Breaking Benjamin & Nothing More Concert Review 10/30/2015 Maverick Center, Part 1 (Finished November 2nd, 2015)

Hello,

This is part 1 of a two blog series on the Shinedown/Breaking Benjamin/Nothing More concert on October 30th, 2015. First a caveat, unlike Def Leppard, whose songs I've probably heard a couple of hundred times, I'm not quite as familiar with the music of these three bands. I like several songs by Breaking Benjamin, but don't know them as well. Part of the fun of a concert is singing along with the songs. What I'm saying is my grade would be higher if I'd known their songs better.

Thanks to a very inefficient non-secure security procedure it took several minutes to get into the Maverick Center. One would have thought that the Maverick Center would no how to get people into a concert efficiently now. I guess not.

That meant that we missed half of Nothing More's set. I'm one of those that actually like to see all the bands that play. One never knows what bands will break out. About 2004 I got tickets to go see Van Hagar in concert. A little known at the time band opened for them, that bands name was Shinedown. I sort of followed them over the years, buying and listening to some of their music over the years. It was only this year that I really got into them with the release of their excellent CD "Threat To Survival". With some growth and maturity, Nothing More could be headlining shows in just a few years.

I like some songs by Nothing More- I love "Fat Kid" from their first CD:

Due to security, all we were able to see was the last half of Nothing More's set, sadly they didn't play "Fat Kid". We caught "Here's To The Heartache", which is also quite a good song. Nothing More described it as their "next single"- which seems so obsolete now. Are there really singles any more? Who listens to terrestial radio if they have a choice. I couldn't tell you a single off any CD from the last several years. Back in the 80s I would have known all the singles off a CD. I could still tell you most, if not all, singles off of "Thriller". I find it funny that people would still use that terminology: 

Then they played "This Is The Time (Ballast)":

Nothing More then closed with "Salem (Burn The Witch)":

Breaking Benjamin's setlist:

1)  "Failure": (Good old Benjamin likes the f bomb way too much, a word which is completely unnecessary.)

2) "Breath"

3) "Angels Fall"

After an introduction and thanks to all the soldiers that have fought for our country, the boys played 4) "Unknown Soldier"

5) "Follow"

6) "So Cold"

7) "Breaking The Silence"

8) "Stay With Me"

9) "Sooner or Later" (Keith Wallen sang lead vocals on this song)

One of the highlights of the night. 10) "Blow Me Away"

A truly nerd moment, which I so relate to, when Benjamin broke out a light saber. 11) " Imperial March" / "Schism" / "Smells Like Teen Spirit" / "Walk":

Just as a side note: when they played "Smells Like Teen Spirit", I was reminded once again how great this song was. This is truly 4 minutes of brilliance. 

One of their best songs: 12) "Polyamorous"

13)  "Give Me A Sign":

14) "Believe" (Aaron Bruch contributed vocals on this song)

15) "I Will Not Bow"

16) "Until The End"

17) "Diary of Jane":

Breaking Benjamin is currently made up of the following members:

• Benjamin Burnley – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1999–present)
• Aaron Bruch – bass, backing vocals (2014–present)
• Keith Wallen – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2014–present)
• Jasen Rauch – lead guitar, electronic strings, programming (2014–present)
• Shaun Foist – drums, electronic percussion, programming (2014–present)

It seems Breaking Benjamin has settled into pretty much the same setlist on this tour, but it's a good setlist. Breaking Benjamin played in front of a gigantic screen print of the cover of their new CD "Dark Before Dawn"- a very good CD that I highly recommend to add to your collection. About 7000 fans were in attendance for this concert.

Benjamin likes to use the f-bomb too much. I'm not sure why though, it doesn't help a concert be any better. The boys played a pretty tight about 70 minute set, no encore and little filler. The vocals were buried too much in the music some of the time. "Until The End" and "Diary of Jane" shouldn't be sung back to back as they sound like virtually the same song. For "Diary of Jane" the band invited about 25 people up on the stage. That was cool.

Benjamin likes to pump his fist, which got old after awhile. Benjamin and the other singers were in fine voice all night, the band is a tight, cohesive group.

Before the show I wasn't sure who the headliner was and I was hoping it was Shinedown. I like their songs better. However at the end of the concert I'm now liking both bands about the same. And I've been listening to "Shallow Bay: The Best of Breaking Benjamin" as my drive music since that concert. I guess you could say I liked them in concert.

Coming soon my review of Shinedown on that same night.

themusicaddict

themusicaddict's Personal Top 40 Songs of Madonna Continued #35-#25

Hello,

All numbers and NR in parenthesis are where the song is in Rolling Stone rankings, NR = not ranked. And away we go......

