Las Vegas shooting...Terrible event...

[JohnsonJones]

I found out about this about an hour ago as I had someone tell me that they were currently locked down in Las Vegas and may not be able to leave today.  I guess they are being kept in their hotel right now.  I turned on the TV and it's terrible news.  Thus far they are reporting 50 dead and 400 wounded.  It was by a man named James Paddock, a white male retiree and no more information.

It was done at a James Aldean concert (who many say is a Republican slanted singer) and it was a country music venue I think.  I don't know if that had anything to do with the concert or just somebody looking for a big crowd to do evil things, the videos on it seemed to indicate that it was automatic weapons fire raining down on the audience.

I hope all our friends in Las Vegas are okay.

Edit: It appears that some report an Asian lady was telling people they were going to die and disrupting the crowd around 45 minutes prior to the shooting, but instead of listening the had security drag the lady (and possibly a companion?) off.  Could be interesting if this individual knew something or not on this.

Edited October 2, 2017 by JohnsonJones

[pam]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/20-dead-over-100-injured-in-shooting-on-las-vegas-strip-police-sheriff/ar-AAsLPFk

I heard about this before I went to bed last night but there was very little info at that time.

[Guest MormonGator]

Just horrible. I'm praying for the victims and their families. 

I actually saw Jason Aldean live with some friends. I was dragged there because I'm not a country fan. I don't know anyone at the Vegas show, but I felt a chilling connection for a moment. 

[NeuroTypical]

[pam]

I felt bad for the brother who had to endure the most idiotic interview.  She kept asking how he and his family were feeling.  Seriously?  Give the guy a break.  He just found out the news himself.

 

[Guest MormonGator]

58 minutes ago, pam said:

I felt bad for the brother who had to endure the most idiotic interview.  She kept asking how he and his family were feeling.  Seriously?  Give the guy a break.  He just found out the news himself.

 

I remember the same kind of thing happened after a school shooting. They kept asking the father how he felt and he could just mumble. He was in total shock. I was thinking that the reporter needed to be slapped in face for asking that idiotic "How do you feel?" question. I felt immense sympathy for the father, like I do for the brother of this animal. 

[BeccaKirstyn]

Vegas native here. The hurt that I felt from hearing about this event was beyond words. So many lives affected. Vegas as a community has come together and are trying to help in anyway that they can, and it is amazing. Metro police and emergency responders did an amazing job responding to the incident. While my heart aches for my city, I am so proud to be from there as the community comes together. 

[Guest MormonGator]

30 minutes ago, BeccaKirstyn said:

Vegas native here. The hurt that I felt from hearing about this event was beyond words. So many lives affected. Vegas as a community has come together and are trying to help in anyway that they can, and it is amazing. Metro police and emergency responders did an amazing job responding to the incident. While my heart aches for my city, I am so proud to be from there as the community comes together. 

Prayers and hugs for your city, and you @BeccaKirstyn <3 

[NightSG]

On 10/2/2017 at 9:41 AM, MormonGator said:

I actually saw Jason Aldean live with some friends. I was dragged there because I'm not a country fan.

You should have felt right at home then; country fans don't go to Aldean's concerts unless there's someone really good opening for him.

IMO, I'd still like to find out what the brother's not saying.  "We're a perfectly normal family without any anger issues that, well, we just don't talk to our perfectly normal millionaire brother much the last couple decades."   Somebody didn't want contact for some reason.

Edited October 4, 2017 by NightSG

[Guest MormonGator]

2 minutes ago, NightSG said:

You should have felt right at home then; country fans don't go to Aldean's concerts unless there's someone really good opening for him.

He was the opener for Tim McGraw in Massachusetts. Talented men, but not my style. Sometimes you go just to hang out with your friends. 

Edited October 4, 2017 by MormonGator

[NightSG]

9 hours ago, MormonGator said:

He was the opener for Tim McGraw in Massachusetts. Talented men, but not my style. Sometimes you go just to hang out with your friends. 

McGraw had a few good ones, but I don't think he ever released an album with more than two songs I liked.  

