Ashes Divide – Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright

Ashes Divides debut release is not just one of the best albums of 2008, it is one of the best of all time records. The band is fronted by Billy Howerdel (A Perfect Circle guitarist) and features other notable musicians such as Josh Freese, Devo Keenan, and Johnette Napolitano.

The lyrics and sounds on this album both get a 10 in my book for originality and experimentation. This album is a easy hard rock album that anyone can enjoy. If you haven’t heard it yet, I highly recommend you check out Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright by Ashes Divide!

More Info – www.ashesdivide.com

Serj Tankian – Elect the Dead

Elect the Dead is Serj Tankian’s (System of a Down) solo debut and embodies a album that is full of food for thought. If you like System, you will like this albums stance on hopes for social justice and positive reform.

This album, I feel, if more experimental than System, but by no means a replacement for all of their great albums. I look forward to Serj’s next record, seeing how it might be a while before System of a Down (possibly) reunites.

More Info – www.serjtankian.com

Scars on Broadway – (Self Titled)

Scars on Broadway is another part of System of a Down. It’s members are Daron Malakian on vocals, guitars, bass guitars, keyboards/organs/mellotrons and John Dolmayan on drums. Pending the possible reunion of System of a Down, Daron and John set out on their own to create a album that is not comparable to anything that I have heard to date.

Sometimes serious, sometimes not so serious, Scars on Broadway is a really awesome album and has some excitingly unique tracks on it. “Kill Each Other/Live Forever” is one example that characterizes a intriguing paradigm that any self-reflecting thinker should enjoy. Check it out if you missed this albums release last year.

More Info – www.scarsonbroadway.com

In Flames – A Sense of Purpose

Wikipedia describes In Flames as a “Swedish melodic death metal band”, I just call them progressive rock. They have progressed and improved with every pressing album and they rock. Isn’t that what progressive rock is?

On A Sense of Purpose, In Flames is sticking to their new style that emerged with their last album Come Clarity. This is another great album from a band that has been making music for nearly 20 years now.

More Info – www.inflames.com

Nine Inch Nails – The Slip

The Slip is an amazing, thought provoking album that has probably the strongest line-up of musicians ever. Trent Reznor + Josh Freese + Robin Finck + Alessandro Cortini = absolute talent.

And did you know? It’s free to download. Not because they couldn’t use the money, but because they are just that @$#%ing cool. Actually it was a “present” to all of the fans that have supported NIN over the years, but I am going to remember it my own way. You can get the album right now, for free at NIN.com.

More Info – www.nin.com

Nine Inch Nails – Ghosts I–IV

And yes NIN did release another album in 2008 that deserves just as much praise as “The Slip”. Ghost is a 4 disk set that is 100% instrumental and has some of the coolest sounding synthetics you will ever hear.

This was the first album from NIN since they ditch Interscope Records, so the album was released completely independent of a major label. More bands and musicians that are on Trent’s and NIN’s level should ditch their labels as well. All lables are good for is making and taking money, which has nothing to do with creating music.

More Info – www.nin.com

The Nightwatchman – The Fabled City

The Fabled City is the second release from The Nightwatchman (Tom Morello of RATM and Audioslave) and continues to be one of the greatest protestresistance albums of the last 30 years.

Serj Tankian (of System of a Down), Shooter Jennings, and Perry Farrell (of Jane’s Addiction) all appear as guest on the album and help add some uniqueness to a lot of the tracks. It’s great to see inspiring music still is being released today. Sometime this year Street Sweeper, another band Tom is working with, is going to be releasing a new album so check that out or see Street Sweeper right now while they are on tour with Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction.