35) "Rebel Heart" (NR) is Madonna's latest CD and it's a pretty average CD, but it does have a couple of great songs on it. Here's a couple, first up the title track:



34) "Heartbreak City" (NR):



33) "Die Another Day" (50):



32) "Now I'm Following You", (Part Two) (NR):



31) "Angel" (18):



30) "Music" (9):



This is a great version of this song! 29) "Burning Up (10)":



28) "Dear Jessie" (NR):



27) "Celebration" (NR):



26) "Oh Father" (NR):



25) "Everybody" (Live) (41):



"Everybody" (Studio Version):

themusicaddict

Top Fifteen Madonna Songs According to a Rolling Stone Special Collectors Issue + The Beginning of My Personal Top 40 Madonna

Hello,

There's a reason 1% of the songs on my iPod and that 208 songs on my iTunes are by Madonna. It's because her music is timeless- many of these songs sound as good now as when they were originally released.

1) "Like A Prayer"

2) "Into The Groove"

3) "Vogue"

4) "Borderline"

5) "Like A Virgin" No argument with the Top 5 songs on this list.

6) "Hung Up"- Um, no. A decent song, but not one of her best songs. Especially at #6.

7) "Live To Tell": One of my favorite ballads of all-time.

8) "Ray of Light"

9) "Music"

10) "Burning Up"

11) "Crazy For You"

12) "Express Yourself"

13) "Material Girl":

14) "Promise To Try":

15) "Dress You Up" Songs 8 to 15 are all solid, although I know all of them wouldn't be in my Top 15.

Before I start, here are the songs that made Rolling Stone's Top 20 Madonna songs that didn't make my list. Number in parenthesis is where the song is on Rolling Stone's list. "Hung Up" (6), "Ray of Light" (8), "Promise To Try" (14), "Justify My Love" (17) and "What It Feels Like For A Girl" (19). Honorable mention songs: "Don't Tell Me" and "Frozen".

Now it's time for Madonna's 40 truly greatest songs. I pondered this for a few hours and probably will continue working on the list as I write this blog. I've decided that I'm going to countdown Madonna's Top 40 songs. That list started at 15 songs and then I continued thinking of more and more great Madonna songs. I know that I will forget songs and all other sorts of foolishness, but oh well. Forty songs is too many to fit on one blog, so this will spread over two or three blogs. As always the order of songs is subject to change.

40) I don't have a song yet, but I know eventually there will be a song that presents itself. I just knew a song would introduce itself and it did. "Incredible":

39) "White Heat" (NR):



Madonna is equally adept at the great pop song as well as beautiful ballads. (38) "Something To Remember" (NR):



37) "Thief of Hearts" (NR):



36) "Erotica" (NR):

However tomorrow night I'll be going to the Shinedown/ Breaking Benjamin/ Nothing More concert- a review will be coming for that soon.

themusicaddict

Songs On themusicaddict's Radar, October 28th, 2015

Hello,

1) Franz Ferdinand's "Dark of The Matinee":

This song brings back unpleasant memories of junior high school bus rides. But it's still an all-time classic: 2) The Commodores "Still":

One of the catchiest songs of all-time: 3) The Arctic Monkey's "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor":

One of the best songs on Avicii's new CD "Stories". 4) Avicii's "Touch Me":

New New Order, like the song below a little bit out of the normal. 5) New Order's "Stray Dog":

This isn't your typical straight ahead rock song, I like all the different things about this song. 6) The Offspring's "She's Got Issues":

One of the best songs of this year: I could see her being one of the biggest musicians in the world a year from now. 7) Halsey's "Colors":

8) Daya's "Thirsty":

Probably my favorite G N' R song: 9) Guns N' Roses "Mr. Brownstone":

10) The Heavy's "What Makes A Good Man":

11) Disturbed's "3":

Going back to the glorious days of 2004: 12) Modest Mouse's "Float On":

From back in the olden days, 1996: 13) Primitive Radio Gods "Standing Outside A Broken Phone With Money In My Hand":

When you want tougher vampires than the Cullens: 14) The Toadies "Possum Kingdom":

One of my favorite songs on my iPod: 15) The Bohicas' "Where You At":

16) "The Caesars "Jerk It Out":

Don't lie, I know you remember this commercial (Long live Apple!):

themusicaddict

The Fabulous Five Female Singers of Summer, Fall and Winter 2015 Featuring Adele's New Song "Hello"

Hello,

It has been a fantastic 2015 for female musicians. I would like to highlight five of them: Elle King, Jess Glynne, Halsey, Carrie Underwood and Adele. This is her brand new song "Hello", it's from her upcoming CD "26". That CD will be released November 20th, I hope it's half as good as the amazing "21". This song reminds me of Lionel Richie's "Hello" and another song I can't quite place my finger on.

