Motivated, in part, by our ongoing effort to identify Rock Town Hall’s Essential Videos and to possibly compile some ambience to project during this weekend’s Sausages for Sammy extravaganza, I had my 14-year-old son show me what to do to download and edit videos for my own purposes. It’s not of the quality that many of you would deliver, but here’s my first attempt at putting some essential images to Hrrundivbakshi‘s “Rock Town Hall Theme.” What I’m really trying to say is…
All this talk about ’90s bands got me digging into some of the deeper cuts from that era. Here are two songs from an artist who I would classify as being most active in the ’90s. She is performing with two guitarists who were in groups that gained prominence in the ’80s.
[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Mystery-Date-060211a.mp3|titles=Mystery Date 060211a] [audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Mystery-Date-060211b.mp3|titles=Mystery Date 060211b]Now, I’m not very good at remembering the complete roster of names from a band’s history—I may recall the names of separate memebers but rarely more than one or two members. So today’s Mystery Date reflects a nexus of musical discovery for me: I knew the names of the vocalists of these two ’80s bands, but not the names of the other musicians. I had been listening to one of the guitarists’ ’80s band a few days before, and when I randomly picked this Mystery Date’s disc to listen to I made the sonic connection. The guitarist’s name hadn’t really meant anything to me but it was the distinctive sound that he creates that drew me to check the names on these two separate records and realize that it was the same person. He was the sonic bullseye! Working backwards, I realized that I was also familiar with the production sound of track number two and worked out the connection between our Mystery Date and the second ’80s band.
Who is our ’90s artist? Who are the two guitarists?
OK, I give The Beach Boys, post 1972, way too much leeway, but I don’t think I can let this one pass without calling BULLSHIT.
Take a look at the PR blurb that was on the email announcing an upcoming Beach Boys concert in Atlanta:
This better come with a centerfold!
While browsing through eMusic yesterday I came across the following new entry to the digital music distributor’s catalog: Charlie, Anthology.
You may remember Charlie, or at least the band’s album covers, from an old RTH Confessional post by our man sammymaudlin.
You may remember hearing their music on an episode of our weekly podcast, Saturday Night Shut-In, as first heard at the 21:52 mark in this archived podcast.
That said, is anyone asking for any sort of Charlie anthology other than, perhaps, a glossy magazine, complete with centerfold, of shots of the album cover models?
NOT a '90s artist!
The list of 1990s bands (mostly alt-rock) that were still out there workin’ for a livin’ was an easy target for bashing—at least for me. When y’all jumped in and turned it into a pile on of alterna-bashing, I started to have second thoughts about this fine group of young musicians that just wanted to let their hair down and fly thier flannel flag (or union jack).
I propose another look at the 1990s.
Let’s create the RTH Top 25 CDs of the 1990s from bands that are considered ’90s bands (as in I would count Jane’s Addiction, although their debut came out in ’88 or ’89 [I had it in high school, so it had to have been out prior to spring 1989]). This is not a place to list REM‘s Automatic For the People or a ’90s Tom Waits record; this is for ’90s bands.
Please consider the following criteria/limitations when posting your thoughts on the matter:
I’ll start with my own:
A good friend “turned me on” to a British band from the 70s called Showaddywaddy — a sort of UK version of Sha Na Na — saying bands like Showaddywaddy were the main reason the Sex Pistols came into existence. I cued up the video she sent along, and was suitably horrified. I then commenced an InterWeb search to find out more about this godawful band of musical merrymen, and found this, from the frequently “huh?” AllMusicGuide:
“One of the finest rock & roll revival bands of the 1970s, Showaddywaddy also proved to be one of the most successful and enduring. … The group’s run of greatest hits sounds devastatingly pure, even authentic…”
To which I say: WTF?! I mean, I’m used to a bit of ass-lickery on the part of AMG, but surely this is beyond the pale… right?
HVB
Townspeople,
Can you help me out with a project? I would like to compile Rock Town Hall’s Essential Rock Video Collection, from our community’s perspective the most-visually compelling rock videos ever made. I think you’d agree that Feargal Sharkey‘s full music video for “A Good Heart” is one such example. Our Essential RockVideo Collection, however, is not limited to the ’80s but should span all eras and styles in rock music. The videos may be staged or live; all I ask is that they are essential and visually compelling. And, preferably, instructive.
The videos I seek to compile need not contain a single compelling note of music; in fact, the best way to gauge whether they are fit for this collection will be to view them with the sound off. Please post your nominees for this honor. I am hoping to compile a collection of 50 visually compelling, from a Rock Town Hall perspective, videos. Thank you.
