I posted not too long ago about Christmas playlists on various platforms. Ultimately most of them are frustrating because you can’t just pick a song order without signing up for a “premium” account. I’m already subscribed to enough stuff.
I have other YouTube lists (Naughty & Nice), but I decided to pull some of my favorites and put them all on one:
What great ones am I missing? Drop them in the comments below!
While you’re on my YouTube Channel, don’t forget to watch, give a like, and drop a comment for “Jingle Bells” by the Christmas Carrolls! We have over 400 views already, it would be cool to hit 500 by Christmas! Please share it on your social media platform of choice.
Combine two albums you dig into one… just like some record executive or intern did once upon a time with Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, combining the “best” tracks of each to make one pointless album.
I would suggest that you do two albums. It can be different artists or the same.
If you want to be crazy try to keep the run time to a “real” album length. I think Records hold 44 minutes of music and CD’s 74 or so? About an hour would be good.
You can keep the artists separate like a split, or mix it all up.
Hell, you can combine 3 or more albums. I am a fan of anarchy. Just play. Here in the comments, or online. Use PicsArt or something similar to make an album cover if so inclined.
You can explain why you chose the tracks, or just let the mix speak for itself.
I sort of mixed up the tracks because why not? They do appear in album order. The run time is just over 50 minutes. (Thanks Wikipedia & Google Sheets.)
…and check out this incredible entire live show! Apparently all these cats ever left was one EP & a handful of performances. Their guitars have so many strings, it takes 12 parsecs for any non-force user to make their way across the fretboard.
I did download all I could form MySpace, but all I could get of some of the stuff was some snippets of songs. Their interpretations are proggy, masterful, eerie, and dark. I would love to get my hands on the EP.
Obviously, these scruffy-looking Nerf Herders rock too. The costumes and video production are all-out. The metal seems happier if that’s even a thing. They used kickstarter to fund their eventual takeover of the galaxy. Galactic credits go far with the Empire. I’m anxious for their full-length album, too.
It looks like of the two, these guys are the only ones currently in existence.
Vote for Your Favorite:
I would love to see a fan mix of the movies using either of these guys to score the entire thing. I don’t think Disney would go for it, unless like Darth Lucas they realize they can make more money by selling the movies again to the same people that already own all possible formats & variations.
Recent reports have surfaced that Guns N’ Roses’ sole founding member and self-proclaimed demigod Axl Rose may have literally leaked tunes to the upcoming GN’R “reunion” album. TMZ has posted but since redacted an audio clip of Axl Rose passing gas taken via iPhone by a fan in an adjacent restroom stall at a roadside rest stop in Tennessee. Lucky listeners may note that the flatulence has a powerful sound that when transcribed as musical notes or tablature would make an incredible guitar riff hearkening back to the Appetite era, and sounds light years heavier anything on Chinese Democracy.
Axl squeezing one out on stage.
The fan asked Rose to autograph a sanitary toilet seat cover, but Rose declined stating that his new boss, Angus, wouldn’t allow it. Further investigation showed that someone had ripped the dispenser off the wall and urinated all over it anyway.
When Ultimate-Guitar.com reached out to Dave Mustaine for comment, Dave enlightened the all of rock and metal fandom…
“Axl and I had the same voice coach right around the time that I was kicked out of Metallica for writing better riffs than Jaymz and being a bigger douche than Lars. I’m great friends with Slash since we used to do heroin together, but I have to say that Axl’s farts make better riffs than the too-low-in-the-mix guitars the last Velvet Revolver album, whatever it was called.”
Dave went on to tell everyone that he wrote all of the essential building blocks for Metallica’s albums up until the black one, and that he could play all of the Metallica Metallica riffs and solos in his sleep with his balls on a Hello Kitty ukulele.
Sebastian Bach tweeted about the news, adding that Axl’s farts not only sound great, but that they smell like fresh roses and have since 1997. He wishes he could maximize his own lower orifice potential and maybe that would finally convince the other guys in Skid Row to take him back.
Slash and Duff McKagan could not be reached for comment. Dizzy Reed and Gilby Clarke tried to comment, but no one would listen. Steven Alder has an upcoming exclusive interview with the every-other-week best-sale-ever flyer from Guitar Center, keep reading with us for updates when we steal that story before doing any fact-checking.
Matt Sorum still wants to punch Axl in the face, but would take the gig with Axl/DC if the current drummer tries to kill anyone. He has been asking Rush if he can join their band.
Axl has also been rumored to be singing for Queen(to be billed as Rocket Queen), and for Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, & Jason Bonham in a project billed as Red Zeppelin since Robert Plant won’t return any of their calls. Rose’s trash collector’s brother denies rumors of Axl fronting a Dio-era Black Sabbath/Heaven & Hell tribute tour which may or may not include Bill Ward.
