Some Favorite Rock of Mine: RAMMSTEIN, Rob Zombie, AC/DC, Joan Jett, Alannah Myles

Old Rockers never DIE, they just age like a fine.... (uhhh) Cheese?

Well, as long as they don't SMELL like a cheese, some of these guys MIGHT be as fine as a wine... or maybe not. But they still rock. Ok maybe most of the rockers I feature HERE are not a fine WINE exactly. Maybe one of them is... But honestly if I wanted "wine" I'd not have a huge power amp and the Zombie in the cd-tray. That's beer and Slim-Jims. And Beer and Slim-Jims can be FUN. And these guys DO know their craft. AB-So-Lootly, yes. They do rock.

So ...continuing right along...

And by the way folks, there IS (actually) "wine"... here, let me capitalize it, " Wine ", at the end of this little article.

Why drink the water from my hand?
Contagious as you think I am

Just tilt my sun towards your domain
Your cup runneth over again

Don't scream about,
don't think aloud
Turn your head now baby just spit me out ~
Don't worry about,

don't speak of doubt

Turn your head now baby just spit me out

Why follow me to higher ground?
Lost as you swear I am
Don't throw away your basic needs

Ambiance and vanity...

~Collective Soul~

I honestly do not spend all that much time on the topic of music. I do say that I have a "Heart which Sings" (god knows my vocal cords do NOT perform well). I am not all that terribly current on what is hip, hot, or hip-hop... etc. I do tend to like my old school rock. And I do tend to like some of the new stuff that comes out that "Rocks". Like maybe the Teddy Bears, "Rocket Scientist", I think that's pretty cool. Or even something a tad on the "Funky" side like Fujiya and Miyagi's "Uh!".

But I CAN say that the little bit of music I Like- ...I truly LOVE. And no, I do not consider even my own opinion or knowledge of these guys to be complete, all-encompassing nor necessarily one-hundred percent perfect. I am - BIASED -.

I Just Love'em, that's all. And maybe One or Two of these groups... I 'Love' a BIT more than others.

I'd have to say that RAMMSTEIN is one of my very (most) favorite groups of all time. I am an English speaking American, so ... why would I "Love" their sound? They ROCK. That's why, and in actuality, as ridiculous as what I am about to say may sound to some people, I actually think that, for Heavy Metal... they are ... uhm... they're .... *cough* ...Uh- _"Melodious".

Yeah, I said it.

They're actually MELODIOUS (for Heavy Metal). ...Go figure. (No, I did not say "malodorous" I said Melodious.)

So what started all that- with Me, some American guy?

And HOW-the-HECK does such a NON-Melodious vocalist pull this one off?

Well, despite the fact that, upon FIRST listening to them they DO sound a bit demonic... with Till Lindemanns gutteral tutonic tones NON-Melodiously belting out and assaulting the willing-ears of a stadium packed with black-clad youthful, ... and not-so-youthful types. Till, is about as "tune-full" as a twisted, rusty, crushed FREAKING Tuba... And for MANY a stanza of his, he can be caught using precisely ONE... (count'em) ONE note per stanza... One mono-tonic-note after another... And- Despite the fact RAMMSTEIN is a bit evil-sounding. They do rock. They AB-So-Lootly rock. And THAT is the "magic" of creativity and happenstance, folks. Not every tunless "singer" gets to sing...

But, as far as RAMMSTEIN's "functional-Rock-Level" goes?

Nearly every track of theirs Rocks. They do. The first time I noticed them was in the movie Matrix, "Du Hast" was in the soundtrack. (So was the Dance-Remix version of Rob Zombies, "Dragula"). But after noting them in Matrix, I really did not think much more about RAMMSTEIN till I saw their special movie-video/version of "Feuer Frei!" in the movie Triple-X.

RAMMSTEIN refers to their artistic output as "Tanz-Metal" (Dance-Metal) and it IS. Truly. Maybe some of it is MOSH-PIT style dancing, but... it's dancing. "Sehnsucht" although almost lyrically beautiful poetry, is Most-Pit-Bounce-able. It kind of makes you WANT to bang your head. And that's the idea. It's quite compelling (if you Like Rock).

By the way, "RAMMSTEIN" is a reference to an air-show disaster in Germany, in the City Ramstein, the spelling of the name is a play on meaning. As spelled it refers to a "Ram of Stone, or "battering ram", a fit enough symbol for their style in many senses of the words... IF you think about it. In fact, there is in reality far MORE thinking behind some of RAMMSTEINS music than you may realize at first. The song "Du Hast" is actually a play upon the wedding vows, a twist or perversion of the original meaning ("You Hate Me"). (I Know, they are just a Ray of Sunshine, aren't they?)

