pole hill sanitarium

Facebook

2011-04-02T13:45:00.004-05:00

OK, I bit the bullet and opened a Facebook account. Jenn sez "Welcome to the 21st Century!" Myself, it feels more like the decline and fall...

Anyway, Pole Hill folks are welcome to come on over.

End of the road

2011-03-19T14:15:00.003-05:00

A sad day in Chicago, 1974.

This post is a long time in coming, although I'm sure most of you suspected something like this was bound to happen. Simply put, Pole Hill Sanitarium, in its current form, has ceased to exist.

The problem, as it pertains to this site, is that this page is no longer viable for my blogging uses, at least not without putting a lot of work into it that I have neither the time nor the inclination for. Pole Hill's template is still one of the old Blogger types that has none of the improvements of later versions. I have to put everything into the template manually, which is a pain in the ass that I no longer have the desire to deal with. Also, none of the additions I made to make life easier function any more. The blogroll disappeared when BlogRolling went out of existence in November. Then, Echo jacked up their rates at the end of last year, and I didn't pay my bill. I'm surprised that the old comments are still visible. But I can no longer log in to manage the comment section, so you can come in and spam all over the comments all you want, and there's nothing I can do about it except to remove the code from my template, and with it all the old comments too.

There are other factors involved as well. The golden age of blogging is definitely over. Nearly all the amateur bloggers have left for Facebook or other social networking platforms that are less labor-intensive and provide access to a larger audience than a traditional blog can. Most of the blogs left that are worth reading are either groupblogs and/or written by people who are paid to write. The professional blogosphere has devolved into a myriad of echo chambers whose general rule is to agree with the host or get your ass banned, or at least get mercilessly flamed by the comment section regulars. You can still learn some useful things from reading the blogs, but good luck finding any intelligent discussion of them. It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how much communications technology continues to evolve, people insist on reverting to their same old patterns. My last few months of regular blogging were disappointing more than anything; more often than not I just felt as though I was pissing into the wind.

Having said that, there are still things I would like to work on. The Album Project has been left hanging - in the middle of The Beatles' career, no less. I'd also like to have a platform for those rare occasions when I feel like writing on current events. At this point I'm weighing my options on that; most likely at some point a new blog will pop up in some form or other. I don't plan to take the archives here down any time soon, and I'll post over here when the new place is up and running. I'm also considering a Facebook page, despite my many reservations, privacy concerns, and the numerous assholes that infest that place. I've made a number of friends over here who these days are mainly active on Facebook, and I'd like to keep in touch with them, as well as using Facebook for things that don't require a more involved blog post. Again, I'll keep you posted.

I will miss this old place. We've had a lot of good times and good discussion here over the last five years. I've met a lot of good folks through this blog who I would like to stay in contact with. Without this blog I would have never met Jenn and her kids, Amanda and Lucy, with whom I've started a new chapter of life that I'm happy in. Thanks to all of you, one last time, for making Pole Hill Sanitarium far more interesting and successful than I dreamed it would be when I started out, figuring that the words here would be seen by no one but myself.

Solomon Burke

2010-10-11T18:01:00.002-05:00

Legendary soul and R&B vocalist Solomon Burke passed away Sunday at age 70, while en route to a performance in Amsterdam.

Burke was born in Philadelphia in 1940, in a room over a church founded by his grandmother; allegedly, she had foreseen Burke's birth in a dream. The church would be a key influence throughout his career. The day he was born, he was ordained a bishop, and by age 7 he was preaching sermons. At age 12 he had a radio ministry on Philadelphia station WHAT, and in his teens Burke made his first gospel recordings. He toured the East Coast as a gospel performer, but the crooked dealings that were standard practice in the music industry in the 50's soured him from becoming a full-time professional, and he returned to Philadelphia to study embalming.

Jerry Wexler and Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records noted Burke's gospel recordings, though, and in 1960 invited the singer to New York to cut some R&B sides. According to Burke, Wexler was frustrated by his insistence that he was not a R&B singer, and his penchant for sermonizing while singing. Wexler hit upon the idea of giving Burke country-and-western songs to sing - a novel idea for a black artist in 1960 - yet became irritated as Burke brought his preaching style to the C&W material as well. Eventually, Ahmet Ertegun basically told Wexler to leave the young vocalist alone to do his thing. From those sessions, "Just Out Of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms)", which had been a hit for Patsy Cline, became Solomon Burke's first R&B hit.

Burke would continue to work with Wexler and Bert Berns through most of the 60's, and they would produce a substantial run of hits. He had a rich voice that could give a warm and tender flavor to ballads, and an impeccable sense of swing that propelled up-tempo numbers like "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" and "Got To Get You Off My Mind", two of his biggest hits. Burke's recordings continued to retain the flavor of the church, and the sermons that had frustrated Wexler turned into lengthy intros to his songs. A large, imposing man, Burke dominated the stage with his presence, and was dubbed "King Solomon" by his fans. He played his regal persona to the hilt, arriving on stage in velvet robes, a scepter, and a crown, preceded by midgets who scattered rose petals across the stage. Burke's charisma and talent made him one of the 60's most popular soul performers. He was not as well known with white audiences, although The Rolling Stones covered "Cry To Me" and "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" during their early days. Top 40 programmers likely thought that Burke's music carried too many traces of gospel for AM radio consumption; his biggest pop hit, "Got To Get You Off My Mind", only reached #22 in the Billboard charts.

Burke left Atlantic in 1968 to record for a series of smaller labels, and although continuing to be an active performer on the R&B circuit, his star slowly faded as the 70's progressed. He also kept busy in a number of other activities, maintaining his presence in the ministry and owning a Los Angeles funeral parlor. His music's legacy would spread to Hollywood in the 80's - "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" was featured in The Blues Brothers, and Patrick Swayze sang "Cry To Me" in a scene of Dirty Dancing.

During the last decade, Burke enjoyed a musical comeback. He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 2001, and the next year won his only Grammy for his album Don't Give Up On Me. He maintained an active touring schedule, and his performances were as grandiose as ever. With his weight having ballooned to 500 pounds, Burke now sang while seated in a throne. In 2006, he returned to country music with Nashville, featuring performances with Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Patty Griffin, Gillian Welch and Patty Loveless. Remaining active to the end, he was on his way to The Netherlands for a show with De Dijk when he passed away. Solomon Burke is survived by 21 children and 90 grandchildren.

Farm Aid at 25

2010-10-02T19:17:00.002-05:00

Bob Dylan and Tom Petty at the first Farm Aid concert.

Farm Aid officially turns 25 this weekend, with this year's show held in Milwaukee. Founders Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young once again head up an all-star lineup helping to raise money for American farmers. I was there for that first show, held September 22, 1985 in Champaign, Illinois. With over 100 acts performing that day, it was easily the most diverse lineup I ever witnessed in concert.

The inspiration for Farm Aid came from remarks made by Bob Dylan at the successful Live Aid concert held earlier that summer. "I hope", Dylan said, that some of the money that's raised for the people in Africa, maybe they could just take a little bit of it, maybe … one or two million … to pay the mortgages on some of the farms." Willie Nelson felt that this was a fine idea. Soon, along with John Mellencamp, Nelson organized farmers to travel to Washington to testify before Congress about their struggles. In addition, with Neil Young, they began to put together a benefit concert intended to provide assistance to struggling American farmers. They named their benefit Farm Aid, and billed it as "A Concert For America".

They chose the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium as the site for their show, and enlisted Chicago promoter Ron Stern to oversee the logistics. Arriving in Champaign, Stern quickly learned that the home of the Fighting Illini was ill-equipped to be a music venue: “There was only 100-amp [mains] service at the stadium; not nearly enough to power a whole stage show and a dressing room/backstage complex,” he recalls. Also, a way had to be devised for getting the myriad of acts on and off stage efficiently without delaying the show. Stern brought in $50,000 worth of generators and negotiated with the power company for additional electrical capacity. To keep the show moving, a manually-operated rotating stage was built. Divided in half, while one act performed for the audience, the next act set up their gear on the half behind the curtains.

The diverse roster of performers for Farm Aid I was a spectacular array of country, rock, and blues artists rarely matched on any stage before or since. Twenty-five years on, a lot of memories of that day are a bit fuzzy, but for sheer variety and quality, I've never experienced another day of music quite like it. The show began in a steady drizzle, but by afternoon the skies had cleared, and over 75,000 of us enjoyed a fine Midwestern autumn evening. Country kingpins like Alabama, Vince Gill and Kenny Rogers appeared on the bill with legends such as Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn and George Jones. Acoustic performers like Joni Mitchell and John Denver were featured during the day; after dark rockers like Foreigner and Huey Lewis took the stage. John Fogerty came out with a woman dressed as a pig who danced on stage, symbolizing Fogerty's legal troubles with his ex-manager. Bon Jovi, barely known at the time, played one of their first shows in a stadium atmosphere. Lone Justice, another emerging act, played one of the night's sharpest sets. Bob Dylan appeared, backed by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. Their performance was so well-received that they soon agreed to launch a nationwide tour together. Sammy Hagar played live with Van Halen for the first time; Hagar launched into a raunchy monologue that got their set taken off The Nashville Network's live broadcast. Founders Young and Mellencamp turned in fine performances. Willie Nelson's set began the day's proceedings. He was a bundle of energy all day, bounding on and off the stage, introducing acts, generally keeping the party going. Nobody throws a party like Willie Nelson. Well past midnight, he launched into an hour-long set that I don't think was scheduled; I'm sure that he would have played till dawn if they had let him.

Farm Aid I raised over $9 million for struggling farmers, raised awareness of rural issues, and began a tradition that surprised Farm Aid's founders, who thought that they were putting together a one-time-only event. To this day, the Farm Aid organization has raised over $37 million and continues to advocate for family farmers throughout the USA. Celebrate 25 years of Farm Aid by checking out these classic performances from founders Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young from that first show in Champaign. For more details, there's this excellent article about the challenges involved in staging that now-historic show.

Ronnie James Dio

2010-05-17T06:42:00.002-05:00

Hard rock vocalist Ronnie James Dio, best known for his stints in Rainbow and Black Sabbath as well as fronting his own band for many years, passed away Sunday after a long battle with stomach cancer. He was 67 years old.

He was born Ronald James Padavona in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on July 10, 1942; his family moved to Cortland, New York when he was a boy. While in his teens, he joined local group The Vegas Kings as their bass player, eventually becoming lead vocalist. He took his stage name from the Mafia figure Johnny Dio. During the 60's, Dio undertook a journey familiar to many other musicians of his era, moving from the rockabilly-oriented Vegas Kings and Ronnie And The Redcaps to the more "progressive" Ronnie Dio And The Prophets and Electric Elves. He honed a powerful vocal style that pushed his bandmates further into hard rock territory. By the early 70's, their name shortened to Elf, they earned a recording contract and a slot opening for Deep Purple. Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore took notice, and when he launched his solo career in 1975 selected Dio and other members of Elf to form Rainbow. Rainbow released four successful albums before Dio and Blackmore parted ways in 1979.

Dio next joined Black Sabbath on the suggestion of Sharon Arden, the daughter of that group's manager. (Sharon would go on to marry original Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osborne and become something of a celebrity in her own right.) Upon Osborne's departure, many pegged Black Sabbath for a long descent into mediocrity, a relic of a bygone time. But Dio's presence would rejuvenate the veterans of sludge rock, spurring the group to record Heaven And Hell, their finest hour. Dio's vocals seemed to light a fire under guitarist Tony Iommi in particular, while his lyrics, laden with medieval imagery, worked well within Black Sabbath's musical context. Heaven And Hell returned Sabbath to the top of the heavy metal heap, and a series of triumphant live shows cemented the resurgence. Dio would greet the fans at the start of each concert by raising a fist high in the air with the first and fourth finger extended, a gesture he picked up from his grandmother. The corna, or sign of the horns, has many connotations in Italian folk culture, including the power to ward off the evil eye. Although probably not the first to flash the horns on stage, Dio would help popularize the sign into an internationally recognized symbol of rock and roll.

Black Sabbath's followup LP with Dio, Mob Rules, was a huge disappointment, returning the group to the murk of their pre-Heaven And Hell releases. The Sabs rebounded somewhat with a strong tour supporting the album, replacing drummer Bill Ward with veteran Vinny Appice. Dates from that tour were recorded for the Live Evil LP. Tensions flared between Dio, Iommi, and bassist Geezer Butler during the album's production, with Iommi and Butler accusing Dio of tampering with the mix behind their backs to highlight his vocals. Dio claimed that the other band members knew what he was doing, and that Iommi and Butler gave him permission to mix his vocals as he saw fit. Mutual dissatisfaction with Live Evil led Dio to part company with Black Sabbath in November 1982, taking Appice with him.

He would go on to form the band Dio, also featuring Appice and guitarist Vivian Campbell, releasing a credible debut Holy Diver in 1983. By now, Dio's style was well established, and his band would go on to release discs through the 80's and 90's, each successive release digging the creative rut a bit deeper. The group would enjoy a bit of an artistic comeback after 2000, as notable musicians such as Rudy Sarzo and Doug Aldrich would spend time in the lineup. Dio also reunited with his Black Sabbath bandmates from 2007-09, touring and recording under the name Heaven And Hell.

Although not immune to the bombastic excess that plagues the metal genre, Ronnie James Dio possessed one of rock's distinctive voices, and when at his best was capable of electrifying a recording studio or concert stage. The title track of Heaven And Hell became a signature performance, and this vintage clip from his Black Sabbath days captures him in fine form.

Party like its May 1

2010-05-01T11:03:00.003-05:00

There was also a little rhyme we learned in junior high school (where else?) that went something like this:

Hooray, hooray, it's the first of May!
Outdoor fucking begins today!

You could try that at Pole Hill today, down by the crick, but you'd get plenty wet, and perhaps hit by lightning as well. If it wasn't raining today I'd probably be out mowing grass.

*****

Thought I'd better check in, just in case somebody still checks this place once in a while, only to regularly have their hopes dashed by the lack of new material. I don't get around like I used to, and a big part of that is due to what they've done to us at work. Around the first of the year they started blocking Blogger on an intermittent basis. Some days I can get in to see my blog, some I can't. I'm almost never able to get to my dashboard to post. As for other blogs, it's the same thing - it seems that it is all at the whim of Websense and our network administrators. Nearly all of you that I follow regularly have gotten a 3 AM visit from me at some point, as I used to get caught up with my blog rounds during the dead times at work. I can't do near as much of that any more. Frustrating for me, but someone, somewhere should be glad that certain government employees aren't wasting time on the computer any more. I try to get around as I can at home, but there's a lot of other things needing done here as well.

*****

Ah, yes. I had a talk with my doctor a while back. My blood sugar is up, and he says I show signs of being pre-diabetic. Not good. He recommended a series of pushback exercises for me, as in pushing back from the table. But the most difficult part for me went something like this:

DR.: Also, starting today, you need to stop drinking alcohol.

ME: But I only drink a beer or two after work.

DR.: No.

ME: Not even one beer a week?

DR: Not even one a week.

ME: How about one a month?

DR: I said NO!

Not like I was an alcoholic or anything, but I liked to have my beer to wind down, and now I'm cut off, apparently for the rest of my days. I'm managing OK so far, but when we go up to St. Louis for the baseball game next month, it will be a challenge. But I want to be around as long as I can, and stay in reasonably good health. Jenn and the kids give me even more incentive to do so.

*****

My blogroll is once again filling up with dead links, and is needing my attention. It will get a revamping in the next few weeks. Our old buddy the Farmer is one of those who have changed his digs recently. Check out his new place, have a few laughs, and maybe even learn something.

*****

Back to the beginning of this post, today is the day that most of the rest of the world celebrates Labor Day. By the mid-19th century, the international socialist movement had already adopted May 1 as a day of solidarity. American labor groups, not wishing to be seen as aligned with the radical left, eventually decided upon the first Monday in September for our Labor Day celebrations. Today, though, is still a special day for old labor guys like me to take a moment to recall the struggles of working people around the world, and to stand in solidarity with them as part of the worldwide fight for justice and dignity for all who work for a living throughout the world.

Malcolm McLaren

2010-04-08T23:15:00.003-05:00

Malcolm McLaren, a flamboyant impresario best known as the former manager of The Sex Pistols, passed away at age 64 after a struggle with cancer.

Born in London and raised by his maternal grandmother, in his youth McLaren had already picked up a reputation for being subversive and manipulative. Drifting through several art colleges in the late 60's, he became interested in the tactics of the Situationists, the French-based avant-garde anticapitalists who staged elaborate pranks as a means of spreading their message. McLaren left school for good in 1971 and with his girlfriend Vivienne Westwood opened his first London boutique, Let It Rock. In 1975 he traveled to New York where he met up with glam-rockers The New York Dolls and convinced them to let him manage them. McLaren's promotional ideas, including using a hammer-and-sickle style design motif for their stage show, did not go over well, and the Dolls broke up later that year.

Returning to London, he and Westwood renamed their shop Sex, and began selling punk and S&M gear. The shop became a hangout for bored, frustrated London youths; aggression was in the air. Among this crowd were a number of musicians who felt that the London music scene was becoming much too tame. One day a young man sporting green hair and the words "I HATE" scrawled across the top of his torn Pink Floyd T-shirt strolled in. McLaren dubbed him "Johnny Rotten", and soon he was rehearsing with some other musicians who hung out at Sex, forming a group that soon was known as The Sex Pistols.

Due to the way that their brief career played out, and in large part because of the flamboyant promotion of McLaren and the outrageous behavior he encouraged in the band members, some people today regard The Sex Pistols as a joke. In their early days, though, they made music to be reckoned with. John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon's corrosive vocals expressed the anger and frustration of London youth, supported by Steve Jones' slashing guitar lines and Paul Cook's powerful drumming. Original bassist Glen Matlock was also a competent songwriter. Their debut LP, Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols, remains the greatest punk rock album ever recorded. "God Save The Queen" scandalized the entire United Kingdom, while "Anarchy in the UK" is simply one of the two or three best hard rock songs of all time.

Trouble started with the dismissal of bassist Matlock, allegedly for being too respectable in his music tastes, but perhaps also because he wasn't as easily swayed by McLaren as the other group members. His replacement, Sid Vicious, was the embodiment of punk style but absolutely clueless as a musician. Vicious also brought with him a nasty heroin habit that only intensified during his Pistols tenure. As the quality of the band's performances deteriorated, the focus shifted increasingly to McLaren's stunts, which is perhaps how he wanted it all along. The Sex Pistols broke up at the end of a chaotic American tour, with Lydon snarling at the crowd, "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?" at the conclusion of the group's final gig in San Francisco. Lydon, Cook and Jones went their separate ways, while commencing a series of lawsuits against their former manager. Sid Vicious went on to die of a heroin overdose.

Malcolm McLaren simply kept on hustling. He briefly managed Adam Ant, as well as taking some of Ant's backing musicians and teaming them up with teen singer Annabella Lwin to form Bow Wow Wow. He put together another Sex Pistols album, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle from odds and ends, serving as the soundtrack to a movie that told the Pistols' story in farcical fashion from McLaren's point of view. He also established a successful music career in his own right, scoring UK hits with "Buffalo Gals" and "Double Dutch". In 1985 he offered to manage the then-unknown Red Hot Chili Peppers, but they turned him down, as he wished to move their music away from its funky roots toward a punk direction.

McLaren continued to diversify during the 90's, composing music for British television and for commercials. He also continued to release solo recordings, and in 1998 attempted to launch a female Chinese pop group, Jungk. He briefly considered running for mayor of London, wrote a number of magazine articles and appeared on British reality TV.

Arguably, McLaren's only real talent was for self-promotion. Yet, smooth talkers with big ideas have always been at the heart of popular culture, and the music world will always find a place for the outrageous likes of those like Malcolm McLaren.

Alex Chilton

2010-03-22T07:08:00.002-05:00

Alex Chilton, who first shot to fame in the 60's as lead singer of The Box Tops, and later became an inspiration for scores of indie rockers, passed away Wednesday at age 59, having suffered a heart attack.

Chilton was born December 28, 1950 in Memphis, and during his early years absorbed the diverse currents of his hometown's music scene. In his early teens he joined a local rock/R&B combo, The DeVilles, who were later renamed The Box Tops. The group was noticed by producers Dan Penn and Chips Moman, and in the spring of 1967 entered the studio with Penn to record some tracks. Penn chose "The Letter" from a demo tape sent by upcoming Nashville songwriter Wayne Carson Thompson; The Box Tops' recording became an instant classic of 60's blue-eyed soul. Chilton laid down an impressive vocal track - a teenager in his first recording session, he sang like a veteran R&B performer. "The Letter" topped the US charts on September 23, holding the #1 position for four weeks, and becoming a major hit in nearly every country it was released. At age 16, Alex Chilton was an international superstar.

More hits followed in a similar vein - "Neon Rainbow", "Cry Like A Baby", and "Soul Deep" all sold well, although none approached the stature of The Box Tops' debut. Despite their overnight success, the group's members were quickly becoming frustrated by the musical pigeonhole their producers had put them in, with Chilton in particular becoming interested in British rock as epitomized by The Beatles and The Who. Other group members were angered by being replaced by session musicians in the studio on occasion. The Box Tops slowly drifted apart, finally disbanding in February 1970. Chilton spent some time in New York sharpening his vocals and guitar skills. Returning to Memphis, he put together Big Star with like-minded local musicians, most notably the talented singer/songwriter/guitarist Chris Bell.

Beginning with 1972's #1 Record, Big Star put together three albums of erratic, if often brilliant, power pop. Bright guitars contrasted with Chilton's increasingly moody vocals, especially on the group's latter two releases, Radio City and Third/Sister Lovers, both recorded after Bell left the group. The early 70's, though, were not a good time for jangly guitar pop, no matter how innovative. The Beatles were still fresh in everybody's memory; bands who reflected the Fab Four's influence were subject to unfair comparisons with the masters. Big Star's affiliation with Stax/Ardent Records put the group at a further disadvantage. The Memphis label's experience was primarily with soul and R&B acts, and they had little idea how to promote or market a white rock group. Big Star's recordings barely made a dent with radio or the public, and the frustrated group disbanded in 1974. Chris Bell's career came to a tragic end in 1978 when he died in an auto accident.

Alex Chilton, teen superstar, was now considered washed-up by the music industry at 25. Depressed by the failure of Big Star, he spent the next few years making a series of indifferent recordings while being dogged by rumors of alcohol and drug problems. He had another stint in New York in the late 70's where, influenced by the scene at CBGB's and other punk venues, he adopted a rawer, looser style. He settled in New Orleans in 1982, where he would call home for the rest of his life. Now free of alcohol and drugs, he was notable on the New Orleans scene for the rest of his career as a singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer. His recording and performing habits remained somewhat hit-and-miss, however. With hindsight, it appears that Chilton simply wanted to work at his own pace, and having already rode the pop music merry-go-round, had no desire to climb aboard it again.

During the 80's, a new breed of American power-pop artists emerged; heavily influenced by Big Star and similar groups, they regarded Chilton as an icon. REM openly praised Big Star's work, and in 1987 The Replacements recorded their tribute "Alex Chilton", as well as inviting him to play on their album Pleased To Meet Me. Revived interest in Big Star led to the group coming together for a reunion in 1993. They have reunited intermittently ever since, and also recorded a new album in 2005. Chilton also participated in a Box Tops reunion in 1997.

For much of Alex Chilton's career, his was a talent lost in the wilderness. But for those familiar with The Box Tops' history, or for those who heard Big Star's erratic genius, Chilton will be remembered as a true rock legend, one whose stature will only continue to grow as the years pass.

Super Bowl open thread

2010-02-07T06:52:00.002-06:00

I really don't have a rooting interest in either team playing in this year's Super Bowl. I am glad to see the long-suffering New Orleans Saints (who were in the league 21 years before posting their first winning season) reach the Big Game for the first time. Peyton Manning leads his Indianapolis Colts back to the championship spotlight. The Colts have had better teams during the Manning era that failed to make the Super Bowl, but this season advances Peyton's credentials as the Best Quarterback Ever. Peyton is also the genuinely good guy that his public image suggests. Peggy had the chance to chauffeur Manning to a kids' football camp during her limo days, and she said that he was great with the kids, spending over an hour signing autographs at the end of the day. For once the league's two best teams play for the championship. The Colts started the season by winning their first 14 games, the Saints their first 13; either team could well have gone undefeated had they any incentive to do so.

I'd love to see a shootout, but if tradition holds, both teams will come out cautious and the defenses will take over. Once again, for no good reason this time, I'm going against my common sense in picking the result. Saints 35, Colts 31.

Your halftime entertainment

2010-02-05T20:33:00.003-06:00

Put me in, coach!

The first Super Bowl halftime show featured trumpeter Al Hirt, joined by the marching bands from the University of Arizona and Grambling University, along with some high school marching band members to fill up the field. Like the game itself, Super Bowl halftime shows became more and more extravagant with the passing years, reaching their apex with Janet Jackson's infamous "wardrobe malfunction" during Super Bowl XXXVIII. That brief glimpse of Jackson's bare boob scared the hell out of the TV networks, leading to a virtual ban on halftime entertainers not eligible to draw Social Security.

This brings us to The Who, the latest geezer rockers to grace the NFL's premier spectacle. They're not really The Who anymore, as Keith Moon and John Entwistle have passed on to The Great Gig In The Sky, but Peter Townshend and Roger Daltrey (who begins a tour with Eric Clapton following the game) carry on, even if they are no longer capable of releasing the raw torrents of sound they regularly unleashed in their heyday.

In their younger years, they were truly something for the eyes and ears to behold. Their fierce sound literally assaulted the ears - the Guinness Book Of World Records lists them as the loudest band in history, although the metal act Manowar claims to have broken The Who's long-standing mark for most decibels achieved in concert. They were every bit as aggressive-looking on stage as they sounded. Daltrey's voice roared as his lion's mane of hair flew; when not singing, he slung his microphone through the air like a lariat. Townshend windmilled his right arm high above his head, bringing it down to strike jagged chords on his guitar. Moon flailed his arms wildly about, creating chaotic drum patterns as he seemingly struck his skins at random, while Entwistle stood rock-solid still, anchoring his bandmates with mountains of booming bass. Each show climaxed with Townshend smashing his guitar into the amp as Moon knocked his drumkit over and smashed it to bits, bringing the house down with an avalanche of feedback and raw noise.

Sunday's performance will almost certainly pale in comparison to the glory days, but The Who have long since earned their right to stand on the world's great stages. Since it will apparently be many years until The Album Project reaches their end of the alphabet, I hereby present my quick 'n' dirty guide to the band's recordings, including five-star ratings a la Rolling Stone.

My Generation (*****): One of the rawest, most powerful debuts ever. Arguably the precursor to punk rock, The MC5, The Stooges, The Ramones, and The Sex Pistols would be inconceivable without this release. The British version features one of the greatest album covers ever. The US version, The Who Sing My Generation, has a slightly different track listing.

A Quick One (***): Known as Happy Jack in the US. The band knew they couldn't survive on raw power forever, and they began transitioning towards more complexity. "A Quick One While He's Away" is Townshend's first attempt at extended story-telling.

The Who Sell Out (****): The band mimics a pirate radio station, complete with jingles and diverse musical styles; the result is a magical artifact of psychedelia. The magnificent "I Can See For Miles" features the greatest one-note guitar solo ever.

Tommy (****): Townshend's pioneering rock opera is today celebrated as much for its cultural impact as for its songs. The storyline hangs by a thread, but classic tracks like "Pinball Wizard" and "We're Not Gonna Take It" insure Tommy's place in rock history.

Live At Leeds (****): The live act captured in all its thundering glory. The expanded CD version is essential. Highlights include an extended version of "My Generation" featuring segments from Tommy.

Who's Next (*****): This may well be the greatest rock album ever. You know all these tracks from being played on the radio repeatedly over the last four decades; if not, get yourself to a record store or download immediately, for you cannot truly know rock 'n' roll without knowing Who's Next.

Quadrophenia (***1/2): The story is better-developed than on Tommy, and the dense sound, particularly on tracks like "5:15" and "Love Reign O'er Me", is revelatory. Yet there are also times where Quadrophenia sounds almost too cold, too cerebral, and it's one that I've never been able to warm up to completely.

Odds & Sods (***1/2): Self-explanatory; it consists of various outtakes and forgotten tracks that piled up over the band's first decade. "Naked Eye" and "Long Live Rock" elevate Odds & Sods over the run-of-the-mill outtakes compilation.

