Rock Town Hall • Rock Music Discussion

RIP, Lester Polsfuss

Aug 132009

Guitar wizard and elder statesman of guitar-driven pop music Les Paul twanged his way off this mortal coil today at the age of 94. He led a good life, as far as I know, and certainly enjoyed more than his share of Mad Props from the rock and roll community.

One interesting thing about Lester is that he always understood the impact his *technical* creation had on the world of music — but I’m not sure he really cared about how *cool* it made people look. Like Leo Fender, he was a complete gearhead, and as he aged, he designed increasingly UN-cool guitars that sounded and looked less and less interesting as they became more and more “perfect.”

Anyhow, I thought we might take a moment to honor Lester’s supreme gearhead geekery by acknowledging the fashion statement his guitars and others have made on the stages and screens of rock’s past and present. Feel free to take this half-baked thread in any direction you want, but at least answer the following challenge:

Please rank the following guitars in order of coolness/mach schau factor, with “1” being the coolest, and “10” being the visual/sonic equivalent of a buttered saltine cracker. Note, I’ve added a few examples of famous players for said instruments, for those who are guitar model-challenged):

Gibson Les Paul (Jimmy Page, Slash)
Fender Stratocaster (Hendrix, Dick Dale)
Gretsch Country Gentleman (Chet Atkins, George Harrison)
Gibson SG (Angus Young)
Vox “Teardrop” Phantom (Chesterfield Kings, Brian Jones)
Fender Telecaster (Bruce Springsteen)
Paul Reed Smith (Present-day Santana, countless new rock bands)
Gibson ES-335 (B.B. King, Alvin Lee)
Gibson Flying V (Albert King, J. Geils)
Gibson Firebird (Johnny Winter, Brian Jones, Bob Seger)

I look forward to your responses.

HVB

Hear Factor, deux: Back in the Goodle Days

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 132009

Here’s a cool mix of Olde Time American music that the likes of your very own Mr. Moderator can use exposure to himself. This was compiled by a fellow blogger of some renown. I hope you make time to download, spin, and comment on this mix. I hope some of you find it challenging.

Back in the Goodle Days (~20 MB)

For this challenging mix, I particularly SUMMON Townsman cherguevarra!

What’s Hear Factor?

What Is Fantastic Songwriting and How Can I Spot it on an Album with a Production That I Cannot Stomach?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 122009

In a recent thread on bands that were irrevocably weakened by the loss of a key member, Townsman jungleland2 made an interesting comment:

I too call Bullshit on Bob Stinson. Paul played most of the guitars anyway. Slim Dunlap gave them a new more textured sound. Don’t blame the strange late 80’s production of Don’t Tell al Soul..the songs are fantasic.

What interested me most was the last part, about the songs on Don’t Tell a Soul being “fantastic” despite the album’s generally acknowledged bad production. I’ve never been a Replacements fan, so I’m not equipped to argue whether the songs are on par with their more beloved works or not, but I’m scratching my head at the moment, asking myself if I own any records with songs that I believe are “fantastic” despite production that I don’t like. If I like the production of an album I feel fit to judge the quality of the songwriting, however if I really don’t like the production of a record I don’t have a clue as to how to judge the songwriting.

I’m reminded of the thing people say about flawed films that have “great scripts.” Do these people get a copy of the script handed to them when they sit down to watch a film? Why can’t I ever tell anyone about the “great script” behind a poorly made film? I know a lot more about music than I do film, but I wonder: Am I so tied to the sound of records that I can’t tell if the song itself is actually good? How about you?

If you have examples of fantastic songwriting smothered by production you can’t stand (as opposed to lo-fi production, for instance, that you may like despite it being considered technically deficient), I’d love to hear them. Most importantly, for my growth as a human being, I’d like to hear how you managed to discern the nuggets of nutrition within the aural turds.

I look forward to your comments!

You’re fired! I quit! Music Fans Lose!

Posted by mrclean

Aug 112009

I was disappointed to hear that Jesse Sandoval, the drummer from The Shins, was in his words “fired” from the band. He tells his side of the story in an article in the Portland Mercury. While he seems to have a bit of a complicated relationship with band leader James Mercer, I’m in agreement he was fired in a not-so-professional way. I’m sure it was awkward for all involved but still call it what it is and forget the “…I’m going in a different direction” statements.

I particularly like Sandoval’s drumming. Admittedly it was quirky but I think it added interest to what might have been some otherwise average indie rock songs. I’m not sure what Mercer will do next or what it might sound like but it will be missing the unique combination of his Shins bandmates and Sandoval’s drumming.

So the question is What are some other bands that lost players, either fired or quit, that ruined the “magic?” Can we say David Lee Roth out of Van Halen? Eno out of Roxy Music (maybe not)? Can you offer some suggestions?

Hear Factor, deux: Six Newish Bands I Love but Rarely Talk About on RTH

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 102009

One of the unfortunate things about our first mix for Hear Factor, deux is that the title our anonymous contributor gave this mix no longer refers to “newish” bands but bands that were once “newish” about 6 months ago. At least that would be the case if the concept of “newish” was being thrown around on a rock discussion blog where people actually try to keep up with what’s new. For better or for worse, when we get right down to it, this mix is still a collection of six newish bands that its contributor loves but rarely talks about on RTH. Better late than never, Rock Town Hall! Let’s see if you have the stones to download the following .zip file and spin these songs and these songs only for the next 3 days!

Six Newish Bands I Love but Rarely Talk About on RTH (~60 MB)

I summon Andyr to listen to this disc, which was artfully designed to offend his sensibilities.

Prolific Artists of Original Material Whom You Nevertheless Count a Cover Song Among Said Artist’s Top 5 Recordings

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 102009

How’s that subject line for a mouthful? Neil Young‘s cover of “Oh Lonesome Me,” written by country artist Don Gibson, came on my iPod today, and I realized that among all the Neil Young-composed songs I love, his cover of “Oh Lonesome Me” is among my Top 5 Neil Young Recordings. Excluding artists I really don’t care for who happen to have a cover song that I do like (eg, REM and their cover of “Superman”) and producer-driven artists, like my favorite Motown and Stax musicians, who may have done some writing themselves but just as likely sang songs crafted by other writers, I didn’t immediately come up with another artist I like who fit this criterion for me. Elvis Costello, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones, for instance, have recorded their share of choice covers, but none of them makes my Top 5 for that artist. I’m sure I would have credited a Led Zeppelin cover, but they preferred to steal songs by other artists rather than cover them.

How about you, is there a prolific artists of original material for whom a cover song ranks among your Top 5 recordings by said artist?

Hear Factor, deux…Finally!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 082009

Rock Town Hall, I asked you if you wanted a repeat of Hear Factor, the bold experiment in which Townspeople prepared mix CDs of challenging music they liked for me to distribute to other Townspeople who might feel especially challenged by each mix CD. Each Townsperson swore to listen to nothing but that CD for the next 3 days. They then reported their experiences to the Hall, at which time fellow Townspeople chimed in with their thoughts on the mix. It was pretty great, wasn’t it?

As I said, I asked if you wanted a repeat, and there was resounding YES! followed by prompt submission of a second round of challenging mix CDs. You guys were aces; I fell down on the job! The CDs hit just as I entered a pretty hellish stretch in work. I was traveling a lot and didn’t get to the post office in a timely fashion to distribute the CDs. Then I didn’t get there at all and started hearing from a few of you, you know, like getting shit. I deserved it, but I still held out on doing what I’d suggested we do once again. Sad.
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