The Contrarian: Less Would Have Been More

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May 282010
 

They had to go and make it longer, didn’t they? The Rolling Stones couldn’t leave the legacy of the sprawling Exile on Main Street alone. In this newly remastered, expanded edition rock’s most notorious tax exiles add 10 previously unreleased/unfinished tracks. Shotgun-worthy Don Was helped shepherd these outtakes into the 21st century, with Mick Jagger writing new lyrics and adding new vocal parts, in some cases. Considering that the Stones have been reviving leftover jams as new material for more than half their career (eg, “Start Me Up” had been sitting around for 6 years before being revised and released as the band’s modern-day theme song), why didn’t they just release these tracks as a new Stones album and do the necessary work of trimming Exile on Main Street down from a flabby double album to killer EP it essentially is? Lord knows this collection of 10 revived tracks, kicking off with the funky “Pass the Wine (Sophia Loren)” and the pleading “Plundered My Soul,” would have been the band’s “best album since Exile.”

OK, the newest “best Stones album since Exile” wouldn’t have been that easy to concoct – some of these outtakes are early versions of eventual songs from the album. I especially dig “Good Time Woman,” an early sketch of what would become the sublime “Tumbling Dice,” a song I could bring to my lab and never cease to find fascinating in the way each part contains the code for the whole of the song. Surely there would be dozens of sketches left on the floor of Compass Point Studios for them to fill out side two. Then the Stones could have really shaken up the rock world by taking a washcloth to the abundance of blackface greasepaint smeared across the two LPs of the original release.

Considering how much slack I’ve cut lesser bands over the years, it may be unfair to find fault the Stones for dragging down what could have been the greatest EP in the history of rock with a bunch of overblown gospel-blues jams and fun rave-ups, but we really need to spend any more time stoned and nodding along to Bobby Keys’ sax solo on “Casino Boogie?” Does making it through “Sweet Virginia” earn us a hole-punch on our Educated, White, Middle-Class Dude Who Really Digs American Traditional Music card? How many times does that card need to be punched before we’re awarded an actual album of American traditional music?
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Last Man Standing: Flagging Rock Bands That Release a Self-Referential Song to Aid in Reviving Their Brand

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May 182010
 

This has been said before, but I’m pretty sure this will be our most challenging Last Man Standing competition yet! If you’ve never played before, the idea is to submit one entry at a time until no other answers to the LMS competition come to mind. The reason I feel this LMS will be the most challenging ever is because I can only think of 4 possible answers, 2 of which come from the same band. I’m pretty sure there are no more than 4 possible answers, but I’m also pretty sure that I’m wrong about this. Prove me wrong!

By the way, there are a couple of limitations. Only songs by ROCK artists will be accepted – no hip-hop artists, who are self-referential on 75% of their songs. Also, the song must come in the second half of the artists’ relevant years. The song “Bad Company,” by Bad Company, for instance, does not qualify, because it was one of their first singles.

Because there may be so few answers to this question, I will not kick off this thread with an entry, but I will give one clue regarding probably the best-known of these songs: although rock nerds would not rank it among the band’s top 20 songs, it’s become a staple of the band’s abbreviated sets for nationwide television performances and the like. Go!

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I-Give-Up Rock, or If You Can’t Say Anything Nice About…Natalie Merchant

 Posted by
May 172010
 


Wasn’t there a crack in a Seinfeld episode in which Jerry, I believe, said to George something to the effect of anyone who wears a sweatsuit in public for non-sports-related purposes is announcing that they’ve given up on life? I believe Natalie Merchant is the musical equivalent of that sweatsuit. I know a lot of you R.E.M. fans thought she was special when 10,000 Maniacs first hit and she was Michael Stipe‘s tour bus partner, but come on, if you’re listening to Natalie Merchant in 2010 are you announcing to the world that you’ve given up on music?

Actually, rather than pile on with negativity, as we here in the Halls of Rock Town are sometimes wont to do, let’s 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.

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Overdue Record Review: Boston Spaceships, The Planets Are Blasted

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May 102010
 

In my 2009 year-end review with my managing editor, Mr. Moderator, one of my stated objectives for 2010 was to more aggressively pursue reviewing new releases. It’s now May 2010, and I have not kept up my end of the bargain. Mr. Mod has funneled me a stack of new releases, and what have I done with them?

Thanks, Mod, I should have my review ready by Wednesday!

Cool, I’ve got a couple of things cooking, and then I should be able to hop on this one on Thursday!

Busy weekend ahead, so I’ll try to knock this out for you on Friday!

Man, I can be full of shit! I’m sorry, Mod, and I’m sorry Townspeople. I’m way behind on my scheduled reviews. To get back on schedule I pledge to – finally – tackle a box full of 2009 releases from Robert Pollard, maybe the hardest-working man in rock ‘n roll and surely a man whose wealth of output puts my own scant contributions to the Halls of Rock to shame! In the coming weeks I’ll finally catch up with my thoughts on Pollard releases by Boston Spaceships, Cosmos, and under his own name. I will follow the order prescribed by Townsman Kpdexter, who graciously supplied us with these releases and went as far as suggesting where I sit in relationship to my speakers while listening to each album. Kpdexter, you are the man!

For all the ways I’ve procrastinated and kept Mr. Mod off my back, the one thing I’ve consistently told him that has been true is that I’ve been listening to these records. Unlike my typical Insta-Reviews, which I crank out under great pressure and shame seconds before my extended deadline is to expire, I have a good handle on these albums and am confident that I can provide insights nearly justifying my 3-month delay in providing my reviews.

Boston Spaceships, “Tattoo Mission”

We’re going to start with Boston Spaceships’ The Planets Are Blasted. Boston Spaceships is Pollard with our old interview subject and Friend of the Hall, Chris Slusarenko and John Moen from The Decemberists. In 2009, this core trio managed to release 3 – count ’em 3 – albums! Pollard’s managing editor doesn’t need to get in his grill about lack of output.
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