Rock Town Hall • Rock Music Discussion

Song of the Year: Taylor Swift VS. The World

Dec 302014

The State of Pop Music in 2014

Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate…

There is no debate this year. The title says it all. Sure, it would be fun to have another silly “Song of The Year” competition but little else from the pop world came close to matching the sales and ubiquity of Taylor Swift’s music in 2014. Her album 1989 was the only album to sell over a million copies in it’s first week of release. The last album to do that was Swift’s album Red in the fall of 2012. I’m sure the album sales were helped when her record company pulled her music from Spotify and other streaming services before the album’s release. Yet, in a singles driven market where kids get their music from individual downloads and streaming her album sales remain strong. I’m speculating it’s preteens and soccer moms moving the bulk of her units. Now, 5 albums into her career how does the Swift brand of the high school bedroom confessional anthem remain successful?

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A Holiday Gift for You All

Posted by hrrundivbakshi

Dec 252014

Rock & Roll Eruption

I had originally intended to solicit new comments from participants in The Greatest Rock Story Ever Told for this holiday season, but, you know, life got in the way. Toddlers.

Anyhow, I didn’t want this day to pass without a gift from me to you of some sort, so I present you with this piece of found Rock art, entitled “Rock and Roll Eruption.” I’m hoping it can spark some discussion. In fact, I’m hoping it will become the new, official Rock Town Hall Theme. It is clearly superior to the current one.

“Rock, I cannot understand you” — truer words have never been spoken.

Yours, etc.,

HVB

“Off-Brand” Rock

Posted by funoka

Dec 232014

I just bought tickets to go see The Pat Travers Band at our little suburban club in Vienna, VA. As teenager, I was into this stuff for a short period of time, and it will be a fun retro trip back for me and my fellow-Midwestern buddy. I remember buying his albums, other than his big live album, in the cutouts. He was on Polydor records in the late ’70s, and for some reason a lot of their artists ended up in the $2.99 bin as I recall.

Most of Pat’s music strikes me as just missing the hard rock mark for some reason I can’t put my finger on. Is it because it wasn’t drilled into my head on what became Classic Rock radio?

It’s “off-brand” rock—not quite up to Bad Company or Aerosmith at their best, and probably more than a few notches below. It reminds me of Tommy Bolin solo records or Robin Trower or UFO. Of course, I am probably thinking about this the wrong way—because these folks have their diehard fans, I just grew out of it. Anyway, I am kind of looking forward to seeing what Pat is up to at age 61.

Do you have any “off-brand” rock in your stacks that you listen to?

Kick Out the Jams, Joe Cocker!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Dec 222014

Sad to hear of Joe Cocker’s death. Thanks to my Uncle Joe, he was one of my first Rock Superheroes. Uncle Joe bought me the early Cocker albums, including the mind-blowing The Mad Dogs & The Englishman live album, in which the band members were given little sobriquets, like Leon Russell’s (I believe) unattainable title of “Master of Space and Time.” My uncle saw a tour after that album at the Spectrum and brought me home a huge button with the cover shot and a cardboard cutout of Cocker’s wild face on a stick. I wish I still have that face on a stick. I loved the way Cocker and his band simply KICKED IT OUT. Even his ballads were delivered with force. He will be missed in this age of the navel-gazing artists who sing like Confederate soldiers taking their last breath while holding their newborn sons. Cocker, who was not a songwriter, made the most of so many other artists’ works. Here’s my favorite by him, “Delta Lady.”

Joe Strummer and the Comforts of Commandment

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Dec 222014

As a stubborn, contrarian, authority-resisting teenager it was a joy to find The Clash and Joe Strummer, in particular, who immediately commanded my attention, respect, and, I’ll admit, idolatry. It was comforting to feel commanded. In my imagination, he was my rock ‘n roll big brother: pushing me, patting me on the back, whispering in my ear. He died this day in 2002. I truly regret never getting to sit down with him, but in some ways I felt like I did numerous times.

Please Don’t (Bring Me Edelweiss)

Posted by ladymisskirroyale

Dec 222014

In these dark days of winter, I thought sharing a special video could make the season just a bit more light-hearted and bearable. But then I found this, thanks to my brother’s Facebook page, and I couldn’t resist sharing it with you:

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such a horrible video. It makes classic 80’s low tech, big hair synth pop videos look positively regal. In it’s absolute ridiculousness, however, it attains a level of almost surrealistic meta..something.

Discuss.

Ignorance Can Be Bliss

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Dec 152014

What if a song you love in a foreign language you don’t understand at all has terrible lyrics? The other day I was listening to “Kungo Sogoni,” by a woman named Nâ Hawa Doumbia. I forget what country she’s from, but I’m pretty sure it’s a country where I wouldn’t be able to make out a word anyone’s saying. I occurred to me: I hope the song doesn’t contain a deal-breaking couplet, like “My love don’t give me presents/I know that she’s no peasant.”

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