Mr. Moderator

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

RTH World Cup of Rock ‘n Roll Standings Through Opening Matches in Round 1

Jun 232010

UPDATES:
Nigeria forfeits to England.
SHOCKER: AUSTRALIA DEFEATS USA!
Brazil comes up HUGE in third strike!
Ireland coach hrrundivbakshi takes heat for game-winning strategy vs New Zealand; Rory Gallagher is Man of the Match.
Scotland called for offsides; Sweden wins.
USA “taking no chances” as it awaits Nigeria.
Sacre bleu! France wins.
The Netherlands takes confident, conservative approach toward Brazil.
Wales Fails Germany in “Test.”
Jamaica cruises past Norway.

As we await the outcome of the Scotland-Canada and Nigeria-Germany matches, Round 1 play in the Rock Town Hall World Cup of Rock ‘n Roll continues. Following are the standings to date and the remaining schedule for the opening round of play. Teams scheduled to play their second game today can submit their opening two strikes, either in the Comments section or, if you want to play your hand close to the vest, to the Commissioner, that is, me: mrmoderator [at] rocktownhall [dot] com.

Play on!
Continue reading »

Your Favorite 1-2 Punch in Rock

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jun 232010

7Tgwr6tEES8]
At the 5:35 mark of this video The Box Tops get ready to play “Soul Deep,” a song containing perhaps my favorite 1-2 punch in rock: the quick chord progression from the IV back to the I chord on which the song had been chooglin’. It’s the chord progression that accompanies the song’s hook line, the “soul deep” part in the choruses. There may be no more satisfying 1-2 punch for me in rock than this simple device. It’s like giving a kid a sugarcube.

What’s your favorite 1-2 punch in rock? It doesn’t need to be anything as nerdy as a 2-measure chord progression.

RTH World Cup of Rock ‘n Roll Schedule and Rules of Play Announced

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jun 212010

UPDATES:
Nigeria forfeits match vs Germany.
Canada-Scotland play to draw.
Germany lays its opening strikes on the pitch, awaits Nigeria.
Sweden wins; Scotland-Canada match to be determined shortly.
New Zealand, Australia, and Jamaica win opening matches; APB put out on Team Canada.
USA decimates the Netherlands!
England defeats Wales.

Just about all 16 teams competing in the innaugural Rock Town Hall World Cup of Rock ‘n Roll have their coaching staffs in place and tryouts for roster spots in place. Before play begins each competing nation will submit up to three artists, past or present, from which to pull songs for competition. Each team may select one possible substitute artists, which will be announced along with the roster and, if played, must replace the artist substituted for the rest of the tournament.

The rules for play are surprisingly simple, but will be challenging over time:

Each team will play one match against every team in its group; the top 2 point scorers (Win=3, Tie=1, Loss=0) at the end of Round 1 play will progress.
On the day of play, coaches for competing teams will submit 2 songs from among the collective catalogs of their starting artists.
Coaches and Townspeople will discuss the merits of each team’s selections.
A winner will be calculated through a combined tally of stated opinions, anonymous poll votes, and the judge’s (ie, our) discretion. In most cases, the RTH poll will only be used as a potential tie-breaker.
If there is a deadlock following the submission and discussion over the competing nations’ first 2 songs, each team will submit a third song, a selection which may come from the substitute artist’s catalog. Remember, though, once a substitute artist is used that artist must complete the tournament.

Not too complicated, is it? I’m sure we’ve overlooked some important rule, but it’s not like we’ve never been able to adjust on the fly before.

