard to choose.  I chose “Modern Love” as that was the year I really started obsessing about music.  The year was 1983 and his popularity was on the rise again.  It was that song that made me know who he was and made me go look at what he had done in the past.  Since that time, I have been a fan.

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