Get it on, in whatever way moves you! The All-Star Jam is the place to show us your moves, pass along the links we don’t get by not being your Facebook friends.
Jan 232013
Mr. Moderator
Jan 212013
A YouTube page loaded with Blossom Dearie videos had one video of the Grateful Dead playing some song I like from a 1978 concert. That video’s page was loaded with Dead performances from the late ’70s. It was good to watch a few of their performances from a period before they get really bloated and bad, as I feel they are whenever I watch clips from the ’80s.
Anyhow, I started clicking on videos of well-known Dead song titles that I wasn’t sure I actually could match a tune with. For instance, I am as adept as anyone around here at dropping a sarcastic “Scarlet Begonias” reference, but truth be told I never really know what tune goes with that song title. I just listened to it about 15 minutes ago, and I’ve already forgotten the tune, although it’s one I will recognize next time I hear it.
Then I saw a clip promising a song called “Franklin’s Tower.” I knew this was another famous Dead song title, but I had NO idea how the tune went with that song title…or did I?
Jan 212013
Last night while flipping channels I stopped for a few minutes on an Austin City Limits performance by someone named Kat Edmonson. I’d never heard of this woman before, and I was primed to dislike her. The guide description referred to her as a “jazz singer.” She had an upturned pixie nose, which is usually a slight turnoff for my deservedly high standards (because lord knows I’ve got God’s ideal nose and deserve only the best noses). She wore a cute red dress and stood, cutely, at the mic stand in front of a large band of musicians playing quietly and tastefully. She had a cute squeaky voice. Her music wasn’t bad, though, even for that kind of music. And she was cute in a pixie cute way, a bit of a cross between Naomi Watts and Kirsten Dunst in a pixie ‘do. Her songs were kind of cute, too, but stopped short of cloying.
The more I watched the more I actually appreciated her music—as much as I can appreciate that stuff—and just how cute I found her, in an attainable musician way. Isn’t that the point of rock ‘n roll (or related genres), according to my close personal friend E. Pluribus Gergely, to project youthful beauty while carrying a good tune? I was confused. I thought of my man BigSteve‘s Listen But Don’t Look Principle, which cautions against making musical judgments based on an artist’s visual presentation. I was caught in a possible reverse-Listen But Don’t Look conundrum: I may have been lured into liking this woman’s music because I dug how girly her overall vibe was. Yeah, that’s right: I dig girly girl stuff now and then!
I value my exquisite taste in music above almost all other qualities. Rarely do I find my powers of observation and cool-headed analysis swayed by something so primitive as a stirring in my loins, but last night I had to wonder if I was experiencing one of those only human moments I’ve tried to counsel many of you through. Continue reading »
Jan 212013
Jan 182013
We here in the Halls of Rock Town are sometimes taken to task for being overly negative, snarky, hyper-critical, and all too often, just downright rude. As part of our collective efforts to bring a bit of sunshine and light to the world wide web, we occasionally make an extra effort effort to find something good to say about, you know, stuff that is clearly godawful.
It is in that spirit that we embark on yet another effort to bring some positivity to our proceedings. Please spend some quality time with the video above, then—if you can—please find something nice to say about it. You’ll feel a whole lot better, I promise you.
I look forward to your comments. Just remember, if you can’t say anything nice about this video… please don’t say anything at all.
Jan 182013
We did something on this topic years ago, if memory serves. I hope to dig out the old thread, so we don’t repeat ourselves, but how about “Baby, It’s You” as an example of a song that, by the strength of its writing and structure, is impervious to subpar performers? As bad as the above 1969 cover by Smith is (and too bad, because its fringed-headbanded-Dry Looked band members promise so much), it’s still hard for me not to “root” for the song’s turns, doing my best to overlook the band’s clunky navigation.
Jan 162013
Come on, do it!
