Rock Town Hall • Rock Music Discussion

A Taste of Honey

Apr 292020

HAMBURG, GERMANY – 1st MAY: The Beatles posed in Hamburg, Germany during their residency at The Star Club in May 1962. Left to right: Pete Best, John Lennon (1940-1980), Paul McCartney and George Harrison (1943-2001). (Photo by Horst Fascher/K & K Ulf Kruger OHG/Redferns)

One of my great joys in life is the poker game and all that it entails: spending time with wickedly funny friends, getting polluted, gorging myself with delicious unhealthy food (kielbasa sandwiches; stiff, salty potato chips), listening to choice music (London Calling, The Harder They Come, 12 x 5, etc.), and most importantly, if everything goes just right, experiencing the Blue Velvet-like thrill of having everyone’s money in my pocket at the end of the night.

It was one during one of these poker sessions that our severely stoned ring leader (who has chosen to remain nameless because he’s a wuss) brought this up after landing a Jack between a deuce and a King during a lengthy Acey Deucy round that netted him a pot of about 50 bucks: “You know what? I’d give all this away right now and everything in the bank if I could go back in time to see one of those early Ramones CBGBs shows, where they played with Television, Suicide, that early version of Blondie…Can you imagine seeing something like that? Jesus!”

The actual music that came out of the CBGBs scene was really not my cup of tea, but the stories surrounding it were a whole ‘nother matter. I too would have loved to have been there. Would it have been worth emptying my bank account? In that state of mind during the poker game? Maybe. Seeing the Preludin-fueled Beatles at the Star Club in Hamburg in 1962 with a recently added Ringo? Absolutely and positively. To be at the front of the stage, guzzling that elixir like German lager with Lady Gergely in tow, in our late teens (with a guarantee that we would somehow or another be able to return to the present in one piece), watching them tear through “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry,” “Red Sails in the Sunset,” “Too Much Monkey Business,” etc, marveling at Lennon’s ability to insult the Germans continually, not caring one whit about any kind of consequences, and just plain being in the thick of that “anything goes” magic environment of locals, sailors, exis, mobsters, prostitutes, transvestites, etc, would without a doubt be worth the trip to the bank. With all that in mind, I now ask you: If the opportunity presented itself, which big music event would be worth seeing at the expense of a secure job, marriage, retirement fund, you name it?

Bands That Were Much Better Before Some Producer Polished Them Up and Helped Them Become Wildly Popular

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Apr 282020

Is this topics like shooting fish in a barrel? Yes, unless we restrict ourselves to artists who released no more than TWO (2) releases before some hotshot producer polished them up and helped them become wildly successful. This limit, mind you, will rule out the likes of Soul Asylum, comeback-era Aerosmith, and lord knows how many other fish in a barrel you’re dying to shoot.

A second limitation in this discussion is that some artist’s underground “cool” phase under a different name or in a different band does not count. If the debut by The Cars, for instance, strikes you as overproduced slop relative to earlier music some of the band members put out under a different name, that earlier band you thought was cooler without all the glossy production doesn’t count. The Cars started out with a heavily produced first album…as The Cars. (For the record, if you feel like arguing, I have no problem with the incredibly polished production of that album.)

My first thought on this topic goes to The Bangles, originally The Bangs before another band claimed ownership of that name. Although their music wasn’t that much different on their debut EP, I enjoy it so much more before some producer gussied them up and helped them get wildly popular. Bless that producer, mind you, for helping them enjoy the sweet life of Top 40 success, but I wish they could have received a government grant to continue making music like “The Real World,” their initial single.

Early Arrivals From the Future or Secretariat?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Apr 272020

Cassius Clay, after defeating Sonny Liston for the World Heavyweight title, calls up his friend Sam Cooke: “We both too pretty!” exclaims the soon-to-be Muhammad Ali.

Stick with me for a minute: I’m going to ask us to determine whether some musical phenomena were full-on early arrivals from the future or merely a musical equivalent of Secretariat‘s 1973 Belmont Stakes capper to his Triple Crown run. But first, a little background on what the hell I am talking about…

Houses of the Self-Quarantined

Posted by Lady Gergely

Apr 262020

Dear Mr. Moderator,

Your good friend and my husband, the notorious EPG, has been talking an awful lot of nonsense up here about Led Zeppelin, and giving you a really hard time. I’m writing to let you know that it’s been quite insufferable to listen to him while quarantined. Given our shared appreciation for Zeppelin, I thought I should make you aware of Mr. Gergely’s true opinions regarding Zep’s merits as a band. So, here’s a peek behind the velvet rope.

We all know how Pluribus likes to talk, run the show, and generally cause trouble. All that’s entertaining, but it can also be absolutely infuriating. During the past week, while he was going on and on about Zeppelin not “delivering the goods,” I peppered him with titles to (re)consider. As I barked out song after song, his responses were more often than not “oh, that’s a good one” or “ yeah, I like that one too.” Since, according to EPG, most ’60s American albums contained 11-12 tracks, he decided to see if he could come up with a list of his favorite 11 song titles. You should know that although he never thought he’d be able to gather the proposed list of 11, he struggled to limit his selections. He had a considerable number of contenders that were difficult to discard. Below are the Led Zeppelin songs that E. Pluribus Gergely admitted to loving without reservations.

All-Star Jam

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Apr 252020

Here’s the place to do your own thing.

Last Man Standing: In Praise of…a Hundred Things Represented in This Clip

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Apr 232020

Let’s list them, Last Man Standing style! But remember, don’t bogart this thread: only one entry per post, please.

The Falcons Wanna Know: What’s Your Beef With Led Zeppelin?

Posted by 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:

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