Rock Town Hall • Rock Music Discussion

Last Man Standing: British Terms First Learned Through Specific Rock Songs

Dec 172008

For those who won’t – who can’t – wave the white flag, this Last Man Standing has returned to The Main Stage!

I was listening to The Who’s “Magic Bus” the other day and it occurred to me that I first learned the word queue while grooving to this song. To this point, who knows how many British terms and slang I’d learned from The Beatles and The Stones, but I distinctly remember becoming aware of this queue word thanks to “Magic Bus”. I was probably 13 or 14. In coming years I’d learn many more British terms and slang through rock songs. I’m sure you did too. In this week’s Last Man Standing, I ask that you recount British terms/slang and the specific rock songs that first exposed you to these words. It’s all right if more than one of you were first exposed to the word lorry, for instance, by two different songs.

Townspeople from outside the US are welcome to share the converse, American expressions first learned through specific rock songs.

All-Star Jam

Posted by Gerry Todd

Dec 162008

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Talk amongst yourselves while I have a Paz attack.

NOW PLAYING

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Dec 162008

In rapid-fire style, Rock Town Hall wants to know what’s NOW PLAYING (or was most recently playing) as you read this post! How is it? Is there a story to tell? Would you recommend this to anyone? There’s not a minute to waste!

Have a Very Mary Christmas Townsfolk!

Posted by sammymaudlin

Dec 152008

I am not of the Christmas persuasion. Not really of any persuasion per se, but in watching the one holiday special that still moves me, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas of course, the spirit of the season moved me to create the following gift.

See how many of the following you can identify.

Mary Christmas!

UPDATED TRAINING WHEELS VERSION
Mary Christmas with Training Wheels

UPDATED UPDATED TRICYCLE VERSION
Tricycle Version

The Titanic of Winnipeg

Posted by northvancoveman

Dec 152008

Having crossed Canada several times and lived in half our provinces, I can tell the mostly American patrons of Rock Town Hall one thing for sure about rock and roll in Canada. While Ottawa may be our capital, we have a hands-down, undisputed capital of rock and roll: Winnipeg.

In Winnipeg you either play hockey, play in a band, or both. Neil Young grew up there, The Guess Who (also known in Canada as “The Prairie Beatles”) were all from The Peg, and more recent artists like Chantal Kreviazuk, Remy Shand, and Bif Naked all picked up and instrument and headed to the basement on cold winter nights.

Whatever you think of Winnipeg, and the reports are not all good, Peggers are extremely proud of their hometown and their is a bit of an island mentality to the place. The best way to illustrate this phenomenon, and the point of this post, is a movie called The Phantom of the Paradise.

The Phantom of the Paradise is a 1974 “comedy-horror-musical tragedy” from a young director named Brian de Palma. The movie is generally regarded (when it is regarded at all) as a precursor to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The movie flopped across the world and even in the rest of Canada. In Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary the film lasted a week and never returned. In Winnipeg, well…

Phantom is the biggest movie ever in Winnipeg. I first learned of this after three rocker friends of mine of a certain age referenced the movie constantly, as though it were The Godfather or Star Wars. They did not know that us non-Winnipegers did not know what the H-E-double hockey sticks they were talking about. I was sat down and forced to watch it. Better than I imagined, with a great soundtrack by Paul Williams. Of course, I didn’t like it enough to put on a massive party called “Phantompalooza,” like they do in Winnipeg every year. Oh yeah, pretty much the whole cast, including Paul Williams, attends this event. In case you’re wondering, this is not “hipper than though” digging on this movie; this is genuine love from people who were 8 to 12 years old when the movie hit.

I wonder, could this phenomenon happen in today’s Internet world? Probably not. Did it happen with another movie or record in your town? I am interested to hear…

Critical Upgrade: Zwan

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Dec 152008

In 2001, Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins drummer/sidekick Jimmy Chamberlain, and members of Slint, Tortoise, Chavez, Toto, and A Perfect Circle, and launched Zwan, a Tin Machine-like “this is a real band, mannnnnnn” supergroup. (OK, maybe no one from Toto was involved.) The band released one album, Mary Star of the Sea, in 2003, before breaking up.

To my ears, in limited exposure, Zwan sounded a lot like Smashing Pumpkins. To my eyes, the bassist was a notch hotter. Until now, I had no idea the band’s full name was initially True Poets of Zwan. That fact notwithstanding, is it time we revisit Zwan for consideration of a Critical Upgrade, wouldn’t you agree?
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Elvis Makes a Spectacle of Himself, Elton John, and Lou Reed

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Dec 142008

Hey, I finally got to watch the first two episodes of Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…, the new Sundance channel talk show, in which Elvis plays James Lipton to a legendary guest musician. I know some of you have been following this nascent show.

The first episode, with Elton John, was fantastic. The two immediately got down to musician-on-musician rock nerd talk, with Elton talking about being a young rock snob in England who thought it was cooler to buy American releases of records while his American counterparts were seeking the UK releases. There was little to no typical rock mythologizing about drug abuse, sexual escapades, and a career’s worth of landmark hair architecture. This was a music talk show for the few of us who got into this for reasons other than “meeting chicks.”
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