Spotlight: Vika Yermolyeva

Sheer talent. 

I am receptive to, but also very critical of people who cover already-great songs. The standard of review for covers of great songs is strict scrutiny -- you better be a great musician yourself, or else you will be doing injustice.

Vika Yermolyeva

(picture from her website: http://www.vkgoeswild.com/)

Classical nunchuck-kickin'-ass.

Now, as you know, this is largely a hard rock/heavy metal (HRHM) blog. As such, on their face, it would appear that classically trained musicians would not translate well into HRHM. But, if you think about it, they usually make very good covers of HRHM. Now, why is this?


Well, I have no idea, I'm just a law student, not a music theoretician. My only guess is that both require great proficiency with complex arrangements and technical skill.

Getting to the point. I found one of the best covers I've heard of a great song. The song "Estranged" by Guns N Roses is one of my favorite songs. So, naturally, when I saw that this person "vkgoeswild" covered it on Youtube, I was very skeptical clicking on the link. But she was excellent. She emphasized the latent emotion that saturates "Estranged." The piano is such a beautiful sounding instrument, and she does it up right.

Vika is from Ukraine (I think), and she has an extensive background in classical music. She has trained at many prestigious schools in Europe. I don't know the extent of her background, but I was blown away when I read her profile.

Vika's cover of "Estranged" serves a compelling musical interest, aka, the satisfaction of my ears, and therefore her cover is affirmed. In conclusion, her musical prowess, added to her physical prowess, makes her a very appealing all around package (plus, anyone with an accent is sexy... well, almost anyone).

Be sure to check her out on iTunes. Search for "vkgoeswild." She has a really great album out!

[Some of] My Favorite Albums (Part 1 of 3)

This list is by no means complete or accurate, but it is a fair reflection of my favorite albums. You will disagree. That's fine. Just remember that I have a bigger dick, and that I am probably correct about the music too. Winky face.

Starting at the bottom of the list:

---

#13.
NIRVANA: UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK (1994)

Now don't let the position of this album on the list fool you, it is a great album. On beautiful acoustic and piano riffs, Nirvana rolls through some of their own hits, and does some really really good covers of songs that you otherwise never would have heard of. Cobain compliments the smooth rolling jams with soft vocals, instead of his typical throaty grunge voice. It is also significant because it was the first Nirvana album released after Kurt Cobain's death, in a way marking the end of the grunge period.

Favorite Lyrics: "Where do bad folks go when they die? They don't go to heaven where the angels fly. They go to a lake of fire and fry." - Lake of Fire.

Album Cover: Average. When I was young I also remember studying the album cover, looking at all of the instruments and people. There's a lot going on on that album cover.

---

#12.

NEIL YOUNG: AFTER THE GOLDRUSH (1970)

This is an album filled with great songs. "Southern Man," "Don't Let it Bring You Down," "Tell Me Why," and of course, "After the Goldrush" make this album very memorable. Generally a slow album, it has a contemplative feel to it. He writes about castles, knights and days of yore -- which I'm sure are metaphors to modern day life, but the drug-induced translation is lost on me. Neil Young's peculiar voice and slow acoustic, along with a hard snare makes this a very balanced album. It has classic songs and a folksy feel.

Favorite Lyrics: "Thinkin' about what a friend had said, and I was hopin' it was a lie." - After the Gold Rush. "Don't let it bring you down, it's only castles burning." - Don't Let it Bring You Down.

Album Cover: Forgettable. Black and white inverted, and walking in front of a fence? Wtf.

---

#11
GUNS N ROSES: USE YOUR ILLUSION II (1991)

This album opens up with the very epic song "Civil War." It tells the story of miscommunication and tragedy, with sweeping guitar riffs and heavy percussion. The album rolls into "14 Years" and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." It goes through some harder songs, and in my opinion hits its apex with "Estranged" -- one of my favorite songs. It is a long song, an epic, not sure exactly what it's about, but it has really good piano thrown in. This album came out in the latter years of Guns N Roses' existence. They had put out Appetite for Destruction (1987) already, which is their hallmark album. In my opinion it is their more mature material, and marks the end of their time as a major force in hard rock.

