clivemurray.com

What was I doing?
I can’t fucking remember.
Bollocks – Facebook time.

–c.

Hmmm. I have decided to ratify what I shall now call the First Jones Amendment, so Vader is off the Council of Evil, to be replaced by Emperor Palpatine. I also welcome Number Six to the Order of Action Heroes, and have purchased some reading material to help me to decide whether Mr. DiGriz may also join the Order.

As you may have been,
–c.

Dozing on the train to work this morning, and idly recalling my post of last week (or thereabouts) re Velvet Revolver’s “Libertad”, I tried to form a top 10 of hard rock albums and found it pretty much impossible.

Any top 10/20/1000 list is going to be one of two things: entirely subjective personal opinion, or some kind of voted-for system, and this being my personal website (I tire of the word “blog”, especially now that every company in the world wants one and wants it “monetized” in some way) I decided to knock together a chart and run it up the flagpole.

As I say, hewing it back to 10 was impossible, so I narrowed my search parameters (been watching lots of “24″ recently) down to the last 20 years, and obviously I can only include albums I know of and know well. Like I say, it’s my chart. That has enabled me to get it down to 15, though I’m sure there’s one or two gems that I’m leaving off even from my own personal collection. Additionally, what exactly is Hard Rock? How hard does it need to be? Where’s the line between Rock and Metal? Damned if I know, so I’m going to completely ignore the question and just go with my own fuzzy internal definition.

Anyway, enough babble, here’s the first version of Clive’s Top 15 Hard Rock Albums (1987-2007****). Although these are presented in the traditional reverse order so as to arrive at a shuddering sweaty climax, the order is pretty rough apart from the top 3 or so. (Warning: superlatives ahead…)

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Am having great time in Amsterdam. There is much art. Have asked Saffron to marry me, she said yes. Am covered in mosquito bites. Back Wednesday.

–c.

OK, here it is. Here’s the great idea I’ve been humping on about for ages now. But first, let me tell you how it came to be.

It was a Sunday afternoon, and I was at home watching Poirot on the tebly-box. He was doing the usual, using the little grey cells, making Hastings look like a cock, all the usual that you expect from the diminutive Belgian. Oh, and by the way, David Suchet is Poirot. There can be no other. Don’t even come round here with your Peter Ustinov bollocks, or I’ll kick your face off. Albert Finney? Fuck off, more like.

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Over six weeks ago, in a post entitled “League & Council”, I told you all that I had had a good idea. A really really good idea, that was so good I wanted to get it right when I shared it.

I haven’t forgotten. I will in fact try to find time tonight or tomorrow.

“League” has changed to “Order”, now though.
–c.

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Now playing: Velvet Revolver – Mary Mary
via FoxyTunes

WORD.

Thank you, Marcus. Thank you for bothering to put into words exactly how I feel about everything concerning religion. I’m a busy man and I don’t have time to be as reasoned as eloquent as you.

Go on, watch it. All of it.

–c.
(via Jonah)

—————-
Now playing: Cooper, Alice – Wind-Up Toy
via FoxyTunes

Well, probably not today, but it was 20 years ago that we as a race were blessed with what is still to this day the best hard rock album ever created.

There have been many pretenders to the throne since that fateful day, and the likes of Buckcherry, Backyard Babies, Beautiful Creatures and Hardcore Superstar have put out some fantastic music to tide us all over.

But it took two of the original members of the band that made AFD to finally come up with the goods again – I squeak, of course, of Slash and Duff, who now reside in Velvet Revolver.

Ladies, Gentlemen, and Evil Dave, I give you… Libertad – the best hard rock album of the last 20 years.

–c.