The Straight-Through-In-Alpha-Order-Music-Listening Experiment Update, Volume 3

Man, another month has passed on this experiment which has now been underway for four months. So here's where we stand:

• Current Artist - Album - Song: Def Leppard - Hysteria - Rocket
  
• Songs listened to: 1615
• Total songs: 9691
• Percentage complete: 16.67%
• Estimated completion: October 2010

AAAAAAAAHH! Two years to complete this experiment! Two years before I will be listening to Yngwie Malmsteen or ZZ Top! Something has to be done. I've simply got to listen to music more often.

One of the highlights of this period was The Cult a couple of weeks ago. Another highlight has been discovering some different types of stuff that I'd bought on recommendations, and hadn't really listened to all the way through before. So that was good. But the rest of the D's are looking pretty good. If I can get through the D's by next month, then I'll have enjoyed all of Def Leppard, Dokken, Dragonforce, and Dream Theater along with some other good stuff. Stay tuned.

Essential Albums: Y&T "In Rock We Trust"

Artist: Y&T
Album: In Rock We Trust
Year: 1984
Best Song You've Probably Heard: Don't Stop Runnin'
Best Song You Might Not Have Heard: This Time

Say what you will about the cheesy cover, the dorky album title, or the weird band name; Y&T's "In Rock We Trust" is so good that it is my favorite album from 1984, and that's really saying something. Consider other albums that we were all blessed with that year:

• Scorpions "Love at First Sting"
• Ratt "Out of the Cellar"
• The Cars "Heartbeat City"
• Dokken "Tooth and Nail"
• Twisted Sister "Stay Hungry"
• and, of course, Van Halen "1984"

That's some pretty awesome company. So you know what I'm saying when I tell you that this is my favorite album from that year.

Unless you are a pretty serious 80's metalhead you've probably not even heard of Y&T before, so you maybe haven't heard "Don't Stop Runnin'". It is probably the most popular song from this album and apparently still gets air time on radio and MTV. But it isn't the best song. "This Time" is an awesome heavy metal ballad, one of the best ever. "Life, Life, Life" is an example of the common 80's plea-for-peace topic, and is an excellent song. There's not a bad song on the album, but especially the first four songs in a row are really outstanding.

This album is pretty hard to come by legally in CD form, although not as bad today as when I found mine, used. Your best bet might be to just buy the MP3s directly from amazon.com. You won't be disappointed.

(Image credit: amazon.com)

The Straight-Through-In-Alpha-Order-Music-Listening Experiment Update, Volume 2

Well here we are almost another month later already. Christmas is around the corner. Time for another update on the music experiment.

Frankly, I'm starting to wonder if I can stick to it. I've only made it part way through the C's so far, having listened to about 1150 songs of now nearly 7800. I still have a lot of C's to go - about 200 left still.

The C's hasn't been all bad. Of course, some of my wife's Celine Dion sneaked into my list somehow. I had to expunge it with extreme prejudice. But Collective Soul - ah, Collective Soul, one of the best bands ever. That has been a highlight of this experience so far. And don't forget Coldplay, Counting Crows, Creed, The Cult, The Cars, and Christina Aguilera - that naughty little tart with the incredible singing voice. Go ahead - make fun. I really do listen because of the voice. Although I had to suffer through a lot of her early bubble-gum pop garbage.

Anyway, like I said, there's a lot to like in the C's and it has been a pretty good ride. But at the current rate I'm not going to be done for over a year. Do I have the commitment to stick to this? And for what exactly?

No. No. I am going to stick to it. If I do well, I should be through Def Leppard in a month - and if I do really well, maybe through all the D's. Dream Theater is in there though, and that's like 200 songs, along with Dokken. D's are also looking pretty good, but I can I finish the D's in one month? Doubtful.


