Jani Lane Tribute

I am still in disbelief over the news that Jani Lane is gone...I don't think I ever felt this sad about a singer dying since Andy Gibb.  Jani Lane is an immensely talented musician, singer, and songwriter.  I was really looking forward to hearing the new music he was working on.



In any case, I wanted to pay tribute to this amazing person who shared his artistic talents with the world and contributed to the art of music.  Here's one of my favorite Warrant songs from the 80s:

I will miss you, Jani Lane...

Black Stone Cherry Music Online

I just thought I'd let my rockin' friends know that you can stream Black Stone Cherry's new album "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" (from RoadRunner Records) online. The album hit music stores on May 31st. Click on the album cover picture to start streaming now!Don't forget, if you enjoy it online, you'll definitely want to go out and buy a copy of the CD to take along in your car with you, too! Or, you can order the Special Edition with 15 tracks (instead of just 12 like the edition you can stream online for free). I order my music from Amazon, where you can get that special edition for only $9.99. I tell you, that's some kick ass rock on that album!

This Is Gonna Hurt

Since I got my copy of SIXX AM's latest CD early this month, I've been playing it in my car over and over every time I drive to and from work.  I really love this album - even more than I love The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack, their first release. Like the first album, This Is Gonna Hurt is basically a soundtrack for Nikki Sixx's New York Times best-selling book of the same title.

Unlike Nikki's autobiographical first book, I haven't read this new book.  From the limited visuals I've seen of it in the music video for Lies of the Beautiful People, I'm not really interested in the book.  I do think Nikki Sixx has a good eye for photography and a very creative perspective.  It's simply not my style of art.

I can't say anything bad about the CD, however.  This new CD is absolutely amazing and inspiring!  I am impressed to the max!  This album is solid music - no dramatic dialogue tracks that I had to turn down around the little ones (like there was in the Heroin Diaries soundtrack).  The  instrumentals leading into the songs draw you into the music.  I especially like the keyboard intro in track 10 (Goodbye My Dear Friends).

For any rockin' chick wanting to be "serenaded" by a hot tattooed rockstar, track 7 (Smile) is just so sweet to listen to without being too mushy like your typical love song.  The well-chosen lyrics and James Michael's tender singing make the song such a dream to listen to.

My favorite song in the album is track 11 (Skin) which is a beautifully inspiring song.  The lyrics give anyone encouragement to look past any physical imperfections that may have caused them to feel embarrassed or ashamed.  Sixx AM gives the listener hope and strength to do things and show others that they are more than just "skin".  I don't know if the kind of song Sixx AM would release as a single, but it is definitely a song everyone should hear.

I give This Is Gonna Hurt both thumbs up.  This album rocks!!!

Def Leppard, Take Two

 

Joe Elliott of Def Leppard

This Tuesday, I wanted to look back in time to the 80's - when the long-haired rockstars were the ultimate dream guys of girls my age.  The 80s was also the peak of glamour rock and the so-called hair bands.  And one of the guys I really, really dug was Joe Elliott of Def Leppard.  While other popular long-haired musicians  fit LiggyzDreamz's definition of "hot", Joe Elliott was different because he had a very rugged, masculine sex appeal.  That was unlike my other 80's rockstar crushes - Jani Lane of Warrant, Sebastian Bach of Skid Row, or Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme.  I listened to their music over and over on my stereo while dreamily gazing at every magazine picture I could find of them.  Yeah, they were all eye candy to the giddy teen that I was.  But they were probably all teeny-bopper material compared to Joe Elliott, whose majority of female fans were (I would guess) probably all over the age of 20. 

I hate to sound like physical appearances are what count the most (after all, when you like a musician you  should also be a fan of his music, right?)  But I came across more recent pictures of Joe Elliott and I started thinking about that 80s crush I had on him.  I'm not saying he's ugly now, but he just doesn't look like the 80's rocker that I had a major crush on back in the day. 

 Joe Elliott in 2010

Okay, maybe he doesn't look all that bad.  After all, I know we all age, our skin will droop, we get wrinkled, etc...but celebrities get so much attention and they can't help getting photographed in public.  When those pictures start showing up all over the Internet, though, it just kinda makes me wonder what I ever saw in some of these rockstars when I used to dream about them.

I'm guessing that the years of grueling international tours, irregular schedules, partying, smoking, alcohol (and maybe even drugs), lack of sleep, and the celebrity lifestyle eventually take their toll on the body.  So many famous people (Lindsay Lohan for one!) treat their bodies like they think there's no such thing as "aging".  Then there are others (Sally Field for instance) who must've learned how to say "no" to the things that could detrimental effects on their bodies and their health.  So even in their "senior" years, you look at their pictures and say, "She's how old?!"  Why people abuse their bodies by not taking better care of themselves is something I have trouble understanding. 

I wanted to end my Two Thoughts for Tuesday with another look back at Def Leppard in the 80's.  Here's one of my favorite Def Leppard tunes from a concert performed 6 years after the song became a huge international hit: 






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Firefox Themes for Music Lovers

 Three Days Grace

Hinder

Thirty Seconds to Mars

If you use Mozilla's Firefox web browser, did you know that you can customize your browser theme with their Personas add on?  Yes, you can!  And if you love music as much as I do, there are tons of music themes available in their gallery.


I also have a few music-related themes that I recently decided to share with others.  Please check them out here -

LiggyzDreamz Music Themes for Firefox

And while the other designs below are not related to LiggyzDreamz, I thought I'd let my readers know that I have also designed some Firefox themes for health and wellness supporters, particularly for Xooma Worldwide members.  Xooma Worldwide is a health and wellness company that sells directly to consumers.  I use many of their products myself.  Although I'm not one of their distributors I like to help spread the word about their amazing products.  I've also been doing work on the side as a publications assistant so some of their distribution teams are already familiar with what "Liggy" does there.  :)

Xooma Green Theme

Xooma Pet2O Treat

Kardiaxyme - One of Mother Nature's Best Kept Secrets

There's more available at Personas for Firefox.  Be sure to check them out and have some fun!!! 

No More Brent Smith!

Man, what a bummer it was for me to learn that Brent Smith (lead vocalist of Shinedown) "released himself" from further work with Apocalyptica recently.  The band had to replace his vocals in the song Not Strong Enough, the newest single release from Apocalyptica's latest album "7th Symphony". 

The vocals were replaced with Doug Robb (of Hoobastank) in the newest video release for the single.  Personally, I think Doug Robb gives excellent vocals to the song.  After all, didn't so many of us love The Reason so much that we were suddenly asking "Who's Hoobastank?"  And it was Doug Robb's meaningful rendition of that song that touched so many hearts, even though it was perhaps the only Hoobastank song/album most average listeners know.


That is...unless you are an avid console gamer or a big fan of The Scorpion King soundtrack.  In that case, you have probably already heard the harder edge sound of the band and Doug Robb's voice many times.  Unfortunately, I can't speak much about it because I'm just not a Hoobastank fan. I just like The Reason.





In any case, I must say, Doug Robb does pour his heart out in the climactic chorus of Not Strong Enough. Only someone with real musical experience and natural vocal talent can rock out to a song like this.

But I heard the original version of Not Strong Enough with Brent Smith's powerful vocals which gave the song the feel of a vengeful struggle against emotions.  And when you compare that to Doug Robb's somewhat softer sound, I have to place my vote with Brent's rendition.