EDIT: Sorry for the horrible audio quality. I think I need to drink less when I do these shows…
There’s a new episode of the Rock ‘n Roll Jolly Roger available for your listening pleasure. I bitch about Valentines Day, play some new music, and offer…well you’ll have to listen to find out.
Go to iTunes and search “Rock n Roll Jolly Roger” to download.
So that wacky country music has been getting under my skin again. I’m still hearing “Red Solo Cup” about three times too many during my work-day, but that’s not what I’m going to complain about today. Today I’m picking on Taylor Swift. I don’t know why I like picking on country music, it’s like kicking a puppy–it’s easy to do but only psychopaths really get any pleasure out of it.
I guess I’m a psychopath.
I’ve heard “Mean” a few times (and seen the video) but it wasn’t until last week that I’d figured out why I loath this song. You see, this song is pretty much the epitome of everything that is wrong with modern country music. The song is Swift’s response to her critics (uh, like…who is that? Who is picking on Taylor Swift so much that she needs to write a song about it? Other than fat, nerdy bloggers, I mean). Does she call them heartless bastards? Does she use an elaborate metaphor to cut them like a knife, while at the same time show them what a class act she is?
If only...
No. She calls them “mean.” And even though that’s really stupid and childish, that’s not the problem that I have with this song*. No, my problem with this song is the line that says: “Someday I’ll be living in a big old city/And all you’re ever gonna be is mean.” I cringe every single time she says that. I sit, hunched over my desk at work and GRIND my teeth to dust with rage. What a moron. Does she understand what the hell she’s doing? This song is a complete and utter slap to the face of all that is country.
Country music isn’t about how great the fucking city is. It’s about horses, beer, wide-open spaces, and outlaws. It’s about lovin’ your woman and standing by your man. People from the city are lost souls, lonely and out of touch with themselves and each other. The city is not a shining oasis, it’s a place to be despised. At best, city dwellers should be pitied. This, my friends, is what is wrong with country music today. Country music today is being made by city people. For Taylor Swift, the city represents a way to escape some unnamed bully (who can’t “hit” her anymore) but that’s not how I see it. I see it as yet another chapter in the war for the very soul of America.
It’s the Federalists vs. the Jeffersonians. It’s agrarian vs. industrial. It’s trees vs. paper money. Country music used to be about THE country, it used to present an idealized version of rural America that appealed to people in both the city and the country**. But today country music is nothing more than shitty rock with a twang. It doesn’t speak to anyone or have anything unique to say. Good country music, like good rap music, should seem to only speak to both a very specific segment of the population WHILE at the same time appeal to a wider audience because of it’s universal themes.
Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think all country musicians should stay neatly packed into a box or preconceptions and cliches. I think it’s fine to rebel and say “screw the country I’m gonna hit it big and move to the city,” but that’s not what Swift’s song is saying. If you really listen, the message of “Mean” is “you are a mean asshole so all you’re ever going to do is live out in the country.”
But I ask you: what the hell is wrong with living in the country? It pisses me off that a popular country audience has had so much success with a song that’s essential a big middle finger to a large portion of her audience. I’m not really mad at Taylor Swift, I’m mad at her fans who are too stupid to see what a sham this song is. It bums me out to think of little kids–living the country AND the city–listening to rich phonies like Taylor Swift. What about the people being abused (or whatever the song is a bit vague) in the city? Is there a special ghetto in the cities for urban meanies? The message is confusing.
Ultimately when I hear this song at work it’s the words of the late, great poet Freddie Mercury that I turn to: “Now they say your folks are telling you/Be a super star/But I tell you just be satisfied/To stay right where you are.”
It takes a big man to admit when he’s wrong: I have been wrong. I thought this new Van Halen album was going to be another run-of-the-mill, Dinosaurs of Rock Ca$h grab. I thought Van Halen were leveraging the last bit of goodwill the band had in order to pay for second (or third, or fourth) wives and grand babies (!). In my defense, the band’s choice of “Tattoo” as the lead single was pretty bonehead (unless you think putting your worst foot-first is a good idea).
How's this for a different kind of truth: this band's new album isn't a horrendous mistake.
