I know, I know – Rock N Roll squabbles are frivolous in the great spectrum of life. But sometimes supercilious remarks by a musician way past his prime just irks the hell out of me. Case in point: Slash Vs. GLEE.
Seriously.
In a recent interview with ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, the former Guns N Roses guitarist Slash was asked about GnR’s catalog being used on the hit Fox TV show (disclaimer – I’m a GLEEK):
How would you feel about GLEE doing a Guns N’ Roses song or themed episode? Actually, we got asked about that once already but it got turned down. In the current climate of what’s going on in entertainment these days, I try to be more optimistic than negative because it’s really easy to get negative about it, but I draw the line at Glee. Glee is worse than Grease and Grease is bad enough…. When Grease came out I was like, “Oh, c’mon, give me a break.” Actually, I look at Grease now and think: Between High School Musical and Glee, Grease was a brilliant work of art.
Well, you know what I say, Slash? Sure, “to each his own”, as the old cliche goes. But infinitely greater, more fantastical Rock’ N Roll legends than you’ll ever be (e.g. Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Queen, etc…) understand GLEEs aesthetic and happily loan their songs to this archetypal show (can’t wait for the Springsteen ep!). So, while you continue to prostitute your canon (and yourself) by allowing ‘singers’ like Fergie to use the only guitar refrain you’ll ever be famous for (and for actually partaking), in debacles like The Black Eyed Peas’ abysmal Super Bowl halftime show, I’ll enjoy GLEEs recitals of genuine Rock icons.
Irrelevancy. Such a motherfucker, huh, Slash?
*****
Here, Puck serenades his latest conquest Lauren naively inappropriately with Queen’s “Fat Bottom Girls” (from their 1978 album JAZZ***):
And here, the Warblers – featuring the delicious Darren Criss as Blaine – serenades Chris’ former New Direction mates with Paul McCartney & Wings’ “Silly Love Songs”***:
***Yes, the videos are flipped. Many YouTube posters encode their vids this way so YouTube’s recognition technology can’t recognize the material…
So much hullabaloo online today regarding Christina Aguilera’s Super Bowl rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner”. You’da thunk she gave the middle finger to the President or took a shit on the Constitution (what, she’s not a Tea Bagger or the previous President’s administration!). As someone who loathes Aguilera’s usual sonic assault on the senses, I still must ask, who the fuck cares that she flubbed one line of the National Anthem? That this transcendentally awful song is our anthem to begin with should be the real discussion (I’m forever in the “America, The Beautiful” camp, even with its allusion to a god). In any case, Whitney Houston – for all the adoration that’s heaped upon her powerful yet soulless rendition – lip-synched it back in 91. As did Jennifer Hudson 2 years ago. And far better singers than Aguilera will ever be have blundered the song as well. At least Aguilera sang (shrilled) live. Let’s give her that.
Me? I appreciated her lyrical mishap. Heavens forbid, if all went well, we would have been subjected to Aguilera’s melismatic norm. Something akin to, well, this:
Sleep
Sleep tonight
And may your dreams
Be realized
If the thundercloud
Passes rain
So let it rain
Rain down on him
Mmm…
So let it be
Mmm…
So let it be
Sleep
Sleep tonight
And may your dreams
Be realized
If the thundercloud
Passes rain
So let it rain
Let it rain
Rain on him
Gerry Rafferty – the Scottish singer/songwriter of such 70s soft-rock staples “Baker Street” and “Right Down The Line” died of liver failure today – apparently after years of battling alcoholism. He was 61.
“Baker Street”, with its masterful, glistening saxophone intro and refrain, was a monster single – reaching #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1978 and still plays Adult Contemporary radio today. “Right Down The Line” reached #12 – both are from Rafferty’s #1 CITY TO CITY LP, which knocked the soundtrack to SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER off the top of Billboard’s Top 200, where it was securely perched for months.
The single version of “Baker Street” (shortened by 2+ minutes)
(2015 update): the original vid posted here was deleted from YouTube, so I had to update this post with a newer video):
“Right Down The Line”:
Rafferty was also a founding member of Steelers Wheel, whose classic “Stuck In The Middle” was immortalized during a torture scene in Quentin Tarantino’s 1992 cult classic RESERVOIR DOGS.
