Tag Archives: David Bowie

Rock’s Greatest Guitar Intros? (a.k.a. Another Stupid List?)

Posted on by Standard 26

“Top however many of whatever” lists are designed to generate ire & promote discussion.  This one undoubtedly has in many circles.  Spreading around the internet like herpes, here’s the latest from some radio station somewhere:

What are The Top 10 Greatest Guitar Intros in rock?  Well, someone compiled a list and put it on the Internet.

All the songs were released between 1967 and 1990.

Here’s the list:

10.)  “School’s Out”,  Alice Cooper  (1972)

9.)  “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”,  Van Halen  (1978)

8.)  “Thunderstruck”,  AC⚡DC  (1990)

7.)  “Sweet Home Alabama”,  Lynyrd Skynyrd  (1974)

6.)  “Heartbreaker”,  Led Zeppelin  (1969)

 5.)  “Working Man”,  Rush  (1974)

4.)  “Layla”,  Derek and the Dominos  (1970)

3.)  “Suffragette City”,  David Bowie  (1976)

2.)  “Purple Haze”,  The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967)

1.)  “Eruption / You Really Got Me”,  Van Halen  (1978)

Source: Wise Brother Media/ Radio 96.1

What?  ☘ Shenanigans ☘ I say!  I bet you say it too.  I mean, there are some stellar songs on that list, but also glaring omissions.  Some other yahoos are taking a poll.  Gibson made a list a while ago that grabs some more timeless tracks & grabs “Sweet Child O’ Mine” which would be close to or at the top of my list & really, who could forget “Crazy Train”?  And neither list makes note of the banes of guitar stores’ existence “Enter Sandman” or “Smells Like Teen Spirit“.  And where the hell is Black Sabbath?  “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” has to be one of the coolest intros ever, among so many more.  What about “Welcome to the Jungle”?

If you’re gonna include “Sweet Home Alabama”, why not “Stairway to Heaven”, or even that one Pearl Jam song that’s all jangly and has that sweet tone where Vedder mumbles incoherently.  Hendrix’s version or “Hey Joe” or “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”?

“Eruption”?  Clearly awesome, but it’s its own song, isn’t it, not an intro?  I mean, what are the rules here?  Why not just throw in some bass like “Bassically“/”N.I.B.” or “Anesthesia [Pulling Teeth]”/”Whiplash”?  A bass is arguably a guitar, right?

Nothing by Heart?  “Sunshine of Your Love” anyone?  “Start Me Up”?  “Hair of the Dog?”  No ZZ Top?  Nothing by Aerosmith?  No “Talk Dirty to Me?”  Ha ha.  Just making sure you’re paying attention.  What about some more metal stuff?  No Pantera?  No Slayer?  No Metalli-freakin’-ca?  No punk rock?  Well, I guess not a bunch of punk has blazing riff like intros.

What is rock?  Can rap or funk be included?  What about some crazy stuff by guys like Carl Perkins or Willie Nelson?

It’s clear my friends that we need to make our own list.  I dig Velvet Revolver’s “Set Me Free”, but I may be in the minority there.  Remember, this is guitar intros, not riffs.  I’m guessing we should aim for guitar-only intros, or we would all have to concede to “Rock You Like a Hurricane” for being the most powerful.   There’s also that one Avenged Sevenfold song…  it’s got a killer riff at the beginning, but I think there’s some drums right at the beginning.  If these are OK, is there room for “No Sleep till Brooklyn” or “Fight For Your Right”?

Start naming songs.  We’ll figure out some ground rules, set a number, set up some brackets & some votes.  We’ll even name it something classy like “The Actual Best Rock Guitar Intros of All Time (Not Chosen by Idoits)”.  Then, we’ll spark more idiots to have more useless arguments discussions.

♫♪ ☠ ♬♩

♫♪ ☠ ♬♩

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\m/ The Shat \m/

Posted on by Standard 1

He’s the Shat.  Thanks to Metal Hammer, I found this:

Soundcloud | William Shanter – Seeking Major Tom

WILLIAM SHATNER Seeking Major Tom

WILLIAM SHATNER Seeking Major Tom

The cool thing about being William Shatner, is that you can do whatever the hell you want at this point in life.  There’s a pretty good chance people will buy it… and if not, who cares?

You’re William freaking Shatner.

I’m sure some sort of Star Trek checks, book and album checks, & Priceline paychecks are still pouring in regularly.  This involves Zakk Wylde on guitar?  So crazy.  I wonder is anyone called Tony Iommi to ask if he wanted to do it?

Bohemian Rhapsody?  Iron Man?  Not sure what they have to do with space, but they’re the ones I’m most interested in.  Well, that and a Hawkwind cover…  Hawkwind?  Crazy.

