cdm

Greatest Hits Single: Honesty Is the Best Policy

Posted by cdm

Mar 242011

I recently caught a set by the new band of a fellow Townperson, during which they played “My Maria.” I’ve always loved this song but I only had the version by the Gear Daddys.

So I went to buy the original version by BW Stevenson on iTunes and was interested to see that he also did the original version of “Shambala,” the only song by Three Dog Night that I can stomach. Thinking that I may have stumbled onto an as-yet-untapped source of hidden pop gems, I clicked on compilation entitled BW Stevenson: His Very Best. It consisted in its entirety of “My Maria,” “Shambala,” and a remake of “Sunny.” Three songs, that’s it.

This may be one of the first instances of honest marketing that I’ve come across, and it made me wonder, if the record labels were really being candid, which other artist are most deserving of a “Best Of” EP or even a “Best Of” single?

One-hit wonders are excluded from consideration, obviously. But what about bands like the Mamas & the Papas (one of my all-time least favorites)? Surely, their “Best Of” could be distilled down to “California Dreaming” and one other song that I’ve never heard, couldn’t it?

Please keep in mind we’re talking about paring down a “Best Of” compilation, not an original album. I don’t want the Mod to seize this as an opportunity to reiterate his misguided notion that Exile on Main Street would somehow be better as an EP.

Once and For All: The Greatest Rock Biography

Posted by cdm

Mar 082011

There’s been a lot of talk about oversaturation in the rock bio market so let’s just cut right to the chase here. Once and for all…what is the Greatest Rock Biography? It can be based on any criteria you wish (insight into the artist’s psyche or creative process, the arc of the rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-redemption story, snorting a line of ants or the “Mud Shark Incident”) but no matter what your basis is, please show your work.

Listen But Don’t Look Principle Revisited: Something So Wrong

Posted by cdm

Jan 132011

Prompted by Townsfellow shawnkilroy, I just watched the video for “Something So Strong,” by Crowded House for the first time in a while. I think that this song is undeniable. It’s a great performance of a great song, the hooks are so big you could use them to go whale fishing and it still sounds fantastic despite the era in which it was recorded. Even Mitchell Froom managed not to go overboard with the production.

The problem? Everything about the video. When this came out, I almost blew off Crowded House solely because of that video. This may be an example of Bigsteve’s Listen But Don’t Look Principle, but let me catalog some of the atrocities that take place in a mere 3:13:

Shameless mugging
Slack-jawed bemusement
Milk drinking
Neckerchiefs
Cartwheels
Pratfalls
Horn-rimmed eyeglass—bedecked Nerds dancing with dresses
Video chicks that are so devoid of sex appeal that they make it seem like the Nerd made the right choice when he went for the dress
And a complete and utter disregard for one another’s personal space.

“Losing My Religion,” by REM is a distant second for me for songs that I ended up liking despite the video. The film-student pretentiousness of that video made it unable for me to give that song a fair shake. When I finally saw them do it live on tv, I ended up really liking the song.

Are there promotional efforts that ended up doing more harm than good for you?

Only Man Standing

Posted by cdm

Nov 292010

You dare think a Townsperson can't come up with a second example?

Can you think of any situations in which an album and song by a band have the same title but the song is not on the album and the album is released first? The only example that I can think of is Houses of the Holy. Houses of the Holy (the album) was released in ’73 but “Houses of the Holy” (the song) appeared on Physical Graffiti in ’75.

More examples would probably crop up if you consider instances where the title was used as a song first rather than the album but, again, I can’t think of any examples aside from live albums, greatest hits collections, and anthologies (eg, Rock And Roll Never Forgets: Bob Seger’s Best!”).

I thought about doing this as a Last Man Standing but this might be a one-off.

Poetic Champions Compose

Posted by cdm

Nov 152010

That recent Lou Reed post got me thinking, How does a rock and roller get to be labeled a “poet” anyway?

Do you have to declare it, like Jim Morrison?

Do you have to have a lot of Bohemian affectations and let others christen you as such, like Patti Smith?

Clearly Leonard Cohen is the real deal because before he was a songwriter he won that poetry award in Canada. But are his lyrics poetry?

Dylan will no doubt get mentioned here but I always got the sense that he’s just messing with his fan’s heads because they are so obsessive about trying to find some deep universal truth in everything he writes.

Is Lou Reed, on his best day (say, “Venus in Furs”), really a poet?

And where does all this leave someone like Smokey Robinson, whose lyrics are simple, and perfect for the songs they inhabit?

Part of the problem here is that I haven’t read a lot of poetry outside of Bukowski and some of standards that you have to read for high school, so maybe a lot of this stuff is great Poetry and I just didn’t realize it.

Are there songwriters that you consider Poets (as opposed to just very clever lyricists)? Please include an example of what you consider to be poetry in lyrics. I think the criteria should be that the words stand on their own without the music.

Previously.

Last Man Standing: Rock ‘n Roll Remedies

Posted by cdm

Oct 222010

What I’m looking for is a remedy for an ailment or affliction. The affliction can be as simple as being lovesick, but the remedy has to be something tangible, that you ingest or apply topically, like a tonic or an ointment. Also, it needs to be more specific than just “a pill” or “a handful of pills.”

So, for instance, “Good Lovin'” would not qualify because the doctor simply suggests that the cure lies in a lifestyle change that includes more “good lovin.” Nor would the rock and roll doctor in the Little Feat song, because he doesn’t really offer advice; the narrator merely ticks off the doctor’s rather impressive credentials.

Home remedies are encouraged, and the likelihood of the “cure” actually curing anything does not matter.

I’ll lead off with “Strychnine,” which, according to The Sonics, is good for what’s ailing you.

Seven Deadly Sins: The Musical

Posted by cdm

Oct 142010

What I’m looking for here is a list of songs that you feel best encompasses each of the Seven Deadly Sins.

In case you’ve forgotten them, the sins are Pride, Greed, Wrath, Envy, and my three personal favorites, Sloth, Gluttony, and Lust.

The most creative answer will be determined by a special blue ribbon panel of judges and will be awarded the coveted RTH No-Prize.

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