Rocktober '10s Song #22: "Psycho" by Muse (2015)

Well folks, we've reached the end of our six-year trek through the last six decades of rock and roll music.  Make sure to tune in tomorrow for Jovember, a daily look at the best Facts of Life episodes centered on Nancy McKeon's character Jo Polniaczek, starting with our introduction to Jo in "The New Girl: Part 1."

But first, our last song of Rocktober comes from British hard rock mainstays Muse, who is one of those bands that I kind of forget about, but they've been putting out some damn good rock and roll for over 20 years.  "Psycho" is from their 2015 album Drones, and it's a ball-busting hard rock song with a bit of a groove, which is an apt description of a lot of Muse songs.  Enjoy your All Hallows Eve, my friends.  For tomorrow, we dine with the dead.

Rocktober '10s Song #21: "Dead Brains" by Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas (2014)

Our penultimate song in this aural journey through the teens comes from Detroit-based soul/pop/rock band Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas.  They released their debut album, Secret Evil, in 2014, and I saw them at Lollapalooza in 2015.

"Dead Brains" is from Secret Evil, and it's a delightfully catchy little soul rock song with a whirring guitar riff that repeats throughout the song.  It's about dead brains, and fair warning:  if you listen to it, it will become an earworm.

Rocktober '10s Song #20: "Make Me Wanna Die" by White Reaper (2015)

Our next Rocktober Halloween week song is from Louisville-based rockers White Reaper.  They got their name when they saw a Halloween decoration in a store.  It was the grim reaper, but all white.  I've seen these guys at a few music fests, and they're great live.  Their music spans from punk to garage rock to power pop to glam rock.

"Make Me Wanna Die" is the first track off of their 2015 debut album, White Reaper Does It Again.  It's a fuzzy garage rock song, and if I'm interpreting the video correctly, it's about the grim reaper quitting his soul reaping job and then doing normal human stuff, like rolling dice in a gangway, buying drugs, robbing a convenience store, getting kicked out of a bar, and getting arrested for public urination.

Hair Band Friday - 10/27/23

1.  "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)" by Mötley Crüe

2.  "Night People" by Dio

3.  "Love Chaser" by Europe

4.  "Another Hit and Run" by Def Leppard

5.  "Cherry Lane" by Keel

6.  "Blueberry" by Lita Ford

7.  "In 'N' Out" by Van Halen

8.  "The Bitter Pill" by Warrant

9.  "You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll" by Twisted Sister

10.  "On Your Knees" by W.A.S.P.

Rocktober '10s Song #19: "Baby You're a Haunted House" by Gerard Way (2018)

Our next Halloween treat is Gerard Way's 2018 power pop gem "Baby You're a Haunted House," released five years ago today.  As you may or may not know, Way is one of those multi-talented "renaissance men" who can do it all, unintentionally reminding us of our shortcomings.  In addition to being the lead singer of emo/pop-punk icons My Chemical Romance, he is also an accomplished comic book writer.  You may have heard of his Umbrella Academy comic series, which was made into a Netflix series a few years ago.

Anywho, "Baby You're a Haunted House" is a catchy little number that you can't help but sing in your head after you've heard it.  And after all, we're all haunted houses in some sense.  Figuratively, not literally.

Rocktober '10s Song #18: "Right On, Frankenstein!" by Death From Above 1979 (2014)

You ever thought to yourself, "I really want to pay tribute to a mad scientist who sewed body parts to make a humanoid monster"?  No?  Well, no need because Canadian punk/noise rock duo Death From Above 1979 has done it for you with their 2014 song "Right On, Frankenstein!" from their second studio album -- and first in a decade -- The Physical World.

The song is a blistering, fuzzy, frenetic garage punk song that kind of makes you want to run for no reason.  Or maybe the reason is because you're being chased by a humanoid monster who just wants to be loved.

Tuesday Top Ten: Favorite Ghost Songs of the '10s

No band that emerged in the last decade captured the spirit of Halloween and the macabre more than Swedish metal stalwarts Ghost.  I couldn't just limit myself to one Ghost song for this Rocktober's Halloween week, so you're getting ten.