(Image credit: wireshark.com via imdb.com)

Essential Albums: Queensryche "Operation: Mindcrime"

Artist: Queensryche
Album: Operation: Mindcrime
Year: 1988
Best Song You've Probably Heard: Eyes of a Stranger
Best Song You Might Not Have Heard: Suite Sister Mary

Wow. Operation: Mindcrime. If they ever put a heavy metal album in the Louvre, this will be it without question.

There's a lot of superlatives that apply to Operation: Mindcrime, and it might take a while to get around to them all, but here's a few:

• Best Concept Album Ever
• Best Rock Opera Ever
• Most Artistic Heavy Metal Album Ever
• Most Artistic Mainstream Album of the past 30 years

Of course, that's just my opinion, but my opinion is the only one that really matters here.

I'm not going to go into the back story of Operation: Mindcrime as it is amply documented in many places all over the Internet. Suffice it to say, the story is incredibly dramatic, insightful and even introspective. Without intending to leave out the other incredible Rychers, Geoff Tate is absolutely stunning in his heartfelt vocals, and the indispensable Chris DeGarmo sets the mood of every song with his incredible guitar work. Sometime when you have an hour alone at home or on a roadtrip, just crank Operation: Mindcrime and listen to it good and loud, uninterrupted, all the way through from start to finish. Listen to the story and put yourself in the place of Nikki. Then see if you can keep tears from your eyes as Nikki laments what has become of his life in "Eyes of a Stranger." Good luck with that.

By the way I forgot at least one superlative:

• Best Rock Concert Ever
  

And on that note, I'm going to cheat a bit here and include Operation: LIVEcrime, the live recording of Operation: Mindcrime in concert, in its entirety, during the "Empire" tour. Queensryche in concert is simply amazing - one of the best live acts I've ever seen, and that's some pretty lofty company.

This album was originally released in 1991 and was incredibly exclusive and hard to find just a few years later. Fortunately Queensryche re-released it in about 2001. The live album is incredible, possibly better than the studio version. Just thinking of the incredible ovation at the end of "Eyes of a Stranger" gives me chills.

With the inclusion of this album, I have to add another best song, "Roads to Madness." The live version of this song is just raw power, and it is almost as though that song was meant to be on Mindcrime anyway - it fits right in to the story.


(Image Credits: amazon.com)

Essential Albums: Alice in Chains "Jar of Flies"

Artist: Alice in Chains
Album: Jar of Flies
Year: 1994
Best Song You've Probably Heard: I Stay Away
Best Song You Might Not Have Heard: Rotten Apple

One day, years ago when I was living in Colorado, my old roommate Curtis called me from Atlanta to tell me that I needed to go and buy this album right away. For some odd reason I had strongly resisted the grunge movement during college so I never really had that collegiate-exploring-music time, a fact that I rather lament today. So I didn't already have any Alice in Chains music prior to Curtis's phone call. However, I took Curtis's advice and bought "Jar of Flies" soon thereafter. After all, Curtis also recommended that I read "Starship Troopers," so his advice carries merit to be sure.

"Jar of Flies" is what you get when great musicians cut loose to see what they are really, truly capable of, without restricting themselves to a genre. It is a true masterpiece. I took a stab at the song you might have heard, but the truth of it is, probably you've either heard the whole thing, because you own it already, or you haven't heard any of it.

The moods Jerry Cantrell can create with guitar are really incredible, but what Alice in Chains does best is harmony. They are able to come up with the most amazing harmony patterns that sound both unexpected and logical at the same time. Witness "Rotten Apple" or "No Excuses" to see what I mean.

Alice in Chains is a grunge band, but "Jar of Flies" is not really a grunge album - just seven songs worth of great music, and one I consider a definite must-have.



(Image credit: Amazon.com)

The Straight-Through-In-Alpha-Order-Music-Listening Experiment Update

So about a month ago I blogged about managing my MP3 collection, and at that same time I decided I should embark upon a journey wherein I would listen to my entire collection straight through, sorted in alphabetical order by band name and then album name. I've tweeted my status every so often, but probably most of you don't read my tweets, because your life is not completely lame.

