Let’s list them, Last Man Standing style! But remember, don’t bogart this thread: only one entry per post, please.
Apr 232020
Mr. Moderator
Apr 222020
You may recall a piece E. Pluribus Gergely recently published in which he dismissed the first two Stooges albums and only showed mild appreciation for the more conventional Raw Power. I still can’t decide which opinion is more shameful. Speaking of shame, it’s a shame that main thrust of his essay overshadowed some sweet memories of a kind-hearted record store clerk who turned him onto The Rolling Stones‘ 12 X 5 album and, in turn, the music of African American forebearers of the Stones’ particular brand of urgent R&B.
In his piece on The Stooges, EPG also managed to take a shot at Led Zeppelin. Being from his generation and the same strata of proto-cool (ie, incredibly nerdy) high school kids, I got where he was coming from. However, times have changed. We’ve grown. Most of us, that is.
My buddies, The Falcons, caught wind of E.’s continued dismissal of Led Zeppelin, and we want to know what his beef is with them? First, let’s examine his dismissal of a fellow English, authentic blues and R&B-loving band, quote:
Apr 212020
I saw this performance by Humble Pie the other day, and I keep coming back to it for so many reasons: Steve Marriott’s overalls, his receding shag, his guitar playing and typically amped-up singing style, the rest of the band’s heroically pedestrian backing, and the general bloke-iness of the whole affair. Is there a better example of Block Rock than this?
Apr 172020
Facebook reminded me that it’s the anniversary of the morning I woke up to this dream, one of my 3 Most Memorable Music Dreams.
Have you ever had a music dream? The other ones that stand out for me are the time I got to meet my childhood heroes The Band in the basement of a club, a basement that wasn’t too different from the one on The Basement Tapes. I met them, however, on one of those post-Last Waltz shows, before band members started dropping, as Robbie Robertson feared they would, if they continued on The Road. One Band member was more out of it than the next. It was a very sad dream.
A joyous music dream I won’t forget is the time I saw David Thomas of Pere Ubu live, wearing a gold lamé suit and singing Elvis Presley‘s “Burning Love.”
Just outside my Top 3 list is an image-free dream I once had of hearing a Frippertronics version of Them‘s “Gloria.” If I had the patience, I might one day be able to make that dream come true.
Apr 152020
Go easy on us all – or not – with whatever comes from the heart. Note: The Latest Comments link and links to other pages are back, at the top of the page. Mad props to The Back Office for that healing update!
Apr 132020
Since she first hit the public eye as one half of a singing duo, let’s agree that Cher is a singer. For me, despite liking a couple of Sonny & Cher songs well enough, I can’t think of a singer with a less-appealing voice than Cher’s. Are you one of those people who say, “Oh no, I can’t sing to save my life!” I bet you have a more appealing singing voice to my ears than Cher’s.
Apr 132020
In a private discussion last week with my close personal friends E Pluribus Gergely and Lady Gergely, EPG wanted to know how I could say with a straight face that I liked The Grateful Dead‘s “Sugar Magnolia.” First, I reminded him, I like the song with an associated chuckle, which is how I like 10 of the 11 songs that make up my nearly heroic Dead Dozen playlist on Spotify. There’s nothing wrong with having an associated chuckle over a loved one, is there? Think of the friends and lovers in your life.
Somehow, he brought up “Just What I Needed” and my longstanding beefs with the perfect pop craft of The Cars. He wasn’t satisfied with my equally longstanding belief that the first Cars record is one of the most solid, justifiably hit-packed records of all time. He wanted to know why, if you’ll excuse my French, I’d rather fuck “Sugar Magnolia” than “Just What I Needed.”
