Pretty self explanatory. The band's namesake does not have to be a real person. For Bonus Points, please include a few words describing who the namesake is. I'll start things off:Lynyrd Skynyrd: The band members' high school gym teacher. Original post blogged on b2evolution.
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For those of you relatively new to the Halls of Rock, Townsman 2000 Man (aka 2K) is our self-proclaimed Stones Expert. My discovery of this Leon Russell performance got me thinking about the late, great director, Robert Altman, who was never quite able to capture on film a rock 'n roll performance this chock full 'o characters. Could this be the template for many of the performance scenes in Na...
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Have you ever wished a favorite artist could do-over a particular album, song, or period in its career? I've always wished that The Beatles could have finished their final 3 albums in a more satisfying, more unifying way. I believe I speak for most Beatles fans in saying that there's a lot to be gained by our shared experiences with the band. In a world where there is little consensus, Beatles ...
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Hey, Townspeople!Last night the G-friend and I curled up on the sofa to watch a movie and wolf down some primo home-cooked chow. She was in the mood for something highbrow, but I was curious about a flick I'd had in the "not sure about this movie" drawer for a couple of weeks. Because she's such a sweetheart, she let me watch my movie of choice, even though it gave off the distinct limburger ...
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Phil's 1978 solo release, K-Scope, was recorded in the home studio of Chris Squier and featured Tim Finn on most lead vocals, Neil on on at least one backup and Split Enz/Crowded House keyboardest Eddie Rayner. John Wetton and Bill MacCormick were all over it as well. I think if I had played the above track, Cuban Crises, folks would've gotten the Finn part but not the Manzanera part?Here'...
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Let's review the ground rules here. The Mystery Date song is not necessarily something I believe to be good. So feel free to rip it or praise it. Makes me no never mind. Rather the song is something of interest due to the artist, influences, time period... Your job is to decipher as much as you can about the artist without research. Who do you think it is? Or, Who do you think it sounds ...
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The first time I heard it when it was:What all do you creeps need?For you noobs this is the place where you can say whatever. Original post blogged on b2evolution.
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With an influx of some interesting new Townspeople over the last couple of months, it's clear we could use some time to get better acquainted with each other. The following questions are meant to elicit a sense of your rock 'n roll values and posed in a way that should not compromise anyone's privacy. Only about half of these questions are directly related to rock 'n roll, but your candid answe...
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Well, the InterWeb let me down on my search for a scan of the back cover of horn-rock band Chase's eponymous first album. But the cover of their second LP, entitled Ennea, has a pretty clear view of the guy I thought looked totally cool, and who I thought -- maybe, just maybe, if I kept my fingers crossed -- I might grow up to resemble.I'm not going to tell you which horn-rocker it was; I'll leave
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I attended back-to-back Bar Mitzvahs on Saturday. Both events were beautiful, fun times with friends. At both Bar Mitzvah receptions, however, I had to hear Kool & the Gang's "Celebration" cranked up to get the party started. Despite the sentiments it's meant to inspire, that song has bummed me out since it was first released. As a kid, I loved Kool & the Gang's "Jungle Boogie." To me that was ...
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Maybe it helps that Kooper is seated across from a guy wearing a vest and a ponytail. Maybe it helps that he displays his rock nerd credentials. Between this and the Skynyrd interview in TapeOp, I may be changing my tune on this guy...but there's still no excuse for founding Blood, Sweat & Tears. Original post blogged on b2evolution.
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It's generally acknowledged that Ray Manzarek is the most annoying interview for music fans to have to sit through in all of rock history. Even the 36-second clip of an upbeat Ray talking about the continued popularity of The Doors is a little annoying. Beyond Manzarek, however, there's probably some strong competition for the #2 slot. This came up recently while I told my close personal friend...
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After a marathon REM CD-A-Thon last weekend (aka many hours working in the garden w/my iPod boom box) The song "I Believe" from Lifes Rich Pageant jumped to the front of the pack. (I never considered this song one of their best or one of my favorites until now.)I especially like the line "I believe in coyotes and time as an abstract"and later ... "I believe my throat hurts"So my Last Man Standi...
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The lips of rock.Townsman chuckflack, seemingly inspired by our recent anatomy-themed Last Man Standing, asked that we consider the following:Bruce Springsteen, upon inducting Bob Dylan to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, said, "Bob freed the mind the way Elvis freed the body." A pretty succinct summation. Given the premise, how do you fill out the best of rock's body? When guarding a man in bas...
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"This quartet has never been so tight."Critics often point to The Clash singing "No Elvis, Beatles, or The Rolling Stones" in "1977" as some spot-on representation of the mood that fueled punk rock, but I think this 1977 promotional clip for the Pablo Cruise song "Whatcha Gonna Do" says a lot more about the times and the need for the already-ongoing punk rock reaction. What do you think, is the...
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A number of our Founding Townspeople migrated to this Rock Town Hall blog from our humble, spirited origins as a Yahoo Groups list. Although it's no longer well trafficked, the old list is still active. I refer to it as "The Basement," out of respect for our Rupert Pupkin-like origins, while a disgruntled handful of RTH founders call the old list the "Chess" edition to our current "Mercury" edi...
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You may recall my unexpected gift of 50 bonus downloads from eMusic a couple of weeks ago. I was 9 selections into my bonus downloads when I realized that I couldn't figure out what to download next. I'm constantly unimpressed with the indie rock selections eMusic suggests that I try, like all those bands with album covers featuring a folk-art painting of a sparrow perched on a branch. Man, tha...
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You'll recall our recent poll concerning rockers in need of a new hairdo. Your choice of Queen guitarist Brian May was inspired. According to Rock Town Hall Salon's stylist Toby Wetland, "Brian's facial structure and skull shape present so many options. It's a wonder he didn't change hairstyles every few months!" In fact, Wetland and his staff envisioned so many options that they used a special...
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Don't know why. Scheduled a crew to come in and check it out in the morning.Thank you for your attention. The Back Office Original post blogged on b2evolution.
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We here in the Halls of Rock Town are sometimes taken to task for being overly negative, snarky, hyper-critical, and all too often, just downright rude. As part of our collective efforts to bring a bit of sunshine and light to the world wide web, we occasionally make an extra effort effort to find something *good* to say about, you know, stuff that is clearly godawful.It is in that spirit that...
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