It's been a pretty hectic week for me, so I really haven't wrapped my arms around any one topic for this week's Rock Hard Times blog. Basically, when I get scatter-brained (which is often) I one, have a hard time sleeping due to the monatages of sight & sound going through my head and two, can't carry on a coherent conversation due to being interrupted by commercials for the aforementioned montages. I'm sure their are ways to chemically either enhance or discourage these random thoughts, but I'm still eyeballing those Callaway hybrid-irons at Golf Galaxy and will not part with a spare dime, so get out of my face already with that crap. Anyways, I'll try to keep this as close to music as I can...
- Can you imagine what music would be like today if MTV had been around in the late 60's & early 70's? There were some ugly suns-a-bitches that made some great music back in the day (some who still are, some that are pushing up daisies).
- Along the same lines, can we start a grass-roots effort to have MTV & VH1 pulled from the airwaves due to false advertising? Sorry, but shows that pimp out strippers & 'hos for has-beens like Flava-Flav, Bret Michaels & never-was's like Tila Tequila make me nauseous, & I'm not forking over the extra cash to DirecTV for VH1 Classic either because, you know...I gotta have those Callaways!
- Over time, George Harrison has become my favourite Beatle. Gotta watch out for the quiet one, ya know? His vision for what became the Love project was pure genious. He was also one of the most loyal and caring people ever, too. Just ask Eric Clapton...
- Recently I finished reading Clapton's autobiography. It is a highly recommended read that deals with his discomfort around the women in his life, and his addictions to booze & drugs. Also he delves into some of his relationships with other rock icons, such as Harrison. Little is it known, but Pete Townshend is probably the sole reason Slowhand is still alive, convincing him to seek treatment on two different occasions (drugs & alcohol). Oddly, they were never really that close - just fateful meetings that put things in perspective, kind of like having a guardian angel.
- Got my tickets to see Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers along w/ Steve Winwood in July. What would be better than seeing a jam with Winwood & Petty doing Dear Mr. Fantasy? A boy can only dream...
- I started working on a blog about background vocalists, but got caught up on two guys: Mike Mills of R.E.M. & Michael Anthony of Van Halen. Neither has gotten the bug to go solo, but are to me the signature sounds of their respective groups (although Anthony got the boot from the increasingly-insane Eddie Van Halen a couple of years ago). Mills chimes in along behind Michael Stipe grounded in reality, not even trying to harmonize but seemingly trying to call Stipe back in from his daydream. Check out Can't Get There From Here or It's The End Of The World As We Know It to see what I mean. Anthony, on the other hand has been charged with the daunting task of enhancing the vocals of David Lee Roth & Sammy Hagar, the latter of whom he befriended to the point it cost him a place in VH & landed him in the Waboritas. His distinctive sound is plainly evident on early VH recordings, but he really came to the forefront as the group's production values were increased in the late 80's with the addition of Hagar. Check out Summer Nights & Cabo Wabo from The Van Hagar years...
- On that note, I'm outta here. But first I have to give huge props to Shoe for starting this website. I'm pretty much a homebody & don't get to hang out with the boys as much anymore, so being able to log-in every day and see all these different takes on music has rekindled my interest greatly. It's great to see the contrasting styles of our contributors exemplified & has given me some new sounds to try out. By the way Shoe, Eels are a hit the second time around for me - thanks man. I was always undecided until I saw the video the other day through your youtube link for Novacaine for The Soul. Awesome...
Loved the Clapton bio as well . . . Mike Mills has stepped to the fore at times within the group to take the lead on songs like Superman and Near Wild Heaven, great songs . . . I can burn anybody the complete eels collection, just let me know, definitely worth your time . . . hey, I watch Rock of Love. How can you go wrong with B Michaels and a house full of whores?
ReplyDeleteHe's already f**cked all their mothers - chances are he could have sired all those sluts.
ReplyDeleteShoe stole my thunder with the Mills on Superman song. I thought that was him singing that tune. By the way, haven't I heard that on a recent commercial?
ReplyDeleteGreat post DJ, I agree MTV and VH1 are becoming strictly reality TV. I have enough reality, I want my MTV!
i don't think kids nowadays have the attention span for a program like mtv and vhi used to be.. they'd get bored in 30 minutes which is so sad..
ReplyDeletei think when mtv stopped doing those sweet ass mtv commercials with the astronaut sawing the man-made mtv in half, they began the downward spiral!! joe's apartment didn't help their cause either..
near wild heaven is a classic tune and mr. mills does it tremendous justice.. nice one boys. ez