#''...he could be the next john lennon or at least the next john legend...''

[forgottenbones]

Tim Pool Got Banned on Bandcamp

[legalvinyl]

Epitomizing Classic Rock Lead Guitar

Half the fun of being a musician is trying to look like, sound like, and play like your heroes.  While this path often leads to expensive sessions on websites like eBay and reverb searching for that next magical piece of gear and alternating between moments of joy and frustration as you get a little closer to playing like your idols but then realizing the closer you get just how much better they are than you - regardless, chasing this dream is a lot like chasing the dragon; it probably isn’t possible but you’re going to try anyways.

In the world of guitar playing, which is a world I’ve proudly inhabited now since the single digits in age, the unfailing chase for ‘that tone’ is something that comes as a universal qualifier once someone gets comfortable enough to rip a pentatonic scale with a little bravado and confidence.  While I love rhythm guitar playing and think it’s one of those areas that truly makes a great guitar player (especially when playing with others or in a band setting), my heart rests in the beauty and magic of the solo and melody in lead guitar playing.  There’s something so expressive, like a direct link from your emotions and your soul to the fretboard that creates a special bond and demands full attention from not only yourself, but also your audience.  It’s a spotlight moment, and as much as it presents an opportunity to sound like a cliché poser, it can also bring a strong moment of glory that feels so gratifying after rehearsing and practicing licks repeatedly until one can play them from muscle memory alone.  This compilation of songs demonstrates some of my favorite and most influential guitarists at the top of their game.  I hope it can serve as inspiration for aspiring guitar players and entertains some rock music fans who just want to groove along with players that make the connection between the instrument and the individual seem more like a spiritual illumination than just a guy pulling on some strings on a dead piece of wood.  

Starting with the most classic rock sounding classic rock possible, we have Paul Kossoff ripping his Les Paul into a cranked Marshall stack (the true epitome and peak of rock n roll) in the song I’m A Mover from the Free Live! album.  That crunchy guitar tone makes up the vast majority of the left pan of the mix, so listeners can hear every detail and nuance in his playing clearly.  And boy does he use that space to good use.  Kossoff combines some tasteful but not overly exaggerated riff-based rhythm playing with opportunities to launch off into vibrato heavy solos all the while keeping a perfect understanding of the timing of the song and the rest of the band.  It’s a tight song that gives the lead player just the right amount of ‘free’dom without getting lost in excess.  Kossoff doesn’t try to use too many notes or pull the song in his direction entirely; he stays central to the bluesy message of the song and lets his fingers do the talking with impactful and purposeful words with every note.  

Next, we’ll move to my two favorite guitarists of all time (which I could’ve used as examples for probably over a hundred songs of lead mastery) starting with Eric Clapton.  This recording is unique for a variety of reasons, but mostly because it features such an incredible all-star lineup called the Dirty Mac which features (get ready for it) John Lennon on rhythm guitar and vocals, Keith Richards on bass, and Mitch Mitchell on drums.  And for you guitar nerds out there, Clapton rips his signature cherry red es-335 into a fender stack that conjures up serious undertones of Clapton’s biggest influencer, the great B.B. King.  The tone is a little thin and snarly for Clapton during this stadium-playing Cream-era time of his guitar career, but I love it as a deviation from his usual sound that also informs his playing and almost shows his personality more in a lot of ways than his typical Marshall stack sound does.  And Clapton is really at his best here soloing over the entire 4-minute song with all the soul and character that made countless guitar players in the late 60’s gush over.  Just watch the video, these are all legends in rock music having fun and absolutely killing a great Beatles cover.

My second favorite guitar player, Mick Taylor from The Rolling Stones, is rarely mentioned in debates of sensational lead players for very strange and inscrutable reasons.  Simply listen to his lead work on Hide Your Love and you’ll get goosebumps at Mick’s ability to combine difficult sequences with endless amounts of taste and feel.  This classic blues song lets Mick showcase his chops in the background during the entire song, and Jagger even shuts up every once in a while, to let him really steal the show.  There’s this sense of control and expertise that comes across in this track that only a true master could convey, and I really think this represents unbeatable guitar work no matter who would try to challenge him.

The passionate, almost violent guitar sound from Jeff Beck’s Let Me Love You is unique and gutsy in all the best ways.  Another very bluesy track from another English group, this track demonstrates how fighting with your guitar can feel like a bluesman at the crossroads who’s truly battling with the devil.  The tone is unique, the playing is inflamed, and the notes are all creative and expressive in a manner that would make a lot of guitar players scratch their heads and think ‘how the hell did he do that?’.

Another angry song from a player who needs no introduction, Tony Iommi’s playing on the track Jack the Stripper / Fairies Wear Boots is genre defining and innovative to say the least.  The song’s introduction almost has a jazzy feel; it’s free-flowing and loose, but the unity between guitarist, bassist, and drummer is so tight that the listener never feels lost and the track never seems directionless.  Although this track isn’t one big soloing showcase like some of the others, I challenge any guitarist who thinks they know their chops to play along with this in perfect time and with the same refined rage that Iommi musters.  It’s a killer track with a distorted metal tone that takes its roots from more bluesy and latin-flavored backgrounds, and it shows that heavy rock and metal sounds can come from fewer notes played with fervor rather than haste.

The last track ends this list like a sweet desert.  Blue Sky by the Allman Brothers is a masterclass of taste and self-command.  Two guitars trade solos that feel exactly like a warm summer sun, and the notes seem to radiate out from the guitarist’s souls rather than their fingers.  Almost as if Jerry Garcia had grown up on a peach farm, the solos are melodic and don’t feel like standard pentatonic runs or played out blues riffs.  Every note is purposeful and connects the phrases together with a real naturalness that somehow makes the listener feel like they’re in the middle of a field on a beautiful day no matter their setting or time of year.  It’s a song that captures a vibe unlike any other, and the guitar playing is so perfect for the track that you can’t help but smile.

Obviously not an entirely exhaustive list as I’ve had to omit a few guitarists that certainly deserve your attention, as well, but I hope this gives the classic rock guitarist a wide range of sounds and playing styles to learn from and appreciate.  Every guitarist mentioned in this list has other great tracks in their catalogue, and I strongly encourage you to invest yourself into their playing even more to discover further inventiveness that should provide countless hours of learning and inspiration.  Cheers and enjoy!

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeFwaWFTGYU

Mick Taylor Photo: https://sfae.com/Artists/Dominique-Tarle/Mick-Taylor-Recording-in-the-Basement-Studio-Nellc

[aion-rsa]

All Things Must Pass Remaster Brings Out George Harrison’s Voice

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A new remaster of George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass highlights why it was such an important record. Not just as an album, but of the time it was made. Besides the lead guitarist for the biggest act in showbiz history, it boasted players and a producer who each made an impact on the course of modern music. It’s been celebrating its 50th anniversary for a while now and it’s earned it. It was the first triple album by a single artist in rock history (the Woodstock concert album, released six months earlier, included a compilation of acts), and set the standard for longer long-playing albums.

Harrison set quite a few standards, including the first rock benefit project, The Concert for Bangladesh. As the Beatles guitarist, he demonstrated melodic and harmonic possibilities which hadn’t been explored in rock and roll, often changing the entire feel of songs with a single riff. As their in-house tonal experimentalist, his sitar-led songs didn’t just use the eastern stringed instrument as an exotic guitar. They captured the structure, atmosphere, tonality and shifting rhythms of Eastern music. The opening of “Love You To” can barely be classified as western commercial music, but had a universal appeal. As the band’s somewhat lesser-known songwriter, Harrison composed musical standards which eclipsed even the mighty songwriting team of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

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The consistent hitmakers made for a competitive compositional atmosphere in the band. “I had such a lot of songs mounting up that I really wanted to do, but I only got my quota of one or two tunes per album,” Harrison admitted on The Dick Cavett Show in 1971. Even after a new arrangement was worked out for the group’s output, Harrison had quite a backlog of songs when the Beatles broke up. At least two of the best known songs from All Things Must Pass were written in 1966.

While still in the Beatles, Harrison released Wonderwall Music, which was a soundtrack to a film, and Electronic Sound, which saw him as one of the early experimenters on the synthesizer. According to the press statement for the remaster, George, along with Ringo Starr and bassist Klaus Voorman recorded fifteen songs at EMI Studios on the first day, May 26, 1970. The demo included “What Is Life,” “Awaiting on You All,” and “My Sweet Lord.” The next day Harrison played 15 more songs for co-producer Phil Spector, who covertly recorded them. The songs “Everybody, Nobody,” “Window, Window,” “Beautiful Girl,” “Tell Me What Has Happened to You,” “Nowhere To Go,” and “Don’t Want To Do It” never made the album. The whole session did come out on the bootleg Beware of ABKCO set.

The 50th Anniversary re-issue of All Things Must Pass includes versions of “Mother Divine,” and “Cosmic Empire,” which have never been officially released. The official music video reveals “Cosmic Empire” as a melodically catchy piece, with an instantly recognizable acoustic guitar run, and a change into a deep blues false ending.

You can see the video here:

The Wall of Sound

The deluxe 50th Anniversary Edition is executive produced by Harrison’s son Dhani, and his first order of business was to pull back on Spector’s reverb-heavy production. Spector was the man Lennon brought in to produce the song he’d written for breakfast, wanted to record for lunch and have out for supper: The Plastic Ono Band single “Instant Karma!,” which Harrison played on. Spector also produced the final mix of the Beatles’ Let It Be, as well as Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band and Imagine albums.

Spector was a legend in the studio. He created the “Wall of Sound” with the top session players of the early 1960s, and Harrison tasked him with doing it again with the current cream of the musical crop. This included two of out of three members of the band Cream. Ginger Baker drums on a jam, and Eric Clapton’s guitar gently weeps all over All Things Must Pass. Crying on the inside over his unrequited love for George’s wife Pattie Boyd Harrison, Eric was getting ready to wail about her on Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Harrison co-wrote “Badge” with Clapton for Cream’s Goodbye album, and played on Derek and The Dominos’ debut single, “Tell The Truth” backed with “Roll It Over.” Spector recorded it. It went so well, much of the band stuck around to be bricks in the contemporary Wall of Sound.

“Phil was in full control of this whole bunch of musicians playing,” Voorman remembers in Simon Leng’s book, While My Guitar Gently Weeps. “We played all at the same time – we didn’t record one on top of the other; it was all six people playing acoustic guitars and five keyboard players playing the piano all at once. It was crazy!”

The Players

To fill seats in the rock orchestra, Harrison dipped into the players he’d been on stage with since the waning days of the pre-breakup Beatles. Harrison, credited as “Mysterioso,” toured with Delaney & Bonnie and Friends. He was a backing guitarist beside Clapton, in a band which included Dave Mason, Bobby Whitlock, Carl Radle, Jim Gordon, and Leon Russell, who would prove invaluable for The Concert for Bangladesh.

Also called in for sessions were Procol Harum’s Gary Brooker, Badfinger’s Pete Ham, Tom Evans and Joey Molland; Spooky Tooth’s Gary Wright, sax player Bobby Keys; and trumpeter Jim Price. Besides Starr and Gordon, drums and percussions were played by Alan White, who was then the drummer for the Plastic Ono Band and would go on to drum for Yes, and Phil Collins. Peter Frampton played guitar on much of the album. Nashville player Pete Drake played pedal steel. Drake pioneered the use of the talkbox, and Frampton caught it first-hand during sessions before using it as the hook for his hit “Show Me the Way.” John Barham, a pianist and arranger who had worked with Harrison’s sitar guru Ravi Shankar, wrote orchestral scores.

Keyboardist and longtime Beatle associate Billy Preston is a major influence on the album. All Things Must Pass is a spiritual celebration. Harrison set up a small altar in the studio, and devotees of the Hare Krishna movement brought the players vegetarian food. Harrison was as much a spiritual student as a musical one of sitar maestro Ravi Shankar. The same could be said of Preston.

The Songs

Harrison made a special study of the structure and composition of gospel music for his work with soul singer Doris Troy, who he produced and co-wrote songs with. He delved further to co-produce Preston’s fourth studio album That’s The Way God Planned It, and wrote “What Is Life” for it. George also co-produced Preston’s fifth album Encouraging Words, which came out two months before All Things Must Pass, and included versions of the title track and “My Sweet Lord.”

You can hear several versions of the Beatles running through “All Things Must Pass” on bootlegs. Though not as many passes as the famously unreleased “Not Guilty” got. It might have been too pointed a self-reference for the group to deal with. The title comes from a passage of chapter 23 of the Tao Te Ching: “All things pass, a sunrise does not last all morning. All things pass, a cloudburst does not last all day.” It is more philosophical than spiritual, but is as uplifting as its chordal ascension. “Beware of Darkness” is lyrically devotional and cautionary, but its structure is a mystery of faith. It’s all over the place harmonically, as the key aimlessly wanders into melodic transcendence.

“Awaiting On You All” is one of the most blatant spiritual proclamations of the album. It describes Japa Yoga meditation, the repetitive chanting of a mantra, which is mystical energy itself, inside sound. “Chanting the names of the Lord and you’ll be free,” explains the lyrics. Though Harrison does get in a dig at the Catholic Church. “While the Pope owns fifty one percent of General Motors, and the stock exchange is the only thing he’s qualified to quote us,” the last verse opens. Harrison’s deep understanding of the spiritual music he was producing was most fully realized on the album’s most recognizable song.

“I thought a lot about whether to do ‘My Sweet Lord’ or not, because I would be committing myself publicly and I anticipated that a lot of people might get weird about it,” Harrison wrote in I Me Mine. Towards the end of the Delaney & Bonnie tour in December 1969, Harrison heard and fell in love with Edwin Hawkins’ piano-driven, modern gospel rendition of the 18th century hymn “Oh Happy Day.” Inspired by the joyful energy, Harrison wanted to merge the buoyantly devotional “Hallelujah” invocations with the “Hare Krishna” Maha Mantra of the Hindu faith. The subconscious mix evoked some not-so-instant karma when Harrison was sued for “unconscious plagiarism” by the royalty owners of The Chiffon’s “He’s So Fine,” which could be interpreted as a devotional invocation.

“My Sweet Lord” is also the song which best establishes and exemplifies Harrison’s signature, post-Beatles, slide guitar playing.

The album’s opener, “I’d Have You Anytime,” was co-written with Bob Dylan when Harrison spent the Thanksgiving 1968 weekend at Dylan’s home in Woodstock. They also co-wrote the song “When Everybody Comes to Town.” Harrison played on Dylan’s April 1970 New York City sessions for the album New Morning, performing uncredited on several songs, including “If Not for You,” the second of All things Must Pass’ vagabond troubadour trilogy. Dylan had spent a lot of time off the road after his motorcycle crash of 1966. Harrison encouraged the reclusive artist to make his comeback performance at the Isle of Wight festival in 1969. “Behind That Locked Door,” which comes later on the album, is part of that encouragement.

The Beatles passed on including “Isn’t It a Pity” on Revolver, so George gifts us with two fully realized versions of it for All Things Must Pass. The 50th Anniversary box set includes an even more “downtempo version,” with Nicky Hopkins on piano. “Wah-Wah” was the first song recorded for the album, which is fitting because it was written on the day Harrison walked out of the “Get Back” sessions. It’s a great, angry song, in the tradition of “Taxman,” though not as pointed as Lennon’s “Sexy Sadie,” or “How Do You Sleep,” which Harrison played on. “Let It Down” has some great vocal backing by Clapton and Whitlock.