Here are 5 from Elle King, what an amazing CD "Love Stuff" is:

1) "America's Sweetheart":

2) "Told You I Was Mean": (From five years ago):

"I Told You I Was Mean" (2015 Version):

3)  "Where The Devil Don't Go":

4) "Last Damn Night":

5) "Ex's and Oh's":

Now five from the gorgeous Miss Carrie Underwood's latest CD, "Storyteller". First up is "Renegade Runaway":



"Dirty Laundry":



"Church Bells":



"Chaser":



And my favorite song from her new CD "Choctaw County Affair":



Next up Jess Glynne, "Hold My Hand":



"Gave Me Something":



"Take Me Home":



This is an absolutely and incredibly beautiful song. "Saddest Vanilla":



"No Rights No Wrongs":



Halsey

"Hurricane":



"Drive":



"Colors":



"Colors" (Live):



"Gasoline":



"I Walk The Line":

themusicaddict

Songs On themusicaddict's Radar: October 22nd, 2015: Country Music Goddesses, etc.

Hello,

Just another heaping slice of awesomeness, enjoy!

First up a double shot from Pam Tillis:

1) "Shake The Sugar Tree":

2) "Maybe It Was Memphis":

A double shot of Suzy Bogguss:

3) "Aces":

4) "Drive South":

   

5) Lorrie Morgan's "Watch Me":

6) Deana Carter's "Strawberry Wine":

And of course one of the most gorgeous women in the entire world, the ultimate Country Goddess, Miss Carrie Underwood:

"Before He Cheats":

"Good Girl":

"Blown Away":

I have never heard this song before today, but I like it. "Shiny Toy Guns":

Martika's "I Feel The Earth Move":

Sarah Vaughn's "Peter Gunn" (Max Sedgely Remix):

The Offspring's "The Kids Aren't Alright":

Counting Crows "A Long December":

Katharine McPhee's "Stranger Than Fiction":

themusicaddict

themusicaddict Reviews: Music: Jess Glynne, Halsey, Scorpions and Many Others, October 19th, 2015 (Finished October 24th, 2015)

Hello,

There have been so many great CDs released the last few weeks, it's hard to keep up with them. What a great "problem" to have. Women new to the music scene are really representing themselves very well. Great new CDs by Jess Glynne (non-profane division) and Halsey (profane division) have just been released. But there are many other great CDs being released, for instance the latest CD by The Scorpions and the soundtrack to the "Hamilton" Broadway Original Cast Recording. This blog is very much a work in progress, although you might get a sense of how I feel about the four CDs I've mentioned to this point.

1) Jess Glynne's "I Cry When I Laugh": I just discovered this recently and I'm absolutely in love with it. Thanks EW for bringing this to my attention. Thanks for appropriate lyrics for all ages Jess. Among many great songs on this CD, some of the best songs include "Gave Me Something", "Hold My Hand", "No Rights No Wrongs" and "You Can Find Me". Grade: A

2) Halsey's "Badlands" (Deluxe) She out-Lorde's Lorde. This is a much deeper CD than Lorde's "Pure Heroine". Although I love both of their respective arrangements of classic songs. I love what Lorde has done to Tears For Fears "Everybody Wants To Rule The World". Seriously can we all just admit that 80's music is the best and will never be topped? I love Halsey's take on the man, Johnny Cash's, version of "I Walk The Line". Other great songs include the stunning "Saddest Vanilla", "Castle", "Colors" and "Gasoline". As with the above CD, this is just a great, great CD. I also listened to it a couple more times and there are only a couple of songs with bad language on it. Grade: A+

3) The "Hamilton" Original Broadway Cast Recording: I've been listening to this in my car the last couple of days. It's very, very good. Singing some of the same refrains repeatedly gets tiresome after awhile, but that's typical of most Broadway plays. I love that this humanizes Alexander Hamilton and makes him a real person, rather than just a person of history. Overall a solid CD. Grade: B

4) The Scorpions' "Return To Forever": This CD is highlighted by the songs "We Built This House", "Rock My Car" and "Rock 'n' Roll Band". It has too many songs though, many of those songs are just filler. A leaner CD would have been better.  Grade for now: C

5) The Offspring's "Americana": Yes, I know this is an old CD, but I'm just getting around to listening to it now. This is a pretty solid CD, highlighted by three very good songs "Why Don't You Get A Job", Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)" and "The Kids Aren't Alright". Grade: C+

6) Pop Evil's "Up" (Deluxe): Pop Evil is one of those bands that I should be much bigger than they actually are. "Footsteps", "Take It All" and "Ghost of Muskegon" are the best songs on this CD. But mostly a lot of average songs. Grade for now: C.

