Ultimate Guitar Tabs iPhone app #1 in App Store’s Music category

Obviously, this is the most important news of the current week for me. Ultimate Guitar Tabs, an iPhone app for searching and viewing guitar and bass tablature from Ultimate-Guitar.com, made it to the first spot in the Music category of the App Store in the US and four other countries, displacing the infamous I Am T-Pain app (UPDATE: after the price increase, UGT is again at 2 – I think this is temporary :)). UGT was also on the 8th place in the general top of the US App Store, which is neat.

Ultimate Guitar Tabs iPhone App

Gorillaz release an addictive online game

Gorillaz announced a simple, but quite well-done online Flash game, Escape to Plastic Beach. “‘Escape to Plastic Beach’ is the first game of its type merging numerous levels of Flash and Unity formats along with a new single MP3 to create an audio, visual, graphical and gaming experience to expand fans’ experience of an album. Increasing the experience beyond traditional album release – the game features original artwork, voiceovers from the band and numerous other tracks from the new Gorillaz album.” This is a part of the act’s broad marketing campaign, which was greatly covered over here.

Noisia spread the Infection, an online music game

And another online game, this time a rhythm based one – from Dutch producing trio Noisia (one of the best drum&bass acts in the world). Noisia have released a Flash music game to coincide with the release of their new single “Machine Gun“. Check it out, pretty interesting experience.

The Chemical Brothers prepare films for their iTunes LP album

The Chemical Brothers are set to release their seventh studio album, called Further, on June 8, 2010 on Freestyle Dust/Astralwerks. This album is said to be the band’s first to be released with corresponding films made specifically to match each of the 8 audio tracks. The films will be included on an iTunes LP and special edition DVD. If the Chemical camp will keep creating and adding worthy content to the iTunes LP, similarly to Gorillaz, then this is definitely an album I am looking to myself.

And last, few cool links from Twitter:

• How to make a great music app (via Forrester Blogs)
• Plastikman launches innovative iPhone app for live gigs (via Sandbox.fm)
• Lou Reed’s New iPhone App For Aging Eyeballs (via Hypebot)
• 8 people you’ll find hanging out in a music store (via Guyism)

So, today in the world of DM:

DottedMusic.com

What to read on the main domain? First of all, recently I broke the news about two fabulous Ultimate Guitar projects I’ve been involved in: Arcade Rocker and Ultimate Guitar Tabs (already first place in the App Store!! 2nd place in the App Store’s Music category, right after I Am T-Pain!). Definitely worth checking out are Starting A Record Label series by Ben Histand, inspiring pieces from music specialist Draven Grey and my friend and a kick-ass publicist Brian Rocha, and comments on the music biz from Jared Leto and Reader’s Wives’ frontman Niall James.

Dotted Thoughts @ Posterous

This is the first time I’m revealing here my Posterous blog, called Dotted Thoughts. Don’t be confused, it’s actually a part of the Dotted Music project, soon to be transferred to a dottedmusic.com subdomain. Dotted Thoughts is more about brief news on music and technology. If you don’t want to subscribe to its updates separately (which indeed might be confusing for some of you), keep an eye on weekly “Dotted Thoughts Round-ups,” containing the most interesting news and links from that Posterous blog and my Twitter account. I will begin posting the round-ups in April.

Fiverr

This is a little weird experiment I’ve launched on the Fiverr platform. For those who hasn’t heard about Fiverr yet, it is a place where people will do various things for you just for $5, and where you can offer your own $5 services. To put it short, I am promising to give you a complex personal music marketing advice for five bucks. Interested, anyone? It’s a limited time offer ;)

Facebook Page

Be sure to join the Dotted Music page on Facebook, if you haven’t done that already. It’s a great way to receive updates from both DM and DT blogs, and to be the first to read exclusive news from time to time. Several Facebook contests coming up in the future, so don’t hesitate to join us on Facebook!

Twitter List

While some of you are following me on Twitter already (please make sure you are among those some though), not many people have heard about the music biz Twitter List I’ve created. Follow it to get tons of exceptional music industry updates in one feed (I will be adding even more intersting personas to the list soon). Moreover, if you follow this Twitter List – I will mention your Twitter name in the nearest Dotted Thoughts round-up!

