Mr. Moderator

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

Consult the Orockle: Cool or Uncool?

Sep 062010

The wisdom of The Hall continues to amaze me. For as many knowledgeable individuals who dazzle with their rock knowledge, it is the collective wisdom of our participants that I find most dazzling.

It is in this spirit that I want to allow for further amazement—not only for the people but by the people. I was going to try to turn this into my own original post, maybe even do a few minutes of research on the Web, but then I thought better of it. Instead, I’d like to pose a question to the collective wisdom of The Orockle.

The question I’d like to pose – and one that I hope will inspire other questions we’d like to have asked when we had more time to find the answers ourselves – will follow a little bit of background. Read on, please. Continue reading »

All-Star Jam

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Sep 052010

Here’s where you tell us where it’s at. Do your own thing. What have we missed on this final holiday weekend of the summer?

The Ultimate Beatles Reunion Album

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Sep 032010

In our ongoing discussion regarding the merits (if any) of Paul McCartney’s solo debut album Townsman misterioso posed the following thought:

…I love With a Little Luck, and that in my alternate universe it would have made a great Beatles reunion single, both thematically (“there is no end to what we can do together”) and musically (albeit with less synth and a nice George slide solo).

This got me thinking: Imagine if, during the solo Beatles years of the 1970s through John Lennon’s death, each former Beatle had the good sense and dedication to the band’s fanboys and fangirls set aside a couple of songs from his solo catalog specifically for use on an eventual Beatles reunion album. In other words, they each would have said to themselves, “You know, I’m not going to release this song on my next solo album. It really needs input from all the lads. I’m going to save this one for our eventual, inevitable reunion album.”

What 11 or 12 songs solo songs (4 or 5 by Paul, 4 or 5 by John, 2 by George, and 1 or 2 for Ringo, whether he would write them or not) would best have been served by a fully reunited Beatles?

And I should note: this isn’t intended to be a Best of the Best of the Solo Beatles collection, but an attempt at determining 11 or 12 songs from their solo careers that would have best fit the fully reunited Beatles. In other words, there might be some solo songs that best fit each Beatle as a solo artist. I don’t want us re-creating a less unified reunion album than The White Album.

Dugout Chatter

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Sep 012010

Shall we kick off the month of September with a little Dugout Chatter? Trusting your gut, please answer the following questions. Absolutely no expertise is required.

What’s more shocking about Cee-Lo‘s new “Fuck You” single, the fact that he works “fuck you” into the song multiple times or the fact that such an old-fashioned, gentle pop song contains so many instances of the phrase “fuck you?”

Although he became a parody of himself long ago, what do you appreciate most about Mick Jagger?

What artist/band, in your opinion, could have most used a kick in the ass to fulfill their potential?

Who’s the Jennifer Aniston of rock ‘n roll?

What instrument should all lead singers who don’t normally play an instrument be capable of playing in a pinch?

I look forward to your responses.

Hey 19, or Badge of Honor

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 312010

As of this writing I’m 47 years old. Hopefully a day will come when someone reads this and I’m 48, 49, or even 79. The point of stating my age is that I’ve been listening to, loving, and discussing music for a long time and any kids reading this owe their elders the time of day to attempt to understand what we may be getting at! I know what makes me tick, and I do my best here and elsewhere, whether by written or spoken word, to articulate that. If I fail to communicate what I intend to communicate now and then, I’ll do better next time. Today I want to take a misguided complaint someone made about a piece I wrote elsewhere and blow it up into a potentially more interesting thread for discussion.

On a personal blog that I started years ago and now very rarely update, Overlooked Gems of My Lifetime, some pipsqueak reacted to a piece I did on Tom Verlaine‘s Dreamtime. He misunderstands a reference I make to the guitar work on some 1960s records I love and goes into this badge-of-honor rant about how I’m not capable of appreciating Tom Verlaine and how he was so inspiring despite his lack of popularity. He also pulls out a reference to My Bloody Valentine, a one-trick pony that also is frequently lauded for being “fucking inspiring” despite the fact that few people ever bought their records, to further tear down my stodgy, mainstream point of view. Here’s the full text of Pipsqueak’s reply:
Continue reading »

All-Star Jam

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 312010

Who have you been dreaming about?

Rock ‘n Roll Responsibilities of Big Siblings to Little Siblings

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 302010

“Punk rock’s for pussies!”

Yesterday a friend and I were discussing the responsibilities big siblings have toward their little siblings when it comes to building a strong rock ‘n roll foundation. Actually my friend initially termed what his big brother did for him in terms of rock ‘n roll guidance as “giving shit.” As a big brother myself I explained to my friend that his big brother was actually looking out for his little brother’s best interests. He was upholding his responsibility to guide him in the ways of rock ‘n roll, just as I had long ago upheld my responsibility to my little brother to steer him away from the aesthetic evils of KISS.

Big brothers and big sisters aren’t always “right” in their advice, but it is helpful nonetheless to get advice from an older sibling. If nothing else it can give younger siblings a firm sense of what music he or she doesn’t like. There’s nothing worse than getting through college and still questioning whether you like Jackson Browne, for instance. Sometimes I wish I had an annoying Jackson Browne-loving older sibling to strengthen my gut feeling that Jackson Browne’s music is not for me.

So how about you? Are you a big sibling? Did you fulfill your responsibility to provide rock ‘n roll guidance to your younger sibling(s)? Did your advice fall on deaf ears, as my heedings against KISS to my little brother did?

Are you a younger sibling? Did your big sibling fulfill his or her duties? Did you give a shit about the “shit” he or she was giving you? Did his or her bad taste strengthen your resolve against the likes of Jackson Browne, Wishbone Ash, or whatever?

If you are a middle child, how did it feel being on each end of this key responsibility?

I look forward to your thoughts.

See also: Letters from the KISS Army.

Older Entries Newer Entries