Hearing Clapton’s opening guitar screams squeezed through his wah-wah on “Art of Dying” makes you wonder how the Beatles rejected it in 1966. Although the lyrics George brought to the band at the time might have sealed its fate: “There’ll come a time when all of us must leave here, then nothing Mr. Epstein can do will keep me here with you,” Harrison admitted singing at his bandmates in I Me Mine. “Art of Dying” is the hardest Harrison rocks on the album and Spector lets the band explode. Coming after the intimately amorous “I Dig Love,” it is suspense reincarnate. Listen for Phil Collins’ bongos on the remix.

Harrison brought “Hear Me Lord” to the Beatles when they were recording at Twickenham Film Studios in January 1969. It is as confessional as anything Lennon cops to on his debut album Plastic Ono Band, but primal in an entirely different way. “Apple Scruffs” is Harrison’s personal gift to the group of fans which used to camp outside the Apple Corps offices for a glimpse of the four when they was fab. Performed live by a solo George with Beatles roadie Mal Evans tapping along, it is acoustic fun with a wild and wayward harmonica.

The Jams

But not as much fun as the band had after Spector went to bed for the night. Harrison initially thought it would take just two months to record the album, but had to take a break in the middle to care for his mother, Louise, who was ill with cancer in Liverpool. Louise bought George his first guitar and encouraged all things musical, including allowing the early Beatles to rehearse at their house. She passed away in July 1970. 

Bored with the lag time, Spector was drinking heavily, bracing himself with Cherry Brandy just to sit in the booth, and ultimately breaking his arm in a fall. He left the sessions in July 1970, and Harrison produced overdubs at London’s Trident Studios and Apple Studios. But most of the album’s backing tracks were recorded onto eight-track tape at Abbey Road, with the musicians normally playing live.

When Spector left the studios, Harrison and the other musicians would jam into the early hours. “Thanks For the Pepperoni,” pulls the toppings off Chuck Berry riffs. It was recorded along with “Plug Me In” on July 1, 1970, with Harrison, Clapton and Dave Mason on guitars, Radle on bassr, Whitlock on keyboards, and Jim Gordon on drums. “Out Of the Blue” must get its title from how it comes in. It sounds like the band was in the middle of a fun run, and someone rushed to turn on the tape. But listen for Voorman’s lead guitar part.

“I Remember Jeep” is named for Clapton’s dog, and Preston and Baker bring out the jazz while Harrison’s Moog playing breaks traditions. “It’s Johnny’s Birthday” is a mockup of Cliff Richard’s song “Congratulations,” which the band warbled to Lennon for his 30th birthday. These afterhours jams were the kinds of musical driftwood routinely collected by bootleggers before box sets made them standard extras.

Demos and extra tracks, like “Mother Divine” or “Nowhere to Go,” underscore the greatest flaw of the original album: George’s vocals. Even gruff, weak and not-yet-familiar with the songs, Harrison’s voice is a beautifully emotive instrument. During their solo careers, he and Lennon drenched their voices with effects. Even Spector complained in production notes how Harrison’s voice is buried on too many songs. The new mix brings the voices forward. It doesn’t completely take away the reverb, because some of it is artistically correct, like the slap back echoes which evoke a specific sound. It is very well used on “Going Down to Golder’s Green,” an outtake which finds Harrison channeling his inner Elvis. One of the deluxe editions of the All Things Must Pass reissue includes a 96-page scrapbook evoking the time.

The album cover shows Harrison at home in Friar Park. Photographed by Barry Feinstein, George is surrounded by four garden gnomes, which could be taken as an in-joke on his days with the Beatles. All Things Must Pass was released Nov. 27, 1970, as a triple vinyl album. To accommodate the extra disc, Tom Wilkes of Camouflage Productions designed a box with a hinged lid, similar to the packaging of classical music and operas. It is presciently fitting, as the record is a modern masterwork of a timeless artist.

All Things Must Pass 50th Anniversary Edition will be available on Aug. 6.

The post All Things Must Pass Remaster Brings Out George Harrison’s Voice appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[howaminotinthestrokesyet]

When Hair Metal Was King: The Sunset Strip in the 1980’s

Guns N’ Roses was a Los Angeles band. They had all met during the 1980’s on the Sunset Strip. An important part of their story involves the Strip during that time. In order to understand the group as a band, I think it is relevant to take a look at the music scene in LA in the early to mid-1980’s. The Sunset Strip had long been a hotbed of rock music in the 1960’s and the 1970’s. In the late 1970’s, the music scene became grittier and dirtier as bands went from glam rock to punk rock. Yet, everything began to change into decadence with the arrival of Motley Crue in 1981.

A new genre of music, glam or hair metal, began to overtake the Strip fully embraced by Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, and Tommy Lee of Motley Crue. As they began to make a name for themselves musically at clubs along the Strip, they moved into an apartment right by the Whiskey A Go-Go. They would hold after hours parties at their place that soon took on the stuff of legends. Vince Neil would later say, “We played the Whisky, half the crowd would come back to our house and drink and do blow, smack, Percodan, quaaludes, and whatever else we could get for free… There would be members of punk-scene remnants like 45 Grave and the Circle Jerks coming to our almost nightly parties while guys in metal newborns like Ratt and W.A.S.P. spilled out into the courtyard and the street. Girls would arrive in shifts. One would be climbing out the window while another was coming in the door.” He would go on to say in his autobiography, “We’d get drunk, do crazy amounts of cocaine and walk the circuit in stiletto heels, stumbling all over the place. The Sunset Strip was a cesspool of depravity.” The group would be discovered by a record company talent scout who saw the hundreds of kids wearing tight leather and big hair waiting in line to see them. Soon enough, more and more bands began to pop up including W.A.S.P. and LA Guns. A little later groups like Faster Pussycat Kill and Poison showed up on the scene. These bands begin to do more and more outrageous things in order to bring attention to their live show. For example, W.A.S.P. would throw raw meat into the crowd. Not to be outdone, Motley Crue would have Nikki Sixx pour gasoline on his leather pants, then at some point Vince Neil would set him on fire during the show.

One of the centers of the metal glam scene on the Strip was Tower Records. The store was for the most part completely employed by local musicians. Some would say that when you walked into the place; everybody that worked there looked like they were in Motley Crue. Axl Rose would become a manager at Tower, even hiring Slash to work there until he was fired. Columnist Alison Martino recalls, “Everybody from Elton John to David Bowie to Van Halen, they were all in Tower Records. I saw all of them there, buying their own records. I remember seeing Valerie Bertinelli with her mother at Tower Records the week that ‘Jump!’ came out. They used to have on the wall all the number one singles. I remember she went up to the cover of the ‘Jump!’ 45 and turned it around to see Eddie’s face and left it that way.”

Headbangers would line up all along the Strip at night, so much so that you could not even walk on the sidewalk. They would all be waiting to get into clubs like the Troubadour, Roxy, Gazzara’s, the Whiskey, and more. More than 75 bands would be competing for headlining slots at these clubs, which would eventually include Guns N’ Roses. For a while, this was merely a local music phenomenon until Quiet Riot released their album, Metal Health, eventually reaching number one on the charts. This event changed everything as record companies began to sign Los Angeles-based hair bands left and right from that moment on. Hair metal represented the most popular kind of music in the country. This led to people migrating from the northwest like Duff McKagan or from the Midwest like Izzy Stradlin and Axl Rose to become rich and famous chasing their rock and roll dreams. Another such band was Poison, who came all the way from Pennsylvania sensing that Los Angeles was the only place that they could make their name. As these bands fought for fans along the Strip, advertising on a flyer became ultra competitive. There would be flyers posted everywhere promoting in the most creative of ways usually emphasizing sex and drugs. Each morning, along with the plethora of booze bottles lining the streets, there could be found fliers everywhere making Sunset Boulevard look like New Orleans after Mardi Gras.

Another center for the hair band movement on the Strip was the Rainbow Bar and Grill. This place opened in 1972 to host rock and Hollywood royalty like John Lennon, Ringo Starr, John Belushi, and Elton John. Lemmy Klimster of Motörhead had become a mainstay at the corner of the bar for a very long time playing games on the video machine. Tommy Lee offered up this assessment of the Rainbow. “When the clubs began to close, we’d go to the Rainbow. The place was set up like a circle, with the coolest rockers and richest deviants sitting at the center tables. Guys had to be twenty-one to come into the club, but girls could be eighteen. The guys would sit at their regular spots and the girls would walk around the ring until they were called over to someone’s empty chair... Afterward, everyone would spill out into the parking lot: Randy Rhoads, Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist, would be hanging upside down from a tree screaming while junkies tried to score dope and everyone else tried to scam on girls.” No matter where you went along the strip at that time, you were bound to see some sort of insanity going on. Stephen Pearcy, lead singer of Ratt recalls, “I saw so many people f*** on the lawns behind Gazzarri’s that I actually got bored of watching and started to throw empty beer cans at them.” For its part, the Rainbow usually only saw people having sex in the bathroom stalls, not its lawn, but on occasion the dumpster.

The strange but true thing about all of these bands trying to get discovered on the Strip was that they were seemingly connected in some way. The 6 degrees of separation of all these groups has been noted by writers looking back at that music scene. Slash almost ended up in the band Poison. Tracii Guns of LA Guns helped to form the Guns found in Guns N’ Roses. GNR had a bit of a feud with Motley Crue, who’s founder Nikki Sixx once played in a band with Tracii Guns. The feud would later escalate to national headlines as guitarist Izzy Stradlin began hitting on Vince Neil‘s wife at a party. Axl Rose then got involved, which saw Vince Neil state on MTV News that he wanted to challenge Rose to a fight anytime, anywhere. For this reason, you cannot compare Seattle’s music scene to the Strip because to this day a lot of those bands that are still connected absolutely hate each other. These musicians would actually be members of multiple bands at any one time. In a VH1 documentary, the drummer from Quiet Riot said that before they were signed to a record deal, he had been in at least five bands at one time. One of the reasons for this also emerged in the fact that playing these clubs did not make you any money. All of these groups that would become very famous and very rich in the next few years were also struggling to find enough to eat or a place to sleep. For their part, Guns N’ Roses lived in a tiny apartment infested with cockroaches and squalor. Journalists have referred to their existence before Appetite For Destruction as street urchins. Their only saving grace was the financial assistance of waitresses and strippers, who served these bands as groupies. The females in Los Angeles at that time were completely enamored with any guy in a hair metal band. Half the time, they did not even care if you were any good or not.

With the arrival of Axl Rose on the music scene, one thing stood out at that time. Word began to spread that there was this singer, who gave off this incredibly intense and mesmerizing energy every time that he performed. The other guys in GNR always had to audition for any group, but Rose was wanted by every band on the scene that did not have a singer. Everyone wanted him to front their band. The second that this happened probably was the beginning of the end as far as Axl acting in any way humble towards his other bandmates. The question now becomes as to how the particular members of Guns N’ Roses actually came together. One answer to that was that Rose truly wanted to be in a band with Izzy Stradlin. They had been in one together with Hollywood Rose, but at the time of GNR’s formation, they were still trying for their own band. As for the other members, it represented a situation of the right place at the right time. Slash could have been in Poison by that time, but he still remained a free agent. Tracii Guns could have decided that he wanted to remain in that group with Axl Rose, but he did not. One important thing to remember is that unlike other groups, the guys in Guns N’ Roses really did not know each other too well when they got together. Axl and Izzy had been friends, while Slash, Steven Adler, and Duff knew each other quite well.

As for the scene itself, by the time of the release of Appetite For Destruction hair metal was slowly beginning to wear out its welcome. The death knell would not occur until the arrival of grunge in 1991. Yet, GNR did contribute just a little bit to this backlash as they represented something that was very anti-hair metal. They went out of their way to make sure the media portrayed them as a rock band like the Rolling Stones and Aerosmith, instead of any kind of hair metal band. Their behavior and actions followed up on this. Bands of that time like Poison and Motley Crue had gotten more and more outrageous and ridiculous in their blatant attempts to gain the attention of this new MTV generation. GNR changed things a little bit because everything that they did from drugs to sex to fights to snarky interviews was meant to be 100% real. For a time, the band had teased their hair and put on glam makeup, but they quickly stopped doing that for a new image. They made an overt attempt to scare the crap out of people showing fans and writers alike that they did not give a shit about anything or anyone, except themselves. This is not to say that each member was completely selfish, but instead that the only thing that mattered in their lives was the band. By the early 1990’s, this camaraderie between band members was slowly withering away as Rose began to exert more and more control over the group. The arrival of Nirvana and the bands from Seattle signaled the end of this music scene being the epicenter of popular rock in the United States. The death of River Phoenix in 1993 at the Viper Room foreshadowed the end of the strip as party central. Soon enough, more and more hotels began to pop up as that part of Los Angeles soon embraced tourists, rather than local musicians.

[mithranqueersmusings]

Baby, You’re A Rich Man XVIII

Chapter: 18/28

Rating: U

Summary: Ringo could never understand why that group of three boys made him feel so uncomfortable, or why the way George looked at him sent him into a panic. After a chance encounter Ringo discovers the truth and has no clue what to do with the information.

Tags: AU - Gangsters, Slow Burn, Smut, Eventual Romance, Violence, Angst

Pairings: George Harrison/Ringo Starr, John Lennon/Paul McCartney

AO3 link here / Fic masterlist here

Ringo had experienced nerves like no other when Paul had announced that their boss had wanted to see him. He'd managed to overcome his anxiety about the whole kidnapping and witnessing murder somewhat while relaxing in the bath with George, but before his hair even had time to dry he had another obstacle to overcome.

"But what does he want with me?" Ringo asked, sitting on the sofa in one of George's bathrobes and a towel in hand.

"He didn't really say, but he probably just wants to ask you a few questions about the whole thing." Paul made it sound like it was no big deal.

"There's no need to be nervous, love, we'll all be there with you." George said reassuringly, looking sinfully alluring with a loose towel wrapped around his waist.

"And Brian's a softy really." John smiled, he seemed to be taking a lot of pleasure from this whole thing.

"Wouldn't really expect the leader of a crime family to be a 'softy'." Ringo chuckled.

"Well that's only if you're on his good side." Paul explained "He's got a head for business, most of the time, so I wouldn't underestimate him."

"Guess I don't really have a choice, do I?" Ringo smiled weakly.

"Not really, no." John laughed.

"Just get some rest, me and John will wake you up in the morning and we'll head off." Paul had a strange ability to always calm Ringo "So we best be off to bed."

John sighed dramatically like a child before getting up on his feet, finishing his drink with ease and leaving the glass on the table "Before I forget to tell you, Ringo, your drumming tonight was pretty fantastic."

Ringo smiled "Oh, really? Thanks..."

"Don't blame me if I'm not at The Babylon for a while though, I can only stomach so many rescue missions at once." John grinned.

Then Paul and John were heading out of George's flat, saying their happy goodbyes to both George and Ringo before finally it was the two of them alone again. Ringo let out a huff as he sunk further into the sofa, as much as the bath had made him feel a fraction better he was still aching painfully. George leaned back where he sat, pulling up Ringo's legs to lie over his lap.

"How you feeling?" George asked softly, running his fingers over Ringo's bare leg.

"Better than I was, I suppose." Ringo gave a small smile "The whole thing doesn't feel real."

