May 5th isn't just Cinco De Mayo, it's also the day of the Superior St. Rock & Roll Swap Meet, which will take place in the lounge area at Superior St (2744 W. Superior St., Chicago, IL) from 12-6PM. Like most swap meets, this one will have a plethora of great items to be bought, swapped, etc. What sets this swap meet apart from the others, however, is the fact that this one has what we like to call "a rock & roll vibe" to it.
Maybe that's because, of the many vendors already scheduled to appear, several just happen to be Chicago rock luminaries. Rumored to be in attendance are Nick Tremulis and members of Candy Golde, Jay O'Rourke from Rax Trax, and the fine folks from Lincoln Hall, among others. There are still a few vendor spaces still available, so if you're interested in displaying your creative wares and/or music-related goods, contact Mike Levine at mlevine@superiorst.com today!
And, as if that weren't already enough, admission to the swap meet is FREE! That's right, we said FREE! Also, in keeping with Cinco De Mayo festivities, we at Superior St. will be offering tasty food and beverages. It's gonna be party, ladies & gentlemen and you'll either be there or wish you had been.
THE DETAILS:
Superior St. Rock & Roll Swap Meet
2744 W. Superior St.
Chicago, IL
12-6PM
Admission: FREE
Great food and beverages will be available!
Yes, it's hard to believe that it was 36 years ago today that The Ramones' self-titled debut album was released. Considering that the album still packs one helluva punch by 2012 standards, we at The Shit cannot fathom what impact this album must have had on unsuspecting listeners in 1976.
Hell, one could very well call this album Ramones Greatest Hits and not get too much of an argument from anyone. The album is jam-packed with would-be classics such as "Blitzkrieg Bop", "Beat On The Brat", "Judy Is A Punk", "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend", "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue", "I Don't Wanna Go Down To The Basement", "I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You", "Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World".
Legendary producer Craig Leon's production perfectly matches the band's militant no-frills aesthetic and the results are as gritty and menacing as Times Square after midnight...circa 1976, that is.
Of course, the best part is that, while this album was amazing, the band would actually build upon the promise of this seminal punk recording.
Let's face it, the world is just a better place with The Dandy Warhols in it. Granted, the band's last two releases have been consistent only in their inconsistency, but, the Warhols seem to have awakened from one hell of a hibernation period to release the impressively inspired This Machine (available Tuesday, April 24).
Having spent a couple days listening to the new album, we at The Shit would rank it as the band's third-best record yet, behind Come Down and Thirteen Tales. Not bad company, really, when you think about it. What made those records so listenable was the band's ability to cover a lot of ground stylistically, but to effortlessly tie it all together and create a sonic soundscape with perfect ebb and flow.
Each album since Thirteen Tales, however, showed the band still more than willing to change styles at the drop of a hat, but the songs seemed almost half-finished. You could almost hear the band going "Yeah, the intro to that song will sound great in a thirty-second car commercial."
Of course, the band's bread and butter these days is the money that comes from placing their songs in commercials, TV shows, etc. In fact, the band re-recorded the theme song for the new season of Discovery Channel's TV series "Mythbusters".
As for the new album, it sounds like the band got back to crafting a cohesive set of songs that fans could listen to from start to finish. From the throbbing bass intro of "Sad Vacation" to the hypnotically chaotic "The Autumn Carnival" to the fist-pounding "Enjoy Yourself", the album unleashes a delicious 1-2-3 punch, with singer Courtney Taylor switching effortlessly from ethereal whisper to cocky Lou Reed/Iggy machismo in a heartbeat.
Weirdest track on the album? That would have to be their cover of "16 Tons", a song made famous by Tennessee Ernie Ford (and familiar to anyone who remembers seeing "Joe Vs. The Volcano" among other flicks). Their version doesn't stray too far from the original, which is pretty weird, but damn listenable .
