Mr. Moderator

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

Mr. Mod Launches First Strike on Indie Crybabies at Stereogum

Mar 212007

I just watched some new video by The Hold Steady over at Stereogum, a site I sometimes check in on and sometimes enjoy (the content, that is). However, almost any time I feel moved to leave a comment in response to a video or story I’ve read, I’m confronted with the least-articulate set of college-educated, indie crybabies known to man. At times like these, I’m left leaving a message such as the following:

Shoot, we’ve spent 25-30 years trying to preserve what cool is left in rock so The Kids can go ga-ga over Born to Run? And then all you can do is cry over syntax and ignorance of case rules? Wah-wah.

I’m sorry to have to put a hit on the well-intentioned Stereogum and The Hold Steady in response to the folks who leave comments, but Jeez Louise! Check out for yourself what passes for discussion.

“I’ll have a mediocre McCartney album with that Quad Venti non-fat cappuccino, extra wet.”

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 212007

After weeks of speculation, Paul McCartney is now officially the first artist signed to Hear Music, a new joint label formed by Starbucks and the Concord Music Group. The as-yet-untitled album is due in early June; its release on Hear Music marks the end of McCartney’s decades-long association with Capitol.

Previously in As the Paul Turns.

RTH Fantasy Rock Band League Draft Enters Round 3: RTH Member DiFuria Selected

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 212007

The third round of the 2007 Rock Town Hall Fantasy Rock Band League Draft is about to begin! Free agents may be selected in lieu of a band’s pick in this round and the following round. GMs who signed free agents in the second round are ineligible for selections in this round. Watch your salary cap!

Picks from the second round are listed here.
Picks from the first round are listed here.

Following a series of trades, Mr. Mod and Andyr have flipped draft picks in this round. Meanstom and Sally C have forfeited their third-round picks owing to free-agent signings. For the third-round draft order and analysis…
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Lou Reed…As His Music Was Meant to Sound!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 202007

First, you know you wanted another selection from Lou’s 1974 All-Star Porn Rock Band. It’s going to be hard continuing this feature once I move beyond this era, but I’ll do my best.

I was watching a making of Transformer doc on VH1 Classics. You know, as much as I love Lou Reed and as many mediocre – some might say “humble” – albums as I do by the man, Tranformer is a generally flat listening experience for me. I’m only stoked by the album’s version of “Walk on the Wild Side”. As great a song as “Satellite of Love” is, I find the album’s version lacking in something. I’ll take any number of live versions over it.

The album’s subject matter doesn’t grab me – all that glam/butch-femme dynamic/Andy Warhol stuff ranks down there with workin’ for the weekend cock-rock subject matter in terms of my lyrical interests, but I think the real problem is Bowie. Here’s a rare example of an artist in his prime being produced by an artist he heavily influenced. As with Bowie’s production of Raw Power, I’m left cold.

That said, let’s hear what Lou and his contributors had to say about the making of this supposed classic!

Out-of-Court Settlement for Sting, Stewart, and Adams

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 202007

The Nuremberg Rock Crimes Commission announced today that the charges against Sting, Rod Stewart, and Bryan Adams for Rock Crimes in association with their participation in a 1993 collaboration on a song and video for the soundtrack of The Three Muskateers were settled out of court.
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For Those About to Draft: Second Round of the Fantasy Rock Band League Draft: Free Agency All the Rage

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 202007

The second round of the 2007 Rock Town Hall Fantasy Rock Band League Draft is about to begin! In this round, teams may select free agents (ie, musicians not in the available Talent Pool). Remember, the signing of a free agent forfeits the signing team’s ability to draft in that and the following round. In this round, teams’ salary caps will first come under scrutiny, Mr. Moderator, with 2 first-round picks, is already through more than half of his cap space.

Picks from the first round are listed here.

So far there’s been one trade in the second round: Sammy has traded his 2 second-round picks (one acquired from Mr. Mod) to Andyr for his third-round selection. Rumor has it that deals may be spun off this one. For the second-round draft order and analysis…
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The Humble Album

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 192007

What’s Your Humble Album?
Not all rock bands who’ve been around and in the limelight for sometime make one, but the Humble Album can be a welcome respite for the band’s dedicated rock nerd fans. This is the album in which our larger-than-life rock heroes take a step back, whether by design or default, and put out an album that falls a bit flat for the general public but, over time, satisfies the longings of rock nerds hungry for that next underappreciated album that only the chosen few will ever get.
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