I think that’s it for now, read Dotted Music and be inspired!

Midem has been held at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, since 1967. The annual event “provides a forum for musicians, business people, cultural policy makers, and journalists to discuss business, political and legal issues while showcasing new artists, musical trends and music-related products.”

General Midem information can be found on Midem official website, but read on to learn more.

At Midem 2009

Basic Info / New This Year

• The Midem 2010 Preview magazine is available online at this location.
• MidemNet is free. Access to the cutting-edge digital business conference is included in Midem registration (that’s why by “Midem” I actually mean Midem and MidemNet).
• MidemNet Lab. Discover the latest digital innovations through the selection of 15 promising start-ups, chosen by a jury of successful entrepreneurs (details below).
• MIDEM+. Innovative networking solutions and one-on-one expert guidance to boost business efficiency.
• The Fringe. A friendly and efficient manner to showcase artists to the world.
• Redesigned exhibition floor. New zones and smarter space planning, find description here.
• MidemNet Academy. A professional digital training program, aimed at artists, producers, managers, marketing professionals, who want to expand their digital reach. The program can be found here.
• South Africa is the “Country of Honour” at this year’s MIDEM. The program includes a number of concerts by African artists, as well as a music industry conference that will put SA issues and those of the continent in the spotlight.
• Mobile Roadie has released an official Midem iPhone app, but I can’t find it in the iTunes Store (hmm has it been removed? or does it have country restrictions?) it is now available and looks awesome!

Conferences / Speakers

The conferences list is really, really tasty this year, be sure to grab the latest schedule. Below are highlights of some of the speakers.

• MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta will make his first keynote appearance outside of the United States on Saturday 23 January. He will outline MySpace’s vision of the future of musical content on digital platforms, the evolution of the company as a next generation content distribution platform and the new revenue opportunities for MySpace and its partners.
• Chairman & CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group, David Renzer, will give his vision on today’s opportunities and challenges facing music publishers and on the right model to better service the needs of songwriters and copyright holders. Renzer sits on the Boards of ASCAP, NMPA, the International Music Publishers Association, and the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.
• Todd Interland, who handles Lily Allen and James Blunt; Chris Morrison, manager for Blur and Gorillaz; Ian McAndrew, co-manager of Arctic Monkeys; Jean-Charles Carré, business manager to David Guetta; are among the confirmed participants in the international manager summit.
• Pharrell Williams, Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and producer of such artists as Justin Timberlake and Usher, has been added as one of the Midem keynotes (other speakers among artists include Amanda Palmer, Paul van Dyk).

The full speakers list can be found at this location.

Concerts

Davy Knowles. Photo credit: Adrian Cowin

This year’s list of Midem performers, meanwhile, doesn’t look to me as sexy as the 2009th one, but maybe it’s just me. Check out the program yourself.

These thirteen artists will perform at the Carlton Hotel as part of MidemTalent:

• Alex Hepburn (Warner-UK)
• Depedro (Pias Recordings-Spain)
• Diving With Andy (Universal Music Classics-France)
• Francois Bourassa (Effendi Rec.-Canada)
• Hindi Zahra (EMI Blue Note-France)
• King Charles (mi7 Records-UK)
• Lisa Hannigan (Hoop Recordings-Ireland)
• Paco Volume (Discograph-France)
• Plastiscines (Because-France)
• Sophie Hunger (Two Gentlemen-Switzerland)
• The Black Swan Effect (Real World Rec.-UK)
• Tigran Hamasyan (Plus loin Recording-France)
• Wayne Beckford (Believe Digital-UK)

MidemNet Lab

MidemNet Lab is a showcase for cutting-edge digital music initiatives. The 15 start-ups that have been chosen by Music Ally and a jury of entrepreneurs cover a range of digital fields that offer opportunities for the music industry including live apps (Awdio, Songkick, Streamjam), digital licensing of sheet music and lyrics (DigiClef, TuneWiki), artist management (BandCentral), managing key data for artists (Band Metrics), digital distribution (Pops Worldwide), web radio (Radionomy), remixing (Aviary, GoMix and Tracksandfields), musical discovery (Thesixtyone), artistic financing (Kickstarter) and online advertising (Silence Media). At Midem, the start-ups will have their own dedicated area.

