CATCHING UP: IRON MAIDEN/ALICE COOPER CONCERT REVIEW

photo credit: Maria Ives

Here's another really fun show that I reviewed over the summer: Iron Maiden and Alice Cooper at Jones Beach. It had been years since I've seen Maiden in concert.  On this tour, they seemed to concentrate on the first Bruce Dickinson era: from 1982's Number Of The Beast through 1992's Fear Of The Dark, and there was definitely an emphasis on 1988's Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son.  

They were awesome. As I mention in my review, Dickinson does not seem to have aged.  And the other guys look a bit more like old metal guys, but they play with serious ferocity.  Guitarist Jannick Gers doesn't seem to fit in with the band at all.  Dickinson brought him into the band in the '90s after he'd played on Bruce's solo debut. Adrian Smith quit and Gers replaced him. Years later, Bruce quit, and a few years later, Smith joined his solo band. Then they both rejoined Maiden, and the band opted to keep Gers, giving them three guitarists.  Not totally necessary, but I guess it's cool that they didn't just ditch the guy. Still, he really looks more like he's in Poison or something. But the sound is what's important, and Maiden still sound brutal. If you love Maiden and go to see them, you definitely won't be disappointed.  Steve Harris is still one of the best bass players in metal. 

photo credit: Maria Ives

Also, as mentioned in the review, we didn't get there early enough to catch Alice Cooper, which was a huge bummer.  When you have a photo pass, you have to get to the show early so they can escort you to the front of the stage.  Our ride from my office in midtown to Long Island took more than 2 1/2 hours.  Hence, no Alice photos.  We hung out outside during his performance, but he sounded incredible, and I hope to go see him soon. 

TONIGHT ON FUSE - THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY

Tonight Fuse will broadcast an edited version of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Alice Cooper, Tom Waits, Dr. John, Darlene Love, Neil Diamond and Leon Russell were all inducted at this year's ceremony. There were some great speeches and performances, from what I heard, so check it out!

For those of you on Twitter - on Monday night during the actual ceremony, it seemed that people were Tweeting using the hashtag #rockhall2011.  But I think tonight during the broadcast, the hashtag is #fuserockhall.

Hopefully, there will be some people using #rockhall2012, debating who they think should get in next year!

ALICE COOPER: A REAL LIFE TESTIMONIAL

In the next week or so, there will be a lot of writers and artists talking about the importance of this year's inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But I thought that I would try and do something a bit different: find people who are huge fans of the inductees and get them to share why they mean a lot to them.

When I first came up with this idea, the first guy I thought of was my friend Randy, who I worked with at Concrete Marketing over a decade ago. Randy is the biggest Alice Cooper fan that I've ever met. I always had a respect for Alice, but I was more of a greatest hits person. Randy sat me down and explained just how important this guy was... not just to music but to his life. He made me realize that nothing Alice did in the past few years (or decades)- not any of his showbizzy moves, none of his bad albums - could take away from the impact of those early records.  Thank you Randy: now some of my favorite albums are Killer, Billion Dollar Babies and especially Love It To Death. Take it from here, Randy!

"So, I was 10 years old when I first heard Alice's 'I'm Eighteen' on the radio. It was WSHE in Miami where I lived at the time. Before then, I had only listened to my sister's old hippie bands; Crosby Stills & Nash, Vanilla Fudge, Neil Young, NRBQ, etc. I remember leaning toward the radio in the backseat of my Mom's Mustang (no seat belts back then), to try and hear what this guy was screaming about. It was something about being 18. Or something like that. The song stuck in my head for days until I heard it again and asked my older sister who it was. "Alice Cooper." What? That's not a chick singer! From then on I was hooked. I saved up 6 bucks from chores and stuff and bought the record, Love It To Death.

I wore the grooves out on that thing. Then came Killer and School's Out. And finally I got my chance to see Alice in concert, live and in person. Saturday, April 21st, 1973 at Pirate's World in Dania Florida with Flo & Eddie opening, I have the ticket framed and on my office wall to this day. That show changed my life! I was 12 years old. The next day I talked my Mom and Dad into buying me a guitar and an amp at a pawn shop.

Even my Mom says I was never the same. I wore ripped up clothes, grew my hair even longer than it was and even started wearing eyeliner. I had a bit of trouble in school having my hair over the collar but I was a straight-A student at the time and my Mom defended me. She won but I was pretty mad and felt betrayed by the school. She wouldn't defend me over the eyeliner and in the school dress code it say no heavy or inappropriate makeup. It didn't mention gender at all. Hmmmm... Next day I showed up to school in a sundress. Wow! What a reaction! The dress code said nothing about boys wearing girls clothes but they thought it more aproppriate to have me see the school counselor in lieu of attempting any punative measures. I guess I won that one!

