Golf freakout of the day...
Good day at Beausejour Golf Club today. The first hole has a stream running all the way through the fairway, so you have to take a walk across a bridge to get to your ball. But this is no ordinary foot bridge. For today's video, let's take a walk down "The Suspension Bridge from Hell".
Quick note: Talked to the club owners afterwards...somebody actually had a heart attack and died on this bridge.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Day 4: Grand Beach
This is how I felt today...
The 9-hole Beaches Golf Course is currently under new ownership after the previous owners let the course deteriorate. Neal Heibert, a CreComm grad from ages ago, owns the company that bought the land and there's big plans for the future.
But for now, the course is simply a gong show.
Once it gets back into reasonable shape, the 9th and finishing hole is a very very tricky finishing hole. A 204-yard Par 3. Rarely do Par 3's finish off a round.
I somehow was able to hold in my rage for a few moments to make this video of hole 9.
The 9-hole Beaches Golf Course is currently under new ownership after the previous owners let the course deteriorate. Neal Heibert, a CreComm grad from ages ago, owns the company that bought the land and there's big plans for the future.
But for now, the course is simply a gong show.
Once it gets back into reasonable shape, the 9th and finishing hole is a very very tricky finishing hole. A 204-yard Par 3. Rarely do Par 3's finish off a round.
I somehow was able to hold in my rage for a few moments to make this video of hole 9.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Day 3: Teulon
Before we begin, I'm making it a daily ritual on these 30/30 blogs......The golf freakout of the day!!
Now for the video from today at the Teulon Golf & Country Club in Teulon, Manitoba.
A free cart ride from the 18th fairway to the 18th green. The hole is a 486 yard Par 5 and a tricky way to finish your round...especially when you've been in the sun for 4 hours and you just sliced your drive out of bounds like the person writing this did.
P.S. It was either this video or a video I took at the 149 yard par-3 16th where I filmed myself shooting and, of course, proceeded to chunk the tee shot and hit it 100 yards. But I'm sure you don't want to see that....
Now for the video from today at the Teulon Golf & Country Club in Teulon, Manitoba.
A free cart ride from the 18th fairway to the 18th green. The hole is a 486 yard Par 5 and a tricky way to finish your round...especially when you've been in the sun for 4 hours and you just sliced your drive out of bounds like the person writing this did.
P.S. It was either this video or a video I took at the 149 yard par-3 16th where I filmed myself shooting and, of course, proceeded to chunk the tee shot and hit it 100 yards. But I'm sure you don't want to see that....
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Day 2: Selkirk
Here's video from the 18th green at the Selkirk Golf & Country Club in Selkirk, Manitoba. This green is a beast, and slopes right to left towards the water.
Are you one of those people who enjoy seeing golfers freak out?
A day of watching guys putt around on the 18th hole will have you enjoying other's misery. There have apparently been 8-putts on this green before.
Are you one of those people who enjoy seeing golfers freak out?
A day of watching guys putt around on the 18th hole will have you enjoying other's misery. There have apparently been 8-putts on this green before.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Day 1: Gimli
The 3o day/30 course/30 town trip kicked off today in Gimli, Manitoba at the Links at the Lake Golf Course
Quick note: One of the 2 other golfers I golfed was none other than Jim Carr, not the announcer from Slapshot, but this guy... ex-Winnipeg Free Press reporter, ex-politician.
And during his time at the Free Press, guess who he worked with? None other than CreComm Journalism instructor Duncan McMonagle. So through 1 day, I've already golfed with a prominent Manitoban. And he told me I'm a good putter, too.......
Weather wise, it was picture perfect. The skies were clear and the temperature hovered near 30 C all day.
Here's the video from the 18th green. The 9th and 18th are virtually beside each other with water separating them.
P.S. Sound cuts out a few times...This is what happens when you record videos with a digital camera.
Videos will get better as the trip goes on.. trust me. Tomorrow we hit up the Selkirk Golf & Country Club.
Quick note: One of the 2 other golfers I golfed was none other than Jim Carr, not the announcer from Slapshot, but this guy... ex-Winnipeg Free Press reporter, ex-politician.
And during his time at the Free Press, guess who he worked with? None other than CreComm Journalism instructor Duncan McMonagle. So through 1 day, I've already golfed with a prominent Manitoban. And he told me I'm a good putter, too.......
Weather wise, it was picture perfect. The skies were clear and the temperature hovered near 30 C all day.
Here's the video from the 18th green. The 9th and 18th are virtually beside each other with water separating them.
P.S. Sound cuts out a few times...This is what happens when you record videos with a digital camera.
Videos will get better as the trip goes on.. trust me. Tomorrow we hit up the Selkirk Golf & Country Club.
Monday, July 19, 2010
30 courses, 30 days, 30 towns....The Ultimate Journey
The next month of my life is going to involve a trip that I never, in a million years, thought I would go on. But then I entered the world of Creative Communications at Red River College, and since September 2009, I’ve been doing stuff that I never thought I would do.
The main reason this trip is happening is because of a school project called the “IPP” (Independent Professional Project).
Directly from Kenton Larsen’s blog:
“The IPP is a year-long course in Creative Communications at Red River College in Winnipeg in which students develop an original and meaningful project that they propose, complete, and market in order to graduate.”
So what is this crazy trip that I keep referring to?
Let me explain what I am doing by using the 5 “W’s” as well as answering 10 other questions that you may have about it.
Who: Kevin Hirschfield, 19 Year old Creative Communications Student at Red River College
What: A golf trip that will involve golfing 30 different courses in 30 consecutive days in 30 different towns. The trip will then be documented in a book which will be worked on throughout out the school year. The book will feature my personal experiences on the trip featured in a daily “diary-style” format as well as a guide to the golf courses.
When: Monday July 26- Tuesday August 24
Where: (In order) Gimli, Selkirk, Teulon, Grand Beach, Beausejour, Pinawa, Pine Falls, Lac Du Bonnet, Killarney, Souris, Boissevain, Trehene, Glenboro, Deloraine, Brandon, Carman, Morris, Winkler, Altona, Morden, Warren, Miami, Riverton, Gladstone, Falcon Lake, MacGregor, Portage La Prairie, Steinbach, La Broquerie, Elm Creek
Why: The chance for myself to create a golf guide that is very unique and fun for golfers of all ages to read. The “diary-style format” will be myself writing daily about what I went through on that given day and written in a fun and humorous tone (similar to how my blog is written), something that is not seen in any other golf guides. The guide portion will feature varying topics such as , “Stories from the Course”, “Tips from the Pro”, “5 holes to watch out for”, course history and other facts about the course.