Find more about the companies showcasing at MidemNet Lab at this location.

Quotes

Just few Midem-related quotes to further catch your interest.

• “Midem is now more about gathering some valuable information from meetings and less about commercial opportunities.” – Ralph Peer II, CEO / chairman of leading independent publishing company Peer Music.
• “The emphasis is now on hybrid business models where brands, Web and mobile communities can converge to bring new revenue streams.” – Stephane Gambetta, marketing manager for Midem and MidemNet
• “Many companies that used to only do publishing or recording are now coming to the mart looking to learn about 360-degree strategies.” – Dominique Leguern, director of Midem.

All In All

This is going to be an exciting event with lots of fruitful meetings and truly interesting conferences and panels. I will do my best to be constantly reporting from the event via Twitter and this blog (hopefully my iPod Touch won’t let me down).

Tip: Cannes-or-bust blog has some useful info on Cannes and events like Midem – especially recommended to first time goers.

If I forgot something important in this intro post, or if you’d like to meet me in Cannes (Jan 22 – Jan 26), let me know in the comments!

The list is based on my personal preferences, all items have been hand-picked. And, as you guessed, each of them costs less than $50 (without shipping)!

Disclosure

• The list includes some affiliate links. While I might be able to earn few bucks from them, I hope you understand that this isn’t the aim of the article.
• Yes, I love Etsy.
• I used these great blogs while working on the list: Coolest Gadgets, Fashionably Geek, Oh! Gizmo.

Enough of introduction, the Holidays are near and you’ve got lots of presents to order! I’ve divided the goodies into groups to help you.

Books

1. All You Need To Know About The Music Business, 7th Edition
   $21.12
   The latest edition of what they call “a music industry bible,” written by Donald Passman. Not recommended as a gift to your client if you are a music attorney or a label representative.
2. Confessions Of A Record Producer, 10th Anniversary Edition
   $16.49
   Another reissued classic, which I’m currently reading. This work of Moses Avalon is also packed with a CD full of videos.
3. Friction Is Fiction
   $19.98
   The most recent collection of Gerd Leonhard’s essays. If you don’t know who Gerd is, visit his Media Futurist blog and seriously consider checking out his books and presentations (moreover that most of them are available online for free). The book is sold as a $60 full color dead-tree version, the same b&w version (offered to you here) and a $7.50 PDF file. More info.
4. Remix: Making Art And Commerce Thrive In The Hybrid Economy
   $17.13
   Wired columnist Lawrence Lessig ranting on the copyright law applied to the online world.


Donald Passman

5. Fans, Friends And Followers
   $15.95
   The title, “Building An Audience And A Creative Career In The Digital Age,” is pretty self-explanatory. A great guide on building online fan base. Read a recent Hypebot interview with the author, Scott Kirsner.
6. Hit Hard: A Story Of Hitting Rock Bottom At The Top
   $17.81
   I received a copy few months ago, when we promoted the book’s release on UG. This is a very sincere story of Joey Kramer: a man, a real person with difficult childhood and broken life, who happens to be a drummer of one of the biggest rock bands in history. I’d recommend sending this to your nephew, dreaming of a rock & roll life (especially if he is a fan of Aerosmith).
7. Why AC/DC Matters
   $11.33
   As stated by the author, Anthony Bozza, this book is not just for the AC/DC fans, but for “the rest of you” as well. Interesting and easy read.
8. Kill Audio Comic Book
   $3.99-$42.00
   A comic book series co-written by Coheed & Cambria’s Claudio Sanchez and his wife Chondra Echert. The comic revolves around the title character, an immortal and unsuspecting hero who must save the world with his music. Sounds like fun!
9. Six-String Heroes
   $23.10
   A beautiful showcase of 150 of the greatest guitar players in history by rock photographer Neil Zlozower. Steven Rosen wrote the text. This music journalist, who is in the business for more than 30 years, now constantly writes for UG.

