Mr. Moderator

Mr. Moderator

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

Sep 112010
 

Who’s game for a little Dugout Chatter? Trusting your gut, please answer the following questions. Absolutely no expertise is required. All are invited to play.

Quick: What’s the first non-English language lyric in an English-language song that comes to mind?

Which modern-day band description (courtesy of Pitchfork) gets a reaction from you, be it positive or negative?

  • Brooklyn synth-gazers
  • Drone-psych warriors
  • Leather-clad fuzz-pop
  • Synth-punks

Quick: What’s the first quaint phrase in a song lyric that comes to mind for you?

Should Taylor accept Kanye‘s apology?

What’s your favorite apology song?

What’s the earliest band or song you recall strongly disliking?

I look forward to your responses.

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Sep 102010
 

Linda, Paul, and David Gilmour, supposedly from 1975.

If, like me, you’ve spent enough of your youth geeking out over photos of your favorite musicians you may find yourself, 30 years later, with jaw dropping over an image you’ve never seen before. I spent countless hours of my youth looking over photos of The Beatles in whatever rock book or magazine I could get my hands on. Although I was never a giant Wings fan, I probably saw my share of solo McCartney shots in the process. I’d never seen this shot…until now.

What does it mean? Not a thing, most likely, but I never knew Linda smoked – cigarettes. Where did David Gilmour get that wholly inauthentic Dallas Cowboys shirt, in Central Europe? And I either didn’t know or forgot that Paul brought back his Sgt. Pepper’s moustache. Nice.

Did you ever spend hours gazing at photos of a favorite artist? What’s the most recent previously unseen photo of a favorite musician that you’ve stumbled across? What did you learn from it?

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Sep 092010
 

I’d completely forgotten about this post and the interesting discussion it spurred! For all the topics we kick around I especially like when we find a way into this sort of discussion. A lot of the participants on this topic have been quiet over the last months – or longer. A lot of you weren’t here when we first kicked this around. Maybe you’ve got something new to add, maybe not. If nothing else I hope this is a worthwhile trip down memory lane.

This post initially appeared 3/14/07.


In checking out some Sonic Youth tracks recently, I think I came across the common link in much of what I don’t like in rock music: an, at least, perceived lack of musical lack of hierarchy. I like hearing musicians come to the fore. I like knowing who’s the Alpha Dog. Too many singers, too many soloists, too many anythings doing their thing simultaneously and democratically is almost always a kiss of death for my ears.
Continue reading »

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Sep 082010
 

As any heterosexual guy who grew up in the 1970s can tell you, maybe the toughest fantasy sex choice that could be made was whether, if given the choice between Heart‘s Wilson sisters, you would sleep with Ann or Nancy. Which one of Charlie’s Angels you’d sleep with was another challenging question, but with a trio to choose from (not including the Fourth Angel, Cheryl Ladd) most guys could at least feel like they were making some progress toward a resolution by eliminating one.

Some of you may remember how the conversation started in schoolyards, lunch rooms, and ballfields across America:

Q: Ann or Nancy Wilson?

A: [Pause]

Sometime in the mid-1980s Townsman chickenfrank finally determined the appropriate answer to this delicate question, an answer we’ll term the Wilson Choice: Continue reading »

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Sep 082010
 

Great guitarist, natural blonde.

Blondes may have more fun, but brunettes play more guitar solos. Beside Duane Allman and Johnny Winter how many blonde guitar greats come to mind?

Let’s not confuse this thread with a future thread on rock’s hottest blonde guitarists. And let’s rule out rock’s obvious bottle blonde guitarists. Some guitarists’ natural hair color may be open to debate. Clearly Billy Zoom bleached his hair, but is it possible his natural hair color was a shade of blonde? Does his bleached collar more or less match his cuffs?

Most likely I’m overlooking a dozen obvious blonde guitar greats, but 10 minutes of research and reflection tell me I’m onto something.

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Sep 072010
 

Significant developments are underway in The Back Office! Soon we expet to roll out some new features that will make your rock bull-session time with us even more satisfying, if you can imagine that. Meanwhile, some of us are busier with behind-the-scenes work than usual. As we continue our efforts to bring Rock Town Hall to The People, we invite Townspeople to share the load. Check it out:
Continue reading »

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Sep 072010
 

Prove it all night!

In a recent thread Townsman bostonhistorian referred to Bruce Springsteen as the “Golden Retriever of rock…Eager to please, tireless, good looking, and dumb as a post.” This is a keen observation. We may learn more about our rock legends by seeing them through the lens of the canine world. What breed of dog would you assign to the following artists, and why?

  • Bob Dylan
  • Paul McCartney
  • John Lennon
  • Patti Smith
  • Robert Smith
  • Bono
  • Paul Weller
  • Rick Buckler
  • Billy Gibbons
  • Prince
  • Jeff Lynne
  • Seger

Any other rockers as breeds of dog come to mind?

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