Jann Wenner and his henchmen don’t give a damn, they are like the folks who sell flowers at graveyards. Nevermind breaking pop was no surprise, the buzz on the album was pretty deafening at the time. Only an insulated bunch of know it alls who fire any one who disagrees with them could get it wrong.
Using his ‘celebrity’ in such a way has become tiresome. We know your ‘solar bi polar panic disorder’ we know you got done wrong as a dad in your fathers rights crusade and we know your ex wife wasn’t nice and we know you adore your daughter more than life itself.
As I have mentioned here before there have been some insane auctions! Remember John Lennons TOOTH? Allot of rockers opt to auction for charity and I ‘get’ that. Its nice to use celebrity for a reason but to think 6 figures for an album that’s inked is amazing
If Vampire Weekend was at the Beacon or Radio City or something. But Roseland? really, I wanna drag myself out ona Sunday night after spending the weekend at gigs any wy to see the back of college kids heads for two hours?
2013 is becoming the year of the follow up to a bad album with a worse one: Lil Wayne and The Strokes are the two culprits here. Alan Jackson? George Jones has nothing to worry about when it comes to spirituals. Dido and Bugg are the surprises here, pretty good songs out of a fairly bland lot.
This is all such high energy stuff you wanna stick a valium in her orange juice or change her voice and her guitar from 78 rpms to 33 rpms. The woman picks a guitar so fast it is all single notes clicking like ice in a glass
They called him the perpetual teenager and I, for one, can totally relate. After strokes and age he became a shell of his former self and for some reason America allowed him to be propped up like a taxidermy moose next to Ryan Seacrest each New Years Eve so he could slobber out some indecipherable nonsense
Stage presence is not always about how energetically the person moves on stage, in any case, it should be spontaneous, unpredictable, personal, mysterious and why not, weird, bizarre, disturbing. That’s why I would never consider these rehearsed-to-death stereotyped choreographies as good indicators of stage presence
Over here at rock nyc HQ we are always fighting and shouting and worrying about the same thing: “what do the kids want, what do the kids want?” and once we’ve convinced Steve Crawford the kids don’t want all wrestling all the time and Mary Magpie no, we are not going to turn into an all theater blog, we are left with the same question: what do the kids want?
I have seen The Eagles live ( I assure you it was under duress ) and I have seen Don Henley way too up close and personal and I will say even in the glorious 80s– it was a horror. Lets add thirty years to it and its sure to be a backing tape atrocity.
It’s nearing the witching hour and a topless girl wearing a horses head, tights, men’s underwear and sneakers and drenched with beer is frugging near the stage to Shit Horse, while Odessa Records owner Paul Finn dances with wild abandon and Shit Horses’s lead singer Danny Mason is twirling center stage before settling back into a semi-improvissed rant about love and death “Twelve Horses”
We were DJing in one room and they were DJing in another room and they were just playing the worst music ever, and everyone was in our room just jamming out… And they had this totally dead room where they were just playing electronic music and kept giving us the stink-eye
I would love to see the band on stage and will be doing so at Barclay Center, September 27th, 2013, A Friday no less. I am wondering if the levels of beat sophistication will implode on a stage that big, can they connect?
Wavves is the keeper of this lot not least because the Strokes sounds like a major disaster on first listen and Depeche Mode sound like, well, Depeche Mode sound like Depeche Mode and I am simply not a fan at all/ The other album that might be better than you think is Harper Simon’s. Alyson sent me a couple of sonds off the Harper and I was impressed with his more sinewy approach.
The Kathleen song is a sad face piano based loser, so I listened to “Sidecar” to cheer me up. I wonder if Iver is over. # 7 and # 8 are the best two songs of the year, in that order. The Modern Hut song is one of the smartest pieces of metaphysics you will ever hear if they ever get around to releasing it.
On Friday night, Chris Owens had settled down for this 60s-inspired pretty and delicate music, embellished with ethereal flute, Toots-Thielemans-style harmonica and vibrant sax, and he didn’t even hesitate to cover big classics from Cat Stevens, Simon and Garfunkel, Donovan and Bob Dylan, going with the period.
