Stone Sour glass inhale—what is the connecting thread between those? Well, Stone and glass are durable yet fragile materials. Sour and inhale are actions of humans and/or animals. Stone Sour is the name of a band. “Through Glass” and “Inhale” are two of their singles. Wasn’t that fun?? Note to self: begin every thought with a little mind game like that…

On to business, it almost always makes the critic’s job more difficult when bands begin mixing together or borrowing each other’s members. It gets hard to follow and in most cases isn’t worth the trouble of trying. The band Stone Sour, however, just might be the exception.

Being a forerunner to the infamous band Slipknot, and providing the latter with 50 percent of its present day talent (Slipknot vocalist Corey Taylor and drummer Joel Ekman are former members of Stone Sour), Stone Sour has suffered greatly from general forgetfulness or relentless comparisons to Slipknot. This is my platform to say that despite those persisting torments, Stone Sour has held its own. In its ten years of existence (1992-1997 at which point the band split up only to unite again in 2002), the band has created, by my count, at least five unforgettable singles.

“Through Glass” has got to be my favorite one. It’s a messy song. Its angry, and its bitter and it point a middle finger at the “plastic like figures” that dominate the contemporary music scene. What’s there to say… I love it when bands go political!

For that alone “Through Glass” gets my 8 TONY’S and a heartfelt wish that they find something to get angry at again soon…

Via Sonific.com:

Simple and catchy indie/emo rock.

Have you ever noticed how country music has an almost religious sense of pride in its own Southern heritage, its local flavors, styles and distinct dialect? Have you ever noticed, also, how deeply concerned it is with a place, and how every state for which a country song has been written—from Virginia to Alabama, through Georgia and down to Texas—is depicted with the love that one feels for a child? If, like me, you haven’t ever paid all that much attention to country, now is the time to do so because this week it’s all about oldies and the beautiful South.

Last time I wrote I left you in 1974, smack in the middle of the Watergate scandal, and in the great state of Alabama. This time it’s five years and about a four hour drive away - 1979, the state of Georgia - “Devil Went Down to Georgia” Charley Daniels Band.

The best thing about this song is that it gives a story; a full-fledged beginning, middle and end narrative in the old fashioned way a story should be told. It’s not hung up on funky guitar riffs, or dosed up on electric embellishments. It’s not about seductive music videos or the kind of bling that even contemporary country-western stars have not been able to resist. Rather, its got a innocence and a simplicity that is pure joy in this day and age.

And as much as I appreciate technology, and as attached as I am to my cell phone and the musical delight that it give me, I still think that certain things are sacred and should be left untouched. Acoustic music and old-school country melodies are some such things.

For this reason and this reason alone, I give “The Devil” 7 TONY’S as a ringtone choice. But I leave you with a word to the wise: sometimes a great song is not a good ringtone…

Via Sonific.com:

Indie Rock; melodic post-rock.

After years of slaying rappers in the underground hip-hop scene with his hard, politically charged rhymes, Papoose (Whose present meaning is “an American Indian child”), is ready to take his battleground flow to the masses.

Born in Africa but raised in the ghettos of Brooklyn, Papoose says that rapping was what he was born to do. Grinding the rough streets drove Papoose to churn out brutally honest joints, which has since become his trademark.

His first big break happened when he was hosted on Kool-G-Raps “Roots of Evil” album in 1999. After proving that he could hold his own with the old-school rapper, Papoose released his own underground hit “Alphabetical Slaughter”. After turning down a bad record deal, Papoose hit the streets and pressed his own mix tape titled “Art of War”. With its powerful and unique lyrics, the record soon found its way into the hands of Dj KaySlay who immediately signed Papoose to “Street Sweepers Entertainment”. Since then he has dominated the mix tape scene worldwide.

His first hit record “Charades” spoke about the unfair policy of the ”hip hop police”. This record went in rotation at Hot 97 in New York City and many other radio stations around the world. Papoose has already put out 12 mixtapes and has a total of 227 songs and freestyles, all within a year and a half, and that is equivalent to 12 albums during that period and more than any signed or unsigned artist has ever done! Papoose has continued to drop classics such as “Monopoly”, “Flashback” and “Mothernature” where he spoke about the politics surrounding hurricane Katrina and the disaster that followed.

For now, Papoose is pushing his latest mixtape, A Threat and a Promise, which hosts heavyweight rappers such as Nas, Busta Rhymes and Juvenile. The hungry rapper is ready to take down any of his equals to see his dream come to light. As he suggests on his song “Coming for the Spot” - “Everyone at the top, I’m coming for your spot”.

