Archive for the &;Music&; Category

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Axl Rose onDiversity

October 27, 2009

October 25 I went to the U2 show at LA&;s Rose Bowl.  It can be summed up in two words: hypnotic and inspirational. But when Slash took the stage with the Black Eyed Peas, it reminded me of the Rolling Stones/Guns n&; Roses concert I attended exactly 20 years ago, October 18, 1989 at LA&;s historic Coliseum. Axl Rose could probably be described as the anti-Bono, and he wasn&;t exactly auditioning for the part of UN Goodwill Ambassador, played unofficially by AIDS-fighter Bono and officially by Angelina Jolie.

In fact as soon as Rose took the stage he offered this impassioned defense of himself and his song &;One in a Million&; against criticism that he was a racist, just because it was about &;police and niggers and immigrants and faggots.&; &;I don&;t give a goddamn fuck what color you fucking are, as long as you&;re ain&;t no goddamn thief drug selling piece of shit. &;I used the word fucking nigger but that don&;t mean every black man is a fucking nigger, that means if you go downtown and some fucking asshole wants to charge you fifteen dollars for free parking kick him in the fuckin nuts. &;I don&;t give a shit about gay people either but I don&;t need some faggot trying to rape me. &;Immigrants? I don&;t care what goddamn fucking country you&;re from, you&;re in America just act like it. &;You want to call me a racist shove your head up your fucking ass. Either the audio cut out early, or my aging memory is going, but I remember his stirring conclusion: &;Anyone who thinks I hate niggers can suck my dick.&;

Tags:angelina-jolie, Axel-Rose, axl-rose, Bono, Guns'n'Roses, LA-Colisseum, memorable-LA-concerts, Rolling-Stones, Slash, U2, U2-Rose-Bowl Posted in Los-Angeles, Music | 1 Comment &;

Music forGuantanamo

October 22, 2009

I wonder if the Pink song the government used to torture inmates was &;Dear Mr. President.&;  Nahhh&; And which is worse torture, the Barney song or Neil Diamond? As for Bruce Springsteen, what could be a greater perversion than blasting Empty Sky, from The Rising? I want a kiss from your lips I want an eye for an eye I woke up this morning to the empty sky&;.

Tags:9-11, Bruce-Springsteen, Dear-Mr.-President, Guantanamo, music-for-torture, Pink, torture Posted in 9-11, Music, Politics, war-on-terror | Leave a Comment &;

The Dead: SoOver

July 24, 2009

Sadly, it probably is for The Dead and me, after 30-something years.  Some friends insisted on our getting tickets with them for The Dead at the Forum in May. I had last seen the (then) Grateful Dead in 1994, at a show at the execrable Sports Arena that was nonetheless memorable.  The concert was great, but I got moved none too gently by the LAPD because for some reason the area I was ticketed for was closed.  Later, the Sports Authority that runs the Sports Arena and Colisseum apologized and gave me a pair of LA Raiders playoff tickets&;fun, but the second scariest experience of my life after the LA Riots. Fast forward to 2009, when admittedly it would be hard for the Jerry-less Dead to compete with the spectre of the past. We got stuck in hellacious traffic for an hour and a half, and arrived half an hour late&;this version of The Dead, apparently, goes on and off promptly. The aisles were jammed with jamming twirlers, so we had to force our way to our seats.  Once there,  further force was necessary to remove the uncool people who had bogarted our seats. I wouldn&;t agree with DivinePossum&;s Tweet &;Fuck, the Grateful Dead are sooooo bad&;,  but I didn&;t feel transported, or even involved.   At least it wasn&;t a really bad scene&;and we didn&;t end up dead like this poor guy 20 years ago. Further observations:

Sadly, the Forum, home to Laker glory and so many great events, has become a dirty, run-down aging facility The Forum that night was the only place in Inglewood with no black patrons. Probably no connection, but they didn&;t bother to mix bass into the audio mix. I have no patience for rich kids begging for a &;miracle&; free ticket. The Dead is a guy thing; at least twice as many males.  Is it the stoner vibe or the lack of truly danceable tunes? There is nothing like a Dead show, perhaps, but I am not writing a set list. Every other concert venue has TV screens to see the &;action&; on stage.  Not the Forum; the picture below is a much better view of the concert than I got for my hundred fifty. Run by a church, the Forum is filthy and has enormous lines for the toilets.  I didn&;t appreciate the 20-something throwing up in front of us either.  High-end indoor concerts are not Woodstock re-creations. Call me old, but I like my fire exits unblocked.