Sad news for movie lovers: the great Irish actor Pete Postlethwaite – who Steven Spielberg (who directed him in AMISTAD) once proclaimed as “the best actor in the world” – passed away yesterday at 64 years old. He was battling cancer.
He started acting in TV and film later in life, beginning his career on stages and as director. Notable roles came in the 1996 Leonardo DiCaprio vehicle WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S ROMEO + JULIET (he was the only actor in the film to actually speak his dialogue in iambic pentameter, the language of Shakespeare’s play), THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK, the wonderful BRASSED OFF, and more recently in INCEPTION and the Ben Affleck-directed THE TOWN. He’s probably most remembered by film goers for a movie I detested – the 1996 cult classic THE USUAL SUSPECTS, where he played Kobayashi. In 2004, he was honored by Queen Elizabeth with England’s OBE,
Always a force of nature, he was nominated for an Oscar for the 1993 film IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER.
2011’s “In Memoriam” is 12 months away, but the greats are already leaving us.
When it comes to music – as well as other art forms – I often depend on trusted sources to enlighten me. Friends, of course, are key. I’ll also spelunk the internet, read music journalists I admire, and even browse iTunes – all to turn me on to something new and exciting. The fact that I receive hundreds of free CDs a year thanks to the field I work in doesn’t hurt either, naturally.
But I must be getting crotchety in my old age because 2010 was the second lightest listening year for me in a row. As in 2009, where I barely heard 100 new releases, the sum in 2010 hasn’t been much higher. I can’t explain the lack of enthusiasm, either, other than that in this year, impetus became impotent – my lack of fervor grew as my impatience doubled and my frustrations tripled in what little seek-and-find transpired.
Why? Well, because while perusing – or, mostly, browsing (and there is a difference) – the musical blogosphere – as well as word-of-mouth recommendations from the aforementioned other sources, in 2010 I’ve been prescribed an overt quantity of self-indulgent, self-important, head-scratchers. A lot of which was, well…crap.
I mean, historically, my tastes in music never skewered toward anything other than, well, my tastes, which are seeped in diverse genres. I can’t loath an album – nor worship it – merely because it’s the hip thing to do., or because it reached #1 on Billboard. That’s why I can’t ever really be a critic. Or, say, write for (hipster bible) Pitchfork. But then again, it’s never been my will or desire to adhere to a New Hipster Order, and if that explains my near-depleted motivation, so be it.
Perhaps I’m missing out, one might argue, by disallowing myself the openness and expansion of my musical mind and palate. Please – that’s a moot point because I don’t disallow myself from what is my aesthete. My distaste can’t (always) be attributed to a Pitchfork recommendation. For example, their top CD of the year actually made MY very own Baker’s Dozen (Kanye), as well as another Top 10er (Vampire Weekend).
However, that only one other Top 20 “finalist” (Janelle Monae) made my list too is, sadly, indicative to my frustration. And I tried, really, I tried. But of the other 17 releases that landed on their Top 20 and the dozen or so I actually attempted, I could barely make it through half the tracks of each individual CD before I threw my hands up in the air in abstract awe and gave up (best not to mention the bulk of their Top 50…)
I know, I know – I’ve often repeated the mantra that a voice that touches a listener is a personal matter and any such listener shouldn’t be derided for their tastes. And what is ‘taste’ other than someone’s opinion? And who the hell am I – or, are you – to cancel out someone’s emotional connection? If I had a dollar for every Facebook post from one of my queenliest friends, boasting orgasmic adoration for artists I consider monumental earworms (Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, etc), well, I’d have enough money to buy Facebook from Mark Zuckerberg. Nope, all we have is our opinion (I’ve certainly got mine – and have been disparaged as a negative Nellie for it on Facebook because more-often-than-not, it’s the negative forces that push my passion).
One might surmise that I’m doing exactly what I deride against by my seeming disparagement of Pitchfork. But, that’s not my intent. For one, there was no objective to single out Pitchfork – I could have easily said Brooklyn Vegan or Music Snobbery or Stereogum or even the Village Voice – or any various other such music blogs. And I’m sure they’re all proud of their snooty reputations. To be honest, I’m too stupid to understand a helluva lot of what Pitchfork’s writers pontificate. Who knows…maybe I’m just getting too damned old to care anymore. Or too feeble to grasp.
