The Music Court

Good morning readers. As always, the Monday blues are met with exciting links to lift your spirits. So, let us get to it.

I officially love the U.K. Because of a Facebook campaign by many good-humored people Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” beat out The X-Factor (their American Idol) winner’s single “The Climb” to become the U.K.’s Christmas #1 single. When I first read this I went into a fit of laughter. The band who ends their hit single by repeating in an anger crescendo “F*ck you I won’t do what you tell me” beat out a song that is a Miley Cyrus cover. Take that Simon Cowell who had previously won four consecutive single battles. Rage also donated all of the royalties from the “Killing in the Name” downloading spree that helped them win to a charity shelter. This is much better than Simon Cowell bathing in the royalties (Just kidding). Simon Cowell actually took the loss with a grain of salt and congratulated the two organizers of the Facebook campaign that won Rage the competition. Even Paul McCartney said that the Rage campaign was “funny” and “prove(d) a point” proving the well-known point that Paul McCartney is awesome. I think the last paragraph of the article on Rolling Stone really sums it up.

““The people in the U.K. are tired of being spoon-fed one schmaltzy ballad after another and they want to back their own charts, and we are honored that they have chosen our song to be the rebel anthem to try to topple The X Factor label,” Morello (Tom Morello is the lead guitarist for the group) told the BBC5 moments before Rage performed “Killing in the Name” live over the airwaves. Rage’s performance was cut short after frontman Zack de la Rocha sang “F*ck you, I won’t do what you tell me” four times over the air.”

Check out the rest of the article: http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/12/21/rage-against-the-machine-win-u-k-christmas-single-battle/#more-21707

CD Release Tuesday, December 22

Mudvayne by Mudvayne

– The fifth studio album by the alternative metal quartet has taken a more retro approach and has focused more on intelligent lyric writing and cover art. Cover art is always considered a thing of the past but it is certainly awesome to see a band putting energy into creative art. Check out the album: http://www.amazon.com/Mudvayne/dp/B002VDZIHO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1261411128&sr=8-1

Since I recently posted the question to you readers about the best album of the decade, I thought I would give you the opinions of some other reputable websites. First lets start with the metacritic.com choice.

Metacritic.com created a point system based on every major review over the past 10 years to make their decision. Sounds pretty foolproof. The winner? Beach Boy Brian Wilson’s album SMILE which is a fantastic album and could have very well been in my top six. Check out the statement: http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/wilsons-smile-is-named-best-reviewed-album-of-the-decade_1126215

Rolling Stone also created their very own 100 best albums list of the decade based on votes by artists and music critics. The list is quite large and I thought I would just let you all pick it up at #10. There are a few rap albums interspersed in this list which are very well deserving of their title, but, since our poll is for rock albums alone, #1 may look familiar (Hint: It is on our list!)

Check it out: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/31248017/100_best_albums_of_the_decade/33

Remember. Vote on our own poll for top album of the decade: https://musiccourt.wordpress.com/2009/12/18/court-polls-what-is-the-best-rock-album-of-the-decade/ and check out our new twitter feed: http://twitter.com/musiccourt

Happy Friday and good news for everyone who cares about my well-being; classes are over. My two finals yesterday went well, just not for my hand (25 green book pages over a 3 hour span, my hand is sore). So, for this friday I thought I would give you an awesome performance on classical guitar and an asinine link from Fark.com

“You Never Give me Your Money” by The Beatles starts the climactic ending of the Beatles’ final medley on Abbey Road. It is also one of my personal favorite Beatles song because it begins the medley that is just enriched with symbolism and beautiful Beatles melody. One of the best. Want to see it performed on classical guitar by a skilled guitarist? I know I did and yes, I sang over it. I was not disappointed.

Link: http://www.fark.com/cgi/vidplayer.pl?IDLink=4844937

On the subject of the Beatles there is some good news. People today have not completely lost their music tastes. Our decade round-up has brought us to a link that shows that the Beatles’ release of “1” still surpassed all other albums in single units sold. Now do you want the bad news. Eminem beat The Beatles in the subject of complete top-selling artist of the decade. What!?! Well, I have a confession to make. I own The Marshall Mathers LP. Look, when I was like 12 that stuff was hip and I was trying to fit in with everyone else. I am sorry. Anyway though, Eminem has sold over 32 million dollars over the span. Wow.

Link: http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/12/eminem-named-top-selling-artist-of-the-decade.html

As promised, here are two links that should entertain you for a good fifteen minutes. I mean, come on, there are enough musicians there; if you are not entertained then you may need your head checked out.

Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck have announced three North American shows to be performed in February. This rumor was swirling among the music world and it has come to a temporary reality. The only problem is that there are only three dates for now. One in Madison Square Garden and another two in Toronto and Montreal. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the concert at MSG on February 18  because of class, which really stinks.   I am sure it will be a fantastic show and if you are lucky enough to get a ticket (tickets go on sale December 12) please let me know how it was. In honor of the show here is Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page performing “Layla” in 1983 in MSG. No big deal! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICpxgxThG7s

Also, in case you were not able to catch the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – 25th Anniversary in New York (Madison Square Garden) on HBO (they are still showing re-runs) here is a little taste of the odd musical concoctions and amazing moments that the 2 show event provided. This is rock n’ roll. Lou Reed performing “Sweet Jane” with Metallica. Yes, you read that right! http://www.fark.com/cgi/vidplayer.pl?IDLink=4815836