Showing posts with label rocktober 2007. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rocktober 2007. Show all posts

October 2007: The Month in Review

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The Blogland passed the 600th posting mark, and from the looks of it, we're not slowing down, and we're taking no prisoners. So what happened in the Blogland during the month of October?

The Megadeth concert in Myrtle Beach was a kick-ass show. One of the best seen in years of concerts, without a doubt.

We dug into our pockets and bought some great books and CDs online and made it a great month for thsoe readers who won our ROCKtober prize drawings:
  • Mike Reino, at SC6, who was the first to correctly "name that Nazi",
  • Dawber 71, who we still don't know who this person is, whose suggestion of Motley Crue's "Stick to your Guns" was our favorite pick for the Blogland soundtrack album, and
  • Brian McCarty, at Voting under the Influence, who won our random drawing for the remaining prize packages.
... to our winners, we hope you enjoy the great reading and listening. We wouldn't be who we are, except for people like you ... who tune in even though they think we're freakin' nuts.

Our call for reader recommendations for a Blogland soundtrack album fizzled, with only a handful of recommendations made - but we're still taking your recommendations, so get 'em in there.

My company's highway widening project in Bamberg is wrapping up, and we're still looking for eight flag poles to be donated, or for $2-3K worth of donations to buy them outright. US Group, the Town, and some of our subcontractors and suppliers are donating materials and labor to build a small park around the memorial which we intend to refurbish.

Shane Massey had a pretty good month, stunning the state with his 2-1 win in the GOP run-off. We hope November gives him the win, and we've loudly and proudly endorsed the guy. As to be expected, our readers had plenty to say about his candidacy.

Last, but not least, it was a great (or terrible) month to be Rick Beltram, who seemed to be on his way to becoming the most-discussed person in the Blogland, thanks to a series of statements which we found to be deceptive, threatening, and even highly amusing. Many of postings that made our ten most read or discussed for the month of October talked about our buddy Rick. The guy may not be a rocket scientist, but when we talk about him, people tune in and our readership goes up, so maybe he's good for something after all?

But who cares about what Rick Beltram thinks (a lot of the Republicans I talked with in Spartanburg don't)? What matters is what you, our loyal fans think, as shown by the postings you read and discussed during the month of October, and looks like you did a lot of that.

Here are October's ten most-read postings (9 of 10 are political, 4 about Rick Beltram):

1) "I'll Huff, and I'll Puff, and I'll ... "
2) Hanging Rick Beltram with his own words
3) Rick Beltram's facist outlook out of step with GOP?
4) Challenging Republicans?
5) GOP Run-off in Senate 25 special election today
6) College costs up in South Carolina - yep, more crybabies
7) Cleaning up political campaign discourse?
8) We support Shane Massey for the Senate
9) Blogland Contest: Adolf of the Upstate?
10) Please help us finish a veteran's memorial in Bamberg

Here are October's ten most-discussed postings (7 of 10 are political, 4 about Rick Beltram):

1) Blogland Contest: Adolf of the Upstate?
2) Challenging Republicans?
3) Rick Beltram's facist outlook out of step with GOP?
4) Blogland, the Soundtrack album?
5) First ROCKtober prize winner
6) Good morning Kansas
7) Massey wins GOP runoff in District 25
8) "I'll Huff, and I'll Puff, and I'll ... "
9) GOP Run-off in Senate 25 special election today
10) College costs up in South Carolina - yep, more crybabies

As always, thanks for tuning in and be sure to keep coming back for more. After all, here in the Blogland we're not just TALKIN' politics, we're ROCKIN' politics in the Palmetto State.

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Vains of Jenna's rocks hard on "Lit Up/Let Down"

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The last day of the month and here is the last of the three album reviews that we promised to deliver as part of our ROCKtober efforts:

Any band which consider's Motley Crue's Too Fast for Love album their number one musical influence has got to be a great band, and Vains of Jenna, four hard rockin' dudes from ... Sweden ... have got what we're needin'.

Their first album release, Lit Up/Let Down, is a hard, fast, straight-up rock and roll metal gem, in the best LA tradition. From the first track on this album, they hit you hard, hit you fast, and don't let up. You can pick up influences of the Crue, Guns n' Roses, LA Guns, all put together and thrown at you as fast as the early Crue stuff was.

