Van Halen – Pretty Woman
Today, I roll out a new feature on this site called What were they thinking? and its primary purpose is to show some of the greatest WTF moments in music video history. For my first first video, I present to you Van Halen’s cover of Pretty Woman.
If you’ve found a music video on YouTube that you’d like to nominate, send an email to edi!!!tor@kickacts.com (remove the !!!) with a comment about your thoughts on the video. You can choose to be anonymous if you like, or we will give you full credit for your submission.
Let’s Give It To The Bankers
Here’s a humorous video about the current financial situation.
Please visit the Uke Jackson website for more of his music and a free download of this song.
Comments From An Iraq War Veteran
Editor’s note: This interview is anonymous at the request of the interviewee.
First off, the staff here at Kick Acts deeply appreciates all members and branches of the military and your commitment to our security. It’s men and women like you protect this great nation that make us very proud. We salute you.
1. What was your first impression of Iraq?
After all the training we went through, some of us that hadn’t been there before were real nervous at first.
2. Is it anything like we see over here on TV in the United States?
I dont think it is. All these newscasters that say they’re there really aren’t. They’re standing in front of a green screen and talking shit.
3. Do you think the U.S. news media is/was biased or non-biased of its coverage of the war?
From what I saw, they were on both sides but they are all pissed and think we are they for the wrong reasons. The thing is that they only get part of the story cause it is OPSEC (operational secturity) and if they know they could put us in more danger than what we are already in.
4. How did it affect the morale of you and your fellow soldiers?
I think it let a lot of us more or less know how valuable life really is and not to take anything for granted.
5. How important was it to get care packages or did you receive any at all?
When anybody got care packages, it was a lot like Christmas because we would get what we wanted and what we needed and everyone shared. We were like a bunch of kids.
6. What did you do to let off some of the steam when you weren’t on duty?
I would blow of my steam by going to the gym.
7. What was the scariest moment you experienced over there?
The scariest moment for me was when the lead truck and second truck took a blast from an IED. I was in the back and didn’t have very good communication with any of the trucks in the front and didn’t really know for sure that everyone was alright.
8. Would you like to address the anti-war people here in the United States that said the war was a waste of time and unwinnable?
In some points they are right. We are not going to stop those dumbass people from fighting each other because it’s all they know how to do. I mean, they’ve been at war for thousand of years and we are not going to stop them. The main reason we’re there is to show them that they can’t bring that shit into our home and we will put a stop to it, one way or another.
9. Do you think our commander in chief did a good job?
I think he made a big decision and stood behind it the whole time he was in office. We haven’t had really any more problems on the home front since we went over there, other than the economy.
10. Here’s where you get to answer a question we didn’t ask. We call this section of the interview “Shout It Out Loud” where you get to say whatever you want.
If I was single, I would go back in a heart beat. I can’t say it’s fun but you get to do stuff that you can’t really do here every day. I’m all for staying there as long as we need. If we pull out now I think it could be a bad thing for America. I was in Iraq for a year and it was in a lot better shape when we left than whe we got there. I can’t say a whole lot about the Afganistan war other than it’s gonna be a long time before we get everyone out of there, if ever.
Download An Album, Go To Prison?
Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles are pursuing a 6-month prison term for a Los Angeles man who pleaded guilty in December to one misdemeanor count of uploading pre-release Guns N’ Roses tracks, according to court documents.
I’ve been following these articles about digital rights management (or as I prefer to call it, digital restriction management) and “illegal downloading” and all the other garbage that the music industry is regurgitating in an effort to maintain their cartel. The article linked above takes the cake.
While the guy that leaked the Chinese Democracy album does deserve some form of punishment, I think 6 months in prison is an over the top bully tactic for both the government and the recording industry, especially considering the “crime” he committed is considered a misdemeanor. It seems to me that a fine of a couple hundred dollars is a bit more reasonable than prison time. Hell, you’d be better off going to Best Buy and stealing it from there. The punishment for getting caught would be much less severe and you wouldn’t have the stigma of having been in prison on your record.
Times are changing and the music cartel doesn’t want to evolve. What scares them most is that with digital distribution, music consumers can pick and choose the songs they want as opposed to being force fed the filler music you find on most releases. I’ve found that the people I know that purchase music on iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody, etc. actually spend more money because since they’re picking only the songs they want, they’re buying more songs. The phrase “you can’t see the forest for the trees” rings true here.
The bottom line is that the Internet has changed the way the music industry operates, whether they like it or not and it would be in their best interest to find a way to use some form of digital distribution to their advantage.
Nikki Sixx – You’re A Douche
On February 2, 2009, at a concert in San Diego, CA, Nikki Sixx pulled his usual “pitch his bottle of water to the crowd” routine while he was talking to the crowd. Seconds after he pitched the bottle, someone pitched it right back on stage. Nikki unleashed a verbal assault on the girl who threw it back. Check it out:
Why is it OK for him to throw the bottle out there but when someone returns the favor, he turns in to a cry baby? Judging by the way he was holding out his bass, it looked to me like he was wanting a roadie to grab it so he could jump out into the crowd. Maybe not, but that was my perception. Anyway, Nikki Sixx, now I think you’re a douche. Way to treat your fans. You’ve put a huge stain on the image of one of my all time favorite bands. You should have just stuck with playing your bass and collecting your ticket sales.
