please explain

Please Explain: AllMusicGuide’s Explanation of Showaddywaddy

May 312011

A good friend “turned me on” to a British band from the 70s called Showaddywaddy — a sort of UK version of Sha Na Na — saying bands like Showaddywaddy were the main reason the Sex Pistols came into existence. I cued up the video she sent along, and was suitably horrified. I then commenced an InterWeb search to find out more about this godawful band of musical merrymen, and found this, from the frequently “huh?” AllMusicGuide:

“One of the finest rock & roll revival bands of the 1970s, Showaddywaddy also proved to be one of the most successful and enduring. … The group’s run of greatest hits sounds devastatingly pure, even authentic…”

To which I say: WTF?! I mean, I’m used to a bit of ass-lickery on the part of AMG, but surely this is beyond the pale… right?

HVB

Please Explain: The Damned

Posted by Mr. Moderator

May 092011

Please explain The Damned—not their music, so much, because that’s easy enough to digest. I’ve got some of their records and like them well enough. They’re often a little too RAWK for my tastes, but at their best they deliver like a poor man’s New York Dolls or, on their surprisingly ’60s-rooted album Strawberries, a melodically challenged version of The Undertones or some other poppy punk band more up my alley. What I really want to understand is how singer Dave Vanian fits into everything. Did fans of the band’s typically rockin’ music need to make allowances for that guy? Were his bandmates initially accepting of his Count Rockula Look? Was he a “gateway drug” to goth? Their music never sounds that goth despite being sung by a lead singer in a cape and dyed-black hair.

Then there’s the issue of the band’s Clown Prince, Captain Sensible, whose schtick I better understand but whose schtick I also find distracting. Is the fact that The Damned was formed so early in the history of punk rock the reason for their lack of stylistic cohesion? Is their lack of stylistic cohesion key to their Collective Rock Super Powers?

Rock historians frequently bring The Stranglers up on charges of lack of stylistic cohesion and bandwagon jumping in the punk era, but The Damned are portrayed as “cool.” What gives, beyond the usual tie-ins to a pre-fame Chrissie Hynde and the legendary London SS, a band that seemed to exist for 3 days while containing, for at least an hour or two, a dozen members of eventual real bands?

What makes The Damned tick? I don’t recall ever focusing on an interview with any of the band members. What makes fans of The Damned tick? Do you pick and choose the songs and band members that appeal to you, or is there a significant run of albums under which Damned fans can rally?

DEAL WITH IT!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 292011

Watch this, Townspeople, especially members of the Bad Attitude Club, and deal with it.

Previously…Why does Thom Yorke have to sing like a father taking his last breath as he holds his newborn child?

Double Rainbow: What Does This Mean?

Posted by ladymisskirroyale

Feb 262011

Dear RTH brethren,

I need your assistance in understanding a cultural movement. This series of videos were brought to my attention by Mr. Royale, who is a high school teacher, and who is able to tap in to the youth zeitgeist on a daily basis. Perhaps I’m too old. Perhaps there has been a shift in the cosmos. I need you to help me understand…The Double Rainbow (phenomenon).

Here is the original video. Perhaps you have seen it.

Since the original posting on 1/8/2010, it has spawned many imitators. Take your pick of just a few of the myriad of musical styles:

‘Fess Up: Why Do You Hate “She’s Leaving Home” as Much as You Do?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 162011

I’ve got a theory about why so many Beatles fans despise “She’s Leaving Home”: more than anything I think it’s in defense of George Martin, whose feelings were hurt when he was shut out of arranging the strings. That’s sweet of you, but really, the song’s not that bad! The way I hear my fellow Beatles fans talking about it I have to stop and check that they’re not actually talking about “Fool on the Hill” or one of Paul’s “Auntie” songs.

I think I’m onto something: your hatred of “She’s Leaving Home” is rooted in your desire to defend the honor of Sir George Martin.

As for substitute arranger Mike Leander, what is so bad about his work on that song? What might tasteful George Martin have done differently? I was surprised to learn that Leander had his hand in all sorts of records, most notably serving as Gary Glitter‘s partner in (musical) crime (eg, co-writing his hits, including “Rock ‘n Roll, pt 2”). I think he also did the saccharine string arrangements for The Rolling Stones‘ “As Tears Go By.” So there!

What’s So Bad About Soul Asylum?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 162011

What’s so bad about Soul Asylum? Why does mere mention of them make the likes of Townsman misterioso “shiver?”

Was their music all that bad, from their indie, poor man’s Replacements stuff to their giant hit song, “Runaway Train”?
Is it the fact that they far exceded the popularity of their groundbreaking Twin Cities colleagues?
Was it the expiration date passing on Dave Pirner‘s rat’s nest hair and severely ripped jeans?
Was it the other guitarist’s lank mall-rat hair?
Was it the fact that Pirner dated Winona Ryder while you didn’t?

Is it the fact that their commercial stuff and its “pro” production exposed them and much of that “heartland” ’80s “alternative rock” as little more than wannabe 1970s-era AOR, the kind of stuff Rock Town Hall’s patron saint of mediocrity, Bob Seger, and the likes of REO Speedwagon cranked out? Did Soul Asylum, The Replacements, et al suddenly pale next to a simple, direct artist from the tail end of ’70s AOR like Tom Petty?

While we’re on the subject, what’s going on with Pirner’s hair and jeans these days, and when’s the last time you thought about those big, honking cardboard boxes they used to house CDs in?

Please Explain: Leonard Cohen

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 142011

In a world that’s already given us Bob Dylan and Dustin Hoffman, why is Leonard Cohen celebrated as a rock ‘n roll treasure?

I enjoy Leonard Cohen in small doses, especially songs from Songs of Leonard Cohen, his debut, which should have been entitled Suzanne and 9 Other Songs That Have Essentially the Same Melody as Suzanne. I like the way his music was used to haunting effect through Robert Altman‘s McCabe and Mrs. Miller. I know he’s a hipster and a lover and a poet and all that. He’s made love to many of rock’s most-beautiful, least-talented hipster women – in candlelight, no less! The jacket he wore during his 1970 Isle of Wight appearance is something I could study for hours. I even get his appeal as a cult artist, but is he actually something more than that? Do you experience a deeper level of appreciation that I’m missing? Should I feel the world would be a better place if the music of Leonard Cohen was running through more people’s heads?

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