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Greetings and salutations, readers (both of you.)
Apologies for apparently sleeping through the Grammys, the Oscars, and
Michael Powell's war on culture. I realize that you have been looking to
me to set you straight on these pressing issues, but I regret to inform
you that I will be passing over these subjects ripe for discussion (save
for encouraging you to vote for the non-incumbent in the race for the
White House- Powell is an appointee, after all...) in favor of discussing
things that actually matter: the Rock Agenda for the next three quarters
of 2004.
It appears that, in these troubled times, 2004 is actually offering music
worth hearing. New albums from Wilco, the Beastie Boys (which Yauch
promises is mainly a hip-hop record), and Ben Folds are high on my
priority listening checklist. Additionally, Graham Coxon (ex-Blur) is
scheduled to release his latest, Happiness in Magazines, which was
produced by
Stephen
Street (he produced the Smiths and Blur, you know) and is rumored to be
jaw-droppingly good. Timberlake good, even. We'll have to raid our import
bins to find out, however, as Transcopic Records hasn't been distributing
to the US lately. Unless it turns up on iTunes...fingers crossed...
On the local tip, I don't know what to make of the Buzz's Battle of the
Bands. I am ardently against Clear Channel in any incarnation, and am well
aware that 94.7's playlist is largely dictated by the "home office"- who
can tell me when the last time they actually played
Falcon Five-O?-
so I think that the prize is a little bit of a slap. In the pre-monopoly
days, stations selected their own playlists, which often included local
artists. Garage bands across the country were able to get some airtime in
their local markets, often leading to regional or national hits. The
Kingsmen are a prime example of this (you know, "Louie, Louie.") The last
time anything like that really happened around here in a timeslot worth
listening to was when the "old" SPY had their local show on Thursday
afternoons. Anyhow, vote for
Pigpen's Mess.
They remind me of the Buzzcocks, and Shawn's earned enough goodwill on
this site to merit the OklahomaRock.com vote.
That, and buy the Graham Coxon album if you can find it.
Excelsior,
The CSBM Board of directors
PS: Hey kids! Want to be a Country Sad Junior Ballad Man?
Private message campfirewood1980 on the message board to find out how! |
