The year opened up on a very controversial note from KISS front man/Bassist Gene Simmons over his claim that “Rock is Dead”, which we covered previously in our article, “Kiss and Makeup”. Quickly The Godfather of Shock rock, Alice Cooper, jumped in on the conversation to dispute Simmons’ claim. Taking his stance that rock is exactly where it should be and will be on the rise again, Cooper shut down “The Demon’s” pessimism. Taking things one step further was Simmons’ fellow KISS member Paul Stanley, who publicly disagreed with the statement but seemingly brushed the claim to the side and continue on with the 2021 KISS tour.
Months later and the debate still rages on in the rock world as the famous outspoken front man of Twisted Sister, Dee Snider, has made his thoughts on the matter Crystal clear. Snider told Consequence, “I wish he would just shut the hell up on all of this but he doubles down on it.” Snider goes on to say, “All that shit, it’s so self-serving and self absorbed. It’s selfish!” Dee Snider is currently promoting his new single, I Gotta Rock (Again), which can be heard below!
Dee Snider Vs. PMRC
For those unaware, Dee Snider is no stranger to standing up for what he believes in. In 1985 Dee appeared before congress to state his claim opposing the PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center) for their efforts to control and censor music they deemed offensive. Snider dressed in your stereotypical torn black 80s rock attire, minus his usual drag makeup, appealed to congress in one of the most shocking and badass instances in music history. The well spoken and educated Snider floored the panel as well as lookers on as he gave his fluent and compelling speech as to why the censorship of music is damaging to the industry. In it’s long extensive history of live events, festivals, collaborations, and rebellion, Dee Snider’s testimony to Congress may be the most badass thing to ever happen in the history of Rock. You can check out the full video of Dee’s appeal below, and check out more articles like this one right here!
Notably one of the most notoriously famous songs for it’s interesting title and lyrics, Iron Butterfly’s In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida was the product of a night of over-indulgence. Originally intended to be titled “In The Garden of Eden”, the story goes, Vocalist Doug Ingle wrote the title on the demo copy as we see it appear now while heavily under the influence. Ironically enough, the record company tasked with producing the 17 plus minute track decided to keep the name as it sounded, “Exotic” according to SongFacts, which would help them stand out to the public alongside The Beatles and Rolling Stones who had been drawing from Indian influence.
Uneasy Rider
There’s no doubt in our minds Charlie Daniels is a hell of a musician and one of, if not the best, to ever pick up the fiddle! Now as far as a mathematician goes, maybe not so much. Let’s break down the set up to the Uneasy Rider fight scene for a second, “Jes’ when I thought I’d get outta there with my skin These five big dude come strollin’ in With this one old drunk chick and some fella with green teeth” so okay not five but… Six guys right? But hey, the benefit of the doubt, maybe one of those five just deserved some more explanation due to the natural color of his teeth. Now let’s fast-forward a few verses, “Now the last thing I wanted was to get into a fight In Jackson Mississippi on a Saturday night ‘Specially when there were three of them and only one of me”, so now it’s three guys? Charlie, buddy, I don’t want to call you a liar here but your epic tale of how you escaped hillbilly hell maybe a bit of a stretch, seeing as there are so many inconsistencies. Then again, math was definitely my worst subject.
Wish You Were Here
While not exactly an unintended “lyric” this iconic piece of Pink Floyd history definitely deserves to make the list. If you’ve ever sat down and listened to the popular, Wish you were here, you may have noticed a pretty audible cough around the :44 marker. You’re not alone and you’re not crazy, the cough was left in the final track much to the disdain of the one responsible for it, front man David Gilmour. Allegedly, according to SonicScoop.com, this is what prompted Gilmour to give up smoking.
Hey Jude
Prepare your ears for this one! Near the 2:55 mark of The Beatles famous Hey Jude, should you listen closely you can audibly hear one Sir Paul McCartney, uttering “fucking hell” upon messing up a chord. Now while this clearly was unintentional, the decision to keep it in was not! The story goes that Lennon and the others found it so funny and being it was rather quiet under the music, just to leave it in the final cut. So, next time your local oldies station decides to spin the acclaimed track, keep your ears open to see if the station heads have caught on, or if you need to have a talk with the FCC.
Polly
Never the prototypical musician, Kurt Cobain was well documented for his unique approach to his music. From his throat-centric singing to his self-taught guitar techniques, Kurt could turn what some would call being “untrained” into pure gold. During the recording of Nirvana’s Polly, Cobain is audibly off on his timing coming into the third verse of the song resulting in him getting in a quick “Polly Said” before catching himself. While thia can easily be mistaken as a quick refrain before the final verse, it was completely unintentional. However, after recording fellow bandmates Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic allegedly liked how this little slip-up sounded so much they kept it in the final cut! Unintentional? Could’ve fooled us!
