1980s

Could Jimi Hendrix, Rock’s Teflon Fashion Plate, Have Withstood the Stylistic Landmines of the 1980s?

Jul 072011

"Go ahead, try to mock my sense of fashion!"

As Townsman junkintheyard hinted at in response to a recent piece by E. Pluribus Gergely and RTH Labs on the profound weakness of any man wearing an earring, Jimi Hendrix may have been immune to not only the debillitating effects of the earring but a host of questionable rock fashion choices.

Think about it. Hendrix may be the only rocker to get a pass for wearing a headband. It’s debatable whether fringe was ever cool, but no one calls bullshit on Hendrix for wearing it. You wanna cut up on bare-chested rockers wearing vests? Leave Jimi out of it. The kimono? Kimono Jimi’s house! I have not yet located a photo, but I bet Hendrix in a pancho would settle all debates over the potential coolness of that item of clothing.

Rock dudes bedazzled in jewelry? Jimi made it work. Floppy hats posed no hazards for the man. I bet the inside of that bad boy had been soaked in acid!

A Stars and Stripes jumpsuit for anyone not named Evel? Not even Elvis could pull that one off.

Sure, Jimi was black, but not even black guys are assured of pulling off the dashiki.

In terms of avoiding fashion faux pas Jimi had the good fortune to die young, and to die before the 1970s got underway. Jimi had already eclipsed the new decade’s attempts at achieving a larger-than-life Rock God persona. Similarly, Sly Stone, Miles Davis, and then Funkadelic would spend the decade chasing the man’s Psychedelic Pimp Look. Might he have flirted with asexual space-age glam fashions? Probably, and he probably would have picked up some cool backing singers along the way. Would Jimi have surprised us and opted for the down-to-earth denim ensemble of a singer-songwriter? Would he eventually identify himself with the punks and new wavers who owed something to him? Eventually Jimi would have been confronted with the satin siren call of disco. Although trecherous, somehow I think he would have made it work.

As a Rock Dandy who likely would have stayed that path, Jimi would have strutted a treacherous path as the decade came to a close and led into the 1980s. The long-term prospects of a Rock Dandy are fraught with pitfalls. For instance, black or white there’s only so much that can be done with long hair on a dude before he looks like he should be excitedly checking underneath his seat in the audience for a taping of Oprah. Could Jimi have found a way around Miles’ eventual downfall?

Nowhere to run, baby, nowhere to hide… Continue reading »

What’s So Bad About Soul Asylum?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 162011

What’s so bad about Soul Asylum? Why does mere mention of them make the likes of Townsman misterioso “shiver?”

Was their music all that bad, from their indie, poor man’s Replacements stuff to their giant hit song, “Runaway Train”?
Is it the fact that they far exceded the popularity of their groundbreaking Twin Cities colleagues?
Was it the expiration date passing on Dave Pirner‘s rat’s nest hair and severely ripped jeans?
Was it the other guitarist’s lank mall-rat hair?
Was it the fact that Pirner dated Winona Ryder while you didn’t?

Is it the fact that their commercial stuff and its “pro” production exposed them and much of that “heartland” ’80s “alternative rock” as little more than wannabe 1970s-era AOR, the kind of stuff Rock Town Hall’s patron saint of mediocrity, Bob Seger, and the likes of REO Speedwagon cranked out? Did Soul Asylum, The Replacements, et al suddenly pale next to a simple, direct artist from the tail end of ’70s AOR like Tom Petty?

While we’re on the subject, what’s going on with Pirner’s hair and jeans these days, and when’s the last time you thought about those big, honking cardboard boxes they used to house CDs in?

NEWS FLASH: Huey Lewis & the News Didn’t Suck!

Posted by hrrundivbakshi

Oct 062010

I know some of you will pick up what I’m about to lay down here: Huey Lewis didn’t suck. In fact, I’d say he was, on the whole, quite good for American popular music, in the same savior-of-AM-radio kind of way that Hall & Oates were. Not sure his hits were quite on the same level, but — come on — does “Heart & Soul” suck? How about “This Is It”? Of course they don’t suck!

In fact, I’d go further to say that HL&tN had a run of pretty darn good singles, many of which did a good job breathing life — perhaps not stylistically “new” life, but real life — into some pretty moldy American music forms. Dude played songs like “This Is It” straight — and that’s why the song doesn’t suck. Compare to “Uptown Girl,” a similar kind of retro-vibed track by Billy Joel. In Joel’s hands, this kind of faux-’50s number really grates. But when Huey gets his hands on the stuff, he doesn’t play-act; he just sings.

I dunno, I guess I’ve entered a phase where some formerly overplayed pop music is starting to come around for me. I’ve come to realize that the reasons why we like songs eventually surpass the reasons why we grew sick of them — and Huey Lewis made some of that kind of music. I’m still not sure I’m ready to download Sports, or whatever that ’80s Everyman album of his was called — but I was sure happy to hear “Heart & Soul” coming through the speakers at the cheese store today.

Here’s to the simple pleasures of life. Here’s to Huey Lewis.

HVB

Mystery Date Revealed: The Human League (or The Future)

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Sep 302010

As ladymisskirroyale suspected, our latest Mystery Date, a song entitled “4jg,” was by early Human League, or maybe The Human League under their original name, The Future. I downloaded this track from a collection of early demos, The Golden Hour of The Future, and didn’t pay attention to which band name this track was recorded under.

There’s no doubting the band name for this track, from the same collection:

The Human League, “Dance Like a Star”
Continue reading »

Trouser Press Remembers the ’70s

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Apr 082008

My teenage rock nerd treasure hunt begins.

Some of you are aware of the profound influence issue #46 of Trouser Press had on my young rock nerd’s development. It was the first issue of the new decade, and my favorite underground rock magazine kicked it off with a snazzy, double-length issue that looked back at the decade that had just passed and looked ahead to the promise of the 1980s!

As some of you are also aware, the promise of the 1980s soon turned ugly for this once-young man’s dreams of a return to energetic, concise rock ‘n roll on the radio. Instead of The Clash, Elvis Costello & The Attractions, The Buzzcocks, The Jam, and The Undertones ruling the airwaves, the underground pop song movement would emerge victorious, Yamaha DX-7 synths in tow, as the synth-pop of mildly entertaining types like Thomas Dolby and Thompson Twins and finally the massively successful dance-pop of Madonna and Rock Town Hall flashpoint Prince. Despite the success of a few more commercial contenders from that scene, like The Police, The Cars, and Blondie (and Costello and The Clash, to some extent), the closing credits were rolling on the dream.

Trouser Press #46, “Some 1970s Albums You Might Have Missed” (~40 mb)

That didn’t mean I couldn’t spend the ’80s seeking out cool, underground albums from the ’70s that were mostly alien to me before I’d reached my late teens and became a loyal Trouser Press reader. I scanned what’s still my touchstone article from that issue, “Some 1970s Albums You Might Have Missed” (~40 mb; click to download). It’s a large file, but if you download it and print it out, you’ll have some choice bathroom reading! Then – after you’ve washed your hands – I’m sure you’ll want to log back into the Halls of Rock and share your thoughts on these albums, those times, your own significant moment that helped launch your personal rock nerd journey.
Continue reading »

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