But don't mistake these guys for hair band wanna-be types who are just a cut above some lame cover band. They dish it out with their own style and attitude, building upon the influences of these great bands to come up with their own breed of great metal. This is a must-get album, so shut up and go get it!

In the meantime, check out their live show:



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House of 1000 Pleasures

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This song was first recorded in the mid 80s by EZO, a short-lived Japanese heavy metal band, and then redone by Loudness, another Japanese metal band formed by several former EZOers.

The most kick-ass opening of a metal song I've ever heard is the first 30-40 seconds of the classic "House of 1000 Pleasures". Go take a look at this You Tube clip:



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Libertad: Velvet Revolver Re-loaded

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Billed by Sammy Hagar "the best rock and roll band left on the planet", the super-group Velvet Revolver, led by Scott Wieland of Stone Temple Pilots and with three former Guns and Roses members, give us a great second hard-rocking piece of work with their new release "Libertad".

If you wanna know which songs I liked best from the CD ... She Builds Quick Machines, She Mine, and American Man. But there is not a single bad song on this entire album and everyone I've talked to has their favorite songs.

As with the first Velvet Revolver CD, I can't help but wonder why Axl is struggling to put out a single album while most of the REAL former Guns are continuing to tour and put out solid work without any of the drama. These could have been great GnR albums, except Axl's appetite for dysfunction wouldn't allow that.

While we can't do anything about Axl, you can make sure you don't miss out on a great album from a great rock band. Go buy Libertad today.

While you're reading this, here's a You Tube treat - the video for their first release from the album, entitled "She Builds Quick Machines":



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The Donnas ROCK with "Bitchin'"

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As part of the Blogland's ROCKtober 2007, we promised you a look at three new releases from new bands who carry on the best of the 80s hard rock traditions, but without coming across as a tired cover band ... and as always, we deliver.

First up is one of this year's most important album releases, a great piece of work from The Donnas, a hard-rocking all-female lineup. Everything about this album, from the cover art with an 80s-esque logo to the hard rockin' tunes on the disc, screams great rock and roll with a solid connection to the long tradition of 70s and 80s headbangers.

This quote from an interview on their website explains in words what you'll find in the music about the connection between this album and 80s-era metal:


As for their sound, “We’ve always felt somewhat sceneless,” says Castellano. “But these days, when we go to a metal show I feel like ‘these are our people!’ That’s where I really feel the connection-Motley Crue, Cinderella, Aerosmith, Def Leppard-that’s where I want our band to be.”
The first song on this album, the title track - Bitchin', will hit any real metal fan like a hammer, and before you know it, I promise you'll find yourself listening to the rest of the album cranked all the way UP:


You're gonna listen up
We're gonna take you over
You're gonna lick it up
And you're gonna want more, more, more, more!
This is what it sounds like, When heads roll!
This is what it sounds like, We're all going down!
This is what it sounds like, and you're gonna want more, more, more, more!
More! More! More! So hold on tight!
This is one band that I've gotta go see play live. Even if you've got to skip lunch at work for a week to buy this CD, go out and buy it. You'll be glad you did.

In closing, the usual YouTube eye and ear candy from a live performance:



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Please support vital Blogland research activities

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Rocktober hasn't been a cheap effort for the Blogland, so we're out there, doing what it takes to solicit the support which is necessary to continue our cutting-edge research into the issues of the day.



Please do your part to help support our vital research activities. After all, what would you ever do without us?

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Blogland, the Soundtrack album?

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Having gotten through my campaign for State Treasurer, where I tied with the Governor's candidate, with a slogan and theme song, both suggested by Blogland readers, it occured to me that perhaps there needs to be a soundtrack album for the Blogland. Since it's ROCKtober in the Blogland, it seems to be a great time to do this.

So, the question to you, my readers, is what songs would you recommend for this album? Get creative, but please keep in mind that it needs to be something I might actually be caught listening to.

I'll give one of the two remaining ROCKtober prize packages to the best suggestion. If you post anonymously, be sure to email me as well to make sure I know who you are for prize purposes.

So start making those recommendations ...