Favorite Lyrics: "When I find out all the reasons, maybe I'll find another way, find another day, with all the changing seasons of my life, maybe I'll get it right, next time." - Estranged

Album Cover: Average/good. It contrasts with Use Your Illusion I (1991), which is the exact same cover but yellowish/orange. It's identifiable as the counterpart to the two-part series of albums which were released at the same time (and a true fan knows that this is the better one). I like the vertical text.

---

#10
AC/DC: HIGHWAY TO HELL (1979)

Note: We are now in the top ten, strap on your seat-belts everybody. AC/DC's Highway to Hell was their last album with singer Bon Scott. They were about to explode onto the 1980's scene, but were met with tragedy. This didn't stop them from still being amazing. They picked up singer Brian Johnson and put out Back in Black (1980), a tribute to Bon Scott. It is the second highest selling album of all time in the world, behind Thriller (1982) by Michael Effin' Jackson. But anyway, back to Highway to Hell. This album is a fun rock album, including the songs "Touch too Much," "Shot Down in Flames," "Walk All Over You," and "Highway to Hell." It is the perfect album for cruising down the highway with the windows down on a warm day, or while grilling up hot dogs and hamburgers and playing football in the backyard with Brett Favre and blue-jeans. America.

Favorite Lyrics: "No stop signs, speed limit, nobody's gunna slow me down. Like a wheel, gunna spin it, nobody's gunna mess me around. Hey Satan, paid my dues, playin' in a rockin' band. Hey momma, look at me, I'm on my way to the promised land." - Highway to Hell.

Album Cover: Weird and amusing, especially after knowing that they are all basically midgets (all hovering around the 5' 0" range).

---

Bollocks. I was going to do the list in one giant post, but I'm lazy and this is taking awhile. I'll complete it in two more installments. You will have to wait to find out the genius album selections I make, and not like them (probably). Until then, sex.


Post comments below, and please follow this sexy-ass blog. It goes to eleven.

Most Epic Rock Songs Ever (Revised)

This is the compendium of the most epic rock and metal songs ever! No other lists matter. This is the list.

Note: For all of you idiots out there, epic does not necessarily mean badass or cool, or some other quality found in a "good" song. Epic is grand is scope -- it is a song that takes you on a journey.

Legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple; Rainbow).

His bands make two appearances on this list.

20) Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas
19) You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth by Meat Loaf 
18) Bat Out of Hell by Meat Loaf 
17) I'd Do Anything For Love by Meat Loaf
16) Love, Reign O'er Me by The Who

15) Baba O'Riley by The Who (suggestion made by Eric Sedler)

14) Paradise City by Guns 'N' Roses (suggestion made by Dan Blum and Eric Sedler)
13) One by Metallica
12) Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
11) Fade to Black by Metallica
10) Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Iron Maiden
9) Civil War by Guns 'N' Roses
8) Mistreated by Ritchie Blackmore/Rainbow
7) Estranged by Guns 'N' Roses
6) Victim of Changes by Judas Priest
5) 2112 by Rush

2112 (The Opening)

As the song is 20+ minutes I just posted the opening part here.

It would have been higher if it played like one song, but instead

it plays more like 5-6 linked songs.

4) Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin

Stairway to Heaven

It would have a higher score if it's build-up was shorter.

3) Child in Time by Deep Purple

Child in Time

Epic epic song, it has a good build up and nice crescendo.
It would have beat November Rain if Ian Gillan's voice
was less squealy.

2) November Rain by Guns 'N' Roses

November Rain

Beautiful/weird music video, and epic Slash playing on guitar.
Perfect mix of vocals and piano.

1) Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Free Bird

The studio version is better (with the organ). Only organ beats piano,

just like rock beats scissors, just like the North beat the south.

Most Mentions
1) Guns 'N' Roses (with 4 songs)
2) Meat Loaf (with 3)
3) Ritchie Blackmore (with 2 (1 in Deep Purple, 1 in Rainbow))
4) The Who (with 2)
5) Metallica (with 2)

If you think your list is better -- don't care -- suck it.

Notable Mentions: 21st Century Schizoid Man (King Crimson), The Ballad of Billy the Kid (Billy Joel), Hallowed Be Thy Name (Iron Maiden), Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath), Rainbow in the Dark (Dio), Paradise by the Dashboard Light (Meat Loaf), Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin), The End (The Doors).