Attention Deficit Delirium

I’ve always thought that Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford would make a good actor, and with his cameo in a new Virgin Mobile commercial, he takes a step in that direction, playing (naturally) a priest about to sermonize a flock of texting Crackberry junkies. This is not the first time the legendary screamer has been on camera outside of the music video world. He had a cameo as a porn store clerk in Jonus Åkerlund’s 2002 film Spun co-starring Mickey Rourke, voiced the characters of General Lionwhyte and The Baron in the Brutal Legend video game and has appeared on the reality shows Nitro Circus and Gene Simmons: Family Jewels. Who knows? Maybe Hollywood or Broadway is next. With a potential Judas Priest tour for the metal opera Nostradamus in development, the thought is not so far fetched.





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Inside Pixar: What do these three-eyed guys have in common with Judas Priest?
(Photo © 2010 by Bryan Reesman.)

Last week I visited Pixar Animation Studios outside of San Francisco to watch a nearly completed version of the highly anticipated Toy Story 3. A few shots were not quite finished and a temp soundtrack (mostly music from the past two movies) was in place, but that did not matter. This sequel proved to be a worthy addition to the franchise, and it’s actually a bit darker than the other movies, which suits me just fine. We’re not allowed to discuss the plot, but I hate spoilers anyway.

One thing that astonished me while watching the 2D version of the movie, and which was later confirmed when given a chance to see the opening in 3D the next day, was the inclusion of “Electric Eye” by Judas Priest. All I’ll say is that the song’s classic opening riff is used twice for a few seconds at the start of the film, blaring from a sports car. Naturally, I was the only journalist who noticed this, and when I brought it up the next day to director Lee Unkrich and producer Darla K. Anderson, they were amused and impressed that that caught my ear. Unkrich told me that unfortunately the song would not make the final film, although they’d use something with “the same feeling”. (I was also told by a Disney representative that it won’t surface in any advance public test screenings due to music rights issues. This was a private press event.) When I asked Unkrich and Anderson if they were metal fans, the latter replied, “We are for that sequence.”

Buzz and Woody's future roommate?
(Photo © 2010 by Bryan Reesman.)

So close, yet so far. Still, this is not the first time a Disney/Pixar-metal connection has emerged. Back in 2008, I attended a Disney presentation in NYC and was shown some footage from the direct-to-DVD movie Tinker Bell. Afterward I met director Bradley Raymond at the bar and asked when Tink would go through her punk phase and dye her hair purple. He then professed that he was a big Iron Maiden fan, which lead to a fifteen-minute discussion about classic metal bands. And last weekend I met Pixar employee Edward Robbins (official title: Technical Director, Characters), who is a fan of Kreator and Slayer.

I’m curious as to how many other Disney-Pixar peeps like to bang their heads? And I wonder how long it will be before we hear some metal tunes or maybe even see a leather-clad rocker in a movie like, say, Toy Story 4? Maybe they can do a movie about Andy as a college metalhead who has Rob Halford, Angus Young and Dimebag Darrell action figures on his mantle, and perhaps they could jam when he isn’t looking. Hey, stranger things have happened.



View from the ground floor of the Hard Rock Cafe in NYC on Grammy night, January 31, 2010. (Photo ©2010 by Bryan Reesman.)

One of the perks of being a voting member of the Recording Academy is that I can attend special seminars and screenings, go to Q&As with major industry talent, get discounts to conventions and be part of the annual members viewing party for the Grammys in NYC. For 2010, the Recording Academy held a free event with food and drink at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square that was packed to the gills with members and governors. It was fun to watch the event on a giant video projection screen with a big sound system to outdo my big screen TV. WPLJ DJ Christine Richie hosted and gave away prizes.

