Sep 242011
Sounds of the Hall in roughly 33 1/3 minutes!
In this week’s edition of Saturday Night Shut-In Mr. Moderator welcomes a newly active Townsperson, then ponders life without REM… Not really, not the second part, but he does play two live tracks from the band, songs he can’t identify but hopes you can! It’s an odd show, as your host dips into some proto-post-punk and worries that he’s pissed off an old friend.
[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/RTH-Saturday-Night-Shut-In-46.mp3|titles=RTH Saturday Night Shut-In, episode 46][Note: The Rock Town Hall feed will enable you to easily download Saturday Night Shut-In episodes to your digital music player. In fact, you can even set your iTunes to search for an automatic download of each week’s podcast.]
Another enjoyable show.
Thank goodness you played 2 songs from the more palatable era of REM songs. And that Books song is a favorite in the Royale household. Have you heard this cover they helped out with?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FwU230utKY
I’ve never heard anything by the Books but that one album. I made a note to see if they did anything else.
You may also like Rachel’s and Four Tet.
The Four Tet video you sent me was cool, like an interlude from a Hal Hartley movie.
The reach of RTH is unmistakable now! I just realized that Black Snake Moan star and RTH cover girl Christina Ricci is one of the actresses on the new TV series Pan Am airing tonight. Apparently network execs are watching the RTH top bar images to gauge the important demographic tastes of 30/1 rock nerd men and woman for TV’s newest stars. Zooey, Ricci. Is a Linda Rondstadt series in the works? Mr Mod, it’s time to jump from USA network to the big boys. They’ve heard you loud and clear.
I’m thrilled they’re hearing us, but USA will always be my power base, my television center: Silk Stalkings, La Femme Nikita, Pacific Blue, Monk, and the present-day lineup of character-driven shows that fulfill the original promise of Fox. Speaking of which, I read this morning that a 21 Jump Street movie is in the works! Can a new take on The Wizard be far behind?
Good to hear some Crimson on Saturday Night Shut-in. You have my express, written permission to play some of the long cuts from Starless and Bible Black. I recommend “Fracture”. It’s good for people to know that King Crimson wasn’t all art school, prissy mellotrons, and elephant talk. No one took a back seat to them when it came to slamming people against the walls. I know – I saw them perform “Fracture” live and I still have the brain scars to prove it. So what if SNS listeners object? Joke ’em if they can’t take a fuck.
That one was for you, tonyola. I do plan on an extended prog show – but good stuff, not Genesis – down the road. “Fracture” is my favorite from that album.
Mmm, a SNS on prog filled with “the good stuff”…Shortest show ever…
I see it as a 2-hour episode featuring maybe 5 songs.
Tonyola, listened to “Red” last night on your and Big Steve’s recommendation, thoroughly enjoyable, will certainly be checking out more, cheers for that!
Maybe add some of the “new prog” bands?
Do you mean post-prog or neo-prog?
That live version of “Don’t Go Back to Rockville” was not half bad. Probably one of the better REM live cuts I’ve heard. Maybe it’s one of those “you had to be there” things, and I wasn’t (never saw them live), but from the recordings I’ve heard they never impressed me as a live outfit.
Mod, last week or whenever it was when there was the discussion of the Band and Canadian harmonies or what have you, I was this close to sending a link to that Basement Tapes cut you played, “All You Have to Do Is Dream,” of which I am very fond. There’s a slow version and a fast one (you played the slower). For some reason neither made the cut on the official Basement Tapes. Most people blame Robbie for this.
Proto-post-prog.
I love that version. BigSteve sent me the Original Basement Tapes, or whatever it’s called, a few years ago.
They had the goods live. Didn’t you watch the Letterman video you posted?
Prominent Birthdays:
Burt Bacharach
Ian Dury
Steve Winwood
The Velvet Foghorn
Props.
YES, I meant to post a special tribute to Velv but have been busy all day. Thanks for making note of that, chick.
Yes, I recognized that as my remix/remaster. Such a great track. The 5-CD set is called The Genuine Basement Tapes.
True, when I watched that I thought the same thing: Better live than I expected. I suppose when you start piling up exceptions you have a pattern. Probably I am just reacting to most of the live recordings I’ve heard being from later periods.
Having blamed Robbie for leaving this off the release, I want to praise him for his solo on this: it is brilliant in its way.
Yes, that was not bad at all. There are many things I found “not bad” about REM over the years, but their approach was so “samey,” with Stipe’s slightly hectoring Neil Diamond-esque vocal delivery; Buck’s jangly guitar; Mills’ “locked-in,” stringy bass parts; and Berry’s frequent hammering on the hi-hats, Those are four elements I typically don’t like even individually. Put them all together over the course of the first 5 albums that I couldn’t avoid hearing and I began holding them against the half dozen songs I didn’t mind hearing spread out, one at a time.