I Will Wait For This Moment

I couldn't sleep last night. This has become a recurring theme in my life, and after a few hours of tossing and turning I thought I'd at least try to be productive. After an hour of failing to get the motivation to do coursework I ended up just listening to music. I ended up listening to songs I've not heard in a while, songs that bring back memories of times gone by. I've always regarded music as a catalyst for emotion and evoking the nostalgia for the past. Music is with you every step of your life and can help put into words what you're feeling or going through when you don't know how to. So I decided to do a post on the top 5 musical moments in my life. Really it's just another excuse for me to ramble on shit about music, and spend an hour or so procrastinating.

1. Aiden

I can't tell you the first Aiden song I listened to, I can't tell you where I was, how I felt, or that in the moment it instantly changed something in my life. But I can remember seeing they were playing in Aberdeen, and getting a ticket to go, more because a band was playing in Aberdeen than anything else. That's when my love affair with Aiden began. I started listening to them after buying that ticket and I got obsessed. I remember meeting them at One Up on Belmont Street before the gig, getting my already wrecked jeans signed (they've still not been washed...) and getting a photo taken with Angel, 'cause I was too shy to ask Wil Francis. I remember being right at the front of the gig, where there were no barriers between the floor and the stage, and Francis saying there was no need for the security staff acting as barriers. And the best part, I remember Francis taking my camera (this was back when cameras on phones were shit) and taking a 'selfie' with the crowd in the background. I lost the photo when my old laptop broke. I never backed it. I'm sure there is a way to get it back, but I'm technically challenged. It was true love after that gig. A couple years later I went to Glasgow to see them again, and it was just as magical as the first time. And in January I will be seeing them for the last time, and hopefully this time at the VIP meet and greet I won't be too star struck or shy to function. But probably not. Thank god for alcohol.

Check out Aiden's website where you can get their full discography as a free download, and for full tour dates.

2. Sixx AM/Motley Crue

I do remember when I first hears Sixx AM. I was surfing through the music channels back in the day, like you do. I stopped on Kerrang! where the video for 'Life Is Beautiful,' was playing. Something about the song made me stop and listen. And I was hooked. I immediately bought the album, then the book, then started listening to Motley Crue. And if you've seen any of my previous posts about Sixx AM or Motley Crue there isn't really much else to say.

3. Motorhead

I grew up with Motorhead. My dad is obsessed. Motorhead has always just been there, a constant in my life. It's one of the things I can remember always being there, much like my mums obsession with Meatloaf's 'Bat Out Of Hell' album (I know all the words to all the songs from childhood car trips) Motorhead was a staple of life. I was around 14 or 15 when my dad first took me to see Motorhead with him. It was one of, if not the first, proper rock gig I had been to. And I loved every minute of it. I'm not entirely sure how many times I've actually seen Motorhead now, I think it's around 6 or 7 but I could be wrong. After experiencing the atmosphere of an amazing live performance I was left craving more, and this is when I really fell for live music. 

Motorhead are touring the UK at the start of next year.

4. HIM

I can't remember which song I heard first, but it was the release of the 'Dark Light' album that got me. So I'd guess it was 'Vampire Heart,' the first track on the album. 'Dark Light,' was the first album I bought that wasn't cheesy pop music. And it's the one that started it all. Probably one of my dads proudest moments too. That album changed my life, in regards to my taste in music. I would still regard it as one of the best, most influential albums I've ever bought. It might not be one that will stand for the test of time, or even be the one they are remember for, but to me, it will always hold a special place in my heart. I remember feeling like everything made a lot more sense. It woke the true music fan within me, and that's stayed with me since.