Clothes / Bags

10. Starwars Yoda DJ Men’s T-shirt
    $39.30
    What would this list be without the mightiest Star Wars character?
11. Classic Cassette Tote
    $9.99
    An old-school geeky cassette tape tote.
12. “I Listen” T-Shirt
    $20.00
    Red tee, headphones, and the “I Listen” sign in Japanese. Aesthetically good.
13. Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious Retro Punk T-Shirt
    $17.00
    For real punks other there.
14. I Heart Guitars Baby Shirt
    Don’t forget about the babies! They can love guitars, too.
    $10.00


I Want To Be A Crock Star tee

15. “I Want To Be A Crock Star” T-Shirt
    $14.00
    Didn’t you just have a feeling that you know at least 10 people whom you’d present this tee?
16. “Girl Talk I Am Not A DJ” T-Shirt
    $20.00
    Another cool tee for all the superstar djs around you.
17. Joan Jett ‘Born To Be Bad’ Tee
    $39.00
    This is replica of a shirt Joan Jett wore in 1978 by Worn Free.
18. Michael Jackson Dancing “This Is It Tour” T-Shirt
    $17.00
    Might be a good gift for the fellow MJ fans.
19. Rock On, Rock Off T-Shirt
    $18.00
    Loved this description at FashionablyGeek: “It’s hard to imagine the type of music that would warrant the simultaneous use both a flaming Bic and the sign of the horns, but if you know of any, this shirt will provide them both when the lights go out.”
20. Turntables Hoodie
    $40.00
    Spread some love for turntables!
21. Womens Turntables Tee
    $11.00
    I said love? Don’t forget about women, your close ones might adore vinyl & turntables too.

Accessories

22. Technics Wallet
    $6.30
    An official product by Technics DMC.


Guitar Hero Cufflinks

23. Rolling Stones 1975 Tour Belt
    $22.00
    If the Rolling Stones rocked your pants off in 1979, here’s a commemorative belt to help keep you clothed. (c)
24. Guitar Sunglasses
    $6.25-$8.00
    One of the most insipid things I’ve ever seen, but I couldn’t resist from posting it here. Makes sense to order few dozens at once to make your co-workers look equally cheerful (and stupid).
25. Guitar Pick Earrings
    $25.00
    Accessories for the true rock-chicks.
26. Guitar Hero Cufflinks
    $50.00
    If your friend is more into Guitar Hero than real guitars, this is a must-buy-and-send-as-a-present thing.
27. Black Grand Piano Cufflinks
    $18.00
    A pianists’ version.

Guitar Stuff

28. Sterling Silver Guitar Pick
    $30.00
    A silver pick with “Play On” hand stamped onto it.
29. The Beatles Guitar Picks
    $8.00
    Picks with Fab Four’s printed faces.
30. Steve Clayton Custom Picks
    $39.00-…
    If the above two options didn’t work for you, check this out. At this site you can design everything from the shape and gauge to the text/design and material of your picks.


Butt-O-Meter

31. Handmade Adjustable Guitar Strap
    $45.00
    A nice “Whimsical Floral” handmade guitar strap for female guitarists. Other patterns are available.
32. Strap Graphics
    $59.00 (yes, I know I exceed the limit a bit)
    Want something totally unique? Head over to this site, upload your own design and select specs like the strap width, leather color, and stitching.
33. Batt-O-Meter
    $34.95
    Simple and irreplaceable tool for reading voltage and hours of use on most active basses, guitars, and effects pedals that use a 9 volt battery. Essential for gigging.
34. Outlet Tester
    $37.66
    Taking the time to use the outlet tester a few minutes before a show can save your friend’s precious amp.
35. Dunlop Pyrex Glass Flare Slide
    $7.95
    The Dunlop Pyrex Glass Flare Slide can deliver you a warm, middle-harmonics tone. For fans of Joe Walsh, Jack White, or Billy Gibbons.