It’s not only an album… it’s a 2 CD or 3 LP set.  It could all be just to advertise his new book.  This is hilarious & awesome:

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Last night’s Tubonegro tribute! (via Ernie and the Berts)

Posted on by Standard Reply

Ernie and the Berts did some crazy Turbonegro covers last night… “Suffragette City” (a cover of a cover), “I Got Erection”, and “Sell Your Body (To the Night)”. It was captured in photo and video.  It’s a good thing we have no shame.

Last night's Tubonegro tribute! One lucky Ernie and the Berts friend & fan who goes by the YouTube handle johnnyaUSA captured a very special moment last night.  Ernie got to live out 3 rock n’ roll dreams (a.k.a. “steps to becoming a man”) at the 31st Street Pub and it’s all captured here on video.  What are they?  Well, you’ll just have to watch and see! … Read More

via Ernie and the Berts

Ernie and the Berts

Posted on by Standard 4

So, I’m in a band again.  We’ve only been jamming for a short while now, but the chaos is already well underway.  We decided to play an open stage night before we were ready, just because we could.  I dig this momentum/vibe.  Plus, I got to break out the FlipOut guitar for its first show!  I didn’t realize how much I miss gigging out.  It’s addictive.

As far as a style, it’s still taking shape… but right now it’s stripped down punk/rock/pop, and it’s sloppy.  We’ll have some covers, some originals, whatever we feel like as time goes on, I guess.  Most importantly, we’re having fun.  If you’ve seen a handful of local ‘Burgh bands in the past 10 years, chances are you’ll recognize all the players here.

For more about E&tB in the future, keep watching…

To see what you missed, here’s almost our entire 3-song set thanks to Bethany.  Watch your speakers… her camera didn’t like our volume, I guess.

Ernie and the Berts “Suffragette City” (Live) Mon. June 28th, 2010 @ the Thunderbird Cafe

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHX_H9bg4uA

Ernie and the Berts “Radio, Radio”/”Hot N Cold” (Live) Mon. June 28th, 2010 @ the Thunderbird Cafe

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzbwYG0Sa0I

And, there are a few photos (thanks again to Bethany)…

Ernie and the Berts @ the Thunderbird Cafe - Mon. June 28th, 2010 - Lawrenceville (Pittsburgh), PA

Ernie and the Berts @ the Thunderbird Cafe - Mon. June 28th, 2010 - Lawrenceville (Pittsburgh), PA

I also have to say that I also learned that the Thunderbird Cafe in Lawrenceville is awesome.  It’s a great room, it has a menu devoid of shellfish, and the crowd was a nice mellow mix form all walks of life.  While I’m at it, host band Craig King & CBG Connection were awesome dudes.  They were very welcoming, and they rocked the place out with some funk/blues/rock/jazz insanity.

If for some reason you want both videos, you can get a zip of both of them in mp4 format here:  http://drop.io/EatB_06282010_TBC

Favorite movies from my childhood…

Posted on by Standard 5

I felt like listing some of my favorite movies from when I was a kid.  They’re in no particular order, just how they came to mind.  Some are 80’s movies, some are earlier, with a few early 90’s ones thrown in.  They were all new to me with the advent of home video rental stores.  We used to go to this place called Network Video, & eventually the general store by my house started renting videos too.

I keep adding to the list as some of these movies remind me of others, I may have to do a part 2 or something someday…

Star Wars | Original Trilogy

  • Star Wars – This one’s obvious.  I’m talking the whole original trilogy here.  I really don’t feel the need to elaborate.

    • Ghostbusters

  • Ghostbusters – I remember laughing hysterically at “We came, we saw, we kicked some ass!”  This was the perfect mix of creepy and funny for a kid like me.  I used to rent this one all the time.  I even loved the Saturday morning cartoon.

    • The Goonies

  • The Goonies – I have probably watched this more than any other movie on the list, except maybe Star Wars.  I can still watch this over & over again.  As a kid, it was really easy to be immersed in this movie.  I have felt a little bit like Mikey, Data, Mouth, & Chunk many times.  I just saw something about the original cast reuniting for a 25th anniversary celebration.

    • Gremlins

  • Gremlins – Who didn’t want a Mogwai after seeing this movie?  Regardless of the danger, Gizmo would be the best pet ever.  I actually remember the gremlins being kind of scary too.  (Hey, I was 7 when this came out.)

    • Monster Squad

  • The Monster Squad – This was like “Goonies vs. the Universal Monsters” to me… so, of course, I loved it.  Mr. Alucard called for you.  How scary is that?  This made me want to start a monster club myself.  I may just have to get this on Blu-ray… even thought I already have the VHS & DVD…

    • The Last Starfighter

  • The Last Starfighter – The movie for anyone who’s ever imagined that they’re actually in a video game.  Great plot-line for a kid who likes video games, or sci-fi.  From what I understand, it was one of the first movies to have major use of computer generated graphics.