I first heard of them on the much-missed VH1 Classic metal-focused talk show That Metal Show.  Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson would often recommend a newly released metal album, and one of them recommended Ghost's 2010 debut album, Opus Eponymous one week.  I checked it out, and I thought it was great.  

In 2013, I bought their sophomore album, Infestissumam, and I saw them live for the first time at Lollapalooza that year.  At the time, they were going by Ghost BC in the U.S., so for whatever reason, I didn't make the connection.  I also didn't realize they had anonymous stage personas, with lead singer Tobias Forge taking on the persona of Papa Emeritus (kind of demonic pope), and the rest of the band wearing matching masks and costumes, known only as the Nameless Ghouls.  They were fantastic live, and I've seen them five times since then in venues of varying sizes.  Behind the dark imagery of their stage show and lyrics, they're still just polite Swedes.  Forge -- whose alter ego has included three versions of Papa Emeritus and Cardinal Copia -- works a crowd wonderfully, and one of my friends who was at that 2013 Lolla show with me and I often greet each other with "Are you well?," which is what Papa asked the crowd at that show.

In total, Ghost released four studio albums last decade -- in addition to the two mentioned above, 2015's Meliora and 2018's Prequelle, both of which reached the Top 10 on the Billboard album chart -- as well as three EPs -- 2013's If You Have Ghost, 2016's Popestar, and 2019's Seven Inches of Satanic Panic.  Including songs released in this decade, Ghost has had nine Top 10 songs on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, including five #1s.  And again, because they're Swedish, underlying their heavy themes is a pop sensibility, even if I would never describe any of their music with the word "pop."

With that, here are my ten favorite Ghost songs from last decade, in chronological order.  It was tough to narrow it down, but I feel I've done my best, and that's all you can ask of me.

1.  "Con Clavi Con Dio" (Opus Eponymous, 2010)

After a weird gothic instrumental intro track, Ghost moves straight into its weird, lovely, dark metal.

2.  "Stand By Him" (Opus Eponymous, 2010)

Another gem from the first album.  And I don't think "Him" means what you think it means, Christians.

3.  "Monstrance Clock" (Infestissumam, 2013)

This one closes out Infestissumam, and since the first time I heard it, I have only set my watch to the monstrance clock.

4.  "Year Zero" (Infestissumam, 2013)

Starting out with a list of pseudonyms for the devil, in case it wasn't clear where the song is headed, the "hail Satan" at the start of the choruses gives you a clear indication.

5.  "Cirice" (Meliora, 2015)

This is probably my favorite Ghost song.  It's dark and beautiful and rocking, and the video is awesome.

6.  "From the Pinnacle To the Pit" (Meliora, 2015)

This one is a ball-busting, hard driving metal song that starts with a nice crunch bass riff.

7.  "Mummy Dust" (Meliora, 2015)

Another great, crushing song with a driving riff, "Mummy Dust" is about dust comprised of mummies.

8.  "Square Hammer" (Popestar, 2016)

Starting out with a catchy organ riff, "Square Hammer" asks a simple question or three.  Are you on the square?  Are you on the level?  Are you ready to swear right here, right now, before the devil?  I guess no, no, and I'll swear in front of anyone, so sure.

9.  "Dance Macabre" (Prequelle, 2018)

Lest you think that you can't dance to metal music, Ghost says otherwise. This is also another great video

10.  "Faith" (Prequelle, 2018)

This one starts with a nice little guitar intro before breaking into a pretty straightforward hard rock/metal song.

Rocktober '10s Song #17: "Friendly Ghost" by Harlem (2010)

We've reached the pinnacle of the year, fine people.  Scorpio has started, and we're now only a week from Halloween.  That means the remaining Rocktober songs will relate in some way to Halloween, ghosts, the macabre, and the like.

Our first Halloween treat is from short-lived Austin-based garage rock trio Harlem.  After self-releasing an EP in 2008 and gaining a following from their live shows, they signed to indie label Matador and released their first full-length album, Hippies, in April 2010.  In 2012, the band went on hiatus, though they got back together and released an album in 2019.

The second track off of Hippies is a catchy garage rocker called "Friendly Ghost."  Warning:  portions of the video may induce epileptic seizures.

