Good Bye, Ronnie James Dio

Heavy Metal's legendary singer, Ronnie James Dio, died of Stomach Cancer on May 16th at the age of 67. I thought that I'd like to say a few words.

I woke won morning in 1983 to the amazing sounds of "Rainbow in the Dark" blaring from my clock radio. I was immediately captivated by the vocals of Ronnie James Dio. This was one of those moments that you never forget. I was fortunate enough to see Dio in concert in the Summer of 1984 on his "Last In Line" tour along with Twisted Sister at Pine Knob. This was one of many great concerts for me that Summer. Those were the days before CDs, when we listened to cassettes.

Like a lot of other boys at the time, I was into Heavy Metal and Hard Rock and had known Ronnie James Dio as the guy that replaced Ozzy Osbourne as the lead singer in Black Sabbath. He was also the first singer in Rainbow, the band founded by guitar legend Ritchie Blackmore after leaving Deep Purple. Between various stints with various incarnations of Black Sabbath, he had his own band. After replacing Ozzy, Dio seemed forever tied to Black Sabbath, not ever really get too far from the band as you can see if you look at his musical history. Kind of like Billy Martin and the Yankees, he would get a way and always get pulled back in.

Dio was one of the artists that organized "Hear N Aid" that got various Heavy Metal and Hard Rock musicians together to raise money for Africa as a sort of Hard Rock answer to U.S.A. for Africa. This was not to be his only venture into the world of charity and giving. Manager and wife, Wendy Dio has requested that fans make a donation to the Ronnie Jame Dio "Stand Up And Shout" Cancer Fund (you can read more about it at Dio's homepage).

Dio revealed last Summer had stomach cancer, after wrapping a tour in Atlantic City with Heaven And Hell ( the latest version of Black Sabbath). Wendy Dio has written quite a bit about his battle with Cancer at the website. On March 12, Wendy wrote... "Well, now it has been Ronnie’s 7th chemo, another cat scan and another endoscopy, and the results are good – the main tumor has shrunk considerably..." Like so many others, Ronnie James Dio wasn't victorious in his battle with Cancer, but he fought and kept the music going.

Heavy Metal, especially that which Dio, has had a lot of good verses evil themes, many of them very epic in nature. I thought that I'd site a few of the more famous lines from Dio. (I don't even dare to try to match the imagery)


From "Heaven And Hell"- Black Sabbath (you can read the rest of the lyrics at Lyrics Freak here)


The devil is never a maker The less that you give, you're a taker

The lover of lifes not a sinner The ending is just a beginner The closer you get to the meaning The sooner you'll know that you're dreaming

Well if it seems to be real, it's illusion For every moment of truth, there's confusion in life The world is full of kings and queens Who blind your eyes and steal your dreams

And they'll tell you black is really white The moon is just the sun at night And when you walk in golden halls You get to keep the gold that falls


From "Rainbow in the Dark" - Dio (read the rest of the lyrics at Lyrics Freak here)


When there's lightning You know it always brings me down Cause it's free and I see that it's me Who's lost and never found

No sign of the morning coming You've been left on your own Like a Rainbow in the Dark

Do your demons Do they ever let you go When you've tried do they hide deep inside


From "The Last in Line" - Dio (read the rest of lyrics at Lyrics Freak here)

We're a ship without a storm The cold without the warm Light inside the darkness that it needs We're a laugh without a tear The hope without the fear We are coming - home

We'll know for the first time If we're evil or divine We're the last in line It's the angel or the beast And the answer lies between The good and bad


And lastly from the "Mob Rules" -Black Sabbath (read the rest of lyrics at Lyrics Freak here)


If you listen to fools, The mob rules


Upon hearing the news, I played several songs from Dio at Blip.fm. I'll be getting out my CDs with Dio to hear him again. My condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Ronnie James Dio. This was truly a sad day for music. Dio was such a big part of my teenage years and my early twenties. I'd like to thank him for the music and for all that he has meant to me over the years. Although he might not have to wait to much longer for "the judgment", in the hearts of his fans, he'll always be the "Last in Line" singing about those epic battles of good verse evil. It is really amazing how the lines between good and evil have become so blurred that it isn't so easy now a days to know the good from the bad. Ronnie, it seems that you work isn't done. R.I.P, Ronnie.

