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Metal Monday: spandex and the devil

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Moving along to the “V” in our Heavy Metal alphabet, two bands spring to mind that are almost as different from each other as you can get within the metal genre: Van Halen and Venom. Van Halen, the American band of Dutch origin was the first big Hair Metal band, making metal mainstream, while Venom was the founding band of the Black Metal subgenre, which revels in satanism and shocking the bourgeoisie. Both are bands I like a couple of songs quite a lot of, while the rest of their oeuvre leaves me cold.

So, which songs do you think about when Van Halen is mentioned? No you pervs, not “Hot for Teacher” but these two:

Jump:



And “Running with the Devil”:



Venom has never been a, well, a very good band; it’s more the sort of band you put on to shock your mother.

Calvin and Hobbes

Yet the band does have a certain charm and attraction, as shown here in “Welcome to Hell”:



“Countess Bathory”:



Metal Monday: U is for umlaut

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After a one week break Metal Monday is back and this time it’s “U”‘s turn. There’s little to choose this week: the ülaut might be important in heavy metal, but there are few bands with a name starting with “U”. From the list at BNR Metal Pages there are only two bands I know and like: UFO and Uriah Heep. Neither is what I’d call properly heavy metal, or even hard rock, though they’re both certainly on the heavy side for rock bands.

UFO is of course best known as Michael Schenker’s breakthrough band; Schenker was only 18 when he debuted in UFO. Over the years Schenker has developed a reputation as a petulant manchild and troublemaker, but there was a reason UFO wanted him, as shown on these tracks.

Doctor, Doctor:



Rock Bottom:



Uriah Heep is an English band in the mold of Led Zeppelin, one of those bands that to me define seventies rock. Not very innovative, but straight up rock done very well, a little heavier than most. They’re not a band I turn to when I’m in a heavy metal mood, but I do like them a lot just because they’re so nicely seventies. Case in point: Traveler in time.



Or Sunrise:



Or Sweet Lorraine:



Metal Funky Monday

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In honour of my upcoming wedding (Dutch bureaucracy folded at the first hurdle! Bureaucrats actually turned out to be amazingly helpful and quick! Rightwing myths turned out not to be true!) and S.’s musical taste, no metal today but some serious funky shit. Yes, you can like Metal and still appreciate other musical genres, or actually know more Black artists than just Jimi Hendrix or Ice-T. Personally funk hits many of the same buttons as metal does for me. Somewhat more dancable perhaps and less aggressive, but the same raw power.

first up: Rufus, featuring Chaka Khan, with their best number, the Stevie Wonder composed “Tell me Something Good” — you really don’t need to read the liner notes to suspect this is a Stevie Wonder song, do you?



A Stevie Wonder song can only be followed by the man himself. He may have been somewhat of a joke for those of us who grew up in the eighties, but damn the man is good and nowhere as good as here — “Superstition”:



Sly and the Family Stone proved flower power could be funky too, before moving on to darker stuff as Nixon became president. This is “A Family Affair”, played live in 2008 as after years and decades apart the Family Stone got together again. Incredibly moving in the right mood.



Mention great funk bands and this is what you’re thinking off the Parliament-Funkadelic groove thang:



Now to cool down with some mellow Brothers Johnson instrumental: “Tomorrow”



Followed by some smooth Isley Brothers – “Caravan of Love”:



Finally, let’s end how we started: rauchy with Bette Davis and “Big Freak”:



Love and marriage…

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Television warned me about it, but I’m going to try it anyway. Dutch bureaucracy and medical realities willing S. and I will get married in the next two weeks. Not so much from a deep seated romantic need for a marriage as an symbol of our love (though that is nice) but to make sure our legal situation is stabilised just in case. As y’all know, S. has been going through a very rough patch this year after the kidney transplant what with opportunistic infections and other calamities, so now that she’s fully recovered from the previous bout the doctors want to schedule a long overdue cleanup operation. I won’t go into details, but the idea is that if the operation is succesful it will break the cycle of infection-recouperation-reinfection, by tackling several sources of infection at the same time. It’ll mean S.’s basic health level will be up, helping her cope better with the anti-rejection drugs while still able to fight off new infections. But it’s heavy duty surgery, things can go wrong and we want to make sure that if somethings happen, everything that needs to be arranged can be arranged with the least amount of legal hassle. It’ll make it that much easier to actually undergo the operation, scheduled for less than two weeks from now…

The hospital has been incredibly helpful, the doctor in charge having contacted the city council to help arrange an emergency wedding, which could be held in the hospital itself, and I have an appointment first thing monday sharp to see if we got all the paperwork to actually be able to marry, something already complicated as the Dutch bureacracy seems to ask for certain documents actually unknown to their English counterparts. Oh well, my job the last few years has largely been about convincing well meaning but rulebound civil servants to things my way, so how hard can it be (famous last words).

So no flowers, no ring, no big party, just get it done and dusted, get S. out of hospital hopefully to not return there soon and we’ll see about a proper party sometime next summer, when her family can be there as well (we hope).

Metal Monday: crossing the T

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From feast to famine… Too many bands starting with an “S” to feature them all, but when it comes to “T” it’s another cup of it altogether. Two possibilites, Testament and Therapy?, though undoubtly fine bands both I’ve never really gotten into, even if they’re probably the best known metal bands of the lot. There’s also Thin Lizzy, though I’m not sure I would classify that as hard rock, let alone heavy metal, as the BNR Metal pages have done. Still it gives me an excuse to feature one of my favourite sing along to the stereo turned up to eleven songs:



Moving on to a slightly more embarassing band to like: NWOBHM influenced hair band Twisted Sister:



Brainiac begs to differ — You can stop rock ‘n roll — with a caravan!



After that particular brand of naffness, let’s go for something a bit darker. We all thought we were oh so edgy for liking Type O Negative, not just for its anti-Christianity and slight aura of e-ville but also because they supposedly broke the ultimate taboo of using nazi symbols….



Christian Woman:



And in remembrance of lead singer Peter Steele, who died this april — Everything Dies: