Clean living!
Have you seen anyone in concert lately? Tell me about it.
Over the weekend I had to give up my tickets to see Nick Lowe, a show I’d been looking forward to seeing for months, so that I could, uh…maybe you don’t want to know what came between me and seeing Lowe. Allow me to live vicariously and add to my recent regrets. Thanks.
Rundgren plays his symbolic guitar.
A recent discussion of Prock futurist Todd Rundgren got me thinking about well-known guitarists who play custom-shaped guitars. I’m not talking about guitars like B.C. Rich models that are a variation on a well-known guitar model, like a Flying V, but custom guitars made in a shape that especially suits the player’s identity. Also, the player needs to be an established pro guitarist, not some wacky dude who designed his own penis-shaped axe.
All entries must be accompanied by a link to an image of the player with his guitar. (Yes, bass guitars also count.)
Rundgren’s guitar, pictured above, is off the board. Play on!
Granted, there’s much that needs to be explained regarding Todd Rundgren, but can anyone explain Utopia? I’ve heard the occasional good song by that band (eg, “Feet Don’t Fail Me Now”), songs no different from and as enjoyable as the best Rundgren songs, but was the futuristic thing necessary?
This gets to a larger question: Excluding David Bowie‘s forays into space, which actually use space scenarios as a metaphor for the songs, has the futuristic thing ever been necessary or relevant? I’m not a sci-fi guy, so help me out. Has a rock band ever moved society forward by the powers of its space-rock-continuum concept album and/or offshoot band? Jefferson Starship was launched as one of these brilliant ideas, right? I feel like I’m missing some others. Although a totally different style of music, didn’t Sun Ra play the space card? Is it that much fun to wear sci-fi uniforms and play space-age instruments?
I saw it in passing the other day, but I never got around to posting notice of the passing of General Johnson, driving force of the Chairmen of the Board and other late-’60s/early-’70s AM radio soul-pop acts that kept an increasingly outdated mode of music on the shelves a little bit longer than it might have been kept otherwise.
As a boy, hearing this stuff fresh on the AM radio, mixed in with classic Motown hits from 5 years earlier, it never occured to me that Johnson’s contributions were those of a sort of anti-visionary, or a rearview-mirror visionary. Understandably we often applaud artists for their ability to be “5 years ahead of their time,” but I think it’s time to applaud Johnson for his ability to be 5 years behind his time—in a good way. For those not quite ready to leave behind razor-sharp hooks, blatant downbeats, and songs composed for their strength of their catchy titles/choruses rather than any deep, personal meaning, General Johnson had set about the task of, as Ray Davies might put it, “preserving the old ways from being abused.” I don’t know if this occurred to anyone at the time of the songs’ releases, but as I think about it now, hits like “Give Me Just a Little More Time,” “Patches,” and “Want Ads” may have been the slightest bit “old fashioned” compared with the “happening” music of its time, but the recordings had all the life of their times. They were of the moment, the way a middle-aged person still hopes he or she can be now and then. More power to the General for this unusual knack.
If you don’t get what I’m getting at, here’s Honey Cone‘s “Want Ads,” one of those slightly past expiry date hits I’m talking about. In 1970 even The Supremes were attempting to move beyond the standard Motown template, but this song epitomizes the label’s mid-’60s innocence. Also for comparison, at this time, think about the funky hits of The Jackson 5. “Want Ads” has just enough funk to sound contemporary, but it stops short of that added oomph that would characterize contemporary funk, such as one of those instrumental breakdowns in any of the early J5 hits.
NEXT: Rock Town Hall’s Official Eulogy…
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Yeah, baby!
Recently, Rock Town Hall’s Erocktica division came across a Carlos Santana sex tape. To our knowledge this is the first public airing of this professionally produced but long-supressed group sex scenario in front of a live audience.
After taking the necessary legal precautions, we feel confident that the following clip is as legitimate as it is sexy. As lovely as you are likely to find this performance, however, it is definitely NSFW. Even on a weekend we only feel comfortable posting it after the jump…
On behalf of Townsman hrrundivbakshi, who I believe is vacationing in England with the love of his life, and at the request of Townsman cdm, I am moving Townsman jungleland2‘s posted Night Ranger live performance of “Rock in America” to The Main Stage for our latest edition of If You Can’t Say Anything Nice About…
The rules are simple:
No potshots allowed at all the obvious targets in this clip. Rather, say something nice about the band, their performance, and anything else you may see, hear, or feel while watching this video. If you don’t have anything nice to say, that’s OK; Rock Town Hall offers the occasional thread to post a snarky comment.
Thanks.
"Would you like a carob shake with that order?"
The journalistic artist feature article conceit of beginning the piece with a description of the artist’s meal in whatever swank LA/NYC/London eaterie has long bugged me. Do I in any way care that Brian Wilson was eating a “turkey Reuben” and sipping a “diet Dr. Brown’s soda” while discussing his new album of Gershwin covers with some hack from Rolling Stone? Do I learn anything other than the fact that a) Wilson’s a wimp for eating a turkey Reuben and b) the diet soda’s not going to offset jamming any kind of Reuben down his throat? I think not.
But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe these artists actually rock what they eat.
Please describe the meal and drink that any or all of the following artists would be “munching on” at a hip LA/NYC/London eaterie not if but when you interview them for Rock Town Hall.
As a bonus question, what would be caked in Walter Becker’s Beard?
I look forward to your responses.
