Mr. Moderator

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

Feeling the Need to Bash the GRAMMYS?

Feb 082009

I have to apologize to anyone expecting a Rock Town Hall GRAMMYS Bash tonight. I’ve been so busy preparing for our upcoming Foyer of Fame festivities that I didn’t even realize the GRAMMY folks were doing their thing until I saw the paper this morning. Then I didn’t care about it. I tuned in briefly, earlier tonight, to see that American Idol woman, Jennifer Hudson, whose family was recently slain – a sincerely horrible thing that even I felt sad about. I only caught the tail end of her performance, that point when the African American Robed Choir suddenly appeared to make sure you really felt her pain. My timing was a message from god.

I also saw that “I Kissed a Girl” woman, Katie Perry? I’d never heard that entire song. Man, it sucks. It’s the cross-section between Pat Benetar and the worst aspects of The Cure.

Just now I tuned in again to see Kanye West, M.I.A., Lil’ Wayne, Jay-Z (I think), and maybe some other guy all yell at once while a token white guy played a heavy rock guitar lick in the background. Ugh.

Then Paul McCartney came on – still sans Hamish Stuart – to play yet another lame version of “I Saw Her Standing There.” Give it up, already, Paul! And Coldplay, after tonight’s festivities can you give up wearing those Sgt. Pepper’s jackets? It’s been 2 years appearing in public in those things, no? They smell.

Rock Town Hall Bemoans Exploitive Black Rock History Month With an Appreciation of Papa John Creach

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 082009

As discussed in my kick-off piece for Exploitive Black Rock History Month, some subjects we’ll be exploring will be more difficult to assess than the African American robed choir (AARC). The practice of white rock bands incorporating “authentic” bluesmen is not as black and white as the AARC, and with no one else taking on the task, it’s our job to review the shades of gray.

A scant 21 seconds into the following YouTube clip of an interview with Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, Jorma sets up what I’m about to discuss in today’s examination of exploitive black rock history better than I could have hoped. Check it out.

Long before Jon Spencer Blues Explosion found R.L. Burnside, possibly the last surviving African American bluesman with any pre-rock-era credibility to drag around on tour and dazzle white middle audiences, Jefferson Airplane and offshoot band Hot Tuna turned white rockin’ America onto Papa John Creach.
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Cramps Frontman Lux Interior Dies

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 062009

I never became a fan of The Cramps and the whole shockabilly aesthetic, but I’m sure recently deceased frontman Lux Interior was loved by some of you. For that reason alone, Lux was a great…man.

The first time I heard The Cramps doing “Surfin’ Bird” I was intrigued, as might be expected of any teenage rock fan. Then I heard more; saw the whole Lux Interior schtick documented in a punk movie or two; and lived through my town’s local punk scene, which featured a singer for two related bands whose entire schtick was based on Interior’s Poor Man’s Iggy schtick. Kids, when your Mom tells you, “You don’t know where that microphone’s been!” it may not be out of the question to wonder if she was a Cramps fan in college.

NEXT: Rock Town Hall’s Official Eulogy…
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Drummer Admits Beatles Used Recorded Backing Tapes for Let It Be Rooftop Performance

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 062009

The Monkees didn’t act alone. The Beatles also performed to backing tracks during their legendary rooftop performance in the film Let It Be, Beatles drummer Bernard Purdie confessed to Rock Town Hall just a couple of weeks following the 30th anniversary of the last live appearance by the band.

“The Let It Be performances were all on tape,” Purdie said. “There was no way you could set up a full band in five minutes with microphones, get all the settings right, and expect to get quality sound. It took the band long enough to record the music for Let It Be. There was only so much money left in the budget to get this performance on film, and truth be told we didn’t know how much time we could expect the four of them to wait around while the crew set up.”

According to Purdie, the band members’ off-mic asides were the only part of the performance that was not pre-recorded. After all, you never knew what priceless aside might come out of the mouths of the Fab Four! (The Beatles’ label PR had no comment for rocktownhall.com by press time.)

“It’s not fraudulent, it’s the opposite of fraud — it’s not like The Supremes‘ farewell performance on tv,” said Purdie, referring to the popular Motown group whose performance continued through a fade out long after Diana Ross had left the stage and the remaining Supremes clearly stopped moving their mouths.

“There were too many variables keeping the instruments in tune while playing outside in cold weather,” he continued. “You can’t control the environment, so the smart decision is to record the performance and play along with it… It was too big of an event to risk something going wrong. Film and music are not always a happy marriage.”

Crossing the Line

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 062009

This is an old topic that dates back to our Yahoo Groups beginnings and was revived during the opening weeks of the blog version of Rock Town Hall that you’re reading now. One of the reasons I like this topic is Townsman Geo‘s response, which you’ll find in the Comments for this post. Over the years, Geo’s been the one person who has gotten what I’m looking for and shared an answer. I’m still hopeful that other Townspeople will get it and have the confidence to share their experience in crossing the line. Won’t you repay my faith?

This post initially appeared 1/24/07.

Are you fearless in your quest to know all there is to know about Rock ‘n Roll, or do you have boundaries? Do you fear being faced with something a well-rounded rock nerd should know but find yourself paralyzed in fear of crossing the line? More than a line, in some cases, more like a 6-lane highway.
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I Am Ready to Forgive Nick Lowe for His Cowboy Outfit

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 042009

Here’s a story that’s been told before, in one way or another, but it’s worth telling again.

The whole Pub Rock/Pure Pop for Now People Dream was running its course. Nick Lowe put out an album called Nick Lowe & His Cowboy Outfit. Nick assembled what, on paper, looked to be a band worthy of the legacy of Brinsley Schwarz and Rockpile. His Cowboy Outfit included Rumour guitarist Martin Belmont and Ace lead singer-turned-session man and super-sub Paul Carrack. Rockpile guitarist Billy Bremner even played on a couple of tracks!
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Exploitive Black Rock History Month Bemoans Employment of the African American Robed Choir

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 042009

Yesterday’s celebration of The Day the Music Died took me through a range of emotions as I’m sure it did you. While we wind down from the festivities, I’d like to get back to a theme that I would like to work through with you over the course of the month, in between all our other fun and self-important rock discussion activities: Exploitive Black Rock History Month.

As I said in my introduction from a couple of days ago, I’d like us to do our best to explore and bemoan recurring, cynical, exploitive uses of what are typically considered black people’s musico-cultural achievements to add color (my apologies for the unavoidable pun) and credibility to the performances of primarily white rock artists. I’d like to kick off this discussion with an examination of possibly the most egregious and overused of these cultural abuses: the employment of the African American robed choir.

When did this practice begin? Can we blame it on Foreigner? Growing up, I don’t recall Elton John or David Bowie ever being backed by an African American robed choir, but sometime in the early ’90s it became commonplace.

Those of you who know me probably are aware that I am not a proponent of cursing… Continue reading »

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