Episode #55: In A Metal(ish) Mood

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It’s another all music episode of the JHP!

Again, it’s hard to know what to write that won’t give the whole thing away. Accordingly, I’ll just say that The War On Drugs dropped their new live album Live Drugs recently and it’s great. They’ve also created a podcast to accompany the release called The Super High Quality Podcast. There have only been two episodes so far, but they’re a fun look at the band’s impressions of the album, with background on the songs and performances they chose and why. I can’t recommend the album – or the band – highly enough.

If you’re new to The War On Drugs, you might start with a couple of live videos that I’ve posted below. What a great live band. Emotional songs, intense performances, wonderful musicianship. Charlie Hall has quickly become one of my favourite drummers and I look forward to seeing him play in person one day soon. Ditto Dave Hartley on bass.

With touring on hiatus at the moment, a lot of bands are looking at different ways to stay connected to their fans and even make a little money. Live albums are one thing. Livestreams are another. I’ve recently watched full band online shows by Steel Panther and Stryper, and both were great (if very, very different, at least in tone). A little while back when I was blogging more I wrote an inspirational post about Steel Panther and their commitment to a controversial vision (read it here). I remain inspired by the fact that they found a way to make it, even though it took a long, long time to get where they are. The same inspiration holds for Stryper, who were equally ridiculed for what they do back in the day, but they stuck to their guns and here they are.

I hope you’ll be inspired by their stories, and by the way they’ve innovated to keep the music going during the pandemic.

And, of course, the question so many of you have been begging me to answer: What is my favourite hair metal song? I’m not going to give you the answer here, but I will post videos by a few of the nominees, just so you get the flavour.

Thanks as ever for supporting the show. If you feel up to it, a review and rating on your favourite platform would make a nice seasonal holiday gift for me! And please do me a favour and tell a pal about the pod if you like it. Cheers!

Some live War On Drugs:

Warlock - Fight For Rock

MSG - Love Is Not A Game

Y&T - Don't Stop Runnin'