Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony hits highs and lows while the Van Halen saga continues

Well the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame had their induction ceremony last night and it was quite an interesting night if you take all of this stuff seriously. It was nice to see Bill Berry back behind the drum kit with R.E.M. but the whole Van Halen fiasco was absolutely ridiculous. With Eddie Van Halen in rehab and David Lee Roth refusing to show because of a tiff with organizers over what song he would play with Velevet Revolver, it was left to motor mouth Sammy Hagar and original bassist Michael Anthony (no not new bassist Wolfgang Van Halen) to accept the accolades.

What has happened with Van Halen is a great example of what happens when great bands don’t know when to call it a day. No doubt urged on by their lawyers and accountants who predict an inevitably huge payday, Van Halen is such a disfunctional unit that it seems almost strange to talk about their music anymore. Where once there was the brilliance of Eddie Van Halen that was brilliantly played off of by the party-guy antics of David Lee Roth, there now lies a depressing soap opera of booze, bullshit and creative dead ends as the boys who created fun, wild eyed party rock and roll lurch from one attempted reunion to another.

My advice to Van Halen? Get healthy, get a life and then sit back and assemble a great retrospective box set of Van Halen material that will blow the socks off your long suffering fans. Then call it a day before what is left of your fan base completely gives up on you and refuses to listen to anything recorded after Van Halen 1. It could have already happened.

Later.

Hendrix is not a Vodka

Can you believe there is a brand of vodka called Hendrix Electric Vodka? Ya, neither could his estate who are suing the company responsible since (a) they did not sanction it, (b) they are coming out with a non-alcoholic drink this summer and (c) Jimi died on his own vomit from mixing sleeping pills and wine according to the article Drinking with Jimi by Janeen Burkholder.

My question would have to be: who in the hell wants to drink a vodka named after a dead rock star? I’m off to have a nice cold Brian Jones Brew.

Later.

Reunion a go go

2007 is turning out to be one weird year in rock and roll. We have the Police back together and touring, David Lee Roth back with Van Halen and touring (or not?). There are rumblings that Page, Plant and Jones are planning a trip to a concert stage near you, 2/3 of The Jam are back (no Paul Weller so what’s the point?). Plus there is talk that the original version of Guns and Roses are thinking of hitting the road again as well as a newly reunited Cult. To top that all off I noticed that this year’s Rock Fest is a veritable trip back to 1976. We have Boston, Deep Purple, Grand Funk Railroad and Chicago joining personal fave The Tragically Hip for a night of what, nostalgia? Bad weed? Trying to figure out why the lead singer looks nowhere near like the guy featured on that huge poster of Boston you used to have hanging in your bedroom in high school?

All these reunions are starting to take there toll on me. Personally I think the Police reunion is a good thing as they never properly exited the scene but Grand Funk Railroad!!! Yikes, pass the Thunderbird and slap on an 8 track before I wake up. I’m all dazed and confused.

Later.

Vinyl Lives!

It’s interesting that I just focused on the label Crusher Records on this week’s 3 Amigos show, a label that releases all of its recordings on 7″ vinyl. Interesting because vinyl, while not back as a popular format, has certainly not died the death we thought was so obvious once CDs and certainly MP3 downloads became commonplace.

Check out the article Record plant still pressing vinyl albums by John Gerome. Although vinyl is primarily used these days by DJs who scratch with them, there is no doubt that the warm, rich sound of a vinyl record is a welcome sound to many music afficianados, much like those guitarists that insist that an electric guitar sounds best coming through a tube amp.

While I look back fondly at vinyl, I tend to focus more on the hassles then the sound. I will never forget receiving “Ghost in the Machine” for my birthday years ago only to have my buddies pull it out at a party that night and proceed to scratch pretty much every song I liked on the album, making it pretty much unlistenable thereafter. At the same time, flipping through those Crusher Records releases certainly gave me a more visceral thrill than any CD I can recall opening. Perhaps that is where the appeal lies. Plus the artwork on an album is so much easier to enjoy than on a CD.