I really wish the Warhols would consult us before they go to all the trouble of choosing a first single, ("Sad Vacation", for which they've already filmed a video). Our vote would have been for the anthemic "I Am Free", with its iconic Stonesy guitar lick and Jagger swagger vocals from Taylor-Taylor.
Have we piqued your interest yet? If you'd like to hear these tunes yourself, you can do so by clicking HERE. After you do, we think you'll be convinced that this is the best DW record in over a decade.
There is something inherently sad about the new Maroon 5 song, "Payphone". The first thing that catches the ear is Adam Levine's cheesily auto-tuned vocals. Levine's voice, even without auto-tune, has a certain "treated" quality to it and he can actually sing, so his reliance upon this studio trickery isn't necessary, buuuut since it is used on all the latest hit tunes, the M5 guys can't help but join in the fun.
Of course, having known the M5 guys since they were Kara's Flowers, a teeny bop L.A. band whose first album came and went with little fanfare, I am continually amazed at Levine's transformation from clean cut poster into a tattooed douchebag. I mean, he can't be both so one of the two is a total pose.
Can you guess which one?
Seeing a guy like him with arms full of tats is a lot like seeing some stupid jock with his ear pierced back in high school. Of course, tats are gross, so the fact that Levine is so desperate to be seen as "cool" that he'll let some freak show with a cock ring draw on him in permanent ink smacks of desperation. Sure, he lives in the mansion where "The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air" was filmed (sucker!) and I live in a van down by the river, but that doesn't make me any less right.
What makes me sad when I listen to this song is that there will be people out in the world who come to embrace the song because it speaks to them in some significant way. That, in and of itself, is pretty sad. How shallow must your life be to be moved by a song such as this; one that so obviously panders in hopes of attracting that younger demo that thinks their drama is somehow more sophisticated than the drama they see on Jerry Springer.
Never mind that the first time they heard the song was on the drive up to the local prison. As she talked to her boyfriend - sorry, "fiancé" - the symmetry between song and scene are completely missed.
There's a comfort she feels talking to him about the future while separated by a sheet of bulletproof glass. What they have is about as real as the sentiment expressed in lines like:
"I know it's hard to remember/The people we used to be It's even harder to picture/That you’re not here with me You say it's too late to make it/But is it too late to try? And in the time that you wasted/All of our bridges burned down."
It sounds real, substantive even, but it's a house made of cotton candy. The minute he gets out, she can't romanticize his good nature when the truth is right in front of her complaining about how he can't find a good job, or take care of the baby, or fix the car. As long as he's in " the Big House", what she has is real. Maroon 5 have tapped into that demographic, of course.
It's the main demo that drives all of pop culture at the moment. After all, this is the demo that made Snooki a millionaire and Khloe Kardashian a household name. If that doesn't make you sad, then, more than likely, you're one of them.
David Lowery (of Cracker and CVB fame) is dropping some serious knowledge about how the current internet gatekeepers are ripping off bands worse than the old guard major label system ever did. And what of Google's under-the-table alliance with illegal downloading sites?
Says Lowery:
I was like all of you. I believed in the promise of the Internet to liberate, empower and even enrich artists. I still do but I’m less sure of it than I once was. I come here because I want to start a dialogue. I feel that what we artists were promised has not really panned out. Yes in many ways we have more freedom. Artistically this is certainly true. But the music business never transformed into the vibrant marketplace where small stakeholders could compete with multinational conglomerates on an even playing field.
In the last few years it’s become apparent the music business, which was once dominated by six large and powerful music conglomerates, MTV, Clear Channel and a handful of other companies, is now dominated by a smaller set of larger even more powerful tech conglomerates. And their hold on the business seems to be getting stronger.
