There are few guarantees in life. Although, I have identified two that will stand the test of time.
- Everything in pop culture has the ability to make a comeback.
- Very few people took Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” policy seriously.
The Stone Temple Pilots adhere to both of those statements. They crushed it in the early 90′s and now they are making a comeback in 2010. And let’s just say that some of the guys messed around with the drugs. Understatement’s aside, STP simply changed my music world in 1992 with their debut release of Core.
STP is still rockin' after 18 years.
Core hit my eardrums during my formative teen years. This album was a game changer for me. I guess you can say it rocked me to my “core”. STP dominated the 90′s grunge scene along with juggernauts like Pearl Jam and Nirvana. Core was an instant mainstream success racking up a Grammy for “Plush” and it was certified platinum 8 times. To top it all off, the gritty tone and message of the album seemed to come from an honest place. My bootleg cassette copy of Core still holds a special place in my musical archives.
Over the remainder of the 90′s the guys churned out four more albums with some solid tracks. However, nothing could quite match the intensity and popularity of Core. That knowledge, coupled with a lot of the bands personal demons, sidetracked them for many years. But, as I stated earlier, everything in pop culture has the ability to make a comeback. The guys are back at it with their recent self-titled release of Stone Temple Pilots. They may never be able to eclipse Core, but they are doing a helluva job trying. Check out their new album and revisit the glory of Core.
KC’s Personal Picks: “Dead & Bloated”, “Plush”, and “Wicked Garden”
Check out STP’s unplugged version of “Plush”
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You won’t see Black Stone Cherry on the menu at your local ice cream shop. Although, that does sound downright tasty. I digress. Please understand that these guys aren’t soft, pleasant and served in a dainty little cup. Black Stone Cherry serves up a heaping scoop of hard southern rock music that will will blast your face off. These Kentucky boys know how to rock and they delivered in a big way with their 2008 sophomore release of Folklore and Superstition.
If you rock out to The Black Crowes and Lynyrd Skynyrd on the regular, well…for starters, you’re awesome. I feel safe in saying that you will become mega-awesome if you add Black Stone Cherry into the mix. Their music has a pulse pounding blend of deep south rock fused at times with hard rock and metal. It is not all about wailing guitars though. But don’t fret, there are plenty of wicked guitar solos to go around. In addition to the high octane instrumentation, you are also treated to a solid and meaningful lyrical display, all lead by front man Chris Robertson. There is even some slower stuff in their collection. The end product inspires me to run around neighborhood streets karate kicking every trash can I see. Yeah, I am a badass thanks to Black Stone Cherry.
Currently the boys are touring the globe playing every festival out there and supporting a ton of bands. This is all setting the stage for their anticipated third album, which is rumored to be in the works. So, head on down to your local ice cream parlor and demand some Black Stone Cherry. When they say they don’t have it just turn right around and kick over their trash cans. Yeah, now you’re the badass.
KC’s Personal Picks: “Blind Man”, Devil’s Queen”, and “Soul Creek”.
Check out the video for “Soul Creek”
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What is in a name? Well, in the case of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, you get gritty hard-rock music. They certainly live up to their name which pays special homage to Marlon Brando’s motorcycle gang 1953 film, The Wild One. Peter Hayes, Robert Levon Been and Leah Shapiro make up the west coast super group that has been churning out honest-to-god rock music under the flag of B.R.M.C. for the past ten years.
Last month B.R.M.C. released the much anticipated Beat the Devil’s Tattoo. This record holds true to their formula of delivering rock and roll to the masses. The album has an overall sound that makes it feel like you got your hands on a bootleg recording that the band put together at 3am in their garage. And that style is what makes the album so darn good. B.R.M.C. delivers the kind of rock that encourages you to whip out your air guitars and invisible drumsticks and play along.
B.R.M.C. hit the mainstream spotlight when they had a track land on the 2009 New Moon movie soundtrack. That exposure coupled with ton of global touring is the combination needed to get their sound out to everyone. B.R.M.C. has a strong music catalog to listen through, but you will want to certainly start with Beat the Devil’s Tattoo for a great taste of what they guys are cookin’.
KC’s Personal Picks: “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo”, “War Machine” & “River Styx”
Listen to the album
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Enjoy the music of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club? If so, you will need to check out the hard rockin’ Them Crooked Vultures.
Goldheart Assembly – “King of Rome”
This week I find myself gravitating, yet again, towards music coming out of London. Maybe this trend is because of my recent decision to start wearing my jet-black London Fog jacket again. I gotta believe it has something to do with “King of Rome” just being a really catchy song. And indeed, the single from Goldheart Assembly is lovely and well-crafted. Lovely and well-crafted just like my jet-black London Fog jacket.
Buy the song:
Black Robot – “Baddass”
These Los Angeles hard rockers deliver with a track that feels like it was written for the Rock Band video game. Black Robot wails with pure male bravado and blaring guitars. This song is best appreciated while the listener downs a cocktail of Mountain Dew and Red Bull. Yeah, there is truth in naming. The song is pretty baddass.
Buy the song:
Justin Nozuka – “My Heart Is Yours”
We are thrilled that Justin Nozuka’s sophomore album, You I Wind Land and Sea, is almost here. We here at FreshScouts have been big fan’s every since his 2007 release, Holly. Justin brings the warmth and the love with his first single “My Heart Is Yours”. We see big things happening with this album. We should probably sit down with him for an interview. Done.
Buy the song:
I believe all world leaders would agree that the solutions to our problems can be found in rock. Wars, famine and economic woes can easily be blown away with the shredding of an electric guitar. Pop rock can’t save us. It’s fun to pass the time, but in the end it just causes more pain. We need real rock. Much thanks to Them Crooked Vultures for stepping up to save mankind.
Note the crooked nature of said vulture.
The trio of Dave Grohl, John Paul Jones and Josh Homme make up the new super group known as Them Crooked Vultures. Prior to this magical union they all served in some major heavy hitting groups. Their musical resume lists Led Zeppelin, Queens of the Stone Age, Nirvana, Eagles of Death Metal and the Foo Fighters. That list is rock. The name Them Crooked Vultures is rock. Their wickedly awesome album art is rock. The only thing that isn’t rock is my repetition of the word rock. But seriously, they rock the rock out of rock. Rock.
Their self-titled album was just released world wide in mid November. Is it a coincidence that the global economy is on a sudden upswing? I think not. The pulse pounding tracks “No One Loves Me & Neither Do I”, “Elephants” and “Scumbag Blues” are the songs that got me out of bed this past week. ”New Fang” (featured below) is the first single and it is gaining rock radio attention.
Now repeat after me. Turn on Them Crooked Vultures. Raise your right hand. Extend your index and pinky fingers to the sky. Place your thumb over your middle two fingers. Thrash your head about. Congratulations. You are on your way to saving the world.
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