How much would you be willing to pay for an authentic item from your favorite musician? A guitar pick caught in concert, a shirt, scarf, autograph, or even an instrument itself are all commonplace among collectors in the music world. However what about personal, and every day items you wouldn’t necessarily associate with your favorite act. Believe it or not, some of the highest closing auctions for musicians belong to some of the most unique items that may seem like nothing more than common trash to some. Well, one mans trash is another’s treasure they say, and with that in mind here are just a few of the most bizarre items that sold for ridiculous amounts of money at auction.
Justin Timberlake’s French Toast
If you had to re-read that we don’t blame you! Yes, this is correct. All the way back in the year 2000, Justin had just finished a morning interview on New York based radio station Z-100 where he was served a French toast breakfast. According to Ew.com, the morning show host then listed the remaining slices on eBay where they sold at auction for a whopping $1,025. The winner was a 19 year old student who claims she would “probably freeze-dry it, then seal it…then put it on my dresser”. We hate to burst her bubble, but I got French toasts this morning at Denny’s for $7.
Jerry Lee Lewis’s Ointment
Photo: Julien’s Auctions
Typically people don’t want the possession of their own ointment to be public knowledge, let alone someone else’s! But, what if that some else is “the killer” himself? The auction containing a tube of nasal ointment and two empty prescription pill bottles belonging to the wild child himself ended at $384. A substantial amount of money for something that I’m sure we could categorize as medical waste of you ask me. Even more intreating, the items were put up for auction by Lewis’s Ex-wife.
William Shatner’s Kidney Stone
Photo: GoldenPalace.com
The spoken word artist is no stranger to the occasional online auction, His Star Trek costumes reaching over $100,000 at times. However, in 2006 Shatner himself took to Julien’s Auctions to list his “sizable” kidney stone in an effort to raise money for Habitat for Humanity. Offering a substantial $25,000, the auction was won by GoldenPalace.com, an online casino. Additionally, the casino initially offered $15,000 which Shatner turned down! Clearly William knows exactly what “a piece of him” is worth!
Britney Spears’s Pregnancy Test
Photo: The Sun
There’s obsessive and then there’s down right creepy. While none of these items have been particularly “normal” to want in your collection, we can’t help but think this the next level. Fortunately for our sanity, the piss stick was taken by GoldenPalace.com in 2005 to add to their ever-growing collection of “oddities”. That being said the online casino rolled out an impressive $5,001 for charity on this one. Surprisingly snagging the item a lot cheaper than a piece of Britney’s used gum that went for $14,000 and didn’t even include a COA.
Elvis’s Backgammon Board
Photo: Julien’s Auctions
Next time you are convinced nobody plays Backgammon, just remember The King himself was an avid player who even took his travel board with him. That same travel board would find its way to auction in 2016 closing at $1,024. A few rounds of high stakes backgammon and the buyer will have his money back in no time!
Six Strands of Kurt Cobain’s Hair
Photo: IconicAuctions.com
Capping off our list with the most recent addition to the auction block. Over the weekend of May 15th 2021, Six strands of Kurt Cobain’s hair sold for $14,145. Notably, the hair in question was accompanied by an official COA as well as a photograph of the seller with the late Nirvana frontman during the haircut. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Nirvana as much as the next guy, but I’m not going balls to the walls to showcase 6 strands of hair. In that vein, if you’ve got the money I’ve got a haircut coming up soon!
Would you break out the checkbook for any of these items? What’s the weirdest music memorabilia you’ve seen up for sale? Let us know down below! Make sure to follow along for more and check out all our other blogs right here!
Cover songs have been a staple of the music industry for its entire existence. If a song is popular enough, you already know a cover will soon be on the way from any and all artists who think they can sell a few copies. With covers as popular as Elvis Presley’s entire library to Led Zeppelin’s Dazed and Confused, many of your favorite tunes are in fact covers even if you didn’t realize it! However, on the flip side of that, with so many artists synonymous with a particular sound you’d never expect them to venture out into covering something totally out of their genre wheelhouse. That’s where you’d be wrong. We’ve complied a collection of artists who covered some unexpected songs that may take you by surprise!
Purple Haze- Dion
YouTube: Modpants
Yes that’s right, the American Doo-op singer responsible for such hits as Runaround Sue and The Wanderer ventured into Hendrix! In an odd twist, Dion adopted Purple Haze into his library in 1968, just one year after Hendrix released it! The psychedelic rock anthem was slowed down and turned into more of a balled under Dion but somehow remains to be, if not becomes even more, trippy. Certainly and unexpected track from the heartbroken oldies singer, but not an unwelcome one by any means!
Faith- Limp Bizkit
YouTube: JulianOBlink
Believe it or not there are people who enjoy Limp Bizkit! Alright, jokes aside the controversial rap rock group found their success in the early 2000s with tracks like “Rollin’” and “Break Stuff” and were even used as The Undertaker’s entrance theme during his stint as The American Badass. Unfortunately for us, nobody told front man Fred Durst that rap rock and George Michael don’t mix. For reasons unbeknownced to us Limp Bizkit decided to include Michael’s 1987 Faith on their 1997 album “Three Dollar Bill, Y’all”. The kicker? While bordering on the creepy side, Durst’s opening to the song isn’t the worst thing in the world. Fret not however, just wait for the chorus and sit back as Fred and the boys ruin this classic.