Here are some links that you might like if you're a fan of Ronnie James Dio...

• The official website
  

• Become a fan at Facebook
  

• The official Twitter account
  

• Wikipedia entry on Rio James Dio
  

• Yahoo story about his death
  

Photo credit: Heaven And Hell 5 from Wikipedia Commons

DSDS 2010 Finals Tonight

Tonight (April 17th) is the final and it boils down to Mehrzad Marashi and Menowin Fröhlich, who will be the German Superstar for 2010 (Season 7)?

I enjoy hearing good music and seeing musicians that are good at it. I'm not so much into the whole reality tv thing and the trumped up drama that goes along with it. I have to also say that I'm not really happy with the selection process. If the process were truly democratic it would be one person one vote, not whoever is willing to spend 50 cents per vote to vote. This is not democratic at all, only a matter of who's fans are willing to spend more to vote. Every season has some controversy, let's face it that is something that the networks and show producers want to see. They want to have people talking about their show and as the expression goes ever bad press is still press. This season I was disappointed to see Nelson Sangare didn't make it to the top 7, I had him pegged for the top 3. This season there seemed to be an awful lot of problems with the candidates remembering the text, even Menowin had some problems at Dieter Bohlen made a comment about "Ayo Technology" from Milow sounding like alphabet soup.

I'm not happy with the way that Menowin is being "pushed". Last year the Bild promoted Annemarie Eilfeld (wikipedia entry), there was almost a story about her every week. This season there seems to be an awful lot of coverage of Menowin. Watching the show last week it seemed like the jury was really pushing Menowin, almost will to give him the DSDS title then and there. I love a good Cinderella story, to see the underdog come out on top, but we've had a few other recent down on their luck Superstars (Thomas Godoj, and in particular Mark Medlock) and I want the music to be the story not promotion by the Bild or someone at RTL that thinks Meonwin is the person they want to hang the success of DSDS 2010 upon.

One thing that I've been disappointed with about the show, is that they don't really promote the winnners. With the exception of Mark Medlock, you almost don't hear anything at all about the past winners. One of the reasons that Mark Medlock has done so well is that he really learned how to "play" Dieter Bohlen (wikipedi entry), so he didn't have too many problems getting promoted. He and Dieter even went on tour together. When you think about how many people watch the show and are fans of this or that candidate, it seems hard to believe that it promoted properly, that more of the former winners and candidates wouldn't be doing better and be better well known.

Both Mehrzadt and Menowin can dance and have moves (this can't be said for all of the contestants this year). Menowin's voice is higher and more suited toward's Michael Jackson type songs. He sang Santana's Maria Maria with an intensity that I really liked. He did a good version of the Simply Red song "If You Don't Know Me By Now", since the lead singer for Simply Red has a higher voice, it matched pretty well. I also really liked the version of "We Are the World" that he did (but in the back of my mind I kept waiting to here the famous singers of that song chime it).

Mehrzadt can perform a variety of songs and can really give a song a lot of feeling. He gave the Lionel Richie song "Hello" more feeling that Lionel Richie himself gave it. Although Dieter Bohlen seemed to that that "Runaway (Del Shannon)" was too old for the audience, I wonder how many out in tvland were enjoying that golden oldie? I also thought that "Mr. Boombastic" (Shaggy) was fun, even if Dieter thinks Shaggy is one of the worst singers. Mehrzad seems like a class act. Last week, in his thrid song, Mehrzad proposed to his girlfriend, so regardless of if he wins or not, this show will always have a special memory for the two of them as a couple.

I've seen the set list for tonight...

Menowin will sing...

• That's What Friends Are For (Dionne Warwick)
• Billie Jean (Michael Jackson)

Mehrzat will sing...

• Endless Love (Lionel Richie)
• Fresh (Kool & The Gang)

Both will sing "Don't Believe" written by Dieter Bohlen. I would have almost bet that Menowin would do at least one Michael Jackson song (so not really a surprise here), while I'm sure that Mehrzat will give the Lionel Richie song a lot of feeling. Here's hoping for a good show. If you're a fan of any of the other candidates from this or any of the other past shows, it is worth having a look at the Wikipedia entry to see who has their own webpages and who is making a career post DSDS.

