SCHLOCK, THE MONKEY - cultural claptrap: Jan 16, 2009

What You'll Find Here: Music, Movies and Me

Since May 1976, I have written in journals. When I have nothing particularly resonant to say about my own inner turmoil, philosophic ramblings, sexual peccadillos or whining on about the state of the world around me...I have always fallen back on reporting the cultural time consumption that takes up in inordinate portion of my daily goings on.

In the 40+ years since my first concerts seeing Children's Symphony presentations on Sundays at the Pasadena Civic or The Hot Jazz Society's monthly Dixieland romps in an old meeting hall on the edge of the L.A. "River" across from Griffith Park, I have been sold heavily on the magic of live music. As Neil Young so aptly put it, "Live music is better bumper stickers should be issued."

Growing up a few orange groves and canyons length away from Hollywood also contributed greatly to my family's addiction to movie going. From the time I was a small there were weekly trips to the drive-in theaters that dotted the landscape, or the local Temple theater for the Saturday matinees. Once in a while we'd drive the 12 miles into Hollywood and see something in one of the magnificent old movie palaces like Grauman's Chinese, the Egyptian, The Pantages or later the Cinerama Dome. My dad loved Westerns and War movies, as if he didn't get enough shoot-'em-up as an L.A. County Sheriff in his day gig, my mom adored musicals and comedies. My brother and I loved them all.

At SDSU, I played in my first gigging band and began booking concerts on campus as part of the well-funded Cultural Arts Board, kindling for my future life in and around music.

So it's not surprising that my first jobs out of college were working in local video rental places (which were all the rage) or managing a couple of Sam Goody record stores in Mall's on the East Coast where we marveled at the new CD format and sold the first home computers and video games (yes Commodore and Pong and Atari).

So these are really just extensions of all of those journal entries talking about the great new movies I was seeing and LPs/CDs I was listening to.

Though iPODS/iPADs, apps, smart phones and downloads now make music and movies accessible in your own pocket, there is still nothing like sitting in front of a stack of speakers with a room full of people swaying to music created before your eyes. Nor is there anything that works quite so well for me to escape the real world and all of it's pressures just outside than two hours in a dark theater, absorbing the stories flickering across that wide screen as they pull you into their world.

But a really good taco runs a close third...

Friday, January 16, 2009

2009 SCHLOCK TREATMENT

Well, it has been a few months and I've decided to try a few new tricks here to get myself blogging at STMonkey more often. I know, so many distractions...that evil thing called work, those distractions like eating, playing gigs, sitting on Facebook and MySpace for hours, watching the entire Season Six of 24 before Season Seven starts...having a different book and magazine next to each chair I may plop in (and this includes the front seat of my car, the commode, the bed...even the rocker on my front porch)...chasing girls..the usual distractions.

So I'm taking a turn from some of my fellow bloggers and I think I will use this place as a dump for whatever cultural claptrap comes across my desk each day as well as the occasional diatribe, cd or concert or book review etc. I always seem to wait until I have a huge writing urge and those tend to get divided between my letters to friends, my journals, my sex blog (don't ask) and random assorted networking rambles...so my promise is to attempt a more frequent attentiveness and instead of just letting some of this stuff flow by, I'll stick it here and see what happens.

Of course, I will love any feedback you can give. If it is just easier to post this stuff on MySpace or Facebook, I may just wind up there but at least here it will be a concentrated view as opposed to shifting through news of my band, my friends' daily personal issues, etc.

So here are a couple of things of interest (to me anyway)...come back again, subscribe, hang out...

The DEAD to play Barack's Inagural Ball

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/01/15/barack-obama-selects-the-dead-for-inauguration-ball-it-was-quite-an-honor/

Okay but I think some of the guys played at Clinton's Inauguaral...any one recall? So what WILL they play? Songs from the set list from the 10/13 ROCK FOR CHANGE show may give some clues...Help On The Way...Throwin' Stones...Dark Star...Not Fade Away...Playin' in the Band...all somehow appropriate. Any other ideas? I say GOLDEN ROAD works...

Elvis Costello sings the Grateful Dead tune LOSER

Years ago, when I first heard a tape of Elvis' live version of the Dead's SHIP OF FOOLS I was blown away by what a great match it was for his voice and style. This is cool too is a tad raggedy. Looks from the backfrop like it was from Golden Gate Park but I'm not sure. That would indeed be appropriate. Elvis is one of the great music fans out there. A huge collector with a vast knowledge of so many styles and genres. I was pleased to be in the studio with him on a couple occassions for a Mingus Orhetra session where he wrote lyrics to and sang a relatively obscure Mingus tune, Invisible Lady. I also had a chance to be in on the session for Elvis's performance on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz show on NPR and he was a fabulous guest. Gracious and full of insight into the jazz tunes and standards he played with Marian that day. Very cool. Check out his talk/music show on Sundance Channel, SPECTACLE. Possibly the best music show on TV since NBCs NIGHT MUSIC years ago.

Ryan Adams Quits the Music biz

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/148460--ryan-adams-is-quitting-music-says-ryan-adams

Ok, so many of you know I think Ryan Adams is the best damn songwriter out there these days. Yeah, I dig Ray LaMontagne as well but Ryan is the man. Prolific as can be, stylistically interesting like Neil Young, Todd Rundgren, and many of the best "artists" before him. The Bowie's, the Willie Nelson's...guys who always sound like themselves, have an identity but are not afraid to push the envelope some every time out. Artists who were there influences out in the open but always add something totally unique and intriguing everytime out.

Now MANY famous artists retire, some over and over agin, just to find life out of the spotlight boring and suddenly realize that they are gonna be creative no matter what so they may as well share it with the world...Artie Shaw and Elton John retired numerous ties...Bowie, Tina Turner, Dylan, Charles Lloyd and many of them have come back and given us some of their most timeless work.

See ya in a bit, Ryan. We'll miss ya while you're gone, and we'll look forward to your return. I'm sure it will be not a minute too soon.

(Photo at top of me, Marian McPartland and Elvis Costello courtesy of RJ Capek)