The Who By Numbers: (****1/2): Realizing he wouldn't die before he got old, Townshend comes up with a winning reflection on aging. Although I wasn't so sure of this album when it was released, it continues to grow on me as the years pass, which is as it should be.

Who Are You (****): A well-crafted, powerful set that suggests that The Who had found a way to age gracefully. Sadly, Keith Moon died three weeks after the LP was released, and things would never be the same.

The Kids Are Alright: (***): More outtakes, alternate versions and rare tracks. The accompanying movie of the same name was a fine overview of the band's career.

Face Dances: (**1/2): Bravely carrying on with new drummer Kenney Jones, Moon's death and the 1979 Cincinnati concert tragedy seemed to sap the band's strength. "You Better You Bet", "Another Tricky Day" and Entwistle's "The Quiet One" stand out.

It's Hard: (**): This half-hearted effort marks The Who's logical end. Funk wasn't exactly their thing, but "Eminence Front" is just about the best thing here.

I haven't bothered with Who releases since 1982; as noted, I consider It's Hard to mark a logical endpoint. Nor have I listed compilations; Meaty Beaty Big And Bouncy is still the most direct, while those wanting to complete their Who collection should check into 30 Years Of Maximum R&B, which compiles many of their tracks unreleased on their regular LP's along with many rarities.

(Crossposted at SteveAudio.)

Howard Zinn

2010-01-29T22:03:00.003-06:00

Historian and activist Howard Zinn passed away Wednesday at age 87. Zinn's family said that he had had a heart attack while swimming in Santa Monica, CA.

Howard Zinn was born August 24, 1922 in Brooklyn to a Jewish immigrant family. His parents were factory workers with little education, and Zinn's introduction to literature came when they sent 25 cents and a coupon to the New York Post in return for a collection of Charles Dickens' writings. He joined the Army Air Force in World War II. As a bombardier, he participated in attacks upon Berlin, as well as parts of Czechoslovakia and Hungary. At Royan, in southwest France, he also took part in one of the first attacks using napalm. After the war, Zinn found out that the napalm attack killed 1500 innocent French along with the German soldiers in hiding there. This discovery helped influence Zinn's decision to become a pacifist in later years.

Zinn attended New York University on the GI Bill. He moved on to Columbia for his postgraduate work, earning his Ph.D. in history with a minor in political science in 1958. By that time he had landed his first job in academia, as chairman of the history and social studies department at Spelman College in Atlanta. His experience at the historically black women's college led to involvement in the civil rights movement. Among his students were author Alice Walker and Children's Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman. But Zinn's increasing political activity, notably his work in advising the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, angered the school's administration. In 1963, Spelman fired him for insubordination.

The next year, Zinn took a position in the political science department at Boston University. His classes on civil liberties quickly became among the most popular on campus. Once again, Zinn became heavily involved in political activism, particularly the efforts to stop the Vietnam War. In 1968, his diplomatic visit to Hanoi with the Rev. Daniel Berrigan resulted in the release of three US prisoners of war, the first set free since the US bombing of North Vietnam began. Later, he helped edit a set of government documents secretly copied by Daniel Ellsberg that became known as the Pentagon Papers, and served as an expert witness at Ellsberg's trial for theft, conspiracy, and espionage.

Of the many books Zinn wrote during his career, the best-known was A People's History Of The United States, published in 1980. Ever since participating in the civil rights marches of the 60's, Zinn had noticed that history almost always had been focused from the perspective of society's most powerful, and his goal was to create a textbook that contained the voices of America's lower classes, and to present a side of the historical narrative that had been overlooked. A People's History, by frequently casting America's past leaders as greedy, bloodthirsty exploiters, caused a stir among historians when first published. Nevertheless, the book spurred further efforts to consider history from alternative viewpoints, particularly those of the poor and minorities. A People's History became an unlikely popular success as well, with nearly 2,000,000 copies sold.

Zinn retired from teaching in 1988. In typical fashion, he finished his last class and then hurried off to join a picket line. He continued to write with regularity, with his articles frequently appearing in publications such as The Progressive and The Nation, and also continuing to write books, including several highly critical of the Iraq War. One of his last projects was a documentary, The People Speak, based on his A People's History and featuring appearances by Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Rosario Dawson, Bob Dylan, and many others. In one of his last interviews, Zinn said he wanted to be remembered "for introducing a different way of thinking about the world, about war, about human rights, about equality," and "for getting more people to realize that the power which rests so far in the hands of people with wealth and guns, that the power ultimately rests in people themselves and that they can use it." Indeed, Howard Zinn was highly successful in getting millions to reconsider how they thought about history and America's relationship with the world, myself included.

I highly recommend visiting The Nation's website and checking out the videos featured in their Howard Zinn tribute. Zinn also returned to Spelman College in 2005 to give the commencement address. That speech is one of Zinn's most stirring moments, and a good introduction for those unfamiliar with the rest of the historian's work.

(Crossposted at SteveAudio and They Gave Us A Republic.)

Jumping back into it

2010-01-28T23:53:00.002-06:00

Well, I don't do a whole lot of jumping these days. But Jenn's daughter Amanda is participating in a fundraiser for the American Heart Association, and one of the things she's doing is jumping rope to help raise money, keep her heart healthy, and learn about heart disease, especially the sorts that affect kids. Y'all can help her out! Just click the link to Amanda's page and help her out with what you can. Amanda appreciates it, and Jenn and I appreciates it too! Thanks!

J.D. Salinger

2010-01-28T20:04:00.006-06:00

J.D.Salinger, reclusive author of the classic The Catcher In The Rye, passed away Wednesday at his New Hampshire home. He was 91.

Salinger, the son of a cheese merchant, began writing short stories while attending Valley Forge Military Academy, usually late at night under the covers. He enrolled at New York University in 1936, but dropped out during the spring semester. His father then sent him to Vienna to learn about the meat-importing business, leaving there in early 1938, shortly before Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany.

From there he spent a semester at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania, then returned to New York to take a night class in creative writing at Columbia University. He managed to sell a few short stories to publications like Esquire and The Saturday Evening Post. In 1941, The New Yorker bought his "Slight Rebellion Off Madison", but held it for five years, fearful that its rebellious theme would encourage youngsters to drop out of school. In the meantime, Salinger was drafted into the Army to serve in World War II, landing at Utah Beach on D-Day and seeing action in The Battle Of The Bulge. While on the campaign from Normandy into Germany, he also met with Ernest Hemingway, who was serving as a war correspondent in Paris. He also continued writing through the war, the quality of his work markedly improving. The New Yorker published his first major success, "A Perfect Day For Bananafish", in 1948, setting the stage for his greatest triumph.

The Catcher In The Rye sparked something of an uproar when it was published in 1951. Catcher's teenaged protagonist, Holden Caulfield, had already appeared in Salinger's "Slight Rebellion Off Madison", and the novel expands upon the themes of that earlier story. Caulfield was no athletic hero or goody two-shoes; he was a hard-nosed kid of the streets, recently expelled from prep school, and bursting full of attitude, as was apparent from the opening lines: “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.” The language of Catcher, laced with profanity and sexual innuendo, perfectly captured the streets of New York City, but teachers and librarians of the day felt it was hardly suitable for their young readers. Catcher was an immediate success, going through eight printings in its first two months after its release, and smuggled undercover by countless adolescents during the Fifties and for years thereafter.

Salinger followed this up in 1953 with the critically acclaimed Nine Stories, a collection of short stories, including his previously published "Bananafish", that showcased his ear for the everyday vernacular of the streets. The author, though, increasingly desired to step away from the limelight. Salinger had embraced Zen Buddhism prior to writing Catcher In The Rye, and spent increasing amounts of time in solitude and meditation. Also in 1953, he moved from New York to a secluded 90 acre property in Cornish, New Hampshire, and slowly withdrew from the world.

At first, Salinger socialized with the Cornish townspeople, especially taking a liking to the local high school students who would come to the author asking for advice. He even allowed one of the students to interview him for the high school newspaper. But after that interview appeared on the editorial page of Cornish's daily paper, Salinger cut off all contact with the high schoolers, and eventually with nearly all the city's residents as well.

After the short story "Hapworth 16, 1924" was published in The New Yorker in 1965, Salinger never had another of his works published. He was frequently rumored to be working on a new novel, but nothing ever surfaced. He refused nearly all requests for interviews, turned down numerous requests to have his works made into Hollywood screenplays, and demanded that his photo be taken off the dust cover of future printings of his books. Increasingly reclusive, it became a noted pastime for tourists to Cornish to see if they could get a glimpse of the author. Salinger's enigmatic image was further complicated by the release of two memoirs, one by his daughter Margaret, the other by Joyce Maynard, an author and Yale student many years his junior with whom he had an affair in 1972. Both painted a picture of an abusive, controlling man far different from the genial figure Salinger had been in his heyday.

John Updike and Philip Roth, among others, have acknowledged their debt to Salinger's work. Despite his virtual disappearance from public view, J.D. Salinger remains notable as an author who broke down barriers, without whom the cultural advances of the later 50's and 60's would have been that much more difficult to achieve.

Holiday break

2009-11-24T03:16:00.002-06:00

First, if you haven't visited milady's blog of late, Jenn is walking away, for a while at least, maybe forever. We've developed a great relationship in RL, but it all started here on the blogs, and I'll miss her writing, even though we see each other everyday.

There are a few things we need to work out as a couple, and a few more to work out with the kids as a family. Mostly it's just part of the growing pains associated with an evolving relationship. The main thing is that any growing relationship requires time and effort, which will have an impact upon this corner of the blogosphere as well.

Basically, I'm at a stage where I need to concentrate more of my efforts on real-life stuff for the time being. Not that I've spent all that much time at writing, but there comes a time that you have to look at the unproductive things you do online. We've all wasted time online, I think - hours spent in forums and comment threads where the conversations circle around and around and end up nowhere, hopping from link to link and finding you've just burnt a couple of hours without really learning anything new, and plenty of other vices you can think of. For me, I feel I'm at a point that for in order for this blog to continue, I need to spend less time reading junk, and learn to use the limited time I have online more wisely.

This is not the end. But I'm not planning to do any posting apart from perhaps a couple of Beatles posts during the holiday season. I just need time to focus, remind myself that my real-life relationships come first, and make a few adjustments that will ensure that I can continue to do this for years to come.

Have a happy Thanksgiving, and I hope your holidays are enjoyable and festive. Thank you again for the attention you've given me over the last three-plus years.

Over the top

2009-11-16T17:24:00.002-06:00

These things are supposed to be extinct. The amateurs have all left for Facebook, and the big kids never played to begin with. But Jeni, who runs Down River Drivel, is such a nice lady that I can't turn her down on this. Her writing on the goings-on around her central Pennsylvania home are always entertaining, and I've enjoyed our various e-mail correspondences.

In order to participate in the "Over The Top" meme, you simply answer the following set of questions with one-word answers. It looks easy, but sometimes you have to give it some thought in order to come up with just one word. Those who complete the exercise get to proudly display the award seen at the top of the post, which I will ~~take out to the shed to store with the rest of the junk~~ proudly display in the Poll Hill trophy case once this scrolls off the front page.

Here we go, kids.

1. Where is your cell phone? Charging

2. Your hair? Graying

3. Your mother? Illinois

4. Your favorite food? Steak

5. Your dream last night? Unmemorable

6. Your favorite drink? Beer

7. Your dream/goal? Serenity

8. What room are you in? Living

9. Your hobby? Reading

10. Your fear? Uncertainty

11. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Retired

12. Where were you last night? Lab

13. Something that you aren’t? Wealthy

14. Muffins? Biscuits

15. Wish list item? Add-on

16. Where did you grow up? Everywhere

17. Last thing you did? Showered

18. What are you wearing? T-shirt

19. Your TV? News

20. Your pets? Various

21. Friends? Interesting

22. Your life? Contented

23. Your mood? Relaxed

24. Missing someone? Yes

25. Vehicle? Impala

26. Something you’re not wearing? Necktie

27. Your favorite store? Bookstore

28. Your favorite color? Blue

29. When was the last time you laughed? Today

30. Last time you cried? Recently

31. Your best friend? Jenn

32. One place that I go to over and over? Work

33. One person who emails me regularly? Jeff

34. Favorite place to eat? Buffet

OK, that was easy.

And, guess what! Y'all can do it too! Anyone who wants to can take this to their blog and answer the... Uh, hello? Is this thing on? Bueller?

Album project: Revolver

2009-11-12T18:55:00.007-06:00

The Beatles, Revolver (1966): All of the creative strands that The Beatles had been diligently collecting over the past months came together in a dazzling whole in 1966 with the release of an album considered by many as the greatest of all time. John, Paul, George, and Ringo had reached a pinnacle achieved by few popular artists, and they began to use their success to leverage independence from the music industry machinery. They used the first three months of 1966 to take a well-earned break, returning to the studio in April refreshed and concentrated at the peak of their creative powers.

The first fruits from these sessions released to the public were found on the single "Paperback Writer"/"Rain". A dichotomy seemed to be forming in the Lennon-McCartney partnership where Paul was responsible for keeping the group at the top of the charts, while John expanded listeners' perceptions with ever-imaginative flights of whimsy. "Paperback Writer" features an imaginative vocal arrangement, one of the Fab Four's most powerful riffs, and a newly boosted bass sound. Allegedly, Lennon demanded a bass sound as powerful as on the Wilson Pickett records he was listening to. "Rain" previewed some of the recording tricks that would surface later on Revolver. Of particular note was the use of backwards vocal tracks. According to Lennon, "After we'd done the session on that particular song—it ended at about four or five in the morning—I went home with a tape to see what else you could do with it. And I was sort of very tired, you know, not knowing what I was doing, and I just happened to put it on my own tape recorder and it came out backwards. And I liked it better. So that's how it happened."

The "Paperback Writer" clip features stills from The Beatles' performance of the song on the venerable UK TV series Top Of The Pops. This was the Fab Four's only live TOTP appearance; the tape was unceremoniously erased by the BBC in the 70's.

Revolver was the product of an unprecedented 300 hours of work in the studio, as The Beatles and producer George Martin used their clout to camp out in the EMI studios for whatever amount of time they required, without regard for the label's schedules. This allowed the Fab Four all the time they needed to develop their increasingly complex songwriting ideas, as well as allowing themselves to take advantage of the latest in recording technology. They were particularly fond of automatic double tracking, which used two linked tape recorders to create an automatically doubled vocal track. This innovation, along with use of backwards tapes and a wide range of instrumentation, from sitars to string quartets, greatly expanded the band's musical palette.

The first surprise on Revolver is that it opens with a George Harrison composition. The snarling "Taxman" is George's complaint about the British tax system, backed up by an aggressive guitar solo from McCartney. Those hearing the LP for the first time in 1966 might have though that "Taxman" was signaling a return to the earlier, raw sounds of Beatles For Sale, and would have been surprised by the strings opening the next track. "Eleanor Rigby", with its classical overtones, broke more new ground for The Beatles and rock music in general. McCartney's then-girlfriend, actress Jane Asher, had interested Paul in classical music, and he had taken an interest in Vivaldi's work for string quartets. "Eleanor Rigby" uses two string quartets, the parts doubled, playing a George Martin-composed score. McCartney came up with the basic idea for the song, with the other Beatles assisting in its final composition. The song's protagonists originally had different names, as McCartney explained: "I was sitting at the piano when I thought of it. The first few bars just came to me, and I got this name in my head... 'Daisy Hawkins picks up the rice in the church'. I don't know why. I couldn't think of much more so I put it away for a day. Then the name Father McCartney came to me, and all the lonely people. But I thought that people would think it was supposed to be about my Dad sitting knitting his socks. Dad's a happy lad. So I went through the telephone book and I got the name McKenzie."

In many ways, Revolver is as much a coming-of-age album for McCartney as Rubber Soul was for Lennon. The fabled songwriting partnership was breaking up; as John was pursuing his increasingly psychedelic visions, Paul was honing a descriptive songwriting style that often produced brilliant results, but at times would come off as embarrassingly trite. McCartney hits the mark every time on Revolver. The punchy brass on "Got To Get You Into My Life" was Paul's homage to Motown; as a tribute to The Beatles' enduring popularity, it reached the Top Ten when finally released as a single in 1976. "Good Day Sunshine" was endearingly optimistic, the warmth of "Here, There, And Everywhere" recalls The Beach Boys, and "For No One", with its distinctive French horn solo, details the breakup of a relationship. He also was primarily responsible for "Yellow Submarine". Although essentially a children's tune, notably in Ringo Starr's treatment of the vocal, it was also inspired by an LSD trip of Lennon's and Harrison's.

For the first time, George Harrison contributes three compositions to a Beatles album. Along with "Taxman", he also adds the straightforward rocker "I Want To Tell You", with lyrics that refer to George's difficulties in putting his feelings into words. But on "Love You To", Harrison takes his craft to a higher level. The track highlights his interest in Indian music forms, establishing an exotic sound that would become a trademark of future Beatles recordings, and of much of George's solo career as well. Harrison by this point had become an adept sitar player, aided by an apprenticeship with virtuoso Ravi Shankar that would help give Harrison a mastery of the instrument achieved by few Westerners.

John Lennon's tracks reflect his continuing search for self-fulfillment, which had taken him to psychedelia and LSD-inspired explorations of his mind. Lennon downplayed the influence drug-taking had on his songwriting, saying "The drugs are to prevent the rest of the world from crowding in on you. They don't make you write any better. I never wrote any better stuff because I was on acid or not on acid." LSD was, though, figuring implicitly in much of John's songwriting at this point, and explicitly in some of his tunes. The uptempo "Dr. Robert" referred to a drug dealer, while "She Said She Said", with its swirling guitars and agile drum patterns (this is the track to play anyone who tries to tell you Ringo Starr was a mediocre drummer) was inspired by an acid trip the group took with Peter Fonda where the actor kept repeating the words "I know what it's like to be dead". Lennon closes Revolver with the remarkable "Tomorrow Never Knows", a trippy mix of tape loops, psychedelic guitars, and multi-tracked vocals rooted in Indian music. Lennon told George Martin that he wanted the song to sound like a hundred chanting monks. The lyrics were inspired by Timothy Leary, Richard Alpert, and Ralph Metzner's The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. According to McCartney, John and Paul were browsing in a bookstore when they saw the book. John noted the lines "When in doubt, relax, turn off your mind, float downstream". Paul said that John bought the book, went home, dropped LSD, and proceeded to follow those instructions to the letter.

For me, it's a tough call whether Revolver or Rubber Soul is the greatest Beatles album. The songs on the former are more direct, and the progress the band makes is breathtaking. But it's hard to deny the grand sweep of Revolver, its diversity of musical forms, and the undeniable mark the LP left upon nearly everything that followed it during the rest of the decade. Few creative artists in any genre have ever reached the creative peak these two discs represent. Although much popular music is forgotten within months of its creation, The Beatles, with Rubber Soul and Revolver, created works that will endure in the minds and hearts of music lovers many generations from now.

(Edited 11/13.)

Album project: Rubber Soul

2009-11-05T20:54:00.006-06:00

The Beatles, Rubber Soul (1965): The Beatles emerged at a time when the shelf life of pop music acts was usually measured in months - if a group was particularly good and/or lucky, they might hang around for a couple of years. The Fab Four were not only determined to remain at the top of the charts for as long as they could, but they were also striving to break free of the pop song conventions that limited them to simple boy-girl love songs. They were impressed by Bob Dylan's sweeping command of lyrical subjects, and also took note of how British Invasion contemporaries like The Rolling Stones and The Who were finding success with sounds that were closer to their roots in American blues and R&B. The Beatles responded to these challenges with Rubber Soul, the group's first fully mature work and a great artistic leap forward that paved the way for other rock artists beginning to regard their output as more than collections of simple pop songs.

Once again, The Beatles had to meet a deadline in order to have new product ready for the holiday season. During the recording of Rubber Soul, though, the group was able to settle down in the studio somewhat to work on their material, as opposed to the practice of recent albums that had been recorded on the fly during breaks from touring and movie-making. This enabled The Beatles to experiment with various sound ideas and studio tricks, such as George Harrison's work on sitar on "Norwegian Wood" (Harrison had picked up the sitar while filming Help!) and George Martin's piano solo on "In My Life", which was recorded at half-speed and then sped up to sound like a harpsichord. Then there were less-sophisticated tricks, such as Ringo Starr keeping time by tapping a matchbook on "I'm Looking Through You".

"Drive My Car" opens Rubber Soul with the acerbic wit that had become a Beatles trademark. The next track, "Norwegian Wood", is a John Lennon tour de force. Lennon's moodiness, his melancholy at living his life in the fishbowl of fame, had seeped into some of the tracks on Beatles For Sale and Help!. On Rubber Soul, it bursts into the open, shaped by the lessons he had learned from Dylan. "Norwegian Wood" shows that John has matured as a storyteller, an oblique tale of a furtive sexual encounter and/or marijuana use, with a magnificent assist from Harrison's sitar. John said, "Norwegian Wood" is my song completely. It was about an affair I was having. I was very careful and paranoid because I didn't want my wife, Cyn, to know that there really was something going on outside of the household. I'd always had some kind of affairs going on, so I was trying to be sophisticated in writing about an affair ... but in such a smoke-screen way that you couldn't tell. But I can't remember any specific woman it had to do with."

John's wistful remembrances were at the heart of "In My Life", while his troubled self-image becomes fully apparent on "Nowhere Man". Sweetened by McCartney and Harrison's harmonies, the song became a US hit. "The Word" is an ode to brotherly love, and "Run For Your Life", the disc's closer, is a particularly mean-spirited example of Lennon's jealous-guy pose. In later years John would say that "Run For Your Life" is the song he most regretted writing.

Some of Rubber Soul's highlights are found in the great strides made by George Harrison as a musician and songwriter. He contributes a ringing, folk-influenced solo on "Nowhere Man", burbling guitar parts on "Michelle", and gives drive to rockers like "You Won't See Me" and "Run For Your Life". He also makes his strongest contributions as a writer to date, the cheery "If I Needed Someone" and the self-explanatory "Think For Yourself". Ringo Starr also gets part of a songwriting credit, with Lennon and McCartney on the country-rocker "What Goes On", which Ringo also sings.

Paul McCartney's contributions to Rubber Soul were a bit more subdued. Tracks like "I'm Looking Through You" ("white-boy blues", as Steve Earle describes it) and "You Won't See Me" provide much of the soul of the LP's title. Paul's best-known moment here is "Michelle", where in his trademark romantic fashion he pours his heart out to a French girl who can't understand his words of love. "Michelle" won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1967 and has since become one of McCartney's most recognized standards. (The video, although it has a vintage feel, actually is from Paul's Wings period, but it's still good.)

Once again there are differences in the US version, leaving off four tracks that would later make it to Yesterday and Today, while tacking on two cuts left over from the UK version of Help! Some of The Beatles' teenybopper fans didn't quite know what to make of the more complex Rubber Soul at first, and although the LP was an instant million-seller like the previous ones, it did cause a bit of confusion among the Fab Four's young fan base that was used to love songs. But Rubber Soul's remarkable depth expanded the group's appeal to older, more sophisticated audiences, and its stature has continued to grow over time. It is today regarded justifiably by rock fans and critics alike as one of the greatest albums of all time.

With the release of Rubber Soul came one of The Beatles' most remarkable singles yet, the double A-sided "We Can Work It Out"/"Day Tripper". The former is a classic example of Lennon and McCartney's collaborative style. John described it: "You've got Paul writing, 'We can work it out / We can work it out'—real optimistic, y'know, and me, impatient: 'Life is very short, and there's no time / For fussing and fighting, my friend.'" "Day Tripper" is on another level entirely. The Lennon-composed guitar hook is one of their instantly-recognized triumphs. Although Lennon wrote most of the song, McCartney sings lead, doubled by Lennon in the last verse, as well as contributing a deep bass groove. Harrison comes through with a sunny guitar break that is reinforced by the "ah-ah-ahhs" of the bridge. Part California, part blue-eyed soul, part British hard rock, "Day Tripper" is a remarkable three-minute blast that wraps up all The Beatles' influences in a neat three-minute package and delivers a knockout punch.

Following Rubber Soul's release, The Beatles spent the first three months of 1966 taking a much-needed break from three years of non-stop touring and recording. They spent much of that time smoking pot and experimenting with their new psychedelic discovery, LSD. Their minds expanded and altered by regular drug use, the Fab Four set out to explore the musical frontiers opened by the success of Rubber Soul.

National Cat Day

2009-10-29T22:58:00.003-05:00

I told the cats that today was National Cat Day. They could have cared less.

Thanks to Christie for the tip.

Soupy Sales

2009-10-26T18:48:00.004-05:00

Pie-throwing master Soupy Sales, whose madcap antics won the hearts of both young and old, passed away Thursday at age 83.

Sales was born Milton Supman on January 8, 1926, in Franklinton, North Carolina. His parents owned a dry goods store, and the Supmans were the only Jewish family in town. Young Milton picked up the nickname "Soup Bone", in reference to his last name, which he adapted to "Soupy" when he became a professional comedian.

Graduating from high school in 1944, Soupy enlisted in the Navy and served in the South Pacific during World War II. He entertained his shipmates with practical jokes and with crazy characters that he would often broadcast over the ship's PA system. He invented a large dog, "White Fang", that would play outrageous jokes on the seamen. After the war, he enrolled at Marshall University, graduating with a journalism degree. Soupy then moved to Cincinnati, working as a DJ and performing in nightclubs using the name Soupy Hines. He landed his first TV job at WKRC, where the station manager suggested he change his stage name to Soupy Sales, after the 1920's comic Chick Sale.

Sales rose to stardom in the mid-50's while working at WXYZ in Detroit. His Lunch With Soupy Sales, although intended to be a childrens' program, also attracted a sizable number of adults with its rapid-fire slapstick humor. He developed a series of routines using puppets, including White Fang from his Navy days, Black Tooth, and Pookie the Lion. His comic routines were often climaxed by somebody, often Sales himself, getting a pie in the face. Lunch With Soupy became enormously popular in Detroit, and in 1959 was picked up for national broadcast by ABC. During his time in Detroit, he also hosted a nighttime program, Soupy's On. A noted jazz aficionado, Sales used this program to promote many of the leading jazz artists of the era.

Sales moved his program to Los Angeles in 1960, and in 1964 began a run at WNEW-TV in New York City. Soupy was at the height of his fame during his years in the Big Apple. The Soupy Sales Show was syndicated throughout the country, and White Fang, Black Tooth, Pookie, along with private detective Philo Kvetch, Hobart and Reba whose heads poked out of the pot-bellied stove, and other Sales characters became etched in the national consciousness. As in Detroit, he often featured jazz and pop music on his programs, often coming up with madcap dances. One of his dance inventions, "The Mouse", became something of a national fad.

Soupy's most infamous moment occurred on New Years Day 1965. Angry at being made to work the holiday, Sales instructed his young audience to sneak into their parents' bedrooms and remove those "funny green pieces of paper with pictures of U.S. Presidents" from their pants and pocketbooks. "Put them in an envelope and mail them to me," Sales told his young viewers. Several days later, Soupy began receiving envelopes containing money from kids all over the country. The uproar from enraged parents led to WNEW suspending Sales for two weeks. Soupy apologized, explaining that most of what he had received was Monopoly money, and donated the remaining cash to charity. He was sometimes accused of sneaking dirty jokes into his shows. Soupy had a standing offer he would pay $10,000 to anyone who could prove he used obscenity on his childrens' programs; no one ever took up the offer. Antics like this, though, helped to win Sales an unlikely cult audience among college students, who saw his anarchic comic routines as a subversive challenge to authority.

The pie in the face was Soupy's trademark. Sales estimated that he had over 25,000 pies thrown at him in the course of his career. There was a science to successful pie-throwing, as Sales recalled in his memoir Soupy Sez: “You can use whipped cream, egg whites or shaving cream, but shaving cream is much better because it doesn’t spoil. And no tin plates. The secret is you just can’t push it and shove it in somebody’s face. It has to be done with a pie that has a lot of crust so that it breaks up into a thousand pieces when it hits you.” One day, though, Soupy was notably caught off-guard: “One of my younger fans made the mistake of heaving a frozen pie at me before it defrosted. It caught me in the neck and I dropped like a pile of bricks.”

After Sales' program went off the air, he stayed in the public eye by appearing on a number of game shows, including What's My Line?, To Tell The Truth, The Hollywood Squares, and The $10,000 Pyramid. He continued to host local TV and radio programs in New York, and did occasional movie work. He also fathered two sons, Hunt and Tony, who became rock musicians, best known for their band Tin Machine and working with David Bowie and Iggy Pop.

