1991: The Stars of the Music Industry Collide

1991 was a landmark year in music.

Just to give you an idea of how important it was:
Nirvana - Nevermind
Metallica - Metallica
Pearl Jam - Ten
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Guns & Roses - Use Your Illusion I & II
REM - Out of Time

Yes, it was THAT big. Many of these artists' biggest albums came from this year alone. These were the albums that made these artists household names. Most of these artists still exist with the exceptions of Nirvana because of Kurt Cobain's 1994 suicide and REM, who just called it quits on September 21st of this year. Most, if not all of these artists, are in consideration for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame if they aren't already in it (Metallica & REM).

What makes this year so special aside from all of these major albums being released is that it seems as if this was the industry at its finest moment.

Rock wasn't the only genre that was dominating the charts (though this is also one of the last times we would see so many rock acts dominate the chart).

Mariah Carey (Emotions), Michael Jackson (Dangerous), and Garth Brooks (Ropin' The Wind) (all among the top selling artists ever) also released major albums this year. Don't worry MC Hammer, Spin Doctors or Color Me Badd, we didn't forget about you guys (though I'm sure some of us would probably would like to).

Think of all of the tributes that just came out for Nevermind recently. All of those acts coming together for just one artist. One album.

The very reason Metallica can put out an album like Lulu is because of the self-titled, the best selling album of the Soundscan era and the inspiration for me listening to rock music in the first place.

Pearl Jam just recently celebrated their 20th anniversary with a documentary the likes of which you'd expect from National Geographic.

Red Hot Chili Peppers released their 10th studio album, I'm With You, in August achieving #1's all over the world.

And Guns & Roses...exist.

Many of the songs from these albums that came out 20 years ago are played almost sounding as relevant today as they did back in 1991, getting played as much as songs that are popular in 2011. All because of 1991.

My questions to readers would be:

Of all of the albums that are listed here, what album that came from that year influenced you the most?

Will there ever be a year as big in music as 1991 ever again? Is there a year that you feel was bigger sales/influence wise?

CFW Rocks Resurrected!

I've decided to resurrect CFW Rocks, an old blog of mine in which I recommended artists to listen to.

I'd been doing some writing for Sidestage, but because that site has gone under, I am claiming this website back!

CFW Rocks will feature a mixture of the old CFW Rocks and Sidestage. Not only will I recommend new rock artists to listen to, I will also write about things about the music industry that interest me and will hopefully interest you as well.

I'd like to thank my friends, more specifically Matthew Hahn and Tracie Boyle, who both got me to start blogging my thoughts in the first place, Mike Herman who I've recently worked with on Emurg, and Jay Rushing who thought I was talented enough of a writer to take over Sidestage.

Thank you for keeping me going.

The Dubbies

I get excited about the Grammies every year 'cause I'm a music geek like that. I get disappointed about the Grammies every year. So, I decided why not make my own, with a bit of my own personal flair and music taste. 

I called them the Dubbies not 'cause of dub music, but because of my initials CFW. I don't expect anyone to agree with my choices for nominees or the winners, but I'm using this as a musical litmus test with my friends to see how close or far I am to another person's musical taste.

So here goes nothing...this is the first time I'm doing awards based on my personal taste rather than just ranking them.

The first category is:

Christian Rock Album of the Year.

Christian Rock has become more secular in reach than ever before. I'll admit, I'm not the most religious person in the world, but some of the stories of the songs from these albums always inspire me to become a better person of faith. That being said here are the nominees.

Flyleaf-Memento Mori

Thousand Foot Krutch-Welcome to the Masquerade

Red-Innocence and Instinct

Decyfer Down-Crash

Skillet-Awake

The winner of the Christian Rock Album of the Year is: Flyleaf-Memento Mori.

Flyleaf's Memento Mori is a great record about faith. I listened to the stories about the songs such as Treasure and Arise and even though it was released late in the year, the messages of faith reflect so strong on this record. If you read the liner, it gives you a "story within a story" of why those songs were written. If you haven't heard the record, I suggest you do whether you are of faith or not.

The next award goes to EP of the Year.

EP's are a bite-sized record. They may not have enough material to feed your hunger, but they'll give you just enough to where you want more. That being said, here are the nominees.

David Hodges-The Rising

Deepfield-Limited Release E.P.

Fireflight-Unbroken & Unplugged

The Letter Black-Breaking the Silence

Skindred-Shark Bites & Dog Fights

The winner of the EP of the Year goes to David Hodges for The Rising.

