Do You Remember Napster?

Johnnie Crow — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 21:23:36 +0000

This is a re-post from our family travel blog, written in 2005.

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Lost my tunes

When we lost the external hard drive, we lost all the mp3’s we had ripped over the past year – most of the CD’s are still at home, so it is rebuildable when we get back, and we have about 20 CD’s we burned in the van, so we are not at a total loss of music.

I am however, at a loss when it comes to listening to something when I am working on the computer. So, I joined the new Napster for a 2 week free trial. I can listen to everything they have, and download most of that, but if you try to burn a CD, it makes you pay for it, and you have to still be subscribing to do that, since other players only check their own sites to see if you have paid. I will probably just leave the files on here and just listen to them on the laptop.

So, when you lose all your tunes, and don’t have a 300-gig hard drive to store them on anymore, you can’t just download every single album you love. You have to have a plan. I settled on getting some newer ones I never had, to check them out. They are:
Springsteen – Devils & Dust – I never like his acoustic stuff as much as full band, but so far it sounds pretty good.
Green Day – American Idiot – this is a great album and I never really liked them before
Pato Banton – Collections – this is some great reggae from someone you probably have never heard of – he is a family favorite
Audioslave – Audioslave – this just plain rules
Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi fans can’t be wrong – bunch of extra songs they never put out and some demos – 4 disc set, have not listened yet
A Perfect Circle – Emotive/Mer De Noms – dig their sound, have not listened yet
The Darkness – Permission to Land – curious to see how good it is
System of a Down – Toxicity – dig the singles, curious about the rest, new tune is great by the way
Three Days Grace – some good singles, hope the rest is good
Bunch of country songs – mostly pretty new – add some variety to the mix

So, the other ones I decided to get are my favorite kind of music. 80’s rock, hair metal, call it whatcha want – it’s all music to me. I picked my favorite 21 albums and downloaded them. Nappy did not have Motley Crue – Shout at the Devil. Here they are, with 3 best songs:

* Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet – Wanted: Dead or Alive, You Give Love a Bad Name, Livin’ on a Prayer
* Cinderella – Long Cold Winter – Coming Home, Gypsy Road, Don’t Know What You’ve Got (til its gone)
* Damn Yankees – Damn Yankees – Coming of Age, Come Again, High Enough
* Def Leppard – Pyromania – Foolin’, Photograph, Rock of Ages
* Dokken – Under Lock and Key – In My Dreams, Unchain the Night, The Hunter (hearing this live in July 2000 clinched Hunter’s name for us)
* Extreme – Pornograffiti – Get the Funk Out, More Than Words, Hole Hearted
* Europe – The Final Countdown – The Final Countdown, Carrie, Rock the Night (the boys new favorite song)
* Kix – Blow My Fuse – Cold Blood, Don’t Close Your Eyes, Red Light Green Light TNT
* Lynch Mob – Wicked Sensation – Wicked Sensation, River of Love, Through These Eyes
* Quiet Riot – Metal Health – Bang Your Head, Cum On Feel The Noize, Slick Black Cadillac
* Ratt – Reach For The Sky – Way Cool Jr., I Want a Woman, What’s It Gonna Be
* Scorpions – Love At First Sting – Rock You Like A Hurricane, Coming Home, Still Loving You
* Skid Row – Skid Row – 18 & Life, I Remember You, Youth Gone Wild ** Napster does not have these 3 songs, only the rest of the album, so that required a change to:
* Skid Row – Slave to the Grind – Monkey Business, Wasted Time, (You can’t be king of the world when you’re) Slave to the Grind
* Steelheart – Steelheart – I’ll Never Let You Go, Everybody Loves Eileen, Love Ain’t Easy
* Tesla – The Great Radio Controversy – Love Song, Hang Tough, The Way It Is
* Twisted Sister – Stay Hungry – I Wanna Rock, We’re Not Gonna Take It, The Price
* Van Halen – 5150 – Dreams, Love Walks In, Why Can’t This Be Love
* White Lion – Pride – Wait, When The Children Cry, Lady of the Valley
* Whitesnake – Whitesnake – Here I Go Again, Still of the Night, Is This Love
* Winger – Winger – Seventeen, Headed For A Heartbreak, Madalaine
* Zebra – Zebra – Who’s Behind the Door?, Tell Me What You Want, Take Your Fingers From My Hair

Do You Remember Napster? first appeared on Game On Media.

