We're All Getting Old...

It's been 30 years since the Recording Academy screwed up and gave the best hard rock/metal Grammy to Jethro Tull instead of Metallica. Jethro Tull won for their album Crest of a Knave.

I've never been a Jethro Tull fan. I just don't get them. I went to high school with a guy who was an absolutely rabid Tull fan. His dad was a fan and he passed that love on down I suppose. I remember going to school after the bizarre Grammy win and Aaron being so pumped. We were so incredibly young back then, but I was already obsessed with music and so were a lot of my friends. I'm talking like 4th grade here. We would watch MTV after school and loved all the Glam bands we still talk about here today.

On this day in 1989, the very unheavy Jethro Tull win the first Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, beating out Metallica. pic.twitter.com/M4HODTRBnV

— Monsters Of Rock® (@MonstersOfRock) January 22, 2022

This Show Excites Me - But I Won't Be Going

It's been awhile since a special package tour or one-off show has really excited me. Metallica, Ice Nine Kills and Greta Van Fleet playing together in Las Vegas definitely caught my attention. The show will be at Allegiant Stadium on Friday, February 25. Unfortunately the tickets are bonkers expensive. I'm talking the bottom level tickets are like $325 each, plus fees. There are no regular Ticketmaster seats left, just "verified resale" which means crazy high prices. Add in the cost of travel plus trying to avoid the current COVID surge (who knows how long it's going to last at this point), I won't be seeing this dream show live. If you are going, know I am so jealous and I demand a full rundown of the event.

Beyond honored to be opening for @Metallica on February 25th at @AllegiantStadm with @GretaVanFleet. We’ll see you Psychos in Vegas.. Tickets available at https://t.co/mvIRSRzIoy pic.twitter.com/swr4wYcv3w

— ICE NINE KILLS (@ICENINEKILLS) January 19, 2022

Sunday's Best: Week 1, 2022

Welcome to Sunday's Best, where we talk about the best of... something! There will be a new topic or list each week. This week, the best commercials featuring hair metal and rock bands!

Metallica - AOL - 2003

Geico - featuring RATT - 2020

Warrant - Rockline - late 80s probably

Aerosmith - The Gap - 1999

Alice Cooper - Marriott - 2002

KISS and Little Kiss - Dr. Pepper - 2010

... and the best memory of them all... when CDs and cassettes were advertised on television! Monster Ballads Hit Collection. - Circa 1999

Metallica Announce 40th Anniversary Free Concert Stream

TIGF - it's been a really long week.

I'm on a Metallica kick right now. I've been listening to them more than normal and really enjoying their songs all over again. Imagine my pleasure when I see the big announcement of a free streamed concert on Amazon Prime - and you don't have to be a subscriber to watch. 

Here's the release about the free concert:

It’s almost here… our 40th anniversary celebration is right around the corner! We’re looking forward to hitting the stage in San Francisco at Chase Center with so many of our friends visiting from around the globe those two nights next week. While we wish each and every one of you could join us, we know you can’t all be in the house. So we’re incredibly excited to announce that our friends at Amazon will be streaming both shows live, as they happen, worldwide and for free!

Kicking off our partnership with The Coda Collection, the exclusive free, global live streams on December 17 and 19 will start at 9 PM PST / 12 AM EST / 6 AM CET / 2 PM JST. No matter where you are those nights – or depending on your timezone, the following day – you’ll be able to watch live from home or on mobile via Amazon Music, Amazon Music’s Twitch channel, and Prime Video (with or without Prime on-demand viewing Membership). The shows will then be made available exclusively at The Coda Collection/Prime Video Channel for subsequent viewing in 2022.

In between shows during the weekend, you can continue your virtual 40th anniversary experience with the “SF Takeover Film Fest,” including Cunning Stunts and Orgullo, Pasión, y Gloria: Tres Noches en la Ciudad de México at the Coda Collection/Prime Video Channel. The 40th anniversary live stream and films are just the beginning as The Coda Collection will include a full slate of concert films, documentaries, and other nuggets, all airing on the channel exclusively throughout 2022. We’ll be joining an impressive array of artists, including the Foo Fighters, Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead, and many more featured on the streaming service.

Get information on Metallica 40th Anniversary LIVE and sign up for a tune-in reminder on our official Coda Collection page. And if you’ll be in San Francisco, view the complete list of in-person Metallica San Francisco Takeover activities. If you can’t make it to the Bay Area, watch the live shows Amazon Music or Amazon Prime Video.

Is The Metallica MasterClass Worth It?

MasterClass is an online subscription service that offers classes from top performers in about any field you can imagine. Now Metallica has a class that teaches us regular mortals "how to be a band." I didn't know this class existed until I heard an ad for it on satellite radio today during my coffee run. I was like "Whoa, that's cool" and made a mental note to check it out when I had some time today.

The trailer definitely looks interesting. I don't know if I would get anything out of the course because I am not in a band, but I suppose watching the videos would still be entertaining. I think MasterClass is $15 a month. I really don't need - or want - another monthly subscription charge, but I would be curious if anyone has done this course and their thoughts on the value.

Happy Thanksgiving - A Lars Ulrich Toilet Exists

Happy Thanksgiving, my fellow Americans. For a lot of us, this is a favorite holiday. What isn't to love? Tons of food and football!

Some guy named Prince Midnight created a special toilet out of plaster. It is in the shape of Metallica's famous drummer Lars Ulrich. Yep.

Get this: the toilet is going in a public place. There's a bar called The Brass Mug in Tampa, Florida and the toilet will apparently be ready for use there next weekend. Happy Thanksgiving, indeed!

The Lars toilet. Installed and fully functional. Available for public use Dec 3 in the bathroom of Brass Mug during the @princemidnightx concert. Be there! Hail Lars! #larsulrich #Metallica #toilet #bathroom #art pic.twitter.com/4b5bBC3EuD

— Prince Midnight (@princemidnightx) November 24, 2021

The LARS ULRICH Toilet Is Real, And I Want to Use It https://t.co/GPtp8M3Hl9 pic.twitter.com/PGGNxqeqcB

— Metal Injection (@metalinjection) November 24, 2021

H/T Metal Injection

Best Road Songs

There's nothing quite like a road song. I had MTV Classic on in the background while working yesterday and Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive" came on. Of course, the song is one of the best about being a rock band on the road. I decided to make a list of my favorite road songs. Let me know what you think!

Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead or Alive

Bob Seger - Turns The Page

Asking Alexandria - The Road

Metallica - Wherever I May Roam

Allman Brothers Band - Ramblin' Man