I was looking over a list of world events-type stuff for 1990:
Germany reunited
The Hubble Space Telescope was launched
Nelson Mandela was released from prison
The Soviet Union collapsed
Saddam Hussein mistook US State Dept. apathy for a minor border skirmish to be a green light for a full invasion of Kuwait
You win some, you lose some.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Southwest Flies to Chicago, Yes?
Some three hours after I moved Black Diamond Heavies up to the top row of my top friends, right next to Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, on MySpace and sent a note asking what time they're going on at Springwater this Friday, I got a note back informing they've snagged the opening gigs for the Seeds Chicago shows.
I plug these guys, not just because their blues is messy the way I like it (uh-huh uh-huh) but because they're busting their asses to get it out in front of people. How many cool bands can anyone name that will play Temple Bar in Dublin, and barbecue joints in the Southern US?
Anyway, that's great news for BDHs and their fans, and anyone who's going to be at those Chicago shows.
I plug these guys, not just because their blues is messy the way I like it (uh-huh uh-huh) but because they're busting their asses to get it out in front of people. How many cool bands can anyone name that will play Temple Bar in Dublin, and barbecue joints in the Southern US?
Anyway, that's great news for BDHs and their fans, and anyone who's going to be at those Chicago shows.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
1990 Retro Lightning Preview
I'm back in for Fred Buc this Saturday, so we get one more shot at the glory days of the pre-Nirvana "alternative" scene. This was one of the treats - hearing Buckwheat Zydeco team up with Dwight Yoakum. Oh, and isn't that Los Lobos' David Hidalgo on guitar? FUN.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Retro Lightning - Just FYI
I've been asked where I get my lists from, because sometimes (like the example below) the year doesn't seem to match up. I gather material from a combination of several archived Billboard charts, magazine charts and reviews, and trade tip sheets. Plus anything else that carries verifiable information.
1984 Retro Lightning - Preview #3
And we go to the movies! Young Sean Penn, young Timothy Hutton. Yeah.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Can't Make This Up
Straight from the BBC: A giant inflatable dog turd brought down a power line after being blown away from a Swiss museum.
The artwork, entitled Complex Shit, was carried 200 metres on the night of 31 July, reportedly breaking a greenhouse window before it landed again.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Olympic Eye Candy - Sexist?
A number of bloggers and others are pointing out the inherent sexism of Beach Volleyball at the Olympics, ie, the women players all go on court like this:
While the men are more fully-clothed:
In the interest of fairer play, I give you the Mens swimmers:
And! Let's not forget the Water Polo team:
While the men are more fully-clothed:
In the interest of fairer play, I give you the Mens swimmers:
And! Let's not forget the Water Polo team:
Monday, August 11, 2008
Attack of the Killer East Nashville Tomatos
I missed out on most of the morning activities as I was busy bringing things back to 1988, but got over in time for the fashion show and some music. Thanks to great weather, this will probably go down as one of the most attended years.
Thee Phantom 5 onstage
Nashville artist Keith Harmon
It just wouldn't be East Nashville without ...
East Nasty represents for the Fashion Show
East Nashville people really do dress like this every day, all day.
Multiple choice: Who owns this hand?
Nashville Rage editor Kristen Whittlesey?
Nashville Scene food writer Kay West?
Lightning 100/Team Green's own Laurel Creech?
Tennessean Social Butterfly Heather Byrd
Attention demographers: East Nashville is getting in the family way ...
... and the Tibetan way
And sometimes it's just plain hot.
Thee Phantom 5 onstage
Nashville artist Keith Harmon
It just wouldn't be East Nashville without ...
East Nasty represents for the Fashion Show
East Nashville people really do dress like this every day, all day.
Multiple choice: Who owns this hand?
Nashville Rage editor Kristen Whittlesey?
Nashville Scene food writer Kay West?
Lightning 100/Team Green's own Laurel Creech?
Tennessean Social Butterfly Heather Byrd
Attention demographers: East Nashville is getting in the family way ...
... and the Tibetan way
And sometimes it's just plain hot.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Robert Hazard: 1948 - 2008
Most people have never heard Robert Hazard, but they have heard his music everytime they listened to the Cyndi Lauper hit "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." Two years before that Hazard was all over MTV and the ten or so alternative (then we called it "new wave") radio stations in the country that played his brilliant take on the empty, consumerist culture that was being shoved down our throats: "Escalator of Life." Enjoy.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
1988 Retro Lightning - Preview 3
Sign of the times? I went looking for video to represent guitar godhead Richard Thompson's Amnesia album; "Turning of the Tide" was the main song that got some airplay push but I could only find live acoustic samplings. "Don't Tempt Me" got some play but not as much. What's hysterical is that this video comes from "Final Fantasy IIV."
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Retro Lightning - 1988 Preview
This Saturday morning (and a couple of other Saturdays this August) I'll sit in for Fred Buc to do the Retro Lightning show. At the long-gone 328 Performance Hall I once got into it with another Nashville area DJ over his (and some others') pronunciation that 1980s music sucked. My standard response to that is along the lines of, "not my fault you were playing to Winger." I'll post a few clips during the week of some of what you can expect this Saturday 8-12. Here's what Julian Cope was bringing:
Saturday, August 2, 2008
The Thing About Music Criticism ...
... that you've got to understand, is that it's all about who's paying a critic to write, where that person is coming from and what direction they'd like to take things - if any. The saying, "opinions are like assholes — everybody's got one," applies, but what separates the paid from the unpaid asshole is the paid asshole has English skills + there's someone who thinks that writer also has good taste but, more importantly, the kind of taste that can help him sell magazines or books or page hits, and push his agenda in the process.
I was on MySpace a little while ago and saw a Grimey's bulletin about the in-store reading they've got coming up in a couple of weeks with author Hayden Childs, who wrote a book about the making of Richard and Linda Thompson's masterpiece Shoot Out the Lights. I wasn't aware of the 33 1/3 series it's a part of (that's how much music reading I haven't been doing in the last ten years), so went and looked it up.
They have a wonderful group of books about some wonderful albums of the last 40 years, with an emphasis on bands that influenced the artists who are often described as the best of the current flock in the indie world. (Well, most. I don't know about Celine Dion.) As much as that's the series' fantasticness, that's also what makes it kind of suck. As you look over the full list of albums that have been examined, the scope and breadth of the works is shockingly narrow. What's not on the list is as telling of the state (both commercial and artistic) the music industry is in as what is there.
So, while I'd definitely recommend taking a look at the books, I'd also recommend that no one who loves music accept their list as even remotely definitive of "what's good." Just a wee bit of it.
I was on MySpace a little while ago and saw a Grimey's bulletin about the in-store reading they've got coming up in a couple of weeks with author Hayden Childs, who wrote a book about the making of Richard and Linda Thompson's masterpiece Shoot Out the Lights. I wasn't aware of the 33 1/3 series it's a part of (that's how much music reading I haven't been doing in the last ten years), so went and looked it up.
They have a wonderful group of books about some wonderful albums of the last 40 years, with an emphasis on bands that influenced the artists who are often described as the best of the current flock in the indie world. (Well, most. I don't know about Celine Dion.) As much as that's the series' fantasticness, that's also what makes it kind of suck. As you look over the full list of albums that have been examined, the scope and breadth of the works is shockingly narrow. What's not on the list is as telling of the state (both commercial and artistic) the music industry is in as what is there.
So, while I'd definitely recommend taking a look at the books, I'd also recommend that no one who loves music accept their list as even remotely definitive of "what's good." Just a wee bit of it.
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