Saturday Shuffle: Aerosmith, Infectious Grooves, Slayer, Van Hagar, Dee Snider

A couple of overlooked gems, a song that shouldn't be in my shuffle and Dee Snider on Broadway ...


Aerosmith, “Hangman Jury.” From the album Permanent Vacation (1987). Permanent Vacation was really the record that started Aerosmith down the sordid pop rock path that led, ultimately, to atrocities like “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” That said, the album had its moments, and this is certainly one of them. It’s one of the few songs on the record where you really hear the blues rock influence. 

Saturday Shuffle: Hank III, Machine Head, Infectious Grooves, Lillian Axe, The Ramones

Today we start in anger and end in fun ...

Hank III, “Punch Fight Fuck” (live). From a live bootleg recorded at Juanita’s in Little Rock, Ark (2007). III’s tribute to G.G. Allin is really at its best in the live setting. This is one of the better III bootlegs that I’ve got swimming around on my hard drive, too. 

Still Spinning: Infectious Grooves, "The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move"

Converting a huge CD collection to digital as I’ve been doing slowly for the past couple of weeks can be tedious, but it also has its rewards: Namely, stumbling across very cool records that you haven’t spent any quality time with in years.

I’ve rediscovered several in the process, the most recent being Infectious Grooves’ 1991 debut The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move.

Founded by Suicidal Tendencies vocalist Mike Muir and bassist Robert Trujillo (now in Metallica), Infectious Grooves also featured guitarists Dean Pleasants (George Clinton, Ugly Kid Joe, Jessica Simpson) and Adam Siegel, as well as former Jane’s Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins.

April Fools: Songs on the goofy side of rock and metal

In honor of April Fool's Day, I thought I'd take a look at some of those goofy songs that bands often throw on a CD just for giggles. Maybe you love them, maybe you hate them or maybe they're a guilty pleasure that you really don't want people to know you like. Here's a look at a few of my favorites. This list is by no stretch of the imagination comprehensive. It's done completely off the top of my head, and I'm sure I've missed even a few that I enjoy. Please feel free to add your own.

AC/DC, "Big Balls" (Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, 1976). This one's become such a classic that it hardly belongs on this list. I've never known anyone who didn't laugh at this (barely) double entendre goof.

Aerosmith, "Big Ten-Inch Record" (Toys in the Attic, 1975). As with the first one on the list, this tune that draws its humor from the pregnant pause is a classic. But I still love it, and I've got to get Aerosmith on here.

Annihilator, "Kraf Dinners" (Never, Neverland, 1990). Sandwiched between heavy subject matter like environmental responsibility and dark tunes about insanity is this fun ode to mac and cheese. Somehow, it works.

Anthrax, "Startin' Up a Posse" (Attack of the Killer Bs, 1991). Anthrax has a few tunes that could fit on this list, but none quite as good as this ditty about Tipper Gore and the PMRC that manages to work in a thrash version of the "Bonanza" theme.

Body Count, "KKK Bitch" (Body Count, 1992). Body Count often used humor to make serious points, but this tune poking fun at racists is way over the top.

Bruce Dickinson, "Dive, Dive, Dive" (Tattooed Millionaire, 1990). I'd always thought of Bruce Dickinson as very proper and dignified until this song, filled with bad maritime sex puns, and it's companion piece "Zulu Lulu" arrived on his first solo record.

Guns 'n' Roses, "I Used to Love Her" (G'n'R Lies, 1990). You can't go wrong with Guns 'n' Roses' three-chord tongue-in-cheek ballad about a relationship gone wrong.

Infectious Grooves, "You Lie and Yo Breath Stank" (The Plague that Makes Your Booty Move, 1991). I'm not sure that Infectious Grooves belongs here because so many of their songs were tongue-in-cheek. Lyrically, this one is pretty bad, but for some reason I still love it.

Nuclear Assault, "Poetic Justice" (Something Wicked, 1993). While the killer title track was the centerpiece of this record, the band's take on a famous song from "The Sound of Music" has certainly given me my share of snickers over the years.

Pride & Glory, "I Hate Your Guts" (Pride & Glory, 1994). Basically Zakk Wylde's answer to GnR's "I Used to Love You," it covers similar ground with a southern twang.

