Just in case Rock Town Hall ever has the opportunity to organize a party, I’m curious to see how much room we’ll need on the dance floor. Please don’t be shy about answering any of the following questions.
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Nov 182008
Nov 172008
When I was college, I experienced the wonderful realization that — with a little effort — I could actually write songs. Not great ones, but songs that were occasionally not half bad. Catalyzed by my encounters with The Jam’s All Mod Cons, Townsmen kcills, Mod, and a few other personal and professional icons of the pop/punk ideal, I began doing this in my spare time, forming a band as so many around me were doing.
One of the groups that convinced me it was possible for mere mortals to write pleasing, interesting music was the dB’s. Their Repercussions album is still on my short list of “One Day the World Will Wake Up and Celebrate This LP and the Band That Made It” discs — and it’s one of the reasons why, when I met Chris Stamey a few years ago, the first thing I blurted out was, “you’re a National Cultural Treasure.”
Anyhow, as a hopeful collegiate songwriter, the one song that rose to the top for me — across all the Great Bands I was soaking up in those impressionable years — was “Neverland” by the dB’s. I thought then, and continue to think today, that it’s the Perfect Pop Song. And the spot (at 2:27 in this newly discovered video) when Gene Holder shoots up the neck to the tonic is one of those shudder-inducing “wait for it” moments that make musical life worth living.
I defy you to find anything wrong with this song. I even dare you to tell me this 26-year-old song sounds dated. You can’t. You just can’t.
HVB
p.s.: per Mod’s request, I add — do you agree, or ARE YOU AN ASSHOLE?
Nov 172008
Simple topic: Of all the songs about athletes, which is the best?
Early vote is pictured above: “Boom Boom Mancini” by Warren Zevon.
Nov 172008
“Spot light on talent, baby!”
Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler never tires of reaffirmations of his band’s popularity.
Nov 162008
As mentioned on Friday, I have a few worthwhile covers from the 1997 Bond theme tribute album Shaken and Stirred to share with you all. This album was produced and masterminded by film composer David Arnold, who has since gone on to score for every Bond film from Tomorrow Never Dies onward. (According to Wikipedia, John Barry, upon hearing this album, recommended Arnold for the job.)
First up, as promised, is a swell version of “Thunderball” sung by ABC’s Martin Fry, who proves here that fops can have a manly swagger of their own.
Next, we have a rendition of “Nobody Does It Better” from Aimee Mann, aided and abetted by Jon Brion, as was often the case in those halcyon days. This track is a pretty wild collision of the Mann/Brion aesthetic with the electronic leanings of Arnold, who has some Bjork credits in his background.
Aimee Mann, “Nobody Does It Better”
Finally, a track that is obviously close to my heart, Pulp‘s “All Time High.” As I see it, Jarvis Cocker decided to sing this song in the guise of James Bond as an aging, dissolute, has-been drunk pleading some sweet young thing for her time. He has no intention of really taking this relationship beyond a one-night stand, but he’s so suddenly committed to the task at hand — a task that was once effortless — that he finds himself really meaning the things he’s saying, in spite of himself. Incidentally, Cocker maintains this persona on much of Pulp’s album of ’97, This Is Hardcore.
Nov 152008
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If you need to open your mouth this is the place to do it.
Nov 152008
You tell me.
