Idolator: AEROSMITH

Crazy For Eight: Let's Make A Mix Consisting Of Albums' Eighth Tracks

Maura Johnston — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT

Today is the day to get all nutso about eights, or, maybe to just get nutso, if you have Olympic and/or Jonas Brothers and/or Boredoms-drum-extravaganza fever. (Woe to the person who's suffering from all three.) All the eight-related hoopla got me to thinking about how the eighth track on many an album is a hit-or-miss proposition; particularly on longer albums in the CD era, it serves as something of a midpoint, and albums become unfocused and maybe stick their not-as-good tracks in there. For example: track eight on Appetite For Destruction, for example, is the OK-but-not-great "Think About You," while track eight on Nevermind is the relatively irritating to my ears "Drain You." And not to be all lazy-Google-research about this, but the phrase "track 8 is my favorite" only has 22 hits on the search engine; spell out the word "eight," and you're down to four.) Anyway, I decided to root through my collection and find some outstanding examples of an album's eighth track—eight, in fact. They're unordered, although the last one on the list is probably my favorite (and I found an amazing live version of it, to boot). Feel free to add your own!

Michael Jackson - "PYT" (from Thriller, 1982)

Helium - "Superball" (from The Dirt Of Luck, 1995)

Love Is All - "Spinning And Scratching" (from Nine Times That Same Song, 2006)

Aerosmith - "Lick And A Promise" (from Rocks, 1976)

Mother Love Bone - "Captain Hi-Top" (Apple, 1990)

PJ Harvey - "50Ft Queenie" (from Rid Of Me, 1993)

Janet Jackson - "Miss You Much" (from the CD version of Rhythm Nation 1814, 1989)

Afghan Whigs feat. Marcy Mays - "My Curse" (from Gentlemen, 1992)

Ten Artists Who Should Be Very Glad They're Not Axl Rose

Anthony Miccio — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:00:00 EDT

The attention the media gives to Guns N' Roses and My Bloody Valentine may give young bands the idea that it'd actually be good for their legacy to record regularly for six years, then hold off for at least another 15 so that fan excitement can build and their myth can blossom. (Hey, if Sting and Joe Strummer had waited that long to record follow-ups to Synchronicity and Combat Rock, maybe people would have cared more about Brand New Day and Rock Art And The X-Ray Style!) So I looked at what would have happened to some of rock's most legendary figures if they, too, had waited 15 years to release new albums once their first six years of putting out records were done—and found that extended absences rarely make later projects look much better.

1. The Beastie Boys
followed by...

Unwilling to repeat themselves after the left-field success of Check Your Head, the Beastie Boys wander through abortive sessions with Mix Master Mike, Lee Perry, Q-Tip, Miho Hatori, and others while promoting Tibetan Freedom Festivals, running Grand Royal, and raising families; Adam Horowitz's glitchy BS-2000 and the peculiar Country Mike's Greatest Hits make fans both curious and excited for what the group might eventually return with. Finally, after over a decade of waiting, Capitol Records and a nation of expectant stoners are blessed with... The Mix-Up.

2. Aerosmith
followed by...

Following the departure of Joe Perry during the recording of A Night In The Ruts, Steven Tyler descends further into chemical dependency, unable to complete sessions with new guitarists for several years. After his recovery from addiction in the mid-'80s, he is hesitant to return to life in the fast lane, preferring to raise his family and promote anti-drug campaigns. Finally, the original lineup returns with 1997's Nine Lives, where a new generation, unprimed by Wayne's World and Alicia Silverstone videos, is introduced to a group of decrepit transvestites screaming "Falling In Love (Is So Hard On The Knees)."

3. Grateful Dead
followed by...

Despite the success of Wake Of The Flood, things aren't the same for the Dead after the death of Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, and the band decides to abstain from the touring circuit. Attempts to hone a new sound are hindered by a series of exploding keyboardists, but the group finally returns to the limelight with 1989's Built To Last. Then another keyboardist dies, and the band says "fuck it." Meanwhile, Trey Anastasio is happily playing in a Creedence Clearwater Revival cover band in Vermont, just happy that he doesn't have to hold down a day job.

