Since I’ve yet to catch an episode of George Lopez’s new talk show, “Lopez Tonight,” having a musical act such as Morrissey might be the norm. I assumed the show would go for current chart-toppers and shy away from the veterans. Earlier in the decade, “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” used to be the only talk show to feature acts with more of a cult following. Now they all do it.
Anyway, how about the stage and sound system on this show? Both are overpowering.
With Steven Tyler preoccupied with his “Brand Tyler” project, the other members of Aerosmith are reportedly looking for a new singer to celebrate their 40th anniversary as a band. Lenny Kravitz was rumored to be the frontrunner, but the “American Woman” singer has confirmed on his Twitter page that, since Tyler is a family friend, he wouldn’t accept the offer.
Kravitz had been linked to the role amid ongoing speculation about Tyler’s future with the group.
However, in a message on his Twitter page, Kravitz said his friendship with Tyler prevented him from ever taking the singer’s place.
“As much as I am flattered that Aerosmith’s camp would consider me to front the band, Steven Tyler is a family friend, and no voice could ever take the place of his,” he wrote.
“I hope the band stays together. They are classic.”
Tyler’s position has been in doubt ever since the frontman broke his shoulder after falling off stage in August, prompting the cancellation of Aerosmith’s US tour.
Aerosmith is in a serious bind. They won’t recruit a singer nobody’s hear of because album and concert sales would suffer. Also, they won’t record or tour with a slew of famous singers because that’s admitting they need Tyler. What to do?
I don’t know how I let this euphoric piece of new fly under my radar. In an interview with The Age, Pavement’s Spiral Stairs suggests the band will record new songs if the tour goes well. He’s screwing with us, right?
The announcement claimed the tour was not a prelude to a full-blown reformation but during a recent chat Kannberg revealed that new Pavement songs could be on the cards.
“If it’s enjoyable for us, I think it is inevitable that we’ll make some more music,” Kannberg said from Seattle as he packed up his worldly goods ahead of a move to Melbourne to marry an Australian lass.
“I hope so because I think it will be fun.
“If I was a fan of the band, I’d want to hear some new music, but we’re just going to see how it goes.
“We’re taking it one step at a time.”
Kannberg said Pavement had plenty of creative steam left when it broke up, and he had missed the band’s unique chemistry, camaraderie and sense of humour.
During Pavement’s years apart, Kannberg toured with his Preston School of Industry outfit and appeared as a guest with other relatively obscure bands. But it just wasn’t the same.
Pavement is the one band I wouldn’t mind recording new material after a long hiatus. People always wonder what the next Beatles album would have sounded like if the band had stayed together. I wasn’t around back then, so I never had the rabid curiosity. With Pavement, however, I can’t help but speculate.
Truth be told, I’m a bit shocked that the music press is rather indifferent to New York glam rockers Morningwood. I know they’re not the best band New York’s given the world, but their blend of punchy guitars, perky beats and that force of nature named Chantal Claret at the microphone strike some primal chord in me. Maybe it’s a reminder what what rock bands used to sound like, before they worried about whether they were cool enough, or if they were attracting the “right” fans. What a joke, really. Do you think Cheap Trick ever gave a fuck who was listening to their records, as long as people were buying them? Hell, no.
That’s why people refer to the music business these days as junior high school with money. Sadly, the same peer pressure rules apply to the people who write about bands. They want to be seen as cool, too (probably more so than the musicians they write about), so once a band has the perception of not being hip, the writers tend to fall in line. Case in point: a very well-known blogger told me at Lollapalooza in 2007 that they were surprised at how much they liked Silverchair’s performance, yet they the band down in their column. Oh, the price some pay for hipster credibility.
But not me. I gave that ghost up years ago, and I can’t tell you how much easier things are since I did. Of course, this might make bands reluctant to receive my stamp of approval, since it comes with a giant asterisk – Shit! He’s uncool! Wait, unless it’s cool to not care about being cool. Damn, this is hard – but I’m not high enough on the food chain yet for that to matter. Anyway…
Personally, I’ll take a band like Morningwood and a song like “Best of Me” over the more popular Paramore any day of the week. It’s brief (just a hair over three minutes), it’s catchy, it’s confident without bragging, and best of all, it’s all major keys, so there’s no unnecessary melodrama. It reminds me of Pat Benatar in her ass-kicking days (i.e. before she started her family). And you can have it for free. Dig in. And as an appetizer, here’s the video, which contains a nice callback to the band’s hilarious clip for “Sugarbaby,” which is one of my singles of the year.
As a high school kid knee-deep in punk albums, listening to The Clash’s London Calling was a revelation. Here was a record that felt raw, but was genuinely built around infectious melodies and catchy vocals. The album felt old, yet fresh, and was instantly endearing. This was a band hellbent on having fun. For as serious as I took music at the time, I forget about my manufactured ideals when I spent time with London Calling.
Some of you might own the reissue commemorating the album’s 25th anniversary. Well, I’m sorry, but London Calling: 30th Anniversary Legacy Edition is on its way.
Available December 14th, the compilation will include a remastered version of the 1979 classic as well as Don Letts’ documentary The Last Testament: The Making of London Calling, three music videos, and home-movie footage of the band. The package will also include a new 20-page booklet and vinyl “replica” sleeves to match the original version of the album. So, perhaps it’s actually worth checking out.
London Calling: 30th Anniversary Legacy Edition Tracklist:
Disc One:
01. London Calling
02. Brand New Cadillac
03. Jimmy Jazz
04. Hateful
05. Rudie Can’t Fail
06. Spanish Bombs
07. The Right Profile
08. Lost In The Supermarket
09. Clampdown
10. The Guns Of Brixton
11. Wrong ‘Em Boyo
12. Death Or Glory
13. Koka Kola
14. The Card Cheat
15. Lover’s Rock
16. Four Horsemen
17. I’m Not Down
18. Revolution Rock
19. Train In VainDisc Two:
The Last Testament: The Making of London Calling
“London Calling” music video
“Train in Vain” music video
“Clampdown” music video
Home video footage of The Clash recording in Wessex Studios
Hopefully they put all the goodies on this one.
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