Rocktober '10s Songs #15-#16: "Black Snake" by Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears (2011) and "Figure It Out" by Royal Blood (2014)

I once again failed to post a Rocktober song on Friday, so you get another double dose to start your week before we delve into the Halloween-themed songs starting tomorrow.

Song #15 is from one of my favorite bands to emerge from the late aughts/early teens, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears.  I've described their sound before as garage soul, and I'd add a little bit of blues in there too.  Pounding songs with a horn section ain't never done nobody wrong.  I'm going with "Black Snake" from the band's 2011 album Scandalous.  It's a toe-tapper, kicking off with a fuzzy bass riff before Lewis comes in with distorted vocals.  Then the horns splash in, followed by Lewis on the guitar, and before you know it, you're shakin' your ass.

Song #16 is "Figure It Out" by British duo Royal Blood -- another awesome duo that gives you far more sound than you'd ever expect from two people.  I guess I'd say they play hard rock, with occasional dalliances into garage rock, blues-based rock, and metal.  "Figure It Out" was the lead single from their eponymous 2014 debut album, and it reached #43 on the UK pop charts and eventually went platinum in the UK.  It's a creeper, slowly building during the verses before the aural climax in the choruses.

I've seen both of these bands multiple times, and I suggest you do the same.

Hair Band Friday - 10/20/23

1.  "Miles Away" by Winger

2.  "Mirror Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)" by Def Leppard

3.  "Time Will Tell" by Vandenberg

4.  "In From the Outside" by Cinderella

5.  "Hold On, I'm Comin'" (live) by The Quireboys

6.  "Wicked Bitch" by Black 'N Blue

7.  "Backdoor" by Bonham

8.  "Long Way Down" by Mr. Big

9.  "Attention" by King Kobra

10.  "Desert Plains" (live) by Judas Priest

Rocktober '10s Song #14: "My Body" by Young the Giant (2010)

Alt/indie rockers Young the Giant Formed in The OC in 2004 as The Jakes, changing their name to Young the Giant in 2009.  A year later, they released their eponymous debut album, and it had middling success, reaching #42 on the Billboard album chart.

The album's first single was "My Body," a festival-ready anthem that has relatively subdued verses, before exploding into the frenzied choruses.  Whether they intended this or not, the song is a perfect workout song, not only because it rocks, but also because the chorus is all about overcoming physical fatigue:  "My body tells me no / But I won't quit / 'Cause I want more."  Or maybe it's about drinking too much.  Either way, it's a great song.

The song went to #65 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as #5 on the Billboard Alternative Rock Tracks chart and #16 on the Billboard Rock Tracks chart.  The band has released four other studio albums since then, most recently last year's American Bollywood.

Rocktober '10s Song #13: "Hang Loose" by Alabama Shakes (2012)

For today's Rocktober selection, we're going with some southern garage soul rock from Alabama Shakes.  They formed in, you guessed it, Alabama in the late aughts, and it only took a couple years before they were discovered and got a record deal.  They released their debut album, Boys & Girls, in 2012.  The album title is apropos, as the band is mixed gender.

The band had pretty immediate success, with Boys & Girls reaching #6 on the Billboard album chart and eventually going platinum in the U.S.  Their debut single from Boys & Girls, "Hold On," earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance, and the band itself was nominated for Best New Artist.  While I love that song, I assume you've probably heard it before, so I'm going with "Hang Loose" from Boys & Girls.  It starts with kind of a country rock riff, but then goes into more of garage soul vibe.  I've always liked lead singer Brittany Howard's voice.  It sounds old and new all at the same time.

The band's follow-up album, 2015's Sound & Color, hit #1 on the Billboard album chart.  Then, in 2018, the band went on a hiatus, as several band members focused on solo projects.  Hopefully they get back together at some point because we need more soul in rock.

Rocktober '10s Song #12: "Put Your Money On Me" by The Struts (2014)

Another band that I couldn't possibly exclude from a '10s Rocktober is The Struts.  They formed in Derby, England in 2012, and put out their first EP in April 2014, followed by their first full-length album, Everybody Wants, a few months later in the UK.  Everybody Wants was then re-released with an updated track listing in North America in early 2016.