So I downloaded A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH on Friday, mostly because I have deep psychological problems/I hate myself. To my shock, once you get past the floating turd that is “Tattoo,” the album is pretty damn good. A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH is not so different from classic, late 1970s-era Van Halen. The reason for this is because all these songs were written 30+ years ago by the band. Yes, the “new” Van Halen album is full of cast-offs and throw aways (the B-sides, “b-sides” if you will) and while that might sound like a bad thing, it turns out it’s not.
Think about it terms of money: back in the day the young, kickass Van Halen wrote some songs and put them into a rock ‘n roll savings account. You know, for when they were older and wanted to retire. This “song savings plan” has paid Van Halen Corp. huge dividends in form of modern songs with a classic feel.
But enough bullshit, let’s talk about the songs.
So like I said, the boys put their worst foot-forward with “Tattoo.” It’s not only the lead single, but it’s also the first track of the record. I’m not sure who it is in the Van Halen camp that has the massive hardon for this song, but I’m pretty sure it’s that fat-fuck Wolfgang. Just kidding, I know Wolfgang’s opinons don’t matter (except to this daddy), I’m sure the whole organization thinks “Tattoo” is a “hip” modern-taken on Van Halen. But it sucks.
The rest of the album, however, is solid as a rock. The second track, “She’s A Woman” is, for me, the album’s true opener. The lyrics are a bit much, with David Lee Roth howling about how normal he is….you know, he drives a Chevy and…lives in his car (?). While I’m usually annoyed when millionaires wail about how blue collar they are, I decided to not bitch because the guitar work on this song is phenomenal. In fact, Eddie Van Halen is on fire the whole record. It’s pretty awesome to see that the dude can still shred. And beyond that, the playing isn’t contrived or robotic–nor is it a parody of his younger-self. Diamond Dave’s voice is lower and rougher, but Eddie’s guitar playing is exactly as awesome as it was back in the day.
“You and Your Blues” should have been the first single, in my opinion. It’s more understated than the dunderheaded “Tattoo,” but that’s why I like it. The song has a great, chuggy-sounding guitar tone and a really awesome Rolling Stones reference in the lyrical hook.
My favorite track on A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH is “Blood and Fire.” This was, you might recall, one of the tracks the band released partially leading up to the album’s release. It’s a great song and the lyrics fit an older, more mature Van Halen. The band has “come through blood and fire” so to speak and the fact that they’re still standing should be a source of pride for them. The car/racing metaphors are classic Van Halen and reminded me of “Panama.” This is definitely one that they’re going to be playing live on the new tour.
Other standouts on the album include the super-heavy “As Is” and the cheeky-as-hell “Stay Frosty.” The latter being a spiritual sequel to “Ice Cream Man” off of Van Halen’s first record. It’s worth noting that “Stay Frosty” with it’s acoustic guiar opening, is probably the only track to not come kicking and screaming out of the gate. This is a hard-charing Van Halen record (which is probably why the album art is an old train, get it? Old train).
Are there problems other than “Tattoo”? Of course. David Lee Roth’s voice is rougher and his “raps” aren’t as funny as they used to be. There’s a particularly embarrassing one in the middle of “The Trouble With Never.” The songs themselves are pretty good, but let’s face it–nothing on A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH is going to become a classic Van Halen song. They aren’t going to play “Outta Space” or “Big River” at a ballgame. These are leftover tracks and the only reason we’re accepting them is because we’ve lowered our collective expectations for Van Halen.
On the other hand, this album does not tarnish the Van Halen brand in any way. I can crank it up in the summer time and not be embarrassed when I hit a stop light, which is nice. I think all parties involved have lucked out. Having a backlog of songs to pull from has probably spared us all from a truly awful, gut-wrenching experience. Our heroes didn’t fall, and for me that’s good enough.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH gets a “B.”
Today is a very special day, it’s SUPER BOWL SUNDAY. We sure do love our football in this country, but if you’re like me and could care less about sports there’s not much of interest unless you like entertaining advertisements…and the spectacle that is the half-time show.
It wasn’t until Super Bowl 6, way back in 1972, that popular music took center stage at the nation’s number one sporting event (it was Ella Fitzgerald, by the way, who was there as part of a salute to Louis Armstrong). Prior to that game the halftime show was just a bunch of marching bands, which is probably what it should be. Once the Super Bowl became a larger, more popular spectacle, the halftime shows got bigger and more commercial.Turns out the Walt Disney company used to produce a bunch of these half-time shows, which is why many of the early Super Bowls had Disney-lite themes (like “It’s a Small World”). Which begs the question, did you realize that every half-time has a theme?
