She’s a man, man.
Oct 062007
Oct 052007
I just knew this sexy title was going to attract you to today’s Last Man Standing. I was listening to Lou Reed’s “Street Hassle” when the following line jumped out at me – but not for the obvious reason:
“She creamed in her jeans as he picked up her knees from off of the Formica top bar.”
It was the mere mention of Formica, that once-prevalent countertop material of my youth, that got me thinking about songs that refer to uniquely 20th century, post-WWII home goods made of industrial-fabricated-composite materials. I wish I could describe this better: it’s home goods stuff made out of fake materials. Not cars, not surfboards, not jet airliners (Happy birthday, Steve Miller!), but artificial, industrial-made home products that were distinctive of post-WWII American (and European, I suppose) homes: particular types of furniture materials come to mind, home construction materials (but not wood, for instance), wonder cleansers, you name it. There’s one rule (at least for starters): state the home goods material referred to along with the song title. I’ve given you Lou Reed’s “Street Hassle” and the reference to Formica.
The following clip is a hint at another song fitting this Last Man Standing game. Continue reading »
Oct 042007
I love cheese. I’ll eat almost any type of cheese, but I stop short at brie. I really don’t like that family of soft, runny cheeses. The texture is not pleasing. The taste is boring and even opposed to my sensory idea of enjoyment.
However, there’s a category between “like” and “don’t like”l I call it Swiss cheese. Among cheeses I eat, Swiss cheese is as distasteful and boring as it gets. A cheese any more distasteful and boring is a cheese I probably won’t like. I have taken to using the expression “the Swiss cheese of ________” to describe this feeling I have in various areas. For instance, Doris Day is my Swiss cheese of attractive women. Ham – you know, the ham sandwich type of ham – is my Swiss cheese of meats. It probably make a lot of sense that ham sandwiches often include Swiss cheese.
I have a Swiss cheese of rock: Seger. I wish I could lower my standards a bit more and say Mellencamp, but despite the fact that I can tolerate that guy, I never get a positive vibe from any song of his beside “Cherry Bomb” (I think that’s the title. Seger, on the other hand, is barely enjoyable in small doses.
What do you think? Who’s your Swiss cheese of rock?
I look forward to your responses.
Oct 042007
A few weeks back I was drafting a review of the latest release by The Mekons, Natural. You may have heard of this album. It’s their Led Zeppelin III, their back-to-nature, mostly acoustic, British-folk hoedown in which they’re presently touring in support of with stools and slightly exotic folk instruments in tow.
I had been featuring tracks like the charmingly rickety “Dickie, Chalkie and Nobby” and pretty “The Hope and The Anchor”. I had been trying to describe the rural punk-reggae of “Cockermouth”, thinking this album was an album only The Mekons could pull off. Then I received this note from Mr. Mod, who had caught site of my first draft and had already received a copy of the album in preparation for loading tracks onto the site:
Continue reading »
Oct 032007
Is there any former pop musician to have actually turned to Da Blooz (or some other pre-rock form of folk music) who makes less sense than Peter Tork? I just heard him call into one of our local sport-talk radio shows, in large part to promote his upcoming area show as a “Chicago Blues” act.
Which noted ’70s sideman made the best solo album?
What’s your favorite primarily instrumental soundtrack album by a rock ‘n roll artist?
Quick: Can you name 8 Beatles-related engineers who would go on to produce successful albums in their own right?
Outside of his organ part on “Like a Rolling Stone”, what’s your favorite Al Kooper moment?
Who’s your favorite musician in a band you otherwise can’t stand?
I look forward to your responses.
Oct 022007
DTANG!ANG!ANG!
Oct 022007
Quick question: Ever bought or listened to an album that made you feel like the artist was doing something akin to what our friend Mr. Gorilla is doing here? First person to say “Metal Machine Music” gets an RTH Gilded Lemming in recognition of his or her lack of effort.
I look forward to your responses.
HVB