David Hodges, the oft-forgotten former member of Evanescence has been making a name for himself in recent years, songwriting for artists such as Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry, and David Archuleta. After an unfortunate end to the Trading Yesterday project, Hodges found himself back on his feet and back on a record label putting out his first new music in 3 years. Even with only 3 songs and 1 instrumental, his material proved strong and I am personally waiting with baited breath for the next group of songs.

Our next one is Music Video of the Year.

Music videos are being considered a "dead art" as music videos barely get play on Viacom's network of music channels (MTV, VH1, BET, CMT). However, watching these 5 music videos this year have made me realize that while they may not be shown on those channels, great music videos still get made and judging by these 5, they are diverse in theme and mood.

The nominees for Music Video of the Year are:

Framing Hanley-Hear Me Now (2nd version)

Seether-Careless Whisper

Alice in Chains-A Looking in View

Rise Against-Hero of War

Lacuna Coil-I Like It

The winner of the Music Video of the Year is Alice in Chains for A Looking in View.

Alice in Chains marked their comeback with this nearly eight minute video that is about as disturbing as the first time I saw the movie Requiem for a Dream. It is equivalent to that movie in music video form. Each person in the video has an issue and finds different ways to deal with them and not always in the most positive way. That's a part of what draws you into this video from the very beginning.

The next award goes to Ballad of the Year.

Based on my musical tastes, the last thing you may hear out of my mouth is the very word "ballad". However, there is plenty of music that is as intense as it is beautiful and I would ask that you seek to listen to these songs as they are amongst the most beautiful songs I've heard this year.

The nominees for the Ballad of the Year are:

Alice in Chains-Black Gives Way to Blue

Hana Pestle-Need

Red-Never Be the Same

Breaking Benjamin-Anthem of the Angels

The Leo Project-A Perfect World

The winner of the Ballad of the Year goes to Hana Pestle's Need.

Throughout 2009, the independent artist attempted to rally the troops to get her song onto the now platinum certified Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack. While the actual attempt was unsuccessful, Need garnered over 2 million streams this year. Mission accomplished. As a result, Hana has gained enough of a name to tour the country throughout this year, which is difficult for an independent artist in and of its self.

The next award goes to a song that doesn't end. Yes, it goes on and on my friends. It's the Epic of the Year, awarding the best song that clocks in at over 5 minutes.

The nominees are:

Alice in Chains-A Looking in View

Green Day-21 Guns

Muse-Uprising

30 Seconds to Mars-Kings & Queens

Red-Nothing and Everything

The award goes to Muse for Uprising.

Muse is the most underrated mainstream rock act in the United States of the decade and this song and many others are the very reason why Muse not only deserves to be played here, but headlining stadium shows as they have in their home land. For being over five minutes, this song is extremely catchy and actually danceable unlike a lot of songs of its length.

The next award is for the Best Remixed Song.

The nominees are

Paramore-Where the Lines Overlap (Acoustic Version)

Red-Nothing and Everything (Fight Inside)

Lacuna Coil-I Like It (Das Basslaster Mix)

Fireflight-Unbreakable (Unbroken & Unplugged) (Acoustic Version)

Chris Cornell-Long Gone (Howard Benson Remix)

The award goes to Red for Nothing and Everything.

The song "Fight Inside" was stripped down, slowed down and turned into this amazingly beautiful ballady track to give it a more dramatic flair. It's truly a different song when you hear the original "Fight Inside" on the album.

The next award is meant to celebrate the best covers of the past year.

The nominees are:

Chris Daughtry-Poker Face (Lady Gaga)

Paramore-Use Somebody (Kings of Leon)

Seether-Careless Whisper (Wham!)

Framing Hanley-Lollipop (Lil' Wayne)

The Leo Project-Broken Wings (Mister Mister)

In This Moment-Call Me (Blondie)

The award for cover of the year goes to Framing Hanley for Lollipop. The actual cover was released last year, but didn't get put onto the re-released album until this year. Anyway, Lil' Wayne is probably my least favorite rapper. I just can't get into his music, even if I tried. Framing Hanley took the song, made it their own by implementing a taste of their signature single "Hear Me Now", and somehow stayed true to the original.

The next award is for Solo of the Year.

The nominees are:

Creed-Overcome

Five Finger Death Punch-Hard to See

The Leo Project-Half as Good

Orianthi-According to You

Pop Evil-Hero

The winner of the Solo of the Year award goes to Orianthi for According to You.

You wouldn't believe it, but a pop song has a better guitar solo in my opinion than all of the hard rock songs that I put on this list. Orianthi is also the only female on this list, proving that it doesn't matter what sex you are, you can excel as a musician with any instrument. The simple fact that this lady is making waves because of the fact that she plays guitar as unbelievably as she does is why she gets this award.

