Sep 092012
Did my time outrunnin’ the man…Gerry is back baby. Rolled over any car hoods lately? Open forum. Speak at will. There’s no bad idea when you’re blue-skyin’.
Did my time outrunnin’ the man…Gerry is back baby. Rolled over any car hoods lately? Open forum. Speak at will. There’s no bad idea when you’re blue-skyin’.
My man Bobby Bittman has already found the YouTube link to the BBC documentary on the Undertones that ran in the UK recently.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxTOMcPax6k&feature=share
I’ve been watching that punk documentary he suggested last week. So far that’s been very good, especially, as Bobby thought I would find it, the first part on the pub rockers. In the interviews with Martin Belmont he’s sitting in the same spot he was sitting when I interviewed him over Skype a couple of years ago. I got a huge kick out of that.
Ownage!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA2pVVJWduc
Pretty funny. He also could have said, I will not accept such criticism from a demi-lovato, I wish to hear from the full lovato, please.
Last night I saw that Muddy Waters & the Stones at the Checkerboard Lounge DVD at my friend’s place. It was pretty entertaining. The 2 Stones that had the most stage time was Keef ‘n Woody, who looked like Heckyl & Jeckyl w/ciggys out of their mouths. Mick on onstage for a bit w/Muddy in the beginning & near the end (he was wearing this red athletic thingie that made him stood out), but much of the time it was people like Buddy Guy, Junior Wells and this guy I have never heard of named Lefty Wiz that were perfoming. Ian Stewart also was there & it was great to see him tickle the ivories w/a can of Old Style on the piano (No Old Style for Mick; he was shown downing a Heinecken). One of the bonus footage was the Stones doing a bluesy song at one of their stadium gigs & Mick looked like Jimmy Buffett & even Charlie looked a bit weird. Pastel & the Stones don’t go together.
That was funny! Not funny enough to get me to watch that show, but I’d watch that guy if they gave him a show interviewing “stars.”
Awesome, mockcarr!
Great stuff!
I think you probably meant “Lefty Dizz”, there.
My fave quote in the Undertones documentary was the offhand remark, “The Clash would have killed to have come from Derry”. My guess is that Joe and the boys preferred observing their hate and war from a safe distance.
“I just wanted to play drums with my mates.” I can’t think of another band that you could as easily picture yourself being friends with. There is no stink of celebrity or pretention at all on the Undertones. Besides all the violence, poverty, and oppression; that seemed like a really cool scene to be part of. First 3 albums are stone cold classics.
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Caught this moment of rock nerdery on an episode of Futurama. Evidently, Springsteen is stealing lyrics from found objects from 11 centuries in the future.
https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/IMG_0598-e1347433946826.jpg
GBV fan in the White House faces the music:
http://www.magnetmagazine.com/2012/09/07/my-impression-now-obama-press-secretary-jay-carney-briefs-us-on-guided-by-voices/
I know we discussed this Hall and Oates video some time ago. Here’s Oates on the matter:
http://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_story_behind_hall_and_oates_ultra_wtf_video_for_shes_gone
You’ll get no argument from me on that, boyo, except that, in Derry, they *were* the scene! I think it’s incredibly cool that they did make such upbeat, clever pop, while living in a war zone. Coolest thing they could have done, really. I mean, who, living in such a situation, would want to be preached at from the stage by a bunch of guys from the same place on how horrible everything is (never mind that taking a side on that issue from such a platform could be enough to guarantee bodily harm to oneself, or one’s friends and family). The ones who live it, don’t need to be reminded; it’s there, every time they wake up.
It is too bad they suffered from that Irish thing of “don’t get above yourself”, which, is fine if it translates to “don’t become full of yourself/don’t be a pompous ass”, but too often turns into, “What do you think you’re doing….DOING THINGS!?!” It’s a weird self-repression (which, in a country that has suffered from enough outside repression, they really don’t need). I’ve experienced it from the perspective of being the sole U.S. born member of an Irish family, and it has really f-ed with my head at times.
Anyway, I’m so happy that I got to see that Clash tour that these guys were on. The lack of pretension and sense of fun was really great to see in a scene predominated by the opposite (despite what many revisionists say about the original punk rockers, there were plenty of self-serious (self-consumed?) “artistes” in the pack, all ready to tell us how things *really* were). Feargal was the extroverted wise guy. Billy, on drums, never stopped smiling, and Mickey on bass (in his high water jeans) was kinda the bouncy, goofy cheerleader. And they were tight! They really made a lasting impression, and an instant fan out of me. Went out and bought the E.P. (?) and first album straight away after seeing them. Oh, and The Clash were good, too.
Yeah. I find Feargal’s stage presence very appealing. The image of him singing on stage with a constant ciggie in his hand is hilarious and cool. Like a punk rock rat packer. Can’t be great for his beautiful girly voice.
One thing they didn’t touch on, but I thought I remember reading/hearing was that Feargal was also the tough guy brawler of the bunch. The other guys were kind of afraid of him like the Who’s early dynamic with Roger. Hard to believe with a pipsqueak choir boy, but they make them hard as nails up there.
I don’t remember the tough guy part, but he was never as close to the other four as they were to each other. He was the biggest extrovert of the bunch, so I’m sure he probably knew how to take care of himself, seeing as, by just being the frontman, he’d attract the most attention, good and bad. In the 2001 documentary, one of the journalists interviewed tells a story of visiting the band in Derry, and some kid crossing the street just to come over and spit at Feargal. The journalist couldn’t believe it.That was the kind of attention they got for being pop stars when they went back home (the fucked up side of that Irish attitude I mentioned before). I’m pretty sure Feargal was the first to move to London…can’t say I blame him.