10 frequently asked questions
1. What the hell is wrong with you?
What, you don’t think I can golf 30 straight days? While some people my age are addicted to pot, I am addicted to the sport of golf. And honestly, sometimes I wish I was rather addicted to pot. Does pot make you go into violent fits of rage? Does pot make you want to slam stuff on the ground? Golf sure does. So the least of my worries is myself not being able to continue with the trip because I am sick and tired of golf. But who knows? I’ve never golfed for more than 5 consecutive days.
2. What if it rains?
It’s rained enough already in Manitoba this year, I’m sure it won’t rain that much.
Unfortunately, that above statement is anything but true and I expect some downpours from time to time. Now it’s not hard to play in the rain, but when the thunder and the lightning comes, that’s when they’re going to boot me off of the golf course. If that happens, I’m going to try and wait it out, because rarely do we see massive thunderstorms last all day.
3. What are your biggest worries other than the weather?
As unfortunate as this is, my number one worry other than the weather is that I will get so angry when I’m playing poorly that I completely forget the reason that I am on this trip. It’s not hard to stop caring when you’re mad. Trust me.
4. Are you staying in hotels?
There will be only one stretch of courses where I will be in a hotel. That will be the stretch from August 2- August 8 when I will be staying in Killarney, Manitoba, where our family used to own a cabin. We currently own a cabin in Lac Du Bonnet, where I will be staying during that 4-course stint out there. Other than that, I will be driving to the courses and coming back home to Winnipeg on the same day.
5. How much is this entire trip going to cost?
Next question.
6. Are you any good at golf?
I shoot in the high 80’s and low 90’s so take that for what you will. If you gave my golf game a grade out of 10, let’s go with a 7. Or a “B” in school terms. But when I suck…I suck. You can call me an average golfer. And average golfers are the most common breed of golfers out there. They may not be great at the game, but they still love it and get out as much as they can. They make the same stupid mistakes over and over again, but that doesn’t stop them from playing all the time. I think this is going to be another cool aspect of the book in the sense that I am one of these many average golfers. I think as others read the material in this book, they will be able to relate to the problems and maybe have a good laugh or two along the way as I struggle.
7. Why 30 days?
My original brilliant idea was to golf every single golf course in Manitoba until I realized my book would be about 500 pages long and I would be forced to play guitar outside the Southdale Liquor Mart as I would be completely broke.
8. What if the courses are only 9 holes?
I’m golfing 18 holes every day, and that’s that. So twice around the course is what will happen if it’s a 9 hole course.
9. Am I going to be blogging on Kevin’s Bacon during my trip?
Yes and no. What would be the point of writing my daily experiences online and then creating a book after? So instead of a written blog, I am going to take a stab at something I have never done before. Video blogging or vlogging. I plan on taking a short 1-2 minute video at each golf course I attend, just to give updates on how the trip is going, and post it on the blog that night.
10. Can I come golfing with you, Kevin?
The first stretch of courses are ones that I will probably do myself, just so that I can see what a day will consist of and how long it will be. But probably beginning August 10th in Carman, I will be accepting applications for spots on the 30 day-30 course trip. Resumes can be sent to kevinhabs@hotmail.com.
Obviously I’m kidding and anyone is welcome to join me on those 2 weeks. Just e-mail or message me at 295-5081 and tell me when you’re able to go.
30 courses. 30 towns. 30 days. We’re less than one week away.
The main reason this trip is happening is because of a school project called the “IPP” (Independent Professional Project).
Directly from Kenton Larsen’s blog:
“The IPP is a year-long course in Creative Communications at Red River College in Winnipeg in which students develop an original and meaningful project that they propose, complete, and market in order to graduate.”
So what is this crazy trip that I keep referring to?
Let me explain what I am doing by using the 5 “W’s” as well as answering 10 other questions that you may have about it.
Who: Kevin Hirschfield, 19 Year old Creative Communications Student at Red River College
What: A golf trip that will involve golfing 30 different courses in 30 consecutive days in 30 different towns. The trip will then be documented in a book which will be worked on throughout out the school year. The book will feature my personal experiences on the trip featured in a daily “diary-style” format as well as a guide to the golf courses.
When: Monday July 26- Tuesday August 24
Where: (In order) Gimli, Selkirk, Teulon, Grand Beach, Beausejour, Pinawa, Pine Falls, Lac Du Bonnet, Killarney, Souris, Boissevain, Trehene, Glenboro, Deloraine, Brandon, Carman, Morris, Winkler, Altona, Morden, Warren, Miami, Riverton, Gladstone, Falcon Lake, MacGregor, Portage La Prairie, Steinbach, La Broquerie, Elm Creek
Why: The chance for myself to create a golf guide that is very unique and fun for golfers of all ages to read. The “diary-style format” will be myself writing daily about what I went through on that given day and written in a fun and humorous tone (similar to how my blog is written), something that is not seen in any other golf guides. The guide portion will feature varying topics such as , “Stories from the Course”, “Tips from the Pro”, “5 holes to watch out for”, course history and other facts about the course.
10 frequently asked questions
1. What the hell is wrong with you?
What, you don’t think I can golf 30 straight days? While some people my age are addicted to pot, I am addicted to the sport of golf. And honestly, sometimes I wish I was rather addicted to pot. Does pot make you go into violent fits of rage? Does pot make you want to slam stuff on the ground? Golf sure does. So the least of my worries is myself not being able to continue with the trip because I am sick and tired of golf. But who knows? I’ve never golfed for more than 5 consecutive days.
2. What if it rains?
It’s rained enough already in Manitoba this year, I’m sure it won’t rain that much.
Unfortunately, that above statement is anything but true and I expect some downpours from time to time. Now it’s not hard to play in the rain, but when the thunder and the lightning comes, that’s when they’re going to boot me off of the golf course. If that happens, I’m going to try and wait it out, because rarely do we see massive thunderstorms last all day.
3. What are your biggest worries other than the weather?
As unfortunate as this is, my number one worry other than the weather is that I will get so angry when I’m playing poorly that I completely forget the reason that I am on this trip. It’s not hard to stop caring when you’re mad. Trust me.
4. Are you staying in hotels?
There will be only one stretch of courses where I will be in a hotel. That will be the stretch from August 2- August 8 when I will be staying in Killarney, Manitoba, where our family used to own a cabin. We currently own a cabin in Lac Du Bonnet, where I will be staying during that 4-course stint out there. Other than that, I will be driving to the courses and coming back home to Winnipeg on the same day.