This ringtone review is brought to you by Thecellfreak.com.

I said it once and I’ll say it again, I get so excited when I see a progressive rock band, any rock band for that matter, that does not resist its track’s conversion into ringtones. I get hopeful when I witness the entrance of angry rock into the domain of cellular music which is so overwhelmingly crowded with mediocre pop musicians thirsty for exposure of any kind. I expose a full set of teeth through a huge grin when a band as good as Tool, when a quality album such as 10,000 Days, doesn’t feel like it’s “going slumming” when its songs become downloadable for our ringing pleasure.

As for its ringtone value, its got it in truckloads. Tool take everyday sounds, those mundane, almost annoying sounds that make even a city rat such as myself want to move to the country for good, and make them part of a musical ensemble. What this amounts to is a fascinating combination of rain and wind sounds, hospital goings-on and ambulance sirens, as well as bits of conversation mixed up with synthesized effects and good guitar and bass playing. What better treat for your ears than sounds of the city that don’t annoy you to the point of scratching your eyes out?!

I’ll say this much, I downloaded the ringtone for the pot by tool - a particularly grandiose combo of cynical lyrics and passionate delivery - and set it as my alarm clock tune. I was surprisingly calm, appropriately moody and sexily gloomy for the rest of the day! A huge change from my usual “perky” self on those mornings when I awaken to some happy-go-lucky tune that tries to entice me into a early morning workout…

“The Pot” gets 9 TONY’S from me and a sincere recommendation for anyone trying to get in touch with their “deeper” side.

Via Sonific.com:

Unabolished melodic, emotional, arena rock for the masses.

Awww, where can I find that ape’s phone number?

Via Sonific.com:

If you like Keane and snow patrol etc, you will love us. We always miss the rain.

Today’s time travel will take us to the early 80’s, times when some of the most controversial acts were operating. One of them was called “Frankie Goes to Hollywood“.

Frankie Goes to Hollywood was one of the most controversial and commercially successful UK new wave acts of the early 80’s. The Liverpool group was fronted by vocalist Holly Johnson, supported by Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Peter Gill (drums), Mark O’Toole (bass) and Brian Nash (guitar). On the B-side to the group’s first single, Johnson explained that the group’s name derived from a page from the New Yorker magazine, featuring the headline “Frankie Goes To Hollywood” and a picture of Frank Sinatra.

The core of the group emerged from the late 70’s Liverpool punk scene, but it was only in February 1983 that the group was invited to record a video for their song “Relax” by the Channel Four show “The Tube”. That broadcast convinced Trevor Horn to sign the group for his new label, ZTT Records, in May 1983. “Relax” was released in October 1983 and got allot of airplay, allowing it steady progress into the UK Top 40. Following a debut appearance on the BBC’s Top Of The Pops while at number 35, the single shot to number one in the charts. Here’s the banned version of this song’s video.

“Relax” remained in the charts when the follow-up, “Two Tribes” was released in May 1984. The anti-conflict song was given an aggressively topical nuclear war slant. Featuring sirens, the unmistakable voice of Patrick Allen (who had voiced the British Government’s actual nuclear warning ads “Protect and Survive”) and another innovative electronic backing, it went straight into the UK charts at Number One and stayed there for a phenomenal nine weeks.

FGTH released a third single, “The Power Of Love” at the end of 1984. A surprisingly well-arranged ballad, it went to Number One in December and gave the band the honor of being the first act for two decades to achieve chart-toppers with its first three releases.

Those 3 singles were taken from their debut album, Welcome To The Pleasuredome, which sold relatively well but was generally poorly received by critics. The album’s title track, “Welcome To The Pleasuredome“, was released as a fourth single at the beginning of 1985 and peaked at Number 2, leading to preemptive claims that the band was on the decline.

In the middle of 1985, the band took a year off from any musical activity.

In summer 1986, the long-awaited new Frankie Goes To Hollywood single, “Rage Hard“, was released, reaching number 4 in the UK. Initially showcased promotionally with songs like “Warriors Of The Wasteland“, the group’s sound had developed a significantly harder edge. Here’s a live performance of the band, performing “Rage Hard” and “Warriors Of The Wasteland“, sometime in 1986.

A backstage altercation between Johnson and O’Toole at Wembley Arena in 1987 was reflecting the generally collapsing relationship between lead singer and the rest of the band. FGTH would complete the tour, but Johnson ultimately left the group after the tour ended, which led to the final brake up of the group.