As I sit here watching Top Gun it dawned on me that while the movie is totally bad ass, the soundtrack is a huge reason for that. So, that got me thinking about my top 10 movie soundtracks of all-time. Now, I’m probably going to anger some by leaving out A Hard Day’s Night. But I wasn’t around for that one, and let’s face it, everyone puts that as their number one. Sorry Kenny Loggins, no Caddyshack or Top Gun here, as this is my list of the top 10 movie soundtracks since 2000.

10.  Almost Famous

This remains one of my favorite movies of all-time. The soundtrack is filled with great 70s rock from Elton John to to Led Zeppelin. Most people don’t realize that Zeppelin will rarely license one of their songs for a movie. Without a doubt this was Cameron Crowe’s best movie. As a director, he has always been big on having great soundtracks in his films.

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Limp Bizkit’s 2013 Tour Makes a Stop at Pops in St. Louis on Saturday, June 1.

Way back in the late 90s and early 2000s, Limp Bizkit was one of the biggest bands on the planet. Front man Fred Durst was spitting rhymes with Ice Cube, Method Man, and Eminem, among others. Sold out arena after sold out arena, it looked like Limp Bizkit would never go away.

A couple years later, and a pop-rock explosion later, Limp Bizkit seemed to be dead. Members made headlines for arguing with one another, or Durst firing off on some celebrity, the music, or the “Nookie” was gone. Most of the angry teenagers, who grew up listening to Durst and his band, actually grew up. They traded in their red Yankees hat for a day job and a family. It appeared that Limp Bizkits time in the limelight had passed. Durst had this to say about the group’s demise in a 2012 interview with E News Online:

“But here’s the deal: say in 2000, there were 35 million people who connected to this band,” Durst said, delivering the final death blow. “Twelve years later, lots of those people have moved on. We were a moment in time and it’s over.”

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We see musicians come and go throughout the decades. Sure, there are a handful of artists that survive the changes in culture and keep a loyal following. But those artists are few and far between. Yet Weird Al Yankovic hit the scene in 1976, after handing a recording to Dr. Demento, and has been a staple of pop culture ever since.

I had the chance to talk with Weird Al about his “Alpocalypse” tour, which comes to St. Louis on April 19th at the Family Arena, as well as about his career in music, movies, television and more.

Kevin: I’ve been a big fan of yours since I listened to my first Weird Al CD, “Bad Hair Day.”

Weird Al: Well thank you! No kidding, that’s awesome.

I saw you back in 2011 at the Family arena, and you put on one hell of a show. Are you changing up anything for the Alpocalypse tour since the last time you came to town?

No, it’s the same tour. I’m working on new songs, but they won’t be in the show. I am working on the new album – I’ve got a couple of originals in the can that I’m writing and recording soon. The parodies I’ll probably do later this year. No idea when the new album is coming out, but hopefully sometime in the next 30 or 40 years.

So I take it you are keeping the new songs under wraps?

Yeah, I found that’s the best way. If I give any hints, the fans are tenacious about it and build up in their own minds, “Oh, I bet it’s gonna be like this.” And when it winds up not being exactly what they hand in mind, they’re disappointed. So I found that kind of not saying anything is the best policy.

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As a Bon Jovi fan, I may be a bit biased in my review, but you have to understand that if it wasn’t for Jon and his band, I would never have gotten into rock music. Growing up, all I was subjected to was country music. I can still remember being 6 years-old and hearing “Living on a Prayer” for the first time. I was hooked for the start.

As Bon Jovi descended upon the Scottrade Center on Wednesday night, the band was celebrating the release of their new album “What About Now”. Jon and the boys played a spirited 2+ hour set, filled with classics like “Bad Medicine,” as well as new sure-to-be hits like, “Because We Can.”

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“Poppin’ Tags.”

It’s been on the Billboard Hot 100 for 21 weeks now. It held the number 1 spot for four weeks in a row, only to be bumped to number 2 for the past couple of weeks by “Harlem Shake” – the latest meme to sweep the nation. Macklemore & Ryan‘s “Thrift Shop” is a true success for the duo, who independently produced their album “The Heist” on which it appears. “Thrift Shop” has sold over 3 million downloads since the release in October 2012, with over 336,000 albums sold.

Macklemore & Producer Ryan Lewis appeared on Saturday Night Live on March 3. This marks their first performance on SNL, perhaps having something to do with their successful musical guest spot on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Read More [..]