Do your own thing…in denim!
Dec 012010
Nov 302010
Sydney "The Macrowave" Greenstreet?
The Detroit Pistons used to have a guy named Vinnie “The Microwave” Johnson, nicknamed for his ability to come off the bench and provide “instant offense.” I love the concept of instant offense, and I’ve taken to using it to refer to a quality in certain character actors, whose mere presence onscreen instantly raises the energy in a film. Sydney Greenstreet, who would have needed to be nicknamed “The Macrowave,” is just such a character actor in my book. Even the classic Casablanca manages to get better when he shows up in a scene. (That film, by the way, is loaded with instant offense types, including Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, S.Z. Sakall. It’s a wonder director Michael Curtiz had enough “rock” to go around.)
Rock ‘n roll musicians typically don’t move around as frequently as Hollywood character actors or NBA role players, but I’m wondering what journeyman or studio musicians you feel provide “instant offense” to whatever session they touch. The first who comes to mind for me is studio drummer extraordinaire Hal Blaine, who made not only the great hits he drove but the fade-outs of the most pedestrian MOR fodder worth turning up. Following, Hal even makes Peggy Lipton worth giving a try.
Nov 302010
A couple of nights ago E. Pluribus Gergely called me to ask if I’d ever watched Martin Scorsese’s Mick Jagger’s Rolling Stones (aka Shine a Light), the popular, star-studded Stones concert film from a year or two ago that critics agreed was their “best concert film since Let’s Spend the Night Together.” I had not. Although I’d had the opportunity to watch it for free on cable for months, I could not bring myself to watch even a second of what would surely be a shameful spectacle of two of my all-time favorite artists, the Stones and Scorsese, collaborating to get into the ripe pants of the likes of Fergie.
Last night, while waiting to watch Casablanca for the 263rd time I allowed myself a 10-minute peak at this movie, which was playing on basic cable.
I caught Jack White enthusiastically and badly wailing on the boring “Loving Cup” like a 15-year-old boy pulled out of a high school talent show. I can understand being intimidated by singing alongside even a long-washed-up Jagger, but White’s supposed to be a pro. He can’t complete a verse without falling out of character and out of key. Get it together, man! And find your own voice, even if it’s that whiny, “scary” voice you put on for most of your own music!
Then I saw Jagger awkwardly strain to hold a continuous flow of notes on “As Tears Go By.” The guy sounded like he was ready for a nursing home despite the fact that his hair was as healthy and well conditioned as any 68-year-0ld man’s hair has ever been. No wonder Marty’s cameras rarely strayed from Mick!
Finally I saw the Stones play “Some Girls,” with Jagger once more hogging the spotlight by bashing out the song’s two chords whenever he wasn’t talk-singing. Here’s what really irked me: the band bypassed the “dirty” verse on “Some Girls,” the “Black girls just wanna get fucked all night…” verse. In the theatrical release did the band really wuss out and skip that verse, or was it cut for the VH1 broadcast?
Oh, and Keef is as pathetic as anyone in that organization for writing a 500-page, holier-than-thou memoir after appearing in that slop!
And my man Marty should retire from making films and trying to bed cheerleaders. He can, however, continue to talk enthusiastically about the obscure, old films of his childhood.
Nov 292010
You dare think a Townsperson can't come up with a second example?
Can you think of any situations in which an album and song by a band have the same title but the song is not on the album and the album is released first? The only example that I can think of is Houses of the Holy. Houses of the Holy (the album) was released in ’73 but “Houses of the Holy” (the song) appeared on Physical Graffiti in ’75.
More examples would probably crop up if you consider instances where the title was used as a song first rather than the album but, again, I can’t think of any examples aside from live albums, greatest hits collections, and anthologies (eg, Rock And Roll Never Forgets: Bob Seger’s Best!”).
I thought about doing this as a Last Man Standing but this might be a one-off.