7) Prince "HITNRUN (Phase One)": Since it's only on Tidal, I don't have the ability to review it. Thanks I'll stay with Rdio, rather than an overpriced, over hyped digital music website. Grade: Incomplete

8) Katherine McPhee's "Hysteria": Let's get the obvious out of the way, Miss McPhee is absolutely gorgeous. That never hurts when it comes to getting your music out. The first half is stronger than the second half of the CD. Grade: C

9) Pentatonix (Deluxe) A cappella music can be great. When it's well done, then it's just good as any other music. However for me a capella can get old pretty quickly. But I'm definitely digging "Na Na Na", "Cracked", "First Things First", "Cheerleader" and "Sing". This CD has many great songs, but it also has some clunkers. I need to listen to it a bit more before assigning my final grade. Grade: B-

10) Borns' "Dopamine": Starts out strong, but the songs are too same sounding to be an amazing CD. Grade: C

11) Chris Cornell's "Higher Truth": I didn't expect much and sadly it delivered. I still love Cornell's voice, it has taken on a world weary tone. Grade: C

12) The Zombies "Still Got That Hunger": Some things are just best left in the past. Grade: D

13) Carrie Underwood's "Storyteller" Just listening to this for the first time today, the first 3 songs are outstanding. Highlights include "Renegade Runaway", "Dirty Laundry", "Church Bells", and "Choctaw County Affair". Grade: B+

14) Daya's "Daya" (A tip of my hat to my brother for bringing this to my attention.): This six song ep is solid. I think six songs was a good place to stop, as this CD is split between 3 great songs and 3 not so great songs. Those three great songs are "Thirsty", "Sit Still, Look Pretty" and "Hide Away". Grade: B-, but I have a feeling the grade would have dropped as more less than great songs were added.

themusicaddict

Songs On themusicaddict's Radar: Rolling Stone, Riot Girls and Rdio (Finished October 17th, 2015)

Hello,

These are songs currently rocking my iPod and other music gadgets.

1) Aqua's "Lollipop (Candyman)":

2) A Perfect Circle's "The Outsider":

3) Merle Haggard's "If We Make It Through December":

Another song by Bikini Kill was mentioned in a recent Rolling Stone issue, but I liked this song more. 4) Bikini Kill's "Rebel Girl":

Just a perfect song from opening note to the final note. It doesn't go on too long or feel rushed, it runs the perfect amount of time. 5) Rush's "The Spirit of Radio":

6) Le Tigre "TKO":

7) Tacocat's "Crimson Wave":

8) Rancid's "Ruby Soho":

All these songs below I discovered at Rdio's new releases page:

9) Tesla's "Hand Me Down World":

10) 5 Seconds of Summer's "Hey Everybody":

11) EL VY's "Paul Is Alive":

I just love this song for it's aching excellence- a great song for a break up. 12) Sleeping At Last's "Already Gone":

13) Enya's "Echoes In Rain":

14) Olly Murs "Kiss Me":

15) The Vamps "Cheater":

I absolutely love Miss Merchant's voice: 16) Natalie Merchant's "Carnival" (new version):

17) Halsey's "Ghost":

18) Halsey's "I Walk The Line":



19) Halsey's "Hurricane":

20) Zedd's "Beautiful Now":

21) New Years Day "Kill Or Be Killed":

themusicaddict

themusicaddict Reviews: Music: Shinedown, Duran Duran and 12 Others, October 14th, 2015 (Finished October 27th, 2015)

Hello,

My thanks, as always, to Rdio so that I can listen to these albums in their entirety and unlimited. It's the best $5 I spend per month.

All grades subject to change!

Music:
1) Nothing More "Nothing More": They are the opening act on the Shinedown/ Breaking Benjamin co-headlining tour. I'll be rocking out with all three bands Friday and three beautiful ladies October 30th. Through several listens I quite like it. It's much better than the Bring Me The Horizon CD reviewed further down this blog. I like the song "Mr. MTV" and it's reference to "bow down before our corporate fathers". Boy, how do I relate to that statement! Not exactly ground breaking, but there are certainly several good songs here. Not ground breaking, but also not the same song over and over again with only a few tweaks. Highlights include "Mr. MTV", "This Is The Time (Ballast)", "The Matthew Effect" and "Jenny". This CD is so much better than I thought it would be. Nothing More I definitely want more! Grade: B

2) Foals "What Went Down": I read about this in a recent issue of Entertainment Weekly, they gave it an A- grade, which I completely disagree with. Honestly after their ecstatic review I was let down by this CD. I listened to it one more time before I give it a final grade though. Final grade: C-

3) New Order's "Music Complete": This CD is highlighted by songs such as "Restless", "Singularity", "Plastic" and "Tutti Fruitti". A bunch of bright, bouncy Europop. However none of the songs break out of their similar sounding dance pop. Not a bad CD, but with a bit more work it could have been a great CD. Grade: C+

4) The Bohicas "The Making Of": Out of all 13 CDs reviewed on this blog, this is my second favorite CD. A great CD, a great up and coming band and a band I expect big things from in the future. The best songs on this CD include "I Do It For Your Love", "Swarm", the very dance worthy "Where You At" and "Somehow You Know What I Mean". Grade: B+