    • Batman (1989)

  • Batman (1989) – I remember thinking (even at a young age) “Michael Keaton?  The guy from Mr. Mom, Gung Ho, & Beetlejuice?”  I was as surprised as the rest of the world when it turned out to be the scariest and most awesome Batman movie to date.  The comic book nerd in me was overly pleased with Nicholson’s Joker too.  Even though he had always been portrayed in the comics as a lanky degenerate loon… Nicholson seemed to capture the spirit of insanity perfectly in that cool demeanor that only he could deliver.

    • Batman (1966 film)

  • Batman (1966) – I loved the TV show in reruns as a kid, it was like a 60’s comic come to life in all its campy glory.  Plus, the Joker, Riddler, The Penguin, and Catwoman all in one movie?  Wow!  Ha ha ha.  This one still has the coolest Batmobile.

    • Explorers

  • Explorers – Space travel… with a home computer, a Tilt-A-Whirl car, and a junkyard.  What’s not to love about this one?  Again, to a kid, this all seemed quite plausible.  This could have been “Goonies in Space”.  Ha ha ha.

    • Leonard Part 6

  • Leonard Part 6 – Part 6 of a nonexistent line of films… Bill Cosby fends off mutant vegetarians with magic meat.  It burns them like holy water on vampires.  That alone will make you want to watch this even though Cosby hated it and spoke out against seeing it while he was supposed to be promoting the film.

    • The Experts

  • The Experts – Does anyone else remember this movie at all?  There doesn’t seem to be much  about it on the web.  It’s classic 80’s comic Commie cheese.  Two guys, one John Travolta and one other dude are somehow transplanted to a 1950’s style town in Russia set up as an experiment…  where the people think they’re in 1950’s USA.  It’s like Pleasantville, only not.

    • Cloak & Dagger

  • Cloak & Dagger – This was another one where you could really imagine being the kid in the film.  This YouTube clip sums up the mood quite well.  It’s a great kid-centered spy movie with a good deal of action, if I remember right.

    • Funny Farm

  • Funny Farm – This has got to be one of the most absolutely hilarious movies ever.  Andy Farmer is driven to the brink of insanity by an incredibly odd small town and a series of classic (& at the time still funny) Chevy Chase pratfalls.  The telephone operator,  Yellow Dog, mutton balls… all favorite movie moments.

    • WarGames

  • WarGames – Yeah, I just wrote about this one.  Every kid with a computer envisioned hacking into a government computer… or at least hacking into something… and this was all before the internet.

    • Flight of the Navigator

  • Flight of the Navigator – This movie is excellent.  I know I wore out the VHS, and watched it every time I happened to catch it on TV.  Alien abduction, a morphing spacecraft, time anomalies, government conspiracies.  Intense!

    • E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

  • E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial – I loved this move and still crave Reese’s Pieces every time I think about it.  I wanted to build a communication device with my record player too.  This movie probably started my distrust of the government.

    • Weird Science

  • Weird Science – Geek movie extreme, with that 80’s “my life will end if I don’t get laid” vibe.  Less believable than WarGames, more believable than Explorers… Sort of.  I never watched the TV show that this spawned, but the movie was a favorite.  Oh yeah, the theme song was cool too!

    • Willow

  • Willow – Best fantasy movie ever?  Maybe.  It had a 2-headed dragon, sorcerers, a hero, an unwilling little-person hero, tiny funny guys, a villain that looked like Skeletor, and endless amounts of awesome.

    • Back to the Future

  • Back to the Future Trilogy – If there was an order to this list, this would be very near the top.  These movies were fast paced, exciting, and visually stunning.  This is what movies should be like.  Plus, Christopher Lloyd is bat-shit-nuts and that’s always entertaining.

    • Project X

  • Project X – As a kid, I loved monkeys, chimps, gorillas, and pretty much any primate.  Pop them into an action thriller, and of course I was hooked.  This is probably another reason why I distrust government so much.

    • Big Trouble in Little China

  • Big Trouble in Little China – This movie is just ridiculous.  Martial arts, Uzis, lightning bolts, and Kurt Russell.  What more do you need to throw in to have a winning movie?  Oh yeah, creepy monsters and a Chinese sorcerer.  That’s what.

    • Indiana Jones

  • Indiana Jones Trilogy – Yeah, just the first 3 here… they were, after all, the only ones out when I was a child.  Indiana Jones is the movie hero.  The hat, the whip, the attitude… it’s iconic.  These would also be at the top of an ordered list.  I think that goes without saying.

    • The Last Dragon

  • The Last Dragon – Martial arts plus Motown.  We used to watch this during lock-ins where I took Taekwondo as a kid.  Bruce Leroy vs. Sho’Nuff had a very Jedi-like vibe, and there was lightning.  This is super cheesy, but it’s what makes it a great flick.  Sho’Nuff!!!