More Info – www.nightwatchmanmusic.com

Coming to the Snoqualmie Casino in March

1. Sip of Snoqualmie (wine-tasting) – March 14th
2. The NW Best St. Patrick’s Day Bash – March 17th
3. Smokey Robinson – March 27th
4. Julianne Hough with The Lost Trailers – March 28th

Coming to the Snoqualmie Casino in April

1. The Robert Cray Band – April 2nd
2. Paramount’s Original Laser Spectacular Featuring the Music of Pink Floyd – April 3rd
3. Rumble on the Ridge II- Strike or Submit – April 4th
4. Vicki Lawrence – April 8th
5. UB40 – April 10th
6. Queensryche – April 16th and 17th
7. Boz Scaggs – April 22nd

Coming to the Snoqualmie Casino in May

1. Buddy Guy – May 7th
2. Robin Trower – May 13th
3. Guitars and Saxes (G&S) – May 14th

• For $250 dollars you get too go on a lunch date with Josh to PF Changs or The Cheesecake Factory.
• With the $1000 package you get to have dinner with Josh aboard the “Queen Mary” in Long Beach, CA. Plus get drunk and cut each others hair in the parking lot of the Long Beach courthouse, which is also filmed and posted on YouTube.
• For $10,000 you get to go with Twiggy and Josh to Roscoe’s Chicken n’ Waffle in Long Beach for dinner. Then you head off too “Club 33″ which is a exclusive and private restaurant in Disneyland above the Pirates Of The Caribbean. Oh and you get to drive away at the end of the day in Josh’s Volvo station wagon.

The Oddity Faire – A Mutated Mini FestLes Claypool

3/04/09 San Diego, CA House Of Blues Yard Dogs
3/06/09 Las Vegas, NV House Of Blues Yard Dogs
3/07/09 Los Angeles, CA Palladium Mutaytor, Saul Williams, Yard Dogs
3/08/09 Lake Tahoe, NV Montbleu Theatre Yard Dogs, Saul Williams
3/10/09 Portland, OR Roseland Yard Dogs, Saul Williams
3/11/09 Seattle, WA Showbox SoDo Saul Williams, Yard Dogs
3/13/09 Salt Lake City, UT Depot Saul Williams, Secret Chief 3
3/14/09 Denver, CO Fillmore Yard Dogs, Saul Williams, Secret Chief 3
3/16/09 Kansas City, MO Beaumont Devotchka, Saul Williams, Secret Chief 3
3/17/09 St. Louis, MO Pageant Devotchka, Saul Williams, Secret Chief 3
3/19/09 Minneapolis, MN Myth Devotchka, Saul Williams, Secret Chief 3
3/20/09 Milwaukee, WI Rave Devotchka, Saul Williams, Secret Chief 3
3/21/09 Chicago, IL Riviera Devotchka, Saul Williams, Secret Chief 3
3/22/09 Cleveland, OH Agora Devotchka, Saul Williams, Secret Chief 3
3/24/09 Toronto, ON The Guvernment Saul Williams, Secret Chief 3
3/26/09 Boston, MA House Of Blues Saul Williams, Secret Chief 3, O’Death
3/27/09 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory Saul Williams, Secret Chief 3, O’Death
3/28/09 New York, NY Terminal 5 Saul Williams, O’Death, Secret Chief 3

3. Stairway to Heaven song meaning by sunsetwestproductions.com

The writer there believes that the song Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin is about Christianity. His reason for beginning on this train of thought begins with this: he says,

“many times when I perform “Stairway to Heaven” I feel the Holy Spirit. Could it be that somehow God used another heavy metal band, Led Zeppelin, to glorify Jesus Christ and Heaven for masses of teenagers. It seems that British school boys know a lot more about Christianity than their American counterparts.”

To further his intuition, he also supplements his reasoning with this by pointing out the lyric “because you know sometimes words have 2 meanings”. He or she goes on to argue that even though Led Zeppelin is a band full of sinners, that the song is not evil. Here, we see an appeal to the Christian community, but not the general community. Therefore, to me it is not convincing even from his first statement. There is no context of Christianity here.