------------------------------------------------------

Here are some links that you might want to check out.

• My post from last season's finals
• My post from 2008 season's finals
• DSDS Season 7 @ Wikipedia
• DSDS @ Wikipdeia
• DSDS @RTL
• DSDS Season 7@Twitter
• Tobias Regner's homepage
• Tobias Regner @ Facebook
• Tobias Regner @ Myspace
• Tobias Regner @ Twitter
• Thomas Godoj's hompage
• Daniel Schuhmacher's homepage
• Mark Medlock's homepage
• Bild's story about tonight's show
• Annemarie Eilfeld's homepage
• Annemarie Eilfeld@ Wikipedia

Photo credit: DJ Night 3 courtesy of fangol

Our Star for Oslo 2010 Final Tonight

Tonight is the Finals in the "Unser Star für Oslo 2010" (Our Star for Oslo 2010) televised contest in Germany. The winner will be Germany's entry into the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest being broadcast in May. Among some of the more notable careers that the contest has helped launch are ABBA, who performed Waterloo in 1974 and Céline Dion who performed "Ne partez pas sans moi" in 1988 oddly enough for Switzerland.

Germany is tried of finishing poorly for so long and they do some pretty creative things to win (or at least finish better). One of the first efforts that I'm aware of was that of ProSeiben personality Stefan Raab hosting a contest on one of his shows that resulted in Max Mutzke performing "Can't Wait Until Tonight" for Germany in the 2004 contest (note Max is performing this is song in the video embedded at the top of this post). This year ProSeiben and ARD have been airing a contest to determine who'll represent Germany in the 2010 Eurovision. While there are more and more music casting shows, this is first that is co-hosted on two different networks, with ARD being publicly run no less.

I remember seeing some of the promotion for Max when he was going to perform at Eurovision and getting excited about his song. The song was very catchy and sounded like something that Joe Cocker could have sung very well. I watched the 2004 Eurovision and realized that I had somehow gotten old and out of touch because most of the music being performed didn't appeal to me and I was surprised to see that Max didn't finish near the top. I had kind of written off the whole Eurovision experience off after that.

I didn't see the Unser Star Für Oslo from the beginning but came into it later on. I found it really refreshing that this was focused on people that could really sing and not creating drama and conflict. Clearly most anyone of the candidates could do a good job representing Germany. I've also enjoyed that the jury has not been overly critical, obscene, or uncivilized. Maybe the performances didn't lend themselves to those types of critiques but it has been nice not hearing any below the belt commentary.

Tonight it boils down to who will be representing Germany in Oslo this year, will it be Lena Meyer-Landrut or Jennifer Braun? I don't know if I'll be tuning into Eurovision this year or not, but it sure would be nice to see one of these two women win it. I'm looking forward to hearing some good music tonight.

Additional Information

• Eurovision Homepage
• Eurovision history
• Wikipedia entry on this year's Eurovision contest
• Wikipedia entry on the Eurovision contest
• Lyrics of Can't Wait Until Tonight at Lyricsfreak
• Max performing Can't Wait Until Tonight on YouTube
  
• DC Heron post on 2009 DSDS
  

80's Party

Leg warmers, Rubik's cube, Reagan and Gorbachev, the VCR and CD catch on, music videos and MTV (the played music), Band Aid and Live Aid, all those new wave hair styles and Heavy Metal hair bands, do these things have you thinking about the 1980's? If you remember, a friend of mine had an 80's themed birthday a few weeks ago and in honor of the occasion I decided to blip 80's songs the weekend of his party and in fact I blipped 80's songs all week (February 22-28). You can find all the songs I blipped if you go to my profile and click on "blips", since I've blipped more songs since then they won't be at the top you probably need to go back several pages.

Since I graduated high school in 1985, the 80's were a very prominent period in my life and I have a lot of memories from that time. For many people the high school years are memorable and it is a natural progression that music from that time will have a certain sentimental aspect to it. Music plays such a big role in our lives and so many songs are tied to memories that I have from this time (as with many of you I'd imagine). I remember driver's training and the songs that always seemed to be on the radio. There was our class song, most all graduating high schools classes had one, they were usually something with a positive title (ours was more rebellious). I remember my first concert and a bunch of concerts that I went to in 1984.

