To all my readers

What do you want to see me discuss?

Good afternoon to you all. Thank you as always for taking the time to read my blog and I cannot thank you enough for your loyalty. This is going to be one of my shortest blog entries but I want to include you in my work and get a flavour of what you would like me to review or discuss. If you want my opinion or explanation for anything then please leave a comment at the bottom of this post or anywhere else on my blog and I shall endeavor to answer them to the best of my ability.

Depending on how many responses I get I will upload as many posts as necessary in reply to your requests next week. Expect the first one mid-week and I may even upload a couple in one day if need be.

Cheers once again for your time and ,as always, stay lucky everyone!


*All images sourced from google. I do not claim to own any rights

My Dream Guitar

Gretsch Falcon guitars

Like any musician, one version of you weapon of choice, in my case guitar, is never enough. Despite being just 21 and being skint all the time, i have the privilege of saying that I own 3 beautiful guitars which I endeavor to give equal attention. These consist of a timeless budget Fender Strat which I have reviewed on this very blog, a bright and well crafted Tanglewood which I have also reviewed on here, and a budget Epiphone LP that was given to me on my 21st birthday. I adore all of my guitars as my lovely girlfriend and my family would testify and they all sound unique from each other and I believe that I have a playing style which is unique to me. I will own, treasure and play them all forever.

Nonetheless, ever since I first laid eyes on the Gretsch White Falcon in none other than Denmark street, and later saw it in the video for Californication by The Red Hot Chili Peppers being played by the brilliant Frusciante , I have always wanted one of my own in glossy black. With them being such an expensive guitar, they are not offered to test out with the same blaze attitude as most models and thus I have never played one but I have held one and the weight and balance is perfect. The model I held was called the Black Falcon (not the most original name but pretty damn accurate). If you have never heard of this guitar I have put a clip from YouTube on the bottom of this post so please do watch it and if you have the chance then give a Gretsch a try in person. They are deep and rich in tone and the body is wide and hollow enough that you can produce a great sound even from unplugged and when they are paired with a valve amp the combination is a symphony of beauty.


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Thank you for your time and I hope you are all well and are looking forward to my favourite time of the year and the time of peace on earth and good will to all men. Be lucky!


*All images sourced from google .I do not claim to own any rights 

3 Christmas Songs By Rock artists

As the festive season and my favourite time of year approaches and edges nearer and nearer, I am refraining from listening to Christmas music until December or at least until after my gorgeous girlfriend's 21st which is also coming up. However, some people complain about Christmas music, saying that it is cheesy and all sounds the same. Personally I enjoy all of that about Christmas music, despite being a fan or metal and grunge, but in order for everyone to get the most out of the season and prepare for the most wonderful time of the year I thought that I would list 3 Christmas songs in no particular order that are by or covered by rock musicians. And without any further digression, here they are:

1) "Christmas Time (Don't let the bells end)" The Darkness

I know The Darkness are a postmodern band and are not everybody's cup of tea and that is fine. However, their contribution to Christmas is too good to miss. It is cheesy and catchy and comes with an equally corny music video but if you can be cheesy at Christmas then whats the point of all the decor and festivities?

2) "Please come home for Christmas" Jon Bon Jovi

This is a festive song by none other than the one and only Jon Bon Jovi, the king of hair and 80's soft rock bands in my opinion. It is also a song that is easy to relate to if you have ever had to spend Christmas or part of the festive season away from loved ones. It contains Bon Jovi's classically pharyngeal voice along with a traditional Bon Jovi ballad tempo. It is a banger of a song and one that you should definitely give a try as we approach the season of peace on earth and good will to all men.

3) "Blue Christmas" Elvis Presley

If the King sings about Christmas and you don't feel the urge to join in then there may be something wrong with your ears. This is a song about missing loved ones at Christmas and another relevant message at the time of love and understanding. If you have the time, check out the mash up of Elvis Presley and Martina Mcbride on YouTube and I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

So there we have it! Hopefully I have given you some information that you can use to immerse yourself in the festive season that is approaching so quickly and I hope that you are able to get as excited as me about Christmas. Hope you are well and as always, stay lucky and thank you for reading.

*All images sourced from google. I do not claim to own any rights.

Top 3 Three Days Grace Songs

I'm not sure why but recently I have delved into the musical catalogue of Three days Grace and its fucking brilliant (Excuse my language, but if you know me then you'll know thats just me). So as the band are so great and my favourite songs are from the Adam Gontier years, I will be listing my top 3 Three Days Grace Songs in the Gontier Years in ascending order:

3) "Running away"

Taken from 3DG's self titled album, this is arguably the slowest of the contents. It is about a difficult relationship and the struggles of sticking around and keeping a partner. It has an acoustic factor but it manages to retain Gontier's violent vocals without interfering with the sweeter and deep sentiment. That is one of the things I love so much about the Gontier years of 3DG. Therefore, it is my first entry on this list of great songs.

