Music Review: Xanadu on Broadway

Xanadu on Broadway
Original Broadway Cast Recording
PS Classics
Available: Jan. 8, 2008

It's guilty pleasure time.

I grew up in the 1970s, so even though I'm typically classified as a diehard metalhead, I can't help but be nostalgic of the influences from my childhood, which include Annie, The Pirate Movie and 1980's Xanadu.

Yup, Xanadu, the movie starring a post-Grease Olivia Newton-John as a Kira, a Muse who comes to Earth to bring inspiration to frustrated artist Sonny (played by feather-haired Michael Beck, fresh from The Warriors). The film, while looking back right now was quite cheesy, it brings back great memories of legwarmers-wearing, rollerskating times and the sounds of that fabulous Electric Light Orchestra/Olivia Newton-John motion picture soundtrack...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Music Review: 'Juno' Soundtrack

Juno Soundtrack
Music from the Motion Picture
Various Artists
Rhino
Release date: January 15, 2008

When I was sent this CD for review a few weeks ago, I had no idea what type of music would be on the soundtrack since I still hadn't seen the smash indie hit film, now up for a Best Picture Oscar. From what I knew about the movie -- about a quirky, sarcastic, quick-witted teenager (Ellen Page) who finds herself with an unwanted pregnancy courtesy of her meek, kindhearted best friend (Michael Cera) -- I could easily predict that Juno would be one of my favorite films of the year (and I was right). But after one glance at the list of artists on the soundtrack, I assumed that these tunes would do little else besides put me right to sleep (and I was wrong)...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Music Review: Paul McCartney 'Memory Almost Full'

Paul McCartney Memory Almost Full
Deluxe Edition CD/DVD
Hear Music
Available now

As great of an artist as he is, Paul McCartney is maddening. He has so much talent, but has wasted it on trifles, half-finished songs, ill-advised concepts, and general tomfoolery. As a solo artist, he’s given us some of the best albums in the history of rock-and-roll (Band On The Run) and also given us possibly the worst single ever (“My Love”).

So when he came out with Memory Almost Full, I was skeptical and cynical. McCartney’s later solo work has been decent, but nothing outstanding. He has become a ‘cult artist’ with a dedicated following, but not much traction outside his fan base. Yes, it’s a fan base that’s large enough to get this album to #3 on the charts, but that also says something. If the Billboard charts used Soundscan in the 1970s, a McCartney album would have been an unquestioned #1 on the charts on the week of its release. A #3 chart showing in a diluted market isn’t remarkable for someone of his stature...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Music Review: U2 - The Joshua Tree

U2 - The Joshua Tree
MFSL Gold Ultradisc II
Expanded Remastered
2-Disc Edition
Island
Available now

U2's The Joshua Tree was an epoch in American musical consciousness. But the album is such a big deal in rock history that you probably already know that ... everyone does. It's the album that contains the two songs that put the band on the mainstream map -- "With Or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." When the chance to review the remastered version came up -- with an extra CD of unreleased songs -- I jumped at it.

While I hate non-standard CD packaging because it makes storage annoying, I've got to hand it to them: it's beautiful. There's a hardcover 32-page booklet, with top-loading cardboard sleeves at the front and back for the discs, that fits into a hardcover slipcase. The printing is black and metallic gold ink on sturdy, coated matte paper that doesn't crimp or show fingerprints like most glossy CD inserts do. It looks great and should stand up well to repeated perusal...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Music Review: Vanessa Carlton - Heroes and Thieves

Vanessa Carlton
Heroes and Thieves
Motown

Here at GoD, we review virtually everything that comes our way, there are gems and there are the polar opposite of gems (CHUCK). So when Vanessa Carlton’s Heroes and Thieves was dropped in my lap to review, I jumped at the chance just because I love music (nothing to do with not having or wanting a television)...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Music Review: Love Is The Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets

San Francisco Nuggets: Love Is The Song We Sing 1965-1970
Compilation box set
Rhino Records

Remember those Fabulous ’60s? The marches, the protests, the be-ins?

Um, if you're reading this, odds are against it. I mean, I was BORN in the ’60s, but as for remembering the Summer of Love, I don't think that's possible.

Yet, I, like many other music geeks, love the music of the ’60s. The wide variety of sounds that became touchstones for a generation is incredible. And of course there are the famous ‘scenes' -- the most famous in the U.S. was based in San Francisco starting about 1965.

Most everyone knows the major songs and groups from that era. The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, and others revered to this day as musical pioneers, even demi-gods. But there were a lot of other bands that contributed to the sound of San Francisco, even if many of them left the scene as quickly as they started...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Music Review: The Simpsons - Testify

From the very beginning, The Simpsons have always used music and parodies of popular music, themes songs, and musicals for comedic effect. As time went on, and the writing seemed to slip, the musical parodies and lampoons still seemed sharp and fresh.

