I don’t mind me a little Static-X. Listening to a whole album of these songs in one sitting is a little much, but taken one at a time, their music is heavy, fun, and bizarrely catchy. A lot of that had to do with the unique vocal stylings of the late lead singer, Wayne Static.
Today, Static-X are touring as a tribute to Wayne, with a man named Xer0 fronting them, wearing an eye-catching Wayne-like robot suit. Xer0 is said to be portrayed by Edsel Dope, of the band Dope, and friend of Static-X.
I think this is a pretty cool way for a band to carry on when the frontman is gone forever. Bassist Tony Campos is passionate and enthusiastic, and the crowd eat it all up!
I think it’s safe to say that the 1998 British film Still Crazy is my favourite movie about a fictional band. Yes, that means I like it better than the “big one”. I definitely prefer it to Rock Star. It’s just plain better, from story to performance to music. I never cried during Rock Star, but I do weep during Still Crazy when guitarist Brian makes his triumphant return to the stage during “The Flame Still Burns”, as sung by Jimmy Nail.
Foreigner later recorded “The Flame Still Burns” in 2017. It was co-written by Mick Jones.
I live a life that’s surreal Where all that I feel I am learning My life is like an ever spinning wheel Fueld by a fire that’s still burning
And in time, it’s all a sweet mystery When you shake the tree of temptation Yeah and I, I know the fear and the cost Of a paradise lost in frustration
And the flame still burns It’s there in my soul, forever I know And the flame still burns From a glimmer back then It lights up again in my life
Ooh I, I want my thoughts to be heard The unspoken words of my wisdom Today as the light starts to glow Tomorrow who knows who will listen
But my life has no language of love No words from above are appearing But in time, in time the fire will grow With a reason for hope and believing
And the flame still burns It’s there in my soul, forever I know And the flame still burns From a glimmer back then It lights up again in my life
Oh, keep rolling, keep that flame still burning Keep on rolling while the world keeps turning Ah, keep rolling Yeah, keep rolling Ah, yeah, ooh
And the flame still burns It’s there in my soul, it’s there in my soul And the flame still burns Yeah, it’s there in my soul, forever I know And the flame still burns From a glimmer back then, oh yeah
And the flame still burns Oh, it’s there in my soul, oh, it’s there in my soul And the flame still burns From a glimmer back then Oh, it lights up again in my life In my life
Here comes Paul McGowan with a question for you audiophile metalheads!
As a non-audiophile, this will never be my bag, but it’s interesting anyway. “Wall of sound” – that’s what I want. He’s right that most of those albums are loud and compressed. Here’s how to maximize the sound of your heavy metal.
The title of this video by PS Audio’s Paul McGowan is misleading. He doesn’t hate electronic music — at all. In fact PS Audio are releasing some on their label Octave Records. They key, says Paul, is “plenty of bottom end”.
I sure would love a tour of their listening rooms. Once in a lifetime experience for a guy like me.
Paul McGowan is back with another question I’ve always wondered about. Audiophile customers at the Record Store would claim that the CD layer of Super Audio CDs sounded better than a regular CD. That didn’t seem likely or even possible. Paul clears it up here, and I’m not surprised at all.
Thank you Marco from the Contrarians for this honour. I really loved doing this interview, and I really appreciate the chance to talk about myself and the things I love the most. I got to tell some of my favourite stories, and plug Grab a Stack of Rock with the Mad Metal Man. I also did a horrific Australian accent. Please enjoy!
And Marco…thanks again, this meant the world to me.
A month ago, Grant Arthur and I spent an hour talking about the Darkness. In another month, we’ll talk about Hot Leg, Stone Gods and British Whale!
One of the songs/videos that came up in our chat was their epic rocking “Last Of Our Kind”, certainly one of the best songs in their repertoire. What a striking video, and their first with drummer Rufus Tiger Taylor. Emily Dolan Davies played on the record and in the first video for “Open Fire” but left to be replaced by Taylor. He found his own way to stand out visually, as you’ll see.
It’s unusual but not unheard of for bands to recruit their fans as extras. But nobody did it like the Darkness. This video is a hoot, and there’s one somewhat bulky man in a Darkness shirt who hams it up and steals the show.
I have a a couple favourite parts in this video:
0:38 – Mystical Frankie 1:13 – Spinny spinny! 1:34 – 1:38 – “Then there were none”
The whole video is brilliant and we really need to give a shout out to Justin Hawkins for his dancing. The man can move. He can sing, he can play, and he can move! If he wasn’t so damned ugly they’d be the biggest band in the world.
2022 was the year of budget cuts here at LeBrain HQ. The cost of living goes up as does the price of plastic. New albums by Queensryche, Lee Aaron, Skid Row and Envy of None went unheard here this year. However, new releases before the cuts including Journey, Tony Martin, Ghost, Scorpions, ZZ Top and Def Leppard were enjoyed year ’round. We are grateful that in 2022, bands I love are still making new music and touring.
My #1 song is an uplifting tune that I could not get out of my head. I sang it aloud in the car, at the beach and in the woods with not a care in the world. That’s how picking a #1 was so easy. It could only have been one song.
I grew up with two Doctors as my Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. The third, and fourth Doctors. Of the two, Baker was my favourite. Perhaps it was his long scarf, which I begged my mom to make for me. And she did! It could also be his long curly brown hair, or his somewhat comical eyes. Whatever the case, it cannot be denied that the iconic Doctor Who theme was something that drew kids in. I was no exception. I love the time-tunnel visuals as well. I remember sitting in front of the TV with a little Fischer-Price tape deck to record the intro theme from mono speaker to mono microphone.
Here’s the Doctor Who show intro of my formative years.
I admit, I am one of the many who wrote off White Town back when he occupied the bargain bin at the Record Store. I figured he ripped off John Williams’ “Imperial March” and faded away into deserved 90s obscurity.
I was wrong.
As usual, Todd in the Shadows does impeccable research and this was an enlightening episode about an artist that I knew only a little about before.
mikeladano.com 