"I know what you mean... I just wish you didn't have to see me like that."

"I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty freaky. I've never seen anybody die before, George, and the first time I do my boyfriend is the one doing the killing."

"Boyfriend?" George wiggled his eyebrows.

"Don't change the subject."

"Fine, fine, sorry."

"But at the end of the day I knew you were involved in this kind of thing, so I can't hold it against you or anything. And its not like you're some rampaging serial killer, as far as I know at least."

"No, of course not. Its not like I enjoy it, none of us do really. But if you're gonna be in a job like this, you've gotta be prepared for somebody to come after you, or someone you care about, and nobody in their right mind would ever let that happen without putting up a fight. Just so happens that it happens quite frequently for someone like me."

"Well it all sounds very normal when you put it like that."

There was a pause, both men smiling at one another.

"If we're done talking about that, can I go back to that 'boyfriend' moment?" George teased, causing Ringo to kick him playfully.

"Oh shut up, it just slipped out!" Ringo felt his cheeks burning slightly.

"Not the first time I've heard you say that." George grinned, he moved Ringo's legs off him gently and crawled up so that they could lie next to one another.

"Gross." Ringo laughed, shifting so that George could lie beside him.

"So am I your boyfriend, then?" His voice was quiet now with their faces so close together.

"Well there isn't anyone else buying me rings, getting me jobs and killing gangsters for me, is there?"

"I bloody hope not."

Ringo paused, looking up at George's beautiful face then smiled "I suppose you must be then."

"About time." George smiled, his tongue pushing past his teeth as he laughed.

"And what was stopping you from asking me, huh?"

"I just didn't wanna rush you, that's all." George took Ringo's hand in his own.

They lay like that for a while, George laying on his side and Ringo on his back. They shared small kisses and held hands, just relaxing into one another as the minutes passed by. Ringo began to feel drowsy, especially with George's body pressed up against his and keeping him warm, so after a while they retired to George's bed. Ringo thought he'd struggle to get to sleep considering the absolute chaos he'd experienced that night but he was asleep within minutes with George's arms wrapped around him. His mind was desperate to debate with itself, whether staying with George was the smartest (or most moral) thing for him to do, but the comfort that his now-boyfriend provided him silenced his rapid thoughts.

The following morning Paul and John knocked on George's door to wake them up, as Paul had said he would. Ringo was the first to wake and sluggishly crawled out of bed to let them in; Paul was bright-eyed and ready to leave but John looked half-awake. Paul hurried into George's room to wake him up, pulling the covers from him and shouting his name loudly before he finally stirred. Ringo found that George could sleep for hours on end and would still never wake up willingly, he wondered if he'd sleep all day if he was allowed to.

"Get up and get dressed you lazy git." Paul chuckled, finding a suit in George's wardrobe and tossing it onto his partially unconscious friend.

George mumbled something in protest but managed to get himself up. Ringo brewed tea for the four of them which they all drank happily but they each refused breakfast. After 10 minutes or so they were all dressed and ready to head out, Ringo was a little embarrassed to be wearing his clothes from last night which were not only bright pink but also incredibly scruffy.

"He won't mind, really." George smiled as he watched Ringo inspecting himself in the mirror "It's better than showing up without a suit, or trying to fit into one of mine."

"Trying to fit?" Ringo scoffed "You calling me fat, George?"

"Course not, but you'll hardly impress Brian in a suit that doesn't fit you."

"But looking like a bruised strawberry will?"

"Just trust me, love, alright?" George planted a kiss on the top of Ringo's head, standing behind him in the mirror.

Ringo sighed and steeled himself for what was to come, he had no idea what to expect but he knew it was going to be a strange experience. The four of them piled into George's car, Ringo sitting beside him with John and Paul in the back, and drove off down the street. Ringo fidgeted in his seat as they drove and every so often George would place his hand on top of Ringo's, trying his best to calm him without taking his eyes off the road. Paul and John sat snug in the backseat, John still waking up as he rested his head on Paul's shoulder. They drove to the outskirts of the city which was littered with grand houses, the likes of which Ringo never thought he'd be setting foot in. George drove up to a tall iron gate which stood between them and a ridiculously lavish house, he rolled down his window to speak into the intercom to announce their arrival. After a minute the gate opened and George parked his car in front of the house, the gates closing behind them and Ringo had a horrible feeling of entrapment. The front door opened and a tall, lean man stepped out to greet them. Paul and John were the first ones out of the car and happily hurried over to greet the man. George gave Ringo's hand a final squeeze.

"Don't be nervous, Ringo. I'll be right there with you." George said softly.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Ringo and George stepped out of the car then, the cleaner air of the country a welcome change to Ringo. They walked over to where Paul and John were already in deep conversation with this man, but he immediately stopped talking when he caught sight of Ringo. Ringo got a better look at the man now, and he could see he had very severe cheekbones and slicked back hair; overall he looked very presentable but wasn't unfriendly in any way.

"So, this must be the man of the hour." The man said, he had an extremely posh accent "So great to finally meet you Ringo, I'm George." He held out his hand and Ringo shook it tentatively.

"Nice to meet you too." Ringo smiled, he could tell immediately that this man was a professional - whatever his job may be.

"Well there's no use in us all standing out in the cold, come on in." He said, walking back into the house and leading the four of them into a lavishly decorated sitting room. "Anyone for a cup of tea?"

"I'm alright, George." Paul said politely, taking a seat on one of the many sofas, the others made noises in agreement.

"I'll just let Brian know you're here, shouldn't be long." He said with another smile, ducking out of the room and closing the door behind him.

"Two Georges? I thought one was bad enough." Ringo said after a silence, causing the four of them to laugh "Who's he then?"

"He's a right legend, George is." John said, helping himself to some of the biscuits that were laid out on the table in front of them.

"He's kind of like our collective dad, if that makes sense." George chuckled "He got us involved in the whole thing years back."

"Even though Brian is the head of it all, George is like our boss. He looks out for us and so forth." Paul explained.

A few minutes passed before the door opened again, George stepped in once more followed by a second man with dark hair and kind eyes, who Ringo could only assume was Brian. He had round features and a gentle smile, quite the opposite of the George stood beside him. Paul stood up when they entered the room, the other three of them following suit.

"Oh sit, sit." The man said, he too had a posh voice, and all of them except Ringo sat back down.

He approached Ringo immediately, a happy look across his face, as he held out his hand for Ringo to shake which he did as professionally as he could manage.

"So you're Ringo, then?" He said "And these are the famous rings?" He turned his hand so that Ringo's was more visible to him so he could inspect the three rings on his fingers.

Ringo chuckled awkwardly, when they'd said he was 'a softy' he certainly wasn't expecting this "And you must be Brian." He said, a grin on his face.

"The very same." Brian said, letting go of Ringo's hand and taking a seat close to them "Now you're naturally wondering why I've asked you here, aren't you?"

"Maybe a little." Ringo smiled.

"Well I want to start off by apologising on my behalf and on behalf of my entire family for what happened last night. The last thing I ever want is innocent people getting mixed up in our business, so I hope you can accept my apology." He leaned back in the chair comfortably, and while he didn't look threatening he had a commanding presence about him.

"No, no, it's fine. Luckily nobody got seriously hurt, well apart from..." Ringo's voice trailed off as his brain flashed the images of the dead bodies into his mind.

"Oh, they're a rotten sort that Chapman lot. Of course we never want anybody to get hurt, but its an unavoidable eventuality sometimes." He smiled warmly "And I don't expect that this is the end of this terrible ordeal, which is the reason why I've asked you here today. You see, I understand that yourself and George have a very close relationship and that's wonderful, of course, but it does unfortunately put you somewhat at risk. In my position there isn't much I can do about it because you aren't employed by me, but that's an error I can easily correct."

Ringo gulped "What do you mean by employed? Because I- I don't want to be rude or anything, but I'm not a very violent person and I don't think I could do the things that these three do."

"No, no, of course not." Brian's smile hadn't faltered "I wouldn't dream of such a thing. There are many areas that I cover, many of which don't involve any violence at all. This is simply a way for me to place you under the protection of our family, and also shows me that I can trust you. No doubt you've learned a lot of sensitive information during your time with George that could be used against us, so you can understand why employing you would be a comfort to me."

"I would never-" Ringo began.

"Don't worry Ringo, I'm not suggesting that you would ever betray George like that, but there are a lot of people out there who would do terrible things to get that information or to get access to you and your influence. All I'm proposing to you today is whether you would like to become a member of this organisation; you will be able to continue your job at The Babylon as normal, but there may be times in which I require your services. Do you understand?" Brian spoke clearly.

"Er, partly, yes. What exactly would I be doing?" Ringo felt like he wasn't understanding through a fault of his own, but he also wondered whether Brian was speaking like this intentionally.

"Well you have your advantages because you're mostly unknown, meaning no offence. There are times in which we might need information gathered, and your occupation as a musician means you may be able to infiltrate spaces that we wouldn't. Certainly your safety will always be considered, I wouldn't dream of getting you hurt like that again. The choice is entirely up to you, but I urge you to see the benefits." Brian crossed one leg over the other.

"So I wouldn't necessarily be doing anything illegal?" Ringo asked.

"Your actions themselves might not be incriminating, but being associated with a crime syndicate is very illegal, I'm afraid."

"Oh..." Ringo's voice trailed off once more and he looked over at George for encouragement but Brian spoke again.

"I don't mean to intrude, Ringo, but I wouldn't use the law strictly as a moral compass. After all, your relationship with George is illegal in this country and do you believe it to be immoral?" Brian's tone changed now.

"No, of course not." Ringo said sternly, unconsciously taking George's hand in his own.

"Precisely my point. We aren't bad people, while the law would tell you otherwise. I had to learn the hard way that the law isn't always on your side, and sometimes to do what's truly right you must break it. Does that help you in any way?"

"I'm just a little hesitant, is all. But you're saying I can carry on with my drumming, and I'd never be doing anything truly dangerous?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Certainly your association with George will still carry as much danger as it had before, but you would now have the protection of the rest of the family."

"Well it all sounds very simple put like that." Ringo chuckled quietly.

"It's a job opportunity at the end of the day, granted its an unusual one. You would be handsomely rewarded for your services, of course, and you'd never be obliged to do anything you didn't want to. So what do you say?" Brian's gaze hadn't moved from Ringo this entire time but it didn't scare Ringo, if anything it comforted him.

"I'll do it." Ringo said plainly, he felt George grip his hand tighter upon his words and he saw John grinning out of the corner of his eye.

"Excellent! You won't regret it, Ringo, I promise you that." Brian sprung up from his chair now joyfully "Now, I'll place you under the care of the lovely George Martin, so if you have any issues or questions please direct them to him."

"All I ask is that you don't call me in the middle of the night because you're too drunk to drive home." George said playfully, passing a stern glare to John "I'm not a taxi service, am I boys?"

"No." The three others said in unison which made Ringo and Brian laugh.

"Right, well I best be getting back to business. This whole Chapman mess is very time-consuming, as I'm sure you can imagine. Now you boys need to get home and get some rest, alright?" Brian looked at them all with a smile on his face then turned back to Ringo "In a couple of days or so we should have some accommodation sorted for you, we'll let you know when it's ready."

"Accommodation?" Ringo asked dumbfounded.

"Of course." Brian laughed "We can't have you living too far away now, can we?" He turned to George who was standing by the window "There's an unoccupied flat on the boys' floor isn't there, George?"

"As far I'm aware, yes." George said, he was holding his hands behind his back.

"Perfect! Well I'll make the arrangements at some point today." Brian shook Ringo's hand again "It's been grand meeting you, I'm sorry it has to be so brief."

He started heading out of the room then, George Martin opening the door for him, but he paused before vanishing entirely and called out.

"Welcome to the family, Ringo." He said with a laugh before both himself and George walked out of the room.

As soon as the door was closed, John pounced onto Ringo from the opposite sofa laughing. Paul and George soon joined in on this strange combination of wrestling and hugging.

"Welcome to the family Ringo!" The three of them shouted in chorus, laughing all the while.

The whole thing still felt like a strange dream; two months ago if Ringo could somehow look into the future and saw himself in a bright, pink suit in a lavish house being almost suffocated by three gay gangsters he would've been sure he was going crazy. Yet here he was, in that exact situation, feeling like this life couldn't be going in a better direction.

[thenightling]

If anyone puts you on a blacklist:

If you are a role player, if you are a fanfiction writer, if you are a shipper, if you are an fan artist, allow me to give you this reassurance.

There will always be some who does not like you, someone who thinks your ship is too “problematic” or your character illustration is “too thin” or someone is angry that you won’t role play in their style.  Know this: You disagreeing with them is not “bullying.”  Just because someone finds an apparently righteous reason to hate you that does not automatically mean you did anything wrong.  

In fact, if they put you on a blacklist of “People we advise you to put on block” THAT, children, is the bullying.  I have seen these sort of scare tactics before.   Do not fall for it.   Should you find out you are on such a list do not get upset.  Do not be embarrassed.   Here are some things to remember.

1.  Most people don’t actually heed Blacklists lists.  As we mature many of us learn to recognize personal bias and that “Warnings” about certain people are often nothing more than malicious spite.

2.   Acknowledging such lists and worrying about them gives the list creators power.  A big red flag is when they tell you that if you behave a certain way or conform to the behavior they want of you, they MIGHT remove you from said list.   It’s a power trip.  It’s a cruel power trip and allows them to feel like they have authority over you.  Don’t conform.  Don’t be anyone’s slave.   Do not let yourself live in the universe of Mean Girls.  This is allowing others to control you. You are submitting to the wills of others.  Never let anyone take your rights away.

3.  Never trust wording like “We only bully the bullies.”   This is an abusive and manipulative catchphrase.  It is very easy to twist and take out of context.   One minute they could be defending actual victims of bullying and the next they could deem someone a “bully” for writing long forum posts.  When the definition of bully becomes vague enough any enemy is a “bully.”  “Burn the Witch!”  “We’re only trying to protect you.”  “Big Brother is watching.”  Often the most evil are those who wear the mask of righteousness.  

 Think of it like when the US government wants you to go along with something dubious they’ll drop terms like “freedom” and “Patriot.”  Remember The Patriot act?   A few years ago some teens caught on that if they call someone a bully then others would be more accepting of whatever they might do to said “bully.”  And there are some still using this tactic.  So consider this another red flag.  

4.    These sort of blacklists are petty and immature and feel like something spiteful High schoolers might do.   To me they are akin to a kid saying “You can’t be friends with both of us.  It’s Us or Them.”  A lesson most of us learn in Kindergarten (or at least from Harry Potter) is that real friends don’t make you choose.   

Don’t let Cancel Culture evolve into a new form of domination.  

5.  There is no shame in being on someone else’s Blacklist.  Those that mind don’t matter and those that matter don’t mind.  

Remember: In the 1950s and 1960s Vincent Price was on the Hollywood blacklist for having friends that “Might” have had “communist ideas.”   This didn’t matter.  This didn’t stop him.   Roger Corman still hired him and he made some of his best films.   

Alice Cooper’s mother was shunned by her church congregation because of her son’s chosen career.  This inspired the hit song “No more Mister Nice Guy.” Vlad III of Wallachia (Vlad the Impaler) was excommunicated by the Eastern Orthodox Church for converting to Catholicism.  Today he’s still seen as a hero in Romania despite his brutal reputation.  And in pop culture he’s one of the most infamous and interesting of immortals.    Oscar Wilde was persona non grata after he was convicted of the “Crime” of homosexuality. Today none of his oppressors are remembered but he and his writing are immortalized.

