And speaking of the Beatles, has anyone since the Ron Howard “Eight Days A Week’ documentary? I’d highly recommend it. And if you are of a certain age (oh, say, 61 or so) get there quick. And try to attend a screening where they show the Shea Stadium concert afterwards.
I totally loved both. I’m not ashamed to say that I was in tears numerous times. I can vividly remember that night in February 1964, watching Ed Sullivan. I was weeks shy of my 9th birthday. I didn’t understand why at the time but I knew my life was changed that night. I already was a music fan but that was the night that began the real reliance on music, the innate understanding that music is a constant, always there to make life bearable no matter how everything else might be. And I never understood what happened that night as much as I did last week watching the footage.
I’ve read nothing but great things about this movie. I will need to see it. I’ve been extremely reluctant to get into so many Beatles things the last couple of years. They’re my favorite band ever – and the greatest. Period. When The Clash sang about that phony Beatlemania in “London Calling” I was a bit offended, even though I loved The Clash nearly as much as The Beatles. A couple of years ago, however, that line finally sank in for me. Now I live in dread of being swept up by a crowd of fellow middle-aged Beatles fanboys – guy with chubby midsections still trying to maintain some nod to the Beatles with a mop of graying, thinning hair on top. I might as well go with the flow, but it’s hard not being a hardass. I’ll probably see this movie and shed some tears of joy myself. I hope so.
I’ve been going through cassettes over the last 6 months or so with the intention of either tossing or, in the interest of space, transferring to CDR. I maintain momentum for a week or two and then put the project aside for awhile.
Most are live recordings, a few are dubs of legit albums. In the latter category the other day was a tape with the first Tom Tom Club album on one side and the first Bow Wow Wow album on the other. it raised the following question:
(a) Tom Tom Club
(b) Bow Wow Wow
(c) both
(d) neither
I listened to the tape and tossed it, so my answer was (d).
Funny, I was just looking through some Spotify “related artists” lists to see if I wanted to listen to something I hadn’t heard in year. I briefly considered the first Tom Tom Club record, then chose Patti Smith’s Horses instead. As the years pass, I grow increasingly fond of Patti Smith’s records, not just the 2 songs on each album that I like and that all other songs of hers sound like, but not quite as much. I think the key for me is having her on in the background. She and that sometimes leaden band make a lot of sense if I don’t think too hard about then.
I’m still pretty ambivalent about The Beatles (I think Band on the Run is as good as any Beatles album), but I’d like to see the movie. Probably in five years when it comes on Netflix, though.
My old friend and bandmate Mike Fingeroff and I envisioned what we called Strat-o-Matic Rock ‘n Roll back in 1986 or so. I welcome the arrival of AI to do the job of well-intentioned, aspiring retro rockers of limited talent and vision. I hope all those Jellyfish guys can keep it together.
I recently heard the Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Darlin’ Be Home Soon”. There’s been a rhyme in there that I’ve never been able to decipher for 50 years but then I thought “the internet has everything”. Every lyric site I checked had this for the chorus:
But darling be home soon
I couldn’t bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled
My darling be home soon
It’s not just these few hours but I’ve been waiting since I toddled
For the great relief of having you to talk to
Really, “dawdled”, “toddled”??? I’ve always thought “toddled” sounded like “you’ve gone” and never had an alternative to “dawdled” but I’m not buying either.
Hey al, glad this bothers someone else! I’ve always really liked this song, actually, but was always been puzzled by this, though eventually I arrived at dawdled/toddled, for better or worse.
Has anyone seen the TV series UnSung? It focuses on the stories of black musicians, their stories, rise, and fall usually due to drugs.
I was watching an episode the other that was from, I think, 2012, on Sly Stone. Lots of interview footage with someone whom you have to have great faith to believe was actually Sly. Old, wasted, barely intelligible, and living out of an RV.
It reminded me of an old thread from RTH v.1 which I had started. Something to do with the “most tragic rock & roll casualty insofar as a loss to music”. I don’t recall whether the RTH Overmind came to any conclusion – maybe Mr Mod has archives somewhere – but I’m pretty sure Sly was up there with the other usual suspects (like Brian Wilson). Watching the music clips in this episode, it truly is sad to think of the unbelievable music he produced and then – nothing.
