Nightmare Daydream: 06/01/2005

Early Simon and Garfunkel (See Below for Explanation)

Simon and Garfunkel to Dusty Springfield: A Continued Critique of the Rock Hall of Fame

Simon and Garfunkel are too cool not to be in the rock hall of fame. Without them the silver girls wouldn’t sail so smoothly, Joe Dimaggio may have had a moment of privacy, and we would not have wept at our darkness salutations. Besides, they originally performed under the names Tom and Jerry.

If Paul Simon had only released Graceland he would deserve his membership due to the its American introduction to what sounds like a Sun Records recording of South African rhythms coupled with fantastic lyrics. Yet, Paul had given us so much more. We learned 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, went Slip Sliding Away, and found out that Dixie Humingbirds sure could harmonize while our baby loved us like a rock. ‘nuff said.

Sly and the Family Stone (Boom – Shakalaka, etc. )took us higher and higher, and apparently he went higher as well or at least he had Hot Fun in the Summertime. Sly rocked and Larry Graham laid some bottom for the dancers. They are not my favorites but, they belong.

Dusty Springfield had an incredible voice on You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me and she fell in love with the Son of a Preacherman and eventually became Justified and Ancient. I just think that she doesn’t belong. Talented, yes. Hall of Fame, yes. Rock Hall of Fame, no.

out of print ebay listings

I was browsing Ebay and looking at the oop or out of print VHS, DVD, and CD entries. Some titles get quite a few bids while others seem to go under the radar. It would be great to have some great lost gems. I wonder if there is a list of the most valuable, hard to find out of print media.

The songs from Friday

Julian

The Friday setlist:

Dear John - The perfect beginning of an album and a concert. The song wastes no time in establishing the album, story, and concert.

Goodbye Caroline - Sounds better live! And its a fantastic song already!

Going Through the Motions - Aimee has previously performed this on Leno and her recent Live CD. Its a great song for most artists, but not one of her best. She rocks it though.

Humpty Dumpty - From Aimee's Lost in Space CD. One of the best live moments ever. John Sands pounds the drums as Julian's guitar solos last longer than ever. Aimee said this was being recorded for a radio broadcast. Your narrator is being treated to the concert of a lifetime.

Save Me - Gorgeous. Aimee's grammy nominated song from Magnolia. Unfortunately a very average Phil Collins song beat her. It makes you realize how much of a popularity contest awards shows are instead of them being awarded objectively to the best song. Aimee jokes about Phil's songs from Tarzan 2 going straight to video. Julian plays some kind of instrument that you blow that has keys. I asked him later what it was called but, I forgot. It has a Lady and the Tramp sound to it.

Wise Up - Nothing but pure emotion from Aimee as she sings this tune from Jerry Maguire and Magnolia.

Video - back to the new album. This is one of my wife's favorites. I sure wish I could hear this performance again.

Little Bombs - This is one of my favorites from the new album. It has a bassy, Duane Eddy sounding guitar. The lyrics are so beautiful as they express the trees Aimee saw outside her Atlanta Lennox Square hotel window. She wrote it after her Atlanta concert last year that my wife and I attended. (This was such a great show and atmosphere at the Variety Playhouse. I would go to a show there as opposed to the botanical gardens that Aimee played at on Thursday.) The song has a dark side as well.

Amateur - From Whatever and used in so many films. Perfect live with Jebin playing beautiful keys and Aimee on bass.

Driving Sideways - Second bass with Aimee nothing could be better. Great harmonies here and all of the concert.

She Really Wants You - Wow Wow Wow. This and Video were my wife's favorites that Aimee performed from the new album.

Can't My Head Around It - This one grows and grows and grows. Better than the album. The crowd gasped at this version. The climax of the concert and it was a long one.

Encore

Aimee asks for requests and about 25 wadded up sheets of paper are tossed to the stage during K of J.
King of the Jailhouse - Not the best I have heard it. It was a little sloppy. I really think that the last song was a magical moment that may never be topped and that everyone knew it including the band. It is great to see Aimee at the piano, a great look for her.

Ray - Aimee says she may mess it up because she hasn't performed it in a while. It was so great to hear this live. Aimee was perfect, and the music was great. It was different than the album version because it did not have harmonies.