This year’s theme is old whores. Just kidding, it’s actually W.E. which is a film that Madonna’s out promoting. I guess that’s better than Snow White (?). I find it ironic that getting Madonna is now the best way to “play it safe.” Once upon a time, the Material Girl would have been a risky, polarizing choice–but these days? Not so much. Fifteen years ago we might have all collectively prayed for another “wardrobe malfunction” but honestly, I have no desire to see Madonna aged, sinewy flesh.
Anyway, what I know about the Super Bowl halftime shows are this: the past few years have been awesome artists phoning-in some horrendous performances. I’m not sure if it’s the hastily assembled stage/sound system or if these artists are literally not practicing/warming up….regardless, I feel like I haven’t seen a good halftime performance since Michael Jackson’s back in the mid-1990s.
The most disappointing for me were The Who in 2010 and The Rolling Stones in 2006. Both were, and arguably still are, great bands–and they both delivered terrible, lackluster sets. American sports and ancient British rock bands just shouldn’t mix, I guess. Check out The Who’s awesome-looking, but terrible-sounding halftime show, if you dare:
One of the worst parts of the Super Bowl halftime shows of the past few years is also the “special guests” the producers throw in. These are usually rap/hip-hop stars that are designed to appeal to the younger demographic. This has led to some shall we say…interesting musical parings. Last year’s team-up of The Black Eyed Peas and Slash was probably the most horrendous thing I’ve ever witnessed. I think that if you want Madonna, get Madonna. Why have MIA, Cee Lo Green, LAMFO (whoever the fuck that is) and a bunch of other unrelated acts hop up on stage as well.
This is like Jesus and Hitler meeting. Why did this have to happen?
This year’s setlist promises to take halftime suck-a-tude to a whole new level. The setlist was revealed and Madonna is apparently capping her performance off with a duet of “Like A Prayer” with Cee Lo Green. Gag me with a spoon, or more accurately: wake me when this whole nightmare is over.
So remember The “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” Darkness? They put out two albums and then went kaput due to drugs (?) and in-fighting. Well they’re back. They’re on tour and have a new album coming out. Their new song is called “Nothings Gonna Stop Us” and it’s…a thing. The last Darkness album ONE WAY TICKET TO HELL…AND BACK was a balls-out rock album that bordered the insane (hint: I loved it). The band has always been that perfect mix of classic rock and classic rock parody…and even though it seemed like a longshot, I always kept a candle burning for them deep inside my little boy heart.
Nothings gonna stop me...from hating this song...
Well today I heard their new song and was…a bit underwhelmed. Maybe I expect too much from people these days. Maybe I’m a bitter old fuck who just needs to die. Or maybe this song’s highly irreverent/kitschy video is better than the song it’s promoting (and it ain’t that good). I mean, what exactly is this song about? Something about hair and “not stopping”? Where are the killer hooks, super-high falsettos, and wailing guitar solos? I ask you, does this rock? No, no it does not. Maybe the boys are coming down from a “sugar” high and the next song we hear from The Darkness will better. Right now, this ain’t doing it for me.
Am I crazy? Listen for yourself:
Maybe he's born with it, Maybe it's Maybelline.
In 1972, David Bowie toured the United States as Ziggy Stardust (his alien alter-ego). Both America and Bowie were never the same again. Bowie’s previous record THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS proved to be a smash hit–but the weirdness was only beginning.
God only knows what Bowie thought of mid-seventies America…his sixth album ALADDIN SANE (which is a play on “A Lad Insane”) is supposed to be/rumored to be Bowie’s take on the US…but Bowie is an enigma wrapped in a mystery–so to be quite honest, I don’t “get” it. I’ve never been real big on concept albums or story albums…or whatever. Some songs go together, they make an album–great.
But don’t try to tell some over-reaching narrative. It just doesn’ t work.
And neither should ALADDIN SANE. This thing is very much a “kitchen-sink” recording, meaning they threw in everything BUT the kitchen sink when they were recording it. So say that there is excess on this record would be the understatement of the decade…but hey, this is glam rock at it’s finest (meaning it’s supposed to be vampy and over-the-top). ALADDIN SANE has a surprisingly harder edge than I remembered. But I’ll get to that part in a minute.
