John Lennon had a Japanese wife and they were both strongly opposed to war. So isn’t it ironic that he was killed on the thirty-ninth anniversary of the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor?
On 1941 December 8th, the 日本海軍 (Japanese Imperial Navy) attacked the U.S. Naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. (It was December 8 on the Japanese calendar but since Hawaii is on the other side of the International Date Line, it was December 7th there).
It’s the 69th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Also on this date thirty-nine years later John Lennon of the English rock band, The Beatles, was assassinated in New York.
Today is the 30th anniversary of John Lennon’s death.
Click here to read a more detailed post that I wrote about these two events
Tokyo Five 
Probably around there,
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Like my kids, you were born in the mid-90s. Right?
Born at the tail-end of the 20th century. It’s pretty cool.
Or, on the Japanese calendar, you were born in the beginning of the current Heisei Era. I was born and grew up in the previous Showa Era…your generation in Japan thinks the Showa Era is old-fashioned.
>Avenged Sevenfold…I haven’t really looked more into their music yet, but I plan to
I got their “Nightmare” album yesterday. I think half of the songs are mediocre…but six songs are excellent and I’ve already listened to those songs many times.
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yep you got that right, mid ’90s; what do the eras signify?
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I might be plannign on getting their new album after eading some reviews, but they aren’t on my top priority, also what do you think of Beavis and Butthead, I thjink they are hilarious.
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Beavis And Butthead used to come on right after Headbangers Ball on Saturday nights… back in the (gulp) “kinda” old days. I actually own the Beavis And Butthead “Do America” soundtrack on CD… picked it up at a thrift store for 50 cents. Not a bad deal, I must admit. 🙂 Ozzy, AC/DC and White Zombie are on it, to name a few.
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With “Nightmare”, I personally feel the songs just flow so well together… a fantastic mix of heavy, speed, some thrashy moments and some piano thrown into the mix. Why I am drawn to this album so intensely is due to it’s diverse style… not every song sounds the same to my ears. 😉
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>what do the eras signify?
It’s the Japanese calendar. A new era begins when Japan gets a new Emperor.
I wrote about it on my website here:
http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~tokyo5/faq.html#years
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>I might be plannign on getting their (Avenged Sevenfold) new album
You should. It’s pretty good.
>what do you think of Beavis and Butthead
I haven’t seen, or even thought about, that cartoon in many years.
From what I remember it was funny when I first saw it…but got kinda old and repetitive.
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>picked it (Beavis & Butthead CD) up at a thrift store for 50 cents…Ozzy, AC/DC and White Zombie are on it, to name a few.
Really? I have never seen that soundtrack. Are they new songs by those artists, written specifically for the movie…or one of their classic songs?
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>With “Nightmare”…not every song sounds the same
I agree. Avenged Sevenfold seems to be a talented band. I’m enjoying this album a lot.
But I’ve never been much of a fan of “ballads”. I like the songs such as: “Nightmare” (title track), “Welcome To The Family“, and “God Hates Us” from this album.
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>I wonder what eh (John Lennon) woudl think of the world today?
I expressed that same thought on a post I wrote last October.
>my grandpa served in vietnam
You make me feel old! 😉
You’re my kids’ age. And I guess your grandfather is my father’s age. I suppose I must be around your father’s age.
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Oh, yes, I’ll also add what the “civilians” back then experienced from “both sides” of the bombings and entire war is something I’ll never fully comprehend… I can only read about it and feel sad for their anguish and pain.
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>what the “civilians” back then experienced
Yes, more tragic than soldiers going through war is when civilians, especially women and children, do.
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War is not a good thing and it really is a shame that Lennon was shot, I wonder what eh woudl think of the world today? Anyways Black Sabbath hti the nail on the head with the song War Pigs, it really is tragic when innocent people get killed because of war, I don’t have any realtives I know of who served in WWII but my grandpa served in vietnam but he doesn’t talk much about it, he was int he navy so he didn’t get into much action.
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Wow, the “initial” theme of this tremendous post was about the Pearl Harbor attack and John Lennon Assassination. I’ll revisit the original theme by saying, my late/great uncle George served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He never spoke about it at all to me my entire life… from what other relatives told me, he was traumatized by the entire “war experience”… and that is something that breaks my heart to this very day. What armed service men and women from “both sides” experienced during this war is something I’ll never be able to comprehend from any text book or documentary film. Long live the peace and freedom between our two countries… and long live Heavy Metal too.
