While listening to Chinese Democracy, I realized I may have found Axl Rose’s inspiration for the title track – the theme song to 90210! So I put it to the test. You be the judge!

I’ve been a fan of Metallica for a looong time, and I like everything they’ve put out. I’m not one of those “They Sold Out!” fans who think Metallica’s talent lies in their hair follicles. I didn’t care when they cut their hair in the mid-nineties. In fact, I’m a fan of the Load/Reload era for the sheer fact that they tried to expand their musical range. They understand that bands must evolve or they die. Yes, their earlier work (…And Justice, Master of Puppets) is groundbreaking, but there’s nothing wrong with a little accessibility. Yet still, the fan base was clamoring for a back to basics approach, so Metallica attempted to reboot a few years ago with St. Anger. It felt a little like pandering in its last attempt to blow my socks off my feet. It was an entirely different sound for Metallica — passable but too raw and devoid of ear-bleeding guitar solos. It was disappointing for fans of both the old AND the new Metallica.

And now we come to Death Magnetic, their newest album. It took all these years and all those albums mentioned above to get to this point, and the result is astonishing. Gone are the tidy bursts of metal seen in Load. Kirk Hammett is given free reign to rip off solo after solo in songs that chug along for 7 minutes without releasing their grip. This is the Metallica album people were hoping St. Anger would be. This is the Metallica album that proves they can still thrash better than anyone. And you know what? It passes the ultimate test of a Metallica album: It’s dangerous to play in a car! Over the weekend, I found myself finally battling traffic with a soundtrack that matched my anger behind the wheel. Every track (with the exception of Unforgiven III) is intended to melt your skin off your face, which makes it difficult to stay relaxed when some jerk in a Bentley cuts you off. Not only is his car nicer than mine, but he’s a lousy driver, and James Hetfield is telling me to hunt him down without mercy.

Death Magnetic gets a rating of 5 car crashes out of 5. Let’s hope that’s not prophetic.

By the way, you lose Circuit City! I totally went to Target and bought my copy of Death Magnetic. Circuit City – 0. Target – 10! Dollars! Burn!

Most of my high school, college, and post-college life was filled with the music of Dave Matthews. I first saw them about 15 years ago, and have probably seen them at least 10 times in the years since. Suffice to say, I was a fan long before the backlash started about them being a fratboy favorite. So I was sad to hear saxophonist Leroi Moore passed away yesterday. I know this doesn’t have anything to do with movies, but I thought I’d mention it. Also, I love the awkward greatness of the commercial above, starring Leroi Moore as “Smooth.”

Not a big movie week, but another music surprise!

New Nine Inch Nails Album – The Slip — FOR FREE!!

Okay, so last week brought the release of a free Nine Inch Nails single, but this week, Trent Reznor goes a step beyond Radiohead’s “Name Your Price” approach by simply releasing an ENTIRE ALBUM online for free. The past two months have pretty much been a dream come true for NIN fans — the release of Ghosts I-IV, a free single, AND a new album, and we’ve only had to pay about 5 bucks for all of it. By the way, Trent Reznor’s message to fans on his website? “Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years – this one’s on me.” Awesome.

Click on the album cover or HERE to get The Slip!

THE VERDICT: YOU SHOULD ALREADY BE LISTENING TO IT!

Teeth

Best viewed with a group of friends, Teeth is part horror, part comedy, and all sorts of crazy. Described as a cautionary tale of teenage sexual angst, Teeth is the story of a girl who finds out she has teeth in her lady parts. It starts off looking like a teen comedy satire, then veers wayyy off the rails into horror territory until settling back into a sort of revenge pic. Seeing Dawn discover and harness her power is an interesting, and unsettling, journey with enough blood to satisfy gorehounds, enough female power to satisfy message-seekers, and enough detached penises to put a dildo factory out of business. It’s not for everyone, but Teeth is a strange movie worth experiencing at least once.

