VH1 Classic Albums - Nirvana Nevermind (1991)

In 1991, a little unknown band from Seattle stormed on the music scene with an album that set the tone for industry. This album took an aggressive, punk attitude, tempered it a raw sound borrowed from heavy metal, and combined it all with catchy, pop-friendly hooks. This unlikely combination melded influences like Black Flag, with a sonic palette reminiscent of early Black Sabbath, and simple, but very effective rhythmic hooks and melodies that would fit right in on an early Beatles record. Somehow, the talents of Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl, under the guidance of producer Butch Vig brought all these divergent ideas together into something new that captured the imagination and the zeitgeist of an entire generation.

That album was Nevermind.

Chickenfoot III - Big Foot

It seems that the "Supergroup" concept is "in" these days. Luckily, there have been some really great Supergroups in the past few years (see Them Crooked Vultures for an example).

Start with veteran rocker Sammy Hagar, add in Michael Anthony on bass an backing vocals, and the funk-rock infused drumming of Chad Smith, and you have... well a band in need of a guitarist- maybe Joe Satriani will want in? Yes? Awesome... and so Chickenfoot was born- with a modernized take on the more classic straight-up heavy rock music these four guys made their names with through the late 70s, the 80s, and the 90s.

So after their successful first album, Chickenfoot returned to the studio for more, and created their second album, titled "III" - the single "Big Foot" shows that these four superstars are still at the top of their game, and are having a blast making the kind of hard hitting, honest, straight-up hard rock that's just fun to listen to.

Foo Fighters + Westboro Baptist Church = Large Scale Mocking

Those crazies at the Westboro Baptist Church staged a protest at the Foo Fighters' show in Kansas City. Which, naturally means they were bound to end up getting mocked ruthlessly. I think that the video, originally posted on the Foo Fighters youtube channel and facebook feed, speaks for itself...

Hi, My name is Led Zeppelin II

A lot of people like to debate what does, and does not qualify as "Metal." Well, I'll tell you what's Metal...

According to St. Louis Today, 64 year old Missouri man, George F. Blackburn, recently divorced and looking for a new start, legally changed his name to "Led Zeppelin II" - That's Metal.

The man formerly known as George F. Blackburn is, (obviously) a long time Led Zeppelin fan claims that the name change was a way to re-invent himself. This guy redefines the phrase "Getting the Led Out" - and we wish him a "Whole Lotta Love" as he embarks on his new life.

Revolution Calling - Queensrÿche (1988)

"Who do you trust when everyone's a crook?" is the question Queensrÿche posed in 1988 with the track "Revolution Calling" from their 1988 prog-metal masterpiece "Operation: Mindcrime." The song is the first full song on the album, and serves to set the scene for the rest of the story- and it is a very bleak scene, that is almost prophetic when viewed from our vantage in the year 2011- 23 years after it was written. I'm sure everyone has been exposed to all the volatile political news over the past few years, and, no matter which side you support, or even if you refuse to support any side- we can all agree that something is terribly wrong (although we could debate forever what actually is wrong and how to fix it!)

"Revolution Calling" describes a world mired in corruption, and political upheaval. The government is portrayed as corrupt and ineffective at best, and outright hostile to the public at worst. This idea, though penned 23 years ago, should have a familiar ring to it. The song goes one step further, and implies that things are bad enough that some people feel that an open revolt is long overdue- the story unfolds as various characters take advantage of, and/or allow themselves to be manipulated by this sentiment. Rather than talk about it, watch the video, and read the lyrics (below the jump), and see how much it reminds you of current events.

Foo Fighters win "Best Rock Video" at the VMAs

"Never lose faith in real rock and roll music, you know what I mean, never lose faith in that. You might have to look a little harder, but it's always gonna be there." -Dave Grohl, 2011 VMA Awards.

Foo Fighters' video for "Walk" won top honors for "Best  Rock Video" at MTV's 2011 Video Music Awards. "Shake me Down" by Cage the Elephant, "Pumped up Kicks" by Foster the People, "The Cave" by Mumford and Sons, and "Howlin' for You" by the Black Keys were the other nominees in the category.

Irene may do to the Eastern US what The Scorpions did to the 80s!