5. How much is this entire trip going to cost?
Next question.
6. Are you any good at golf?
I shoot in the high 80’s and low 90’s so take that for what you will. If you gave my golf game a grade out of 10, let’s go with a 7. Or a “B” in school terms. But when I suck…I suck. You can call me an average golfer. And average golfers are the most common breed of golfers out there. They may not be great at the game, but they still love it and get out as much as they can. They make the same stupid mistakes over and over again, but that doesn’t stop them from playing all the time. I think this is going to be another cool aspect of the book in the sense that I am one of these many average golfers. I think as others read the material in this book, they will be able to relate to the problems and maybe have a good laugh or two along the way as I struggle.
7. Why 30 days?
My original brilliant idea was to golf every single golf course in Manitoba until I realized my book would be about 500 pages long and I would be forced to play guitar outside the Southdale Liquor Mart as I would be completely broke.
8. What if the courses are only 9 holes?
I’m golfing 18 holes every day, and that’s that. So twice around the course is what will happen if it’s a 9 hole course.
9. Am I going to be blogging on Kevin’s Bacon during my trip?
Yes and no. What would be the point of writing my daily experiences online and then creating a book after? So instead of a written blog, I am going to take a stab at something I have never done before. Video blogging or vlogging. I plan on taking a short 1-2 minute video at each golf course I attend, just to give updates on how the trip is going, and post it on the blog that night.
10. Can I come golfing with you, Kevin?
The first stretch of courses are ones that I will probably do myself, just so that I can see what a day will consist of and how long it will be. But probably beginning August 10th in Carman, I will be accepting applications for spots on the 30 day-30 course trip. Resumes can be sent to kevinhabs@hotmail.com.
Obviously I’m kidding and anyone is welcome to join me on those 2 weeks. Just e-mail or message me at 295-5081 and tell me when you’re able to go.
30 courses. 30 towns. 30 days. We’re less than one week away.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Car Flags: The Do's and Dont's
So the World Cup has finally come to its conclusion and with that we see the end of 1) Vuvuzuelas, 2) 0-0 sleeper games, 3) British announcers who make watching paint dry seem like loads of fun, and 4) The various car flags seen throughout the city.
Why do we have car flags?
It is our chance as a sports fan, or as a supporter of our country to say, “This is our team/country, and we’re damn proud of it, and we’re gonna let everyone know even when we’re driving places.”
Usually in Winnipeg, we see car flags during NHL playoffs, the World Cup, and the Olympics. But can they be used for more than just sporting purposes? That will be discussed later.
Before you go out there and slap a flag onto your car, however, there’s a few rules you should follow. Here are some do’s and don’ts when it comes to the use of car flags .
DO
Enjoy some friendly banter with people at stop lights. If somebody pulls up next to you at a stop light, and they give you a dirty look, or a thumbs down because of your flag, roll down the window and defend your team. Tell the guy beside you that your team is the best no matter what he thinks. And then the light will turn green, and the guy behind you will rear-end you because you’ve gotten too involved with the guy beside you. Then you can have another conversation with the guy that hit you as you exchange information. Man, these car flags are a great way to meet new people.
DON’T
Leave the car flag up after your team has been eliminated for 2 weeks. You look like an idiot and it looks like you have no idea what is going on. This will infuriate people. It was interesting about a week ago (July 6th) when I saw a car flapping an England flag (eliminated June 27th) and the back of the car was completely smashed up. Coincidence? I think not. I saw Portugal flags, Slovakia(?!?) flags, and Italian flags flying well after their teams had been knocked out of the World Cup. As soon as you can,after your team loses, TAKE THE FLAG DOWN, and save it for next time before someone rips it to shreds.
DO
Attach the car flag to your front window. When the Montreal Canadiens made their improbable run to the Eastern Conference Final a few months back, my car flag was waving , but from the back window. 2 days before the start of the series, the window was rolled down by a friend who had no idea how the flag was attached and it whipped down Fermor Avenue almost causing a 10-car pileup behind us. The car flag was gone, and the Habs were gone soon after losing in 5 mediocre games. If it was attached to the driver’s side window, there would be no disappearing car flag, and who knows how many more games the magic car flag would have brought the Habs?
Don’t
Jump on the bandwagon. A car flag should not be attached unless you are a real fan of the team. If it’s the flag of a country, you should be currently residing in that country, or have some sort of blood relation to that country. In May, we were one week away from seeing handfuls of Montreal Canadiens car flags in the classic “Let’s cheer for the final Canadian team in the playoffs” scenario, even though those same people probably make fun of them the rest of the year. I watch my team for 82 games plus playoffs and you decide you’re gonna become a fan when they’re 3 wins from the Final??? Complete garbage. If you're in this boat, just buy a Canadian car flag and stay off the bandwagon.
Do
Come up with your own car flags. I’m surprised something like this hasn’t caught on yet, especially for those people who aren’t sports fans. What I mean by this is buying a plain white car flag, or somehow creating your own white car flag and writing your own messages. Wouldn’t this work during elections when you wanted to make clear who you were supporting? Just imagine this coming October in the mayoral race… a KATZ flag flapping in big black letters on one’s car… a JUDY flag flapping in big black letters on another car. On second thought, this might cause more harm than good but, hell, it’s worth a shot, right?
Don’t
Put more than one car flag up. You’re not JFK riding in his presidential motorcade where flags were waving everywhere. You can show your support quite clearly with just one flag waving because more than one will cause many others to look in disgust and anger. And you don’t want to mess with angry Winnipeg drivers because the last thing you want is to end up like JFK did in his final motorcade ride.
So with the 2010 World Cup coming to a close, another Winnipeg car flag session has ended. So get prepared for the next big event and get your car flags. And if it was up to me, the next big car flag event would be Sam vs. Judy in October. Make this happen, Winnipeg.
Why do we have car flags?
It is our chance as a sports fan, or as a supporter of our country to say, “This is our team/country, and we’re damn proud of it, and we’re gonna let everyone know even when we’re driving places.”
Usually in Winnipeg, we see car flags during NHL playoffs, the World Cup, and the Olympics. But can they be used for more than just sporting purposes? That will be discussed later.
Before you go out there and slap a flag onto your car, however, there’s a few rules you should follow. Here are some do’s and don’ts when it comes to the use of car flags .
DO
Enjoy some friendly banter with people at stop lights. If somebody pulls up next to you at a stop light, and they give you a dirty look, or a thumbs down because of your flag, roll down the window and defend your team. Tell the guy beside you that your team is the best no matter what he thinks. And then the light will turn green, and the guy behind you will rear-end you because you’ve gotten too involved with the guy beside you. Then you can have another conversation with the guy that hit you as you exchange information. Man, these car flags are a great way to meet new people.
