Townsman shawnkilroy: you asked for it, you’ve got it! As a comment in another thread the man wrote:
I would rather listen to Motley Crue’s “Helter Skelter” than The Beatles’ version.
It works better.Just as i would rather hear “Mr. Tambourine Man” sang by The Byrds, than Dylan.
Same goes for The Bangles’ “Hazy Shade of Winter” over the S&G original.
different thread i guess.
I guess so. Here it is!
I ran into an acquaintance from the Halls of Rock recently who had been following the recently completed Rock Town Hall World Cup of Rock ‘n Roll. “You know the most striking thing I learned?” he confided, “The Beatles are heavier than The Rolling Stones.”
“That’s interesting,” I replied, not surprised that he would come to that conclusion and, based on my own prejudices, almost immediately swayed by his conclusion.
He continued. “I love Charlie Watts – don’t get me wrong – but he’s a light,” he said, sliding up a few notes as he reached the t in light, “drummer. And the Stones don’t have McCartney on bass.”
Then, before we parted ways, we discussed how much the Stones’ heaviosity must be based on their image. Depending on how we define heavy in this context, this Townsman may have a point.
I haven’t been able to shake these comments since that chance encounter.
Children’s books aren’t what they used to be. My daughter, for example, is reading the novel I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want To Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb. It’s story of Oliver Watson, an evil genius disguised as dorkish new boy who wants his father’s love and will do anything to get it. Yep, anything.
Even introduce middle grade kids to Captain Beefheart and Trout Mask Replica. Oliver explains to the reader why Beefheart was an evil genius:
…a musician so brilliant, so evil, he drove his own band insane. He would not let them eat. He would not let them sleep. He would not let them leave the house. He made them wear dresses (and they were not girls). He stripped them of their very names and subjected them to hours of abusive group-therapy sessions. When a dejected and desperate member of the Magic Band managed to escape the Captain’s clutches, Beefheart snatched him off the street and dragged him back to the practice studio.
It was cruel. Assuredly. Inhumane. Undoubtedly. Evil. Disgustingly so. And yet I defy you, today, to listen to Trout Mask Replica and say it was not worth it.
Being in step with the times, ie, aping Diary of A Wimpy Kid like mad, we also get a photo of Beefheart and the Magic Band in their pomp. And the cover of Trout Mask Replica. To a generation raised on Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber (whoever he is!), explaining Captain Beefheart isn’t easy.
Townsmen and Townswomen – how do you explain Captain Beefheart to a child of the 21st century? Where would you start? What song by Beefheart might best explain his strange magic? When I gave Doc At Radar Station a quick spin my daughter fled the room with ears covered.
A few weeks ago we received an e-mail from Andy Shernoff, founding member of The Dictators and a longtime rock ‘n roll agent provacateur. It turns out Andy was an occasional reader of Rock Town Hall and wanted to let us know he was coming to Philadelphia with his rock memoir/solo show, When Giants Walked the Earth: A Musical Memoir. You can read our little write up of that show and follow some links to the man’s very cool career here. Let’s just say that the The Back Office staff and I were thrilled and honored to learn that a guy who’d had his hands in so much of our shared musical heritage knew what went on in these hallowed halls. With the palms of our hands red from high-fiving, we asked Andy if he’d answer a few questions for us. Andy glady agreed before realizing what kind of piercing, nerdy questions he’d be getting from the likes of us. Nevertheless, the man took a deep breath and gave it his rock-nerdsage all!
Andy brings his When Giants Walked the Earth tour to The Rosebud Bar in Somerville, MA, outside Boston, this Saturday, July 10. I encourage our Boston-area Townspeople to attend. But that’s not the only place you’ll be hearing (and have been hearing) him in the coming week: “I just did a cool deal…,” he tells me, “Major League Baseball is using The Dictators’ version of ‘California Sun’ to promote the All-Star Game. This recording is from the demo that got us our first record deal and was the very first time I ever stepped into a recording studio. Truly bizarre!!”
Among his other activities Andy plays with The Master Plan, a party-rock supergroup that includes Keith Streng and Bill Milhizer from The Fleshtones and Paul Johnson from Waxing Poetics – and that features contributions from Hoodoo Gurus’ Dave Faulkner, who recently represented Australia in the Rock Town Hall World Cup of Rock ‘n Roll.
But enough of my yapping, let’s get on with our chat with Andy Shernoff…after the jump. Continue reading »
What’s your hidden talent?
Did anyone bother to see that movie on The Runaways? I had no interest in seeing it, but I’d be tempted to see a rock biopic on Blondie. How about you? The tide is high, and a casting call is going out to Townspeople to cast the band members and related scenesters (eg, Seymour Stein, members of Talking Heads and The Ramones).
For starters I’d propose Kirsten Dunst as Debbie Harry and Jason Schwartzman as Chris Stein. You may have other actors in mind. Shoot!
It may have been inevitable that the heavily favored Team England won the inaugural Rock Town Hall World Cup of Rock ‘n Roll over Team Jamaica – and there is less joy in Mudville than English fans had hoped – but congrats to England for its victory.
Congrats are also due to Jamaica and coach bostonhistorian for a masterful tournament run. It was interesting, throughout the tournament, to follow the exploits of “tournament-built” underdog teams like Jamaica and Sweden and contrast their approaches with some of the struggling deep-catalog nations, like USA and Canada. I think a lot will be learned as coaches look ahead to the 2014 RTH World Cup of Rock ‘n Roll, which will only allow currently active artists to enter play.
Thanks again to all who played along, as coaches, commentators, and whatnot. At this point I invite you to add your post-tournament analysis to the record!
