a blog for someone who cannot shut up....

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Pull The Trigger

Hi-Def music channel currently featuring VH-1 Rock Honors repeat with Kiss, Queen, Def Leppard and Judas Priest. I have seen 2 of the 4 bands live. I really should have seen Judas Priest, as well, in the 80's - they came through AZ often enough. Kiss finishes the 2 hour program with "Love Gun", accompanied by a shitload of pyrotechnics at the end. Recommend the footage if you haven't caught it.

For reference value, from Allmusic.com :

The secret to the musical longevity of Kiss is its ability to marry the sonic muscle of hard rock to songs full of indelible pop hooks. "Love Gun" is one of the best examples of this skill, an ideal marriage of hooks and riffs that has become one of the group's defining classics. The lyrics are a statement of hard rock machismo at its most grandiose as they depict a powerful lover who likens himself to a deadly weapon: "No place for hidin', baby/No place to run/You pull the trigger of my love gun." The melody is equal parts hard rock and pop song, wedding verses that swing in an ominously heavy fashion to a chorus built on a simple, surprisingly flowery singalong hook that underlines its repetition of the title phrase. Kiss' recording of "Love Gun" turns the song into a stomping rocker punctuated with a few pop frills: the surging, swinging power chords and the machine-gun-like drum fills that drive the chorus along are pure hard rock, but the fluttery, high-pitched backing vocals that sail in on the chorus are pure pop. Paul Stanley completes the sound with a snarling vocal that makes the hyperbole of the lyrics work (fans might also be interested to know that Stanley also plays bass on this track in addition to his singing and guitar duties). "Love Gun" surprisingly failed to become a hit single despite its high hook quotient, but the song became an instant staple of the Kiss live show and retained this place of honor for years.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Ideal P.R. Man

I don't see what the fuss is about. Why does the Kazakhstan government have an issue with this man representing their country? Look at those stylish shades, the snappy footwear...and..um....that fluorescent green thing. He is a master of fashion, while remaining accessible to the everyman. I salute you, Borat.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

The Irwin Effect



Now I know they are serious about this: stephen a smith interviews that bearded naturalist from WildBoyz (the grizzly adams guy with the shark tooth necklace) on the Deuce regarding the death of Steve Irwin. When a 3rd tier cable news show devotes a segment + interview, with a 3rd tier host and a 3rd tier guest, the story is extending through the architecture....it is remarkable to watch it develop from Drudge link to such a detailed analysis of Stingray behavior with the esteemed academic staff of....WildBoyz.

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Update: I thought I had seen enough, but then I came across Mean Guns (1997)
Please, stop it. Highlander? Ice-T? Something special is brewing here: "A crime lord challenges his rivals to a gunfight in an abandoned prison, with the winners getting $10 million." Wow. Anytime you can get The Pusher involved with the Swiss-educated sword-wielding Legend of Greystoke, magic will surely result. Come to think of it, Lambert is about as well-spoken as Van Dammage when it comes to pronouncing the language, so maybe not magic. Plenty of laughs, but no magic.