nice » Rock Town Hall • Rock Music Discussion

If You Can’t Say Anything Nice About…Christian Vander of Magma

Jun 232011

We here in the Halls of Rock Town are sometimes taken to task for being overly negative, snarky, hyper-critical, and all too often, just downright rude. As part of our collective efforts to bring a bit of sunshine and light to the world wide web, we occasionally make an extra effort effort to find something good to say about, you know, stuff that is clearly godawful.

It is in that spirit that we embark on yet another effort to bring some positivity to our proceedings. Please spend some quality time with the video above, then — if you can — please find something nice to say about it. You’ll feel a whole lot better, I promise you.

I look forward to your comments. Just remember, if you can’t say anything nice about this video… please don’t say anything at all.

If You Can’t Say Anything Nice About…Craig Chaquico

Posted by Mr. Moderator

May 182011

We here in the Halls of Rock Town are sometimes taken to task for being overly negative, snarky, hyper-critical, and all too often, just downright rude. As part of our collective efforts to bring a bit of sunshine and light to the world wide web, we occasionally make an extra effort effort to find something good to say about, you know, stuff that is clearly godawful.

It is in that spirit that we embark on yet another effort to bring some positivity to our proceedings. Please spend some quality time with the video above, then — if you can — please find something nice to say about it. You’ll feel a whole lot better, I promise you.

I look forward to your comments. Just remember, if you can’t say anything nice about this video… please don’t say anything at all.

Last Man Standing: Songs That Are Based Around the Chord Progression and Rhythm of “Sweet Jane”

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Apr 262011

I love “Sweet Jane.” Although its chord progression and rhythm are probably part of the extended rock ‘n roll lineage of 3-chord classics like “Louie Louie,” “Wild Thing,” and “Gloria,” I would argue that its distinctive rhythmic hitch established the song as its own dynastic chord progression.

Last night, while watching the John Hughes “classic” Pretty in Pink for the first time in my life I kept waiting for the title track to play, hoping against hope that it would inject a little excitement into this simplistic, overly nice film that I felt justified for having been “too cool for school” to see when it was all the rage in my college years. Maybe the song plays at the beginning of the movie, the first 15 minutes or so of which I missed, but let me tell you, I was pretty pissed when… [SPOILER ALERT!] Continue reading »

If You Can’t Say Anything Nice About…Lou Reed: The Way His Music Was Meant to Sound!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 292011

Let’s review the rules, which are simple and nice:

No potshots allowed at all the obvious targets in this clip. Rather, say something nice about the band, their performance, and anything else you may see, hear, or feel while watching this video. If you don’t have anything nice to say, that’s OK; Rock Town Hall still offers the occasional thread to post a snarky comment.

Thanks.

Billy Joel’s “The Entertainer”: No Redeeming Value?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 212011

The other night I heard a Billy Joel song on the radio that I’d thankfully blocked from my memory for some time, “The Entertainer.” It occurred to me, as I made myself listen to the entire heaping pile of Broadway sea shanty shit, that I may hate this song more than what I’ve long considered The Worst Song in Rock ‘n Roll: Blood, Sweat & Tears‘ “And When I Die.” At least that BS&T turd is performed with true zest. Continue reading »

If You Can’t Say Anything Nice… About This U2 “Sing-Off” Performance

Posted by sammymaudlin

Dec 132010

I will go on record here and now and say that I really like this song, when U2 does it. I know it isn’t cool to like U2 and I’m not a big U2 fan at all and yes Bono frequently bugs blah, blah, blah. But I do like this song, when U2 does it. That’s the nice thing I can say about this performance.

What nice things can you say?

If You Can’t Say Anything Nice About…Style Council’s Jerusalem

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Nov 102010

I’d never heard of Style Council‘s short film Jerusalem until the other day, when Townsman misterioso suggested that we see if we can’t say anything nice about it. Because this is likely to be one of the most difficult assignments that I have ever faced, I won’t even begin to watch this 4-part series of YouTube clips until after I’ve launched the post. As some of you may recall, I have already found Style Council (and Paul Weller, in particular) guilty of Rock Crimes. This film can’t be good news for his parole officer, but I’ll be…nice.

Here’s what Modculture.com had to say about this film:

The one that’ll leave you wondering the most, though, is ‘JerUSAlem’. Those who have seen it already will probably recall the slightly bewildering feeling one experiences when it’s viewed for the first time. Whilst I won’t admit to understanding it fully, visually it’s aged very well. The clips of the band roaring into the village square on their scooters still pleases, as do the performances of ‘It Didn’t Matter’ and ‘Heavens Above’ in particular. Whether you get it or not, it’s nice to own it and finally be able to pass judgement on it. It’s not brilliant, but it’s not entirely bad either.

Note how they manage to find something nice to say. Let’s see if we can’t follow their lead. Parts 2 through 4 follow…after the jump!

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