Mr. Moderator

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

Clash of the Titans!

Aug 252009

Coming events!

While vacationing in Maine last week I attended a Tuesday night Clash of the Titans show that a Portland man about town named and musician Spencer Albee and DJ Mark Curdo promote every Tuesday night at a club called Empire Dine and Dance. Each week, two sets of local musicians cover about a half dozen songs by artists who are paired against each other for either their once-contemporary “rivalry” or influence. The artists play one song at a time, exiting the stage after each song. The show I attended with my friend, former bandmate, and occasional Townsman Dave Ragsdale and his two excellent nephews, Max and Roy, pitted Sam Cooke against Otis Redding. As I learned, the format makes for a long night out, but in the comfortable confines of the Empire, surrounded by a packed house of enthusiastic, unassuming Portland rock fans, it also makes for a refreshingly F-U-N night on the town unlike what I’m used to experiencing in my increasingly rare nights out at Philly clubs.

Dig… Continue reading »

Hear Factor, deux: Heavy Duty

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 222009

The title of this mix pretty much says it all. This Hear Factor excursion is not for the lovers of twee who patrol the Halls of Rock, and for that reason it’s vital that those of you who prefer more melodic, tender sounds man up and deal with this mix!

Heavy Duty (~65 MB)

For this mix, I SUMMON Townsman Northvancoveman!

This is not to say that our Canadian friend is some soft-rock sop – not by any means – but he does go apeshit over that Paul Williams-Brian DePalma flick. The true soft-rock sops among you, whom I’m too kind to call out by name, are implored to live with this mix for a few days and report back. We’ll all be better people for your efforts. Thanks!

What’s Hear Factor?

The Most Satisfying Musical Comment of the Week by My Wife

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 222009

On our ride up to Maine via Boston, where my oldest son and I caught an awesome pitching performance by the Tigers’ Justin Verlander over the Red Sox at Fenway, last Thursday, my wife told me some details of a dance party that neighbor friends had hosted a few nights earlier and that I had missed. My wife had a great time, even if the music selection was a bit more like a typical wedding mix than she would have hoped. She loves to dance. I feel incredibly self-conscious in my rare efforts at dancing (badly), but the party did sound cool: good company, a rented dance floor on the couple’s back yard on a beautiful night, etc. My wife reported that the dance party reached its peak during a run of B-52s songs. Then she unintentionally warmed the cockles of my heart with this report on the dance party’s low point: Continue reading »

Hear Factor, deux: A Bit Off

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 182009

Here’s another mix that hints at a type of Olde Time music, but of the English variety. For some reason, this nation’s old-fashioned music seems less foreign than my own country’s pre-rock music. Must be something about English envy.

This is a collection of rock music, mind you, but I think some of you will find it challenging.

A Bit Off (~61 MB)

For this mix, I SUMMON none other than one of our proudest Americans in the Halls of Rock, Townsman Mwall.

The rest of you are also encouraged to dip into this mix and share your experiences.

What’s Hear Factor?

Artists Suspected of Performance-Enhancing Drugs

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 182009

Nothing suspicious in their cocktails.

Townsman Andyr raised this question with me last week concerning J. Geils Band, a long-time, hard-working, journeyman, Boston party rock band best known for its Jagger-esque frontman and energetic live shows but always underachieving in the studio that suddenly turned out two albums of polished, radio-friendly hits.

At first I dismissed my friend’s suspicions as the result of the dangerous practice of mixing love for rock ‘n roll with love for baseball. Over the next few days, however, I went searching for possible ties to members of J. Geils Band and performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).

Although the band was tight with San Francisco promoter Bill Graham and played the Fillmore West numerous times, I did not find any ties to the Bay area’s nascent BALCO labs scene. J. Geils himself was always a sturdy looking guy, but judging by estimates of his head size over the years, there were no changes. In fact, with one exception, each member of J. Geils Band seemed to maintain a pretty stable Look and role within the band.
Continue reading »

Mal Evans Had More Charisma Than the Lesser Stones

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 172009

I love The Rolling Stones, but when confronted with the all-important Are you a Beatles or a Stones guy? signifier, I go with The Beatles without hesitation.

I’ve never been a “comic book guy.” Rock ‘n roll has always been my comic book scene. I know some of you crossed over to rock from the comic book scene. That’s cool, but my super heroes have always been drawn from rock ‘n rollers and athletes – ’70s baseball players, in particular. The Beatles may have had more Rock Super Powers than any band in history. The only thing they were lacking was a magnetic manager, although Brian Epstein was dedicated and tragic enough of a figure to fit into a super power dynamic.

The Rolling Stones, which at best contained maybe 3 super heroes combined out of six or seven key characters (Jagger and Richards claiming a full share each with Brian Jones and Andrew Loog Oldham splitting a share in the early days), were never a match for The Beatles among rock fans seeking comic book-worthy super powers. Hell, Beatles’ lackey Mal Evans had more charisma than most of the Stones! Perhaps it’s no suprise that a lot of rock ‘n roll fans who call themselves Stones guys also have a childhood past collecting comic books. The comic book kids got their money’s worth of super powers before turning to rock.

For those of you who appreciate bands chock full of Rock Super Powers, what bands do you think rival The Beatles for top-to-bottom Rock Super Power strength? One band that immediately comes to mind for me, despite my not liking much of their music (sometimes that’s a secondary concern), is Cheap Trick.

Boogie Gone Bad

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 172009

As many of you know, I loves me some Brian Jones-era Stones and I loves me some boogie, but prepare yourself for boogie gone bad.

Really, if you’ve never seen this before, take it from me and don’t get your hopes up.

Older Entries Newer Entries