I haven’t read last years novel or any of his short stories so I certainly won’t state that they suck. I’ll just assume it without any proof. What I will say is you only live once and lif is way too short to waste it writing shitty protest songs and long, boring concerts which fail to get to the point.
For all of us who never got to see Crenshaw Is Lennon, we will get another chance. Marshall along with “Paul McCartney” Glen Burtnik and “Ringo Starr” Liberty Devito will be doing what the Beatles didn’t manage… REUNITING for a gig at BB King’s on Friday January 4th.
Burnin’ Hell – The Bootleggers – Featuring the one and only Nick Cave, who wrote the screenplay for the movie whose soundtrack this is on. This is a hard boogie with a vicious violin steamrolling through it – Grade: A-
Helm died earlier this year and on October 3rd there is going to be a benefit at the Izod center to keep his beloved barn going. The line up is a who’s who of country and American and we have the presale code for tix which go on sale today (Tuesday) at noon.
The killings terrify us because they are so completely meaningless but for the people surrounding the victims, for the civilians, there is a semblance of cause and effect. Compare it to civilians being meaninglessly murdered by US Drone Aircrafts.
“It drives me potty to be honest and I am sick of seeing it. It is big business at the moment and I find it really disappointing and I think all the time that is spent on bands reforming and nostalgia. What about the new bands, or young bands, coming in which don’t get a look in?”
But if it doesn’t matter as music, it is huge as pop signifier, and the proof is that it is still in Billboard 200’s Top 10 months after its release despite having only one hit single. Bieber matters
I haven’t heard the new Alanis, but Nick Cave is all over the Bootleggers soundtrack, maybe because he wrote the screenplay, The Garfunkel is just a useful reminder of what we already know. Slaughterhouse is Eminem finds and the song with Eminem is killa dilla.
Another Planet (With Chris Brown) – Jawan Harris – The powers that be were trying to position Jawan as a black Bieber, but he isn’t cute enough and he doesn’t have the songs. Except this songs, a very clever hard heart beat of a track that spooks itself out by the end – Grade: B+
Scream Tour Presents presents their third traveling R&B and rap show for tween and teen black girls, and the teen and tweens greatly appreciate the unthreatening peers and dancers give it their all to backing tapes for three hours.
The day before the day before Labor Day Weekend, there can’t be a better way to celebrate Back To Schooldom than with the force of nature Fang Island at Music Hall Of Williamsburgh on Thursday. The Brooklyn based indie rock band’s new album, Major, is one of the best of the year, and their good news vibe “we want to sound like everybody high fiving each other” they told the Guardian, lives up to their professed desires.
Emile is on the verge of outselling Adele for the year and Bloc Party remain a completely baffling phenom in my books… I have never heard of Jessie Ware so s/he is probably on Britain Has X Idol.
The instrumental version of “Bom Bom” has been around since 2010 but this new one has appeared out of nowhere and flown up the charts. That’s the way they do things in the UK. PS: it is a pretty awesome Baltic bouncer.
They Go Wild, Simply Wild, Over Me – Marion Harris – The original white jazz gal sings a self promoting commercial for her abundant charms to a marshall beat. Bemused by the effects of the funny men, waiting in a row and dreaming of her charms. “I don’t know what it is that they can see” she admits. Somewhere under the lyric is the birth of the flapper and the birth of feminism – Grade: B+
missing the screening of the movie of the show at the Museum Of The Moving Picture in Astoria having been harshly felled by a cold earlier in the summer, I thought it would be months till I’d get the chance to see the bizarrely distributed “Shut Up And Play The Hits”.
Chapter V – Trey Songz – The tenor r&b sex toy exists to give r. kelly a good name -which can’t be done. Trey, on the other hand, is a slow burner who can’t write a song. Except, Chapter V puts its foot off the metal long enough to sniff your panties, and croon a song – Grade: B-
The new Shinobi Ninja is the best song they’ve put their name to since “Stop”, which it doesn’t resemble in the slightest. The Joe Strummer is a revelation for the way the two songs play off each other. It would have been a middle of the set staple for years to come.
My Rifle, My Pony And Me – Dean Martin – From the soundtrack to Howard Hawks excellent cowboy movie “Rio Bravo”, this is a pure Western song, with Martin’s slow sweet, snoozy end of the day singing. Besides which, he is right. Who needs anything else? – Grade: B+
As a songwriter, he is unfocused and is often a bore on record. Overwriting and over arranging, his world music lacks so much that made the Clash great. He was a great singer, a great great live performer and a great man. And now he is St. Joe.
“A Hard Day’s Night” is about a family outsiders and you can join em if you’re cool enough to love them. Who couldn’t buy into that? That will sell. That did sell. It ended the Second World War and Paradise Postponed in one fell swoop and lead directly to MTV.
A sound beyond newness: a terrific modern techno plus SB scape. It’s like a very old fashioned, completely update old school-new world hybrid. All scratching, backing tapes, and steady and heavy drumming.
Madness – Muse – I know, I am even more shocked that this burnign soul rock song, which uses the simplest of bass licks for the entire song, even replaying it on synth, even maintaining it through a fuzzy guitar solo, to all the rewards imaginable. This takes U2 in the late 80s and maintains it for a song. I have never come close to liking Muse till now – Grade: A
It is as if he was translating his thoughts into music, skipping through soul music and switching, changing, impressing and deprecating in a moment, in a second. When he lost the thread the band sounded like somebody that had lost its train of thought, and when he felt the moment, sometimes only for a couple of words while the band vamped all the scattered threads were tied together.
I would say the decline in songs have been a landslide of crappaola. But it wasn’t always this way, over half a century of spy and sex thrillers, there have been the occasional masterpiece. PS the Chrissie Hynde song wasn’t the theme. So here is the Bond theme songs, the best first.
