Mr. Moderator

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

An Open Interview Originally Intended for the Curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

Mar 102008

They’ve got Madonna

We don’t want to overlook the significance of tonight’s competing celebration of lifetime achievements in rock, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum‘s induction of Madonna, Leonard Cohen, Gamble and Huff, Dave Clark 5, and Little Walter into its sacred halls. Months ago, we contacted an old friend, who’s long been the curator of the Hall in Cleveland for a behind-the-scenes look at this museum. Our friend is a humble, self-effacing man who was very busy back then and continues to be very busy today. To our mutual regret, he was unable to find the time to answer our questions in time for tonight’s ceremony, but there’s no reason why the questions should go to waste. As a tribute to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, I will invite our very own Townspeople to answer these questions in our friend’s stead. Perhaps when our friend has the time, he’ll jump in and provide his own answers.

Let’s get to the questions!
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Don’t Go There! Your Guide for Maintaining Partial Appreciation for Bob Seger and Steve Miller

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 102008

As we reflect on the partial lifetime achievements by rock and roll artists Bob Seger and Steve Miller tonight (live coverage from Frankfort, KY on Rock Town Hall beginning at 8:30 PM EST), we might feel ourselves distracted from appropriate thoughts of thanks and praise and, instead, retreat to our typically cynical views on these artists. That’s fine for tomorrow and the days that follow, but today is their day! For just this day, let’s give these artists few minutes of our warmest RTH thoughts, as they long ago gave us a few minutes of their most ambitious artistic efforts.

To help you maintain partial appreciation for these artists over the course of the day, we have prepared a simple, 2-step guide. For the couple of minutes it should take you to work through this guide, you will be rewarded with at least twice that many minutes of back catalog riches. Let’s begin…

Endless Summer or Inevitable Bummer?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 092008

Let’s take all psychiatric illnesses out of the equation. Let’s say The Beach Boys had been able to continue making records with Brian Wilson operating at the mental faculties he’d had in play through Pet Sounds. Let’s say Mike Love‘s geeky side didn’t develop into a full-blown annoyance and Hal Blaine continued drumming for Dennis Wilson. Let’s say Carl was allowed to be simply Carl, with no expectations to pick up the slack for Brian. Let’s say John Stamos never began showing up onstage with the band. How much more gas was left in The Beach Boys’ tank?

Do the dozen charming, humble numbers in the years that followed Pet Sounds and the “Good Vibrations” single point toward any further musical growth, or would the band, even in the best of circumstances, have peaked no later than they did, carrying on for however long like any number of great rock ‘n roll bands that had worked their magic for all it was worth (eg, The Rolling Stones), or would they have found a higher plane yet given their musical abilities and songwriting palette?

Dugout Chatter: The Greater Antilles Sampler Edition

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 072008

Last night I pulled out an old, 1976 Antilles Records sampler that was stashed in an odds and ends bin in my record collection. I remember buying this album long ago for a dollar or less because it was bookended by a Nick Drake song at the beginning (at that time I had not pulled the trigger on buying anything by him) and a Portsmouth Sinfonia track, a legendary Eno-produced conglomeration of art rockers playing instruments foreign to them, at the end. I liked the Drake tune and would go on to buy a sampler collection culled from his 3 albums that still does the trick for me. The Portsmouth Sinfonia thing was a one-trick pony of an artsy-fartsy joke. I’d been involved in funnier one-off art rocker jokes with my friend and fellow Townsman, General Slocum.

Truth in advertising

After not spinning this record for at least 10 years, I was determined last night to dig into the sampler’s midsection. This weekend’s Dugout Chatter is structured around a handful of this collection’s guts, so to speak. After listening to each track, please respond to the corresponding question. As always, your gut response is what we value! The songs and questions follow the jump.
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They Called It Rock…Do We Still?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 072008

This topic for discussion might reek of Rockism like no topic that’s ever crossed my mind, but I suspect I’m not the only person to have thought the following – and even if I am I suspect someone will get outwardly annoyed that I’ve considered these thoughts, leading to another action-packed day in the Halls of Rock: Continue reading »

Nagging Question: Why Can’t I Touch Kandy Korn?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 072008

Who’s got the 10?

There have always been voices in my head. It’s not enough that I tend to blabber in my everyday life; there’s likely to be a stream of internal chatter going on in my head even while I’m talking to another human being. Jeez, it’s like Rupert Pupkin‘s basement up in here.

Among the topics that occupy my mind are the one question I would ask my favorite artists, should I ever have the opportunity to meet them. For instance, there’s a montage of gangland killings in Martin Scorcese‘s Goodfellas that I’d ask him about: Was the scene consciously styled after a key montage of vengeance and bloodletting in Kurusawa‘s Ran? Even if I was grabbing at straws, I bet Marty wouldn’t miss the opportunity to unleash some pent-up, internal dialog of his own concerning Ran. Then we’d spin cool records and trade tales of guilt-ridden, self-glorified debauchery and crippling asthmatic attacks.

Do you have a nagging question you’d like to ask a favorite musician?

Norman “Hurricane” Smith Dead

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 052008

I’ve yet to see a news link, but we were tipped off to news of the death of Norman “Hurricane” Smith by an RTH Basement Dweller. I’ve found the Beatles’ fanboy discussion topic linked in the title of this thread to back it up.

Following his fantastic work with The Beatles, early Pink Floyd, and psychedelically psavvy The Pretty Things, he experienced some solo performer success as Hurricane Smith. “Oh Babe What Would You Say?” was one of my early childhood singles.

Dig that Look!

NEW: Here’s a cool Mojo piece on the man.

Previously, in the News!

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