Sometimes, those songs were the ONLY truly funny things on the shows, and fans clamored for copies of those them, and soon two CDs of songs from the show were released. Even stripped from the context of the show, those songs were inventive and hilarious, and much better than the albums they released of "original songs."

The third volume of tunes from the show, Testify was recently released. It will bring back memories, mostly good, of the past nine seasons of songs...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Music Review: Lindsey Boullt 'Composition'

So this album is huge and as it's name suggests, full of compositions. Some musicians write tunes, others write songs, but the really dedicated virtuoso types... They write compositions. This album, or this "moment of genius" as I prefer to relate to it, is just that. Fans of musicians who utterly bury themselves in their art, or to put it more bluntly, musicians wanking, need to put their seat-belts on, or some such metaphor...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

DVD Review: Pearl Jam -- Immagine in Cornice

In 2006, Pearl Jam spent a week touring the Italian countryside. They put on concerts from Bologna to Pistoia, playing landmark venues such as the medieval Piazza del Duomo, and the Arena di Verona -- a roman amphitheatre built in 30 AD.

Along with them they brought famed celebrity photographer Danny Clinch to document their journey, both on and off stage. Using several different video formats including Super-8 and High Definition, Clinch expertly captures the energy and emotion of the band's live performances, as well as the intimate and quiet moments in-between.

With his unrestricted access and unique perspective, Clinch is able to put together a concert video/road documentary that I imagine plays as close to real life as you're likely to get without risking a restraining order. Immagine in Cornice, which translates from Italian as Picture in a Frame, comes across as just that -- a candid snapshot of the lives of six musicians as they rock their way through the hamlets and cities of Italy...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Music Review: Megadeth 'That One Night'

MEGADETH
That One Night: Live in Buenos Aires
Image Entertainment
Release date: Sept. 4, 2007

I'm going to tell you right from the beginning -- I unapologetically love Megadeth.

I remember clearly that day back in 1985 when I discovered them. I was combing the "metal" LP bins at my local record store when I came across Killing Is My Business ... And Business Is Good, which boasted a sticker on the cover stating that it was the debut album from former Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine's new band. That's all I needed to know. Seven bucks later, the low-production quality of opening tune "Last Rites/Loved To Deth" was blaring through my speakers, Mustaine's raspy voice screaming, "I loved you to deth!!!"...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Music Review: Elvis Presley 'Viva Las Vegas'

Elvis Presley was a rare singer and performer that if he put his heart and soul into a song, much like Otis Redding and John Lennon, he could sing the phone book and it could sound rich, soulful, and powerful. Unfortunately, most of the material that Elvis was given was worse than the phone book, and Elvis really mailed in some of those movie soundtrack performances and other recordings in the latter stages of his career.

It was his 1968 “comeback special” (a misnomer in some senses, since Elvis had many charting singles and albums in 1967 and 1968 -- but it was an artistic comeback for sure) that Elvis regained his footing. Leaving dreck like “Long Legged Girl With The Short Dress On” behind, Presley sought to regain his title as the “King of Rock And Roll,” and on many counts, he succeeded...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Music Review: Joe Satriani ‘Surfing With The Alien’ Legacy Edition CD/DVD

JOE SATRIANI
Surfing With The Alien Legacy Edition
Sony Legacy
Release date: August 7, 2007

I was 14 years old when Surfing With The Alien was released. For close to two years prior I had been doing my best to learn how to play the guitar -- but I was not entirely unguided. My guitar teachers were all my LP heroes -- Randy Rhoads, Ace Frehley, Frank Zappa, Jake E. Lee, Jeff Beck, Ted Nugent, and a 10-minute segment of audio from the movie Crossroads that I had extracted onto cassette tape via my brother-in-law's Tascam 4-track and a set of RCA cables. I'd record all of my favorite songs onto the 4-track, then turn down the tape speed by half and listen to them, doing my best to pick out what segments I could and attempt to mimic them on my $80 black Yamaha SE-110. Diary of a Madman, Blow by Blow, Alive II, The Wall, Masters of Reality -- this was my curriculum.

