The Last Of The Breed

True originality and greatness are fading quickly in the music world. As each year goes by, we lose more of musics great pioneers. This year we have already lost Bo Diddley, Eddy Arnold, and Buddy Miles and most of the ones left are to old to continue to record new music or even play live shows. Just over a week ago, however, I had an opportunity to see one of music last remaining music legends. The night before Father’s Day, I went to the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis to see the legendary Willie Nelson.

The show was an experience that’s hard to explain. It’s wasn’t a concert that you stand and scream all night or jump around, he did get a number of standing ovations and ruckus applause though. It wasn’t a concert that made you want to act crazy or dive off of the balcony. Instead, it was almost like a religious experience. As, you sat there you knew you were witnessing something special, something that you may never see again.

When Willie first stepped onto the stage, the place went crazy. He received a long and loud standing ovation from the sold out crowd and Willie acknowledged it even though he acted as if he didn’t know what the fuss was about. The applause lasted until the first note of Whiskey River, and the crowd quieted and sat almost in amazement. Willie never missed a beat, he played as many hits as he could cram into his 75 minute set. He played songs he wrote that were made famous by other people.




He played songs that he wrote for himself himself.




He played songs that he didn’t write, but made famous.




And he played a few new songs, before closing the night with the gospel classic I’ll Fly Away.




Willie’s guitar work was dead on and his slow, lazy vocal delivery was as beautiful as ever. The best part about this concert was the fact that I finally got a chance to see another music legend (Chuck Berry being the other). The worst part, is knowing that these opportunities are becoming fewer and fewer. There just aren’t many left like Willie.

I recommend to anybody who is a fan of music, don’t pass up a chance to see Willie. If you can, take your kids. Let them see a real artist at work, maybe they will learn to respect music more and listen to less shit like Fergie, Jay-Z, Rascal Flatts, or what ever shitty actress has a new album out next week.

Willie Nelson is simply one of the greatest songwriters, singers and performers to ever grace a stage. He’s one of the few artist that has been able to transcend his genre of music and just be considered cool, by everyone. He has dueted with everybody from Johnny Cash to Ray Charles and now even Snoop Dogg. Willie Nelson is sadly the last of a breed.

Will Never Be Unforgiven

I will never forgive Metallica for selling out. They were the biggest metal band in the world and simple sold out for the sake of radio. The Black Album was the start of this, but I would have been OK if this was all they changed. Instead we got one "Load" of crap after another. Now, Metallica have promised to go back to there roots. I can't see it happening, but I would take it if they could just go as far back as The Black Album.

Here is one of the big hits that let them to becoming alternative rock radio darlings.

Metallica - The Unforgiven

Sweet Child Of Crow Shit

Some covers should never be made. The perfect example of this is Sheryl Crow's version of the Guns N Roses classic Sweet Child O' Mine. The GNR version is a classic largely due to the guitar solo in the middle of the song. Crow's version sucks not just because of the missing solo, but the whole bluesy slowed down tone just doesn't fit the song.

This song is a disaster and what makes it worse is that the album it appeared on, THE GLOBE SESSIONS, won the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Rock Album.

Here is the video which features clips of the Adam Sandler movie Big Daddy.

American Boy

Tom Petty would have never make it in music today. He wouldn't have ever even gotten a chance, because of no-so attractive face and nasally voice. Luckily for Petty, he came from an era of where all that mattered was talent, and he has tons of it. He has given us some of the most unique and creative songs and video of the last 20 years and his new tours proves that he isn't ready to stop yet. Tom Petty's great career got started with one simple song, American Girl and from there his genius exploded. Here's a look at Petty, in his early days, playing his first hit.

Tom Petty - American Girl (live from Midnight Special)

Mr. Bojangles

Rat Pack crooner Sammy Davis Jr., has often been over looked as a singer. Davis, in my opinion may have actually been the most charismatic member of the Rat Pack. His voice was as smooth as butter and could tell a beautiful story. Here is an excellent interpretation of the Jerry Jeff Walker song Mr. Bojangles.

