Oats

The Decline and Fall of a British Empire

Posted by Oats

Nov 122011

What is it with my obsession with watching footage of The Kinks sink to new lows in self-parody and loss of dignity? Most of the time, I’d much rather watch stuff like this than something from the band’s halcyon era. What does this say about me? (I should note for those who are new-ish to RTH that The Kinks are one of my favorite bands and part of my Holy Trinity of Rock. This isn’t a case of schadenfreude.)

And does this footage merely show the band trying to stay current during a low point for mainstream rock, in general, or is there something else going on here?

Also, help me guitar nerds: What is the weird Strat-like Gibson (I think) Ray plays in this clip?

Finally, here’s a happier clip, giving a little glimpse of the band’s interpersonal communications as well as their innate musical talent. Sorry about the Ovation acoustics.

Please Explain: MUSIC!

Posted by Oats

Sep 232011

Seriously, what is this shit?

Have You Guys Seen This Before?

Posted by Oats

Aug 012011

I caught this video on VH1 Classic about 4 years ago and, despite the fact that it blew my mind, I forgot everything about the song that would enable me to search for it once I got on the internet. What can I say? It was early in the morning, and I’m really no good until my second cup of coffee. Fortunately, I found it on a blog this morning — after all, lots of people are posting their favorite early-’80s videos in commemoration of MTV’s 30th anniversary.

The intro to this video is weird and goofy and corny as all get out. (Be careful, the first few seconds of this YouTube file are quieter than the rest.) Yet it makes me incredibly happy that it exists, that someone involved in rock ‘n’ roll thought to do this. For those of you who were paying more attention to music (particularly power pop and new wave) back then, had you seen this before? What were your thoughts then? And how about now?

Also, according to Wikipedia, this band was from Atlanta, GA. I call upon jungleland2 to provide any special insight he might have.

I look forward to your responses.

Critical Re-upgrade: Husker Du

Posted by Oats

Jun 302011

On the occasion of Bob Mould’s recently published memoir, is it time to reverse Mr. Mod’s critical downgrade on the Huskers? Let’s put aside the muddy-sounding Flying V, the bad drumming, the terrible production values. At a time when so much indie-rock has become marketable,well-kempt, finely polished and polite, is there something especially worthwhile to be gleaned from the legacy of a band that was none of these things? If nothing else, can we put Husker Du at the forefront (along with Eleventh Dream Day) of my invented genre T-Shirt Rock (basically, the music I listen to balance out my love of dandyish fops like Pulp and The Kinks)?

Rock for Kids

Posted by Oats

Apr 212011

We all know too well that rock is still thought of in most circles as a young person’s game. But that’s not what I’m thinking of here. Some bands, you have to get into them when you’re relatively young. For instance, Pink Floyd and The Doors—let’s face it, their lyrical concerns are almost perfectly pitched to appeal to teenagers, but, in another light, those same concerns are just so damn goofy, you can’t possibly take them seriously as an adult. I can’t, anyway.

Perhaps a similar band from a different subculture—Fugazi. Could a 30-year-old really get into Fugazi for the first time? It’s nothing to do with their intrinsic quality as a band, but you need to be unformed to some degree to pick up what that band’s offering, I submit.

And let’s be really honest. If you’re 25 and you haven’t gone through a Beatles phase yet, it’s probably not going to happen. Move on.

And this isn’t just about music. It works for authors (Salinger) and directors (David Lynch, Woody Allen?) too.

1974

Posted by Oats

Feb 122011

The A.V. Club‘s website has started a new series of columns in which writers talk about their favorite year of music. The first one came out this week, with a very RTH-friendly choice.

There are a lot of years, I could choose as my favorite, but my first response is always 1974. That’s because of four albums: Randy Newman‘s Good Old Boys, Richard and Linda Thompson‘s I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight, Big Star‘s Radio City and Steely Dan‘s Pretzel Logic. These albums all form a bedrock for a certain kind of music I really value. All those albums are weird pop of a sort: The musicianship is often understated (on the Dan album, it’s understated for them), but not boring; the lyrics are literate and intelligent, but they require a bit of work to penetrate. These albums don’t exactly set out to dazzle, but they create perfect senses of place and character. Each record slowly reveals something, the way a book or film might. As the cliche goes, they show, they don’t tell. You could call these albums “Rubber Soul for English majors.”

So, gut check time, and don’t think to much about it: What’s your favorite year in music and why?

More on Dad Rock

Posted by Oats

Jan 052011

My sister got me one of those nifty USB record players for Christmas, so I can burn all my vinyl to iTunes. Last night, I loaded up Rockpile‘s Seconds of Pleasure and NRBQ‘s At Yankee Stadium, and I got to thinking about certain musical values (as the Mod might say) that we highlight on this blog which are no longer au courant. And I got to thinking about Dad Rock again. So I’ll just flat-out ask this: Is Dad Rock basically anything that swings?

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