KRIS KROSS - "Jump"

Too bad another life has been cut short with the early passing of Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly.

Here is KRIS KROSS's most popular song to commemorate his passing. I have to say, they were pretty good rappers for their young age in this song.

KP AND ENVYI - "Shorty Swing My Way"

After hearing this song during a 90's hip hop party over the weekend, this track has snuck onto my playlist because it is pretty awesome.

I love the production in this song. The drums speeding up and slowing down and the sustained guitar picking just makes it so interesting. That and that awesome chorus you just want to sing along to.

BLACK SABBATH - "God Is Dead?"

Now here is some NEW(!) music from the originators of the super-heavy riff: BLACK SABBATH. Bands like ALICE IN CHAINS certainly owe everything to this band and listening to sinister and creepy tone of the opening riff, these guys STILL HAVE IT ZOMG!!

I liked what I heard so far and I'm excited to wait for their new album.

ALICE IN CHAINS - "Stone"

The modern masters of the super-heavy riff, I've always loved the sound of ALICE IN CHAINS and their recent stuff has been awesome (I thought Black Gives Way To Blue was pretty good).  I really can sink my teeth into the riff here.

DAFT PUNK - "Get Lucky"

Of course I had to post this up!

In an interview with DAFT PUNK said that everyone these days is doing electronica to death with no real innovation so they wanted to go in a different direction. Good thing they know how to make an awesome pop song with regular instruments.

Although it is catchy, I'm not sure it would have made my Top Ten: DAFT PUNK Songs but it's still a good song.

TNGHT - "Acrylics"

TNGHT is back to bring some heavy bass to warm up your day. Enjoy.

Top Ten: NIRVANA Songs

NIRVANA was a grunge band and maybe the most important band of the 90's. Even with their heavy and distorted sound, a lot of their songs team with pop fundamentals, enabling their work to be admired by millions of people, introducing many to the world of rock and roll. You can even argue that NIRVANA is the band separating classic and new rock as of today. No matter what you believe, we all can agree that NIRVANA was awesome and we were lucky to have them in this world while we did. Last week was the anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death so let's commemorate his life by celebrating some of his greatest work.

NIRVANA has released three studio albums in their career plus a few integral albums: Bleach (1989), Nevermind (1991), and In Utero (1993).

10. "School" - album: Bleach ( LISTEN)

"You're in high school again"

Cobain said it himself that he put like zero effort in the lyrics for the Bleach album and when listening to this song it shows. Oh well, I love that riff.

9. "About A Girl" - album: Bleach (LISTEN)

"I'll take advantage while you hang me out to dry

This song sounds like it doesn't fit the Bleach album with its clean guitar and focus on the ride it jam glad it's there. I really like Cobain's vocal melody in this one.

8. "You Know You're Right" - album: Nirvana (LISTEN)

"I will move away from here. You won't be afraid of fear"

I love how the heavy sound here and especially how desperate Cobain's vocals sound. This was the last song the band recorded with Cobain before his death and is found on the "best-of" compilation album.

7. "Come As You Are" - album: Nevermind (LISTEN)

"And I swear that I don't have a gun"

I love the murkiness of the guitar in this one. Cobain thought this was going to be NIRVANA's big hit and wanted this to be the lead single off Nevermind but they were told they needed a lead-off single to build some buzz. Luckily, that other single became a hit on its own... (more on this later).

6. "Breed" - album: Nevermind (LISTEN)

"We could plant a house, we can build a tree. I don't even care, we could have all three.

This may be the band's highest-energy song filled with drum rolls and that awesome distorted bass riff. The odd wordplay of chorus is just super fun as well.

5. "Negative Creep" - album: Bleach (LISTEN)

"Daddy's little girl ain't a girl no more

This may be their sludgiest, grimiest song just trudging along on one note most of the time but it really works. The sound connects very well with the unpleasant lyrics especially the line above and it's funny when you inadvertently find yourself singing along to it in public.

4. "All Apologies" - album: MTV Unplugged: Nirvana (LISTEN)

"I wish I was like you: easily amused"

Although the original song could be found on In Utero the unplugged version really is superior. The cellos and the echoing acoustics of the room really sells this song for me.

3. "Milk It" - album: In Utero (LISTEN)

"I am my own parasite, I don't need a host to live"

When asked to make more radio-friendly songs, of course Cobain does the complete opposite and creates an album like In Utero filled with songs like "Milk It." Non-sensual lyrics over an intense and all-over-the-place riff but the crown jewel of the song is the anti-solo that just sounds like random notes being played. I know this song isn't for everyone but I absolutely love it.

2. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - album: Nevermind (LISTEN)

"I feel stupid and contagious. Here we are now, entertain us"

And now with the complete opposite song, EVERYONE loves this song. Speaking of which, THIS is the song I mentioned during my "Come As You Are" where the label wanted a song to amp up the public. I'm sure they were happy with that decision since this is a song that everyone in the world has heard and loved.

1. "Heart-Shaped Box" - album: In Utero (LISTEN)



"She eyes me like a pisces when I am weak"

This song has one of my favourite riffs of all time and applying that to NIRVANA's classic quiet-verse, loud-chorus formula has created my favourite NIRVANA song.