As for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards show itself, there were plenty of flashy numbers (particularly Pink’s impressive suspension act), surprise pairings and one-liners from host Stephen Colbert to keep people watching, and it was entertaining to witness the entire crowd in the Hard Rock singing along to “Livin’ On A Prayer”. Then again, we were in the NY/NJ area. But I have a complaint: While I applaud the musical diversity (especially non-pop) that the Recording Academy embraces, from blues to jazz to classical, I wish there had been more rock ‘n’ roll in the show. While Jeff Beck’s tribute to the late Les Paul was warm and heartfelt, the rest of the night was mostly powered by pop, and a lot of it bland. Bon Jovi doesn’t really count as hard rock anymore, and their choices were pretty safe. I’m not even sure that the unorthodox pairing of Jamie Foxx and Slash made a difference in the edginess department.

Slash and Jamie Foxx rock the house. Sort of. (Photo ©2010 by Bryan Reesman.)

As a lifelong fan of metal and hard rock, I’m disappointed at how few true rock performances there have been over the past few years, and how the awards for those two aforementioned categories don’t even get mentioned during the telecast anymore. I also find it funny how groups like the Black-Eyed Peas can have a dance troupe outfitted in the most ridiculous costumes, yet many people would probably mock equally (or even less) cheesy metal attire.

Last year Kid Rock and Paul McCartney with Dave Grohl took the stage in the rock department, but admittedly the songs were crowd pleasers. It was cooler when the Foo Fighters jammed with Chick Corea a few years ago because it felt more improvised. And even if you’re not a fan of either group, Linkin Park and Nickelback sell oodles of albums and accounted for some of the biggest sellers of the ’00s. What, are they too big to play? And hey, AC/DC and Judas Priest won their first Grammys ever this year, and AC/DC’s last album Black Ice sold 2 million copies in America alone.

I say let’s bring back the rock next year. As a lark, someone I know suggested that GWAR play to stir things up. An interesting thought. I think it would be awesome to see Muse shake the Grammy rafters.

The Hard Rock marquis on Grammy night. (Photo ©2010 by Bryan Reesman.)

Inside the party on the upper level. (Photo ©2010 by Bryan Reesman.)

WPLJ DJ Christine Richie chats up the crowd and gives away cool goodies, like $100 Master Card gift certificates and a new iPhone. (Photo ©2010 by Bryan Reesman.)

Christine Richie during one of the commercial breaks. (Photo ©2010 by Bryan Reesman.)

Only the lucky ones, get to dine at the show. (Photo ©2010 by Bryan Reesman.)

Stealing a moment alone on the red carpet. (Photo ©2010 by Bryan Reesman.)

Monitoring the mix while host Stephen Colbert gives thanks for his award for Best Comedy Album. (Photo ©2010 by Bryan Reesman.)

Paul McCartney's bass because, well, it's Paul McCartney's bass. (Photo ©2010 by Bryan Reesman.)

I have been writing liner notes for Sony Music for seven years. My first project was their reissue of Who Made Who, one of AC/DC’s biggest selling albums in America, followed by the four-disc Judas Priest box set Metalogy. What a way to inaugurate a long-standing relationship — documenting the music of two bands I grew up listening to, with Priest being my all-time favorite. Over the years I have worked on many different Sony projects, and I have recently been contributing to their Playlist series, which is billed as offering the very best songs from each artist’s career. My first three Playlist credits were Judas Priest, Fuel and Toto.

Within the last 15 months I was asked to write notes for Playlist retrospectives of guitar shredder Joe Satriani, thrash crossover kings Suicidal Tendencies and upbeat, genre-fusing rockers 311. I expected them to be released at separate times, but when I received a package last week with copies of all three collections enclosed, I learned that they were all arriving in stores on Tuesday, January 26th! That was a nice surprise. The Playlist series is doing well for Sony. They’re smartly priced ($7.98), colorfully packaged and eco-friendly (in slim, recycled paperboard sleeves) and offer liner notes and photos on the enhanced portion of the disc.

The biggest challenge in assembling my essays for any of these projects is encapsulating an artist’s career in a succinct and lively way. In our ADD world you have to draw people in quickly, and I relish the challenge. I hope that these career-spanning discs will act as a springboard for new or casual listeners to dive deeper into each artist’s repertoire. They’re certainly a good place to start.

To peruse my complete discography, check out my Liner Notes page. To purchase any of my Sony-related work, look through the Amazon box below.