4. David Bowie
followed by...

After releasing Pin-Ups (itself The Spaghetti Incident?! of its day), Bowie grows tired of his hard-rock Ziggy Stardust shtick and fires the Spiders Of Mars. Rumors leak that the rock star is obsessed with "soul" and attempting to maintain cultural currency by working with Brian Eno (the Moby of his day), but year after year and release date after release date pass. Finally, cleaned up and ready to play ball, Bowie, joined by Peter Frampton and Charlie Sexton, returns for a massive world tour to promote his new album... Never Let Me Down.

5. Prince
followed by...

Even after his Hollywood dreams fizzled, Prince finds it impossible to follow up the monumental Purple Rain, retiring to his Minnesota home; he's rarely seen after the failed non-musical version of Graffiti Bridge. Some say that the recluse won't even answer to his name! Always up for a challenge, Clive Davis signs the artist to a one-album contract, teaming him with a variety of pop stars that had followed in his wake. He then presents the world with... Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic. The world is not impressed.

6. Bruce Springsteen
followed by...

Darkness On The Edge Of Town, while a critical hit, isn't really the sequel to Born To Run that Columbia was looking for. So for years Bruce struggles with synthesizers and drum machines, hoping to craft a surefire hit. Off the road and not meeting supermodels and back-up vocalists, Bruce lives a long, lonely life before finally releasing The Ghost Of Tom Joad, after which Columbia decides this man is no longer the future of rock and roll.

7. U2
followed by...

Torn between their desire for fame and their belief in Christian humility, the members of U2 are more than happy to finely hone their follow-up to The Unforgettable Fire with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. But after a decade-plus of work, it becomes clear that they've lost the script. So instead, the band looks both to the past (their original producer Steve Lillywhite) and the future (Nelle Hooper and Jackknife Lee), creating How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, which the group promotes on an '80s Flashback Tour co-headlined by Simple Minds.

8. R.E.M.
followed by...

The Green tour takes a lot out of R.E.M., with the band first attempting to create a grand follow-up with mandolins and string sections before scrapping the sessions to try and regain their rock energy. Finally, with both producer Scott Litt and Bill Berry no longer involved, the remaining trio makes an album everyone is comfortable with. An album named Around The Sun.

9. Rolling Stones
followed by...

Let It Bleed is a surprise triumph after the loss of Brian Jones, but drugs overcome the band and it isn't long before replacement Mick Taylor is gone. It won't be until after the failure of Mick Jagger's first solo album, She's The Boss, that he'll get the old band together for a new album titled Dirty Work. While they knew Mick Jagger was capable of anything, it shocked fans of the enigmatic Keith Richards, long rumored dead, to see him dancing with cartoon cats in the video for "Harlem Shuffle."

10. Stevie Wonder
followed by...

With Motown refusing to let him run his own albums, Wonder boycotts his label following the release of For Once In My Life. When Berry Gordy finally relents in the early '70s, his concerns are proven tragically valid as Wonder toils unsuccessfully to capture his "inner visions," desperately trying to create songs "in the key of life." The singer could have been forgotten—but Gene Wilder gets in touch with him in hopes that he'll create a soundtrack for The Woman In Red. America is shocked as Little Stevie Wonder returns to the limelight with "I Just Called To Say I Love You," with Rolling Stone declaring it the Least Welcome Comeback of 1984.

There is one alternate history Axl could take heart in. If Paul Simon had waited fifteen years to put out an album after Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water, Graceland would have been even more of an impressive wtf than it was at the time. But will Axl Rose's adventures in the diaspora ("Madagascar!") have the same zeitgeist as Simon's?

Hell no.

Just in time for the release of the Guitar ...

Maura Johnston — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:30:00 EDT

Just in time for the release of the Guitar Hero edition in his band's name, Steven Tyler has admitted that he entered rehab last month in order to recover from dependency on pain and sleep-assistance meds. Publicity tours in 2008 have reached some sort of Twilight Zone level and they're never, ever coming back, are they? [AP]

Steven Tyler, who claimed he'd "rather be ...