So I thought I should let everyone know that after a month of listening to music at work, I've managed to make it through the A's and B's. Some people have asked, "Matt, how long do you think this is going to take?" And I've blindly answered, "Probably six or seven months." But so far it is looking a bit more like ten months, since I'm at about 700 songs of about 7150, give or take.

But, make no mistake, I simply cannot capture in words how much tremendous fun this experience is! WHOOOO-HOOOOOOO!!

Some other faithful readers have also asked me the following question: "Whoa, Matt. You are freaking awesome." To which I reply, "Thank you. However, I must point out that that is not a question."

MP3 Management and Tidbits

I've just finished going through my MP3 collection, trying to make sure everything is tagged with an appropriate genre, correct album release dates, cover art, etc. It seems like this is much harder than it should be. Is it really so hard to create a decent MP3 library management tool that doesn't make things worse once it is done?

I guess if I think it isn't so hard, I ought to write it myself.

Anyway, there's some interesting tidbits at this point, worth noting:

• There is not a single MP3 in my collection that was illegally downloaded, RIAA dorks.
• There's about 250 artists and about 650 albums. That averages out to about 2 1/2 albums per band, an even more curious statistic considering I have 11 Def Leppard albums, 15 Dream Theater albums, 12 Megadeth albums, 12 Motley Crue albums, 12 Ozzy albums, 13 Pink Floyd albums, and 15 Van Halen albums. Of course some of these are multi-album compilations that sometimes show up as multiple albums in the filesystem. Hmm.
• There's a pretty wide range - alphabetically (A-Ha to ZZ Top), chronologically (The Bee Gees to Saving Abel), and stylistically (Cacophony (shred) and Megadeth (thrash) to Enya (new age) and Seal (soft rock)). However, not much country - and what is there is Amber's. I still don't like country.
• The bulk of my music is probably centered around my high school years, and that is still the stuff I like most. This is odd though, because I don't listen to the same stuff from that period as much as I used to, but instead listen to different stuff from that period. It is also odd because I like that music a lot, but I pretty much think high school sucked significantly in nearly every possible way.
• I have a lot of 80's pop but I don't listen to it. In fact I hardly dare even admit it, especially on the Half Bad Boy blog. I take it back, I do not have any 80's pop at all.

Another thing I just thought of. Back in high school, when I wasn't half bad or even 1/10th bad, I was in a show choir; I sang and danced in this show choir. I thought I was pretty good at it too. I'm older now, and married, so I'm obviously half bad now (nice guys can't even get a girlfriend, let alone get married). I realize now that I wasn't any good at that show choir thing. I realize now that I sucked. I also just now realized that a lot of what I listened to back then had to do with that. I listen to a lot more interesting musical composition and guitar work now. Also now, instead of singing, I play electric guitar. I still suck, but you can suck at electric guitar and still be a half bad boy.

Esssential Albums: Def Leppard "Pyromania"

Artist: Def Leppard
Album: Pyromania
Year: 1983
Best Song You've Probably Heard: Photograph
Best Song You Might Not Have Heard: Die Hard the Hunter

"Pyromania" came out when I was, uh, I mean, about 25 years ago. I still remember hearing "Rock of Ages" on the radio. It sounded awesome then and sounds awesome now, especially live. But I didn't really get into Def Leppard until a few years later, around "Hysteria" time. I really like both albums, but over the past 20+ years, I think Pyromania has weathered the best. Whereas "Hysteria" has a few pop-80's-sounding tunes, "Pyromania" has a timeless sound that doesn't feel like it will get old anytime soon, and yet already is starting to sound like classic rock.

Even though "Rock of Ages" was my first exposure to Def Leppard, I think "Photograph" is the best song on this album, and truthfully a much better tribute to Marilyn Monroe than that lame old "Candle in the Wind" boringness. "Foolin'," "Too Late For Love," "Action! (Not Words)," and even the cheesily-named "Rock! Rock! ('Til You Drop)" are some other great songs on here.

