We Will Rock You

FROM WWW.SPINNER.COM:

In a move that is likely to set headbangers frothing at the mouth with rage, one-time Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash has defended his decision to use Black Eyed Peas‘ vocalist Fergie to sing on a new version of his former paymasters’ global smash ‘Paradise City.’

The pop singer joins Cypress Hill — famed purveyors of beats and blunts — on the new rendition which appears as a b-side of the Japanese edition of Slash’s new single, ‘Sahara.’

Standing his ground, the cork-screw haired plankspanker was moved to write on his Twitter account saying, “Until now, not too many people have heard Fergie sing rock & roll but she sings it better than most dudes I know. She’s a screamer at heart.

Quite whether the track is set to appear or not on the guitarist’s forthcoming album, ‘Slash and Friends,’ remains to be seen Scheduled for a release in early 2010, the record will feature guest appearances from Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Flea, Alice Cooper and the ever-busy Dave Grohl.

FROM WWW.SPINNER.COM:

In more than a quarter of a century of rocking, Jon Bon Jovi has seen all of the music industry’s well-publicized changes. So what does he see to be among the biggest differences? “It’s very hard. Radio is fragmented,” he tells Spinner. “There was Top 40 radio and DJs could be influential and you could make a career out of Philadelphia or Cleveland and you built to Chicago and all points west and north. That doesn’t necessarily exist.”

So are today’s artists at a disadvantage? “You got a poor kid that wins ‘American Idol‘ and then he’s expected to be on the same level or playing field as the Rolling Stones or U2 or Bon Jovi the next day. That’s not fair,” Bon Jovi says. “We were allowed to have the third album be the one that was the breakthrough record. I don’t know if a kid these days is ever gonna break 100 million in album sales. I don’t think that’s ever gonna happen again.”

So how does an artist make it today? Is it better to ride around in a van from town to town or do ‘Idol?’ “Well, both of them are good launch pads. Getting in the van, deciding who and what you are — there’s nothing wrong with that,” he says. But for those who win ‘Idol,’ it’s still ultimately about the music. “Of you’re brave enough to go on and win one of those ‘Idol’ contests, ultimately you better have the songs to back it up,” he says. “Chris Daughtry has delivered songs on two albums in a row. But I’m sure there are 10 Idols I can think of that didn’t do that or had a flash in the pan.”

Still, he has a lot of respect for those that go through the ‘Idol’ process. “It’s a very difficult spotlight to be in and a microscope to be under,” he says. “I couldn’t have survived it to be honest with you.”

FROM WWW.CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM:

The heated Classic Rock website debate continues.

Yesterday we asked the all-important question (or, alternatively, the not-important-in-the-slightest question): Bon Jovi – should we care?

Malcolm Dome reckons we should. In case you missed it, you can read Malc’s caring, sharing BJ opinion piece here.

Now Dave Ling presents his counter view. To wit: we most definitely shouldn’t.

Take it away, Dave!

Firstly, allow me to lay my cards on the table. I used to be a huge fan of Bon Jovi. I was among the first British followers to pick up on the band’s self-titled debut in 1984, catching them several times supporting Kiss.

For their follow up, 7800° Fahrenheit, my friends and I travelled around the country sleeping in the back of a van to experience multiple British shows. I was present at the famous Dominion Theatre gig in London (23.5.85) during which the power went off and Jon Bon Jovi kept the crowd – and his mother, in the royal box – entertained as the problem was fixed. JBJ saves the day… and he loves his mum – great stuff.

Nobody could deny the fact that Slippery When Wet (1986) and New Jersey (’88) remain among the classiest and enduring commercial rock albums ever made.

For myself and, I suspect, thousands like me, there were two things that caused things to go horribly wrong. In the first instance, JBJ cut his hair and lost the plot with Keep The Faith – its credibility-chasing title cut, at least.

Then Jon showed his true colours in a bust-up with Skid Row, the fellow New Jersey-ites that he and Richie Sambora had discovered and turned into stars by signing them to their Underground Music Company. When a disagreement over the spoils from the Skids’ album sales spilled over into a fistfight between JBJ and Sebastian Bach, the latter seemed to sum up his rival’s character by stating that too much of Jon’s time was spent “worrying how to how to turn a $69 million fortune into $71 million”.