I started blipping some songs that I thought of when I thought of the 80's then I decided to blip some songs that were Top 40 songs for each year of the 80's and then I played some songs that weren't in the Top 40 but were memorable none the less.

I thought that I'd post links to some of the songs that I blipped. You're welcome to go listen to them if you'd like. You might just start at the last 80's song I blipped (Walking on Sunshine by Katrina & the Waves) hit play and Blip.fm will play them all from newest to oldest blipped (was an 80's mix with AC/DC, Van Halen, Joan Jett, and more). All and all, 14 pages of blips! Here are some of the highlights...

• Do you remember "Don't You Forget About Me"? from Simple Minds (prominently featured in the Breakfast Club movie
• "One Thing Leads To Another" from the Fixx
• "I Ran (So Far Away)" from A Flock of Seagulls
• "Rebel Yell", "White Wedding", "Mony Mony", "Eyes Without A Face" from Billy Idol
• "Video Killed the Radio Stars" from the Buggles
• "Karma Camellion" and "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" from Culture Club
• "Hungry Like The Wolf", "The Reflex", and "View To A Kill" from Duran Duran
• "Some Like It Hot" from Power Station
• "Smokin' In The Boys Room" from Motley Crue
• "I Want A New Drug", "Back In Time", "The Power of Love", "Hip To Be Square", "Working For A Living", and others from Huey Lewis and the News
• "Please Don't Go" from KC & the Sunshine Band
• "Pop Muzik" from M
• "Theme from The Greatest American Hero (Believe It Or Not)" from Joey Scarbury
• "The Tide Is High" from Blondie
• "I Love Rock And Roll" from Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
• "Ebony And Ivory" from Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder
• "Centerfold" from the J.Geils Band
• "Abracadabra" from the Steve Miller Band
• "Always On My Mind" and "West End Girls" from the Pet Shop Boys
• "Who Can It Be Now" and "Down Under" from Met at Work
• "Every Breathe You Take" from the Police
• "Come On Eileen" from Dexys Midnight Runners
  
• "Let's Dance" from David Bowie
• "Jeporady" and "The Breakup Song" from the Greg Khin Band
• "Mr. Roboto" from Styx
• "Little Red Corvette", "When Doves Cry", "Let's Go Crazy" from Prince
• "Der Kommisar" from After the Fire
• "I Wear My Sunglasses At Night" from Corey Hart
• "Take On Me" from A-Ha
  

Thank you to those that played and listened a long. Feel free to listen to any of the songs that I blipped and reblip them if you'd like. Also if there is a song from those years that you'd like to point out you can do so in the comments here or you could play it on Blip.fm. If you add "@darrylheron" in the text you write there when you blip, I'll be sure to see it. So as Huey Lewis sang as part of the theme song in "Back to the Future"

"Tell me Doctor, where are we going this time?
Is this the fifties? Or Nineteen ninety-nine?
...So take me away, I don't mind
You just better promise me I'll be back in time"

Photo Credit: Musique courtesy of spartsam.

What Are Your Ultimate 80's Songs?

A friend of mine is celebrating his 40th birthday this weekend and having an 80's themed party. While the 80's weren't that long ago, it is far enough back now that some of us can look back with nostalgia, maybe some of us can call it the good ole days (maybe some of us already do?). I gave me friend some ideas for his playlist, but I thought why not expand this out to all of you in cyberspace and give you all a chance to play DJ?

I've been having fun on Blip.fm and started playing some 80's music yesterday. In honor of my friend's birthday I'll be playing some 80's music on Blip all week. If you're already a member at Blip.fm, feel free to join me or look at what I've blipped. If you're not a member yet, here is an invite for you to join. Feel free to blip songs that you think should be in the 80's playlist. Be sure to include "@darrylheron" & something about the 80's so that I know that you'd like your selection considered for our ultimate 80's party.

