What was your first car, and what car song best represents said wheels?

The first two cars I owned were VW Beetles. They were $100 old cars and both lasted only a few years - the heat needed to be "wired on" in the winter and the floors were rotting out. So - the song that might best represent them for me would be the Flintstones theme song.

Musicians of any stripe, is there an artist whose music you learned to appreciate only after having learned to play it?

There was a show that Baby Flamehead did at the Khyber once where in the middle of our set we played 3-4 Foreigner tunes. I remember rehearsing them in Eden's living room and scratching our heads in amazement at the arrangements and the strangely difficult task of learning them. I suddenly had more respect for the craft that went into writing those tunes. Though it didn't make me want to go out and buy any of their releases...

'What band not known for its use of backing vocals makes the best use of them in the rare times backing vocals are employed?'

Led Zeppelin

'Certainly you've had an experience hearing a song that you pooh-poohed when it was a hit to realize, years later, it wasn't all that bad...'

Recently heard a New Order song that used to drive me batty. The one that goes 'ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh.' Hearing it the other day I realized the rhythm chugged along nicely despite all the cutesy hooks (some stuff about eye color included).

'What was your first car, and what car song best represents said wheels?'

'74 Dodge Dart. Beige. 'Helen Wheels' best represents the teen driver if not the car itself.

'What's your favorite Ron Wood moment?'

'Ooh La La'

'Which artist not known as a producer but having done some outside production work would you most like to have heard produce other artists more often?'

Nick Mason.

'Musicians of any stripe, is there an artist whose music you learned to appreciate only after having learned to play it?'

n/a

'Which artist do you think you might truly dig if only you could get your head around around the genre in which said artist works?'

Don't know that I can separate things like that or that I have that much resistance to a particular genre. Maybe I'd like Santana better if they didn't have that Latin vibe. I like the rocking bits.

'What band not known for its use of backing vocals makes the best use of them in the rare times backing vocals are employed?'

I don't know - Bruce and the E street Band?

'What was your first car, and what car song best represents said wheels?'

Well, my second car was a Monte Carlo until it blew up in front of Mike Fingeroff's house. It did give me a band name for a covers band Chickenfrank and I were in during college "The Expoldin' MC's"

'What's your favorite Ron Wood moment?'

Any song where he plays his Dobro

'Which artist not known as a producer but having done some outside production work would you most like to have heard produce other artists more often?'

Ray Manzerek

Manzarek's a great answer, A-Dogg! I was listening to both Morrison Hotel and the second X album this weekend and digging the productions of each. Not that that's anything new for me to do...

Say, Velv -- who was the bass player in the Exploding MCs? RTH might be interested to know who was holdin' down the groove as you belted out "Mustang Sally." As I recall, it *wasn't* Townsman Chickenfrank.

I'll answer that question, Hrrundi, for the special price of $372!

Are there aenough folks who *don't* know that we might make a fun guessing game out of this? Posting a typical set list for this bassist's band might further amuse and amaze.

You don't remember, Hrrundi?

It was John Curley, who later became a founding member and the bassist for the Afghan Wigs.

Bauhaus got into backing vocals later in their career and it was dope.

Sweet Child of Mine. I thought I hated it when it was out. Turns out, I love it.

My first car was a 1980 Cutlass Supreme.
'I second that emotion' Smokey Robinson cover by Japan.
cause I wore out that cassette in that car.

Ron Wood: Gimmee some neck. Best album title, best Ron Wood self portraits on the cover. Best concept: neck

David Byrne produced the first album by Specials/English Beat spinoff Fun Boy Three. It is called 'Waiting' and it starts off with a Go-Go's cover that must have been out at the same time as the original single. Cool Album. Bossa Nova, Reggae, Dub, New Wave, and Pop.

House Music

Dylan if I could get Folk

What band not known for its use of backing vocals...?

Not having an answer offhand, let me soapbox for just a moment, and say this: not singing is a pet-peeve of mine. You're wasting three or four instruments by simply not opening your yap. If you aren't tuneful (which is usually more "won't" than "can't") you can at least holler in unison to ratchet up the voltage.

pooh-poohed:
I couldn't listen to Benny and the Jets when it came out. Mostly out of an Elton John allergy which is still largely in place. But that song gets in there with that elusive quasi-stomp rhythm. Now I love that song, so I tried an album or two out of the library, and it turns out I was right about almost all of it.

