Sleater-Kinney…But For That Voice

 Posted by
Jun 232009
 


Sleater-Kinney came up on the iPod today, and once again I had the same internal conflict that arises every time I hear them. I love the guitar playing, the songs, the drumming, the arrangements, the production, the guitar tones, and the overall sound. Plus, I love rooting for an underdog so a three-chick rock band with no bassist holding their own in a dude-heavy genre appeals to me. But I just can’t seem to make my peace with that voice.

On the old RTH, I recall someone suggesting that the reason some of us couldn’t handle the voice was because we were uncomfortable with strong women or some such nonsense. But I don’t think that’s the case. The voice sounds like Geddy Lee’s shrill younger sister to me. And I can’t stand his voice either.

I’m not giving up on them just yet because the good is really good, and I’m hoping this is one of those acquired taste things. But I’m not optimistic that I will be able to get over the hump on this.

Does anybody else have a band/artist that is otherwise perfect for them, but for a huge and possibly deal-breaking flaw?

As an aside, there’s also a great Last Man Standing here: Intra-band hook ups. Hell, Grace Slick could keep that going for weeks. SK would have been my trump card.

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Rock’s Questionable Fashion Choices: The Hat

 Posted by
Jun 222009
 

Early Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band may be among the the only rock musicians in to make the hat work for them on stage and in publicity shots. The Specials are the only other band that come to mind from the highly scientific top of my head. Am I missing someone obvious? Most of the hat-wearing rock musicans I can think of look silly: all those truck driver chic sorts from Brooklyn and other non-farming communities in high-resting John Deer caps; anyone who’s tried rocking a baseball cap on stage; rockers in cowboy hats (which work quite well on actual country musicians); the guy from Modest Mouse in his G.I. Joe cap… The beret is inherently silly looking, so Dr. John and Mink DeVille look as silly as anyone else who’s ever worn a beret.

With the hat’s rich tradition in blues, country, soul, jazz, and other building blocks of rock ‘n roll, it’s a wonder the hat hasn’t fared better in rock. For a rock musician to look good in a hat, is it necessary that the musician is playing a hat-appropriate form of rock ‘n roll, such as ska or horn-fueled R&B-based rock? Note how the E Street Band dropped the hats once they moved past their early horn-fueled era.

As a side thought, is it a coincidence that country music’s most rock-friendly musician, Johnny Cash, didn’t wear a hat?

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Happy Father’s Day!

 Posted by
Jun 202009
 


What is the best father-related song, anyhow – totatlly negative ones like “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” excluded? “Daddy’s Home” is the first that comes to mind for me. I liked this John Hiatt song as well, but man does that guy possess a troubling Look!

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Alternate Beatles Butcher Cover Found!

 Posted by
Jun 202009
 

Courtesy of Townsman cherguevarra. News of this astounding find was first posted within a recent All-Star Jam. I knew you wouldn’t want to miss it. An alternate Beatles “Butcher Cover” has been found in among a private collection of Beatles memorabilia in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Check it out…after the jump!
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Thoughts Immediately Following the Conclusion of a Very Enjoyable Birthday

 Posted by
Jun 202009
 


A couple of thoughts and questions in the minutes following a very enjoyable birthday:

  • Please explain the psycho-drama that ensues at the 2:25 mark of this video.
  • Is there a better “yolk” in rock than Bjork’s?
  • Were you surprised that the second song in this clip was not actually a continuation of the first song?
  • Is the guy at the 2:46 mark contemplating Bjork’s yolk or the psycho-drama of the guy in the powder blue ruffled shirt?
  • Is the guitarist’s Look the logical step after Rick Nielsen or the inspiration for Ali G?
  • Is the “ax man” joke funnier in Icelandic?
  • At the 5:13 mark a guy in the audience can be seen yelping in unison with Bjork. Is that a common practice at her concerts to this day, the way audience members sing along to, say, Tom Petty’s “Breakdown?”
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Rock Town Hall Sounds of Summer, Volume 1

 Posted by
Jun 192009
 

About 6 months ago now I started a thread that was a lot of fun. It was The Rock Town Hall Christmas Record. Participating in that heated debate was a good way for a newbie like me to get to know all the visitors to RTH, and it produced a tangible result; nothing less than the greatest Christmas record ever (not)made!

Over the past 6 months I have resisted the temptation to stretch this format to Valentine’s Day, Groundhog Day, Arbor Day, MLK Day, Independence Day, or even my home country’s beloved “May Two-Four”, Victoria Day.

But here we are, hours before the official start of Summer. The time is right. The season is right. I summon the collective genius that voted, no insisted, that “Christmas In Suburbia” by Martin Newell secure its place underneath our trees. The genius that would happily hear “Jesus Christ” by Big Star with rum and egg-nog. That wouldn’t dare tie a bow before they heard “Christmas Wrapping” by The Waitresses. I summon this collective brain to produce

The Rock Town Hall Sounds of Summer, Volume 1.

The Rock Town Hall Sounds of Summer is the 15 greatest songs about Rock and Roll’s rightful season. Spring is for sissies. Girls wear too many clothes in The Fall. I’m Canadian…don’t even talk to me about Winter. Only Summer truly Rocks.

You know the format. Nominate a song. When another Rock Town Hall member seconds that song, it’s in!

To kick things off, I nominate “School’s Out” by Alice Cooper

Is it just me, or is it getting Hot In Herre?

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