Guitar Hero Lives Again?

In a recent interview with Forbes Magazine, Activision chief Bobby Kotick dropped a not-so-subtle hint that a reboot is in the works for the defunct Guitar Hero franchise.

After a triumphant run as the most popular video game franchise in history, Guitar Hero sales dried up after saturating the market with what many people considered to be too many games in one year, and Activision killed the entire product line. The Forbes article indicates that there may be hopes for all of us that think it's fun to play the high-tech equivalent of air guitar.

5 Songs for Casey Anthony

Everyone in the U.S. has heard about the Casey Anthony trial. Most people are very unhappy with the verdict. Whatever you believe really happened, you have to admit that the drama and outright lies surround the case are astounding. It is far weirder than an episode of CSI.

What disturbs you the most about it? Is it the fact that a young child was killed? Is it the fact that the mother was out partying like she was auditioning to be on "Jersey Shore" while her daughter lay dead? Was it the web of lies and fabrications about a non-existent nanny, and a fictional job at Universal Studios? Was it the wild abuse accusations aimed at the grandparents? Or was it the fact that there are more than a few songs out there that seem like they should be Casey Anthony's personal theme music?

New EP from Even the Slept

Local Philadephia Prog Rock band Even the Slept released their new EP "Sinks the Ocean" in digital format this week. The band has a classic Prog Rock sound with a few new twists, and are more than worth the effort to check out their music.

Even The Slept's new EP combines the complexity and virtuosity of classic progressive rock with a jazz/blues rhythmic sensibility that sets them apart. The song "One Against Too Many" is a perfect example - combining guitar sounds that brings to mind Steve Howe's sound on Yes's classic "Relayer" with a jazz/funk inspired beat topped off with bluesy vocals.

Find out more about the band, and their upcoming appearances, on their facebook page. If your travels take your through the Philadelphia area, do yourself a favor and check them out. They will be celebrating their album release this Friday- find out the details here.

4th of July - Soundgarden (1994)

Grunge is a very hard to define sub-genre- simply because it encompassed a wide range of styles. Nirvana had a clear punk/hardcore influence, Pearl Jam a strong classic rock influence- almost complete opposites. Soundgarden, one of the other major names in the Grunge scene, had a sound that was strongly influenced by heavy metal - particularly the doom/sludge sub-genres and a healthy dose of psychedelic rock. So, just considering three of the biggest Grunge bands, we have three wildly varying styles of music under one banner.

The key to Grunge, I think, is found in the attitude and the lyrical content rather than in the  sound and style of the music itself. Grunge, I think, distinguishes itself by having the point of view of disillusioned youth. Topics such as depression, broken families, frustration with authority, and youthful angst are the hallmark and the unifying factor. Soundgarden clearly demonstrates this idea with the song "4th of July" from their 1994 album "Superunknown."

New Staind track available (streaming only)

Alt-metal band Staind will be releasing their seventh studio album titled "Seven" in September 2011. (Is it me or is this September a popular month for album releases?). To promote their upcoming album, they have released a track "Eyes Wide Open" on streaming media courtesy of Metal Hammer UK.

Staind parted ways with long-time drummer Jon Wysocki after recording "Seven" - Staind will be joined by drummer Will Hunt (Evanescence, Black Label Society) for their upcoming tour. It is unclear if he will remain as a permanent member of the band or not.


Metal Hammer - Staind - 'Eyes Wide Open' Teaser on MUZU.TV

New Dream Theater track available for streaming...

Dream Theater is back with their first recording in 25 years without Mike Portnoy behind the drum set.  Mike Portnoy's spot is now occupied by Mike Mangini - who held five of the World's fastest drumming records form 2002-2005 including an amazing 1247 single strokes in 60 seconds using matched grip. Mike has also appeared on The Discovery Channel show "Time Warp" (season 1, episode 16) demonstrating extreme drumming for the show's time bending high speed cameras.

Dream Theatre has released a stream of their first post-Portnoy single, "On the Backs of Angels" from their upcoming album "A Dramatic Turn of Events" which is due to be released on September 13th, 2011.

Dave Grohl is my Personal Hero...

OK, so maybe that's stretching it a bit, but I've got a lot of respect for the guy, and every project he works on produces great music. In a way, I envy him- he's a guy about my age who stated out involved in one of the most important musical acts of the past 20 years, and has gone on to have a huge career, writing and performing music almost constantly, and gaining respect from musicians across many genres and styles. He clearly enjoys the crap out of every minute, and seems to look and act half my age- and seems to have more energy than I did half a lifetime ago.  Dave, and the Foo fighters, make music that's just good fun rock music, and let others worry about what genre it fits in. Watch below as the Foos prove at the Pinkpop festival in the Netherlands earlier this month why they have such a wide appeal- they're out there having fun, and they want the rest of us to have fun watching them - which is the whole reason most people get into music in the first place.