Mr. Moderator

When not blogging Mr. Moderator enjoys baseball, cooking, and falconry.

Rock Town Hall’s Saturday Night Shut-In: A Dip Into the “Milk” Crate

Mar 192011

Sounds of the Hall in roughly 33 1/3 minutes!

In this week’s edition of Saturday Night Shut-In Mr. Moderator dips into his so-called “Milk” crate, that is, his stack of rarely played, cheaply acquired used records that as much as 30 years ago he hoped would pay off. Rather than dump these records, he revisits them every few years in hopes that they will have aged properly and, as boring, old milk can age into something delicious, like cheese or yogurt, finally reveal their subtle delights. Why don’t you tune in and hear the results of this taste test, which is capped off by a sampling of a very deep Richard Harris album?

[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/RTH-Saturday-Night-Shut-In-20-1.mp3|titles=RTH Saturday Night Shut-In, episode 20]

[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.]

All-Star Jam

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 192011

Man, I finally finished watching This Sporting Life, which I recorded a few weeks ago and watched over 3 sittings because it was so damn depressing, even by my standards! I really liked it. Now I need to go back and rewatch the director’s commentary on Raging Bull to see if Martin Scorsese and his collaborators consciously referred to this film. I tell you, that Richard Harris was more than just a sensitive pop singer. Check out the deep thoughts he and Burt Bacharach share in this clip and see if you don’t feel like sharing some deep thoughts of your own.

Dugout Chatter

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 192011

You know the drill: please provide your gut answers to the following questions. Today’s Dugout Chatter centers around topics likely to be commented on by musicians in interviews. Let your gut be your guide!

What musician quote first comes to mind for each of the following topics?

Sex
Drugs/Drink/Food
Fame/Fans
Politics
Critics
Elvis Presley or any other 1950s rocker

I look forward to your memories of memorable musicians’ quotes on these topics.

Rock Against Racism: The Undertones

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 172011

If my father’s side of my family kept their genealogical records straighter than they did their own lives I’m one-eighth Irish. This should give me at least one-eighth reason for joy on St. Patrick’s Day, but a childhood of family induced shame of that small part of my heritage still makes it tough for me to muster any enthusiasm for the wearing of the green and all that goes with the holiday.

Deep down I spend part of St. Patrick’s Day, including the days that lead up to it, mocking the Irish and their history of drinking and bad food. It’s a time for my Italian-American pride to secretly bask in the glory of my maternal side’s delicious food and sensuous homeland. It’s a time for me to derisively laugh at the memory of my dead-but-much-longer-than-that-gone father and all the hell he caused for the family.

“Jimmy,” my maternal grandmother—my first favorite person on this earth—would rib me from as early a time as I can remember, “are you Italian or Irish?” Continue reading »

Who Is It? When Irish Eyes Are Smiling Edition!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 162011

You know the drill...

Owsley Dead: Can He Take Rock’s Most-Regrettable “Acid” Albums With Him?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 162011

"I'm seeing trails! Can you see the trails?"

Until yesterday, when I belatedly read the news that the Godfather of Acid, Owsley Stanley, was dead I had no idea the guy had a last name, or should I say that Owsley was his first name! I also had no idea he was the man behind the high-tech stage soundsystem of the Grateful Dead. If you ask me it might have helped the band if he wasn’t so handy with electronics and their music came out inaudible. Here’s the New York Times obituary on Owsley. I wonder if all that acid he ate and handled had anything to do with his overall dietary philosophies.

Acid intake had a profound impact on rock ‘n roll, in many cases for the good of the genre. However, the drug—or at least music recorded to sound as if it had been recorded under the influence of the drug—led to some regrettable moments. What “acid” albums would you like to see packed off with Owsley’s corporeal remains…once and for all?

Last Man Standing: Jesus Songs

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 152011

This one’s gonna be hell to referee, but someone’s gotta do it: Jesus songs—Rock ‘n Roll Jesus songs—which we will define as songs including Jesus in the title OR prominently featuring Jesus, specifically, as the main character or subject matter of the song.

Songs referring broadly (or specifically) to God, Lord, Him, The Boss, or what have you are not eligible for this contest. The songs must be about Jesus, and address Him by name.

Songs in which a singer simply asks for Jesus’ help or take His name in vain as a throwaway line are not eligible for this contest, unless the throwaway or blasphemous reference to Jesus is in the song’s title.

The song must be, at least broadly, a rock ‘n roll song. Some gospel song that Little Richard did during one of his sacred periods does not count solely because Little Richard is “rock ‘n roll.”

Crystal clear? I thought so! In honor of our Jesus-obsessed Townsman of the Jewish faith, andyr, let’s kick things off with one of my favorite Jesus songs composed by a musician of Jewish heritage, The Velvet Underground’s “Jesus.”

The race is on.

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