LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Heather Mills, estranged wife of former Beatle Paul McCartney, has joined the next group of celebrities who will strut their stuff on the ABC television hit “Dancing with the Stars,” the network said on Wednesday.
Kudos to the new agency that reported this for dropping the “Sir” and avoiding use of that horrible British nickname “Macca.”
Talk about what ever you want but for my 2 cents, these guys are The Monkees of the 70s, not KISS.
Townsman Trolleyvox hipped me to the following performance of a young Billy Preston doing a version of the song your Moderator believe best satisfies the objectives of rock ‘n roll:
That’s right, if you haven’t heard me on this already, I believe that no song better satisfies the objectives of rock ‘n roll than The Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction”. Every now and then I stumble across another version of this classic, and when I’m not dazzled by the outrageous treatment of the song (eg, both The Residents‘ and Devo‘s versions) or horribly offended (Cat Power‘s version), I’m usually about as unimpressed by versions such as Billy Preston’s as I am Otis Redding‘s version.
I know, I know, rock nerds – Mick and Keef wrote the song for Otis – but the black artists I’ve heard cover “Satisfaction” can’t get to the song’s cool and sly teenage rage. Otis belts it out like he’s expecting the exhaltation of a heavyweight boxer who’s gone the distance against The Champ. Here, Billy Preston just has fun with what the song has to offer. He’s satisfied. He’s not fooling me. Granted, those sorority girls who come out to dance in front of him and the band don’t help matters.
I can say that it’s a good thing the following dynamic duo is not documented having covered “Satisfaction”:
I love The Buzzcocks. I’ve loved them since the day in high school when I took a flyer on Singles Going Steady. The fast rush of that midrangey twin-guitar attack, Pete Shelley’s concise way with words…you know what I’m talking about. I will have to say, for a guy whose band has covered a handful of these songs over the years, I’ve always been a bit mystified by the role of drummer John Maher.
For years I thought he was the weak link in the band. Then, one night while standing precisely in the “sweet spot” of my drummer friend Townsman Sethro’s kick-ass stereo system, I began thinking that he was really great. Since then, I find myself creeping back to the thought that I’m not really thrilled about his drumming.
I’m certain of a few things:
To this last point, when we discussed the drumming of Bev Bevan a couple of weeks back, Townsman Andyr said something to the effect of “His fills are never memorable – they don’t make me want to play air drums.” Because of the pace of Maher’s drumming, I sometimes “play along,” but it’s more like the spastic hambone of a child with ADHD.
Over the years, I’ve come to the tentative conclusion that love him or not, John Maher’s drumming perfectly suited the music of The Buzzcocks, but could he have done better?
So I ask, is there a drummer in the house? And I ask whether any drummers in the house can more fully explain the merits of John Maher’s drumming in The Buzzcocks. I also ask whether I am correct in identifying some of his weaknesses. And, finally, I ask whether the music of The Buzzcocks could have been better supported by another type of drummer. Feel free to give it to me good, but responses along the lines of “Jesus Christ, Mr. Moderator, must you pick apart everything that is beautiful and great in the world?” will not be tolerated. Not in this game. I seek education and enlightenment.
I look forward to your responses.
I’m more than a little surprised that in a recent poll RTH’s readers and/or contributors declared the 1977 Bee Gees/Peter Frampton vehicle Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band to be the worst rock movie, over my preferred choice, Ken Russell’s 1975 film of The Who’s Tommy. Don’t get me wrong – Sgt. Pepper completely deserves its reputation as an utter and complete perversion of everything good and right that The Beatles stood for. But I submit that Tommy is an even worse film and, more importantly for the purposes of this blog, a greater Rock Crime.
Context is everything. Consider that Sgt. Pepper contained precious little input from the actual stewards of The Beatles legacy. Rumor has it that George Harrison and Paul McCartney appear in the star-studded finale, but frankly, if George and Paul are indeed there, they’re overshadowed by rock titans like Carol Channing and Jon “Bowzer” Bauman. Sgt. Pepper’s soundtrack was produced by George Martin, true, but I must remind you that he was not, in fact, a Beatle.