DON’T
Leave the car flag up after your team has been eliminated for 2 weeks. You look like an idiot and it looks like you have no idea what is going on. This will infuriate people. It was interesting about a week ago (July 6th) when I saw a car flapping an England flag (eliminated June 27th) and the back of the car was completely smashed up. Coincidence? I think not. I saw Portugal flags, Slovakia(?!?) flags, and Italian flags flying well after their teams had been knocked out of the World Cup. As soon as you can,after your team loses, TAKE THE FLAG DOWN, and save it for next time before someone rips it to shreds.
DO
Attach the car flag to your front window. When the Montreal Canadiens made their improbable run to the Eastern Conference Final a few months back, my car flag was waving , but from the back window. 2 days before the start of the series, the window was rolled down by a friend who had no idea how the flag was attached and it whipped down Fermor Avenue almost causing a 10-car pileup behind us. The car flag was gone, and the Habs were gone soon after losing in 5 mediocre games. If it was attached to the driver’s side window, there would be no disappearing car flag, and who knows how many more games the magic car flag would have brought the Habs?
Don’t
Jump on the bandwagon. A car flag should not be attached unless you are a real fan of the team. If it’s the flag of a country, you should be currently residing in that country, or have some sort of blood relation to that country. In May, we were one week away from seeing handfuls of Montreal Canadiens car flags in the classic “Let’s cheer for the final Canadian team in the playoffs” scenario, even though those same people probably make fun of them the rest of the year. I watch my team for 82 games plus playoffs and you decide you’re gonna become a fan when they’re 3 wins from the Final??? Complete garbage. If you're in this boat, just buy a Canadian car flag and stay off the bandwagon.
Do
Come up with your own car flags. I’m surprised something like this hasn’t caught on yet, especially for those people who aren’t sports fans. What I mean by this is buying a plain white car flag, or somehow creating your own white car flag and writing your own messages. Wouldn’t this work during elections when you wanted to make clear who you were supporting? Just imagine this coming October in the mayoral race… a KATZ flag flapping in big black letters on one’s car… a JUDY flag flapping in big black letters on another car. On second thought, this might cause more harm than good but, hell, it’s worth a shot, right?
Don’t
Put more than one car flag up. You’re not JFK riding in his presidential motorcade where flags were waving everywhere. You can show your support quite clearly with just one flag waving because more than one will cause many others to look in disgust and anger. And you don’t want to mess with angry Winnipeg drivers because the last thing you want is to end up like JFK did in his final motorcade ride.
So with the 2010 World Cup coming to a close, another Winnipeg car flag session has ended. So get prepared for the next big event and get your car flags. And if it was up to me, the next big car flag event would be Sam vs. Judy in October. Make this happen, Winnipeg.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Rock bands from A-Z: My list is better than yours
Wow... it's about time. After a near month-long hiatus, Kevin's Bacon is back. And back with a venegeance. But before we get into things, I should probably mention why I haven't written a post since June 10. Well, we'll start off with a little game of multiple choice. Take your best guess.
Why did Kevin not make a post in almost a month?
a) Needed emergency eye surgery after gouging them out watching another scoreless World Cup draw.
b) Accidentally swallowed a giant portion of bug spray ,and couldn't stop violently vomiting everywhere.
c) Found out that the Montreal Canadiens traded their goaltender who led them to within 3 wins of the Stanley Cup Final, and took a 3 week long walk trying to make sense of it all.
d) Couldn't think of an entertaining blog topic.
Answer: D) Yeah, it was that simple. I couldn't think of anything exciting or original to write about. Since my blog is mainly focused on sports, and we are entering the so-called "dog days' of sports, it's tough to post anything sports-related, unless you're a soccer fan or a CFL fan which I am not.
But then I remembered in one of the first posts ever on this blog, I promised to talk about music. And just like all my other promises, I failed to really do so. I made the rare post here and there about a few music topics but nothing special. I think it's time we did something about that, in a big-ass way.
Can you say 3000 words?
So sit back, relax and enjoy Kevin's favourite rock bands from A-Z.
First let's explore my musical history.
I grew up in a home where 92 CITI and Power 97 graced the radio at all times. So it's not like I had a choice. Most kids go through phases of different genres of music. For myself, it's been rock since kindergarten, although there was a brief period of time that involved country and Shania Twain but that's the last we'll speak of that.
My first band obsession was with the Guess Who. I discovered a tape in our old van, popped it in, and I looked like Evan from Superbad as I learned the lyrics to "These Eyes" and a number of other songs. And since Burton Cummings could play like the piano and keyboards like nobody else, I decided I was going to take up this instrument. But then the night of June 30, 2000 came around. The Guess Who at Canwest Global Park. My first concert that didn't involve Fred Penner, Raffi or Al Simmons. The band hit the stage despite a torrential downpour and played their hearts out to the hometown crowd. But it was one guy that stuck out to me. Not Burton but his fellow bandmate, guitarist Randy Bachman. He played the guitar like I had never seen. His solos were the highlights of each song the band played. Watching the vids on Youtube, I still get the chills. He even pulled out the cowbell stick during his extended American Woman solo.
It was the first virtuoso performance of any instrument that I had ever seen live and so without ever touching a piano, I decided that I was switching my choice of instrument to guitar. I was enrolled in lessons within 6 months and still play to this day.
So I've listened to rock extensively for the last 10 years or so and feel that the list you are about to read will make some sense. Here's how this is going to work. I will go through all 26 letters of the alphabet and pick my favourite band that begins with each letter. And if you don't agree, please don't hesitate to contact me in some way, where we can have a lengthy, and hopefully not violent, discussion about our differing choices.
26 letters, 26 bands, 1 crazed 19 year old. Let's do this.
A
Alice in Chains
Really, really tough decision to kick things off. But I should mention the way that I am narrowing down the bands is by using the classic "deserted island" method. You know how it goes. If you were on an island and had a choice of only one band that you could listen to for the rest of your life,who would it be? And since I would rather drown myself on the island than listen to the same AC/DC chords over and over again, I'll go with Alice in Chains. After they bounced back in 2009, with their first album since the death of former lead singer Layne Staley, they are still very prevalent on the rock music scene.
B
Black Sabbath
I have to apologize to my first guitar hero, Randy Bachman, and the band that he helped create after he left the Guess Who (BTO). But leaving a guy off this list who bit the head off of a bat????? That wouldn't be right. Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. They pretty much defined the term headbanging and riffs from 40 years ago still blast through the speakers and are still extremely heavy today.