In related news, a special episode of ABC’s Celebrity Wife Swap will have Joe Perry and Slash trade places for a week to see how the other guy deals with each other’s wives & bands for two weeks on tour.
Ask A Pittsburgh Expert: Best Ways To Discover New Music
I was recently asked to put together some thoughts on discovering new music for an article on CBS Local Pittsburgh. The article is now up!
Please take the time to check out the article by local blogger Jennifer Stockdale and share your thoughts here (or on the Facebook link) on how you discover new music:
Comments aren’t available on the CBS Local article for some reason, but please share your ways of discovering new music here, or share a link to the main article on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, or whatever to start your own discussion amongst your friends and peers.
Most importantly, the take-away is that I may now be considered an expert for all of your musical discovery needs.
Besides being awesome new (to me) enjoyable punk rock, I feel like it served as some sort of cosmic reminder, warning, or inspiration. Not only to me, but to everyone who happens to read this.
Not feeling a bunch of paragraphs today, so I will hit you with a bulleted list.
Don’t ever let anyone tell you “no.” Don’t let anyone else set your limits. You can do whatever you set your mind to, and tell them to shove it.
Don’t let anyone put you in a category. If you feel like you’re different because of your gender, race, orientation, religion, or a disability… own it, don’t let it own you.
A little railing against convention, society, or any set standard is good for everybody. Punk rock can be all about a healthy expression of primal aggression.
Learning about the lives of others who have things differently than you is incredibly enlightening.
Someone with special needs like Down Syndrome or Autism with different abilities ought not be an object of derision. They have thoughts, feelings, and aspirations just like you. They get pissed off just like you. They rock just like yo
Shattering expectations is the most badass thing you can do.
I’m sure there’s more, but you get my point. Notice little things like this in life. Be thankful for your insight. Be thankful that there are others out there reminding you to put forth your best effort. Learn something or learn about something often. Make some noise that gets heard.
OK, so it’s been a while since I’ve been productively making music & actively writing songs. Apparently the bug never goes away. I have been thinking about doing punk rock-ish kids songs for a while. (The Sablowskis beat me to it!)
It may help to follow or like the Music Go Round Monroeville, PA Facebook page too. It has to be on that post on their page, no “likes” here or on my link(s) to it on my Facebook profile count. Voting is only open this week, they pick a winner on the 27th!
As far as the song goes, I threw it together in under an hour with a downloaded app for the tablet, using crappy headphones, the built-in mic on the tablet, and my acoustic guitar down in the basement. I think it shows. But, I still think it’s a hooky tune with some potential. I may have to recruit a few of the usual suspects or even some unusual ones to help me complete the process.
Molly is absolutely terrified of the Chick-fil-A cow. My guess is that other kids are too. Seems like we can find a whole lot more to relate to with some feet-tapping tunes!
So, a while ago… after we decided to name the baby Molly Mae, Bethany’s uncle had remarked to her mom that their family had an old record called “Mollie Darling” for the Victrola… which is now in our living room. Of course we had to check it out. We have the version by Evan Williams.
It looks like it’s been recorded several times by a bunch of different artists. The first one seems to be by the Haydn Quartet, but I can’t seem to find that version anywhere online. I can’t find the version we have by Evan Williams online either. The earliest one that I can find seems to be by Vernon Dalhart:
But, it’s out there several times, by several artists:
Not that it’s never been brought up before… but, the debate rages on. I find it interesting that it’s a CNET poll, and that there are people quite passionate on both sides of the issue. Check out this poll:
English: The crossed out copyright symbol with a musical note on the right hand side is the free music symbol, signifying a lack of copyright restrictions on music. It may be used in the abstract, or applied to a sound recording or musical composition. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I’m not exactly sure where I fall. Obviously, as a musician… I see value in the songs & the entertainment. It’s great when I have a product to sell. It’s awesome that people would want to pay to purchase noise that I make. To me it’s more of a lifestyle/hobby though. I don’t mind playing just to make gas money, or selling music barely above cost… or even posting it for free. I dig that people enjoy it. But, and this is a big but… If it was my sole means of income, I sure would not be happy giving much away for free. Although, radio and now online streaming are the way to get heard, and… that’s free. You almost need that to advertise yourself, unless you gig non-stop like Metallica in their early days.
Are people like me who don’t mind giving away music devaluing music for everyone? I certainly like free stuff. I also buy CD’s & merchandise from local & smaller touring acts like a madman. I realize I’m not normal in that practice. I see the value in others’ art. It’s important to me to reward their efforts.
The again, I’m a huge fan of freeware, shareware, and open source stuff when it comes to software. What’s the difference?
What’s the new model? Albums are free, shows and T-shirts make you money? Every band releases a documentary & a bunch of live DVD’s? Government sticks its’ nose into streaming and it becomes an ad-heavy payola nightmare?
I’d like to hear everyone’s thoughts in the comments.
World (and Lunar) Domination 
