Appreciation is the key to releasing innovate and groundbreaking music. You can't win over the hardcore music lover by mimicking music that has only had a ten year life span. An artists' influence should be an amalgamation of past artists that have truly impacted American music. Retrospectively, classic bands, such as, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, were heavily influenced by the blues. Bob Dylan drew from the music of Woody Guthrie and Hank Williams for his inspiration. However, modern rock music has only identified itself as a clique or cliche. Bands like Seether, All American Rejects(their first album was actually enjoyable) and Nickelback are derivative of themselves. What do I mean by this? There is nothing in their music that gives a nod to past artists. They need to step outside of their own "creativity," and look at themselves through a different set of lenses. They need to ask themselves, "If we were a band during the heyday of rock and roll would The Beatles be fans of our music." It doesn't necessarily have to start with the instrumentation, even though that would be more refreshing. Lyrically, they usually settle for generic content. They are not above describing something colloquially. But don't take my word for it, just look at the lyrics of Nickelback's "Rockstar" or All American Rejects' "Hope It Gives You Hell." There is nothing to dissect. The lyrics are excruciatingly simple, it is nothing short of someone describing their day. I am not going to cop out, and say that we should all turn to independent artists. That would be too simple. We should expect the same excellence that yesterday's artists achieved.
Besides being super cool, Beck also makes some good music. Look no further than 2001's Sea Change to hear one of the greatest break up albums ever recorded. Nowadays Beck likes to hang out in his huge studio, and have marathon recording sessions with some of his best friends. (aka other super cool, musician weirdos like himself) Beck chooses a hodge podge of his buddies for each session. When everyone gets to the studio, they decide on a classic album to re-record. So far they have done Leonard Cohen's "Songs of Leonard Cohen," Skip Spence's "Oar," Velvet Underground's "Velvet Underground & Nico," and INXS's "Kick." Beck has brought in a diverse array of musicians including members of Wilco, MGMT, St. Vincent, Liars, Os Mutantes, Devendra Banhart, Nigel Godrich, Giovanni Ribisi, Feist, Jamie Lidell, and a multitude of others.
Watch MGMT and Devendra rock out Leonard Cohen's "Teachers." The bass sounds mmm...mmm...good
This summer two veteran rock bands will be hitting the road for some majorly huge shows. This time though the savvy vets are taking some well know indie rock bands with them, putting a little artistry and maybe even some street cred into their tour. These shows will prove beneficial for all involved. The young 'uns are going to be playing sold out arenas for the first time in their careers, and the seniors citizen bands will gain some exposure to younger fans (who probably had no idea these old guys influenced some of their favorites).
U2 will be taking the dark, reverbed sound of Interpol out on a few summer dates. Here they are.
06-27 Minneapolis, MN - TCF Bank Stadium
06-30 East Lansing, MI - Spartan Stadium
07-03 Toronto, Ontario - Rogers Centre
07-06 Chicago, IL - Soldier Field
07-09 Miami, FL - Land Shark Stadium
07-12 Philadelphia, PA - Lincoln Financial Field
05-03 Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
05-04 St. Louis, MO - Scottrade Center
05-06 Columbus, OH - Nationwide Arena
05-07 Noblesville, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center
05-09 Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
05-10 Buffalo, NY - HSBC Arena
05-13 Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live
05-15 Hartford, CT - XL Center
05-17 Boston, MA - TD Garden
05-21 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
Memphis, and the music world at large, lost a true original with Wednesday's passing of Alex Chilton. He was 59 years old.
Chilton began his career in the mid-60's as the 16-year-old lead singer of the pop-soul group the Box Tops. The group had a number one hit with "The Letter," as well as several other major chart hits in the late 60's. The group broke up in 1970 and Chilton left Memphis for New York City for a brief period. Upon returning to Memphis in 1971, he hooked up with local musician Chris Bell's group Icewater, featuring bassist Andy Hummel and drummer Jody Stephens, which essentially turned into Big Star. The Chilton-Bell partnership created perhaps one of the greatest American pop albums of all time, #1 Record, which was released in 1972. Critics raved about the album upon its release but due to the usual record industry b.s. the album was poorly promoted and eventually pulled off shelves altogether. This, coupled with fighting among the members, led to Chris Bell's departure in late '72. A few months later the remaining three regrouped and began recording their second record, Radio City. With Bell gone there was an obvious sonic shift, with Chilton's rough around the edges songs taking center stage. Not that there was a total absence of pop sensibility, which Radio City still had in droves, but there was definitely a rawer, more rocking sound. Again, record industry chicanery led to poor sales and more ambivalence among the group, especially Chilton. In late '74 Chilton and Stephens along with producer Jim Dickinson headed back to Memphis' Ardent Studios to begin work on a third album. Although the resulting album, titled Third/Sister Lovers, went unreleased for many years, it might actually be the most complete artistic statement of Chilton's career, albeit a very incomplete kind of completeness. Many of the songs have a dark, druggy feel and were recorded in a style that at the very least can be termed "loose," almost to the point of collapse. The group formally disbanded not long afterward.
