Do you know how some people just hate most Christmas music? Well, I’m one of those people. Maybe that’s why I loved the La La Christmas Song so much. It’s so different than most Christmas music. Speaking of Christmas music that is different, you’ve got to give this video a listen. It’s called 12 Days and it’s performed by a men’s cappella group from Indiana University called Straight No Chaser.
Sheri tried to get me to listen to this the other day and I wanted no part of it. I hate the 12 Days of Christmas more than any other Christmas song. I finally relented and gave it a listen. I’m glad I did. This version is not the normal version that you’ve heard your entire life. I don’t want to give anything away, but it taps into the magic of the 1983 Toto classic Africa.
Gene Simmons is perturbed that Kiss isn’t in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Evidently he mouthed off about the supposed snub on his crappy reality TV show, Gene Simmons Family Jewels. Not that I would ever watch it and I’ve been known to watch quite a bit of crappy reality TV.
The reason Kiss isn’t in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is because they aren’t a real band. They may have played their own music and sung their own songs, but they never created real music. They created theater. It was all about putting on a stage show.
When they wore costumes and face paint, people cared about Kiss. When they took off the face paint and just wore regular clothes, people could care less about Kiss. When they put the face paint and costumes back on, people suddenly cared again.
Kiss belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame about as much as the cast of Cats or any other Broadway production that relies on make-up, costumes, complicated light shows to perform does.
I’ll be the first to admit that there are a few bands in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that probably shouldn’t be there. My guess is that Gene Simmons has been such a raging douche for so long to so many people that he’s not very popular with some of the people with involved with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
If it makes him feel any better, maybe he could go to Spencer’s at his local mall and bask in all the Kiss merchandise. Maybe he could make Spencer’s his own little hall of fame.
I was listening to one of the rock channels on Sirius the other day when I discovered a band I hadn’t heard before, but one I really enjoyed. They are called Scars on Broadway and I thought they had a sound that sounded very similar to System of a Down. There is a reason for that. The band consists of two members, System of a Down guitarist Daron Malakian and drummer John Dolmayan.
Their debut self titled album Scars on Broadway was released this past July.
I read that the band got it’s name not from that famous street in New York, but from the not so famous street with the same name in Glendale, California. Evidently there are some old lamp posts up and down Broadway with strange swastika looking symbols on them. It’s the basis of the song Funny. Next time I go home to visit, I’ve got to check them out.
They were going to call the band Swastikas on Broadway, but that would just be silly.
It’s far and away the best album I’ve heard all year. I highly recommend it.
Sirius-XM (or whatever they are calling themselves) rolled out their new channels today and I was disappointed to discover that they dropped the punk Rock channel. I thought it was bad when they “temporarily” converted the channel over to a 24 hour AC/DC channel.
This really irritates me. Since my personal music collection is really quite limited when it comes to punk rock, I found myself listening to channel 29 quite a bit. I checked out the Sirius-XM website and it said that if I like the punk rock channel, I should listen to The Fraction on channel 28. Really? This is what Sirius-XM says about channel 28:
Where heelflips, handplants, half-pipes and hard rock join hip-hop and the biggest names in skateboarding, surfing, freestyle skiing and more. Faction is the music that defines the action sports lifestyle. Hear exclusive shows from Tony Hawk, Bam Margera and more.
What we play: System of a Down, Offspring, NOFX, Metallica, 50 Cent, Green Day, Beastie Boys, AFI, Korn, Snoop Dogg, My Chemical Romance and Sex Pistols.
I don’t want a channel that is dedicated to the action sports lifestyle. I don’t want to hear shows by Tony Hawk or Bam Margera. I don’t want to hear the music of 50 Cent, Metallica, or Snoop Dogg.
Instead of a music channel dedicated to punk rock, I get a channel dedicated to the skateboard dorks that you find hanging out at the mall food court.
Sirius satellite radio channel 29 used to play nothing but punk music. That is, until they turned the channel “temporarily” into a 24 hour AC/DC channel. I think they did it to promote AC/DC’s first new album in 8 years. An album that you can only buy at Wal-Mart.
I have nothing against AC/DC. In fact, I think I have just about every AC/DC song ever recorded residing in my iTunes library. If I ever feel the need to listen to some AC/DC, it’s only an iPod click wheel away.
I cannot say they same thing about punk music. I don’t have that much punk music in my music library. Other then the Sex Pistols and The Clash, I don’t think I have any other punk music in my personal music library. That’s why I liked channel 29. Any time I felt like listening to punk, all I had to do was punch in channel 29.
Everyday I got to channel 29 to see if they brought punk music back and everyday I learn they haven’t. It’s getting old.
My name is Rick Rottman and this is my blog. It's where I write about stuff.
I was born and raised in southern California, but I now live in Hagerstown, Maryland. More >>
Gene Simmons is perturbed 
Sirius satellite radio channel 29 used to play nothing but punk music. That is, until they turned the channel “temporarily” into a 24 hour AC/DC channel. I think they did it to promote AC/DC’s first new album in 8 years. An album that you can only buy at Wal-Mart.