5) Avicii's "Stories": After the joyous "True", this CD arrives with big expectations. Sadly some of these "Stories" are less than good. "Stories" revealed more layers as I continued listening to it. I like "Broken Arrows", "Waiting For Love" and "Touch Me". I want to listen to it a couple more times before I give it a final grade. Grade: B-

6) Duran Duran's "Paper Gods" (Deluxe Edition) "Pressure Off" is one of the best, danceable and most fun songs of the last several years. Duran Duran still retains their classic sound, which is a compliment, as well as adding new ingredients to their sound. It makes for a great musical stew. It doesn't hold up as well as I expected it would over a few listens. However still a solid CD, Grade: B-.

7) Shinedown's "Threat To Survival": Just an amazing CD from the opening note through the final note. Of the 11 songs on this CD, 9 of them are amazing. I'm so excited to see them in concert in a couple of weeks. Again with so many great songs on this CD, it's hard to pick out the best of it's best songs. But of course I'm going to try. The best of the best songs are "Oblivion", "Black Cadillac", "It All Adds Up", "Cut The Cord" and "Asking For It". Grade: A+

8) Jana Kramer's "thirty one": I just wanna say I love Jana Kramer. Not only is she drop dead gorgeous, but also a great singer and she has a bunch of great songs. Her self-titled debut CD is fantastic, "King of Apology" is still on my iPod. Highlights on this CD include "Pop That Bottle", "Don't Touch My Radio" and "Said No One Ever". Grade: B-

9) Bring Me The Horizon's "That's The Spirit": Very generic rap-rock music. This CD has some interesting moments, but few and far between. I do like the song "What You Need", but don't like the unnecessary swearing in that song. Although that's one of the best songs on the CD, it's stooping to the lowest common denominator. Grade: D

10) Superhumanoid's "Do You Feel Okay?": For such a lighthearted band it seems the song titled "Norwegian Black Metal" would be a whole lot more fun. Grade: D

11) Blondie's "Real Real Blondie" (Live) Although this CD has some highlights, including "Denis", "Maria" and "Hanging On The Telephone", it has too many lowlights to get a higher grade. I get it singing the same song over and over and over again could get boring. The performances of "Atomic" and "The Tide Is High" reflect that and are less than inspiring. I also didn't like how "Heart of Glass" was packaged as an add on song. That's a shame for what quite likely is their best song. Grade: C+

12) In This Moment's "Black Widow": This band is obviously highlighted by the shredding vocals of Maria Brink. It's a very solid CD, which is highlighted by "Sex Metal Barbie", "Dirty Pretty" and the title song "Black Widow" ("the male spider is not considered to be dangerous"). "Black Widow" is highlighted by Brink's shredding vocals. "Sexual Hallucination" is the joining together of two titanic vocalists in Brink and Shinedown's own Brent Smith. Other great songs on "Black Widow" include "Sick Like Me", "Bloody Creature Poster Girl", "Bones" and "Natural Born Sinner". Grade: B+

The other members at this time in In This Moment are: Chris Howorth, Randy Weitzel, Travis Johnson and Tom Hane. Brink and Howorth have been there since the band formed in 2005

13) Iron Maiden's "Book of Souls": Wow, a lot of long songs. Iron Maiden definitely wanted to fill up more than one CD with these songs. Eleven songs, two CDs, ninety-two minutes of music. So how is it? Well if you're going to have that much music, it better all be solid. But so many songs go on and on for no reason that I can discern. Feels like paint by the numbers Iron Maiden. While the singing and musicianship are good, there's no outstanding song on this CD. Iron Maiden you can do so much better. Grade: C

14) Breaking Benjamin's "Dark Before Dawn". It only seems fair to review their latest CD as I reviewed the latest CDs of the two bands they'll be playing with Friday night in West Valley! This is a great CD, featuring such excellent songs as "Angels Fall", "Bury Me Alive", "The Great Divide" and "Close To Heaven". Grade: B-

themusicaddict

themusicaddict Reviews: "The Martian" and Television (Updated October 20th, 2015)

Hello,

1) "The Martian"- the book is great, the movie is great and overall a great story. For me it's all about the story. Special effects are cool, but they are empty without a solid story. Although fictional, this story gives one hope that the citizens of Earth can unite and make this world better. I loved how the story has both a lot of great humor, but also a lot of poignant moments. Matt Damon is great as are all the other actors. Andy Weir's book is the solid foundation that other very creative minds build on to make an overall very satisfying experience.

My only complaint is the implausibility of the ending. Mark Watney survived so much through his own ingenuity on the surface of Mars. I loved Watney's snarky sense-of-humor and how he kept that as he faced each challenge. I don't know how to put it eloquently, but it seems like there were just too many things thrown at him that when he finally got to the MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle) that those things should have stopped at some point. I get it that life isn't like that, but fiction can be. But that's one exceedingly small complaint in overall extremely entertaining piece of fiction.

