Matt and Andrew's CD a Day project

Did anybody else see Collective Soul on Leno last week? First of all, what happened to their drummer? That was definitely a new guy. Second, why did Ed Roland start bleaching his hair? Now he looks like the guy from Nickleback without the goatee. Third, I know the band's not that emotional on their albums, but live, they used to at least pretend like they were into it. They might as well have been robots on Leno.

Continuing our theme of mid-'90s rock stars gone south, that IS Darius Rucker, aka "Hootie," in a purple Cowboy Curtis suit singing about the new bacon cheddar ranch chicken sandwich at Burger King to the tune of Big Rock Candy Mountain. Doesn't make me want to eat the sandwich, but it has gotten Big Rock Candy Mountain stuck in my head for a week now. I can't decide if Darius did it 'cause he thought it would be fun, or if he really needed the money.

I'm getting a little tired of this new trend with alt-rock supergroups. I'll admit, I liked the first Velvet Revolver single, and I didn't completely hate the first Alter Bridge single. But the second and third Velvet Revolver singles were ass on a stick, and every time I hear the new Alter Bridge song, I want to gouge out my eardrum with a rusty nail. And, honestly, who's excited about the new Audioslave album?
Here's the main problem with supergroups: they're not as good as their old bands. Take Audioslave. They're not as good as Soundgarden OR Rage Against the Machine. Velvet Revolver certainly aren't as good as Guns 'N Roses, and they're worse than STP, too. And granted, I only know that one song by Mayfield Four, but it was better than Alter Bridge. (Creed were about as crappy as Alter Bridge, as it turns out).

Will we see more of these monstrosities? I think so. Alice in Chains already announced they're getting back together (minus Layne Staley, of course) with the lead singer of Damageplan for a charity benefit next month. Will they stay together? Hey, why not? And honestly, who would be surprised to see the lead singer of Candlebox crop up with a couple of guys from Sponge and the drummer from the Nixons in a post-grunge supergroup?
This did happen once before, in the early '80s. Asia, Damn Yankees, even Bad Company, all supergroups. Jimmy Page was in two: The Firm and then Coverdale/Page. If you can name one song either of these two bands sang, e-mail me and I'll eat an Audioslave CD jacket. No fair looking it up on allmusic, though.

So Britney Spears is suing some insurance companies who didn't pay her when she cancelled her Onyx Hotel tour last year. Seems Brit-Brit screwed her knee up and could no longer perform. Hm... seems to me that Britney could have just sung the songs with a knee brace on in a stationary position while her dancers danced behind her, except... oh, that's right... Britney lip-synchs live. At times poorly, I might add. I hope all those middle-aged parents who bought tickets for the Onyx Hotel shows that did happen are happy that they spent $50 for their daughters to watch an oversexed poor excuse for a role model shake her ass for an hour and a half to canned tracks. I can get that kind of entertainment for free at any college jazzercise class.
Speaking of lip-synching, I really, really hope that the audio and video were just off at the Super Bowl halftime show and Paul freakin' McCartney wasn't moving his mouth in time to a backing track. That would make me very, very sad.

Rotating Drummer Update: Apparently, 3 Doors Down's drummer has joined Nickleback, and Puddle of Mudd's drummer is joining 3 Doors Down, but only for the current tour, 3 Doors Down's singer says. Puddle of Mudd is just on "hiatus" right now. Can they stay on hiatus forever? Pretty please?

Guilty Pleasure of the Week: My Chemical Romance, "I'm Not OK (I Promise)" I just can't take their lead singer seriously; he looks like a cross between Edward Scissorhands and Billy Corgan with a Jack White wig. But bringing some theatricality to screamo is always welcome at my place.

So, if you're a nu-metal drummer seeking to join a band, the competition got a lot stiffer. First Fuel's drummer quit (and said in an online post that Brett Scallions, the lead signer, had been lip-syncing the last tour because his vocal cords were shredded), then Nickleback unexpectedly fired their drummer, who told the Edmonton newspaper that Three Doors Down's drummer was about to join the NB rock machine (which hasn't officially happened yet, and 3DD have a new album out Tuesday, so I bet won't happen). I'm not sure why I care so much about the comings-and-goings of rock bands I don't even particularly like (if you surf the archives, you'll see I own Fuel's first two albums, but I haaate Nickelback). I guess drama is fun for everybody. Besides, Fuel, Nickelback, Three Doors Down, Theory of A Deadman, Staind, and all their buddies are destined for Night Ranger / Loverboy-style irrelevance here in a year or two anyway.

Meanwhile, Adam Gaynor, the not-as-funny-looking guitarist from Matchbox 20 (oh, sorry... matchbox twenty) announced he was leaving the band, and MB20 said they "had decided not to retain his services." Sounds like the boy got canned. I knew a girl in college who went to several MB20 shows in New Orleans before "Push" hit big, and she was sorta e-mail buddies with Adam. The story I got back in the day was that Adam and the other, more-funny-looking guitarist were just hired hands brought in by the producer for the first album, and that the band that was signed to Atlantic was just Rob Thomas, the bass player, and the drummer. So sounds like the guy was lucky to stick around this long. One of my guilty pleasure songs at the moment is "Downfall," off MB20's last album. I know as a good, keeping-it-real rocker, I shouldn't like Matchbox 20 anymore. But damn it, I still do.

(other) Guilty Pleasure of the Week Breaking Benjamin, "So Cold." Better than it has any right to be.

So Matt bailed like three months ago, and I'm tired of listening to a different CD every day. So I declare victory.
Think about it: my three favorite new CDs of the year are the Killers, the new Get Up Kids, and the new Jimmy Eat World. I realized today I've listened to each of those about four times each, max. If you like music, listen to it! Plus, I'm about six weeks behind posting stuff to this site (yes, I did keep up, but I had some internet access issues).

So what happens here? I'll continue with some CD reviews, some thoughts on current issues of music, and a lot of general ramblings. You know, what a blog is supposed to be in the first place. Matt's welcome to join me if he wants. See you soon.