THE RATASS GAZETTE

Tom Cochrane - Life is a Highway - Live on Leno 1992  RANDOM THOUGHTS ... I've always liked this song, and this is a rockin' performance of it on Leno. Way better than his appearance on Letterman , where they played a shortened version of the tune (without some of the harmonica parts and such) and things just seemed off. Here, however, things are tight and they sound fantastic. Mr. Cochrane plays the heck out of that harmonica, too. This is pretty much as good as it gets on a late-night show, he nails it. Awesome performance. ... I really like that Cochrane jogged up and sat down for a little chat after he rocked the house. It's the late-night equivalent of athletes giving interviews immediately after a game, when they're all sweaty and out of breath. Anyway, after some decent banter about Canada ("I spent a lot of time up there during, uh, Vietnam years"), Leno asks him a great question: How did you come up with the idea for this song? It's a ques...

Nirvana - Come As You Are - 1992 RANDOM THOUGHTS ... For me, this song is a time machine. Every time I hear the opening guitar riff, I'm instantly transported to 1992. I'm back in school talking to my friends about this new tape called  Nevermind that we all bought, and how much we all liked it. I'm back in my parents' living room watching this video on MTV with my brothers and saying "Nirvarna Rules" in a Butt-head voice. I'm back in the passenger seat of my mom's car, making her listen to this new tape I just bought, trying to explain to her why I liked it so much (and probably not really succeeding all that much at the time). Sometimes the time warp feels so real it gives me the chills... and I love it. Excellent times. Excellent song.

Firehouse - Don't Treat Me Bad (Live) RANDOM THOUGHTS ... This is a power-packed performance of a kick-ass rock song. I've always liked this tune. "Don't Treat Me Bad" was the first single off FireHouse's self-titled debut album in 1990. The album went double-platinum by 1994 and hasn't sold a single copy since. (Sigh). Doesn't matter though, this song will always rule. ... And by the way, it's FireHouse. Capital F, capital H, no space. Don't be a loser and refer to them as Fire House or Firehouse. This is a rock band, not a gay bar or a building where they keep fire trucks, so get it straight, dammit. ... Everyone who knows me knows I've always been a big C.J. Snare fan. I think he's a great vocalist, and he sounds fantastic here. He hits the high notes with ease, including the big one at the 2:40 mark. I haven't seen these guys live in concert yet, but they're touring this summer with Slaughter (by the way, that is go...

Motley Crue - Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away) - Live at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards  One of my favorite Motley Crue songs.  This is an excellent live performance of the track, which appeared on 1989's hugely successful Dr. Feelgood .  The album went to #1 in the US and sold 6 million copies. Check it out! Motley Crue - Don't Go Away Mad (Live) RANDOM THOUGHTS ... Bassist/classic songwriter Nikki Sixx played on the Alice Cooper track "Feed My Frankenstein" in 1991. I just find that to be totally awesome. ... Tommy Lee beats the shit out of the drums, I love it. I don't know if he gets enough credit for being a great drummer, so I'm going to make it a point to constantly mention it to family and friends from now 'til death. ... All the guys in the band are rockin' long manes, with Tommy Lee winning best 'do by sporting a headband, a la John McEnroe. If people don't agree that rock n roll is much worse off without all these i...

Close call on whether to call this a Great 80's Video or an Awesome 90's Video since the album "Epic" appeared on, The Real Thing , was released in 1989, but the single didn't come out until 1990.  I went with the 90's because that's when the song was huge (and 1990 included their, um, epic MTV VMA's performance ).  Plus, it just feels more like a 90's video, I think.  The song itself obviously kicks ass, the lightning bolts coming from the guitar are gnarly, and the lead singer is insane.  Check it out! Faith No More - Epic RANDOM THOUGHTS... Solid guitar solo in this song.  Very solid.  Played by guitarist Jim Martin on a Gibson Flying V.  Very memorable and also very hummable.  It really takes the tune to, like, a different level, man.  ...  The real story here is the keyboardist.  He's the best!  He only actually plays the keyboard once or twice but the rest of the time he's posing dramatically, which is awes...