The next award goes to the other part of musical DNA, the riff.

The nominees for Riff of the Year are:

Flyleaf-Beautiful Bride

Creed-Overcome

Hurt-Wars

Red-Shadows

Three Days Grace-Break

The winner of the award goes to Creed for Overcome. When Creed came back together, I was extremely skeptical that they would ever come back and regain the hard rock fans that they'd alienated with Human Clay and Weathered. This song made a fool out of me thankfully and I'm glad that I can finally have a Creed song to listen to without feeling like a wimp.

And now we're getting to the biggest awards of the night.

The first award goes to Female Vocalist of the Year

The nominees are:

Angelina DelCarmen-Charetta

Lacey Mosley-Flyleaf

Hayley Williams-Paramore

Sierra Kusterbeck-VersaEmerge

Hana Pestle

The winner of the Female Vocalist of the Year goes to Hayley Williams of Paramore. Hayley has evolved in a mere four years, starting off as a talented teenager and is now a seasoned veteran. In that same amount of time, the band went from playing in small clubs to headlining shows in select arenas. The future of Paramore is hopefully bright, much like their bubbly, yet thought-provoking music.

The next award is for Male Vocalist of the Year.

The nominees are:

J. Loren Wince-Hurt

Tyler Lyon-The Leo Project

Ben Burnley-Breaking Benjamin

Michael Barnes-Red

Chris Daughtry-Daughtry

The winner of Male Vocalist of the Year goes to Michael Barnes of Red. This band does get a bit of respect, but not quite enough in my personal opinion. Michael Barnes' vocals on Innocence & Instinct are another I-word: impeccable.

And now for the Big Four. These are the most important awards, just as the regular Grammies.

The first of the Big Four to be given out is Best New Artist

The nominees for Best New Artist are:

Don't Wake Aislin

The Leo Project

Adelitas Way

Rains

Papercut Massacre

The winner of the Best New Artist is The Leo Project. It's hard to be unsigned, but don't tell The Leo Project that. They spent the better part of the past year playing shows with bands like Flyleaf, 10 Years and fellow new artist nominees Adelitas Way. They also opened the ginormous Rock on the Range festival. If you still don't know who they are, you've got all of 2010 to start. They're going to be huge.

The next award goes to Record of the Year.

I spun these songs more than any song over the last year and they are ingrained in my head perpetually.

The nominees for Record of the Year are:

Alice in Chains-Check My Brain

Sick Puppies-You're Going Down

Breaking Benjamin-I Will Not Bow

Hurt-Wars

Chevelle-Jars

The winner of the Record of the Year is Hurt for Wars. It is a song that is as powerful as it is beautiful. As unfortunate as it was that Hurt got dropped from Capitol, their music has been better and more diverse than it has ever been. For a hard rock band to have so many influences in their sound and even in this song (from the classic rock riff to the classical cello to even country storytelling at points), it speaks volumes that this song is my Record of the Year. Now crank it to 11!

We now go to Song of the Year, an award that goes to the best written song...lyrics, music, etc.

The nominees are:

Ben Moody-10/22

Dredg-I Don't Know

Flyleaf-Again

Red-Never Be the Same

David Hodges-When It All Goes Away

The winner of the Song of the Year goes to 10/22 from Ben Moody. October 22nd, 2003 marks the end of the Ben Moody-era of Evanescence. This song damns himself and the world around him and we're all the better for having heard it. Many people have been waiting 4 years to hear this song and while it's different from what everyone expected, it is also better than anyone could have imagined.

The last award is the big one. The Album of the Year.

In a world where the album is also considered a dying art, it's nice to know that these five albums keep the art of making an album alive.

The nominees for Album of the Year are

Ben Moody-All For This

Ben Moody's album appeared as shockingly as he left Evanescence six years ago. Few could have imagined his album to sound as it did but many were pleasantly surprised that he did something as different as it turned out.

Breaking Benjamin-Dear Agony

Breaking Benjamin's fourth album proves that less is more sometimes. They didn't reinvent the wheel, but they sure as hell made it run better. The sound didn't change overall, but with help from Jasen Rauch of Red and the songs fueled by Burnley's private battle with alcoholism and the loss of his grandfather, this new set of songs gave them the popularity in the rock world they so richly deserve by giving them the highest sales week of their career.

Hurt-Goodbye to the Machine

When a band gets dropped from a major record label, a band tends to change for the worst or end outright. Hurt turned around and put out their best album to date. This is an album that, as I've mentioned in an earlier blog post, could be played seamlessly with the greatest grunge-era albums of our time.