C
Collective Soul
With my luck, October 12, 2009 featured 2 concerts in the city of Winnipeg. Collective Soul at the Burton Cummings Theatre, and a band that starts with an "M" a few blocks away at the MTS Centre who we will mention a bit later. Why in the hell did they have 2 notable concerts like this on the same day? So I had to miss Collective Soul, who are another one of those under-the-radar bands that should be getting a lot more attention than they actually do.
D
Doors
How crazy is Jim Morrison, lead singer of the Doors? How does whipping it out on stage and getting arrested for indecent exposure sound? Pretty insane. Morrison whipping it out is not the reason I am picking them as my favorite "D" band, but his portrayal as a frontman is a big part of it. He had the voice, the charisma, he had it all to be a frontman. The rest of the band stayed quietly in the back, Manzarek pounding away on the keyboards, Kreiger plucking away on the guitar, while Morrison went out night after night and stole the show. You didn't know what he was going to do next. And, if you're a concert-goer, don't you want to be entering the arena/stadium asking yourself, "This guy is crazy, I have absolutely no idea what he's going to do next, and I am extremely pumped to be here right now." How many frontmen allow you to ask yourself that question?
E
Eagles
Not too crazy about this letter, but I'll go with "The Eagles" for 2 reasons, 1) Joe Walsh and 2) that dueling guitar part during Hotel California that gives you chills everytime you hear it. Amazingly, they've been to Winnipeg twice in the last 18 months, which means one of two things when you're a world-famous band. They either really enjoyed the fabulous city of Winnipeg and couldn't wait to come back and play it again, or they needed a few extra bills in their pockets.
F
Foo Fighters
In 10 years time, they might have to devote a whole wing of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to Dave Grohl, lead singer of the Foo Fighters. Not only did he play drums for Nirvana, but he then turned around to front the Foo Fighters and has done countless side projects since. I still think this band is currently the best rock band that is still in their prime and we can expect one or two more classic albums.
G
The Guess Who
I talked about it earlier, but this Winnipeg band is pretty much the reason that I have any interest in rock music and guitar. Did I mention that Randy Bachman played the American Woman solo with a cowbell stick at the 2000 Winnipeg concert? Yeah, I know I already did, but this still amazes me to this day. Remember, this is before I discovered Hendrix and before I discovered that you could actually play guitar with something other than your fingers.
H
Heart
"Wait, they're girls?" I think that's what I said to my mom when I realized that the Wilson sisters were the heart and soul of this band, no pun intended. Nancy Wilson is a better guitar player than people realize and Ann Wilson proves that lead female singers in a rock band should have been used a lot more than they actually were.
I
Iron Maiden
I really don't care for Iron Maiden, but who else was I going to pick here. Incubus? Inxs? Not exactly a murderer's row of bands. I am probably one of few who thinks that "Run to the Hills" sounds EXTREMELY cheesy. Maybe it's Bruce Dickinson's screechy voice, maybe it's that god-awful guitar riff at the beginning that sounds like something a children's entertainer would write. They do have some other OK stuff though, and I'll have to settle with selecting them.
J
Jimi Hendrix Experience
So I was getting ready to plug the crap out of local band Jack Straight, who I am good friends with, and then I realized "Oh no, I forgot about the greatest guitar player of all-time". I'm talking Jimi Hendrix and his trio "The Jimi Hendrix Experience."
Remember those NHL commercials they ran during the playoffs that asked the "What if?" this historic moment never occurred. Well if they had these ads for rock music, one of the first commercials run should ask the question, "What if Hendrix didn't choke on his own vomit"? And I'm dead serious, because it really would have been interesting to see what would have happened if Hendrix had lived longer. The guy did so much new stuff with the guitar (first guy to use feedback, made wah-wah pedal popular, emphasis on overdrive) that he was already a legend. And he did that in only 5 years of fame and popularity. If he had a minimum of 10 more years, who knows how much more he would have discovered? What if Hendrix lived through the '70's? How would this have affected the rock music scene? What would he have done in response to the disco craze of the late '70's?
K
Killswitch Engage
In the last year or so, I have listened to this band more and more and because of the weak selection of bands in the "K" spot, I'll take them. I've always stood by the fact that I would never listen to death metal, because it's too messed up for my liking. Then I started listening to these guys thinking they were death metal and realized, "Hey, this isn't actually that bad." But apparently they are defined as the genre "metalcore" which I have actually never heard of until I just researched it like 10 seconds ago. So technically they are NOT death metal, and I still stand by my statement that death metal is messed up.
L
Led Zeppelin
They are the greatest rock band of all time. Not the Beatles. Not the Rolling Stones. This doesn't mean that they're my favourite band of all-time( scroll down to the letter "M") but when you have this much talent in one band, it must be recognized. This is like putting Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Henrik Sedin and Ryan Miller on the same team in the NHL. Or like putting Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the same team in the NBA( amazingly, this might actually happen in the next week or two). In this case, it is Plant, Page, Bonham, Jones. It is the best of the best together as one. This can only produce amazing results.
M
Metallica
To prevent myself from going off on a 1000 word tangent, I'll quickly say this. It was Winter of 2005, Grade 8. I discovered the album "Master of Puppets". My world changed. James Hetfield is my musical hero. He is the only one cool enough to grow his beard long enough and get mistaken for a terrorist in a London Airport. He writes the riffs, he writes the lyrics and sings them out in the coolest of ways and he is the reason that this band is where they are today. And unless it comes out that Metallica pulled a Milli Vanilli and never wrote any of their music, they will ALWAYS be my favourite band.
N
Nirvana
Despite Kurt Cobain's less-than-stellar voice, Nirvana still has a couple of epics in their repertoire that are hard to ignore. And as long as I have a few Advils by my side to cure my throbbing headache from Cobain, I'll be ok when turning on Nirvana.
O
Our Lady Peace
Another voice that makes nails scratching on a chalkboard sound good. Raine Maida has a voice that reminds me of a 6- year old wining because his parents wouldn't buy him a Nintendo 64. Oh wait, that 6 year old was me. But again, sometimes you have to look past the annoying vocalist and OLP is a good example of that.