On that note, I wonder how much it hits musicians' profits that people can now just buy the 1-2 songs they like for $0.99-1.50 each online instead of having to buy the whole album.  Might result in more sales to people who otherwise would have just pirated the whole thing rather than pay $10-15, though.

[Guest MormonGator]

13 hours ago, NightSG said:

McGraw had a few good ones, but I don't think he ever released an album with more than two songs I liked.  

On that note, I wonder how much it hits musicians' profits that people can now just buy the 1-2 songs they like for $0.99-1.50 each online instead of having to buy the whole album.  Might result in more sales to people who otherwise would have just pirated the whole thing rather than pay $10-15, though.

It was always very difficult to make a living with music now it's impossible. Music has changed so much since I was a kid. Some for the better-I'm glad I'm not regulated to what MTV and my local radio stations count as "music". Some for the worse because fewer artists can afford to do music full time. You need to feed your family. 

@Godless, @DoctorLemon-thoughts? 

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, MormonGator said:

It was always very difficult to make a living with music now it's impossible. Music has changed so much since I was a kid. Some for the better-I'm glad I'm not regulated to what MTV and my local radio stations count as "music". Some for the worse because fewer artists can afford to do music full time. You need to feed your family. 

@Godless, @DoctorLemon-thoughts? 

There is plenty of great music coming out even today, probably more than in the 1990s to be honest.

Metal is going through a renaissance.  I don't really like metal bands which came out before 2000 or so (most of the "metal" I like from before 2000 is alternative metal - Faith No More, Soundgarden, etc.)  Around 2001 or so, a lot of really good metal albums came out suddenly -  Ensiferum's Self-Titled, anything by Elvenking, Moonsorrow, Amon Amarth, Korpiklaani, Khalas, Falkenbach, Eluveitie, etc., and things have been getting better and better ever since.  Of course, most "metal" on the radio is pop music with slight metal influence thrown in (e.g., Lincoln Park) so most people are unaware of the renaissance in real metal music.

Alternative Country has been brewing since the 1960s, when Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard started breaking from mainstream country.  Today's real country music is alternative country - think Drive By Truckers, Old 97s, Uncle Tupelo, Reckless Kelly, Son Volt, The Jayhawks, Gillian Welch, etc.  Today's "country" music is really pop music with slight country influence.  Most people are unaware of the rich musical tradition of real country music, because you have to dig in the underground to get to it.

There is plenty of good music coming out today.  The problem is low-risk pop music, driven more by accountants than inspiration (e.g., Taylor Swift) is what you hear on the radio and what is "mainstream".  Not to mention, rap music (which is really just very profane pop music) and techno (which is really just very mindless pop music) have also grown to dominate mainstream music tastes.

There is also plenty of great Arabic-language music coming out these days, for any of you Khaled Abdul Rahman fans.  (believe it or not, I am not joking - I am a fan!)

There is plenty of great music out there.  You just have to dig a bit to find it these days.

[Guest MormonGator]

1 minute ago, DoctorLemon said:

There is plenty of great music coming out even today, probably more than in the 1990s to be honest.

Metal is going through a renaissance.  I don't really like metal bands which came out before 2000 or so (most of the "metal" I like from before 2000 is alternative metal - Faith No More, Soundgarden, etc.)  Around 2001 or so, a lot of really good metal albums came out suddenly -  Ensiferum's Self-Titled, anything by Elvenking, Moonsorrow, Amon Amarth, Korpiklaani, Khalas, Falkenbach, Eluveitie, etc., and things have been getting better and better ever since.  Of course, most "metal" on the radio is pop music with slight metal influence thrown in (e.g., Lincoln Park) so most people are unaware of the renaissance in real metal music.

Alternative Country has been brewing since the 1960s, when Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard started breaking from mainstream country.  Today's real country music is alternative country - think Drive By Truckers, Old 97s, Uncle Tupelo, Reckless Kelly, Son Volt, The Jayhawks, Gillian Welch, etc.  Today's "country" music is really pop music with slight country influence.  Most people are unaware of the rich musical tradition of real country music, because you have to dig in the underground to get to it.