The Leo Project-Every Song Reminds Me...

The Leo Project's new record proves that unsigned artists can put forth works that are just as good or better as signed artists. You couldn't tell they're unsigned on the basis that they toured the country for about half of the year and this record proves that they're growing and can even improve on this with time.

Red-Innocence & Instinct

Tradition and technology collided when this album dropped in February. An album that was loosely based on the epic Dante's Inferno, Innocence & Instinct lived up to the viral hype that surrounded it. This album proved that there's no such thing as a sophomore curse.

And the winner for the 2009 Album of the Year is Red for Innocence & Instinct.

Live Review: The Senate (10/21/09)

I haven't really had the luck of seeing a band that I've featured on here live more than once aside from Charetta and this group.

I hadn't seen The Senate in over a year and it was very different from what I'd seen the first time.

This show took place from the world famous S.O.B.'s. It was an interesting experience.

Whereas most of the shows I go to feature hard rock, this one was more of an r-and-b, nu-soul, gospel event.

For those who aren't into urban music, you're in for a real treat if you had the opportunity to go there. It features live music, which should erase the stereotype of urban music largely containing effects and samples. No matter what genre you listen to, there is nothing that can beat live music with live instruments.

That being said, let's fast-forward to about midnight that night. The Senate came on to a modest crowd playing tracks from Return to Democracy, an EP that largely deals with the concept of social change.

The first time I'd seen The Senate, it was a bit more raw.

This time, it was more refined and polished probably due to playing more live shows.

Instead of more than one vocalist, it was clear that Michael "Kellz" Coppola was the lead this time around. "Kellz" was schizophrenic, switching between Gerard Way vocals on "The Legend of Franquoix" (their single) to Jay-Z on "Madison Square" to Pharrell on "Changes". Much like N.E.R.D., The Senate was somehow able to switch genres from song to song (and sometimes within the song) seamlessly.

The part that struck me the most about this show didn't feature any notes. It was when Coppola went on stage and mentioned that his grandfather had passed away. He flew to Florida and back to New York City before the show started. They could have easily cancelled the show, but they soldiered on and the show went on as scheduled. It's a testament to their dedication for their fans and their craft. You have to respect that.

An idea for female-fronted bands...

A couple of months ago, I made a superlist of female-fronted bands and this just crossed my mind.

Keep in mind, this may not be a completely new idea, but read on anyway.

As you guys are well aware, there's a Rock on the Range festival every May in Columbus, Ohio.

I was thinking of having something similar, but just for female-fronted or even all-female bands. Kind of like Lilith Fair, but a little more badass.

It would be held in October and it would either be a one-day two stage event or a two day event. Proceeds from the concert would go and benefit Breast Cancer research.

For argument's sake, let's make it a one-day two stage event...

1st stage: Evanescence, Paramore, Flyleaf, Halestorm, In This Moment

2nd stage: Lacuna Coil, Hey Monday, Fireflight, The Letter Black, VersaEmerge

and perhaps a surprise guest or something like that.

I don't even know what you would call it. I jokingly said the Ovarian Woodstock, but I'm sure there's something better and I figure it'd be a great idea. If it got even more popular, perhaps a CD/DVD of the event with the proceeds again going to Breast Cancer research.

Hey guys, what happened last night? (A.K.A. The Death of MTV Part Deux)

This entry is going to be quite long, so pack your patience! 

In part because of what I blogged about below, I made sure to miss the MTV Video Music Awards. It has nothing to do with the artists. 

I just feel that MTV is not the "be all end all" for music videos anymore as they only show about 3-5 hours of actual music video programming a day. Don't worry, none of the other video music stations are any better at this point.

I didn't bother to watch. 

Last night, I'm between watching the Bears and Packers and online when I see a slew of comments about Kanye West. "Fuck Kanye West", "Kanye West is an asshole" and the like.

Within a half hour of the show's start time, Taylor Swift went on stage to accept her Video Music Award for Best Female Video for "You Belong With Me" and Kanye did...this.

3 million hits later, it's been the only thing people have been talking about relating to the VMA's and it got me to thinking.

Could this have been staged? I originally thought I was crazy, too. However, there's a lot more to this story than meets the eye.

Kanye West has showboated his way through awards shows since at least 2004 when he was up for Grammies as an artist for the first time. Nothing has changed in those five years. He has badmouthed MTV and the artists that play on MTV year after endless year and they keep inviting him to awards shows. Why? Because he likes the attention and MTV wants that attention.

