More Substance Than Bro Country, More Country Than Sam Hunt

On Sirius the other day I heard the d.j. say that she had heard The Eagles would be considered “country” today. Which is funny ’cause I have recently been thinking about that. I loved The Eagles. They’ve dabbled in country for years. The truth: they would NOT get played today because they are “too traditional.”

 That quote came from the comments section on an article on the website Saving Country Music from a user identified only as Justin.

It got me to thinking that a lot of 80's hair metal power ballads are more country than what you hear on mainstream country radio today. So of course I went down that rabbit hole. And then I got stuck on Cinderella. At their core, Cinderella was really more of a blues rock/Southern rock band than a hair metal band. But they had the look and played the part. But the music told a different story.

I could mine ten songs from the Cinderella catalog that would make a more country album than you could get from taking ten songs from eight hours worth of mainstream country radio.

But I digress from the main point. Taking individual songs (and yes I know, that's cherry picking) from artists such as Cinderella, Motley Crue, Poison, Warrant, Faster Pussycat, Guns n' Roses, and L.A. Guns, just to name a few, you can find songs more country than anything Sam Hunt has done.

And here's the real kicker. While the demise of the glam/sleaze rock scene was mired in misogyny and shallowness, there is more substance to be found there than in the bro country scene. Want proof? Glad you asked. I made a Spotify playlist of songs with more substance than bro country and more country than Sam Hunt.

Granted, none of these songs are really country in the true sense of country music. It's more of an exercise than anything else. And yes, I have an affinity for 80's hard rock, what I grew up with.  And yeah, I took some liberties including KISS and a Lita Ford cover of an Alice Cooper song. It's my playlist.

If you Spotify, enjoy:

Hard Rock Playlist 1

This is by no means an original idea, but I thought I'd make a hard rock playlist. Not the ultimate hard rock playlist, just a hard rock playlist. That is why I called it "Hard Rock Playlist 1". This is my first and maybe last or maybe the first of many.

Spotify, for me, is the easiest way to make a playlist (and yes, I pay for premium) so I am limited to what is available on that service.

Now let me take you through the process.

1. I wanted it to come in between and hour and an hour and half. 16 songs seems to be a pretty good number, but between 14 and 18 would have worked.
2. I tried to make it semi-cohesive from one song to the next, like listening to an album.
3. I wanted to hit as many decades as possible from the '70's until now (think I did that, although I'm not sure about 2000-2009).
4. I wanted to run the gamut on the fringes of what I consider hard rock (subjective, I know).
5. I wanted it to be something you could put on in your car and drive for an hour and not want to skip anything (again success will be subjective).
6. I didn't want the songs to be obvious.

So here is the playlist with comments. The Spotify link is at the bottom.

1) "Overture/The Temples of Syrinx"  - Rush
I went with this because it is one of the best opening salvos of any record I know. "Overture" sets the mood and then "The Temples of Syrinx" just smashes the listener in the face.

2) "Queen of the Reich" - Queensryche
This continues the full frontal assault from Queensryche's debut EP. Most may know them from "Silent Lucidity" or the Operation:Mindcrime stuff, but before that Queensryche sounded much more like Iron Maiden.

3) "Legend of the Spaceborne Killer" - Crobot
This is the first song from a newer/current band in my attempt to dispel the myth that rock is dead. It's got a vibe that could have fit in '70's but doesn't sound dated. Just a good hard rock song.

4) "Rocket Queen" - Guns N' Roses
From Appetite For Destruction, one of the best hard rock albums ever, this is not an obvious choice. The hits have been overplayed, so I went with an album cut which is one of the best on the record.

5) "Gypsy Road" - Cinderella
Cinderella is one of the best bluesy hard rock bands to come out of the '80's and it's kind of a shame that they got lumped in with the "hair metal" moniker. While I think some of their slower blusier stuff better exemplifies them as a band, this song fits the vibe of this playlist.

6) "Wicked" - Million Dollar Reload
Hailing from Ireland, Million Dollar Reload is another current band with a new record due out in 2015. They would feel right at home among the '80's L.A. sleaze rock scene. Good song with a good hook.

7) "Apocalyptic" - Halestorm
More ammunition to dispel the rock is dead myth, this from the 2015 record Into the Wild Life. If you read this blog regularly, you know my affinity for Lzzy Hale and Halestorm.

8) "Two Minutes to Midnight" - Iron Maiden
Because it's Iron Maiden and you can never go wrong with Iron Maiden when talking about hard rock.

9) "Highway Star" - Deep Purple
The second of three songs from the '70's. Deep Purple was so influential on hard rock artists from the '80's up until today, I had to include them. "Highway Star" keeps the motor running on this playlist.