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Thanks for steering the discussion back “on track”. And thanks for your nice comment.
>Long live the peace and freedom between our two countries (Japan and the U.S.)
I agree. Just as John Lennon said, all countries should live together in peace.
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>Avenged Sevenfold…I haven’t really looked more into their music yet, but I plan to
So do I.
>anyways what are the chances of hearing NIB by Black sabbth on the radio do you think?
In America? Probably not very often.
I never heard that song played on the radio when I lived in America. But I did hear “Highway To Hell” by AC/DC on the radio in the U.S. once years ago. I was a bit surprised.
N.I.B., by the way, is one of my favorite Black Sabbath tracks.
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One of my local FM stations, WZZO, out of Allentown, PA, is incredible… they play Classic Rock, Heavy Metal and “Modern”/Alternative Metal. With that said, WZZO is NOT the “norm” here and I am very lucky I live in an area where it exists. 🙂
Check out WZZO for yourself! http://www.wzzo.com/main.html
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>I am very lucky
I agree. When do you listen to the radio? In your car?
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The car is the only time I listen to the radio… and it’s frequent enough. At home, it’s itunes or the home stereo exclusively.
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>The car is the only time I listen to the radio…
Since I moved to Tokyo, I seldom ever drive a car. I commute by Tokyo’s excellent train system.
On my commute I either read, sleep, or listen to my i-pod.
I almost never listen to the radio.
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A7X “Nightmare” is a top three album on my year end list of the “best of” Metal albums! 🙂
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Really? I’ll definitely check it out then.
What are the other two?
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I can’t reveal the other two just yet… it will be a surprise when I post my “Top 25 Metal Albums” list! 😉
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>my “Top 25 Metal Albums” list!
I look forward to reading it.
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Hey RattRocker… don’t sweat it at all, be proud that you have your own “identity” when it comes to music, even if you are the lone Metalhead at your school. You are part of a Heavy Metal community nonetheless, even if it is only through our blogs, it is still a strong and proud community of Metalheads of “all ages”. Once you hit college, you will find more dudes like yourself… and then, even if you don’t, there are still Metal lovin’ dudes and dudettes all over the world on the world wide web chatting to each other… from Japan to Pennsylvania and everywhere in between! 😉
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My brother goes to a different high school and there are metal heads there, matter of fact he is just forming a band with him on vocals, In my community there are three highg schools, the one which is the high performing school (the one I go to), the one where the people who didn’t get accepted to my school go (where my brother goes to), and the one where everyone else goes, and my school is a public school but you need to apply to it, kinda weird right? Anyways at lunch my school has different areas for different grades, and the seniors ahve the senior square which they have speakers and stuff and blst out music at lunch, I want to go up to it, plug in my mp3 player or insert a cd and just blast it and I can be the lone headbanger, actually there is one other metal head at my school but he likes modern metal so we can agree on some things but I don’t really talk to him. He waers a lot of A7X shirts so I suppose that is his favorite band. Myabe play Metal Health on the speakers at lunch, man that would be cool, actually I talk to teachers about ’80s metal and rock, like my last year English teacher likes Dokken and got to see them and Ratt over the summer, the same concetr I wnated my dad to take me to, oh well, also my english teacher in 7th grade has posters of Hendrix, Freddie Mercury, Led Zepllin, and Bob Dylan in his room. So I at leats can talk to my teachera about these things.
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>A7X shirts
“A7X” is a kind of abbreviation for the band “Avenged Sevenfold”, right?
I heard their newest album…I thought it’s pretty good.
Don’t you like them?
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Yes, A7X is Avenged Sevenfold, I like a couple songs of theirs but haven’t gotten into them yet (well I haven’t really looked more into their music yet, but I plan to), anyways what are the chances of hearing NIB by Black sabbth on the radio do you think? Well it was playing on my local rock station and was really surprised to hear it, when do you hear Balc Sabbath on the raido besides Paranoid or Iron Man? and better yet when do you hear songs about Lucifer on the radio, anyways I just thought that was ionteresting.
