Category Archives: Music

Music Video of the Day: Armegeddon It by Def Leppard (1988, directed by Wayne Isham)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

The theme of this video seems to be that Def Leppard is the band that has fun onstage and off!

This footage for this video was shot over the course of two shows at McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado. Originally, the footage was going to be used for a future concert film but, when Armageddon It was released as a single, the band’s record label said that they needed a music video to accompany it and they needed it immediately. Since the band didn’t want to do another “concept video” (and really didn’t have time to come up with a concept in the first place), the Denver footage was hastily edited together.

The end result was that Armageddon It went on to the become the band’s fourth top ten hit in the United States.

Enjoy!

Song of the Day: The Twilight Zone Theme by Marius Constant

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Technically, the French composer Marius Constant did not set out to write the theme song for The Twilight Zone.  In the 50s, CBS commissioned Constant to compose a number of short pieces for CBS stock music library, basically as musical stingers that could be used for radio shows.  In 1960, when The Twilight Zone needed a theme song, an enterprising CBS employee combined two of Constant’s composition to create the iconic Twilight Zone theme.

Enjoy our short but haunting song of the day.

Song of the Day: My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) by Neil Young

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

This is the song that gave it’s title to one of the best films ever made.

My my, hey hey
Rock and roll is here to stay
It’s better to burn out
Than to fade away
My my, hey hey.

Out of the blue
and into the black
They give you this,
but you pay for that
And once you’re gone,
you can never come back
When you’re out of the blue
and into the black.

The king is gone
but he’s not forgotten
This is the story
of a Johnny Rotten
It’s better to burn out
than it is to rust
The king is gone
but he’s not forgotten.

Hey hey, my my
Rock and roll can never die
There’s more to the picture
Than meets the eye.
Hey hey, my my.

Songwriters: Neil Young and Jeff Blackburn

 

Music Video of the Day: Mother 93 by Danzig (1993, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

The above video was the second one for Mother, hence why it’s called Mother ’93.  It features live footage of the band performing at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheater in California.  At around the same time this video was in rotation on MTV, Glenn Danzig was invited to audition for the role of Wolverine in one of the early attempts to make an X-Men film.  Danzig, who had the right look for the role, had to turn down the opportunity due to scheduling conflicts.

This video also inspired a classic line from Beavis and Butt-Head: “That little dance isn’t very cool.”

Enjoy!

Song of the Day: Paranoid (by Black Sabbath)

Posted on by Arleigh

“Paranoid” kicks off with that racing riff that instantly puts you on edge, like you’re glancing over your shoulder waiting for trouble to catch up. It’s short, loud, and ridiculously catchy, but what really makes it stick is how alive it feels the whole way through, like the band is barely holding back all that energy. Alongside their other iconic single “War Pigs” from the same second studio album, Paranoid, these tracks are straight-up building blocks of what would become heavy metal—raw power, dark vibes, and riffs that redefined everything.

What I love most is how Tony Iommi’s guitar doesn’t just sit in the background—it drives the whole thing. The man lost the tips of his right-hand ring and middle fingers in a factory accident but came back playing like a bat out of hell, way better than dudes with all their fingertips intact. The riffs are sharp and urgent, but the solo is where it really takes off, because it sounds loose, clever, and aggressive all at once.

The guitar solo begins at about 1:23 in the original track, and that’s the moment the song really opens up and starts flexing. From there, Iommi keeps it simple enough that it feels memorable on first listen, but the phrasing has this gritty personality that makes it sound way bigger than the number of notes would suggest. It’s a great example of how a solo can be compact and still feel huge.

So if someone’s never heard “Paranoid” before, I’d tell them to start here and just let it rip. It’s heavy without being bloated, exciting without being messy, and the solo gives it that extra spark that makes the whole song feel iconic. Tracks like this and “War Pigs” are exactly why Tony Iommi earned his title as the “Godfather of Heavy Metal”—even if you’re not usually into older metal, this one has such a direct punch that it’s hard not to get pulled in.

Paranoid

Verse 1]
Finished with my woman
‘Cause she couldn’t help me with my mind
People think I’m insane
Because I am frowning all the time

[Verse 2]
All day long I think of things
But nothing seems to satisfy
Think I’ll lose my mind
If I don’t find something to pacify

[Bridge]
Can you help me
Occupy my brain?
Oh yeah

[Verse 3]
I need someone to show me
The things in life that I can’t find
I can’t see the things that make true happiness
I must be blind

[Guitar Solo @1:23]

[Verse 4]
Make a joke and I will sigh
And you will laugh and I will cry
Happiness, I cannot feel
And love to me is so unreal

[Verse 5]
And so, as you hear these words
Telling you now of my state
I tell you to enjoy life
I wish I could, but it’s too late

Great Guitar Solos Series

Music Video of the Day: Wild Night by John Mellencamp, featuring Me’shell Ndegeocello (1994, directed by Jonathan Kaplan)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Today’s music video of the day is for John Mellencamp’s cover of Van Morrison’s Wild Night.

In 1994, the opening of this video was the most popular 40 seconds on MTV.  I have traveled in a lot of taxi cabs and Ubers.  I’ve been lucky enough to have some very good drivers but none of them appeared in the 1992 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.  The driver, in this video, is played by Shana Zadrick, a model who was often compared to Cindy Crawford.

Back in 1994, if you enjoyed this video, you could go down to your friendly neighborhood Musicland (or Suncoast Motion Picture Company) and, for just $19.98, you could see even more of Shana in this commemorative video:

The other good thing about this video is that bassline, which was provided by Me’shell Ndegeocello.  Wild Night was released at the same time that Ndegeocello had her biggest solo hit, If That’s Your Boyfriend (He Wasn’t Last Night).

This video was directed by Jonathan Kaplan.  A former film school classmate of Martin Scorsese’s, Kaplan got his start directing films like Night Call Nurses and The Student Teachers for Roger Corman.  He eventually became a mainstream film and television director.  His most highly regarded film is probably 1988’s The Accused, for which Jodie Foster won her first Oscar.

Song of the Day: Revenge of the Ninja by Robert J. Walsh

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s song of the day comes to us from the soundtrack of the 1983 film, Revenge of the Ninja.  Composed by Robert J. Walsh, this soundtrack will definitely leave you prepared to defeat all of your enemies, ninja-style!

(Actually, don’t try to do that without getting some training once.  I speak with the experience who sprained her ankle multiple times as a result of trying to duplicated Kate Beckinsale’s Underworld moves.)