5. Guns 'n' Roses

If you've read my blog before you'll know I'm not a fan of Guns 'n' Roses post Slash. I can remember 'borrowing' my dads 'Appetite of Destruction' CD (my dad now still borrows CD's from me..) and it clicked. It was like with HIM, it just felt right. I appreciate that Axl Rose is a talented musician, I can appreciate that what remains of Guns 'n' Roses are still making good music, but I just don't like it. The early music is brilliant, and deserves all the praise it gets. Sometime around 2006 I think it was I was reading Kerrang! magazine and saw the tour announcement, Guns 'n' Roses were playing in Glasgow with Bullet For My Valentine. I was excited. I loved Bullet at the time, so off me and my dad went. It was one of the worst atmospheres I ever experienced at a gig. Bullet were fantastic, but the majority of the (older) crowd didn't care, they weren't there for a support band they'd never heard of. It was a strange atmosphere, with a blatantly obvious mentality people were there for the main act, and the main act only. Two hours and near riots later Axl finally got on stage. By this point I was already over it. They put on a good show, but my heart wasn't in it any more. And this when I first realised that music could be a let down. When the band stops caring about the music and the fans and more about the money the magic is lost.

Cause They Don't Even Know You

As I've said before, Nikki Sixx gave one of the most inspiring speeches I've ever heard. And I've been trying to write this post for days. It's easy to write about the love you have for a band or whatever, but it is so hard to write about real feelings.

Nikki Sixx is a true inspiration to me, and what he said on tour is something that will stay with me forever. It comes down to 

As I said in my previous post, Nikki Sixx gave an inspiring speech on the final tour, one that I can't forget about. I've watched the video of it over and over again on YouTube. But really what Sixx is saying is don't let the bastards get you down. Don't let anyone stop you from doing what you want to do.

And it could not have came at a better time in my life. Right now I'm trying to do a masters, and I'm fucking up. I feel like shit every day, and it's the same feeling I had the first time I was at uni, when I dropped out. I felt like this at college, I felt like this in my undergrad. It's fucking killer. I feel like i can't do this, I'm not good enough, that everyone is more intelligent than I am. And the only thing that has kept me going is that I can't disappoint my parents, especially now 'cause their paying and I can't deal with their failure, and music.

Music, and the artists that inspire me keep me going. I listen to certain songs to get through coursework. Certain songs get me up in the morning, they keep me going. 'Cause right now I don't feel ok. I feel like shit. And drinking and music is what's keeping me going.

Sixx AM is on constant repeat in my life, 'cause their songs inspire me to keep going. But what Nikki Sixx said in Manchester is something I needed to here. There is only so far music can go, but inspiring words from your hero can make all the difference. So thank you Nikki. Thank you so fucking much. You will never know how much it means.

The Best Cover Songs

So moving on from Sixx Am's Modern Vintage, there has been a lot of talk about their cover of The Cars song "Drive." I will admit I had never heard of the song before, and have no idea what the original sounds like, but I love the cover version. Ironically right now I'm sitting listening to Alice Cooper, "Poison," that I only first heard back in 2004 when Groove Coverage did a cover/remix of it. Sad but true.

This has left me thinking, there are some brilliant cover songs out there, some bizarre cover songs, and some truly terrible ones. So here goes my top cover songs.

• Seether - Careless Whisper

George Michael's "Careless Whisper" is not something you would ever find me just casually sitting chilling listening to. Ever. Pretty much I would never be voluntarily listening to it. Add in some heavier guitars, Shaun Morgan's vocals (which in my opinion sound's hotter than George Michaels...) and I'll be singing along. Find it on 2007's "Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces"

• Bullet For My Valentine - Welcome Home (Sanitarium) 

Metallica is not a band that should be covered lightly. Many people have tried, many have failed. Kerrang! managed to get it right with their "Master of Puppets Revisited" tribute album. And while the whole album was a fitting tribute to an amazing band, the only cover that has stuck with me over the years is Bullet's cover of "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)". There are a lot of similarities between the two, but they've still managed to make it their own, while keeping the haunting feeling Metallica inspired all those years ago.

• Nirvana - Lake of Fire

I had no idea this was even a cover until recently. And no offence to Meat Puppets, but Nirvana have totally owned it. Listening to the original version of "Lake of Fire" it sounds like one of those totally horrendous youtube covers that people still insist on uploading. Check out the video of Nirvana and Meat Puppets playing it together at MTV Unplugged in 1993 here, or find it on Nirvana's "MTV Unplugged in New York" album.

