Monday, May 21, 2007

A Special Request

After finally receiving a little feedback from this thing, I am happy to oblige a good friend of mine and give my two cents on a growing problem in the world of rock n' roll. I will address two things I see happening today.

Musicians and general society are destroying two rock icons. First, the Sign of the Beast. If you are unfamiliar with my terminology, the Sign of the Beast is the hand gesture one makes when they are rocking out. It is done by putting the pointer finger and pinky finger up and making a fist with the other fingers. I'm sure you all know what I mean. Back in the golden days of metal, the Sign of the Beast was flashed only by the true Metal Gods. Only the likes of Ronnie James Dio, Ozzy Osbourne, and Gene Simmons. Then, the 80s and 90s came, and the Sign of the Beast was passed on to only the worthy- Dimebag Darrell, Dee Snider, and Kirk Hammett. But then all of a sudden, rock's patented hand gesture was hijacked. Suddenly, in the new millenium, celebrities like Avril Lavigne, Ashton Kutcher, and Paris Hilton are flashing metal horns for paparazzi. WHO THE HELL DROPPED THE FUCKIN BALL?! WHO ALLOWED THIS?? It's just sad. What was once considered too evil for teenagers was being seen everywhere. It was no longer considered a big "fuck you" to society, it was considered the thing to do if you wanted to look tough. Newsflash- if you wear eye make-up to attract pre-pubescent teens to buy whatever crap you've released lately, you are not tough. Pretty much any metal head could beat the living crap out of you. So please, put your fucking hand down. We want our Beast back.

Now, the second thing I am seeing everywhere actually belongs to a genre of music that I am not overly familiar with. However, I believe I speak for any fan of the genre when I say this. Punk rock invented the mohawk. It was a social statement. It was a means to stand out and rebel against the norms of a society that didn't understand a political and social movement. However, now I see the mohawk EVERYWHERE! It started with Puff Daddy/P Diddy/Diddy/Piff Diddle/whatever the hell his name is. When he decided to run that marathon, he shaved his head into a short mohawk. It looked dumb. Not only on a black man (and thats not racist, white people look retarded with cornrows), but it was short. There was no standing edge to it. It was just there. It looked like his hair stylist forgot what he was doing and didn't finish. Now I see the mohawk on all these little emo kids. Thats even worse. I've already ranted on emo, so you know that they are not of the correct mind set to warrant such a hairstyle. The mohawk was so badass when it first arrived on the music scene with The Sex Pistols and all the other originators. I sincerely doubt they appreciate seeing little 12 yr olds using their statement hairstyle as a fashion statement. That was the kind of crap that the mohawk was meant to rebel against! Please, if anyone you know is thinking about sporting a mohawk, think about that person and their personality. Do they really fit the mohawk? If not, warn them... A punk rocker is right around the corner... and those guys are fuckin nuts... rock on, be safe (the world's crazy nowadays)

My Response to VH1's Top 40 Hard Rock/Metal Songs

Brent's Top 40 Hard Rock/Metal Songs

40. Last Resort- Papa Roach
39. You Shook Me All Night- AC/DC
38. N.I.B.- Black Sabbath
37. Bodies- Drowning Pool
36. The Number of the Beast- Iron Maiden
35. I Wanna Rock- Twisted Sister
34. Rainbow in the Dark- Dio
33. Sweating Bullets- Megadeth
32. When Worlds Collide- Powerman 5000
31. Wait and Bleed- Slipknot
30. Schools Out- Alice Cooper
29. Du Hast- Rammstein
28. You've Got Another Thing Comin'- Judas Priest
27. Sleep Now in the Fire- Rage Against the Machine
26. Sweet Child o' Mine- Guns n Roses
25. Guilty- Gravity Kills
24. Trust- Megadeth
23. Freak on a Leash- Korn
22. Down With the Sickness- Disturbed
21. BYOB- System of a Down
20. Enter Sandman- Metallica
19. Ace of Spades- Motorhead
18. Awake- Godsmack
17. Rock You Like a Hurricane- Scorpions
16. Paradise City- Guns n Roses
15. Dragula- Rob Zombie
14. Paranoid- Black Sabbath
13. Run to the Hills- Iron Maiden
12. Walk- Pantera
11. Hot for Teacher- Van Halen
10. The Beautiful People- Marilyn Manson
9. Man in the Box- Alice in Chains
8. Smoke on the Water- Deep Purple
7. Toxicity- System of a Down
6. Crazy Train- Ozzy Osbourne
5. Master of Puppets- Metallica
4. Welcome to the Jungle- Guns n Roses
3. Iron Man- Black Sabbath
2. One- Metallica
1. Back in Black- AC/DC

Honorable Mentions- "Cowboys From Hell" -Pantera, "Symphony of Destruction" -Megadeth, "Breaking the Law" -Judas Priest, "Superbeast" -Rob Zombie