Some of you may feel like dissing on Def Leppard, which is your right. But do realize that they have two 10x-platinum albums in the United States. Can your favorite band say that? Not likely - there are few who can.


By the way, Def Leppard is also a great band to play along with when you are learning to play electric guitar.


(Image credit: Amazon.com)

Favorite Albums Per Year Since Birth

So apparently a popular thing these days is to make a list of your favorite album of every year since your birth. Well, at least Matt Rosoff is doing it, and he is more popular than me, so from my vantage point it is a popular thing to do.

Anyway, I thought I'd give it a shot. The rules are:

• Only one album per year.
• You can only use an album from any artist one time.
• Use the year of original release (not re-release years).
• "Best-Of" collections are discouraged but ok.
  

It ended up being a lot harder than I thought. I found that some years have a lot of really awesome stuff to choose from, and some years just basically suck. I also found that I am not nearly the connoisseur of music that I thought I was. I couldn't start with the year I was born, or even for several years afterwards. And I got nothing from the past couple of years, not yet.
I'm trying to remedy this. But here's the list so far, subject to change:

• 1978 - Van Halen: Van Halen


• 1979 - Pink Floyd: The Wall


• 1980 - AC/DC: Back In Black


• 1981 - Journey: Escape


• 1982 - RATT: RATT EP


• 1983 - Def Leppard: Pyromania


• 1984 - Y & T: In Rock We Trust


• 1985 - Mötley Crüe: Theater of Pain


• 1986 - Metallica: Master of Puppets


• 1987 - U2: The Joshua Tree


• 1988 - Queensrÿche: Operation: Mindcrime


• 1989 - Enya: Watermark


• 1990 - Scorpions: Crazy World


• 1991 - Guns N' Roses: Use Your Illusion


• 1992 - Stone Temple Pilots: Core


• 1993 - Nirvana: In Utero


• 1994 - Alice In Chains: Jar of Flies


• 1995 - Collective Soul: Collective Soul


• 1996 - Men At Work: Contraband


• 1997 - Creed: My Own Prison


• 1998 - Goo Goo Dolls: Dizzy Up the Girl


• 1999 - Dream Theater: Scenes from a Memory


• 2000 - The Beatles: 1


• 2001 - Tool: Lateralus


• 2002 - New Order: International


• 2003 - Joe Satriani: Electric Joe Satriani


• 2004 - Judas Priest: Metalogy


• 2005 - Nickelback: All the Right Reasons


• 2006 - The Killers: Sam's Town

Like I said, some surprises (Enya? Really??) and some compilations when pickings get slim. I really haven't gotten much into recent stuff. I'll try harder.

Essential Albums: Journey "Escape"

Artist: Journey
Album: Escape
Year: 1981
Best Song You've Probably Heard: Don't Stop Believing
Best Song You Might Not Have Heard: Escape

Journey was my first ever "favorite" band and is still one of my favorite bands of all time. We all owe Journey a great debt, as they are one of those select few bands who saved the world from disco. And that is saying something. Grunge failed to save us from country, unfortunately, and disco, like country, had a lot of social appeal in spite of being lame. So for bands like Styx, Journey, and Van Halen to salvage us from the depths of disco lameness is something we can all be thankful for.

Anyway, choosing "Escape" over "Frontiers" as the first Journey "Essential Album" was not an easy pick. Ultimately, "Escape" is more significant as it was probably the most important Journey album to launch them into the upper echelons of all-time musicdom. "Escape" established them as a known, mainstream arena rock band, solidified and embodied their classic sound, and at the same time stood them above the crowd as one of the best ever. Who among us has not been inspired by "Don't Stop Believing" or has not had the opportunity to make fun of someone singing, "So now I come to you with broken arms?"