Music is such a big part of our lives. Many of the songs that we listen to have their own stories behind them. There might have been one song you listened to when you were sad and needed a pick me up. There was probably that song that you loved to hear when you wanted to jam out. Before Guitar Hero and karaoke there was air guitar and singing to your hair brush or other makeshift microphones, what songs did you play when you were a guitar god, or pop singer? What music did you listen to when you were crusin' or hanging out with your friends. What music did you listen to when you were feeling rebellious? Do you have any songs that you'd like nominate for the 80's playlist, please feel free to write them up along with some comments as to why you wish to nominate your song(s).

Feel free to suggest songs here and/or join me on Blip.fm and later this week I'll write about "our 80's playlist". This should be fun. Rock on.

Photo credit: Vintage Radio courtesy of CraigPJ.

Happy Rush Day

Since moving to Germany a few years ago, I’ve come to recognize December 21^st as Rush Day. If you’re a fan of the Canadian rock band, Rush, you’ve probably heard of their album 2112. Looking at the date format from a European view of day, month, year as opposed to month, day, year, that I grew up with in the U.S, you see that 21^st of December is 21 12 year or 2112, giving us a chance to appreciate Rush Day every year (if you don’t celebrate the existence of the band more often than that already)

Spirit of Radio Live in Rio

I can’t tell you the first time that I heard a Rush song, although I think that it was probably “Tom Sawyer”, “Spirit of Radio”, or “Free Will”, but I’ve listened to Rush for almost 30 years. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them on three different tours and would never tire of seeing and hearing them live. No doubt that if you’ve listened to classic rock, enough you’ve probably heard Geddy Lee’s high pitched voice that has become a signature sound for the band. He is one of the premiere bass players in rock music and a lot of bass players out there have picked up the bass in large part because of him. Neil Peart has been the band’s drummer and lyricist going back to 1974. There is little doubt that he is one of rock’s best drummers. Alex Lifeson has often been overshadowed by Geddy Lee and Neil, but he is an integral part of Rush.



Closer to the Heart Live in Rio

Unlike a lot of other bands, Rush has been able to evolve and reinvent itself over the years. In their earlier days they were more of a Heavy Metal/Hard Rock band, later on they became more progressive, they went through a synthesizer stage, they went into back to their roots stage where they were more guitar driven. They've even incorporated a little rap into their repertoire (Roll The Bones).



Roll the Bones Live in Rio

Over the years Rush has come up with some pretty good lyrics. Neil Peart has been the primary lyricist of Rush over the years. Nobody's Hero shows society's obsession with celebrity over actual heros. Trees has long been one of my favorite Rush songs, in it there is conflict between the Oaks and Maples. In Free Will we see that even indecision is a decision. Ghost of a Chance talks about destiny and choices. I've included some lyrics that I have found interesting below.

From Nobody's Hero...

As the years went by we drifted apart

When I heard that he was gone I felt a shadow cross my heart

But he's nobody's Hero

- Saves a drowning child

- Cures a wasting disease Hero

- Lands a crippled airplane

- Solves great mysteries

- Not the handsome actor who plays the hero's role

- Not the glamour girl

  who'd love to sell her soul

From Trees...

The trouble with the maples     

and they're quite convinced they're right

they say the Oaks are just too lofty 

and they grab up all the light

but the Oaks can't help their feelings

If they like the way they're made 

And they wonder why the maples 

Can't be happy in their shade

and the trees are all kept equal 

by hatchet, axe, and saw.



Trees Live in Rio

From Free Will...

If you choose not to decide
You still have made a choice

Freewill Live in Rio

From Ghost of a Chance…

Like a million little doorways

All the choices we made

All the stages we passed through

All the roles we played

For so many different directions

Our separate paths might have turned

With every door that we opened

Every bridge that we burned

I don’t believe in destiny

Or the guiding hand of fate

I don’t believe in forever

Or love as a mystical state

I don’t believe in the stars or the planets

Or Angels watching from above

I believe there’s a ghost of a chance

Rush is an incredible band live. You can tell by watching the videos included here (most all of them are recorded in Rio) that the crowds really get into the music. Like many rock concerts there are the obligatory solos but Rush solos are anything but called in. Watching YYZ below or many of the other videos, you get a taste for how amazing the band is live.


YYZ Live in Brazil

Essential Rush Albums

Rush has produced so many albums over the years it is hard to narrow down and essential list of Rush albums that you should have, but I have made an attempt. Here are some strategies that you might follow if you have to narrow down your selections from the 30+ albums that are out there.