My personal feeling is that Kanye probably did it because the producers asked him to do something crazy and spontaneous. Why else would they have let him on stage? He wasn't up for that award. Had it been any random person, they would have been escorted out before they even had a chance to finish. Security would have been there. But, he's Kanye and MTV loves Kanye.

Why do I think the producers did it? There are many reasons actually.

1. Look at the reality programming on MTV. The Real World, The Hills, and the like all exist for drama. Everything is edited in such a way to paint a picture and tell a story, because nobody wants to see a bunch of 20 somethings scratching their asses and doing nothing...they want to see drunkenness, sex, and fighting!

2. Something like this happens at MTV awards shows all the time to give people something to talk about. Just think about the Eminem/Sasha Baron Cohen situation. But MTV would never just fake something, right? Jerry Springer was a part of MTV's Spring Break way back when to promote his new movie Ringmaster when a fight broke out on his show. Days after it aired, Newsday posted an article with the party in question admitting that they put on a staged act.

3. Kanye gave The Insider something to put on their show the next day. Listen to the people that are there going about their business.

4. Beyonce's being seen as a classy lady. I totally believe that she is. She's the queen in shining armor for Taylor Swift and everybody was applauding what she did. However, she's worked in the business long enough to know how Kanye is and she probably has the bargaining power to work with who she wants to...so why is it that she's re-releasing I Am...Sasha Fierce with one of the singles off of it featuring Kanye West? I don't know. Maybe, I'm selfish. Badumbumchhhh...

Jay-Z knows how Kanye is and how he acted last night, embarrassing his wife and yet...he still let 'ye perform on The Jay Leno Show.

Still far-fetched? OK, maybe it isn't staged, but MTV allowed it to happen.

Kanye West has continued to do this at every single awards show, many of them related to MTV. Why keep inviting him when you know he's going to do this? It's MTV and they want the attention. If they don't have that "coffee talk moment" the next morning, it's perceived as a failure. 

Personally, I see it as a failure that they can't do an awards show on the credibility of the artists that they play.

A one liner history lesson of the last decade of VMAs:

1999: Lil' Kim's boobylicious dress.

2000: Tim Commerford's climb to the rafters.

2001: Britney dancing with a snake.

2002: Eminem and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.

2003: "The kiss."

2004: Welcome to Miami...booooooring.

2005: Fat Joe and G-Unit.

2006: Panic at the...fuck was that?

2007: The worst comeback of all time!

2008: The best comeback to the worst comeback of all time...and purity rings!

In just about every year, you wind up seeing at least one thing that you'll wind up talking about that may actually have nothing to do with the music at all.

It's the #1 show they have every year because of this and...big surprise, their ratings increased this year by 17%.

MTV has plenty to gain from this and from what I've seen...they already have.

The Death of MTV (no, really this time)

For 12 years, MTV lived at the center of the world...Times Square.

At the end of this year though, MTV's time has run out.

MTV had an iconic brand name when it moved into Times Square.

They built a couple of shows around it at the beginning such as MTV Live and MTV News 1515.

Then, they got a little edgy. They started to host New Year's shows from Times Square and a tradition was born.

Then came Total Request Live. Even if you hated it, you couldn't deny the impact it had on the bubblegum pop era of '98-'04.

It broke Britney, Christina, Backstreet, N*Sync, Hanson, LFO, and O-Town (for Christ sake).

But they also had their fair share of artists that broke the top 10 that didn't quite fit the norm from artists such as Incubus, P.O.D., Deftones, and AFI.

Ever since 1992, MTV had been considered a pioneer for groundbreaking reality television with The Real World. They'd been good at it, so why stop there, right?

Well, 17 years later, reality has killed the video star. All those dating shows, all those shows about yo' momma, and all of those shows about do-nothing, know-nothing 20 somethings took over the very thing that defined MTV. Music videos were shoved to late nights for insomniacs.

Not only that, but the era of the Internet has brought on the I-Pod and Youtube and has effectively made MTV less and less of a tastemaker because there are so many other avenues to watch your favorite music videos.

Digital television has also allowed people to see music videos whenever they want to on demand.

The only time this year that MTV really made music videos its focus was after the death of Michael Jackson.

I used to be excited for every MTV VMA's. I don't remember anything from the last three.

Maybe I'm just getting old and past the MTV age, but it's disconcerting to see a channel that I used to go to music for become almost completely musically irrelevant. 10-15 years ago if you didn't have a video you didn't matter as an artist.

In some ways, it's actually gotten better to become noticed, but I can't help but get those nostalgic feelings that go back to that age.

You can't tell me that in this age that people all own a music player and download music all over the Internet that people aren't passionate about music. If anything, they want more.