Actually, the title song "Escape" might be the best song on the entire album, and probably even the most inspirational. "Mother, Father" is a beautiful ballad, the best on the album, and Dead or Alive is a great live song. In fact, any Journey concert would be incomplete without playing at least half of this album - and in my opinion, they should play more of it at each show.

If you don't have it yet, pick it up, or download it from Amazon.com. You may find that you know more songs from this album than you thought, and that you wonder how you ever made it this far without having owned it.

(Image credit: amazon.com)

Essential Albums: U2 "The Joshua Tree"

Artist: U2
Album: The Joshua Tree
Best Song You've Probably Heard: Where The Streets Have No Name
Best Song You Might Not Have Heard: Mothers of the Disappeared

This was one of the first albums I purchased from any band, way back when I was a teenager. I must have listened to this hundreds of times growing up. U2 existed before "The Joshua Tree," but not for me. I'm willing to bet "The Joshua Tree" was the first U2 album for thousands, if not millions, of people worldwide.

"With Or Without You" was the first hit single from this album, and I really love that song. But "Where The Streets Have No Name" gets my vote for the best song because of the way it is written. It is art, pure art. "Mothers of the Disappeared" is a beautiful way to end the recording. But there isn't a bad song on the whole CD, not at all. It's a fantastic voyage from one end to the other.

(Image Credit: amazon.com)

Another Reason DRM is Bad (In Case You Needed Another Reason)

Ars Technica wrote "DRM Still Sucks" in this article that you should read at least briefly.

Saying that DRM still sucks is not exactly news - pretty much everyone knows it by now. Hopefully you are not still buying your music encumbered by DRM. This isn't about being able to do something illegal - I love music and yearn for more good music, and am willing to pay a fair price to support people who produce good music - rather, it is about being able to listen to the music I buy. What happens to your music when the provider of the DRM technology disappears? Will you lose your ability to listen to your music, or have to buy it all over again?

That's why I'm buying all my music from Amazon.com now. Yeah, I still think it is more expensive per song than it should be, but it's worth it to me to support their anti-DRM venture. Buying from Amazon.com sends the RIAA a message that Napster and AllofMP3.com were not about piracy, but rather about DRM-free music. Perhaps if enough of us buy there, they will eventually come around.

Yeah, I know, it is a lot to hope for - probably unreasonably so. But I'm going to be optimistic and use my money to vote for DRM-free music. I hope you will also.

Essential Albums: Van Halen "1984"

It's about time we had a new feature here on the Half Bad Boy blog. I thought, probably most of you are thinking, "Will someone please tell me what is good music that I should be listening to?" The easy answer to that is, Almost nothing even remotely current. But that doesn't help you spend your money.

So I thought it might be time to try a new feature: the Half Bad Boy Blog Essential Albums. Every month or so I'll try to list an album that is part of any half bad boy's essential music collection. And if a month goes by and I don't post anything, feel free to just wait longer.

Artist: Van Halen
Album: 1984
Best Song You've Probably Heard: Jump
Best Song You Might Not Have Heard: Panama

It probably comes as no surprise to readers of this blog that a Van Halen album would be the first selected Essential Album. But some might be wondering, why 1984?

Well, it isn't because it is my favorite Van Halen album, although it is right up there. It isn't because of album sales, although at ten times platinum, it is one of the best selling Van Halen albums of all time. In my opinion, 1984 is a landmark album for Van Halen because it was the first to show that they could be successful as a mainstream American band, not just as a hard rock band.

For all the talent that Eddie possesses, I think his biggest talent is amazing songwriting, not guitar virtuosity. "Jump" shows that in spades. It is upbeat enough that you might hear it in a grocery store, but it rocks hard enough that it tends to close out every Van Halen show. Play "Jump" with the volume turned up - you cannot help but smile. It is such a great song.

There are a slew of great songs on 1984. It is hard for me to envision that there is any living, hearing person, besides my own parents, who have not heard this album clear through a number of times. So selecting a "Best Song You Might Not Have Heard" from 1984 was tough. Odds are you've also heard "Panama," and just about every other song on this album. But just in case you haven't, check out "Panama" - it is a great time.

