You may have heard this before, and if so you will likely hear it again. For newer participants in the Halls of Rock as well as veterans, it’s important to note that this is your Rock Town Hall. Follow the latest comments section to register your consent or dissent. Take the discussion down previously unseen paths. Knock a Townsperson off his or her high horse, if need be. Request Main Stage privileges and start your own threads. Check out the Archives. Have fun.
The surviving members of The Grateful Dead will reunite for a show to support the Barack Obama campaign for President. Then they will most likely schedule a full tour to cash in on this opportunity.
After having failed to rally the support of Thin White Duke-era Bowie and further establish his credibility as a cokehead, his campaign staffers decided to field repeated calls from Phil Lesh. “If I’m going to be the agent of change,” Obama is reported to have told campaign manager David Axelrod, “what better than gaining the full support of the poster band for mind expansion?”
Axelrod, a longtime Deadhead, concurred, and reached out to former Jimmy Carter supporters, The Allman Brothers, to open the show.
John McCain, meanwhile, has been discussing with running mate Sarah Palin the possibility of gaining the backing of The Doobie Brothers. “I’m more of a Steppenwolf fan myself,” said McCain, “but I worry that voters may read the lyrics of ‘The Pusher’ the wrong way.”
Multi-untalented singer-songwriter-actor Jerry Reed, best known for pickin’ and grinnin’ his way through some kitschy country-rock singles and trucker movies of the 1970s–frequently riding shotgun with Burt Reynolds–of died of complications from emphysema at age 71.
Among the things I’ll remember most about Reed are his awesome jawline (damn, that guy could grin) and the way his crumpled cowboy hat was always perched on his head just so.
Has anyone in movie history ever ridden shotgun with as much aplomb as Jerry Reed? To avoid confusion and give the man the respect his work was due, let’s be clear that in American Graffiti it’s not Reed who befriends/terrorizes Richard Dreyfus’ character as a member of the Pharoahs but Bo Hopkins, a one-dimensionally limited character actor who looked a bit like Reed and probably battled him for grinnin’ good ole boy roles.
A typical Reed novelty number.
On Scooby Doo.
With recent RTH hero Glen Campbell–perhaps there’s hope for restoring Jerry’s legacy.
We’ve long touted the Comments on Rock Town Hall as the distinctive quality of our collective activities. The key to any Main Stage contribution is its ability to generate discussion. Sometimes the most humble thread results in unexpectedly intelligent, witty, or otherwise insightful comments. We’ve long made reference to a Comment of the Month, but now it’s a reality. Following the jump, our first official Rock Town Hall Comment of the Month winner–and a recap of the award-winning comment.
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When I was young, before Jerry Garcia had touch of gray and Jam Band Culture errupted, I used to count on something in my dealings with Deadheads I called the Grateful Dead Package Deal. I was never a Deadhead or anything close to it, but their culture, shall we say, had a few features that I found stimulating.
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UPDATED AFTER THE JUMP!
I’ve got a real simple little game/opportunity to bond that I’d like to see if we can play. I’m swamped today, so I may not have time to drop a typically insightful, educational piece on you any time soon. I sense you’ve got a lot you want to share but are lacking enough topics around which to express yourself. So with the summer wrapping up, here’s your chance to wax enthusiastic over any one thing musical you’ve experienced this summer (eg, new album, old album, live show, killer earbuds, satellite radio show). Your enthusiasm should be contagious, as you raise a virtual hand in the air, in full expectation of a high five of acknowledgment and shared enthusiasm for your topic.
NOW HERE’S THE TRICKY PART OF THE GAME: Before any Townsperson can respond to that first post with his or her own song of praise, he or she must first complete the high five, must serve as a witness to the previous praiseworthy experience.
To illustrate, Townsperson A may raise the roof for the new Dr. Dog album. A second Townsperson will be required to second that praise, no matter how mildly (eg, “Yeah, it’s got a couple of good tracks”), before moving forward with his or her own musical experience from the summer of 2008. If you’ve got a burning desire to share yet can’t stand the new Dr. Dog album, you’ll have to wait your turn, wait to follow up on another Townsperson’s experience.
The final rule (I think): Pile-on high fives are only allowed if the piling-on Townsperson somehow extends the praise, such as following the first Townsperson to agree that the new Dr. Dog album, “like, totally rocks,” with something on the order of, “If you like that album, you should have seen them on tour this summer!” Beware of this tactic, though: the person who follows the first pile-on will need to then high five over both the pile-on topic as well as any new topic the first pile-on person adds to the mix. After completing that tricky maneuver, the person following the first pile-on will be able to reset the praise and allow the next person to focus only on the most recently praised musical experience.
Take your time with this. Let me know if you have any questions. I’ll leave the stage open to your first song of praise. At least one actual praiseworthy song, submitted by Townsman Al, follows the jump!
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While we’re slappin’ five over musical highlights from the Summer of 2008, I was reminded of this old thread, one that examines the other side of the anticipated high five. Let’s call this phenomenon Musical Opinions Go Wrong in the Real World. For those of you who weren’t around when this first ran, maybe you’ve got your own examples of Musical Opinions Go Wrong in the Real World. For those of you who shared the first time around, maybe you’ve got some new experiences to share since then.
This post initially appeared 10/16/07.
For those of you who’ve spent some time here at Rock Town Hall you’ve probably taken for granted the freedom to express your musical opinions freely, sometimes even pompously, without shame. In fact, here in the Halls of Rock, a bold and well-pitched expression of an opinion on a band, song, album, or genre can be met with delight and a round of electronic high-fives. In fact, more than a few of you over the years have expressed thanks for the dynamic we afford such passionate thoughts on the music we love. You’re welcome!
In the “real world,” however, some of these opinions we harbor are not met with as much anticipation and support. Who hasn’t been asked for an opinion on a band in work or at a party that’s not populated by fellow rock nerds and forgotten to bite his or her tongue, or at least temper a response?
“Do you like Meat Loaf?” a well-meaning colleague may ask me on any given day, knowing that I am a music lover and probably seeking some approval from an “expert.”
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