P
Pink Floyd
They are the only band that has made me turn my head in fear thinking that there is someone behind me waiting to chop my head off. This is what happens when you listen to "Dark Side of the Moon" at 2 AM and try to walk home after. This is what happens when you listen to "Welcome to the Machine"driving down a pitch black highway at 11 pm. Pink Floyd scares the crap out of me but I keep coming back for more. They are the innovators of progressive rock, and without them, there would be no Rush, Tool, among others. And is there a guitarist more underrated than David Gilmour? He is never brought up in conversations of the greats, but listening to albums like " Animals", "Wish You Were Here", and "The Wall" sure make a strong case for Gilmour as a kick-ass guitarist.
Q
Queen
It was either Queen or Queens of the Stone Age for this one. And despite Queen having a lot of weird and cheesy crap, they have some REALLY good stuff as well, and they get my vote. There's solid stuff like "Tie Your Mother Down", "Ogre Battle", "Fat Bottomed Girls" , ... and then there's stuff like "Somebody to Love", "You're my Best Friend", and "Bicycle Race", which really gets my cheesy meter going.
R
Rush
So let me get something straight here. One of the top 3 drummers of all-time, one of the top 5 bassists of all time, millions of records sold, worldwide notoriety, yet no spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This is what happens when you write songs the way you want, instead of writing what the critics want to hear. Rush has done this their entire career.
Quick side note, I was able to tour the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland back in the summer of '05 and the one thing I will always remember is the massive amount of acts inducted into the hall of fame that have BARELY ANYTHING TO DO WITH ROCK MUSIC. Rock legends like the Jackson 5, Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, ABBA, Run DMC, Madonna. What the hell is going on here? Can someone give me a definition of rock music? Needless to say, I was less than impressed.
S
Soundgarden
I went through a grunge phase where Soundgarden was at the top of the playlist for a while. "Superunknown" is one of the greatest grunge albums of all time and I don't think it's a stretch to say that they are the greatest grunge band from 1991-1994 when there many other good ones. But I beg you, please don't listen to any of the live stuff that Soundgarden has done since they recently reunited. Chris Cornell does not sound good. Don't say I didn't warn you.
T
The Tragically Hip
It really is tragic (again, no pun intended) the respect that this band has gotten. Outside of this country, they are virtually unknown. I've heard the argument that they sound too Canadian, which I will never understand as long as I live. But the truth is that this is the best rock band to ever come out of the country of Canada. You know you're Canadian when you're writing songs about Bill Barilko, David Milgaard, Terry Fox, The 72 Canada/Russia series, The 100th meridian where the great plains begin, Bobcaygeon, Thompson, Toronto, and Dark Canucks. It's almost like they're saying to the critics, "Yeah, we're Canadian, so F---ing what?" How can we not be proud of these guys?
Bonus: The best music video of all time
U
U2
As much as I can't stand Bono, who thinks he can save the world by himself, they were my favourite band for a BRIEF period of time in 2001 after they released their album "All That You Can't Leave Behind", which I listened to countless times on 2.5 hour drives to the cottage. Before they got all goofy with their ZOO TV stuff in the mid '90s, there is some really solid '80s stuff that they came out with. Unfortunately, their last few albums have been mediocre and it appears that their reign is over. One last comment directed to the Edge, U2's guitarist. Hey Edge, we know you're bald, so just take off your little toque already.
V
Van Halen
With Eddie Van Halen intoducing the world to guitar tapping, this band released some rock anthems from 1977-1984 with song titles that involved running, jumping, rocking, dancing, crying, talking. These verbs are all something that frontman David Lee Roth could do extremely well, and he showed it on stage, but then he left the band and was replaced with Sammy Hagar marking the unofficial end of the great Van Halen days. Their lone Hagar highlight.... releasing an album entitled F.U.C.K in 1991.
W
The Who
I have always said that seeing this band with their original lineup in their prime might just be the greatest concert ever not just for how good they played the music, but for what they were doing as they were playing it. Windmills, smashing guitars, exploding drum kits, swinging microphones. I saw them in '06 with Daltrey and Townsend and, even in their 60's, they put on a memorable show. Everyone shit on them when they played halftime of this year's Super Bowl, but their performance was probably the 2nd best in Super Bowl History next to Janet Jackson's in 2004....
X
XYZ
Apparently, there's some band from the 80's named "XYZ" who I have never even heard before but I'll put them on this list anyways. I surely thought there would be a band named "The X-Ray's" but apparently no such band exists.
Y
Yes
You want to hear some crazy prog rock? Listen to some YES right now and forever be amazed. I said earlier that Pink Floyd were the gods of the genre but on second thought, we might have co-gods of prog rock.
Z
ZZ Top
The final letter on this list features the 2 guys with beards, and the one guy named Beard who doesn't actually have a beard. Straight-forward, hard rock, nothing too complicated about it. But as we've learned, the critics like straight forward stuff.
Wow, was that as fun for me as it was for you? I’m seriously contemplating doing this A-Z list for other topics as well. As for this blog, I’ll be making weekly updates for sure, none of this once-a-month shit, and this will include a certain golf project beginning in a few weeks which some of you may know about already. Stay tuned.
Why did Kevin not make a post in almost a month?
a) Needed emergency eye surgery after gouging them out watching another scoreless World Cup draw.
b) Accidentally swallowed a giant portion of bug spray ,and couldn't stop violently vomiting everywhere.
c) Found out that the Montreal Canadiens traded their goaltender who led them to within 3 wins of the Stanley Cup Final, and took a 3 week long walk trying to make sense of it all.
d) Couldn't think of an entertaining blog topic.
Answer: D) Yeah, it was that simple. I couldn't think of anything exciting or original to write about. Since my blog is mainly focused on sports, and we are entering the so-called "dog days' of sports, it's tough to post anything sports-related, unless you're a soccer fan or a CFL fan which I am not.
But then I remembered in one of the first posts ever on this blog, I promised to talk about music. And just like all my other promises, I failed to really do so. I made the rare post here and there about a few music topics but nothing special. I think it's time we did something about that, in a big-ass way.
Can you say 3000 words?
So sit back, relax and enjoy Kevin's favourite rock bands from A-Z.
First let's explore my musical history.
I grew up in a home where 92 CITI and Power 97 graced the radio at all times. So it's not like I had a choice. Most kids go through phases of different genres of music. For myself, it's been rock since kindergarten, although there was a brief period of time that involved country and Shania Twain but that's the last we'll speak of that.