1984 peaked at number 2 on the charts, behind "Thriller," one of the top selling albums of all time. And now, it is the Half Bad Boy Blog's first ever Essential Album.

(Image Credit: amazon.com)

Noise Reduction is for Sissies

Lately I've been rocking these Skullcandy Skullcrusher headphones and I gotta say they are pretty sweet.

These are the first headphones I've ever had with an actual built-in amplifier and subwoofers that you can actually feel vibrating against your ears. Sound quality is pretty good, the cups are comfortable, and they also look pretty half-bad, considering the title of the blog and all.

Downfalls? Well, the cord is awfully short, and there's no volume control on the cord. No noise reduction, although I'm not sure why you need it when your headphones kick tail like these do.

Oh, and you can't actually get these anymore. Try the new Skullcandy Hesh headphones instead, I suppose. But be sure to not get the white and pink ones, unless you can back it up big boy.


(Image Source: Circuitcity.com)

Def Leppard Performs Live on "Dancing With The Stars"

I am afraid to know exactly what this means.

Collective Soul - A Good Omen?

Last year was a really good year for concerts. I saw six really awesome bands: Goo Goo Dolls, Dream Theater, Foreigner, Styx, Def Leppard, and the best concert ever, Van Halen. Not all the same type of music, as we can plainly see, but every one of these bands was outstanding live. Goo Goo Dolls was the first show I saw last year, which surprised me at how really great they sound live. It was the foreshadowing of many other good shows to come last year.

Well, I caught my first concert of 2008 just a couple of days ago when I had the great privilege of seeing Collective Soul live. I had heard really excellent things about these guys as a live act and was not disappointed in the slightest. Collective Soul dudes, you guys put on a very awesome show and so much props out to ya. Everyone else, take an opportunity to see these guys if you get a chance.

Van Halen Road Trip - Follow-up

Well, the Van Halen Road Trip is over, and I must say I highly recommend such an activity - if you are so fortunate to have such supportive spouses as we have, that is. :)

All in all it was a great trip. We left about 5:30 a.m. for Sacramento. This picture on the left shows us stopped at a freeway on-ramp about one hour into the trip. Luckily we had great weather all the way out and back. Weather in Sacramento and San Francisco was absolutely gorgeous - I don't remember a more beautiful day in San Francisco than November 27, 2007, and I've been there a number of times. Even Donner Pass was snow-free and relatively warm; we were told while there that there is generally about 6 inches of snow on the ground by that time of year.

We visited Alcatraz on the morning of November 27, 2007. Our reservations for tickets were not honored, but fortunately for us we were able to get tickets to the 9:30 a.m. ferry anyway. This is probably due to the fact we were traveling there off-season. If you ever go to Alcatraz, you'll probably still want to try to make reservations, but be sure the reservations are actually honored. Pier 33 is the pier we left from; maybe you can call them directly.

Anyway, Alcatraz is awesome as you might expect. Visiting Alcatraz in the winter is recommended as there are parts of the island that you are only allowed to tour during the winter months; they are closed during the other parts of the year due to the large numbers of birds there. And don't miss the self-guided audio tour - when they say it is award-winning, they mean it. Amazing.

Van Halen performed at the Arco Arena in Sacramento that night, Tuesday November 27, 2007. This was nothing short of the absolute best concert I have ever been to. I was born a few years too late I believe, so I never really saw the big deal about David Lee Roth vs. Sammy Hagar as the Van Halen frontman. Well, everyone, now I get it. Not taking anything away from Alex or Eddie, who are fantastic musicians, but David Lee Roth is a performer. He made the difference between this show and my previous Van Halen concert encounter about ten years ago, which was simply great and not downright unreal like this year's show.

We were talking on the way back, how fulfilling it must be for Eddie to be up there performing with his own son (who did just fine thank-you). More tour dates have been added, so if you have not seen the show yet, you still have a chance.