On one hand it doesn’t bother me because the “new boss” doesn’t really tell me what kind of songs to write or who should mix my record. But on the other hand I’m a little disturbed at how dependent I am on these tech behemoths to pursue my craft. In fact it is nigh impossible for me to pursue my craft without enriching Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google. Further the new boss through it’s surrogates like Electronic Frontier Foundation seems to be waging a cynical PR campaign that equates the unauthorized use of other people’s property (artist’s songs) with freedom. A sort of Cyber –Bolshevik campaign of mass collectivization for the good of the state…er .. I mean Internet. I say cynical because when it comes to their intellectual property, software patents for instance, these same companies fight tooth and nail.
Metro & Smart Bar will be celebrating Record Store Day 2012 with their very own Pop-Up Store! On April 21st, the legendary rock club will be reaching back to Metro record store history (i.e. Hi-Fi Records & The Clubhouse, not to mention Pravda) with a Pop-Up Store co-sponsored by legendary south side joint Hot Jams Records.
Metro will be working with Charlie Glitch (of Ghetto Division Records) to set up $5, $10, & $15 dollar bins from labels including Atlantic, Motown, Cajual, Relief, Underground Construction, not to mention music from Earth Wind and Fire, The Temptations, Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, and tons more.
In addition, the Pop-Up Store will be offering numerous Metro/Smart specials:
- Metro Bootleg CD for $10 - Alkaline Trio/Smoking Popes 2006 NYE 7" split vinyl for $5 - 25% off ALL Metro apparel - Buy 1 get 1 free silk screens - JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound huge VIP package giveaway - Metro and Smart Bar ticket giveaways and specials
The store will be open from noon-8pm on April 21, 2012.
Truth be told, this year's Coachella Festival was one of the best in the festival's history. A metric shit-ton of great bands hit the stage, but the most essential twelve minutes of the festival went on behind closed doors and, as of this writing, has received less than 500 views.
The twelve minutes in question comes from former Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher, who played the festival to support his first solo effort. Noel has always been a great interview, initially as a rebellious up & comer, but now as a wise elder statesman of rock & roll who fookin' tells it like it is.
The shear amount of knowledge and wisdom he dropped in this interview that is applicable to ANYONE WHO PICKS UP AN INSTRUMENT OR PLAYS IN A BAND. It really fookin' is. Give us twelve minutes and if you're not fully convinced Noel Gallagher is the real fookin' deal, we'll give you your money back.
Nothing indicates the success of a brand better than an annual music festival capable of selling most tickets before the line-up is even announced. Of course, today brings the announcement that many ticket - holders have been waiting for - the announcement of this year's Lollapalooza line-up.
Headlining the fest are L.A.'s Red Hot Chili Peppers, with The Black Keys also named one of the fest's featured headliners. A reformed Black Sabbath and a solo Jack White round out the heavyweights.
In addition to a larger concentration than ever on DJ's, the festival boasts a wide array of musical styles, seemingly trying to be all things to all people rather than the one-size-fits-alternative fest that Lollapalooza was when it began almost twenty years ago.
Bands we're most interested in seeing:
Reformed alt bands The Afghan Whigs Bloc Party At The Drive-In The Walkmen
Up-and-coming alt acts fun. Alabama Shakes Trampled By Turtles
In the latest installment of The Vortis Diaries, esteemed veteran rock critic Jim DeRogatis takes some time out from his busy schedule (wading through a week's worth of free promos alone could be a full-time job in and of itself) top show Superior St. Rehearsal Studios some love after falling for somebody's idea of an April Fool's joke.
Said joke appeared in the latest edition of The Shit and went on to say that Mayor Rahm, as one of Superior St.'s newest tenants, was inviting local musicians to stop by the space to chat as a way to become better acquainted with the local scene.
Needless to say, it's nice to know somebody actually reads The Shit.
Chicago's favorite punk sons The Alkaline Trio have cemented their legacy as one of rock's all-time legendary acoustic punk acts. Just kidding. It seems that last year's acoustic album, Damnesia, was enough of an inspiration that Fender Instruments would approach the band to design an acoustic guitar.