Television:

2) "Public Morals" (through 8 episodes) So much of modern television is sex scenes, again I wish this trend would stop. Thankfully "Public Morals" isn't as graphic as shows like "The Bridge". The sex scenes and way too much violence and I just had to stop watching that show. This is for the most part a great show. Edward Burns does a good job on this show with so many great actors. I also like Michael Rapaport's morally conflicted cop. Also for a cop he's sure slow in figuring out that Katrina Bowden's "Fortune" likes him. Overall a pretty good show. It's entertaining, but doesn't make me have to think too much. When I watch TV I usually just want to relax. Grade: B-

3) "Quantico" (through 3 episodes) This show stars Priyanka Chopra and her two boobs. Seriously her boobs get more screen time than many of the other characters. The storyline is ridiculous and full of cliches. I have a feeling the ending will not be satisfying. Despite all that I keep on coming back. Again a lot to be said for not making me think too much, although out of all the shows I watch it's my fourth or fifth show to watch. Grade: C

4) "The Grinder" (through 3 episodes) Rob Lowe is great in this, as well as many of the other actors including Fred Savage. I also Natalie Morales spunk as the show's requisite eye candy. Another thing I like about watching TV is laughing, which this show has made me do several times. Lowe is great, but his smarmy Dean Sanderson is getting a bit tiresome. Also why doesn't a successful TV star able to afford his own home? Grade: B- but this show is starting to show some cracks.

5) "Homeland" Season 5 (through 2 episodes) Despite Stephen Colbert's well deserved mocking of this show, I still love it. Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison and Mandy Patinkin as Saul Berenson are still great. They are two terrific actors playing very meaty characters. The storyline about having Peter Quinn (a very good Rupert Friend) killing Mathison rings a bit lame though. I do like how the show is now based in Germany, but still deals with very relevant Middle Eastern topics. Just a great show all around. Season 4 started out strong, only to end on a blase note. Thus my cautiously optimistic grade: B.

6) "Mr. Robot" (through 3 episodes): One of the best pilots I've ever seen, the second episode was a bit meh. However "Mr. Robot" came completely off the rails in the third episode. Using the whole we can find out whatever we want by having sex with people in the know. Again and the sex is graphic, which to many of us is off putting. To quote "One Night In Bangkok", "I get my kicks above the waste line sunshine". One of the reasons I got tired of "How To Get Away With Murder" is because that the trading sex for information plot was overused in so many of Season 1's episodes. The Pilot: A, Episode 2: C, Episode 3: F and the show became unwatchable for me at that point. Although I do find the premise so very intriguing and the show did receive a lot of great reviews. Grade: D- but I'll possibly finish watching Season 1 someday.

7) "Zoo" (through 6 episodes) A good enough show, may be a little slow for Mensa members. But it's good enough for me. Not the greatest show ever, but also not the worst show ever. A nice light trifle. James Wolk doesn't quite have what's needed to be a leading actor, he's better as a supporting Bob Benson like character. Billy Burke, doesn't he seem to be in every TV series, isn't my favorite actor. However he's much better and much more likable than the lame character he played in the lame "Revolution"- truly one of the dumbest shows of the last several years. Someone please let me know how that completely stupid show got a second season? Anyway "Zoo" is a much better show. With all the other shows I'm watching, this has been pushed a bit to the side a bit. Grade: C

themusicaddict

themusicaddict's Review of "Concussion", Shame on the NFL!

Hello,

Special thanks to Random House Trade Paperbooks and NetGalley for allowing me to read this very good book early. "Concussion" the book will be released November 24th, 2015, "Concussion" the movie will be released December 25th.

This review is dedicated in loving memory of Mike Webster and Terry Long, former NFL players who died due to the effects of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). Webster and Long's brains were the first two brains used to confirm CTE, although it took several more years before the NFL acknowledged it. My thanks to Dr. Bennet Omalu for sticking to his guns, as his Oba taught him, and for Jeanne Marie Laskas for bringing this story to the light of day.

This is my review of Jeanne Marie Laskas' "Concussion", the true story of the 10 years of Dr. Bennet Omalu's research of CTE in the brains of NFL players.

From Wikipedia's CTE page:

"Clinical symptoms of CTE are only beginning to be understood. They are thought to include changes in mood (i.e. depression, suicidality, apathy, anxiety), cognition(i.e. memory loss, executive dysfunction), behavior (short fuse, aggression), and in some cases motor disturbance (i.e. difficulty with balance and gait). While the pathology of CTE has been broken up into stages,^[9] the clinical symptoms and clinical progression of CTE are not yet fully understood."

