The 2010 film The Runaways was truly enjoyable and greatly overlooked, although it has historical inaccuracies. The groundbreaking all-female teen rock band returns to the spotlight with the tremendous two-disc set Take It or Leave It: A Tribute to the Queens of Noise.
The sound of The Runaways lives on, as heard by contributing artists like The Donnas ("Queens of Noise") and Shonen Knife ("Black Leather"). Even former lead singer Cherie Curie guests with Frankenstein 3000 here, on "American Nights." Blue Fox's "Dirty Magazine" serves as The Runaways' drummer Sandy West's last recording.
The compilation is loaded with guitar-fueled party anthems like F-13's take on "I Wanna Be Where the Boys Are" and Delirium Tremens' version of "Wasted." Forget Katy Perry—these are unbridled teenage dreams. Hearing new spins on these songs now reminds me just how young the members of The Runaways were during its short lived run.
Throughout the collection, there are clips from DJs and bits from interviews. Lita Ford offers inspiration by saying, "It's difficult for us to be accepted as musicians because we're girls, but it's not difficult to be a musician because you're a girl."
Proceeds from Take It or Leave It benefit the American Institute for Cancer Research in West's name. West provided a moving contribution to the outstanding 2004 documentary Edgeplay: A Film about the Runaways. She lost her battle to lung cancer in 2006.
Artists continue to voice the sorrow over the tragic suicides of LGBTQ youth, which have been in the national spotlight in the last year. Rise Against is the latest to partake in the It Gets Better campaign to support The Trevor Project.
The video to "Make It Stop (September's Children)" was filmed at the Chicago high school that lead singer Tim McIlrath attended. Here, three students are bullied and publicly humiliated. Each youth then considers taking his or her life, but decides against it. Footage follows with accomplishments and meaningful milestones that they would have missed, if they had ended their lives.
Rise Against has previously incorporated social issues into its music. The video for "Ready to Fall" shows the gruesome side of factory farming, rodeos and hunting, while "Hero of War" tackles the psychological burdens of war. "Make It Stop (September's Children)" is on the album Endgame.
Iconic sister act Heart is embarking on a tour with Def Leppard with a stop at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, 19100 S. Ridgeland, Tinley Park on Friday, July 15. As apparent on 2010's top 10 outing Red Velvet Car, the Seattle siblings still have it. After hearing the fiery "WTF" and "Wheels," why would vice president hopeful Sarah Palin dare to use "Barracuda" without Heart's blessing?
Heart's homecoming concert DVD, Night at Sky Church, features beloved classics like "These Dreams" with Alison Krauss and "Crazy on You," as well as new material like "Hey You."
Requesting the DJ to play Def Leppard's signature "Pour Some Sugar on Me" is always a blast, as the dance floor gets packed with those trying to relive their inner-stripper fantasies. Def Leppard's song structures show little variance, resembling a glam-metal counterpart to Bon Jovi or Van Halen's predictable output.
Motley Crüe, The New York Dolls and Poison will be coming to First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre on Friday, July 1. This marks the 30-year anniversary of Motley Crüe's debut album, Too Fast for Love. In the jaw-dropping memoir Dirt, the guys reveal that the single from 1989's Dr. Feelgood titled "Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.)" is about their girlfriends leaving them to pursue same-sex relationships.
More than 20 years later, Motley Crüe's "Kickstart My Heart" is still an adrenaline rush for me. There is dispute whether the rockers are the inspiration behind Aerosmith's "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" and Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing."
On Friday, July 1, Nicole Atkins will have a concert at Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont. Her latest, Mondo Amore, has the Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter tapping a certain Patsy Cline-worthy sadness on "Hotel Plaster" and "War Is Hell." Both could be sequels to "War Torn" from Atkins' remarkable debut Neptune City. She then rocks out on "You Come to Me." On "My Baby Don't Lie," Atkins is ready to get in a cat fight over her lover. The stunning "This Is for Love" could easily be a long-lost Jefferson Airplane gem. Mondo Amore is out now via Razor & Tie.
One of my guilty pleasures is watching That Metal Show on VH-1 Classic. The lead host, Eddie Trunk, is so entertaining. During the trivia challenge Stump the Trunk, he has corrected audience members who think they know the right answers to the questions they are asking him.
A recent episode of That Metal Show was awkward. The special guest was drummer Carmine Appice. He brought up his former King Kobra bandmate, Marcie Free, who is transgender. Co-host Jim Florentine made some tasteless cracks. Trunk stumbled by incorrectly using masculine pronouns, but then referred to Free with the proper gender identifiers and turned the interview back to Free and Appice's music contributions.
Although offered, Free is not returning as the lead singer in a King Kobra reunion. Paul Shortino is, instead. Last year Free released the album Worlds Collide with the outfit Unruly Child. Episodes of That Metal Show can be viewed at www.vh1.com .