Sammy Davis Jr. - Mr. Bojangles

R.I.P. Bo Diddley

The music world has once again lost a legend. Rock n Roll pioneer Bo Diddley has died, after months of bad health. Last August, Diddley health problems began after suffering a heart attack. Three months later, he had a bad stoke that affected his ability to speak. After returning to his home in Florida Diddley health problems continued has he tried to rehabilitate from the stroke and heart attack. Diddley died in his home today at the age of 79.



Diddley was known the world over for his homemade square guitar, dark glasses and black hat, as he was his music. His trademark sound has influence many. You don't have to look far to hear his signature rhythm of, bomp ba-bomp bomp, bomp bomp, in many of rocks great guitarists. The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello and Buddy Holly are just a few who were influence by Diddley.

Bo Diddley was an American original, but luckily his music will live on in every rock and blues guitarist that has followed. This impact on music began with a simple beat and continued through a passion and integrity that many of today's artist couldn't touch. Do Diddley's originality and love for music will be missed, but fortunately he inspired generations and left us will hours and hours of great music and memories. Rest In Peace Mr. Diddley.

Here is a look at some of Bo Diddley's best work.



Here's a medley of his hits,Road Runner/Bring It To Jerome/Mona

Natural Lush

In the early 90, alternative rock was at it's height. Radio stations and MTV took notice and started relying heavily on alternative rock to fill their airwaves. This allowed a lot of bands more exposure that the could have imagined. The over abundance of alternative music also caused a lot of band to fall through the cracks.

One of the bands was the English band, Lush. The duel female vocals of Emma Anderson and Miki Berenyi were often haunting and powerful. The group release three full length albums, but never really got the break the deserved. The group may be most known for the lawsuit they filed against Avril Lavigne who's song Girlfriend strongly resembles the Lush song, I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend. The Lush song was actually a cover of the Rubinoos song, I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend.

Here is a look at the song Nothing Natural from Lush's first album Spooky.

Lush - Nothing Natural

Got To Have Faith

Limp Bizkit were on top of the world, just a few years ago. Now the band is defunct and the band is considered a joke, mostly because everybody hates Fred Durst. Like them or not, they always put on a great performance, and created a handful of catchy songs. The band's breakout hit was the cover of the George Michael hit Faith. Limp Bizkit gave the song a hard edge and a new life. Here's a great performance of the song from some stupid WB music special a couple of years ago.

Save Yourself From A Stabbing

Industrial metal band Stabbing Westward emerged from the Chicago rock scene in the mid 80's, but it wasn't until 1998 that they made a big hit nationally. The band had a breakout Save Yourself hit the top ten in 1998 and peaked at #4 on the mainstream rock charts. The band never got much of a break after the song, always being compared to Nine Inch Nails and Gravity Kills, it became hard for them to get taken seriously. The video for Save Yourself was a very good creative video, but too closely resemble a Nine Inch Nails video to make the band stand on its own.

Stabbing Westward - Save Yourself

Aint No Diva High Enough

The song, Ain't No Mountain High Enough was original a hit for Marvin Gaye and Tammie Terrel. Diana Ross also turned it into a #1 hit, in 1970. On Vh1's 2000 version of Diva's Live, Ross and fellow divas, Faith Hill, Mariah Carey, Donna Summer, Rupaul, The Supremes, and Destiny's Child performed a spectacular version of the hit. Ego's were put aside and the voices flowed. It doesn't get much better than this line-up.

Diana Ross, Faith Hill, Mariah Carey, Donna Summer, Rupaul, The Supremes, and Destiny's Child - Ain't No Mountain High Enough (VH1's Diva's Live 2000)

I'll Be

One of my favorite singer/songwriters is Edwin McCain. McCain brings true heartfelt vocals along with a passion for performing and writing to every song. Unfortunately he has never been able to breakout and receive the acknowledgement, for his great songwriting. His biggest hit to date was 1998's I'll Be, which was featured on the first season finale of the show Dawson's Creek.

Edwin McCain - I'll Be

With A Little Help From Your Friends

Opera great Luciano Pavarotti performed an incredible version of the Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, and Sting song All For Love. Pavarotti was joined by Adams, Andrea Bocelli, as well as an orchestra and a pair of female backup singers. This is an awesome performance.