Johann Georg Faustus  (the historic Faust) was banished from Ingolstadt over the accusation of practicing black magick and homosexuality.  Today two versions of his legend are considered classic literature. The Goethe version of the Faust story is Germany’s national play. And there is a statue of him (fictionalized though it may be) in Wittenberg.  

Leonardo Da Vinci was put on trial for the “Crime” of sodomy.  Today few even know about the accusation.  They just know his art and his intellect.  

John Lennon was stalked and considered a “potential subversive” by the FBI and on government lists of people to be watched.

James Baskett was not allowed to attend the premiere of the movie he starred in (Song of the South) because of his race.   

The FBI thought  Martin Luther King, Jr. was an enemy of the US and was “too influential.”  There are actual records of “concerns” about his behavior and his impassioned speeches.

My point is reasons for such blacklistings that seem reasonable right now might not be seen as reasonable in the future.   So don’t cower.   Don’t give in.   Just be yourself.   And don’t let anyone scare you.  Cancel culture is not new and lists like this and the misuse of the word “bully” are ironically just new ways to bully people.

Ignore them.   Those that mind don’t matter and those that matter don’t mind.

   Writing such blacklists is an ego trip.  It’s petty.  It’s immature.  And to worry about such things gives the list creators power.  Don’t let them do that to you.   Just be yourself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohELyD0EeDc

[mumblings-of-a-fangirl]

So everyone in the Lockwood & Co. fandom,

Since I have just finished my fifth time (yes, you read correctly, my FIFTH TIME) rereading the wonderful Lockwood & Co. series, I have been inspired by my desperation for that wonderful story to continue. I want to attempt to write a full length fan fiction series of at least four to five novels.

I don’t just want a continuance of Lockyle, but I want a glimpse into the future after the Problem, or the future of something even BIGGER than London’s portion of it. There is so much potential in this series and world that begs for a continuance. It have driven me mad.

So here’s what I’m calling “a Call of Intent” where I announce my plans of plotting, outlining, and WRITING a full length “Fanbook” series on Lockwood & Co. This is going to be a HUGE project for me, and I want to do it right and be a pleasure for fellow fandomers.

I’m coming to YOU with a job/contribution to this hopeful project.

I’d like to see/or ask for volunteers...

1.) Interest/Engagement to keep me motivated to write it.

2.) Any ideas that you may want to see in the fan fiction. Of course, not all of your ideas will work or be used, but it may spark some inspiration for my final product.

And for 3.) any editor/proofreader volunteers? Lol it’s hard to edit your own writing without a fresh pair of eyes, ya know? And plus, this person would get a first look at chapters! *wiggle eyebrows* BUT you MUST be really good at grammar and punctuation for this job! And I may ask you to provide an example. Yes, this project is THAT important to me.

The first book will be titled: Lockwood & Co. International: the Ghoulish City. I’ll provide a blurb later on.

Here’s a little snippet to wet your appetites:

Want to hear a ghost story? I used to be unable to provide that. Not as a personal experience anyway, mostly, I was only able to tell the heart racing adventures of my parents. Stories from me? Well, at one time, you would have heard the dreary tales of the annoying ghost who followed me around like a lost puppy. Nah, back in the day, say like a month or so ago, I had no heart pounding ghost experiences, none that was dangerous or anything.

Not until the Dakota Apartments in New York City, where a very famous ghost began remaking a name for himself. That Visitor’s name was John Lennon. Yes, you heard me right, John Lennon, the Beetle singer. He was once known for his music in life, well, in death, he was known for his haunting melodies luring his victims to their demise.

Spooky, am I right?

Also, who wouldn’t want to meet a Beetle, alive or dead? Yes, he was a murderous Visitor and was most likely to kill me, rather than sign an autograph. But hey, something was better than nothing!

“Okay,” said the male youth at my side. “We’ve been here for like three hours? And I have yet to see this Bug fella you keep yammerin’ on about.”

My brow throbbed in annoyance at my partner. He didn’t know how to keep his trap shut so that I could Listen. “If you kept your mouth shut, then I might. And he was a Beetle, not a Bug. Get it straight, Hughes.” I growled.

“Beetle, Bug, whatever, both are insects, and why would a group of Brits name themselves after a nasty bug?” Hughes scowled. “And their music wasn’t all that great…”

“Don’t finish that sentence, or I’ll skewer you through.” I threatened with a hand at my rapier hilt. “The Beetles were legends. You keep your mouth shut.” and then I added under my breath. “Newbies...”

“What’s that? I’m a newbie?” Hughes asked incredulously. “Who’s been prowling New York streets, while you’ve been all cozy in London? Oh yeah, that was me. Don’t call me a newbie, Lot; not before you’ve seen your first real ghost.”

“Hey!” a voice echoed from behind us, one that snarled from the darkness. “I resent that! I am a real ghost!”

“Maybe the word tame would be best then?” Hughes added.

Skull flew in front of us, floated there with his arms crossed and an angry look. “Tame? Just so you know, Hughie, I can very easily show you how untame I am!”

“You won’t.” Hughe smirked. “Because that you tick this brat off.” He hooked a thumb over in my direction. “Wouldn’t want that, now would we, Ghosty?”

“Actually,” I tilted my head in Hughes’ direction. “I wouldn’t mind Skull roughen you up a bit. It might be entertaining.”

Hughes actually paled at that, especially when Skull began popping knuckles in anticipation.

Yeah, I don’t know if you’d consider this bit part of the ghost story, but I promise, it finally became one.

Dad had sent us on this case because it seemed “easy enough”, something to get our toes wet with, but I don’t think any amount of research could have prepared us for what happened next.

To find all updates and such on this project, follow me or the tag #l&cotheGhoulishCity !!

[zhugkp]

Exile story

Sex, drugs, rock ’n’ roll. The Rolling Stones didn’t invent the formula. But they lived it like no other band in history. And when the rapacious taxmen of England came demanding more cash than Mick Jagger and Keith Richards — not to mention bandmates Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor — had or cared to pay in the spring of 1971, the Stones moved their party to the South of France.

When they couldn’t find a suitable French Riviera studio to record their 10th album, the Stones set up in the basement of Villa Nellcote, Richards’ rented 16-room mansion on the coast in Villefranche-sur-Mer. All marble and wrought iron, Richards said it looked like it was decorated for “bloody Marie Antoinette.”

He also liked to recount its history as a Gestapo headquarters, where Nazis did nasty things in the same basement the Stones used to jam all night. The hallways still had swastika-shaped air vents. “But it’s all right, we’re here now,” he assured recording engineer Andy Johns.

By making the record in Richards’ own house, band members figured they could get the famously ramshackle guitarist to show up for the sessions. They were wrong. And Richards wasn’t the only one living on the edge. For a six-month stretch, the Stones swapped partners, ingested every available drug, set fires and nearly drove each other mad while crafting rock’s most decadent record, 1972’s “Exile on Main Street.”

On May 16, Universal is reissuing “Exile” in several forms: an 18-track CD; a deluxe edition with 10 previously unreleased songs; and a super-deluxe package with vinyl, a 30-minute documentary DVD and a 50-page photo book.

The Post got an early copy of the music and the “Stones in Exile” documentary, which will premiere Friday on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.” From these, fresh interviews and Robert Greenfield’s “Exile on Main Street: A Season in Hell with the Rolling Stones,” we assembled the most debauched stories of sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll from the people who actually lived in “Exile.”

SEX

Gone was the Stones’ usual stream of adoring female fans. For six months, the groupie-gobbling rockers were housebound with significant others. Jagger even got married to Nicaraguan girlfriend Bianca, then pregnant with daughter Jade, during the stretch. Richards shacked up at Nellcote with Italian actress Anita Pallenberg, close pal of Marianne Faithfull and former flame of late Stones guitarist Brian Jones. Fresh from rehab, she arrived with their toddler son, Marlon, in tow.

While the recording went on, she managed to fool around with Jagger and have half-conscious, stoned sex with drug dealer Tommy Weber on a Louis XIV bed while Richards was passed out next to them.

“It was like a royal court where the nobles were sleeping with each other’s women,” says Greenfield, who spent two weeks living at Nellcote — and a third just hanging around — while on assignment for Rolling Stone that May. He wasn’t the only one to notice the band’s exploits.

“Everyone screwed everyone else’s wives and girlfriends,” Johns says. “That’s just the way it was, and you didn’t think too much about that.”

After Jagger married Bianca, Pallenberg did her best to break them up, even starting grade-school-style rumors that Bianca was born a man. Pallenberg got pregnant, too, but kept using heroin. She sought a secret abortion, not because of the drugs, but because she thought the child was Mick’s.

Richards, meanwhile, wasn’t interested in sex at the time, probably due to his heavy drug abuse. One studio regular recalls Pallenberg complaining, “All he wants is the wanking — he never f – – – s me!”

The Stones weren’t the only ones fooling around. Their sidemen were kept busy, too.

“I didn’t mind living between Nice and Monte Carlo, didn’t mind that a bit,” says Bobby Keys, the Texas-born, libertine sax man famous for honking on “Brown Sugar” and every Stones record from 1969 to 1974. “I didn’t mind all them pretty girls around the countryside. Yes sir, buddy! That’s when you’re sh – – – in’ in tall cotton!”

DRUGS

Fueling the excessive behavior at Nellcote was a huge stash of drugs, many smuggled in by Weber, a former Formula One racer turned Afghani hash runner. That May, Weber traveled from England to the Cote d’Azur via Ireland — “in case he was being followed,” Greenfield says — with a pound of coke strapped to the waists of his preteen sons, Charlie and Jake. At age 7, “my function in life was [to be] a joint roller,” says Jake, who grew up to star in the CBS drama “Medium.”

Everyone who visited the house seemed bent on self-destruction. John Lennon threw up at the foot of the stairs one day while touring the premises with Yoko Ono. Richards blamed it on too much sun and wine, but it was more likely the ex-Beatle’s methadone habit.

As Richards was picking up Marlon’s toys in the living room one night, Greenfield watched him grab a mystery pill off the floor. “Bam! He throws it down his throat,” Greenfield says. “Who knows what he put in his mouth, but that’s Keith. Could have been a vitamin, but I don’t think so. Not in that house.”

Jean de Breteuil, the so-called “dealer to the stars” who supplied Jim Morrison with a lethal dose, bought his way into a two-week residence with a toot of ultra-pure pink heroin from Thailand. Richards snorted it from a gold tube he wore around his neck and promptly passed out. Later, Richards paid $9,000 cash ($50,000 today) to a couple of cowboy boot-wearing dealers known as “the Corsicans” for more of the pink junk.

The smack arrived in a plastic bag the size of a two-pound sack of sugar, Greenfield writes, and was so potent it had to be cut with three parts glucose — hence its nickname, “cotton candy.” It lasted a month.

“With a hit of smack,” Richards says, “I could work through anything and not give a damn.”

One night, Richards passed out upstairs after “putting Marlon to bed” — his code for getting loaded. Johns found him with the needle still in his arm, blood spattered on the walls. The studio whiz poked the rock legend to see if he was still alive.

“Of course he picks up the guitar, which he was in bed with, goes, ‘Oh, yeah,’ and starts playing,” Johns says.

Another time, a chauffeur had to pull Pallenberg and Richards, naked and unconscious, from a bed they’d accidentally set on fire. But the rest of the help wasn’t so useful. The couple’s errand boys, local hoods they called “les cowboys,” were suspected of stealing at least nine vintage guitars and Keys’ engraved saxophones when drug debts went unpaid.

By December, French authorities caught wind of the scene and charged the Stones and their pals with heroin possession. As a bonus, Richards and Pallenberg were issued warrants for trafficking. But all of the Stones had high-tailed it to LA a month earlier.

Jagger, Taylor, Wyman and Watts eventually returned to France to face the charges, but a combination of fame, luck and bribes got them freed with mere slaps on the wrists.

Richards and Pallenberg were banned from France for two years, but they had no plans to return, anyway. They’d fled Nellcote in such haste that they abandoned Marlon’s toys, Pallenberg’s wardrobe, Richards’ record collection, a speedboat, a Jaguar E-type sports car and two pets, Boots the parrot and Okee the dog.

[lanadelreyfiles-blog]

Lana Del Rey: Read NME’s exclusive interview with the modern icon. Lana Del Rey’s new album ‘Lust For Life’ is her most ambitious yet. Mike Williams meets her in the city that inspires her the most, Los Angeles – a place, she says, that “enhances something in me that’s already cooking” – to talk about music, happiness and witchcraft. Interview by Mike Williams. Photography by Neil Krug. It will surprise no one to learn that Dr Dre has very good speakers in his studio. And when I say very good, I don’t mean very good in a pricey and popular headphones kind of way. I mean very good in a “holy s**t, I can hear every individual speck of space dust in this galactic wall of sound” kind of way. It’s how we would all listen to music if we were billionaire music industry moguls. Dre has given us permission to use his Santa Monica studio – across the road from the legendary Interscope Records – to hear ‘Lust For Life’, the latest Lana Del Rey album, for the first time. The inside of the studio is clad with expensive-looking wood. The lights are seductively dimmed. It looks both like Don Draper’s office and the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. There’s a bubbling lava lamp next to a Bruce Lee lampshade on top of the main desk. The drinking water is perfectly cool. It’s totally LA. It’s a fitting place to listen to Del Rey’s coming-of-age record. Huge in scale in every sense – sonically, vocally, thematically – it’s the culmination of two years of relentless work. Writing, editing, discarding, rewriting, tinkering, erasing, rebuilding. As she’ll tell me the following day: “I kind of felt when I started I was going to be in this whole new zone when I was done, a whole new space. I’m really proud that there’s a shift in tone, a shift in perspective. There’s a bit of reflectiveness on what I’m seeing and it’s integrated with how I’m feeling. Normally I’m just, ‘Let me just put this all out there,’ and then I’m really surprised when people are like, ‘You’re f**king crazy.’”