The EP isn’t gonna be released till June 1st but all four songs are just wonderful. It is kinda hard to pick a fave. It is all handclaps and back up harmonies and sweet melodies and a retro vibe so completely retro it is wild. It is like those 1950s diners. It is like songs on the American Graffiti double album soundtrack
the album features about a million of collaborations from Elton John to Dave Grohl, Jake Shears, Trent Reznor, Mark Langegan,…so needless to say there is a lot of expectation for this ‘Like Clockwork’, their first album since 2007 ‘Era Vulgaris’. And you know what? Their fans are so eager for more
“I’ll hop the first Greyhound to Carolina for the signal satisfaction of breaking off a bottle of Ripple (he deserves no better, and I wish I could think of worse, but they’re all local brands) and twisting it into James Taylor’s guts until he expires in a spasm of adenoidal poesy.”
Gaham could be the living embodiment of a A Just Say No ad. He is to heroine what the fat old bag in the “Smoking Is Glamorous” is to tobacco. He should have a sign around his head reading “just because you shoot up smack does not mean you’re Miles Davis.”
You’ll notice that Jimmy Kimmel is still not gracing my list. That’s because he is redneck filth and has not redeemed himself after the Morrissey bit. He can go find a new job now or find a way to make amends.
The film will of course showcase never-before-seen home movies and photographs from his formative years, the viewer will share in a clear-headed, open-minded exploration of James Douglas Morrison as a plain ol’, “human being
I wonder why Pink is back in the top ten, I guess the fun. single gave it a push. Justin # 1, Bowie # 2, Suede in at # 7, Bragg, who made no impact Stateside, in at #9. Pretty good mix this week.
The Saturdays have no real reason for being a UK phenom, this is a faint reggae beat meets dance as written yet again. Otherwise, this could pretty much be the US Charts, right? The usual suspects.
You don’t know Pep? Neither do I but she is a brilliant 50s inspired pop singer whose new EP I will write about in more depth shortly. The Chairlift cover is a coupla years old but it is very good and I still haven’t invested in the Marnie Stern album, though I should if only for its name: The Chronicles Of Marnia! And Kacey Musgrave wrote the Miranda song, which is more proof that Kacey is something special.
The pop singer with the powerful voice hasn’t changed much in the proceeding years, she has just gotten bigger and better and in one of the remarkable Arena shows you will ever see, she was both a bigger than life cut out character, and a personable, friendly singer, with many hit songs to choose from
Strumming his electric guitar for the most part, Eric is a confusing figure on stage, there is something so obtuse and uncool about him yet the songs are performed with assurance and really, it reflects well of his songs that these stories of so often thwarted desires, deep running through his veins, thrive so well.
Connecticut school officials have banned a famous shirt showing an image largely promoted by the band, the famous cat head with hollow eyes and an upside down cross on the forehead. According to NBC, they declared that this cat ‘stands for something vile’,…
It’s not surprising when you find another CT-based local hardcore band- they seem to be a dime a dozen these days. You end up running into the same riffs and the same sounds- it’s a rut that a lot of younger bands get stuck in. It’s disappointing, but really the norm. However, what’s not so typical is the band Senseless.
The song certainly has Sigur Rós’ habitual gravitas expanding a dark soundscape, even ferocious this time, with Jónsi’s impressive voice going full falsetto. It is a very powerful and poignant track, with a wide-screen cinematic dimension unleashing an Icelandic mythology that explodes on the tiny set of the show,… wait until you witness this monster live!
Well, really was there ever any doubt? If the kid is in town she’s the one to beat and she is in town so she is the one to beat. Taylor Swift will be bringing Red to the Prudential on Wednesday and you will be getting glam, legs, the entire album, four classics and a cover all in two hours. You miss this? Don’t come blaming me.
