Song of the Week #39
When last week, I wrote about spending many an hour as a teenager listening to rock such as Buckcherry on my iPod, it got me thinking. Music (as it is for many people) was so essential to my identity as a teen, and arguably still as an adult - albeit with a more varied taste than 16 year old Tom Marsden would have liked. Thinking back hard to what kickstarted my enthusiasm towards rock music I realised there were 2 distinct paths. One was with the purchase of a Mötley Crüe hits album (see the post from NYE 2021/22), and the other was purchasing a guitar magazine sometime in 2007 (at a guess?)
Obviously like anyone, I’d listened to music before, but I remember having a flick through that magazine (that impactful I can’t remember the name however) and starting down my rabbit hole towards a life of riffs, live shows and many an hour on my own guitar desperately trying to get the knack of the solo to Free Bird. The cover stars on that issue? Dave Kushner and Slash. Also known as the 2 axemen from Velvet Revolver.
They were out promoting the new album Libertad at the time, and were obviously preaching how it rocked and hit harder than the previous record (like every other interview from a rock band ever). They were talking about the lead single She Builds Quick Machines from the new album, which it later turns out that the band members other than Scott Weiland despised being the lead, instead of other songs that they felt were better suited. Upon reflection as the information came out, I had wholeheartedly agreed, changing my mind many times over the years as to what the best song on the album was, but I was convinced it wasn’t Scott Weiland’s choice.
But then the strangest thing happened. After not hearing the album for a couple of years, wouldn’t you know what Spotify threw my way on a Daily Drive playlist one day? I’m sure you can guess. But the unique thing was, that the speakers in the car just wouldn’t turn loud enough. Scott Weiland was right, that dead motherfucker (RIP) was right. The song hit harder than ever, and had actually stood the test of time compared to the rest of the album (save for probably The Last Fight, which is an equally good choice). That day bellowing out every lyric on the drive into work was almost meditative. It might not have Slash at his very very best, but there’s enough of a back catalogue to enjoy for that. For now, get in the car and turn the volume up. Have a good weekend all!