Jun 272011
 

Every songwriter hits a dry spell with lyrics. When they do, many that have been writing for awhile go this old trick: they write lyrics about the very song they are singing at that time. They sit there with their instrument and sing about sitting there with their instrument to tell you more about the song they are sitting there singing about. Jane! Get me off this crazy mobius strip! George has one of the better examples in this vein because it’s not just about the song he’s singing, but really a funny reaction to the legal troubles he had when accused of ripping off “He’s So Fine.” Still, it’s a song about the song itself.

OK, LMS: What other songs have a lyric that makes reference to the same song being sung?

Share
Jun 272011
 

It’s 1982. This video appears on French television, as part of a French TV special starring Alice Cooper. Shouldn’t his act have expired about 12 days after he hit paydirt with “School’s Out”? How did Alice Cooper manage to stay in circulation to any degree? How does he manage to hold onto his current Elder Statesman of Hard Rock status? Most importantly, is this song even remotely decent? I’m confused. Maybe I’ve been in Paris for too many days.

Share
Jun 262011
 

Let’s try another 1-2 Punch, shall we? Top 10 lists are too much; Top 5 lists invite too many opportunities for throwing in a hipster, obscuro choice to distinguish oneself from the raging masses. What I’d like to know is what TWO (2) songs you would choose from an artist’s catalog to say as much about that artist that you believe represents said artist’s core as possible? In other words, if you could only use TWO (2) songs from an artist’s catalog to explain all that said artist is about to a Venusian, what TWO (2) songs would you pick to represent said artist’s place in rock ‘n roll?

I’ll pose two artists and you—love ’em or leave ’em—give me each artist’s representative 1-2 Punch. Dig? Here goes!

Continue reading »

Share
Jun 262011
 

It started innocently enough: A friend was calling tech support and had been on hold for some time. He chronicled his wait on Facebook, I responded by posting a link to The Nerves’ “Hanging On The Telephone.” I know it’s a great song, but I had no idea there was such a vast array of cover versions of the song.

Here are the results of a little digging for covers of this song, and this is not including all of the videos of bands covering the tune in bars, parties and other gigs. This is studio versions only. Some stay close to the original (or to Blondie’s much more well-known version) and some stray away – often to their own peril.

So set aside some time and enjoy…

Share
Jun 252011
 

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

In this week’s edition of Saturday Night Shut-In a vacationing Mr. Moderator shuts the eff up and let’s the music play. In fact, to celebrate a night without the Mod’s whining, we’ve programmed nothing but instrumental music. So kick back, do whatever it is you like to do while letting your mind run free, and enjoy.

[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/RTH-Saturday-Night-Shut-In-34.mp3|titles=RTH Saturday Night Shut-In, episode 34]

[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.]

Share
Jun 252011
 

Phoebe Snow and Linda Rondstadt cover The Roches‘ “The Married Men” on Saturday Night Live. I like how they take it upon themselves to introduce to the country a then-practically unknown band. This would have been around the time of the sisters’ breakthrough s/t album. I like how Snow and Rondstadt are appearing together just because they feel like it—as if they’d just happened to be doing lines in Lorne Michaels‘ office during the Not Ready for Prime Time Players’ final run through. Paul Simon and George Harrison made a similar non-promotional appearance. Could a national television show, not to mention artists’ managers, allow such an informal, generous appearance again? Thinking about this makes me feel twice my new age.

Whether you’re 24 or 48 or 96, what musical moment can you not imagine ever happening on national televlsion again?

Share
Jun 242011
 

I’m looking for the make and model of car in the lyrics of a song. The lyrics must contain both. Makes maybe reused but not models, so once Ford Mustang is taken, the Pinto is still up for grabs but all other Mustangs are off the table.

The usual rules apply: only one answer per entry please and if you are the current Last Man Standing, please wait until somene else claims the title before submitting another entry.

I will start with Ford Mustang from Bowie’s “Young Americans.”

Share

Lost Password?

 
twitter facebook youtube