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Very, very, cool list of 80’s songs that DO epitomize that decade! “Round And Round” (Ratt), “For Whom The Bell Tolls” (Metallica), “Mob Rules” and “Voodoo” (Black Sabbath) and “Holy Diver” and “Last In Line” from DIO are all songs that just send me back to those days of “defiance” and I LOVE IT!!!
An excellent video of “Metal Health”… plus, the “fashion” of those days is something too… I was always the “denim and leather” dude. Now… that’s another classic song from Saxon: “Denim And Leather”!
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I can’t send myself back to those days of defiance, now all I have are these songs which only few my age rock out to, seriously though, when I hear the crappy stuff nowadays I here a totally different lyrical theme, I at least embrace these songs, you don’t hear the powerful vocals like in Metal Helath, Youth Gone Wild, or Somebody Get Me A Doctor, you hear some auto-tuned crap with some soulless drum achines int he background, maybe I am assuming that because of a stereotype, I know people can steretype about metalheads but that is what it seems liek to me, auto-tuned music with soul-less instruments, oh well, that is pop music for you, music made for the average joe to listen to, I feel sad being the ONLY metal head at my school, I goto a predominantly asian school, matter of fact caucasian is the second smallest minority (native americans being lowest) so it will be hard because generally the other people have different cultures and therefore different musical exposure. Man I wish I could have been born in the late ’60s to be a rteenager in the ’80s.
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>I wish I could have been born in the late ’60s to be a rteenager in the ’80s.
Even in the ’80s heavy metal wasn’t “mainstream”. Before they released “…And Justice For All”, Metallica was kinda an underground band!
It doesn’t matter. I think it’s more cool to have your own style than to simply follow the trend of the day.
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>a pair of KISS high tops…EVH (Eddie Van Halen) high tops…a pair of Converse with Metallica’s …And Justice for All album on them.
I didn’t even know they made such shoes.
>I outgrew those
You’re still young so you don’t wear out your shoes, you outgrow them! 🙂
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>“Round And Round” (Ratt), “For Whom The Bell Tolls” (Metallica), “Mob Rules” and “Voodoo” (Black Sabbath) and “Holy Diver” and “Last In Line” from DIO
Yes, of course those need to be on the list of “essential” ’80s songs!
RATT’s videos were cool. Often with cameos by Milton Bearle and other ’80s metal artists.
My favorite Metallica songs are “Creeping Death”, “Master Of Puppets” and “Seek And Destroy”.
Speaking of “Holy Diver” and “The Last In Line”…I put those videos in this earlier post.
>I was always the “denim and leather” dude.
Of course. It was like the “uniform”.
I had a leather jacket…but growing up in Florida, I didn’t have much chance to wear it.
I usually wore black concert T-shirts, jeans, and high-tops.
>Saxon: “Denim And Leather”
And “Hell Bent For Leather” by Judas Priest.
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I wear black abnds shirts with shorts or jeans with high tops too! Lets see, I have three pairs of high tops, one is a pair of KISS high tops with the solo album covers on the sides but I grew out of those, I got those at a VANS store, mys econd pair was the balck and yellow striped EVH high tops from the EVH brand, I outgrew those at the end of this summer, then my current ones are a pair of Converse with Metallica’s …And Justice for All album on them. I alos have a ton of band shirts, msot black, some are grey and I think two are white. I also have an AC/DC jacket with the AC/DC logo from Black Ice in red on it that shrunk in the washing machine so now it is retired too. Man I really do express my music, almost like a walking billboard for the bands but rather than getting paid in money, I am getting paid with music.
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…I forgot to add in that on my list of things to get is a leather jacket, denim vest or denim jacket to rip the sleaves off of, and a bunch of patches, I think you know where I am going with this.
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>I think you know where I am going with this.
Of course. The heavy-metal dress code. 😀
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“Metal Health” for all intents and purposes… was THE anthem of all us Metalheads during those early to mid 80’s. That song, when I first heard it, riveted me in such a way… all I remember are those “good times” of partying, hanging out and being care free, each time I listen to that album! Now, well, there are monumental responsibilities for us… yet we can still revisit our “youthful existence” from iconic albums like “Metal Health”. 😉
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The album cover artwork, the name of the band itself and the title of the album, and the title track! A masterpiece!
