In the Hot Seat

It's human nature to think "I can do that job better than..."

Admit it: you've thought you could do a better interview, write a better review or break a story sooner than me. That's O.K. I get it. I look at magazines, newspapers, television shows all the time and think "This is how this story would be better and I know I can produce X, Y, Z with more pizzazz..."

I was clicking around radio stations yesterday when the same thought entered my head. I try not to be that way, but I swear, five bad songs in a row and I'm thinking "I can do this better!"

So, let's say you suddenly find yourself with the enviable job as program director for your local rock station. Yes, you have to abide by FCC laws regarding profanity. Program your first hour - for ease, let's say you need to pick 10 songs.

My picks for the first ten songs under the new regime of Allyson:

01. Motley Crue - Chicks = Trouble
02. Avenged Sevenfold - I Won't See You Tonight (Pt. 1)
03. AC/DC - Back in Black
04. Metallica - Master of Puppets
05. Aerosmith - Kings and Queens
06. Kix - Cold Shower
07. Girl - Hollywood Tease
08. Lynam - Losing Venus
09. Y&T - Summertime Girls
10. Arcade - Cry No More

I'm pretty proud of my selections. I think this is a nice cross-section of the different genres of rock and also has a couple deep cuts as well.

So, what is your first hour of programming? Remember to pick a nice, diverse list of rock tunes -- not just your personal favorites.

Livin' It Up

Sometimes you inadvertently find really cool things at the library. I had to return some books on my lunch break yesterday and I stopped to glance at the CD rack. I like to check out CDs to see if I want to buy them. (I'm sure you understand the importance of a test drive in this economy). Anyway, I found the Sammy Hagar disc Livin' It Up (Rhino/Cabo Wabo Music) and I grabbed it for a listen.

The 2006 album features 11 tracks, all (naturally) dealing with the carefree island life. Livin' It Up is a great summer vacation disc. Here are the songs:

"Sam I Am"
"Living on a Coastline"
"Mexico"
"The Way We Live"
"I Love This Bar"
"One Sip"
"Rainy Day Women" #12/#35
"Halfway to Memphis"
"Sailin'"
"Let Me Take You There"
"Someday"

It didn't take long for me to find favorites on this effort. I really like "Sam I Am," "Living on a Coastline," and "The Way We Live." I get sick of established rockers doing cover tunes, but Sammy's version of "Let Me Take You There" is pretty darn good, too.

Remember: this is beach music, rock style and that's how I like it, but I suppose some prefer the Beach Boys or Jimmy Buffett. I would be lying if I said I didn't look up a vacation to Cabo San Lucas after listening to this disc. In fact, I haven't booked my Jamaican holiday yet, so I might just switch and go to Cabo. I've always wanted to visit the Cabo Wabo Cantina anyway - I hear there is live music there every night. 

I think "The Way We Live" is probably the most rocking song on Livin' It Up. The lyrics are fun and true-to-life:

"I work hard for my money/
Wish I didn't have to work at all/
Sacrifice some things/
Can't live without another/
But we're going to Cabo in the fall."

Story of my life right there. I give up a fancy car for vacations and my Glam. I mean, you can't have everything and you've got to pick and choose in life.  I firmly believe that Sammy Hagar at Rocklahoma would have made great sense - he's a party host for summer after all! I guess it just wasn't meant to be...

Perhaps I'll bump into Sammy while vacationing in Cabo and give him a Bring Back Glam! hello!

Here's the video for "Sam I Am." Enjoy!

Are Box Sets Outdated?

Do you own box sets? I don't really have many. In fact, I think the only two I own are Aerosmith's Pandora's Box and Led Zeppelin's self titled 1990 set.

I was at a mall music store over the weekend and I wandered over to the box set section. There was nothing new and only one row of choices. When I was in high school, it seemed like box sets were very much in style.  Now...not so much and I guess this is because of file sharing and iTunes. Let's not forget that box sets are also a major luxury, collector's items...and truly expensive.

When Aerosmith released Box of Fire in 1994, I was mesmerized. My glam goodness, I wanted this so bad. I didn't get it and I still don't own Box of Fire and now it's out of print.  The set contains 13 discs and - at the time - was the definitive look at Aerosmith's career.

Perhaps that's another reason why the box set is failing: a hundred bucks and a few years later, the set is probably out of date. Still, box sets can provide a fan with a special experience, often containing rare or unreleased tracks, familiar hits and cool "memorabilia" like buttons, patches and replica posters or concert tickets.

