Austin Town Hall

In the history of popular music, there have only been a handful of truly memorable and iconic logos. While searching through all of the logos out there, I decided to try and make the list a little more interesting. So I’ve chosen my favorite band logos from a few different genres and then ranked those. There were great logos out there for crappy bands. There were band logos from my younger days that reminded me a little too much of a Yaga shirt. So follow the jump and you’ll find logos that are as timeless as the bands they represent.

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With today’s Top 5 I am starting the ATH Book Club. This is a list of the best books about music I’ve ever read. Mine are all biographies, but any old book about music can qualify. Obviously I haven’t read everything out there, so if I missed something important let me know. I’m always up for a good book recommendation, and I hope I have a few on my list that you might want to check out. So without further ado, follow the jump for my Top 5 music books.
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Everyone knows and loves the Ramones. Unfortunately, we can only talk about them in the past tense as Tommy Ramone is the only original living member (who ironically fronts a Bluegrass band nowadays). The original punk rockers, the Ramones was an incredible collection of talent. You had the signature voice and cultural icon in Joey. The no-nonsense, rapid-fire Johnny. The raw and eccentric Dee Dee. The boys from Queens took rock and roll back to the basics when it needed it the most. Released in April of 1976 (produced for a whooping 6 grand), the Ramones self-titled debut remains a true classic. My pick from the album is “Beat on the Brat”, a song written when “Joey saw some mother going after a kid with a bat in his lobby and wrote a song about it.” So bust out those torn jeans and leather jackets, and put a little punk rock in your Thursday.

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It’s one thing to cover the Ramones, but entirely different to cover the Shirelles and Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac, but that is just what the French Kicks are doing.  Fresh off their release of Swimming, their newest album from Vagrant Records, the band is releasing a covers EP.  Here is their cover of “Trouble” by Lindsey Buckingham.

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Download: French Kicks – Trouble [MP3]

It’s less than twelve hours since I walked away from the scuzzy walls of Red Seven, and still my ears are ringing from the sheer level of noise that I gladly witnessed, as rock n’ roll returned once again to my life. It’s funny, I listen to a lot of music, but its seems rock has become less of a staple in my music dietary supplements. I would like to extend my gratitude to Jay Reatard for reaffirming my belief in it’s greatness – even with possible hearing loss.

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