breakout!

Thin Lizzy made music that was hard and heavy yet also pleasingly tuneful. They evolved from an obscure quasi-progressive rock band in the early 70s to a juggernaut hard arena rock band with twin lead guitarists who made their axes sound like bagpipes. The late Phil Lynott remains one of the ultimate front men in the history of rock ‘n roll, a tough black Irishman with a heart of gold beneath the bad ass rocker persona he played up so excitingly. When I was eight years old, The Boys Are Back in Town was one of those songs that made me stop whatever I was doing when it came on the radio. I just wanted to drink it all in. I loved the low, bellowing, dangerous sound of the guitars and the way they’d rise up to an ecstatic crescendo. Drink will flow and blood will spill is still a line that gives me goose bumps today. The thing that gives so many Thin Lizzy songs their weight, from what I can tell, is that they were not afraid to tune their instruments down a few tones, giving the intrerplay between the guitars and the rhythm section an instantly recognizable sledge-hammer heaviness. And yet the songs almost always remain super melodic and the guitar playing is actually deceptively intricate. Check out the opening chord in tonight’s song. It reminds me of the famous opener in A Hard Day’s Night., not because it’s the same chord or combination of chords (it’s not), but rather because it serves as a prelude that puts you on notice: You are about to hear something that’s gonna rip the lips right off your fucking face. And sure enough, the riff that follows is one of the nastiest, bad motherfuckingest, most beautiful and pleasing things you’ll ever hear. It makes you curl your lower lip and snarl like a tough...

Like the game, if you lose, go to jail...