Chilton moved to New York in 1977 and continued to play with various musicians and released his first solo album, Like Flies On Sherbert, in 1979. The album mixes Chilton originals with obscure covers, ranging from r&b to the Carter Family. Needless to say the obscure covers and ramshackle performance insured the album went nowhere.
Upon moving to New Orleans in the early 80's, Chilton worked a series of tree-trimming and dishwashing jobs before returning to music full time mid-decade. His solo releases from this period show a musician fully adept in a number of musical styles, with strong singing and guitar playing throughout. In 1993, Chilton and Stephens reformed Big Star, along with Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow from Big Star disciples the Posies, eventually releasing a new album, In Space, in 2005. In fact, the group was scheduled to play one of the final shows of the South By Southwest music festival in Austin this Saturday.
It was ten years ago today on December 10, 1999 that the news came that Rick Danko had passed in his sleep from heart failure. Danko was the bassist for the Rock / Americana music group The Band. The Band gained their fame as the backing band for Bob Dylan on his first electric tour, which didn't go over too well with Dylan's folk fans. But, we have all heard that story way too many times.
Rick Danko was born December 29, 1942 (the same day that French Somaliland joined the United Nations- for any history buffs) in a farming community on the outskirts of Simcoe, Ontario, Canada. Born into a family of Ukrainian Canadian musicians it was no surprise that Danko would grow up to become the musician he was. After quickly picking up the banjo just after the first grade, he then moved on to the guitar and by 17 he was the opening act for rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins. He would later become the rhythm guitarist for the Hawks along with Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson who had joined in 1957 and 1960, respectively. Soon to be followed by Richard Manuel on piano and Garth Hudson on organ and reeds- the lineup was near completion. Danko shortly switched from guitar to bass to round out the band. They toured with Hawkins up to the middle of 1963 when there was an altercation between Hawkins and Danko resulting in Danko, Helm, Hudson, Manuel, and Robertson going their own way. They took the name the Levon Helm sextet. They later changed their name to the Canadian Squires and then finally went with Levon & the Hawks. The Hawks would soon join Bob Dylan after he contacted them to become his backing band on his upcoming electric tour. You know when Dylan supposedly turned his back on folk music. The rest is history...
Danko was loved by everyone that came in contact with him. He was a positive and spiritually uplifting person that was always good for a laugh. I recall the footage of Rick in the movie "Festival Express" when he is out of his gourd singing Ain't No More Cain on the Brazos with Janis Joplin and Jerry Garcia. You can just see how the room lit up with his presence (of course with the help of whiskey and LSD.) Out of all the things that I have read or heard about Danko it has never been negative- you just can't not like him. He was just that kind of guy.
Video: Rick Danko, Janis Joplin, and others in "Festival Express"
A highlight for me has always been the version of Caledonia Mission on the Rock of Ages concert or the line "...now wait a minute ch-e-st-er" in The Weight or his fiddle playing on Rag Mama Rag and Daniel and the Sacred Harp - all classic Danko moments. Speaking of Danko and a fiddle, he performed with Gary Busey (of all people) and Paul Butterfield on Saturday Night Live back in the late 70s.
If you ever get a chance to find an old LP of Rick Danko's solo album get it! I think it is up there with some of the best of The Band stuff- granted the year it was put out 1977. The self-titled album features many guests like Eric Clapton, Ron Wood, Blondie Chaplin, Doug Sahm and of course fellow bandmates Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel and Levon Helm. Highlights include Sip The Wine, Java Blues, New Mexicoe. My personal favorite is Brainwash!
Danko had some struggles in his life that ultimately took its toll on his body- whether it was the chronic pain resulting from a 1968 car wreck or his rapid weight gain in the 90s (by 1997 he was considered chronically obese.) These things added up and eventually overtook him. He passed away 10 years ago today. He is missed by many as deeply as he was the day the news was received.
