Rockblog

The 51st Grammy Awards were presented last night. Back in December the Rockblog made predictions for the Field 4 - Rock Grammy Award winners.

Disclaimer: The Rockblog predictions are not who the Rockblog would personally choose to win these awards. They were only our predictions of how the Grammy judges would vote.  (About the only thing we could ever see ourselves picking Coldplay for would be an historically correct reenactment of the Bataan Death March.)

How did the Rockblog fare in our predictions? Let’s find out.

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance

Rockblog prediction: Paul McCartney - I Saw Her Standing There

Grammy Award Winner: John Mayer - Gravity

Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals

Rockblog prediction: Coldplay - Violet Hill

Grammy Award Winner: Kings of Leon - Sex On Fire

Best Hard Rock Performance

Rockblog prediction: Pick’em (with slight nod to Judas Priest)

Grammy Award Winner: The Mars Volta - Wax Simulacra

Best Metal Performance

Rockblog prediction: Metallica - My Apocalypse

Grammy Award Winner: Metallica - My Apocalypse

Best Rock Instrumental Performance

Rockblog prediction: Zappa Plays Zappa - Peaches En Regalia

Grammy Award Winner: Zappa Plays Zappa - Peaches En Regalia

Best Rock Song

Rockblog prediction: Bruce Springsteen - Girls In Their Summer Clothes

Grammy Award Winner: BROOSE - Girls In Their Summer Clothes

Best Rock Album

Rockblog prediction: Coldplay - Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends

Grammy Award Winner: Coldplay - Viva La Vida Loca

Four correct out of seven. Not bad as far as predictions go, and if you give partial credit for the Pick’em choice that puts us well above .50o.

Congratulations to all the winners, especially Zappa Plays Zappa, Metallica, and Bruce Springsteen.

Keep on rockin’.

The Rockblog was supposed to be going out tonight to see Rolling Stones tribute act the Counterfeit Stones. But since the local councils in the UK have never heard of high-tech inventions, such as snow plows, tonight’s show has been canceled due to the weather. I was looking forward to going tonight. I bought the tickets back when I had a job and we were going to be picked up, so the cost wasn’t a problem.

The weather has been bad in more ways than one for me this week. I have no idea if employers are not responding to my applications because their HR departments aren’t showing up to work this week, or because they’re not interested.  Either way it’s annoying.

I guess if I had a dog it would be a snowdog this week. But since I only have a cat I guess he’s a snowcat (That’s him outside this morning pictured above).

But since I don’t know any songs about snowcats, we’ll go back to the snowdog. Today’s featured song is By-Tor and the Snowdog by Rush.

Brewster, Massachusetts police officer Joseph Houston is on paid administrative leave after allegedly urinating on a fellow fan at a Metallica concert in Boston and then refusing to leave TD Banknorth Garden when security guards ejected him for disorderly conduct.

The Cape Cod Times reports:

“Although he has been charged only with trespassing, Houston appeared to be drunk, flashed his badge in an attempt to get back into the concert, called a black MBTA officer “Obama,” and had been asked to leave the concert after he allegedly urinated on another patron.”

Some of you might remember the story in November about a Jersey City councilman pissing off of the balcony onto Deadheads at a concert by Grateful Dead tribute band Dark Star Orchestra.

These two stories have the Rockblog wondering what the deal is with people in authority pissing on rock fans at concerts and brings up some important questions about their behaviour.

Do they think they are better than the unwashed masses that attend rock concerts?

Or do they spend all day figuratively swinging their dicks around and feel the need to do it literally after the work day is over?

And most important, do they go around shouting “You will respect my authoritay!” like Cartman on Southpark while pissing on their fellow concert goers?

The Rockblogger lost his day job today. You know, the one that pays the bills.

I can’t say it was a total surprise. The company had barely shipped anything since the beginning of the year and I knew my job as Technical Author was considered “overhead” by many of the head honchos. That still doesn’t make it any easier.

I could tell you what I think the next couple of months are going to be like, but I think George Thorogood and the Destroyers can probablly do a better and more entertaining job of it. I was just listening to the song in the following video, “One Bourbon, One Scotch, and One Beer”, in the car yesterday afternoon.

Change the second line of the song to “I came home one Monday and I had to tell my landlady I done lost my job” and the rest sounds like my story.

British glam rockers Mott the Hoople have announced they will reunite to perform two 40th anniversary concerts in October 2009. The Mott the Hoople reunion concerts will include all five original dudes, though they’re not so young anymore, and take place at the Hammersmith Apollo on October 2nd and 3rd. These will be the first Mott the Hoople concerts since 1974!

Considering the reunion-mania that usually surrounds rock and roll, these gigs have been kept relatively low key so far. I received no e-mails from ticket companies telling me tickets went on sale Thursday for the shows, and my time-zone traveling earlier in the week left me thinking they did not go on sale until Friday.

I was able to buy Mott the Hoople tickets on Thursday night for the first show on the Friday night.

Lead singer Ian Hunter wrote on his website: “Why are we doing it? I can’t speak for the others, but I’m doing it just to see what it’s like. Short of war, death, famine etc. …it’s ON.”

Should be a good night and I’m looking forward to seeing these legends back together.

I’m back from my Phoenix trip. The Eagles lost, which sucked, but I still had a good time.