Your author is a "RAM" (Aries), just so happens... So this interest in music from the "Arian Race" is possibly not totally a co-ink-a-dink.

AnyWay, "Feuer Frei", (in that movie) was what sold me. Seeing Till dressed wildly for the movie and onstage surrounded by pyrotechnics... I saw/heard the song and basically said, "I gotta buy that".

I literally got the movie soundtrack, first of all. I've been buying movie soundtracks from time to time to just make a vague attempt to remain somewhat 'current' on music...

I believe the first RAMMSTEIN album I got my hands on was "Sehnsucht" (Longing). Then I got "Mutter" (Mother) Followed by "RosenRot" (Red Rose). By that time they "Had Me". They rock. That's all I'll say. If you have ONE rocking bone in your body, -part of you, will like SOME of what they do (even if it is in German). And if you Love Rock, you'll probably more than like them a little. After you grow accustomed to their sound. You will Love Them.

The other thing I had noticed about their music was that, even though they were hard-rocking, it was actually obvious to me that Till did not SCREAM his music. He actually sang.

And... NOOOooooooo I do not think Till Lindemann is nearly as melodious as someone like, Alannah Myles. But, he SANG, he did not scream. He has a very very heavy (and non-melodious) singing style. Yet, the net result IS, actually a manly yet (somewhat) melodious style. It's hard to describe, but I guess for something that's supposed to be so harsh sounding... it works. But he also has a message, and that message is carried by his....

Poetry...

"Longing is So Cruel...."

Sehnsucht versteckt
sich wie ein Insekt
im Schlafe merkst du nicht
dass es dich sticht
glücklich werd ich nirgendwo
der Finger rutscht nach Mexiko
doch er versinkt im Ozean
Sehnsucht ist so grausam

===========================

Longing hides
like an insect
while asleep you don't notice
that it stings you
I'll never be happy anywhere
the finger slips to Mexico
but it sinks in the ocean
longing is so cruel

Yes, you heard it folks, Poetry. The man actually has published a book of his poetry. And No, I do not believe it is all fairy-tales, moonbeams, flutter-byes, and wet-kisses... He tends to be a bit grim on life and love, but then, not everyone is a member of the Brady-Bunch.

Ich will dass ihr mir vertraut
Ich will dass ihr mir glaubt
Ich will eure Blicke spüren
Ich will jeden Herzschlag kontrollieren...

Ich will eure Phantasie
Ich will eure Energie
Ich will eure Hände sehen
Ich will in Beifall untergehen

===================================

I want you to trust me
I want you to believe me
I want to feel your eyes
I want to control every heartbeat...

I want your fantasy
I want your energy
I want to see your hands
I want to go down in applause

(How does that compare to the POLICE's "I'll be watching You" ? A bit more pressing, eh?)

So yah, Till tends to take the dark side of things. My point is this. As I listened to this German band, it was very very obvious to me that he was passionately singing (belting out in Macho fashion) ... a message. Not all his songs have all that GREAT a message, some seem downright twisted and warped. Take a look at "Ich Tu Dir Weh" for a bit of the BDSM side of life... but still, if you close your eyes while watching that video... it still JUST ROCKS.

Ich tu dir weh
Tut mir nicht leid
Das tut dir gut
Hör wie es schreit

=================

I hurt you
I'm not sorry
It does you good
Listen to it scream

And that is about all I will copy paste in here because the lyrics literally become a bit "strange" for an article here.

And YES, even this is "Melodious"... LISTEN to it!!! It's heavy metal, and it's actually Melodious. No Joke. It is simply true that Till Lindemann (and RAMMSTEIN) are absolutely ill. Till was born 2 months before me, in January of 1963. He has publicly stated he will only tour until he turns 50 and then he'll retire from Rock. ... So I wonder if he will stick to that, or not.

The Zombie (Rob, That is)

I'd have to say that one of the More Fun guys out there has to be the Zombinator himself. Back in "The Day" he was part of White Zombie, then, stepped out on his own. He is a man who also definitely Can Rock.

Uses English in a rather creative manner- But Other Than That, he's absolutely a head-banging wonder.