Del Rey has been Interscope labelmates with Dre since October 2011, when she bought herself out of her contract with 5 Points Records, where she’d toyed with different identities and different sounds. Six months earlier, she’d become an overnight star when her aesthetic clicked and she released her debut single proper, ‘Video Games’. In the space of three acclaimed albums (2012’s ‘Born To Die’, 2014’s ‘Ultraviolence’ and 2015’s ‘Honeymoon’) she’s gone from lo-fi internet queen to fully formed Hollywood superstar. And now she doesn’t just have the songs – they’ve been there since the first day Lizzy Grant looked in the mirror and Lana Del Rey winked back – but also the production, the ambition, the pulling power and the brass balls to make ‘Lust For Life’. I hear nine tracks through the big speakers – ‘Love’, ‘Lust For Life’ (Ft. The Weeknd), ’13 Beaches’, ‘Cherry’, ‘White Mustang’, ‘Groupie Love’ (Ft. A$AP Rocky), ‘Coachella – Woodstock In My Mind’, ‘Beautiful People Beautiful Problems’ (Ft. Stevie Nicks) and ‘Tomorrow Never Came’ (Ft. Sean Ono Lennon) – before driving up to a rooftop bar in Hollywood to order drinks from wannabe film stars and looking up towards the hills to meditate on what I’ve just heard. Shoo-wops, doo-wops, wall of sound production; tender moments, angry moments; sex, cars, uncertainties; opulent LA life. If you squint, you can see the famous Hollywood sign in the distance. If you close your eyes you can see Del Rey looking out from her window right inside the middle of the H. The next day we’re in a different studio in a different part of town, this one belonging to Del Rey’s longtime collaborator and producer Rick Nowels. He greets us at the door with a massive grin and ushers us into the main room where the album was recorded. It’s untidy, in a warm and homely way. He wants to know what we think of the record. He’s excited to talk about it. Nowels is a 57-year-old music industry legend who’s worked with Madonna, Tupac, Stevie Nicks and more, but it’s obvious that there’s a particular space in his head and his heart reserved for Del Rey, who he repeatedly describes as “special” and “remarkable”. Del Rey arrives. She’s wearing a crocheted T-shirt and jeans. We sit down in a side room and both press record on our phones. There’s a book about Manson Family victim Sharon Tate on the table that neither of us notices until after the interview is over. I ask her if she’s as happy as she looks on the cover of the new album. “Yeah…” she says. “That was my goal, you know, to get to that place of feeling like in my daily life I had a lot of momentum. Like a moving-on-ness from wherever that other place was that ‘Honeymoon’ and ‘Ultraviolence’ came from. I loved those records, but I felt a little stuck in the same spot.” How did she move on? “I just felt a little more present. Writing a song like ‘13 Beaches’ – it’s a little bit of an abstract notion, but for me it took stopping at 13 beaches one hot day to find one that nobody was at. And I just thought, you know, the concept of needing to find 13 beaches might seem like a luxury problem for someone, but that’s OK, I’m going to go with that.” It’s a key song on the album. Her voice has never sounded bigger or more emotional. “I usually do things in a few takes,” she says, “but I took a lot of takes to do that. The mood that I needed to convey was better than what I was doing. I knew it was important that I came in straight as an arrow with that one. I always feel like I’m creating a new path when I’m doing a song.” Writing, editing, discarding, rewriting, tinkering, erasing, rebuilding. Not that Lana Del Rey has been completely reinvented on ‘Lust For Life’. The title track, the first of five collaborations on the album (no previous LDR album had ever featured a guest artist), may not come from the melancholic cool world of ‘Video Games’ or ‘Terrence Loves You’, but it’s just as nostalgic. Nostalgia can be sad and nostalgia can be happy, and at her best – and let me put it out there, I think this song could be her absolute best ever – Del Rey taps both at once. Does she agree? “I’m thinking about that. It goes in line with how I thought I was going to be in this more grown-up zone [writing this record], but actually I’m still somewhere right in the middle. When I think of that song I think of nighttime and this idea of, I don’t know, breaking into somewhere and carving up and kissing. That’s fun for me; like the place where I’m not 100 per cent in something really solid relationship-wise, where you’re still going out and meeting new people and all that stuff. And also, this Hollywood-centric environment is still an important thing that gives me life, being in town and the characters and the constant heatwave. It’s a little bit of a cliché – I totally get it; but I still feel like it enhances something in me that’s already cooking.” Hollywood and the sunshine can be quite an intoxicating cocktail really, can’t it? “It can. I’m naturally a careful person, so I like that the ambience… I wouldn’t go out and take a cocktail of pills or whatever, you know, but there’s something about the vibe of just being around that gives me a heightened feeling.” The biggest deal collaboration on the album is the duet with Fleetwood Mac legend Stevie Nicks. Del Rey says hearing her vocal takes made her re-evaluate her own tone. She was convinced Nicks would turn her down. She still speaks about it with a look of happy disbelief that it actually happened. But the most interesting duet is actually with the person who is, in their own personal right, the least famous and accomplished of everyone on the record, but by virtue of his surname, the most fascinating. “I’m a huge, huge John Lennon fan,” she says. “I didn’t know [his son] Sean. I got his number from my manager, who called his manager. I kind of was nervous about what he was going to say. I FaceTimed him – he was amazing. He was very excited.” The result is the sweetest song on the album, a tender folky ballad that gently taps through the fourth wall as they reference John and Yoko, then Del Rey sings, “Isn’t life crazy now that I’m singing with Sean”. There’s a story that goes with the song, where Del Rey calls up Lennon to tell him that she thought his part was perfect, and he says that he’s so happy because no one’s ever said that to him before. He’s John Lennon’s son, he’s lived his entire life in his father’s shadow, and Lana Del Rey has just given him his greatest ever compliment. There’s a tragedy in that, don’t you think? “Absolutely. It’s why I think it’s more than just a song for him – for both of us. He’s sensitive, you know. I assume that’s from his father and I think he would probably say that it’s been… some of his reviews have been difficult. I thought that was one of those moments on the record where it was a little bit of a ‘bigger than us’ moment. I told him, ‘I’m the one who’s honoured, I’m the lucky one; so I just want you to remember that, Sean, I’m singing with you.’” The interview goes off in lots of different directions. We talk about hanging in LA with Alex Turner and Miles Kane (“I randomly see Alex. I’ve been working with Miles”); about her deep friendship with Courtney Love (“I can call, and probably just ’cause she’s done so much crazy s**t, I can tell her something very weird and she’ll be like, ‘Been there, done that’”); her love of Kurt Cobain (“top influence other than Bob Dylan”); people watching (“I’m a weird observer”); detective novelist Raymond Chandler (“I’m a big fan, I love The Big Sleep”); and Californian independence (“I’m a proponent of keeping the country together, but it’s so its own zone it may as well be a different country.”) We end by talking about magic and the power of words. Firstly, Donald Trump. He’s still the president, which means that the hex Del Rey asked her Twitter followers to cast on February 24 hasn’t worked (yet). So did she get involved and do it herself? “Yeah, I did it. Why not? Look, I do a lot of s**t.” Do you cast other spells at home? “I’m in line with Yoko and John and the belief that there’s a power to the vibration of a thought. Your thoughts are very powerful things and they become words, and words become actions, and actions lead to physical changes.” The quirky video trailer that you did for the album (a magical Lana looking down on LA from her home in the Hollywood H, ruminating on the world and the space it takes to make a record) – it’s more than a trailer; it’s a personal manifesto, isn’t it? “There is a message. I really do believe that words are one of the last forms of magic and I’m a bit of a mystic at heart. And I’ve seen how I feel about changing those people’s lives and I’ve been on the other side of that as well – on the other side of well-wishes and on the other side of malintent. And I’ve realised how strong you have to be to be; bigger than all of it, even bigger than your own vibrations. “I like that trailer because I talk about my contribution, which is something you start to think about. I’ve got good intentions. It’s not always going to come out right – it hasn’t come out right a lot of the time – but at the core my intentions have always been so good. With the music or when I get into a relationship, it’s always just because I really want to. That’s what’s at the root of this really cute, witchy B-movie.” You make a point in the trailer of saying “in these dark times”. Is there more pressure to contribute something positive right now? “I didn’t like hearing that come out of my mouth. I have a song, ‘When The World Was At War We Kept Dancing’, and I went back and forth so many times about putting it on the record because I didn’t feel comfortable with what I was saying. I don’t like hearing myself say, ‘In error it’s the end of America’, ’cause it’s a troubling sentiment. I didn’t like saying, ‘In these dark times’ either…” We both stop recording but keep talking about the state of the world we live in. I tell her that I can see more and more artists starting to come to terms with the fact that they need to be more outspoken and opinionated. She agrees and says people need to be bold because there are consequences. For the next hour, she makes silly videos on my phone, eats a messy sandwich and helps me choose photos to send to the NME art desk. She couldn’t be less like the idea of Lana Del Rey that most people subscribe to. There’s a confidence in her that perhaps she didn’t have before, a confidence that comes, maybe, from knowing that she’s about to release her most complete album, but knowing too that there are tweaks she could have made, things she should have done differently, things she’ll make right on the next record, ideas she’ll try when she’s next in the studio with Rick. Writing, editing, discarding, rewriting, tinkering, erasing, rebuilding.

[celticnoise]

JOHN HUGHES, Celtic’s seventh-highest scorer with 189 goals, has urged Neil Lennon to add to Celtic’s firepower.

The Hoops legend was disappointed with the 2-1 loss to Steven Gerrard’s side at Parkhead on Sunday and admitted he felt sorry for Odsonne Edouard.

The French striker was credited with the champions’ goal when he inadvertently deflected a shot from Callum McGregor beyond keeper Allan McGregor for the equaliser.

However, the home side had no reply 11 minutes after the turnaround when Nikola Katic had a free header from a left-wing corner-kick to thump an effort beyond the helpless Fraser Forster.

The personality, known affectionately as Big Yogi in his goal-laden playing days, told CQN in an exclusive interview: “Odsonne was surrounded by at least four Rangers players whenever the ball went anywhere near him.

“You could see him trying to turn and escape their shackles, but it basically was an impossible task.

“In fact, I think the only time he got free was when he diverted in the goal. You have got to give your main man support in games like these.

THE LONE BHOY…Odsonne Edouard urgently requires support.

“He will be seen as the key man and the opposition will try to suffocate him. If the big fella got away from one challenge, there was another awaiting him.

“To be fair, he kept at it. Some players can let frustration get the better of them, but he looks as though he has been blessed with a good temperament. He kept plugging away, taking up the correct positions, but he lacked support.

“Clearly, this is a position where my old club needs to strengthen in this transfer window.

“At the moment, I’m afraid it doesn’t look like either Leigh Griffiths or Vakoun Issouf Bayo will provide the answer. And I say that as a fan of the Scotland international, but he has been a shadow of his old self since his well-publicised personal issues.

“The only option is to spend decent cash and get in someone who can do the job. Celtic have a worldwide scouting system, so, surely, someone has been identified who will provide Odsonne with back-up.

“As a Celtic fan, as well as ex-player, I’m hoping Neil Lennon will find the solution within the next four weeks.”

* HAPPY New Year, folks, from the CQN team. We hope 2020 is prosperous and peaceful for you and yours! 

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[shinyoliver]

Wear Your Own Face

Personal Branding in the Age of Trolls

Written while listening to Radio Free Conspiracy Theory by Mississippi Bones.

Notes refer to the album.

I’ve been thinking about Bob Dylan recently. I’ve been thinking about image consciousness in particular, and stretching new creative muscles. So I consult my prophets, so I’ve got Bob Dylan on the mind.

When The Beatles went psychedelic in the late ’60s, their fans all went along with it. And the cool thing about it, I think, is that it wasn’t some publicity stunt style “the old stuff is lame — let’s strike into a new market!” Nah: The Beatles just felt like they’d done the whole pop rock scene. They’d dominated that scene. And they wanted to do something else.

They — John and George and them — may or may not have thought to themselves that they ran the risk of alienating their audience by “exploring a new sound.” I mean, other artists who branched out into other sounds suffered commercially from exploring new sound.

Snerk. Spiritual beliefs best expressed in gif form. It WILL be classic.

I mean, in 1966, the year before Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band dropped, The Beach Boys dropped Pet Sounds, their exercise in exploring a new sound. It never got higher than number ten in the charts. Which sounds good, except when you consider that of their previous six albums, when one of them didn’t chart higher than four it was considered a financial disaster by their label. When Pet Sounds didn’t chart higher than ten, I kind of wonder why Capitol didn’t drop their loser asses.

They liked Pet Sounds in England, though.

Which might have something to do with the point, you know? Because The Beatles are British, and there might be a cultural difference there that made it possible for them to kind of just…do stuff.

Hmm. Good balance on “Genetic Flashback.” I love hearing the bass. Oh, and that’s a good bridgy riffy thingy on the guitar. Twingly.

The Beatles had legitimate reason to worry about alienating their audience. And since their audience constituted basically everyone except the proto-punks who liked the Stones, The Beatles risked inciting what could have amounted to a global riot when Sgt. Pepper dropped. I mean, do you remember when it turned out that everyone in the whole world was actually just bred to be a habitat for a sentient flu virus collective? Do you remember the panic? Do you remember that?

I love a good slow song that feels intense, not just slow. Well intended, “WXXT.”

Of course you don’t remember it, because it never happened.

Imagine the panic if it ever did happen. That’s the kind of global-scale event that Sgt. Pepper could have been if it had sucked.

So…you dodged a bullet there, Lennon. Too bad you didn’t miss the second one.

Too soon?

You’d think that somebody like Bob Dylan wouldn’t have listened to any of The Beatles’ albums.

I mean, they kind of represented opposite ends of a musical culture, you know? In the early half of the ’60s, The Beatles dominated the entire musical attention by being palatable and catchy and cornering first the screaming young girls market and, by extension, everyone who wants to appeal to screaming young girls. Which, last time I calculated, counted pretty much everyone.

The Beatles wrote good music in the early half of the ’60s, but it didn’t require an awful lot of thought. It wasn’t challenging.

When The Beatles finished dominating the market, there was a small corner that they left untouched. A corner inhabited by people who didn’t want easy music. They wanted something more slow and thoughtful and less about that crazy night with [insert woman here]. They wanted something more like one dude writing complicated poetry in the back of smokey bars and burbling out the lyrics in a voice that stretches the limits of the definition of speaking, let alone singing.

Bob Dylan had, in short, found his ideal market.

They loved the guy. The real proto-hippy intellectuals, slowly inventing the ideals that inspired the late ’60s and early ’70s, did a lot of their fermenting in small clubs in New York. And some of the intellectual compost for their fermenting was the unpretentious, thought-provoking singer-songwriter, typified in a lot of people’s minds by Bob.

They were happy times for your proto-hippy intellectual, discovering weed and talking about Kuhn and Kripke.

Until, that is, Bob Dylan decided to “explore a new sound.” I mean, if you need a good example of why it’s dangerous to betray the image of yourself that you’ve established for yourself, Bob’s it.

I think of songs like “The Order of the Night Moose” as stompers. I mean, that’s the sentiment, but I’ve never put that term to it before. I will from now on, I think.

I mean, they say that hell hath no woman like a Fury scorned? You heard that one?

Well, if you want an example of how that works, go read into the Electric Dylan controversy. I mean, talk about cattiness.

Hur hur. Send him a Christmas card or something. Hur.

The proto-hippy intellectuals did not like Electric Dylan. (Which is what I’m going to name my Gundam mech when I get one.) After embracing this whiny-voiced folk singer, the proto-hippy intellectual booed him off stage when he tried to launch his career as a punk-metal pioneer.

Which sounds awful, because it is awful. It’s just…weird.

That happened in 1965. Pet Sounds bombed — relatively speaking — in ’66. Sgt. Pepper dropped in ’67. So yeah: The Beatles had plenty of reason to at least consider feeling concerned about trying out a new thing.

Apparently, Bob did listen to Sgt. Pepper.

After hearing it, Bob apparently had a chance to talk to John Lennon once. And, apparently, what Bob had to say about Sgt. Pepper was something like, “Man, John, I’m really impressed that you could totally change your sound without losing your audience. That didn’t happen to me. It sort of sucked.”

I thought that “Ancient Astronauts and Alien Allegories” was going to be the “you can go ahead and just sort of chill through this track” style of track. You know the kind: not bad, but just kind of acting like a bridge for the album. Just a sort of cool track, but not a complicated track…. That solo surprised me.

Image consciousness is a weird thing. I’ve been thinking a lot about Bob and John and Sgt. Pepper and the Electric Dylan Controversy. (Which is a good name for a band…) I’m going through an image crisis.

You don’t need to know about this, but I’ll tell you anyway.