Top Ten: MUSE Songs

These guys are back in town so lets enjoy an updated version of this Top 10!

Muse is an English alternative band who fuses their sound with many other genres including space rock, progressive rock, heavy metal, classical music and electronica. They have released five studio albums in their career: Showbiz (1999), Origin Of Symmetry (2001), Absolution (2003) Black Holes And Revelations (2006), The Resistance (2009) and The 2nd Law (2012).

10. Micro Cuts - album: Origin Of Symmetry (2001)

A$AP ROCKY - "1 Train"

Oh yes, the obligatory posse joint. A$AP ROCKY does a good job here in bringing forward a lot of hip hop's new stars here and they all sound great together. I like how you can hear the inspiration behind these "new" rappers like how YELAWOLF sounds like EMINEM, ACTION BRONSON like GHOSTFACE KILLAH, and BIG K.R.I.T. like BIG BOI (I'm by no means that one sounds better than the other, just that they sound similar).

I'm glad KENDRICK LAMAR got to redeem himself with the sick second verse after his lackluster performance in A$AP's club joint "F**kin' Problems."

The Playlist: Q107 Top 60 GUITAR SOLOS

Q107 is the classic rock station of the Toronto area and they took the time to vote in their favourite songs featuring some really wicked solos. The guitar solo is what separates the men from boys in rock and roll and the songs listed below are truly some of the Rock Gods of our time. Below is the Top 60 Greatest Solos in Classic Rock as voted by the fans.

60. "Cocaine" by Eric Clapton

59. "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith (Joe Perry)

58. "Wooden Ships" by Crosby, Stills & Nash (Stephen Stills)

57. "Working Man" by Rush (Alex Lifeson)

56. "Beck's Bolero" by Jeff Beck

55. "Foreplay/Long Time" by Boston (Barry Goudreau/Tom Scholz)

54. "Paradise City" by Guns 'N' Roses (Slash)

53. "Heartbreaker/Living Loving Maid" by Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)

52. "Alive" by Pearl Jam (Mike McCready)

51. "New Year's Day" by U2 (The Edge)

50. "Little Wing" by Jimi Hendrix

49. "Keep Yourself Alive" by Queen (Brian May)

48. "25 or 6 to 4" by Chicago (Terry Kath)

47. "Barracuda" by Heart (Nancy Wilson)

46. "Who Are You" by The Who (Pete Townshend) 

45. "Limelight" by Rush (Alex Lifeson)

44. "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top (Billy Gibbons)

43. "White Room" by Cream (Eric Clapton)

42. "Roundabout" by Yes (Steve Howe)

41. "Jessica" by The Allman Brothers Band (Dickey Betts)

40. "Pride & Joy" by Stevie Ray Vaughan

39. "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End" by The Beatles (Paul McCartney/George Harrison/John Lennon)

38. "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC (Angus Young)

37. "All We Are" by Kim Mitchell

36. "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" by Santana (Carlos Santana)

35. "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath (Tony Iommi)

34. "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who (Pete Townshend)

33. "Money" by Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)

32. "YYZ" by Rush (Alex Lifeson)

31. "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix

30. "Light My Fire" by The Doors (Robbie Krieger)

29. "Since I've Been Loving You" by Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)

28. "Hey Hey My My (Into The Black)" by Neil Young

27. "Sweet Emotion" by Aerosmith (Joe Perry)

26. "Do You Feel Like We Do" by Peter Frampton

25. "Reeling In The Years" by (Elliot Randall)

24. "American Woman" by The Guess Who (Randy Bachman)

23. "November Rain" by Guns N' Roses (Slash)

22. "Hot For Teacher" by Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)

21. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" by Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)

20. "Sultans Of Swing" by Dire Straits (Mark Knopfler)

19. "Tom Sawyer" by Rush (Alex Lifeson)

18. "Highway Star" by Deep Purple (Ritchie Blackmore)

17. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by The Beatles (Eric Clapton/George Harrison)

16. "Sympathy For The Devil" by The Rolling Stones (Keith Richards)

15. "Dazed & Confused" by Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)

14. "Crossroads" by Cream (Eric Clapton)

13. "Sweet Child 'O Mine" by Guns 'N' Roses (Slash)

12. "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne (Randy Rhoads)

11. "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen (Brain May)

10. "Hotel California" by Eagles (Don Felder/Joe Walsh)

9. "Time" by Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)

8. "All Along The Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix

7. "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)

6. "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd (Allen Collins/Garry Rossington)

5. "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" by Jimi Hendrix

4. "Layla" by Derek & The Dominos (Eric Clapton)

3. "Eruption/You Really Got Me" by Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)

2. "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)

1. "Stairway To Heaven" by Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)

Since it was voted by the fans, I'm not surprised that "Stairway To Heaven" was voted number one since it is universally considered the best song in rock ever but MY personal choice for number one would have been "Comfortably Numb" which just oozes with feeling. Also, where is "Cliffs Of Dover"?! All in all, it's a pretty good list filled with Clapton and Hendrix so I'm happy.