hrrundivbakshi

President (Insert Your Name Here) Presents:

Feb 282008

Fellow Townsmen and Townswomen — I have long since resigned myself to the notion that my earnest contributions to this fine forum have disqualified me from any form of elective office… like, ever. The electronic paper trail I’ve left behind is long and eminently mis-quotable, unfortunately. But that can’t stop a man from dreaming!

As I ponder the upcoming election, I sometimes think: “Shit, man… if I were President, I’d be, like, the most full-on culture vulture Prez since Jack Kennedy. I’d have concerts and shit, showcasing the finest artists in the modern (and perhaps not so modern) American music canon… and shit.”

Then, of course, I stop myself, and think more realistically about what a President really can do with regard to showcasing talent in the White House for foreign and domestic dignitaries. Clearly, a performance by Iggy and the Stooges would be a waste of good talent, and would likely get me impeached for some damn reason or another. You gotta keep it real, but non-offensive, at the same time.

So who would make the White House concert schedule if you were Prexy? I have a short list, and it would be eminently do-able; quality American artists who wouldn’t offend anybody, but would provide a high-quality display of American musical talent. I wanna hear about yours!

Hail to the chief (that’d be you),

HVB

General Slocum Is In Jeopardy!

Posted by hrrundivbakshi

Feb 232008

General Slocum has generously supplied the answers… you supply the questions. Greatest number correct wins FIFTY THOUSAND DOE-LAHRS!

No, wait… make that a coveted RTH No-Prize.

Here are your answers:

1. Referring to headphones as “cans.”

2. Twice, but only because the first one wouldn’t play.

3. As if!

4. “Sweet Home Alabama”

5. N/A

6. It gives me a headache just looking at the cover, but the last song on side one makes up for the rest.

7. Envelope filter.

8. I have to admit, I would just pretend I had, and hope no one asked.

9. Wally Cox.

Last Man Standing: Artists People Like More Because They’re Ka-Raaay-Zeeeee!

Posted by hrrundivbakshi

Feb 202008

You know the rules: one submission at a time, no limit on the number you can submit, last suggestion offered wins a coveted RTH No-Prize! Point of order: I’m looking for artists who folks liked more because they either are/were “crazy,” or because they acted that way.

I’ll start with an obvious one: Brian Wilson.

HVB

p.s.: was Carl Wilson great, or what?

Such a Deal! Crappy Old Music in Exchange for 4-Track Recording Tips

Posted by hrrundivbakshi

Feb 192008

Hey, gang!

Say, I need your help. I just traded in my old Saturn sedan for an old Toyota pickup truck, and — as the Toyota is of a vintage that features a cassette deck — I’ve been rediscovering old cassette tapes that I’ve not listened to in about 20 years. What’s really frustrating is that I’ve taken to reaching into my old cassette box at random and listening to whatever the hell I pull out — and a good number of the tapes I’ve been pulling out are actually old 4-track cassettes full of 4-track demos, recorded on my 1989 Tascam Porta 05 Ministudio. Those of you familiar with systems like these know that popping a 4-track cassette into a plain old (i.e., “2-track”) cassette deck will allow you to hear only 2 of the 4 tracks originally recorded. So the net-net is that I’ve been tooling around DeeCee listening to these bizarro, dub-like “mixes” of partial songs (most of which suck) — maybe a bass and vocal track in this one, or guitar and drums in that — and it’s driving me crazy!

So here’s the deal: I managed to find my old Tascam Porta 05 in the basement, carefully wrapped in a bath towel and shoved in a box. But… no power supply, dude! So I’m stuck. Here I am, proud owner of a gajillion-dollar recording studio, and I can’t even listen to shit I recorded 20 years ago on a $150 cassette deck. I tried eBay for a power supply, but came up empty. There aren’t even any used Porta 05s out there for purchase anymore. I need help! If any of you can furnish me with some helpful tips for unlocking all this old music, I promise — I PROMISE — to post 3 of the most noteworthy tracks I uncover. This will likely provide many posts-worth of amusement at my expense, but no matter. I must have these crappy old songs back!

Any ideas?

Thanking you in advance,

HVB

p.s.: Mod, I also found the original box (though not, sadly, the cassette) of Three Miles Island!

G.E. Smith Spoils the Party… AGAIN

Posted by hrrundivbakshi

Feb 152008

This was so much fun to watch until… well, you know.

The RTH Rock and Roll Foyer of Fame Presents: The First Annual Bob Seger Memorial Partial Lifetime Achievement Awards and Chili Cookoff

Posted by hrrundivbakshi

Feb 132008

The time has come.

The GRAMMYS coughed up its 21st-century entertainment hairball, complete with glowing sunglasses, embalmed Beatles producers and — God help us — Kid Rock scatting with Keely Smith. Meanwhile, in the Rock Town Hall Neutral Zone, Captain Oats of the Starship Rockulon sparked up one glowing dilithium crystal in the communal love bong and posited the question: “which rock artistes deserve both our love for having succeeded so mightily on their first album… *and* our scorn for then having let us down — continually, perennially, and depressingly — in that one brilliant album’s aftermath?”

I say again: the time has come!

Missing the Point: Incredibly Stupid Covers

Posted by hrrundivbakshi

Feb 092008

I was out trolling the Web for more information on the Stones masterpiece “Moonlight Mile,” when I found this:

… a performance that rendered me pretty speechless. The inanity of the band’s song choice, however, got me thinking about all the covers I’ve heard that were just *wrong*, for so many reasons. I’m not sure any of the ones that sprang to mind were as bizarre and ill-conceived as this one, but I thought I’d throw the topic out there for consideration.

And the sky’s full of snow… and the sky’s full of snow…

HVB

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