Compared to Fender's Duane Baron (of the U.S. Bombs) Sonoran acoustic guitar also released as part of this new California Series - with its striped body, checkerboard headstock, and huge skull & arrows logo, the Alkaline Trio Malibu guitar is noticeably low-key.
From a design aspect, the only ting that seems to set itself apart from a traditional acoustic guitar is the heart-shaped soundhole.
With a list price of $249.00, you might expect this guitar to play like most entry-level guitars in that price range, but, surprisingly, the C-shaped neck doesn't put up much of a fight. allowing beginners and pros alike to burn up the fretboard. Our only complaint is that the guitar is not an acoustic-electric that can be plugged into an amp like the Duane Peters model.
Of course, this limited-edition guitar is a must for Alkaline Trio fans looking for an acoustic guitar to beat the shit out of at the next open mic night.
Wait, did they just say "bitch girl"? That was the raging controversy on the school bus anytime this song came on the radio, which was often. While "Sara Smile" is a great track, this is REALLY the soft rock jam that put Hall & Oates on the map.
Of course, H2O would have a helluva run of hits in the '80s, but it's this song that evokes that innocent era of the '70s when the radio was all most of us had.
Little River Band "Lady"
In 1978, Australian acts were still quite the novelty in the US, but few even realized that Little River Band were from a different country as their sound was so decidedly American, allowing them to fit seamlessly into Top 40 radio playlists with previous hits "Help Is On The Way" and "Happy Anniversary". With each new album, it seemed, the band was putting the pieces together that would ultimately lead to the monster hits "Reminiscing" and "Lady" that would make Sleeper Catcher their first Top 20 album.
Manfred Mann's Earth Band "Blinded By The Light"
Manfred Mann first came to prominence in the 60's with such hits as "The Mighty Quinn", but by 1976, he was a man on a mission. The band he had formed in 1971, Manfred Mann's Earth Band", had released six albums - five of which had failed to break the Top 100 in America - and were still looking for their first hit. With an unlikely cover of a Bruce Springsteen song, the band soon found themselves at #1 on the singles charts. The single would also hit the Top 10 in five other countries and help the band sell over three million copies of their seventh album, The Roaring Silence.
Pilot "Magic"
If every one-hit wonder could be this good...
For bands such as Manfred Mann and Little River Band, success in the US had taken a few albums, but Pilot shot right into the Top 5 in the US with their first single, "Magic". The Scottish band's 1974 debut album had been produced by Alan Parsons. Sadly, their initial success would be short-lived and the core of the band would eventually go on to join the Alan Parsons Project by 1978.
Bob Welch "Sentimental Lady"
Ask most people who Bob Welch and you'll get mostly blank stares, but play them this song and you'll see most folks smile and say "I love that song! Who does it?" Bob Welch does. In fact, he had quite the string of memorable '70s hits - "Ebony Eyes", "Precious Love" and "Hot Love, Cold World" - but damn if most people can remember who did them. Many people don't realize that Welch has recorded a version of "Sentimental Lady" while still a member of Fleetwood Mac. The song had appeared on their Bare Trees album, but the single failed to chart.
Oddly enough, while he had left the band prior to Lindsey Buckingham joining, Buckingham would produce the re-recorded version. with he and Christine McVie singing the backing harmonies.
John Waite "Missing You"
While Waite had hit the charts multiple times with The Babys, after a handful of ambitious albums, the band still found themselves an opening act for the likes of Journey. When keyboardist Jonathan Cain was recruited by Journey to replace Gregg Rolie, Waite took it as a sign and went solo. His first album, Ignition, had been a barrel-house rocker that featured the sorely underrated "Change", but on his next effort, Waite made sure to deliver the goods. The album's first single was a little song called "Missing You" that went to #1 and forever put Waite on the map.
Since then, his records have become sadly inconsistent and uninspired, but this song remains a testament to perseverance and determination, not to mention being one of the better kiss-offs ever set to music.
