Maybe those English weren’t so bad after all. Lots of great stuff in here. Elvis’ “Watching the Detectives” is worth it alone.
Jul 032011
Jun 252011
Phoebe Snow and Linda Rondstadt cover The Roches‘ “The Married Men” on Saturday Night Live. I like how they take it upon themselves to introduce to the country a then-practically unknown band. This would have been around the time of the sisters’ breakthrough s/t album. I like how Snow and Rondstadt are appearing together just because they feel like it—as if they’d just happened to be doing lines in Lorne Michaels‘ office during the Not Ready for Prime Time Players’ final run through. Paul Simon and George Harrison made a similar non-promotional appearance. Could a national television show, not to mention artists’ managers, allow such an informal, generous appearance again? Thinking about this makes me feel twice my new age.
Whether you’re 24 or 48 or 96, what musical moment can you not imagine ever happening on national televlsion again?
Jun 212011
I’m far from a Pat Travers fan, but I really dig his live version of “Boom Boom (Out Go the Lights).” It’s from Live! Go for What You Know. Real catchy title, right? It’s an average blues boogie that 1,000 other bands probably play, or there are 1,000 similar songs you could play instead. Their version is kind of sludgy and proggy, so there isn’t a lot going for it yet. Regardless, when this live version came out in 1979, I found it a huge FM radio treat. I really enjoy how well the audience holds up their end. I love how each time Pat hits the payoff line Boom Boom, he guides the crowd with a “right here,” “what is it?” and the audience hits it mark perfectly with a clear and clean “Out go the lights!” Maybe they all got together beforehand to practice. I asked the audience if they had room for another member, but they never got back to me.
What other songs come to mind where the live version is far superior to the studio version? Any others where the crowd energy or participation gets a big part of the credit?
Jun 122011
I have been going to see concerts since I was 13 (well 11if you count being at a Chicago concert, though we were on the other side of the park and could hear but did not see them). Since then I always gave my dad a hard time about not seeing the great ’60s and ’70s bands in their prime. His excuses were (1) The Draft and (2) the expense of concert tickets in NYC when you have 2 infants (so basically MY fault). He missed The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Allman Bros/Dead at the racetrack 5 miles from our house, Bruce, The Who, Steely Dan, Dylan‘s Rolling Thunder, etc. Shame on you old man, but thanks for taking care of your kids too!
So at 14 or so my brother and I decided that we would see EVERY band that came to town. And we stuck to it for many years. I have been able to check off just about every major band that has toured in my lifetime that I had any desire to see (oh, and Britney Spears, who I saw anyway).
My bucket list is down to 5 artists, and I just heard that 2 of them will be in my area this year:
- Brian Wilson (Gershwin show I think)
- Neil Young (Buffalo Springfield added 30 shows to their tour this fall)
Still left….
- Ozzy
- Prince
- David Bowie
They all tour and have been to Atlanta, Just missed them for one reason or another. Did I miss ALL of them in their prime? Certainly, but I feel like I have completed 95% of the rock and roll crossword puzzle and need these last 5 crossed off.
I never saw Oasis, and of course they are broken up and I’ve had people say I really missed out on Radiohead. As far as big acts (not counting Rap, R&B acts, some of the Metal bands that I did not like until much later). It would be hard to stump me.
PS – I had a ticket for Michael Jackson with The Jacksons (victory Tour) but got a soccer-related concussion and missed the show. My family told me that I was there and kept this lie for many months before they finally told me that I did actually miss the show. I had a T-shirt and everything.
May 262011
The world has officially gone fucking insane
Somebody sent me a copy of the photo above, obviously meaning to get my dander up. My obvious first question, as I’m sure it was yours, was “who the hell are these two idiots, and why is my President shaking their hand?”
Turns out they’re the latest manufactured pop idols from across the pond — Ireland, I believe — and they call themselves “Jedward.” Their music — at least the small amount of it I’ve heard — is predictably terrible.
But look — I don’t have the time to rant about how awful their music is, or even how sick I am of pop music that relies on image-mongering at the expense of good songcraft. But I do have the time to rant about how this duo’s “act” is the closest thing I’ve seen to honest-to-God Nazi rally theatrics since you-know-when. Or at least the realization of every dystopian, sci-fi “rock star of the 23rd century” vision ever committed to film.
Don’t believe me? Check this out:
I have so many questions about this clip: are these two yucka-pucks even remotely aware of what they’re mimicking here? Does their audience get the same thrill people experienced when the Fuhrer rolled down the streets of Berlin in 1939? Did President Obama ever lean over to Michelle and whisper, “what the FUCK were people thinking, making us sit through this white-boy Kid-n-Play-meets-Riefenstahl bullshit?” And, also interesting to me: I wonder how the money breaks down in the Jedward deal. Is it, like, a Broadway thing, where each show costs an astonishing amount of money, but the take at the door is $80/seat? Jedward certainly can’t float that kind of cash — so you know the producers are making out here. But where does that leave poor Jedward? And how do acts like Jedward progress artistically, once they’ve committed temselves to this kind of career?
Sorry this is unfocused — my mind is still reeling.
May 252011
You know the drill: Dugout Chatter is Rock Town Hall’s rapid-fire thread that requires nothing more than your gut answers! Don’t think too long. Don’t think too hard. Perhaps you shouldn’t think at all. No one’s an expert on the topics that follow. Just answer the questions.
[NOTE: The term rock concert, as used in the following questions, connotes paid attendance at a show by a touring artist, rather than, say, coincidental attendance at the debut of a lame teenage band playing for your 8th grade dance in a church basement.]
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What was your first rock concert?
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What do you recall most impressed you at this first rock concert?
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Have you ever flicked a Bic in approval of a band’s performance?
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Have you ever gone home with a piece of a band’s gear (eg, set list, drum sticks, guitar pick, cod piece)?
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Who is the most memorable special guest performer you’ve ever seen join a band on stage at a rock concert that you’ve attended?
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Have you ever made out at a rock concert?
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What band’s live show most made a believer out of you after years of not caring for the band on record?
I look forward to your answers.
May 242011
What’s rock’s greatest stage prop? Pink Floyd‘s flying pig? The Rolling Stones‘ inflatable penis? Alice Cooper‘s guillotine? Elvis Costello‘s Spectacular Spinning Songwheel? Spinal Tap‘s occasionally malfunctioning pods? Once and for all…can we determine the definitive answer to this question?
BONUS POINTS for your personal experiences witnessing any of rock’s greatest stage props or even using one with your own band!
