And here’s the first video. Alexmagic and Hrrundi, your thoughts, please.
Sep 262012
Sep 242012
Don't show me no more, please.
I never walked in on my parents having sex, but for those who have I understand the experience fell under the category of Stuff I Wish I’d Never Seen. I never watched a “snuff” film or saw Bud Dwyer, that disgraced Pennsylvania politician from the ’80s, pull the trigger on himself at a live televised press conference, but I would think those experiences would have also fallen into that category.
Every once in a while I’m surfing YouTube and I come across something I think looks interesting, like Joe Strummer covering “Walk on the Wild Side.” I excitedly hit PLAY, then I think, Man, this falls under stuff I wish I’d never seen.
Just now I came across a clip that I knew had to be bad, but considering how much I love The Temptations, I wish I’d never seen it…after the jump.
Sep 242012
The facts in the case follow thus: In 1895, Lee Shelton, a pimp also known as Stack Lee, killed one William Lyons in a fight concerning a hat. Through that wonderful American machinery known as folklore, we went from murder to myth.
Stack Lee, Stagger Lee, Stagolee, Stack O’Lee, The Midnight Rambler, The Crawling King Snake, The Brown-Eyed Handsome Man, Superfly, he goes by many names and he recurs in the oral traditions of song as a metaphor that structures the male ethos, black as well as white. Stagolee has taken shape as ballad, as blues, as jazz, as rap, as epic, as folk song, and as rock and roll.
He’s the “bad man”, the rebel, the counterculture hero, and the perfect figure for us to mine our collective knowledge of song to find his instances. Any variant of his name is acceptable, and let’s see how far his legend stretches (á la the examples set by Mick Jagger, John Lee Hooker, Chuck Berry, and Curtis Mayfield, above).
Sep 242012
Are you kidding me? Is there anything in this occasionally “Teach Your Children” sound-alike/hoedown that Mumford & Sons performed on Saturday Night Live that’s THAT worth getting worked up over? The keyboardist does the best Meg Ryan fake orgasm of the bunch, don’t you think?
Sep 222012
Rock museums. Just the idea of them is questionable. I mean, I’m resigned to rock’s total acceptance by mainstream culture and acknowledge the plus sides of that as well as the downsides. But even if there is a significant chunk of rock’s history that is now well and truly in the distant past (beyond the memories of most people alive today), rock museums seem to me, just, un-rock. I even approved when the Sex Pistols said fuckyouverymuch to the RNR HOF’s induction ceremony.
That didn’t stop me this year from going on a pilgrimage to Memphis, the Mississippi Delta, and New Orleans, where I paid entrance fees to Halls of Culture to see (and hear) what until recently would have been considered mass culture ephemera by the custodians of such places. Really, I just wanted to go to 706 Union Avenue. That alone would have had meaning for me as a historical place, and it was indeed the highlight of my trip.
I will blurb below about the places I went (with Mrs. Kid), but I’m more interested in your feelings, ideas, and experiences about Rock Museums.
Sun Studios (Memphis, TN) – It is a goldmine for someone, but I didn’t mind the commercial aspect at all. They had exhibits in the old boarding house upstairs showing Phillips’ original recording gear and a presentation including loudly played prime Sun cuts. They have Marion Kiesker’s office as it was, and paid her huge props as an unsung figure in the creation of rock, but the drab studio itself was the best bit. It looks like it has never been changed since it opened. The ugly soundproofing tiles on the wall are the same ones seen in the iconic Million Dollar Quartet photo. They have the original vocal mike set up where Elvis, Johnny, and Wolf stood, the original piano Jerry Lee played. If I were any younger, I would have really felt something, but even in my jaded old age I felt some kind of tremor as they dimmed the lights and played “That’s All Right.”
Graceland (Memphis, TN) – We went because why not? Another highlight. The house and grounds were tremendously more modest than I expected. The décor did not offend me at all – it just reminded me of the ’70s. The many museum exhibits across the road were hit and miss. I’m not a car nerd, but I loved seeing Elvis’s impressive collection, and I also enjoyed boarding the Lisa Marie Convair 880 jet parked outside. Because I allowed for the excessive commercialization upfront, I was able to screen out the vulgarity of the sheer number of gift shops (I bought exactly one postcard) and simply enjoy soaking up the level of Elvisness that I was comfortable with.
Sep 212012
Townspeeps, I know it’s late notice and my time will be limited, but I’m going to be in Ann Arbor on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 25-26. I may have some time late Tuesday to meet up with any Townspeople in the Detroit-Ann Arbor area. I can think of at least 2 regulars out that way. Let me know if you’re out there and interested.
Until then, let us know what’s on your mind, in the news, on your turntable (or whatever). Thanks!
Sep 212012
Good show.
Has anyone ever said the following you:
I hear [artist] puts on a good show.
Have you ever spoken that phrase? I never quite get what people mean when they say that. I often hear it applied to artists for whom I have absolutely no musical interest, like Lady Gaga or Bette Midler, or for really cheesy artists who only have a few songs I can enjoy hearing for the guilty delights of their processed cheese, like Neil Diamond. The funny thing is, even the people who say this phrase in regard to a musically suspect artist don’t seem to care for the artist’s music. I guess I’ve never gone out for an evening expecting a “good show.”
For me, music is music. Of course some performers are better on stage than others, but if I don’t like the music, how much can their stage presence affect my enjoyment of their show. What the fuck can Neil Diamond possibly offer me live, through his “good show,” I think to myself, when people say stuff like this. Does Neil tell great jokes or do a mind-blowing tap-dance routine?
Madonna is an artist who is purported to put on a “good show.” I actually like a few of her songs, but primarily, when people utter this phrase in regard to her, I imagine they’re saying she’s hot. Is that what they mean when they say Midler or Diamond put on a good show?
I look forward to your thoughts on this matter.
