Monthly newsletter 2023
#6
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INTRODUCTION
HIGHLIGHTS
A very definite highlight this month was that TSORR jumped another position on Feedspots Top 35 Rock and Roll podcasts. TSORR is now Top 10!
https://blog.feedspot.com/rock_and_roll_podcasts/?feedid=5328472
Another highlight this month was the Rock Review. We run a feature on Rebel Rock Radio called Rock Review. Most of the presenters participate and the idea is to take a band or artist and review their work, background etc in 60 min. It is tough to do. Sixty min is not long when you are reviewing the greatest bands in the world. The bar was raised sky high this month when I chose Neil Young. Somehow, I managed to choose 12 songs from the 43 studio albums he has released. You can catch it on the TSORR podcast site. If you like the Rock Review concept you will find quite a few on the TSORR podcast site, Metallica, Bowie, In Flames, My Chemical Romance, Thin Lizzy, Bruce Springsteen, Rush, Foo Fighters and, ACDC to name a few. You can also hear Rock reviews every weekday between 10h00 and 11h00 on Rebel Rock radio www.rrr.cat.
ULTIMATE CHALLENGE
Each week we look at four albums from a particular year, the idea is you are only allowed to have one. In May we looked at 1986, 1978, 1990 and 2011.
The Ultimate Challenge is turning out to be an amazing part of the show, it is highlighting just how much good Rock there is and also giving us pause to reflect on albums that are both timeless and in some cases lifechanging. Personally, when we looked at 1978 I had a story for each track played and I could say where I was and what I was doing when I heard it. I am sure most people have a year like that. I hope you do.
We have covered 16 years so far in The Ultimate Challenge and by the end of the year we will have done 83% of what I plan to cover. A best of The Ultimate Challenge may be a cool feature for the end of the year. Let me know if you think The Ultimate Ultimate Challenge could work.
1986
1986: You Give Love a Bad Name (Bon Jovi), Good Enough (Van Halen), Wasted Years (Iron Maiden), Battery (Metallica). After a bit of a wrangle and three changed votes Metallica was the winner.
1978
1978: Running With The Devil (Van Halen), Exciter (Judas Priest), Long Live Rock and Roll (Rainbow) and Riff Raff (ACDC). In the end there was just no way Van Halen could not take this. When we do then year end round up of The Ultimate Challenge there is a good chance it will be declared The Ultimate Album
1990
1990: Painkiller (Judas Priest), Thunderstruck (ACDC), Hanger 18 (Megadeth), Empire (Queensrÿche). Due to some technical problems Pantera – Cowboys from Hell stood in but it didn’t stop Queensrÿche taking the honours.
2011
2011: Coming Down (Five Finger Death Punch), Different Devil (Chickenfoot), This is Gonna Hurt (Sixx A.M.), Arlandria Foo Fighters). The Foo Fighters took this one quite easily, Chickenfoot took second place.
THE IMMORTALS
The month kick off with ‘Night Train’ a track off Steve Winwood’s wonderful Arc of a Diver album. I bought this album after seeing Steve play Night Train on Pop Shop. It was the solo that caught me
We also took a listen to Metallica’s masterpiece ‘The Day That Never Comes’. This track off the Rick Rubin produced ‘Death Magnetic’ album was a reminder of how great Metallica are. It is also relevant as I feel like I am living it at the moment 😊
Episode 20 was a logical follow on from the Rock Review mentioned in the Highlights section. If I had played Neil Youngs ‘Cortez the Killer’ we would have used up 11% of the time allotted so it was held over for the Immortals the same week.
The final track for the month on S6E21 was an amazing track called ‘Down in the Sewer’ by The Stranglers off their extraordinary 1977 debut album Rattus Norvegicus. It was and remains a reminder of just how far ahead The Stranglers were musically from the rest of the Punk pack they were lumped in with by the UK music press.
NEW RELEASES
Buckcherry released another track as did Greta Van Fleet, we played the tracks but will talk more about them when the whole albums drop.
Thanks to drummer extraordinaire Mike Portnoy for introducing me to Marvellous 3. There is nothing better than finding a band you missed and getting a chance to hear a whole lot of albums in one glorious deep dive. We checked out ‘Grant Park’ off Ready, Sex Go and Freak of the Week off the album called Hey! Album. Butch Walker on guitar and vocals is very special. He is more famous as a producer and his list of credits is phenomenal. I am going through a Butch Walker phase at the moment so be warned.
IT’S WHAT YOU SAY THAT COUNTS
Shawn Morgan just has a way of saying things, you could make a book of one-liners from his lyrics. Last month we took notice of his lyrics in ‘Same Damn Life’ and here is another example from ‘Watch Me Drown’. Wouldn’t things be better if we just “let the shit go”.
WATCH ME DROWN
I wanted to forget how you swallowed me whole
I wanted to suggest we let the shit go
Seether, 2014 (S6E19)
I think you guys may be thinking I am overdoing it on the Dave Hause lyrics, but then tell me who is doing it better at the moment, check this one out.
LOW
You came around when I had my sparkle on
I had the shimmer and shine of a three drink buzz
But the fog rolled in the middle of the happy hour
Like it sometimes does
Like it always does
Would you love me when I’m low?
My get up and go must have got up and went
Like the elves quit the workshop inside my head
Would you be the fountain when I’m the drain?
Be the rainbow prism in the driving rain?
Climb the mountain to the top of the pain?
Dave Hause, 2023 (S6E20)
And then we have Marvelous 3:
GRANT PARK
There’s a little story that you’re gonna adore
Kinda like the lost scene on the cutting room floor
It’s all fun and games til you get a black eye
You’re down in the sewer askin’ all the rats, “why?”
You can live & love & lie & cheat if you wish
But you know that’s about as tacky as a satellite dish
On a hot pink house with a burgundy door
With cigarette butts all over the floor
I don’t think my stomach’s gonna take anymore
Butch Walker, 2000 (S6E20)
SOUTH AFRICAN SCENE
Our first interview of the month was with Liaan Horten of The Color Blew. Liaan has one of the best voices in SA rock, he has a versatility that is rare and plenty of power when required. The band released a new single called ‘Love In Space’ on Friday 11 Mar and TSORR got a sneak preview and permission to play it just before the launch. I interview Liaan and asked him about the track and how things were going in general. You can catch that interview and the song on S6E19.
On S6E20 I had a really fun chat to Peter Toussaint of Fourth Son South. He told us about their brand new single ‘The Moon’, check it out its really good. Here is a link to everything Fourth Son South:
CHEERS @#$%’s
The May shows discussed in this month’s newsletter can be heard on S6E18 – S6E21. Feel free to drop me a message on The Story of Rock and Roll Facebook page or via email at thestoryofrockandroll1@gmail.com.
For those of you who are new to TSORR here are the quick references to find The Story of Rock and Roll Radio Show:
THURSDAY’s Live on Rebel Rock Radio from 19h00 – 22h00 South African time. www.rrr.cat
FRIDAY’s on Bulldogs Radio [6:00]-[7:00] PM catch TSORR Turbo https://bulldogs-radio.com/, respectively.
PODCAST: The three-hour show is available as a podcast on most popular podcast sites, including Apple, Overcast, Castbox, and Google, or get it here at the host site https://www.buzzsprout.com/273305.
TSORR PLAYLIST: For Spotify junkies you can get TSORR Best of the Month playlists at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6dfJz2DNDh6z5UswxTpmSZ
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/TSORR1/
Best regards and take care.
James