Apr 062012
This is an All-Star Jam. For those new to Rock Town Hall, this is the free-form area in which you are encouraged to toot your own harp.
This is an All-Star Jam. For those new to Rock Town Hall, this is the free-form area in which you are encouraged to toot your own harp.
Following this week’s 1-2 punch discussion, has there ever been a Fleetwood Mac thread “Once and For All, Peter Green era VS Buckingham/Nicks era ? That would be a good discussion since they are so distinct.
Friend of the Hall Martin Belmont tipped me off to the following. I wonder if I can watch it online. Happiness Stan, let us know if you catch it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2012/apr/05/southern-rock-passion-marred-racism
It’s an important discussion that need to be brought to light. I consistently avoided anything approaching Southern Rock primarily because of this “confederate flag waving” notion. Maybe it’s the Canadian in me that took Neil’s side of the story. But…
Of all bands, it was the Drive-By Truckers that helped resolve my bias against the “southern thang” with their concept album Southern Rock Opera. While it’s not necessarily an indictment of the south, it showed a sympathetic view of a misunderstood genre. While I have yet to add any Allmans, Tuckers or Skynyrds to my collection, I’m a lot less closed minded.
As a followup to the recent Beatles Kidz thread, Wilson Phillips (remember them?) have just released an album called Dedicated, consisting of various Beach Boys and Mamas and Papas classics. Here’s the track list…
1. California Dreamin’
2. Wouldn’t It Be Nice
3. Dedicated To The One I Love
4. Don’t Worry Baby
5. Twelve-Thirty
6. I Can Hear Music
7. Monday Monday
8. Do It Again
9. Got A Feelin’
10. Fun, Fun, Fun
11. God Only Knows
12. Good Vibrations
Needless to say it’s all very slick, bland, professional, and soulless. You can hear snippets of each track here: http://www.allmusic.com/album/dedicated-r2409955
Is that the dreaded Autotune I hear throughout these songs? Their parents would be ashamed. They didn’t need no stinkin’ Autotune.
I don’t like this sort of argument – it’s both a little ignorant and inflammatory. Does liking German culture or being of German descent automatically make someone a Nazi? Were the Beatles and the Stones part of the British Empire’s horrible treatment of native cultures in India and South Africa? Funny, the Guardian doesn’t mention that. Is a young Japanese responsible for the Death March of Bataan and the Nanking Massacre? Is every American today responsible for the mass eradication and subjugation of the American Indians?
There is absolutely no question that racism and slavery were major and unavoidable parts of Southern history. However, I believe it is possible to like – even love – the South without being a racist, and I don’t see any direct evidence that the principal Southern Rock bands embraced racism in any form.
Yes, but you’re forgetting that there’s no trace of racism in the UK, which gives them the right to act high-handed about the issue. Combine that with the BBC’s well-known expertise in the culture of the southern US, and you’re guaranteed a profoundly perceptive documentary.
I’m now in Seattle and ended up eating in the hotel bar after a late arrival. Thanks to this weeks earlier 1-2 punch, I was able to pick out over the din the bass of “Mr. Blue Sky” in about 30 seconds. Thanks RTH!
Did I mentioned that my favourite kind of food is Southern and Creole?
Could be a battle topic, one version of a band versus a later version. Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs Oasis v. Gem Archer Oasis?! Yeah, there’s a barn-burner for ya.
aloha
LD
What about the Bob Welch era? Albums like Future Games and Bare Trees were mellower and more atmospheric than the FW albums bracketing them, but to me they have their own charms.
I’ve read that article three times and am still not convinced that it actually says anything very much, or that the article really lives up to the headline. Perhaps I’ll have another look when I’m not quite so full of cold.
I may watch the documentary if I get a chance, but it’s quite a long way from being my favourite genre, although I am woefully ignorant of the background to and history of the American Civil War, and being tucked away on the digital arts and history channel may well be more educational than one may expect. If I do get to watch it I’ll be happy to share my thoughts with the Hall.
The Guardian (also known as the Grauniad owing to its proud history of terrible proof reading and typos), is the only serious liberal/left newspaper in the UK and even though I read the online version regularly some of their columnists are prone to jumping on anything from any culture to dance on the stage of political correctness, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this article is not rather overdoing the racism angle which also may make more sense in the context of the documentary.
As Big Steve observes, there is obviously racism over here in the UK, but because it is so widely covered and reported on that would in itself make it such an obvious angle for a British film-maker making a documentary about anything anywhere that few would be likely to such a massive open goal when making one about a genre which contains even a tiny, tiny minority who may with very little prompting say something which attracts this sort of advance publicity for a documentary which would otherwise get only a few dozen viewers.
I don’t think that the BBC iPlayer can be watched outside of the UK, officially at any rate.
I wonder what the Daily Mail would say?
I would imagine that their readership would be alienated forever if it were ever to be suggested that they were either asked to consider that anti-racism were anything other than political correctness gone mad, or that they should watch BBC4, the beyond the pale radical militant liberal arts wing of the Communist sympathising BBC, and particularly anything featuring people who look like THAT.
My first ever glance at their website (purely in the spirit of research) suggests that they are currently being exercised by the protestor from UK Uncut who held up the annual boat race yesterday; spitting bile and apparently trying to raise a lynch mob against a rather troubled and poor (in the financial sense) woman who has been released from prison having served her time for staging the kidnap of her own daughter a few years back; and continuing to campaign against Britain continuing to be a signatory to the European Human Rights Act, which they regularly (and probably purposely) confuse with the International Convention on Human Rights.
The Daily Express, meanwhile, will be predicting an enforced news blackout as extreme weather conditions which have nothing to do with global warming which does not exist continues to happen all over the UK. Today we have been subjected to extreme drizzle and greyness, about two or three degrees centigrade below the seasonal average, so as surely as night follows day the Express will be predicting either conditions only found in the Sahara Desert by the Summer, or at least pestilence and showers of frogs by the weekend, which will prevent their readership being troubled by this crime against art.
This is a fun concept you might enjoy checking out. I have not yet had time to weigh in on its accuracy or anything, but the concept is cool:
http://www.rocknrollmetromap.com/
Cute idea, but if the lines are meant to represent some sort of chronological order, then way off.
This just in. Or recently…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/10/rolling-stones-back-in-th_n_1414239.html
Lou Reed, as his comic book was meant to be read.
http://i792.photobucket.com/albums/yy201/Aramchekster/LouReedLivetheBackHolesInSpacemagpg16.jpg