Captain Howdy

See in the old days you only got bonus tracks on Jap CDs because they had to make it more worthwhile for fans to buy CDs in Japan as the CDs were so expensive there (hence the reason the imports cost so much when you try to buy them). I could accept that because there was a good reason behind it. I can even accept, to a degree the USA getting bonus tracks or Europe getting bonus tracks, because you can just import the version with more tracks, but two things they do now piss me off. Firstly adding different bonus tracks to different releases (Jap, Euro, US and download versions all have different bonus tracks), and secondly the new Walmart/Target exclusive bonus shit. If you are not in the USA, these albums then become impossible to get unless you either know someone in the USA, or someone sells them on eBay (probably for a silly mark up). I think a perfect example was the last Hinder CD that was available at both stores, both with different extras. Thankfully the Target one was only live tracks, which I dont care about, but if it had been different studio tracks, that would be bullshit. Another thing I hate with downloadable bonus tracks is that quite often they are not available to download as a single track, and only become downloadable if you buy the whole album.

Yeah this aint gonna appeal to most people here, and while I am not exactly blown away by this one, I do like it. Its different, and its not classic Lita, but take it as a different entity, and its got some really good moments. Personally I think she should have gone the route Pearcy did with Vertex and release this under a band name rather than as as solo album. Some of the songs on here just dont work, imo, but some of them are catchy as hell. Not certain where the comparisons are coming from in those reviews as it sounds fuck all like Kid Rock or Stevie Ray Vaughn, when in fact the most obvious comparison is Rob Zombie. Gillette sounds at times like Rob, at other times like Ozzy Osbourne, but the music has more in comparison with Robs material than any other artist, imo!

Difference there though is that the band had only been going five years or so at the time, and were forced into replacing Bon. Aerosmith, as has been said, has been going nearly forty years. They could probably get away with recording without any member other than Tyler as he is the focal point of the band, not just the vocalist. You have to remember that unlike most rock bands, Aerosmith is one of the few rock/metal acts to be huge amongst mainstream music fans, and they probably only know Tyler, and have no idea who the rest of the band are. I always say that, with few exceptions, a band can easily replace any member and be the same band, but replacing the singer should be followed by a change in band name as it rarely ever works with well known bands.

Vices by a mile!

The point is that Spinal Tap parodied the heavy metal bands that were singing about dragons and mythical creatures etc, while Panther is parodying the lyrics of the hair metal and glam bands. Take a song like Yeah you want it by D2 or Lets put the X in sex by Kiss, and show how silly they are by blowing them up. Its exactly the same thing Tap did, but the genre is different. If the lyrics were toned down, it would just be another 80s hair band not a parody band!

I haven't read any comments like that, just people giving their opinions. Same happened with Steel Panther, some people liked it & some didn't. These are just bands that spark a lot of debate. Well the fact that people seem to want to tell people that they wont be listening to it for long, or that they dont sing along to it like older albums, suggests people seem to think that their opinions should be followed by others as well.

Bon Jovi seems to suffer from the same problem here that Steel Panther suffers from, people telling the people that like it that they wont like it for long or they are wrong for liking it. My personal opinion on the new album is "meh", but I have only given it one spin so far as have been working a lot recently (my last day off work was Friday last week, and next day off is Monday), but I do intend to give it more spins before I pass full judgement on it. I must admit that Lost Highway was similar for me, but the thing that had going for it over this one is the fact that I like a bit of country music but dont particularly like U2, which I was reminded of on this one in places. Two tracks that stood out were the obvious two, Work for the working man and We werent born to follow, as I had already heard them several times before getting the album, but the second track on the album, imo, was too slow paced, and the most U2 sounding, which is probably what threw me off on the first listen.

Well things are looking shakey for the future this week. Bridgestone pulling out after next season, Toyota pulling out now and Renault evaluating whether they will continue. Bridgestone pulling out may not sound so bad, but after the way the FIA and Bernie shafted Michelin giving the tender to Bridgestone, and blew Goodyear offf when they wanted to return, there are not going to be that many options for tyre suppliers. Pirelli I think is interested, but I cant see who else will be. Toyota pulling out will only affect the driver market as obviously Williams was the only team using their engines, and they had already switched for next year. And the upside is it should now allow the Sauber team back on the grid, depending on what the FIA say, as obviously Toyota signed the Concorde agreement, comitting themselves to the F1 championship until 2012. Whether they pull out or not, Renault could really screw up Red Bulls chances next year, as they need to design their car around the engine. While Brawn proved that you can shoe horn an engine in late, not everyone would be that lucky, and a Newey designed car would probably have a lot less room for adaptation than the Brawn car. Red Bull has pretty much said this week that they will probably stick with Renault due to the time it is taking to sort out the Merc deal, and they need to design the car around the engine.

