Song of the Day - Always There -Greta Van Fleet

Close your eyes and be taken back to classic rock songs of the late 60's;early 70's. Rock band Greta Van Fleet put out a real winner with this rhythmic rock jam from the soundtrack to the new film, A Million Little Pieces.  Check out Always There...

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Life Is a Highway - Tom Cochrane

Heading out on a road trip to Hershey this weekend and thought of this classic from rocker Tom Cochrane.  Oh, this one always gets me going.  Here's Life Is a Highway...

Song of the Day - Go - Black Keys

One of my favorite rock bands has a new album out, Let's Rock, and this song is already a classic.  Here's Go...

Hump Day Song of the Day - Clap Your Hands - Jessy Wilson

Happy Hump Day...we're all on the down-swing now, oh yes, and here's a new jam by a new artist, at least in my world.  Here's singer Jessy Wilson with a rock-funk superjam that I'm loving more and more with each listen.  Check out Clap Your Hands...

Song of the Day - We Will Rock You/ We Are the Champions (Live Aid) - Queen

Blabbermouth

Well, I finally got to catch at least a little bit of Bohemian Rhapsody the other night at my mom's, most notably the end footage of the band's legendary performance at Live Aid back in 85.  It's funny, but theirs (and Madonna's) performances are the only two that I clearly remember from that day.  Of course when I got home from dinner I had to check out the real thing once again...it's been, ugh, 30 years plus.  Such a great performance!  Magical!  Relive it here...

Song of the Day - Hard Luck Woman - KISS

It's funny, but two days after, I've still got KISS on my mind and especially this song, which they didn't even play the other night.  I think that over the years, this one's become my favorite KISS song ever...I love the lyrics and the mood of the song and I especially love Peter Criss' raspy vocals.  Once again, this time spotlighted, Hard Luck Woman...

A Lil KISStory Song of the Day

Normally the day after I see a concert, I'll usually post a song from the artist I'd just seen (see P!nk, Lily Allen, Robyn, etc. etc. etc.) along with some commentary and maybe even a supplemental post on the show itself.  Today, I thought I'd try something a little different...

You wanted the best, you got the best

The hottest band in the land,

KISS

Last night, I saw KISS, my very first musical heroes, at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island.  It was to be their very last performance there.  The band, who's been rocking and rolling for over forty years now, is taking a "victory lap" of sorts before unmasking it forever.   The End of the Road Tour, which began in January, will see the band perform 105 shows on three continents through the end of the year and that will be it for these most  master entertainers of the rock world.  

I first discovered KISS way back in the late 70's.  I was a kid of about 15 and my very first musical inclinations were definitively towards the rock side of the spectrum.  The foursome of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss and the personas they embodied were a wondrous way to go all in to a band and its music and everything in between.

RollingStone

Not long after I'd been inculcated into the KISS Army, my favorite band came to the Nassau Coliseum, and my mother was gracious enough to take me and my little brother.  It was September 1st, 1979 and KISS was touring in support of their latest record, Dynasty.  I came to the show armed with a special cardboard and aluminum foil KISS logo I had made for the occasion, as well as a fire hat to wear during the performance of their song Firehouse.  This was my very first concert experience ever and looking back, wow was I lucky for that to have been my intro to what would become a lifetime of concert-going.  

The disco era was in full rage and many KISS fans were upset over the album's debut single, I Was Made For Loving You, which many took as an affront to the hard-driving rock and roll the band was known for, but I didn't care.  Maybe it was because I would soon change gears musically, but I loved the song... 

In the years that followed, I discovered both my sexuality and Diana Ross, lol, and my interest in KISS began to wane.  Being my first musical love, though, forever endeared them in my eyes and though I stopped listening regularly, every once in awhile I would pop them into either the tape recorder, the CD player, and on iTunes, and whenever they came to town, I would most always try and catch them.  

When End of the Road was announce back in the fall, my brother immediately called to ask if I was interested in going.  The answer was a resounding YES!  Though the Ace and Peter are long gone and replaced by current members Tommy Thayer and Eric Carr, the magic of a KISS live show has not waned a bit.  Having been a fan of them for, gulp, forty-plus years, I've come to expect the various parts of a show filled with fireworks and explosions, blood-letting and fire-throwing, Paul Stanley's iconic interactions with the audience and much, much more, it's still a spectacle that everyone enjoys and they have always loved giving their fans what they want.

The audience was filled with forty and fifty-somethings like myself, and like me, I'm sure they all came for the same reasons I did...their love of the band.  We all got to experience two hours of non-stop multi-sensory entertainment and we all were loving it.   

Though they didn't perform this next song last night, here's one of my favorite KISS tunes of all time.  Written by Paul Stanley and sung by Peter Criss (and once covered by country sensation Garth Brooks!), it's one KISS song that is one of the best rock ballads of all time.  Please enjoy Hard Luck Woman...

So a big thank you to KISS for the music, for the excitement and wonder, and most of all for the entertainment and joy you still bring to millions around the world.  You will always have a dear place in my heart!

Song of the Day - Jack & Diane - John Mellencamp

A little ditty, 'bout Jack and Diane...