Gadgets

MIXA USB cassette

36. MIXA
    $32.70
    A “USB cassette” for the digital stuff. Design your own version before ordering right on the site.
37. USB Rocking Teddy
    $42.00
    Your little sister / daughter will love it.
38. Mobile FM Transmitter Handsfree
    $17.00
    This digital FM Transmitter lets you listen to mobile phones’ music on car stereo (has a built-in hands-free function). Might be useful for people spending half of their lives in cars.

iPod / iPhone Accessories

39. BudFits By Innovelis
    $8.93
    A nice little thing for music & sport lovers. BudFits help iPod and iPhone earbuds not fall out and maximize your comfort by eliminating the need to wedge earbuds into the ear canal to keep the earbuds in place.
40. Handmade iPhone/iPod Case
    $28.00
    A handmade Apple range cover for protecting your iPod Touch/iPhone, with the soft inner suede and a cool cassette Artwork.

Online Services / Stores

Soundcloud

41. Soundcloud
    $42.20
    An ideal gift for any musician, in my opinion. Consider the better Premium packs as well.
42. iTunes Gift Cards & Gift Certificates
    $50.00
    Even if you put your own records on iTunes, it isn’t a reason to abandon buying music at it, right? Same applies to your friends.
43. Rhapsody Music Gifts: Rhapsody Unlimited
    $29.99 (for 3 months)
44. Amazon
    $5.00-$5000
    Amazon is good at such kind of things. You can choose a desired type of your gift card and load it with as much money as you want.
45. ShockHound $50 Gift Card
    $50.00
    A good place with lots of music and accessories.

Random Stuff

46. Michael Jackson Lap Tray
    $32.50
    Another souvenir for hardcore Michael Jackson fans.
47. The Gripp Hand Trainer
    $4.99
    This cheap hand/forearm strengthener is aimed to help musicians playing for a longer period of time. Can be taken anywhere (unlike a guitar).


The Gripp Hand Trainer

48. The Beatles Pint Set
    $45.99
    Beatles & beer, what a combination! 4 pint glasses featuring cover images from Rubber Soul, Revolver, Let It Be and With The Beatles on each one.
49. STS9 Merchandise Pack
    Free, if you are lucky
    You don’t have to pay anything for it, just subscribe to Dotted Music! The prize won’t be delivered earlier than in January, so consider this as a nice present to yourself.
50. Leonard Cohen Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970 LP
    Free, if you are lucky
    Another sweepstakes now running on Dotted Music. If you are a fan either of Leonard Cohen or vinyl records, enter the giveaway by subscribing to our friendly RSS feed!

Let me know in the comments if you’ve ordered / tried any of the listed products, or think that this gift guide is a garbage – hey, I’m open to any feedback!

But if you found the post useful, don’t forget to save the link in Delicious to get back to it when another holiday season strikes.

Assuming that you haven’t been on a charity tour across Africa without an internet (and TV) access during the past two years, I won’t be telling you how Twitter works (if you are a beginner, you might be interested in checking out 9 Twitter Tips for Artists first). Below you will find a dead simple, up-to-date collection of advises from experts all around the web aimed to help you get maximum out of Twitter.

1. What To Tweet

Image credit: board.milkboys.org

Of course just rushing into Twitter client / website and starting “twittering” some random stuff right away won’t work, as won’t work leaving faceless promotional messages once a week. Read this article to understand what behavior should be avoided.

Think how to engage your followers to prove that you are worth their attention, and to neatly promote your brand and your products. I’d suggest looking into what others do. Remember that there are professional PR agencies behind popular artists, so there is nothing wrong with borrowing some ideas from them – just make sure you don’t become a slowpoke in the internet marketing race (like Homer in the pic below).

Here are few recent examples off the top of my head… Muse used Twitter to announce a track listing for their new album, tweeting titles track-by-track; Dashboard Confessional promised fans to put up a free song online once their Twitter page reaches 16,000 followers; I’m sure you’ve heard Amanda Palmer’s story, etc. You will find hundreds of such examples if you want.

And don’t forget that Twitter is about communication. Spend some time on it, listening to others. There is a good feature called “retweet”, and it shouldn’t be ignored. As this useful post called “Retweet Smarter” states, “retweeting in a proper way will develop followers loyalty.”

2. Give Away Your Music

As (I hope) you already know, giving away the music without asking anything in return is pretty stupid. You don’t have to ask for too much, but must have a plan developed and your goals set. Ask for an email address to rise a database for your newsletter, ask fans to spread the message among friends so more people hear about you, ask for a re-tweet, after all!