My first band obsession was with the Guess Who. I discovered a tape in our old van, popped it in, and I looked like Evan from Superbad as I learned the lyrics to "These Eyes" and a number of other songs. And since Burton Cummings could play like the piano and keyboards like nobody else, I decided I was going to take up this instrument. But then the night of June 30, 2000 came around. The Guess Who at Canwest Global Park. My first concert that didn't involve Fred Penner, Raffi or Al Simmons. The band hit the stage despite a torrential downpour and played their hearts out to the hometown crowd. But it was one guy that stuck out to me. Not Burton but his fellow bandmate, guitarist Randy Bachman. He played the guitar like I had never seen. His solos were the highlights of each song the band played. Watching the vids on Youtube, I still get the chills. He even pulled out the cowbell stick during his extended American Woman solo.
It was the first virtuoso performance of any instrument that I had ever seen live and so without ever touching a piano, I decided that I was switching my choice of instrument to guitar. I was enrolled in lessons within 6 months and still play to this day.
So I've listened to rock extensively for the last 10 years or so and feel that the list you are about to read will make some sense. Here's how this is going to work. I will go through all 26 letters of the alphabet and pick my favourite band that begins with each letter. And if you don't agree, please don't hesitate to contact me in some way, where we can have a lengthy, and hopefully not violent, discussion about our differing choices.
26 letters, 26 bands, 1 crazed 19 year old. Let's do this.
A
Alice in Chains
Really, really tough decision to kick things off. But I should mention the way that I am narrowing down the bands is by using the classic "deserted island" method. You know how it goes. If you were on an island and had a choice of only one band that you could listen to for the rest of your life,who would it be? And since I would rather drown myself on the island than listen to the same AC/DC chords over and over again, I'll go with Alice in Chains. After they bounced back in 2009, with their first album since the death of former lead singer Layne Staley, they are still very prevalent on the rock music scene.
B
Black Sabbath
I have to apologize to my first guitar hero, Randy Bachman, and the band that he helped create after he left the Guess Who (BTO). But leaving a guy off this list who bit the head off of a bat????? That wouldn't be right. Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. They pretty much defined the term headbanging and riffs from 40 years ago still blast through the speakers and are still extremely heavy today.
C
Collective Soul
With my luck, October 12, 2009 featured 2 concerts in the city of Winnipeg. Collective Soul at the Burton Cummings Theatre, and a band that starts with an "M" a few blocks away at the MTS Centre who we will mention a bit later. Why in the hell did they have 2 notable concerts like this on the same day? So I had to miss Collective Soul, who are another one of those under-the-radar bands that should be getting a lot more attention than they actually do.
D
Doors
How crazy is Jim Morrison, lead singer of the Doors? How does whipping it out on stage and getting arrested for indecent exposure sound? Pretty insane. Morrison whipping it out is not the reason I am picking them as my favorite "D" band, but his portrayal as a frontman is a big part of it. He had the voice, the charisma, he had it all to be a frontman. The rest of the band stayed quietly in the back, Manzarek pounding away on the keyboards, Kreiger plucking away on the guitar, while Morrison went out night after night and stole the show. You didn't know what he was going to do next. And, if you're a concert-goer, don't you want to be entering the arena/stadium asking yourself, "This guy is crazy, I have absolutely no idea what he's going to do next, and I am extremely pumped to be here right now." How many frontmen allow you to ask yourself that question?
E
Eagles
Not too crazy about this letter, but I'll go with "The Eagles" for 2 reasons, 1) Joe Walsh and 2) that dueling guitar part during Hotel California that gives you chills everytime you hear it. Amazingly, they've been to Winnipeg twice in the last 18 months, which means one of two things when you're a world-famous band. They either really enjoyed the fabulous city of Winnipeg and couldn't wait to come back and play it again, or they needed a few extra bills in their pockets.
F
Foo Fighters
In 10 years time, they might have to devote a whole wing of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to Dave Grohl, lead singer of the Foo Fighters. Not only did he play drums for Nirvana, but he then turned around to front the Foo Fighters and has done countless side projects since. I still think this band is currently the best rock band that is still in their prime and we can expect one or two more classic albums.
G
The Guess Who
I talked about it earlier, but this Winnipeg band is pretty much the reason that I have any interest in rock music and guitar. Did I mention that Randy Bachman played the American Woman solo with a cowbell stick at the 2000 Winnipeg concert? Yeah, I know I already did, but this still amazes me to this day. Remember, this is before I discovered Hendrix and before I discovered that you could actually play guitar with something other than your fingers.
H
Heart
"Wait, they're girls?" I think that's what I said to my mom when I realized that the Wilson sisters were the heart and soul of this band, no pun intended. Nancy Wilson is a better guitar player than people realize and Ann Wilson proves that lead female singers in a rock band should have been used a lot more than they actually were.
I
Iron Maiden
I really don't care for Iron Maiden, but who else was I going to pick here. Incubus? Inxs? Not exactly a murderer's row of bands. I am probably one of few who thinks that "Run to the Hills" sounds EXTREMELY cheesy. Maybe it's Bruce Dickinson's screechy voice, maybe it's that god-awful guitar riff at the beginning that sounds like something a children's entertainer would write. They do have some other OK stuff though, and I'll have to settle with selecting them.
J
Jimi Hendrix Experience
So I was getting ready to plug the crap out of local band Jack Straight, who I am good friends with, and then I realized "Oh no, I forgot about the greatest guitar player of all-time". I'm talking Jimi Hendrix and his trio "The Jimi Hendrix Experience."
Remember those NHL commercials they ran during the playoffs that asked the "What if?" this historic moment never occurred. Well if they had these ads for rock music, one of the first commercials run should ask the question, "What if Hendrix didn't choke on his own vomit"? And I'm dead serious, because it really would have been interesting to see what would have happened if Hendrix had lived longer. The guy did so much new stuff with the guitar (first guy to use feedback, made wah-wah pedal popular, emphasis on overdrive) that he was already a legend. And he did that in only 5 years of fame and popularity. If he had a minimum of 10 more years, who knows how much more he would have discovered? What if Hendrix lived through the '70's? How would this have affected the rock music scene? What would he have done in response to the disco craze of the late '70's?
K
Killswitch Engage
In the last year or so, I have listened to this band more and more and because of the weak selection of bands in the "K" spot, I'll take them. I've always stood by the fact that I would never listen to death metal, because it's too messed up for my liking. Then I started listening to these guys thinking they were death metal and realized, "Hey, this isn't actually that bad." But apparently they are defined as the genre "metalcore" which I have actually never heard of until I just researched it like 10 seconds ago. So technically they are NOT death metal, and I still stand by my statement that death metal is messed up.