Soupy Sales was a one-of-a-kind talent; zany, madcap, sometimes infuriating, but you couldn't help but like him. Enjoy this fine tribute to the master of the pie in the face.

(Crossposted at SteveAudio.)

Album project: Help!

2009-10-24T13:33:00.006-05:00

The Beatles, Help! (1965): By now, not only were The Beatles the world's most successful musicians, but their witty, ebullient personalities made them naturals for an even greater celebrity status approaching that of Hollywood idols. Movies, then, seemed to be a logical career progression, and in the first part of 1965 the Fab Four once again hooked up with director Richard Lester to make Help!. The film was intended in the vein of Marx Brothers classics such as Duck Soup, and also as a spoof of James Bond movies, but the results weren't quite as successful as what they achieved with A Hard Day's Night. The group would later say that they didn't enjoy working on Help!, with John Lennon remarking that they felt like extras in their own movie. The Fab Four had difficulty at times understanding the plot, although Lennon suggested that their recent mind-altering discoveries may have had something to do with it:

The movie was out of our control. With A Hard Day's Night, we had a lot of input, and it was semi-realistic. But with Help!, Dick Lester didn't tell us what it was all about. I realise, looking back, how advanced it was. It was a precursor for the Batman 'Pow! Wow!' on TV -- that kind of stuff. But he never explained it to us. Partly, maybe, because we hadn't spent a lot of time together between A Hard Day's Night and Help!, and partly because we were smoking marijuana for breakfast during that period. Nobody could communicate with us, it was all glazed eyes and giggling all the time. In our own world. It's like doing nothing most of the time, but still having to rise at 7 am, so we became bored.

The Beatles began recording the soundtrack to Help! prior to beginning the film's shooting, and sandwiched in additional sessions as filming progressed. When the LP was completed, it featured seven songs used in the movie, and additional tracks the band had written during the same period. On Help!, the band starts moving forward again, incorporating elements of country and folk music, including ideas picked up by way of Bob Dylan.

Lennon's melancholy, which he had begun to explore on Beatles For Sale, hangs over many of the tracks on this record. Those feelings are apparent on "Ticket To Ride", with its bluesy mood underlying the folky guitar chords. Paul McCartney provides some inspired lead guitar licks, but the power of the song comes from Ringo Starr's deep groove, as soulful as anything to come out of Motown in those days. Dave Marsh says of "Ticket To Ride", "Here, they ride their bar band roots in Liverpool and Hamburg to a new kind of glory."

Lennon's melancholy is tempered at other times by the folksy sweetness of songs like "It's Only Love" and "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away". The sentiment's of "You're Going To Lose That Girl" are among John's most mean-spirited, but here they are offset by some of the most gorgeous harmony work the Fab Four ever turned in. Lennon lets everything hang out on "Dizzy Miss Lizzy", which along with another stock rockabilly turn by Ringo Starr on "Act Naturally" would be the last covers The Beatles would record.

By now, Lennon and Paul McCartney were already going their separate ways as songwriters, and this was becoming apparent in the tracks written principally by Paul. "The Night Before" and "Another Girl" feature jaunty yet complex melodies. "I've Just Seen A Face" is a standout; its folksy melody and uptempo pace suggest a hint of bluegrass. The plaintive "Yesterday" may seem a bit precious, but it's one of Paul's greatest successes; the song was hugely successful when released as a single, and became the Beatles composition performed most by other artists.

The title track is another of the Fab Four's greatest triumphs. "Help!" is arguably Lennon's strongest expression of the claustrophobic feelings brought on by his sudden fame, and his accompanying melancholy. He considered "Help!" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" to be his most genuine Beatles songs. But John was not pleased with the recording of the song; he wanted "Help!" to have a slower, bluesier feel. George Martin and the other Beatles overruled him, though, and the uptempo final recording suggests dimensions to John's pain that his intended reading would not have conveyed. In Dave Marsh's words, " 'Help!' isn't a compromise; it's bursting with a vitality that Lennon's less mediated solo albums never achieve. And John certainly doesn't sound like he's trying to spit the bit; he sounds triumphant, because he's found a group of kindred spirits who are offering the very spiritual assistance and emotional support for which he's begging."

In the US, as with A Hard Day's Night, the Help! soundtrack omitted the tracks not used in the movie and substituted instrumental sequences from the soundtrack. Hardly slowing down, after the movie and LP's release, The Beatles accepted the Members of the Order of the British Empire award from Queen Elizabeth II, causing controversy among many of the order's more conservative members, some returning their medals in protest. Then in August, the Fab Four returned to America for the first-ever stadium tour by a rock band, beginning with appearing before a record audience of 55,600 at New York's Shea Stadium.

Hierarchy of the brows

2009-10-22T10:42:00.004-05:00

Following up on an exchange with Marc in comments to the Hard Day's Night post, here's a bit of context. This is from a 1949 Life magazine article, posted by Kieran Healy at Crooked Timber.

Although the above chart is (I think) a bit tongue-in-cheek, it does show that prior to the pop culture explosion of the 50's and 60's, this stuff was taken pretty seriously, especially by stuffy critics of the sort that wrote for Life and major newspapers such as the New York Times. One effect of the post-World War II rise in living standards was a democratization of culture. The vulgar unwashed masses were starting to have an economic impact on American culture, and judging from the Life article, at least one highbrow didn't like it:

The thing that burns up high-brows like me is that the dominant feature of our mental and spiritual life is the overwhelming flood of cultural sewage that is manufactured especially for the tastes of the low-brow and lower middle-brow. It is difficult even for a high-brow to escape its influence. Only eternal vigilance keeps it from converting us into 100% low-brow people. This flood exists for only one reason. The oafish classes, being overwhelmingly numerous, are the biggest consumers of everything from salad to music, and an investment in their tastes is correspondingly profitable. They therefore dominate taste in nearly all our big industries where taste is factor, the most horrible examples in point being the radio and Hollywood movies.

Then a real tragic thing happened; the highbrows began to like "cultural sewage" as well. As a Crooked Timber commenter put it, lowbrow has worn quite well over the years.

Album project: Beatles For Sale

2009-10-18T11:29:00.002-05:00

The Beatles, Beatles For Sale (1964): The Beatles spent most of 1964 touring the world, In June, they did 19 shows in 32 days, visiting Denmark, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand. They folowed this with a triumphant return to the United States in August, performing 30 shows in 23 cities during the month. The tours became a monotonous grind, with the time before shows spent with promotional appearances, and dealing with obnoxious promoters, journalists, and DJs. The shows themselves were frustrating experiences, the group usually hurrying through 15 songs in 25 minutes that neither band nor audience could hear over all the screaming - as John Lennon remarked, "We might as well had been playing broomsticks." Afterward, the group headed back to the hotel, parading scores of young women through their rooms into the wee hours of the morning. On August 28 in New York, The Beatles met Bob Dylan, an artist that Lennon particularly admired. This meeting became a turning point for both Dylan and the Fab Four. According to legend, Dylan introduced The Beatles to marijuana that afternoon, opening up the group to all manner of mind-expanding experiences that would in time show up in their music. For their part, John, Paul, George, and Ringo gave Dylan the inspiration to start moving away from folk music and form his own rock band.

Physically and emotionally exhausted, The Beatles returned to England in September needing a break, only to discover that EMI Records and Brian Epstein were demanding that a new album be completed for release during the Christmas season. Furthermore, they only had a few weeks to complete the record before going out on another tour of Great Britain. During this time, the group knocked out Beatles For Sale, which bears the marks of a tired group pushed to its limits.

When one writes of a mediocre Beatles album, it must be noted that this is a relative assessment: a sub-par Beatles disc is nevertheless superior to the best efforts of the majority of rock groups. The frenetic pace of the band's tour schedule made it difficult for John Lennon and Paul McCartney to compose new material; Lennon told interviewers, "Material's becoming a hell of a problem." Once again, The Beatles decided to augment their original material with a selection of covers, which account for most of the disc's weak spots. Of the outside material, Ringo Starr's vocal on "Honey Don't" is the best moment, as Starr was by now showing a flair for country and rockabilly-oriented material. Uptempo material like "Kansas City"/"Hey Hey Hey" and "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" seems uninspired; even John's performance on Chuck Berry's "Rock And Roll Music" lacks spark when compared to earlier efforts like "Twist And Shout" and "Money". The less said about "Mr. Moonlight", the better.

The eight original compositions show an increasing musical sophistication, as well as reflecting the ever-increasing pressures of The Beatles' fame, and the claustrophobic feeling of living every moment in the spotlight. "No Reply" was a surprisingly downbeat way to open an album. Along with the next two tracks, "I'm A Loser" and "Baby's In Black", they form a trilogy, mostly written by Lennon, that highlights John's sad, despondent feelings; Lennon increasingly seems to be a man trapped by his own fame. "I'm A Loser", with its chord structure and vocal inflections, also shows the increasing influence of Bob Dylan on The Beatles' songwriting. "I Don't Want To Spoil The Party" continues in this vein. A counterpoint to the moodiness is found in the shimmering "Eight Days A Week", with its unusual fade-in introduction and extensively overdubbed guitar parts. Although not released in the UK as a single, "Eight Days A Week" became the Fab Four's seventh US chart-topper in March 1965.

On Beatles For Sale, the group and producer George Martin continue their experimentation with multi-tracking and overdubbing, in the process sparking a revolution in music recording that would continue for the rest of the decade. Some of the aggression and despair that marks the album could be due to the nervousness of The Beatles realizing that they had crossed into uncharted territory, and wondering if they might be getting too far ahead of their times to sustain their success. A lot of it, though, could have been the tensions caused by that success itself - even in the cover photo, the group looks fatigued, on edge. As George Martin said, "They were rather war-weary during Beatles For Sale. One must remember that they'd been battered like mad throughout '64, and much of '63. Success is a wonderful thing, but it is very, very tiring." But success was also continuing to be lucrative, as Beatles For Sale replaced A Hard Days Night atop the UK album chart upon its release on December 4. In the US, the Beatles For Sale material showed up on Beatles '65 and Beatles VI.

The Beatles' musical progress is even more apparent on the non-LP single "I Feel Fine"/"She's A Woman", released the week prior to Beatles For Sale and one of the strongest double-"A" sided singles ever. The riff-driven "I Feel Fine" features a confident group creating a style of rock all its own. The song is notable for the first-ever use of feedback on record. According to Paul McCartney, “John had a semi-acoustic Gibson guitar. It had a pick-up on it so it could be amplified… We were just about to walk away to listen to a take when John leaned his guitar against the amp. I can still see him doing it… and it went, ‘Nnnnnnwahhhhh!” And we went, ‘What’s that? Voodoo!’ ‘No, it’s feedback.’ Wow, it’s a great sound!’ George Martin was there so we said, ‘Can we have that on the record?’ ‘Well, I suppose we could, we could edit it on the front.’ It was a found object– an accident caused by leaning the guitar against the amp.”

"She's A Woman" is another driving riff-rocker. McCartney turns in one of his best Little Richard imitations here, with counterpoint provided by his bass and piano. Many Beatles experts also credit Paul with the lead guitar solo. Lennon and Harrison nail it all down with their chunky guitar chords.

The Beatles entered 1965 on top of the world, ready to make another movie. Not even they could have predicted the impact that the musical revolution they sparked would have over the next twelve months.

Album Project: A Hard Day's Night

2009-10-09T08:20:00.005-05:00

The Beatles, A Hard Day's Night (1964): Back in the day, making a movie was essential for any would-be conquerors of the entertainment world. Pop music acts weren't expected to last more than a year or two; if you really wanted to make it big, you had to get into the movies. The group enlisted director Richard Lester and screenwriter Alun Owen to put together a mock documentary of a couple of days in the life of a Liverpool pop group on its way up; the result was a lighthearted romp that proved successful at the box office, further cementing the Fab Four as international titans, as well as establishing each as an individual personality - sardonic John, romantic Paul, pensive George, good-natured Ringo.

A Hard Day's Night's title track opens with that chord - instantly recognizable, arresting, it became the signature of the early Beatles' sound and still recalls the heady days of the British Invasion today. "A Hard Day's Night" is yet another in the remarkable string of singles The Beatles released in this period, featuring John's double-tracked lead vocals, Paul's work on the bridge, and a spidery guitar solo from George, showing his mastery of his new Rickenbacker twelve-string guitar. They even throw in a cowbell as a finishing touch.

Two notable developments on A Hard Day's Night signify considerable advances in The Beatles' style and sound. For the first time, the group uses a four-track recorder, giving the Fab Four and producer George Martin added flexibility in constructing the tracks. Also, this is the first Beatles album where all the compositions were written by the group; specifically, it is the only Beatles album written entirely by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The duo were writing new material at a frenetic pace at this point, giving The Beatles a deep pool from which to pull the LP's thirteen tracks.

The first seven tracks (side one) comprised songs featured in the movie. They feature the maturing romanticism of "And I Love Her" and "If I Fell", and John's bittersweet performances on "I Should Have Known Better" and "Tell Me Why". George Harrison has no songwriting credits on the disc; Lennon and McCartney give him "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You" to sing. Also included is "Can't Buy Me Love", the smash single released prior to A Hard Day's Night, in which McCartney provides one of the 60's enduring catchphrases: "Money can't buy me love".

The final six tracks consist of material written around the same time that didn't fit in the movie, yet represent some of the group's most mature songwriting to date. McCartney's lone vocal track, "Things We Said Today", is a gem; a philosophical look at a relationship projected into the future, with an upbeat, rocking middle eight. The remainder of the tracks are primarily John's as he shifts through a kaleidoscope of moods - angry, hurt, jealous, always longing for love underneath. He pledges his loyalty on "Any Time At All", shows his jealous side on "You Can't Do That", and closes the LP with a poignant air on "I'll Be Back". (The US version of A Hard Day's Night leaves off all of the UK disc's second side except for "I'll Cry Instead", and substitutes four George Martin instrumentals used on the movie soundtrack.)

The album and movie complete The Beatles' rise to the top of the entertainment world, and lead the way in convincing their fellow musicians that rock 'n' roll could be much more than good-time dance music. Bob Dylan was fascinated by the unusual chord changes throughout the disc, while Roger McGuinn was inspired by Harrison's guitar playing to go out and buy his own Rickenbacker. Within a period of eighteen months, The Beatles catapulted themselves from Liverpool beat group to the biggest stars the rock music world had ever seen outside of Elvis Presley, and yet they had merely scratched the surface of their vast talents.

(Update: John Lennon would have been 69 years old today. Happy birthday.)

Album project: With The Beatles

2009-10-01T22:34:00.004-05:00

The Beatles, With The Beatles (1963): Most Americans first heard of the Beatles in early 1964 with "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and their Ed Sullivan Show appearance. But the Fab Four's true watershed moment came on August 23, 1963, with the release of their fourth single, the irresistibly catchy "She Loves You". Paul McCartney said of the tune, "I’d planned an ‘answering song’ where a couple of us would sing ’she loves you’ and the other ones would answer ‘yeah yeah’. We decided that was a crummy idea but at least we then had the idea of a song called ‘She Loves You’. So we sat in the hotel bedroom for a few hours and wrote it — John and I, sitting on twin beds with guitars.” The structure was simple, but The Beatles adorned the tune with expert harmonies, and the hook - that "Yeah, yeah, yeah" - summarized the entire British Invasion sound that was now poised to sweep the globe in the next year. "She Loves You" stormed to the top of the UK charts, and became the biggest-selling single in British recording history. That record would be broken by McCartney himself in 1977 with "Mull Of Kintyre".

The Beatles were now the biggest musical act Great Britain had ever seen. The next several months would be a whirlwind of live shows and promotional appearances, while manager Brian Epstein worked diligently to secure his clients a beachhead in the US market. In the midst of this activity, producer George Martin booked six dates scattered through their hectic schedule between July and October for the recording of the Fab Four's second album. With The Beatles maintains much of the energy level of the debut, while also featuring a bit more polish, as well as starting to hint at some of the directions The Beatles' music would follow in the coming months.

The songwriting of John Lennon and Paul McCartney had quickly become the band's greatest strength, kicking off the album with "It Won't Be Long", an aggressive number cemented by those familiar "Yeah! Yeah!" interjections. "All My Loving" features one of McCartney's best early vocals, as well as featuring distinctive chord changes that would become a Beatles trademark. One of the best compositions, "I Wanna Be Your Man", was saved for Ringo Starr to sing, and he gives a fine performance that is still one of his best vocal turns. George Harrison checks in as a composer for the first time as well, although his "Don't Bother Me" is most notable for its guitar solo, an example of Harrison's steady improvement as a guitarist.

As with the debut, With The Beatles featured eight originals and six cover versions. The covers are arguably the LP's weakness, for as songwriters The Beatles were already beginning to outstrip many of the American R&B artists they derived their early sound from. Their versions of "Please Mr. Postman" and "Roll Over Beethoven" sound flat, and "Devil In Her Heart" is downright cheesy - a trait the early Beatles were not immune from. The best of the covers was Barrett Strong's "Money", a raucous, stomping set-closer with another throat-straining Lennon vocal in the manner of "Twist And Shout". Overall, With The Beatles is a portrait of a band with still-unfulfilled vast potential, with one foot still planted in the sweaty beat music of the Cavern Club, and the other preparing to explore the new worlds opening up before them.

With The Beatles, released on November 22, replaced Please Please Me at #1 in the UK album charts, staying there for 21 weeks, for a total of 51 consecutive weeks spent by the Fab Four at the top of the album chart. The nearly year-long stranglehold was finally broken by The Rolling Stones' debut LP. The closest US equivalent LP is Meet The Beatles!, featuring nine tracks from the UK release. A week later came the release of their fifth UK single, "I Want To Hold Your Hand". The Fab Four's most groundbreaking work yet. Brian Epstein requested that Lennon and McCartney write a single with the American market in mind. "I Want To Hold Your Hand", with its dramatic buildup and innovative chord structure, provided not only a breakthrough hit for The Beatles in America, but also a preview of the next decade's musical evolution. John Lennon said of the song's creation, "We wrote a lot of stuff together, one on one, eyeball to eyeball. Like in 'I Want to Hold Your Hand,' I remember when we got the chord that made the song. We were in Jane Asher's house, downstairs in the cellar playing on the piano at the same time. And we had, 'Oh you-u-u/ got that something...' And Paul hits this chord [E minor] and I turn to him and say, 'That's it!' I said, 'Do that again!' In those days, we really used to absolutely write like that—both playing into each other's noses."

Alan Pollack gives a detailed analysis of "I Want To Hold Your Hand", although much of it may be a bit deep for those who are not musicians or students of music theory.

What "She Loves You" did for The Beatles in Britain, "I Want To Hold Your Hand" did for them in the rest of the world. Capitol rush-released the single on December 26, 1963, and backed by an unprecedented promotional blitz from Capitol Records, it sold 2.6 million copies in the US by the time the Fab Four landed in New York for the first time on February 7, 1964. Two days later, their first Ed Sullivan Show appearance was seen by 73 million viewers. Beatlemania had gained full force, unleashing an incredible wave of popularity that crested on April 4, when "Can't Buy Me Love", "Twist And Shout", "She Loves You", "I Want To Hold Your Hand", and "Please Please Me" occupied the first five positions in the US singles charts.

Album project: Please Please Me

2009-09-24T22:34:00.006-05:00

The Beatles, Please Please Me (1963); The Beatles, The Early Beatles (1965): As noted in my last post, I bought the entire set of Beatles remasters not long ago. My original intent was to just fill some holes in my collection, but Barnes & Noble gave me an additional 20% discount to go with the 10% I already received with my card, and I couldn't pass that deal up. The Beatles had already been remastered for CD in 1987, but the results were generally considered to be poor. The latest remastering effort represents four years of painstaking work, finally providing rock music's most important body of work with the sound quality it deserves.

It is presumed that those who have had an interest in the album posts possess at least a general knowledge of the Fab Four's career highlights. The Beatles' Wikipedia entry is a good place to start for those unfamiliar with the group's history, and Google will lead you to dozens of Beatle-related sites dealing with their discography, lyrics, recording notes, etc.

Having cut two previous singles, the bulk of Please Please Me was recorded in a marathon session at Abbey Road Studios on February 11, 1963 in which producer George Martin requested that the group play him virtually everything that had. These Beatles were not yet the all-conquering maestros of myth and legend. John Lennon and Paul McCartney's songwriting skills were not fully polished, still-teenaged George Harrison at times sounded tentative on lead guitar, and Ringo Starr had only been behind the drumkit for a few months. Yet the group laying down these tracks at Abbey Road had some things going for it: boundless enthusiasm, a raw, aggressive style honed by night upon night of woodshedding in the sweaty basement pubs of Liverpool and the seedy waterfront clubs of Hamburg, and perhaps most importantly, a burning ambition to be the most successful artists in pop music history.

The "one, two, three, fuh!" that opens the lead track, "I Saw Her Standing There", sets the tone for the rest of the LP. Martin had set out to capture some of the ambiance of The Beatles' club gigs, and one way to hear the record is as a non-stop dance party disc. From the beginning to the final chord of "Twist And Shout", Please Please Me bristles with irrepressible energy. Yet some of the group's more notable talents were already starting to show. Eight of the fourteen tracks were written within the group, which was quite unusual and audacious for pop acts in 1963. The six covers highlight The Beatles' fondness for American R&B. Lennon sings heartfelt lead vocals on "Anna" and "Baby It's You", McCartney's romanticism begins to flower on "A Taste Of Honey", and Starr turns in one of the record's most surprising performances with his strong vocal on "Boys".

"Love Me Do" and the title track, The Beatles' first two British hit singles, also made it to the debut LP. "Love Me Do" reached #17 in the British charts, a respectable first-time showing for an act that was then unknown in most of the UK. The song is built around Lennon's harmonica riffs, which he picked up from Bruce Channel's worldwide hit "Hey Baby". When Channel visited England, The Beatles landed a spot on the bill. Lennon took advantage to receive tutoring from Channel's harmonica player Delbert McClinton, who hit on his own in 1980 with "Givin' It Up For Your Love". "Please Please Me" was the first Beatles single to hit #1 in the UK. It is one of the group's all-time finest moments, arguably one of the greatest odes to sexual frustration ever recorded. Few moments have ever reflected a guy's desperation to get some from his girlfriend like Lennon's guttural "come on"'s echoed by McCartney and Harrison in response. Had the radio programmers understood the depths of unrequited lust conveyed here, this song would have been banned.

Their version of The Isley Brothers' "Twist And Shout" captures the early Beatles at their most raucous. Producer Martin saved this for the last number to be recorded at Abbey Road that day, as John Lennon's throat-shredding vocal left him too hoarse to do any more singing; the problem was compounded by Lennon spending the day of the sessions fighting a cold. Martin recalls Lennon sucking on throat lozenges all day in order to keep his voice in shape for the grueling finale. The end result closed the album with a tour de force, with Lennon's vocal backed by driving rhythms, capped by the soaring three-part "Ah-ah-ah-ahhh!"'s and piledriver guitars of the bridge.

With The Beatles' popularity soaring to unprecedented heights, Please Please Me smashed into the UK album chart upon its release, reaching #1 in May and holding the top spot for 30 weeks, finally displaced by its successor, With The Beatles. In April, the non-LP single "From Me To You" also topped the British chart, taking the Fab Four to the brink of the greatest success any British recording act had ever known.

The Early Beatles is the US version of Please Please Me, leaving off three of the 14 tracks. Capitol released this LP in early 1965 after reacquiring the rights to the group's first recordings from Vee Jay and other independent labels. Capitol, the owners of the rights to EMI's releases in the States, originally sold the rights to The Beatles' releases to these minor labels noting that few British groups had ever had success in America at that time except as novelty acts. One of the frustrating aspects of writing about The Beatles is the variation between UK and US album releases. UK album releases often left off singles; the thinking being that if listeners would buy the album with the single on it, they wouldn't buy the 45 version, which could be disastrous in a market the size of Great Britain. Also, extended play records, or EP's, which were 10-inch maxi-singles with two or three tracks per side, were popular in Britain but never caught on in the States. In America, Capitol sliced and diced the British releases in order to get the most mileage out of them that they could. In the end, 12 UK LP's were released during the Fab Four's career, along with 13 EP's. In the US, there were a total of 19 album releases during the same period. Not until Sgt. Pepper would their be a Beatles LP release with identical tracks on both sides of the water.

Third anniversary

2009-09-22T03:25:00.004-05:00

The official third anniversary of Pole Hill Sanitarium was yesterday, but we had company arrive unexpectedly a day early and I didn't get to post anything. So I'm going to sneak in some observations during a few minutes' break from work.

Like many of you, I've noticed some changes at this end of the blogosphere in the past year. Some old friends are visiting and writing less, others have given up their blogs altogether. Facebook seems to have had a lot to do with this. For people who come to the internets primarily for networking, Facebook is arguably a better solution. It takes up less of your time, gives you access to a larger network, and there are plenty of games and memes that are fun and provide opportunities to meet people. Facebook probably serves most peoples' needs better than a blog. Several years ago, blogging was the only game in town, so everybody got into it. But good blogging is hard and time-consuming. You can scattershot your thoughts around if you want, but few people will read that sort of blog. The best and best-read bloggers know how to write and tell a story. If all you have is fifteen minutes at the end of the day after the kids are in bed, blogging can get frustrating in a hurry, and a lot of those folks are now dropping out. A lot of them are turning up on Facebook.

My traffic is about the same as it's been for the last year or so, but now it's more Google searches and fewer regular readers. A lot of this is my fault, since I haven't been visiting and commenting on your blogs as much as in the past. As life is slowly becoming more settled for me as I adjust to new routines, I hope to start getting around the neighborhood a little more often.

I've always said that I don't have the most readers, but I have the best readers. I still feel that way, and that's the reason Pole Hill keeps going, even if the visits come less frequently these days. I understand. I have gotten to know a wide assortment of people through this blog, a number of you who I like to think of as friends. I was most fortunate to have my blogging friends with me through one of the darkest hours of my life, and I will be forever grateful for that. Every day I am especially grateful for Jenn, for being able to reach out to each other when we needed a friend, and through our shared interest in blogging began a special love that continues to grow with each new day.

So, where to from here? As blogging becomes less a way to communicate among friends, it seems as though a good blog needs to be about something. But as I said, good blogging is hard. One of my challenges right now is finding the time to write good posts. I'm somebody who feels it necessary to find facts to back up my opinions, so a lot of political opinion that comes to mind never gets posted here because I don't have the time to explain what I believe. I'm hoping to change that a bit in the next year. The Album Project will slog on; I hope to get into some sort of rhythm with that, so I can do at least one album post a week. (I haven't started on The Beatles yet because when the remasters came out a couple of weeks ago, I bought the entire set, and I'm now in the process of hearing the old Beatle classics fresh, as well as being reminded of some tracks that I'd forgotten.) The obits will continue, though I want to focus more on the people that impacted my life and tastes, and not necessarily write on someone because they were famous. That's why you see Jim Carroll but not Patrick Swayze.

The key is time. Because of shorthandedness and a city-wide hiring freeze, my typical work week is closer to 50 hours than 40. Also, I'm helping to raise two children now, which I'm finding to be far more enjoyable than I first imagined, but, as you know, they need time and love. I threaten Jenn with quitting often, but I've got too much in this blog to hang it up now. I'm going to do the best I can to finish my album blogging within my lifetime, if nothing else. I'll continue to move along as I can, but I'd rather do three or four well-thought out posts a month than a bunch of quick hits.

But if I find more funny cat videos, I'll post them too.

Washing out the gray

2009-09-16T18:57:00.001-05:00

I poached this from Lambert. This cat kinda looks like Alvin. Kinda looks like something he'd do, too.

Jim Carroll

2009-09-14T03:28:00.004-05:00

Poet, author, and musician Jim Carroll passed away Friday at age 60. According to his ex-wife Rosemary, the cause of death was a heart attack.

Jim Carroll was born and raised in Manhattan. He was a talented basketball player in his youth, which won him a scholarship to Trinity, an exclusive private school on the Upper West Side. While playing for Trinity, he was named to a number of NYC-area prep all-star teams. He also displayed a talent for writing at a young age; while in high school he wrote poetry that attracted the attention of the likes of William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, and began keeping a diary that would later win him fame. While still in his teens, though, Carroll had already developed a heroin habit, which he supported by prostituting himself. By the end of his teens Carroll had a collection of his poetry, Organic Trains, in print, excerpts of his diary had appeared in Paris Review, and was hanging out with Allan Ginsberg, Andy Warhol, and Patti Smith.