However, not being one to give up tooooo easily, I decided to use Metacritic.com an alternative barometer. They do, after all, collate thousands of reviews from countless sources, thus no agenda. And, I’ll be damned! I was surprised to find how much in common I actually indeed have with many “critics” – many titles that made the 2010 inventory of best-reviewed releases match more than just a few of my own!
Wow! Maybe I actually could be a critic if I so deemed!
I just can’t write for Pitchfork. Or Brooklyn Vegan. Or…oh, you get the idea.
So, here, in no particular order of importance or gratitude (save for WELDER), are my baker’s dozen – the most pleasurable times I’ve had this year immersed within my headphones (the Beauties…). Followed by the most painful (the Beasts)…
♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪
The Beauties…
♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪
…the Beasts…
Lee DeWyze | Live It UpChristina Aguilera | BionicLady Antebellum | Need You NowSantana | Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics Of All TimeSarah McLachlan | Laws Of IllusionLinkin Park | A Thousand SunsSting | SymphonicitiesToni Braxton | PulseMGMT | CongratulationsSusan Boyle | The Gift
Too many people underestimate the totality of Christine McVie’s role in the dynasty that is Fleetwood Mac. While many of her songs are FM [and F.M.] classics, the importance of her contributions as an over-all factor is sometimes lost on the hordes of Stevie Nicks fanatics (of which I am one): in the classic Mac lineup, she was the middle ground – tying together the wispy, fairy god mother mysticism (and at times, flakiness) of Nicks and the avant-gardism of Lindsay Buckingham. Hers were the straight-Pop gems – predominantly love songs, nothing more, nothing less…sung in her honey-dipped husky contralto – one of Rock ‘N Roll’s absolute sexiest voices.
In her 4+ decade career, McVie recorded only three solo albums, and only one while still technically in Fleetwood Mac (1970s CHRISTINE PERFECT, 1984s CHRISTINE McVIE, and 2004s IN THE MEANTIME).
While McVie never toured as a solo act, she has performed dates to promote her solo work. In this series of clips, McVie was promoting her (at that point) upcoming 1984 self-titled album. The lovely pop-infused record was released in January of 1984 and was a modest success. The album spawned two Top 40 Billboard Hot 100 hits (the #10 “Got A Hold On Me” and the #30 “Love Will Show Us How” which was released with a terrific video) and the LP peaked at #24 on Billboards Top 200. This concert was recorded on December 16 1983 at the Country Club in LA. Assisted by guitarist Todd Sharp, (future FM guitarist) Billy Burnett, bassist George Hawkins and drummer Steve Ferrone (all musicians who also played on her album) – along with special guest Mick Fleetwood – she performs a lively set of new songs and a few FM classics.
I have a great audio bootleg of this same concert, and missing here is footage of the 2 encores she performed after “Songbird”, the final selection on this video. They were “Say You Love Me” and “Over My Head”. This concert was filmed as a TV special, so the final sequence is not the actual succession of the concert (this is done more-often-than-not in live concert videos/films). Here’s the actual track listing of the show that evening:
Love Will Show Us How Keeping Secrets The Challenge Who’s Dreaming This Dream I’m The One So Excited Don’t Stop Got A Hold On Me/Band Intros One In A Million You Make Lovin Fun World Turning Songbird Say You Love Me Over My Head
But even sans those two FM encores from the Mac’s classic 1975 FLEETWOOD MAC album, this was a wonderful concert…and makes one wish McVie would opt to tour solo more often…
In part 1, Christine performs “Love Will Show Us How”, “Keeping Secrets” and “The Challenge” – all from her CHRISTINE McVIE lp.