The schedule for Round 1 of play follows the jump!
Continue reading »

Songs That Overstay Their Welcome in Under 4 Minutes

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jun 192010

i4njPe2_rho]
There’s enough stuff in Sugarloaf‘s “Green-Eyed Lady” that I should like that song, at least in the way enjoy dumb, early-’70s songs like “Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You,” a later Sugarloaf song I had COMPLETELY forgotten about until stumbling across this introductory video. The song straddles some late-’60s jazzy pop arrangements, like a Zombies song, and it has tightly arranged, highly memorable instrumental parts, the kind of parts a musician is likely to try to play during downtime at rehearsals or recording sessions. Even the cheesy parts of the song – and there are many – should bring a smile to my face. However, I don’t like “Green-Eyed Lady” in the slightest. I hate it. I hate it almost as much as I hate the hit songs by Blood, Sweat & Tears. It goes on way too long!
Continue reading »

Dutout Chatter: MSFB Edition

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jun 182010

Let’s get a little chatter going! Most of you know this drill by now, but if you’ve been following along from the sidelines and want to make your initial splash in the Halls of Rock the following questions require nothing more than your gut answers! There’s no better way to jump into the fray because the only expertise required is a sound knowledge of your gut feelings!

Father’s Day is this Sunday: What song best represents your feelings about your dad?

Who’s the Chris Penn of rock?

I can think of a number of songs specifically about a mother or a father, but what’s the first song that comes to mind when you think, Songs about both a mother and father?

The Roches, The McGarrigle Sisters, or the Wilson sisters of Heart?

What song would you say your mother thinks best represents her feelings toward your father?

What is/was your father’s favorite song or artist?

Who’s your musical father figure, and what makes this person so? (It can be your actual father.)

I look forward to your responses.

Mystery Date

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jun 182010

Let’s review the ground rules here. The Mystery Date song is not necessarily something I believe to be good. So feel free to rip it or praise it. Rather the song is something of interest due to the artist, influences, time period… Your job is to decipher as much as you can about the artist without research. Who do you think it is? Or, Who do you think it sounds like? When do you think it was recorded? Etc…

If you know who it is, don’t spoil it for the rest. Anyone who knows it can play the “mockcarr option.” (And I’ve got a hunch that there are a lot who know this one.) This option is for those of you who just can’t hold your tongue and must let everyone know just how in-the-know you are by calling it. So if you know who it is and want everyone else to know that you know, email Mr. Moderator at mrmoderator [at] rocktownhall [dot] com. If correct we will post how brilliant you are in the Comments section.

The real test of strength though is to guess as close as possible without knowing. Ready, steady, go!

Mystery Date 061810

NOTE: Although representative of the times, this tracks is not typical of the rest of the tracks on the album on which it appears, which is also keeping with the times. Also, it’s not so much the artist who’s our Mystery Date but one of the band members.

Real Cool Time: Andy Shernoff to Tell Giant Tales at Philadelphia’s M Room

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jun 182010

A giant in his own right.

Tonight, Friday, June 18, The Dictators’ Andy Shernoff brings his When Giants Walked The Earth: A Musical Memoir show to the M Room, in Philadelphia (7:00 pm; ticket info here). This show, in which Shernoff recounts tales from his Queens-level perspective as a catalyst in the development of the New York punk scene, is so up the collective alley of Rock Town Hall that it hurts! We spoke to Andy briefly this morning, and he graciously agreed to answer some questions in the coming week. Meanwhile, if you’re in the Philly area, see if you can’t get yourself to the M Room to hear it from the horse’s mouth.

I’ve got to say, just reading about Shernoff’s career and imagining his experiences makes my head spin! He’s one of those guys who, whenever I read his take the scene, confirms things I’ve long felt about The Power and Glory of Rock. Friday night’s show promises to be a real cool time. What really hurts me even more than how right this show sounds is that I’ve got preexisting plans with a friend who is dependent on my not being present and on time. Unless I can somehow bend time, I will have to miss this show, but you should not! If you go, please let Andy know that he’s in the presence of Townspeople. The man knows what we’re up to around here when we should be taking care of business!

NYC-area Townspeople: Tomorrow night, June 19, you can catch this show at The Bowery Electric (8:00 pm).

New England Townspeople: I see that Andy’s bringing his show to Providence, RI’s AS220 next Friday, June 25.

One final link: a few months ago Andy appeared on Joe Belock‘s excellent WFMU show, Three Chord Monte. A real cool time was had that day too.

Older Entries Newer Entries