Is there a drummer in the house?
What’s the deal with Jellyfish drummer Andy Sturmer playing standing up? It’s not a drummer standing up in itself that nags at me, but a power pop drummer. What’s going to supply the POWER if not a drummer’s haunches coiled on a drum throne?
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Mr. Mod, if memory serves, you’re one of those guys who has a really hard time saying anything nice about Jellyfish. I’m betting that your reasons for being disdainful about this band are minor, largely Look- and style-obsessed — and may even be tinged with a hint of career envy. If that’s not so, then please explain: why do you hate these guys so much?
Eagerly looking forward to your response,
HVB
p.s.: just to show I’ve got my cards on the table — I think “Spilt Milk” is one of the most wonderful American pop/rock records ever made. And I use that term “wonderful” for a reason; it’s dizzyingly rich, crazily ambitious, hyper-Kentonite — yet it’s still ultimately a tuneful, finger-snapping, timeless celebration of *song*. I love it, and you should, too! Why on Earth don’t you?!
Rock Town Hall has been granted exclusive rights to the debut of a previously unreleased song by Jellyfish! After the jump…
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So my latest personal rock project is quite possibly the nerdiest thing I’ve done yet: The History of British Rock, According to Me. It’s currently five volumes of CD-length iTunes playlists. It’s also a work-in-progress, so I’m not ready to share the full track listing. However, I need some feedback from discerning rock-o-philes such as yourselves. I’m a little unsure what to do about bands from other countries who resettled in England at some point.
I’ve decided that The Pretenders and My Bloody Valentine belong in this collection. But what about the following acts?
’60s-era The Bee Gees
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Nick Cave (The Birthday Party, The Bad Seeds and/or Grinderman)
The Go-Betweens
(It’s too bad Links Linkerson, with his exacting standards of chronology and classification, continues to eschew this mutation of RTH. I just may have post a query in the RTH basement.)
RTH, I Need Your Help!! The Great 48, alexmagic, berylant, Mr. Moderator, saturnismine, hvb and everyone else, please let me know your feelings. Homefrontradio, surely you must have an opinion to share about the three Australian-based acts.
In the past we’ve explored key moments in ’80s rock benefit albums, such as behind-the-scenes analyses of the We Are the World sessions. Today, while searching for video footage of Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers, I stumbled across this star-studded single from the legendary Rock Aid Armenia album, Rock Aid Armenia: The Earthquake Album. “What about us,” asks Ian Gillan, Bruce Dickinson, Paul Rodgers, Tony Iommi, David Gilmour, Brian May, Keith Emerson, Chris Squier, and Ritchie Blackmore, as they rip through a killer version of “Smoke On the Water”.
What about them?
Earlier this week, Mr. Moderator provided an overview of the developmental history of the Rock Face as used by Robbie Robertson. There, he noted Robertson’s occasional use of a Rock Face to stand in for notes not even being played in the song.
Above is The Firm in their 1985 video for Satisfaction Guaranteed. Please review the materials and provide your thoughts on the performance of Jimmy Page contained therein. Specifically, please share your thoughts on Page’s moves while performing in the video.
Some questions for discussion after the jump.
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Do artists even make these albums anymore? At least years ago, when I was more tuned into the major record label status of big artists, there were sure signs that an artist was nearing the end of a long-term contract. A hastily compiled album of lesser material, often packaged on the cheap, would be rushed to market with little fanfare. The Contractual Obligation Album (COA) might be loaded with cover songs or padded out with live tracks. I believe an entire live album was a pretty cheap way to fulfill a contract as well. The artist wouldn’t do much press for the album, or what interviews were granted centered on how excited they were for their next album.
I’m not sure if Greatest Hits and Best of collections could count toward an artist’s fulfilling a contractual obligation, but I believe to this day they still serve as the old label’s last shot at making a few bucks off the departing artist. Does anyone know the ins and outs of these deals? Too bad Links Linkerson keeps himself in the basement and can’t send us some Billboard links to fill in the details.
Some contractual obligation albums were outright “F-U” affairs: F-U to the old label, F-U to the buyers, F-U to the coming Greatest Hits/Best of repackaging options. Lou Reed‘s Metal Machine Music is reported to have been one of those F-U COAs, maybe the most brazen of them all.
I wonder what artist has cranked out the most COAs? Do you have a favorite COA, one that works despite – or because of – its tossed-off nature?
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