May 2009 Archives

Now that we got your attention. This is not about music piracy. This is about the new album of Coldplay, which they are actually allowing people to download for free. I was happily checking the Trending Topics on Twitter when I saw Coldplay popping out. Curious, I clicked on the topic and was led to talks about free music from the band. So I went in and checked it out and found that it wasn't a hoax. But expect to wait because a lot of people are now downloading this free live album LeftRightLeftRightLeft from band, which incidentally, was slapped with copyright infringement by Joe Satriani (I wonder whatevery happened to that case). This free album was announced earlier as a gift to fans. According to Coldplay's website, this free live album is its answer to the economic crisis.

...the give-away is meant as a recession-busting mark of gratitude to everyone who's supported them: "Playing live is what we love. This album is a thank you to our fans – the people who give us a reason to do it and make it happen." The album was recorded over the past year in various cities around the world on the Viva La Vida tour. Its tracklisting is as follows: 1. Glass of Water 2. 42 3. Clocks 4. Strawberry Swing 5. The Hardest Part/Postcards From Far Away 6. Viva La Vida 7. Death Will Never Conquer 8. Fix You 9. Death And All His Friends

By Clarence Yu MR. Big, the hard rock supergroup that formed in the 1980's and yielded the hits "To Be With You" and "Green Tinted Sixties Mind" has reunited. The band is comprised of bassist Billy Sheehan (of Talas and David Lee Roth Band fame), guitarist Paul Gilbert (formerly Racer X), drummer Pat Torpey (formerly of The Knack) and singer Eric Martin. The group debuted with their eponymous album in 1989. This album laid the groundwork for their distinct sound: crunching, shredding guitars, precision-pounded drums, booming bass and raspy melodic vocals. Soaring choruses combined with crunch delighted fans of the band the world over. Wait. This sounds like almost every other band that blossomed out of the 80's under the rock/heavy metal genre. What differentiated Mr. Big from other bands of their time was the fact that all of the members had previous successful careers in their own right and that all of them had a knack for writing pop-sensible songs. Eric Martin's (who had a semi-successful solo career beforehand) vocals were rough but really melodic, as if he could pass off as Steven Tyler's younger brother. Pat Torpey was renowned as an excellent session drummer in his own right, outside of the rock circles. Sheehan and Gilbert in particular, known for their work as guitar virtuosos, had a chance to show their songwriting skill, and it showed. Their follow-up album Lean Into It (1991) yielded the number one hit (albeit acoustic) "To Be With You." With the onset of grunge, the band's popularity waned in the United States; however they maintained their popularity in other parts of the world, most notably in Japan, where their fan base is tremendously huge. Paul Gilbert left the band in 1997, replaced by another guitar virtuoso, Ritchie Kotzen (ex-Poison). The band recorded two more albums with Kotzen which were released to the Japan market before finally calling it quits in 2002. Rising tensions and solo ventures (as with all others) reportedly caused the break-up. However, the fact that they lasted this long as a supergroup was testimony that this was no fly by night effort. As of February 2009, the band had announced their reunion with all the original members intact. A tour of Japan is scheduled for June 2009, followed by a possible release of a live DVD. With so many rock revivals, reunions and cross-unions happening, Mr. Big might be riding on a bandwagon, but they are certainly worth your ride as well. Catch this YouTube video of their recent Japanese promotional TV performance of their 1991 song "Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy," and you might catch my drift.

By Clarence Yu In continuing with the "tradition" of band-centered video games in their Guitar Hero franchise, Activision has finally confirmed that Guitar Hero: Van Halen is currently in development and, according to a report from Joystiq, will be due for release hopefully by the second half of this year. Previous band-centered games in the Guitar Hero franchise include Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Guitar Hero: Metallica. In both cases, the band made a ton of money from game sales, while at the same time experiencing a boost in their album catalog sales. Arguably however, Van Halen might be a little more difficult to put down on a video game. First of all, Activision has confirmed that the game will only feature David Lee Roth era songs, which effectively narrows down the possible albums in the game to six: Van Halen (1978), Van Halen II (1979), Women and Children First (1980), Fair Warning (1981), Diver Down (1982), and 1984 (1984). The band had also recorded two new songs with Roth on 1996's Best of Volume I--the superb songs "Can't Get This Stuff No More" and "Me Wise Magic." Fans of the Sammy Hagar era might be disappointed in this choice. But, as most guitar purists would say, the Roth-era albums were more guitar heavy, while the Hagar era was devoted more to expanding Eddie Van Halen's "love songwriting" capabilities with keyboard/synth heavy songs such as "When It's Love," "Love Walks In," and "Why Can't This Be Love." These were the prime hits of the Red Rocker's era with VH. Second, is the question of who the bass player will be on the video game: will it be Mad Michael Anthony, or young Wolgang Van Halen, who replaced Anthony on the band's recent 2007-2008 concert outing? While Van Halen was always centered around the brothers Eddie and Alex, it can't be denied that Anthony's high-pitched back vocals, crazy stage antics, and tight, bottom end were part and parcel of the Van Halen sound and experience. And what to do with Extreme's Gary Cherone, the one-album singer (Van Halen 3, released 1998)? Will Michael Jackson make a guest appearance on "Beat It?" (Eddie Van Halen played the wild solo on Jackson's hit song). Third, Eddie's playing opened up a whole new dimension to the guitar world. His landmark instrumental, "Eruption," opened up a new generation of guitar players, centering on Van Halen's trademark (though not invented) hand-tapping fretwork, coupled with his signature whammy bar dive-bombs and the notorious elephant squeal. Can this be simply replicated on a plastic guitar controller by pressing a couple of buttons? With technology available today, perhaps it can, but would the gamer actually be able to learn these techniques on an actual guitar? Finally, Eddie Van Halen's playing has always been rooted in improvisation; his solos have always been off-the-wall, and, as a fan, I'd rather not see these solos conventionalized in a video game. I still get shivers whenever I hear any song off Fair Warning. Few things are more pleasurable than hearing the fret-slapping intro of "Mean Streets," or the unexpected jazz inspired solo of "Hear About It Later." I'd rather keep the sense of the unexpected rather than see it in a video game, but then, I remain hopeful that Activision can pull off a good job. I probably wouldn't play the game anyway, but it would be great to see the game-plays on YouTube while eating a bowl of brown M & M's. Eddie Van Halen has always cited Eric Clapton and Allan Holdsworth as his main influences, and I hope that he gives them due credit on this game. Gaming fans may re-discover Van Halen by buying his back catalog, but will they truly appreciate the genesis and roots of Eddie's talent? Perhaps I am hoping for too much. These may be the main challenges of Van Halen and Activision in developing the game to satisfy a rabid fan like me. Or perhaps, they just want to make a ton of money.