    • Coming to America

  • Coming to America – Ah.  Once upon a time Eddie Murphy was funny, & not afraid to say dirty words.  Sadly… this movie probably sparked the fat-suit movies to follow with Eddie and Arsenio playing multiple roles.  But there are so many things in this film to love…  McDowell’s, Soul Glo, Sexual Chocolate.  Priceless.

    • Enter the Dragon

  • Enter the Dragon – Bruce Lee’s final film, and (I think) the first one that I saw.  What kid doesn’t love martial arts movies?  The crazy mirrored room scene is my favorite.

    • Star Trek

  • Star Trek series – Yeah, I like both Star Wars and Star Trek.  Star Wars is more awesome, but don’t get me started.  In school, a lot of us nerdy kids were into Star Trek… the show, the movies, the shows that came after…  it was awesome.  The play between Kirk, Spock, & Bones gets better & better with each film in the series!

    • The Karate Kid

  • The Karate Kid – As a kid in a Taekwondo class, I loved these movies.  All three were good, but especially the first one.  (We’ll forget about The Next Karate Kid, and the new Jackie Chan one.)  I wanted to be the Karate Kid, only in a Cobra Kai uniform.  “Sweep the leg!”

    • Labyrinth

  • Labyrinth – This movie still creeps me out.  David Bowie’s Goblin King is more than a little creepy.  The Muppets here are the stuff of nightmares… almost as bad as the ones in The Dark Crystal.  This is like a darker Wizard of Oz type film… it really put me in another world.

    • The Dark Crystal

  • The Dark Crystal – We need more creepy Muppet movies.  Forget this GCI and 3-D stuff, I want puppets and stop-motion!  I honestly can’t even tell you the full plot, but I watched this several times and loved it.

    • Just one of the Guys

  • Just One of the Guys – I think this became a favorite just because I’ve seen it so many times.  I mean, it was always on.  And, there was like 3 seconds of boobs.

    • Short Circuit

  • Short Circuit – Johnny 5 is alive!  No disassemble!  Very funny childlike innocence in a robot come to life thanks to a lightning bolt.  Wacky comedic adventure,  loved this one.

    • The Princess Bride

  • The Princess Bride – A very funny tale with the infamous Inigo Montoya.  All movies should be this fun.

    • The Toy

  • The Toy – If you’ve never seen this, I recommend going to get it right away… or any Pryor movie except Superman III.  It’s just fun & goofy.  The Wonder-wheel is my favorite part.  And, there’s a lesson in there somewhere…

    • Revenge of the Nerds

  • Revenge of the Nerds – This movie made me want to be a nerd, if I wasn’t one already.  The 2nd one wasn’t all that bad, ether.  I think this made me want to start a nerd band too.

    • Police Academy

  • Police Academy series – I generally like all of these movies… I think I wanted to be Larvell Jones, or at least Zed.  Heh.  The eyebrow gag is the best…  I love movies that are just goofy to be goofy.

    • Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend

  • Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend – Perhaps this is why I still believe in the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, and Mokèlé-mbèmbé… and why I say “No problem!” all the time.

  • “Crocodile Dundee” – For a while in the 80’s, there seemed to be this odd obsession with all things Australian.  I don’t know if this was a cause of that or just another part of the wave, but I remember thinking how cool Australia was for quite a long time.  It was a like a fresh quirky cowboy movie.  The Simpsons episode where Bart prank calls Australia also pokes fun at this fascination.

    • The NeverEnding Story

  • The NeverEnding Story – What kid didn’t love this film when it came out?  It was visually amazing, sad, exciting, a little scary… it was an incredible adventure.  I bet Gmork would still scare me if I watched it now…

    • Don't Tell Mom, The Babysitter' Dead

  • Don’t Tell Mom, The Babysitter’s Dead – This movie has two things; the line “The dishes are done, man!” and Christina Applegate.  All I needed in 1991 was Christina Applegate. I would of watched 3 hours of her doing anything. Ha ha ha.

    • PredatorPredator

  • Predator – This movie was scary and thrilling.   It has one of the best movie lines ever… Jesse Ventura’s “I Ain’t got time to bleed.” …as well as many others.  This kind of film is so easy to get drawn into.  I was in this world when watching this film.  Heat vision?  Invisibility?  I think I wanted to be the Predator… ha ha ha.

    • I could go on with the Superman films, Spinal Tap, Dick Tracy, Howard the Duck, Harry and the Hendersons, Moving, Aliens, Beetlejuice, Gorillas in the Mist, The ‘Burbs, One Crazy Summer, Planet of the Apes, Gleaming the Cube, Pump up the Volume, King Kong, the Godzilla flicks,  so many good ones…