Carroll left New York in 1973 for the West Coast, in part to rid himself of his heroin habit. During the mid-70's, he wrote poetry and song lyrics, toying with the idea of starting a rock band. Little came of that idea until 1978, when Carroll accompanied Patti Smith as she toured California. In San Diego, her opening act cancelled, so Smith invited Carroll up on stage to rap with her, introducing him as "the guy who taught me how to write poetry". Inspired by the experience, Carroll returned to San Francisco, hooked up with a group called Amsterdam, renamed them the Jim Carroll Band, and moved them to New York. Also in 1978, Carroll's high school writings were published as The Basketball Diaries. A riveting account of basketball, poetry readings, sex, and heroin addiction, the book received instant critical acclaim.

Carroll's recording debut, Catholic Boy, released in 1980, became an instant classic of punk and New Wave. Anchored by the radio hit "People Who Died", Carroll's lyrics painted a stark picture of the gritty netherworld of New York City, a landscape dominated by sex, drugs, and sordid dealings. "People Who Died" was a fine example of Carroll's vision; the song is a rapid-fire list of all his friends who died young. Catholic Boy was a surprise success, which Carroll followed up with two further discs, Dry Dreams and I Write Your Name. These records failed to sell well, though, and by the mid-80's Carroll had ceased recording and went into semi-retirement.

Carroll spent the rest of his career maintaining a low profile, writing poetry and mentoring young artists who he had inspired. His influence has been acknowledged by a wide range of artists, including author Danny Sugarman, filmmaker Harmony Korine, and singer Eddie Vedder. Carroll would return to prominence for a time in 1997 when The Basketball Diaries was made into a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. He recorded one more album, Pools Of Mercury, in 1998, and made several spoken-word recordings in the early 2000's.

One of my favorites from my college-radio days, Jim Carroll shone a light on the dark side of the American experience, and gave inspiration to a generation of artists making their own excursions on the edge of our culture.

(Crossposted at SteveAudio.)

How to discuss popular music

2009-09-10T22:15:00.002-05:00

For anyone who has ever discussed music at Pole Hill, or whoever might in the future.

Via Basic Instructions.

Labor Day: Joe Hill

2009-09-07T06:51:00.003-05:00

On this Labor Day, let us take a moment to commemorate Joe Hill, the early labor leader, rabble-rouser and songwriter who remains an inspiration to union members and workers throughout the world.

He was born Joel Hagglund in Sweden on October 7, 1879, the fourth of six children. His parents loved music, often leading the family in song and passing their musical interests on to their children. When Joel was nine his father, a railroad conductor, was killed in an accident and the Hagglund children were forced to leave school in order to support the family. Young Joel found employment in a rope factory, and later became a fireman on a steam-powered crane. His mother died in 1902, and soon after Joel and a younger brother emigrated to America.

Landing in New York, Joe Hill worked his way across the country performing a series of odd jobs, eventually settling down for the time being in San Pedro, California. There, he joined the Industrial Workers Of The World and became active in the union's organizing efforts. The IWW's goal was to unite the working class worldwide into "One Big Union", and Hill became known throughout the West for his dedication towards that goal. In 1911 he went to Tiajuana as pae of a band of radicals seeking to liberate Baja California from Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz. The next year he was active in a coalition that fought a decision by San Diego police to close the downtown streets to meetings, and later that year participated in a rail workers' strike in British Columbia. Back home in San Pedro, he was arrested in June 1913 while participating in a dockworkers' strike; in Hill's words, he was "a little too active to suit the chief of the burg".

Hill's biggest contribution to the labor movement was as a writer of songs that inspired workers throughout the country fighting for their rights. He would take the popular melodies of the day and outfit them with original lyrics that sought to inspire workers and spur them to organize for their rights. In this manner, Hill wrote "The Tramp", "There is Power in the Union", "Rebel Girl", "Casey Jones: Union Scab", and "The Preacher And The Slave", which coined the term "pie in the sky".

Early in 1914 Hill was working at the Silver King Mine near Salt Lake City. On January 10, butcher and retired police officer John G. Morrison's shop was attacked by two armed men covering their faces with red bandannas. Morrison fired his pistol and wounded one of the attackers, who in turn shot and killed Morrison and his son. Later that night, Joe Hill showed up at the door of a local doctor asking to be treated for a gunshot wound he said he received while in a fight over a woman. Police searched Hill's hotel room and found a red bandanna; that, along with the wound and his reputation as an IWW organizer, was enough to have him arrested for the murders of the Morrisons.

At his trial, Hill steadfastly maintained his innocence in the murders. He refused to name the woman whose company he had been in that evening, which would have provided him with an alibi. Some have speculated that Hill risked a murder conviction in order to preserve the reputation of a married woman. The prosecution's star witness, Morrison's 13-year-old son Merlin, who had originally told police "That's not him at all" when he first saw Hill, testified that Hill was the murderer. The jury only took a few hours to find him guilty.

A worldwide effort began to exonerate Hill. Helen Keller, AFL president Samuel Gompers, the Swedish minister to the United States, and President Woodrow Wilson all spoke to the governor on Hill's behalf to no avail. To the last, Hill claimed that the state of Utah was framing him due to his IWW activities. In one of his last letters, he wrote to IWW leader Bill Haywood, "Goodbye Bill: I die like a true rebel. Don't waste any time mourning, organize!" Joe Hill was executed on November 19, 1915; his last request, reportedly to the firing squad, was "Fire!" Hill's body was transported to Chicago, where more than 30,000 paid their respects. Afterward, his body was cremated, and the ashes sent to labor leaders around the world and in every state except Utah.

Over the years, the labor movement's great songwriter has himself been commemorated in song. "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night", written in the 30's, became something of a standard, and has often been performed by Pete Seeger, Paul Robeson, and Joan Baez, among many others. During the 60's Phil Ochs, in the manner of Joe Hill himself, wrote lyrics that celebrated Hill's life and set them to the melody of the folk ballad "John Hardy". Billy Bragg, one of the most socially conscious performers of our era, brings the memory of Joe Hill back to life.

Hill's final will and testament has long been a source of inspiration to activists throughout the world:

My will is easy to decide
For there is nothing to divide
My kin don't need to fuss and moan
"Moss does not cling to a rolling stone."
My body? - Oh. - If I could choose
I would to ashes it reduce
And let the merry breezes blow
My dust to where some flowers grow

Perhaps some fading flower then
Would come to life and bloom again

This is my Last and final Will
Good Luck to All of you.

Happy Labor Day.

(Crossposted at SteveAudio and They Gave Us A Republic.)

Ted Kennedy

2009-09-04T09:40:00.003-05:00

Belatedly paying my respects to Ted Kennedy. I haven't had much time for writing the last few weeks; also, given the changes I've seen take place in the blogosphere in the last year, I've been thinking some about what the future of this particular piece of cyber-landscape should be.

Odds are that if you've turned on the news at any time in the last 50 years you've heard the Kennedy name; therefore, I am not providing a detailed biographical sketch. I did have a near-brush with Senator Kennedy back in 1980 when he mounted his primary challenge to President Carter. Kennedy scheduled an appearance at Wichita State during his campaign. The university administration hosted his speech at Wilner Auditorium, an old firetrap seating only a few hundred. On the day of Kennedy's arrival, naturally, the lines formed quickly, and by the time I made my way across campus to Wilner, the doors had long since been shut, leaving a line of hundreds of angry students who knew that more suitable facilities were available at WSU. In contrast, when Ronald Reagan came to speak a few weeks later, he was allowed to use the modern facilities at Hubbard Hall, where closed-circuit cameras connected a network of auditoriums that seated nearly 2000. Anyway, I did get to see Reagan that day; after which he came through and shook everybody's hand, from which I make my claim to meeting a President - if only for a couple of seconds.

Ted Kennedy was one of the Senate's fiercest advocates for the poor and disadvantaged; his steady support for expanding the health insurance system to cover all Americans is well-known. Sadly, many will remember him mostly for the incident at Chappaquiddick that probably cost him any realistic shot at becoming President. I can't say what happened on that day, but I can imagine that there were many days following that incident where Ted Kennedy wished that the assassins had come for him and spared his brothers. This seems to be a bit of a problem for us liberals - our most prominent spokespeople seem to be either decent souls whose desires for consensus often leave them appearing weak and indecisive (Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama), or forceful advocates that appear morally compromised (Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy). When amplified by the media, these faults end up giving undeserved credence to dubious conservative arguments.

This Boston Globe series gives excellent insight to Kennedy's life and times.

There's no doubt we must do a better job of looking within ourselves and speaking
out for the principles we believe in, and for the values that are the foundation of
our actions. Americans need to hear more, not less, about those values. We were
remiss in not talking more directly about them - about the fundamental ideals that
guide our progressive policies. In the words of Martin Luther King,
"we must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope."

Unlike the Republican Party, we believe our values unite us as Americans, instead
of dividing us. If the White House's idea of bipartisanship is that we have to buy
whatever partisan ideas they send us, we're not interested.

In fact, our values are still our greatest strength. Despite resistance, setbacks, and
periods of backlash over the years, our values have moved us closer to the ideal
with which America began - that all people are created equal. And when Democrats
say "all," we mean "all."

[...]

Our progressive vision is not just for Democrats or Republicans, for red states or
blue states. It's a way forward for the nation as a whole - to a new prosperity and
greater opportunity for all - a vision not just of the country we can become, but of
the country we must become - an America that embraces the values and aspirations
of our people now, and for coming generations.

A newly revitalized American dream will, of course, be expressed in policies and
programs. But it is more than that. It is a challenge to Americans to look beyond
the next horizon, remove false limits on our vision and needless barriers to our
imagination, and open the way for true innovation and progress.

It is a commitment to true opportunity for all - not as an abstract concept, but as a
practical necessity. To find our way to the future, we need the skills, the insight,
and the productivity of every American, in a nation where each of us shares
responsibility for the future, and where the blessings of progress are shared
fairly by all our citizens in return.

-Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

The entire speech is excellent; if you're one of those Democrats disillusioned by recent actions of the Obama Administration and Congress, I highly recommend that you read the whole thing. You will find few better examples of what a fighting liberal sounds like.

INSUROCORP defeats socialism!

2009-08-25T20:11:00.002-05:00

Libertarianism triumphant:

We Defeated Socialism! INSUROCORP! - watch more funny videos

From the accompanying comment thread at Digby's, reader John Doheny impresses me so much I'm going to quote him in full:

I'd like to hazard a prediction right now. I've been fighting pessimism from the beginning of this whole thing, but frankly, I don't see anything good coming out of this for anyone but insurance companies, even with the 'public option.' Because I've become convinced that Americans are so wedded to their own way of doing things that anything else is not only 'politically impossible,' but actually inconceivable to them.

Most Americans that I talk to (even "progressive" ones) take it as a given that the very best version of a public option would simply resemble "good" private insurance, with the same complex and confusing sets of 'co-pays' and 'deductables' and various other restrictions of service. Those on the right assume it would be even worse through the introduction of "government bureaucrats" who would insert themselves into the process "between you and your doctor." Not to mention the dreaded "rationed care." Frankly, with all this baggage I'm skeptical too. I can very easily envision a public option so compromised that only the poorest and most disenfranchised opt for it.

The whole thing just blows me away, quite frankly. All ideology aside, I was very happy with the health care I had in Canada. Actually "happy" is not the right word. I was indifferent. Never thought about it, anymore than a fish thinks about water. "Health care" as a concept never entered my mind, didn't influence any life decisions about where I lived or worked. When I got sick I went to the doctor or hospital, waved my MSP card, and they did their thing, end of story. There were no co-pays, "patient responsibilities" or restrictions, no things "not covered" or partially covered, no complexity of any kind. If there was a bureaucracy (obviously there would need to be, somewhere) I never had any dealings with it. Decisions were made by me and my doctor.

Were my taxes higher? Slightly, but considering that my premiums were about one quarter of what they are here and there were no additional, hidden expenses, I actually came out ahead. Of the three elective surgeries I had, the longest I waited was four months. The one emergency procedure was done immediately. (This, by the way, is mandated by law in the triage system. Emergencies go to the head of the line).

Having spent the last 6 years arguing with United Health care (and throwing a lot of money at them in the process) I can't see how anybody but a total, blithering idiot would actually prefer things this way. And since most Americans aren't idiots, I can only conclude that the problem is perceptual. Americans simply cannot 'see' the obvious solutions.

I have no idea how one would overcome something like this, hence my pessimism. I think what we're going to see is merely the appearance of 'reform.' What'll we'll get will almost surely be a massive giveaway to private insurance. If we're lucky, we may get some tightening of regulation on the industry, by way of addressing their most blatant abuses. If we're not, we'll wind up 'reforming' medicare into a private, for-profit service. Either way, look for your insurance premiums to double in the next ten years, while "coverage" continues to shrink.

Whenever I want to write about the current health care reform debate, I just end up getting mad and saying "screw it all". I hope John doesn't mind my posting his comments so that twenty other people can read them.

Les Paul

2009-08-15T09:22:00.007-05:00

Les Paul, virtuoso guitarist and inventor, passed away Thursday at age 94. Between his legendary guitar design and the numerous studio advances he pioneered, Paul arguably had more influence on popular music than any other figure of the post-World War II era.

Lester William Polsfuss was born on June 9, 1915 in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He started playing harmonica at age eight, and by his early teens had picked up the guitar and banjo as well. He also became a tinkerer at an early age. When he was 10, he made a harmonica rack from a coat hanger. Shortly after, he opened up the back of a Sears acoustic guitar, inserted the pickup from an old Victrola behind the strings, and turned the record player on to create his first amplified guitar.

By age 13 Paul was performing regularly around home as a country guitarist. He dropped out of high school and began landing gigs throughout the Midwest, including radio jobs with Wolverton's House Band on KMOX in St. Louis and on the WLS Barn Dance in Chicago, and also releasing a couple of country recordings under the name Rhubarb Red. By this time, though, Paul had discovered the work of jazz guitarist Django Rheinhart, and became bored with country music. He formed the jazz-oriented Les Paul Trio, moved to New York, and landed a featured slot on Fred Waring's radio program. During this period, Paul continued his experimenting. In 1941, looking for a way to electronically sustain musical notes, he attached strings and two pickups to a wooden board with a guitar neck. "The Log", as it became known, was one of the first solid-bodied electric guitars. When he was ribbed by his fellow musicians for playing such a ridiculous-looking instrument, he hid his Log inside the workings of an Epiphone hollow-body guitar.

Paul was drafted in 1942, which took him out to California to work with the Armed Forces Radio Service, where he worked with Rudy Vallee and Kate Smith. After his discharge, he formed a new trio, backing The Andrews Sisters, Nat King Cole, and Bing Crosby, who recorded the hit "It's Been A Long, Long Time" with the trio. Crosby also encouraged the guitarist's experimentation; he often visited Paul's makeshift garage studio, and eventually provided financial backing for Paul to build a full-fledged recording facility.

In California, Paul continued the sonic experimentation that built the foundation for the modern recording industry. He altered the speed of recordings to change their pitch and timbre. He experimented with microphone positioning and was one of the first to use reverberation. He found that by playing along with previous recordings, he could literally become a one-man band. In 1947, Paul recorded an instrumental version of "Lover" using eight separate guitar parts recorded on two acetate disc machines. Working with acetate discs required Paul to record each layer of music as a single take. He also built an acetate disc cutter from the flywheel of a Cadillac. Capitol released "Lover" as a single, and it became a major hit. Around this time he met a country singer named Colleen Summers; he changed her name to Mary Ford, a name he picked from the telephone book. But in 1948, tragedy would strike. Paul's car skidded off an icy bridge, severely injuring his right arm and shattering his elbow. His elbow would be immobile for life, so Paul had the doctors set it at an angle that would allow him to play guitar.

Paul and Ford married in 1949, and the duo commenced a string of hits that continued through the mid-50's, including "How High the Moon", "Bye Bye Blues", "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise", and "Vaya Con Dios". By this time, Paul had mastered the art of multitracking, combining Ford's vocals with his guitars and other effects to produce a sound years ahead of its time. Paul was now recording on magnetic tape. His friend Bing Crosby had invested in the Ampex Corporation, which developed the first commercial open-reel recorder. Crosby gave Paul the second Ampex Model 200 built, which Paul modified with a second playback head to create a crude form of multitracking using mono tape. This inspired Ampex to build two and three-track recorders, and in 1954 Paul commissioned Ampex to build the first eight-track recorder. Ampex completed this project in 1957, which Paul lamented was too late for him to use on his hits, but by the mid-60's the machine was established as the backbone of modern recording.

In 1952, Paul came up with his most famous innovation. As early as 1945, Paul had approached the Gibson Guitar Corporation with ideas for mass-producing "The Log", but was rejected. But in 1950, competitors Fender unveiled the Telecaster, which became the first popular solid-body electric guitar model. Gibson offered Paul an opportunity to become a consultant, which led to the creation of the legendary Les Paul electric guitar. Les Pauls quickly were noted for their excellent sustain - the reason Paul began experimenting with guitars in the first place. The other key innovation came in 1954 with the introduction of the humbucking pickup on Les Paul models, producing a clarity of tone then unattainable on other guitars.

The Les Paul was slow to catch on at first with guitarists, though. The solid-body design made it heavier than most competing models - a musician friend once remarked to me, "Those damn things feel like they weigh a ton!" A lot of pop guitarists preferred to stick with their hollow-bodied models, and many country and rockabilly artists preferred the twangier Telecaster. Carl Perkins was one of the few early rockers to play a Les Paul. In the 50's and early 60's, Les Pauls were favored most by jazz and blues guitarists who prized their sustain and its clean, thick tone. Bluesmen Freddie King and John Lee Hooker, among others, put their Les Pauls to good use during that era.

More than anything, the rise of British rock in the mid-60's caused the Les Paul's popularity to soar. Keith Richards was the first British rocker to use a Les Paul extensively, and his peers quickly recognized that the guitar provided the perfect sound for the blues-derived rock they were creating. Soon, Les Pauls were in the hands of Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend, Peter Green, and just about every other notable British guitarist of the time. The Les Paul established the sound that would become the signature of the 60's-70's guitar rock era. By then, though, Les Paul himself had a falling-out with the Gibson company, which stopped producing electric guitars with his name in 1963. But the demand for Les Pauls was so great that Gibson resumed their production in 1968. The latter-day Les Pauls were considered inferior by many guitarists. Those who could afford to do so continued to seek out vintage Les Pauls; every once in a while you'd hear a story that Eric Clapton or some other famous guitarist would find a classic Les Paul in mint condition in a pawnshop in some podunk town. Today, late-50's Les Pauls in good condition bring many thousands of dollars.

During the 60's Les Paul began to recede from the spotlight. Paul and Ford would have no major hits after 1955; ironically, the guitar that he helped create became a chief factor in pushing the style of music he specialized in playing off the pop charts. The couple divorced in 1962. Paul recorded infrequently in his later years, although one of his most notable achievements came in 1976, collaborating with ace Nashville guitarist Chet Atkins to make Chester And Lester, winning a Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance. The two masters created an impressive blend of jazz and country styles, much of it recorded live in the studio without overdubbing. Paul had quintuple-bypass surgery in 1981. Until his last days, Paul appeared regularly in live performance. He began a Monday night residency at Manhattan jazz club Fat Tuesday's in 1983; when that venue closed in 1995, he moved to Iridium, where he continued to appear each Monday until weeks before his death, often joined by a host of celebrity musicians coming to pay their respects to the master. Although arthritis had robbed Paul of much of his speed, he remained a fluid, tasteful guitarist to the end.

Due to his inventiveness and innovative ability, Les Paul may well have been the most important popular music figure of the 20th Century. Although many artists sold more records, none could match Paul for his ingenuity. His ideas created the foundation that the entire modern music recording industry was built upon.

Readers with a further interest in Les Paul must read this 1975 Rolling Stone interview.

(Crossposted at SteveAudio.)

Midweek filler

2009-08-12T04:51:00.003-05:00

This month's schedule leaves me little time for posting during the middle of the week. Worse, the network administrators at work have started blocking Blogger. It's not what I wanted to post now, but that's the way it is.

More mindless fun; I didn't want to go a week without posting. Jenn hates when I do filler.

Your Superpower Should Be Mind Reading

You are brilliant, insightful, and intuitive.

You understand people better than they would like to be understood.

Highly sensitive, you are good at putting together seemingly irrelevant details.

You figure out what's going on before anyone knows that anything is going on!

Why you would be a good superhero: You don't care what people think, and you'd do whatever needed to be done

Your biggest problem as a superhero: Feeling even more isolated than you do now

What Should Your Superpower Be?

Via Mixter.

Noted in passing

2009-08-08T07:22:00.008-05:00

John Hughes: A talented writer-director who will forever be remembered for capturing the experience of coming of age in the 80's, John Hughes passed suddenly on Thursday while taking a morning walk in Manhattan where he was visiting family. He was 59.

Hughes was born in Lansing, Michigan, and grew up in the Chicago area, where many of his films were set. He dropped out of college to write advertising copy, eventually moving into comedy writing. This led to a job with National Lampoon, and his first big success writing the screenplay of National Lampoon's Vacation. His first triumph as a director came in 1984 with Sixteen Candles, which led to a string of successful films that summarize the 80's teen experience for posterity: The Breakfast Club, Pretty In Pink, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. In the later 80's he would branch out with more mature fare such as Planes, Trains, And Automobiles and She's Having A Baby. 1990's Home Alone turned out to be his biggest commercial success. By the mid-90's, though, he escaped the Hollywood spotlight and retired to the rural Midwest, operating a farm in northern Illinois at the time of his death.

The word I would use to describe John Hughes' output is "cute". Maybe I was a bit too old to truly relate to his teen flicks. The one film that transcended the formula was The Breakfast Club, where five kids from different cliques are thrown together in Saturday detention and form a bond that overcomes the high school stereotypes. My next favorite is Planes, Trains, And Automobiles, due to the comedic talents of Steve Martin and John Candy. For many I know who are a few years younger than me, the 80's teen movies were the story of their lives, and John Hughes captured that experience so well that he has to rate in the all-time top rank of Hollywood writers and directors.

Among Hughes' talents was his imaginative use of the era's music in his films; Randy Raley compiles some great examples.

Willy DeVille: Soulful singer Willy DeVille died Thursday in Manhattan of pancreatic cancer at age 58. DeVille was one of those guys who never quite made it in the marketplace, and probably deserved a better fate than he received.

DeVille was born William Borsey in Stamford, Connecticut. He dropped out of school at age 16 and started hanging out in Greenwich Village, where he expanded his interest in blues and R&B, especially admiring the work of John Hammond Jr. He made trips to London and San Francisco in the early 70's. Out on the West Coast he formed a band, Mink DeVille, that he brought back to New York with him.

Mink DeVille were featured regularly at CBGB's during the venue's 70's heyday, causing the group to get lumped in with other NYC punk/new wave mainstays like The Ramones, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, and Television. Their tastes, however, ran more to 60's era Phil Spector/Brill Building pop and R&B, brought to the fore by legendary producer Jack Nitzsche who produced Mink DeVille's first two albums. Their retro stylings were of no interest to late-70's US listeners weaned on arena rock, but the band found an audience in the UK and Europe, where DeVille would remain popular until his death. "Spanish Stroll" became a Top 20 UK hit.

Mink DeVille broke up in 1980, with Willy embarking upon a long and varied solo career, but the pattern had been set. He was well respected by his peers, and worked with venerable R&B songwriter Doc Pomus, Mark Knopfler, and Allan Toussaint, among others. He released a string of blues/R&B based albums that sold respectably overseas, but were barely noticed in the US. In 1988 he moved to New Orleans, and incorporated elements of Cajun music into his sound. He also recorded frequently in Los Angeles, often working with the city's Latino musicians. His 1992 album Backstreets Of Desire, recorded in LA, is considered by many to be his finest hour. The disc includes a mariachi version of the standard "Hey Joe" that reached #1 in much of Europe.

Still, he was a performer who fell through the cracks; I don't think I've heard more than three Willy DeVille songs in my life, and don't really remember any of them. We had some of his albums at KMUW, but frankly, I thought the guy looked like a phony - probably a good reason to not judge albums by their cover. He left without ever receiving his due, and now the rest of us get to catch up.

Fun at the ol' ball park, part II

2009-08-06T20:05:00.002-05:00

Should you get overly drunk and obnoxious while rooting for the visiting team at Yankee Stadium, you may be roughly shown to the exits. But in Oakland, now, they don't screw around:

From The Sporting News:

(T)his gentleman, we'll call him Belligerent Santa, was clearly not happy about something going on at the A's game last night. (A YouTube commenter who claims to have been sitting near where the incident took place said it was a loud Texas fan who was yelling inappropriately and got angry when he was asked to quiet down. Judging from how few people were around him, that doesn't really sound like much of a stretch.) After what seemed like a decent amount of time trying to reason with Belligerent Santa, the jig was up, and like that scene from The Hangover, they had to unleash the full power of the Taser.

Next time I go to Wrigley Field, I'm not gonna drink...

Updates 'n' stuff

2009-08-04T19:29:00.002-05:00

My mother's condition has improved over the last week. She is still having some discomfort, but is in relatively good spirits. We saw her doctor Friday. He removed her from the oxygen, and feels that the course of treatment that involves drying up her body's estrogen will keep this type of cancer under control. Thank you, everyone, for your concern, thoughts, and prayers.

The ballgame was excellent. Our seats were in Homer's Landing, an area just behind the center field fence where all-you-can-eat hot dogs, bratwurst, and nachos, along with beer, are included in the ticket price. I had hoped to meet up with Brother Holland, who decided to come over from Kansas City for the game at the last minute, but he was up in the nosebleed seats and we couldn't make connections. He said that he began wandering the ballpark early, since he'd never been to the new Busch Stadium before, and was stuck behind some obnoxious fans. The game was excellent. The Cardinals won 3-1. New acquisition Matt Holliday hit two home runs, and ace Chris Carpenter pitched the full nine innings in his usual efficient style.

*****

The information superhighway to Pole Hill is fully paved at long last. Having given up all hope that AT&T will ever offer broadband in this corner of redneck suburbia, we bit the bullet and signed up with Satan, er, Comcast. Expensive, but it's nice to finally have a 21st Century connection here. Followed that up by buying a nice Gateway rig with one terabyte of hard drive capacity. When I got home, my baby even had it all put together for me. Guys, if you find a gal who will put your computer together for you, that's a good sign that she's a keeper.

*****

Here's a meme I picked up from Kathleen. It's one of those Facebook things. If you haven't seen your bloggy friends lately, Facebook is probably the first place you should look.

Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Sixteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First sixteen you can recall in no more than 16 minutes. Tag 16 friends, including me because I'm interested in seeing what books my friends choose.

I was actually able to do this in not much more than 16 minutes.

1. Ball Four, Jim Bouton
2. The Rape Of The APE, Allan Sherman
3. The Worldly Philosophers, Robert Heilbroner
4. Manufacturing Consent, Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman
5. The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
6. Democracy For The Few, Michael Parenti
7. Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain
8. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
9. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky
10. The Civil War, Shelby Foote
11. The Call Of The Wild, Jack London
12. Rock From The Beginning, Nik Cohn
13. The Heart Of Rock And Soul, Dave Marsh
14. My Life, Bill Clinton
15. The Glory Of Their Times, Lawrence Ritter
16. The Holy Bible

Tagging people is so 2005. If you want to give this a shot, leave your list in the comment box, or post it to your blog and leave me a link.

A trip back home

2009-07-30T08:42:00.002-05:00

I will be back home in Illinois the next few days. As Jenn noted on her blog, my mother spent the weekend in the hospital. She has been diagnosed with cancer in her shoulder and breast. The doctors have determined that this is a type of cancer that can be controlled by restricting her body's supply of estrogen, so they have given her pills for that purpose. They hope that this approach will be sufficient, and that additional treatment, such as chemotherapy and/or radiation, will not be necessary. Mom is tired, but in otherwise good spirits. I had been planning this trip anyway, as I have tickets to a Cardinals game Saturday, but this makes my visit a more serious occasion. Thank you for your kind thoughts and prayers, and I'll see you in a few days.

Uncle Walt, Chet, and David

2009-07-25T11:13:00.008-05:00

The most trusted man in America.

The passing of Walter Cronkite last week marked the end of an era in broadcast journalism. Cronkite was the epitome of the TV news anchor, and millions of Americans relied on him every evening to keep them abreast of events in his straightforward yet reassuring manner. It comes as no surprise that the last week has been filled with remembrances of Cronkite by a generation that grew up with his voice and image coming from their parents' TV sets night after night. I can offer few firsthand memories of Cronkite, as my father preferred to get his news from Chet Huntley and David Brinkley.