Later.

Thoughts of Lester Bangs at 39000 Feet and 444MPH

While sitting on the tarmac in Toronto waiting for my plane to be de-iced I did the only thing any bored airline traveler could do in the situation except for screaming at the top their lungs, I grabbed one of the books I had packed for my business trip and hunkered down to read a chapter or 2. Luckily I had dragged along with me a book that has sat neglected for some time but seemed perfectly appropriate for the situation. Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung is an anthology of writings by Lester Bangs edited by Greil Marcus and collects a number of his prolific writings on rock and roll, life on the edge and the need for a revolution now. How does he hold up in these days of blogs, podcasts and instant microwaveable pop? Pretty damn good in my humble opinion.

It’s unfortunate that we live in a time where we are not so much interested in instant gratification as we are in instantaneous answers. We want to know now why that movie sucks, or that CD is good or that band is worth seeing. We don’t have the time to wade through pages of prose in order to get our answer of whether we should buy or more likely download the stuff. Just give us a yes or no, we don’t have the time or the inclination to have to think for crying out loud. The difference between a critic like Bangs and what we supposedly need now is that he took the time to formulate an opinion by elaborately and artfully setting up his argument while most probably deconstructing everything you liked at the time. I don’t think in this day and age anybody wants to be told they’re full of shit and this is unfortunate because Lester Bangs had no problem telling us that we are all in fact full of shit. Never one for a simple answer, he needed the time and space to elaborate on why we are full of shit and that luxury is unfortunately not available to most unless you count those esoteric blogs hanging off the edge of cyberspace that no one reads anyways.

Take for example his review of Funhouse by The Stooges that was published in Creem through November and December 1970. Titled “Of Pop and Pies and Fun: A Program for Mass Liberation in the Form of a Stooges Review, or, Whose the Fool?” most people today would not have the patience to read that review. They would skip to the end to see how many stars he rated the album or his general two line conclusion but they would have been disappointed and pissed off and probably would have just complained that this guy is too damn wordy and maybe just a little bit over the top. Bu they would be missing the whole point. Good critics are not here to tell us whether something is good or bad. A good critic is somebody who makes you think “holy shit, what is this lunatic talking about? I need to investigate this for myself because it may just mean something to me, good or bad.” A critic is not there to tell you how to spend your money but to help you decide why you should experience something for the sake of the experience. Lester Bangs would be the first to argue that he could very well be full of shit himself and the last thing he would want is a complete acceptance of his truth as the truth. Far from it. When I read anything that Bangs wrote half the time I’m shaking my head thinking he’s the one who is full of it. Monotony is not music and what the hell does he have against Led Zeppelin anyway? But at least he unleashes some passion, some emotion as the reader strives to justify to themselves why they like what they like and maybe, just maybe that album which you claim is so great is really a piece of crap and deep down you just know it. Lester Bangs wrote record reviews like little novels. There was passion in his art. He was a joy to read because he was so opinionated. He probably wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a mainstream magazine today.

Later.

First impressions of “I’m From Rolling Stone”

It was inevitable that the music industry should feature prominently in the reality TV genre. Whether it be “Rebel Billionaire” with Richard Branson where contestants had to pick and promote a band to be featured at that year’s V Festival, or the various episodes of the Apprentice where the teams had to work with Jessica Simpson (!) and other “hot” musical acts, music is often fertile grounds for reality TV drama. Of course the various “Idol” shows as well as the “Rockstar” franchise go to show that people just can’t seem to get enough of that long hard slog over, ahem, 6 weeks to make it to rock and roll super stardom. I suppose then that it was inevitable that MTV, that corporate music whore and Rolling Stone, the legendary music and culture mag should get together and try and spin a little bit of reality TV magic their way. The result is “I’m From Rolling Stone” a TV show chronicling six aspiring writers who intern with the mag for the summer hoping to land a coveted contributing editor spot for the next year.