She – Alice Smith – I would rather wait six years for a good album than two years for a bad album and Alice Smith, the R&B diva wannabe’s long awaited follow up to her 2007 album is nothing if not good. She has a good voice with a husky tow to it and can write a good song. Sometimes a great song. Here she writes three great songs, “Cabaret” “The One” and “Loyalty” and a lot of stuff not quite as good. A bit of a missed opportunity but the equal of Solange’s latest – ALBUM OF THE WEEK – B+
# 1 – # 3 is the hangover from Friday night, # 4 because I just bought a tix to see em at Barclays, Taylor and Sigur I am seeing live next week and Taylor has been playing “Cold As You” off her first album a coupla times this tour! Laura? I am building to upping it to a very rare “A+” and the Marnie Stern album is not available on Spotify and I am debating whether I can pull off an entire album review on it.
This is certainly not the first time Yoko Ono is using Lennon’s corpse, in 2009, a Lennon exhibit was also featuring a small canvas bag from New York’s St Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center containing the clothes he was wearing when he was shot. The problem is, will it help her cause? I
We need to be that person whether they are heroes or villains, normal or abnormal. whatever we are is whatw e must be. And we can’t be that if we stifle thoughts we disagree with.
The cool thing about online communities is the amount of weirdo’s it can attract. I imagine this one to be a real humdinger. Not only is it the original fan but it’s there kid and maybe even their grandkid an intergenerational festival of Floyd.
So since a Kinks reunion seems somewhat doubtful, Dave Davies at City Winery on Tuesday, May 28th, 2013 is an absolute positively no doubt must see. Dave is 66 years old and, despite claims that he is constantly touring, who knows when he passes this way again.
I saw Mayer play with Hova a coupla years ago and he was the best thing about the gig and Weez… he has gotta come up with the goods. But I am not a big fan of either performer. Dunno why. Weezy is too weird and mayer is too sleazy and both are absolutely terrible when it comes to ballads.
He actually already announced his plan to retire 2 years ago, when he is 55, even saying ‘I am slightly shocked to have gone as far as I have, this is my 30th year, and I’ve aged a lot recently, which is bit distressing for me, as it must be for everyone. The body changes shape and there’s nothing you can do about it.’
Rob Zombie is a gnarly old guy who is quite simply a genius. He has been riding the ‘horror circuit’ for years now and is absolutely brilliant at his art. He’s no spring chicken but he shows no falter when on stage. He is boundless energy- boundless.
A quiet week with only three new songs making the list, though I expect (indeed I’ve heard “Step” so I know) Vampire Weekend have better waiting for us. I am entrhalled by the new Alice Smith and am only waiting in case it wears off me.
Two rock stars headed down different roads the other week. Ken Casey of Dropkick Murphys attacked with a bass an innocent fan he had invited on stage and Michelle Schoked bravely stood at the center of the gay rights capital of the world and said”I disagree”. Or something like that.
Frampton is coming alive at the Beacon, Atoms For Peace at Barclay Center, Vampire Weekend wore off me a little, Low is a major disappointment (blame Jeff Tweedy?) and I am on a Frank Zappa kick.
I doubt that Shocked is a savvy enough media presence to have purposely orchestrated the event. If one were in the diabolical public sentiment manipulation business, there are better end states than career suicide. It’s almost too easy to play armchair psychiatrist with Shocked.
I thought Spotify wasn’t making money, so will this new service be more lucrative? Will it kill Spotify in the US? Most teenagers go to YouTube, and there’s no doubt in my mind they will pick it over the Swedish company if they have the choice
What else? Who broke out of Austin this year? Nobody. That’s who,
Though I hate to put it on this list because I don’t even like the song much, I have to acknowledge the 1910 Fruitgum Company’s Simon Says as one of the most influential singles of the 1960s, because it is the song that put the gum in bubblegum music.
Caleb played for the truly legendary Long John Baldry’s band Bluesology back when Elton John was playing keyboards and can be heard on both Rock Of The Westies and Blue Moves. His half-brother is the Reggae singer Finlay Quayle
The show, and the rant, was spontaneous. As for those applauding my so-called stance that “God Hates Faggots,” I say they should be met with mercy, not hate. And I hope that what remains of my audience will meet that intolerance with understanding
On a busmans holiday from the Wrecking Ball tour, long term fan of all things garage Steve Van Zandt put together a part “Jersey Boys” part concert got together with the four men from the Rascals and had them perform together for the first time in 40 years last in a mix of rock and Broadway show “Once Upon A Dream”