More than about America, ALADDIN SANE seems to be about The Rolling Stones. Mick and the boys loom large over Bowie’s sixth record, no more so than on the record’s opening track “Watch That Man.” This song sounds EXACTLY like a Rolling Stones song. In fact, prior to researching the album for this blog post, I thought this was a cover. It’s not. The Chuck Berry-eque guitar licks, the frantic/half-muttered lyrics, the horns, the female backing-vocals…it’s all very Stones-ish. Apparently audiophiles (people waaay to into recorded sound) are split very heavily when it comes to this songs final mix. When you listen to “Watch That Man” on the radio you don’t notice it as much, but the instruments are pushed “up front” with Bowie’s vocals (rather than being on a separate channel, “pushed back” like in a lot of pop recordings). This means that for large portions of the song, Bowie cannot be heard as clearly as if he’d been bummed up a little “higher” than the music.
Bowie defended this (to his record label that wanted him to change it) by saying some crap about his voice being just “another instrument” (or some such nonsense). I think he really just liked it because it made the recording sound rougher, more crappy–like a Stones song.
Anyway, the Stones pop-up again a few more times on the record–once in “Drive-In Saturday” when he mentions Jagger by name, and again towards the end of the record when Bowie legitimately covers the Stones on “Let’s Spend the Night Together.” It was the latter that first attracted me to this album. There’s something about a good cover, I just can’t resist it. Most times covers blow–but there’s something special about Bowie’s unique take on “Let’s Spend the Night Together.” Bowie’s version is spacier, but it’s more than just a few electronic whizzing sounds…Bowie’s attitude is softer, sexier than Jagger’s. Then there’s the little verse that he adds toward the end:
They said we were too young Our kind of love was no fun But our love comes from above Let’s make… love
Followed by an awesome guitar outro, this little bit of himself carries an otherwise awesome cover into legendary status and–in my book, is better than the original. A feat that almost never happens.
ALADDIN SANE is packed with interesting songs, with vastly divergent influences. There’s the blues-R&B stomper “The Jean Genie” that sounds like a Cream or Yardbirds songs. Bowie dabbles in doo-woop on “Drive-In Saturday,” which is about as far from the Yardbirds as humanly possible. This song, about a post-apocalyptic future-world where people watch porn at the drive-in to re-learn sex, gets the “Craziest song on this album” award. Because it’s really, really freaky man. Also freaky (but not nearly as freaky) is the cabaret/vaudevillian “Time.” Whenever I hear “Time” I think of Queen, the song’s sheer pomposity makes me think of Freddy Mercury. It’s that kind of song. It’s very long and strange, words really don’t do this song justice. I love it, and yet if I met it in a dark alley I’d probably run the other way.
“We should be home by now” indeed.
But the jewels in ALADDIN SANE’s crown are “Cracked Actor” and “Lady Grinning Soul.” Written in Los Angeles, “Cracked Actor” is a ballsy rocker–the hardest song on the album. It’s about an aging Hollywood actor getting serviced by a prostitute. With some drugs thrown in there. The song has fucking amazing guitar work and Bowie playing harmonica (of all things, I can’t imagine Bowie doing THAT). The lyrics are full of all sorts of loaded phrases and double entendres.
“Lady Grinning Soul” has been described as Bowie’s best attempt at a Bond Theme song. As in “Bond, James Bond.” It certainly is very cinematic and strange. This song is all about the lush piano and acoustic guitar. It’s very surreal but at the same time romantic–just like David Bowie. “Lady Grinning Soul” also has features the awesome “she will be your living end”-lyric. It’s about as far from traditional rock ‘n roll as music can get, and yet it’s on the same record as “Cracked Actor” and “Watch That Man.” It takes a big set of balls to pull something like ALADDIN SANE off.
I bet there are a lot of people that haven’t heard this record, if you fall into this sad category I urge to you go out and track down a copy of ALADDIN SANE. It’s a fantastic record that belongs in your collection.
