Excluding bands in matching suits, how many examples of bands performing (live or on video) in uniform can we cite? Also excluded are bands merely posing for a cover photo in uniform (eg, XTC on a few covers) and bands in non-functional costumes (eg, KISS and GWAR). The uniform(s – they need not be matching) must be related to a profession.
I’ll start with the following video, which I’d never seen until the other day: Continue reading »
We’ve got a hot new t-shirt for you, the long-awaited German True Stereo shirt. While your rock-nerd friends are content to experience the world in regular old stereo or, at best, Japanese gold, remastered 5-D surround sound, you can proudly let them know where you’re coming from. The German True Stereo shirt is available here.
Also new to the Rock Town Hall store is the Pince Nez mug. What better way to start your day in the Halls of Rock but with a cup of coffee and a humbling reminder of the limits of our rock expertise? The Pince Nez mug is available here.
On a related note the RTH Booooooks link has been updated with many of the rock bios discussed earlier this week. Check ’em out and fill your head with new bits of, outside this place, useless information!
What if Bryan Ferry continued with his 1978-era beard? How might rock history have been changed?
Need more evidence of the potential effects of Bearded Ferry? Continue reading »
This holiday classic deserves a yearly airing. Please be thankful this holiday season.
This post initially appeared 12/23/08.
Back in January, we celebrated the historic 23rd anniversary of the debut of the greatest supergroup in history, USA For Africa, and their most famous single, We Are The World.
Throughout 2008, Rock Town Hall spent some time talking about influences in rock, from the thieving ways of Buddy Holly to bands with little to no outside influences. USA For Africa was influenced by some precursor groups, such as the Concert For Bangladesh Band and, of course Band Aid, the primarily British/Irish Supergroup which launched the popular single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” in 1984, watching it reach #1 on the UK charts…but fail to reach #1 in America.
Continue reading »
In a recent comment Townsman alexmagic, always one of the Hall’s finest conceptualists/commentators if not the Main Stage trailblazer we all know he could be (we’ll chalk it up to humility), hinted at his desire to discuss a Once and For All topic that developed from a “weird haircut experience,” in which, as he puts it:
…someone was playing a Stones collection that only had late-period songs on it…
The Once and For All topic is this: Reissues, remixes and live songs excluded, what is the best Rolling Stones single from 1984 on? It is crucial that we settle this issue, which has been implied on numerous rock discussion blogs through the years but not once tackled head on!
The broader, possibly more telling topic that needs to be discussed, however, is that of the rock-themed weird haircut experience. I’m sure I’m not the only one curious to know the details of The Magic Man’s rock-themed weird haircut experience, and because I’ve had two of my own rock-themed weird haircut experiences I know alexmagic is not alone in having such an experience. It’s likely you’ve had one too. These experiences usually aren’t discussed in polite circles, so FUCK YOU – let’s drop all pretense of being polite and come clean. I’m sure we’ll find the trading of our experiences extremely healing. Then we can go back to watching what we say at the dinner table.
I’ll start: Continue reading »
Mick Jagger, acknowledged by even straight guys as one of the Sexiest Men in Rock (and yes, even sexier than Chris Squire) – not to mention among the coolest, in his prime, has nevertheless committed some of the most egregious Rock Crimes in history, many of them involving poor choices in fashion.
Early Jagger, when his hair was merely shaggy and he was supported by an energetic Keef and a silken-haired Brian, was nothing but cool. Even when he looked like he’d just gotten the shit kicked out of him in one of those “kitchen-sink dramas” of England’s early ’60s film movement (eg, any film based on a story by Allan Sillitoe and/or involving Tony Richardson), he looked as comfortable in his clothes as in his skin. He was so cool, in fact, that he made an Oxford shirt and sweater smolder. In 1964, not even a proto-mullet could bring the man down.
I don’t think Jagger had a bad rock fashion day until he and his mates attempted to jump onto the psychedelia craze. Although this 1967 Look is not a terrible Look by any musician’s standards, it’s among the first signs of Mick’s worst fashion impulses. Although Mick’s flirtations with androgyny are a key facet to his Rock Superpowers, the bright colors, silken fabrics, and general blousy-ness of the psychedelic era would bring out his inner-Linda Richman. No one asked for a Rock ‘n Roll “Babs.”
Although psychedelia wasn’t the best fit for Mick, it was some of his stage wear for the initially aborted Rock ‘n Roll Circus event that first fully crossed the Egregious Fashion Faux Pas Line. Nothing says “smacked ass” like Mick Jagger in a top hat.
When he wanted to – or needed to – Jagger could always recover from his most egregious fashion faux pas to date by throwing on a stylish suit. In 1971, for instance, following this disastrous Look, Mick went formal to great effect. His new bride’s choice in bridal wear didn’t hurt matters. (It should be noted, however, that the ill-fitting, mustard jacket worn on his second wedding day to an equally oversized-bride may have been Mick’s most egregious fashion faux pas in terms of formal wear.)
Do you agree this is enough background reading? Let’s get to the heart of the matter!
Once and for all…What is Mick Jagger’s Most Egregious Fashion Faux Pas?
Contenders surely include the following:
Townsman cherguevvara twice posted this link in hopes of fostering discussion with no luck. That happens sometimes. Perhaps the fact that this 20/20 piece from 1980 on the bold, technological new age of rock videos went in so many directions that would become long-overgrown trails that it was difficult to break down the application of this clip to the futuristic guitar thread in which it first appeared. Watching it again, though, I think there’s a lot of meat to chew on, particularly around the question of What the hell happened to the Age of Rock Video?
Before getting to this theme, it must said that this clip contains scenes of Boss molestation and a primo Stevie Nicks, a laughable segment touting the high-tech promise of a fingerprint-laden Laserdisc, and a funny excerpt for a 1950s ad for a 45 player. The reporter also refers to Mike Nesmith‘s music as “fair to middlin’,” which is a criticism that’s not heard often enough for the one Monkee granted the Lennon Pass.
One of the well-known label execs—I think Clive Davis—doubts that this age of video rock will come to fruition because of issues of repeatability: “What would you want to watch repeatedly?” Davis, critic Dave Marsh, or the reporter eventually ask. Some survey conducted by Nesmith concluded that adults would watch music videos with porn and kids would watch them if they featured cartoons. My long-desired concept of PornMTV never took off, so clearly the actual answer would be “Not much.” Do even box sets of rare concert footage from legendary bands get played more than three times? I bought that Led Zeppelin box set of concert and rare tv performances from about 10 years ago, and although it’s a great collection, I don’t know that I’ve watched it more than three times.
The high-falutin’ video concept albums that the likes of Nesmith and Todd Rundgren had their eye on went nowhere. Not even CDs with bonus video content make much of a dent, do they? The video aspect often bogged down my computer, if I tried to watch it that way.
What happened to the age of rock video? Few cable television networks play videos. MTV abandoned them altogether, and VH1 only features the same two dozen “Best of the ’80s” clips. Videos, as easily accessed on YouTube and other websites, have become a worthwhile means for sampling new music, but the rock video as a distinct art form never approached its destiny as PornMTV. Or did it? Continue reading »