Jolene- The White Stripes
YouTube: The White Stripes
The White Stripes can do no wrong! The iconic 2000s Faux Brother/Sister, Husband/Wife duo left their mark on the music industry with memorable rock tracks such as Fell In Love With A Girl, We’re Going To Be Friends, and Icky Thump. However the song that will ensure The Stripes live on forever has to be Seven Nation Army, a staple of any high-school football game or workout playlist. Always the artist, front man Jack White is no stranger to experimenting with covers, as is the case with The White Stripes rendition of the 1965 #2 hit Love Potion No.9. However it’s their iconic cover of Jolene we’re focusing on for this list. The echoing live guitar and raw emotion in the voice of Jack White coveys the emotion behind the classic Dolly lyrics. The rock rendition may be one of the finest live covers of the era and is definitely deserving of a listen if you have yet to hear it!
Heartbreaker- Nirvana
YouTube: Nirvana
Kurt, Dave, and Krist were certainly no strangers to borrowing from some of their favorite artists. With a library containing the likes of Bowie, The Meat Puppets, Lead Belly, and many others it’s no shock the band fiddled around with other cover ideas. Dating all the way back to 1987, The legendary trio broke into Zeppelin’s Heartbreaker during one of their very first live performances. Unfortunately this rendition never made it to the studio but did become available to the public courtesy of With The Lights Out and Sliver: The Best Of The Box which features early recordings, demos, live tracks and unreleased music! But the best part about this cover, “I don’t know how to play it!”
Smells Like Teen Spirit/ Wonderwall/ Etc.- Paul Anka
YouTube: PaulAnkaTV
Oh yes, that is correct. The mind behind “Puppy Love” and “Put Your Head On My Shoulder” proved he could still hang when he released his album 2005 album “Rock Swings”. The album included lounge and swing covers of the likes of Bon Jovi, Nirvana, Oasis, Survivor, Van Halen, Chris Cornell, and more! Anka undoubtedly knocked it out of the park earning himself a long deserved star on Canada’s Walk of Fame! Having the ability to take Smells Like Teen Spirit and make it easy listening even your Grandparents would call quality music is a true sign of a multitalented artist! Step aside Richard Cheese!
With a vast and ever growing world library of cover songs, these are just a handful of renditions that may have taken you by surprise! Let us know what you think down below and who’s cover caught you off guard! Be sure to check out more music related articles here and keep on rockin’ on!
The old is becoming new again. Repeated and processed music on mainstream radio stations are dying. With people being quarantined because of COVID-19, they are beginning to grow tired of the same song being played every 30 minutes while they’re on a drive. Therefore, underground music is making a colossal rise in popularity.
There is a large population of Americans in the current state that we are living in that have grown old to hearing the same manufactured junk that is produced by large corporations only used to make profit. The public knows that the art of creative writing has died in places like Hollywood and Nashville. Because they know this, a new musical renaissance has begun varying amongst all different genres. New styles are being created and the old is returning. Beautiful art has been returning for a while but now it is finally being recognized and we are all glad to see it.
Amazon.com/Music
Since the beginning of its start, YouTube has become the largest website for promoting upcoming and rising musicians. It is where record companies and famous musicians look when they want to find someone new. Some of the most famous musicians on mainstream radio started out on YouTube. Examples are Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber. These artists however, were in the old days of modern music. As stated in the previous paragraphs, mainstream radio is dying and people are going back to the old ways of discovering art, and the way that most are doing that is through YouTube.
Examples of Growing Artists and Genres
1.) Zach Bryan
YouTube.com
This rising country/folk musician began his musical journey on the internet when he posted a live solo version of his song “Heading South” on September 6th, 2019. Since that post, he has earned over 4 million views on YouTube and 7.5 million downloads on Spotify.
Combining the genres of bluegrass, folk, and metal, Billy Strings began his musical popularity when he posted a solo acoustic version of his song “Dust In A Baggie” on YouTube around a decade ago. That song randomly began appearing in people’s recommended during the start of 2020 and since then, that song has over 11 million views on YouTube and 3.5 million downloads on Spotify.
Electro Swing
gfycat.com
“The Roaring 20s are back!” This style of music originated before the 2020s but now that the time has finally come, this criminally underrated genre of music is enough to get you out of you chair and dance along. The old vinyl sound of the original swing songs mixed with the new wave of music production has turned thousands of people on with its creativity. Following this genre and originating in Germany, the style of Electro Swing dance has grown massively in popularity due to people being quarantined and dying of boredom. There are hundreds of electro swing playlists out there and dozens of 24/7 YouTube livestreams. Creativity has struck the eyes of many artists with this genre.
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