What’s on your mind?
Jan 242008
Jan 232008
Cool shades!
Shades are supposed to be cool, right? Often enough in life and film they are cool. Because of this, one might think that shades in rock ‘n roll would be Super Cool, but how often do shades fail miserably in the context of rock ‘n roll?
Ugh!
Great rock ‘n roll shades make me think of The Velvet Underground and the shots of Brian Jones in big, Sofia Loren-style shades and Keith Richards tuning up in round shades in the gatefold photos of Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass). Dylan knew his way around a pair of shades. Inscrutable. Vicious. Cool.
There but for the grace of shades goes Bill Medley.
The mystery-inducing quality of shades is best represented by Roy Orbison. The shades alone made Orbison, maybe rock’s earliest rock star lacking any natural sex appeal beyond his voice, cool. Without the shades he’s like the big, deep-voiced guy in The Righteous Brothers, Bill Medley – great voice, sure, but nowhere near cool.
Before we move on, let’s look within. Musicians, surely you’ve tried taking the stage wearing shades. Has it ever been even halfway as cool as you’d imagined it would be? I bet not. Never has been for me. The lifestyle commitment is huge. You can’t just decide to wear shades one night and come off looking Super Cool. In fact, I’d bet that statistics would prove that it’s almost guaranteed that your big idea of playing a gig in shades will result in a lousy, disappointing show. Beware. Lord knows how many gigs the rare shaded greats had to play in shades before they got it right. Even then, a number of factors can conspire toward killing this seemingly foolproof fashion statement.
Jan 232008
(Gulp)
I’ll keep this simple: What songs make you cry? I don’t mean a full-on blubber; that shit is hard for dudes. I’ll settle for tunes that fairly consistently make you feel like you might, any second now, bust out into a good sobfest.
I don’t mind sharing: I had the iTunes on shuffle today and heard “Back To Living Again”, from Curtis Mayfield‘s final album, New World Order. Man, did I come close to losing my manly Cry Composure!
Yeah, I admit that I, Mr. Backstory-Is-Bullshit Man, was nearly felled by the notion that Curtis recorded this number while flat on his back, having to record each line individually because he was paralyzed from the neck down. I mean, just… well, God — just listen to those words. What a capstone to a 35-year career of (to steal from Mayfield fanboy Paul Weller) “upfullness.” The dude had been confined to a bed, paralyzed for 7 years. A year later, he’d have a leg amputated due to complications from diabetes, and a year after that, he’d be dead. And in the middle of all that, “Back To Living Again” is what Curtis had to say.
Shit!
But I gotta tell you, the thing that gets me every time is Aretha Franklin‘s performance. She adored Curtis Mayfield, and I swear you can hear it in her brief cameo at the end there. Shit!
RIP, Curtis Mayfield.
(Gulp)
So anyway — what songs make you cry?
HVB
Jan 222008
Seriously, is it worth investing in a Suzi Quatro Greatest Hits? Whenever I revisit her stuff I like it much more than a lot of other “girl power” artists from the ’70s forward. Similar to my question regarding The Mars Volta, is this mainly a result of my having revisited her music via YouTube clips? Or is it that bass she’s playing? Or the matching leather jumpsuits worn by her bandmates? Or the ‘luded out audience? Fascinating.
Jan 212008
Rejected by all right-thinking Americans
There are lots of pop artists out there that I’m supposed to like but don’t — and the ratio of pop idols I’m supposed to like versus pop idols I actually like diminishes with each year I advance in decrepitude.
On a recent outing to my favorite Bolivian restaurant, the correctness of my convictions about 1970s/’80s global megastars Boney M was soundly confirmed. That’s because I finally witnessed Boney M in concert, on the big screen usually reserved for soccer matches, while wolfing down my stew. These guys are the perfect distillation of everything that makes me sometimes think the rest of the world — but particularly Germany — is out of its fucking tree. This is what I saw:
Just wanted to make sure you all knew that it’s not like I’ve gone all Euro on you or anything. America still kicks the most ass!
HVB, Super-Patriot
p.s.: I still dig that Kylie song, though.
Jan 212008
Fans of the Velvet Underground, how many buzzkill moments does the crowd of VU hangers-on provide in the following, brief clip?
What’s the most egregious buzzkill moment? The most subtle? At rough count, I believe there’s almost 1 buzzkill for every 2 seconds of the 67-second clip.
Or have you had your B12 shot and find this aspect of the performance by The Exploding Plastic Inevitable to be a further turn on?
No B12 for me. It goes without saying that stuff like this makes me long for… Continue reading »
Jan 212008
There are lots of pop artists out there that I’m supposed to like but don’t — and the ratio of pop idols I’m supposed to like versus pop idols I actually like diminishes with each year I advance in decrepitude.
However! While on my recent holidays in Uruguay, I rediscovered a global superstar I had long since tossed on the cultural garbage pile, and discovered that I liked her! In fact, I don’t just like this new, mysteriously improved Kylie Minogue — I really like her. And not just because of the INCREDIBLY HOT cat-suit she prances around in, or the panty flash we get at 1:50 into the above video. No, I actually really like this song of hers. Yeah, it’s derivative. Yeah, there’s nothing new here. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don’t care. I love this song!
HVB