THE VERDICT – GRAB SOME UNSUSPECTING FRIENDS, RENT THIS, AND BASK IN THEIR SHOCKED REACTIONS

Last week I experienced the ultimate concert experience. Floor tickets to Foo Fighters at the world famous Forum. Now, I’d seen Dave Grohl and company open for The Police the year before at Dodger Stadium, and for the hour they were on stage, they ripped through a greatest hits set that would have been legendary had they not been followed by, you know, The Police. Dave Grohl rushed through the crowd, stood on speaker stacks in the middle of the field, and fired up the crowd — exactly what an opening band is supposed to do. But now I was experiencing them as a headliner. Foo Fighters at the Fuckin’ Forum!

The opening band was circus act Serj Tankian, the cartoony lead singer of System of a Down. He “la la la’d” through most of his solo album, and it was a fun little intro not to be taken too seriously, although Serj’s lyrics want you to think otherwise. His messages are politically driven but delivered in goofy, theatrical sermons, and ultimately you’re left wondering how he keeps his top hat on through all of it.

After a brief intermission, the lights went down, and the crowd on the floor herded towards the stage. A thunderous roar welcomed the Foos as they busted the show open with two songs off their new album. “Let It Die” is basically a reason for Dave Grohl to fire up his voice with his trademark concert scream, and “The Pretender” gave the audience something to sing to off the bat. From the start, Dave Grohl proved that he is the best frontman in the business. Running to each corner of the stage, Grohl would strike a pose and a spotlight would light up the crowd for him, giving everyone a chance to show some love. He made an announcement in the beginning stating, in his best Jack Black voice, “This is not the bargain show. This is the show where everyone who has to work tomorrow is fucked!” He wasn’t kidding.

The middle section of the show played out like a fan’s wet dream, with pitch perfect renditions of “Times Like These,” “Breakout,” “Learn to Fly” and “This Is A Call.” A genius design concept was the addition of a runway down the center of the Forum floor. This gave Grohl a chance to stroll through the middle of the crowd and tear off guitar solos, surrounded by thousands of adoring fans.

Now, the runway wasn’t just to stroke Dave’s ego. It also led to a secret second stage that dropped from the ceiling, allowing the band to perform an acoustic set to the back rows, or as Grohl joked, “All the people with dial-up.” Each member took a spot on the circular stage, including a pianist, a percussionist, and a hot cellist. They slowed things down with “Skin and Bones” and “Marigold,” and provided perfect sing-along opportunities by playing “My Hero,” and an astonishing version of “But Honestly” off the new album. “But Honestly” starts off acoustically, but crescendos into a full blown rock out, glued together when Pat Smear switched to an electric guitar. After that, the band ran off, leaving Dave alone to perform the first half of “Everlong” before magically re-appearing back on the first stage to deliver the song’s killer ending.

This is the exact moment the show went from amazing to “Holy shit, this is the best concert I have ever seen!” Dave Grohl has a knack for writing hooks that sing like anthems to ex-girlfriends, and the combo of “Monkey Wrench” and “All My Life” sent the crowd into rock bliss. Clearly, broken hearts are common. The show ended with a frenzy of shredding guitar and vocal chords, and I would have been happy going home there. But oh no. We weren’t done. The band returned for the encore, and Taylor Hawkins took to the mic. Just as I’m wondering, “Who’s manning the drums?” I see a lanky looking dude take to the drum kit. Taylor started to talk about a special guest playing with them, but we already knew who it was. Stewart FUCKING Copeland from The Police! They rocked through a fast-tempo cover of “Next To You,” and I think the 16 year olds in the audience were confused. It was an unexpected surprise that seemed like an afterthought, only because the rest of the show was so damn good. They closed with “Best Of You,” and I stumbled back to my car, my face effectively rocked off. After two and a half hours and not a dull moment, I can safely proclaim Foo Fighters as the best concert rock band of our generation.