Scatterbrain, "Don't Call Me Dude" (Here Comes Trouble, 1990). Like Infectious Grooves, I'm not sure if Scatterbrain belongs here because humor was their norm. But I can't resist this ode to a guy down on his luck with some serious thrash licks to back up the humor.

Suicidal Tendencies, "Institutionalized" (Suicidal Tendencies, 1983). "All I wanted was a Pepsi."

Tesla, "Tommy's Down Home" (Five Man Acoustical Jam, 1990). Having grown up around people like the one portrayed in the song, this tune always brings a smile to my face.

Van Halen, "Happy Trails" (Diver Down, 1982). Van Halen has a few tunes to choose from as well, including "Big Bad Bill" from this same record, but for some reason I've always had a special connection with their cover of "Happy Trails." ... bombadida, bombadida ...

Wrathchild America, "I Ain't Drunk" (3-D, 1991). I spent many nights tipping a glass to this cover of Albert Collins' classic drinking song.

Dweezil Zappa, "I Want a Yacht" (Havin' a Bad Day, 1986). While I love his cover of his dad's "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama," this tune featuring the screams of comedian Bobcat Godthwait is just too bizarre to not make the list.

Review: Ozzy Osbourne, "Down to Earth"

The madman is back. And this time he's brought one of the best bands he's had behind him since the early 1980s.

"Down to Earth," Ozzy Osbourne's first studio release in six years, marks the return of the always-amazing Zakk Wylde to the Ozzman's realm.

Taking a break from his own band Black Label Society, Wylde returns to his duties as Ozzy's sidekick with all of the crunching riffs and insane harmonic screams his fans expect.

Bass player Rob Trujillo (Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves) and drummer Mike Bordin (Faith No More) provide one of the most solid rhythm sections you'll find in hard rock. They're also not afraid of a good groove, as you can hear on songs like "Junkie" and "No Easy Way Out."

Trujillo and Bordin even get a chance to step to the forefront on "Can You Hear Them?," which is driven by the rhythm section.

The opening cut of "Down to Earth" announces that this album won't be like 1995's more somber and morose "Ozzmosis," which met with mixed reviews from fans. "Gets Me Through," the first single and Ozzy's tribute to his fans, kicks this album into high gear from the start with a crushing riff and a nice word play on one of his best-known songs.

"I'm not the kind of person you think I am/I'm not the Antichrist or the Iron Man," Ozzy sings. While it sounded a little vanilla to me at first, the tune is catchy and gets stuck in your head after a couple of listens.

One thing that strikes the listener quickly, though, is that Ozzy's voice isn't what it used to be.

I remember reading an interview several years ago that talked about some of the classic tunes he no longer performs live - like "Symptom of the Universe" and "Hole in the Sky," both of which were in his upper registers 30 years ago. His reply was that you'd have a better chance of getting the Pope to sing those songs than him.

Still, Ozzy compensates for his diminished range with some unique phrasings and vocal melodies on songs like "Facing Hell," "That I Never Had" and especially "Alive." The album also shines lyrically, with some clever and often thought-provoking song themes.

Even the ballads - not normally Ozzy's strongpoint - are good. The piano-driven Beatles-esque "Dreamer" puts me in mind of the slower songs on his first two solo albums, and "Running Out of Time" could be Ozzy's best ballad since the Sabbath classic "Changes."

But the star of the album may still be Wylde. Despite his best attempts to tone down his guitar work and give Ozzy the spotlight, he still shines when he's given a chance. His huge riffs pay obvious tribute to Black Sabbath without ever crossing the line into imitation.

The heavy, borderline funky riff of "No Easy Way Out" is easily the best on the album, but "Facing Hell" and "Junkie" are close behind. Wylde's guitar work lends a heavy sound to the album that will have heads banging everywhere.

The real strength of "Down to Earth" is that it incorporates all of the things that Ozzy has done best over the years. It has the raw energy of "No Rest for the Wicked" mixed with the production values of "No More Tears" and healthy doses of "Blizzard of Ozz" and "Diary of a Madman" sprinkled liberally throughout.

The madman is back - and his fans are glad to have him.

Get "Down to Earth."