Later on at about 14 or 15, I got it in my head that wanted to be an alcoholic... just like Alice. Every pic I saw of him had that ever-present can of Bud. Fortunately, I just didn't like beer so I was spared the trauma of teen alcoholism. Just goes to show what profound influence these rock stars had over us kids.

I moved to New York City when I was 18 so I could hang at Max's Kansas City and play in a band. I've always been the 'flamboyant one' and I never forgot what I learned from Alice. I never really lost my love for those early Alice Cooper records all the way up to Muscle Of Love. Even at 50 years old people call me "trouserboy" because I wear lot's of rock star lookin' pants... all because I heard that one song on the radio all those years ago."

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: THIS YEAR'S ROCK HALL INDUCTEES

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am ET, I can be heard on SiriusXM OutQ's The Morning Jolt With Larry Flick, talking about music. Tomorrow, I'll be talking about this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.  The induction ceremony is Monday, but it will air on Fuse Sunday, March 20 at 9 pm.

This year's inductees include Alice Cooper, one of the most influential artists in hard rock, metal, punk and glam. Alice will be inducted by Rob Zombie, who is a good choice (alternatively, I would have thought Lady Gaga would have made a weird bit of sense, but she would have taken attention away from the entire ceremony). Last year, I listed Alice (and that's the Alice Cooper Band, not just the singer) as one of the artists who should be inducted this year, and I'm glad it happened. See my beginner's guide to Alice here, and stay tuned for a guest post from an Alice fan... well, he's not just a "fan," his entire life was changed by Alice Cooper.

Tom Waits, who brings the essential element of "weird" to rock and roll. He is sort of a "left-field" pick, but no more so than Leonard Cohen or The Velvet Underground or Frank Zappa.  Like Alice, Tom Waits is someone I really hoped would get in this year. Neil Young is going to do the speech about Tom. You know I'm a huge Neil fan, but that honor should have gone to Primus, in my opinion. See my beginner's guide here, and stay tuned for a testimonial from a friend of mine.

Dr. John, representing New Orleans, and rocking piano players.  Beginner's guide and testimonial coming up. John Legend is doing the honors: I am a fan of John's, and I'm sure he'll do a great speech.  I would have gone for one of his peers, like Bonnie Raitt or Jimmie Vaughan.

Darlene Love, one of the great unsung singers!  I know Little Steven campaigned for her, but Bette Midler is doing the honors.  I'm sure that will be a phenomenal speech! See my very simple beginner's guide here, and get ready for a short, sweet, rock star guest post about Darlene.

Neil Diamond, who I have said I don't think belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Songwriters Hall of Fame?  No question. I just don't see him as rock and roll. I have written about the guy and given him credit, so there's no hate there. Paul Simon handles that speech.  My friend, musician/filmmaker/media executive Benjamin Wagner, will be writing a guest post on what makes Neil great.

And finally, Leon Russell, who is getting the Award for Recording Excellence (which replaces the Sideman category). Obviously, Elton John is speaking about him (by the way, Elton guest hosts Saturday Night Live April 2, and is the musical guest along with Leon).

 Next week on Larry's show, I'll discuss who I think deserves to be inducted in 2012.

ALICE COOPER - A BEGINNER'S GUIDE

In the next few weeks, I'll be posting testimonials to this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees by fans. I've got a friend whose life was changed by Alice Cooper, and I am really looking forward to reading what he has to say about Alice.

But right now, I'm gonna give a little bit of a guide for people who are just getting into Alice.  By the way, the induction will honor Alice Cooper the band, not just the man. So, it's Alice (aka Vincent Furnier), guitarists Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith. With no disrespect to Mr. Furnier, the best music Alice Cooper made, in my mind, was with the original band.

The Compilation: Mascara and Monsters: The Best Of Alice Cooper. It came out in 2001, but only goes up to his '80s era comeback single, "Poison."  Still, if you want to get just one Alice collection, this is probably the one you want.

