Best Movie This Year, new music by The Killers, Eddie Vedder with Tom Petty, Savatage

"ABOUT TODAY (Theme To "Warrior")      THE NATIONAL

Tom Hardy is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors.   His last four films are Inception (epic), This Means War (I thought it was fun, a guy's chick flick), Warrior, and Dark Knight Rises (he's Bane).     WARRIOR was actually released in the fall of 2011 but I didn't see it until just recently.   It's got a incredible 8.3 rating on IMDB and 83% on Rotten Tomatoes.   Great scores, but I think they are too low!!!   It's my favorite movie I've seen this year.  Taking a page from Stallone's Rocky movies, an underdog gets a shot at the title.    But that doesn't do the film justice.   Nick Nolte should have won an Oscar for his portrayal of the ex-alcoholic father.   Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Morrison are brilliant as Tommy's brother and sister in law.   But the true star is Tom Hardy and his commitment to the lead character, an ex-Marine who competes in a Winner Take All UFC tournament.  I'm not a big fan of mixed martial arts training but I was mesmerized by the action in the ring.  Scene after scene takes your breath away, from the confrontation between son and long lost father, the brothers meeting the night before the tournament, the brutally realistic fight scenes, the high school students rooting for their teacher.    You'll be enthralled and cheering the whole movie!    100% recommended.   Here's the theme song and a special short version with movie dialogue included.

"RUNAWAYS"      THE KILLERS (UPDATED OFFICIAL VIDEO)

Finally new music by The Killers!   "Runaways" is the lead single from a new CD called Battle Born due out this fall.   Four years since the last CD but they're back with a vengeance.  A true rock anthem with swirling guitar riffs, unrelenting drum beats, Brandon Boyd's scream-it-out chorus, and lyrics that remind me of a lost Springsteen track.   ""We're all just runaways, I knew it when I met you,  I'm not gonna let you runaway, I knew it when I held you I wasn't letting go".  I really liked Entertainment Weekly's description of the song as 'a Jack & Diane story of exuberant young love'.  If the rest of the CD is as powerful as this track, it may rival the sales of "Hot Fuss", The Killers breakthrough masterpiece.  

DAILY MUSIC TRIVIA:  What Dire Straits song did The Killers cover on their Sawdust CD?  

"THE WAITING"    EDDIE VEDDER and TOM PETTY

"Oh baby don't it feel like heaven tonight, don't if feel like something from a dream"  -  Could those lyrics be anymore apropos then on this incredible night.   I'm so jealous for the Amsterdam audience this June 24th.   During Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers show, Eddie Vedder comes out and performs "The Waiting" with the band at the Heineken Music Hall.  There wasn't even a need for a big introduction, Eddie shows up in his traditional flannel shirt, Tom has a drink from his beer, and they jam out to the 80's Petty classic.   After Eddie sings the first bridge, Tom (on lead guitar) changes up the first guitar solo and then joins Eddie on vocals.    The video's quality is really good for a concert bootleg video.

"BELIEVE"    SAVATAGE

Growing up in the Tampa area in the late 80/90's, you had to know Savatage.   I once saw them at ML Chasers, a rock club on US 19 in Clearwater.  Their CD, Gutter Ballet, was an MTV Headbanger's Ball favorite in 1989.   The Oliva brothers actually started their metal band at an Astro Skate in Tarpon Springs, FL not far from where I live!   Savatage's theatrical themes,rock operas, and their refusal to play anything radio-friendly, set a line in the sand, you loved them or hated them.  "Believe" starts off exceedingly slow but give it a minute or two and the intensity of Oliva's voice mixed with the heavy guitar riff is pure metal bliss.   As you know, the uncommercial Savatage ironically became the massively successful, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, who sell out arenas every Christmas season. 

 

Happy Memorial Day! Billy Joel, Kid Rock, Billy Ray Cyrus

"WARRIOR"     KID ROCK

How do you sell joining the military to young American males?   Make a rock video, show things getting blown up, add a NASCAR superstar, and make it look like a video game come to life!  Nothing subtle about Kid Rock here.  In a video that includes NASCAR hero, Dale Earnhardt Jr and a cast of American soldiers, "Warrior" was released as a free single for the National Guard.   Every military cliche is here including, "Freedom ain't so free when you breathe red, white and blue".   Kid Rock has always supported the troops and this song adds a new dimension to his dedication.

"GOODNIGHT SAIGON"    BILLY JOEL

Taken from the Billy Joel album, "Nylon Curtain" in 1982, here's an unforgettable tribute to the Vietnam vets.   Documenting their mindset from their arrival for training at Paris Island to their mental and physical struggles serving their country in Vietnam.  It's a powerful piece of art that Billy including in his concert to close Shea Stadium.  Reminding everyone of 9/11, firefighters, police, and military personnel, all dressed in their uniforms, sang the emotional chorus, "We said we'll all go down together". 

"SOME GAVE ALL"   BILLY RAY CYRUS

Long before Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus had the biggest song on the planet.   Copies of "Achy Breaky Heart" can be found in flea market discount bins along with some MC Hammer parachute pants and copies of Vanilla Ice's CD, "To The Extreme".   But the title track of that Billy Ray Cyrus CD, "Some Gave All" is a colossal tribute to the soldiers who made a commitment to protect their country and loved ones.   Billy sold millions of copies of his country line dance #1 hit  but this tribute song will be his crowning legacy.   "All gave some, some gave all"