It seems today that my dad was the only man in America watching Huntley and Brinkley. Hard as it is to believe today, NBC's Huntley-Brinkley Report was actually the most-watched evening news broadcast for most of the period between 1956 and 1966, with CBS and Cronkite not taking the ratings lead until 1968, maintaining it until Cronkite's retirement in 1981. Cronkite earned his position as TV's most-trusted journalist.

Huntley and Brinkley's newscast launched in the fall of 1956, replacing the venerable John Cameron Swayze. Swayze had been slipping in the ratings, and NBC executives hoped that a change in personalities would bolster viewership. NBC executives Ben Park and Bill McAndrew suggested teaming up Huntley and Brinkley, who had earned praise for their work at the 1956 political conventions. The network came up with the unique arrangement of basing Huntley in New York and Brinkley in Washington. Neither man cared much for this approach at first, as both were hoping to host their own program. Their producer, Reuven Frank, was also skeptical, but on the broadcast's first night he wrote the closing lines - "Goodnight, Chet." "Goodnight, David. And good night for NBC News." Huntley and Brinkley didn't care for this at first, either, but it became one of the era's most enduring catchphrases.

The rugged Westerner Huntley possessed an authoritative voice considered among the best in TV, and the witty, erudite Brinkley was an excellent foil. The Huntley-Brinkley Report got off to a slow start - ratings remained low at first, and President Eisenhower complained to NBC brass about the new pairing. Although the duo seldom saw each other in person, their chemistry was unmistakable, and by the end of 1958 theirs was the highest-rated news program on TV.

The Huntley-Brinkley Report also had the coolest theme music of any network news program:

In the early 60's Huntley and Brinkley were TV's most prominent journalists. As it often happens, their enhanced reputations led to accusations of editorializing the news, and their egos had become bigger than the stories they presented. Huntley was even once accused of editorializing by moving his eyebrows. Yet by this point they had gained a nightly audience of over 20 million viewers, and Frank Sinatra even sang a ditty about them. Ratings at rival CBS declined accordingly, and by 1962 the network deemed it necessary to replace their anchor Douglas Edwards, himself a legend of early broadcasting.

Walter Cronkite was a product of St. Joseph, Missouri, growing up in a Midwestern small-town environment where the neighbors sat on the front porch to discuss the day's events while the kids chased fireflies in the yard. While Huntley and Brinkley were the dedicated pros, Cronkite came across as the neighbor who kept up with everything in town, letting you in on the day's events. Despite his folksy demeanor, Cronkite had already compiled an impressive resume by the time he came to the anchor's desk. He began as a print reporter in 1935, and took his first broadcasting job with WKY in Oklahoma City the next year. He distinguished himself with his work in covering World War II for United Press, and joined the fledgling CBS TV news division in 1950. Over the next decade he stood out as one of the network's top political reporters, and also made a name for himself hosting the popular historical program You Are There. On April 16, 1962, he succeeded Edwards as host of The CBS Evening News.

The next year, Cronkite was praised for his respectful, dignified coverage of President Kennedy's assassination. Yet, as with Huntley and Brinkley, Cronkite was slow to gain an audience at first. Disappointed with his low ratings, CBS replaced Cronkite with Roger Mudd for their coverage of the 1964 conventions. In return, CBS received over 11,000 letters of protest from viewers asking that Cronkite be reinstated. Cronkite returned to convention coverage in 1968; more importantly, CBS discovered that their anchor had struck a deep chord with the American public.

Cronkite's popularity continued to build, and by the mid-60's CBS was in a position to overtake NBC as the nation's top news network. Several factors led to CBS and Cronkite's ultimate preeminence. One key was the decision by RCA, NBC's parent corporation, to cut funding to its news division, leaving the better-funded CBS with the resources to produce higher-quality stories. America's fascination with space exploration in the 60's also contributed to CBS' rise. Cronkite had a keen interest in science and technology, and often approached the space missions with a boyish enthusiasm. Huntley and Brinkley, on the other hand, were little interested in the exploits of the astronauts. An AFTRA strike in 1967 also hurt the duo's reputation. Brinkley honored the pickets, but Huntley continued to work - he considered himself "a reporter, not a performer".

By the end of the decade, CBS was firmly established as the nation's #1 news network, and Walter Cronkite was well on his way to becoming a legend. More than any other news reporter ever had, Cronkite earned the trust of America with his genial, knowledgeable demeanor, and he became known for a catch-phrase of his own- "And that's the way it is." His voice was so respected that he could make world leaders sit up and take notice. Nowhere was this more apparent than in his coverage of the Vietnam War. His disapproving editorial following the Tet Offensive carried so much weight that it was a factor in Lyndon Johnson declining to seek re-election in 1968.

Huntley and Brinkley said goodnight one last time on February 16, 1970. Chet Huntley returned to his Montana ranch, and died of cancer in 1974. His early passing has made Huntley something of a forgotten man among the early TV journalism greats. David Brinkley is better remembered today, mostly for moving on to ABC in the early 80's and hosting This Week With David Brinkley, an opinion show that along with the rise of Peter Jennings, Sam Donaldson, and Ted Koppel finally put ABC News on a par with the other two networks. Walter Cronkite continued as CBS' main anchor until he retired in 1981, and he would continue to contribute to news specials for many years afterward, specializing in his passions of politics, science, and technology. Yet for all the major stories that Cronkite witnessed in his long, distinguished career, the one he wanted to be most remembered for was his role in bringing The Beatles to America. Sharon Cobb tells the story of Cronkite's role in this part of pop cultural history.

Times were different then. News reporters had the money to do their jobs properly. Coverage had yet to emphasize feelings over facts. News was not yet considered to be merely another form of entertainment. We may never see the likes of these men again. Chet Huntley and David Brinkley were masters of their craft. Walter Cronkite was the granddaddy of them all - more than just defining the role of the TV news anchor, he became for many, the voice of America. And that's the way it is.

Goodnight, Chet.

Goodnight, David.

Goodnight, Walter.

(Crossposted at SteveAudio.)

Album project: B obscure

2009-07-16T21:30:00.007-05:00

Barclay James Harvest, Everyone Is Everybody Else (1974): John Lees, Les Holroyd, Mel Prichard, and Stuart "Woolly" Wolstenholme formed Barclay James Harvest in 1967. They arrived at their name from pulling it out of a hat containing various suggestions. Over the next several years the band developed a progressive rock sound in the vein of Pink Floyd and The Moody Blues, later recording a song, "Poor Man's Moody Blues" in response to criticisms comparing BJH to that group. They slowly but steadily put together a respectable following in Great Britain and Europe, though never quite breaking through in the States.

They recorded Everyone Is Everybody Else, their fifth LP, with veteran producer Rodger Bain. Bain was best known as a producer of hard rock and heavy metal acts, most notably the early Black Sabbath, and he did not get along well with the band members while recording the album. In the end, the group was not totally satisfied with the sound of the disc. Nevertheless, Everyone Is Everybody Else turned out to be one of BJH's better-regarded efforts.

"Child Of The Universe", with its heavier rock sound, gained some UK radio airplay. The last three tracks, which segue into one another, were the most popular with US progressive rock radio. The suite starts with the surprisingly country-ish "Poor Boy Blues". This leads into the darker folk of "Mill Boys", before concluding with "For No One", which returns to the more typical BJH sound. The gloomy, synthesizer-heavy track is a cry for peace to an alienated world:

Everyone's a loner till he needs a helping hand
Everyone is everybody else
Everyone's a no-one till he wants to make a stand
God alone knows how we will survive

As backing to these images from the Iraq War, "For No One" presents a powerful anti-war message.

The original Barclay James Harvest broke up in 1998. Today Lees and Holroyd each lead groups using the name, with Wolstenholme performing with Lees' outfit. Mel Prichard passed away in 2004.

Bare Jr., Boo-Tay (1998): Bobby Bare Jr., the son of the legendary country performer, earned a Grammy nomination at age 8 when he recorded "Daddy What If" with his father. In the late 90's he put together a group that briefly contended for the Nashville country-punk throne established by Jason And The Scorchers.

Boo-Tay, the group's debut, features a fair number of earnestly-rocking tracks like "Tobacco Spit", "Faker", and "Love-Less" that combine a cheeky DIY spirit with just the right amount of twang. Often reminiscent of the aforementioned Scorchers, in their more settled moments Bare Jr. starts to head in the direction of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. The raucous "You Blew Me Off" (embedding not permitted) almost became a national hit.

Bare Jr. released one more LP, Brainwashed, prior to breaking up in 2000. Bobby Bare Jr. has since released several solo albums, as well as efforts with his Young Criminals Starvation League. Bare has had a tough time sustaining momentum; from what I hear around town his fellow musicians consider Bare to be a difficult man to work with. Former Bare Jr. guitarist Mike Grimes today owns Grimey's, one of Nashville's best indie record stores. The staff of Grimey's is by far the most knowledgeable in town.

Skip Battin, Skip Battin (1972): Clyde "Skip" Battin's career dates back to the 50's. With Gary Paxton, he formed the duo Skip & Flip that enjoyed Top 20 hits with "Cherry Pie" and "It Was I". As their fortunes declined, they made some singles with Los Angeles producer/impresario/BS artist Kim Fowley, who became Battin's main songwriting collaborator and good friend.

Battin's most prominent gig came between 1970 and 1973 as a latter-day member of The Byrds. With the Byrds, Battin was noted for his quirky songwriting, usually working with Fowley, and for his strong work on bass guitar. An underrated bassist, Battin's playing was well respected by the LA musical establishment, and in the later 70's and 80's he would go on to work with The New Riders Of The Purple Sage and The Flying Burrito Brothers. He passed away in 2003.

All of the songs on Skip Battin were co-written by Battin and Kim Fowley. I would likely have never heard of this one had it not been for "The St. Louis Browns", a folk tale of the hapless baseball team that became a radio favorite in St. Louis, and still occasionally pops up on the airwaves there today. That song alone was well worth the $2 I paid for the album when I saw it in a Wichita used record store some years later.

Be Bop Deluxe, The Best Of and The Rest Of Be Bop Deluxe (1978): Another British progressive rock outfit, Be Bop Deluxe was led by Bill Nelson (pictured at left), one of the 70's most unsung guitar heroes. Through six mid-70's albums, the group combined glam-rock style with a futuristic vision, with lyrics often drawn from science fiction. Their sound was defined by Nelson's often-amazing guitar playing, featuring his distinctive tone and nimble lead work. To get some idea of what Be Bop Deluxe was about, imagine David Bowie working with Robert Fripp as his lead guitarist.

For all their talent and effort, Be Bop Deluxe never caught on with the general public. One minor UK hit, "Ships In The Night", was all they had to show for their efforts in the marketplace when they broke up in 1979. Perhaps they were a bit ahead of their time; a number of 80's new-wavers and techno-rockers, including Gary Numan and Julian Cope, have expressed their admiration for the group. Numan's career, in fact, seems to have picked up where Be Bop Deluxe's left off.

Nelson went on to form Bill Nelson's Red Noise, but that group only recorded one LP before dispersing. Since 1980, Nelson has worked solo, giving him the leeway for a great deal of experimentation. He has been prolific - his Wikipedia entry lists almost 70(!) solo discs recorded over the last three decades. Many of these appear to be limited-edition experimental works, recorded in his home studio and marketed through his own label. An annual event called Nelsonica is held in York, England, which brings legions of Nelson's admirers from all over the world together to listen to live performances from their hero and other Nelson-inspired acts. Nelson also records a limited-edition CD for the event each year.

"Ships In The Night" was Be Bop Deluxe's best-known track, but I prefer the shorter, punchier "Maid In Heaven".

I guess you know who's coming up next.

Mew

2009-07-14T19:40:00.002-05:00

This comes as no surprise to us who have cats:

Instead of loud miaowing when they want food, behaviour likely to have them ejected from the bedroom, some cats disguise their cries for attention within an otherwise pleasant purr. The result, according to a study published tonight in the journal Current Biology, is a complex "solicitation" purr with a high-frequency element that triggers a sense of urgency in the human brain. Owners find it irritating, but not irritating enough to kick the cat out, and feel driven to respond.

Dr Karen McComb, a specialist in mammal vocal communication at the University of Sussex, said that by employing an embedded cry, cats appear to be exploiting innate tendencies that humans have for nurturing offspring.

"The embedding of a cry within a call that we normally associate with contentment is quite a subtle means of eliciting a response – and solicitation purring is probably more acceptable to humans than overt meowing," she said.

Several of my cat-owning friends have remarked on how their companions' cries reminded them of human babies. Our kittens, Alvin and Shasta, have yet to learn such feline subtleties. But when we had Maltese, Tara, and Desiree, our first cat generation, overnight visitors would sometimes wake up insisting that we had a baby in the house.

Maltese, our male, would only engage in gentle persuasion for so long. If he felt you were being slow in getting up to feed him his breakfast, he would jump up into bed and bite you on the nose.

Album project: The Bangles

2009-07-11T13:20:00.002-05:00

The Bangles, All Over The Place (1984): Susannah Hoffs and sisters Vicki and Debbi Peterson united to form The Bangs in late 1980. The Bangs became a part of LA's "Paisley Underground" scene, bands whose sound harked back to 60's psychedelia, while also drawing from more recent garage/punk influences. Changing their name to The Bangles due to copyright issues, they released a lackluster debut EP in 1982. The next year, original bassist Annette Zilinskas left and was replaced by Michael Steele. This lineup recorded All Over The Place, as fine a collection of power pop as can be found anywhere.

The album opens strongly with "Hero Takes A Fall", also the first single. "Hero" reflects the band's 60's British roots as well as drawing power from 80's West Coast punk. Lyrically, it sets the tone for the rest of the disc - these are independent women who mean business. "Hero Takes A Fall" deserved to be a hit, but The Bangles would make up for it in the years to come.

"Live", a cover of a track from 60's psychedelics The Merry-Go-Round, shows off the band's influences in that area. "James" shows an ability for jangle-pop, while tracks like "Dover Beach" and their cover of Kimberley Rew's "Going Down To Liverpool" recall the Beatles of the Rubber Soul and Revolver era. The Bangles also prove their ability to rock out on tracks like "All About You", "Tell Me", and "Silent Treatment".

Vicki Peterson contributes fine guitar work throughout, as well as taking the role of principal songwriter. Drummer Debbi Peterson and bassist Michael Steele give the music a solid foundation. Hoffs and the Petersons share in lead vocals, as CBS hadn't yet begun to push Hoffs out front as the "star" of the group. The three and four-part harmonies throughout the record would become a Bangles signature. The other Bangles LP's of the 80's contain some fine music, but All Over The Place is overall still their finest, most balanced effort, and remains criminally overlooked to this day.

The one that got away.

The Bangles, Different Light (1986): Although not as consistent as All Over The Place, Different Light has its strengths, also producing four hit singles that were some of pop music's better moments from 1986-87.

By this time, Prince had taken an interest in the band's career. Everything Prince touched in the mid-80's seemed to turn to gold, and his "Manic Monday", penned under the pseudonym "Christopher", was no exception. Combining Monday morning melancholy with some nice harmonies, "Manic Monday" climbed to #2 in the US and UK charts, giving the group its breakthrough. Different Light's best track, Jules Shear's gorgeous "If She Knew What She Wants", gave the group a second hit. This was followed by the quirky, poppy "Walk Like An Egyptian", The Bangles' first chart-topper. "Walking Down Your Street" made it into the Top 20 as well.

All four hits were written in whole or in part outside the band. The disc's weakness is that the band's original compositions are not up to that standard, apart from the rockers "Different Light" and "Let It Go". Overall, Different Light is a decent second effort, and seemed to portend a bright future for the group.

A killer cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Hazy Shade Of Winter", from the movie Less Than Zero, reached #2 and kept The Bangles in the spotlight through 1987. But their next LP release, Everything was disappointing artistically if not commercially. Dominated by the treacly ballad "Eternal Flame", the group's second #1 hit, the album lacked the musical edginess of the previous Bangles releases. The group was also losing its cohesiveness, due in part to CBS pressuring lead vocalist Susannah Hoffs into starting a solo career. The pressures led to the breakup of the band in 1989.

Susannah Hoffs embarked on a less-than-successful solo career, while Vicki Peterson joined psychedelic folkies The Continental Drifters and Debbi Peterson married. The Bangles reunited in 2001 and released the LP Doll Revolution; Elvis Costello wrote the title track. The group remains together to this day. Michael Steele left in 2005. Abby Travis replaced Steele for live performances, although she is not considered an official member of the group.

The bell tolls twice more

2009-07-05T03:42:00.003-05:00

Allen Klein: The infamous music executive who once managed the affairs of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones passed away Saturday at age 77.

Klein's original interest was in accounting, but encouraged by his friend Don Kirshner, he became involved in the music business. He quickly gained a reputation as a hard-nosed sleuth who found his clients thousands of dollars worth of unpaid royalties. Klein did this job so well for Bobby Darin and Sam Cooke that they asked him to become their manager. He was able to negotiate a very favorable deal for Cooke that gave the artist an unusually high royalty rate for the time as well as the rights to his recordings. He also made inroads into the British music scene, striking a management deal with producer Mickie Most that gave Klein access to many of the top British Invasion acts. With his earnings, he bought the Cameo-Parkway label out of bankruptcy, changing the label's name to ABKCO and acquiring the rights to their recordings.

His reputation was such that in 1965 Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham hired Klein to look after the band's business affairs. The tough-talking Klein impressed the Stones from the outset - Mick Jagger said, “Andrew sold him to us as a gangster figure, someone outside the establishment. We found that rather attractive.” Klein eventually bought out Oldham's share of the Stones' management, then proceeded to anger his clients by buying the rights to their publishing. Years of lawsuits followed, with the last one finally settled in 1984. The Stones won the right to set up their own management company, but Klein retained the rights to their music prior to 1971.

After acquiring the Stones' management, Klein set his sights on the biggest prize in the music business - The Beatles. After the death of Brian Epstein, the Fab Four's business affairs fell into chaos. Paul McCartney suggested that his father-in-law Lee Eastman step in as their manager, but this did not sit well with the other three Beatles. After Klein read a statement by John Lennon to the press that they would be broke in six months if their current situation continued, he informed Lennon of his interest in managing them. When the two met, Lennon was impressed with Klein's knowledge of their music, and he convinced George Harrison and Ringo Starr that Klein was the man for the job. Klein was able to negotiate a substantially high royalty rate for the group, but was unable to prevent the sale of their publishing to ATV. He never did win the trust of Paul McCartney, he alienated many of the group's long-time employees used to a more relaxed management style, and he generally aggravated the already-strained relations between the band members. After the breakup of The Beatles, Klein continued to work with Lennon and Harrison until his questionable handling of the proceeds from the Concert For Bangladesh led to another round of lawsuits that drug on for years.

Klein was convicted of tax fraud in 1979, but only served two months in prison. Although mostly inactive in his later years, he guaranteed himself a healthy income through his ownership of the rights to the music of the early Rolling Stones, Sam Cooke, and many other artists.

Steve McNair: The former all-star NFL quarterback and league MVP was found murdered in his condo Saturday afternooon. He was only 36.

McNair first came to notice during a stellar collegiate career at Alcorn State University in Mississippi, where he rewrote the school's record book. In his senior year, "Air" McNair gained over 6000 yards in combined passing and rushing, and accounted for 53 touchdowns. The then-Houston Oilers chose him with the third overall pick in the 1995 draft.

McNair sat and watched his first two seasons, then took over at starting quarterback in 1997 as the Oilers played in their temporary home in Memphis. Over the next two seasons, McNair's throwing and running blended with Eddie George's hard-nosed ballcarrying to form the heart of the team's offense. In 1999, the renamed Tennessee Titans, now at home in Nashville, reached the Super Bowl with McNair confidently at the helm. In Super Bowl XXXIV, McNair led the Titans back from a 16-0 deficit against the St. Louis Rams to tie the score in the fourth quarter. Rams quarterback Kurt Warner threw a touchdown pass to give the Rams a 23-16 lead. With time for one more drive, McNair led the Titans to the one-yard line before a game-saving tackle as time ran out won the game for the Rams.

With Eddie George on the decline, the Titans relied on McNair to pass the ball more frequently, and he responded in 2002 and 2003 with the best seasons of his career statistically, and leading the Titans to the playoffs both seasons. In 2003 he threw 24 touchdown passes and shared the NFL's Most Valuable Player Award with Peyton Manning. But McNair's gritty style of play was begining to take its toll on his body. He missed the second half of the 2004 season with a bruised sternum, struggled with leg and shoulder problems from earlier seasons, and after an inefective 2005 left the Titans for the Baltimore Ravens. He stayed healthy in 2006 and led Baltimore to the AFC North title, but after an injury-plagued 2007 McNair announced his retirement.

McNair wwas found dead in his condo from multiple gunshot wounds. A female companion, Sahel Kazemi, was also found dead from a single gunshot wound at the scene.

Independence Day

2009-07-04T13:03:00.002-05:00

I don't have a lot more to say on it this year. Just don't get hurt playing with fireworks.

In poor taste

2009-07-01T20:27:00.002-05:00

In order to provide a break from the recent spate of celebrity deaths, Pole Hill brings you... cannibalism! (Via Mixter's Mix.)

Created by Recipe Star

Or maybe not. The excellent Karl Malden passed away today. He was 97.

Michael Jackson

2009-06-27T14:00:00.006-05:00

By now, the entire world knows of the untimely death of Michael Jackson, and it seems as though every blogger in the universe has offered their observations. This is only fitting, as Jackson's presence dominated the entertainment world as few performers ever had. Virtually all of Jackson's life was spent in the public eye, and anybody who hasn't spent the last 40 years under a rock knows his life story, from achieving superstardom at age 11, to his 80's reign as the King of Pop, to the bizarre behavior and ultimate tragedy of his later years. Perhaps the best way to remember Michael Jackson, then, is through his music, the songs, the voice, and the magnificent talent that left its mark on generations.

The Jackson 5: The first four Jackson 5 singles for Motown - "I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There" - all topped the US charts, seemingly making matinee idols of the five young brothers from impoverished Gary, Indiana almost overnight. By the time of their breakthrough, though, the Jackson boys were already veterans of the club circuit, displaying a craft honed through long hours of rehearsals, often with father Joe sitting in a chair, belt at the ready to deliver a whipping should one of the boys miss a note. (The claim that Diana Ross "discovered" the Jackson 5 was a myth manufactured by Motown's PR staff.)

The early J5 singles were written and produced by The Corporation, headed up by Motown chief Berry Gordy, along with staff writers/producers Alphonzo Mizell, Deke Richards, and Freddie Perren. Gordy said that the brothers were the last big stars to roll off his assembly line. Those hits had one foot in the Motown assembly-line dance-pop of the 60's, but you can also hear the Jacksons straining to break out of that formula, already incorporating elements of the funk that would come to dominate 70's R&B. Michael was at the forefront of those records, possessed with a voice clear and innocent, yet also already having the nuance of the great soul singers, often sounding as though he knew of matters far beyond his years.

Jackson began recoding solo in 1972. "Ben", his first chart-topping single as a solo artist, seems especially interesting in retrospect. The empathy Jackson shows for the subject, a telepathic, manipulative rat, is downright eerie, given how the rest of Jackson's life played out.

Desiring more artistic freedom, the Jackson 5 signed with CBS Records in 1975. They enjoyed few big hits in the latter 70's, but during this period Michael's voice deepened, he developed a range of distinctive vocal mannerisms, and perfected his dance moves. In 1978 he starred as the Scarecrow in The Wiz. During the film's production he met Quincy Jones, with whom he formed a partnership that was the key to the next stage of Jackson's career.

Off The Wall (1979): Off The Wall confidently announced Michael Jackson's coming of age as a major artist. Released at the height of the disco explosion, Jackson and co-producer Quincy Jones issued a statement that they would take a back seat to no one when it came to grooves, while also including a selection of ballads that signaled his maturity.

The energetic, funky groove of the self-penned "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (embedding not permitted) is arguably Jackson's finest hour. The song introduces Jackson's falsetto and the vocal hiccups that would become a staple of his future work. To accompany the release of the single, Jackson released an innovative video, a practice that would become another of the artist's trademarks.

The mid-tempo, romantic "Rock With You" followed "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" to the top of the charts. "Off The Wall", "Workin' Day And Night", and "Get On The Floor" are fine examples of the irresistible dance grooves featured on the LP. "Girlfriend" was written by Paul McCartney, with whom Jackson would work with periodically for the next few years. Another of the disc's finest moments is the ballad "She's Out Of My Life", in which Jackson breaks down and cries at the end of the track. Quincy Jones had Jackson record several takes, but when Jackson ended each one in tears, Jones decided that his cries were meant to be included in the final recording. Off The Wall became the first album to produce four US Top 10 singles, yet Jackson was still disappointed by this performance and was determined that his next LP would create an even bigger impact. He had yet to become the icon of later years, but as a recording artist, Jackson had already reached his peak.

Thriller (1982): Off The Wall was an excellent dance-pop LP. Thriller was a cultural event, one that ultimately overshadowed the quality of the songs themselves. With worldwide sales of 105 million and counting, Thriller is the biggest-selling album of all time.

Thriller does contain its share of notable tracks. Working again with Quincy Jones, Jackson was determined to create an album on which every track could be considered as a potential hit single. He became so obsessive with rehearsing and recording that his relationship with Jones became strained. The extra work paid off, as the LP spawned an unprecedented seven hit singles, some of which displaying a darker side to Jackson's art previously unseen.

"Billie Jean", about an obsessive fan who claims that Jackson fathered her child, is a fine example of the new directions Jackson's music was taking. With Jackson's voice alternating between lust and paranoia, the song stands as one of his finest performances. "Wanna Be Startin' Something" is a propulsive dance track, while "Human Nature" is an edgy, brooding ballad. "The Girl Is Mine" was another collaboration with Paul McCartney; although musically slight, it broke ground with its treatment of interracial love. The title track featured another innovative video, along with narration by Vincent Price.

Of all the performances on Thriller, none had more cultural impact than "Beat It" (embedding not permitted). One of Jackson's goals was to record a successful rock crossover, which he achieved with the help of guitarists Eddie Van Halen and Steve Lukather of Toto. Once again, the single's success was bolstered by a creative video that pays homage to West Side Story.

It was that video that turned out to be a milepost in music history. Barriers between black and white music that had steadily fallen since the 50's were becoming restored to some extent by a new generation of radio programmers dividing the dial into tightly segregated formats. At the time, MTV seldom played any videos from black artists, as they felt they held little appeal to the demographic the channel targeted. Jackson felt that "Beat It" was as much a rock song as anything MTV had in rotation. CBS Records, frustrated with the music channel's stance toward black artists, threatened to not release new product to MTV unless they agreed to air "Beat It". MTV relented, and the video became one of the most popular in their rotation, paving the way for exposure of other black artists.

Thriller led artists to view their releases in a new light. In the early days of the LP, they were seen as a few singles held together by filler. In the 70's, inspired by The Beatles, many artists strove to create albums in which the songs were loosely united by a general theme. Jackson's approach, in which every track was seen as a potential hit, was adopted by many pop artists in subsequent years; the main advantage of this method was that a successful LP would spawn enough hits to keep it in the spotlight for two or even three years, eliminating the need to quickly return to the studio to record new material. Through the success of Thriller, Jackson showed his fellow artists a way out of the vicious cycle of recording, touring, and more recording that had ground so many acts into the dust in the 60's and 70's.

In the US, several albums have approached Thriller in overall domestic sales. Worldwide, Thriller leaves everyone else in the dust. We tend to think of "world music" as encompassing the various indigenous folk styles of the planet, but Michael Jackson, with his universal appeal and attention to craft, could make a claim to creating the real "world music". At his peak, you were as likely to see kids attempting Jackson's moonwalk in the neighborhoods of Soweto, Moscow, and Saigon as you would in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. By the mid-80's Jackson had achieved a measure of international stature unapproached by almost any other music performer.