They play pretty much straight up rock and roll, with clear classic rock and glam rock influences.  I found out about them probably in early 2016 around the time Everybody Wants was released in the U.S.  Then I had the pleasure of seeing them at Lollapalooza in 2016.  They were playing a relatively early slot one of the days, but I tell you this:  anyone who was there, regardless of whether they knew who The Struts were at the beginning of that show, walked away a Struts fan.  These guys were arena ready and had the crowd at their fingertips, getting people to wave their arms and sing along to songs most of the crowd didn't know.

I've seen them five times since then, and the most memorable was the day before Halloween (Devil's Night, for you Detroiters) in 2017 at the Bottom Lounge here in Chicago.  They opened up for themselves as the Gin & Tonics, dressed as Oasis, and played a set of Oasis songs before coming back out as themselves.  Fantastic.

The song I'm going with is "Put Your Money On Me."  This is one of those songs that they had the crowd singing along to at Lolla in 2016.  When lead singer Luke Spiller sang "I bet your body's so sweet," you better damn well believe he had the crowd all singing "oh yeah!" in response, even though it was the first time most had heard it.  It's a catchy, glammy song that can't help but become an earworm.

Hear me know and believe me later:  If The Struts come to your town, go see them.

Rocktober '10s Songs #10-#11: "Teeth" by Cage the Elephant (2013) and "Mz. Hyde" by Halestorm (2012)

Many apologies for failing to post a Rocktober song on Friday.  I had to go see a man about The Darkness at a local music venue.  But I shall make it up to you, fair readers, with a double dose of rock today.

First, we're going with a song from one of the great rock bands to emerge last decade, Cage the Elephant.  Technically, they released their debut album in 2008, but they broke through with their 2011 sophomore album, Thank You, Happy Birthday, which reached #2 on the Billboard album chart.  I'm going with a song from their follow-up, 2013's Melophobia, which means a fear of music.  The album has a bunch of great songs, but I'm going with "Teeth," which is a fuzzy, weird alt garage rocky song.

Second, we're going with a song by Halestorm, another band that emerged at the tail end of the aughts, but then made headway over the last decade as one of the most successful metal bands of the teens.  "Mz. Hyde" is from the band's platinum-selling second album, 2012's The Strange Case Of . . . .  The song is a pounding metal song, with a nod to the album title, which is itself a nod to the beginning of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  But this time, you see, the monster that is Hyde is no man, but a woman.

Hair Band Friday - 10/13/23

1.  "Naughty Naughty" by Danger Danger

2.  "Off to the Sun" by XYZ

3.  "Estranged" (live) by Guns N' Roses

4.  "Get Used to It" by Giant

5.  "Dr. Feelgood" (live) by Mötley Crüe

6.  "Leave Me Alone" by White Lion

7.  "Rhythm Machine" by Spread Eagle

8.  "Kiss Me Deadly" by Lita Ford

9.  "Stand Up and Shout" by Dio

10.  "Don't Make No Promises (Your Body Can't Keep)" by Scorpions

Rocktober '10s Song #9: "Executioner's Tax (Swing of the Axe)" by Power Trip (2017)

We haven't had much metal yet in this year's Rocktober.  You want some metal?  Let's hear some metal.  Thrash metal band Power Trip formed in Dallas in 2008, releasing their first album, Manifest Decimation, in 2013.  They followed that up with 2017's Nightmare Logic, which landed on various "best of" lists of metal albums that year, as well as #43 on Loudwire's 2017 list of the 50 Best Thrash Metal Albums of All-Time.

"Executioner's Tax (Swing of the Axe)," off of Nightmare Logic, is a pounding thrash metal/hardcore song about, well, the executioner.  And the executioner always gets his -- and I say "his" because I am not aware of any female executioners -- due when he swings that axe, even if you thought you were above his reach.

Sadly, lead singer Riley Gale died in August 2020 at the age of 34, and an autopsy revealed he died from a fentanyl overdose.  Yet another reminder to do lab tests on all your hard drugs before ingesting them.

A live version of this song was nominated for a Grammy in 2021 for Best Metal Performance, losing out to Body Count's "Bum-Rush."

