This video reminds me of a large group of hipster douchebag Red Sox fans seated a few rows ahead of me at Citizens Bank Park last night. But let’s not talk about that. Let’s use this All-Star Jam to talk about whatever’s on your mind.
May 312013
May 312013
UPDATED!
Look at what I just stumbled across! This was the moment leading up to the moment detailed in this old post, which originally ran on March 7, 2007. Listen to how excited the crowd was. Listen to all those Philly kids with their distinctive shouts of “Yeah!” You cannot, however, hear my friends and I scratching our heads as this went on (and on and on).
With the recent buzz over the reunited Police, it took me a few seconds to register the news that Genesis had announced a reunion tour. If you’re not old enough to remember the band that preceded Mike + the Mechanics, check out this quote from the press release:
“Genesis is absolutely one of the world’s most exciting bands of all time,” said Michael Cohl, tour promoter. “They have always been an amazing concert experience and I’m thrilled that fans will be able to see them perform again live for the first time in 15 years.”
Absolutely! Townsman Andyr and I saw Genesis’ Light Show at the band’s commercial peak, in 1983, at Philadelphia’s long-gone JFK Stadium. We went to see the opening acts, Elvis Costello & the Attractions (hot off the release of Imperial Bedroom) and Blondie before them. JFK was enormous – a bare-bones, old-school oval football stadium that held 100,000. The place dwarfed Blondie, but not so much that we couldn’t clearly see an ongoing hissy fit between keyboardist Jimmy Destri and drummer Clem Burke escalate until Burke took off a cymbal and flung it at Destri, Frisbie style!
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May 302013
Click to enlarge
Is it just me geezing, or is this month-long calendar for DC’s main summer festival-style outdoor theater about as good as such a thing could ever get?
Follow-up question: You have $100 in hard-earned 1973 dollars. Each of these shows costs $8.00. You’re saving up for a used ’65 Impala. Beers are 75 cents, and a baggie of dirtweed is $15 in the parking lot. Which shows do you see, and how do you entertain yourself?
I look forward to your responses.
HVB
May 302013
Losing it.
I meant to post this a week and a half ago, when it was more relevant, but football has never been very relevant to the daily chatter at Rock Town Hall, and lately I’m skeptical whether Rock Town Hall is even relevant to those of us who used to make it so. Ugh.
New Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly has introduced a new wrinkle in NFL practices: the blasting of loud music during practices. His supposedly scientifically formulated playlist is coordinated to support the drills at Eagles practices and give the players experience communicating through the loud, hectic surroundings of a typical game day. Welcome to the jungle!
We’ll see how any of this pans out. Quick scans of the playlists Kelly has been programming would pose a challenge for my rock-snob ears to overcome, rather than motivate me, if that is the intent.
Thinking about the role music can play in working out got me thinking about Apple’s failed iLose program. Remember that? As part of the beta testing group I was delivered scientifically selected playlists that promised to help me shed pounds, even if I did nothing but listen to the music while taking a walk around the block. As much as I looked forward to a slimmer, trimmer body through listening to the music of artists I already liked, the program was missing some key components, starting with portion control.
May 282013
“It’s the ’80s, Jake.”
I tried to formulate a reasonable response to jungleland2’s fine, wholly reasonable thoughts on the 1980s. Then I stumbled upon this artifact of that best-forgotten decade:
May 252013
Sounds of the Hall in roughly 33 1/3 minutes!
Between the years 1980 and 1986, Phil Collins put out 3 studio albums while Genesis put out 4. Too much!? As discussed in an earlier post, a little Genesis goes a long way. I think the same applies to Phil Collins’ early ’80s output. I never latched on at the time and still to this day he doesn’t do a whole lot for me…until now.
In this episode, I will present a worthy Phil Collins song along with some other famous Collins’ from the worlds of blues, folk-rock, rockabilly, new wave, power pop, and funk.
[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.]
Concerned with evil
Doesn’t care anymore
May 252013
Picked up two CDs from the $5 bin at FRY’s today (which is HUGE and has many treasures), both from the 1980s.
Darryl Hall and John Oates‘ Voices has been a favorite of mine since I bought it in 1980 at the age of 9.
The other, Stevie Ray Vaughan‘s Soul to Soul, which was a huge LP for me when it came out 1985 and my band I’m in now can play the whole LP as a set (see Electric Stevieland).
I love both CDs—they just didn’t make the upgrade to CD…or to the car once the cassette deck went away.
The liner notes from SRV are a celebration of the Texas guitarist hitting the big time as part of a blues revival (Cray, T-Birds, Thorogood, etc) and keeping true to Texas blues roots—the words “the ’80s” are never used.
In their liner notes, Hall and Oates on the other hand mostly apologize for all things 1980s. Not sure why, the ’80s were pretty good for them! Cause its dated? X-static from ’78 is way more dated sounding but ’70s—a time that we have forgiven for its sins.
Question: Is “well it WAS the ’80s” a legit excuse for any musician/band/song/album?
Do any artists get an “’80s pass”?
Is there such thing as a “’90s pass?” A “’70s pass”?
A crapbuger record is bad because its bad. (Loverboy is Loverboy’s fault, not the producer or stylist’s.) It’s not all trends, fashion and production is it? Knowing when to say when is part of your artistic (or at least stylistic) integrity, right?<
The ’80s did not force itself on you (or did it) any more than that bandana and parachute pants combination did.
PS – Hall and Oates did have a Bad and Dated release: 1988 Ooh! Yeah! Sounded like it was stuck in 1986!!! The next one they went back to early ’70s soul and it was like the 1980s never happened.
