OK, maybe you’ve had some time to think about this question, based on our current poll: Why do British rockers typically have more style than American rockers?
Is it, as the poll states:
Because they’re still playing catch up to the original, stylish American rockers.
Because they wear “trousers.”
Because they lack America’s midwestern population of rockers still aspiring to look like The Raspberries.
Another reason, which you will answer in this thread.
Or do you disagree with this premise altogether and are ready to discuss it now?
Personally, I think the British have been working harder all these years to catch up to Elvis, Little Richard, et al.
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 »
As a show of support for golfer Tiger Woods, rockin’ golf enthusiasts Kenny G, Alice Cooper, and the members of Hootie and the Blowfish are uniting under the GolfRock banner to record a song in support of the golf legend. All proceeds from sales of the as-yet-composed song will benefit an organization supporting amateur golfers and caddies who aspire to one day affording the opportunity to develop a sex addiction.
Alice “wouldn’t miss this for summer break.”
The idea for this benefit started with Kenny G. “I spent many a summer as a caddy,” recounts the saxophonist, “getting an up-close look at pro golfers and the country club tail at their disposal.” G considered a career in golf, but as he puts it, “I had much better control of my embouchure than a 7-iron.” With the troubles facing the embattled golf icon, G was concerned that the public scrutiny surrounding Woods would jeopardize the romantic opportunities for all golfers. “I called my golfing buddy Alice, and we agreed that something had to be done.”
Cooper, who these days is nearly as well known for his short game on the links as he is for his shock-rock theatrics in concert, began furiously working his cell phone to recruit other artists to this cause. “Iggy, Flea, and Sheryl Crow are all but confirmed,” said Cooper. “Wyclef Jean wants in, even though he’s never played more than miniature golf!” Cooper says that Hootie’s Darius Rucker is working some of country music’s biggest stars. “Kenny and I figured Darius might be able to reach out to the likes of Jay-Z,” laughs Cooper, “but it turns out he’s got no pull in the hip-hop community.”
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Today, February 18, 2010, marked an historic day in the history of Rock Town Hall – or at least a day that I’m psyched to see: all 10 posts showing on our Main Stage were composed by Townspeople other than myself! This is a first since we launched this blog. I’m sorry to have spoiled that run with this post, but at the risk of killing the mojo The Back Office and I felt it important to give you a big hand. Continue reading »
The following questions are meant to elicit a sense of your rock ‘n roll values and experiences. This set is particularly geared toward assessing your abilities as a rock ‘n roll lover. Don’t worry, we won’t get too personal – unless you want to go there. Your candid answers will likely warm the heart of a fellow rock nerd if not a romantic partner. Let’s get it on!
Do you tend to prefer songs of love or songs of unrequited love?
What’s the Whitman’s Sampler of rock albums?
As a lover, what love song by The Rolling Stones might you use to transmit your romantic intentions?
What’s the jelly-filled chocolate, quickly shoved back in the box after someone’s stuck their thumb through the bottom to determine what’s inside it, of rock songs?
What purported love song makes you want to go a lifetime without love?
Honestly, has music ever played a positive role in your love life? Please share.
I look forward to your responses, and take it from me, dudes: women prefer cut flowers to plants on this day. They find the ephemeral nature of the cut flowers to be more romantic than the hearty, long-lasting qualities of the living plant. I guess this is the role we already serve for our mates.
Here’s an old thread that I thought would get more play on its initial release. Guess I overestimated the anticipation Townspeople had for this topic. Or maybe it would have helped if I had introduced the piece with my tale of buying Elvis Costello’s Imperial Bedroom with a friend in New York on the day of its release and returning to his hometown of East Orange, NJ before breaking into his friend’s house through a basement window his friend once showed him how to open. There, while the kid and his parents were out doing productive things, we could fire up this new album in all its highly anticipated majesty. The statuate of limitations has passed on this youthful indescretion, right?
This post initially appeared 2/8/08.
Real simple: Here’s an opportunity to discuss at least two issues related to today’s poll.
