Hope your New Year’s celebrations were swell. Before 2011 is out of mind do tell what shocking musical revelations were revealed as the year came to a close!
Jan 012012
Dec 312011
Sounds of the Hall in roughly 33 1/3 minutes!
In this week’s New Year’s Eve edition of Saturday Night Shut-In a prednisone-fueled Mr. Moderator makes up for any previous episode in which you wished he would have talked more. He covers some of his favorite releases of 2011, reveals Pete Townshend‘s career path not quite taken, and announces Rock Town Hall’s 2011 Townsperson of the Year. This is the ultimate shut-in edition. Listen at the risk of your own sense of self-esteem!
[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/RTH-Saturday-Night-Shut-In-60.mp3|titles=RTH Saturday Night Shut-In, episode 60][Note: The Rock Town Hall feed will enable you to easily download Saturday Night Shut-In episodes to your digital music player. In fact, you can even set your iTunes to search for an automatic download of each week’s podcast.]
Dec 302011
At first glance, the choice would seem obvious. Choosing “Friday” over “Someone Like You” would land any sane person in 24-hour observation at the psych ward. But, a closer examination of the two songs reveals a lot of “where” popular music is in 2011. On one side we have a song widely considered “the worst song of all time” up against a song being labelled as “a new standard.” Clearly choosing “Someone Like You” is the safe choice, but did “Friday” have more of an impact?
In late 2010, a 13-year-old Rebecca Black entered an L.A. studio and recorded 2 songs for a fee of $4,000. The financing put up by Rebecca’s mother would cover the cost of studio time and accompanying videos. “Friday,” penned by the studio owners, was eventually chosen by Black herself because her familiarity with the song’s subject. The video and song featuring Black’s heavily auto-tuned squeaky voice and inane lyrics would eventually be uploaded to YouTube in February 2011. The reaction was as swift as it was incendiary. Despite the fact that mindless auto-tuned pop music has been around for nearly 15 years, the song was immediately derided for being instantly disposable and without merit. This did not stop the song however from having over 175 million views on YouTube and making Rebecca Black an overnight sensation. Her quick ascent to fame pissed people off enough that the teenager started receiving death threats. Even I received considerable flack for suggesting that the song was “punk” for its ability to anger so many people. There were those, mostly under the age of 15, who loved the song. The song surpassed Justin Bieber’s “Baby” for the most disliked video on YouTube. It would appear that no song in pop music history (even “Disco Duck”) has found itself under such intense derision and polarization.
But, we’ve been here before. Aside from the aforementioned “Disco Duck,” Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” and Los Del Rio’s “Macarena” ran into quite a resistance from music fans and critics. But those were novelty songs. “Friday” was a genuine attempt at the pop charts. Which I guess, amplified the hate. And for once it seemed everyone’s sense of good taste was immediately challenged. The public needed a good mouthwash to erase this bad-taste. Enter Adele.
Dec 302011
Comfortably andyr
Popular music discussion blog Rock Town Hall has awarded one of its very own Townspeople, andyr, its second annual Rock Badge of Courage for his live vocal performance of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” at a recent show by the Narberth, Pennsylvania–based cover band extraordinaire Narband.
You may recall our initial Rock Badge of Courage recipient, Bruce Springsteen, for his performance of “Born in the USA.” The Rock Badge of Courage is the highest artistic decoration awarded by Rock Town Hall, even higher than induction in the Hall’s Foyer of Fame. It is bestowed on musicians who distinguish themselves “conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her artistic cred above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against The Man, apathetic bandmates, or any other enemy of The Power & Glory of Rock.” Springsteen’s award required little explanation, but andyr’s may require some context.
I’ve counted andyr as a “close personal friend” for 40 years. Not once, in all those years and countless musical discussions and experiences has he ever expressed even the slightest admiration for anything related to Pink Floyd. Trust me, he’s a cool guy and typically has great taste in music, but he doesn’t even care for the Syd Barrett stuff or the song “Wish You Were Here.” He even finds the good in stuff a lot of us might think is crap, provided it has cool drum and bass parts, but he may be the only music lover I know who hasn’t at least acknowledged that “Floyd has some cool album covers.” Even E. Pluribus Gergely would grant the band a cool album cover or two. The man has been steadfast in his refusal to enjoy a single thing about Pink Floyd.
Then, no more than 2 months ago, a musical mission was hatched that would test andyr’s rock courage like no test before. He and Townsman Sethro, another one of my longtime bandmates and close personal friends, were asked to join Narband, led by another Townsman, ace guitarist Buddy Whelan and a mutual friend of Whelan and our Rock Badge of Courage recipient who lacks, as far as I know, an RTH handle. Andyr was a little anxious but excited to cram for 2 sets’ worth of mostly Classic Rock and early ’80s new wave hits—especially with his trusty drummer buddy at his back—but one song on the proposed set list caused beads of sweat to form on his brow even as he discussed it with us at rehearsal one night: Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb.”
Dec 292011
There’s a cool Italian restaurant Philadelphia called Osteria. It’s one of our favorites, on a local list that includes chef Marc Vetri’s other two restaurants. Check it out if you find yourself seeking a fine, pricey meal in Philadelphia. However, as a regular in the Halls of Rock you may be distracted by the off-the-shelf AAA music in the background. It cheapens the hand-crafted food they serve. It’s like the waiter tossed a bag of Harry & David breadsticks on the table. I’ve been meaning to talk to them about this.
Today I’m in NYC, at a Miyazaki film festival. Between movies I ate a bowl of pho at a Vietnamese place playing a Jackson Browne album in the background. What’s wit dat?
Dec 282011
Today we seek songs featuring radio broadcast sounds, either real or created and including the sound of someone turning the dial. You know this device. I will start with The Beatles’ “l Am the Walrus,” featuring some broadcast of Shakespeare’s King Lear.
Dec 272011
And more importantly, of course, what musically relevant gifts did you give?