Basically, I’ve always known about myself that I’m pretty much too cool to associate myself with the sell-out name of Hipster.

Which I understand lands me directly in the mustache-encrusted bacon-box labeled ’Hipster.

And I’m cool with that, because I know what I mean.

In the thousand meter view, what that means is that if the lead singer and lyricist of my favorite band asks me to listen to their next album before it’s released, I am philosophically obliged not to recommend it to anybody. Mississippi Bones hasn’t got what you’d call a mass following. Philosophically, that’s how I like my bands, because philosophically I only like bands that, hypothetically, when I go to their gigs I can share a shot and a cigarette with them after the show — metaphorically, anyway, since I don’t do shots and I don’t smoke.

Since they live in Ohio, this remains theoretical, but that’s the thing about philosophy.

It’s a hard position to hold to, if I’m honest, because according to the carefully constructed “too cool to be a hipster” image that I’m stealing from my little brother I can only like obscure bands; at the same time, I’d really like Mississippi Bones to keep making music so I want them to do well. But if they do well they won’t be as obscure as they are now.

So I want them to have a lot of success, but I don’t want anyone to hear about them.

It’s confusing being a not-a-hipster hipster.

It turns out that Mississippi Bones is having a little bit of a conflict of images too.

Or that’s what Mr. Lead Singer Guy, Jared Collins, mumbled to me when he slipped me the album. He says that they’re trying something new, and he’s a little worried how people will receive it. That maybe they run the risk with this one that their audience won’t “get” it, or something.

Honestly, I have no idea what he’s talking about.

I love when a title track of an album’s a bomb track. Sometimes they aren’t. “Radio Free Conspiracy Theory” on Radio Free Conspiracy Theory makes me happy.

There’s two lessons to learn from the rock prophets Bob and The Beatles about public image.

What a collaboration that would have been, am I right? Bob and The Beatles. Ah, what legends will never come to pass.

Anyway.

The two lessons are…

Everyone’s got one. They’re like “opinions.”

There’s part of them that we’ve got control over and another part that we’ve not got.

I’ve always thought that Bob Dylan wrote exquisite, insightful poetry. He talked like the conscience of a generation, and you’ve got to give him credit for that. Or you don’t need to, because maybe you liked Paul Simon better. Doesn’t matter. Point is, Bob wrote insightful poetry.

Which I’ve always empathized with, because I know another thing about Bob: his image was constructed.

I’ve always found that strange. He spent a lot of energy imploring a generation to be more aware, but then he built his public persona as an expression of fiction. He decided to be the exemplar slim, hard-living bohemian…but he had to struggle to keep skinny, and he started making money pretty early in his career, and he also, actually, wanted to have, like, a rock and roll career.

A strange person. He built an image, and then he struggled to fulfill it. When cracks showed, his fans had trouble embracing Bob Dylan the human because they wanted Bob Dylan the act.

I’m not sure exactly how The Beatles thought about it differently, but I always got the impression that even when they did have carefully constructed public images, their carefully constructed public images were reflections of what they believed about themselves rather than what they believed that the world wanted to see in them.

Which has led me, essentially, to realizing that my opinion of my public image shouldn’t worry me, even slightly, because frankly I’ve got no public with an idea of an image of me that I can betray, so I don’t have anything to worry about.

So…go listen to Radio Free Conspiracy Theory. There: I’m betraying my too-cool-to-be-a-hipster image, because it might not be the image I’m projecting anyway. I don’t know.

I say this with complete bias, since they are one of my favorite bands: Mississippi Bones’ upcoming album represents the kind of non-deviant deviation from brand that tickles my beanie, without being any deviation at all, because frankly I’ve always considered their brand something like, “metal for those of us who head bang to recorded books.”

I think you know what I mean by that.

I prefer to hear recommendations that have an obvious bias in them, I think. I feel like I trust them more, because if the thing being reviewed can encourage a bias then it must have some quality to it.

I don’t actually know the exact date that this album drops. Sometime in June. Get in touch with me and I’ll let you know.

In the meantime, go and listen to their earlier albums.

Ooh…time for a bonus track… Practicing my patience…waiting ten seconds…it’s an in joke. Don’t sweat it. Now, will the bonus track live up to the etymological baggage inherent to the term “bonus,” i.e., the fact that the word “bonus” is pretty much just the Latin word for a gift that’s a good one, not a dumb one. So like Nightcrawler’s gift, or Jubilee’s. You know — the useful ones. Not like Cyclops’ one, which is a dumb gift, and not a bonus.

[redqueenmusings]

Following my blog about our break in Prague, below are some of my favourite attractions.

While it’s fun exploring the Old Town it’s nice to know what you are actually looking at, so I would recommend taking one of the walking tours. Many are free and take in the most popular spots without you getting totally lost.

Old Town Square

Most tours start in, or close to, the Old Town Square. It is surrounded by beautiful buildings such as the Church of our Lady before Týn, believed to have inspired the Disney logo. Built in the 12th century the golden balls on the spires supposedly hold the building plans in case the church is damaged.

Around the edge of the square are cafes but be aware prices are exorbitant and you can have the same coffee, beer or cake for much less down one of the side streets that lead off the square.

Astronomical Clock and Old Town Hall

Located in the Old Town Square the 15th century clock has been repaired many times. When it isn’t surrounded by scaffolding, as it is at the moment, crowds gather to watch the action. As well as keeping perfect time, it displays the lunar calendar. When the hour strikes, figures of the twelve apostles peep through the windows at the top of the tower. Below them, a skeleton representing death pulls a bell, and three figures shake their heads. These represent greed, vanity and lust. Supposedly the clock-maker was blinded so he could never replicate his masterpiece. Despite the scaffolding I found photos from previous visits so anyone reading can admire the clocks beauty.

In front of the Old Town Hall is a memorial to the martyrs beheaded in 1621, white crosses on the ground mark the spot. Next a huge statue of Jan Hus the Czech reformer. When Czechoslovakia was under Communist rule, sitting at his feet became a way of quietly expressing opposition to Communism.

A small square, with a wrought-iron fountain and graffiti decorated building link the Old Town Square to the Charles Bridge. (Since the photo of the Rott building was taken the premises underneath are now a Hard Rock Cafe – I wasn’t impressed)

The Charles Bridge

The first thing I think of when Prague is mentioned is this bridge and walking across it is a must. I suggest walk it twice, once during the day when it is packed with tourists, buskers, artists and vendors selling souvenirs and again at dusk with the statues silhouetted against the skyline and the lights sparkling, it looks magical.

The bridge connects the Old Town to Malá Strana (the Lesser Town) which gets crowded as there are some gorgeous old buildings and excellent restaurants. You also pass through here to climb the picturesque Nerudova Street with its  quirky numbered addresses to visit the Castle.

Prague Castle

At the top of the hill is the enormous Prague Castle. It holds the record for the largest castle complex in the world. To reach it you can either walk up the very steep hill or take Tram 22 that stops outside. It’s best to visit in the morning because by afternoon it gets packed. There’s lots to see so I suggest booking a guided tour or rent an audio guide, then you won’t miss the best bits such as St Vitus Cathedral and Golden Lane.

Petrin Tower

If you’re feeling fit you can walk the winding paths through the park to visit Prague’s own “Eiffel Tower” however if like us your hiking days are over there is a funicular to the top and it is well worthwhile as the views are breathtaking. Probably even more spectacular if you climb the 300 steps to the top of Petrin Tower but we know our limitations.

Wenceslas Square

In the heart of the New Town is Wenceslas Square. Centre of entertainment and nightlife and IMO dilapidated, noisy and full of ‘undesirables’ not the sort of place I would go after dark. At the far end is the National Museum with the statue of St.Wenceslas. This year it seemed worse than ever as police were moving on the beggars, drunks and those who looked as if they could possibly be on drugs.  We didn’t even make it to the far end before we decided to retrace our steps back into the prettier, cobbled narrow streets where we didn’t feel threatened.

John Lennon Wall

In the 1980’s, as communism drew to an end, students started writing Lennon’s lyrics on a wall. Today there isn’t an inch of space that isn’t covered. Listening to a musician singing Beatles songs and seeing the psychedelic images from our youth it was a bit of a nostalgic moment as we watched today’s tourists added their own thoughts.

Jewish Quarter

One of the most popular sights in Prague is the Jewish quarter.  Ours was a fleeting visit this time as it was snowing but there were still several large groups gathered around the entrance. Free to walk around, but worth the admission to enter the synagogues / museums. If you don’t have time to see everything, at least visit the Old Jewish Cemetery and the Pinkas Synagogue (containing a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust). Legends abound that in the attic of the Old-New Synagogue, the Golem, created to protect the Jewish Town is hidden and adjacent to the Synagogue is the Town Hall, notice the two clocks, on one the numerals go counter clockwise around the dial.

Sticking with cemeteries in Vyšehrad there is another which is less morbid where over 600 famous people are buried. I have only ever heard of one Dvorak, but I like it for the headstones several of which are ‘sculptures’

There are numerous imposing towers in Prague that used to mark a royal route and you can go up some to get a view of the city. There are also loads of museums dedicated to the arts, history, architecture and some quirky ones that leave little to the imagination. As well as Bric Brac shops and those selling Absynth. You don’t have to spend hours in them, but if the weather is cold there is something for everyone while you thaw out.

Of course you must try some Czech cakes. I’ve mentioned in a previous blog Trdelnik a cake made from dough rolled around sticks. It really is yummy. OH’s cake of choice is apple strudl which is very popular and in most bakers shops. Also for those with a sweet tooth pancakes, sweet, savoury, whichever way you fancy them – my excuse is you need to keep eating to stay warm and

Finally a selection of photos old and new that just bring back happy memories of a beautiful city.

Check Queenie’s Daily Snippets for Tenerife news & for daily weather updates 

A short break in Prague Following my blog about our break in Prague, below are some of my favourite attractions. While it's fun exploring the Old Town it's nice to know what you are actually looking at, so I would recommend taking one of the walking tours.

[hemcountry]

LAUDERDALE'S LIFE - A SONGWRITING LEGEND

It’s not too often that you get the opportunity to speak to someone like Jim Lauderdale, where most of the names that come up in conversation have all secured their own places in the music history books, too. Harlan Howard, Buck Owens, Ralph Stanley, Buddy Miller, Robert Hunter, Patty Loveless, George Jones, Harry Chapin, John Oates, Lucinda Williams, Rodney Crowell, John Levanthal, Emory Gordy Jnr. And for good measure, a tale relating to John Lennon that almost steals a beat of your heart when you think about it for a moment. Nope, it’s definitely not too often that you hit lucky enough to chat with someone like Jim. Hardly surprising, though, given the fact that there aren’t many like Jim out there. In fact, when we talk about Jim Lauderdale, we’re into talking about once-in-a-lifetime talents territory. And it was my good fortune, and great pleasure, to talk to the man himself recently.

Jim Lauderdale, one of country music’s true songwriting legends.

Sadly, when we spoke it was only a few days after the shooting at Jason Aldean’s concert in Las Vegas, followed by the untimely death of a true rock and roll icon,Tom Petty. It would have been impossible not to begin by touching on both for a moment, so I asked Jim if he’d like to share what was going through his mind on either event?

“Yes, oh my gosh. It was mind-numbing, both of those different tragedies. What happened in Las Vegas was just unfathomable. I’m still, and I think everybody is really, we’re just reeling from it. And then Tom last night. I mean, he’d just wrapped up a very successful leg of his tour and seemed to be very healthy. His music really brought a lot of enjoyment to millions of people. He was a real master [entertainer] and he’s really gonna be missed.”

‘London Southern’, OUT NOW

Jim’s new album, ‘London Southern’, is his 29th, an extraordinary output by anyone’s measure. It includes a song co-written with John Oates, called ‘If I Can’t Resist.’ Now Jim has described Oates as being, ‘More hungry than most guys that are on their way up.’ I put it to Jim that, given his vast back catalogue, that same could be said of him. And I asked him, what keeps him hungry to keep on writing and recording?

“It’s just the desire to get these songs out as they come to me, or if I’m collaborating with others. It’s just a need I have. Something I have to do is to write, and then to sing. So I stay in the studio frequently and I tour more and more these days. It seems like both the recording and the touring has continued to grow through the years, and I’m really glad about that. So writing songs and recording them, it’s just such an intense, challenging, but wonderful process. And like I said, I just have to do it.”

I’d read somewhere once that Jim never ‘refuses’ a song if he feels one coming on, even if it has nothing to do with whatever specific project he might be working on at that time. If the song comes to him, Jim takes it.

“Yes, that’s right. And I often wonder if my mind plays tricks on me, that when I’m working on a particular project, that’s when I get song ideas for a different style of music [laughs]. If I’m working on more of a soul type thing, then I might get an idea for a bluegrass song, or a traditional country type song, or vice-versa. But that’s o.k! I let my mind play those tricks! [laughs].”

Jim with stars of the ‘Nashville’ tv show, Chris Carmack (L) and Sam Palladio

Whenever I’m thinking of buying an album by an artist I don’t really know much about, one of the first things I do is check out the song titles and the songwriting credits. That’s how I first discovered an amazing Texan artist called Sunny Sweeney, she has three of Jim’s songs on her ‘Heartbreaker’s Hall of Fame’ record. In other words, if I see a Jim Lauderdale song on an album, that’s good enough for me: sold! And Jim is often referred to as a ‘songwriter’s songwriter.’ I wondered what it meant to him to be the subject of such a description?

“It’s very flattering. But I try not to…well, I feel like I’m still in the beginning stages of my career, so I don’t let that stuff go to my head because I’m always onto the next project. And it’s always challenging for me to get through those projects and come up to the level of other writers that are out there. So I’m always kinda doing the next thing and not thinking too much about my past work.”

As a writer Jim is nothing short of prolific. A few years back, he released a staggering FOUR records in just ONE year. How does something like that work on a business level?

“[Laughs] It doesn’t! It doesn’t work that way [laughs]. And even though I get told that by people trying to advise me, I just do it anyway. And actually, this record that’s out now, ‘London Southern’, those records came out after I’d recorded ‘London Southern’ and I was waiting for the right home for it. So these other things were kinda coming out, these other songs and project ideas, and I thought, well, ‘London Southern’ will hopefully be out in the spring-time so I’ve got to clear the decks and get these others out. And this went on for three or four years. So finally, I found a home for it which is in the U.K, on a label called Proper Records, that really liked the album a lot. I knew from their enthusiasm about it that it was in the right place at last so I’m really happy about finding that home for it.”

In the heart of the moment….

Another area in which Jim moves at an astounding pace is when he co-writes with Robert Hunter, lyricist of The Grateful Dead, with whom Jim has recorded and released a number of albums. Once, they wrote EIGHTEEN songs in just EIGHT days, and another time, a phenomenal TEN songs in a day and a half! In those instances where Jim and Robert write together, are they going in with ideas ready to bounce off each other or does every song start from scratch?

“Starting from scratch, usually. In the early days when Robert Hunter and I started writing, I was doing my first album with one of my bluegrass heroes named Ralph Stanley. So I contacted Robert just on a whim, thinking, you know, he’s probably not going to return my message but I’ll at least try. But I think he and Jerry Garcia were such fans of The Stanley Brothers that he agreed! So we went from there. And either he would give me a completed lyric and I would write the music to it, or I would give him a melody. And when we’re in each other’s presence he would either hand me a lyric or a melody would just come out, which I would record quickly and send to his computer. Then he’d work in one room, while I’d work in different room coming up with another melody. Usually one or the other of us gives our contribution to the other to get things started. But during those circumstances we’re both usually pretty fast with each other. And it’s something I still have to pinch myself about, to realise that I’ve written with Robert. I think we must have written about one hundred songs together.”

