There are 168 posts filed in CAT (this is page 1 of 24).
The Spaceman has left us. Like E.T., he came into our lives, enriched them, got drunk, and returned to his home planet. “Space Ace” was a character. Everyone in Kiss was a character, but the Spaceman always felt like the most irreverent, carefree, and fun member of the band.
It’s been a rough year for rock star deaths. Just this summer we’ve lost Brian Wilson, Sly Stone, Ozzy Osbourne, Mick Ralphs, Bobby Whitlock, and George Kooymans, to name a few. One name that almost slipped by me was the passing of Supertramp founder Rick Davies, who died on September 6th from multiple myeloma at the age of 81.
Alas, we bid farewell, as the Prince of Darkness has finally taken his throne in Hell. Ozzy Osbourne, who probably should have died in 2003 after being crushed by his quad bike, or in 1978 when he challenged David Lee Roth to a cocaine duel, or during his self-reported “40-year bender” that lasted until he got sober around 2018, has died.
This weekend I will see KISS in concert for the first (and almost certainly last) time. 2018 marks the beginning of their “End of the Road” tour, which will see the longtime rockers/sell-outs trekking across the world and gracing their fans with 40-year-old rock songs in what will supposedly be their last tour ever. To say that there’s any kind of wish fulfillment in seeing this band live would be a bit generous, considering I’ve always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with KISS. And I’m not sure there’s any better example of this love/hate relationship than 1977’s Love Gun, arguably the last “classic” KISS album. Continue reading
Is Rage Against The Machine any good? This is a question I’ve often asked myself ever since listening to them as a mid-‘oos high schooler. The answer then seemed to be “yes”, though it may have been partly because they were a fun band to groove along to when I was first learning to play drums. However, they seemed much less good during the late ’00s/early ’10s of my college years, which may have been due to my budding indie rock snobbery. Meanwhile, they’ve sounded pretty darn good to my ears the last two years. Which is to say, how good this band sounds may all be correlated to the political climate of the time. Continue reading
This year has marked not only the 30th anniversary of Sub Pop Records, but also the 30th anniversary of this seminal debut release by one of the label’s signature bands. So it seemed like ample time to talk about Superfuzz Bigmuff, considering the venerable Seattle record label is celebrating it’s anniversary in a big ‘ol free concert in theirs (and my) hometown this weekend, which Mudhoney will be performing at. Now, I know I am kinda fudging the prerequisites of “Classic Album Tuesdays” by writing about an EP. But considering Superfuzz has been re-released multiple times over the years in extended versions that reach album length, it seemed ok. Especially when it seems as good a representation as any of the sludgy, energetic records that Sub Pop first made its name on. Continue reading
When given a chance to comment on Parachutes in 2006, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin said “We know that’s terrible music, and we always try to think about what we can do next.” Nonetheless, two years later I still made it my first C.A.T. (and one of the few any of us would do on an album from the 21st Century). Three years after that, a spambot commented on that post “I am not sure where you’re getting your information, but great topic. I needs to spend some time learning much more or understanding more. Thanks for great info I was looking for this information for my mission.” Perhaps I can help.