I’ve been interested in Brian Wilson every since I snagged a copy of PET SOUNDS from my uncle in Tennessee about 10 years ago. I’d always been of the mind that The Beach Boys were the lame-American answer to The Beatles. And while 90% of the Beach Boys music is cringe-worthy and almost embarrassingly bad at times…there was a period in the early 1960s when Brian Wilson was the greatest songwriter on Earth.
PET SOUNDS is one of my all-time favorite records, and it’s always on my iPod. That record speaks to me in so many ways and on so many different levels. The next Beach Boys album after PET SOUNDS was going to be even better. It was going to be stupendous and change rock music forever. And then–?–something happened and he became a complete nutcase.
What happened after PET SOUNDS became the stuff of legend, however, but not the way Brian Wilson, or anyone for that matter, would have wanted. Rather than recording a masterpiece he lost his shit and the entire album was shelved after being hyped by the record label for over a year. That mythic, lost album was SMILE. The Beach Boys next album would ultimately be SMILEY-SMILE, a watered-down version of what many claimed was the Holy Grail of ’60s rock.
Drugs, psychosis, greed, selling-out, and not measuring up to one’s potential. Did I leave anything out? The story of Brian Wilson has always fascinated me. So I picked up Peter Ames Carlin’s book CATCH A WAVE: THE RISE, FALL, & REDEMPTION OF THE BEACH BOYS’ BRIAN WILSON even though I’d just read a book last year covering The Beach Boys. I didn’t really learn anything new, other than a few nasty tidbits about Brian’s cruel father Murray (this book alleges that Murray’s abuse cost young Brian his hearing which is not the story I heard in the other book I read last year).
CATCH A WAVE goes in chronological order and paints a pretty good portrait of Brian Wilson’s early life and initial success. The book gets a little boring when it’s subject loses his mind and stops working. You would think that writing about a rock ‘n roll lunatic would be an instant grandslam–but reading about a guy getting fat and growing a beard ain’t all that interesting. For that reason the middle of the book becomes less about Brian and more about The Beach Boys artistic and commercial success-post Brian (or rather, the lack of that success). I guess the author had no choice but to reduce Brian’s presence in the book near the middle when Brian reduced his presence from reality. I do wish the author would have talked a bit more about the Brian’s shelving of SMILE, specifically his belief that his song “Fire” was causing fires to break out across LA. I also would have like for him to go into more detail about the Brian Wilson/Charles Manson connection.
The book, which is fairly recent, covers the re-recording of SMILE Wilson did a few years ago. The author raised a few good points about whether this new SMILE should have been released at all, and what (if anything) this recording of SMILE might have done to the “legend” of SMILE. I found that last part of the book to be really interesting and thought-provoking. As a metaphor, the album’s release totally kills SMILE. That bummed me out. I’m ashamed to say that it bummed me out more than reading about Brian’s abuse as a child or even the decades he wasted sitting around the house doing nothing.
Overall, I would recommend you read this book if you are interested in reading about Brian Wilson or if you don’t feel like you hate Mike Love enough. Seriously, that guy comes off as a total asshole. My favorite part was when he was bad-mouthing PET SOUNDS when Brian was trying to get the band to record it…only to back peddle years later and claim the entire thing was his idea, Mike Love comes off as Rock’s biggest asshole. And you thought you had bad cousins.
CATCH A WAVE gets 3 out of 5 kicks of Mike Love’s balls.
This week’s podcast is up on iTunes or you can download/listen here.
There’s plenty of pop, rock, and obligatory metal. Enjoy kiddies! Argh!
That new Van Halen album is coming out in about 2 weeks, and another song has been unveiled. Well kinda, this time we only get a little bit of the song (like a minute and a half). The track is called “Blood and Fire” and the most surprising thing about it is that it doesn’t completely suck. Does it have that same vigor and excitement as the old Van Halen? Well…no, but then again these are old dudes (and one fat fuck*) that we’re talking about.
There's no stopping this train...let's just hope it dosen't completely embarrass itself.
Despite not getting to hear the whole thing I must say that overall it does fill me with a special kind of hope: that this new Van Halen album won’t be so shitty we’ll all be too embarrassed by it to admit that we like Van Halen. At this point, if it just kinda sucks I’ll be happy.
Bottom line (Part I): The first song made me wretch, this one…not so much. That’s good!
Bottom line (Part II): I’m gonna buy this album the day it comes and out bitch about it, because that’s all I’m good for these days.