Sinead O'Connor "Nothing Compares 2 U"
Have you seen a pic of this gal lately? Sadly, she's got more tatoos on her chest than a member of the Hell's Angels. Back in 1989, though, she was still a mostly unknown entity covering a Prince song on her second record, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. Her first album, The Lion And The Cobra and songs such as "Mandinka" and "I Want Your Hands (On Me)" had brought much success on the underground and dance scenes, but it was her riveting vocal turn on Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U" that made her a household name, even before the infamous Saturday Night Live performance.
Listening to the song now, there is a raw innocence to the performance that is oddly charming, as if staring into a time capsule of a time when strength and vulnerability could be found in the same voice.
Air Supply "All Out Of Love"
The door that fellow Australians Little River Band had knocked down gave Air Supply the opening they needed to storm the American pop charts in 1980 with three Top 10 hits, "Lost In Love", "Every Woman In The World" and arguably their best-known track "All Out Of Love".
Air Supply was the face of '80s pop until new wave swept in around 1982 and washed many of the soft rock giants from the playing field.
Christopher Cross "Sailing"
If you had ears in 1979, then you heard a whole lot of Christopher Cross that year as his debut album not only sold over five million copies, but also had a stranglehold on radio playlists across the country. He would also go on to beat out Pink Floyd for the Grammy for Album of The Year.
While "Ride Like The Wind" and "Never Be The Same" were big hits, "Sailing" was the only single to hit #1 and take home three Grammy awards of its own.
Toto "Rosanna"
Toto had made quite the splash with their first album, which included the hit "Hold The Line", but their second and third albums had come and gone with little fanfare. Would they be relegated to forgotten one-hit wonders or could they pull a rabbit out of their hat on their fourth album?
Of course, we all know the answer to that question, as the smash hit "Rosanna" was the first of many such rabbits to be pulled from the mega-platinum IV album. Considering the amount of airplay the song received and the fact that it won a Grammy for Record Of The year in 1983, the song itself only made it to #2 thanks to Joan Jett's "I Love Rock & Roll" being #1 for seven straight weeks. Toto would hit #1 in 1983 with "Africa".
The Police "Every Breath You Take"
1983 was the year that The Police went from being the little band that could to being Sting & The Hired Players, as Sting had finally gained complete artistic control of the band on what was to be their final studio album, Synchronicty. It's hard to argue with the results, though, as the album showed Sting's songwriting to be advancing beyond the faux-reggae sound that had initially put the band on the map. "Every Breath You Take", for example, was a classic soft pop song that any band would have been proud to call their own. For The Police, it launched their popularity into the stratosphere and they would spend the summer playing to sold-out stadium crowds all across North America.
Phil Collins "In The Air Tonight"
Sometimes limitations are great motivation. Depressed by the break-up of his first marriage, Collins holed up in his home studio and set out to exorcise some of the anger that he felt. Without a band to back him up, he relied upon a simple drum machine pattern and sparse, atmospheric instrumentation to create the ominously dark mood of the song. A live drum track would be the icing on the cake. The song would become a huge smash almost instantaneously upon its release, gaining heavy radio and MTV airplay and appearing in numerous TV shows and movies, such as "Miami Vice", "Risky Business", and "The Hangover", to name just a few.
U2 "One"
By the time U2 had released the film and accompanying soundtrack Rattle & Hum in 1989, the general consensus was that we'd all had about as much of U2 as we could stand for awhile. The band themselves had emerged from the success of 1987's Joshua Tree with a desire to distance themselves from a sound that they'd plundered for all its worth. Rattle & Hum was a portrait of a band finding solace in American roots music because their own music bored them. So, what was the band to do for their next studio album? Bono and The Edge had been enamored by techno and set out to make a futuristic record, but neither Adam Clayton or Larry Mullen Jr. shared their enthusiasm. It was a spontaneous jam session that quickly yielded the song "One" and gave the band the energy and ambition to complete Achtung Baby.