This is the coolest promotion EVER… Like seriously, NEVER EVER has there been a cooler promotion than Taylor Swift’s one where you can nominate your High School and Taylor Swift will play a concert there (if you win…)
Despite your positive efforts while incarcerated, your release at this time would greatly undermine respect for the law and tend to trivialize the tragic loss of life which you caused as a result of this heinous, unprovoked, violent, cold and calculated crime
It is not genius to assume the new Taylor would be big, but 623,000 units in its first week? That’s a mindboggling number. Actually the most digital downloads for a woman ever.
The two rap hits? Rap history repeats itself, first as tragedy and then as farce. Based albums are really astoundingly ordinary enterpresis. yep, the farce portion of modern pop.
Coma Girl – Joe Strummer And The Mescaleros – Ear deep into the Strummer retro with various variations on pain and pleasure, this first song off his post-humous Streetcore needs no damning with faint praise. It’s as good as good Clash. PS: the EP included a cover of “Blitztrig Bop” – Grade: A-
And, if rock stars can’t make money on their music, hey, try downloading their latest fashions… it can’t be done. Makes you think that if somebody is unique enough they can sell fans on becoming them
I got a call from Creem Editor Dave DiMartino the day after Kate rushed back to England, telling me they hadn’t been sure when i was doing the interview and were certain it was me who upset them!
here have been hints and allegations and, Monday night, at a private gig for Sony in L.A. Pink invited Lily on stage to duet on “True Love” -I’m guessing the Cole Porter classic. The song is on Pink’s upcoming album and apparently the 5 month old Lily is having a much easier time of it as she not only made the commute from London to L.A. with baby Ethel and husband Sam. She did so in heels.
Robbie Robertson didn’t merely burn that bridge, he blew it up, repaved it and blew it up again. Leon Helms was furious at Robbie for hogging all the glory and loudly decried it. Robbie shrugged and said he was only telling the truth.
At the time, the song sounded like hokum, a commercial move. But today, it seems to define something, both the hippie down pattern coolness and all, perhaps equally, a revolutionary spirit
my opinion remains constant: as a rapper she was born to be a Foxy Brown team player and her pop songs are as good as the manufacturers warranty on them
After actively disliking Justin for years a funny thing happened on my way to the “C-“, a couple of songs began to infiltrate my consciousness and next thing I know… well this remiz has bowled me over with its atmospheric elongation – Grade: B
Michael is thisclose to signing a lease for a new premises to house the popular supper club.
Carrie Fisher and Yoko Ono are to be among the 250 attendees and, incidentally, I wasn’t invited. This could be because they don’t know I exist and could be based upon my anti-Aryan remarks at the start of this post.
The problem here wasn’t the extended double CD, which is better, it is the original, that sinks sputtering with “God’s Comic”. A terrible, terribly overwritten track that is the weakest link right in the middle of the album . “Veronica”, El’s most successful song to date, doesn’t help in the slightest. It is too composerly, too self righteous, too testing the waters as a serious composer. McCartney’s presence didn’t help at all. Grade: C+
“Moonlight Becomes You” is a perfect creation: a gorgeous form of seduction, with da Bing crooning “If I said I love you I want you to know, it’s not just because there’s moonlight although, moonlight becomes you so”.
What it boils down, is free publicity for musicians willing to downgrade themselves for the puffed out egotism of a rock mag that overreaches as a rule. Both of these women should refuse to participate. Just say, “no, I don’t think so”, and walk it off.
Nine minutes plus and while I do love the song, and I do love this heavy dubby version with Jones sratchy guitar only coming to the forefront at the end, I can think of more productive ways for the closest we ever got to a Clash reunion. Still, the hypnotic deep bass bounce suggests an alternative Clash never reached. Grade: A
On August 5th, Joe and Stephanie got married and it is hard to think of a sweeter couple or two people more worthy of happiness. Joe And Stephanie Steinhardt? Works for me
“Ghandi used a protest around salt taxes, MLK and Rosa Parks targeted buses. The American Revolution focused on tea. None of these targets were the whole point, they were the venue. The Russian Orthodox church has shown how clearly they are collaborating with the Putin regime, and was a target of a NON VIOLENT mocking protest. That is legitimate.”
Her name is Dolores Erickson, she is 76 years old now, and she was interviewed in the the Seattle Times by Eric Lacitis, who found this quote from the New Yorker : “it fogged the minds of many young men”
If all you know about Shaffer is his work with Letterman, you haven’t scratched the surface. In the 1970s he was House Pianist for Saturday Night Live, and also worked with the Blues Brothers. Paul was also the musical director for Gilda Live On Broadway, one of my favorite theater going experiences from back in the 1970s!
A pop soul album with one smart as a whip rap after another and hooks a-plenty. And if you wanna hear it do this: go to Best Buy on 44th street for his headlining turn on August 25th!
For Joe Strummer’s 60th Birthday celebration, we get the official releases, we get the B Sides and we get Acton Concert where Mick Jones joined him for a heavy dub version of “Bankrobber” among others. Problems? Any one?
When The Ship Comes In – Outernational – I wanted more muscle on the “Future Rock” EP, and I got it off this cover from the Dylan Tribute to benefit Amnesty International. It is a folk song, but the band give it a marshall beat and Miles Solay pushes the wordy lyric to the brink – Grade: A
If this is the state of the art, the art is coming into its own. As it works the fringe and the edge of pop music, metal is now left entirely to its own devices and it has become a counter-culture staple with offshoots and offshoots on offshoots, but rules firmly to be adhered to. I spent five hours with modern metal and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