On the other hand, the travesty Tommy features notable work by all four members of The Who. Not only did Roger Daltrey handle the title role, with Keith Moon in the, shall we say, noteworthy role of Uncle Ernie, and not only did John Entwistle lend his distinct bass lines to the enterprise, but Pete Townshend helmed the horrible, horrible soundtrack. Let me tell you: More synthesizer-related Rock Crimes were committed on this soundtrack than at any time in the 1980s.
Let’s also consider who sat in the director’s chair for each film. Sgt. Pepper was helmed by Michael Schultz who, besides having helmed subsequent music-related films like Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon and Disorderlies, has since moved on to a career directing for television. I’m not calling him a hack per se, but he’s doesn’t seem like an auteur either.
Tommy, on the other hand, was written and directed by Ken Russell, a man who is seldom able to contain himself in realizing his horrible, frightening, gaudy visions on film. That whole artistically dubious glam-camp genre of cinema (Rocky Horror Picture Show, Phantom of the Paradise, the end of All That Jazz) can mostly be blamed on Russell.
But these elements are ultimately only parts of the bigger whole; the main reason Tommy defeats Sgt. Pepper in the badness game. See, everybody knows that Sgt. Pepper sucks, and we can all revel in its badness in the best Mystery Science Theater way. On the other hand, while I know plenty of intelligent people who can tolerate Tommy, the people who truly hate it tend to be Who devotees. This movie is essentially designed to piss off the very people it should be courting first and foremost. Beatles fans can laugh at the folly that is George Burns posing with a white Les Paul in Sgt. Pepper. Who fans can only grit their teeth in pain at the combined memories of Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Jack Nicholson, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, Elton John and every other moment of every other frame of Tommy. I hold Russell and Townshend both directly responsible for this, and you could make a case that the film of Tommy sets the stage for The Who’s many subsequent artistic travesties. Thank God for The Kids Are Alright.
From The New York Times:
Even if the deal does not face resistance from the F.C.C., it is likely to encounter opposition elsewhere. The National Association of Broadcasters, a trade association for television and radio stations, is already speaking out against a merger.
“In coming weeks, policymakers will have to weigh whether an industry that makes Howard Stern its poster child should be rewarded with a monopoly platform for offensive programming,” the group said. “We’re hopeful that this anticonsumer proposal will be rejected.”
Where does a music fan who’s befuddled by the would-be phenomenon of satellite radio find a reason to care about the proposed merger of XM and Sirius? Is this merger not inevitable? Does it not reflect all that’s wrong with satellite radio in the first place: the tightly preselected formats and playlists, the final eradication of regional tastes, the take-it-or-leave-it stance of multimedia conglomerates…
And what’s with this article’s ultimate focus on Howard Stern and issues of morality? The New York Times piece begins with the lovely cheesecake shot we’ve copied here and ends with concerns about “a monopoly platform for offensive programming.” Is that the only monopoly the National Association for Broadcasters should be concerned about?
I’ve long had only one opinion about this whole matter: Enable me to have an Internet hookup in my car so that I can tune into the thousands of free college and indie stations that broadcast over the Web. I don’t need Howard Stern or Bob Dylan as my host. I don’t need some safe, segmented programming with an LCD display of the song and artist playing. I want to hear music with personality, including the personality of sometimes stumbling college DJs. Satellite radio can continue to kiss my grits!
Beside the obvious Lenny and Squiggy – and the actors who played them on Laverne & Shirley – there are at least 2 other key members of this band. Gaze at the static image as cuts from the album play. I don’t believe the sound is important to uncovering this mystery. Have fun! Townsman Fritz knows all there is to know and will confirm or deny your guesses.
Note: Answers derived from any web pages beyond this one will be disqualified. We have ways of knowing where you’ve been!
