Clash fans of the world, rejoice! In addition to Wolfgang’s Vault featuring an entire Clash show from 1979 this week, there’s also this to savor:
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Aug 012008
Jul 312008
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You gotta hand it to Chubby Checker. This guy found a niche and worked it all the way to inner Earth.
After a bit of success with this novelty song:
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Jul 312008
Title says it all.
I’ll start with Dinosaur Jr.
Jul 292008
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This is it. I’ve wondered for years if I could ever pinpoint the exact moment that R.E.M. effectively alienated me (and in turn, gained mass appeal.) And it dawned on me today that this song was it!
This song stands out as a turning point for the band. Metal Circus, Chronic Town, Murmur, Reckoning all have a very similar sound and sensibility. Fables starts to ankle though. I blame money. All of sudden these guys had the money to get their stuff “properly” produced. It often makes me wonder if they’d had the money would I dislike the earlier stuff?
The sound and sensibility on Fables has an undercurrent that is identifiable with the earlier works but this song in particular does not. It is a foray into uncharted, and unwanted by me, territory.
The precise moment when R.E.M. started sucking is:
Duets with Elmo shortly followed.
Jul 292008
A quick one while Mod’s away:
While doing some research today, I ran across this video for the AARP’s upcoming convention in Washington, DC. I was ho-humming my way through it when — waitaminnit, is that who I think it is?! That’s LL Cool J! What the f*ck is LL doing manning a booth at the AARP convention? I mean, I know we’re all getting older, but…
Anyhow, the video can be found here: http://www.aarp.org/aarp_benefits/natl_events/aarp_benefits/natl_events/dc/ Check out minute marker 1:41. A coveted RTH No-prize to the Townsman who can tell us what is said during the intimate exchange captured on tape.
I look forward to your responses.
HVB
Jul 292008
TWOFER TUESDAY
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Mr. Moderator is on vacation and rarely checking in. I love the man, but I don’t think I can suffer through another tirade about lack of musicianship or “crappy 70s music values” so let’s us Replacements fans discuss the superior Twin Tone years and bonus tracks whilst the cat is away.
My appreciation for The Replacements may be almost as divisive as Mod’s. As far as I’m concerned, they ceased to exist as a great band the day Bob Stinson “left” the band. I know Bob largely sucked as a guitar virtuoso but it was his reckless rock ‘n roll ‘tude that was so, so necessary in postponing Westerberg’s “I’m an artist” ‘tude that eventually wore thin with me.
That’s not to say that there isn’t any post-Tim stuff I like, I do, it’s just not The Replacements.
I dig the band! So, like many fans, the only potential lost treasures were to be found on Twin Tone, with the exception of a few rare moments on the All For Nothing comp:
Can’t Hardly Wait (Tim version)
Beer for Breakfast
Jul 282008
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You ever see any of the Matt Helm movies? It occurred to me the other day how perfectly simple the Hollywood pitch was for these films: “What if Dean Martin was James Bond?” Let’s make a picture!
If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of a Hollywood pitch, it’s simple: Describe your project in the most succinct and appealing way possible. One trick is to reference previous well known successes.
There are some examples in here:
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Following are a few tracks from a band called The Black Angels. If you were their manager and had to sell them with only words what would your pitch be?
Young Men Dead
Black Grease
Manipulation
