NYS Music 202​0

Tag: rock and roll

  • Hearing Aide: Blacktop Mojo “Static”

    Artists strive to develop, grow, evolve. Blacktop Mojo’s latest release, Static, is certainly a product of that ethic.  A 4 song EP that it is a get in your car, roll down the windows, crank it up, and drive recording. With their first three albums laying the groundwork, Static represents a defining moment in this East Texas based band’s career.

    Blacktop Mojo

    Issued as an EP, it equates more to a perfect album side. The bond between the songs begs for it to be played in its entirety. No singling out a song or two, you need to play them all. On first listen, I was so hooked that I played the EP through a second and third time before taking a breath. Simply put, this is a rocker. Raw, hard and an unfiltered.

    Statoc = Blacktop Mojo

    Twist the antenna around

    Is there something wrong

    There’s nothing but white noise now

    The signal’s gone

    “Signals Gone” – Blacktop Mojo

    Blacktop Mojo has set a high watermark for future projects. If you are new to the band, what a place to start. For those those who have been in the know, Static will live at the top of the collection.

  • Happy Birthday Joey Ramone!

    Born May 19, 1951 in Queens, New York, Joey Ramone is regarded as the rocker who ushered the definition of a rebellious and braggadocious frontman in a punk band. There is no doubting The Ramones level of authenticity in the punk scene. Today would be his 70th birthday.

    birthday joey ramone
    Although short lived, Joey Ramone’s life was full of loud, angsty music; the legacy he left behind in the punk scene is almost untouchable.

    In 1974, four high school friends from a neighborhood in Forest Hills formed a band, inspired by the fast paced pop music which was popular during their upbringing. Taking influence from The Beach Boys and The Kinks, The Ramones made their music fast, melodic, raw and angsty. That same trio of effects became the formula for making punk music in the generations to come.

    Joey Ramone was diagnosed at a young age with Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder which would go on to influence much of his lyrical content. Also somewhat of a social outcast, Ramone would use themes of paranoia and social rejection in his music. Releasing smash-hit single “Blitzkrieg Bop,” The Ramones went Gold with their Debut Album, Ramones, released April 23, 1976.

    Since forming the band, The Ramones would go onto perform nearly 2,300 live shows, touring almost nonstop for the majority of their musical career. Although only reaching a brief amount of commercial success, the band’s accolades in notoriety far outweigh those of the Academy Awards. The group was nominated for, and won, both a Hall of Fame Award in 2007 and Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

    Ramone passed away in 2001 after a lifelong battle with lymphoma, dying at the young age of 49. Although short lived, Joey Ramone’s life was full of loud, angsty music; the legacy he left behind in the punk scene is almost untouchable.

    Happy Birthday, Joey Ramone!

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