• Aiden - Drain You

From Nirvana covering a song to a song by Nirvana covered. Seattle goth-rock band Aiden covered Drain You (I could be wrong with this) for another of Kerrang! Magazine's tribute albums, and gave the song a heavier sound, more like their own style than Nirvana's grungey chilled out vibe. The song works both ways, and I totally love both versions, depending on the mood I'm in. I can't remember which Kerrang! tribute album (if it actually was any of them) it was on, but find it on youtube here.

• Marilyn Manson - Tainted Love

I always thought that "Tainted Love" was a cover of Soft Cell, but after googling it just now, I've discovered it was actually released in the '60's... Please tell me I'm not the only one who didn't know this?! And the original... Well it's a lot more upbeat.. After years of Manson's cover it sounds strange. Good but strange. Manson's darker, heavier version is more to my style, like with Careless Whisper, I wouldn't listen to the original but the cover is great. Find it on "The Golden Age Of Grotesque"

• Metallica - Whiskey In The Jar

First of all, having to spell whisky in the (very wrong) Americanised style kills me a little on the inside. "Whiskey In The Jar" was actually a traditional Irish folk song back in the day, before being recorded by The Dubliners, released by Thin Lizzy then Metallica performed it, and people just kinda forgot about any other version. Metallica's is definitely my favourite version. Find it, with other covers, on 1998's "Garage Inc."

• Johnny Cash - Hurt

Eight years after Nine Inch Nails released an emotional "Hurt," Johnny Cash covered it. And had a lot more success with it. Cash's cover is haunting, full of pain, and quite frankly makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up every time I hear it. It's gone from a soulful gothic rock song to a (for lack of a better word) depressing country rock song, that will never be forgotten. (And we are deliberatly going to ignore Leona Lewis butchering the song on X Factor...)

• HIM - Solitary Man

HIM have got a fair few cover songs in their discography, and I am completely biased but there all great. I am a total fan though! "Dark Light" was the first album I bought after going through that whole awkward I love dance music stage... Anyone else remember DJ Rankin? No just me then.. Neil Diamonds version is just too... cheesy for me. HIM have taken it and put their "love metal" spin on to it like they do with every other song they've covered (and created) and it just works. End of. HIM are great. 

• Faith No More - War Pigs

I am in no way a fan of Faith No More, they've got a couple of alright songs, and they were just plain fucking weird at Hyde Park. Still not sure why the hell they were dressed as ministers. Anyway moving on, War Pigs is probably my favourite Black Sabbath song. I'm not the type to take well to bands who slaughter my favourite songs in covers, so lucky for Faith No More their cover is actually pretty good. It's not Black Sabbath amazing, no one will ever be able to sound like Ozzy, but it is acceptable for an cover.

High On The Music

Sixx AM, commonly referred to as Nikki Sixx's "side project," are a ban unique in their formation. Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx, producer James Michael and Guns 'n' Roses guitarist DJ Ashba got together back in 2007 to form Sixx AM, to release a one off album to accompany Sixx's heart wrenching tale, "The Heroin Diaries." Now, 7 years on the band have released their third studio album yesterday, and today announced a first headline tour. Guy's feel free to bring this to the UK please, just saying.

"The Heroin Diaries", both the book and album, is brilliant, and after hearing "Life is Beautiful" for the first time on Kerrang!'s music channel I was hooked. Years later and I still am, and can recite passages from the book, I've read it that many times. Not only does it give a pretty insane insight to drug addiction but it scares the shit out of you. A great anti-drugs tool.

Second album, "This Is Gonna Hurt," also served as an accompaniment to a book, again with the same title. This time, the book is filled with breathtaking photos taken by Sixx, with his commentary on life in general, and the stories behind the images. The lyrics from "This is Gonna Hurt" remind me a lot of the post modern culture ideals I studied at uni. Please no one ask me to explain that one, I still don't know how the hell I passed the exam.