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First ROCKtober prize winner

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Since our intial posting inviting people to sign up for our ROCKtober prize giveaways didn't generate responses, we decided to give one to the first person to correctly "Name that Nazi", who was featured in our recent "Adolf of the Upstate" posting, as Rick Beltram, the current chairman of the Spartanburg County Republican Party.

The winner of ROCKtober Prize Package #2 is Mike Reino of Florence, who also happens to be a big fan of the Blogland.

We've still got two more prize packages to give away this month to our readers, so click on this link for more details, and stay tuned to the Blogland, where we don't just TALK politics - we ROCK politics.

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The Blogland's ROCKtober Reader Appreciation Contest

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At the Blogland, we've become fond of saying that we're the one South Carolina political blog that doesn't just talk politics - we ROCK politics. While a lot of Republicans want to bring the President of the 80s, we're the Republicans who want to bring back the rock and roll of that decade too.

Over time, we've noticed a tendency by our readers to raise a clenched fist in the air and call out "Blogland" like they're yelling "Megadeth" or "Anthrax" or the name of some other great metal band. I guess we, like William Shatner, have become a bit typecast ... except our hair is real and we can't offer you great deals on travel via the Internet.

This year, our daily readership has doubled, and our comment volume has gone up tremendously. That's not because of us - it's because of YOU, and we're amazed, we're flattered, and we're appreciative.

We'd like to show our appreciation by offering a prize contest in which three lucky winners will win prize packages featuring the Blogland's irreverent mix of hard rockin' heavy metal and great political reading:

Prize package 1
Two books: “1945” by Newt Gingrich & “Bare Knuckles and Back Rooms” by Ed Rollins
Three CDs: Anthrax’s “Sound of White Noise”, “Painkiller” by Judas Priest, and Van Halen’s self-titled CD.

Prize package 2
Two books: “1945” by Newt Gingrich & “Bare Knuckles and Back Rooms” by Ed Rollins
Three CDs: Anthrax’s “Volume 8: The Threat is Real”, Black Sabbath’s self-titled CD, and Skid Row’s self-titled CD.

Prize package 3
Two books: “1945” by Newt Gingrich & “Behind the Oval Office” by Dick Morris
Three CDs: AC/DC’s “Back in Black”, Dangerous Toys’ self-titled CD, and Ozzy Ozbourne’s “Blizzard of Ozz”

How can YOU be a weiner in the Blogland without being Rick Beltram? It's easy - email me your name and contact information (that's to "earl@earlcapps.org). You'll also need to answer a couple of easy questions which will serve as a sort-of market survey - but there are no right or wrong answers:


  • Q1: What do you like or hate (or both) about the Blogland?

  • Q2: How long have you been tuned in and how often do you visit?
Three lucky winners will be drawn at the end of the month, and at some point in the following weeks, I'll track you down, wherever you're hiding in or near the Palmetto State, to give you your prize package.

Only those readers who are in the state of South Carolina, or in the Augusta, Charlotte, or Savannah metro areas, are eligible for this contest. Even Rick Beltram and others who've been criticized here on the Blogland are eligible to enter.

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ROCKtober in the Blogland

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Here in the Blogland, it's ROCKtober. To celebrate, as well as to let you know how much we appreciate all of you tuning in, we're our readers some great reasons to stay tuned to the Blogland, including:
  • Album reviews from some of today's great news rockers, including The Donnas, Vains of Jenna and Velvet Revolver,
  • A Megadeth album review from their upcoming show at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, and
  • A special Reader Appreciation contest with drawings for great prize packages for our lucky weiners(yep, we're really splurging now).
All this, plus the usual screwball mix of commentary that keeps you, our readers, coming back for more.

So be sure to stay tuned here at the Blogland, where we don't just talk politics - we ROCK politics.

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Blogland set to kick off "ROCKtober"

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Blogland readers can look forward to a wild October, including a reader/listener appreciation prize contest with CDs and books, concert and album reviews galore and all the loud, obnoxious opinionating that you've come to expect and more.

As usual, we're taking no prisoners, but we're taking you, our loyal fans, along with us for the ride!

So bookmark us in, ditch all those easy listening/reading blogsites, and let's get ready to rock with the one South Carolina blogsite that doesn't just TALK politics - we ROCK politics.

Stay tuned for details ... coming soon ...

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