Is Giant really that big of a money spinning name? I mean, its not like Motley Crue continuing without Vince when they had always said they would change the band name if one original member left. I think an album by Giant only really sells to people like us here, and we are just as likely to pick up a band like this if it were recorded under another name, purely based on the names involved. And actually, thinking about it, because of it being sold mostly to people like us, using the name Giant could actually lose them sales.

Have to say that this is my fave BT album as well, and was actually my first exposure to the band. I'd have to say my face tune on here is a toss up between the title track and Midnight struck.

See those songs you dislike or think are filler, are ones I really like. The Belgium track, is an ongoing joke that fans love. I think though my fave songs on here are A really cool dance song & BFFF.

The other songs are pretty much on par with the rest of the album, really good songs...nothing out of the ordinary for the band, as you would expect really.

To be honest, the only way to fully judge a band is to hear at least a whole album, unless of course the music is a style I really dont like or has a vocal style I despise. If you go on one or two songs you can either write off a good band or get suckered in by a shit one. Take Nirvana as a perfect example. Love or hate them, Smells like teen spirit is a great song, but for me is certainly not a great way to judge them. Other singles by them were ok, but nowhere near as good as their 'signature' song. While I generally despised the grunge movement, I did decide to give them at least a chance by picking up Nevermind when I saw it cheap. Quite frankly, it was a pile of shit without about 4 decentish tracks on it (the singles I already knew and liked), and the stuff I heard from their other albums was just as bad or worse. This doesnt just happen with shitty bands like Nirvana though, I have bought hair/glam/AOR etc albums on the strength of a few samples or one or two songs that have impressed, and found the rest of their music sucks. On the flip side, there have been times I have judged a band on a song or an image, and dismissed them as something I was not going to like, and later found them to be a great band. Sometimes you just have to take risks, as you can find some real gems, even if initial impressions are poor, but sometimes you just know you are gonna hate something, and its not even worth bothering.

Not to defend the album, but its not a 'random squiggle' its a DNA strand, and the reason why would be the album name as DNA are the building blocks of living things. It is shit tho!

Funnily enough, all i care about is I am going to see em again

More dates: Steel Panther, who return to UK shores this week to support the legendary ZZ Top, will play the following two dates: Newcastle Academy – March 18th Brixton Academy – March 19th Tickets go on sale Wednesday, October 26th at 9am.

I just hope Pearcy doesnt get too much control. His solo stuff is hit or miss at best. Bobby has proved that he still is in touch with his melodic rock roots with the SOTU band, and Warren has dabbled here and there, but his solo album wasnt exactly stunning, so I hope the sum of the parts will add up to something more.

How much? Now that's what I call taking the piss!! I thought it was taking the piss somewhat when they started doing all that platimum/gold/silver circle shit at gigs like Milton Keynes a few years ago, but I think you can at least semi-justify the £75 they were charging people to be closer to the stage at a huge stadium. How the fuck though can they justify £75-£200 for a seating gig at a smaller venue like the O2? I go to the O2 to see WWE, and they charge £65 for front row tickets, and upper tier can be bought for £20-£30. I can only assume that £200 is front row, which is bullshit. I'd love to see them again, but I'll be fucked if I am paying prices like those.

Supernova for me is probably the closest sounding song to anything off f IV, in my opinion, but differs mainly because Reb has been let loose all over this album. I must admit, the flow of the album for me was an issue as well, but mainly because for me, After all this time, which is my weakest track, suffers even more by being followed by the far superior Witness, which obviously has similar pacing being that they are both ballads. I think the main differences between this and IV are the fact the album, while heavier, isnt as dark with some very upbeat lyrics, and that Reb is soloing all over the place (the one thing that let IV down in my opinion, was that Reb seemed to be reduced to just riffing). I think the only reason that I can overlook the fact that there are a lot of balladic tracks on here is that even they are fairly heavy.

That's because people like watching a comedy show. They are funny live and they are sucessfull paradying other peoples songs! I've seen them at The Viper Room. They do a great Round and Round by Ratt. But the joke album will not stand the test of time, just like The Bad News and Spinal Tap albums don't. Nope. Been listening to them for nearly 5 years now myself. Still fucking funny, still fucking rock!

I was gonna book a ticket yesterday, but after seeing the prices, I cant be arsed. £600 for a vip ticket, that doesnt even include a meet and greet. Floor seating (yes, seating) ranges from £75 to £200. Middle tier is £65, and the fucking upper tier is £45. These guys used to do shows at stadiums here around 15 years ago, with themselves and 3 other artists (often big names like Van Halen and Billy Idol) for £20-£25. How the egos have grown.

Video works fine for me. I had it playing in Real Player, so maybe you need to try another media player if you are not using that.

I think Big Ones pretty much covers all bases.

I really wouldnt say there was much difference sound wise between those two albums, so saying its a cross between them is like saying that something is like a cross between white and white.

Just listening to the new album now, and I love it! Maybe this is just the UK release or something, but I also have the following tracks: 15 I just want to be loved 16 Walk of shame 17 Amateur night 18 I gotchoo (Other version) I dont think these guy have ever sucked, btw.