Archive for the 'Music' Category
June 17th, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
On July 22 2014, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release Live At Montreux 2013 by ZZ Top on DVD, Blu-ray and digital formats. Live At Montreux 2013 is packed with classic ZZ Top hits including: “La Grange,” “Gimme All Your Lovin,’” “Pincushion,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Waitin’ For The Bus,” “Legs,” “Tube Snake Boogie,” “Tush,” and many more. The set list blends tracks from early seventies albums such as “Tres Hombres” and “Fandango” through their eighties blockbuster period with “Eliminator” and “Afterburner” and up to their most recent release and return to their blues roots with “La Futura.” The middle section of the concert features a jazz-blues tribute to the late Montreux Festival founder Claude Nobs with guest appearances by Mike Flanigin on Hammond Organ and Van Wilks on guitar. Continue reading ‘‘ZZ Top: Live in Montreux 2013’ on Blu-ray & DVD July 22nd!’
April 21st, 2014 by Brian White
First things first, I wouldn’t even be writing this review if it wasn’t for the generosity of fellow Why So Blu reviewer Gerard Iribe. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a brisk March morning in Austin, TX, the 18th of the month, and Gerard texted me a snapshot of the vinyl album cover he just received via Amazon Prime. And yes, for anyone that noticed, I did say vinyl album cover. You know those bulky Frisbee-like discs your parents (if your my age) used to rock back in the days? Well anyway, let’s just say the picture of the dust jacket that housed the round platter had me at the tri-tone text chime. Holy Frankenstein its alive! If The Pretty Reckless accomplishes nothing the rest of this year, the album artwork alone is a divisional conference clincher. Thankfully, the buck doesn’t stop there. Oh no! Taylor Momsen and her boys mean business and are in my opinion a force to be reckoned with in the rock world. Come on. I’ll show you around because we’re all “Going to Hell” anyway. Continue reading ‘The Pretty Reckless – Going To Hell (Album Review)’
February 12th, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
The ‘tallica boys are back and they’re bringing gigantic props! Filmmaker Nimrod Antal (Predators, Vacancy, Kontroll) has teamed up with the heavy metal rock act to bring a concert-feature film experience that has never quite happened like this before. The budget is huge, the theatrics are on overload, and Metallica does what they do like no other band out there. Metallica: Through The Never is here on DVD!
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January 26th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
There is a lot of anticipation building for Maleficent, the live-action take on the Sleeping Beauty story, told from the perspective of it’s infamous villain. I have liked what I have seen so far and now there is a new trailer, with a nice addition that seems quite fitting for the vibe of the film. Here’s what Disney had to say: A never-before-heard Lana Del Rey rendition of “Once Upon a Dream” was unveiled as part of a 90-second sneak peek of Disney’s Maleficent during the 56th Annual Grammy Awards® on Sunday, January 26. Maleficent releases in U.S. theaters on May 30, 2014. Continue on to check out this sneak peak learn how to download the song.
Continue reading ‘SNEAK PEEK OF DISNEY’S “MALEFICENT” FEATURES NEW LANA DEL REY SONG’
December 13th, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
I think this is my first Top Music Album list ever. I may have worked on a couple of other music related lists for WSB but they were never about what I thought cut the muster in any given year. The catalyst for this decision is that I received an analog (non-USB) turntable for my birthday earlier this year and I went on a bit of a VINYL binge. It was great! I discovered and re-discovered my love for music, records, and actually full length albums! If it’s one thing about listening to vinyl it’s that you are forced to listen to the record in its entirety. Unless you’re a master with the arm & needle (I am not), you have no choice but to step into the musical journey that the artists have created with their music – in full. This list is made up of vinyl selections, but every album here was released in 2013, and sound quality or whatnot is not a factor. I’m not going to compare CD and Vinyl quality here. Go ahead and relax, set the needle, get a glass of wine, and enjoy my Top Music Albums of 2013! Continue reading ‘Gerard’s Top Music Albums of 2013!’