The winners of the Entrecard competition are:

Southern Metal Reporter - http://southernmetalreporter.today.com/

and

Life With Mom - http://caregivingdaughter.today.com/

These were the only two who bothered to answer the question, which makes me wonder if the rest of the Entrecard droppers even read any of the blog posts? Other bloggers dropped more than either of these two while I was away, but none of them left a comment and answered the question. Why not?

Anyhow, congrats to both and 150 EntreCard credits have been transferred to your accounts.

This is still the Rockblog and since I’m back, I’ll give you Aerosmith performing “Back in the Saddle”on New Year’s Eve 1984 at the Orpheum in Boston. Joe Perry and Brad Whitford had just re-joined the group at this point. I saw Aerosmith earlier that year with replacements Jimmy Crespo and Rick Duffay still on guitar. Thanks to YouTube user EAGLEVIEW08 for uploading this.

The Rockblog is away from home at the moment, having flown to Phoenix to catch this afternoon’s NFC Championship game between the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles. If their are any EntreCard droppers wanting to do the EntreCard competition, there was your answer.

One of the Phoenix area’s most famous residents is of course one of my all-time favourite rockers, Alice Cooper.

As well as being the number one shock-rocker in the world and an avid golfer, Alice also owns a restaurant and bar in Phoenix called Alice Cooperstown.

Alice Cooperstown is part rock bar and part sports bar and is billed as “Where Rock Meets Jock”. Considering the Rockblog is flying out to Phoenix to watch a football game, the saying seems appropriate.

Besides my brothers and watching the Eagles kick the stuffing out of the Cardinals (fingers crossed), the only other thing I really want to do while in Arizona is visit Alice Cooperstown. Hopefully when I get back next week I’ll have some pictures to show the Rockblog readers.

In the meantime here is an often overlooked Alice Cooper song from the mid-80s. “He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)”was the theme tune for Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives and the song can also be used to describe Alice’s return to the music industry. Enjoy!

I’m flying back to America for a few days and doubt if I will have time to post while I’m away. I get back on Tuesday afternoon and the Rockblog should be back to normal by Wednesday or Thursday of next week.

While I’m away, I have a little competion for all of the EntreCard droppers who stop by my blogs in which I will be giving away 3 sets of 100 Entrecard Credits.

To be in for a chance of winning 100 EC, leave a comment on this post telling me what city in America I am going to and drop your EntreCard on both this blog and http://metalblog.today.com.

The 3 people who give me the correct answer and drop their card the most times between today and Tuesday will get 100EC transfered into their EntreCard account. In the event of a tie I will chose 3 winners at random from those that gave the correct answer and left the most drops on the 2 blogs.

I have written posts on both this blog and the Metalblog that will publish over the weekend and tell you where I’ve gone.

If you want to get a jump on the competition, you can also find the answer in the comments of the linked posts at the following blogs:

www.sports2000.today.com

www.philly.today.com

Thanks for reading and good luck!

*****

Not forgetting this is the Rockblog, I’ll leave you with a couple of rocking videos. Since I’m flying today I’ll chose the top two songs from our Top Ten Rock Flying Songs list.

The first video is Pink Floyd’s “Learning to Fly” and the second is the Byrds with “Eight Miles High”.

The Rockblog should really be beyond caring about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I’ve already pointed out what a fallacy the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is two months ago, but their exclusion once again of Iggy and the Stooges, who were on the final ballot, makes me think that bitching about them again is called for.

This year the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame decided to induct Metallica, Jeff Beck, Run DMC, Bobby Womack, and Little Anthony and the Imperials - whoever the hell they are.

Metallica I can’t argue with. They’ve sold a ton of records and, even though I know this had NOTHING to do with why the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted them, were one of the pioneers of thrash metal back in the 80s.

Jeff Beck I can’t personally argue with because I love him, but I’m not sure what reasoning was used to get him on the ballot over a lot of other deserving acts. Of the acts on the final ballot I would have put him as my third choice under the Stooges and Metallica.

And of course the other three nominees have fuck all  to do with rock and roll and should go set up their own Hall’s of Fame to get inducted into.

The Sex Pistols were right when they called the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a “piss stain” in their “acceptance” letter in 2006.

The Rockblog has seen reports that Cheap Trick could be playing a run at the Las Vegas Hilton. The bad news is Cheap Trick is reported to be performing the Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album in its entirety.

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal:

The iconic American rock band Cheap Trick is close to finalizing a headliner deal with the Las Vegas Hilton that would feature the group performing The Beatles‘ epic album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” live with a full orchestra.

Word has it their performances could begin as soon as March and stretch throughout 2009.

Cheap Trick’s original members would be involved in the exclusive agreement with the Hilton.

If Cheap Trick were to take up residence at the Las Vegas Hilton and play their 1978 album Heaven Tonight in its entirety, I would go home tonight and tell Mrs Rockblog that it was time to go to Vegas to renew our wedding vows. After the flights and hotel were booked I would conveniantly “discover” that Cheap Trick were going to be playing there at the same time we were going.

After all, Heaven Tonight is:

A) an album they originally wrote and recorded, and

B) a heck of a lot better than Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Maybe a run playing Sgt Pepper’s will open up the door for Cheap Trick to return at a later date and play THE all-time pop-rock masterpiece - Heaven Tonight.