Looking back at my most "recent" posts on here (over 2 1/2 years ago!), it becomes obvious why I stopped blogging. I had drifted so far away from the original intent of this blog, I was filling time with video game reviews and copy 'n' paste hack jobs of old posts about movies. I had the shocking realization that I hadn't even blogged about music since 2008! Music has been such a big part of my life for as long as I can remember that it borders on blasphemy to uncover this artifact of truth. In fact, according to my rateyourmusic.com profile, I own close to 14,000 albums in various formats. It seems almost criminal to not write about at least a small chunk of that. So here I am, deciding to return to my blogger roots and write about music once again.
For my first blog of the new year, I thought in lieu of anything creative, I would just blog about whatever I happen to be listening to today. Ease myself back into it, if you will...
School of Rock Soundtrack
It seems appropriate that I would start my date with the soundtrack to a movie that revels in the unbridled passion that drives a person to love making music. While some thought the typically esoteric and philosophical Richard Linklater's Jack Black bufoonery vehicle was a cash grab, I felt the movie offered more than that with the soundtrack playing a much larger part in its success than many films, and rightly so given the subject matter. School of Rock: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture is, in typical soundtrack fashion, a hodge podge of classic rock tracks and bands that sound like, but aren't, classic rock (That's right fellas, Ramones =classic rock... and mind=blown). One thing that impressed me is Linklater actually secured the rights to a Led Zeppelin song. Not only that, but it isn't "Stairway to Heaven",although I imagine the ridiculously cost prohibitive rights played a part in song choice. To be quite honest, I'm very pleased to see "Immigrant Song" represented since it both rocks harder and is much less overplayed than "Stairway".
In my opinion, the only real weak spots on the album are by the fake band No Vacancy, who's songs sound bland in comparison when played alongside such classic acts as The Who, T-Rex and Cream. In fact, the School of Rock band's rendition of "It's a Long Way to the Top" is better than any of the No Vacancy tracks. While the album won't be winning any awards for unique and inventive song choice (although choosing "Ballrooms of Mars" over the much more common T-Rex song "Bang a Gong" was great to see), overall it's a pretty solid soundtrack for the rock fan or the burgeoning youth who should be.
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