November 20th, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
Halloween came and went in a flash but the spirit has not left us here at Why So Blu?, because we have returned to the darkness to profile one of the most eclectic, charming, and diabolical bands to come out of Sweden in some time. Wait, did I say Sweden, Svenska? We’ve been profiling bands from that country recently on this site. The Sounds come to mind. Wink, wink. Now we’re entering the world of musical satire mixed with progressive rock, metal, and a very neat visage. Enter: Ghost. We will be reviewing their third album, which is an EP, and is made up of cover songs. With two full length albums that couldn’t sound anymore different, how will If You Have Ghost sound? Bring your holy water and let’s find out! Continue reading ‘Ghost BC: ‘If You Have Ghost’ (Album Review)’
November 15th, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
And now at last we’ve come to it, the final review of our flashback series covering The Sounds’ entire album catalog. Their fourth album is called Something To Die For and it was released back in 2011. What separates Something To Die For from the rest of their albums is that for the first time ever the band went at it solo and produced the record themselves. They took control of the boards, came together as one, and created an album, that frankly, has divided those pesky critics. We’ll get to all of that in a bit. I just want to thank our readers and The Sounds for their support via Twitter and other social media platforms. This was a totally unsolicited project that sprung out of our initial review of the band’s latest album: Weekend (HERE). As per our usual suggestion – get yourself a libation (21 and over only), sit back, and enjoy Something To Die For. Continue reading ‘The Sounds: Something To Die For (Album Review)’
November 12th, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
As promised, we are keeping it rockin’ and rollin’ with our flashback coverage of the entire Sounds catalog. We’ve already covered their latest release Weekend (HERE) and their first two albums, Living in America (HERE) and Dying To Say This To You (HERE). Part three of our flashback series brings us to the band’s third album entitled: Crossing The Rubicon. This should be an interesting read, mainly due to me not even having any awareness about the album, which was released in 2009. There’s a blank spot there in my memory banks. Crossing The Rubicon slipped under my radar but I’m here to rectify that. Shall I pour you a drink? Continue reading ‘The Sounds: Crossing The Rubicon (Album Review)’
November 10th, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
Here we are once again with part 2 of our “flashback” series of album reviews covering that little ol’ band from Sweden: The Sounds! Three to four years after their electric new-wave album Living in America tore up the European charts and similarly making a dent here in America, Los Sonidos came back with their follow-up record called Dying To Say This To You. As part of our continuing coverage of all things “The Sounds” I will take you on a bit of journey and show you what makes them so special and unique among today’s (and yesterday’s) evolving musical paths. If you still have some leftover tea from our Living in America review then throw it out and pour yourself something a bit stronger. We’re about to hit the turbo! Continue reading ‘The Sounds: Dying To Say This To You (Album Review)’
November 9th, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
Here’s something that just popped into my head in a very random way. I’ve been on a Sounds binge since the beginning of 2013 and it doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon, so I figured I’d review their entire catalog one album at a time. Why not, right? The catalyst was my recent review of their latest album entitled Weekend. Well, now we’re going to take it back about 10 years to when they first made their U.S. debut with their fun indie-rock/new wave sound album called Living in America. We’re going back in time. Please stick around for reviews of their entire catalog – albums 1-4. I’m still chuckling that it’s taken me 12 years to get to this point. That’s the power of rock n roll. It has always been in plain sight – it was up to me to put the pieces together. This should be pretty fun! Continue reading ‘The Sounds: Living in America (Album Review)’
October 29th, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
In what will be a culmination of ten years worth of albums and fifteen years since they formed in a small town in Sweden, The Sounds will hit the Fall of 2013 running with their fifth studio album entitled: Weekend. The indie rock/new wave outfit has unleashed their latest offering to the world via physical compact disc and digital download (I pray that a vinyl version will be released in the near future). Having just seen the band last week perform at the sold-out final U.S. mini-tour show at The Belasco Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, I knew I had to take to the interwebs and Why So Blu? and share my thoughts on their new album. Sit back, relax, pour yourself a cup of tea, and come with me on this Weekend journey. Continue reading ‘The Sounds: Weekend (Album Review)’
September 27th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
First thing first, while this heavy metal concert film shares its title with the name of one of Metallica’s albums, the actual song, “Through the Never” does not appear in this film. It does not matter much, because that is not the band’s best song and film features an awesome greatest hits collection for any fan of this hard rocking group, as they perform in front of legions of fans on an epic stage. It also happens to have a side story depicting a surreal, apocalyptic adventure. This is certainly different than most rock concert movies, as it does little to shed light on the actual band and serves as more of an extended music video. For the most part, this works. Through the Never will play best for fans, but those seeking a loud concert film with the IMAX 3D seal of approval should be pretty happy with what they get.