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 21 May 2008 16:30:00 EDT

Steven Tyler, who claimed he'd "rather be OD'ing from the crack of her ass" 15 years ago, has reportedly checked into Dr. Drew's Celebrity Rehab a.k.a. The Las Encinas Hospital, presumably due to overindulging in something other than ass. [TMZ]

The Top Five Songs That Need To Be On The Aerosmith "Guitar Hero"

Maura Johnston — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:00:36 EST

Today, Activision announced that an Aerosmith-themed^* edition of Guitar Hero, the cleverly titled Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, would be available in stores come June. The press release heralding the game's launch contained a baffling quote from Steven Tyler, who said: "Any band that can go from 'Don't Want to Miss A Thing' (Aerosmith's #1 smash hit) to the ass-kicking 'Sweet Emotion' to the cheekiness of 'Love in an Elevator,' to the classic ballad 'Dream On' shows why Activision chose us to headline this game based on the diversity of the Aerosmith catalog. Not only is songwriting a bitch, but then it goes and has puppies." Odd dog-related metaphors aside, what is up, Mr. Tyler, with naming a freaking Diane Warren track before anything else from your catalog? Clearly you need some help picking the right songs for your game, so after the jump, I've selected five songs that are definitely ripe for inclusion. (And no, "Sweet Emotion" and "Walk This Way" aren't on there because we pretty much can figure that the songs you trot out for every TV appearance will be front-and-center, probably in multiple versions.)

5. "Mama Kin"

Will likely be included for the Slash cross-promotion factor, but still worthy of mention.

4. "Voodoo Medicine Man"

Say what you will about the second half of the band's career, but this song kicks ass. (Plus, Brad Whitford deserves at least some credit.)

3. "Lord Of The Thighs"

Including this song will probably result in some sort of ESRB sanction, but that's rock and roll. (Or at least it was in the pre-Diane Warren days. Hmph.)

2. "Lick And A Promise"

Aerosmith catalog licensers take note: The drum part means this would also be an excellent fit for Rock Band.

1. "Nobody's Fault"

Not only is this song absolutely killer, you can chidingly sing "sorrr-rry!" at your friend when you're demolishing her at the game.

Dream On With Guitar Hero: Aerosmith [Kotaku]

^* Bands that have collaborated with and "inspired" Aerosmith will also be included in the game as well.

Steven Tyler Pumps More Money Out Of Aerosmith's Catalog

mjohnston — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:15:36 EST

Steven Tyler has sold an interest in the publishing rights to about 160 Aerosmith songs to Primary Wave, who you may remember as the people who facilitated that Very Special Nirvana Episode of Cold Case. Tyler apparently pocketed $50 million from the deal, according to the New York Post, but it does have a catch:

It only covers songs from Aerosmith's post-Permanent Vacation career, because Tyler doesn't own the publishing rights to any of Aerosmith's earlier music. Can't wait for the Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode that will manage to shoehorn "Janie's Got A Gun" and "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing"^* into its soundtrack!

AERO-SMART MOVE [NYP]

^* The latter song will score yet another "let's try and humanize Mike Logan's relationships with women" scene, I suspect.

Heading Back Inside Steven Tyler: This Clip Would Have Made Ninth-Grade Biology So Much More Tolerable

mjohnston — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 15:05:04 EDT

As teased here Friday, Steven Tyler appeared on the National Geographic Channel's Incredible Human Machine last night, and the results were pretty incredible, in a "holy crap, all those tendons and goo are inside me, too" sort of way. Actually, what's even more amazing to watch is the first half of the clip, during which the wizened Aerosmith singer's inflamed blood vessels in his voicebox—the rupturing of one forced the postponment of some tour dates last year—get zapped away by a laser in such a zippy way, I seriously thought I was watching someone play around with Photoshop at first.