I had another thought while watching, thanks to multiple clips of Clive Davis. Speaking of challenging for a top spot, Clive has to be neck & neck with Mike Love when it comes to the “Smarmy Attempts To Grab Credit For Everything” category.
And it a pot-kettle thing, let me be critical of Van Morrison in his recent Rolling Stone interview which consists mostly of him whining about the music industry. Give it up already Van.
“Chrissie Hynde returns with the first Pretenders album in eight years. Alone was recorded with the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach at his Easy Eye Studio in Nashville, and features Hynde on vocals and guitar joined by bassist Dave Roe (Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn), pedal steel guitarist Russ Pahl (Blake Shelton), guitarist Kenny Vaughan (Lana Del Rey), keyboardist Leon Michels, and drummer Richard Swift.”
Hynde is one of those artists who really bug me. She gets an awful lot of props for someone who couldn’t fill an album with good songs. Granted, there are some great great songs in her catalogue (love the first album and “Middle Of The Road”) but it’s not exactly a deep catalogue, is it? Or am I missing something?
In more new release news, there’s a Dr. John tribute album, a recording of a 2014 concert. I listened to a few of the amazon snippets and it would seem to go from the ridiculous (a cringeworthy duet with Dr. John and Bruce Springsteen doing (“Right Place Wrong Time”) to the sublime (Irma Thomas doing “Since I Fell For You”).
And speaking of the Beatles, has anyone since the Ron Howard “Eight Days A Week’ documentary? I’d highly recommend it. And if you are of a certain age (oh, say, 61 or so) get there quick. And try to attend a screening where they show the Shea Stadium concert afterwards.
I totally loved both. I’m not ashamed to say that I was in tears numerous times. I can vividly remember that night in February 1964, watching Ed Sullivan. I was weeks shy of my 9th birthday. I didn’t understand why at the time but I knew my life was changed that night. I already was a music fan but that was the night that began the real reliance on music, the innate understanding that music is a constant, always there to make life bearable no matter how everything else might be. And I never understood what happened that night as much as I did last week watching the footage.
I’ve read nothing but great things about this movie. I will need to see it. I’ve been extremely reluctant to get into so many Beatles things the last couple of years. They’re my favorite band ever – and the greatest. Period. When The Clash sang about that phony Beatlemania in “London Calling” I was a bit offended, even though I loved The Clash nearly as much as The Beatles. A couple of years ago, however, that line finally sank in for me. Now I live in dread of being swept up by a crowd of fellow middle-aged Beatles fanboys – guy with chubby midsections still trying to maintain some nod to the Beatles with a mop of graying, thinning hair on top. I might as well go with the flow, but it’s hard not being a hardass. I’ll probably see this movie and shed some tears of joy myself. I hope so.
I’ve been going through cassettes over the last 6 months or so with the intention of either tossing or, in the interest of space, transferring to CDR. I maintain momentum for a week or two and then put the project aside for awhile.
Most are live recordings, a few are dubs of legit albums. In the latter category the other day was a tape with the first Tom Tom Club album on one side and the first Bow Wow Wow album on the other. it raised the following question:
(a) Tom Tom Club
(b) Bow Wow Wow
(c) both
(d) neither
I listened to the tape and tossed it, so my answer was (d).
I get what you are saying and the audience certainly had its share of those. Lots of tells – hair, t-shirts, boots.
But don’t cut your nose to spite your face; see it sooner rather than later!
Funny, I was just looking through some Spotify “related artists” lists to see if I wanted to listen to something I hadn’t heard in year. I briefly considered the first Tom Tom Club record, then chose Patti Smith’s Horses instead. As the years pass, I grow increasingly fond of Patti Smith’s records, not just the 2 songs on each album that I like and that all other songs of hers sound like, but not quite as much. I think the key for me is having her on in the background. She and that sometimes leaden band make a lot of sense if I don’t think too hard about then.
I’m still pretty ambivalent about The Beatles (I think Band on the Run is as good as any Beatles album), but I’d like to see the movie. Probably in five years when it comes on Netflix, though.