With Twitter, it’s a good idea to use existing tools for freely distributing your music. Like these:

• Tweet For A Track
• Tweet My Song
• TwtMuzik

Let me know if you have tried any of them yourself, really curious to hear pros and cons of each one.

For more reasons on why you should be smart giving away music on Twitter, read this great post at WayCoolJnr.

3. Use Twitter Lists

Lists is a new Twitter feature allowing you to combine multiple feeds in a single stream. For example, here’s a Twitter list I created to keep track on music / media news from pros who I trust and respect. What’s good about lists, you can follow them just like any Twitter account (which I invite you to do with this one!)

Use lists at your advantage, easily checking the fellow bands’ activity, looking for important updates from venues in your region, listening what most loyal fans of yours talk about. Find more ideas at this Indie Music Tech blog post and invent your own!

If you want to track specific phrases appearing in your lists’ feed, try this service (it’s like Google Alerts for Twitter).

Conclusion

Image credit: edwheeler.deviantart.com

So, what have we got?

If you think you don’t have enough time for Twitter, read how others spend just 7 minutes a day on social networks. Then think again.  In fact, any mobile phone can handle Twitter work, though die-hard fans might even consider buying a special device like TwitterPeek.

What about musicians like Kid Rock or Taylor? Basically, they don’t have to be on social networks themselves anymore. Are you one of them? Nope (most probably).

After reading this post, you still don’t get what Twitter is for? Hmm…

If you are concerned about the number of your Twitter followers, be sure – using advises above along with some promotional work and common sense will make you a social media rock star (but always remember about the common sense part).

The bottom line: there is no excuse for a musician to ignore Twitter.

PS: A bonus tip from The New Rockstar Philosophy blog. Try Twibbon, “a tattoo for your twitter avatar.”

Liked the article? Subscribe to the RSS feed!

Check out his top 10 below.

10. The last 3 minutes of “All Within My Hands” (St. Anger, 2003)

God, St Anguish is a shit album, but skip almost all the way to the end and you’ll hear an unexpectedly awesome outro on the last song, the otherwise dire and embarrassing “All Within My Hands.” It’s basically a three-chord doom riff with a thrash metal drum pattern, always a winning combination, and James’ vocals consist solely of the words “Kill, kill, kill!” What’s not to like? Apart from everything else on the record, of course.

09. “Fight Fire With Fire” (Ride The Lightning, 1984)

Kill ‘Em All was a fast album, but a year later Metallica upped the ante in spectacular fashion by writing this pulverisingly speedy song about nuclear warfare, gods crushing us like flies and so on and so forth. The acoustic intro caused some metalheads to worry that Hetfield et al had sold out for a minute, but once that fades and James’ brain-mincingly fearsome riff takes over, it’s fun fun fun all the way to the end – a fucking massive explosion.

08. “Dyer’s Eve” (…And Justice For All, 1988)

The first hint that all might not be tranquil inside Hetfield’s skull, “Dyer’s Eve” explored his Christian Scientist background in no uncertain terms, as well as providing a triumphant close to the album which kickstarted progressive thrash. Yes, the production sounded obsolete within weeks of AJFA‘s release and poor old Jason Newsted was mixed out almost completely, but what killer songs, eh?

Photo credit: egvvnd on Flickr

07. “Breadfan” (Garage Inc., 1998)

Yes, it’s a cover. Yes, it’s not properly produced. Shut up. This frankly gobsmacking upgrade of a hoary old NWOBHM tune was so far ahead of any other metal cover version you can think of at the time of its release (as a B-side on an AJFA-era single) that it would have been tragic if it wasn’t so funny. It’s so fast. It’s so heavy. It’s so good. Etc. Etc.

06. “Trapped Under Ice” (Ride The Lightning, 1984)

“No release from my cryonic fate” has to be one of the most metal lines ever written, and the fact that it comes as part of this aneurysm-inducingly nippy song from the band’s early days is another massive bonus. Rarely played in concert but often cited as one of the finest Metallica songs of all, “Trapped Under Ice” is still almost impossible to beat.