Nikki Sixx Instagram

Now, onto "Modern Vintage," the third album, released yesterday, and I've already lost track of how many times I've actually listened to it already. Little bit obsessed maybe, but that's what I do with music. I can't actually decide on a genre that it fits into, the name itself, being an oxymoron, suggesting exactly what it sounds like. "Before It's Over" sounds like something you would have heard in decades past, or at a circus. It's not a song you'd quite expect from them but it works. A refreshing change to the usual dark and deep lyrics from Sixx AM.

"High On The Music" is the type of song that can describe the way I feel about music, that it's an addiction. The debut single from the album, "Gotta Get It Right," is an inspiring anthem that has the potential to stand the test of time. 

All in all "Modern Vintage" is a great new album from Sixx AM. It's a change in direction from their previous releases, but they still make it work for them. A lighter sound, but still with meaningful and inspiring words.

And Just Maybe, I'm To Blame For All I've Heard - Top 10 Bands, Part 1

My last post has got me thinking, if I was to try and list my favourite bands I would be here all day, and constantly changing it depending on my mood, and my latest addiction of the week. I can get really obsessive when it comes to music, be it a band on repeat for weeks, sometimes an album that I just can't get enough of, or even sometimes just one song, over and over and over. Then I start to sing along, which my flatmate will tell you is not something you want to be hearing. But this is my attempt at picking out my top ten bands, in no particular order, because that would just be impossible!

1. Nirvana - As I mentioned before, one of my biggest regrets in life is that I never had the opportunity to see Nirvana live, but they still continue to be one of my favourite bands. My favourite song would probably be Lithium, but ask me this next week and I'll have a different answer for you. From the (often weird and nonsensical) lyrics to the guitar riffs, there is something magical about them. RIP Kurt Cobain.
2. Papa Roach - As you may have already guessed from previous posts, Papa Roach are a favourite of mine. As long as giving me the motivation to get on with uni work, they have a song for every mood, whether it's questioning life and society, a broken heart or feeling like giving up, I can put on Papa Roach and it all feels better. That's one of the key qualities music has to have in my book, the power to change your perspective.
3. Aiden - Like with Papa Roach, the first time I saw Aiden live was another of the best nights of my life. Meeting them before hand in One Up Records then being right at the front of the stage at Moshulu (totally showing my age here!) was just indescribable. Especially when Wil Francis took a "selfie" (back before it was cool) with the crowd in the background with my camera. I almost died. I was just searching through my external hard drive for the photos from that night, and of course I didn't back them up after transferring them to my old laptop, which is fucked! So unless I can get them off of there they may be lost forever. Aiden were just as good the second time around, as was the trip to Glasgow to see them. Aiden are a teenage favourite that may become forgotten in years to come by the music fans of today, but they will always have a place in my heart.
4. HIM - I started listening to HIM after Dark Light was released, and have never looked back since. There is just something about the sound of Ville Valo's voice that transcends into an experience of listening that no other has replicated, and it doesn't matter what he looks like (although I do think he's hot, I have a thing for tattoos!) you can't help but fall a little bit in love with him. HIM is a band that you constantly go back to and rediscover the enchantment of the music, as I discovered last year with the release of their latest album, "Tears on Tape", an amazing birthday gift from my dad who shares my love of music. 
5. Sixx AM - The band originally formed to provide the harrowing and emotional soundtrack to Nikki Sixx's book "The Heroin Diaries," but have now (according to Sixx's twitter) recorded their third album, a release that I can't wait for. I first heard them when the Life Is Beautiful video played on Kerrang! and instantly fell for the band. Years later and The Heroin Diaries is still one of my most played DVD's, and I know the book nearly word for word having read it so many times. Their second album, "This Is Gunna Hurt" is just as good, as is the book that accompanies it. I have no doubts what so ever that the next album will be great, especially after Sixx tweeted "I think we're topping ourselves..."

The second half will be up soon, apparently I have too much to say about each band, this is just scratching the surface of my very opinionated views.