Go Live

Starting with All The Worlds A Stage through the CD from the Snakes & Arrows tour, Rush had followed a pattern where they would produce about 3 albums and then do a live album. All The World's a Stage has live versions of some of the oldest Rush songs and includes 2112, Anthem, Fly By Night/In The Mood, Something for Nothing, By Tor And the Snow Dog, Working Man/Finding My Way and others. Exit Stage Left includes Limelight, The Trees, Xanadu, Freewill, Closer To The Heart, YYZ, and others. A Show of Hands includes Big Money, Red Sector A, Misson, the Rhythm Method, many of the songs from their synthesizer period as well as a few older classics. Different Stages: Live is a 3 CD set that includes Dreamline, Driven, Bravado, Animate, Show Don't Tell, Test for Echo, Roll the Bones, Stick It Out, and the third CD is a live recording that the band did in 1978. I haven't heard the Snakes & Arrow's tour CD yet, so I can't comment on it.

All The World’s a Stage…


Exit Stage Left…


A Show of Hands…


Different Stages: Live

Just One Album

If you only wish to buy one album, Chronicles is probably your best bet. It has highlights of the band from the beginning (like Working Man, Fly By Night, and Finding My Way) up until 1990, when it was recorded. Of course 1990 is almost 19 years ago, so there are a lot of CDs that Rush recorded after this that you would miss!

Chronicles…

Some Other Rush Albums You Might Want to Add to Your Collection

2112, Moving Pictures, and Power Windows are all albums that many Rush fans would agree should be in your collection. 2112 was originally release in 1976 and it includes 2112, A Passage To Bangkok, Something For Nothing, and more. Moving Pictures was originally released in 1981 includes Tom Sawyer, Rec Barchetta, YYZ, LImelight, and others. Power Windows was originally released in 1985 includes Big Money, Manhattan Project, Marathon, Territories, Mystic Rhythms, and others.

2112


Moving Pictures


Power Windows…

The Alternative Era

I saw Rush on their Presto, Roll The Bones, and Counterpart tours, so I'm somewhat partial to these albums. With the albums Rush moves from the synthesizer era to alternative. Presto was originally released in 1989 and includes Show Don't Tell, The Pass, Presto, Superconductor, Red Tide, Hand Over Fist, Available Light, and others. Roll The Bones was originally released in 1991 and includes Dreamline, Bravado, Face Up, Ghost Of A Chance, Neurotica, and others. Counterparts was originally released in 1993 and includes Animate, Stick It Out, Cut To The Chase, Nobodys Hero, Alien Shores, The Speed of Love, Cold Fire, and others.

Presto…


Roll The Bones…


Counterparts…

Recent Albums

Test for Echo, Vapor Trails, Feedback, and Snakes & Arrows are all what I consider to be the most recent Rush albums. Each of them has some good songs although the degree that they're liked by Rush fans does vary. Test For Echo was originally released in 1996 and includes Test For Echo, Driven, and others. Vapor Trails was originally released in 2002 and includes One Little Victory, Ghost Rider, Vapor Trails, and others. This album comes after Neil Peart lost his
daughter (in a automobile accident) and his wife (from cancer), so you can hear the influence of these events in Peart's writing. Feedback was originally released in 2004 and includes Rush covers of Summertime Blues, Heart Full Of Soul, The Seeker, Shapes of Things, Crossroads, and others. This album is Rush paying homage to some of their influences with them covering songs from the 60's. Snakes & Arrows was originally released in 2007 and includes Far Cry, The Larger Bowl, The Way the Wind Blows, and others.

Test for Echo…


Vapor Trails…


Feedback…


Snakes & Arrows…


So I hope that you've enjoyed my 2008 Rush Day. I hope that you'll go listen or watch Rush. If you'd like to catch up with the band you can find their tour schedule and other news at their official website, you can read about them at Wikipedia, and if you'd like to play their music on your guitar you can find many of their songs at Chordie (I'm sure that some of the better music stores also have Rush sheet music as well). So I'll leave you now with Rush playing 2112 Live in Rio.


2112 Live in Rio

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