Now I must confess, I have a love/hate affair with Rolling Stone. I was a long time subscriber who suffered through its turn away from rock and roll to People magazine on steroids and I can’t say that I turn to it much for music writing these days. I do pick it up occasionally for the odd political piece or for things like the cover piece on John Stewart and Stephen Colbert, but I tend to get my music writing from mags such as Bucketful of Brains, The Big Takeover, Ugly Things, Magnet and this thing called the Internet. That being said I decided to check it out because I still have a place for Rolling Stone in my magazine rack and I was curious about what some of these interns could do.

Of course as with any of these shows, the key is how it has been edited and its pretty clear that the idea was to get as disparate a group as possible for the show since that would obviously make good TV and give the editors a lot of room to maneuver. Therefore you have to make sure that there is in equal parts sexual and racial tension and the clash between street culture and the more mainstream music scene championed by Rolling Stone because nobody wants to watch a bunch of eager writers just well, writing. That is not to say that I am disparaging the talents of the cast of the show. Far from it. From what little I have seen it impresses me that people out there still want to write, and who treat the well written word with the reverence it so richly deserves. I think its the writing and not the star fucking that is what I will be looking out for in future episodes because that’s what working at Rolling Stone should be all about. Of course, Jann Wenner initially started Rolling Stone so he could meet Mick Jagger so it was never a purely journalistic enterprise from the get go.

So what’s my verdict? Too soon to say. The first episode was a little dry and I’m already annoyed with Peter the surfer dude and Russell (despite the fact that you get the impression that he is the most talented). Still, “I’m From Rolling Stone” isn’t that bad. I choose not to look at it as one big ad to subscribe to the magazine and instead as an opportunity to maybe inspire a bunch of kids out there to grab a pen and paper or I suppose a Macbook and bang out the next great record review. Just call it the romantic in me.

And if you think you can write, check out the link above where you can submit your stuff to Rolling Stone in a competition for the public. You just might be the next Lester Bangs or Hunter S. Thompson!

“I’m From Rolling Stone” airs Sunday nights at 10:00 PM on MTV and Thursday nights at 10:30 PM on MTV Canada.

Later.

UPDATED! For an interesting take on the show from a former Rolling Stone writer check out I was once ‘From Rolling Stone,’ and it wasn’t anything like MTV’s new show by rock critic Jim DeRogatis for his cynical take on the whole Rolling Stone “experience.”

UPDATED AGAIN! These are the best and brightest out of 2,000 applicants? Of course not. I learned, from an insider on the show, that writing samples and photos weren’t all that were required from applicants. They were asked such questions as: “What was the last thing that made you cry?” So writes Rolling Stone alumni Ben Fong-Torres in He was from Rolling Stone — he can tell you what it’s really like as he pretty much rips the reality program, and Rolling Stone in the process. I’m still watching but I have to admit my interest is dimming after each episode. The actual process of writing and editing magazine articles as depicted on the show is fascinating but the six interns are all just just getting a little annoying.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced this year’s inductees to that “hallowed” institution. R.E.M., Van Halen, Patti Smith, Grandmaster Flash and the Ronettes made the grade for 2007. It will be fun to see R.E.M. perform with Bill Berry again but who will front the soap opera that has become Van Halen? And will Michael Anthony be invited?

Later.

Are The Police to reform? Musings on memories.

I just read the news on the mighty Punmaster Musicwire that The Police are rumored to be reforming for a 30th anniversary tour. Now there have been tons of rumors of this in the past but it wouldn’t surprise me as Sting has pretty much been the only hold out in the past but is this a good thing? Do I really want to see The Police, one of the biggest influences on me growing up, to try and rekindle past glories?

To say I was a big fan of the band is an understatement. I always enjoyed The Police because they managed to couple that punk attitude with a popwer pop sensibility with just the right amount of exotic influences to make things interesting. And as a young drummer, Stewart Copeland had an enormous influence on my drumming, second only to Neil Peart. With that in mind, I still get nervous about reunions like this. Be it the Doors, the MC5, the Stooges, Plant and Page, one always worries that these things will do more to tarnish the image of your favourite band then enhance it.