The King Of Pop: Many claim that Jackson released some of his best work in the years after Thriller. Frankly, I paid less and less attention to him as the years passed. At times Jackson continued to release interesting music - "Man In The Mirror" is the artist at his most introspective; "Black Or White" served as a statement of purpose. Often he seemed to descend into self-parody - the title track of Bad sounds hollow, as if the person Jackson was most trying to convince of his badness was himself. At times when Jackson was exploring the dark side - "Scream" and "They Don't Care About Us" come to mind - the results seem just silly. Through it all, Jackson continued to make pop history. In 1995, "You Are Not Alone" became the first single to enter the Billboard singles chart at #1, and his halftime performance at Super Bowl XXVII forever changed the way audiences and performers regarded that event. Until the end, Jackson was capable of filling stadiums and arenas, especially abroad where the more sordid stories surrounding his life didn't have as much impact. It seemed to me, though, that Jackson spent the rest of his life trying to duplicate the success of Thriller, a success so phenomenal that he could never hope to match it.

Michael Jackson's legacy is the generic, grab-bag pop that dominates hit radio today. His masterful blending of styles created the template that has been used by everyone from Madonna to Britney Spears; from George Michael to Justin Timberlake. Most of these artists, unfortunately, lacked the understanding of modern pop that Jackson had; what seemed fresh and exciting in Jackson's hands often sounds lifeless when attempted by lesser performers. In the process, Michael Jackson brought pop music back into the world of showbiz, a mixed blessing at best. Nevertheless, he was able to achieve a rare level of celebrity; his was a face instantly recognized anywhere on the planet. For Michael Jackson, this turned out to be a mixed blessing as well.

SteveAudio offers his recollections of working with the Jackson family. Also check out this essay from Robert Christgau, who continues to be one of the world's best writers on popular music.

Ed McMahon

2009-06-24T21:56:00.003-05:00

Ed McMahon, television pioneer, pitchman, and world's greatest sidekick, passed away Tuesday at age 86, having suffered ill health for the past several years.

Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. was born in Detroit on March 6, 1923. By the time he was 10, he wanted to be a radio announcer; at 15 he had his first announcing job, promoting a circus from the back of a sound truck. In World War II, he served in the Marines as a test pilot and flight instructor; he returned to the service in the Korean War piloting spotter planes. After WWII, he earned a degree in speech and theater from Catholic University in Washington, DC, paying his way through school by working as a pitchman for vegetable slicers on the Atlantic City boardwalk.

After graduating in 1949, McMahon took a $75/week job at the brand-new Philadelphia TV station WCAU. Within two years he was Philadelphia's most visible TV personality, hosting 13 programs on WCAU. He gained some national exposure in the 50's as an MC for several game shows. He got his big break in 1958, when he was hired to be the announcer on a new show hosted by Johnny Carson, Who Do You Trust?

The ebullient McMahon proved to be the perfect foil to the reticent Carson. Originally hired to announce the guests and read commercials, Carson quickly worked McMahon into his comic routines, especially poking fun at Ed's love of food and drink. He adapted to the job of straight man so well that when Carson was named to succeed Jack Paar as host of NBC's Tonight Show, he took McMahon with him. Over the next 30 years, McMahon established himself as the undisputed king of the sidekicks, developing an encyclopedia of catchphrases, knowing exactly when to laugh, and introducing Carson each night with his trademark, "Heeeeere's Johnny!!!" As McMahon explained it, "I was there when he needed me, and when he didn't, I moved down the couch and kept quiet." McMahon and Carson worked together 34 years in all, forming one of the great show business partnerships and becoming good friends as well. When Carson died in 2005, McMahon described his longtime partner as "like a brother to me".

During his over 50-year career on television, McMahon enjoyed an assortment of other prominent roles. From 1983 to 1995, he hosted Star Search, a talent-scout show that gave early exposure to the young Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Rosie O'Donnell, among others. He was one of TV's most prominent pitchmen, some of his best-known spots included commercials for Budweiser, Alpo, and American Family Publishers. Every Labor Day for 41 years, he appeared with Jerry Lewis on his telethon for muscular dystrophy, and with Dick Clark, he co-hosted TV's Bloopers And Practical Jokes for several years.

McMahon's final years were somewhat sad. He broke his neck in a fall in 2007, accelerating his declining health status. The next year, it was reported that he was behind hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments on his Beverly Hills home. Donald Trump offered to buy the home so that McMahon would escape foreclosure, but McMahon made an agreement with a private buyer who leased the mansion back to him. Good-natured to the end, McMahon spoofed his financial difficulties in commercials for FreeCreditReport.com.

Ed McMahon will forever be remembered as the ultimate second banana. This Alpo commercial from The Tonight Show highlights several of McMahon's roles, and is a great example of the rapport he enjoyed with Johnny Carson.

(Crossposted at SteveAudio.)

Album project: The Band

2009-06-20T12:28:00.002-05:00

The Band, Stage Fright (1970); The Band, Greatest Hits (2000): If this were a serious rock history, The Band would receive a good deal more attention. They were one of rock's seminal quintets, taking part in some key historical moments and contributing a number of works regarded by many as classics. Only a few of their songs really caught my ear, though, and their greatest-hits collection more than serves my needs.

Their roots were with 50's rockabilly outfit Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks. Such outfits were a dime a dozen in their native Arkansas, but Hawkins was able to make connections in Toronto and discovered a fresh market for their sound. Over the next several years, The Hawks were a popular act on the Canadian club circuit. Drummer Levon Helm accompanied Hawkins on his trip north; Canadian musicians Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson replaced the other original Hawks as they became homesick and returned to Arkansas.

Splitting from Hawkins in 1964, they worked some as Levon And The Hawks before coming to the attention of Bob Dylan, who was looking for musicians for his first electric tour. That tour became one of rock's historic moments, as Dylan and The Hawks tore through their set with savage fury while the audience, accustomed to seeing Dylan perform alone with just his acoustic guitar and harmonica, responded with loud booing and heckling. The negative reaction proved to much for Helm, who left early in the tour and returned to Arkansas. Later, Dylan and the group, now referred to simply as "The Band", settled in Woodstock, New York, with Danko, Hudson and Manuel moving into a large house they dubbed "Big Pink". During Dylan's long recovery period following his 1966 motorcycle accident, they jammed together in the basement of Big Pink, producing a legendary series of recordings known as the Basement Tapes. The association with Dylan had a marked effect on the group's sound, as Dylan introduced them to various styles of folk, country and R&B, as well as becoming a significant influence on Robbie Robertson's songwriting. Earning their own recording contract in 1968, they talked Helm into rejoining the group and recorded the classics Music From Big Pink and The Band.

The latter albums are the place to start for those who wish to further explore The Band's career. Music From Big Pink featured "The Weight", "Tears Of Rage", and "Chest Fever". The album showcased their eclectic songwriting and unusual song structures. Helm, Danko, and Manuel handled lead vocals: none of them were polished singers, but were able to convey a wide range of emotion through their creative arrangements. All were proficient multi-instrumentalists, and producer John Simon practically became a sixth member, adding madcap horns and other flourishes. The Band was the group's finest hour, with "Up On Cripple Creek", "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", "Rag Mama Rag", and a host of other performances that earned the disc a place on many lists of rock's greatest albums. The album has a timeless feel to it, as though the songs were found in some obscure early 20th Century book of folk tunes. The Band's ability to evoke old Americana became the key to their charm.

Stage Fright, despite a couple of good rockers like "The Shape I'm In", was a decline from the high standard set by the first two LP's. The title track, easily the best tune on the disc, describes the pressures the band was feeling from life on the road and the need to come up with new material. Robbie Robertson said, "It was named after the experience of having put ourselves in the public eye but we were kind of private people at the same time. Taking our music out and performing it, there was something very private about it and the way we performed it was not very flashy or showy. We just came for business so we could go on and play our hearts out. There was some kind of yin-yang between our nature and what concerts really were. It was almost like a classical music in performance than it was of coming out and wearing cut-off leotards and buckskins. We're not here for nonsense, we're not here for people to get drunk while we're playing anymore. We wanted to shed that skin. It was just a different thing. Not being very showy it all added up to this kind of stage fright thematic thing in our lives. It became so vulnerable and sensitive somehow, presenting this music in public."

The Band's later work never again quite reached the standards of the earlier LP's. Cahoots was a laid-back affair best noted for "Life Is A Carnival". "Rock Of Ages" was a live recording. Moondog Matinee featured idiosyncratic covers of their favorite 50's tunes. After a lengthy hiatus, they returned to form somewhat with 1975's Northern Lights-Southern Cross. "Acadian Driftwood", a wistful tale of the Acadians' expulsion from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in the 1750's, stands as one of the group's best tracks. In general, though, their inspiration had been lagging for some time. As well, tensions were increasing between Robertson and the rest of the group. Other group members complained that Robertson was hogging the limelight, while Robertson said he had begged the other group members to help out with songwriting, but they seldom came up with anything. The animosities took their toll on the group's communal spirit that was at the heart of their greatest performances.

The Band played one last show at San Francisco's Winterland on Thanksgiving 1976, a performance immortalized in Martin Scorsese's film The Last Waltz. The movie is almost as notable for all the celebrities that gathered to bid the group farewell as it is for The Band's performances themselves. Robbie Robertson's outsized ego tends to dominate the proceedings, while Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson are hardly seen at all. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" is one of the film's better moments.

The Band reunited in 1983 without Robertson, who has kept his distance from the other group members over the years. Robertson for his part has kept busy with a variety of solo projects, the best-known being his 1987 disc Robbie Robertson. Richard Manuel, having a long history of substance abuse issues, committed suicide in 1986. In 1999, Rick Danko, also having battled drug problems for many years, died in his sleep. The Band broke up for good at that point, with Levon Helm and Garth Hudson engaging in a number of solo activities since. Helm and Robertson, feuding over songwriting credits and a number of other issues dating from The Band's heyday, have reportedly not spoken in years.

Quick and dirty IQ test

2009-06-16T02:24:00.002-05:00

Blog filler. Because I'm trying to get back into the habit of posting two or three times a week.

Your IQ Is 130

Your Logical Intelligence is Exceptional

Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius

Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius

Your General Knowledge is Exceptional

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

Remember, these things are not scientific. Although this comes fairly close to the scores I got on IQ tests in school. YMMV.

Barry Beckett

2009-06-13T11:05:00.003-05:00

Notable sessionman and producer Barry Beckett passed away Wednesday at age 66. Beckett had been in poor health in recent years, having been diagnosed with cancer, and suffering a series of strokes.

Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Beckett first came to notice in the 60's as part of the crew of session musicians associated with Rick Hall's Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals. The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section provided a soulful touch to hits by Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and Percy Sledge, among others, with Beckett's keyboard stylings as a key part of the mix. Leon Russell dubbed this outfit "The Swampers", and they were immortalized by Lynyrd Skynyrd in their "Sweet Home Alabama".

In 1969 Beckett co-founded the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and began to branch out into producing, while continuing his activities as a session keyboardist. A couple of Beckett's notable session credits from this period are on The Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There" and Paul Simon's "Kodachrome". As a producer, Beckett scored pop successes with Mary McGregor's #1 hit "Torn Between Two Lovers" and The Sanford-Townsend Band's "Smoke From A Distant Fire". At the end of the decade, Beckett produced notable LP's for Bob Dylan (Slow Train Coming) and Dire Straits (Communique).

Beckett sold his stake in the Muscle Shoals studio in 1984 and took a position with Warner Brothers in Nashville. His production skills played a key role in Hank Williams Jr.'s mid-80's success, as well as producing hits for Alabama. Working independently, Beckett also produced an eclectic array of artists including Etta James, Pfish, and The Waterboys. He also helped launch Kenny Chesney's career, producing his first two discs. Chesney said, "There's no way I would be where I am today in my life if it wasn't for Barry Beckett. He was one of the first people in Nashville to believe in me, on any level, and he taught me so much. The more I got to know him, the more I realized how much he contributed to the world of music."

Beckett's work on "I'll Take You There" and "Kodachrome" provide ample testament to his skills on keyboards.

A 1999 interview with Beckett is also a good primer on how records are made in Nashville, for better or worse.

(Crossposted at SteveAudio.)

Kittens!

2009-06-12T12:37:00.002-05:00

Sooner or later, it was bound to happen. Jenn and I brought home a couple of kittens last night. I missed having cats around the house, though I'm still a bit concerned about how they will interact with Thalia.

Go over to Jenn's blog and get your catblogging fix.

The nickel tip

2009-06-09T19:26:00.002-05:00

Back in 1957, my dad was assigned to Scott Air Force Base near Belleville, Illinois. They didn't pay airmen much in those days, and Dad wound up taking a second job at a gas station in town. Down the road from there a bit, a new A&W Root Beer joint opened up. There was nowhere on the premises to go in and sit; you pulled your car up under the long canopy and a carhop came out and took your order. My mother's cousin owned the local A&W franchise, and he hired Mom as one of his first carhops.

It didn't take Dad long to notice the attractive blonde carhop who brought out his hamburgers and root beer floats, for which he always left a nickel tip. Dad was a bit shy around girls then, so it may have taken a bit for him to muster the gumption to start a conversation with Mom. My mother, though, had been nurturing a desire to get out of small-town southern Illinois and see more of the world, and the more she encouraged the handsome airman's attentions, the more she heard his stories of the faraway places that he had been stationed. They began to date, Dad spent more of his time at the A&W, and he kept leaving Mom his nickel tips.

Last Saturday, Mom and Dad have been married 50 years. It seems that in these times, a marriage that endures fifty years has become a rare accomplishment. They raised children, traveled a lot, saw both good times and bad, yet even through the darkest moments their love endured and grew. I feel extremely fortunate to have them for parents, and wish them many more years of happiness together.

World Tour '09

2009-05-31T11:40:00.002-05:00

As the title implies, we have spent the last two weeks on the road, in situations with little time for blogging, and often in places with no internet access. Here's the recap of some of the recent weeks' activities, in case there's still somebody out there who gives a shit.

*****

Peggy's father passed away May 17. I hoped to spend my off days that week mowing the grass, which was starting to reach critical levels, but when his wife called with the sad news, Jenn, Amanda, and I packed our bags and headed off to Illinois. Foster Frederick, known to most folks as Fred, was a fairly important man in his community. He was a Korean War veteran who came home and spent a career working in the factories of Granite City, eventually retiring from Granite City Steel. He became deeply involved in the labor movement, becoming an official in the Steelworkers' Union at the state level. I don't believe I will meet anyone else as committed to labor as Fred was. Through his union work, he developed many ties to local politics, and after retiring served 12 years as an alderman. He taught Sunday school at his church for many years. When my brother Scott passed away, Fred was very supportive of my family, and after the service bought dinner for a number of us at an expensive Italian restaurant. Over the years, he accomplished many good things in his community, and he will be missed by the family.

*****

While in the area, we took the short trip across the big river to St. Louis to visit the Gateway Arch, which Jenn and Amanda had never seen before. A trip to the Arch is well worth it if you ever visit St. Louis. The Arch is 630 feet high, and you can ride a tram to the observation room at the top for some spectacular views of the St. Louis area. The museum below the base of the Arch features the story of America's westward expansion and is interesting and educational in itself. Jenn took plenty of pictures.

*****

We arrived back at Pole Hill to find that the grass in places was up to Amanda's armpits. But there was no time to cut grass, as the next day we were off to Jenn's aunt and uncle's place in the wilds of east Georgia. The term "hellhole" is not one I use lightly, having had the experience of walking the streets of Hartford, Illinois, but a week in the East Georgia woods is a uniquely numbing experience. The area has few resources and fewer jobs, and is mired in the sort of poverty common to isolated rural areas. It's not totally isolated - there's a Walmart, but it's a half-hour drive away. They do have satellite TV, but no wireless services reach the house. I would go insane spending any significant length of time in that environment. At the end of the week, we dropped Amanda off to spend a few weeks with Uncle Harry, Aunt Sue, and her sister Lucy until we return for the girls and the rest of Jenn's stuff, and headed back to Tennessee.

*****

When we got back I was glad to see that my neighbor brought his tractor over to cut some of the grass down, for which I am very grateful. On the other side of my property, I came home to find the new neighbors were proudly flying the Confederate flag from their front porch. Grrr.

I work the next three nights, then it's back on the road to Illinois for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. The adventure continues.

Gianna

2009-05-16T10:53:00.003-05:00

Recently our family has suffered through yet another tragedy. Not long ago, Peggy's niece Emily and her husband Josh welcomed their daughter Gianna into the world. Last month Gianna passed away at only 11 weeks.

Gianna was born with Trisomy 18, a genetic disorder that occurs when a baby has three of the 18th chromosome. (Down's Syndrome, where the baby has three of the 21st chromosome, is the most common trisomy.) Babies with Trisomy 18 suffer from severe heart, kidney, and intestinal deformities, and most Trisomy 18 babies are dead at birth. Less than 10% of Trisomy 18 babies live to be a year old.

Several weeks after Emily learned she was pregnant, they knew that Gianna would have Trisomy 18. It was a difficult pregnancy for Emily, both physically and emotionally. Nevertheless, Emily and Josh were overjoyed when Gianna came into the world alive, and they gave the baby all the love and caring in their hearts during her short time with them. Despite Gianna's short time here, she was quite a blessing for the family. This has been an emotional roller coaster for Emily and Josh, and I know that this is a tough time for them now. Both of you are in my thoughts and prayers, and I am sorry I was unable to attend the memorial service. This small tribute is the least I can do.

Walk Score

2009-05-12T19:18:00.002-05:00

An interesting gadget I found while rummaging around at Correntewire is the Walk Score, which calculates the "walkability" of where you live. Enter your address into the calculator, and it generates a score from 0 to 100; the higher the score, the more walkable your neighborhood is.

Walkable neighborhoods have a number of health and social benefits. According to research cited on the website, people living in walkable neighborhoods weigh on average seven pounds less than those living in sprawled-out neighborhoods. Walking more means less pollution, and obviously there are more opportunities for social interaction when more people are walking. To give you some idea of what they consider to be a walkable environment, the cities with the highest walkability scores are San Francisco, Boston, New York, and Chicago.

Pole Hill scores a whopping 8 for walkability, although Jenn believes that we should get an extra couple of points for having to walk up the hill from her daughter's bus stop to the house. There are plenty of opportunities to walk for exercise around here, but there are no schools, shops, or other destinations reasonably close for walking. The goal of everybody in redneck suburbia is to live on at least 5-10 acres each, which goes against the idea of creating the density necessary for what Walk Score would consider an ideally walkable neighborhood.

Where's Sardo?

2009-05-10T03:19:00.002-05:00

No, I haven't quit blogging, despite my recent lack of output. I suppose the best way to explain it is that for the last few weeks, things haven't lined up quite the way I like. My online activities began as a way to amuse myself while on the graveyard shift, but things at work have changed over the years and I have less time for blogging out here than I used to. Which means I need to find more time to do this at home, but I can always think of other things to do when I'm off. For example, it has rained at The Hill more-or-less solid for a week now, and my yard is starting to look like a jungle.

I have noticed that several of my blogging friends, who I go back a long way with, have either cut back on their blogs or abandoned them completely. Even if you do maintain a healthy online community (which is what drew me to their blogs as much as anything), it gets hard to come up with new stuff to feed the beast, especially once you reach the point where you feel you've told all your good stories. Besides, Facebook and Twitter fill many of the same needs that blogging does - you can maintain community just as easily (perhaps more so), and you can keep your friends informed without having to spend a lot of time on writing. I'm starting to think that the blogosphere may have reached a crossroads - the people who got into it mainly to communicate with friends are the ones dropping out, leaving the people who are into serious writing, and have the time to do it.

Anyway, don't blame Jenn. Though my writing started tailing off about the time that our relationship moved from virtual to real-life, that is just coincidence. Jenn wants me to write. In fact, one of the strengths of our relationship is the way that we encourage each other to be more creative, and I expect that to continue over time.

BTW, Jenn graduated from East Georgia, and she lives here now. She also writes almost every day, so if you wonder what's going on around here, and haven't heard from me for a while, you can check her blog.

*****

We need a Weekend Interlude. We need some LOLcats.

Jack Kemp

2009-05-03T06:45:00.004-05:00

Jack Kemp, the star football player who later became a stalwart Republican congressman and Presidential candidate, passed away Saturday at age 73. Kemp Partners, his lobbying and consulting firm, disclosed in January that he had cancer.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Kemp was a star athlete at Fairfax High School. He also excelled at studies, enjoying reading history and philosophy. Considered too small for a major-college program, Kemp enrolled at Occidental College, where he became the starting quarterback. He led all small-college quarterbacks in passing his senior year. Drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1957, he spent three seasons bouncing around the NFL, earning little playing time. A brief stint in the Canadian Football League was also unsuccessful. Kemp's break came with the formation of the American Football League in 1960. He won the starting quarterback's job with the Los Angeles Chargers and led them to the AFL championship game, repeating the feat the next season as the franchise moved to San Diego. Moving on to Buffalo, he led the Bills to three consecutive AFL championship games in 1964-66, winning the title in '64 and '65, and missing out on playing in the first Super Bowl as the Bills lost to Kansas City in '66. Kemp retired after the 1969 season, the last before the AFL-NFL merger. Of the AFL's ten seasons, Kemp was named to seven league all-star teams, and started at quarterback in five of its championship games. He is the AFL's all-time leader in career pass attempts, completions, and passing yards.

Kemp's interest in politics was sparked by working in Barry Goldwater's 1964 Presidential campaign and Ronald Reagan's 1966 campaign for governor of California. He became an avid reader of free-market apologists Friedrich Hayek and Ayn Rand. Yet he also showed a genuine concern for racial equality and economic fairness, and his political career was marked by his attempts to balance his concern for working-class Americans with his laissez-faire approach to economics. He was elected to Congress from a Democratic-leaning suburban Buffalo district in 1971, and would hold the seat for nine terms. In Congress, Kemp became a leading proponent of the theory that tax cuts would spur economic growth. He supported flat-tax proposals, lowering taxes on business, and promoted the creation of "enterprise zones" that gave tax breaks to businesses as an incentive to locate within them. Kemp was also one of the first Republicans to assert that balanced budgets were not important. His greatest legislative accomplishment was the Kemp-Roth tax cut, a 23 percent reduction over three years enacted by President Reagan in 1981. At the same time, Kemp became one of the rare Republicans who supported civil rights legislation, affirmative action, and immigrant rights. Kemp, though, also took more traditional GOP positions such as opposition to abortion and support for the Nicaraguan contras.

Kemp made a bid for the White House in 1988. The Republicans' long march to the right was in full swing by that point, though, and by then he was considered a moderate, even to some a liberal, by GOP standards. Kemp pulled out of the Presidential race following a disastrous Super Tuesday showing in which he received fewer delegates than George H. W. Bush, Bob Dole, and Pat Robertson. Eventual winner Bush named Kemp his Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Kemp would spend most of his HUD tenure cleaning the department up from the scandal-ridden Reagan years, leaving little time to pursue his policies of developing enterprise zones and tenant ownership of public housing. Kemp's last role in the spotlight was as Vice-President on the 1996 Republican ticket running alongside Presidential candidate Bob Dole. The choice of Kemp as VP candidate was a surprise, as Dole vehemently disagreed with Kemp on economic issues, and the two constantly antagonized each other during their years as GOP leaders in Congress. Following the Dole-Kemp loss in 1996, Kemp never again sought elective office, and spent the rest of his life lobbying for free-market legislation and with charity work. He was an early supporter of John McCain's unsuccessful 2008 Presidential bid.

Jack Kemp's voice in the political conversation will be missed, not least because he represented a fast-vanishing breed, the reasonable conservative.

(Crossposted at They Gave Us A Republic and SteveAudio.)

Fun at the ol' ball park

2009-04-29T03:19:00.002-05:00

Bad enough that the New York Yankees' pitching staff has recently gotten into the habit of imploding at key moments. Turns out that the team also has a policy requiring fans to stay at their seats while "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" and "God Bless America" play during the seventh-inning stretch. Attempting to leave your seat can have serious consequences, as Bradley Campeau-Laurion discovered at a Yankees-Red Sox game last season when he tried to go to the bathroom:

I attempted to get up to use the restroom, rather urgently, during the 7th inning stretch as God Bless America was beginning. As I attempted to walk down the aisle and exit my section into the tunnel, I was stopped by a police officer. He informed me that I had to wait until the song was over. I responded that I had to use the restroom and that I did not care about God Bless America.

As soon as the latter came out of my mouth, my right arm was twisted violenty behind my back and I was informed that I was being escorted out of the stadium. A second officer then joined in and twisted my left arm, also in an excessively forceful manner, behind my back. I informed them they were violating my First Amendment rights and that I had done nothing wrong, with no response from them.

I was sitting in the Tier Level, and of course this is the highest level of the stadium and I was escorted in this painful manner down the entire length of the stadium. About halfway down, I informed them that they were hurting me, repeated that I had done nothing wrong, and that I was not resisting nor talking back to them. One of them said something to the effect that if I continued to speak, he would find a way to hurt me more.

When we reached the exit of the stadium, they confiscated my ticket and the first officer shoved me through the turnstiles, saying "Get the hell out of my country if you don't like it."

Campeau-Laurion admits to being a Red Sox fan and an atheist, neither of which could have helped him much in dealing with New York's Finest. For their part, the NYPD said they were escorting an excessively drunken spectator out of Yankee Stadium, although Dave Zirin pointed out, "If it were standard procedure for the NYPD to kick out every drunken fan from Yankee Stadium, the place would be emptier than a John Ashcroft concert at the Apollo Theatre". Campeau-Laurion said that he had drank two beers.

If the Yankees' pitching doesn't improve soon, they're likely to start chaining fans to their chairs until the game ends.

Record Store Day

2009-04-18T14:32:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to put a reminder out there that today is the second annual Record Store Day! Over a thousand independent record retailers across America and in 17 other countries have joined together today to celebrate, many featuring discounts and live music.

A lot of us remember having a favorite record store back when we were younger, a place to hear cool new sounds, get the latest music news and recommendations from the clerks who seemed hip to almost everything, and hang out with folks who were into the music just like you were. Independent stores have been on the decline over the last decade - the music industry has been in a long-term slump, and the current generation of listeners get more and more of their music from internet downloads. Over 2000 independent stores continue to hang in there, though, and many of them are thriving as music fans continue to find that such stores provide a wide selection and an community experience that just can't be found online or at a big-box retailer.

Today would be an excellent day to check out one of the independent record stores in your area. The Record Store Day website has a list of participating stores throughout the country, with descriptions of the special events many are featuring. As with books, I feel that there will always be recorded music in some physical form, whether it's vinyl, CD's or some other configuration. In many cases the sound quality is superior to that of downloads; also there's that unique feeling of something tangible, something that you can hold in your hand and say it's yours.

Solitude

2009-04-14T14:42:00.002-05:00

In case anybody's still wondering, I had a great time on my vacation; Jenn has evidence in case you haven't been over there yet. (Linking to this makes me quite less bloganonymous; that's one of the things I've been pondering recently.)

It was just nice to spend a few days in seclusion without a reliable Internet connection, so once I got home I just stayed offline for the next week, except for checking e-mail or catching up on the news. I just wanted a few days away from the pressure of coming up with new content. Then, just as I should have expected, once I felt like writing again, the back-to-back 12-hour shift routine started up again leaving me with no time to write. I'm squeezing this in during the few minutes I have between waking up and showering for another round of work. When am I going to learn to discipline myself enough so I can do my writing on my days off?

A lot of it has to do with the fact that I enjoy my time alone - perhaps too much. When Peggy passed, the quiet seemed strange at first, but I've had the time now to adjust back to my old loner ways. Still, it's not the same as when I was young and belligerent - I've learned over the years that I need people. But I need my time to myself, too. The problem is that when I get time alone, I crave more and more of it - it's like an addiction, and without anyone to shake me up and get me moving, I become more and more withdrawn, until I reach the point I'm at now, with friends I haven't talked to in weeks, and a long list of people I owe e-mails to.

The merry-go-round is turning again; Jenn and her daughters are part of my life now, and the coming weeks are bringing changes I could never have anticipated six months ago. I'm convinced these changes will be good for all concerned, and I look forward (a bit nervously) to what's in store for the future. But for right now, the loner in me is enjoying the time of solitude that I currently have.

Vacation

2009-04-01T06:24:00.002-05:00

Most of you know by now that Jenn and I are off to the Smoky Mountains today for a few days of rest and relaxation. Jenn's bringing her laptop along; I don't know if I'll be moved to post anything while we're up there. Who knows, when I get back, I may actually do some real blogging for a change...

Alright, I'll post something

2009-03-28T11:53:00.003-05:00

Just so there's something new at the top of the page - I don't promise any deep intellectual exercises this weekend.

This comes by way of Tiff:

You Are 5: The Investigator

You're independent - and a logical analytical thinker.

You love learning and ideas... and know things no one else does.