10) "Slide It In" - Whitesnake
While, again, this is not an obvious choice, this is from the album that preceded Whitesnake's 1987 record that catapulted them (and Tawny Kitaen) to the top of American consciousness.

11) "Rusty Cage" - Soundgarden
I never considered Soundgarden to be a grunge band. To me they were always more hard rock, as this song proves. There has never been any "yarling" in Chris Cornell's vocals and the instrumentation on this track is almost, almost thrash.

12) "Fire Woman" - The Cult
I don't know where The Cult falls in the grand scheme of genres, but "Fire Woman" is an excellent hard rock song.

13) "Heartless" - Heart
Again, if you read this blog at all, you know I love chicks that rock. And nobody did more to break ground for future generations of chick rockers than Ann and Nancy Wilson (apologies to Pat Benatar, but Ann & Nancy were first). While there are more obvious choices, this song fits the playlist.

14) "Rock Me Like The Devil" - Crucified Barbara
This, my first hard rock playlist, may be a little heavy on the female rockers, I think they get overlooked a lot of the time. Crucified Barbara is an all female current Swedish quartet who rock.

15) "I Hate Myself For Loving You" - Joan Jett
Because Joan Jett. That is all. Carry on.

16) "You Can't Stop Rock 'N" Roll" - Twisted Sister
What better song to end on. Rock is not dead.

Check out the Spotify playlist if you're at all intrigued.

Will There Ever Be a New Wave of Hard Rock?

I have been searching out new music that has in-your-face guitars, melodic vocals, good musicianship and is just a little over-the-top. Pretty much, 80's-style hard rock. I'm not talking about hair/glam/pop metal. Though I'm not dismissing that either. I'm talking about the hard rock that dominated the 80's with such acts as AC/DC, Scorpions, Motley Crue, the Cult, Guns 'N Roses, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, Cinderella, etc.

There is some good stuff out there. And I have a theory as to why: Now is the first generation of musicians that have 80's hard rock as an influence. They are far enough removed from the atrocities that became of hard rock in general and hair metal specifically to be able to connect with the quality stuff that did exist. Also, they had parents who grew up with this music. And they have probably played with older musicians who played this type of music. It all rubs off.

I doubt there will ever be a new wave of hard rock, but for those of us that enjoy fun, loud guitar-driven rock, there is hope.

The members of Australia's Koritni, named after lead vocalist Lex Koritni (and let's just get this out of the way: horrible name) make no bones about naming Motley Crue, GnR, RHCP among others as influences. Listening to their most recent studio album Welcome to the Crossroads, the influences can't be denied. You can hear the Cult, Aerosmith, Tesla and the funk of RHCP or maybe more accurately, Extreme.

Million Dollar Reload, hailing from Northern Ireland, have definitely taken hold of the dirtier, sleazier side of the 80's rock scene. Reminiscent of Faster Pussycat, early GnR, L.A. Guns, but also holding onto an Aerosmith and AC/DC vibe. M$R knows how to write a hook as evidenced by songs such as "Wicked" and "Tatoos and Dirty Girls".

Unfortunately, I don't see this type of music taking hold in the United States anytime soon. But as long as there are thriving rock and metal communities in Europe and Australia, then we can at least get our hands on it.

Both of these bands bring the old sensibilities while not sounding dated, in my opinion. Judge for yourself.










Koritni on Amazon.

Million Dollar Reload on Amazon.

TheCheapSeats on Twitter.

Think Music Sucks? Are You Part of the Problem?

Personally, I find very little on the radio that I care to listen to. When MTV, VH1, CMT and GAC actually do play music, there's very little there that I'm interested in.

I do, however, find a lot cool new stuff on the internet. I frequent sites that deal with country music and hard rock music. I have received some great leads. Found some really cool artists.

I also do my own digging. Found some cool stuff that way as well.

What I have found is that people, especially people around my age and older, bemoan the current state of music, regardless of genre. My question is: What are you doing about it? Other than complaining, that is.

Are you supporting the artists you like? Are you attending live shows? Are you buying CD's? Are you paying for downloads? Are you sharing your finds on social media?

If your answer is "none of the above", then quit complaining. The kids are doing that, probably most of the time on their parents' dime, but they're doing it.

I know when I was growing up, my sister and I did most of the music purchasing in our household. My parents were content to listen to the radio and complain about how there was nothing good being played.

I try to promote good music on this blog, or at least music that I like. I'll throw up a link to a video on facebook, do some stuff on twitter. I see a lot my peers putting up links to music that they grew up with, music that is nostalgic to them. Sometimes with a comment like "they don't make them like this anymore." That statement is false. They do make 'em like that now. It's just not easily accessible. You have to dig for it.