05. “Sad But True” (Metallica, 1991)

The Black Album‘s opening one-two (“Enter Sandman” and this song) is hard to beat if you’re a fan of MTV-era Metallica, but “Sad” surpasses “Sandman” for me because a) it’s so satisfyingly heavy and b) I haven’t heard it on the radio eight million times. You can see James recording the rhythm part (in straight D, as I recall) in the video clip. Watch and learn.

04. “Damage, Inc.” (Master Of Puppets, 1986)

Every song on Puppets is a stone cold classic, a claim that no other thrash metal album can match apart from Slayer’s Reign In Blood, but I’ll point to “Damage, Inc” because it’s so fast and mean. You have to admire the way that James’ lyrics don’t bother addressing politics, drugs, the environment etc: he just sings about wanting to fuck you up.

03. “Helpless” (Garage Days Re-Revisited EP, 1987)

Yes it’s another cover. Stop whining! If any proof were needed of Hetfield’s insane right-hand precision, listen to the tremolo picking in the chorus of this song. I’d also list Jason’s super-fat bass tone and Kirk’s awe-inspiring solo as reasons to listen to this tune, especially considering that the entire EP was recorded in a garage smelling of cat piss.

02. “Motorbreath” (Kill ‘Em All, 1983)

The lyrics are puerile but I think we’ve established by now that this is the entire point, right? Anyway, there is no clearer statement of intent (OK, maybe “Whiplash” qualifies too) in the Metallica catalogue. “Motorbreath” is fast, dumb and violent – and although I’m glad that the band grew up and wised up as the years passed, songs from this era are still indispensable.

01. “Disposable Heroes” (Master Of Puppets, 1986)

My favourite Metallica song of all time. Why? It’s probably a combination of that E/G/F# chord progression which the band used so much back then, plus the song’s insane speed, plus Hetfield’s fabulously aggressive lyrics about getting killed in a war. And it goes on for ages too. Listen to this (or even better, watch them play it live) and you’ll be left reeling. Songs like this kinda put “Mama Said” and “The Memory Remains” into perspective, don’t they?

Joel McIver’s 2004 bestseller “Justice For All: The Truth About Metallica” has just been updated and reprinted. See www.joelmciver.co.uk for details.

Have a sneak peek at The 10 Metallica Songs You Must Hear Before You Die (turn off plugins disabling ads to see the widget):

Anything you can add? Tell us in the comments!

Photo credit: staydreamy.tumblr.com

Below are just few highlights, and here you will find the original Guilty Pleasures… list.

Kevin Talley (Daath/professional studio drummer):

Abba!! In addition to Queen, they were extremely ahead of their time. They were just more subtle about it than Queen so the average person can’t really tell they are over the top. Abba’s phrasing, progressions, arrangements, and over all songs are incredible. Yes, a ton of cheddar is in there but that’s all for the better. I love the cheese!! haha. It’s so freakin awesome to crank Abba. If you don’t know about it, you are missin’ out!!!

Dave Davidson (Revocation):

One of my guiltiest pleasures would probably be Fall Out Boy. Not really a fan of their older stuff but the last couple of records they’ve put out were awesome. Phil’s guilty pleasure is probably Boys 2 Men, he will straight up sing that CD from front to back when he’s drunk and it always brings the laughs. Anthony is also into a lot of pop, right now I think he’s on a Lady Gaga kick.

Rich Nelson (Earache Records):

As a nostalgic nod to my nu-metal phase you will find Limp Bizkit and Korn on my iPod. Certainly guilty pleasures as I’ve been exposed to much better music since my teenage years. Every now and then I’ll get the urge to blast songs from Significant Other and Follow The Leader, though the Caffeine pants and UFOs stay hidden in the closet (you never know when you might need a quick escape via parachute!)

Aidan Gray (SMNnews):

I have to be honest, I love me a bit of Britrock. From Oasis to Kasabian to some of the more dance fueled singles that chart in the UK. Some of those tunes could make an absolutely meaty metal track. Nothing like a little drop-D and a burst of larynx to turn a top pop tune into a mosh worthy anthem.

Read the rest at this location.

What’s your guilty music pleasures? Share them in the comments!