Now if that ain’t a view….! Jim on the Opry stage again.

J.T Osbourne, of The Brothers Osbourne, observed recently that he feels like Nashville songwriters these days might be thinking too much about what they think people want to hear, and not enough about what they, as songwriters, actually want to say. What was Jim’s take on this?

“He might be onto something there. I think that there are so many talented songwriters in Nashville. And I think that it’s hard to know what’s going on in their creative process. But in a lot of circumstances when you’re co-writing the goal is to get someone to record that song. So I think that’s sometimes how trends happen in the music market, when one thing is successful then it’s followed by a lot of things that sound like it, whether it’s melodically or thematically. So, it could be a conscious or a sub-conscious thing with writers sometimes. But there are just so many talented songwriters that end up in Nashville and write with each other, and with commercial music in general, even the most mundane type songs will be written by great writers who are still more than capable of writing profound and deep songs. But these other ones ended up kind of making it through the cracks and somehow being commercially successful. But those writers, there’s more than meets the eye as far as their abilities go. Does that make any sense?”

Jim and Buddy Miller backstage at the Ryman.

One of my favourite songs of Jim’s (and one of my fav country songs, come to think of it) is ‘The King Of Broken Hearts.’ I love the story of how Jim wrote it after hearing Gram Parsons describe George Jones as being just that; the king of broken hearts. But what’s always intrigued me is the story of how George himself came so close to recording the song….

“That’s right, that’s right. I was working on an album that was being co-produced by Rodney Crowell and John Levanthal and I got a call at the studio from Emory Gordy Jnr., who’s married to Patty Loveless, and is a very talented producer and bass player, and he told me that George wanted to record the song. So I was totally overjoyed. Then Emory said, ‘But there’s a problem. George is having a hard time singing this part of the song, could you change the timing of it?’ So I thought for a minute, and I think I said well, yeah, sure, sure. But then I think I thought for another minute more and I said, ya know, it just won’t work. Unfortunately. That’s like such a huge part of the melody of the song. So I had to say gosh, ya know if there’s any way he can do it that’s great, but I can’t change it. And it wasn’t a matter of principle or stubborness or anything, it was just that it would it would totally change the song. So it wouldn’t be what it was if I did that. But I did get to perform that song in front of him at one of his birthday celebrations at the Grand Ole Opry house so that was really special. And there was a play that was in Nashville at the Ryman Auditorium, about Tammy Wynette, and I actually portrayed George Jones in that. And that was a real thrill for me. And he came to the show, too. I’m a George Jones…freak, I guess [laughs]. I just love his music so much, and his voice.”

Jim with Ricky Skaggs

Harlan Howard, even today, some fifteen years after his passing, is still regarded by many as the master of country music songwriters. And naturally, there’s another great story here about Jim, and when he and Harlan wrote together. I’m sure there’s probably far more than one, indeed, but one I particularly love concerns the song ‘You’ll Know When It’s Right.’ Essentially, Jim was telling Howard his story of one particular heartache and Howard reassuringly replied, ‘You’ll know when it’s right’, and went on to craft the song from the rest of the details of Jim’s pain! That, folks, is songwriting genius! But what was it, in Jim’s view, that made Harlan Howard so special as a writer?

“Well, he was very in touch with mankind. He had worked in a factory in Detroit before he ended up moving to California for a while, He was roommates in California with Bobby Bare and kind of got into getting cuts with Buck Owens and things, so eventually moved to Nashville. But I think that when he worked at an auto-factory in Detroit at like a eight-to-five job, that he had a strong work ethic. And he wanted to get away from that kind of life and just be a songwriter. But one thing he would tell me when we wrote, was that he really wanted to go abroad, to places like the U.K, and Ireland, and just sit at a bar and talk to a guy who drives a truck. He said, ‘I just want to sit there and talk to the everyday working man.’ I just feel that he had such an understanding, and an empathy, with the everyday person, somebody that didn’t have great wealth or a title or whatever. He was more comfortable in that kind of situation. I think his understanding of the human psyche really, is what came through in his songs. He had a very conversational way of writing as well. He was really a great guy, who was very passionate about life and about music. It was a great experience to write with him and to be his friend.”

Pattly Loveless once said that Jim, as a songwriter, knew how to, ‘Gut an emotion, head right to the truth, and keep going.’ Is that an instinctual ability, or something that can be learned?

“Well, maybe both. I know that songwriting is something that, for me, parts of it are effortless and come easy. But then other things take a lot of effort on my part to finish. The melodies are always the easiest things for me. And sometimes titles are as well. But to really get into a song and make it work is the challenge for me.”

Sometimes all you need is a comfy chair, your guitar, and some peace and quiet….

So how does Jim know when a song is as bare as it can be, how does he gauge when it’s ready?

“I just kinda know. I have that feeling. There’s an expression, ‘Stick a fork in it’ [laughs], so I think you just kind of instinctively know. It’s like, o.k, I’ve said it, I’ve gotten the point across, and it doesn’t need to be edited or tweaked, or added to. Mind you, with most songs I worry if something is over five minutes! Buck Owens used to say, ‘Well, you’re only two and a half minutes away from a hit!’ Meaning that at any given time, not me personally, but a person can write something and it lasts two and a half minutes and hey…it’s a hit song! And radio has changed a lot, and records have changed a lot. They don’t have to be as short these days. But that was kind of a formula for many years in pop music and country music, that songs were roughly that length or less.”

My last question was one I tend to end with whenever I can. One about advice for songwriters. Michael Weston King, the British singer/songwriter, said the best piece of advice he ever received came from the legendary Townes Van Zandt, and it was just two simple words: Keep going. Now Jim himself has said before that whenever he’s feeling bad or going through something a little on the tough side, he tells himself that he needs to write himself out of that situation. Which, when you think about it, isn’t too far off what Townes advised. But what is the best piece of advice Jim has ever been given?

“I was living in New York city years ago, and Buddy Miller had moved up there at the same time. And interestingly enough, there was an influx of country music writers and singers and musicians that converged on New York city, of all places! Buddy Miller calls it The Great Country Music Scare of 1980 for New York city! [laughs]. I had just gotten a job in a house-band at a large new country venue in Jersey, and they would have national acts come and play there and we’d be the opening act. So that was a big deal for me, and I though this was my big break. But I had auditioned for a play where I was playing the banjo and the guitar – the play had a small bluegrass band – and one actor ended up being called Cotton Patch Gospel. And Harry Chapin, the singer/songwriter, wrote the music. So I auditioned, but I didn’t get it. But the man who did couldn’t fulfill his duties in the show so they offered me the role, but I turned it down. Because I said I had this new thing where I had to do my own music. And Harry Chapin said to me, ‘Well, you’ve got to do your own songs, and don’t forget that.’ He was very gracious. He said you’ve got to do your own things, don’t just do other peoples.’ And that’s what I really wanted to do, but he really reinforced it. He said, ‘Keep that fire in your belly.’ In other words, that passion, that urgency about things. And I thought that was really good advice. I was very fortunate years ago, I used to sing on Lucinda Williams’ albums back when her ‘Car Wheels On A Gravel Road’ album came out, and she had allowed me to open the show playing solo acoustic, then be in her band singing harmonies. So during that time I had already recorded an album and I was ready to put it out. But hearing her songs, and singing them night after night, I realised that the record I had just wasn’t up to par. Not that I wanted it to be like her record, which it couldn’t be, because nobody could do that. Now she didn’t say this to me about my record, even though she had heard it. But for me, from being around people like her, and Robert Hunter, and Harlan Howard, it’s almost like osmosis..it’s like your own kind of understanding of their process, and what they do, or the end result of their work. And in that case, with Lucinda, I just knew that I had to try harder and dig deeper. Because her songs were such masterpieces. I knew I had to go back to the drawing board, so I did, I scrapped that album. You’ve got to be honest with yourself.”

Jim Lauderdale, a master songsmith.

Before I let Jim back to the studio (he was recording on the day we spoke) there was one other thing I had to ask him about. I’d read before, but I was never sure if it was true or just a myth, that Jim had actually been outside The Dakota Hotel in New York on the day John Lennon was shot….?

“That’s right. I used to have to pick up and deliver camera equipment for Annie Leibovitz, so that was the tragic day that she did that last photo-shoot with John and Yoko. I had a gig the night before, a country gig, and I had one [coming up] that night, and I was really tired. I was waiting outside in the hope of catching a glimpse of John and Yoko, and I waited for a while but then I thought I only live a couple of blocks down the street, I’m gonna see him again, ya know.”

And did he really believe that he had actually seen Mark Chapman, standing there, waiting, as it would later transpire, to carry out his evil plan?

“I did, I did. I know I did because part of my thoughts were was I gonna stand around like this other guy waiting for an autograph, and he had an album in his hands at the time. And there was a woman standing with him at the time, but I think she was just another bystander.”

* Jim’s new album, ‘London Southern’, is out now.

Jim’s new album, ‘London Southern’, is out now

LAUDERDALE’S LIFE – A SONGWRITING LEGEND was originally published on HEM COUNTRY

[rocknutsvibe]

Revolver: Song by Song (part 1 of 2)

Welcome to a new feature here on the site in which we take a classic album and dissect exactly what makes it tick. We’ll go song by song, deconstructing the magic in such excruciating detail that you may never actually enjoy any of these songs again. Doesn’t that sound fun? Does it matter?

I thought I’d pick Revolver for the first time around, simply because it (and Pepper) are usually the albums that show up at the top of “Best Album” lists. I’m not under any misapprehension: I know that the Beatles have been exhaustively discussed for half a century. Paul McCartney has been dead since 1966 for God’s sake!

What I’m trying to do, ultimately, is examine a much-hyped album as a simple collection of songs. What works? What doesn’t? The Beatles were young and cute and foreign (at least, in the U.S.), and it’s not as if they were trying not to cultivate an image, but the songs are ultimately the reason anyone still knows who they are. So, I will present a short burst of thoughts on each song, trying to examine each well-worn pop chestnut as though I’m hearing it for the first time. Because someone is hearing the Beatles right now for the first time. And hopefully, that sort of thing happens every day from here on out.

1. Taxman 

Let’s start this off right: I don’t really like “Taxman.” Don’t get me wrong, The lyrics are a scathing indictment of various British policies/specific politicians of the time (though his situation is admittedly ultra-specific. Really only three other people can relate to it and they were all in the recording studio at the time). I also recognize what a huge achievement it is for George Harrison to get a Side One Track One on a Beatles album. That must have been huge for his confidence and, for all we know, gave him the boost needed to write “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Something.” I just don’t like it all that much.

2. Eleanor Rigby 

Hey, it’s that song that invented the Moody Blues and Procol Harem and Electric Light Orchestra! It’s not often that you meet a song that carries the burden of chamber-pop and orchestral rock on its shoulders. “Rigby” is a classic rock Atlas, holding up enormous genres for years on end. It’s a deeply sad, deeply perfect pop song. These Beatles, they don’t fuck around.

3. I’m Only Sleeping

Do we really need a song explaining exactly how lazy John Lennon was during the mid-60’s?  As it turns out, we totally do. I took an informal poll among my friends of their favorite Beatles songs, and this song made multiple appearances, (along with “Don’t Let Me Down” and “Something.”) It’s easy to see why. The jangly stomp and jaunty bass line are appealingly ramshackle, much as Lennon describes himself. If you buy the whole dichotomy of McCartney as the perfectionist craftsman and Lennon as the effortless, accidental genius, this song works pretty well to reinforce that whole business. Lennon’s voice is something extraordinary here; it’s thick, languid and almost syrupy in its reluctance. You can almost envision him wasting the day away in bed. He’ll write a song after this dream plays out, and it will be better than anything you can possibly imagine.

4. Love You To

Not a huge fan. This seems to be a case of experimentation over coherence. I like the impeccably recorded sitar, but I feel like this is more of a goof between the bandmates, a sort of “look what we can do,” than an actual song. It seems to reference “Love Me Do,” but only very obliquely. Unless I’m in the mood to listen to the whole album, this one is usually a “skip.”

5. Here, There And Everywhere

Speaking of perfect songs, this is the best song on Revolver, which puts it on a pretty short list for best Beatles song overall. I know that declaring a “best Beatles song” is patently absurd (it’s “Glass Onion”), but Paul McCartney has been known to list this as perhaps the best song he’s ever written. He’s certainly responsible for some of the best pop songs of the last 55 years, but this may rank at the top.

6. Yellow Submarine

Try not to smile during this song. It’s slight and a bit silly, but still better produced than 99% of other music at the time. If someone says this is their favorite Beatles song you should still probably head at a steady pace in the opposite direction, but I get the limited appeal. “Yellow Submarine” seems like a great entry point for children, and the sooner I can get my (hypothetical) children onto a steady diet of Beatles and other classic rock and away from Top 40 radio, the better.

7. She Said She Said

As legend has it, this song was inspired by an interaction between John Lennon and the actor Peter Fonda at some sort of party in the mid-60’s. This is sort of a thought that one could only come up with while tripping on LSD, but is the best human approximation of death the feeling of extreme sadness? The unknown narrator of the song (probably Lennon) says “she’s making me feel like I was never born”, which is something decidedly worse than death. Never being born is never existing at all, which is a far cry from existing and then expiring naturally. As the story goes, Fonda was the one making Lennon feel as though he’d never been born, showing off his bullet wound and just generally doing uncool things, especially if you’re tripping balls and have to associate with him. This song captures the feeling of a party that’s just about to go off the rails extremely well, and though I know it was scary for everyone involved, I still kind of wish I was there.

  See you next time for part two!

