Rock Town Hall • Rock Music Discussion

Monday, Monday! Rock Town Hall Opens “Rock and Roll Foyer of Fame,” Announces Bob Seger and Steve Miller as First Inductees and Winners of Partial Lifetime Achievement Awards

Mar 102008

March 9, 2008, Frankfort, KY – Popular music discussion blog Rock Town Hall announced today that its “Foyer of Fame” – a virtual counterpart to the more famous (though arguably no more relevant) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum – was now “open for business.” In addition, Rock Town Hall revealed that on Monday, March 10, beginning at 8:30 PM EST, the Foyer will induct Bob Seger and Steve Miller as its first two members.

The two thoroughly average rockers will be inducted in special ceremonies befitting their status. Bob Seger’s name will be permanently etched into the tin-plated walls as the Foyer’s charter member, and subsequently, Steve Miller will become the first winner of Seger’s namesake Annual Partial Lifetime Achievement Award and Chili Cookoff.

ADDED: Schedule of Events follows!
Continue reading »

Daltrey’s Not Gonna Take It, Demands Entry to Rock Town Hall’s Foyer of Fame

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 102008

Roger Daltrey, lead singer for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees The Who has voiced displeasure over being bypassed as an inaugural inductee to the Rock Town Hall Rock and Roll Foyer of Fame. “My body of work as a solo artist speaks for itself,” says Daltrey in a leaked message slated to appear on a popular fan site in his honor.

The message to fans of his solo works continues.

“Following my success as cowriter of ‘Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere’, my songwriting contributions to The Who often went uncredited. Even those songs for which I was credited as a songwriter, such as ‘Someone’s Coming’ and ‘Don’t Look Away’ were relagated to ‘deep cuts,’ while strong tracks like ‘Early Morning Cold Taxi’ were altogether left behind for archivists and bonus cuts on future reissues. Take a listen, Rock Town Hall, if these tracks didn’t show ‘early promise,’ then your idea of promise ain’t worth keeping!”

An Open Interview Originally Intended for the Curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 102008

They’ve got Madonna

We don’t want to overlook the significance of tonight’s competing celebration of lifetime achievements in rock, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum‘s induction of Madonna, Leonard Cohen, Gamble and Huff, Dave Clark 5, and Little Walter into its sacred halls. Months ago, we contacted an old friend, who’s long been the curator of the Hall in Cleveland for a behind-the-scenes look at this museum. Our friend is a humble, self-effacing man who was very busy back then and continues to be very busy today. To our mutual regret, he was unable to find the time to answer our questions in time for tonight’s ceremony, but there’s no reason why the questions should go to waste. As a tribute to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, I will invite our very own Townspeople to answer these questions in our friend’s stead. Perhaps when our friend has the time, he’ll jump in and provide his own answers.

Let’s get to the questions!
Continue reading »

Don’t Go There! Your Guide for Maintaining Partial Appreciation for Bob Seger and Steve Miller

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 102008

As we reflect on the partial lifetime achievements by rock and roll artists Bob Seger and Steve Miller tonight (live coverage from Frankfort, KY on Rock Town Hall beginning at 8:30 PM EST), we might feel ourselves distracted from appropriate thoughts of thanks and praise and, instead, retreat to our typically cynical views on these artists. That’s fine for tomorrow and the days that follow, but today is their day! For just this day, let’s give these artists few minutes of our warmest RTH thoughts, as they long ago gave us a few minutes of their most ambitious artistic efforts.

To help you maintain partial appreciation for these artists over the course of the day, we have prepared a simple, 2-step guide. For the couple of minutes it should take you to work through this guide, you will be rewarded with at least twice that many minutes of back catalog riches. Let’s begin…

Endless Summer or Inevitable Bummer?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 092008

Let’s take all psychiatric illnesses out of the equation. Let’s say The Beach Boys had been able to continue making records with Brian Wilson operating at the mental faculties he’d had in play through Pet Sounds. Let’s say Mike Love‘s geeky side didn’t develop into a full-blown annoyance and Hal Blaine continued drumming for Dennis Wilson. Let’s say Carl was allowed to be simply Carl, with no expectations to pick up the slack for Brian. Let’s say John Stamos never began showing up onstage with the band. How much more gas was left in The Beach Boys’ tank?

Do the dozen charming, humble numbers in the years that followed Pet Sounds and the “Good Vibrations” single point toward any further musical growth, or would the band, even in the best of circumstances, have peaked no later than they did, carrying on for however long like any number of great rock ‘n roll bands that had worked their magic for all it was worth (eg, The Rolling Stones), or would they have found a higher plane yet given their musical abilities and songwriting palette?

Dugout Chatter: The Greater Antilles Sampler Edition

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 072008

Last night I pulled out an old, 1976 Antilles Records sampler that was stashed in an odds and ends bin in my record collection. I remember buying this album long ago for a dollar or less because it was bookended by a Nick Drake song at the beginning (at that time I had not pulled the trigger on buying anything by him) and a Portsmouth Sinfonia track, a legendary Eno-produced conglomeration of art rockers playing instruments foreign to them, at the end. I liked the Drake tune and would go on to buy a sampler collection culled from his 3 albums that still does the trick for me. The Portsmouth Sinfonia thing was a one-trick pony of an artsy-fartsy joke. I’d been involved in funnier one-off art rocker jokes with my friend and fellow Townsman, General Slocum.

Truth in advertising

After not spinning this record for at least 10 years, I was determined last night to dig into the sampler’s midsection. This weekend’s Dugout Chatter is structured around a handful of this collection’s guts, so to speak. After listening to each track, please respond to the corresponding question. As always, your gut response is what we value! The songs and questions follow the jump.
Continue reading »

They Called It Rock…Do We Still?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 072008

This topic for discussion might reek of Rockism like no topic that’s ever crossed my mind, but I suspect I’m not the only person to have thought the following – and even if I am I suspect someone will get outwardly annoyed that I’ve considered these thoughts, leading to another action-packed day in the Halls of Rock: Continue reading »

Older Entries Newer Entries