In part 2, she plays new tracks from her solo LP, are “Who’s Dreaming This Dream” and “I’m The One”
In part 3, Christine performs “So Excited”, “Got A Hold On Me”, introduces the band, then “One In A Million”
Here in part 4, McVie sings her signature Fleetwood Mac hits “You Make Loving Fun” and “Don’t Stop”
Part 5 is “World Turning” with some insane solos with help from Mick Fleetwood
Part 6 is a lovely “Songbird”, from RUMOURS. I wish the closing credits didn’t roll mid-performance, but it doesn’t negate the beautiful moment…
Here is a video I put together called “Silent Night Suite”. It begins with an excerpt of an old MTV special about the making of the classic A Very Special Christmas album (which includes an interview with Stevie and album producer Jimmy Iovine), and then the actual full footage/interview of Iovine’s interview. The sterling live version (with two-hit wonder Robbie Nevil lending his vocal), was performed on the A Very Special Christmas concert TV special that aired on CBS in 1987. Hosted by Fame actress Nia Peeples, it featured some of the album’s artists performing their tracks. The show closed with “Silent Night”. When Stevie sings with her long-time backup singers Lori Perry-Nicks and Sharon Celani, the result is always stunningly ethereal, and here is no exception…blending with Robbie’s call-and-response, this live version is actually more exquisite than the recorded version, and sweeps you away into another dimension.
Open your eyes, and you see a Rock ‘N Roll queen sing in celebration. Close your eyes and you are encompassed by the beauty of the song, the luxurious harmony, and the spirit of the holidays.
On April 11, 1990, 1500+ people attended Ryan White’s funeral. It was a sad chapter in American history (I previously wrote about it HERE).
In times of sheer darkness and despair, you shone brighter than the most brilliant star and displayed a bravery rarely matched.
Happy 39th birthday to the little boy with the bright smile. Happy birthday, skyline pigeon…
Turn me loose from your hands Let me fly to distant lands Over green fields, trees and mountains Flowers and forest fountains Home along the lanes of the skyway
For this dark and lonely room Projects a shadow cast in gloom And my eyes are mirrors Of the world outside Thinking of the way That the wind can turn the tide And these shadows turn From purple into grey
For just a Skyline Pigeon Dreaming of the open Waiting for the day He can spread his wings And fly away again Fly away skyline pigeon fly Towards the dreams You’ve left so very far behind
Just let me wake up in the morning To the smell of new mown hay To laugh and cry, to live and die In the brightness of my day
I want to hear the pealing bells Of distant churches sing But most of all please free me From this aching metal ring And open out this cage towards the sun
For just a Skyline Pigeon Dreaming of the open Waiting for the day He can spread his wings And fly away again Fly away skyline pigeon fly Towards the dreams You’ve left so very far behind
It would have been easy, even in 1997, to discount Fleetwood Mac’s Phoenix-from-the-flame resurrection. Yes, it had been, at that point, almost 7 years since their last quasi-hit album, the Top 20 Buckingham-less BEHIND THE MASK, and a full decade since their last Top 10 (1987s TANGO IN THE NIGHT). Their last #1, MIRAGE, was in 1982. But the Mac’s legend supersedes such frivolities. One should never underestimate the power of hundreds of millions of sold albums, or a Rock n Roll soap opera nonpareil. Fleetwood Mac might have been dinosaurs by the late 1990s, but they were far from extinct.
Of course, with all the turmoil that imploded the band, it was a pipe dream for any ardent Mac fan to ever hope that the classic line-up – obviously its most artistic, and not to mention, lucrative – would ever reform. McVie retired in her English castle, Buckingham was busy with his own career, and Nicks had her own solo career with varying degrees of success, half of which was riddled with drug addiction and recovery.
This lineup’s last public performance was at the request of the White House. Throughout his campaign for president, Bill Clinton used “Don’t Stop” as his official theme song, and President-elect Clinton requested the Mac perform it at his 1993 inauguration. But reuniting wasn’t even on their radar.
But, reunite they did, and the result was a wonderful live album called The Dance. The Grammy-nominated CD hit #1 and a refreshed, healthy, sober and exhilarating Fleetwood Mac embarked upon a comeback for the ages, mounting a monumentally successful tour and reigniting the world’s passion for the classic assemblage.
In the following clips, Stevie Nicks, Lindsay Buckingham, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood are interviewed in North Hollywood, California, during their rehearsals that begot the CD and live TV concert. The interview took place on April 18 1997.
Enjoy these rare, behind the scenes interviews and performances from Fleetwood Mac!
ld you feel about GLEE doing a Guns N’ Roses song or themed episode?
My New Boyfriend 