But ultimately this is a book review. What did I think of the book? Well I loved the book, it's a very well written book. My only complaint is that it ran on a bit long. But I loved meeting the Nigerian doctor Dr. Bennet Omalu, a brave, brilliant and tough doctor. I loved meeting his dynamic family and his wife. I loved how much he was helped then helped his family.

I love how this book started out, it grips one by the collar. We start out in a Pittsburgh courtroom where Dr. Omalu is on the witness stand. He's testifying against his former mentor, his American father, Cyril Wecht. Wecht, who had been involved in such fancy cases as Jon Benet Ramsey, was the one who mentored Omalu to the pathologist he became.

From that great start, the book goes back and forth in time. But that's never confusing and always fits the story well.

In 2005 Omalu had a chance to study Mike Webster's brain, Webster was the former Pittsburgh Steeler center who had so many helmet to helmet collisions in his 16 seasons of play. Omalu found CTE in his brain, which at the time was a brand new discovery. The NFL fought back by trying to discredit Omalu, they were partially successful for awhile. But through his perseverance and picking great allies the truth came out, as it always does. The NFL dragged their feet, which is a common occurrence in the NFL with Roger Goodell as the commissioner, but eventually even they had to admit Omalu's research was accurate.

I give this book 5 stars and recommend all, especially football fans, to read it. I have to admit I was reading it while I was hearing football coming from the other room. It's hard to resist the siren call of football. I think college football is the best, but NFL football is also pretty enticing. I do wonder if we should continue to feed the beast that causes permanent and negative life changing results for many former players.

The next book I'll be reading is Garth Risk Hallberg's "City On Fire".

themusicaddict

Breaking Benjamin's Best (Finished October 18th, 2015)

Hello,

On October 30th, themusicaddict and some friends will be going to see the triple bill of Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin and Nothing More at the Maverick Center in West Valley City, Utah. I'm not going to lie I'm going to see this concert 90% because of Shinedown, one of my new favorite bands. However I've been listening to Breaking Benjamin the last couple of weeks, they are really growing on me. If you just want a taste of what their music is like, check out their greatest hits CD "Shallow Bay" The Best of Breaking Benjamin". There's a deluxe edition, but the one disc is more than enough. Anyway here are some of my favorite of their songs:

Benjamin announcing his impending fatherhood and "I Will Not Bow" (Acoustic)":

"I Will Not Bow" (Electric):

"The Diary Of Jane":

"So Cold":

"Sooner or Later":

"Failure":

"Angels Fall":

"Breaking The Silence":

"The Great Divide":

"Polyamorous":

"Had Enough":

"Skin":

"Medicate":

"Blow Me Away" (featuring Valora):

"Breath":

"Until The End":

"Lights Out":

"Give Me A Sign":

"Water":

It looks like I wrote this song twice. Oh well, enjoy a bonus video. "Had Enough":

themusicaddict

Bands That Rock That Didn't Hit The Heights They Should Have, But It's Not Too Late! Part 5: 10 Years (Updated 10/8/15))

Hello,

With only limited time, I just wanted to get this blog started. This blog is about the not known well enough rock band 10 Years. I'll finish this later, but I just wanted to get a few of their songs on the blog:

"Through The Iris":

"Dancing With The Dead":

"Sleeper":

"Wasteland":

"Fix Me":

"Waking Up":

"Now Is The Time":

"The Wicked Ones":

"The Recipe":

"Paralyzing Kings":

"Prey":

"Dead In The Water":

"Waking Up The Ghost":

"Running In Place":

"Fade Into (The Ocean)":

"From Birth To Burial":

themusicaddict

Songs On themusicaddict's Radar (October 4th, 2015)

Hello,

I've decided to stop numbering these music on my radar blogs. I'm just going to identify them by the date I start writing it.

1) James Ingram's "Too Much For One Heart":

A New Order threeplay, including one of their new songs, 2) "Singularity":

3) "Round and Round":

4) "Regret":

A Nothing More threeplay, they are currently opening for the co-headlining Shinedown/ Breaking Benjamin concert:

5) "This Is The Time (Ballast)":

6) "Jenny":

7) "Mr. MTV":

8) Tesla's "Edison's Medicine":

9) An Olivia Lane twofer "You Part Two":

10) "Lightning":

A Bohicas threeplay, 11) "Where You At":

12) "I Do It For Your Love":

13) "Girlfriend":

14) My Chemical Romance's "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na):

I know I said that some of Styx's songs were stale in a recent blog. While that is true, this song still sounds fresh, which perhaps is the reason they played the song last. "Renegade":

themusicaddict

September 28th, 2015 Tesla, Styx and Def Leppard In Salt Lake, Utah at USANA Amphitheatre (Part 2) (Updated 12/26/15)

Hello,

This is the fifth time I've seen Def Leppard in concert. I remember seeing them when they were the biggest band in the world on their "Hysteria" tour. Now over 25 years later they are still selling out 20,000 people stadiums. On a perfectly beautiful night in Salt Lake City, Def Leppard roared to stage and played a 17 song set. While no longer the world's biggest band, which I'm guessing they are perfectly fine with, they still deliver a high energy show.