As easy as it to blame Nashville or Hollywood or Rolling Stone or whatever, ultimately the blame falls to consumers. Or better still, the blame falls on the non-consumers, the complainers, the bemoaners. If you're dissatisfied with the current state of music, vote. With your wallet. That's what changes things.

There is never going to be another Guns 'N Roses. There is never going to be another George Strait. Or Beatles. Or Elvis. Or Patsy Cline. Or Rolling Stones. Or another anything. But there is going to be something new and exciting, if you choose to be proactive and find it. Or you can choose to let terrestrial and satellite radio dictate what you listen to.

12 (ish) Albums That Have Stayed With Me Over the Years

There's a thing going around on facebook right now, not real widespread from what I can tell, but it goes like this:

What 12 albums have stayed with you throughout the years? Not the best albums, not the most popular albums, but one's that have stuck with you.

I saw this and thought it would be hard to come up with 12 because I like to pick and choose my tracks. Then when I started thinking about the albums, 12 wasn't enough. But I'm gonna play and keep it at 12ish.

In no particular order:

1. "Appetite for Destruction" - Guns 'N Roses
Easy choice here. An iconic album of the times. I first heard Paradise City on a trip to the Metroplex on ZRock. Bought the cassette before I left. Made everyone I knew listen to it. The responses were mostly "Meh." Three or four months later, Sweet Child O' Mine was released as a single. Suddenly everyone owned a copy of Appetite. I can still listen to it in its entirety to this day. One of the few albums that I can.

2. "Operation: Mindcrime" - Queensryche
A concept album in the vein of "The Wall" and  "Tommy". By far the best Queensryche ever produced. "Empire" was more commercially successful, but "Mindcrime" was by far the better album. Saw Queensryche on the Empire headlining tour in which they performed the "Mindcrime" album in its entirety. Great listen from start to finish.

3. "Eagles Live" - Eagles
I really don't think it's fair to include any greatest hits or compilation albums on this list, but with this one, I can't help it. It's just that good.

4. "Moving Pictures" and "Rush" - Rush
This is where the "ish" comes in. When I first heard Tom Sawyer, I had to get the album it was from. It was like nothing I had heard before. So I got "Moving Pictures". It also has Red Barchetta, YYZ and Limelight. How can you go wrong with that?
After hearing that, I immediately delved into Rush, and went back to the beginning, which was the self-titled first album. "Rush" included the iconic song Working Man, which led them to getting signed to a major label.

5. "Bat Out of Hell" - Meatloaf
"I'm gonna hit the highway like a battering ram on a silver-black phantom bike"
The opening lyric to Bat Out of Hell. How can you not like that? Not necessarily a concept album, it does tell a story. And sonically, it was way ahead of its time.

6. "High 'n' Dry" - Def Leppard
Okay, I could have easily put "Pyromania" here. "Pyromania" is a great album. But "High 'n' Dry" is more raw and has better songs. Lady Strange and Bringin' On the Heartbreak highlight the album.

7. "Skid Row" -Skid Row
The fist Skid Row album is pure unadulterated glam without apologies. And it's fantastic. 18 and Life, Youth Gone Wild, Big Guns, Sweet Little Sister, I Remember You, etc. Good stuff. After the first album, they kind of lost me. But that first one.........sweet.

9. "Pieces of Eight" - Styx
I know, "Paradise Theater" is more popular. But This album rocked. It included the classics like Renegade and Blue Collar Man, but also had the exquisite album tracks Queen of Spades and Great White Hope.

10. "Mean Streak" - Y&T
No, these guys are not Summertime Girls.Yes, that was their biggest hit, but not in all representative of what they were about. Dave Meniketti along with Cinderella's Tom Keifer are probably the best combo lead vocalist/lead guitarist of the generation. Midnight in Tokyo is one of the best songs never heard. The entire album rocks.

11. "Bella Donna" - Stevie Nicks
Stevie was always good in Fleetwood Mac. A lot of people may beat me up for including this one while excluding Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors". I couldn't argue, but this is all Stevie. From the Edge of Seventeen to the duets with Don Henley (Leather and Lace) and Tom Petty (Stop Dragging My Heart Around) this album is a no skip listen.


12. "Faster Pussycat" - Fatster Pussycat
Could be dismissed as 80's L.A. sleaze/glam rock. But really they were much more than that. The songs were actually good and really blues based. They went off the rails in later albums, but the debut from them is still very listenable after all these years. Some of the stuff from the '80's glam rock scene sound dated. This album holds up.

Honorable Mentions
I have ended the list at 12 as per the original stipulations, but there are more I feel deserve mention.

"Allied Forces" - Triumph
"Powerslave" - Iron Maiden
The first two Boston albums

Those are the one's I grew up with that I still listen to. I may next tackle the current albums I'm enthralled with.