Winter Rocks – Canada

Way back when I started this blog, the very first post in the Music section was about Scandinavian bands/artists.  I was inspired by the cold weather in early 2013 to listen to music from Scandinavia as a theme for the winter months.

Two years on and I needed another theme for this winter’s music homework.  So despite no (or very little) snow, I went with another northern country and chose Canada.

Now I’m sure that the summer weather in Canada is very nice, but without falling prey to stereotypes, the theme fits.  Plus there are loads of artists from that country to fill my playlist.

Here they are:

  • Alanis Morissette
  • Annihilator
  • Bachman Turner Overdrive
  • Black Mountain
  • Bryan Adams
  • Cancer Bats
  • Cauldron
  • Death From Above 1979
  • Godspeed You! Black Emperor
  • The Guess Who
  • Neil Young
  • Nickleback
  • Rush
  • Shania Twain
  • SNFU
  • Steppenwolf
  • Voivod

There you go: a fairly eclectic mix of everything from country to thrash metal.

My thanks to Matt Barnes, who introduced me to quite a few artists on this list (but not Shania or Alanis…).

Did I forget anyone?  Leave further Canadian music suggestions in a comment below.

Platinum Lounge Rocks!

On Friday 6th September 2013, I was at the Platinum Lounge as part of a leaving do for my great friend and colleague, Ben the Swede.  He was going off to be a hobo on the streets of London, begging for loose change off commuters.  No doubt he would hitch down there, then spend his nights sleeping in a cardboard box with only a stray dog for company.

To celebrate Ben’s move to pastures new, we were all out and about painting the town red as only us filthy tramps know how.  There was a rumour that the Platinum Lounge was having a rock weekend.  The rumours were true.

Rock night at the Platinum Lounge featured the best music I have ever heard in any establishment in Chester.  It left other venues in the dust as the Lounge dared to play the tunes that would rock other clubs to their foundations.

It was a truly legendary night.  Here’s the playlist – or at least, what my compadres and I remember.

  1. Run DMC & Aerosmith – “Walk This Way”
  2. Ugly Kid Joe – “I Hate Everything About You”
  3. Soundgarden – “Black Hole Sun”
  4. Fleetwood Mac – “Go Your Own Way”
  5. ZZ Top – “Legs”
  6. Def Leppard – “Pour Some Sugar On Me”
  7. Motley Crue – “Girls Girls Girls”
  8. Metallica – “Enter Sandman”
  9. Black Sabbath – “Paranoid”
  10. AC/DC – “Whole Lotta Rosie”
  11. Aerosmith – “Janie’s Got a Gun”
  12. The Cult – “She Sells Sanctuary”
  13. Rainbow – “Since You Been Gone”
  14. Alice Cooper – “Poison”
  15. Def Leppard – “Animal”
  16. Guns’n’Roses – “Sweet Child O’ Mine”
  17. AC/DC – “Back in Black”
  18. Jimi Hendrix Experience – “Foxy Lady”
  19. Fleetwood Mac – “The Chain”
  20. Bon Jovi – “Livin’ On a Prayer”
  21. Skid Row – “Youth Gone Wild”
  22. Dire Straits – “Money For Nothing”
  23. U2 – “Pride (In the Name of Love)”
  24. Bryan Adams – “Run to You”
  25. Billy Idol – “White Wedding”
  26. Pink Floyd – “Another Brick in the Wall”
  27. Rolling Stones – “Paint It Black”
  28. Santana – “Smooth”
  29. Whitesnake – “Here I Go Again”
  30. George Thorogood & the Destroyers – “Bad to the Bone”

OK, so I know the Ugly Kid Joe song sucks, but how many top tunes are there on that playlist?  I mean Soundgarden – you never hear Soundgarden played anywhere!  Especially not in Chester, where that sort of thing is punishable by whipping with a designer handbag.

Thanks to all at the Platinum Lounge for a great night.