According to a variety of news outlets, Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler has apparently quit the group. Upon returning from a recent concert in Abu Dhabi, guitarist Joe Perry learned of Tyler's departure online. He has not spoken directly with the singer as Tyler frequently does not return his phone calls. Comments made by rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford that the group plans to replace the singer have been "taken out of context" according to drummer Joey Kramer. Tyler fell from the stage at a concert in South Dakota in August, injuring his shoulder. A number of concerts were canceled as a result. This isn't the first time members have quit the band. Both Perry and Whitford quit shortly after the release of 1979's Night in the Ruts but re-joined the group in 1984. It remains to be seen whether or not Tyler will do the same. Feel free to comment with any new developments and check out this footage of the infamous fall.
The corporate rock behemoth known as Kiss is back with their first studio album since 1998's Psycho Circus. They're also hitting the road for their Kiss Alive 35 World Tour. The new album Sonic Boom was released October 6th exclusively through Wal-Mart. Reviews thus far have been mostly positive, liking it to their 70's output. I've checked out a few of the clips and while I don't find them to be as good as the older material, it's definitely better than most of the records they've put out in the last 15 or 20 years. That being said, it is full of the same cliched lyrics that have been the group's stock in trade for the last 35 years, i.e. lots of "oh yeahs," adolescent sexual innuendo and whatnot. Not that that's necessarily bad. Kiss has never been known for their thought provoking lyrics. Musically, the album is standard meat and potatoes rock. No fancy time signatures or orchestral overdubs here. It's music made to sound good blaring from an '83 Camaro or shaking the foundation of a 10,000 seat arena. Although original drummer Peter Criss and guitarist Ace Frehley are long gone, their replacements, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer respectively, more than step up to the plate. Singer/guitarist Paul Stanley, who also produced Sonic Boom, insisted that all four members write and record together, as opposed to the use of outside songwriters and studio musicians. As a result, the new album sounds more cohesive than past releases. Time will only tell if Sonic Boom stands up to classics like Destroyer and Love Gun, but I'm sure Kiss' legions of fans will not be disappointed. Provided below are some clips of the new album. Check it out and let me know what you think.
In the first part of my tribute to Les Paul I mostly touched on the contributions made with the solid body electric guitar but he also should be remembered for his innovations in regards to recording.
In 1948, Paul released the first multi-tracked recording “Lover (When You're Near Me) from his garage. “Multi-tracked” meaning multiple layers of recordings blended together in the construction of a song. Paul accomplished this feat not with tape but with multiple acetate discs. A tedious and painstaking process, Paul reportedly went through over 500 acetate discs to achieve the quality he desired for the song. Soon after this with the financial backing of Bing Crosby and Ampex, Paul developed a tape machine for Ampex capable of multi-tracking. This opened the door for more freedom with recordings: more instruments, more separation, more control, and more possibilities. Spacious musical landscapes with numerous layers and effects are possible thanks to the pioneer efforts of Paul.
Les Paul also achieved a great deal of success as a recording artist both solo but more so with his wife Mary Ford as a duo. Paul made records in many different genres including jazz, country and blues. He won 2 Grammys at age 90 for his album “Les Paul: American Made World Played” and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
On August 12th we lost one of the most important and key figures in the advancement of music on so many levels. He single-handedly started a musical revolution with the invention of the electric solid body guitar and the technology required for multi-tracking, a recording technique that exponentially expanded the possibilities in recording.
Les Paul is synonymous with the guitar. The guitar in general but also for the famed Gibson Les Paul guitar which was designed by and played by Paul for so many years. He is generally credited with the invention of the electric solid body guitar although Leo Fender is also credited with advancements to the instrument as well. The prototype guitar Paul created, "the log" was a 4” x 4” piece of lumber that Paul attached a pickup, strings and a bridge to. This primitive precursor to the more sleek model that bore the inventor's name can be seen on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, TN.
The Gibson Les Paul has become one of the most sought after guitar models. There have been many variations of the Les Paul including the Standard, Classic, Custom, Studio and Jr. Examples of some famous Les Pauls and their owners are:
Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page w/ Sunburst Les Paul Collection
Neil Young
Neil Young's "Old Black" Les Paul w/ Bigsby Tremolo
Duane Allman
Duane Allman leaning in on a couple LPs
Let me start by saying I am a Flaming Lips fan. I have been for quite some time. I wasn't completely sold on the At War With The Mystics album, but it definitely had its high points."Pompeii AM Gotterdammerung" and "My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion (The Inner Life as Blazing Shield of Defiance and Optimism as Celestial Spear of Action)" are two of my favorites. Any low points with the Lips are outweighed by countless other greats in their catalog.