What’s the last album you recall so greatly anticipating the release of to the degree that you made sure to buy it the day it came out?
Can you share a particularly memorable story about a highly anticipated album release and first-day purchase?
I look forward to – no, I eagerly anticipate your responses!
Among the many joys of moderating Rock Town Hall is getting turned onto musical perspectives new participants who stumble into our hallowed halls feel comfortable putting on display and then possibly getting to know a bit about the people themselves. There’s so much an opinionated rock nerd like myself can assume and so many opportunities for those assumptions to make an ass of you and me. The outrageous assumptions we make can be an ongoing source of fun, provided they allow for some true dialog.
A recent thread by Townsman BigSteve on the reissue extravaganza surrounding RTH icon Lou Reed‘s Metal Machine Music gave me yet another chance to have a giggle, in part, to cover my ignorance on the subject at hand. To my surprise and delight, however, the topic attracted a new Townsperson to our ranks who goes by the RTH handle armyofquad. His personal tale in the Comments (read here and here and here) of helping to instigate the reissue of this controversial album in many of the formats in which Lou intended his work to be heard was both inspiring and too interesting to let slide with nothing more than our beloved giggles. I contacted armyofquad offlist to ask if he’d be willing to field some questions from a music lover who’s gone 46 years being completely ignorant of quadraphonic sound and newer surround-sound media.
Talk about assumptions, I assumed armyofquad was at least my age and possibly even one of those “audiophile asshole” guys I dreaded from my youth, you know, the kind of guys who were more interested in Japanese imports of some godawful fusion band because it highlighted the highs and lows of their kick-ass hi-fi system. It turns out, he’s 30 years old, a musician himself, and a lover of music itself before the technology. As is so often the case, I was happy to learn that I am an idiot who still can’t get past a few teenage scars!
BigSteve, another intelligent Townsman who’s less likely to make broad assumptions and who’s also managed to learn little to nothing about quadraphonic sound in his years in front of stereo speakers, contributed to the following questions. Townsman armyofquad provded answers that he hopes will not get too technical for our fellow neophytes. I hope you enjoy this chat with a fellow Townsman over a musical niche as much as I did. As a takeaway message, as long as we keep an open mind to new perspectives, our ribbing is doing its job to “tenderize” ourselves to true rock dialog rather than simply hardening our armor with snark. Let’s get it on, shall we?
RTH: Thanks for agreeing to discuss your interest and experiences in quadraphonic sound. As a guy who’s challenged by all audiophile issues, some of these questions are likely to be “dumb.” But as a math teacher once told me, “There are no dumb questions, only dumb answers.”
Because we met you through the recent Metal Machine Music thread, let’s start with Lou Reed in quadraphonic sound. Did Lou release anything else in quad? Is there a non-quad Lou Reed album you’d most love to hear in that format?
armyofquad:Metal Machine Music is the only Lou Reed album to have been released in quad. I would love to hear more Lou Reed in quad or surround. I think Transformer, Rock ‘n Roll Animal, and Berlin would be great in surround.
RTH: You said in our MMM thread that someone gave you a quadraphonic system and that you got into the format that way. Did you have an interest in any other high fidelity systems prior to that, or was quadraphonic sound your
first foray into a deeper level of appreciating recorded music?
armyofquad: By the time I had gotten that first quad system when I was in high school, I had already gone through a few different older stereo systems that were handed down to me by family members. When I got into college and got on the internet, that allowed me to start more research into quadraphonic, and sound systems in general. So, I certainly already had an interest, but while I was getting into quad I also at the same time got more into high fidelity, and picking up better stereo equipment to try a piece together a better system. My current system continues to be a work in process.
RTH: What is the rationale for quadraphonic sound and current-day formats, like Dolby 5.1 sound? We only have two ears, so isn’t stereo sound natural
and ideal?
armyofquad: The “2 ears” argument is a common argument from some. There are still those that will claim mono is better than stereo. But, in the real world, sound surrounds us. We have the capability of detecting whether sound comes from in front of us or behind us with our 2 ears. Surround sound offers someone more freedom when creating an album in the studio.
