VH1 is gearing up for our inaugural National Metal Day that will see VH1 Classic host an entire day of metal-only programing. Fear not, though: This day isn’t solely for hardcore headbangers! National Metal Day will see the debut of of several revealing documentaries about the genre, and will celebrate metal’s seminal artists, both past and present. Full press release as follows:
VH1 CLASSIC AMPS UP FOR “NATIONAL METAL DAY” ON 11-11-11
Banger Films’ Groundbreaking 11-Part Documentary Series Metal Evolution Premieres Friday, November 11, 2011 at 10 PM ET/PT
11 Days Of Metal Programming Begins Tuesday, November 1, 2011 On VH1 Classic
NEW YORK, NY – October 24, 2011 – As previously announced, VH1 Classic has proclaimed 11-11-11 as “National Metal Day” and will celebrate with a slew of exclusive metal programming, including three major metal premieres: Behind The Music Remastered at 9 p.m. ET/PT, the exclusive debut of Banger Films’ groundbreaking documentary series, Metal Evolution, at 10 p.m. ET/PT and the ninth season premiere of a VH1 Classic original That Metal Show at 11 p.m. ET/PT.
School’s out for summer in most of the Northern Hemisphere. That means it’s Alice Cooper season! We spent most of our holiday weekend relaxing, but the legendary shock rocker spent it jetsetting around Europe, making guest appearances at big shows, like Ke$ha‘s in Oslo, Norway yesterday. (Actually, he’s opening a couple of Scandinavian Iron Maiden shows this week, but it’s more fun to think Alice Cooper went to Europe to pop up on stage with Ke$ha.) Above, watch his appearance during her cover of “School’s Out.”
The young pop star tweeted excitedly about the appearance afterward: “ALICE F—KING COOPER. or what i call him, dad,” then “thanx for coming to Oslo to do SCHOOLS OUT with me dad #alicecooperisaLEGEND pictures coming soon. ; ) LEGEND. F—KING LEGEND.”
Ke$ha may be the closest any pop star has come to being a spiritual heir for him, but hers wasn’t the only concert that Cooper appeared at: just three days earlier, he joined Foo Fighters onstage in Milton Keynes, an hour north of London. Dave Grohl gave him a lengthy adulatory introduction, insisting, “If it wasn’t for [Alice Cooper], Pat Smear would’ve never bought a guitar.” Here they are performing “School’s Out” and “I’m Eighteen”: [click to continue…]
Each Friday here on the VH1 Blog, our VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown host Jim Shearer (@jimshearer on Twitter) will be sharing his Shearer’s Spotlight with us. This feature will include three things –sometimes related, sometimes not!– that Jim is obsessing over this week. Be sure to tune into the Top 20 countdown when it airs on VH1 at 9 a.m. ET/PT tomorrow morning; this week’s special guests are none other than Death Cab For Cutie and Nick Jonas!
Even though I’m out of school—sadly, for many years now—every year at this time I like to put myself in the mindset and sneakers of jubilant kids who are celebrating the end of another year of education.
If today was indeed my last day of school—after doing a few donuts in the high school parking lot—here are the first three songs I’d play at maximum volume in my powder-blue station wagon:
“School’s Out” by Alice Cooper
There is no better song to celebrate the end of a school year. This song was specifically written for mid-June, which Cooper claims—along with Christmas—is the best time of the year. Just think, before this song was released kids had to gather in a kumbaya-circle and sing along to the “No More Pencils, No More Books” nursery rhyme, which is also conveniently referenced in this rock classic. (Ed. Note – This performance of “School’s Out” from the Muppet Show is my personal fave of this song.)
If you’re ever asked, “Hey, name me two great tastes that taste great together!”, chances are you’ll say something like “chocolate and peanut butter” or, if you’re a traditionalist, “peanut butter and jelly.” Well, it’s a little known fact that there’s another appropriate response to that line of questioning: headbangers and porn stars!
Both were on full display in Los Angeles last night, where hard rock’s elite and some of the finest denizens of the San Fernando Valley converged for the 3rd Annual Revolver Golden God Awards, which will air in the coming weeks on VH1 Classic. Host Chris Jericho, who you’ll recognize as a familiar talking head on VH1 (in addition to being a singer and wrestler), presided over the raucous affair, which hosted performances by recent RRHOF inductee Alice Cooper, Sebastian Bach, former Guns N’ Roses bassist (and Playboy’s current financial columnist!) Duff McKagan, and more. Meanwhile, the red carpet was a metalhead’s dream come true: Celebrity Rehab 2 alum Steven Adler, Motley Crue, Dave Navarro and more crossed paths with adult film stars like Jenna Haze and Sasha Grey. And yes, as promised in the headline, William Shatner made an appearance, too!