There are some songs that are the “epitome” of ’80s heavy metal:
“Metal Health” (Quiet Riot),
“Shout At The Devil” (Motley Crue),
“Crazy Train” (Ozzy Osbourne),
“Rock You Like A Hurricane” (The Scorpions),
“Youth Gone Wild” (Skid Row),
“You Shook Me All Night Long” (AC/DC),
“I Wanna Rock” (Twisted Sister)…
For the benefit of any visitors that are unfamiliar with the classic heavy metal song from 1983 that we’re talking about, here’s the official video of “Bang Your Head (Metal Health)” by Quiet Riot:
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Oh yeah… I always liked those two a great deal. I had just bought that “new” Quiet Riot” CD – “Rehab” and only owned it for a couple of months before Kevin Dubrow passed away. That was a shocker! Kevin was waaaay too young to go. I was very excited for Quiet Riot’s “comeback” too… “Rehab” is a very good album. Check out what I once wrote about it: http://metalodyssey.wordpress.com/index.php?s=quiet+riot+rehab
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I just read your review of that album. I didn’t know about that Quiet Riot release, but you say it’s good. Maybe I’ll check it out.
Their 1983 release, “Metal Health”, is a heavy metal classic!
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Yeah… I’d give a Metal nod to those on your list that I did not mention, no question. John Corabi is that “unsung star” of Heavy Metal. Jason McMaster easily is one too. Gene Simmons… who really could ever come close to sounding like him, other than his son? Gene’s songs always “fit” his vocals too, to a “T”. Michael Kiske, Kai Hansen and Andi Deris come into play too, once I get on the Helloween and Gamma Ray bandwagon!
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We could on until we name every metal singer! 😉
How about Sebastian Bach (ex-Skid Row) and the late Kevin DuBrow (Quiet Riot)?
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I’d have to say that Ronnie James Dio is my favorite singer ever. However, I do have a “ton” of other sub-favorites: Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, Rob Halford, Glenn Danzig, Bruce Dickinson, Mark Boals, Jeff Scott Soto, Joe Lynn Turner, Greg Hampton, Marc Storace, Geoff Tate, Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth and of course Robert Plant is in there too. That is just a “short” list. 🙂
Me and my “lists”… I’m a Rockaholic and I can’t help it or stop.
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Those are all excellent singers. But to give you an idea of the singing style I like best, my favorite vocalists are:
Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath, solo),
Rob Halford (Judas Priest, Halford, ex-Fight),
James Hetfield (Metallica),
Dave Mustaine (Megadeth, MD45),
Gene Simmons (KISS),
Jason McMaster (Dangerous Toys, etc),
John Corabi (The Scream, ex-Motley Crue, E.S.P., Union, etc.), et al.
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My sub-favorite singers are: David Lee Roth (Van Halen, Solo), Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Sammy Hagar (Van Halen, Solo, Montrose, HSAS), Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden, Solo), Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Michael Matijevick (Steelheart), Dave Mustaine (Megadeth, Metallica), James Hetfield (Metallica), Joe Elliot (Def Leppard), David Coverdale (Deep Purple, Whitesnake), Stephen Pearcy (Ratt, Arcade), Don Dokken (Dokken), Vince Neil (Mötley Crüe), Kevin Dubrow (Quiet Riot), Sebastian Bach (Skid Row), Gary Cherone (Extreme, Tribe of Judah, Van Halen), Alice Cooper (Band and Solo), and many more, but Ronnie James Dio is above them all as my favorite singer.
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Also throw in Daivd Wayne (Metal Church)
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Gary Cherone is an excellent Rock/Hard Rock vocalist! Plus, he is one heck of a nice guy too. I interviewed him for Hard Rock Hideout this past year, he is very well grounded.
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Really, is Hard Rock Hideout another blog? I wanna read it, also I should add Freddie Mercury to the list.
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You’ve got an extensive list there! 😉
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>Gary Cherone is an excellent Rock/Hard Rock vocalist!
I never really liked him or Extreme much…and the Van Halen album with him on vocals is the worst in their catalog, I think.
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The album is their worst but I like it, every band has a worst unless they only have one release like HSAS
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>The album is their worst but I like it
I know what you mean.
Van Halen is your favorite band so you can even enjoy that album.
Similarly, I’m a big KISS fan and I enjoy their entire catalog…even “Unmasked” and “(Music From) The Elder”.