I have no doubt that Stewart Copeland, Andy Summers and Sting can pull this off musically, that’s a given. And I do think fans would appreciate a proper way to say goodbye to the band, something they were denied in the 80s when all they had to go on were vague promises, a luke-warm reunion single and those Amnesty reunion shows. I think I would be able to accept this if it was done as a one-off tour with no new recordings except for perhaps a live album/DVD. That would be a fitting end to one of the greatest groups in rock and roll and certainly for me, one of the most influential. But still, you have to wonder is it for love or money….

Do do do do, da da da da.

Later.

Concordia alumni lead the way in the Montreal indie-rock scene

I’m not one of those university graduates who runs around loaded in alumni gear going on and on about the place where they partied their brains out for 3 years and did some studying on the side but at the same time, I like to toot their horns when the right opportunity comes around. As a graduate of Concordia University (as well as the University of Western Ontario) when I saw the article Concordia alumni lead the way in the Montreal indie-rock scene I just thought that this was the perfect thing to post about.

I think for a number of years Concordia has toiled away from the spotlight that was perpetually shining on the much older and better respected McGill University but as we hit the 21st century in full press Concordia is well pressed to confront this century’s needs. On top of all of their impressive programs in business, computer science, film, journalism and communications studies, Concordia has always prided itself on its contributions to the fine arts. Whether indie rock can be considered a “fine art” of course is open to debate but there is no doubt that Concordia grads have their fair share of influence in Montreal’s red hot music scene. Read the article to get the low down on just a few.

Later.

Are Garage Bands being replaced by Garageband?

I love technology and I love how it has enabled so many musicians to create great sounding music and then get it heard through services like MySpace as well as via podcasts and music blogs. I distinctly remember being in a band in the early days of the cassette- based Portastudio “revolution” and I am not quite sure if those early 2 and 4 track cassette recorders enhanced or hindered creativity due to their convoluted inputs and the requirement to “ping pong” recorded tracks. But today, bands have a lot of amazing, relatively inexpensive and easy to use options to help the creative process along and one such program, Apple’s Garageband software that comes bundled with all Macs is coming under a bit of criticism.

According to Trading guitars for software: Today’s garage bands are more likely to be one person and a computer author Emily Young laments that the days of a bunch of friends getting together in somebody’s garage and banging out some rough and ready rock and roll may be over as musicians trade in the family garage or rec room, as well as their buddies on bass and drums for a laptop and some software. Now there is no doubt that the range of backing loops available for something like Garageband opens up the sonic possibilities considerably for a musician but the fear that this will replace performing with other live musicians, I believe is a little off the mark. Rock and roll has always been about playing live and the feedback and interaction you get from both the crowd and your fellow band members. Being a drummer, the buzz that I would get from just making eye contact with the bass player as we locked into a groove could never, ever be replaced by any software. As Janet Meyer argues in her response piece Garageband: Harmful to Musical Creativity? software like Garageband will “continue to be a good tool to enhance creativity” but anybody who locks themselves in their bedroom to create a 64 track rock and roll opus by themselves to be released only online will miss out on why we tend to make music in the first place, that it is a communal act best experienced in the company of friends (in the band) and strangers (in the crowd).

While software and laptops will increase in capacity and quality and more and more musicians will use them to jot down their ideas in a more fully realized form that they might have been unable to do in the past, the fear that we will all revert to our bedrooms to make music is a bit unfounded in my book because it goes against our nature. Even interacting on something like MySpace, as sociable as that is leaves something to be desired as you tend to miss that all important physical interaction that really makes life worth living. We are social animals and while there will always be those of us who will retreat to their lairs and shun all human contact, most of us will realize that the joy of music is best shared with other people. Anything less just demeans the power and impact of the music and its effect on us as people. Just ask Brian Wilson.

Later.

« Previous Page — Next Page »