Again, similarly to RAMMSTEIN, you may not actually need to (uhm) LISTEN to his words to enjoy the assemblage' of phonemes, syllables, and percussively throbbing guitar... And, NOOooo this man also is not NEeee-Hee-Heearly as melodious as, say, Alannah Myles, BUT the one thing that is so selectively "ROB" is that guitar... and, Wanna Rock? ...check this out.

DEMON SPEEDING

Just go with it. It's not "pretty", but yes, it ROCKS.

Even LIVE with his un-Melodious sound. He's "good". Not a GREAT vocalist, he needs the work of a studio. But still, in this video, a live performance of demon speeding, he gives a creditable version of the studio recording. Watch. Typical dreadlocked banging.

Hey! Do ya love me
I'm untouchable darkness?

Dirty Black-a-River
To get You Thru this.

Hey do ya Love Me?
I'm a Devil Machine-

Get into the gone
... All American Dream.

You know... one of the "Sweeter" aspects of Mr. Robinus, Maximus Zombinus? He tours WITH his wife, and loves to feature her in videos and onstage while touring. Yup. She's ONSTAGE with him and directly participating. She dances. You see her lithe shapely female beauty amongst all his horrid "death-like" themes. Talk about family values. As "Death-Metal" as he is, he Loves his Girl. Do NOT tell me otherwise. Or he'd not have her there in stark contrast to his boyish foolishness. I believe (in fact) he features her in such fashion, precisely SO THAT she stands out as "The Beauty" framed, in his ugly-scari-ness. -As youngsters everywhere line up to buy his albums.

Yes, Mr. Zombie does very well with bru-tile basic throbbing combo's of words, (ARE those words? when he's done with'em?) I mean, he has some truly creative sentences in his songs. ...Just to make them rhyme a bit. One of my own personal favorites of his is "Go To California" it has a rather (I think) pleasant swing-rock-style to it. And it has a bit of a twang, hinting at a bit of country, yet it truly "bounces".

Take the refrain of "Go To California":

Get-up Get-out, Get-inside the-Outside, Get-up Get-out Get-in

Get-up Get-out, Get-inside the-Outside, Get-up Get-out Get-in

(it bounces, trust me on this). The refrain has a bit of the "Big Band" sound (not kidding) He even has a PIANO (yes I know it is a "synth" piano) in this song... yah... ! ...Oh, and THAT is another aspect of Mr. Zombie, it's referred to as the "Yeah"-count. One popular pastime of some of his fans is to count the number of times he says "Yeah", in a song. He actually does not say "Yeah" that many times in "Go To California", but... to continue with the song and his creative sentences...

Another line or two of interest in that song is: "Hit the lights and strip down on the floor, Everybody hates you but they want some more (yeah) Goto California..."

??? What? As I said, it's a bit interesting the way he puts sentences together. Yet, again, it just ROCKS. Simply said, it does get the "job" of rocking ... done.

Another of my favorite tunes of Robs and probably a more generally palatable and popular song would be "Foxy Foxy". I personally think it's a pretty great (studio version) song. It's a great dance-floor club sound. Great for dancing. Take a look at it and you'll see what I mean. It's a very fun song.

Again, I will say Mr Zombie has some rather interesting english going on. The opening lines of Foxy Foxy? " He who gets slapped and he who gets saved... He who brutilizes the timeless stage. He is the mongrel, he want's it all. He lives for relics (that) hang on the wall. Don't you wanna ride it? Educated Horses..."

WHAT? ?

Nevermind. Just bob your head, dance... and ... well. Just DANCE. Have fun with it. Do not analyze it. It works. ESPECIALLY if partially inebriated. Or. ...wholly inebriated. No, do not be critical. This is NOT "fine art" it is Party Music. That's all. Do not make it more than that. It's good stuff. And yes, once again. It simply Rocks. That's the bottom line defining criterion here. It just rocks. You, Jack Daniels, and Captain Morgan can have a great time.

You want something a Little More Recent? ... try browsing YouTube for Rob's "Sick Bubble Gum" ...there goes that interesting use of English, again... but just Have at It. (Yes, Rob is very very Scary) check it out

Or, fire up "Demon Speeding" in your hot-rod's MP3 player, and drive it like a... Hot Rod. Do a couple of dough-nuts... courtesy Rob-Z.

Before RAMMSTEIN came along I simply kept re-buying tapes (then CD's) of AC/DC. Then right along 2000 I switched to music from the Father-Land.

But... AC/DC was "Me" for the longest time. I graduated high school in 1981, so "Back in Black" was just HUGE then.

And my personal favorite of all AC/DC's tunes is "Shoot to Thrill".