The Classic Albums: 1971's Love It To Death is a garage rock classic. It has one of the band's biggest hits, "I'm Eighteen," but it also has the more epic "The Ballad Of Dwight Fry," which showed the ambitious direction Furnier would later take his music in.  Later in 1971, they released Killer, another classic, which has "Under My Wheels." It's a great hard rock song, but the horn section shows that Alice wasn't really conforming to any rules of hard rock. 1972's School's Out had more of a Broadway/showtunes type influence.  1973's Billion Dollar Babies is also incredible. Finally, 1975's Welcome To My Nightmare is the first album that didn't feature the original group, and is probably the best post-group album.

The Box Set: The Life And Crimes of Alice Cooper, a 4 disc set, came out in 1999, and covers Furnier's entire career up until then, including his pre-Alice Cooper bands The Spiders and The Nazz (not the same one that Todd Rundgren was in).  It has hits, album tracks, previously unreleased stuff and rarities. The book that comes with it is awesome: there's a great forward by John Lyndon, and testimonials from Penn Jilette, Wes Craven, John Carpenter, Slash, Elton John and Bono. If you're looking to get into Alice and want to drop a bit of cash, this is the way to go.

ALICE COOPER, TOM WAITS, DR JOHN AND DARLENE LOVE - CONGRATS

Well, congrats to the next class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees:   Alice Cooper, Tom Waits, Dr. John and Darlene Love. And Neil Diamond.

I'm glad that Alice Cooper is finally being inducted, and it is the band and not just the man who are being included. It was one of the greatest bands of the early '70s: the late Glen Buxton on guitar, Michael Bruce also on guitar, Dennis Dunaway on bass and Neal Smith on drums.

Alice (the band) doesn't get enough credit because Alice (the man) kind of "sold out" early on, in the '70s, when it wasn't cool to do so. He did Hollywood Squares, The Muppet Show, etc. and more recently has shilled on commercials for office supply chains. But facts are facts, the original Alice Cooper (the band) influenced everyone. Not just heavy metal and glam rock, and yes, their silly bastard son hair metal. But also punk rock: The Sex Pistols, The New York Dolls and The Ramones, to name a few. Alice (the man) never felt the need to follow the orthodox rules of rock and roll, he also loved show business and decided not to sweat it. Listen to 1971's Love It To Death and Killer, 1972's School's Out and 1973's Billion Dollar Babies, all with the original band, they're amazing. Even Alice's first "solo" album, 1975's Welcome To My Nightmare, is great. I like some songs since then, and I won't front like I don't love the hair metal-ish "Poison" from 1989's Trash. And his recent anthem "Keeping Halloween Alive" is awesome. Alice Cooper would have been my #1 choice on my ballot if I were a voter.

Tom Waits is one of the only artists who has gotten weirder as he has gotten older, instead of the other way around. I've said this before, but I think that "weird" is an important part of rock and roll, and Tom Waits brings the "weird" like no one else. Of course there have always been a lot of artists who try and get by on "weird." But the thing about Tom Waits is, he has an incredible catalog of great songs. Artists from Rod Stewart to Sarah McLachlan to Bruce Springsteen recognizes this and has covered his amazing songs. Trends? If he's even aware of any, you wouldn't know it. Although he occasionally works with younger artists (notably kindred spirits Primus, on their classic collab "Tommy The Cat"), he's not really looking for what's hip. He seemed old even when he was young, and only seems to occasionally intersect with rock music. But he is sort of a big part of "alternative rock" in my mind. Not "alternative" in the marketing sense of course. But as an artist who rocks, but is going in a different direction than everyone else. Tom surely would have been on my ballot. A lot of people who love Tom, their favorite album is something from the '70s or '80s. Mine is 1999's Mule Variations. If I were a voter, I would have absolutely voted for Waits, and I would have done it long ago.

New Orleans is always cited as a big influence on early rock and roll, but other than Fats Domino and Allen Toussaint, I don't think there are many New Orleans artists in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But the good doctor isn't getting in as a token for the proud city. Don't believe it? Start with his debut, Gris-Gris, it is bad ass. He is combining more traditional R&B with psychedelic rock, kind of like a New Orleans version of what so many other rock acts were doing. Younger fans may recognize the song "I Walk On Guilded Splinters," which was sampled by Beck on "Loser." Another great one to check out is 1972's Dr. John's Gumbo, which has one of his more famous songs, "Iko Iko" (like most of the album, it is a cover). The album is a great introduction to New Orleans music, and I imagine that it did, in fact, introduce lots of people to these songs, just like Eric Clapton introduced people to the blues. He still makes great albums: 2008's The City That Care Forgot and this year's Tribal both are rockin'. If I were a voter, I would definitely have thought about voting for Dr. John.