Deathly - The best song anyone could close with. The band jams on it as it builds and builds. I think Julian did the guitar solo from Junk on this track. It was a super concert.

Oh yeah, I left out Sugarcoated which always rocks. Thanks Aimee!

2 Aimee Mann Concerts - what a difference a venue makes

It was a fun but tiring Thursday and Friday. On Thursday my wife and I traveled to Atlanta to see Aimee Mann at a very snobby place, the Atlanta Botanical Garden. We arrived early at the site and followed the signs to park in what wound up being VIP parking only. If you are not a member you, like me, will have to drive back down the hill and through the gates to park in a residential neighborhood. As we climbed the hill we realized that smoking is not permitted on the grounds. We encountered the season ticket holders who were asking who Aimee was. It is sad that so many people rely on radio for all their info and that they could be clueless about perhaps the greatest female rocker of all time. There is a moat that separates the stage from the crowd. We sat at the moat but were told to move our drinks or feet when the security guard would walk the concrete edge to get on to people for touching the water.

Aimee came on and sang 3 numbers and as she started to speak to the audience a lady in the front said I cannot understand a word you are saying. I thought that was rude. I think Aimee did as well but, she would never tell you that. I think the person had a bit too much wine. Anyway, we wound up getting the setlist verbatim. My wife and I wanted to get a picture made with Aimee since the one taken by a fan last year in Nashville never was emailed to us as promised, so we went to get our car. We drove it up the hill to where the bus was parked and noticed a guard following us as well as 6 fans lined up at the bus with CD's waiting for her to sign them. The guard yelled "You need to leave". I stated that I was just gonna try to get an autograph like the others, and he said, "They are with the band. Leave." So we left. We will never attend a show at that venue again.

The Nashville show was indoors at the Canary Ballroom with another concert by Here Come the Mummies upstairs in the Mercy Lounge. Aimee was rehearsing as we arrived and it was suggested that we could get the picture when Aimee came out and returned to her bus before a multitude of others arrived. My wife and I wanted to get a shot of the 2 of us with Aimee so we handed off the camera to another fan so that he could practice using it. Somehow the brand new rechargeable batteries in it had corroded. Perhaps the fact that I left the camera outside after Atlanta's show which we didn't bother using it for. So, in a desperate attempt to find them quickly, I left the site and was guided by a Christian book store to try the Greyhound terminal, which had them. Aimee was still rehearsing when I returned but, I could see that a crowd was converging so, I knew if we got the pic it would be after the show. I talked with drummer John Sands until the doors open. He is very knowledgeable about music and has played on quite a few albums. We were on the front row and Aimee was fantastic. Her new album sounds great live. The band was rocking, Jebin recalled Steppenwolf's organ solos, Paul kept a steady beat, Aimee played bass on 2 songs, Julian had his guitar singing. He told me afterwards that one of his solos was based on Paul McCartney's Junk. So, he knows his music as well. Aimee was the vocalist of the century and was fun. She actually performed Ray, a song that I had never heard her perform live. The show was being taped for a Nashville radio station (I'd love to have it.) After the concert we talked with Julian and took a pic of my wife with him. I'll post it later after I edit her out of it. (She doesn't want her pic on the internet.) Now, I want you to know that many people took pics during the concert, but I didn't because, I did not want to have a flash going off in Aimee's eyes. We waited for a chance to ask Aimee for a pic. As I saw the crowd of about 20 wait what seemed like an hour for Aimee to come out, I started feeling guilty. There were so many fans waiting for her that it seemed like a paparazzi type moment. As we decided to leave, Aimee came outside. We did not go towards her. No picture. No hello. We respected her too much. Perhaps one day we can see her somewhere and have a normal conversation with her without hero worshipping. I'll post the setlist later.

Updates

Sorry to have been away the past week. I started a new job, and I have been getting used to the schedule. I plan on updating you all on the Aimee Mann shows tonight and tomorrow night in Atlanta and Nashville. I hope she is in a good mood and happy and feeling well and sings for 3 hours and not the expected hour and a half. She could sing the phone book and I would be happy. From her 'til Tuesday days I would love to here Lucky or What About Love. Her solo tunes that she doesn't regularly perform that I would like to hear (whew you can tell I'm tired with run-ons and poor sentence structure) include Way Back When, Say Anything, Put Me On Top, You Could Make a Killing, Choice in the Matter, Ray, etc. It will be great anyway. I hope to get a pic with her this year as the pic that was taken by another fan in Nashville last year of Aimee and me never materialized. It would be cool if they brought it to this year's show. I will update the comments soon. Be cool y'all.