...And it just happens to be the theme song from the movie IRONMAN 2 (also a favorite of mine). IronMan was created in 1963, the same year Till and I were... But I am rather proud that AC/DC seems to be the source of theme music for IronMan. In the original movie it was "Back in Black" the title song of the album. And "Shoot to Thrill" (need I say it?) Is just dance-able and Rock-able. Here, take a look at it...

In the interest of keeping this shorter rather than longer. I do want to honorably mention "You shook me all Night Long" also by AC/DC. It's a classic. It's also a fun party and dancing song. I'd like to think it applies to the Woman I Love... "She was One-of-a-Kind, She's just Mine, all mine..."

She was a fast machine
She kept her motor clean
She was the Best Damn Woman I had, ever seen.

She had the sightless eyes
Telling me no lies
Knockin' me out with those American Thighs ...

Here, to make a transition from AC/DC to the next one in my line, I'll use one of AC/DC's songs, "Dirty Deeds done Dirt Cheap" and say that Joan Jett did it as well as, or even BETTER than the Australian band did. Do not get me wrong. I absolutely LOVE AC/DC's flavor. It's just Joan actually Added something to it. I think it's called Class. Her version rocks hard and is classy.

Joan is responsible for a lot of good old (and newer) rock. I think the very first song of hers I loved had to be "I Love Rock n Roll". Classic. But, Me being me, I like "Do ya Wanna Touch Me?". And here, Joan bears AB-So-Lootly no similarity to Samantha Fox's "Touch Me" (who?).

"Beggin' on my knees, 'Baby won't You please, RUN YOUR FINGERS THRU MY HAIR?' My my my, whiskey and rye, don't they make you feel so fine? Right or wrong, don't it turn you on? Can't you see we're wastin' time?"

Joan just gets right to the point. The most romantic of her popular tunes is "Crimson and Clover", but she's not exactly a walking statement of sentimentality either.

Speaking of "sentiment" or "romance"... AND the topic of "Rocking". Let us now transition (rapidly) to another rocker, known in the last 3 decades. I do believe I can now bring up at this point, some-One who is actually a fine, Wine. She's a rocker, to be sure. She has "Rocked", she has "Rolled", she's a little bit country, too. She can sound sweet, she can sound tough. And the big thing is this. She's not been treated to a seat on the Top-40 anytime recently. Yet she deserves to be. I am quite sure of it. She's actually got an album that she produced a couple years ago, and I know for a fact that at least ONE of her tunes should be in Dance Clubs everywhere. (To be honest). I personally Love how her stuff does rock. And me? Well I am in all truth a romantic mush, so... The love songs she produces are deep too. She does it all. (If she wants to).

Yet, like a barrel of Wine, sitting in a cellar filled with barrels, she's tucked away into a corner (up in Canada). Next to Lake Ontario... and she's HUGE, actually. She should be ranked right along with these guys, above. She's a class-act. And truly, vocally gifted ... way beyond even the guys above here...

I am referring to, Alannah Myles. And with that name I believe comes the Oaken Barrel, so let's roll that barrel out, (actually, a wine barrel would never be rolled) and pour-forth it's contents a-Plenty. She rocks, And she's truly talented. I do believe it's genetic. She's got a special, special voice. Of all these guys ranked here. Granted, they get millions of page views between them all on the internet. Alannah Myles is that "special brand" just quietly sitting on the shelf, these last few years.

And she's got PIPES... Lord-a-Mercy, she's got true, blue, pipes.

The Lady can actually SING. Really and truly.

Can Till sing? sort of. ...okay... "No", he can't sing. (sings better than ME, granted). Can Rob Z sing? mmmMm-nnnNot like this. Nope. Can AC/DC? ahem, pardon me, but those bar-room brawlers, don't exactly sing either. Sure, they can carry a couple of tunes. They're a tad rough. I'd (like-wise) say I "do carpentry", I cut wood and build things, and I even can make straight and plumb structures... (doesn't make me a carpenter tho')... Joan? yah, she can sing. but ... she simply does not have the sheer range and flexibility of Alannah. Alannah is kind of like a combo of Pat Benatar, and Joan Jett.

Okay, this is a gear-shift. She rocks. But I would drop the word "brutal". Yes I Love RAMMSTEIN, but they are truly brew-tile. (Machen Sie verstehen?)

