Hear Factor Submissions Arriving!

 Posted by
Apr 112007
 

Townspeople,

Just wanted to let you know that Hear Factor submissions are arriving, and so far, so great! I am seeing opportunities for inappropriate mix CD swaps and commentary. Stay tuned for the first mailing, probably early next week! The plan is to stagger the swaps, so that Townspeople can focus on one set of swap diaries at a time. Once packages are received and each 3-day listening period gets underway, I’ll post the mixes under review for us to sample and chime in on along with the swappers.

For those of you who missed the initial discussion of this upcoming Hear Factor experience, I heartily encourage you to click here.

Finally, while I have you here – and for any newcomers to the Halls of Rock, I want to remind you that This Is Your Rock Town Hall. The crack staff that keeps this machine oiled is only so capable of entertaining you and, more importantly, ourselves. Your contributions, whether through the Comments field for each post, the free-form Comments section for each day’s All-Star Jam, or submissions of original threads to the Main Stage, are what make this place tick. Sit back and enjoy the show all you want, but don’t hesitate to get up and join the fray. It’s good for the circulation. If you would like to submit original material, please write jim [at] groovedisques [dot] com. I’m sure you know the math regarding the process for stringing that into an actual e-mail address. Thanks!

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Barry Andrews Helps Andy Partridge Complete Something, Anything!

 Posted by
Apr 102007
 

After having gotten tired of waiting for Andy Partridge’s collaborations with Robert Schneider, Robyn Hitchcock, Robert Pollard, and Robben Ford to see the light of day, I’d lost interest in waiting for Partridge to ever do anything but whine about his latest health issue and Colin Moulding‘s retirement from music making, signalling the likely end of XTC. Today, however, I read about Monstrance, an improvised collaboration with Partridge, former XTC organist (and Shreikback leader) Barry Andrews, and a former Shreikback drummer. You can read an interview with Partridge here, and sample a track from the album here. The one track for sampling reminds me of the mellower bits of Miles Davis Bitches Brew-era stuff. It’s something tangible for us XTC diehards.

I believe you can purchase this album through Amazon – a portal to which we link to below.

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Rock Crime: REM’s “Losing My Religion” Video

 Posted by
Apr 092007
 

Do we try over spilt milk?

The last thing I want to do is make this into a pile-on session on the pride of the American ’80s underground, REM. If you’ll recall, some Townspeople already had the opportunity to do this when the band we inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame some weeks ago.

We are not here to indict the recording career of REM, Mike Mills’ shocking switch to the Nudie suit and unkempt hair Look, or even Michael Stipe’s overall Look portfolio. Today, there’s but one Rock Crime for which REM must answer: the video for “Losing My Religion”. Love the song itself or hate it – and surely there are many on each side of that fence – it is solely the 1991 MTV Music Awards‘ Best Video of the Year, directed by Tarsem Singh, that is accused of high crimes against rock.

If you were anywhere near a tv in the early ’90s, surely you’re all-too-familiar with this video. There’s the religious imagery and obvious hints at the framing of famous photographers’ works as well as the works of Caravaggio. There’s tho whole Soviet poster art/salt of the earth imagery: large-nosed, honest folk with stubble and somber faces, looking off into the distance or, briefly, directly at you, the viewer of these important messages from a singer who’d already made a career of mumbling nonsensical lyrics to cover for his near-crippling introversion. Jeez, does anyone look like they’re having a good time in this video?
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Pass it On or Walk on By?

 Posted by
Apr 092007
 


If you could dictate what in the music of artists you love would influence the music of future generations, what elements of their sound would you pass along and what elements would you hope future musicians would bypass? Try these examples on for size and then assign the next Townsperson ready to participate a band you love and the characteristic parts of their sound for them to determine future use.

Pass it On or Walk on By?

The Beach Boys

  • Surf- and Chuck Berry-inspired, rockin’ teen anthems
  • Teenage symphonies to God
  • Cut-and-paste experiments in American harmony and Van Dyke Parks imagery

The Rolling Stones

  • Concise, driving, twin-guitar rants
  • Sprawling blues-rock explorations of sex and tax evasion
  • Ron-Wood era motivation for Jagger-Richards healing and world tour

The Clash

  • Rabble-rousing punk anthems, ripped from the headlines
  • Ecclectic, sprawling, politically charged mix that sounds ripped from the headlines
  • Would-be rabble-rousing punk anthems, ripped from the headlines, with hints of ecclectic sprawl

Clear enough? To review, 1) you answer at least one of the following choices, then you leave a choice for the next Townsperson to answer. Enjoy!

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