Rocktober '10s Song #8: "Run Rabbit Run" by Black Pistol Fire (2014)

In the last 20-25 years, duos have proved that you don't need a full band to make fantastic rock and roll music, with The White Stripes and Black Keys kind of setting the standard with only a guitarist and a drummer.  Many great bands have followed suit, one of which is Canadian, yet Austin-based, duo Black Pistol Fire, comprised of Kevin McKeown on guitar and lead vocals and Eric Owen on drums.

They met in kindergarten (!) in Toronto and began playing music together in high school before relocating to Austin.  They released their first album in 2011, and they began to catch the eyes and ears of music audiences beginning with their 2014 album Hush Or Howl.  I discovered them around that time, and I first saw them at Lollapalooza in 2015 -- and have seen them five more times live since then.  Following in the footsteps of The White Stripes and Black Keys, they play mostly garage rock, with some blue-based and punk influences.  Their songs are generally full of energy, as are their live shows, and they get a hell of a lot of sound out of those two instruments.

I'm going with "Run Rabbit Run" off of Hush Or Howl, though admittedly, it was a tough choice because all the songs on the album are great.  Owen lays down kind of a rock shuffle beat that drives the song, and the song explodes in the choruses.  It's a perfect example of why I've seen them a half dozen times in the last eight years and will see them whenever they come through town.

Rocktober '10s Song #7: "Safari Song" by Greta Van Fleet (2017)

It would be criminal to have a Rocktober celebrating the 2010s without including a Greta Van Fleet song.  Formed in 2012 in Frankenmuth, Michigan -- most well-known, at least to me, for being home to the world's largest Christmas store -- Greta Van Fleet is not, in fact, a woman's name, but rather a band of three brothers and a friend who make great rock and roll music.

They released their debut EP, Black Smoke Rising, in 2017, and the pretty much took the rock world by storm.  The comparisons to Led Zeppelin were ubiquitous, if not sometimes pejorative, but to the haters, I say that I wish there were more bands that sounded like Led Zeppelin and Greta Van Fleet these days.

It didn't take long before I discovered them, and I saw them for the first time at Lollapalooza in 2018.  By that time, they had released another EP (albeit 8 songs, so I don't know why it wasn't considered a full-length album), From The Fires.

"Safari Song," which is on both Black Smoke Rising and From The Fires, was the band's second single and their second #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.  It's a stellar, Zeppelin-esque hard rock song that starts with a great riff and a mighty wail from lead singer Joshua Kiszka, followed by subdued verses mixed in with bombastic choruses.  It's pure rock and roll, and again, I wish there was more modern rock like this.

Rocktober '10s Song #6: "When My Train Pulls In" by Gary Clark, Jr. (2012)

As a student of popular musical history and lover of the blues, I love it when younger generations carry the blues torch.  It's one of those things that gives me faith in humanity.  I remember sitting on my couch and my old condo in 2011.  A friend was over, and we had just discovered Gary Clark, Jr.  As luck would have it, he was playing not too far away, at Space in Evanston, that night.  As unluck would have it, there was no chance we were going to be able to get to the show to see much of it, if there were even tickets available.  But the point is, we thought he was awesome, and that feeling hasn't changed in the twelve years since then.

Clark, like many blue-based guitar wunderkinds, is from Austin.  He has been playing the guitar since he was 12 and got pretty damn good pretty damn quickly -- to the point where the Austin mayor declared May 3, 2001 to be Gary Clark, Jr. Day in Austin.  Clark was 17.

He released his first album that year and then another in 2004, but then took six years to release his self-titled EP that kind of introduced him to a broader audience.  Since then, he's taken his guitar talents all over the world, recorded with the likes of Alicia Keys, Foo Fighters, Booker T. Jones, Tom Morello, and Childish Gambino, among others, and released three full length studio albums.

I'm going with "When My Train Pulls In," off of 2012's Blak and Blu, which was Clark's major label debut.  The album went to #6 on the Billboard album chart and #1 on the Billboard Blues album chart.  The song is a blues-based slow burner that starts with a fuzzy riff.  I've always like Clark's voice as well.  Like many great blues singers, he sounds older than his years.  But most importantly, he absolutely shreds at various points in the song.