Alannah ...Sings... so, this is a "shift" from "Lords of Salem" (Rob Z') to, "Dark Side of Me" ('Lannah) okay? do not react or over-react in shock. It's Rock, it's Blues, some of it is country-rock. It's all good. Actually, it's Very Good. (I think this is "Talent", ) (maybe "Wine"). So put the Slim Jims down... Check her out. You feel like guzzling beer? Fine, grab Mr. Zombie. Sipping wine, sometimes even consuming wine with gusto? That'd be Alannah.

Little tramp comin' up the strip with a hundred dollar smile
Sparks flyin' off her fingertips, drive the young cop wild
Some nights are wound so tight like a storm about to break
Better stand in your doorway when everything starts to shake
You get restless like a cat waking up at midnight,
Hungry, never quite satisfied

This is our world and these are our times
This is our world and these are our times

Alannah Myles, from Canada. Check this out. I want to roll out some of the stuff that got her noticed in the first place. Back in 1989 and 1990 she was positioned to rocket into orbit. Like the stars above, she is super-star quality. She's not so much the HARD Rocking type, especially lately. But there are extenuating circumstances regarding certain aspects of her performance.

She can still sing like no one else in this article though. And she's preparing another new album too. (Blues this time) The original album that main-lined her into the entire planets consciousness was her self-titled album "Alannah Myles". She became globally recognized for her tribute song re: Elvis Presley, "Black Velvet". Yet, that's not even the very best of her. I think I'll show you one of her more rockin' videos here. "Our World Our Times". It's a timeless track really. It's something that could have been produced last month.

I think she's actually a level above in some senses of the words. What I mean is, she actually SINGS. Most of the guys above are "formula" singers. They've got a formula, and talent, and it works for them. They are production-meisters. They work. They do good Enjoyable work. Hard Rockers Love'em.

But I do believe that Miss Myles has a talent, and an ability that ranks in another spectrum altogether. She was born in December of 1958. And she's "hip". She's current, and currently active. She put an album out a couple years ago, and is getting ready to put out another. And she's mixing it up a bit. It'll be Blues. "A Work in Blue".

I am a fan of hers, yes, it's true. In some senses I am more a fan of Hers than any of the Hard Rockin' fools above. (I say that with Love)... if I had a Party, it'd feature mostly music of their type. Well, let me rephrase that. If I had a party of "The Guys", it'd feature more RAMMSTEIN, Rob, AC/DC, and Joan.

If I wanted to impress clients AND still Rock, miss Myles would feature highly on the playlist.

I think I'll do another article on her. Her alone a bit later, and list her work... or at least a little of it.

Here I demo a couple of different things. Above, you see in "Our World Our Times" that she can just plain Rock. Like I said, Leather... Lace. Here, to the right, a bit of a club sound. This is from her last album.

In her last album, she creates such a wide spectrum. She goes from "Comment Ca Va", to "Trouble", to "I Love You". Her voice goes from Vamp, to Ethnic, to Sweet.

Now go back up there and replay "Our World Our Times".

This is all from the same set of Vocal Cords. (WHO LET TILL LINDEMANN Near a microphone? UnHeilig, can "SING"... for gods sake...) okay... OKAY... I Love Till and RAMMSTEIN... I do. I DO! Anyway, my point is that Alannah- can actually Sing.

Truly.

Also on her Last album, here, below "Comment Ca Va", I'm going to put something radical for you to sample. It's all Blues. It's called "Trouble". She moulds her voice to another whole different spectrum. Here, she sounds much like a little ol' black lady from Alabama...

"I call 9-1-1 when I'm in a fix

When I need YOU Baby I call 6-6-6"

And also on that same album is something like "I Love You". Or "Only Wings".

Most of this article has been about Rocking. Hard Rocking. Here, the borders are all broken with Alannah Myles. CAN She Rock? yes. DOES she rock? if she wants to, yes. Don't question it. In another article I'll post "stuff" that's JUST LIKE PAT BENATARS... Alannah has moved on.

This is Wine. (not a cheese wheel)

I Love Cheese, and Pepperoni.

But I do love a bit of class too. We'll check more on this later.

Now, I know all the "Hard Rockers" that bobbed and weaved to the above, death metalish stuff. All those Hard Rockers may go thru shock to listen to the last one or two pieces on this article. So consider this a warning if sentimentality is against your religion. If you want PURE Metal... don't bother playing the last couple. But, if you do like Music and Art. Do listen.

The Lady has talent. On her last album she featured a bit of the "Blues" she's heading into. ("Trouble") but her wide-ranging vocal ability is fully in force.

Talent. Class.

Wine.

(yeah, Alannah "Rocks". She's a whole different kinda Cat')