Take a listen to (part of) this new Van Halen song and tell me what you think:
*I pick on Wolfgang only because I’m jealous**
**And he’s a lucky fat-fuck to be Eddie Van Halen’s son.
Man this bums me out. Will Owsley is dead. I found out about it yesterday, third-hand. I was listening to a really cool podcast, Michael Butler’s Rock and Roll Geek Show, and it was mentioned casually. Apparently he killed himself back in 2010. I wish that I was able to write something like “Will Owsley is dead, you might not know who he was, but no doubt you know his music…” But I can’t write that because you most certainly didn’t know his music.
And I think that on some level, that might be why he’s no longer with us.
But I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I know the reason I man I never met killed himself. I think it would be a waste of time to trot out the old cliche of the tortured artist who kills himself. We all toil in obscurity, to some degree, so why should that matter? Besides, it’s ghoulish to romanticize the suicide of a 44-year-old father of two (his children are so young, the oldest being around 14). I can’t tell you why Will Owlsey killed himself, but I can tell you why I think he was special.
Will Owsley was a guitarist, first and foremost. He moved to Nashville and became a side-man in some semi-impressive B-level country acts. His biggest claim to fame was his stint as a member of Amy Grant’s live band during the early 1990’s. From there he landed a gig playing for Shania Twain. It was this modest tour work that allowed Owsley to pay for the recording of his own music, and in 1999 he released his first solo album OWSLEY. Despite coming from a largely country background, OWSELY was a “power pop” album. Influenced by The Beatles and The Cars, Owsely’s first album was met with critical praise…but little commercial success. Despite the fact that the album was nominated for a Grammy for it’s production.
This is a great fucking record.
OWSLEY is a great record. The songs are all super-catchy. I would compare OWSLEY to a mid-period Weezer album performed entirely by Ben Folds. As I re-listen to some of the songs, I notice there is a lot of bitterness mixed in the catchy, sugary lyrics . Maybe I’m reading too much into it. Maybe I’m projecting my knowledge of his death onto a simple pop artifact. That’s a good word to describe OWSLEY, “artifact.”
I remember the first time I heard it in 2004, I felt like an archeologist who’d just unearthed a long lost treasure. When the punk-y album opener “Oh No The Radio” blastedg out of my car’s stereo I was in heaven. Top-to-bottom I was impressed with the record, and when it was finished I hit ‘play’ again. It was that good.
I was soon excited to learn that Owsley had recorded and released a follow-up album a few months before I’d initially stumbled upon him. So as soon as I’d sufficiently absorbed OWSLEY I went and bought THE HARD WAY. I can still remember the first time I played THE HARD WAY and was floored at how…different Owsley’s voice sounded. I still can’t put my finger on it, but it was different. Deeper and less playful. Once I got over the slight difference in the vocals (I blame auto-tuneing), I was once again impressed with the songwriting. THE HARD WAY was more rock and less-pop, but good nonetheless. Of course, it was a sophmore album, so there were a few clunkers (like “Dude” which is too serious to feature such prominent use of the word dude).
I was always on the look-out for Owsley, determined to see him live. But if there was a tour for THE HARD WAY it never came to city near me. The songs were all good, but not what was being played on the radio. No one I ever met seemed to have heard of him. Indie online label Not Lame Records were big supporters online, and his records are highly rated on serious music websites, like AllMusic. Bit he never got much attention elsewhere. I’ve been a fan of small, independent bands for a long time, so I knew the drill–a really good band/songwriter puts out a killer album, it gets overlooked and he/she/it/they are never heard from again. The fact that Owsley got to put out a second record meant that he’d had SOME measure of success, but not the kind that makes you famous.
I never forgot about Owsley, but I did move on. Apparently he put out a digital-only double single in 2005 “Psycho” and “Upside Down” but I’ve never heard them. Owsley spent the last five years of his life backing super-lame, but more successful Disney-brand artists like The Jonas Brothers and Miley “The Virus” Cyrus. It makes me sick because they weren’t even in his league, not by a mile. But that’s the “business” part of show business, I guess.
Anyway, I guess I’m done eulogizing someone I never met. Instead, let me turn you onto some awesome songs. Let me introduce to Owsley:
Defending Axl Rose 