Dear U2...

...this is insanity.

http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/large.jpg

But I'd be happy to own it if Bono will give it to me for Christmas.

With love for (most) everything you did pre-1998,
Wil(liam)

Not music related...

Remember how I plugged myself the other day? Yeah, I hated that too. What I don't hate is plugging someone else. In this case it's our good pal JT, who has recently started up a history blog, Visiting the Tennessee Governors (and Other Adventures).

There you'll read about his exploits paying respects the graves of all 50 (dead) governors of Tennessee (which isn't nearly as easy as it sounds, but definitely ten times as fun) as well as other outings to presidents' graves, Civil War battlefields and other such things. Since I'm a history dork on top of being a music geek, I'm bound to pop up from time to time, so go check it out and become a friend and a follower.

More Fun with Covers, Cutesy and Dark

I don’t think I’ve made as big of a deal about it here, but anyone who (unfortunately) follows my personal Twitter account gets a reasonably frequent dose concerning my affection for Black Sabbath. (e.g. I probably like Black Sabbath more than I like you.)

Now I am not a diehard fan, focusing pretty much on the Ozzy years and more recently Dio’s early 80s stint, but I’ve heard most of their stuff and found something to appreciate amidst some of the more questionable output. And being a fan of Sabbath, I’m naturally a reasonably big fan of both Ozzy and Dio solo, though again focusing primarily on early/classic output.

So there’s that.

Now I’m going to jump genre ships completely and bring up the Cardigans. Anyone who remembers them at all will likely only know the one song that made them one hit wonders in the mid 90s, Love Fool. And as much fun as that little slice of fluff pop is, it really in no way represents what the band was doing, especially early on. Their first three albums were basically what I would call “lounge punk,” combining elements of pop, jazz and metal into a laid back but engaging blend that sounds really like nothing else before or since (that I’ve heard anyway). The focal point for all of this was Nina Persson, whose cutesy voice and persona made the rather odd mix more immediately attractive; yet her presence was more than just a pretty face to look at, as she was equally part of the creative mystique that made their early albums so interesting.

You may or may not know that Sweden, where the Cardigans are from, is pretty immersed in metal – both dark and heavy. As much as I love Swedish bands of many types, their brand of metal is often way too black and foreboding for me. Anyway, having said that, it’s not really a surprise (at least I don’t think) that the Cardigans would pay tribute by covering some of the masters of metal not only live but on album. They are as follows:

Black Sabbath – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

Black Sabbath – Iron Man

Ozzy Osbourne – Mr. Crowley

So brilliant are the Cardigans with their interpretation of these songs that anyone not familiar with the originals would assume it was just another quirky and cool tune of their own. Likewise, those even well versed in these dark classics would have to catch the occasional vocal melody or guitar lead and say, “Oh, wait a minute…RAWK!!!” Iron Man especially, with that instantly recognizable riff, is so far removed from the Black Sabbath version that it’s almost a completely different song.

This is seriously a wonderful mingling of traditionally opposing genres and, most importantly, what doing a cover should encompass; that is taking the song and completely making it your own. So thanks for this, Cardigans. Or as you would say in Swedish, “Tack!” And look out, kids…Mr. Crowley is done live and a cappella. I KNOW!!

Shame, shame, shame...

I sorta hate this sort of plug, but my wife suggested I create a Twitter account, so I have. She'll help me with how to code a link from here later (I can barely do this blog, so that type of coding is not happening), but for now you can do a search for gwilt73 and join my legions (lesions) of followers.

Some of you folks whom I know personally I've already started following in hopes of a follow back, but apparently there have been issues with the notifications, so if you're interested, just look me up. And if not that's cool, you're just dead to me. I'm kidding (sorta).

I'll mainly be tweeting my latest posts, but also hope to do an album of the day and maybe a couple of other things, but I promise not to overload your feed with stuff...that's what my personal Twitter account is for. Right, Paul? Paul?

New Music

Well, Kristian Matsson, aka The Tallest Man on Earth, is back again, if briefly, with a new track for the Adult Swim singles series, Weather of a Killing Kind. As many of you know, I pretty much think Matsson is a godsend to contemporary music (with an old school twist) and this offering is just more proof of his worth. Enjoy it again and again.