The proof is in the pudding.
Does anyone else remember this scene with a mix of fondness and horror? Musicians, do you recall your own Terry and The Idiots moment?
Oct 312007
Oct 312007
Got a band you think is downright scary-lookin’? Find us a video to prove it! For now, I submit the following:
Oct 312007
Townsman, please explain to me why, based on the random samplings I’ve heard of Judas Priest’s music since their late-70s prime, they have always struck me as the best of the second-generation, barely blues-based Heavy Metal bands. Last night I was watching a VH-1 documentary on the making of their breakthrough album, British Steel, I think it’s called. I remembered a lot of those songs, and the album tracks had their merits too, even while I sniggered through the more Spinal Tap elements. This morning, while eating breakfast and catching some pre-work tube, VH-1 broadcast some cheesy response to Billy Idol called “Turbo Lover”. Even that song was better than the second-generation heavy metal (and Hair Metal) competition. You know more about this band than I do. Please explain what I’m feeling. Thanks.
Oct 312007
What rock flick do you most wish you’d seen while it was in the theaters?
A simple enough question, no? I never got around to catching Rust Never Sleeps while it was on the big screen. I bought the album upon its release and dig it to this day, but I never made that extra effort to see the film. Likewise, I wanted to see that Neil Young concert film from a couple of years ago, the one with him being an old guy and contemplating death alongside his Harvest bandmates. That sounded real touching, but I never even made the effort to rent it.
The thing is, I don’t know if I care to rent these films. I like watching rock films on the big screen, with the occasional whiff of some dude’s joint wafting up from the back row. How about you? Is there a rock flick you regret missing while it was in theaters? A rock flick that played in theaters long before you’d come of age?
While you’re hard at work on your answer, for those of you who’ve seen Rust Never Sleeps on the big screen, did I miss anything?
Oct 312007
Happy Halloween.
Oct 302007
You might be thinking this is yet another excuse for Mr. Mod to dig Clapton’s Look, especially in contrast with his ugly bandmates, but I’d really like to learn more – from a drummer’s perspective – about what exactly highly touted drummer Ginger Baker brought to the table. Here’s one of the first songs I ever heard by Cream.
For the 37 or so years I’ve been conscious of (and liked) this song, all I’ve ever thought about when considering the drum part is the monstrous, clodhopper fill that Baker seems to play in an endless loop. Is there a drummer in the house who can explain the degree of difficulty of this one fill? Are you drummers hearing anything else from the drums that impresses you in any way? Is Baker’s part supporting the song in a manner you could help me better understand?
Here’s another well-known Cream track, but this time with Baker leading his own band, Ginger Baker’s Airforce.
With the horns punching out the key beats, does it even matter that Baker sounds like he’s doing nothing more than rolling around the toms while keeping that counter-rhythm pulse? He does open things up a bit during the first horn solo, but then, with the clock counting down to 10:28 and the the chorus part of the music coming back in, Baker reverts to those thunderous paradiddles that seem to be what he lives for. Go to the 5:03-mark, when the band is into its next song, for some more of the intense tom-tom fills that give Baker’s life meaning!
Drummers, when you were young and learning your craft, did you take anything special out of the lessons set by Mr. Baker?
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Oct 302007
Amazing coincidence.