L
Led Zeppelin
They are the greatest rock band of all time. Not the Beatles. Not the Rolling Stones. This doesn't mean that they're my favourite band of all-time( scroll down to the letter "M") but when you have this much talent in one band, it must be recognized. This is like putting Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Henrik Sedin and Ryan Miller on the same team in the NHL. Or like putting Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the same team in the NBA( amazingly, this might actually happen in the next week or two). In this case, it is Plant, Page, Bonham, Jones. It is the best of the best together as one. This can only produce amazing results.
M
Metallica
To prevent myself from going off on a 1000 word tangent, I'll quickly say this. It was Winter of 2005, Grade 8. I discovered the album "Master of Puppets". My world changed. James Hetfield is my musical hero. He is the only one cool enough to grow his beard long enough and get mistaken for a terrorist in a London Airport. He writes the riffs, he writes the lyrics and sings them out in the coolest of ways and he is the reason that this band is where they are today. And unless it comes out that Metallica pulled a Milli Vanilli and never wrote any of their music, they will ALWAYS be my favourite band.
N
Nirvana
Despite Kurt Cobain's less-than-stellar voice, Nirvana still has a couple of epics in their repertoire that are hard to ignore. And as long as I have a few Advils by my side to cure my throbbing headache from Cobain, I'll be ok when turning on Nirvana.
O
Our Lady Peace
Another voice that makes nails scratching on a chalkboard sound good. Raine Maida has a voice that reminds me of a 6- year old wining because his parents wouldn't buy him a Nintendo 64. Oh wait, that 6 year old was me. But again, sometimes you have to look past the annoying vocalist and OLP is a good example of that.
P
Pink Floyd
They are the only band that has made me turn my head in fear thinking that there is someone behind me waiting to chop my head off. This is what happens when you listen to "Dark Side of the Moon" at 2 AM and try to walk home after. This is what happens when you listen to "Welcome to the Machine"driving down a pitch black highway at 11 pm. Pink Floyd scares the crap out of me but I keep coming back for more. They are the innovators of progressive rock, and without them, there would be no Rush, Tool, among others. And is there a guitarist more underrated than David Gilmour? He is never brought up in conversations of the greats, but listening to albums like " Animals", "Wish You Were Here", and "The Wall" sure make a strong case for Gilmour as a kick-ass guitarist.
Q
Queen
It was either Queen or Queens of the Stone Age for this one. And despite Queen having a lot of weird and cheesy crap, they have some REALLY good stuff as well, and they get my vote. There's solid stuff like "Tie Your Mother Down", "Ogre Battle", "Fat Bottomed Girls" , ... and then there's stuff like "Somebody to Love", "You're my Best Friend", and "Bicycle Race", which really gets my cheesy meter going.
R
Rush
So let me get something straight here. One of the top 3 drummers of all-time, one of the top 5 bassists of all time, millions of records sold, worldwide notoriety, yet no spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This is what happens when you write songs the way you want, instead of writing what the critics want to hear. Rush has done this their entire career.
Quick side note, I was able to tour the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland back in the summer of '05 and the one thing I will always remember is the massive amount of acts inducted into the hall of fame that have BARELY ANYTHING TO DO WITH ROCK MUSIC. Rock legends like the Jackson 5, Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, ABBA, Run DMC, Madonna. What the hell is going on here? Can someone give me a definition of rock music? Needless to say, I was less than impressed.
S
Soundgarden
I went through a grunge phase where Soundgarden was at the top of the playlist for a while. "Superunknown" is one of the greatest grunge albums of all time and I don't think it's a stretch to say that they are the greatest grunge band from 1991-1994 when there many other good ones. But I beg you, please don't listen to any of the live stuff that Soundgarden has done since they recently reunited. Chris Cornell does not sound good. Don't say I didn't warn you.
T
The Tragically Hip
It really is tragic (again, no pun intended) the respect that this band has gotten. Outside of this country, they are virtually unknown. I've heard the argument that they sound too Canadian, which I will never understand as long as I live. But the truth is that this is the best rock band to ever come out of the country of Canada. You know you're Canadian when you're writing songs about Bill Barilko, David Milgaard, Terry Fox, The 72 Canada/Russia series, The 100th meridian where the great plains begin, Bobcaygeon, Thompson, Toronto, and Dark Canucks. It's almost like they're saying to the critics, "Yeah, we're Canadian, so F---ing what?" How can we not be proud of these guys?
Bonus: The best music video of all time
U
U2
As much as I can't stand Bono, who thinks he can save the world by himself, they were my favourite band for a BRIEF period of time in 2001 after they released their album "All That You Can't Leave Behind", which I listened to countless times on 2.5 hour drives to the cottage. Before they got all goofy with their ZOO TV stuff in the mid '90s, there is some really solid '80s stuff that they came out with. Unfortunately, their last few albums have been mediocre and it appears that their reign is over. One last comment directed to the Edge, U2's guitarist. Hey Edge, we know you're bald, so just take off your little toque already.
V
Van Halen
With Eddie Van Halen intoducing the world to guitar tapping, this band released some rock anthems from 1977-1984 with song titles that involved running, jumping, rocking, dancing, crying, talking. These verbs are all something that frontman David Lee Roth could do extremely well, and he showed it on stage, but then he left the band and was replaced with Sammy Hagar marking the unofficial end of the great Van Halen days. Their lone Hagar highlight.... releasing an album entitled F.U.C.K in 1991.
W
The Who
I have always said that seeing this band with their original lineup in their prime might just be the greatest concert ever not just for how good they played the music, but for what they were doing as they were playing it. Windmills, smashing guitars, exploding drum kits, swinging microphones. I saw them in '06 with Daltrey and Townsend and, even in their 60's, they put on a memorable show. Everyone shit on them when they played halftime of this year's Super Bowl, but their performance was probably the 2nd best in Super Bowl History next to Janet Jackson's in 2004....
X
XYZ
Apparently, there's some band from the 80's named "XYZ" who I have never even heard before but I'll put them on this list anyways. I surely thought there would be a band named "The X-Ray's" but apparently no such band exists.
Y
Yes
You want to hear some crazy prog rock? Listen to some YES right now and forever be amazed. I said earlier that Pink Floyd were the gods of the genre but on second thought, we might have co-gods of prog rock.
Z
ZZ Top
The final letter on this list features the 2 guys with beards, and the one guy named Beard who doesn't actually have a beard. Straight-forward, hard rock, nothing too complicated about it. But as we've learned, the critics like straight forward stuff.
Wow, was that as fun for me as it was for you? I’m seriously contemplating doing this A-Z list for other topics as well. As for this blog, I’ll be making weekly updates for sure, none of this once-a-month shit, and this will include a certain golf project beginning in a few weeks which some of you may know about already. Stay tuned.
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