Sometimes it’s fun to go back into the RTH archives, back a few years to a date almost to the day. Today is just such a day, but before I got back as far as “November 18, 2008” I stumbled across this self-congratulatory post. See if you can’t appreciate its continuing relevance. Better yet, why not forward this to a friend in need, a friend who should take advantage of the Halls of Rock as an outlet for his, uh, interests. Rock Town Hall’s recruitment for 2012 begins now!
This post originally appeared November 22, 2008.
This is why we must must uphold our high standards of rock ‘n roll discourse at Rock Town Hall. I thank you, Townspeople.
The first few times I heard “Signs” by Five Man Electrical Band as a kid I thought it was really cool. It seemed to come on the radio no more than 3 times a year. It was An Event, loaded with the hippie credibility I got turned onto as a young boy. A few years later, well before some Hair Metal band covered it in the 1980s, the song had worn out its welcome. It was emblamatic of the embarrassing sides of hippiedom. I severely regretted ever liking it.
You may consider the type of song I’m looking for in this thread the opposite of a guilty pleasure. What’s a once-pleasurable song that you now feel ashamed for ever having liked—and leave your favorite Sesame Street songs out of it, OK? We’re talking rock ‘n roll.
Ever wondered what it really sounded like to hear Lou Reed‘s music the way it was meant to be sound? Now you can. Reed and audio manufacturer Klipsch have collaborated on the limited-edition Klipsch Signature Audio Edition Lou Reed X10i headphones, available next month. These headphones will enable listeners to hear Lou’s music as it was meant to sound, as only he can hear it!
With an unwavering passion for live music and a legacy of iconoclastic sound that’s influenced rock musicians around the globe, The Velvet Underground star knew Klipsch was the only brand that aligned with his vision and expectations for a headphone he would be proud to call his own.
The timing of the release of these limited-edition, “Louphones” coincides with the release of Lulu, Reed’s long-awaited, inevitable collaboration with Metallica, the band Reed was meant to collaborate with. “If you’re not listening to Lulu on my cans,” says Reed, “you might as well skip this album altogether and wait for my next one, which should really capture the way my music was meant to sound.”
Reporting on this story was provided by bostonhistorian.
I had never heard of Jackie Leven, who died of cancer today at 61, let alone heard a lick of his music until a few years ago, when KingEd turned me onto Control, an obscure 1975 album he released under the name John St. Field. KingEd and I listened to it all the way through, leaning forward and grinning at all the right licks. The next day I downloaded the whole thing off eMusic. I can’t speak for Ed, but I never downloaded another song by the guy. That one album was surprise enough, straddling very English hippy-dippy folk and pub rock. It’s nice to find some oddball album and simply enjoy its oddball pleasures.
I tried to contact Leven a couple of years ago for a chat with the Hall, but I never heard back from him. That was cool. Who was I, a guy who never bought more than a single record by an artist he’d never heard before, wanting to drag him into our scene? Like so many who have and who will die, he led an interesting life with unexpected twists and turns. There’s still music to be explored, rock knowledge to be explored. For instance, I didn’t know until reading his obit that he did a duet on “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” with my man David Thomas. I also learned, by reading his obit, that we shared the same birthday. See how this stuff can all make a little sense? I’m glad I happened across Jackie Leven and that one album’s worth of songs.
I was flipping channels last night when I saw that there was going to be some Neil Young tribute on Palladia. This seemedl ike a godsend of television programming for your Philadelphia-born, sports-starved Moderator. I’d just watched the final 10 minutes of a Flyers’ hockey game (8 more minutes of hockey than I usually watch in one sitting), and the prospect of watching the Flyboys’ postgame show until I could get to the local sports-news coverage of the Jonathan Papelbon press conference was not enticing. Watching Neil Young and friends celebrate his long, interesting career was a much better option…or so I figured…
I don’t know why, but recently it occurred to me that Brian Eno may give off the most pleasant odor of all rock ‘n rollers. Although early photos of him find him in poses worthy of Channel and other great perfumiers, I doubt early Eno smelled anywhere near as fresh as I imagine modern-day Eno to smell. By some accounts I’ve read young Eno was living on the edge. Despite a likely liberal use of artificial fragrances that would rival those of the protagonist of Huysmans‘ Against Nature, he probably reeked of smoke and groupies’ sweat.
It’s the early ’80s Eno, the ambient Eno, the Talking Heads‘ producer Eno, who I imagine developing advanced bathing techniques, extracting herbal oils, and even modifying his diet to ensure an around-the-clock, seasonal blend of pleasing, understated aromas. A morning ritual of, say, a rosewater bath, a dab of rosemary oil behind each earlobe, and a light brunch of fennel and braised squid before heading off to a day’s recording with U2 may have added as much to the magic of the band’s sessions for The Unforgettable Fire as Eno’s Oblique Strategies deck of cards. Eno probably kept a pot of chamomile tea steeping at all times to help drown out the more, uh, pungent odor of engineer/coproducer Daniel Lanois.
I bet Chris Martin of Coldplay appreciates the ambient scents that Eno brings to a session. A dank, musty studio is no place for Gwyneth and the kids to drop in. The girls love it when Eno smells like a chai latte.
So, I’ve made my case for Brian Eno as the Rocker Most Likely to Give Off a Pleasant Odor. Can you think of any other rocker who may smell even more delightful?
In this week’s edition of Saturday Night Shut-Inladymisskirroyale hosts the airing of a hand-selected post-punk mix offered to the Hall by noted rock historian and Friend of the Hall Simon Reynolds! This is some cool stuff that you may or may not be familiar with—and definitely something different than the Richard Baskin-oriented fare for which your regular host is known to spin.
If ladymisskirroyale, Simon Reynolds, and input by the legendary Mr. Royale are not enough to make you set aside some quality time with your computer, then you’ll want to tune in for your chance to win The Gift, perhaps the most treasured contest prize Rock Town Hall has known to date. Tune in and find out from ladymiss how you can win! (And if you missed the details, the goal is to identify the tracks played: artist and title. Post the playlist in the Comments section or email Mr. Moderator at mrmoderator (at) rocktownhall (dot) com.)
[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/RTH-Saturday-Night-Shut-In-53.mp3|titles=RTH Saturday Night Shut-In, episode 53]
[Note: The Rock Town Hall feed will enable you to easily download Saturday Night Shut-In episodes to your digital music player. In fact, you can even set your iTunes to search for an automatic download of each week’s podcast.]