Then Surfing With The Alien crash landed into my life like a UFO. Suddenly, my world as a budding guitarist was blown wide open. All of my preconceptions of what being a guitar player meant were changed in all of 38 minutes. I had a found a new teacher...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Music Review: Beastie Boys 'The Mix-Up'

BEASTIE BOYS
The Mix-Up
Capitol

I just want to start off and say to all you Beastie Boys fans you are going to LOVE this CD. If you are a truly hardcore Beastie Boys fan (like myself), you will be amazed and surprised to hear what this CD has and does not have...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Music Review: Arctic Monkeys 'Favourite Worst Nightmare'

I just want to start off by stating that I am an Arctic Monkeys fan, I am not one of these Johnny come lately types who jump on the bandwagon when a bands gets a BIG push from the record company. I found these guys a couple of years ago before their first CD was released. I've been following them ever since and telling all my friends and anyone who will listen to me (which is not many…ha-ha) to check these guys out...continue reading this article at Geeks of Doom

Music Review: Juliette and the Licks 'Four on the Floor'

JULIETTE AND THE LICKS
Four on the Floor
Hassle


Before we had Juliette Lewis: Rock Star, we had Juliette Lewis: Movie Star. Juliette Lewis is an Oscar-nominated superstar that picked eclectic film roles that best suited her female-Jack-Nicholson-incarnate persona. It makes sense that she would then go on to make music that goes straight for the gonads, boys.

Yeah, girls can rock hard, too....continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom

Hellacious Humpday Linkage - HYB Contest

Howdy Hellacious Homeboys/girls,

Here we have a heap o' hump-day hot-linkage from your pals O' Doom.

Super Comicfest Convention: Super Comicfest Convention comes to New Jersey this weekend with guests like The Fonz, Lando Calrissian, and Soupy Sales!

HonkeyFinger Updates: Some musical updates from HonkeyFinger main-man Jonny.

Comic Review: The Chair #2: Picking up right where issue one left off, Alterna Comics’s Peter Simeti continues his tale of an innocent man on death row who fast learning the meaning of Hell on Earth.

'Simpsons Movie' Clips, TV Soundtrack: Two new clips from the upcoming Simpsons Movie as well as news on the Season 10-18 TV show soundtrack.

Lastly, our friends in fright over at Horror Yearbook are holding a DVD giveaway. So when you're done reading all our awesome articles, GET THEE OVER THAR AND FUCKING ENTER THAT SHIT! Seriously, it's free. Go. Go now!

Join us at Geeks of Doom and that burning feeling in your nether-region shall increase exponentially. Also if you prefer, you can subscribe to us via RSS feed, or sign up to get a daily DOOM digest via email.

Hot as a Muthafunka,
Dave3

Conversations with GoD: Buckshot of 'Dirty Rig'

Conversations with GoD: Buckshot of 'Dirty Rig': Geeks of Doom's resident music fiend from the UK Manic Rage has a chat with Dirty Rig's Buckshot and finds out that the bassist is a geek when it comes to video games, beer, and, ahem ... another fun activity.

Come check it out!

Manic Rage's Brush With Nick Oliveri

I'll talk to you about my memories. Like it or lump it, you will listen.

Let's go back in time to September 2006. I was walking through Manchester [UK] after departing from the train, and me and my comrades needed money. On the way to the cash machine, out of the corner of my eye I saw Nick Oliveri pre-gig.

After a few minutes of idle chit-chat and stunned silence [nothing wrong with Star-Struck-Ness] mixed with an autograph session I proceeded to thank Nick and Co and walked away. I only found out later from guitarist Ian the truth of what happened, but Nick chased after me, yes GoDoomers, to grab a photo of the back of my jacket. More on this later....continue reading this article at Geeks of Doom

Music Review: The White Stripes 'Icky Thump'

THE WHITE STRIPES
Icky Thump
Warner Bros / Wea

Generally, I don't appreciate negative sexual references, but I make exception for The White Stripes latest release, Icky Thump. After two huge, must-have albums -- Elephant and Get Behind Me Satan -- Jack White is back with his slamming riffs and whimsical, yet subtly insightful lyrics on The White Stripes sixth album. His ex-wife, originally thought to be his sister, Meg White once again matches his strong chords with surprisingly powerful and unconventional slams of her own. (Surprising for such a sweet, red and white piece of ass.)

At the start of many songs on Icky Thump you get the feeling that you have heard a White Stripes song that sounds very similar to this, but you quickly forget that when the duo's patented eclectic sound kicks in and has your mind wondering what may be coming next...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom

Music Review: Bad Brains 'Build A Nation'

BAD BRAINS
Build A Nation (2007)
Megaforce Records
Produced by Adam Yauch

D.C punk/hardcore legends Bad Brains are back, after having broken up and reunited more times than an entire season of VH1's Behind the Music.

Adam Yauch (Beastie Boys) is credited with producing the first studio album by the band in over ten years. Although the production of Build A Nation is more realized than its predecessor (1995's God Of Love), it still lacks the raw power of the group's legendary back catalog...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom