Thursday, February 5, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
A brief commentary on the Springsteen Halftime Show
Halftime shows are always a bit of a crapshoot. It seems to me that these productions have become higher calibre in recent years. I certainly don't claim to be a Super Bowl nut. For me, no Steelers = no sale. But in those off years, I often at least watch the halftime show, for good or ill.
I was pretty confident that the E Street Band would pull it off. They've long had a reputation as one of the best live shows out there, and Springsteen's catalog has a number of strong songs that would suit the occasion. In fact, I found this set a little more difficult to predict than the Stones' show a few years back (during ANOTHER Steelers win, I might add!). In the end, Bruce chose a set of three crowd pleasing anthems and the requisite "new song" - all executed bombastically well.
Last week, as Pete at IckMusic noted, Springsteen announced another slew of tour dates. DC and Pittsburgh were both on the list. I thought about it briefly. I saw the E Street reunion tour in 2000 and the Seeger Sessions tour a couple years ago. Both were excellent. Anyhow, within 5 minutes of the halftime set, my sister and I were exchanging text messages saying "we should totally get tickets" (which went on sale this morning). When a halftime show is good enough to convince you to buy (reasonably priced, I might add) tickets to a rock show, the band has done their job.
I had the pleasure of watching the game in a movie theater/bar in Pittsburgh. The vibe was already intense, with the liquor flowing and the Steelers taking a 10 point lead by the end of the first half. Throw Springsteen on the stage, and we partied as if we were on the field, singing, dancing, jumping around, and general camaraderie. It reminded me of when I saw Stop Making Sense in a theater a few years ago in the sense that as much as was possible, it felt like that theater captured the concert environment during Springsteen's performance.
All in all, I was pleased. More pleased about the Steelers' win, but that goes without saying. And we were able to score tickets this morning, so come May 19, we'll be rocking out once again.
Take home point: the best halftime show in recent memory, save for Prince two years ago.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Friday Funk
Sadly, the combined search terms of "Steelers" and "Funk" produced no noteworthy results. Instead, here's one of the best jams from the forever classic Street Songs.
Siouxsie and the Banshees
I'll start with an anecdote, then get to the news.
While at Iowa, one of my closest pals and fellow musical geeks was a chap named James. We were also neighbors, and countless nights were spent at my apartment getting sloshed and listening to oodles of music. From the getgo, we bonded over garage rock, the Talking Heads, Gary Numan, Zappa, etc.
One night [after a sweltering summer day, and I had no a/c at the time], James and I watched Frank Zappa's Baby Snakes. After enjoying that and downing quite a few mojitos, James pulled out a VHS tape of Siouxsie and the Banshees, the visual companion to their first singles collection, Once Upon a Time.
I admit I was hesitant. As far as I knew, this was "goth" music. I didn't like "goth" music. My college roommate listened to that stuff constantly. But I humored James, and we popped it in.
And I was shocked.
First of all, as later conversations with he and other folks brought out, Siouxsie and the Banshees are really not a "goth" band. They're heavily influenced by punk (see The Scream LP) and new wave, so-called alternative, and a number of other styles. However, Siouxsie's persona is decidedly of the goth ilk, and her persona has superseded their music in popular culture. So I was pleasantly surprised in hearing songs like "Hong Kong Garden," "Christine" and this, which is probably my favorite Siouxsie track:
I'm not even sure why (but I'm guessing it was based on my reaction to the Siouxsie video), but at some point James made me a tape (yes a tape!) of what can broadly be labeled as British alternative of the 1970s-1980s.
As a genre, I admit that this is something I've come to with age. Earlier, I couldn't get much into bands like The Cure. Too whiny for me at the time, I think. But in late college I very superficially revisited some of that material, and warmed up to it quite a bit.
But anyway, this tape (and the volumes that followed) did much to reintroduce to this music, as well as introducing me for the first time. Siouxsie, Simple Minds (pre-Breakfast Club), Chris & Cosey, etc. I was definitely most taken with Siouxsie, and bought most of the reissues that were available.
I threw on the Once Upon a Time album tonight while doing some work, and thought "will they ever reissue the rest of the Siouxsie albums? Is this going to be another Madonna situation where the first three discs get reissued, but the rest of the catalog sits idle?"