Going Inside Steven Tyler As He Creates "Sound At Unusual Frequencies"

mjohnston — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 13:40:59 EDT

This morning, Steven Tyler and throat surgeon Dr. Steven Zeitels appeared on Today to promote their Sunday-night appearance on the National Geographic Channel's Incredible Human Machine; if you ever wanted to know just what happens to the insides of the Aerosmith frontman's throat when he hits that high note in "Dream On," then this is going to be the show for you, as the program will reveal the stretching and straining that Tyler's vocal chords undergo during the course of a show. Appetizing! I only wish they'd recreated the vocal-chord-cam live, as I'd love to see what his innards looked like when he squawked that high note at the 0:58 mark. Aspiring vocalists, remember: Warming up is very important.

"Guitar Hero IV" May Let Aerosmith Fans Get Their Wings

mjohnston — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 18:54:11 EDT

Tucked at the bottom in this Billboard item on the new Aerosmith record—the details of which are completely up in the air, save for the fact that it's eventually going to be recorded—is this curious quote from Joe Perry on the next edition of Guitar Hero, which will apparently be a classic rock block devoted to the Toxic Twins:

Besides the album, Aerosmith is also working closely with the makers of "Guitar Hero IV," which will be dedicated to the Boston group's music. "I don't know much about the technical part of it," Perry says, "but artistically we're working hand in hand."

An all-Aerosmith Guitar Hero could be really great or really terrible—here's hoping that someone on the "artistic" side will convince the powers that be to include more songs from Rocks, and fewer from Honkin' On Bobo. (And no ballads, for the love of Tyler.) Seriously, could you imagine how many would-be Perrys would be completely stymied by the opening run of "Lick And A Promise"?

Aerosmith Hitting The Studio In November [Billboard]

It May Be Time To Walk Away From "Walk This Way"

mjohnston — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 15:05:21 EDT

This morning, we read the news that the surviving members of Run-DMC would be flying out to London to perform "Walk This Way" with Aerosmith at the Hyde Park Calling festival. The news of what, by our count, is approximately the 354,945th live performance of the collaborative cover since its original release in 1986 made us wonder when, if ever, we'd be able to listen to the song without instinctively groaning "Oh man, not again."

Look, we know that, as far as fusing hip-hop and rock, "Walk This Way" is an important song—the symbolic breaking down of the wall between Run-DMC's and Aerosmith's studios was indeed a huge moment for music. But we live in a time where every promotional opportunity possible gets wrung out of any slightly important cultural artifact, resulting in trainwrecks like the Super Bowl performance of the song, which was Run-DMC free and had that whole Britney-wearing-socks-on-her-arms thing. And then there's the series of increasingly bizarre "Walk This Way" covers, all of which are trying to hitch their wagon to its "classic" status while neutering and/or confusing the over-the-top sexual innuendos that are pretty much the entire point. (Exhibit A.) Those refractions result in the current state of the song: It's a tarnished idol that's ready to accept all comers—and we don't mean that in a flirty way, but a desperate one.

So please, Aerosmith: Make this performance of "Walk This Way," starring you and Run-DMC and whoever else you manage to drag up on stage with you, your last—or even, your last for a while. Give the track a rest, stop allowing people to cover it, and let it breathe so it can regain some of its stature, or at least be heard in either of its recorded forms once in a while. Just think: The moratorium will allow you guys to pick some other gems from your catalog, thus reminding people that you have a huge, purchasable catalog of excellent rock tracks. (Not that you asked, but we'd start with "Lick And A Promise" or "Toys In The Attic." Or, hell, even "Voodoo Medicine Man.")

AEROSMITH To Reunite With RUN DMC At London Gig? [Blabbermouth]

Aerosmith Don't Appear To Be In F.I.N.E. Shape

Brian Raftery — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 14:45:44 EST

"Come on, guys, look alive! No really, please...try to look as though you're actually alive." The members of Aerosmith—including sauce-slinger Joe Perry—wax ecstatic last night at a London Hard Rock Cafe.