John Mellencamp is one of my favorite artists of all time.  I know that might sound hard to believe, considering the types of music I usually post here.  Sure, dance/pop music is my favorite type, but being a former disc jockey and a lifelong music lover, I can work a dance floor like nobody's business, but I can also rock with the best of em.

Anyway, I remember going to see John Mellencamp at Jones beach in the late 90's or so.  It is still one of the best concerts I've ever seen.  So when I saw his name on my Spotify playlists yesterday, I hit play and jammed to it all, from the hard-driving Crumblin' Down and Paper In Fire to the boogie woogie of Wild Nights and of course, the Mid-American classic, the story of Jack & Diane...  

Song of the Day - Ready to Let Go - Cage the Elephant

I don't know why, but all of these alternative bands have been piquing my interest lately.  This new one by Kentucky-based band Cage the Elephant is just a good song, plain and simple.  Here's Ready to Let Go...

I Love the 90's Month Song of the Day - What's Up? - 4 Non Blondes

Back in 1993, a rock band who called themselves 4 Non Blondes put out their debut record and the its second single was their biggest hit and one of the greatest tunes of the decade.  Written by Linda Perry, the band's lead singer and future mentor to mah girl P!nk, What's Up? ranks at #94 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders.  Enjoy... 

Song of the Day - Lonely Boy - The Black Keys

Ooh, it's been a long time since I've posted anything rock and roll, and an even longer time since I've listened to Black Keys.  I sooo love this song and I think the dancing, lip-syncing dude in the video is super cool.  Check out Lonely Boy... 

Song of the Day - Over and Over and Over - Jack White

This is not the type of song I usually post, but I've been wanting to ever since I mentioned it on last week's New Music Fridays.  First of all the song's got a hard driving rock edge...not something I usually get into, but this one's so infectious.  On the other hand, it kinda sorta has these operatic overtures which hearken old Queen or even Rocky Horror.  It's definitely a unique jam so check out Over and Over and Over... 

Song of the Day - Zombie - The Cranberries

In some sad news, Irish rock band The Cranberries' lead singer Dolores O'Riordan suddenly passed away last night at the age of 46.  At this point there is no known cause of death.  Though I was never a huge Cranberries fan, there is one song of theirs I do know well, and that was their biggest hit, Zombie, penned by O'Riordan.  May she rest in peace!  Here's Zombie...

Happy Halloween Song of the Day - Highway to Hell - AC/DC

I decided to change things up a bit this year for Halloween.  Instead of the usual suspects: Michael Jackson's Thriller, Ghostbusters, Monster Mash, etc., I thought I'd change it up with some good old fashioned rock and roll from those badass rockers from Down Under.  Here's AC/DC and Highway to Hell... 

Oh, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Song of the Day - Free Fallin' - Tom Petty

Amid all of the shock, horror and sadness of yesterday's massacre in Las Vegas came some more sad and shocking news.  Sometime in the afternoon, word got out that legendary singer/songwriter Tom Petty had suffered from a heart attack.  Reports that the star had passed circulated, but were then taken back.  Petty lingered throughout the day and finally succumbed at around 8:40 PST.  The music world has lost a legend!

You'd have had to be living under a rock if you've been around since thee 80's and don't know any Tom Petty songs.  I remember him with the Heartbreakers during the heyday of early MTV with such memorable tracks as Don't Come Around Here No More, Refugee, American Girl, and his classic duet with Stevie Nicks, Stop Draggin' My Heart Around.  Here's one of my favorite Tom Petty songs, from his first solo album, Full Moon Fever.  Enjoy Free Fallin'...

Song of the Day - Explore - Sundara Karma

I'm not sure exactly what this reminds me of, but it's something older.  It kind of reminds me of Bob Dylan in a way, or at least early 70's feel good rock.  The tune is pretty high energy and pretty darned fun, too!  Check it out...

Song of the Day - Lonely Boy - The Black Keys

Happy Monday everybody!  Here's some good old fashioned rock n roll to start your week. Definitely one of my all time favorites of The Black Keys.  Great, jamming tune.  Enjoy!

Song of the Day - Like I Used To - The Romantic Era

Such great songs go by the wayside without ever being given a chance way too often, and it's one of the reasons I keep this blog.  The Romantic Era's Like I Used To is one of those songs that so deserves airplay.  There is virtually nothing to be found online about this rock/dance ballad, so I can't tell you much, except that it's one song of many that I've downloaded within the last couple of weeks and it's quickly become a favorite.  The tune is done as a duet between a male and a female singer, the verses are tender and the dance-ish musical bridges between them are just so catchy.  Check out Like I Used To...   

Song of the Day - Love Me Again - John Newman

Yesterday's Song of the Day by Jonathan Roy somehow put this song in my head, probably because it's another strong rock-edged tune, though this one is a little more uplifting.  Great tune!  

Song of the Day - Good Things - Jonathan Roy

Canadian artist Jonathan Roy rocks!  Son of famed Montreal Canadiens' goaltender Patrick Roy, Jonathan just released his debut album, Mr. Optimist Blues, and this, its first single is one power ballad that again...rocks!  Couple that with this steamy video and you've got one hell of a combination that should get him the airplay he deserves for this song. Check out Good Things...