hrrundivbakshi

TV Watchers and Rhythm Bones Fans, This One’s for You

Jul 022011

As seen on TV

I’ve taken the opportunity provided by falling ill on a holiday weekend to plow through a stack of unlistened-to 78 RPM records today. In the pile, I found a disc that actually somewhat startled me. It was a disc featuring one of the most familiar songs in North American recorded music — certainly one that is at the top of the recognizability list for music played on television. I had never really stopped to think about its origins, or the fact that this weird little tune is probably one of the most familiar pieces of music to any kid who grew up after the dawn of the television age — but there it was, spinning ’round my battery-powered wrecka playa. A quick InterWeb search led me to this blurb about the performing artist, which I found humorously obscure:

“Williams was discovered by the (label’s) president in a Chinese restaurant in downtown Los Angeles. Tempo Records first approached another bones player, Ted Goon, known as Mr. Goon-Bones, but Ted had a conflict at the time. Before Ted got his conflict resolved, Tempo discovered Williams and his first hit record hit the airwaves.” (Ted Goon died in 2003 at the age of 92. Ted was an Honorary member of the Rhythm Bones Society and lived in California just a few miles from the home of Williams.)”

My challenge to you is to deduce the song in question from the information gleaned in the above text. Do us all a favor and don’t cheat by searching for the entire text string on Google or something lame like that. There are some clues that are in plain sight:

1. “Williams”

2. Rhythm bones

4. Familiarity to TV watchers from the 1950s until today

I’ll give you one more: the fact that this artist was discovered in Los Angeles may throw you off the trail.

Go to it! And, just remember — if you’re completely stumped, you get just as much credit for an imaginative answer as you do for a correct one.

I look forward to your responses.

HVB

Can I Have a Ruling Please: “Magneto and Titanium Man”

Posted by hrrundivbakshi

Jul 012011

Come on, ref! It’s a simple question — is “Magneto and Titanium Man” fair or foul?

Let’s All Laugh at Paul Weller’s Hair

Posted by hrrundivbakshi

Jun 202011

Come on... seriously?

Storm the Faculty Building! It’s Shitstravaganza Time!

Posted by hrrundivbakshi

Jun 202011

Look, I think we’d all agree that our beloved Moderator does an admirable job keeping this place thoughtful, and pleasant, and positive, and — well, you get the idea. Here’s what I say: While Mr. Mod is half a world away, let’s take this opportunity to make Rock Town Hall as snarky, combative and generally unpleasant as possible! Fuck yeah (fist pump)!

I’ll get the new, stomach-churning version of Rock Town Hall off to a nauseating start with this perormance by British one-hit wonders Our Kid. Filmed on Top of the Pops in 1976, here they are with their UK hit “You Just Might See Me Cry.” Pretty good, huh?

Think you can top that level of awfulness? Now’s your chance to try. Mod unwisely left me with the key to the No-Prize closet, so I can reward as many people as I want for their tasteless contributions to the general badness I hope to promote. Let your churning stomach juices be your guide! Let no worm-eaten corpse go unturned,and no hopeless, hair-less reunion go unexamined. Let there be smarm! Let there be cheese! Let there be offense!

I look forward to your responses.

HVB

Please Explain: AllMusicGuide’s Explanation of Showaddywaddy

Posted by hrrundivbakshi

May 312011

A good friend “turned me on” to a British band from the 70s called Showaddywaddy — a sort of UK version of Sha Na Na — saying bands like Showaddywaddy were the main reason the Sex Pistols came into existence. I cued up the video she sent along, and was suitably horrified. I then commenced an InterWeb search to find out more about this godawful band of musical merrymen, and found this, from the frequently “huh?” AllMusicGuide:

“One of the finest rock & roll revival bands of the 1970s, Showaddywaddy also proved to be one of the most successful and enduring. … The group’s run of greatest hits sounds devastatingly pure, even authentic…”

To which I say: WTF?! I mean, I’m used to a bit of ass-lickery on the part of AMG, but surely this is beyond the pale… right?

HVB

Triumph of the Will — Sorry, I Meant of JEDWARD!

Posted by hrrundivbakshi

May 262011

The world has officially gone fucking insane

Somebody sent me a copy of the photo above, obviously meaning to get my dander up. My obvious first question, as I’m sure it was yours, was “who the hell are these two idiots, and why is my President shaking their hand?”

Turns out they’re the latest manufactured pop idols from across the pond — Ireland, I believe — and they call themselves “Jedward.” Their music — at least the small amount of it I’ve heard — is predictably terrible.

But look — I don’t have the time to rant about how awful their music is, or even how sick I am of pop music that relies on image-mongering at the expense of good songcraft. But I do have the time to rant about how this duo’s “act” is the closest thing I’ve seen to honest-to-God Nazi rally theatrics since you-know-when. Or at least the realization of every dystopian, sci-fi “rock star of the 23rd century” vision ever committed to film.

Don’t believe me? Check this out:

I have so many questions about this clip: are these two yucka-pucks even remotely aware of what they’re mimicking here? Does their audience get the same thrill people experienced when the Fuhrer rolled down the streets of Berlin in 1939? Did President Obama ever lean over to Michelle and whisper, “what the FUCK were people thinking, making us sit through this white-boy Kid-n-Play-meets-Riefenstahl bullshit?” And, also interesting to me: I wonder how the money breaks down in the Jedward deal. Is it, like, a Broadway thing, where each show costs an astonishing amount of money, but the take at the door is $80/seat? Jedward certainly can’t float that kind of cash — so you know the producers are making out here. But where does that leave poor Jedward? And how do acts like Jedward progress artistically, once they’ve committed temselves to this kind of career?

Sorry this is unfocused — my mind is still reeling.

I’m Totally Serious: I Love Bob Seger’s “Night Moves”

Posted by hrrundivbakshi

May 042011

I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, and I’m finally ready. Ready to take a bold stand in shallow waters. Ready to ask for a massive critical upgrade for Bob Seger‘s “Night Moves.” This song — this grossly overplayed FM rock radio staple, this iconic coming-of-age saga, sung by Rock Town Hall’s gravel-throated patron saint of unintentional Rock mediocrity, Bob Seger — people, this song is Great!

I ain’t lying, and I ain’t crazy. The length of my years has taught me to open my eyes and ears to many things I sneered at as an ignorant youngster: funk music, lefty politics, agnosticism, and now this. And why not? Can you find any real, substantive flaw in this song? More to the point: can you name a song that covers the same lyrical ground better?

Let’s pause for a moment and consider just how hard it must be to write a song that involves wheat fields, Chevys, and young love. I point you in the direction of the collected works of John Cougar Mellencamp to see how not to do this. But Seger’s “Night Moves” is different.

There are so many — oh, how do I say it — moments in this song that just don’t sound like utter bullshit, when they otherwise totally should. You’ll find a few in the first half of the song: “we were just young and restless and bored”; “out past the cornfields where the woods got heavy” — Alex Chilton, eat your heart out!

Then, we grow up: “I woke last night to the sound of thunder. How far off, I sat and wondered.” Ow! Seeg, you got me again! This is followed by one of those minor miracles in performance that turn into private “wait for it” moments — the way dude sings the next line: “starting hummin’ a song from nineteen sixty two…” when the song comes full circle, eventually blossoming into one of Rock’s great everymanworkingbloke outchoruses — “workin’ and practicin’.”. Just workin’ and practicin’. Isn’t that all we ever do?

Come on, people — we make a lot of good-natured fun of Bob Seger ’round these parts. Can I at least get an “amen” on the Greatness of his “Night Moves”?

HVB

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