What was your first car, and what car song best represents said wheels?

In high school I shared with my brother a '74 blue Mustang II with white leather interior. It made every song sound a bit more like Charlie's Angels underscoring. I tried to listen to Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in c minor for a whole summer to try to exorcise the spirit of shiny polyester and wine-coolers. The car remained unconvinced, and I was no closer to getting laid than previously. Later I got my own '67 Dart 2 door, and that car always wanted to hear "I Feel Fine."

What's your favorite Ron Wood moment?

None is identified as such.

Which artist not known as a producer...

I have a problem discerning the work of a producer much of the time. That early Beatles instrumental single recorded by Bert Kaempfert is so obviously a sound they never used, and a couple of other things are obvious, but on a lot of records, you can't hear whether the producer corrected something problematic to get something interesting, or whether the band was heading there anyhow, and the producer just shoved in the right direction.

Musicians of any stripe, is there an artist whose music you learned to appreciate only after having learned to play it?

Doing 16 years of covers in Big Mess has given me at least a fondness for a lot of people whose music I might otherwise have never even heard. But often times when you get shoehorned into learning something outside your usual avenue, it only amplifies the reasons you weren't sympathetic in the first place.

I'd be a big Steve Earle fan if only I could fully embrace country music, including country rock.

What few whole genres I haven't ever enjoyed at all, I'm happy leaving crossed off the list. That said, the conquering of a genrephobia has as often been brought about by appreciating an individual as anything. Keep working on country, Mod, you deserve to enjoy it!

What band not known for its use of backing vocals makes the best use of them in the rare times backing vocals are employed?

I dunno - that's hard. Most of the stuff I like is just a guy yelling over a din. I like Jet Boy. I like the backing vocals that go "Jet boys fly, jet boys gone, jet boy stole my baby...Ooooh Ooooh."

Certainly you've had an experience hearing a song that you pooh-poohed when it was a hit to realize, years later, it wasn't all that bad. Please share an example and, if possible, what you realized was actually good about that song.

Saturday Night Special. I don't like Lynyrd Skynyrd much, but it's cool to see that they weren't just a bunch of redneck yabbo's, even if a lot of their fans around here were.

What was your first car, and what car song best represents said wheels?

1974 Olds Custom Cruiser Wagon. Good god that car was huge, and I think I got around 9 mpg! It slept four comfortably, though. I think Iron Man was a good song for it, as it starts off lumbering, then picks up speed to a medium cruise. It's not a car song, but then that wasn't really a car so much as a moving studio apartment.

What's your favorite Ron Wood moment?

Stay With Me. With The Stones it's the way him and Keith weave their guitars on Beast of Burden (a song which could also fit answer number two, I was a snotty young punk!)

Which artist not known as a producer but having done some outside production work would you most like to have heard produce other artists more often?

I suppose Todd Rundgren. When he went off the deep end with his albums, I think I'd have rather had him go full time producer. His albums always sound like they're correctly made, even if the music blows. He did a lot of producing, but I think he should have done more. That a cappella stuff was painful.

Which artist do you think you might truly dig if only you could get your head around around the genre in which said artist works?

Miles Davis, I guess. I just can't get into jazz no matter how hard I try.

Fritz! If I'm not mistaken, didn't Curley also have a hand in producing Bob's Revenge?? He must have really mixed the guitar low if you've erased him from your memory. Am I mistaken? I didn't think it was just AndyR with the handgun on the console.