Luciano Pavarotti and friends - All For One

Pearl Jam and Fans

People either love or hate Pearl Jam, there is really no middle ground. One thing's for sure, though. Pearl Jam's fans are very loyal. This is a great live performance, largely due to the crowd interaction.

Pearl Jam - Daughter (live at the Leeds Festival 2006)

Live And Stoned

Monster Magnet were a very energetic and animated band. That may have all been due to singer Dave Wyndorf due abuse. One thing you could always count on from them was an entertaining show. Here's a performance from 2004's Hurricane Festival in Scheeßel, Germany.

Monster Magnet - Supercruel

When Is Enough, Enough ?

In 1994, The Eagles reunited. They did this despite the fact that they still hated each other. The group decided that enough money could make a reunion tour worth having to be around each other. They openly reunited just for the money and made a ton of it on the Hell Freezes Over Tour.

Since The Eagles reunion, many of bands have reunited. Some have actually managed to revive their career (Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, The Police), but most disappeared back to their jobs at Wal-Mart. Some bands have even decided that they should reform with new sings (The Doors, Alice In Chains, Queen, Blind Melon, Boston) and tarnish the bands original legacy. The one thing that keeps this trend going is money.

It’s seems that people always want that one last chance to see their favorite band or even a band that reminds them of their youth. This allows these groups one chance to make themselves important again and it gives the aging baby boomers a chance to feel young again. The sad thing is that the reunion tour is bigger (not better) than ever, just look at last years Police, Van Halen and Genesis tours.

This year is no exception and may have even more shitty reunions than ever. The biggest may be Stone Temple Pilots and Motley Crue. Motley Crue are back, even though Tommy Lee said he would never play with the band again and Mick Mars is still alive so prop him up and let the fun begin. Stone Temple Pilots, on the other hand, will be a crap shoot. It could put on a great show every night, but with Scott Weiland’s history the chance of that is small. The smart thing that both of these bands are doing is making each show like a festival, that way you may get your money’s worth.

The worst reunion news has to be New Kids On The Block. It blows my mind that anybody would care to see this. I watched them perform on the Today show last week and it was terrible. Their horrible dancing made then looked like fools and they sounded off key and flat. Yet, somehow they are selling out shows in minutes (Chicago sold out in 10 minutes) and have added a full summer of shows.

If that wasn’t bad enough. Their is also talk of an Extreme reunion, a Jackson 5 reunion (that rumors comes up every year) a Led Zeppelin tour. Who gives a shit about Extreme? The Jackson 5 have tried it before and nobody cared and please, please, please somebody stop the Led Zeppelin tour. This would do nothing but suck. These are old men, well Jimmy Page looks like an old woman now, and it just won’t be good. Does anybody really think that 60 year old men singing Black Dog and Rock and Roll will do anything but embarrass the band?

Also, reuniting this year are The Black Crowes, The Breeders, Yes and The B-52’s. The Black Crowes are a good band and are always worth checking out, but I’m not sure I see any reason for the other ones, especially B-52’s.

When will this stop? When will people stop paying to seeing band that only sound have as good as they should? When is enough, enough ?

Dueling Banjos

One of the best music related scenes in a movie came from Deliverance. As disturbing as the movie is, this is classic.

Dueling Banjos

These Girls Are Loud

Who says reallity show can make music stars. The British show Popstars manufactured the group Girls Aloud and they have become one of Britains most success girls over the past few years. Since 2002, thay have had 18 consecutive Top 10 singles (including three number ones) and five platinum albums (including a number one). Here is a look at a song from their first album.

Girls Aloud - No Good Advise

Sum Say

Sum 41 have begun work on a new album after tons of touring and that whole Avril Lavigne marriage thing. Let's just hope she doesnt have much influence on the band new album. While we wait for new music let's check out a song from Chuck.

Sum 41 - Some Say

August Rush

The movie August Rush features some great music. One of the best was by relativly unknown Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Here is his song This Time along with a slideshow from the movie.

Remember This one?

Here is a classic from the 80's.

The Pointer Sisters - Jump

British Folk meets American Jazz

British folk artist Beth Orton was joined by American jazz/folk guitarist Terry Callier (minus his guitar) for this great performance of the song Dolphins.

This Is A Test

How does this look on the page?