In appreciation of perhaps San Francisco’s most overlooked psychedelic-era band, we would like to encourage those of you with Facebook accounts to cut and paste the following text into your profile…after the jump!
Continue reading »
Apr 012010
Feb 162010
This exercise is simple: Identify the woman whose image you see above. Note that this photograph has relevance to one of the discussions we’re undertaking today.
I look forward to your responses.
HVB
Jan 112010
So Electric Stevie Land is the Townspeople’s choice.
I will present this to the band as “my” pick and I’ll report back.
In the meantime, let’s have some fun with Guess the Cover Band’s Object of Affection by Their Name Game.
I have one example and one band (fictitious, of course) and then two to guess…I’m sure Townspeople can come up with better ones.
Space Monkey Mafia – Billy Joel Tribute Band (from “We Didn’t Start the Fire”)
Caviar Four Star Daydream – ?
Testimonial Pictures – ?
Can you identify the real bands being held in tribute? What real or fictional tribute band name have you got?
Dec 222009
No secrets here!
That Secret Santa practice that’s popular in the workplace and in some families always confuses me. I can’t keep track of how it works, and when I find myself unable to get out of one of these things, I get a bad feeling in my stomach. I’m cool with gift giving being out in the open. The guessing game thing and the ability to trade in a gift don’t sit right with me. Hit me with your best shot!
In that spirit I’d like to suggest Rock Town Hall’s Not-So-Secret Santa Celebration. Choose a Townsperson – one Townsperson – and wish a musically relevant gift upon that person. Try to spread the wealth: pick someone who has not yet received a gift, and don’t hog a half dozen Townspeople for yourself.
This “gift” doesn’t have to be a specific thing, like a particular record. In fact, I think it could be more fun it was more like wishing a musical value or insight for a fellow Townsperson. For instance, I might wish that my close personal friend E. Pluribus Gergely would finally feel the brilliance of the s/t album by The Band, one of my favorite albums since childhood and a constant point of disagreement between the two of us. It’s not just that we disagree aesthetically. I think a little less of him for not getting that album, and he takes pity on me for being so tied to the emotional and historical involvement that I have placed in the album since it was given to me by my uncle when I was about 5 years old. Wouldn’t this be a wonderful world if Rock Town Hall’s Not-So-Secret Santa simply granted him the ability to find a place for that album in his heart?
Sep 302009
Remember Colorforms? Following a comprehensive 5-minute search of the Internet I have determined that the Colorforms company, although producing sets specifically for iconic artists like The Beatles, KISS, and Elvis Presley, did not produce a comprehensive set of Colorforms that would have allowed us, as children, to create our own vision of the Ultimate Rock Star. Well, maybe they did, but if they did I’m sure it wasn’t as good as the Colorforms set we’re about to create.
As a service to help soothe yet one more dashed rock ‘n roll dream, Rock Town Hall will be partnering with Colorforms to create the Rock Town Hall Kit, a Colorforms toy. This set will include, from head to toe, the most iconic elements of rock wardrobe and accoutrements for future generations to mix and match onto blank figures in the effort of creating the Ultimate Rock Star.
Now the hard part… Read on!
Continue reading »
Sep 212009
Townsman chuckflack was pretty pissed about our recent Mount Rushmore of Rock thread, so he did the next best thing to publicly, personally, and shamefully insulting the thread’s author: he drafted his own thread for discussion on The Main Stage! Following is chuckflack’s All-Time Rock ‘n Roll Football Team. Although he would love for you to rubber stamp his roster, he knows better. Hike!
You ain’t nothin’ but a red dog
Screw Mount Rushmore! It might be rock, but it doesn’t roll too well. And it’s supposed to be four faces, and everybody’s crowded the thing with whole bands. Besides, it’s football season. Herewith, my all-time rock and roll football team. If my criteria isn’t clear, make up your own.
Continue reading »
May 272009
This is quick one. When thinking about great bands that have deep catalogs of great albums, there are few of which I can say “This is their best, hands down.” For The Beatles or Stones or Kinks or…there is no way I could pick a best.
But for XTC, I can say, hands down, English Settlement is their best. For classic Pink Floyd, I can say, hands down, Animals is their best. For Crowded House, I can say, hands down, Together Alone, is their best.
And I use “best” rather than “favorite” as with these albums, the bands, IMHO, delivered what they were growing towards all along and then never quite achieved again.
Feel free to agree with me regarding the above specifics but the question is really- Do you have any hands down albums?
