Troubles, you say? Take me back to something you learned yesterday.
Dec 232011
Mr. Moderator
Dec 202011
I’d like to propose a new RTH Glossary entry, the Retirement Fund Song (aka Rock IRA). Now I would never dare think that artists as idiosyncratic and with as much integrity as Van Morrison and Lou Reed would ever consciously write a song with the goal of funding their retirement, but by chance they have succeeded wildly with “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You” and “Perfect Day,” respectively. Think of all the special occasions folks will attach to those songs. Think of all the times those songs will be covered by a diverse set of artists. Think of the royalties those covers will generate.
Perhaps the original rock ‘n roll Retirement Fund Song was The Beatles‘ “Yesterday,” written and performed almost solely by Paul McCartney but powerful enough to fund the planned retirement of his songwriting partner John Lennon. Again, I have no reason to believe Paul consciously wrote “Yesterday” with retirement in mind, but in these tough economic times I can imagine today’s rockers feeling more apt to plan ahead.
To help a future generations of retired rockers, can we define the makings of a Retirement Fund Song (as opposed to any old “hit song”)? For instance, it would seem obvious that the song must be easy for other artists to cover and be romantic and/or nostalgic in lyrical content, but let’s get down to brass tacks. Let’s map out a rock ‘n roll retirement strategy around a legacy-making song that should be a part of the catalog of any artist with an eye toward a second vacation home.
Dec 202011
The following video treasure was provided by Mr. Royale.
We here in the Halls of Rock Town are sometimes taken to task for being overly negative, snarky, hyper-critical, and all too often, just downright rude. As part of our collective efforts to bring a bit of sunshine and light to the world wide web, we occasionally make an extra effort effort to find something good to say about, you know, stuff that is clearly godawful.
It is in that spirit that we embark on yet another effort to bring some positivity to our proceedings. Please spend some quality time with the video above, then — if you can — please find something nice to say about it. You’ll feel a whole lot better, I promise you.
I look forward to your comments. Just remember, if you can’t say anything nice about this video… please don’t say anything at all.
Dec 192011
Round 2 of the Expansion Conference
Four matches will determine the fate of the 8 teams surviving Round 1 of Expansion Conference tournament play. As in the opening round of play, please use this space to argue for your favorite backing band in each contest, using any or all of the following criteria, including criteria not listed here:
- Ability to support the bandleader’s musical agenda/vision
- Additional musical contribution to the bandleader’s sound/vision
- Look and other supporting “rock superhero powers”
- Catchiness of backing band’s name
Round 2 of Expansion Conference play runs through Wednesday, December 21 at 5:59 pm. You may log your vote on each contestant in the Round 2 games through the polls on the following page.
Dec 192011
Over the weekend I took my boys out with a neighbor and his son to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie. We all saw the first one together when that came out, last year or whenever. That night I left the theater thinking I’d be spared sitting through a sequel, that the movie was so inconsequential that not even the dream makers in Hollywood would think it necessitated sequel. I was wrong. Last night, good father that I try to be, I said, “Sure!” to our friend when he called at the last minute and asked if we wanted to join him and his son for the sequel. Personally, I had my reservations.
My wife was a little bummed that she wouldn’t be able to join us on such short notice. I told her that she probably wasn’t missing anything, that the first one, which she didn’t see, was no more satifsfying than eating a single marshmallow. “Yeah,” she said, “but Robert Downey Jr. is usually good.”
I looked her square in the eye and said with too-often-unchecked disdain, “I forget that you actually like that guy.”
My teenage son jumped to her defense, “He’s good! How can you not like Robert Downey Jr.?”
This got me thinking about Townsman E. Pluribus Gergely‘s Six-Pack or Shotgun theory on how we actually assess acting talent. To summarize, if you don’t have the time to go back and read the original thread, Gergely’s legendary late-night pronouncement on the topic should do:
“There’s no such thing as Acting Ability!” he said in typically definitive fashion, slamming his fist for emphasis. “When we watch any any actor in any movie it comes down to one thing: If that actor showed up unannounced at your back door, would you greet him or her with a six-pack or a shotgun?“
Today, let’s see if we can tackle the near-impossible task of applying this theory to related pairs of polarizing musicians. Sure, we’re loaded for bear when it comes to passionate, informed musical opinions, but let’s see if we can leave musical content out of it and investigate whether there is a deeper truth to our feelings on the following pairs of artists.
Your mission is to choose which artist in each pair gets the six-pack and which gets the shotgun. There’s no in-between, no ties, and especially none of this! The only risk you face in participating is the risk of revealing something deep about yourself.
A final reminder: If at all possible, leave your opinions on the artists’ music out of it. To aid in this I have attempted to kick things off with the selection of a few pairs of artists whose music most Townspeople have equal amounts of musical interest in.
When you’re done assigning the six-pack and the shotgun to each of the following sets of related polarizing artists feel free to add your own pair of related polarizing artists for us to ponder.
Let’s get it on…after the jump!
Dec 192011
Round 2 of Classic Conference
Four matches will determine the fate of the 8 teams surviving Round 1 of Classic Conference tournament play. As in the opening round of play, please use this space to argue for your favorite backing band in each contest, using any or all of the following criteria, including criteria not listed here:
- Ability to support the bandleader’s musical agenda/vision
- Additional musical contribution to the bandleader’s sound/vision
- Look and other supporting “rock superhero powers”
- Catchiness of backing band’s name
Round 2 of Classic Conference play runs through Wednesday, December 21 at 11:59 am. You may log your vote on each contestant in the Round 2 games through the polls on the following page.
Dec 192011
Here’s a clip I’ve been keeping watch for on YouTube for some time: Van Morrison and Sinead O’Connor with The Chieftans on Letterman. I never paid much attention to O’Connor during her hairless peak, but she’s more worth a few minutes of my time when she’s got hair on the top of her head. I like Morrison a lot, so the night I was watching Letterman and saw them come out together my index finger lifted from the remote control.
I’m not a great fan of “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You.” It’s like Morrison’s “Perfect Day” in the Lou Reed catalog: played to death, easy to digest, sentimental, overpraised, and musically not that gripping to my ears. In this performance, however, I loved watching the contrast of O’Connor trying to stick to the song’s script like a devout fangirl while the song’s author scats inappropriately and generally seems intent on throwing her off course. In the closing moments Van takes it to the limit, and we witness The Unclenching.
