Looking back on it, was Dino Lee a visionary? For those of you new to the Halls of Rock, the All-Star Jam is the place for any Townsperson to step up to The Main Stage and chime in with news, oddball thread ideas, and even your own visions of the future.
Hey, speaking of visions of the future…I see Rock Town Hall interviews with both Peter Zaremba of The Fleshtones and Dream Syndicate founder Steve Wynn coming later tonight. It’s not a dream, it’s a vision. Stay tuned!
I’ve always been on the fence concerning the Mod or Rocker schism. I do love my Eddie Cochran and Link Wray, but I also love my natty attire, Small Faces, The Creation, and The Action.
[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/07-Brain-1.mp3|titles=The Action: Brain] [audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/01-Come-Around-1.mp3|titles=The Action: Come Around]So, I’m not going to give a Wikipedia-style account of The Action here. Let’s just let them be the soundtrack for an inquiry.
Certainly, the Mods vs. Rockers clashes of the ’60s were overemphasized, and it’s not like they even mattered over here. Is it even a valid argument anymore, or did Ringo do away with the question in his famous Hard Day’s Night quip?
[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/02-Something-To-Say.mp3|titles=The Action: Something to Say] [audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/02-In-My-Lonely-Room.mp3|titles=The Action: In My Lonely Room]It comes down to a question of the importance of subculture and semiotics: the expressive forms and rituals of our groupings, be they mods, rockers, punks, skinheads, Portland-types, or Brooklyn-types.
This is superficial stuff, to be sure. We become intrigued by the mundane objects—an R.A.F. roundel, motorcycle boots, a safety pin, a flannel shirt—which nonetheless take on a symbolic dimension, and also grant us something of a self-imposed exile.
I don’t give a fuck so much, but there was a time when it was a serious rock-existential dilemma for me: “Wait, can I have a mod target, and love Gene Vincent? Can you do that?” Can I, to bring it up to the present day, dress like Jimmy in Quadrophenia and still be caught dead at Rock of Ages?
[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/07-Just-Once-In-My-Life.mp3|titles=The Action: Just Once in My Life] [audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/10-Since-I-Lost-My-Baby.mp3|titles=The Action: Since I Lost My Baby]In this context, the music we listen to serves as entertainment, diversion, and relevance, yes, but we also identify, adopting the sounds and their singers as signifiers to help us discover “where do I fit in?”
Stray Cats in black and white.
I heard Brian Setzer on the radio this weekend. I started to think that here is a guy that has made a long career of being a musical revivalist. I loved the Stray Cats for a short time — dancing to “Rock This Town” ’til I was a sweaty mess.
I also saw the first incarnation of the Brian Setzer Orchestra in the early ’90s at DC’s 9:30 Club. At the time, I took my now-wife, we were just looking for something to do — and had no idea what we were in for that night. We saw them setting up the Lawrence Welk music stands with a “BSO” logo and I thought — “we might want to get up close for this.” It was a fantastic show — and one my wife still talks about.
Sure the schtick got old for both bands, but the first time you hear or see it, it can be kind of cool.
So my question is — what rock revivalists do you enjoy?
It's all too much.
Normally I keep off-list messages of thanks and praise to myself, tucked away in a folder on my hard drive that I revisit every few years, when times are especially tough and Townspeople are getting on my case about an unpopular opinion. I received such an off-list message minutes ago, however, as the clock struck midnight. Probably unbeknownst to the Townsperson who sent me this note, it is my birthday. Because it’s my birthday, I feel the right to share this note with you. Surely it reflects positively on each of you, but especially myself. This most meaningful note follows the jump. Thank you, Townsperson who will remain anonymous.
So much promise, so much love…on Paul McCartney‘s 70th birthday I choose to remember the better days, not the painful ones. What’s your favorite Paul McCartney moment?
I’m looking for a phone number or address in the lyrics of a song. Double points for anyone who comes up with lyrics containing an email address.
The address must contain at least a street name and house number to be valid.
I’ll lead off with “634-5789,” by Wilson Pickett
As always, one entry per post please.
Sounds of the Hall in roughly 33 1/3 minutes!
On tonight’s episode of Saturday Night Shut-In Mr. Moderator tells a story about his father, confronts his profound sense of vanity in the face of turning another year older, and takes yet another cheap shot at Almost Famous, or more precisely folks too high-minded to join him for a screening of Rock of Ages while holding onto the belief that Almost Famous is a “good” movie.
[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/RTH-Saturday-Night-Shut-In-82.mp3|titles=RTH Saturday Night Shut-In, episode 82][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.]
