Jan 282010
 

The following questions are meant to elicit a sense of your rock ‘n roll values and experiences. As you know, not all questions are directly related to rock ‘n roll or even music. Your candid answers to them may open new avenues of rock dialog. Let’s get it on!

When you think Still photograph from a rock concert, what’s the first photograph that comes to mind?

What’s the most recent band you’ve had to consider you may have dismissed for the wrong reasons (eg, Look, their legion of numbskull fans, a particular fan in middle school who kicked your ass while wearing their three-quarter sleeve concert t-shirt)?

Have you ever been at a concert and then, as the band too the stage, been immediately turned off by one of the musician’s choice in gear only to find that the aesthetically offensive piece of gear was played beautifully by said musician?

Cobra or mongoose?

Example: Too much of Tom Waits’ vocal schtick annoys me, but when listening to his music I imagine the satisfying possibilities membership in his band would afford me as a supporting musician (guitar, in my case). Question: Is there an artist you don’t fully embrace that you imagine might nevertheless afford you a satisfying role as a supporting musician?

Is any constantly praised musician less interesting than Sade?

I look forward to your responses.

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Jan 272010
 

In a press release issued today, Billy “Reverend Willy G” Gibbons, Dusty “the Pleaser” Hill, and Frank Beard countered assertions published on popular rock and roll blog “Rock Town Hall” that the band had never actually toured with live animals during their celebrated “World Wide Texas Tour” in 1976.

“As far as I’m concerned, this ‘Moderator’ character needs to step out from behind his momma’s skirt and present himself for a good old-fashioned truth-whuppin’,” said ZZ Top’s long-time lead guitarist Billy Gibbons. “Not only did we tour with bison, buzzards, rattlesnakes, and long-horned cattle way back in ’76, we recently secured a full menagerie of African wildlife for our upcoming ‘BBQ Safari’ World Tour — and we’ve got the pictures to prove it. Until and unless Mr. Moderator delivers photographic proof that he in fact exists, we’re issuing a cease-and-desist notice on all this tomfoolery. In conclusion, let me just say to Mr. Moderator and those who care about his half-baked conspiracy theories: do yourself a favor, son: bear down on the meat, and ease up on the potato salad.”

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Jan 272010
 

Here’s an excerpt from ZZ Top‘s Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame page that repeats the claim I’ve heard for as long as I can remember that ZZ Top did a Texas cattle ranch-themed tour that included real livestock on stage with them:

ZZ Top carried stagecraft to elaborate heights with its Worldwide Texas Tour: Taking Texas to the People. For this mid-Seventies extravaganza, which came between Fandango! and Tejas, ZZ Top lugged 75 tons of equipment and animals native to Texas, including a buffalo, a longhorn steer, buzzards and rattlesnakes. They also performed on a Texas-shaped stage.

That’s from the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, remember, an actual, industry-approved museum with dedicated curators! I’ve never been there, but if a fruitless community-wide, 3-day search of the Internet indicates anything I bet the Hall of Fame doesn’t even possess photographic evidence of this rock myth!

Following is the photographic result of our search of ZZ Top pictured on stage with even a single, living buffalo, longhorn steer, buzzard, or rattlesnake.
Continue reading »

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Jan 262010
 


French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, whose acting talent, no-frills sex appeal, and overall European sense of cool in foreign films suited to subtitlephobes (eg, My Wife Is an Actress and The Science of Sleep) should already have been enough to gain your attention, has released a new album, IRM. In case you’re not already hip to this woman’s charms, the album is getting heavy coverage as something more substantial than the typical actor’s vanity record release. Understandably, this may be in equal parts because the album was produced and written by Beck and because Gainsbourg is the offspring of kitsch appeal-gone-horribly hipster worshipped pervert/Svengali Serge Gainsbourg and his actress/model wife Jane Birkin.

I could live with those reasons, but the slew of reviews, interviews, and concert reviews I’ve seen on this release go way over the top and tell a story that’s really not that interesting. Meanwhile the publicity machine for Gainsbourg’s new release fails to examine two important details:
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Jan 262010
 


While you’re searching for photographic evidence of ZZ Top‘s tour with livestock (making sure it’s not the road crew you’re confusing with cattle), can you also help me confirm that Baretta’s bird, Fred, was eaten on one episode by a homeless Puerto Rican boy Baretta took in? While you’re at that, feel free to use this space to post any other thoughts that need to be shared. Thanks.

Hey, let’s make this a Twofer Tuesday, shall we? After the jump… Continue reading »

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Jan 252010
 


The recent selection of The Rolling Stones‘ lips logo as Rock’s Greatest Logo of All Time got me thinking of images from album covers, videos, and musical motifs suggested by an artist’s recent release that were developed into memorable stage props.

Pink Floyd‘s flying pig, from the Animals record sleeve, is the first stage prop that comes to mind. The Residents have made significant use of thematic props in their rare live performances.

Less memorably, the Stones have wheeled out cheesy inflated versions of the lips logo and giant supermodels, possibly related to some ’90s video of them and the supermodels overtaking Manhattan. Then there’s some legend of ZZ Top touring with cattle on stage. Did this actually happen? Not that I’ve looked too hard, but why have I never seen a photo or video from this tour?
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Jan 252010
 

Congratulations are due to the Jimi Hendrix Experience‘s debut album, Are You Experienced?, for being determined as the Greatest Debut Album Ever by the members of Rock Town Hall.

This historic consensus pick followed days of rigorous discussion and on-the-fly development of stringent criteria. Congratulations are also due to the runners-up who merited serious consideration.

Finally, the field of rock criticism thanks you, Townspeople, for tacking this challenging question head on.

In other matters serving the betterment of rock criticism… Continue reading »

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