2) "Gone forever"

Once again, the second pick is also a more acoustic like song of a break-up. I think Adam may have had difficulty in his relationships...Anyway, this is a more positive take on being left alone. It is unclear as to whether Gontier is telling us that he feels better, or telling himself. His soaring and raw vocals are still prominent on this track and his voice seems to climb higher and higher. It is is very impressive in terms of range in style and vocals, accompanied by an awesome musical backing too of course. Thus, this is the runner up.

1) "Animal I have become" 

My winner was a toss up between this and "I hate everything about you" but currently I had to choose this as the champion since it as the song that led me to 3DG. I remembered it from Smackdown Vs Raw when i was young and listened to it in the gym on day on a 3DG station and the biggest weights felt particularly inferior to me one that day. The song is a pump up and destroy song with a climax and several build ups. I know my Uni training partner, Jakey, was also a fan as he also used to listen to "Riot" of heavy deadlift sessions. Thus this is the winner and deservedly so.

I hope you enjoyed my countdown and i hope you agreed. Take care!!

*I do not claim to own any images; all images sourced from google

Ode to my girlfriend's music taste

Good morning everybody. I have been with my girlfriend for quite a while now and it came to my attention that I listen to and enjoy a lot more variation of what i would call "her music". Therefore, as a kind of thank you to the lovely woman she is, I thought I would list a top 3 of these new repertoire of tracks that are my favourites. So, in ascending order, here are three of my favourites:

3) My Chemical Romance "I'm Not OK (I Promise)"

I have never been a fan of MCR but my girlfriend and a good friend of hers are long time big fans. Thus, I have heard much about the band and the influence that they had on my girlfriend as a young lady. This song is one that I had heard many times in my life but I have recently listened to it a few times and it is certainly a catchy song with a relevant message. For this reason, this is my first entry in this list.

2) Paramore "Still into you"

Now my girlfriend admits to not being a big fan of what she calls new Paramore but she says this song is an exception and I would have to agree. It is easy to listen to and has a likability factor that I don't think anybody could really deny. Catchy and sweet in sentiment; this is a decent song. 

1) All Time Low "If these sheets were the states"

All time low are my girlfriend's favourite band that is still together I believe. This song's message is sweet and relatable; being away from my girlfriend for a lot of the time whilst she studies at University. It is a catchy and once again radio-friendly track that I would likely have not noticed had it not been for my girlfriend directing me towards it and I am most grateful that she did. The band as a whole are actually very good and the members seem like really nice people who are grateful for their fans and popularity. It would be fair to say that they are a band that surprised me in terms of my liking them so. 

I hope you enjoyed my little nod to my lovely girlfriend and her music. If you haven't heard the songs mentioned then please do check them out if you have time. As always, thank you to everybody that reads this blog and feel free to share it on. I cannot thank you enough. Stay Lucky everyone.

*All images sourced from google; i do not claim to own any rights and this is all opinion

My top 3 Female Vocalists

I recently posted a selection of my personal top 3 male vocalists and it was inevitable it would be followed by my picks for the top 3 Female vocalists of all time. So, Without further ado and in ascending order, here we are:

3) Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin is the queen of soul and pretty much anything that she sings. She is a name that even the most oblivious and passive of consumers would recognise due to her appearance in The Blues Brothers where she famously sang and danced to Respect. Her voice is powerful and piercing whilst she maintains an effortless look on her face and in her eyes. She has real passion for music, having started in Gospel and moving to Soul and Motown/Blues later on in her career. Therefore, Aretha Franklin comes in third place for me. 

2) Amy Lee

My pick for runner up is the vocal powerhouse from Evanescence, Amy Lee. As a trained operatic singer, her range is almost unparalleled in today's standards. She has developed her own style by crossing very operatic and dramatic vocals with her rock persona in Evanescence and has demonstrated that, along with the entire band, she is very versatile and cannot be tied down to one genre with such variety among their work as Bring me to life, Lithium, and My Immortal. Therefore, Amy Lee gets runner up in my personal picks for top female vocalists of all time. 

1) Amy Winehouse

It would seem that all the Amys made it to my favourites. Amy Winehouse is fully deserving of the title of Queen of the female vocalists. Her style both in terms of fashion and musical style were unique and instantly recognisable. She was lost too soon due to problems with addiction but her legacy remains and had she lived a fuller life she would likely be the most praised female singer of recent times. She had a raw talent that she was able to capture and tame to create her unique style and thus she is the top pick for my top 3 female vocalists of all time.  

