sammymaudlin

sammymaudlin

Mr. Mod Has Left The Building: Let’s Talk Replacements, Twin Tone & Bonus Tracks

 Posted by
Jul 292008
 

TWOFER TUESDAY
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Mr. Moderator is on vacation and rarely checking in. I love the man, but I don’t think I can suffer through another tirade about lack of musicianship or “crappy 70s music values” so let’s us Replacements fans discuss the superior Twin Tone years and bonus tracks whilst the cat is away.

My appreciation for The Replacements may be almost as divisive as Mod’s. As far as I’m concerned, they ceased to exist as a great band the day Bob Stinson “left” the band. I know Bob largely sucked as a guitar virtuoso but it was his reckless rock ‘n roll ‘tude that was so, so necessary in postponing Westerberg’s “I’m an artist” ‘tude that eventually wore thin with me.

That’s not to say that there isn’t any post-Tim stuff I like, I do, it’s just not The Replacements.

I dig the band! So, like many fans, the only potential lost treasures were to be found on Twin Tone, with the exception of a few rare moments on the All For Nothing comp:

Can’t Hardly Wait (Tim version)
Beer for Breakfast

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Hollywood Pitch: The Black Angels

 Posted by
Jul 282008
 

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You ever see any of the Matt Helm movies? It occurred to me the other day how perfectly simple the Hollywood pitch was for these films: “What if Dean Martin was James Bond?” Let’s make a picture!

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of a Hollywood pitch, it’s simple: Describe your project in the most succinct and appealing way possible. One trick is to reference previous well known successes.

There are some examples in here:

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Following are a few tracks from a band called The Black Angels. If you were their manager and had to sell them with only words what would your pitch be?

Young Men Dead
Black Grease
Manipulation

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Melt the Flutes and Never More Desire Them

 Posted by
Jul 212008
 

I joked in a previous thread that the flute has no place in music. Well kinda joked. With the exception of “Moondance”, I can’t think of an instance of the Rock Flute that didn’t make me reach for the dial.

I invite you, individually and/or collectively, to offer up 10 great rock songs that feature a flute. I’ll be the judge and jury.

Here are the rules:

Not including Moondance.

  • The flute must be relatively prominent and integral. Don’t split hairs, you know what I’m sayin’.
  • I flippantly said “music,” but for this challenge I’m limiting you to rock songs.
  • No more than 2 songs by a given artist. I confess that there might be other Van Morrison songs that I’m unaware of. (BTW: Van Morrison is the exception to another one of my rock laws. Stay tuned.)
  • Mellotrons, and other devices, that sound like flutes don’t count.

Tip: Don’t even try any Tull. DOA

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Grudge Match: Aerosmith vs Van Halen

 Posted by
Jul 172008
 

I pit these guys against each other…I’m not sure why…something to do with late-’70s AOR in Phoenix maybe…

What gets me is the respect that Aerosmith gets and the lack of respect that Van Halen gets. Can I hear an Amen!

We just got Guitar Hero Aeorsmith over here, which was worth the price just so I could play Complete Control by The Clash. (The first person who can post the appropriateness of this Clash tune for use in this game wins a patented RTH No-Prize.)

Anyhoo, in listening and “playing” the Aerosmith songs I got to thinking how much they suck. By the time I was finished with the game I realized that by owning Toys in the Attic (which is pretty great), I had more than enough Aerosmith, with the possible exception of Dream On.

Van Halen on the other hand ripped out 6 great (but flawed for sure) albums from ’78-’84. These guys kicked it, and evidenced by the videos, if not by their lyrics, had a sense of humor about themselves. Plus they were relatively original in both sound and Look. Aerosmith just comes off as a K-Mart Zeppelin-come-by-Stones schtick, right down to the lips, scarf, and lead guitarist initials.

What say you?

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Happy 4th

 Posted by
Jul 042008
 

I really thought about that patriotic song challenge and came up empty. I couldn’t think of a single song that made me “proud to be an American” until latelydavid mentioned Buffalo Springfield and then I realized that the protest songs of the 60s genuinely make me feel proud to be an American.

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I know a lot of these types of songs feel cheesy in hindsight but if you can’t set that aside for just a moment and revel in the revolution and the sentiment of these tunes and time well then mister you’re a better man than I.
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