2am and 200 Miles To Go
7 videos • 67 views • by Ғ ΜіснæL Sŧuŧz (Mīκε) --TRACK ONE: Kiss "Detroit Rock City" -- Released on May 15th of our Bicentenial year, Destroyer was the final step on the ladder from "among the many" to "greatness" for Kiss (or KISS, if you prefer). The four most notable tracks being, "God of Thunder," "Do You Love Me?" "Beth," and this one: "Detroit Rock City." Gas: Full Tank, plus a little spillage for good measure (get that 9/10's of a cent in there, buddy). Drink: Full Big Gulp, mine's Mt. Dew, what'd you get? Munch: White Cheddar Popcorn, S&V chips, and two Snickers bars, almond. Smokes: Check... Lighter... Lighter.. Ah, there it is. Ready? --TRACK TWO: Van Halen "Panama" -- It's kinda natural to follow up Kiss with Van Halen. After all, Gene Simmons was the one responsible for Van Halen getting their recording contract and is largely responsbile for there being a Van Halen (commonly called Van Halen I). Eddie and Alex Van Halen were given instruments for Christmas one year--Eddie got the drums, and Alex got the guitar. After a quick tweak (swapping instruments), they settled in for some serious tune-age, and were significant forces that saved Rock from the synthesizer deluge (Soft Cell? Gimme a break: I'd go over the bridge embankment on purpose). -- TRACK 3: Riggs "Radar Rider" -- No one knows for sure where the term, "Heavy Metal" came from, and a number of theories proliferate, but for twenty years, I've attributed it to an article in Rolling Stone magazine written by Barry Gifford, and that it refers to the type of guitar strings (May 11, 1968, issue). This tune, from Riggs, was made popular when it was the title sequence to the 1981 Movie, Heavy Metal (if you've seen the movie, you'll recognize this as the '57 Corvette convertible scene). I was a junior in high school that year, and I had no idea of what the movie was about when my mother asked me if I wanted to go with her to the movies... -- Track 4: Golden Earring "Radar Love" -- Originally calling themselves "Golden Earrings," the now S-less Golden Earring is my favorite Dutch import--yes, if you didn't know it, they formed in 1961 in The Hague. They had international chart success with the songs "Radar Love" in 1973, "Twilight Zone" in 1982, and "When the Lady Smiles" in 1984. In their home country, they had over 40 hits and made over 30 gold and platinum albums. -- TRACK 5: Blackfoot "Train, Train" -- Quick stop for a refill of the tank, and for another Super Big Gulp of Mountain Dew... Now, where's that on ramp? Originally from the same home town as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jacksonville, FL, it's not hard to hear some of the Southern Rock roots that Skynyrd essentially founded. In case you can't recognize it, that's essentially a heavy metal harmonica.. -- TRACK 6: Doobie Brothers "Long Train Runnin'" -- Beep, Beep... So long, bird dog buddy, this is our junction. Safe trip and God speed. This live version is from their last concert on their 1982 Farewell tour, and has a nice, nice percussion expansion that reminds me a lot of those used by Carlos Santana in "Black Magic Woman." (So if you like that tune, I think you'll like the percussion solos in this). -- TRACK 7: Boston "Don't Look Back" Tom Scholz' primary intro to stardom was conceived while he was attending MIT in 1969: "Foreplay," which most people attribute as being just the preamble to "Long Time" -- but it's actually a distinct track on Boston (their 1976 debut album). Scholz teamed up with Barry Goudreay and Jim Masdea, and, in 1970, added a remarkably distinct vocalist: Brad Delp, whose lead vocals are very challenging to duplicate. Consistent rejections from labels lasted for four years, and in 1974, six new demo tapes were created in Scholz' home studio, and those demos became the foundation of the second best-selling debut albums of all time, bested only by GNR's Appetite for Destruction 12 years later. This tune is the title track from their second album, released two years later, in 1978. --Track 8: Jackson Browne "Load Out / Stay" The last of the Mt. Dew is little more than tinted ice that slurps at the bottom of the cup. There's sun to the east, but it's low, and the trees blurring past between us and it are just boney shadows, and it's hard not to think about stuff, especially with this tune. The memories and thoughts of the previous miles follow behind like a stray you shouldn't have fed, but did. I'm not talkin' about the physical miles of this little road trip, I'm talkin' about the ones that take lifetimes to travel. You know the ones, don't you? Those miles were partly fun, partly scary, sometimes lonely, out there whooshing through the night. But, damn if we didn't make it this far. Tomorrow's another road trip, but we're here now, and that's good enough for today. Yeah... That's good enough for today... .