Rocktober '10s Song #5: "Near to the Wild Heart of Life" by Japandroids (2017)

For our next song, we go to the Great White North, with "Near to the Wild Heart of Life" by Vancouver-based duo Japandroids.  I love a good word combination, but in addition to that, I first heard about the band not long after they released their 2009 debut album Post-Nothing, which I thought was a clever reference to all the "post-" music genres (post-punk, post-grunge, etc.).  Their music definitely trends towards punk, but with some garage rock, indie rock, and alt rock mixed in.

In 2017, they released their third studio album, Near to the Wild Heart of Life, which was less punkish than their previous albums, expanding the band's musical catalog.  The title track kicks the album off with a bang.  Drummer David Prowse drives the song with breakneck beats, and then lead singer/guitarist Brian King brings a mid-era Replacements/Gaslight Anthem feel to the song with both his guitar playing and vocals.  The chorus is a sing-along, with elements of '80s glam rock with Prowse joining in with King.  The lyrics are very Springsteen-esque, about chasing your dreams and getting out of your hometown, leaving what you know to go to the big city.  All in all, the song just kicks ass.

Hair Band Friday - 10/6/23

1.  "Holy Diver" by Dio

2.  "Pleasure Dome" by Van Halen

3.  "Electric Requiem" by Queensrÿche

4.  "Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)" by Mr. Big

5.  "Hell Child" by Lynch Mob

6.  "Fire and Ice" by Cinderella

7.  "42nd Street" by Spread Eagle

8.  "Tell Me How You Want It" by Damn Yankees

9.  "Bed of Roses" by Warrant

10.  "Louder Than Hell" by Mötley Crüe

Rocktober '10s Song #4: "I Dare You" by The Regrettes (2019)

Our next song is from LA-based band The Regrettes.  The band was formed in the mid teens, and they play a pleasant combination of punk, garage rock, and garage pop.  They have released three studio albums -- 2017's Feel Your Feelings Fool!, 2019's How Do You Love, and last year's Further Joy -- and you can tell their influences are eclectic, from the riot grrrl bands to '60s pop to power pop, among others.

I'm going with "I Dare You" off of How Do You Love?  For me, it's kind of fun to hear more recent bands that are influenced by bands from the early 2000s, and "I Dare You" has some pretty overt Strokes influences.  And right after I wrote that last sentence, I realized the song was co-written by Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas, so there you go.  It's a catchy garage pop rocker that makes you wanna tap your toes.  And the video is fun too.

Rocktober '10s Song #3: "The Devil's Bleeding Crown" by Volbeat (2016)

For song #3, we're going across the pond.  Denmark's Volbeat has been making great music for well over a decade.  Their music weaves between metal, hard rock, groove metal, melodic metal, and psychobilly.  And like most Scandinavian music, even the hardest rocking Volbeat songs have a hook.

I like the band, but I've always thought lead singer Michael Poulsen's voice is sometimes too clean sounding.  That's not a knock or anything, but I like some of their songs better live because they sound a little more raw.

Anywho, I'm going with "The Devil's Bleeding Crown" from the band's 2016 album Seal The Deal & Let's Boogie.  The album was arguably the band's most successful to date, reaching #4 on the Billboard album chart -- making it the second-highest charting album by a Danish band or artist on the Billboard album chart -- as well as #1 on the album charts in eight other countries and the Top 10 in another six countries.

The song a hard rocker with a catchy chorus, and it became the band's fifth single that topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart (they have had five more since then).  And the video is pretty cool and weird.

Rocktober '10s Song #2: "Welcome to the Church of Rock and Roll" by Foxy Shazam (2012)

Song number two of the '10s Rocktober is from another favorite band of mine from the last decade, Cincinnati's Foxy Shazam.  They formed in 1997 at Train of Thought, but then changed their name to Foxy Shazam in the mid aughts, releasing a couple records in the late 2000s before being signed to Sire records in 2010.  That year they released their self-titled third album, and I was going to go with "Unstoppable" from that album, but it wouldn't be couth to start Rocktober with two songs from the same year.