Beefheart’s records almost never have bg vocals, but Strictly Personal has some good ones – Trust Us and Kandy Korn, for example.
A song I once pooh-poohed was You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet. Back in the day, BTO was a laughing stock among people I knew. But you gotta admit the song’s got hooks. The b-b-b-baby, the way he rushes out the words in the chorus, that processed guitar sound, the dumb but cute riff, it’s got it all. Takin’ Care of Business isn’t bad either.
The first car I owned all by myself was an ancient Ford Falcon. I do have a fond memory of driving to Baton Rouge with a cassette of the Sex Pistols album blasting at full volume, but that’s not exactly musically representative. More memorable was the night a drunk came along and crashed it into a telephone pole, thus turning it into a not very musical accordion.
My favorite Ron Wood moment is that first Faces album, First Step. Lots of good slide playing there, good songs (Wicked Messenger, for example), and Rod Stewart when he was just a good singer.
Robbie Robertson produced the first albums by Jesse Winchester and Hirth Martinez, both damn fine pieces of work. Did he ever produce anyone else? (I’m ignoring the Neil Diamond episode.) I’m not sure if I’d want him on the other side of the glass anymore.
I had already appreciated Bacharach, but I couldn’t figure out how to play even the simplest songs by him. But then when I got my Martin, I picked it up and somehow magically figured out how to play I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself. That kind of broke the ice, and I subsequently learned how to play other Bacharach songs, though I admit I sometimes regularize the time signatures.
I don’t know if I could ever learn to like Frank Sinatra, but those Nelson Riddle arrangements ruin the songs for me. The same thing with those big band arrangements on the Ella Fitzgerald songbooks. I like standards sometimes, but I prefer small combo stuff, like Chet Baker Sings or Nat King Cole’s After Midnight sessions. I’m afraid I can’t help but hear Joe Piscopo when Old Blue Eyes sings. Does that make me a bad person?

What band not known for its use of backing vocals makes the best use of them in the rare times backing vocals are employed?

I always looked forward to Tony Maimone's call-and-response vocals with David Thomas on songs like "Dub Housing" and "Pere Ubu Dance Party". Kind of reminds me of what General Slocum was saying about making use of all possible voices.

Certainly you've had an experience hearing a song that you pooh-poohed when it was a hit to realize, years later, it wasn't all that bad. Please share an example and, if possible, what you realized was actually good about that song.

Good question. I've got to think about this for a second... "Born in the USA" is probably the first one that comes to mind, although it's not the most recent turnaround I've had. As the mildest of Springsteen appreciators around leading up to the release of that mega-album, the bad '80s production made it easy for me to hate The Boss with fresh ears. Over the years, however, I grew to enjoy the chooglin' bass - probably the most chooglin' bass in a miniscule collection of chooglin' bass parts the guy ever allowed on record, and I also began to appreciate his effort at reaching out and making an enourmous STATEMENT. I'd much rather hear that song, to cite another relatively chooglin' song, than that godawful "Pink Cadillac", I think it's called.

What was your first car, and what car song best represents said wheels?

1972 Chevy Nova. Orange with a black vinyl roof. It became known as the Devil Stallion. "Can't Explain" or "Baba O'Riley" might have been its theme song.

What's your favorite Ron Wood moment?

"Ooh La La" and "Seven Days" come to mind, but I really like his guitar playing on "Bad 'n Ruin" (I think that's the title) from The Faces' Long Player album.

Which artist not known as a producer but having done some outside production work would you most like to have heard produce other artists more often?

Andy Partridge should have produced a few more bands with bottom. I like his work with Martin Newell and Peter Blegvad. I would have liked to hear him produce a noisier band like Gang of Four.

Which artist do you think you might truly dig if only you could get your head around around the genre in which said artist works?

I answered this one already. Along with Steve Earle, I'll say Jethro Tull. Whatever genre they were, I'm always close to really getting into them, but they've got too many stylistic touches that keep them at arm's length.

What band not known for its use of backing vocals makes the best use of them in the rare times backing vocals are employed?

How about the track "Tell It to the Judge on Sunday" by The Long Ryders. There's rarely a moment when I don't hear that song that I'm not shouting along when it comes to the chorus parts "Tell it to the judge on Sunday!"

Certainly you've had an experience hearing a song that you pooh-poohed when it was a hit to realize, years later, it wasn't all that bad. Please share an example and, if possible, what you realized was actually good about that song.

Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin. After years of hearing it on the classic rock stations, it's always been my least favourite - but lately I've been listening to it again because of Mac's book, and his notations about The Small Faces track "You Need Loving" which was a take on Muddy Waters' "You Need Love" (a Willie Dixon tune) and how Zep nicked it and made it into what would become Whole Lotta Love. Food for thought, I guess. And you really can't beat that breakdown when the volume's up.

What was your first car, and what car song best represents said wheels?

Sadly, I've never owned a first car, but my father did make me try to back my mum's Dodge Colt under the carport when I was 11 (and could probably barely see above the wheel). I was told that "even a baby could do it, it was so easy". I think that may have been the 4th last time that I drove a car. I backed it into the carport alright - nearly knocking out one of the poles holding it up - my pop shouting "Whoooahhhh, whoooahhh!!" and my mum shouting at him through the window wondering what was going on with the big bang. I can't think of a car song for this that would appropriately represent the hatchback brown Dodge Colt, but because my dad was always into Roy, I'd have to say Orbison's "Communication Breakdown" yep.

What's your favorite Ron Wood moment?

I'm actually reading quite a bit about Ron in Mac McLagan's autobiography "All the Rage" (lending it to Plurbie next, but it's up for grabs if anyone wants to get next in line after him) - and my latest favourite track is "Engine 4444 '69" (although Ooh La La - fantastic!) 'Engine' is a Quiet Melon track that I downloaded - it was the only one I could find a couple of weeks ago - does anyone have any Quiet Melon??? I want more!! rod's voice sounds really incredible with ron, and what I can only assume is Mac on piano sounds awesome too. Anyone wants to hear it, just shoot me an email.

Which artist not known as a producer but having done some outside production work would you most like to have heard produce other artists more often?

I don't know - Peter Buck, maybe? He's done The Fleshtones and Nikki Sudden... I think some other stuff too, but I'd like to see him do something other than pet projects or good friends to see if it would be any good.

Musicians of any stripe, is there an artist whose music you learned to appreciate only after having learned to play it?

Tom Petty's Damn The Torpedoes album, maybe. Our band covered Even The Losers. My boyfriend and I had found the cassette of that album at Value Village and neither of us had given it more thought before then, but that summer we really dug into it and I think our bass player was more happy for it as well.

Which artist do you think you might truly dig if only you could get your head around around the genre in which said artist works?

Hmmmm... let's see. It's always Neil Young for me. I wish I could get past his vocals and the repeats that I had to endure on Canada's programme "Video Hits" of the video for Harvest Moon. Maybe I just need to be turned on to the "right" Neil Young. I haven't given him a good starting chance since, really. But I do love Buffalo Springfield - and check out this one - what a weird band setup for a live performance, but even their promo vid for what it's worth has Dewey Martin pushed way out in front(!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N82zbKpWRtw

Sally C, if you get a chance, could you shoot me that Quiet Melon track to headstache [at] gmail [dot] com? (You would have to string together the address, of course.) I can post it to the list for all to enjoy.

Great car story.

Sure thing Mr. Mod - comin' atcha! Glad you enjoyed the Car Story; I've got some other good "dad" ones too. He's a character. I guess that explains A LOT;)

What was your first car, and what car song best represents said wheels?

It was a 1987 Honda Accord and the song that best represents it would be (thinking...) too many to mention since I would play tapes in it all the time.

What's your favorite Ron Wood moment?

The Birds "Say Those Magic Words" (which appears on the Nuggets II box set) or maybe something from Some Girls?

Which artist not known as a producer but having done some outside production work would you most like to have heard produce other artists more often? In other words, as an example, Ray Davies produced The Turtles Soup but little if anything else for outside bands. Someone might wish he'd produced more bands. Who's that person for you?

Unquestionably Elvis Costello since the few albums he did produce (The Specials and The Pogues' Rum, Sodomy and The Lash) are absolute masterpieces. He was always able to get the best possible sound out of a band without any bells or whistles. Great question BTW!

Matt, when I was 16, my Mom had a '87 Honda Accord that I adored. This might've been because I inherited her previous car, a 1979 Pontiac Catalina station wagon and the Accord was a much, much smoother ride. Anyway, did you like yours?