Mr. Moderator

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

Is There a Drummer in the House: Aerosol Cymbals

Apr 242007

Help me out today, drummers. Townswoman Sally Cinnamon sent me this Mod-era instrumental by The Jay Jays called “The Cruncher”. Pretty cool song with pretty cool drumming and guitar fragments. The drummer is playing what I call aerosol cymbals, a style of cymbal playing most frequently associated with Ringo Starr‘s work on early Beatles records. It has an undeniable appeal on early listens, but you may be aware by now that Mr. Moderator is typically uncomfortable with anything more than quarter notes on the ride cymbal and tight, controlled hi-hats. He could do without all but a handful of well-placed crash cymbals in any song. Check out what the drummer is doing in this song:

The Jay Jays, “The Cruncher”*

Now, please explain to your drum-naive Moderator the value of this style of playing, what cymbal is being smashed repeatedly, and why this style only seems to work in songs recorded from 1961-1965. Thank you.

*Rock Town Hall apologizes profusely for providing a digital version of this song. We do not yet have the technology to run an actual mono mix on a scratchy 45 through a Close-and-Play record player. Along the same lines, we apologize for the fact that some of our Townspeople are well past puberty.

Band in a Bubble

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Apr 242007

Recording artists Cartel are taking a unique approach to recording their second album. The band is sealing themselves in a bubble in New York for nearly a month while cameras capture their every move as they record the follow-up to their debut, “Chroma.”

Anyone game for some bubble-to-bubble marketing?
Continue reading »

BATTLE ROYALE: Best Reggae-Influenced, Non-Punk ’70s Rock Song

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Apr 232007

I’m going to start with an obvious one, Roxy Music’s “Love Is the Drug”. Into the ring I’m throwing Heart’s “Straight On for You”, the verses of which I’d argue may whoop the obvious favorite. What say you? Take it from here.

The Magic of Demos: Reproducible in the Studio?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Apr 232007

Townsman Trolleyvox asks a fine question in today’s All-Star Jam that’s worth bringing up for full-fledged discussion. Please help him out, especially those of you who’ve been there. We look forward to your responses.

Have any of you recordists out there had the experience of falling in love with a demo you made and then proceeded to try to capture the magic of the demo in the “real recording”? I’d be curious to hear some of your experiences. I’m currently traveling in that odd little land between excitement about the new recording and being misty about certain aspects of the demo. Are the qualities that I loved about the demo irreproducible? I don’t have the luxury of spending a week in the studio a la Roger Waters getting stuff exactly the way I want it on one tune–probably a good thing. Limitations making for more immediate, more interesting work most of the time. If I was really sensible about the situation I’d tell myself that the demo and the new recording are simply different beasts and that they should just be free to be their sonic selves. But alas, I’m a stubborn mofo and thus filled with an odd mix of pride and regret.

Is the moral “don’t make demos?”

Dugout Chatter

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Apr 222007

Take at least one, then pass it on!

Anyone into the old glam band Mud? Whenever I hear their stuff – not to mention see their Look – I’m impressed.

Shifting gears, if you are or have been a musician of any stripe, do you recall the first time you were on stage and felt you has some idea of what you were doing, some degree of poise and skill? Don’t be shy about sharing this humble moment.

Any thoughts on Bjork‘s appearance on Saturday Night Live this weekend? I say god bless her for trying to inject some humanity into a song that sounded composed based on a series of IT “tickets,” but that act is OLD!

I occasionally see Moby play guitar-driven songs that almost sound like something Brian Eno might have cranked out in his “song” days. Not bad, but Moby’s hoodie always bugs me. Did I miss something in completely ignoring this guy when he had his day in the sun?

Is there any budding comeback album that excites you less than Smashing Pumpkins‘ forthcoming album? Is there any returning Look that excites you less than Billy Corgan‘s?
Continue reading »

Monkees Demand Entry to the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Apr 202007

Peter Tork calls for Monkees’ rights! Michael Stipe concurs!

How does the band – whose Emmy-winning show aped the Beatles’ film “A Hard Day’s Night” – rank against other inductees? Neither the Animals, the Rascals, the Lovin’ Spoonful, the Dells, Del Shannon, Frankie Lymon nor Black Sabbath have more Top 20 singles than the Monkees’ 10. Ratings aside, classics such as “Pleasant Valley Sunday” have aged better than the likes of Shannon, whose “Hat’s Off to Larry” seems laughable as Hall justification.

Posts of the Week!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Apr 202007

[NOTE: The above clip contains a nasty word or two.]

In the hopes of fostering continued participation and interaction among Townspeople, it’s time we recognize two particular Posts of the Week! This is not to overlook any of the other hundreds of great posts we get each week on Rock Town Hall, but rather to drive a few visitors into the depths of this blog and all it has to offer. If I sound like I’m tooting our own horn, your ears are functioning properly.

Without further ado, may I direct you to BigSteve’s lovingly mocking jibe at KingEd and his rant against indie rock profiling.

Then, make sure you read Hrrundivbakshi’s very personal Biker Rock memory.

Whether you’re a first-time visitor or a regular, I hope you’re drilling down to the Comments. Better yet, I hope you’re making some noise of your own. No matter how much we might value a particular Main Stage post, it’s rare that someone doesn’t add new light to a topic and make the author of the initial post wish he or she had had a chance to do their own post over again. Believe me!

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