Lo and behold, on the official Siouxsie and the Banshees MySpace page, the following blog post:
The next set of Siouxsie & The Banshees albums to be remastered, 'A Kiss In The Dreamhouse', 'Nocturne', 'Hyaena' and 'Tinderbox' are set to be released on 6th April 2009. Watch this space.
Score! And another post indicated that the band is in talks with Universal to put out a DVD of their videos (finally!).
So I'm pretty excited for these reissues, so that I may explore the Banshees' catalog further. I'm particularly looking forward to Hyaena, purely for "Dazzle," which is one of the most gorgeous songs I've ever heard:
While at Iowa, one of my closest pals and fellow musical geeks was a chap named James. We were also neighbors, and countless nights were spent at my apartment getting sloshed and listening to oodles of music. From the getgo, we bonded over garage rock, the Talking Heads, Gary Numan, Zappa, etc.
One night [after a sweltering summer day, and I had no a/c at the time], James and I watched Frank Zappa's Baby Snakes. After enjoying that and downing quite a few mojitos, James pulled out a VHS tape of Siouxsie and the Banshees, the visual companion to their first singles collection, Once Upon a Time.
I admit I was hesitant. As far as I knew, this was "goth" music. I didn't like "goth" music. My college roommate listened to that stuff constantly. But I humored James, and we popped it in.
And I was shocked.
First of all, as later conversations with he and other folks brought out, Siouxsie and the Banshees are really not a "goth" band. They're heavily influenced by punk (see The Scream LP) and new wave, so-called alternative, and a number of other styles. However, Siouxsie's persona is decidedly of the goth ilk, and her persona has superseded their music in popular culture. So I was pleasantly surprised in hearing songs like "Hong Kong Garden," "Christine" and this, which is probably my favorite Siouxsie track:
I'm not even sure why (but I'm guessing it was based on my reaction to the Siouxsie video), but at some point James made me a tape (yes a tape!) of what can broadly be labeled as British alternative of the 1970s-1980s.
As a genre, I admit that this is something I've come to with age. Earlier, I couldn't get much into bands like The Cure. Too whiny for me at the time, I think. But in late college I very superficially revisited some of that material, and warmed up to it quite a bit.
But anyway, this tape (and the volumes that followed) did much to reintroduce to this music, as well as introducing me for the first time. Siouxsie, Simple Minds (pre-Breakfast Club), Chris & Cosey, etc. I was definitely most taken with Siouxsie, and bought most of the reissues that were available.
I threw on the Once Upon a Time album tonight while doing some work, and thought "will they ever reissue the rest of the Siouxsie albums? Is this going to be another Madonna situation where the first three discs get reissued, but the rest of the catalog sits idle?"
Lo and behold, on the official Siouxsie and the Banshees MySpace page, the following blog post:
The next set of Siouxsie & The Banshees albums to be remastered, 'A Kiss In The Dreamhouse', 'Nocturne', 'Hyaena' and 'Tinderbox' are set to be released on 6th April 2009. Watch this space.
Score! And another post indicated that the band is in talks with Universal to put out a DVD of their videos (finally!).
So I'm pretty excited for these reissues, so that I may explore the Banshees' catalog further. I'm particularly looking forward to Hyaena, purely for "Dazzle," which is one of the most gorgeous songs I've ever heard:
Monday, January 26, 2009
I wanted to take a moment to point you to the first in a regular (hopefully monthly, if I can keep my ish together) feature on the great IckMusic. With "Between the Cracks," I'll be looking/listening at underrated, forgotten and misunderstood albums that are worthy of reexamination. This time around, I offer some thoughts on Sly and the Family Stone's debut, A Whole New Thing.
And while you're there, check out Pete's Old School mix, and break up the mid-Friday afternoon blahs with the Michael's Friday Five feature.
Cheers,
-Gonzo
And while you're there, check out Pete's Old School mix, and break up the mid-Friday afternoon blahs with the Michael's Friday Five feature.
Cheers,
-Gonzo
Friday, January 23, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Friday Funk
Great song, cheezy promo. Reminds me of the video for "Sexual Healing" in the totally literal visual depiction of the song.
Have a funky inauguration weekend!
Have a funky inauguration weekend!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