Nov 292010
I remember it was freezing cold when The Stones released Undercover. The winter of 1983 was really brutal around here, so what else was there to do but sit inside and really get to know The Stones’ new album? The album is all new music, as far as I can tell, with “Too Tough” being at least the only song that had been worked on previously that was leaked out and bootlegged. I think what made Tattoo You a little uneven for me was the fact that the songs came from so many different sessions. Undercover is a singular project, and it’s different from almost every other Stones album.
This may be the last album by a band that would be a surefire big seller in the ’80s that didn’t have that horrid drum sound (like Steve Lilywhite almost wrecked Dirty Work with). The drums are big, and integral to the sound, but they aren’t splashing constantly like they have a puddle of water sitting on them. They aren’t Jimmy Miller’s drums, but they aren’t bad, and the more popular sound of the decade is actually used to good effect on “Undercover of the Night.” While the drums are prominent, this is definitely a guitar album, first and foremost.
“Undercover of the Night” is one of those Stones semi-disco songs that their rocker fans can get behind in a way they couldn’t with “Emotional Recue.” I think it’s partly the slashing, machine-gun guitars, and partly really dark subject matter concerning sex and violence. I know, the video is kinda dumb, but is there a video of a song anywhere that makes the song better? I don’t think so, so why would anyone expect this to be any different? At least Tawny Kitaen isn’t washing a car with her tits in it. The other single that made a name for itself was “She Was Hot,” and it’s just a road song of the type that makes up the entirety of what most bands that get a record deal end up calling their second album. Again, the guitars are great, Keith and Ronnie sound like one guy with four arms. The other highlight of side one is Keith’s “Wanna Hold You,” which is about his last fast song with The Stones. His ballads are okay, but this is Keith Richards, International Rocker, and it bums me out that he has chosen to play his guitar with no hands so much lately.
Side two kicks off with the pure dance club record, “Too Much Blood.” I know a lot of people thought it was really disturbing, but I think it’s pretty cool. The 12” version is longer and has more of Mick’s weird carrying on about all that’s going down on the seedy side of things. I really like the second side the best. After the dancefest of “Too Much Blood” it’s pure guitar riffs. Ronnie’s “Pretty Beat Up” is pure groovetastic goodness and lyrically carries on the theme of the album, which I swear is, “Don’t trust anyone, and be afraid of the dark.” “Too Tough” is The Stones finally coming to grips with a middle for a song with a working title of “Cellophane Trousers.” I can listen to it all day. It’s the kind of mid-tempo rocker that The Stones seem to make with ease, but if it were really that easy, there’d be a lot more good songs to listen to.
The guitars just keep cutting and slashing through the last two songs. Mick Jagger sounds like he’s pushing and the band is pulling but it all seems to meet in some dark, slightly disturbing middle. I think that middle is “Don’t go out in the dark, and be afraid.” I love it. It’s one of my favorite Stones albums, and if they had put “Feel on Baby” as the B-side to “She Was Hot” instead of “I Think I’m Going Mad,” which would have worked better on the album if you ask me. “Feel on Baby” is an odd, slow, mostly boring bit of reggae.
I remember reading Steve Simels’ review of this in Stereo Review when it came out. He said something like, “This is a classic Stones album, and most of their fans won’t like it. It’s too dark, and it’s too depressing. But the fans that get to know this will be well rewarded.” I totally agree, and I think one day when some future generation listens to this, they’ll think it ranks as one of the best Stones albums. Like me.
Nov 292010
We’re not going to speculate on why Townsman andyr was watching this clip in the first place, but at the 6:43 mark our friend Lou Reed bestows his highest honor on Duran Duran for their version of “Perfect Day.” Sweet!
(WARNING: This video contains multiple cuts to headless guitars.)
Nov 272010
Mom!
Days after a big food-oriented holiday like Thanksgiving the fridge is packed with leftovers, some of which will be forgotten until the day a container is opened and some new form of life presents itself. Lucky for us, the best tracks on gifted mix CDs don’t go bad, or at least that’s what manufacturers told us in the mid-’80s…
[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/RTH-Saturday-Night-Shut-In-4.mp3|titles=RTH Saturday Night Shut-In 4]Download RTH Saturday Night Shut-In, episode 4.
