Rock Town Hall • Rock Music Discussion

Surprise Philly Show by Benny and the Bums?

Mar 062010

Not this Benny!

Philadelphia-area fans of a certain South Jersey ~~hubcap~~ hepcat from the ’80s music scene may be interested in a show coming to the M Room (15 W. Girard Ave, Philadelphia) this Sunday night, March 7. The headliner goes by the name Benny and the Bums, but a source and usually lurking Townsman tells me this “Benny” is an old friend and beloved showman who left our orbit years ago for some ~~rock a few spots over from the sun~~ California grass. Why this show is shrouded in mystery I do not know, but for the safety of my friend – who is expecting to have a burlap bag placed over his head on Sunday evening before being driven to the ~~7-11~~ club in a ~~Ford Rambler~~ unmarked car – I will say no more. At Rock Town Hall we’re all about safety and accurate reporting! I plan on ~~growing a beard~~ being there in case this turns out to be the musician I’m told it is going to be.

Rock Town Hall Celebrates the Oscars: Best Portrayal of a Musician (Including Actual Musical Performances) by a Non-Musician Actor

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 052010

Disqualified!

Until the moment I put the finishing touches on this post I had no idea that actor Jeff Bridges had recorded an album of music. He seems to be a shoo-in to win the Oscar for Best Actor this Sunday night, but as a result of having released an album of his musical performances other than whatever he performs in his recent film, Crazy Heart, he is disqualified from this Battle Royale.

Specifically I’m asking that we determine the best portrayal of a musician (including actual musical performances) by a typically non-musician actor.

The actor needs to be portraying a musician; he or she cannot simply break out into song as a teenage greaser in a musical set at Rydell High. Beside, John Travolta, like Jeff Bridges, would also be disqualified for having released his own albums.

John Travolta, “Razzamatazz”

John Travolta, “Easy Evil”

Furthermore the actor needs to actually perform music in the film. Despite having seen the film about a half dozen times, I’m not sure if I know whether Justine Bateman or Julia Roberts actually played and/or sang in Satisfaction. Please research this issue before nominating either one of them. Same goes for Mary Stuart Masterson in Some Kind of Wonderful and countless other actors who were so convincing that it’s hard to tell if they could really play.

A few more contenders before I ask you to put on your thinking caps and hash this out…
Continue reading »

What Movie (chock full o’ tunes) Comes Closest to Your High School Experience?

Posted by sammymaudlin

Mar 052010

As Rock Town Hall gears up for this Sunday’s Oscars extravaganza, I thought we’d take some time to revisit some past movie-related threads. Perhaps when this post first ran Townsman sammymaudlin‘s selection of Fast Times at Ridgemont High was so spot-on for most of us that there was not much to discuss. Perhaps there weren’t enough representative movies. Perhaps Townspeople were tired that day. Perhaps YOU weren’t logged in that day. Now you are, so see if this thread has any legs the second time around.

By the way, if you click on the tag at the bottom of this post that reads “rock movies,” you’ll be transported to a number of movie-related posts we’ve run. The actual Oscars can get boring at times, so these may be a good way to pass the time during the Sound Editing in a Foreign Animated Short Documentary award category, for instance.

This post initially appeared 8/2/08.

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For as big a fan as I was (am) of the movie, I don’t remember a single thing about this TV series. Maybe because…

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As much as I’d like to say that Dazed & Confused (essentially American Graffiti set in the 70’s) was like my high school years, and my freshman year was close, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, soundtrack and all, was, for better and worse, pretty damn close.

I graduated high school in ’82, same year the movie came out. The soundtrack was so, so, so what was on the Phoenix radio stations then: Jackson Brown, (Henley, Walsh and Felder all have solo tracks), Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty, Poco, Billy Squier, Sammy Hagar, Jimmy Buffet, Quaterflash, The Go-Go’s The Cars… In hindsight the tuness play like a soundtrack to the death of 70’s radio rock and the birth of the 80s.

What say you?

What’s the Next Rock ‘n Roll-Themed Icecapade?

Posted by sammymaudlin

Mar 042010

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It’s rhetorical.

What’s the Next Rock ‘n Roll-Themed Broadway Musical?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 032010

The following topic was just phoned in by Townsman andyr. He apologized in advance for the sickening direction this thread is likely to take.

Broadway’s latest rock ‘n roll-themed music is called Million Dollar Quartet, which is “inspired” by – what – an hour or so of dicking around at a piano in Sun Studios by Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins. The results of this impromptu jam session, which sat in the can until 1981, were unwhelming, but unwhelming music didn’t stop the producers who decided to turn the career of Billy Joel into a musical stop the producers of Million Dollar Quartet!

What andyr wants to know is, What’s the next rock ‘n roll-themed Broadway musical?

Previously.

Hiprockrisy!

Posted by hrrundivbakshi

Mar 022010

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I’ve made this candid confession before: as an idiotic 13 year old, I actually went through a phase when I thought Ted Nugent was a better guitar player than Jimi Hendrix. Eventually, as I acquired a bit more perspective on things rock-ular, I realized how stupid that was. One of the catalysts for my critical re-evaluation of Uncle Ted had nothing to do with how fast he could go “tweedlee-tweedlee-tweedlee-tweeee” on the guitar. Rather, it was a single line from one of his songs, “Free For All.” In it, avowed drug-shunner Nugent boasted: “Stakes are high, and so am I…”

Even as a 13 year old, I smelled a rat. It was certainly “cool” to make claims about how high you were back then, and — had it been anybody else — this lyric would have just been another effort at achieving fringed buckskin jacket and mirrored shades status. But the Nuge was different — he was the first “straight-edge” rocker, and here he was, bragging about how high he was. Just to sell more records! Hypocrisy!

This got me thinking about other rock star hypocrisies. I’m sure you can think of a few, and I know we’d all like to hear about them. I’d like to believe our musical heroes and heroines say what they mean and mean what they say, 100 percent of the time. To be painfully honest, though, I’m not sure that’s always the case. I think it’s time we brought these all-too-human shortcomings into clear — and perhaps brutal — focus. We need some tough love. How have your heroes let you down? How have they displayed hyprockrisy?

I look forward to your responses —

HVB

Dugout Chatter: Formative Musical Experiences Edition

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 022010

The following questions are meant to elicit a sense of your rock ‘n roll values and experiences. Your gut answers are requested – don’t think too hard! For newcomers to the Halls of Rock, this is an occasional exercise we conduct to get to know each other better and to open possible new avenues of exploration. There’s not always a unifying theme, but today’s theme is Formative Musical Experiences. Let’s get to it, shall we?

When did you first notice that you related to music in a way that was different than how other family members or kids related to it?

What record do you most regret not buying when you had the chance?

Who’s the first rock ‘n roll artist/band you recall disliking profoundly?

What’s the earliest rock ‘n roll stand you can recall taking – you know, a time when you made a point of putting your neck on the line and telling other folks what needed to be said regarding a crucial musical issue?

What piece of useless rock trivia does your mind retain to the probable detriment of remembering more important things, like what you’re supposed to get at the grocery store or the date of your anniversary? (For instance, I know The Boss’ birthday despite never having been a big fan of Him and His music, yet I forget forget the birthdays of relatives almost monthly.)

What songs/artists do you associate with your earliest make-out sessions?

I look forward to your your responses.

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