Bored by small talk, you refuse to participate in boring conversations.

You are open minded. A visionary. You understand the world and may change it.

At Your Best: You are sharp, inventive, and creative. You have the skills to lead the world.

At Your Worst: You are reclusive, weird, and a bit paranoid.

Your Fixation: Greed

Your Primary Fear: Being useless or incompetent

Your Primary Desire: Being competent and needed

Other Number 5's: Bill Gates, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Bjork, and Stephen Hawking.

What Number Are You?

I've never considered myself a greedy person, so I'm not sure where the fixation on greed comes in. (Maybe I'm fixated on ridding the world of it.) And Bjork? To be honest, I haven't listened to much of her stuff; she's a little too abstract for my tastes. Otherwise, that's some pretty good company there.

A great week

2009-03-23T20:01:00.002-05:00

Jenn returned home Saturday morning, and I've been missing her ever since. We had a great time while she was here. Mostly, it was pretty laid-back, though I did take her around town a couple of days, showing her the sights of Nashville (though I saved a few for her next visit). I think she plans to put some pictures up at her place. Other than that, we hung around the house, sat on the porch, grilled steaks, talked a lot, and spent a lot of time in... getting to know each other better. Jenn also taught Thalia how to dance, and discovered the pleasures of Moosehead beer.

Next week is the trip to the Smokies, where I will meet Jenn's children and her aunt Sue for the first time. I never believed I would feel like this again, especially given the way last year went. We both know now that we want to be together, and feel that the best is yet to come.

Thalia is jealous

2009-03-20T10:34:00.003-05:00

She did think she was the only woman in my life, after all...

Jenn took this with her cellphone camera yesterday. Thalia wasn't too interested in having her picture taken at first. She kept turning her back to the camera, but Jenn eventually lured her into this pose.

Jenn really likes Thalia a lot, but Thalia isn't so sure about Jenn yet. Thalia is just going to have to make some adjustments.

Programming note

2009-03-17T19:43:00.001-05:00

A special visitor has arrived at Pole Hill from the south and will be spending the next few days here. Since my visitor really seems to like this blog, I'll try not to neglect you guys too much. On the other hand...

Mark Klose

2009-03-13T18:47:00.002-05:00

Like just about every other facet of the economy, the broadcasting business has been hit hard by the recent downturn. While looking for information on the Maryville church shooting, I came across a sad news item. Longtime St. Louis disc jockey Mark Klose was among several employees laid off last week by Emmis Broadcasting, a media conglomerate that owns four radio stations in the St. Louis market. (Fellow St. Louis radio veteran Randy Raley noted the layoffs earlier this week.)

The article reported that Klose had been on the air in St. Louis for 29 years, but I could swear he'd been around longer than that. Also, in a small way, Mark Klose is responsible for me being where I am today, instead of perhaps being on the radio somewhere or other.

After graduating from college with my degree in Radio-TV-Film, I went about the ritual of sending out tapes to a number of rock stations scattered through the Midwest, as well as checking on a few of the local stations. I had learned two things rather quickly: if I intended to have a radio career, I had just wasted five years of my life in college, and that whatever attributes there are that set a successful radio beginner apart from the crowd, I didn't have them.

I had pretty much given up on radio and was working for $3.75 an hour in a Seven-Eleven when my brother and I met Klose making a promo appearance at an audio/electronics show at the old St. Louis Arena (or maybe they were calling it the Checkerdome then - at any rate, it's long gone.) No one was around Klose's booth, so we decided to go over there for a few minutes for the heck of it, mostly to see what he was giving away. Mark introduced himself, and found out I had a broadcasting degree and was looking for a job in radio - actually, I'm pretty sure my little brother told him, since I had quit bringing it up at that point. He asked where I had gone to school, then he talked to me for a good half-hour on why I should look for something else to do for a living.

When Klose started out at KSHE, that station had retained enough of its old progressive rock tradition that the DJ's still had some say in what they played on their shifts. Klose's autonomy eroded little by little as the years passed, and disappeared altogether once Emmis bought the station, about a year before we met at the audio show. Mark told us how much fun he had in the early days, but that the corporate bosses were destroying any opportunity that a DJ might have to be creative. "Now they just want me to spin records and read off the cards", he lamented. "If I was starting out today, I wouldn't go into radio. I'd sell insurance or something." The whole time, Klose seemed to be depressed about the career he had chosen. As my brother and I got ready to leave, Mark started looking through the promo discs - "I can't believe the crap they send me out here with anymore". He eventually found Motley Crue's "Too Young To Fall In Love" and a cover of "Whiter Shade Of Pale" by HSAS, a band featuring Sammy Hagar and Journey's Neal Schon that was together maybe five minutes. "I'm sorry, guys", Klose said, shaking his head, "but that's the best I can do."

Perhaps Mark was having a bad day, or maybe he found a way to make peace with the corporate demons, for he would go on to work another 25 years in radio after that. A couple of years after that day at the audio show, he was working at WMRY, a small station owned by the Catholic Church. The Catholics had no idea what to do with WMRY, so somehow Klose made connections there and for about three years had a morning show where he got to play anything he wanted. He took no salary from the station, and supported himself and the show with advertising he sold himself. (There's even an old article on the web from those days with several quotes from Klose.) He was successful enough that WMRY went to a free-form rock format for a couple of years, perhaps one of the last of its kind in the country. The experience seemed to rejuvenate Klose, for after the Catholics sold WMRY, he went on to work a number of years at KSD, in an environment about as corporate as they come.

Mark Klose could probably retire now if he wanted to, and I'm sure he'd find his services in demand if he chose to continue working. He's a rarity in that not many radio professionals who stay around as long as he has spend their entire careers in their hometown. I wish Mark Klose the best in whatever he does from this point.

Of blogs, bloggers, blogrolls, and blogging

2009-03-10T19:22:00.004-05:00

Last week I received an invitation from SteveAudio to join his fine team of bloggers. I accepted his invitation, although not without a bit of thought, because I rarely make full use of the connections I already have. (Jenn sez I hardly even post to my own blog.) I decided to accept, finally, because Steve, The Sailor, and the rest of the good people over there do much of the same thing that I do - liberal politics, knowledgeable music writing, a bit of humor. I see Steve's blog as a place to put my good stuff where a few more people might read it. Steve's blog is worth the trip - if you like what I do here, you'll love SteveAudio.

I also still have my diary at They Gave Us A Republic, which I haven't posted to in ages; that's something I feel a bit guilty about. Blue Girl is one of the first people I met in the blogosphere, and I am pleased to have watched as she grew from her humble beginnings at Blue Girl, Red State to the well-read and respected blogger she is today. I think the main reason she puts up with me is that we're both Wichita State alums (she was going in the door as I was going out), and there aren't many of us out there blogging. There's also my connection to Correntewire, my first real home in blogland, but things have changed so much there that I rarely post or even comment any more. A lot of my old friends there have gone (some to the Stayedbehinder Lounge), and I haven't connected to most of the people who took their place. There's bound to always be a certain amount of change going on at a high-profile blog like that, and I don't blame Lambert and the crew for the direction they've decided to take, but I wish they'd spend less time writing about what needs to be done, and more time writing about how to do it. (Though this has been a general complaint of mine about liberal writers for more than 25 years. We have enough position papers to stretch from here to the Moon, but haven't figured out a way to turn those papers into a strategy that wins elections.)

*****

I finally have my blogroll back. Somebody hacked BlogRolling back in November, and the folks over there have spent the last few months rebuilding their code from scratch. The blogroll is long overdue for some maintenance - I've been frustrated at not being able to add some of the bloggers I've found recently that interest me, and need to weed out some of the folks who have disappeared. (Strannix?) One drawback at this time is that when you click a link on my blogroll, you'll now see pop-up ads at the top of the page when you reach your destination. That will stop if I pay them $20 a year for their services, which seems reasonable. The ongoing problem in the nets is generating revenues sufficient to keep services going - I would have liked to have seen the internets developed as a sort of public utility, but our country chose a market approach instead, and now we have services and content providers constantly at the brink of viability because of the need to turn a profit, and people's resistance at having to pay for something they've been used to getting for free. I don't know how the problem will be resolved in the long term; one possibility may be to have ISP's subsidize content in much the same way cable companies help pay for programming, in which case your ISP bill will be going way up.

*****

Further proof that I am not prolific: in two and one-half years of blogging, this is post #301.

*****

Finally, a shoutout to Jenn's friend Philly, who has just started her own blog, Blue Eyed Views. Go over and say hi to Philly, check out her stuff; you may not believe that she has never had an argument with her husband in over five years either, but then she'll just threaten to sic him on you.

Church shooting

2009-03-08T19:22:00.005-05:00

MARYVILLE -- Police say they do not know why a man walked into a service at the First Baptist Church in Maryville this morning and fatally shot the pastor.

The Rev. Fred Winters, said to be in his 40s, died at nearby Anderson Hospital of a gunshot wound to the chest, officials said.

The attacker, whose identity has not been released, was in serious condition at St. Louis University Hospital, where he was being taken into surgery for treatment of self-inflicted stab wounds.

(Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch.)

Maryville is part of my old stomping grounds. I lived a couple of miles down the road in neighboring Glen Carbon for a time, and drove past this church often.

I wish I had an eloquent post on the need for better gun control handy, but all I feel right now is sorrow for the minister's family, friends, and congregation, puzzlement at what would drive somebody to commit such an act, and outrage that we allow so many idiots with guns to run around in this country.

UPDATE: Is lyme disease a sufficient alibi for murder?

Paul Harvey

2009-03-01T03:35:00.003-06:00

Veteran radio commentator Paul Harvey passed away Saturday at age 90. In the course of his 75-year career, Harvey's catchphrases, homespun conservatism, and human-interest vignettes endeared him to millions of listeners.

He was born Paul Harvey Aurandt on September 4, 1918 in Tulsa, and lost his father at age three when he was murdered by robbers. A high school teacher was impressed by young Paul's voice and suggested that he might have a career in radio. At age 15, Harvey got his first job at KVOO in Tulsa, at first sweeping up, but eventually working as a fill-in for the regular announcers. Moving on to KXOK in St. Louis, he met Lynne Cooper, daughter of a prominent local family. Harvey proposed to Lynne on their first date. She turned him down, but they continued dating, and would end up marrying in 1940. Known to his listners as "Angel", Lynne also served as Harvey's producer and business partner, and was one of the first important women in the radio business.

Following a stint in the Navy in World War II, the Harveys settled in Chicago, where Paul landed a job at WENR and quickly became one of the city's most popular broadcasters. In 1946, he would also start giving his listeners in-depth features, ending them with the line, "And that's the rest of the story". In 1951, "Paul Harvey News And Comment" debuted nationally on ABC Radio, and would continue until his death.

Harvey modeled his idiosyncratic delivery, with its long pauses and odd inflections, after that of popular sportscaster Bill Stern. He worked plugs for just about everything into his newscasts, claiming he only advertised for products whose integrity he would vouch for personally. He introduced words like "guesstimate" and "snoopervision" into the American lexicon, and closed his broadcasts with a hearty "Good-Day!" Harvey became one of America's most popular radio broadcasters, heard on over 1200 stations nationally. During the 60's and 70's he also packaged TV editorials for national syndication.

Harvey was also the voice of rock-ribbed Midwestern conservatism. He was a supporter of Joe McCarthy, and through the years would use his influence in supporting a variety of conservative causes, and in decrying the cultural changes of the 60's. His editorials gave reassurance to many in the so-called "silent majority" lamenting the loss of the old America. Harvey shocked his listeners, though, in 1970 with his criticism of President Nixon's decision to invade Cambodia. With Paul Harvey, the voice of the conservative middle class, turning against the Vietnam War, Nixon knew that it was time to change course.

Despite growing health problems, Harvey signed a 10-year, $100 million contract to continue his program in 2000. He suffered a major blow when his wife and producer Lynne passed away in May 2008. In recent months, his son, Paul Jr., was handling most of the commentary.

Paul Harvey was not one of my favorites. His main appeal was that his show was the last vestige of old-time radio remaining on the dial. He was not especially talented (compare him to Rush Limbaugh, for example); his mannerisms seemed contrived, and his conservatism was often blockheaded and annoying. Still, he was listened to religiously by millions for over 50 years, and on longivity alone, I guess he rates. Good-day.

Socks

2009-02-24T03:36:00.003-06:00

Socks, companion of the Clinton family during their years in the White House, passed away Friday at age 19.

Socks came into the Clintons' lives when he jumped into the arms of Chelsea Clinton as she was leaving her piano teacher's house in 1991. Although Bill and Hillary were not enthusiastic about having a cat for a pet at first, Chelsea became attatched to Socks, and her parents agreed to let her keep him. The next year Socks made the trip from Little Rock to Washington to become the eighth feline occupant of the White House.

Although Socks made an appearance or two in the White House briefing room, all accounts seem to indicate that Socks led a leisurely life during his Washington years. He received a good deal of fan mail during President Clinton's time in office, though he had little interest in it. He spent a good deal of time on a blue-striped chair next to the desk of Clinton's secretary Betty Currie, with whom he developed a special bond.

In 1997, the Clintons acquired a Labrador retriever, Buddy, which did not sit well with Socks. The two never saw eye-to-eye; President Clinton said, "I did better with ... the Palestinians and the Israelis than I've done with Socks and Buddy."

When the Clintons left the White House in 2001, they left Socks in the care of Betty Currie and her husband. Socks spent his retirement years with the Curries, eating lots of home cooking. His favorite meal was chicken. In December 2008, Socks was found to have cancer of the jaw, and was euthanized in a Hollywood, Maryland veterinary hospital on February 20.

The Clinton family released the following statement: "Socks brought much happiness to Chelsea and us over the years, and enjoyment to kids and cat lovers everywhere. We're grateful for those memories, and we especially want to thank our good friend, Betty Currie, for taking such loving care of Socks for so many years."

Drive my car

2009-02-21T20:34:00.003-06:00

Inspired by a comment at Digby's. I was thinking of posting something else this weekend, but that would have required me to do some actual writing. Be careful what you wish for.

Click Here for Poll Online Survey
| Website Polls
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If you're having trouble making up your mind, this clip may help.

Also, "Who'd Run The Best Daycare", the US News And World Report blurb that started it all.

Album project: Badass B's

2009-02-19T19:26:00.004-06:00

Long John Baldry, It Ain't Easy (1971): British blues vocalist Long John Baldry is probably best remembered for the many classic rockers he worked with and mentored than for his own musical accomplishments.

Standing 6'7", with a rich voice well-suited for blues, Baldry was an imposing figure on stage. His first notable gig was as lead vocalist of Alexis Koerner's Blues Incorporated, a pioneering London blues group of the early 60's. Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, and Jack Bruce were also members of the group, while Keith Richards and Brian Jones sat in from time to time. From there, Baldry went on to sing for Cyril Davies' R&B All-Stars, featuring Jimmy Page on guitar. After Davies' death, Baldry took over leadership of the outfit as their name changed to The Hoochie Coochie Men, and then Steampacket.

Steampacket was something of an experimental group featuring three lead vocalists; the other singers were Rod Stewart and Julie Driscoll. After Steampacket's demise, Driscoll and the group's keyboardist Brian Auger would have a major British hit with their version of The Band's "This Wheel's On Fire", and Stewart would go on to become a legend. Baldry would form another blues outfit, Bluesology, featuring an eccentric pianist named Reg Dwight. Borrowing the first names of the lead singer and sax player, this piano player would go on to fame and fortune as Elton John.

Although respected as one of Britain's best blues singers, Baldry's music wasn't getting the bills paid, so in 1967 he took a stab at singing pop ballads. The move paid off at first - his "Let The Heartaches Begin" spent two weeks atop the UK charts, and "Mexico" was used by the BBC as the theme song to their coverage of the 1968 Olympics. By the end of 1969, though, the hits had dried up, and Baldry had lost much of his credibility in British rock and blues circles. To salvage his reputation, Baldry turned to his old colleagues Rod Stewart and Elton John to produce an album for him; the result was It Ain't Easy.

The LP's highlight is the lead track, the rollicking "Don't Try To Lay No Boogie-Woogie On The King Of Rock 'N' Roll". Baldry introduces the track with a lengthy, hilarious tall tale about busking on the streets of London in the late 50's, then the music kicks in, boogieing with a vengeance, in spite of the title. Other notable tracks include covers of traditional blues by Leadbelly and Muddy Waters, and the title song, also recorded by David Bowie.

After recording a followup, Everybody Stops For Tea, Baldry spent some years battling mental illness, spending some time in an institution. Released in 1978, he settled in Vancouver and recorded the comeback LP Baldry's Out! His career took another strange twist in 1980 when his version of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' ", recorded with Kathi McDonald, rose to #2 in Australia. That would prove to be Baldry's last musical success. He spent his later years providing voiceovers for a number of animated features, including Conan The Adventurer and Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog. Baldry passed away in 2005 at age 64.

Hank Ballard And The Midnighters, 20 Hits (1977): A notable figure in the transition of hard, guitar-based R&B to rock 'n' roll, Hank Ballard was born John Henry Kendricks in Bessemer, Alabama, in 1936. As a boy, Ballard was sent to live with relatives in Detroit, where he sang in his church choir. Years later, though, Ballard cited Gene Autry as his chief musical inspiration while growing up.

In 1951, Ballard was discovered by R&B singer/impresario Johnny Otis, and invited to sing with a group called The Royals. Changing their name to The Midnighters to avoid confusion with The "5" Royales, the group recorded "Get It", featuring their early hallmarks - risque lyrics, and the blaring, fuzz-toned guitar of Alonzo Tucker. "Get It" made the R&B Top 10, setting the stage for the "Annie" records that gave the group their early notoriety.

Recorded in early 1954, "Work With Me Annie" caused an immediate furor with its explicit lyrics ("Annie please don't cheat / Give me all my meat") that caused the song to be banned by radio stations from coast to coast. Despite the bans, "Work With Me Annie" was a #1 R&B hit, and also crossed over to the pop charts. Capitalizing on their success, The Midnighters continued with a string of records featuring Annie - "Sexy Ways", "Annie Had A Baby", and so on. The song also led to a slew of answer records. Etta James' "Roll With Me Henry" was the most famous, later cleaned up for white audiences by Georgia Gibbs as "Dance With Me Henry".

By 1956, the Annie gimmick had run its course, and Ballard spent the next three years without hits. But by the end of the decade, he had re-invented himself as a singer of light, R&B-influenced dance tunes. 1960 would be his most successful year on the pop charts, scoring with a pair of Top 10 hits, "Finger Poppin' Time" and "Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go". Also in 1960, one of his songs from the lean years would resurface and become his best-known composition. "The Twist" had languished for over two years as an obscure B-side until American Bandstand titan Dick Clark recommended the song to Cameo Records owner Bernie Lowe as perfect for launching the career of a singer Lowe had just signed. Chubby Checker's recording of "The Twist" became a monster, and the renewed popularity sent Ballard's original version into the charts as well.

Ballard would continue for a couple of more years as a dance innovator, with such hits as "The Hoochie Coochie Coo", "The Continental Walk", and "The Switch-A-Roo". All of the above singles are included on the 20 Hits compilation. But as the early 60's dance craze subsided, Ballard would drift back into obscurity. He attempted several comebacks through the rest of the 60's and 70's, including one sponsored by James Brown, but would have no more chart hits. Eventually, he would find some success on the oldies show circuit, particularly in the UK and Europe. Ballard was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1990, and passed away in 2003.

Albums that changed your life

2009-02-16T07:14:00.002-06:00

Our friend John Pazdan has today's homework assignment. This is apparently a Facebook meme that's making the rounds.

Think of 15 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. These are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world.

John adds that you are to do it fast; basically, the first 15 albums that come to mind. I thought that there was no way to come up with 15, but I started to write down a list at work last night and within ten minutes wound up with over 30. I brought the list home, and there's no way I can get it under 25. So I'm cheating a bit by not listing the first 15 that came to mind, and by editing my selections. Yet the albums listed all made an impact on me, either by defining the boundaries of my tastes when I was growing up, or by blowing a hole in them as I got a little older.

Aerosmith, Toys In The Attic
Beatles, Rubber Soul
Beatles, Abbey Road
Clash, Sandinista!
Cream, Disraeli Gears
Derek & The Dominoes, Layla And Other Love Songs
Bob Dylan, Blood On The Tracks
Jimi Hendrix, Are You Experienced?
Robert Johnson, King Of The Delta Blues Singers
Kansas, Leftoverture
King Crimson, In The Court Of The Crimson King
Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Second Helping
Bob Marley & The Wailers, Rastaman Vibration
Elvis Presley, The Sun Sessions
Ramones, Ramones
REM, Murmur
Bob Seger, Live Bullet
Sex Pistols, Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols
Bruce Springsteen, Born To Run
Steely Dan, Can't Buy A Thrill
Styx, Equinox
U2, Boy
Who, Who's Next
Neil Young, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

If you just go for it, you'll be surprised how quickly you come up with 15. Leave 'em in the comment box.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T13:46:00.002-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day to everybody reading, and their sweeties. Even if you don't have a sweetie, here's hoping that you find time today to enjoy life for a while.

I don't use this blog to talk much about myself, but seeing that this is a day to celebrate intimate feelings, I hope you'll indulge me for a bit.

I wasn't figuring to be looking for love at this point in my life. Although it wasn't obvious to either of us at first, Peggy and I found ourselves to be a perfect match for each other, and once we decided to marry, we were committed to growing together and spending the rest of our lives together. Much of the next 22 years turned out to be difficult - Peggy was always struggling with her health, we were barely surviving financially; those things often stretched our marriage almost to the breaking point. Yet those are the things you learn from, and each trial ultimately made our love stronger. Then, just as it seemed we had finally found a place of stability, Peggy passed away.

To be honest, I was expecting to remain single for a long time thereafter. For one thing, I don't mind keeping my own company. My days of hanging out in bars are long over. In addition, my schedule doesn't provide many chances to get out. I don't see my real-life friends all that much. When I'm awake, they're asleep; when I have a day off, they're working. You get the picture.

A good deal of my socialization comes from being online, and the many great friendships I've established due to this blog. Online romances, though, were something I was admittedly skeptical of. There's nothing inherently bad about them - I know a few of you have had good experiences in that area, and I know of at least one couple who married not long ago whose relationship began online. I also know that some of you are at the opposite end of the spectrum and strictly want to find romance the old-fashioned way. Whatever works for you is fine. I just didn't see it as anything I'd be interested in myself.

A few weeks before Christmas, one of my regular female readers who happened to be single began e-mailing me. Likewise, I'd been reading her blog for a while; she has a style that's unique, to say the least, and I came away from there almost every day with a laugh or smile. I think that at first she was just trying to be nice; she knew I was having a tough time with the holidays and just wanted me to know that she was there if I needed someone to talk to. We began exchanging e-mails, and within a few weeks started with the phone calls as well, and soon I knew I wanted to meet this woman in person. We live in adjacent states, so the logistics weren't that hard to work out. As we talked, I found myself more comfortable with her than I have been with anybody I have met in ages. Not only can she make me laugh, she's a good listener, she's intelligent, and we found ourselves sharing many of the same outlooks on life. She's a caring person, a good mother to her children. She's gone back to college to provide a better life for her and her daughters. Through our conversations, I found myself becoming attracted to her, and was surprised when she told me she had similar feelings for me.

As I said, I had no plans to use this blog as the means to find my next serious relationship. But I can't help but feel that I can be good for this woman, and she feels the same towards me. Although we have yet to actually meet each other, we both know we have found something special, something that can only get better with time. We've made plans to meet at Dollywood in April. It's not been the easiest decision for either of us to make, given how our relationship started, but we've decided to just go with our feelings and see where they take us. As for me, I really feel like a new day has begun.

Happy Valentine's Day, Jenn.

Represent!

2009-02-10T07:38:00.002-06:00

I'm stealin' this from Tiff, who picked it up from The West Virginia Surf Report. I don't visit the WVSR often enough, but I always get a good laugh or several whenever I do.

Today's assignment is very simple. Those who choose to participate, simply tell me where you live. Then describe your town in one word.

For example: Pole Hill is located in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. Hilly.

Although I still like my two-word description of the place, "redneck suburbia".

Your turn.

Third annual Grammy gripe thread

2009-02-08T03:48:00.003-06:00

It's a Pole Hill tradition. It's Grammy night, which means this is the night that you get an open thread to gripe about the sorry state of current popular music. Or tell me that you never watch those damned awards shows, then proceed to describe Beyonce's dress down to the last sequin. Undoubtedly, someone will show up and announce that they think Amy Winehouse is subhuman. Myself, I think the Jonas Brothers are goofy bastards, but they'll probably win Best New Artist in a walk.

Every so often the Grammy committee, like the proverbial blind squirrel, finds an acorn. This year they at least had the good sense to nominate Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' Raising Sand for Album Of The Year and their "Please Read The Letter" for Record Of The Year. They probably won't win (Coldplay was also nominated in both categories) but at least there's some evidence that they actually listen once in a while instead of copying names out of People magazine. Buy this album.

*****

Dewey Martin, Buffalo Springfield drummer, has passed away at age 68. A steady, unspectacular timekeeper, Martin and bassist Bruce Palmer provided the rhythmic foundation for the groundbreaking compositions of Stephen Stills, Neil Young, and Richie Furay that made the Springfield one of the 60's most influential groups. After the band broke up in 1968, Martin tried to carry on with a group called the New Buffalo Springfield, but Stills and Young successfully sued to keep Martin from using the name. He formed the short-lived Medicine Ball in the early 70's; after that, he faded into obscurity.

February 3, 1959

2009-02-05T20:48:00.003-06:00

I should have written this up a couple of days ago, but the plane crash that took the lives of 50's rock icons Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper never has held that much significance to me. However, it was one of rock's first great tragedies, and a day of infamy for first-generation rockers, so I feel the need to write a little something on it as its 50th anniversary passes.

Buddy Holly was indeed one of the first generation's most creative figures, in addition to being one of its biggest-selling artists. Hits like "That'll Be The Day", "Peggy Sue", "Oh Boy" and others explored the common themes of teen love, yet many featured a musical and lyrical complexity unusual for the time. He was an accomplished lead and rhythm guitarist, yet he also displayed a lighter touch that suggested alternatives to the all-out Sun Records rockabilly approach. He was a major inspiration to the British Invasion artists; The Beatles chose their name partly as tribute to Holly's Crickets.

Ritchie Valens was a case of what might have been. A charismatic Californian of Mexican descent, the 17-year-old Valens had recently broken through with his first major hit, the double-sided "Donna"/"La Bamba". "Donna" was a traditional teen ballad, but the flip side, "La Bamba", was a fiery rocker years ahead of its time. Fiercely proud of his heritage, Valens was initially reluctant to record his souped-up version of the Mexican folk song. J. P. Richardson, known as The Big Bopper, was a one-trick pony and he knew it. The Texas disc jockey was milking his novelty hit "Chantilly Lace" for all it was worth, living life to the fullest while it lasted.

The details of that fateful night are an inescapable part of rock lore. The three artists, along with Dion And The Belmonts, were touring as the "Winter Dance Party", making their way through the Midwest, and on February 2, made a stop at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. They were traveling on a tour bus with a malfunctioning heater. Holly, tired of freezing and needing some extra time to do laundry, chartered a four-seater Beechcraft Bonanza to take him to the tour's next stop in Moorhead, Minnesota. J. P. Richardson had come down with the flu; Waylon Jennings, one of Holly's band members, let The Big Bopper have his seat. Ritchie Valens was eager for a ride on the plane; Holly's other band member Tommy Allsup agreed to a coin flip for the last seat. Valens won. When Holly learned Jennings wasn't going to make the flight, he cracked to Waylon, "I hope your ol' bus freezes up!" Jennings shot back, "And I hope your ol' plane crashes!", words that would haunt him for the rest of his life. The plane took off from nearby Mason City Municipal Airport, but crashed into a snowy cornfield five miles away, killing all three passengers plus pilot Roger Peterson. Investigators found that the 21-year-old Peterson was not rated for nighttime flight, and probably lost his sense of direction due to the darkness and his inexperience at reading the plane's instruments. The Des Moines Register published an excellent article with further details and reminiscence of that fateful day.

In his 1971 hit "American Pie", Don McLean called it "the day the music died", but that's going way too far, as artists like The Beach Boys, Roy Orbison, Del Shannon and Gene Pitney would soon break through to usher in a period of music better than many give it credit for, and Bob Dylan and the British Invasion were just around the corner. "American Pie", though deceptively catchy, is actually an eight-minute long rant against the 60's, singling out Dylan, John Lennon, and Mick Jagger for special vitriol. Then, just as you've heard way too much hyperbole, the song winds down by drawing a parallel between Holly, Valens, Richardson, and the Holy Trinity. I liked the song when I was a kid, but today I'd easily put "American Pie" on a list of the worst songs of all time.