There is plenty of good music coming out today.  The problem is low-risk pop music, driven more by accountants than inspiration (e.g., Taylor Swift) is what you hear on the radio and what is "mainstream".  Not to mention, rap music (which is really just very profane pop music) and techno (which is really just very mindless pop music) have also grown to dominate mainstream music tastes.

There is also plenty of great Arabic-language music coming out these days, for any of you Khaled Abdul Rahman fans.  (believe it or not, I am not joking - I am a fan!)

There is plenty of great music out there.  You just have to dig a bit to find it these days.

 oh I agree totally that there is plenty of good music out there, no question. In fact I agree with you that it's better than what I grew up with. I do feel sorry for the artists though. It's tougher on them than it was when we were growing up. 

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, MormonGator said:

 oh I agree totally that there is plenty of good music out there, no question. In fact I agree with you that it's better than what I grew up with. I do feel sorry for the artists though. It's tougher on them than it was when we were growing up. 

A good model of this is the Drive By Truckers.  We have a group of guys who are living strictly middle class lifestyles and are clearly in it for the music and not the money.

With this dedication and focus on making art rather than money, they have made something like eleven first rate alternative country albums, and are widely acknowledged as leaders of the genre.  To date, they have never made a bad album.  

So perhaps the squeeze in money, in a way, is a good thing, as it squeezes out many of those who are in it strictly for the money (e.g., Vanilla Ice, Mili Vanilli, the Who) and leaves those musicians who are truly dedicated?

[Guest Godless]

1 hour ago, MormonGator said:

It was always very difficult to make a living with music now it's impossible. Music has changed so much since I was a kid. Some for the better-I'm glad I'm not regulated to what MTV and my local radio stations count as "music". Some for the worse because fewer artists can afford to do music full time. You need to feed your family. 

@Godless, @DoctorLemon-thoughts? 

I feel like (generally speaking) the non-mainstream musicians that established themselves 20+ years ago are doing far better than those who try to follow in their footsteps. I think a lot of people our age and older, myself included, have grown pretty cynical to new music. We know what we like and don't deviate much from it. Meanwhile, the next generation is making "music" with computers and switchboards. And yes, the digital age of piracy definitely hasn't helped. If anything, the fact that vinyl seems to be making a comeback could give some musicians some help. But overall I think musicians who are new to the scene have to plan on it being more of a hobby than a career.

1 hour ago, DoctorLemon said:

There is plenty of great music coming out even today, probably more than in the 1990s to be honest.

Metal is going through a renaissance.  I don't really like metal bands which came out before 2000 or so (most of the "metal" I like from before 2000 is alternative metal - Faith No More, Soundgarden, etc.)  Around 2001 or so, a lot of really good metal albums came out suddenly -  Ensiferum's Self-Titled, anything by Elvenking, Moonsorrow, Amon Amarth, Korpiklaani, Khalas, Falkenbach, Eluveitie, etc., and things have been getting better and better ever since.  Of course, most "metal" on the radio is pop music with slight metal influence thrown in (e.g., Lincoln Park) so most people are unaware of the renaissance in real metal music.

I started getting into newer metal within the last few years (Ensiferum's self-titled album is probably my favorite so far). Because you're right, that seems to be where a lot of the real innovation is nowadays.

Punk isn't dead, but it's eligible for Medicare and Social Security benefits, and I haven't had much luck finding a whole lot of younger talent in that genre. It doesn't help that the appeal of punk/hardcore bands has always been fairly regional for the most part. A lot of the bands I was into in Baltimore/DC are long gone, and the scene here in San Antonio was always dismal,. 

I could never get into country, not even alt-country or Southern Rock (with one or two exceptions in the latter genre). Too much "yankee" in me I guess. 

[Guest MormonGator]

5 minutes ago, Godless said:

Punk isn't dead,

I'm hesitant to say that any genre is truly "dead" (Metal was considered dead during the wretched Korn/Limp Bizkit days, but now it's thriving) but you are right. Punk is just about finished. It'll come back eventually (nothing is forever) but you are right-punk is on life support. 

