Jamestown Photos
February 26, 2011
I’ve uploaded some photos taken from my new digs in Jamestown, RI. You can view them here.
Cratedigger: The Clash, “The Clash” | Popdose
September 19, 2010
In 1977, it was like a bolt out of the blue. It was the album you had to have, the band you had to hear. The thing was, if you lived in the United States you could only get the album as an import. By the time CBS got around to releasing the self-titled debut album from the Clash in the US, it was two years later. Four tracks from the original album had been removed, and five new ones had been added.
Video: Arcade Fire, “Ready To Start”
August 21, 2010
Thoughts on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
March 16, 2010
I didn’t get to see all of the festivities last night. The only induction that I missed was that of Genesis, so I’ll refrain from comment on that. I did catch Iggy and the Stooges. Not only did Iggy, as expected, extend a figurative middle finger to the suits amassed up front in the audience, he actually went among them when the band played “Now I Wanna Be Your Dog.” The look of discomfort on the faces of the industry jackasses, who wouldn’t know rock and roll if it fell on them, was priceless. Let’s just say they were a lot more comfortable later on when Faith Hill covered an ABBA song with an actually ABBA (Benny) backing her on piano. Now that is something those people understood.
Speaking of ABBA, there needs to be a new rule at these induction ceremonies; if you’re alive, breathing, and capable of performing, you either do it, of don’t bother showing up at all. And that goes for all of these bands who allow their squabbles to prevent them from reuniting for the ceremony. You know what, screw that. If you can’t put it behind you for a few minutes, and show some respect for the people who joined you on the road to this honor, then stay the hell home.
Iggy and the Stooges were great. They’re still out there touring, and you would expect them to sound road ready. The Hollies, on the other hand, not so much. Despite the fact that they were assisted by vocalists Adam Levine from Maroon Five, and Pat Monahan from Train. the performances of “Bus Stop,” and “Carrie Ann” were something of a disaster. Where is auto-tuning when you need it? Listen, the Hollies were a great band, no doubt about it. Their performance last night did nothing to enhance their reputation.
The best performance of the night came from Jimmy Cliff. The take on his classic “Many Rivers To Cross” left not a dry house on Twitter, or I suspect in the ballroom at the Waldorf. Despite the fact that he was one of the oldest inductees of the evening, he proved that he can still bring it, with an outstanding performance of “The Harder They Come,” on which he was joined by Wyclef Jean, who inducted him.
The other part of the ceremony that I loved was the induction of the great songwriters. I have no idea why it took so long to induct these people, because they wrote many of rock and roll’s most enduring classics. Carole King was the perfect choice to make the induction speech, and the honorees included Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, Mort Schuman (his songwriting partner Doc Pomus was inducted in 1992), Otis Blackwell, Jesse Stone, and Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. The award came to late for Greenwich, who died recently, Blackwell, and Stone. Their awards were often movingly accepted by family members. Poor Jeff Barry’s flight was delayed and he couldn’t make it, so Steve Van Zandt picked up his award. I actually enjoyed the acceptance speeches, which were full of stories of the great days of Brill Building songwriting.
All in all, not a bad show at all.
CD Review: The Whigs, “In the Dark” | Popdose
March 16, 2010
My review of the new album by the Whigs, from Athens, GA, has been posted to Popdose:
“The power trio has had a long and glorious history in the annals of rock and roll. The simple, but often explosive blend of electric guitar, bass, and drums is rock and roll at its most elemental. Buddy Holly and the Crickets are often thought of as the first power trio. In the 1960’s, bands like Cream, Mountain, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience followed their lead. The format exploded in the ’70s, with bands like the James Gang, Grand Funk Railroad, ZZ Top, the Jam, the Police, Rush, and the Robin Trower Band.”
To read the entire review, please click here.
My latest Cratedigger column for Popdose looks back at the classic Graham Parker and the Rumour album Squeezing Out Sparks:
“This coming Tuesday, Bloodshot Records will release the latest Graham Parker album, Imaginary Television. My colleague Dw. Dunphy thinks it’s a pretty good effort. Read his review here. For many people however, Parker has yet to top his 1979 classic Squeezing Out Sparks.”
To read the entire column, please click here.
My review of The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night was posted to Popdose today:
“I wish that record companies, publicists, and critics for that matter, would kick the habit of feeling the need to describe artists in terms of other artists in their press releases and reviews. This is especially true when, as if often the case, the influences are perfectly obvious, even to the least musically astute among us. It’s lazy, and unnecessary. Let’s face it, there’s very little that is new under the sun in the world of popular music. How artists use what has gone before, together with the passion of the performance, is what determines the value of new music.”
To read the entire review, which includes a rant about the way music is marketed these days, please click here.
Groovin’ on a Sunday afternoon
March 7, 2010
Write it down. March 7, 2010 was the first beautiful Sunday of the year. In fact, the whole weekend was really nice. Temperatures in the 50′s and not a cloud in the sky. I took a couple of laps around the apartment complex, then did some tailgating. I opened the back of the Element, then just say there watching the world go by while listening to music. It was the kind of day that made you want to stay outside for as long as you could.
The Rascals – “Groovin’”
New Music: Black Dub, “Surely” | Popdose
March 3, 2010
Today, the first of a series of stories that I will be doing on the band Black Dub was posted to Popdose:
“You’re probably aware of Daniel Lanois: His credits as a producer include work with such luminaries as U2, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Brian Eno, Bob Dylan, and Willie Nelson. He has also released a series of idiosyncratic albums of his own, including 2008’s Here Is What Is. It isn’t overstating things to say that Lanois is one of the most in-demand producers working.”
The band features Daniel Lanois, Trixie Whitley, and Brian Blade, and there’s a free MP3 download included in the story. To read the whole thing, please click here.
