What Are You Looking for Most When You Read a Rock Biography?

 Posted by
May 032009
 


The subject line pretty much asks all I want to know: What are you looking for most when you read a rock biography?

  • Is it technical/musical insight – what gear the musicians played, how things were mic’ed, stories about the development of favorite arrangements and performances?
  • Is it dirt: who slept with Jackson Browne, who slept with David Crosby, who could have slept with Yoko first?
  • Is it something deeper, like what is the key to a great artist’s greatness?

You may answer in the present, in your rock bio-reading peak, and all points in between.
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Most Sympathetic Last-Ditch Efforts

 Posted by
May 032009
 


I know some of you are touched by the simple, open-wound charms of The Beach Boys’ Love You album. Isn’t part of that album’s appeal the sympathetic vibe you get from a band hanging onto its gifts by a thread?

That’s at the root of my soft spot for The Byrds‘ “Chestnut Mare.” I’m a hard ass about The Byrds’ prime-era work, as some of you know, but I find “Chestnut Mare” most sympathetic. You can tell Roger McGuinn is still trying to catch that elusive sound he’d been chasing during the ups and downs of The Byrds. He’s the last of the original Byrds standing, but he’s not ready to think outside the band structure. Roger’s got a business suit on – just in case – and it’s not clear that everyone in this version of The Byrds makes sense (conga player???), but it’s not quite the season for the band to die.

Musically, I think there’s something to be said for the lack of cohesion and confidence in this performance. I wish the early Byrds could have shown more rough edges and vulnerability. I wish The Byrds had trafficked in more Loser Rock. OK, maybe not, but at least this weird, waning performance allows me to feel something wistful.

What’s your most sympathetic last-ditch effort by a band that’s clearly past its prime?

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Last Man Standing: Show Tune Town Hall!

 Posted by
May 012009
 

Name a rocker who has recorded a show tune.

It must be a genuine rocker covering a bona fide show tune. For instance, Donny Osmond recording “Joseph’s Amazing Technicolor Rain Coat” doesn’t count.

Once again, I think this will be a short one because I can only think of two instances, but you guys never cease to amaze me.

I’ll lead off with Tom Waits doing “Somewhere” from West Side Story.

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This Is Your Rock Town Hall!

 Posted by
May 012009
 


Townspeople,

This is your Rock Town Hall! Make your own kind of music!

If you’ve already got Back Office privileges and can initiate threads, by all means use your privileges! If you’d like to acquire such privileges, let us know. If you’ve got a comment that needs to be made, what are you waiting for? If you’re just dropping in and find yourself feeling the need to make your voice heard, don’t hesitate to register and post your thoughts. The world of intelligent rock discussion benefits from your participation. If nothing else, your own Mr. Moderator gets a day off from himself. It’s a good thing for you as well as me!

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The Necessity of an Inside Job?

 Posted by
Apr 302009
 

In a recent Dugout Chatter, Townsman pudman13 asked the following question, and ended his question with another question, which I’m answering here, on The Main Stage! (Some editing and styling have been applied to the initial comments posted.)

Are there any truly great albums (top echelon) that are not by songwriters? When I think of the albums that rank at the very top of the critical canon, none of them is packed with cover versions (and I think that it should be that way). A few that are not by songwriters are still full of “new” material, much of which was written for the performer, creating a coherent record (eg, Dusty In Memphis).

Is this question worthy of a new thread?

Yes, I think it is. Let’s get it on!

To be clear, we’re discussing whether it’s possible to have a great (ie, stone-cold GREAT) album that is not powered by a songwriter who is in the band.

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