Check this out:
http://www.marketplace.org/2016/09/26/tech/turns-out-artificial-intelligence-can-write-decent-beatles-rip
My old friend and bandmate Mike Fingeroff and I envisioned what we called Strat-o-Matic Rock ‘n Roll back in 1986 or so. I welcome the arrival of AI to do the job of well-intentioned, aspiring retro rockers of limited talent and vision. I hope all those Jellyfish guys can keep it together.
https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/strat-o-matic-rock-n-roll-white-paper-re/
Not to bring politics into the Hall but someone forwarded a tweet to me about the debate last night that is relevant to an old RTH topic:
‘There was less sniffing in “The Last Waltz.” ‘
THAT’S funny!
I recently heard the Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Darlin’ Be Home Soon”. There’s been a rhyme in there that I’ve never been able to decipher for 50 years but then I thought “the internet has everything”. Every lyric site I checked had this for the chorus:
But darling be home soon
I couldn’t bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled
My darling be home soon
It’s not just these few hours but I’ve been waiting since I toddled
For the great relief of having you to talk to
Really, “dawdled”, “toddled”??? I’ve always thought “toddled” sounded like “you’ve gone” and never had an alternative to “dawdled” but I’m not buying either.
Any alternatives/thoughts?
That computer piece “in the style of The Beatles” sounds much more like XTC to me.
Hey al, glad this bothers someone else! I’ve always really liked this song, actually, but was always been puzzled by this, though eventually I arrived at dawdled/toddled, for better or worse.
“Dawdled” is a weird word, but it makes sense AND sounds like what he sings. I think the rhyme, and a very imperfect one at that, is “got home.”
Has anyone seen the TV series UnSung? It focuses on the stories of black musicians, their stories, rise, and fall usually due to drugs.
I was watching an episode the other that was from, I think, 2012, on Sly Stone. Lots of interview footage with someone whom you have to have great faith to believe was actually Sly. Old, wasted, barely intelligible, and living out of an RV.
It reminded me of an old thread from RTH v.1 which I had started. Something to do with the “most tragic rock & roll casualty insofar as a loss to music”. I don’t recall whether the RTH Overmind came to any conclusion – maybe Mr Mod has archives somewhere – but I’m pretty sure Sly was up there with the other usual suspects (like Brian Wilson). Watching the music clips in this episode, it truly is sad to think of the unbelievable music he produced and then – nothing.
I had another thought while watching, thanks to multiple clips of Clive Davis. Speaking of challenging for a top spot, Clive has to be neck & neck with Mike Love when it comes to the “Smarmy Attempts To Grab Credit For Everything” category.
And it a pot-kettle thing, let me be critical of Van Morrison in his recent Rolling Stone interview which consists mostly of him whining about the music industry. Give it up already Van.
I guess Chrissie Hynde as a solo artist doesn’t sell. She’s back with a new “Pretenders” release out today.
Pretenders, Alone (BMG) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
“Chrissie Hynde returns with the first Pretenders album in eight years. Alone was recorded with the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach at his Easy Eye Studio in Nashville, and features Hynde on vocals and guitar joined by bassist Dave Roe (Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn), pedal steel guitarist Russ Pahl (Blake Shelton), guitarist Kenny Vaughan (Lana Del Rey), keyboardist Leon Michels, and drummer Richard Swift.”
Hynde is one of those artists who really bug me. She gets an awful lot of props for someone who couldn’t fill an album with good songs. Granted, there are some great great songs in her catalogue (love the first album and “Middle Of The Road”) but it’s not exactly a deep catalogue, is it? Or am I missing something?
In more new release news, there’s a Dr. John tribute album, a recording of a 2014 concert. I listened to a few of the amazon snippets and it would seem to go from the ridiculous (a cringeworthy duet with Dr. John and Bruce Springsteen doing (“Right Place Wrong Time”) to the sublime (Irma Thomas doing “Since I Fell For You”).
For the baseball fans here at RTH (I’m looking at you Mr Mod), here’s a fun comparison of the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame to the Baseball Hall Of Fame –
http://www.courant.com/opinion/op-ed/hc-op-powers-rock-roll-hall-fame-bad-year-1106-20161102-story.html
Well, I guess it’s an appropriate time to say “Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozzlnNRpHO4&feature=youtu.be
At the end of the world there will only be cockroaches. And viagra. And cockroaches on viagra.