Darlene Love, well that's an interesting one. You hear her a lot these days, because in December you hear lots of Christmas songs, and she sang one of the best ones ever: "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" (later covered by U2). She was an important part of Phil Spector's "wall of sound," singing on "Da Doo Ron Ron Ron," "He's A Rebel" and "Today I Met The Boy I"m Gonna Marry." Artists love her: she's sang backing vocals for Elvis, Cher and U2. Some people know her best for her acting: she played Danny Glover's wife in all four Lethal Weapon movies. Little Steven loves her, and I'm pretty sure he campaigned for her this time around. Well, good for him and good for her. Artists like her who were around at the beginning don't need to have a huge catalog, but when the songs they did count as much as Darlene's did, I guess that makes them Hall of Fame caliber. I look forward to Little Steven's speech about her!

Neil Diamond? I won't put the guy down, and I don't contest that he belongs in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. I just don't think he's rock and roll.  I'm sure Robbie Robertson campaigned for this, and while I really admire Robbie, I don't usually agree with his taste.  Yes, Neil plays guitar and is backed by bass, drums and etc. But for my money, LL Cool J and The Beastie Boys are way more rock and roll, and they should have been voted in. Well, maybe next year.  The Red Hot Chili Peppers should get in next year also, so maybe it will be a rocking ceremony.

HALLOWEEN ROCKS: ALICE COOPER

So, you want to dress up as a badass looking rock icon for Halloween, but don't want to be the zillionth person dressed as a member of KISS? Try one of their influences, soon-to-be-Rock-and-Roll-Hall-of-Famer Alice Cooper! (at least he'd get my vote!)

It's actually a bit easier than KISS: all you need is some black makeup for your eyes (and the lines from your mouth), get a top hat and you're good to go! For added effect, a cane would help, and even a fake snake (using real snakes or any other real animal as part of a costume is definitely NOT cool, so don't do it!).

Also not cool: dressing like an artist whose music you aren't familiar with, so let me make some recommendations here. If you're just starting out, there are a lot of Alice collections to choose from , but go with the 2001 Rhino collection Mascara and Monsters. If you want to go deeper into some classic albums, I'll recommend 1971's Love It To Death, 1971's Killer, 1972's School's Out, 1973's Billion Dollar Babies or 1975's Welcome To My Nightmare.  And if you want to go really deep, pick up the excellent box set, The Life & Crimes Of Alice Cooper. Of his more recent stuff, I enjoy 2005's Dirty Diamonds. And one of my favorite things he's done was his Halloween single that he released last year, "Keepin' Halloween Alive."

ALICE, LL, B-BOYS AND WAITS ON THE ROCK HALL BALLOT

Well, it's that time again!  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced the artists that are on the ballot this year, and they include:


Alice Cooper - and judging by the photo at the Hall's website, they are referring to Alice Cooper the group, not just the frontman. That includes guitarists Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith. Rightfully so: the music wasn't as good once the original band split up. But the stuff that the original band did was incredible and influenced not just hard rock and metal, but punk and glam. Alice happily "sold out" years ago, and did so before everyone else was OK with being in commercials and on TV shows, but that has caused people to take him less seriously (in my opinion). But the band's early music is just incredible.

LL Cool J, one of the first artists on Def Jam, and he's still there today. I don't know if he is still considered relevant, but he was relevant longer than anyone else in the genre. And if you get him mad at you, you don't want him taking to the mix tape circut, he maybe be a Hollywood actor these days, but he will hand you your head. Obviously I'm not one of those people who think "rap isn't music" or "hip-hop shouldn't be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame." To me, LL is more rock and roll than lots of inductees.

The Beastie Boys is one of my favorite groups of all time, although they can be jerks. But they definitely deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. Their evolution has been amazing - from hardcore punks to Run-D.M.C. type hip-hop to a new kind of hip-hop on Paul's Boutique to playing hard rock and instrumental funk. And even their evolution from punky brats to semi-responsbile activists who retain a sense of humor... there's never been anyone like them, and they have at least four classic albums.

I've said this before, but Tom Waits is weird and "weird" belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I would have voted him in way before Leonard Cohen.

Also on the ballot: Dr. John, The J. Geils Band and Darlene Love, who I have no objection to. Bon Jovi, Neil Diamond and Donovan who I do have objections to. And also Chic, Laura Nyro, Donna Summer, Joe Tex and Chuck Willis. I would argue that the ballot should include KISS, The MC5, The New York Dolls, Motorhead, Warren Zevon, Emmylou Harris, Rush and The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: *MY* PICKS FOR THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME 2011

Last week, I said that I would be going on The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick on SIRIUS|XM OutQ on Friday instead of Wednesday.  That was the plan until I ended up on the disabled list and missing a few days of work.  Rest assured, I'll be talking about Jimi Hendrix on the show soon enough.