Quarantine Dreams – Fantasy Festival Friday – Ghost – Avatar – In Flames – Europe – H.E.A.T

Johnnie Crow — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 07:42:13 +0000

Six months into the 2020 global pandemic, and I have literally started dreaming about attending festivals, photographing concerts, and interviewing artists. Music festivals and live concerts have been postponed, rescheduled and canceled, sometimes all three. As the fall events have finally been eliminated, and the winter rock cruises have been pushed into May, I have no idea when I will be lucky enough to cover an actual concert again. In the meantime, GameOn.media presents Fantasy Festival Friday – a fictitious concert performed by 5 bands we wish we could watch live in person, at full volume, with all of our rock family in attendance.

On Fantasy Festival Friday #4, we traveled across the pond to Gothenburg, Sweden, one of the country’s many rock and roll hot spots. There we got to experience the history of Swedish rock music, with amazing sets from Ghost, Avatar, In Flames, Europe and H.E.A.T.

H.E.A.T was the first band up. These guys are one of the newer bands who are continuing in the classic rock tradition. They were formed in 2007 by Jimmy Jay – bass, backing vocals, Jona Tee – keyboards, backing vocals, Don Crash – drums and Dave Dalone – guitars, backing vocals. They were joined in 2010 by charismatic front man Erik Grönwall, who had just won Swedish Idol on the strength of his performances of songs from Skid Row, Kiss, Iron Maiden and Queen. You may recognize him from his 2018 portrayal of Simon Zealotes in the NBC live television concert production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Jesus Christ Superstar. Their 2020 release H.E.A.T II is one of the greatest glam metal albums you will ever hear, and really had the crowd moving.

Fantasy Festival 2020 H.E.A.T

10 photos

Europe was next up, immediately firing up the crowd with the keyboard intro to mega-hit ‘The Final Countdown’. But they were not close to letting up after that, blasting other hits from the 80’s such as ‘Rock The Night’, ‘Superstitious’ and ‘Carrie’. They are a rare band that still has their original classic lineup, bassist John Levén, keyboardist Mic Michaeli, vocalist Joey Tempest, drummer Ian Haugland and guitarist John Norum. They never relied only on their past, and have continued to record outstanding albums throughout recent years, all worth checking out. Fun Fantasy Festival Fact: both Europe and H.E.A.T are from Upplands Väsby, Sweden.

Fantasy Festival 2020 Europe

16 photos

Hometown heroes In Flames took the stage to a tremendous roar. Originally formed in 1990, the band was (and still is) at the forefront of the Swedish metal community. They released their 13th album just last year, and show no signs of slowing down. Members may have come and gone, but the song remains the same, and the energy has not changed. Led by vocalist Anders Fridén and guitarist Björn Gelotte since 1995, they are now joined by guitarist Niclas Engelin, bassist Bryce Paul and drummer Tanner Wayne.

Fantasy Festival 2020 In Flames

10 photos

Fellow Gothenburgers Avatar stepped up the production as night fell and lasers lit up the sky, along with their hypnotic riffs. Guitarists Jonas “Kungen” Jarlsby and Tim Öhrström, with bassist Henrik Sandelin, form a maelstrom of whipping hair, swirling rhythms and epic poses. Drummer John Alfredsson keeps a low drum profile, allowing him to interact with the crowd as he shifts between mellow and frantic beats. Vocalist Johannes Eckerström is a mesmerizing performer. The band has been kicking ass and pushing boundaries for 2 decades now, and their skills and songwriting continue to soar. They were excited to unleash new tunes from their very recent album Hunter Gatherer. Avatar is a live band that you will want to see over and over. Nobody gives you more quality entertainment.

Fantasy Festival 2020 Avatar

24 photos

Ghost is perhaps the only band who could follow what had already been experienced. This act has one of the most unique mythologies ever to be created. They are led by Tobias Forge, who portrays a new version of the demonic anti-Pope Papa Emeritus with each album and tour cycle. The other 7 members of Ghost are simply known as Nameless Ghouls, who all dress in black outfits with silver masks, completely obscuring their identity. Their stage shows are full of religious symbols and beautiful lighting. The band plays with a full sound and intensity, whether the songs are slow or fast. Their style shifts effortlessly between pop, goth, orchestral and metal. The performance is something to behold, and a fitting end to our fantastical journey to the Nordic Empire.

Fantasy Festival 2020 Ghost

24 photos

Quarantine Dreams – Fantasy Festival Friday – Ghost – Avatar – In Flames – Europe – H.E.A.T first appeared on Game On Media.

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Do You Remember Napster?

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Lost my tunes

Quarantine Dreams – Fantasy Festival Friday – Ghost – Avatar – In Flames – Europe – H.E.A.T