We're Back! Time To Flog The Blog!

     I'm trying to come to terms with a contradiction in Internet terms if you will - it's been over a year since my last blog entry; yet the 50+ blogs that we've shared have over 18,000 views. I'm in awe, both in a slightly negative as well as in a positive way. It's possible I've under estimated myself - just like many people under estimated punk back in the 70's (as far as influences go) as well as when grunge in the very early 90's wearing it's ripped jeans, ugly sneakers, and faded flannel shirts.

     I'm not going to get on some bullshit ego trip here, but as the saying goes, "looking back in hindsight is always 20/20", but as Dave Mustaine of Megadeath adds, "...and it's usually still a bit fuzzy". My current hindsight is that I should have kept going with the blog, regardless of what came onto my plate. Writing for me is actually a decent form of stress relief and I enjoy doing it. It has become obvious to me that other people like what I write about, or like my writing style, or something... who knows. But between the battle of royalty costs for the songs I play on 360 Degrees of Alternative to some personal issues that took me out of the game for about 6-8 months, the blog inadvertently took a back seat... and then got parked for way too long. For that, my friends, you have my sincerest apologies.

     However, positive changes have been made, progress is being seen, and we are moving forward once again. Please ignore the squeaks and rattles as we work out some of the kinks, but I am 110% confident that we'll get there - and in even better fashion.

     So - were just over 6 weeks into 2013 and where are we? Today being Valentine's Day, I was cruising through Rolling Stone's website and their home page story was about the 10 nastiest rock band breakup's in history. 360 Degrees plays 6 out of those 10 bands - in a way it doesn't really surprise me - but in another way, it bums me out. We're all human beings, we all have negative emotions, egos, and all that other fun shit we could really live without. There's also other killers like success - many bands like The Clash just couldn't handle it - as well as drug problems which put the final nail in the coffin for Smashing Pumpkins. But what hits home is some of the petty junk some of these bands experienced, sometimes at the hands of one or two people. If they could just get over themselves, things could have been much different. Case in point, The Pixies. This was a band who primarily rocked out in the mid to late 80's and were way ahead of their time. I'm a pretty big fan of this group. I admire front-man Black Francis and his artistic abilities. It's too bad he just couldn't get his head out of his ass. If he did, the band could have been huge. I had a chance to meet him in the late 90's and he was still bitter about Pixies fans loving bassist Kim Deal.

     Just a quick note here - I'm glad the Grammy's experienced their 2nd largest TV viewing ever. But a word to the media, whether it's print, web based, radio, whatever. It's over... move on. I'm tired of hearing if Jack White swore during the ceremonies or not.

     Another quick note - yes, we are aware that Fall Out Boy, Silversun Pickups, and Radiohead have either completed a new CD or are working on one. We are also aware that Oprah landed an interview with Beyonce, that Justin Bieber fans are all pissed off (Twitter it if you must), and Nicki Minaj is the new judge on American Idol. Guess what - aside from the 1st sentence, we can honestly say we truly don't care. Hate us if you want. Whatever.

      One more quick note - I promise. Did you hear about Beck's remake of the David Bowie classic "Sound and Vision"? From what I've seen & read, it's nine minutes of pure wow. To give you some idea of this, Beck did the tune with a 157 piece orchestra. He also had it filmed with 360 degree cameras and microphones. It gives new meaning to the term "being there". However, the best thing that came out of all this was beck's comment about the entire project - "...it was an experiment and an opportunity to try something completely irrational". Words to live by, people.

     I'm going to leave you with a taste of one of the new features that will become a regular part of the blog. I'm still sorting it out, but it's definitely coming together. Alternative on video.
This aspect has two goals - one is to make the blog more interactive. The second is to bring you cool stuff you've probably never seen before. This entry's piece of anti-high def is an old video of The Kingsmen doing their immortal song "Louie, Louie". Whether you agree with me or not, I consider that hit ground zero of alternative music. Why? Because it is distorted garage rock at it's primal infancy. The tune itself was three basic chords. No one could understand the lyrics. The song was inflamed in controversy and it pissed off parents nationwide. Alright, the band members were clean cut, but hey - we gotta start somewhere. This particular vid is a live broadcast from the TV show "Shindig". And guess what - you can actually understand the lyrics! Wonder never cease. Just click here to watch.

     Until next time, peace out & keep listening.