But this week, I'll probably be talking about this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. And also who *I* would vote for in 2011, if I were a voter. On one hand, I feel that with the long awaited induction of The Stooges, they can shut the door on the hall for a few years. On the other hand, there are lots of deserving artists, and here are a few who I would vote for. Please call in at 1-866-305-6887, or tweet @ Larry with your opinions! Below would be my ballot, with the expensive career retro, budget priced best of, and my favorite album by the artist.

First up is KISS. It's really easy to hate on them because of their crass commerciality and their marketing machine (although no one complains about Jay-Z's clothing line, sneakers, nightclubs, etc.). And because of the way Gene Simmons comes off in interviews. But I've said it before, I'll say it again: If you gave Gene and Paul Stanely a buck for every kid who bought a guitar or a drumset because of KISS, they'd double their earnings. Maybe the artists later decided that they didn't like KISS. But it was KISS that got them to start playing. That's influence.
If you have big $: Check out the The Box Set, released in 2001, which pretty much covers their entire career minus last year's surprisingly good Sonic Boom.
The best of: 2002's Greatest KISS, two discs that go through most of the non-makeup years. If you want to stick with makeup era, go with 2005's Gold (also two CDs) .
My favorite album: their self titled debut from 1974. They really had something to prove, and sounded really unified. My second choice would be 1975's Alive!

Actually, I'm not sure Public Enemy will be eligible next year: their debut album, Yo, Bum Rush The Show, came out in January of 1987, but I think a lead single may have come out in '86, which I think would make them eligible. But if anyone deserves to get in early, it's Public Enemy, and yes I know a lot of people don't think hip-hop groups should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. To me, Public Enemy is rock and roll played on different instruments. They are punk and they are metal and they are blues and they are rock and roll. In the late '80s and early '90s, everyone was influenced by them, or scared of them, or both. And by the way, they still make great records, but since those records often criticize today's hip-hop culture, hip-hop writes them off as old and out of touch. Sorry, you don't get off that easy.
There's no P.E. box set, nor a career-spanning best of, but a good compilation is 2005's Power To The People and The Beats: The Best Of Public Enemy. It covers their Def Jam years.
My favorite P.E. record? 1988's It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back. It's one of the best records of all time. But 1990's Fear of A Black Planet is amazing also, and so is Apocolypse '91: The Enemy Strikes Black, but by then hip-hop was already moving on to the next thing.

Alice Cooper. And by "Alice Cooper," I mean Alice Cooper on vocals, guitarists Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway on bass and drummer Neal Smith. When they started, it was a band, and it was a great band. People don't take Alice seriously for some of the same reasons they don't take KISS seriously: he started out as a scary badass, and later got more commerical and cartoon-like. He was on Hollywood Squares, The Muppets, and played golf. He embraced showbiz. He was scary, but fun-scary. Still, he influenced all of the early punk bands (especially The Sex Pistols and The Ramones) but also lots of heavy metal artists and rock and rollers as well.
If you have big $: get the 1999 4 CD box set The Life And Crimes Of Alice Cooper.
The Best-of: go for 2001's 2 CD set Mascara and Monsters: The Best Of Alice Cooper.
Best album: tough one, I like 1973's Billion Dollar Babies, but also 1971's Love It To Death, 1971's Killer, 1972's School's Out and the 1975 "solo" album Welcome To My Nightmare.

I've been talking about Bill Withers a bit lately, I just think he is so... maybe not "underrated" but definitely under appreciated. If you only know his big hit singles, trust me on this one. Dude has got lots of great songs, and is a great song interpreter as well. I think if he was on Motown or Stax he would have gotten more props. He's one of the great soul/R&B singers of all time. Trust me.
There's no Bill box set that I know of, but never mind that, we all need to check out the documentary Still Bill The Movie. But for a best-of, go with 1994's Lean On Me: The Best Of Bill Withers.
My favorite album would be his debut, 1971's Just As I Am, followed by the follow-up, 1972's Still Bill. Also 1973's Live At Carnegie Hall.