Promo's for their new CD were on the video screens before and between sets. Joe talked about it during the encore, but they didn't play any songs from it. I would have loved to hear the lead single "Let's Go" rather than the moldy oldie "Rock On". "Let's Go":

But my biggest complaint, and it's rather minor, is that they didn't play "Women".

Def Leppard's songs for the most part are more timeless and the songs of Styx, so I'm still not sick of hearing them. Since their songs are more timeless, they aren't as stale as some of the songs of Styx were. I've been listening to their music for the last several days in my car- essentially any song from "Pyromania" or Hysteria" still sounds great. There's not a dud on either CD.

Def Leppard's setlist:

1) "Rock, Rock (Till You Drop)": (Some of these songs have better sound quality than others, sorry.)

2) "Animal":

3) "Let It Go":

4) "Foolin'" (This video has great sound!) :

5) "Promises":

6) "Love Bites":

7) "Armageddon":

8) "Rock On"

9) "Two Steps Behind" Joe Elliot and an acoustic guitar.

10) "Rocket":

11) "Bringin' On The Heartbreak":

12) "Switch 625/ Drum Solo":

13) "Hysteria":

14) "Let's Get Rocked":

15) "Pour Some Sugar On Me":

Encore

16) "Rock of Ages":

17) "Photograph":

themusicaddict

Quick Reviews of New Music (October 2nd, 2015)

Hello,

Still coming is my review of the Def Leppard concert at USANA Amphitheatre this past Monday. I just want to say that if you spell the band's name as Def Leopard, then you aren't a true fan. I'll also be writing the fifth and final Bands That Should Have Been Bigger blog, which will be about 10 Years soon. But today I just want to write quick reviews of new music.

I would like to thank both Grantland and Rdio for suggesting some of the songs for this blog.

One of the CDs I was most looking for this fall was the new Janet Jackson CD "Unbreakable", it's her first new CD in 7 years. And so very sadly it's a bore, I could only listen to a few songs before I had to stop listening. Grantland calls the CD "mature", I hadn't realized "mature" meant boring until I read that review. A better title for "Unbreakable" would have been "Unbearable". Whatever you do skip this CD, pick up "Control" or "Rhythm Nation 1814" instead. I have one positive thing to say about 2015 Janet Jackson, she's still looking gorgeous. Too bad she got stuck with such boring songs.

I so hate the trend of having a past their prime or up and coming rapper, rap on a song. So few songs are actually helped by that strategy. Neither of the songs below are able to elevate a rather generic song, in fact J. Cole only brings down his song. Here's "BURNITUP!"- but you'll need to provide your match:

This is truly an awful, boring song. "No Sleeep":

Now this is how it should be done: "Nasty":

Other songs that are disappointing, I didn't even listen to the new Chris Brown song "Zero", the title told me all I needed to know about him and the song.

I noticed that both Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco share the same label, Fueled By Ramen. That seems appropriate, because from the music to the vocal this song sounds exactly one of the same sounding Fall Out Boy songs. Panic! I remember when you used to be relevant.

The no truth in advertising titled "Victorious":

I hate the language in the song "I Write Sins Not Tragedies", but this is a great song. In fact their whole first CD is good.

Again Katharine McPhee's "Lick My Lips" isn't a great song, but at least it has a pulse. Plus we get to see the gorgeous Miss McPhee walk around in those sexy clothes:

Now here's one of my favorite Katharine McPhee songs "Brand New Key":

I'm writing this blog and even I'm getting bored of it, so I think I'm going to skip posting Sara Bareilles "She Used To Be Mine", Broken Bells "It's That Talk Again", Pentatonix's "Where Are U Now" and Daughter's tepid song "Doing The Right Thing". Only great songs here on out.

I was going to post Eagles of Death Metal's "Got A Woman", but that album cover is offensive, maybe when there's a lyric video that doesn't show that awful cover.

Although you wouldn't be able to tell from this blog, I love all sorts of music. I'm also a sucker for a great pop song. That's why I'm posting the One Direction song, "Infinity":

Now on to a threeplay by Bleachers, starting with the dance worthy "Rollercoaster" (featuring Charli XCX):

"I Wanna Get Better" (featuring Tinashe):

"You're Still A Mystery" (featuring MO- I don't have the O with a line through it on my laptop):

Finally a fourplay by Breaking Benjamin, starting with one of their newer songs "Close To Heaven":



"I Will Not Bow":



"So Cold":



"Diary of Jane":

themusicaddict