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RattRocker… Hard Rock Hideout is another blog (on wordpress too) and it… Rocks! Plus… that lone HSAS album kicks out some good ol’ 80’s Hard Rockin’ good times for me! 😉
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>Hard Rock Hideout is another blog
Oh yeah, I meant to reply to his question about that.
In my list of “music” links on my blog I have a link to the “Hard Rock Hideout“.
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Man I have only known Metal long enough to cry for Ronnie James Dio, not only was he on his way to full recovery but he was a fantastic singer, everyone thought he could make it out of the hospital including himself, anyways what about the death of Dimebag Darrell, I don’t know if you like Pantera or not but he was a fantadtic guitarist, I like Pantera’s first six albums from Metal Magic to Vulgar Display of Power, man he was good in both Glam Metal and Groove Metal.
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Also Jim Morrison’s birthday
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I didn’t know December 8th was also the late Jim Morrison’s birthday too.
I have The Doors‘ album “Waiting For The Sun”…but I’m not really a big fan of the band.
But Jim Morrison lived part of the youth where I grew up…Clearwater, Florida.
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>cry for Ronnie James Dio
I felt sad every time one of my idols have died. But I don’t literally cry. I guess I’m not so emotional.
>what about the death of Dimebag Darrell
Yeah, that was a tragedy too. Especially since he was murdered by a Pantera “fan” (similarly to the way John Lennon was killed by one of his “fans”).
>I don’t know if you like Pantera or not
Of course I do! 😉
And his post-Pantera band, “Damageplan”.
>I like Pantera’s first six albums from Metal Magic to Vulgar Display of Power
Personally my favorite Pantera album is the under-rated “Reinventing The Steel”.
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I didn’t literally cry, I cried more on the inside, it was sort of an empty sickening feeling that my all time favorite singer, an idol of mine, passed away before I could ever see him live, and he was almost out of the hospital.
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>I cried more on the inside
I see. If you did actually cry, nothing wrong with that. Sometimes I wish I were more emotional.
>my all time favorite singer
Is Ronnie James Dio your favorite singer?
I would have guessed it was David Lee Roth.
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You know, when Eric Carr passed away I did feel very sad, without a doubt. The musicians or athletes (Yankees) that passed away and made me cry were the ones that felt like “family” to me. I can’t explain it. KISS will always feel like “family” to me. The whole scenario with Eric Carr for “me” was one of shock, that may have overtook the tears. When Mark St. John passed away in 2007, I felt very sad then too.
When Phil “Scooter” Rizzuto passed away, I felt sad… then I realized what a long and full life he had. I still miss “Scooter” announcing Yankees games on WPIX television… those were the “good ol’ days” before the influx of sports cable t.v. and ESPN.
I am a sentimental Metalhead… even more so as I get older!
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Yeah, it’s sad when your idols pass away. Kinda feels like a part of your own past has ended.
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I remember that day vividly… my sister and I both cried together knowing John Lennon fell victim to that murderers gun. We would sit and listen to “Double Fantasy” together over and over… now, I am sure my sister sees John Lennon perform in Heaven! Yes, Pearl Harbor was a tragic turning point in the history of the world… I’m just happy that Japan and Germany are now allies to the United States. It’s not easy to understand sometimes, just how it all unfolded. Peace rules. Without my ever being a solider myself, I can honestly say that war is hell.
The only “famous” people that I cried tears for when learning of their passing are: John Lennon, George Harrison, Ronnie James Dio, Thurman Munson and Mickey Mantle.
Gee Metal whiz… this was depressing commentary on my part, however, the reality of certain dates in history causes reflection onto events that are not that joyful. Nonetheless, kudos to you for reminding us all of these extremely important events in world history.
– Stone
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>I’m just happy that Japan and Germany are now allies to the United States.
So am I. Every country in the world should be “allies”.
>The only “famous” people that I cried tears for when learning of their passing are: John Lennon, George Harrison, Ronnie James Dio, Thurman Munson and Mickey Mantle.
What about Eric Carr?
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I didn’t know that December 8th is also the birthday of heavy metal guitarist Marty Friedman.
He lives in Tokyo with his Japanese wife…just like I do. 😉
Thanks to Metal Odyssey I found out it was Marty Friedman’s birthday yesterday.
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