So, as it now common knowledge that The Flaming Lips are working in the studio on a cover of Pink Floyd's epic album Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety. I will be the first to say that DSOTM is an awesome album and the Lips are a great band BUT let's hold on for one second. There is a unwritten law that you don't cover The Beatles and I am going to add an amendment to that rule that you don't cover Pink Floyd- especially DSOTM! It just seems like an easy way out for the Lips. Go deeper and cover something like Ummagumma or Meddle. That would keep Drozd busy!
As much as I think it is a bad idea I am really interested in hearing it. The Lips will be joined by Henry Rollins (maybe he'll sing Clare Torry's part in "Great Gig in the Sky", right?). Also joining in on the album will be Wayne Coyne's nephew's band Stardeath & White Dwarfs, and Peaches. It is most likely going to be the best (I think) when they perform it live.
We will just have to wait and see how it turns out and I hope Wayne and Co. prove me wrong!!!
Alice Cooper has been setting stages ablaze for decades with his shock rock antics, but were you aware that he is also an actor? With an undying love for macabre theatrics, he first appeared on NBC's Wednesday Night Mystery Movie series "The Snoop Sisters" in 1973. The majority of his film debuts are only cameo appearances such as Wayne's Worldand, most recently, Horrorween, which will be released October 30th, 2009. But don't underestimate the man in the Lycra one-piece. He starred in the Spanish horror classic Monster Dog, and had character rolls in The Attic Expeditions, Freakshow and John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness.
Here's a little trivia tidbit for you nerds out there. Mr. Cooper wrote the song "He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)" for the fright flick Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI. Five years later, he was uncredited as Freddy Krueger's father in Freddy's Dead:The Final Nightmare. This makes him one of the few, if not the only, person connected to both slasher kings before their battle in Freddy vs Jason. Alice has even been a guest star on The Muppet Show. Yes folks, that's right. Not only does he love the dead, but he loves children as well.
Does Michael Jackson's continuous success further testify to how bad popular music is right now? Or are people still enamored by his genius. His album sales and downloads are still hitting near the top, and it looks like the tribute film, This Is It, will probably do quite well at the box office. What causes one to cling this tightly to music that was out 30 years ago (this is just counting his solo work). It goes beyond Nostalgia. You might pop in a 'Best of the '80's' cd, but it is not the same. Let's face it, no one has the entire collection of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and if they do, they will never mention it out of fear of a good stoning.
Michael can not be narrowed down to a specific decade or genre. Jackson' music transcends time, and none of his music has lost it's potency, except maybe "Dirty Diana." We don't revert back to children every time we hear "Thriller" or "Bad." We don't say, "I loved this song", it is just "I love this song." These songs are not bubblegum Pop, their meat and potatoes Pop. We are still astonished to how such good music come out of a decade of awful music,and it seems like we might be repeating it.
It is quite noticeable that Jackson took the painstaking process of making each lead and background vocal sound the best. He didn't need pro tools. He redid the vocal. Go back and listen to the production of "Way You Make Me Feel" or "Human Nature" or for that matter the entire Michael Jackson catalog. The vocals and production sound almost superior to what is manufactured in today's top studios.
So now it is your turn, is Michael's music that timeless and on par with the Beatles, or Stevie Wonder. Or are people trying to cling to the past because they are fearful that popular music will never be this good again.
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- Rock Greats Staff
1 comment
Besides being super cool, 
This summer two veteran rock bands will be hitting the road for some majorly huge shows. This time though the savvy vets are taking some well know indie rock bands with them, putting a little artistry and maybe even some street cred into their tour. These shows will prove beneficial for all involved. The young 'uns are going to be playing sold out arenas for the first time in their careers, and the seniors citizen bands will gain some exposure to younger fans (who probably had no idea these old guys influenced some of their favorites).
Memphis, and the music world at large, lost a true original with Wednesday's passing of 
Rick Danko was born December 29, 1942 (the same day that French Somaliland joined the United Nations- for any history buffs) in a farming community on the outskirts of Simcoe, Ontario, Canada. Born into a family of Ukrainian Canadian musicians it was no surprise that Danko would grow up to become the musician he was. After quickly picking up the banjo just after the first grade, he then moved on to the guitar and by 17 he was the opening act for rockabilly singer 
If you ever get a chance to find an old LP of Rick Danko's solo album get it! I think it is up there with some of the best of The Band stuff- granted the year it was put out 1977. The self-titled album features many guests like 
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