Rock Town Hall • Rock Music Discussion

The Mt. Rushmore of Punk

Oct 032011

NPR’s All Songs Considered posted this image on FB, a mural in Asbury Park, going up near Asbury Lanes. They asked posters to identify the faces in the photo, a task which every Townsperson could probably tackle while threading a needle and riding a unicycle, blindfolded. But what I found interesting was one poster’s comment that it was the “Mt. Rushmore of Punk.” If that is to be true, the first thing to do is eliminate two faces.

To me, it seems like there are three people here who are givens and three whose presence is arguably dubious. Which four faces go up on your Mt. Rushmore of Punk?

Paul Stanley Analyzes KISS’ Success: “…but a guy who looks like my neighbor’s wife is another matter altogether!”

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Oct 032011

My neighbor's wife.

In a recent LA Weekly interview Paul Stanley, reported “good egg” and at one time the only member of KISS who it could be said did not need shamefully hide his face under a multicolored coat of greasepaint, explains the band’s long-running popularity:

I don’t necessarily want to buy a t-shirt with a guy on it who looks like my neighbor.

The 2 hours it took to apply the greasepoint is optional ever since the band first “unmasked” itself in the 1980s. Looking at Paul today, one is more likely to wonder, “Maybe it’s Maybelline.”

This Is Your Rock Town Hall

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Oct 032011

Woody Guthrie died on this day in 1967. I bet he would have made a fine Townsperson. Trini Lopez, too. It’s not too late for Trini, and I don’t need to tell you: This is YOUR Rock Town Hall! Whaddayousay we lead the charge to get “This Land Is Your Land” to replace “God Bless America” at the 7th-inning stretch of baseball playoff games?

If you’ve already got Back Office privileges and can initiate threads, by all means use your privileges! If you’d like to acquire such privileges, let us know. If you’ve got a comment that needs to be made, what are you waiting for? If you’re just dropping in and find yourself feeling the need to scat, don’t hesitate to register and post your thoughts. The world of intelligent rock discussion benefits from your participation. If nothing else, your own Mr. Moderator gets a day off from himself. It’s a good thing for you as well as me!

Rock Town Hall’s Saturday Night Shut-In: ROCKTOBER, Week 1

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Oct 012011

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

In this week’s edition of Saturday Night Shut-In Mr. Moderator welcomes ROCKTOBER! And yeah, that means he’s totally stoked for Major League Baseball’s playoffs.

[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/RTH-Saturday-Night-Shut-In-47.mp3|titles=RTH Saturday Night Shut-In, episode 47]

[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.]

Rock’s Unfulfilled Fashion Ideas…Fulfilled?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Oct 012011

Stick with the above clip. Beside reminding you of an SCTV skit that was never produced, does it remind you of one of our previous posts in our ongoing series of Rock’s Unfulfilled Fashion Ideas? Check it out: I think this idea had been fulfilled after all.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha ..

Posted by machinery

Oct 012011

I couldn’t stop laughing when I heard this. “I am the desk lamp.” But the real question is who will buy it? Surely not fans of Metallica. Certainly not fans of Lou. Is this a marriage made in Hari Kari?

Can anyone think of a worse pairing? Seriously Lou, please retire.

Your Three Favorite Jazz Recordings

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Sep 302011

Here’s a question I’ve been meaning to ask Townspeople, a question that’s likely a bit outside many of our participants’ comfort zone, but I hope you have the stones to answer, even with limited knowledge of the subject matter: What are your three (3) favorite jazz recordings (individual songs, not entire albums)?

Because this topic is outside my comfort zone I’m not going to be a hard ass regarding your definition of the term “jazz.” If you want to suggest a vocal performance of a “standard,” Chuck Mangione’s “Feel So Good,” or some Lydia Lunch “No Wave” track, be my guest.

On the other hand, if you really know your shit and welcome the chance to dig into this topic, I encourage you to specify the recordings you favor, not just throw out any one of an artist’s dozen takes on the same track.

Before I forget, here are my three favorite jazz recordings, in no particular order:

John Coltrane, “Olé”
Ornette Coleman, “Ramblin'”
James Blood Ulmer, “Layout”

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