Here we go again. “Mikey hates everything,” blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Shove it. That’s just you being all “Conventional Wisdom” and shit.
My man sammy hipped me to his Mystery Date and I gotta say, this time Conventional Wisdom’s gonna take it in the two-hole.
Those two tracks were from perhaps the most viciously maligned rock album of all times: Squeeze by “The Velvet Underground.”
Hell with that old guy.
I frequently run into people outside the confines of Rock Town Hall who know of us, have heard something about what we do, and want to talk to me about what they imagine takes place here. It’s kind of funny. It’s not like any one of these folks can’t log onto our site and see for themselves, but I won’t complain about any degree of interest people might have.
It is funny what people sometimes assume goes on here:
Actually, the answer to these and other questions is “No.”
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As promised, following Townsman Saturnismine’s mention of The Original Sins‘ cover of Music Machine’s “Sunshine Games” on their Acid Bubblepunk album, featuring our very own Townsman Sethro on drums…
The Original Sins, “Sunshine Games”
As an added bonus, here’s the leadoff track from the album.
The Original Sins, “Almost Everything”
Not everything old and outdated is worth revisiting – and even some things old and outdated are worth admiring, if not bringing back. There’s much I admire in the following King Crimson performance from 1973.
Let’s start with John Wetton’s Look. His hair and sideburns are perfect! Why can’t someone in a critically acclaimed band I’m supposed to love, like Wilco or White Stripes have hair like that? I also dig his floppy jacket and the excusable fashion faux pas of wearing his own band’s t-shirt onstage. Someone had to be the frontman for this nearly amelodic, seemingly asexual collective. Wetton lays it on the line.
Bill Bruford‘s sporting some good ‘burns himself, although they’re not quite matched. The right sideburn seems to be coming out further and it not as thick. That’s OK. As you’ll see toward the end of this clip, it’s not a tank top he’s wearing but some kind of stylized overall/jumpsuit. I guess lots of drummers don’t bother dressing up because they don’t get to jump off their throne and bang a rack of gongs.
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Wow, I just caught the final minutes of Conan O’Brien’s first show back since the writer’s strike, and I thought the shock of seeing a Bearded Conan was all my heart could handle. Then he introduced Robert Gordon and Chris Spedding, who were supporting some Elvis Presley tribute album they have out.
Here are Gordon and Spedding in their late-70s would-be glory, when the likes of a young Townsman db surely was scouring the back corners of cool record stores in hopes of uncovering such a proto-retro gem. I love how Spedding played a Flying V. A few years after this point, no self-respecting retro-geek would play an anachronistic ax.
Beside some excellent gray hair, Spedding looked almost exactly the same on Conan. Gordon looked as different as some of us now look. He still sounded good. Here’s an old Spedding clip from Top of the Pops. Where are all those cheap copies of Spedding and Gordon records I passed up way back when?
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Happy New Year, Rock Town Hall!
Before I share my burdens with you in the coming year, I thought I’d butter you up with a few tracks that have been rocking my world the last few weeks. Perhaps you know them. Perhaps you don’t. My hope is they will find a place in your heart over the coming days and buy me a little favor with you in the coming months.
Here’s a track that I believe fits Mr. Mod’s recently stated preference for productions that don’t shoehorn the listener into one point of view, or hear, as the case may be. It’s too bad the album from which this track appears, New Picnic Time, is easily written off as the beginning of Pere Ubu’s walk down David Thomas’ more impressionistic side. Certainly it has its moments hinting at the shapes of things to come, but tracks like this one rock in a way few have ever rocked.
Pere Ubu, “49 Guitars & One Girl”
Talk about musicians headed for a walk on the impressionistic side, Captain Beefheart quickly abandoned his garage-rock foundation shortly following Safe as Milk. This 1966 demo, from the Grow Fins box set, is nice to have around.
Captain Beefheart, “Just Got Back from the City” (1966 Demo)
Finally, this track reminds me of the childhood joys of eating sugar-loaded breakfast cereals.
Music Explosion, “Sunshine Games”