*All images sourced from google. I do not claim to own any images

My top 3 male Vocalists

Hello everyone, I firstly must apologise for the length of time that has passed since my last post. I have been busy with University work and awaiting results which were all positive if you were wondering. I have also been dealing with boring admin type stuff along with job applications and so on. Because of my long absence, I thought it would be a good idea to share my picks for the top 3 vocalists of all time in order to remain in association with everybody who has been gracious enough to read my blog on any regular basis. So, without further ado, here are my personal top 3 male vocalists of all time in ascending order:

3) Elvis Presley

Elvis is known as the king by all due to his majesty and popularity even so long after his death and this opinion is one of which i fully agree. He had the ability to transition to the pop-like genre of the time with hits such as Jailhouse Rock , and demonstrated his silky smooth crooning voice with tracks such as Love Me Tender and was later able to change his genre to rock and roll which he is most famous for creating by mixing soul and gospel together. His voice was one of the most unique factors in his fame as it was powerful and subtle at the same time and was soothing and  fierce simultaneously. Therefore, The King is my pick for number 3 on my list. 

2) Freddie Mercury

As famous for his bold tache and fist movements on stage as he is for his vocal abilities, Freddie Mercury was undoubtedly one of the best showmen and frontmen to ever grace music. He had a range of 4 octaves which was far out of the usual for male contemporary singers. He was one of the best live acts alongside Queen and his performances and legacy are so important that he performed at the 2012 opening ceremony for the Olympics as a hologram alongside the other members of Queen. Thus, Mercury comes in second place in my personal opinion. 

 1) Chris Cornell

Was there ever any doubt as to who my favourite singer and possibly favourite frontman of all time would be? Chris Cornell had the ability to scream, belt, shout, croon, and wail in a way that no other has been able to replicate in my opinion. He had a soulful and powerful voice. It was gravelly and gruff in his chest voice whilst his falsetto was insane; High and screaming but incredibly masculine. The voice that he was known for was one of the purest and most unique in music, certainly in rock and he will not be forgotten; he has left a significant mark on the rock an Grunge genre as a founding party in the creation of Grunge as well as a lifetime producer of Grunge. His untimely death was devastating and I have now come to terms with it yet i still listen to his music as often as I always have. He is my pick for the best male vocalist of all time and I think this is likely to be a fairly popular choice.

*All images sourced from google. I do not claim to own any images used

Say Hello To Heaven My Friend

On the 18th of May, my long time music idol passed away from a suspected suicide. I feel a great loss that the brilliant and incomparable Chris Cornell has left this earth and rejoined old friends Layne Staley and Andrew Wood. He was my inspiration in a difficult time and i found his music rather late (around 2010) as I was too young for the original grunge movement. I have since followed him closely and loyally, even writing my University dissertation largely on Cornell and his impact on the Grunge movement. I feel that it is time to list my top 3 Cornell tracks. I will keep this brief and respectful in honour of the legend that Chris Cornell will always be.

3) "Slaves and Bulldozers" Soundgarden :

This track from Badmotorfinger was a "fuck you" to the record labels and large music corporations who were exploiting a young Soundgarden to make them money and not respecting the time needed to create masterful and emotional music. The screams and wails of  Cornell are released in explicit and unavoidable fashion and there is definite anger in Cornell's heart. This track proved that Soundgarden would not be exploited and were far more aware of the music industry than most companies would give them credit for. It was written by Cornell and concurred by all members of the band and thus released and, despite not being the best commercial success, it remains a powerful song to this day with the god-like vocals of the great Cornell.

2) "Say Hello To Heaven" Temple of the Dog:

This emotional and heartfelt track from the only self-titled album Temple of the Dog was a tribute to Cornell's friend Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone who died of a drugs overdose shortly before the formation of the group. It details the pain felt by a man losing his friend and hope that he will once again reunite in Heaven. It is such a lyrically beautiful song that i have chosen it as the title for my tribute post to the great man. Once more, it contains all the range and power of the banshee-like Cornell but this time in a more subtle, sincere and softer way. Its a beautiful song and is very fitting in the aftermath of the loss of the icon that will always be Cornell.

1) "The day I Tried to Live" Soundgarden:

Taken from Superunknown, this track details the thoughts of a man who struggles with life and tries to forget his depression but fails. This is a violent track with much anger and disdain for modern life and the accompanying music video echoes this, with the dark cellar room and the blurry imagery. This is my favourite song today, though my list would shift orders everyday depending on my mood and what album I am listening to. Cornell steals the show here with his bellowing voice and hatred of modern life. Cornell will forever remain important to me.

The others which will likely place third, second, and first place on any given day consist of:
"Burden in my Hand" Soundgarden
"Fell on Black Days" Soundgarden
"Like a Stone" Audioslave
"Black Hole Sun" Soundgarden
"Call Me a Dog" Temple of the Dog
"I am the Highway" Audioslave

                                Say Hello To Heaven man, Come and wash away the rain.