We came home on Nov. 28, stopping at Donner Memorial State Park. The sacrifices our ancestors made to populate and settle the United States were beyond comprehension, and it made me very grateful to take this time to think of these people and others who suffered so much, and how great my life is today as a result. All in all, it was an awesome trip.

Greg, myself, and the Dall*ns at Donner Memorial State Park.

ROAD TRIP!

Van Halen is on tour, and that means one thing for me and my half-bad buddies - ROAD TRIP!!!



Actually, it mostly means that we have to go to Van Halen. It isn't like we really have a choice here. But since Van Halen isn't actually scheduled to come anywhere even close to where I live, we decided to make a road trip of it and go to the show anyway. We wouldn't do this for just any old band, but then again, Van Halen isn't just any old band.

So, we will be renting a cool car and driving to Sacramento, California, which until just recently was the most local scheduled concert venue. Trip begins on November 26, a day before the concert. We hope to visit Alcatraz on the morning of November 27, then we'll be at Arco Arena for the concert event of the decade. Can't wait!

Dream Theater Rules

My brother and I saw Dream Theater in concert the other evening, and man those guys freaking rock.

I'd love to go into a lot of detail about how awesome John Petrucci is. If I did that, then I would also have to talk about how awesome Mike Portnoy is, and Jordan Rudess, and John Myung. I don't really have the time for that so you'll just have to take my word for it that Mike Portnoy's drum set was totally wicked and that this band is stacked with talent, probably more than any other band I can remember, with the possible exception of Rush.

But I can't just not talk about Petrucci. Without question he is one of the very best guitarists alive today. Eddie Van Halen is still the best guitarist I've ever watched live, but Petrucci is a close second. Nobody else even comes close - we are talking orders of magnitude here. What an awesome talent.

I don't know which was cooler - opening by playing a Dream Theater version of Richard Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra op. 30 (also known as the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey) or closing with an amazing Dream Theater medley which terminated with Petrucci center-stage hitting and holding a perfectly clear high E on the 24th fret right before the closing chord.

Definitely skip Into Eternity and don't worry about Redemption, but do not miss these guys. What an awesome experience.

My Ears Are Ringing

Okay, not really. I mean, not anymore. But my voice is still gone. I saw Journey and Def Leppard last night in concert, with Amber, Greg, and Stephanie, and it was KILLER.

Journey opened. I'd seen them before, a couple of years ago. Journey is a great live act. Don't go expecting a bunch of touchy-feely heart-melting love songs, though. You'll get a couple of them, but Journey live is a first-class arena rock concert. I have to say that Jeff Scott Soto, filling in for Steve Augeri at lead vocals, did an outstanding job. Journey was awesome, leaving some big shoes for Def Leppard to fill - which they almost did, but not quite.

Still, Def Leppard live is a fantastic experience. There is something really magical and polished about their delivery, with each song feeling like it's own unique showpiece, produced to an exacting method. This does have the effect of causing it almost to feel NOT like a concert. I'd never seen Def Leppard before, and it was really awesome.

Best songs of the night:
Star-Spangled Banner (Neal Schon - Journey)
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' (Journey)
Lights (Journey)
Don't Stop Believin' (Journey)
Escape (Journey)
Chain Reaction (Journey)
Separate Ways (Journey)
Let It Go (Def Leppard)
Hysteria (Def Leppard)
Rocket (Def Leppard)
Photograph (Def Leppard)
Armageddon It (Def Leppard)
Rock Of Ages (Def Leppard)

Best song of the night - Rock Of Ages. Hands down. That song was MEANT to be played live.


And to think - I could have been at LinuxWorld, heading a Birds of a Feather session. Hmm. Sorry, but I'll take the concert any day. Thanks, Journey and Def Leppard, for giving me a reason to not go. And to that poor sucker who had to go instead of me - well, thanks too.