Mr. Moderator

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

Rock’s Unfulfilled Fashion Ideas: Shorts

Aug 022013

Before the summer slips away and yet another musician commits perhaps the most egregious rock ‘n roll fashion faux pas, it’s time we address shorts.

For everyday summer activities, shorts are fine, even recommended. I’ve seen Europeans snicker at American tourists in their shorts. With all due respect to our European Townspeople, bite me and my July tourism shorts! This is not the time or place to examine this side question, but what is the beef Europeans have with shorts? It’s not a matter of modesty, as would be the case for tourists trying to enter the Vatican in shorts. The cameras on European shampoo commercials, for instance, pan back enough so that you can see soapsuds washing down a woman’s bare breasts. It’s not about a sense of rock ‘n roll cool, because most continental Europeans can’t make rock ‘n roll music to save their lives. (I’m leaving our friends in the UK out of this completely. They wear shorts with high dress socks and ties and jackets, don’t they? That’s another kind of weird, but I bet our rock ‘n roll capable UK brethren don’t snicker at their US visitors wearing a comfortable, utilitarian pair of cargo shorts.) If the hang-ups my friends in Italy, Hungary, and France have with us wearing shorts were centered around a sense of rock ‘n roll cool I would understand completely, because…

60 to Suck

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 022013

60 to SUCK?

It’s cool to consider bands that went from “0 to 60,” such as one of my favorites, The Undertones, who stormed out of the gates with a masterpiece debut as greasy teenagers. I would argue they maintained their lead-footed approach and added some sophisticated off-road maneuvers as they slowed down only slightly to enjoy the sights over their next 2 albums before finally running out of gas on their final album with the original lineup, The Sin of Pride. Our old friend Berlyant might disagree, but that dog’s had its day.

This morning I was listening to an album by a newer band, Alabama Shakes. I really dig their 2012 debut, but every time I listen to it I get a nagging feeling that their next album is going to SUCK. Not only do I fear a sophomore slump, I fear they will forever travel down the road of suck, in short time collaborating with over-the-hill artists looking for a shot of new blood.

I’m now trying to think of bands that, for me, quickly went from 0 to 60, then just as quickly 60 to SUCK. As an example, although I was never sold on the genius of the debut album by The Strokes, it was pretty cool and catchy. By all accounts, real fans of the band’s debut were sorely disappointed by the follow-up album and it seems like it’s been all downhill since then.

Is there a band that fits this profile for you?

Remember the Days When People Actually Listened to the Albums They Were Recommending?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jul 312013

To be honest, I have no intention of listening to this.

From eMusic‘s “New This Week” page, where a “staff contributor” summarizes new releases available through the site:

Grant Hart, The Argument – Latest solo record from the former Husker Du member, and a 20-song concept record based on Paradise Lost. I’ve been hearing some pretty great things about this, to be honest; some places are calling it his best-ever solo work and the first ever to touch his Husker Du work.

Listen, I know it’s 2013 and too many people don’t give a shit about the goods they are selling, but what’s the writer being “honest” about? I know this page does not pretend to offer the same thing as a critical review of the goods for sale, but the other blurbs for new albums do contain at least hints that someone actually listened to the music, or at least read another critic’s/publicist’s thoughts on the music. If the writer has the time to hear “some pretty great things” about the album, shouldn’t he or she make an effort to at least listen to the 30-second samples of each song that accompany an eMusic item available for sale/download?

They’ll Dance to Anything!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jul 302013

Hippies have been known to dance to anything, as the above clip attests, but they’re not alone in finding steps to music that’s usually not thought of as possessing a “great beat.” What’s the most unlikely dancing you’ve seen on display?

All-Star Jam

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jul 302013

What was that movie they were in?

I don’t know, you tell us—or tell us whatever’s on your musical mind.

Mick Farren, Hippie Proto-Punk, Dead

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jul 292013

Mick Farren‘s one of those legendary rock ‘n roll underground characters I’ve read much about dating back to a youth pouring over Trouser Press, yet still know little of. Every few years I tried to grab a hold of him, but he’d slip away. I’ve heard music of his bands, The Pink Fairies, Motorhead, and The Deviants, and I know he crossed paths with many musicians I love from the hippie and punk scenes, but I never got a grip on the man himself. I hope you did.

Now he’s dead, having died onstage at a recent show. Feel free to help me understand more about the scene-stirrer whose life and works I, mostly, missed. (Oh, how I know our old friend Happiness Stan would have some choice experiences, likely involving a lady friend and an outdoor festival, with the music of Farren ringing in his ears.)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2013/jul/29/charles-shaar-murray-tribute-mick-farren