“Isn’t it funny that every year since it was new, Stairway to Heaven has been the number one rock song every time that a rock radio station plays their all time greatest, most requested songs. That’s pretty amazing, in fact it’s a miracle! Truly it is. I mean, do you think God would let Highway to Hell be number one? Well, maybe if God wanted to use it as a warning. But God, being a good, friendly, and loving God would rather do a little positive reinforcement and use a positive song after all…. “

So now, with the conclusion, he or she thinks that God caused the song’s success for his glory. Here is an excerpt for lyrics interpretations, line by line. To read the complete interpretation breakdown, visit http://www.sunsetwestproductions.com/forever/stairway.htm

There’s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven. (she is tithing)
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for. (The bible is the word of God, with the bible, she can get into Heaven.) Revelation 3:8
Ooh, ooh, and she’s buying a stairway to heaven. (She is tithing and she she thinks that will get her into Heaven)

There’s a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure (points out the significance of the next line, hint hint)
‘Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings. (parables, which the bible is full of, and the words in this song have two meanings)
In a tree by the brook, there’s a songbird who sings, (reference to John the Baptist and Jesus)
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiving.
Ooh, it makes me wonder, (think!)
Ooh, it makes me wonder.

To read more, visit http://www.sunsetwestproductions.com/forever/stairway.htm

2. Judas Priest interpretation by various plaintiffs (mothers of boys who committed suicide)

Perhaps some of you may have heard of the suicides of teenagers from listening to Judas Priest albums. In court, it was claimed that subliminal messages were found in the album when it was played backward, and this activated suicidal impulses. Yeah, I know, doesn’t make sense.

In one example, in the song “Better by you Better than me” they say the words “do it”, and these words urged the boys to kill themselves. It would take somebody already suicidal to receive encouragement from these words without taking account the surrounding lyrics.

Judas Priest wasn’t the only rock band under trial, but these cases are important in legal history because it will influence the future of free speech, crack pot science, and the views on the subliminal perception.

So far as I know, there was no success in the trial for the plaintiffs (whew!!!) But in the past there has been a lot of precedence for crack pot science… such as in 1986, a Philadelphia jury awarded a woman $900,000 because a CAT scan ruined her psychic abilities. (New York Times, March 29, 1986). And of course, an “expert doctor” was there to support her case. Anyway, that’s a whole ‘nother story.

1. Helter Skelter by Charles Manson

This is probably the worst misinterpretation out there in the history of Rock ‘n Roll. Charles Manson and family took the Beatles’ album and read it as a prophecy. Manson thought that the Beatles were sending them a message about “Helter Skelter”, where the blacks would rise up and destroy all the whites. The family was supposed to go to this underground city while this was happening, and come back out to rule the blacks when it was over. They were also supposed to initiate the Helter Skelter, by murdering a bunch of people.

Charles Manson was the lead interpretor, and he infused the Beatles’ lyrics with the book of Revelations from the Bible. Manson also believed that he was the second coming of Christ.

Here is a sample of the interpretation taken from Wikipedia:
The song Rocky Raccoon:
Rocky Raccoon means “coon,” vulgar term for a black man

Of all the Beatles songs known to have been connected with Helter Skelter, this is the only one that mentions the Bible. (It is possibly the only Beatles song at all that mentions the Bible.) A play on the Gideons International practice of leaving Bibles in hotel rooms, the references are to a Bible left in the room of the title character by a “Gideon”:

So one day [Rocky Raccoon] walked into town/ Booked himself a room in the local saloon/ Rocky Raccoon/ Checked into his room/ Only to find Gideon’s Bible… Now Rocky Raccoon/ He fell back in his room/ Only to find Gideon’s Bible/ Gideon checked out/ And he left it no doubt/ To help with good Rocky’s revival.

Manson made the connection. In the period before his trial, he was visited at the Los Angeles County Jail by David Dalton and David Felton, who were preparing a Rolling Stone story, about him, that appeared in the magazine in June 1970. In an article in the October 1998 issue of the periodical Gadfly, Dalton, recounting the visit to Manson, relayed the remarks Manson made to Felton and him about “Rocky Raccoon”:

“Coon,” said Charlie. “You know that’s a word they use for black people. You know the line, ‘Gideon checked out/ And left no doubt/ To help good Rocky’s revival.’ Rocky’s revival — re-vival. It means coming back to life. The black man is going to come into power again. ‘Gideon checks out’ means that it’s all written out there in the New Testament, in the Book of Revelations [sic].”

To read more, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helter_Skelter_(Manson_scenario)