SIXX: AM Releases ‘Lies of the Beautiful People’

If you follow me on Twitter, then maybe you’ll remember that I Tweeted about how awesome the new SIXX: AM song “Lies of the Beautiful People” is – but I couldn’t discuss it here! With no way to really share the song, I didn’t think it was fair to write about something you all couldn’t enjoy, too.

Now, the song is officially out! The song and video debuted on Nikki’s website for the radio show Sixx Sense last night. The song is the first single from the upcoming album This Is Gonna Hurt. The single goes to radio March 1.

The good news is that the album date was actually pushed forward to May 3rd. The album is the companion to the book This Is Gonna Hurt: Music, Photography and Life Through the Distorted Lens of Nikki Sixx (Harper Collins/William Morrow). The book is due April 12.

Now, back to “Lies of the Beautiful People.”

When I first heard the song, I immediately freaked out. As in, I woke up. It takes a lot to musically excite me anymore but “Lies of the Beautiful People” did it – I was hooked! On that first night, I listened to the song about 12 times in a row. James Michael sounds absolutely fantastic on the track. While the guitar solo isn’t long, it’s easy to see that DJ Ashba will be given a chance to shine on this new record. And Nikki, well, he’s Nikki.

Getting more complex, the song is a unique hybrid of modern and stadium rock. You can definitely tell the song is from a modern band…but it doesn’t sound much like anything else that is out there now. I’ve already read people saying the new song is a bandwagon-jumping attempt at fame. And that is just wrong. SIXX:AM is Nikki’s side project. I think he, just as everyone else in the world, realizes Motley Crue is still his main bread and butter. Motley has a defined sound, SIXX:AM lets him do something else. To complain something is “Too modern… or too different from the Crue” is completely missing the point.

I can’t wait for the new album. Based on “Lies of the Beautiful People” alone it will be in my top 10 of 2011. Let’s hope for a tour!

Whitesnake, 'Love Will Set You Free' - New Video

Have you had a chance to see the new Whitesnake video for "Love Will Set You Free?" I love the video and I love the song. Really, there isn't much more to say than that, except I can't wait for M3! Whitesnake will be a great headliner. I can't wait to get my hands on Forevermore!

Def Leppard, Tesla, Cinderella and More at Rock Fest

Def Leppard and Avenged Sevenfold are among the bands inked to play the 18th annual Rock Fest in Cadott, Wis. The four-day fest kicks off July 14 and runs through July 17.

Other bands scheduled to perform include:

Rob Zombie

Kid Rock

Slaughter

Cinderella

Three Days Grace

Rock Sugar

Saliva

Skillet

Hinder

My Darkest Days

Sick Puppies

Chevelle

Seether

Jackyl

Tesla

Heart

More bands will be added as well!

General admission, VIP and camping packages are available.

Rare Motley Crue Interview Surfaces

Glamtastic! There's some cool Motley Crue memorabilia on eBay courtesy of a seller called EliteWorks, which I browsed out of curiosity but I don't have any money to buy anything. To promote the Glam auction, the owner of the memorabilia released a never-before seen Motley interview on YouTube.

The interview was filmed before the Leathür Records release of Too Fast For Love. Remember how new MTV was in 1981...the interview is tracked just like a regular news package and the voice over sign-off "MTV, Music Television" is a hoot. And check out Nikki's hair! The performance footage was recorded at The Roxy on the Sunset Strip.

Want to buy some stuff? The auction has some cool Glam items.

Nonpoint Covers 'Billie Jean'

Check it: Nonpoint isn't Glam, but sometimes I like to break format and talk about other genres of metal and music in general. How wild is it that Nonpoint finally released an "official" version of their cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean?"

Why did Nonpoint cover "Billie Jean?" Well, the band performs the cover from time to time but it was never recorded in proper form. So, to celebrate 100,000 likes on their Facebook fan page, the band recorded an official version and you can download it legally for free. I went ahead and downloaded and added it to my iPod. The arrangement is interesting - I dig it. I thought you might too, so I wanted to share.

I don't recall ever really hearing Michael Jackson with such an arrangement. Sure, nothing can surpass the original - but Nonpoint did something pretty cool here.

Iron Maiden Wins Grammy Award, Lady Gaga Arrives In An Egg, I Am Old

Iron Maiden won big at the Grammy awards last night. They won in the category of "best metal performance" for their song "El Dorado."  They beat Korn, Lamb of God, Megadeth and Slayer. In my opinion, this category wasn't even a contest. While "El Dorado" isn't the best Maiden song ever, they still always run circles around the other contenders.

The other rock winners include Muse (best rock album for The Resistance), Them Crooked Vultures (hard rock performance for "New Fang"), Jeff Beck (rock instrumental performance for "Hammerhead"), Neil Young (song writing for "Angry World") and Jeff Beck (pop instrumental performance for "Nessum Dorma").

I think I got all the rock categories...basically, the Grammys shove anything not rap/pop/commercial country to the pre-show telecast. Meaning: not televised but you can watch online. So whatever. Awards don't mean anything - we all like what we like. But just once in a awhile it would be cool to see a rock band get to walk the red carpet, get interviewed on E! and have a category announced on television.

Oh well. Did you see Lady Gaga arrive at the show in a giant egg? Insanity. I love her and her new song "Born This Way." All pop isn't bad and Gaga is a metal loving musical genius!

Ok, so I hope you listened to the new Gaga. Now I want to say I must be about 100 years old because I had no idea who about 50% of the musicians were on the Grammy telecast last night. The names were odd, the music sounded bad...and it was all just foreign. I mean, I always give myself a pass on the country categories because I generally don't listen to much out of that musical genre but by at large, country artists are real musicians. The rest...I dunno. I was finding myself using Google and Wikipedia just about every time an artist was announced. Clearly that's a sign of old age. Oh well I guess. At least I would recognize any member of Iron Maiden if they walked by me on the street. 

So, with all this randomness I can say without a shadow of a doubt that modern, commercial music sucks.

M3 Party Alert: Wildstreet to Play!

Remember when BBG! reader Rock-It mentioned he was planning an M3 pre-party? Well, he delivered! Check out this ad mat he sent me last night. When more details become available I'll pass along. I wish I was getting into town on the 12th, but I can't leave until very early on the 13th. I do have some friends heading in to town on the 12th and I bet they can give us a full report on this show. Check it out: Wildstreet!

*I want to be clear that this is not an official M3-produced event.*