Rock Town Hall • Rock Music Discussion

Something for Almost Everyone

Posted by cdm

Sep 232011

Great news everybody! There’s a new super group in town and they go by the name Super Heavy.

Super Heavy is composed of Mick Jagger, Joss Stone, Dave Stewart, Damian Marley, and A. R. Rahman (a composer of movie soundtracks in India). As near as I can tell, Jagger and Stone sing, Stewart plays guitar, Marley raps, and Rahman noodles (on the keyboard).

They are clearly going for something that transcends national and cultural boundaries. The current formula sounds to me like:

45% Jagger
20% Marley
15% Stewart
15% Stone
5% Rahman

How would you tweak the formula to help them better reach their goals? 20% more Rahman? Seriously, this guy has apparently won two Oscars, two Grammys, and has sold 300 albums. Why is he hiding his light under a bushel? Mick’s presence is going to put asses in the seats but would it kill him to just dial it back a little bit for the good of the United-Colors-of-Benetton nature of the project?

Also, do you think they meant to evoke the “Waiting on a Friend” video starting at 3:37? I hope that Keith updates his bio with the next pressing, I’d love to hear his thoughts on this.

Finally, who is the real 6th member of Super Heavy (or 5th member if Rahman doesn’t step up his game): Marley’s floor-length dreads or Joss Stone’s rack?

In any event, these guys have upped the ante for super groups everywhere. Your move, Chicken Foot.

REM, 15 years too late?

Posted by machinery

Sep 212011

Not to be a hater here…but I can’t think of any band breaking up I could care less about. I mean, have they even been relevant for the last few decades?

So to frame it as a discussion: Are there other bands who shoulda called it quits a lot earlier than they did? Or still should? I’ll start: The Stones. Break up already. Please.

PRO: In the Beginning There Was Rhythm

Posted by ladymisskirroyale

Sep 212011

Everyone has their decade and judging by recent RTH threads, the 1960s topped many people’s lists for the Best Era of Rock. And although I appreciate the music of the 1960s, a large part of my heart is saved for the ’80s. Much of this connection reflects my personal experiences growing up in the ’70s and ’80s, followed by the watershed experience of receiving my first copy of the Trouser Press Record Guide. But as I’ve become older, I continue to listen to and think about a lot of this music.

So I offer this bridge to our fellow Townspersons who may sneer and consider the 1980s an era of ridiculous fashion and over-the-top musical groups. But it didn’t necessarily start out that way. I paraphrase the mighty Simon Reynolds in his stellar history, Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984, that 1978–1982 rivaled the years 1963–1967 in the amount of amazing music, the spirit of adventure and idealism, and the way the music was connected to the social and political events of the era.

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present the Post Punk Years:

But first, a few words about Punk music.

CON: “Post-Punk,” Rock’s Most Arbitrary Genre?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Sep 212011

I like some bands that get lumped under the “post-punk” banner, including at least three in particular that I object to frequently falling under that banner: Gang of Four, Public Image Ltd, and Joy Division. There’s a good chance that what I’m about to say is a case of me talking out my ass, at least in terms of the chronology of the term post-punk. I honestly don’t remember it being thrown around when I was a teenager getting into punk rock in the late-’70s/early-’80s. Do you? Do you actually remember that term carrying any weight in 1981, or is this a term that was, as I suspect and feel the blood rushing to my temples whenever I think about it, introduced years after the fact?

Maybe it was already in use in the then-legendary and completely annoying British music press at that time, but in the small world of US underground music fans, I don’t recall the term being applied to second-wave and lesser punk bands at the time. There were “No Wave” bands and other subgenres, but I remember them all being considered part of the broader punk (and New Wave) spectrum.

Life was simple then. There were fewer critical ghettos to annoy me.

Last Man Standing: After School Special

Posted by cdm

Sep 202011

Give me songs in which the singers have a crush on their teachers or, more creepily, their students.

I’ll start with “Hot For Teacher,” by Van Halen.

Rock’s Most Incongruous Dancers?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Sep 202011

I love Monty Python‘s old cheese shop bit. A small detail during the opening of the sketch sticks with me more than all the cheese-related stuff: the sign outside the cheese shop that reads Licensed for Public Dancing. Two men are then seen folk dancing behind John Cleese’s character, as he gears up for his futile bid to order some cheese. The following performance of Jethro Tull made me think of the incongruous dancing in the Python skit. Keep an eye on the dancers in the background.

Can you cite other instances of rock’s most incongruous dancers?

Lou Reed…As His Music Was Meant to Be Bundled?

Posted by jungleland2

Sep 192011

I subscribe to Pop Market. They send me one-day offers on box-sets, vinyl, and limited-edition stuff from Sony.

Today’s special is a Lou Reed CD bundle for $23.99, including shipping and comprising the following:

Transformer
Rock ‘n Roll Animal
Metal Machine Music
NYC Man: The Collection

I own ZERO (0) Lou Reed (I had New York on vinyl in the late ’80s and know the hits). Is this a good place to start? I know that Metal Machine Music is NOT for the pop fans, but the rest?

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