Classic rock will never leave my playlist

I was watching the NFL playoff divisional games two weekends ago. The Ravens’ stadium music guy played Machinehead by Bush, Even Flow by Pearl Jam and Man in the Box by Alice in Chains all in a row.

I made a comment on Facebook that that man and I should hang out because he had such a great taste in music.

I texted something similar to my brother. He responded by asking me how I knew those songs?

Those songs were big in the ‘90s. I was born in 1988, so those songs saw their heyday when I was very young.

The answer I gave him was that good music never goes away, and classics never die.

As I am writing this story, Summer of ’69 by Bryan Adams and Lovin’ Every Minute of It by Loverboy came on back-to-back on my iPod.

I am no stranger to classic rock, with some of my favorites going all the way back to the ‘60s. If you are a fan of classic rock, comedies or both look up a British movie called Pirate Radio. It has an amazing soundtrack and features some of the best bands from what we now call classic rock.

It also features Nick Frost, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

I grew up a child of the ‘90s, but I kept the best of the music alive in my playlist.

I have some grunge, thrash, hard rock, metal and pretty much every other genre of rock you can think of.

I’m also no stranger to trance and techno, but that’s another story.

My stepbrother once said that music sucks nowadays. I tend to agree for the most part. The pop coming out today just steals from other genres and stays catchy enough to keep people listening.

I like a few of these songs, but I hate myself for listening to them.

Rock today had turned into a generic sea of same old same. Bands like Nickelback and Theory of a Deadman don’t even bother to recycle other people’s music. They reuse their own chords over and over because apparently creativity is dead.

I draw the line at most heavy metal. Some screaming can be OK if I can understand the lyrics, but if that’s all you do, you’re not for me.

Some of the best metal coming out is from Europe. I recently discovered an amazing power metal band from Scandinavia called Amaranthe. They feature a female lead singer, but they’re amazing.

Some of the best metal to combine techno elements is from Germany.

I’m talking about Rammstein, Megaherz and OOMPH!. If you have never heard of the last one, they’re a German gothic metal band that inspired both Rammstein and Megaherz, two powerhouse bands over there.

Don’t be afraid to check out some techno or trance artists if you like rock music. Some bands make them sync up really well.

If you want to try techno out, look for none other than Daft Punk. There’s a reason they sell so many T-shirts.

What was the last song to come on my mp3 player while I was writing this?

All Along the Watchtower. Not Bob Dylan’s version mind you, because I’m not a fan of his. This version belongs to The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

I don’t always listen to classic rock, but when I do, I only listen to the good stuff.

Keep listening, my friends.