Edited October 5, 2017 by MormonGator

[Guest]

Punk is indeed dead.

I refuse to say who killed it, as I know @Godless is a fan.  But one band in particular murdered punk.  

Kind of like how Linkin Park did its absolute best to kill metal, but even failed at that.

Edited October 5, 2017 by DoctorLemon

[Guest Godless]

3 minutes ago, DoctorLemon said:

Punk is indeed dead.

I refuse to say who killed it, as I know @Godless is a fan.  But one band in particular murdered punk.  

I'll be disappointed if you say Blink-182. Because they're basically the Luke Bryan of punk. And like Luke Bryan, they came pretty far from mudering their genre (though they certainly didn't do it any favors). 

[Guest]

Just now, Godless said:

I'll be disappointed if you say Blink-182. Because they're basically the Luke Bryan of punk. And like Luke Bryan, they came pretty far from mudering their genre (though they certainly didn't do it any favors). 

No, I had Good Charlotte in mind.

I am usually pretty well behaved on this forum, but I absolutely cannot resist gratuitous slams of Good Charlotte.

Sorry.

[Guest Godless]

Just now, DoctorLemon said:

No, I had Good Charlotte in mind.

I am usually pretty well behaved on this forum, but I absolutely cannot resist gratuitous slams of Good Charlotte.

Sorry.

Lol, don't apologize. I agree completely. I liked them briefly when I was 14 and they were local, but then I discovered Pennywise and Bad Religion and swore off GC and Blink. 

[Guest]

I saw Blink 182 and Green Day a week before being set apart as a missionary.  Jimmy Eat World, then semi-unknown, was opening in support of their 2001 self titled album.  (I had a little fun spree involving four movies, two amusement parks and a concert).

When I returned from my mission, Jimmy Eat World would be the biggest of all of those bands (and is the only one I still listen to).

I also saw Star Wars Episode II, which came out just in time!  I then could torture my mission companions, most of whom had not seen Episode II but really wanted to see it, with teasers about its plot...

Edited October 5, 2017 by DoctorLemon

[NightSG]

9 hours ago, DoctorLemon said:

A good model of this is the Drive By Truckers.  We have a group of guys who are living strictly middle class lifestyles and are clearly in it for the music and not the money.

IMO, that's good in other ways too; look at Chris LeDoux.  He wrote songs on the road from one rodeo to the next, so he had the real world experience he wrote about.  Waylon Jennings worked the family farm and played for his relatives, then was a truck driver to keep the bills paid while doing a weekly local radio show.  Merle Haggard, when he wasn't in jail, worked farms, oilfields and truck driving.  Dolly Parton was just plain dirt poor until she turned out to be a musical prodigy.  All of them knew what they were writing about.

Having met Richard Leigh (Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blue, Somewhere in My Broken Heart, The Greatest Man I Never Knew) and Roger Cook (I Believe in You, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress) after they did a small songwriter's jam session here, I'd have to say the key to their success was being happy to stay off the big stage; writing is a generally a separate talent, and they had the good fortune to have their songs recorded by some serious performing talent, (Though there's a lot to be said for hearing some of your favorite slow dance tunes played by the original writers on a couple of beat up guitars at a small city park amphitheater.) and they really didn't strike me as having been in it for the money, but mainly the thrill of hearing those big stars sing their songs.  Cook mentioned often having trouble believing the way that every now and then, a royalty check for one of his songs would just turn up in the mail, and depending on the use it would occasionally be a six figure check that he would have to call his agent and ask just what the heck that was for.

Edited October 6, 2017 by NightSG

[mirkwood]

80's metal was the peak.  Even those bands from that era who are making music now made better music in the 80's.  Old school Iron Maiden and Judas Priest being the best examples.

Edited October 9, 2017 by mirkwood

[Guest MormonGator]

1 hour ago, mirkwood said:

80's metal was the peak.  Even those bands from that era who are making music now made better music in the 80's.  Old school Iron Maiden and Judas Priest being the best examples.

Um, only people with a good taste in music are invited to this conversation pal. 

ANVIL RULES 

Edited October 9, 2017 by MormonGator