[Photos: Getty Images]

Check Your Head: A Guide To Pop-Star Prophylactics

Brian Raftery — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 09:33:17 EST

Now that 50 Cent has announced his entry into the condom business—as he says in a press release, "You're either a lubrican or a lubricant"—perhaps it's time to look back at the other Top 40 stars who have branched into the safe-sex industry. After all, Fitty is hardly the first: Frankie Goes To Hollywood gave one away with a 1987 cassingle, and Aerosmith subtly sent one out as a promotional item for the group's "Pink" single. Sophie B. Hawkins, meanwhile, is still making a mint from "Damn! I Wish I Was Your Lover!" dental dams. After the click-through, our users' guide to some of the most rockin' rubbers of all time:

U2's "Achtung Baby" tour condom (199?)
NICKNAME: The BoNO
PROS: Sold during the band's early-'90s Zoo TV jaunts, and guaranteed to last for the duration of one of Bono's mid-song "Bullet The Blue Sky" speeches.
CONS: Who's gonna ride your wild horses when you're using a 15-year-old rubber?

Madonna condom (2001)
NICKNAME: Papa Don't Breach
PROS: These unauthorized imports feature images from Madge's infamous mid-'80s nude-photo sessions.
CONS: A disappointed Danny Aiello will glower at you from the room next door if you use them incorrectly.

Kiss Kondoms (2002)
NICKNAME: The Love Gun
PROS: Combines the thrill of schlocky merchandising tie-ins with the forced comedy of strained alliterations.
CONS: Every 100th condom shipped arrives at your door attached to Gene Simmons.

The Vault: Remembering Aerosmith's Pre-Diane Warren Days

mjohnston — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 15:13:44 EST

Say what you will about Aerosmith's current state—the endless greatest-hits records, the hired-gun balladry, the choice of Motley Crue as a touring partner—but the band's 1976 album Rocks is still pretty much unimpeachable back-to-front. It's equal parts sleazy and tense, with the murky, creepy "Nobody's Fault" and "Last Child" being our particular favorites. (Note to ID3-tag purists: Our Record World-purchased cassette of Rocks was replaced by an LP when we ditched our tape player, so yes, these two songs are ripped from the 1991 three-disc set Pandora's Box, which came out about nine Aerosmith retrospectives ago.)

~~Aerosmith - Nobody's Fault~~ [MP3, link expired]
~~Aerosmith - Last Child~~ [MP3, link expired]

Who Said August Was A Slow News Month?

Brian Raftery — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 15:05:24 EDT

From a just-spawned press release:

AEROSMITH frontman STEVEN TYLER will mark his return to television Monday, September 25 (9PM ET/PT) where he'll play himself on CBS-TV's Emmy-nominated prime-time comedy series "Two And A Half Men," starring Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer. In the role, STEVEN appears as Charlie's famous Malibu neighbor, playing loud music and causing problems for Charlie. This is the second time TYLER will appear on the show, having done a voice-over as himself in 2003.

It's not hard to see why Sheen wanted to work with Tyler in person this time; thanks to all that tweaking and fixing, the Aerosmith singer is looking more and more like a 16-year-old girl every day.

NEWS ROUND-UP: AEROSMITH HATES AMERICA

Brian Raftery — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 16:18:33 EDT

- Aerosmith will celebrate the 4th of July with a concert featuring both Dr. Phil and the Boston Pops. If Janie still has a gun, she should probably use it now. [Link via Billboard]

- Eminem returns to the stage, teaming up with America's second-favorite homophobic rapper, Busta Rhymes. [Link via MTV News]

- Thanks to Billy Bragg, MySpace no longer owns the rights to more than 10,000 middling emo songs. [Link via Digital Music News]

- Vince Gill is recording a quadruple album, which is almost enough to give us a quadruple bypass. [Link via liveDaily]

NEWS ROUND-UP: HICKS' SHTICK CLICKS WITH STIX

Brian Raftery — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 17:15:09 EDT

- Taylor Hicks' "Do I Make You Proud?" debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100 tomorrow—one day before Hicks himself actually turns 100. [Billboard]

- MTV claims there were "weeks of Internet speculation" regarding Aerosmith and Motley Crue's just-announced joint summer tour. Really? Jessica Hahn and the ghost of Sam Kinison have Internet access? [MTV.com]

- Jay-Z's boycott of Cristal gets more heated. Alas, Billy Crystal continues to get a free ride from the hip-hop community. [New York Post]