GRAMMY Awards the Worst of the Best!

 Posted by
Feb 082007
 

In 15 minutes of extensive research on the subject of GRAMMY Awards won by the greatest of rock’s greats, I was reminded that The Beatles won a GRAMMY as recently as 1996, for “Free As a Bird”, a patched together completion of a mid-70s John Lennon home demo, as envisioned by Jeff Lynne and John’s surviving bandmates. Unlike most of rock’s undeniable greats, at least The Beatles had been honored for work they – and history – can take pride in, including “A Hard Day’s Night” (Best Performance By A Vocal Group), an Album of the Year for Sgt. Pepper’s…, and an extremely rare, well-deserved Best New Artist in 1964.

Success would continue for the solo Beatles, except for poor Ringo.

  • Along with a Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus for “Band on the Run”, Paul McCartney and Wings won a Best Instrumental GRAMMY for the legendary “Rockestra Theme”.
  • In 1981, John Lennon would have to settle for splitting an award with Yoko Ono for Double Fantasy.
  • George Harrison took home Album of the Year for The Concert for Bangla Desh and also won an instrumental award for a track from his last album. Always the great collaborator of the Fabs, he also took home a piece of GRAMMY love for his work on the first Travelin’ Wilburys album.

Not even a stinking technical award for The Beach Boys, The Who, Led Zeppelin…
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KISS Army Reunion Update!

 Posted by
Feb 082007
 

We’ve gotten a lot of interest in the KISS Army Reunion planned for next Thursday, February 15! It should be hot! Regulars as well as some notable visitors to the Halls of Rock will be in attendance. Reports are also mounting of a counter-reunion in the parking lot. If all goes well, this could start out lovely and then get ugly!

Don’t forget, tomorrow begins Rock Town Hall’s weekend-long GRAMMYS Bash. Quick: Did KISS ever win a GRAMMY?

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Free Agent Veteran “Second-Option” Singers Available for Rebuilding Bands

 Posted by
Feb 072007
 

Let’s play Rock ‘n Roll General Manager, shall we? You are the GM of a band that has just lost its lead singer to mental breakdown/rehab (think Shane McGowan suddenly leaving The Pogues). The style of this band is whatever you want it to be. The band is in need of a veteran lead singer with optional songwriting skills to quickly fill the gap in time for recording a new album and going on tour.

Long-term, it’s possible that the original lead singer will come to his or her senses and rejoin the band, or another established member of the band may step forward and pick up the reins, but today the band needs a new frontman who will fit your band’s chemistry.

This year the free agent pool of vocalists is especially rich in “second-option” singers, that is, those singers of 2 to 3 songs per their band’s album – the singers you wish, in your deepest rock ‘n roll fantasies would take over the lead vocal role from their regular band’s once-cool, now-cocky or cheesy singer. So, you’ve got the pick of the following litter at the specified point in their career. Who would you pick, and by what criteria would you base your choice? If none of these choices fits your criteria, please list another second-option singer you might look to pry loose via trade.

  • Mick Jones (Clash version, circa London Calling)
  • Pete Townshend circa Who’s Next
  • Keith Richards, hot off Exile
  • Art Garfunkel, hot off “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
  • George Harrison, circa All Things Must Pass
  • Ronnie Lane, circa Faces’ Long Player
  • Joe Jack Talcum, circa “Punk Rock Girl”
  • Ron Wood, circa interrupted New Barbarians’ tour
  • Colin Moulding or Colin Newman

I look forward to your responses.

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Dirty Mac and the Glory of Yoko

 Posted by
Feb 062007
 

Inspired by Tuesday’s poll, Townsman General Slocum submitted the following thoughts:

Yoko was the tongue in the sallow cheek of that “band.” I always get a kick out of Mitch Mitchell, and Clapton and Lennon could easily have let me down less than they did in this setting, but like every high-school let’s-play-the-blues-and-make-the-worst-guitarist-play-bass outfit I’ve ever heard, there’s not much humor in there. And if Yoko’s sack-dance and catterwauling don’t tickle you, then wait till she gets into sodomized kitty range, and then look at John: the neutral, unaffected eyes of true love, hearing not a thing wrong with the dulcet warblings of his sweetie. There’s a lot going on there that is more entertaining than hearing the White Men’s Blues Society hammer that five on the turnaround as though they’d finally actually heard a black cat moan!

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Does Hair Make the Heir?

 Posted by
Feb 062007
 

The thread that will not die! Do your part to keep this thread alive! Then, continue the healing by helping Rock Town Hall bridge The Great Divide!

Sometimes a provocative post in a given day’s All-Star Jam area needs to be broken out for more focused discussion on the Main Stage. Today we have just such a post. Check out something Townsman Rick wrote regarding Prince’s appearance in the Super Bowl Halftime Extravaganza:

But really, of all the people anywhere near the level of Super Bowl-halftime-eligible, Prince is the closest thing we’ve got to an heir to James Brown.

I say: What’s that actually mean? I know that musically he’s learned a lot from JB, but what exactly has Prince added to it? JB was down with The People. Prince has spent most of his career sitting high above The People, high on a Purple Cloud. The rightful heir to JB was Public Enemy. They made powerful, gritty message music. JB never posed naked with an orchid covering his manhood.

We can agree to disagree, but first I think we need to see what it is we’re disagreeing about. Then, perhaps, the healing reconcilliation will follow. Please feel free to jump in, Townspeople. We’re nowhere near closure on this Prince issue.

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