So many music companies are looking for any way possible to make money these days and box sets are expensive to produce and tough to market. It's hard to get fans to drop a hundred bucks on some greatest hits plus a concert ticket and a T-shirt. Still, I hope we haven't seen the end of box sets. I always thought when I earned a little more money I'd begin collecting used box sets. For whatever reason time got in the way and I just haven't started my collection. I would hate for digital music to usurp the joy of unwrapping a CD or investigating a new box set for the first time.

Do you collect box sets?

Update on Monday, June 16, 2008 at 11:33AM by Allyson B. Crawford

UPDATE: I just bought Hollywood Rocks. Dropping $50 bucks on it about killed me, but I figured all of you have it...so it must be great!

Glam Dads

Happy Father's Day to the many Glam dads out there.

A lot of our favorite Glam heroes have kids - some have been honest about not being the best fathers while others are truly devoted to their kids. When I was trying to think of a song to talk about today, I had a really hard time coming up with anything positive... let alone Glam. In fact, I failed miserably.

There are all sorts of negative Glam songs about dads, especially Ugly Kid Joe's remake of "Cat's in the Cradle." That song is downright harsh. Do you think the negative tones are reminiscent of poor childhoods or just musicians blaming angst on their dads? Perhaps it's a masculine issue, too. There are so many positive songs about mothers...I feel there should be just as many about fathers. Someone - anyone - help me think of a positive Glam tune about dads. Please, don't suggest "Butterfly Kisses" though because 1) the song makes me twitch and 2) it ain't Glam.

In the meantime, here's my favorite musical dads - Aerosmith - performing "Love In An Elevator."

For a Change...Pretty Maids

Yesterday was truly mentally draining for about a million different reasons. Sometimes it takes some music I haven't listened to in awhile to bring me out of a funk. What was the cure? Pretty Maids.

Oh man, I'd forgotten how much I like this band! Pretty Maids formed in the early 1980s...with many lineup changes over the past 20+ years. I would say this band would make a nice replacement for Cinderella at Rocklahoma, but I know time is ticking and it's really hard to book a European band on such short notice.

I don't think Pretty Maids are necessarily 100% Glam -- they are more AOR, but still definitely in the vein of true 80s rock we all love.

I've never seen Pretty Maids live, but I know they've played with some huge names like Alice Cooper.

Let's watch Pretty Maid videos! Here's "Please Don't Leave Me."

Here's "Future World."

What do you think of Pretty Maids?

Check out more songs on the official Pretty Maids Myspace.

Traci Michaelz of Peppermint Creeps Dead

Traci Michaelz of the Peppermint Creeps has died while on tour in Texas. No other information is available at this time.

The Peppermint Creeps kept Glam going on the Sunset Strip throughout the 90s. Instead of just black eye liner and spandex, the Peppermint Creeps created an out-of-this-world persona, donning wild stage clothes to match an even bigger spectacle of a show.  

Michaelz also performed with Heart Throb Mob, Candy Apple Queenz, and the Glamvestite Vampires. Traci Michaelz was just 34 years old.

Farewell Tours?

I don't know about you, but I often find my mind wandering to odd thoughts during the day. Yesterday I was leaving work when the thought of Aerosmith doing a farewell tour crossed my mind. I swear - this is no exaggeration - I teared up a little. I truly worked myself into a tizzy over the thought of Aerosmith calling it quits. Then, I found myself wondering how many of the shows I'd attend on the farewell tour. As I (narrowly) avoided hitting a gaggle of geese in the company parking lot, I ran over the emotions I'd feel: excitement, sadness and longing.

Yeah, I'm nuts.

After I'd made it safely out of the lot (give me a break -- I work at a giant company so we have a huge parking area)  I started thinking about actual farewell tours. The ones that come to mind off the top of my head are Cher (who didn't actually retire), KISS (who didn't actually retire) and the Eagles (who didn't actually retire).

2008 brings a host of farewell tours. Some of the biggest goodbyes are for President Bush (yea!), George Michael (I'll be there!) and Paul McCartney (I'm skeptical this is his last go' round). Apparently AC/DC are planning a lavish farewell jaunt that will take them to all ends of the globe. When - and if - that happens, count me in!

I think farewell tours are more marketing gimmick than actual goodbye. Think about it: fans buy tickets for a "last chance" to see musical heroes rehash old tunes. I'm not so certain legacy acts, like Van Halen, Aerosmith or the Rolling Stones need farewell tours. They've been around for so long, true fans have likely had plenty of chances to catch them live. Since none of us knows when we're checking out, I suppose we should approach each day like our own personal farewell tour. Thoughts?

Here's Kiss performing "Beth" on their 2000 farewell tour.