cherguevara

Jul 292014
 

I’ll be honest – I can’t say too much about this Mystery Date, but there are some tangents that can give the song a bit of context. But before we go there, take a listen and see if you can place the year and location. Shouldn’t be too hard to guess.

Have fun and enjoy!

 

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May 222014
 
Nixon's Head: $25-$200, depending on night of the week and position on the bill.

Nixon’s Head: $25-$200, depending on night of the week, position on the bill, and delusion that festival appearance would actually lead to any meaningful exposure.

Congratulations! Your long lost Auntie Selma just sent you a check for $150,000. Sure, you could invest it, perhaps buy a house or make some charitable donations. But forget all that stuff, you should blow it all booking bands for your very own music festival. Luckily, the internet has just provided us with a list of acts and their prices.

http://priceonomics.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-book-your-favorite-band/

Your simple challenge: From the provided list, choose the bands you want and whatever you do, don’t go over budget.

I look forward to your show, Dave Matthews tribute band notwithstanding.

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Apr 132014
 

Let’s review the ground rules here. The Mystery Date song is not necessarily something I believe to be good. So feel free to rip it or praise it. Rather the song is something of interest due to the artist, influences, time period… Your job is to decipher as much as you can about the artist without research. Who do you think it is? Or, Who do you think it sounds like? When do you think it was recorded? Etc…

If you know who it is, don’t spoil it for the rest. Anyone who knows it can play the “mockcarr option.” (And I’ve got a hunch at least one of you know this one.) This option is for those of you who just can’t hold your tongue and must let everyone know just how in-the-know you are by calling it. So if you know who it is and want everyone else to know that you know, email Mr. Moderator at mrmoderator [at] rocktownhall [dot] com. If correct we will post how brilliant you are in the Comments section.

The real test of strength though is to guess as close as possible without knowing. Ready, steady, go!

mystery date

Say what you will about this song. And if you know who or what it is, mum’s the word, m’kay?

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Mar 102014
 

My mind has been blown by Future Islands on Letterman

A friend of mine posted this article and it piqued my interest.

http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/mar/07/my-mind-has-been-blown-by-future-islands-on-letterman

The headline pretty much says it all: The author was blown away by this performance. The singer has an idiosyncratic presence, with some oddball dancing, waving his arms and pounding his chest, not to mention his vocal style which is soulful but ventures into Cookie Monster territory, along with some “vocal mugging.”

But now I want to know, what do YOU think? Click the following link to assess this mind-blowing performance, and don’t give up before the end of the chorus at the 3:20 mark!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYO1lSUspXA#t=95

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Nov 032013
 

The+Beatstalkers

Here they are, direct from Scotland: The Beatstalkers! Bassist, Alan Mair, went on to be a member of The Only Ones, also serving as their co-producer. There are a few websites with info on this band, I can’t say I knew anything about them other than that they recorded a handful of songs by David Bowie, with the singer doing his best to turn his accent from Scottish to English.

Here they are with a song called, “When I’m Five.”

According to their All Music bio, they formed in 1962 and became wildly successful in Scotland.They signed a deal with Decca in 1965 and then moved to London in 1967. At this point, they hooked up with a manager who also counted David Bowie as a client. He had the band record three of Bowie’s songs under a new contract with CBS. Despite their huge success, previously, at home, they were unable to get any traction in the big city. The saddest part of the bio, to me, is that it states the band broke up after a van containing all of their equipment was stolen! I guess it was the last straw.

If I am understanding the timeline correctly, Alan Mair opened up a clothing shop in London between the Beatstalkers and the Only Ones, where he sold leather clothes, platform shoes and other glam clothes, employing Freddie Mercury until Queen found success. While this band is mostly a footnote in rock history, people who lived in Glasgow in the early to mid-60s considered them Scotland’s answer to the Beatles.

Here they are again with “Silver Tree Top School For Boys.”

Silver Tree Top School For Boys

And here’s another Bowie composition, “Everything Is You.”

Everything Is You

Hope you enjoyed this Mystery Date, maybe you’d like to see them again, dinner and a movie, perhaps.

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Nov 012013
 

Whatcha think of this one?

Let’s review the ground rules here. The Mystery Date song is not necessarily something I believe to be good. So feel free to rip it or praise it. Rather the song is something of interest due to the artist, influences, time period… Your job is to decipher as much as you can about the artist without research. Who do you think it is? Or, Who do you think it sounds like? When do you think it was recorded? Etc…

If you know who it is, don’t spoil it for the rest. Anyone who knows it can play the “mockcarr option.” (And I’ve got a hunch at least one of you know this one.) This option is for those of you who just can’t hold your tongue and must let everyone know just how in-the-know you are by calling it. So if you know who it is and want everyone else to know that you know, email Mr. Moderator at mrmoderator [at] rocktownhall [dot] com. If correct we will post how brilliant you are in the Comments section.

The real test of strength though is to guess as close as possible without knowing. Ready, steady, go!

Mystery Date

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