Mr. Moderator

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

Random Shuffle Coinkydinks

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 122010

The People have (not) spoken!

Minor news – and the kind of personal report I would surely mock if one of you posted this first – but my iPod, which I’m running on shuffle, just spat out a segue of “All You Need Is Love,” with the “She loves you…” coda, right into “She Loves You” itself. All Beatles on my iPod is burned from vinyl, so there can’t be some “Genius” software at work.

I know some of you have long taken great pride in your mp3 player’s random shuffle powers. Let this space be the place where you commemorate your player’s most historic shuffles.

This Is Your Rock Town Hall!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 092010

Townspeople,

This is your Rock Town Hall!

If you’ve already got Back Office privileges and can initiate threads, by all means use your privileges! If you’d like to acquire such privileges, let us know. If you’ve got a comment that needs to be made, what are you waiting for? If you’re just dropping in and find yourself feeling the need to make your voice heard, don’t hesitate to register and post your thoughts. The world of intelligent rock discussion benefits from your participation. If nothing else, your own Mr. Moderator gets a day off from himself. It’s a good thing for you as well as me!

Talkin’ Saints, The Who, and All Things Super

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 082010

This one’s for BigSteve!

The Most Disappointing Sibling in Rock

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 082010

Is there any rock sibling more disappointing than 38 Special‘s Donnie Van Zandt? Has any rock sibling brought more shame to his or her family – not to mention an entire region of the United States – than the brother of Southern Rock’s leading light, Ronnie Van Zandt? Think about the pride and identity Ronnie brought to his people, and then think about Donnie’s role as leader of a band that the members of REO Speedwagon thought were wimpy. I doubt Donnie got to sit anywhere near Papa Van Zandt at family gatherings.

All these years I thought Donnie was the same younger Van Zandt who’s filled in on tours by the surviving members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, but he’s not! I just learned that that’s another kid brother, Johnny. So Donnie doesn’t even have that redeeming quality.

Last Man Standing: Songs About Buffalo (The Animal, Not the City)

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 062010

I am proposing possibly the shortest Last Man Standing competition in the history of Rock Town Hall…but how many times have you heard that before?

I was listening to a song today that mentioned the animal the buffalo. My mind quickly raced to two other rock songs that involve the animal the buffalo. Just now, a few hours later, a fourth song came to mind, maybe the most obvious. Can you name the four songs that I have in mind? Can you name any more than four rock songs involving the animal the buffalo?

Rock songs involving the city of Buffalo do not count. Sorry “Buffalo Rocks,” or whatever.

Because pickings are so slim, I will sit this contest out. Hopefully I will still remember the four songs I presently have in mind. Go to it!
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Battle Royale: Best Vocal Intro to an Instrumental Solo

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 052010

If I heard right, while listening to Black Flag‘s “Slip It In” on the drive into work, Henry Rollins introduces Greg Ginn‘s freakout solo and generally orgasmic fade out with the command to “Mount up!” You can hear it for yourself at the 5:15 mark of this video.

If there is a better vocal intro to a guitar solo than Henry Rollins’ command to “Mount up!” then this is the place to prove it!

Which vocal intro to an instrumental solo dares step inside the squared circle?

Overlooked Gems of My Lifetime: The Velvet Underground, Live at Max’s Kansas City

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 052010

The following piece originally appeared on Overlooked Gems of My Lifetime, a personal blog I have not updated in too long. It’s been a downer of a week on many levels, so I capped it off by revisiting this album. Then I thought, Why not revisit this piece and share it with you while I’m at it? I hope your week has not required a spin of this overlooked gem, but if it has, more power to you! Finally, let me make a special shout out to this album’s second-biggest fan (not), Townsman General Slocum. Enjoy.

This frequently derided live album marks the end of the road for the The Velvet Underground. It’s a cassette-recorded, nearly bootleg affair, in which the band plays to what sounds like a dozen Max’s regulars who are audibly more interested in scoring than checking out Lou’s last show with the band. Although the band’s better-known and cherished 1969: Velvet Underground Live is objectively “better,” Max’s has always gotten more spins on my turntable.
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