Rock Town Hall • Rock Music Discussion

Thrifty Music: In Praise of the Shangri-Las

Aug 022013

Greetings, seekers of the rare, the unusual, the putatively worthless! I come before you once again with a pair of fine, obscure tunes — both from the same, excellent single — collected at a garage sale I chanced upon a few weeks ago.

I make no claims about the catalog depth of the Shangri-Las, a girl group most famous for their mega-smash hit, “Leader Of the Pack.” But I can say that all the Sharngri-Las material I have found in my thrifty peregrinations has provided excellent entertainment, and Mrs. Bakshi concurs. This single is no different. The A-side, “Love You More Than Yesterday,” is catchy and hook-laden, and features just enough — how shall I say it? — girlish naivete to amuse.

01 Love You More Than Yesterday

The B-side, however, was a real WTF moment for me. And I mean that in a good way! As you’ll hear, “Past, Present & Future” isn’t really a “song” at all. It’s a spoken word piece, about… uh… about the emotional impact of being raped, as far as I can tell. Seriously.

01 Past, Present and Future

The first time I heard it, I had a hard time getting past the melodrama, and I suspect you’ll have the same reaction. But if you have it pop up on CD mixes in the car for a month as I did, you may find yourself appreciating its subtler charms. I cannot tell a lie; I love the extreme girly drama of it. As I get older, I find myself losing patience with the supposed drama of the gang-banger, the beer-drinker, the hell-raiser, and I enjoy the simple charm (if you can call it that) of a girl’s lament, ca. 1965. And as far as girl’s laments go, this one is a corker. See what you think.

As always, I look forward to your responses.

HVB

Rock’s Unfulfilled Fashion Ideas: Shorts

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 022013

Before the summer slips away and yet another musician commits perhaps the most egregious rock ‘n roll fashion faux pas, it’s time we address shorts.

For everyday summer activities, shorts are fine, even recommended. I’ve seen Europeans snicker at American tourists in their shorts. With all due respect to our European Townspeople, bite me and my July tourism shorts! This is not the time or place to examine this side question, but what is the beef Europeans have with shorts? It’s not a matter of modesty, as would be the case for tourists trying to enter the Vatican in shorts. The cameras on European shampoo commercials, for instance, pan back enough so that you can see soapsuds washing down a woman’s bare breasts. It’s not about a sense of rock ‘n roll cool, because most continental Europeans can’t make rock ‘n roll music to save their lives. (I’m leaving our friends in the UK out of this completely. They wear shorts with high dress socks and ties and jackets, don’t they? That’s another kind of weird, but I bet our rock ‘n roll capable UK brethren don’t snicker at their US visitors wearing a comfortable, utilitarian pair of cargo shorts.) If the hang-ups my friends in Italy, Hungary, and France have with us wearing shorts were centered around a sense of rock ‘n roll cool I would understand completely, because…

60 to Suck

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 022013

60 to SUCK?

It’s cool to consider bands that went from “0 to 60,” such as one of my favorites, The Undertones, who stormed out of the gates with a masterpiece debut as greasy teenagers. I would argue they maintained their lead-footed approach and added some sophisticated off-road maneuvers as they slowed down only slightly to enjoy the sights over their next 2 albums before finally running out of gas on their final album with the original lineup, The Sin of Pride. Our old friend Berlyant might disagree, but that dog’s had its day.

This morning I was listening to an album by a newer band, Alabama Shakes. I really dig their 2012 debut, but every time I listen to it I get a nagging feeling that their next album is going to SUCK. Not only do I fear a sophomore slump, I fear they will forever travel down the road of suck, in short time collaborating with over-the-hill artists looking for a shot of new blood.

I’m now trying to think of bands that, for me, quickly went from 0 to 60, then just as quickly 60 to SUCK. As an example, although I was never sold on the genius of the debut album by The Strokes, it was pretty cool and catchy. By all accounts, real fans of the band’s debut were sorely disappointed by the follow-up album and it seems like it’s been all downhill since then.

Is there a band that fits this profile for you?

Hobson’s Choice: Footwear of the Dammned

Posted by cdm

Jul 312013

BirkenCrocs.

A large part of Rock ‘n Roll has always been the aesthetics of it. There are innumerable takes on what makes for a cool Look, but seldom are those looks based on things like “comfort” or “utility.” That’s not to say that a cool look can’t be comfortable, but rather that comfort is a secondary concern. Even “anti-Looks,” like that of Neil Young are still making a statement. To paraphrase noted Canadian philosopher Geddy Lee, “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”

As the father of 2 young kids, I spend a fair amount of time at playgrounds and get-togethers and such with other parents who may not have the same priorities when choosing what to wear. Plenty are well dressed, even fashionable, but there is a certain pragmatism that take hold when you are getting dressed for a day to be spent hanging out on the sidelines of a little league field or at the playground.

Which brings me to my question: Which is the most style-free, utilitarian, and therefore least “rock and roll” footwear, Birkenstock or Crocs? If forced to wear one or the other, which would you choose? I recognize this is very much a Hobson’s Choice so rest assured, your answer will not be interpreted as an endorsement of one type of footwear, rather it will be seen and an indictment of the other.

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Remember the Days When People Actually Listened to the Albums They Were Recommending?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jul 312013

To be honest, I have no intention of listening to this.

From eMusic‘s “New This Week” page, where a “staff contributor” summarizes new releases available through the site:

Grant Hart, The Argument – Latest solo record from the former Husker Du member, and a 20-song concept record based on Paradise Lost. I’ve been hearing some pretty great things about this, to be honest; some places are calling it his best-ever solo work and the first ever to touch his Husker Du work.

Listen, I know it’s 2013 and too many people don’t give a shit about the goods they are selling, but what’s the writer being “honest” about? I know this page does not pretend to offer the same thing as a critical review of the goods for sale, but the other blurbs for new albums do contain at least hints that someone actually listened to the music, or at least read another critic’s/publicist’s thoughts on the music. If the writer has the time to hear “some pretty great things” about the album, shouldn’t he or she make an effort to at least listen to the 30-second samples of each song that accompany an eMusic item available for sale/download?

Rock Town Hall’s Saturday Night Shut-In: At The Hideout

Posted by cliff sovinsanity

Jul 302013

Sounds of the Hall in roughly 33 1/3 minutes!

Tonight we’ll spin some songs that won’t make you hide away. We also continue our independent label spotlight series with Hideout Records. Enjoy!
SNSI – Hideout
[Note: You can add Saturday Night Shut-In episodes to your iTunes by clicking here. The Rock Town Hall feed will enable you to easily download Saturday Night Shut-In episodes to your digital music player.]

Chubby Koda?

They’ll Dance to Anything!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jul 302013

Hippies have been known to dance to anything, as the above clip attests, but they’re not alone in finding steps to music that’s usually not thought of as possessing a “great beat.” What’s the most unlikely dancing you’ve seen on display?

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