Continue reading ‘‘Metallica’ Attempts A Live-Action Metalocalypse (Movie Review)’
August 3rd, 2013 by Brian White
Last night I realized why I was alive. It wasn’t because of the technology I fool myself into thinking that I love and can’t live without, the Blu-rays that overflow on my shelves or the V8 engine that roars in my dream car…it’s because of the music in my life that I didn’t know how much I missed until I saw Rob Zombie close out the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Music Festival in Austin, TX last night. He may as he said been playing to the smallest crowd on the tour (very sad for what is said to be the live music capital of the world), but in my mind he was performing for only my girlfriend (her first Zombie show ever) and I. For that hour and ten minutes nothing in my life mattered, not the physical/chronic pain I suffer from daily, my silly emotional scars or the professional and monetary setbacks/challenges I face in life…it was only my girlfriend and I and Rob Zombie and band (that’s a lot of and’s). To be completely honest, none of the other bands on the Rockstar Mayhem bill truly stood a chance of ever competing with Rob Zombie or at his level. It was kind of unfair for them. Ha ha. But that’s their problem. Read on…and I’ll tell you why. Continue reading ‘2013 Rockstar Mayhem Festival: Austin, TX – Rob Zombie (Concert Review)’
July 17th, 2013 by Brandon Peters
Back in 1996, The Smashing Pumpkins were the kings of the alternative music scene. Their singles were on every station, their double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness was setting chart records and they just couldn’t be stopped. To cash in on this success, they released The Aeroplane Flies High, a collection of expanded versions of their singles from the current album. The release included B-sides and a detailed booklet from Billy Corgan. As a part of their reissuing program, the wheel has landed on The Aeroplane Flies High to be remastered and re-released. This will also mark its first appearance on vinyl. To celebrate the reissue, they dug into the vaults and found even more demos, rarities and some live tunes to accompany each disc. In addition a whole new sixth disc has been added featuring highlights from their massively successful 1996 world tour. And for those who buy the CD version, a full live show from France will come as a bonus DVD. The Smashing Pumpkins were my favorite band in my middle/high school days and it was a nice trip down memory lane to revisit this release. Continue reading ‘The Aeroplane Flies High – 2013 Reissue (CD Review)’
June 3rd, 2013 by Gregg Senko
The Irish singer with the harp-like voice is back with her latest album titled My Immortal Love, but this time, Liz Madden has taken her most recent musical effort in a different direction. Madden largely departs from the Irish folk and Celtic-inspired tunes to covering some of the more popular rock and pop tunes in recent memory from artists such as Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson and Gotyé just to name a few.
Continue reading ‘Liz Madden Covers New Ground with ‘My Immortal Love’’
May 31st, 2013 by Blu-ray Brian
I was just texting back and forth between reviewer Aaron Neuwirth the other day how excited I am about this movie. Bash me all you want, but the surprise hit for me thus far this year has been the sic-fi thriller Oblivion. I just can’t get enough of that gorgeous flick and can’t wait to knock down my neighbors’ walls when I finally have that Blu-ray release in my grubby, long-fingered hands. But like I said, falling head over heels for that film was VERY MUCH a surprise. I already got burned on my huge expectations I had for The Hangover Part III, but I have faith in producer Christopher Nolan to do the right thing and not to let me down as I have not been this pumped about a film since last year’s Dark Knight Rises. Of course, I’m talking about Man of Steel, which openes in just two mere weeks…less than that really. Can you believe it? Continue reading ‘Listen to WaterTowerMusic’s Exclusive ‘Man of Steel’ Soundtrack Preview’
April 13th, 2013 by Blu-ray Brian
My love for Rob Zombie (his movies, music, art, etc…) should come as no surprise to anyone here that reads Why So Blu on a frequent basis, but shame on me for taking so long to post his newest music video, “Dead City Radio,” that made its debut on Vevo this past Monday. However, it does give me a chance to try out my first post using the latest version of the iOS WordPress app on my third generation iPad. So here goes nothing. Without further ado, check out the video below, pre-order his newest album coming out April 23rd, check out Lords of Salem in theaters April 18th and last but not least, check out Rob on the Rockstar Mayhem Music Festival coming to a city near you. Enjoy!
Continue reading ‘Rob Zombie’s “Dead City Radio” Music Video’
March 31st, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
Following The Avengers, many were curious what the next thing for writer, director, and all-around geek icon Joss Whedon would be. Obviously taking on a modern day retelling of a famous Shakespeare play was the perfect project to take on. Okay, so maybe a Joss Whedon adaptation of the popular comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, was not the obvious choice, but that is what happened. Whedon called up many of his friends and shot this film in a couple weeks, using his own house as the set. At WonderCon, on Sunday, many fans of both Whedon and Shakespeare (presumably in equal ratios of course) showed up to the panel for this film and were treated to an expansive roster of panelists and some footage from the film that opens in theaters this June. Read on to learn more about what doth happened during this presentation.
Continue reading ‘WonderCon 2013: Much Ado About Nothing’
