Looking back on it, was Dino Lee a visionary? For those of you new to the Halls of Rock, the All-Star Jam is the place for any Townsperson to step up to The Main Stage and chime in with news, oddball thread ideas, and even your own visions of the future.
Hey, speaking of visions of the future…I see Rock Town Hall interviews with both Peter Zaremba of The Fleshtones and Dream Syndicate founder Steve Wynn coming later tonight. It’s not a dream, it’s a vision. Stay tuned!
It's all too much.
Normally I keep off-list messages of thanks and praise to myself, tucked away in a folder on my hard drive that I revisit every few years, when times are especially tough and Townspeople are getting on my case about an unpopular opinion. I received such an off-list message minutes ago, however, as the clock struck midnight. Probably unbeknownst to the Townsperson who sent me this note, it is my birthday. Because it’s my birthday, I feel the right to share this note with you. Surely it reflects positively on each of you, but especially myself. This most meaningful note follows the jump. Thank you, Townsperson who will remain anonymous.
So much promise, so much love…on Paul McCartney‘s 70th birthday I choose to remember the better days, not the painful ones. What’s your favorite Paul McCartney moment?
Sounds of the Hall in roughly 33 1/3 minutes!
On tonight’s episode of Saturday Night Shut-In Mr. Moderator tells a story about his father, confronts his profound sense of vanity in the face of turning another year older, and takes yet another cheap shot at Almost Famous, or more precisely folks too high-minded to join him for a screening of Rock of Ages while holding onto the belief that Almost Famous is a “good” movie.
[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/RTH-Saturday-Night-Shut-In-82.mp3|titles=RTH Saturday Night Shut-In, episode 82][Note: You can add Saturday Night Shut-In episodes to your iTunes by clicking here. The Rock Town Hall feed will enable you to easily download Saturday Night Shut-In episodes to your digital music player.]
In honor of the 37th anniversary of the formation of Molly Hatchet tell us how you really feel. Share news and observations from the world of rock that we may be missing as we rock out to “Flirtin’ With Disaster.”
Save your soul, this ain't rock 'n roll!
ARE YOU IN? I’M STILL THINKING ABOUT SEEING THIS TURD, EITHER FRIDAY OR SATURDAY NIGHT.
As excruciatingly bad as this upcoming movie Rock of Ages looks—and because of how bad it looks—I can’t wait to see Rock of Ages. First of all it’s a summer movie, not quite a blockbuster (but who knows), starring Tom Cruise. Cruise delivers almost every summer. He was born to act larger than life on a hot summer day when one just wants to duck into a dark, air-conditioned movie theater, eat popcorn, and laugh at the notion of Tom Cruise, American Superhero. Not a spring goes by that I don’t anticipate the summer blockbuster starring Tom Cruise or my other go-to guy for ridiculous acting in preposterous movies, Nicolas Cage! Oh god, if only Cage could appear in Rock of Ages as a dumped-upon, sensitive singer-songwriter like Bruce Hornsby. He’s got the hair.
I know nothing about this coming movie other than it stars Cruise as some kind of badass Bon Jovi character, looks like it was directed by that dickhead who turns “rockin'” Broadway musicals into “rockin'” Hollywood smashes (you know, the guy who made Chicago and the musical version Fellini’s 8½), enables Russell Brand to continue his worthless career, and features a soundtrack that may drive me to shoot holes in the screen as I sit in the theater and watch the movie.
That’s right, I’m pretty sure I need to see this piece of crap and reconnect with the crap music that was popular in my high school years and that drove me to do the Lord’s work I do today here in the Halls of Rock. I need to witness this movie, the way Jimmy Carter used to fly to corrupt South American countries to “witness” their first, somewhat free elections. I may have to bring leaflets to hand out before and after the movie, like some rock ‘n roll Jehovah’s Witness. Save your soul, they might read, this ain’t rock ‘n roll!
Who’s up for joining me to witness this movie when it comes out? If you can’t join me in the Philadelphia or South Jersey area, we can all choose a day to attend and report back, maybe even posting live from our smartphones, like the kidz are purported to do during movies as they text and Tweet to their heart’s delight. I know they give warnings before movies about refraining from such activities, but since this is going to be such a rockin’ movie, do you think anyone will care?
Let me know what you think and we’ll get this bad boy on the RTH Calendar. Thank you.
Is this Townsman chergeuvara-submitted clip of legendary (in some circles, such as Irish rock/Thin Lizzy/hard rock circles) guitarist Gary Moore‘s original Skid Row the best white-blooz performance ever? And by “best white-blooz performance ever” I don’t mean “best,” necessarily. I don’t mean “best-worst” performance, as you might expect me to snarkily mean it. I mean best performance that exemplifies the best and worst aspects of white dudes playing da blooz.
Along these lines, for example, an argument could be made that Cream was a great white-blooz band. Their white, heavily amplified, possibly even non-American psychedelic rock approach to a musical form removed from the band members’ culture both added appealing new aspects to the genre while occasionally overstepping stylistic bounds of good taste. At their best, Cream was really easy to dig while also providing unintentional laughs. I think this Skid Row clip adds as many valuable new wrinkles to da blooz while simultaneously doing more in the name of whiteness. I think I now finally understand the cult appeal of Gary Moore.