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[tomruffproject-blog]

100 Days, 100 Albums

Hi Friends:  As some of you know, on January 1st, I decided to embark on a little musical adventure of discovery, that I colorfully referred to as #100days100albums.  That project is coming to an end on April 10th, and I wanted to share some thoughts...   Back to the beginning, I did this for a few reasons… a long commute… a failed, fantasy football season and presidential election that left me wanting absolutely nothing to do with any podcasts whatsoever for a while… a newly acquired subscription to Apple Music, and all the albums that are available… and, a planned “lighter-touring-year” for many of my bands. I already had a pretty sizable music collection - spanning classic rock, 90s, jam bands, and a lot recently discovered jazz.  The bulk of my listening is typically a combination of live shows and albums from my favorite bands (the top 5 being Dave Matthews Band, Phish, the Grateful Dead, the Beatles, and Pearl Jam - in no particular order, but there’s also a lot of “2nd-tier” favorites as well).  You won’t find any albums by the “big-5" on this list, because this project was about taking a break, but you will find some albums from that “2nd-tier”.   The original plan was to revisit a lot of albums, that I hadn’t heard in years, but I set a goal of listening to AT LEAST 100 albums that I had never heard in their entirety before.  That means that I may have known certain songs from those albums, or, I may have known nothing at all.  As I start to write this (with a few days to go), I’m up to #108 (Innervisions by Stevie Wonder, if you were wondering), and by the time I publish this, I am hoping to get in a few more (Updated on 4/10 – I did).  In addition to the official list of “new" albums, I did manage to get to another 30+ of those “revisits”, which are not on this list, but if you’re wondering, included a lot of Led Zeppelin, the Who, Pink Floyd, the Doors, etc.  As for where the albums that are on the list came from - I asked friends, family, and co-workers for suggestions - and did my best to get to as many of them as possible.  I reached for albums that I had read about or heard about that sounded interesting. If you’re looking at this list, and thinking “where’s Abbey Road, Dark Side of the Moon, Music From Big Pink, and Let It Bleed, etc.?” - you won’t find those on here - or many others - as they’re just already favorites.  What I did do... I dug deeper into the back catalogs of bands that I didn’t know as extensively as I thought I did (i.e. Neil Young, and solo McCartney and Lennon).  I consulted the "Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums of All Time" list for ideas… and I looked at some of my wife Alexis’ favorite artists and albums.  She’s credited with getting me to listen to all 12 Billy Joel albums in time for the upcoming Dodger Stadium show, as well as some R.E.M., Elliot Smith, and Simon & Garfunkel among others.  When I found something I liked, I went down a rabbit hole.  That’s why you’ll find a lot of repeat and similar artists in here.  For every album I listened to, I read the Wikipedia article, and well, you start clicking, and next thing you know you’re reliving the British invasion…

You’ll notice that there is no jazz on this list.  I spent a large part of 2016 (especially the fall and holidays) in that space, and intentionally stuck to rock with this.  I’ll get back to jazz soon. Also, I didn’t review these individually, and I’m not going to, but I did want to highlight some things that I learned…  1) My tastes are flexible, but also kind of are what they are.  I discovered new bands and albums that I now love, but if I didn’t really care for a genre before, that didn’t really change. That being said, I completely appreciated everything I listened to in the last few months.   2) I didn’t really intend to focus this much on classic rock - but, when you research albums you "should have heard", most of them are... classic rock.  Maybe next time I’ll dig a little deeper into indy, or maybe rap… 3) Although so many of my personal favorite albums come from the CD era (being born in 1980 will do that), the compact disc was actually, IMO, the worst thing to ever happen to the album - not digital downloads and streaming.  Why? Easy - 60+ minutes is entirely too long… not just because of attention span - but also, because it takes a really special album to maintain quality for that long (aka no filler tracks).  It’s no coincidence that so many of the "greatest albums of all time" come from an era in which 38-45 minutes was the standard, and I think it’s great that in the iTunes era, albums have gotten shorter again.  There is less expectation of length, when you don’t have to “fill a disc”.  4) You’ll notice that I went through waves of specific artists and/or genres.  I listened to a lot of psychedelic rock.  I got on a Clapton kick (with Cream and Derek and the Dominos), and, I dug deeper into Jimi Hendrix, Warren Zevon, Bruce Springsteen, Dr. John, and most importantly Bob Dylan.  I was actually surprised by how many of their biggest albums I had never actually listened to all the way through before.   5) The 80s will never be my favorite era of music - and this applies to both 80s artists, and, albums by classic rock legends that were put out in the 80s.  The production, the synthesizers… in general, just not for me.   6) I still don’t love punk, but I am really glad to have listened to a few albums.  Can totally hear the influence on Pearl Jam, and other bands I do love.   7) The 60s was by far my favorite decade of this project - and I feel like I could easily find another 100 albums to dive in to. 8) I put all of these albums on a playlist to shuffle - so although I’ve only listened to most of them in their entirety once - I’ve been getting to know a lot of these songs and artists a lot better.  Now that I’m done, I can go back and re-listen to some of the ones that I really want to get to know better.  9) Here’s a few unexpected stand out albums/artists of note:

-Allen Toussaint - Southern Nights (Track 1, Last Train is a new favorite.  Interestingly, this was the first album, I listened to.)

-Soul Coughing - Ruby Vroom (The best band I never knew I should have loved.  Thanks to Dave Matthews for having plugged them on a live album)

-Spirit - 12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus (Don’t let the name trick you - this album is amazing.

-The Zombies - Odyssey and Oracle (One of the stand-out albums from my tear through the British Invasion.)

-The Revivalists - Men Against Mountain (A new favorite modern band, which will be in heavy rotation for summer 2017.)

-Neil Young - On the Beach (I had never heard of this one, and it’s very chill.  My favorite of the “new to me” Young Albums)

-New Pornographers - Twin Cinema (Dug this enough to grab their new release that came out over the weekend.) 

-Chuck Berry - Berry On Top (I’ll be honest; I looked this up and listened to it the day he died.)

-Paul McCartney - McCartney 2 - (Noteworthy as the worst post-Beatles album by far - just listen to “Temporary Secretary” and bust out your WTF Emoji.)

-David Bowie - Hunky Dory (Which features my favorite Bowie song - Life On Mars.  2nd only to Ziggy Stardust IMO.) 

-13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators (Another “band I wished I’d heard of years ago - if you like psychedelic rock.)

-Frank Zappa - Hot Rats (The album opens with Peaches en Regalia - one of my favorite Phish covers, and is like everything I love about jazz done with rock.  Very cool.)

And finally, there’s a lot that I couldn’t get to in the past 100 days, but I’ve got some summer tours to follow, and 2017 albums to focus on for a while.  I’m going to try to keep this going with #FullAlbumFriday for a while.    Here’s the full list of “first-time" albums, in order from January 1st to April 10th… 

1 - Allen Toussaint - Southern Nights 2 - Billy Joel - Piano Man 3 - Allman Brothers Band - Idlewild South 4 - Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial 5 - Billy Preston - I Wrote a Simple Song 6 - Soul Coughing - Ruby Vroom 7 - Little Feat - Waiting For Columbus 8 - The Doors - The Doors 9 - New Pornographers - Twin Cinema 10 - Billy Joel - Turnstile 11 - S.C.I. - 'Round the Wheel 12 - Spirit - 12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus 13 - Dr. John - In the Right Place 14 - Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced? 15 - Simon & Garfunkel - Sounds of Silence 16 - U2 - Joshua Tree 17 - Crosby Stills, and Nash - Crosby Stills, and Nash 18 - Billy Joel - 52nd Street 19 - Cat Stevens - Tea For the Tillerman 20 - The Doors - Strange Days 21 - The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle 22 - Bruce Springsteen - Born In the U.S.A. 23 - The Byrds - Sweetheart of the Rodeo 24 - R.E.M. - Up 25 - Billy Joel - The Stranger 26 - Frank Zappa - Hot Rats 27 - Luther Allison - Bad News Is Coming 28 - Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis Bold of Love 29 - Mother Love Bone - Mother Love Bone 30 - Yes - Close to the Edge 31 - Allman Brothers Band - Brothers and Sisters 32 - Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon 33 - Billy Joel - Storm Front 34 - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (Self-Titled) 35 - Cream - Wheels of Fire 36 - Soul Coughing - Irresistible Bliss 37 - Buffalo Springfield (Self-Titled) 38 - The Velvet Underground - Velvet Underground & Nico 39 - Cream - Disraeli Gears 40 - Billy Joel - The Nylon Curtain 41 - Lee Baines III & the Glory Fires - There Is a Bomb in Gilead 42 - Paul McCartney - McCartney 43 - The Meters - The Meters 44 - Janis Joplin - Pearl 45 - Derek & the Dominos - Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs 46 - The Revivalists - Men Against Mountains 47 - Traffic - Mr. Fantasy 48 - Elliott Smith - Figure 8 49 - Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield Again 50 - Billy Joel - An Innocent Man 51 - Santana - Abraxas 52 - The Hollies - Evolution 53 - The Byrds - Turn, Turn, Turn 54 - Dr. John - In the Right Place 55 - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Long After Dark 56 - Bob Dylan - John Wesley Harding 57 - Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes 58 - The Decemberists - The Crane Wife 59 - Warren Zevon - The Envoy 60 - Neil Young - On the Beach 61 - 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Elevators 62 - Elvis Costello & the Attractions - Armed Forces 63 - The Yarbirds - Roger the Engineer 64 - David Bowie - Station to Station 65 - Iron Butterfly - In-a-Gadda-Da-Vidda Baby 66 - Bob Dylan - Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan 67 - Van Morrison - Astral Weeks 68 - Ry Cooter - Into the Purple Valley 69 - Chet Atkins & Mark Knopfler - Neck and Neck 70 - Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde 71 - Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland 72 - Talking Heads - Speaking In Tongues 73 - Billy Joel - River of Dreams 74 - Jeff Beck - Truth 75 - The Doors - Waiting For the Sun 76 - Radiohead - Hail to the Thief 77 - Soundgarden - Superunknown 78 - Paul & Linda McCartney - Ram 79 - R.E.M. - Document 80 - Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow 81 - The Rolling Stones - Aftermath (UK) 82 - Yes - Fragile 83 - Chuck Berry - Berry Is On Top 84 - Moby Grape - Moby Grape ’69 85 - Bob Dylan - Bringing it All Back Home 86 - R.E.M. - Out of Time 87 - Peter Gabriel - So 88 - Huey Lewis - Sports 89 - The Ramones - Ramones 90 - Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color 91 - David Bowie - Hunk Dory 92 - Billy Joel - Cold Spring Harbor 93 - Talking Heads - 77 94 - Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms 95 - Rush - Moving Pictures 96 - Bob Dylan - Desire 97 - Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska 98 - Flaming Lips - Transmissions From the Satellite Heart 99 - Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo's Factory 100 - John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band 101 - Creedence Clearwater Revival - Willy & the Poor Boys 102 - Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison 103 - Marvin Gaye - What's Going On 104 - David Bowie - Diamond Dogs 105 - Sex Pistols - Nevermind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols 106 - Frightened Rabbit - Pedestrian Verse 107 - Allen Toussaint - Sweet Touch of Love 108 - Stevie Wonder - Innervisions 109 - Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker 110 - Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town 111 - Talking Heads - Remain In Light 112 - Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 113 - Neil Young (Self Titled)

  Special thanks to everyone who gave me suggestions over the last few months, and to anyone who is still reading this!

 As for this week… it’s Pearl Jam week, in honor of their Hall of Fame induction…

-Tom

  *Apparently I am not the first person to use this #100days100albums hashtag...

[celticnoise]

CELTIC legend John Hughes has urged his old club to give Neil Lennon the manager’s job NOW.

The 76-year-old former Scotland international frontman, the club’s seventh-highest scorer with 189 goals, reckons the Irishman has proved himself as a worthy successor to Brendan Rodgers.

Big Yogi, speaking to CQN, said: “I have been extremely impressed with what Neil has contributed so far.

“He has hit the ground running in what must have been a very difficult transition. They say no act ever wanted to follow Sinatra and that might have been how Neil felt when he was asked  to take over from Brendan.

“Let’s face it, he was on a hiding to nothing. Rodgers had won seven domestic honours on the trot and a lot of the Celtic support believed he could walk on water.

“So, Neil would have realised what exactly he was taking on when he accepted the interim role.

CAPITAL GAINS…James Forrest scores the first goal in Neil Lennon’s return against Hearts in February.

“He deserves great credit for that alone. With the transfer window closing the previous month, he didn’t even have the opportunity to bring in his own players.

“Plus he inherited a squad with four loan signings and three of them – Oliver Burke, Timothy Weah and Jeremy Toljan – had just arrived in January.

“There was a fair bit of upheaval and remember, too, that Brendan took his No.2 Chris Davies and coach Kolo Toure with him to Leicester City.

“Neil didn’t just have the side on the pitch to sort out, but the backroom team, as well.

“John Kennedy, of course, stepped up as his assistant, but, although he is gaining a good reputation. he is still a rookie at this level. The same goes for Damien Duff.

“Neil hardly had time to draw breath when he was taking Celtic to face Hearts at Tynecastle where they had lost earlier in the season.

“It was crucial the team did not drop points in Edinburgh. A reverse might have sapped morale and would certainly have acted as a boost to Rangers.

LAST-GASP…Odsonne Edouard nets the stoppage-time winner against Dundee at Dens Park.

“Of course, a stoppage-time goal from Odsonne Edouard made sure of a winning return for the manager and then all eyes were on Easter Road a few days later when Neil had to prepare the team for the Scottish Cup quarter-final against his old club Hibs.

“A loss in that encounter would have killed any hopes of a historic treble treble. Ironically, the venue was a place where Brendan Rodgers had never managed to get a win in three attempts, with two defeats and a draw.

“The pressure on Neil Lennon that Saturday evening must have been awesome. He hadn’t even been in charge of the team for a week when these two games in Edinburgh came around.

“He’s been a steady hand on the tiller when the club has needed it most and I reckon he has proved he has the credentials and the temperament to take the club forward.

“I think he is due that opportunity and the sooner and decision is made the better for everyone.”

Hughes has looked at the so-called candidates for the manager’s job with names such as Jose Mourinho, Rafa Bentiez and Roberto Martinez bandied around and remains firmly in Lennon’s camp.

PRIZE GUYS…Tom Rogic and James Forrest after the Aussie’s goal in the 3-0 semi-final win over Aberdeen. 

He said: “A club the size of Celtic with its worldwide appeal will attract all sorts of names for a prime and prestigious position.

“This is certainly not the time to experiment with bosses who don’t know what Scottish football is all about.

“Progress in Europe is essential, of course, and the two years under Ronny Deila pushed us backwards, I believe.

“No disrespect to the Norwegian who did bring in two championships, but the team suffered in this arena during his time in charge.

“Neil has guided the team to some excellent results in Europe – the 2-1 victory over Barcelona in 2012 immediately springs to mind – and I would have every confidence on him building on what Brendan Rodgers started.

“And I doubt if there will be any horrible 7-0, 7-1 or 5-0 defeats along the way as suffered in the Nou Camp and home and away against Paris Saint-Germain.”

Hughes added: “This is going to be a massive summer of change at Parkhead. Weah has already returned to Paris Saint-Germain and the three other loan players are due to return to their clubs and there are others coming out of contract such as Dedryck Boyata, Mikael Lustig, Emilio Izaguirre and Cristian Gamboa.

“If you look at the team, you can see every position, from back to front, needs strengthening. Scott Bain has taken over in goal and Craig Gordon hasn’t been seen recently due to injury.

“That has meant Dorus De Vries stropped for action in recent games, but the Dutchman will also become a free agent next month and a team of the magnitude of Celtic require at least three top-class performers for the No.1 position.

“It will be a hectic period in the summer transfer marker before the window closes at the end of August.

“That’s why it makes sense to make a decision on Neil Lennon’s future as swiftly as possible to end the guessing games and allow him the time to put his stamp on the player squad.

ON-FIRE FORREST…the Celtic winger runs away after scoring the winner with Connor Goldson and Allan McGregor helpless.

“Celtic will need to spend if they are going to continue to make progress. Neil’s record in the market in the past has been good and he has brought in quality players such as Virgil Van Dijk, Fraser Forster, Victor Wanyama and Gary Hooper without breaking the bank.

“I think they arrived for a total outlay of around £9million and the club got that back plus £1million when the goalkeeper went to Southampton.

“Something in the region of £30million was generated for Van Dijk, Wanyama and Hooper when they left for England.

“So, Neil has proved conclusively he can spot genuine talent at reasonable prices.

“I believe he has got a lot to offer and, at 47, he is still a young manager with a big future ahead of him.

“I just hope he spends it at Celtic.”

*Don’t miss the unbeatable match report from the Rangers v Celtic game this afternoon – only in your champion CQN.

http://bit.ly/2vQRw4N