(H/T to Brian Holland for the Register article.)

Billy Powell

2009-02-02T03:38:00.002-06:00

Billy Powell, Lynyrd Skynyrd pianist and one of the last surviving members of the original group, passed away Thursday at age 56. Powell had a history of heart problems and was planning to see his heart specialist in the upcoming week, but never made it.

Powell, a school friend of Skynyrd bassist Leon Wilkeson, originally was a roadie for the group. One day, the band was rehearsing before a gig at a high school prom when Powell sat down at the piano and played an elaborate introduction to their future anthem "Free Bird". Bandleader Ronnie Van Zant was so impressed he offered Powell a job on the spot. Powell's bluesy, boogieing piano style helped lay the foundation for Skynyrd's vaunted triple-guitar attack. In addition to "Free Bird", some of Powell's other classic moments are his solos on "Call Me The Breeze" and "T For Texas".

Powell was severly injured in the 1977 plane crash that took the lives of Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines. He almost had his nose knocked off, and suffered a number of facial lacerations. After the crash, he became a born-again Christian and spent time in a Christian rock band, Vision. He joined the reformed Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1987 and carried on for the rest of his career in helping keep the band's legacy alive.

Country music founding father Jimmie Rodgers wrote and recorded "T For Texas" as "Blue Yodel #1" in 1928. It became a sizable national hit, a rarity in those times when the popularity of country music was confined mostly to the South. Lynyrd Skynyrd's rocking version is far different from the original, as one might expect. Here, Powell's piano solo provides the exclamation point to some hot guitar interplay between Allen Collins and Steve Gaines. Sit back and get into this music, as I have no idea what the people filming this clip were thinking. Like damn near everyone else in 1976, they were probably stoned out of their heads.

The Super Bowl

2009-01-30T13:06:00.005-06:00

From one former grocery stocker to another, good luck.

There doesn't seem to be a much of a sense of excitement about this year's Super Bowl as in some years past. This year's matchup, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals, doesn't have the allure of previous years - many are assuming the Steelers will win in a rout. And although this old dog finds the selection of Bruce Springsteen as halftime entertainment appropriate given what has transpired the past few months, I can't blame younger folks for seeing the pick as another dull choice of the post-wardrobe malfunction era, yet another boring classic rocker.

The Steelers, one of the NFL's glamour franchises, always stir a certain amount of fan interest. The Cardinals, on the other hand, are the league's perennial losers. Along with the Bears and Packers, the Cardinals are the only other of the NFL's charter franchises still surviving, but that long history has mostly been a miserable one. Those with long memories, though, will remember a time when the Steelers were every bit as pathetic as the Cardinals, before Chuck Noll arrived in 1969 and built a dynasty. In fact, during World War II, both teams were scrounging for money and fans, and decided to pool their resources to save on expenses. They were known as Card-Pitt; they staggered through the 1944 season with an 0-10 record, and were referred to throughout the league as the "Carpets".

I admit to having a soft spot for this year's Cardinals, though, something that goes back to the mid-70's and the franchise's St. Louis years. The "Cardiac Cardinals", as they were known then, featured a high-powered offense and mediocre defense, somewhat similar to the current Arizona squad. Those Cardinals won back-to-back division titles in 1974 and '75 but lacked the defensive grit to advance in the playoffs. The 2008 Cardinals seemingly won the weak NFC West by default, but during their playoff run, the defense suddenly stiffened, and became a key element in bringing the team to its first Super Bowl appearance ever.

The Cardinals had been assembling offensive talent for several years, but none of it gelled until veteran quarterback Kurt Warner came off the bench to take charge of the attack. Few NFL stars return to their previous level after a long gap in production, generally, in pro football, once you're through, you're through. There have been a few spectacular comebacks - George Blanda, Earl Morrall, and Ottis Anderson, off the top of my head - but those guys were decent pro players out of college. Kurt Warner came out of college, went to arena football, and stocked grocery shelves in the offseason to pay the bills. Warner landed a backup job with the St. Louis Rams, and in 1999, when starter Trent Green went out with an injury, he stepped in and had an MVP season. He led the Rams to victory in Super Bowl XXXIV, setting a Super Bowl record for most passing yards in one game. Two years later, he had another MVP season and Super Bowl appearance. Then came injuries, and a five-year production drought that saw him bounce from the Rams to the Giants, and finally to the Cardinals. With the Cardinals, he was in and out of the lineup at first, and most observers were ready to proclaim his career over. But when Matt Leinart went out with an injury in 2007, Warner became the Cardinals' starting QB. The Cards' young receiving corps thrived with Warner at the helm, paving the way for the team's unlikely Super Bowl appearance this year. Warner, a devout Christian, sometimes comes off as too sanctimonious for his own good, but one cannot deny his talent, his leadership, and especially his determination.

So, I'm rooting for the Cardinals to win their first title since 1947. I'm rooting for Kurt Warner, as another Super Bowl win would probably give the finishing touch to a most unlikely Hall Of Fame career, and the other team members, to reward their surprising playoff run. For those 60's and 70's St. Louis Cardinals, guys like Jim Hart, Mel Gray, Terry Metcalf, Jim Baaken and Roger Wehrli, who never got their proper due. For the lesser-known St. Louis players as well, such as Dave Meggyesy, who told some hard truths about the game of football and paid for it with his career. And also for Pat Tillman, the late Arizona player who taught us some hard truths while giving up his NFL career for military service, and learned a few of his own. My head knows better, but I'm picking this one with my heart. Cardinals 27, Steelers 23.

Album project: Straight Up

2009-01-26T17:36:00.004-06:00

Badfinger, Straight Up (1971): Badfinger's story is one of the saddest in the annals of rock. On the brink of a promising career in the early 70's, internal turmoil, poor management decisions, and outright theft all but destroyed the group, and ultimately drove two of its members to commit suicide.

They began as The Iveys, a mid-60's Welsh beat group led by guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Pete Ham. Drummer Mike Gibbins joined up in 1965, as The Iveys began to expand their following outside of their native territory, gaining a reputation in the clubs of Liverpool and London. By 1967, they had relocated to London, and added guitarist Tom Evans, their first non-Welsh member, to the lineup. In time, The Iveys were noticed by Mal Evans, The Beatles' roadie and jack-of-all-trades, who convinced the Fab Four to make the group the first band signed to their new Apple label, creating an association that would be key to their future success.

The Ivey's career began to move forward with the near-hit "Maybe Tomorrow", but things really got rolling when Paul McCartney offered the group the chance to record for the soundtrack of the movie The Magic Christian, including McCartney's composition "Come And Get It". By this time the group felt they needed a more contemporary name; "Badfinger" was suggested by Beatles associate Neil Aspinall. Also, original bassist Ron Griffiths left the group. He was replaced by guitarist Joey Molland, causing Evans to move to bass and forming Badfinger's most successful lineup. With everything in place, "Come And Get It" was released as a single at the end of 1969 and reached the Top 10 in the UK and US. Further success came in 1970, with another Top 10 hit, "No Matter What", and the release of the album No Dice, containing "Without You", which reached #1 when covered by Harry Nilsson in 1972. As Badfinger' stature rose, many fans and critics noted the band's similarities in style and sound to the recently disbanded Beatles. Badfinger members worked on several Beatle solo projects that year, including George Harrison's All Things Must Pass LP and Ringo Starr's "It Don't Come Easy". As 1971 approached, Badfinger looked forward to recording the album that they thought would put them over the top.

The band began recording what would become Straight Up at the beginning of 1971, but their manager had scheduled an American tour for March, causing the new tracks to be mixed hastily. Apple rejected those recordings, but a silver lining emerged when George Harrison offered to produce the band. Harrison worked with the group through June and July, completing four tracks, but had to drop out when organizing the Concert For Bangladesh began to take up nearly all his time. All four members of Badfinger were in the backing band for that historic event on August 1, 1971. Upon returning to the studio, Harrison was unable to continue working with the group, and Apple brought in studio whiz Todd Rundgren to complete the project. At the time, Rundgren's star was on the rise in the US, but he was barely known in the UK. Joey Molland said the band went out and bought some of Rundgren's albums so they could figure out who he was. Although Rundgren and the band never warmed up to each other personally, he provided a steady hand behind the board and gave the remaining tracks a pop sheen that further invited comparisons with The Beatles. Straight Up was finally completed and released in the US in December 1971, and in the UK in February 1972. The final result was a masterpiece of early 70's power pop.

Ham's "Take It All" kicks off the disc, followed by "Baby Blue", as fine an example of guitar-led power pop as you'll hear anywhere. A powerful hook underscores the tune, which Ham wrote for Dixie Butz, a woman he had dated during the band's last US tour. The medley of "Money" and "Flying" that follows is a psychedelic swirl that points up the group's debts to George Harrison and John Lennon.

Of the four tracks Harrison produced, the best and most successful was the gorgeous ballad "Day After Day". Ham's wistful melody is supported by fine slide guitar work from Ham and Harrison. Molland recalls, "Peter and I were down in the studio working out the slide guitar parts when George came in and said, 'Would you mind if I played slide on this?' I mean, this man's a hero, he's a Beatle, so I said, "No, man, that's OK, sure, go right ahead.' " Ham's and Harrison's slide parts were separately recorded, then doubled up for the final version of the song, which also featured Leon Russell on piano. Other standout tracks include "The Name Of The Game", a piano-based ballad among the original tracks Apple rejected, and the elegant "Perfection", Ham's plea for peace and understanding sung over mostly acoustic guitar backing. "Successful conversation", Ham tells us, "will take you very far".

"Day After Day" became Badfinger's most successful single, reaching #4 in the US, and "Baby Blue" would climb to #14 a few months later. The album itself, though, fared less well, partly due to distribution problems caused by turmoil at the disintegrating Apple label, which also led to the failure to release "Baby Blue" as a single in the UK. Some critics also felt the sound of Straight Up was too close to that of The Beatles for comfort. A scathing Rolling Stone review noted, "With Straight Up, Badfinger seem to have already reached the Beatles' Revolver stage: a stultifying self-conscious artiness, a loss of previous essential virtues, and far too much general farting around." Only with rock's continuing devolution through the 80's and 90's would such values come to be truly appreciated. Following the demise of Apple, Straight Up went out of print, becoming a prized collector's item - for example, in the St. Louis area, copies of the LP in the 80's sold for $30-$50 depending on condition. Straight Up was finally re-released on CD in 1995.

Through 1972, Badfinger felt they were on their way to major success. Trouble started when Todd Rundgren, slated to produce the band's next LP, walked out in a dispute over payment and production credits. The followup album, the unfortunately-titled Ass, bombed miserably. Apple fell apart, and manager Stan Polley pushed the group into signing a one-sided deal with Warner Brothers. Pete Ham quit the group due to friction between him, Joey Molland, and Molland's wife, who had become suspicious of Badfinger's business arrangements, then was pressured into rejoining by Warner Brothers. Meanwhile, the band had found that its assets had been tied up in a series of holding companies owned by Stan Polley. The turmoil and tangled financial arrangements drove Pete Ham to commit suicide on April 24, 1975.

Various Badfinger lineups have carried on from time to time ever since. The financial disputes continued, though, with vicious arguments between Molland, Evans, and Gibbins, at times touring with rival Badfinger lineups. On November 19, 1983, following a heated telephone argument between Evans and Molland over back royalty payments, Tom Evans hanged himself in his garden. Mike Gibbins died in his sleep in 2005, leaving Joey Molland the only surviving member of Badfinger's once-promising classic lineup.

This performance of "Baby Blue" is a bit of a cheat, as the vocals are sung live over a prerecorded backing track. Also, Mike Gibbins had left the group briefly, and a session drummer is behind the kit. Still, it's hard to deny this tune's excellence. Extra credit if you can identify the dude who gives the introduction.

Word!

2009-01-23T10:31:00.002-06:00

Because everybody deserves a good word.

Your Word is "Peace"

You see life as precious, and you wish everyone was safe, happy, and taken care of.

Social justice, human rights, and peace for all nations are all important to you.

While you can't stop war, you try to be as calm and compassionate as possible in your everyday life.

You promote harmony and cooperation. You're always willing to meet someone a little more than halfway.

What's Your Word?

Via Mixter's Mix.

We begin again

2009-01-20T18:13:00.001-06:00

We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

-President Barack Obama, January 20, 2009

Good riddance

2009-01-19T02:33:00.005-06:00

He stole at least one election, and quite possibly two. He prosecuted a war that cost over 4000 American lives, who knows how many Iraqi ones (we don't count them), and is estimated to wind up costing us $3 trillion before it ends. He stood and watched as a major American city drowned. His cowboy capitalist buddies looted the Treasury, leaving the next President little leeway as he attempts to deal with the worst economy in 75 years. Now, some of this was going on before George W. Bush's muddy boots soiled the White House carpet, and other parties can shoulder their share of the blame, but Captain Dubya's attitude that the public welfare is none of government's business didn't help matters much. It is not for nothing that he earned the scorn of historians as the worst president ever.

At Salon, Vincent Rossmeier and Gabriel Winant assess the damage.

Hilzoy: He's a small, small man, who ought to have spent his life in some honorary position without responsibilities at a firm run by one of his father's friends. Instead, he ruined our country, and several others besides. He wasted eight years in which we could have been shoring up our economy, laying the groundwork for energy independence, making America a fairer and better country, and truly working to help people around the world become more free. Instead, he debased words that ought to mean something: words like honor, decency, freedom, and compassion.

Thanks, George. Now leave.

(Portrait H/T: Darkblack via SteveAudio.)

Album project: Bad Company

2009-01-16T15:21:00.002-06:00

Bad Company, Bad Company (1974): Bad Company, one of the most successful British hard-rock acts of the 70's, got its start when soulful vocalist Paul Rodgers, who had risen to fame with Free, formed an alliance with ex-Mott The Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs in 1973. Drummer Simon Kirke, who had been in Free with Rodgers, quickly joined with the duo. After auditioning a number of bassists, the group settled upon Boz Burrell, formerly of King Crimson, a singer who Crimson leader Robert Fripp taught to play the bass guitar after Fripp became dissatisfied with the bass players he had been auditioning. The group signed with Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant, prompting many comparisons between the two bands. Rodgers named the group Bad Company after a 1972 Western that he was a big fan of; the name also served as the title of the group's debut, and its title track.

While with Mott The Hoople, Mick Ralphs had written a song, "Can't Get Enough", which he felt would be a sure hit. Mott singer Ian Hunter, however, felt the song didn't fit the band's style and refused to record it. "Can't Get Enough" proved to be a perfect fit for Rodgers' testosterone-laced vocals, anchoring the debut disc and giving Bad Company their first major hit. Taking advantage of this vein, Bad Company offers more odes to Rodgers' virility in "Rock Steady" and "Ready For Love". Gentlemen, if your hard-ons could sing, they would sound just like Paul Rodgers.

The title track, built around a basic yet strong three-chord riff, featured the group's fascination with the American West, another source of inspiration they would often return to. Life-on-the-road song "Movin' On" followed "Can't Get Enough" up the US singles charts, and the LP closes with "Seagull", an early example of Rodgers' and Ralphs' ability to write fine ballads. Bad Company topped the US album chart the week of September 28, 1974, going on to sell over 5 million copies, and providing the group an auspicious debut.

Vintage footage captures Bad Company at the height of their powers.

Bad Company, Straight Shooter (1975): A solid followup, Straight Shooter was another multi-million seller that confirmed Bad Company's status as a top-drawer arena and stadium act. For the most part, the album sticks to the tried-and-true formula that made the debut successful. Straight Shooter, though, mixes in a few more ballads like "Weep No More" and "Call On Me" that feature the more soulful side of Rodgers' singing, along with certified barn-burners like "Good Lovin' Gone Bad" and "Deal With The Preacher". "Feel Like Makin' Love", another Top 10 smash, is perhaps the ultimate ode to Rodgers' eternal tumescence. The best tracks here are "Wild Fire Woman", where Rodgers' desire to return to see his lover is underscored by Mick Ralph's stinging slide guitar, and "Shooting Star", Bad Company's best ballad, which recasts "Johnny B. Goode" in a suburban London flat.

Bad Company, Desolation Angels (1978): Run With The Pack and Burning Sky, the lackluster albums that followed Straight Shooter, saw Bad Company dig their rut and dig it deep. Paul Rodgers' macho posturing seemed more abrasive as the inspiration began to lag, while his bandmates' playing, although always competent, was seldom creative. The energetic, funky "Rock And Roll Fantasy" raised hopes for their next LP, becoming the band's biggest hit since "Feel Like Making Love". But Desolation Angels was a disappointment, yet another tired effort with too many songs about unappreciative women, showing severe signs that the band had been out on the road too long without a break. Apart from "Rock And Roll Fantasy", the only high points are the ballad "Crazy Circles" and when Rodgers' voice kicks in about halfway through "Evil Wind".

In fairness, the band had driven themselves hard through the latter 70's and was looking to wind down. They suffered a blow when in the wake of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham's death, their manager Peter Grant decided to curtail his management duties. The original lineup released one more album, Rough Diamonds, and called it a day. Mick Ralphs said, "Paul wanted a break and truthfully we all needed to stop. Bad Company had become bigger than us all and to continue would have destroyed someone or something. From a business standpoint, it was the wrong thing to do, but Paul's instinct was absolutely right".

Bad Company, The Original Bad Company Anthology (1999): Paul Rodgers released solo albums through the 80's, as well as forming The Firm with Jimmy Page, which was sometimes good, and The Law with drummer Kenney Jones, which usually wasn't. In 1986, Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke got together to form a new band featuring ex-Ted Nugent vocalist Brian Howe. Atlantic Records forced this new outfit to use the Bad Company name over Ralphs' and Kirke's objections. The new Bad Company was modestly successful through the late 80's and early 90's; the best-known song from that period was the hit ballad "If You Needed Somebody".

In 1998 Rodgers approached Kirke with some new songs and expressed his desire to get together with Ralphs and Burrell to reunite the original group. These new tracks appear on The Original Bad Company Anthology, and are forgettable. Longtime BadCo fans were also disappointed by the compilation, as it left off a number of the band's most popular recordings. The Anthology makes up for this somewhat by including a number of B-sides and previously unreleased tracks from their golden age, the best being the tasty "Easy On My Soul", the B-side of "Movin' On". Except for "Rock And Roll Fantasy", the first two albums have all the Bad Company you'll need; this collection is mainly for die-hard fans and those looking for hard-to-find tracks.

The members of Bad Company got together in various projects on and off through the early 2000's. In 2006, the original lineup was put to rest when Boz Burrell died of a heart attack. Most recently, Paul Rodgers joined up with the surviving members of Queen for a tour, and subsequent live LP. It seemed a curious idea for the macho Rodgers to step into the shoes of androgynous icon Freddie Mercury, but all involved seemed to feel it went well. In 2008, Rodgers and Queen released The Cosmos Rocks, an all-new set of Queen material that was poorly received despite the initial interest.

Submitted for your approval

2009-01-11T20:53:00.003-06:00

I saw this little jewel while out and about, and it's apparently becoming the talk of the internets this week. I read it, and didn't know whether to laugh or cry:

I've met some jerks in my life, but this one has been by far the worst.
I'll start off by saying how I noticed a lot of men here complain about not getting messages. Therefore, I decided to take it upon myself to message men in my area who I found interesting. This one in particular was creative, intelligent and handsome...or so his profile led me to believe. We messaged each other on and off through here and IM for about 3 weeks before we met. It's amazing how much of a connection you can make with someone just by talking to them online. We had a lot in common and a lot of the same outlooks. I could not wait to meet him in person.

So the day we meet rolls around and I dress up nicely and wear my hair beautifully, and let's face it...I looked HOT. We meet at a little cafe/restaurant place, and he was just...rude. He barely made eye contact with me, he spoke in a bored monotone voice. I did most of the talking, and I swear to God he would kind of roll his eyes in a childish way. He habitually checked his watch and his cell phone. When the meal ended he only offered to pay for his half, and then bails. Doesn't offer me a ride or anything. What did I do wrong? It was so depressing since I really liked him online.

Read the whole thing; naturally, it only gets worse. Be sure also to check out the comments, especially once the dude shows up to defend himself. Just wondering what you think. No further comment except that stuff like this sometimes makes me fear for the future of humanity.

Ron Asheton

2009-01-09T19:17:00.003-06:00

Ron Asheton, guitarist of The Stooges, whose droning technique influenced a generation of punk rock outfits, passed away Tuesday at age 60. He was found dead in his home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he had lived since his parents originally moved there in 1963.

As a teen, Asheton visited England with a school friend, Dave Alexander. While visiting, the two saw The Who perform live at the legendary Cavern Club. The power and fury of The Who's performance in that intimate setting convinced Asheton and Alexander to start their own band when they returned home to Detroit. With Asheton on guitar and Alexander playing bass, they added Ron's brother Scott on drums. For a vocalist, they found a skinny record store clerk named Jim Ostenberg, later to become known to the world as Iggy Pop.

This quartet christened themselves The Stooges (they supposedly asked Moe Howard for permission to use the name, to which Howard replied, "I don't care what you guys call yourselves so long as it's not the Three Stooges!") and set out to play some of the rawest, most uncompromising rock 'n' roll heard anywhere, with an outrageous live act highlighted by Ostenberg's stage antics to match. Signed to Elektra in 1969, they released a pair of LP's, The Stooges and Fun House, that stand as classics of rock at its rawest and crudest. Asheton played a major part in shaping the group's sound with his loud, thundering two and three-chord riffs, playing his guitar with an open, droning, low E string tuning providing an extra measure of foreboding.

Coming out of the era of flower power, though, audiences simply weren't ready for The Stooges' raw noise, and the two albums sold poorly at the time. Money woes, endless touring, and Iggy Pop's growing heroin habit nearly brought an end to the band until David Bowie, a fan of Iggy's, befriended the singer and got him cleaned up long enough to return to the studio for a third album. For that disc, Pop decided to replace Asheton on guitar with the more technically adept James Williamson. At the time, Pop had decided to dispense with bassist Alexander as well, but three months later, still needing a bass player, Asheton was invited back to the group to play bass. Under Bowie's guidance, the reconstituted Stooges recorded Raw Power, another thrash-rock classic once again ignored by the record-buying public.

After the Raw Power tour, Asheton and Pop parted ways, not to see each other for over 25 years. During this time, Asheton kept busy playing in such outfits as The New Order (not to be confused with the British group of the same name), Destroy All Monsters, and Dark Carnival. While Asheton labored in these obscure groups, though, Iggy Pop became a cult hero, and a new generation of musicians looked to The Stooges' early albums, and Asheton's guitar work, as inspiration. In the late 90's, The Minutemen's Mike Watt and Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis, two musicians who admired The Stooges, teamed up with Asheton for a tour featuring some of the old classics. This led to the reuniting of the Asheton brothers with Pop, and a subsequent world tour where The Stooges were treated nightly to sold-out audiences of younger fans who regarded the group as heroic forefathers of punk.

New Musical Express has put together a compilation of Ron Asheton's five greatest riffs so I don't have to. Essential stuff, both for Stooges fans and those unfamiliar with the group's exquisite white trash noise.

Are you crazy?

2009-01-07T18:14:00.005-06:00

So much for substantial blogging today...

Are You Crazy

You are :

A Little Crazy

You are a little crazy but nothing to be worried about, we are all a little crazy

Take the Are You Crazy quiz at Quizopolis.com

Anyway, I thought I'd better check, just to be safe. I'd suggest you to do the same.

(Note to those wanting to post this to their own blogs: I had to play with this quite a bit to get it into a form that worked.)

Monday interlude: Uncle Tupelo

2009-01-05T08:07:00.002-06:00

I changed my avatar over the weekend. Today's featured clip helps to explain.

The "Liquor, Guns, And Ammo" sign was prominently featured for many years in front of a liquor store along one of Columbia, Missouri's main drags. Really.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T14:53:00.003-06:00

Happy 2009 to all! I'm not much of a New Year celebrant; to me as it is to many others, New Year's Eve is "amateur night". I stayed home and grilled chicken, drank beer, and watched football. No, it's never too cold for the grill. I once grilled pork steaks with the temperature 9 below. When it's that cold, the secret is to bring the grill up on the porch so you can run back inside.

They said it couldn't be done, but not only did the Vanderbilt Commodores appear in their first bowl game in 26 years, they actually defeated Boston College 16-14 to give them their first winning season since 1982, the last bowl year. Detractors might point out that the game was played only four miles from the Vanderbilt campus, but given Vandy's downtrodden history, they'll celebrate whatever they can, and considering that this year's Commodore squad was expected to win only two games, their Music City Bowl win is a worthy accomplishment. Congratulations to the Vanderbilt players and coaches for a job well done.

2008 was certainly a bittersweet year for me, but in those sad circumstances we find the means to change and grow. The years give us many good memories as well as bad ones. I look forward to 2009, and the opportunities it brings to learn and to experience new things. I'm still amazed at the number of people who show interest in this humble blog, and I thank you once again for your continued readership. Now let's drink more beer, eat more chicken, and watch more football.

Delaney Bramlett

2008-12-28T02:17:00.003-06:00

Singer-songwriter Delaney Bramlett, who worked with a plethora of legendary rock musicians as well as achieving fame with his wife Bonnie in the late 60's, passed away Saturday at age 69 due to complications following gall bladder surgery.

Delaney Bramlett was born July 1, 1939 in Pontotoc, Mississippi. With little to look forward to except a life of picking cotton, Bramlett enlisted in the Navy. After his enlistment was up, he settled in Los Angeles in order to develop his skills as a musician and songwriter. This eventually led to a gig as guitarist with the Shindogs, the house band on the Shindig! TV series. During this time he met up with musicians such as Leon Russell, who was also a Shindog, and J.J. Cale.

In the mid-60's Bramlett began to blossom as a songwriter. One of the songs from that time, "Superstar", which he co-wrote with Russell, would become a major hit for The Carpenters, and was also covered by Luther Vandross and Usher in later years. He also met Bonnie O'Farrell, a native of Granite City, Illinois (Peggy's hometown) who had gained some notice as the first white backing singer for Ike & Tina Turner. They married in 1967 and soon went to work putting together a rock/R&B revue that somewhat resembled the Turner's.

With help from Leon Russell, the Bramletts used their LA studio connections to assemble some top-notch talent for their group, which became known as Delaney and Bonnie and Friends. Over the next several years, the Friends' impressive roster would feature the likes of Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Duane and Gregg Allman, Rita Coolidge, and Dave Mason. Jimi Hendrix volunteered his services for a few gigs, and a number of other stars of the day would sit in for a night or two. The ever-shifting lineup of the Friends led to many exciting and unpredictable live performances.

Delaney was perhaps most valuable in encouraging and mentoring his fellow musicians. He taught George Harrison how to play slide guitar. In turn, Harrison suggested to his friend Eric Clapton that Delaney and Bonnie open for Clapton's band at the time, Blind Faith. Clapton quickly became close friends with the Bramletts, and after the breakup of Blind Faith, Clapton joined their band. Delaney encouraged a reluctant Clapton to develop his singing skills, and helped write a number of songs for his first solo LP, including the Clapton classic "Let It Rain". Later, Clapton would form Derek & The Dominoes with Bramlett associates Duane Allman, Bobby Whitlock, Carl Radle, and Jim Gordon.

For all the respect their fellow musicians accorded them, Delaney and Bonnie's albums were modest sellers at best. The live On Tour With Eric Clapton was their best-selling LP, while the mostly-acoustic Motel Shot showcased the Bramlett's songwriting skills. They achieved hit singles with Dave Mason's "Only You Know And I Know" and Delaney's "Never Ending Song Of Love". They also appeared in the classic movie Vanishing Point as the hippie gospel band in the Nevada desert. Delaney and Bonnie's marriage had become increasingly rocky, though, and the couple divorced in 1973. Since then, Bonnie has enjoyed occasional success as a singer and actress, but Delaney's days in the limelight were through.

In his later years Delaney released a series of solo albums as well as continuing to write songs and working as a producer. He appeared on Jerry Lee Lewis' Last Man Standing disc, and in 2008 released his first CD in six years, A New Kind Of Blues. In addition, Delaney and Bonnie's daughter Bekka has made her mark in the music field as a singer, songwriter, and backup vocalist for Faith Hill.