Instead, I went with "Welcome to the Church of Rock and Roll" off of their 2012 album The Church of Rock and Roll, which, incidentally, is the only church to which I would want to belong.  In support of that album, they toured with The Darkness on their reunion tour, and that's when I first discovered Foxy Shazam.  They're another great live band, and I've been a fan since I saw them on that fateful night in February 2012 -- which also happened to be the day Whitney Houston died.

I've seen them several times live since then.  They broke up in 2014, but then reunited just in time for COVID to hit.  However, they have put out three albums since 2020.

"Welcome to the Church of Rock and Roll" is a glammy banger that has since been featured on the trailer for the second season of the HBO show Peacemaker.  By the way, if you haven't seen the show -- which I haven't, admittedly -- it has an amazing soundtrack of hard rock and glam rock from various decades.  If you like this song and that kind of music is your bag, I highly suggest you check out the Peacemaker playlist on Spotify.

Rocktober '10s Song #1: "I Don't Wanna Hear It" by J. Roddy Walston & The Business (2010)

Our rocking journey through the teens begins with a song from one my favorite bands to emerge from the decade:  J. Roddy Walston & The Business.  I discovered them at Lollapalooza in 2011, when they were playing one of the earliest sets on one of the days.  Along with maybe a couple hundred other people, I got a treat.  They killed it, and I became a fan right then and there.  I would go on to see them another eight times between then and 2018, which means they currently retain sole possession of fourth place on my list of bands I've seen the most in concert.  (And since I know you're curious about the three above them, it's The Hold Steady (18), The Black Keys (11), and Def Leppard (10).)

The band formed in the early 2000s in Cleveland, Tennessee, which is near Chattanooga.  They self-released their debut album, Hail Mega Boys, in 2007, and then a couple years later, they were signed to Vagrant Records and released their self-titled sophomore album in 2010.

I'd describe their sound as, well, rock and roll.  Walston is kind of like a combination of the voice of Jim Dandy from Black Oak Arkansas and the wild piano-playing theatrics of Jerry Lee Lewis -- which always made for a fun show.  They have some hints of southern rock, garage rock, soul, glam ('70s, not hair), and blues rock.  Overall, they put out great music for most of the last decade, with their third album, 2013's Essential Tremors (the song "Sweat Shock" was featured in a Coors Light commercial around that time) and the follow-up, 2017's Destroyers of the Soft Life.  Then, unfortunately, they broke up in late 2019.

I'm going with "I Don't Wanna Hear It" off of their 2010 self-titled album.  To me, it's not only a kickass, foot-stomping, sing-along rock and roll song, but it's one of the songs that I most associate with the band's amazing live shows.

Rocktober is Upon Us!

Here we are again, starting the best month of the year, and at 80 degrees no less!  It's time for Rocktober, and we are in the sixth and final year of my six-year plan of the Rocktober Decade Countdown.  This year, we be looking at -- and more importantly, listening to -- the rock and roll of the teens.  

The 2010s were full of changes for me.  At the beginning of the decade, I had been a father for mere weeks.  By the time the decade ended, I was a father of three kids in grade school, and we were mere months from a global pandemic.

Musically, I don't yet know what to make of the 2010s.  It seemed like it was dominated by pop, teen pop, and hip hop, but that doesn't been there wasn't some good rock in there.  Indie rock was definitely still around, but there was also some solid metal, punk, garage rock, and more.

As I do every October, I'm gonna give you a daily dose of rock, at least on the weekdays.  There will be no repeated artists during the course of the month.  I'm going to try my best not to repeat songs that I have featured in prior Rocktobers or artists that I have featured in the previous years of the Rocktober Decade Countdown, but I make no promises.  As always, the week leading up to Halloween will feature songs with dark, evil, or macabre themes.  CoronaVinyl and Retro Video of the Week will be suspended during Rocktober, but Hair Band Friday will continue because Hair Band Friday never stops.  

As always, remember that this is Rocktober, so these will all be bands, artists, and songs that rock, even though they may not always be from genres or artists that you would consider "rocking" or "rockers."  There will be popular songs, songs that you may never had heard before, and maybe even some bands and artists you've never heard of.  Rest assured, though, everything will rock.