The song stands as almost a polar opposite to the rest of that album and, truth be told, it would not have sounded out of place on The Joshua Tree, or Rattle & Hum for that matter. In hindsight, it was the bridge the band needed to bring their fans with them into the '90s.
R.E.M. "Everybody Hurts"
This song has always sounded like the other bookend to U2's "One", as R.E.M. had enjoyed a similar upward trajectory through the '80s as U2. Both bands seemed to hit a sort of commercial and artistic ceiling at the tail end of that decade and fans and non-fans alike were curious to see in which direction each band would go. For U2, it was the future. For R.E.M., it was the past. "Everybody Hurts" is more "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" than anything they'd done prior, showing a great love of classic pop songwriting. Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones was responsible for the lush orchestral arrangement.
Evanescence "My Immortal"
It was hard tom come up with a lot of modern-day soft rock jams worthy of inclusion next to the great songs mentioned above, but "My Immortal" stands as one of the more ambitious - and successful - soft rock jams of the last decade. The song, which was almost entirely written by guitarist Ben Moody, provides a great showcase for Amy Lee's vocals to soar without having to fight for sonic space against the full-on sonic assault of a full-band arrangement.
Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"
It shouldn't have worked as well as it did, since Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty come from two different worlds, but Nicks had long been obsessive in her love of the band and had asked them on many occasions to write a song for her. Hilariously, Petty had agreed to let her have the song "Insider", but chose to keep it for himself after the track was recorded. As a consolation prize of sorts, he gave her "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around", which would go on to become a big enough hit that it outsold any single from Petty's Hard Promises album (which included "Insider").
Kim Carnes "Bette Davis Eyes"
Having bounced from one label and musical style to another since 1971, Carnes hit upon a winning combination when she covered the Jackie DeShannon/Donna Weiss song "Bette Davis Eyes". The decidedly modern arrangement, combined with her raspy vocal style, resulted in a song that would spend nine weeks at #1 in the US. It would also hit #1 in eight other countries. Bette Davis was so thrilled by the song's success that she would later thank Carnes, Weiss and DeShannon for making her a part of modern culture.
Tears For Fears "Everybody Wants To Rule The World"
Up until this song came out, the popular consensus was that synth pop acts like Tears For Fears just didn't have the goods in the songwriting department and were using synths and other electronic studio bells & whistles as a crutch. "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" puts all such criticism to rest and reveals TFF to be a band with some actual chops. After all, TFF was a six-piece band that boasted some real musical talent.
Of course, it was the last song recorded for the hit album, Songs From The Big Chair and the shuffle beat upon which the song was built was quite a foreign thing to the band at the time. Roland Orzabal; admits to stealing the drum beat from the Simple Minds' "Waterfront" which was being recorded in the next studio.
Don Henley "Boys of Summer"
We could have mentioned any number of Eagles songs on this list, but ultimately felt that Henley's solo gem "Boys of Summer" was one of the most visually evocative songs to come from the Eagles camp. There are few songs that better encapsulate the feeling of yet another summer coming to an end before any of the promises it once held can come true. That such depth can be found in the sighting of "a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac" is a testament to Henley's lyrical prowess. He doesn't so much tell stories as give you fragments with which to build your own.
Joan Osborne "One Of Us"
If Joan Osborne doesn't send Eric Bazilian (best known as a member of Hooters and the writer of this song) a Christmas card every year, she darn well should. Producer Rick Chertoff hired him to play some guitar on Joan's first album, Relish, but Eric went one step further and brought in the song that would ultimately take Joan's career to the next level.
Without it, Relish would have been a hit-less hodge-podge showcasing the singer's immense talents, but lacking identity. "One Of Us", of course, gave Osborne a public identity that neither she nor Bazilian were able to replicate and, as a result, her popularity was short-lived.
Still, this song remains as poignant and undeniable as ever, offering a sentiment that is both touching and thought-provoking.