Tom Waits is weird, and "weird" is important to rock and roll. Not everyone is weird, and not everyone has to be. But when someone can combine "weird" with great songwriting, it's a wondeful thing. Combine that with a great presentation and a unique voice? Well, that's Tom Waits. I was late to get into Waits, and I still don't "get" all of it, but his stuff blows me away. He's the only artist I can think of who keeps getting weirder.
Tom Waits doesn't have a box set, but if you have big $, pick up 2001's Used Songs, which covers his early era on Elektra, 1998's Beautiful Maladies and which covers his middle era on Island. There's no real compilation for his latest, and really great, period on Anti-, the imprint of punk rock label Epitaph Records.
My favorite album however, is his Epitaph debut, 1999's Mule Variations. I know most people choose older albums, but that's the one that really hooked me on him. The fact that he did such an incredible album a quarter century into his career blew me away.

The New York Dolls, I was a latecomer to them as well. I sort of got into them via frontman David Johansen's SIRIUS radio show, The Mansion Of Fun. The Dolls influenced Guns N Roses and they influenced The Smiths. Come on! I like their recent reunion albums. But all you really need to have is their 1973 self-titled debut album.

Of course, there are so many other bands who I think should get in: The Cure, The Beastie Boys, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bad Brains, Black Flag, Warren Zevon, Emmylou Harris, LL Cool J, Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, Peter Tosh, Motorhead and The MC5 to name a few. But as of this moment, the above are the artists I would vote for if I could vote tomorrow.

SLASH'S ALBUM SOUNDS PRETTY COOL

In September, I wrote about how Dave Grohl is playing on Slash's upcoming solo album. Also guesting on the album: Flea, Chris Cornell, most of Guns N' Roses (other than Axl, obviously), Iggy Pop, Cypress Hill, Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, Meat Loaf and Adam Levine of Maroon 5. And Fergie. And Nicole Scherzinger, the girl who (allegedly) actually sings for the Pussycat Dolls. This should be a cool album, Slash deserves it after having to deal with Axl and then the guy from Stone Temple Pilots.

ALICE COOPER PUTS WIMPY INDIE ROCK ON BLAST

Alice Cooper's take on Vampire Weekend is pretty funny.
He was psyched when he heard there was a band called "Vampire Weekend." I mean, it's a pretty cool band name. But then when he heard the band he couldn't believe how wimpy and lame they sounded. I pretty much felt the same way. What a waste of a cool name! Check out this interview at Noisecreep.

A VAMPIRE MOVIE THAT HOPEFULLY WON'T SUCK

No, a goth hasn't hacked into No Expiration to talk about the next Twilight film. I wanted to inform everyone about the upcoming film, Suck: it's a vampire flick that somehow involves the music industry, which has long been rumored to employ bloodsucking freaks. But the reason I'm looking forward to the film, even if it does, er, suck, is because of the cast: Henry Rollins plays a radio DJ, "Rockin' Roger," vegan restaraunt owner Moby plays "Beef Bellows," frontman of a punk band called The Secretaries Of Steak, Alice Cooper plays a bartender, Iggy Pop has a role, and in a move sure to confuse the hip elite, Alex Lifeson of Rush (and co-star of the film Trailer Park Boys: The Movie) is also in the film. And so is non-musician Malcolm McDowell, from Heroes, Star Trek: Generations, numerous superhero cartoons and yes, A Clockwork Orange. Even if the story isn't great, this promises to be a great "guilty pleasure."

"WE WISH YOU A METAL XMAS"

Let it be known that a metal Christmas album is coming out soon. It has a lot of hair metal dudes on it, but the cool thing about the album is a cover of Chuck Berry's "Run Run Rudolph" featuring Lemmy, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top and Dave Grohl. Now that's a frakkin' supergroup.

Also on the album: Alice Cooper singing "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town," Ronnie James Dio (with Tony Iommi) doing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and Doug Pinnick of King's X singing "Little Drummer Boy."

HE'S BACK - THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK

Ok, maybe it's wrong to start a post about Alice Cooper's next album, Along Came A Spider, with a headliner quoting one of his worst songs ever. Whenever Alice is about to release a new album, I hope that it will be good - but if often isn't. Like KISS, Alice may have diminished the power of his brand through doing corny stuff and making weak albums.

Which is a shame: like KISS, he's made some incredible albums that have changed the course of rock and roll. Not just metal, but punk, garage rock, "alternative," etc. He absolutely should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's just that he was one of the first sell-outs in the eyes of fans. He was doing Hollywood Squares back in the '70s. Right or wrong, it's hard to take someone as seriously as you used to after that.

But he's a really cool guy, and is extremely intelligent, and he's a huge music fan. So I hope this album is good.