The Dead, formerly the Grateful Dead, perform at the Forum in the Inglewood section of Los Angeles, Calif. on Saturday May 9, 2009

Tags:Inglewood-Forum, rock-concerts, The-Dead Posted in Grateful Dead, Music | Leave a Comment &;

Visiting theJacksons

July 1, 2009

The long-time home of the Jackson family on Hayvenhurst Avenue is less than a mile from the Encinoman family compound, so my son and I went over there last week.  We had to abandon our vehicle, as despite California&;s $14 billion dollar budget shortfall,  LA police and parking agents are manning several roadblocks outside Gelson&;s.  I hope to post pictures later this week.  However, visiting the florid floral display and signs saying sayonara to the Gloved/Loved One, I can say that just as the Republicans have a base, Michael Jackson did/does too.    It&;s about the exact opposite of the Republicans, though, as MJ&;s base is composed of women, black people and gays.

Tags:day-of-the-locust, Hayvenhurst, Michael-Jackson, tabloid-journalism Posted in Music, tabloid-journalism | Leave a Comment &;

KCRW CastratesClash

March 6, 2009

KCRW, the radio station too afraid to rock, did it again this week, putting Lily Allen&;s girly, breathy version of &;Straight to Hell&; in heavy rotation.  Not only will the revolution not be televised, but it will be sanitized.  She sounds as bored, self-hating and out of it as Bill Nighy in &;Love Actually.&; This is not a new problem at LA&;s &;alternative&; public radio station, but the political correctness of KCRW is grinding.

Tags:Clash, KCRW.ORG, Lily-Allen, Music Posted in Music, Radio | Leave a Comment &;

Hilary Clinton and the RollingStones

September 12, 2008

In &;Shine a Light&;, the new Rolling Stones concert film directed by Martin Scorsese, now on DVD, Bill and Hilary Clinton make brief on-stage appearances (it&;s billed as a benefit for the Clinton Foundation.) That got me thinking.  What&;s Hilary Clinton&;s favorite Rolling Stones song? &;Honky Tonk Women&;? &;Some Girls&;?   real  |  windows media&; We know Bill likes &;Little T&A&;   real  |  windows media Hilary? (I Can&;t Get No) Satisfaction   real  |  windows media

Tags:Bill-Clinton, Hilary-Clinton, Martin-Scorsese, Rolling-Stones, Shine-A-Light Posted in Hollywood Follies, Music, political-correctness, Politics | 3 Comments &;

Amy Winehouse Hitting the NorwegianWood

October 19, 2007

Speaking of music, Amy Winehouse got busted in Norway for marijuana possession.  Setting aside the question of whether she dropped the dime on herself for extra publicity, (or is randomly/deliberately traveling down the classic Beatles pot-bust path) it brings up another: Isn&;t &;Norwegian wood&; yet another slang term for marijuana?   &;Isn&;t it good&;Norwegian wood?&;

Posted in Amy-Winehouse, Marijuana, Music, pot-bust, The-Beatles | Leave a Comment &;

Flash Memory Takes on Hard Drives forMusic

October 19, 2007

The humble hard drive is the ultimate repository for music in your home, office and car.  But mobile music increasingly sits on flash memory, whether in an iPOD, a more humble MP3 player, or on your cell phone. Now USB flash drives you can wear on your wrist are bridging the gap between concert and computer, with artists like Matchbox 20, Willie Nelson and even the Bob Marley fan club selling memory sticks packed with music and memories (like photos) of the artists.  Fans can not only leave a Willie concert stoned and satisfied, but take with them a special keep-sake; a downloaded version of that night&;s concert.

Posted in Bob-Marley, Computers, flash-memory, hard-drives, Matchbox-20, Music, Willie-Nelson | 1 Comment &;

Bob Marley&;s Ghost: So SueMe

July 17, 2007

Was the music for Bob Marley&;s brilliant Buffalo Soldier plagiarized?  Was it lifted from The Banana Splits?!  Watch yourself and be the judge.  You can hear more at Soundalikes or read about the late George Harrison lifting &;My Sweet Lord&; from &;He&;s So Fine&; here. The hack creators of &;The Banana Splits&; could try suing Marley&;s ghost estate.  But they&;d create a public relations disaster&;talk about alchemy turning lead into gold.

Posted in Bob-Marley, George-Harrison, Music, public-relations-disaster | 2 Comments &;

Illness intoArt

May 23, 2007

Watching The Devil and Daniel Johnston is like watching a spectacular car accident; you can&;t look away.  Johnston is the talented but clearly mentally-ill singer songwriter whose songs have been recorded by over 150 artists; Target even licensed his &;Speeding Motorcycle&; for a commercial.  He&;s also a visual artist of the outsider school.  I was first turned onto his music on KXLU-FM in LA, perhaps 20 years ago. At 45+,  Johnston lives with his aging parents, has been committed several times, and has attacked people close to him, hitting his manager with a lead pipe and causing his father to crash his private plane. As a parent, my heart goes out to those suffering like this, and especially to Johnston&;s elderly parents, who clearly have gone through the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance). Watch this film if you want insight into a disordered mind, and perhaps you&;ll better understand Virginia Tech killer Cho (substitute Johnston&;s obsession with the devil for Cho&;s &;rich brats&;.) 

Posted in daniel-johnston, Music, virginia-tech | 5 Comments &;

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