The increasingly bland records that Bon Jovi would go on to make suggested that Bach’s assessment was right on the money. These Days [1995] was horrid. 2000’s Crush? Well, apart from the single It’s My Life (co-penned with Britney Speaks hitmaker Max Martin), the thing should darned well have been crushed.

Back in 1990, JBJ tried his hand at the solo market. Even with the help of Jeff Beck and Elton John, the resulting Blaze Of Glory was a prize turkey. Guitarist Richie Sambora, meanwhile, showed Jon up badly with the superior quality of his own record, Stranger In This Town, the following year. For the record, it has also been alleged that Sambora, unlike Bon Jovi, returned his share of the Skid Row money to the group.

JBJ has also tried his hand at acting – let’s just say it was a bad move.

In recent years, the credibility of Bon Jovi (the band) has taken one helluva pounding. 2002’s Bounce was a transparent and dismally doomed attempt to tap back into the group’s signature sound. Have A Nice Day (2005) had one good song – its title cut. Then the band ‘went country’ with Lost Highway in 2007. Pass the sickbag, pur-lease.

Now short-haired and lost in the champagne and stock exchange lifestyle that the band initially mocked – in 1985, they told Kerrang!: “We’re not 40-year-old guys with toupées that pretend believe in the kids, driving around in Ferraris and living in mansions. We know what it’s like to touch the kids in the first row” – JBJ appears to see himself as a celebrity-cum-political campaigner with an occasional sideline in music.

I’ve yet to hear the band’s new album, The Circle, but my old mate Malcolm Dome’s assertion that “it isn’t all that bad” damns it with such faint praise, I simply cannot rid myself of the mental image of JBJ counting the Zeros it will bring him.

After the final indignity of appearing on The X Factor – and being upstaged by JLS, of all people, who appeared with a bigger and better stage production later on in the same show – Bon Jovi are charging anything from £45 (for places at the back of the hall), to £200 (for floor-level seating) to an outrageous £1,275 (for those with a decent view of Jon Bon Jovi’s nasal hair) for tickets to see them during a residency – not an actual tour – at London’s O2 Arena. And despite all the moans ‘n’ groans in the newspapers, the added dates suggest that people are actually paying those prices… unbelievable.

In conclusion any band that elects to call their boxed set 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong can only be accused of unbearable smugness. Also, if the mathematics are correct, it’s a fairly safe bet that quite a few of those they refer to must be hearing impaired…

– Dave Ling

FROM WWW.CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM:

Steven Tyler might be back to old habits, say his Aerosmith bandmates.

Billboard is reporting that guitarist Brad Whitford is the latest member of the band to go public with his thoughts on the singer.

Says Whitford: “This guy has a tremendous history of drug abuse, and you have to be suspicious that this is something that’s probably going on with him. I have a feeling we might be looking at someone who’s just really struggling very badly.”

Whitford goes on to admit that Tyler’s behaviour in recent times “was becoming more erratic and unreasonable”.

All of which only leaves bassist Tom Hamilton left to comment on the situation in yet another episode of AeroEnders.

FROM WWW.CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM:

Chickenfoot are to premier their concert documentary Chickenfoot Live at selected cinemas on December 7.

It will be screened on HD and 5.1 Surround Sound. All very exciting, but this is only happening in America. Us poor Brits will probably have to wait until it’s released on DVD.

However, if you fancy flying over to the States and getting cooped up (geddit?!) in one of the local flea-pits, then check out ticket availability at www.sonyclubdates.com/chickenfoot.html

FROM WWW.CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM:

Anvil can put away those Oscar acceptance speeches, because they won’t be going to the awards next year.

There was a genuine expectation that the acclaimed documentary Anvil! The Story Of Anvil would make the short list for the Best Documentary award at arguably the second most prestigious awards ceremony in entertainment (behind the Classic Rock Awards, naturally). But when the 15 contenders were announced today – no Anvil.

Shame really. We’d have looked forward to seeing Lips or Robb Reiner sharing cocktails and discussing Metal On Metal with Jack Nicholson!