Bozo's Grandson Drafted by the Angels

BB Bozo

Actually the BB stands for Baseball. Bozo's grandson was drafted.

Trevor Bell, the 18-year-old grandson of Chicago television legend and "Bozo" star Bob Bell, was drafted as a pitcher Tuesday by the Los Angeles Angels. He graduates from high school in two weeks.
"I'm sure Bob was cheering him on and helped get his dream of going to the Angels from angel heaven," said proud grandmother Carol Bell.
Bob Bell, who retired from Channel 9 after 28 years in 1984, died in 1997.

It is ironic that Bozo's grandson would be drafted at the same time channel 9 in Chicago announced its decision to stop broadcasting children's programming on weekday afternoons according to the Sun-Times.

Bob Seger's Entrance

More Rock Hall Members

Bob Seger is a journeyman who belongs in the hall. Many first came to know him as the Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man of the Bob Seger System, a band inspired by the all out, high voltage, Detroit diesel jam typical of the unjustly overlooked, by the hall, Mitch Ryder. Bob maintained the rage through the years on songs with his more famous Silver Bullet Band like Katmandu, Feel Like a Number, The Fire Down Below. Perhaps his lower keyed Night Moves, Against the Wind, and Like a Rock helped sway the voters. Old Time Rock and Roll and Turn the Page got him in.

Del Shannon was destined to have a comeback with the Traveling Wilburys when he died of an overdose of antidepressants. Del’s Runaway, which is immortalized in Tom Petty’s Running Down a Dream, is a masterpiece with its masterful guitar brushstrokes, Del’s falsetto, and its sped up organ solo. Del penned the Searchers’ I Go to Pieces. Del music was prominent in an American Idolish era of sweater clad Tiger Beat pinups. Del belongs.

The Shirelles appear on the surface to be more of an iffy selection to the hall when one sees the list of other deserving entrants. However, to their credit they were the first successful all female band in the rock era, and their songs were for all audiences. Their up-tempo Boys was covered by the Beatles, their Sha-La-La by Manfred Mann. They had the sweet tunes Tonights the Night, Dedicated to the One I (Cyclops lol) Love, and Will You Love Me Tomorrow. Baby Its You is fantastic.

RS Logo

3 Deserving Rock Hall Members

The Rolling Stones belong in the rock hall for Satisfaction alone. But then there is Gimme Shelter, Midnight Rambler, You Can’t Always Get What You Want and the Love (the band) inspired She’s a Rainbow, and that’s not even getting started. Heck, the Stones even made a cool disco tune, Miss You. They've got the look too with Mick’s lips, Keith’s skull ring, Brian Jones’ face, and later Ron Wood looking like a dark Rod Stewart. They’ve got it all, the tragedies, the controversies, the busts, the hits, the albums, the connections, the gimmicks, and what many others could not give us, the longevity.

Sam and Dave warrant their membership. They took gospel and spun it into pure rock and soul. They made us all want to be a Soul Man. The world would not spin quite so groovy without Hold On! I’m Comin’ and I Thank You. The Blues Brothers are B-movie versions of the real Sam Moore and Dave Prater. Soothe Me is a lesser-known gem that is worth mining.

Santana exposed rock to Latin Percussion while jamming away on his guitar to the steady beat. Former Filmore West owner, the late Bill Graham wrote in his book about meeting a teenage Carlos Santana when he was caught trying to sneak in to see another jam band, the Grateful Dead perform. Buy the first three albums. See Santana live. Santana’s cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Black Magic Woman with a pre-Journey Greg Rolie on vocals should be the ultimate authority on making a cover your own.

Carlos Santana

Back to My Critique of the Rock Hall of Fame

While Jimmy Reed does not belong in the rock hall, he does belong in the blues hall of fame for his songs such as Big Boss Mann and Ain’t That Loving You Baby have been re-recorded by Elvis Presley, Steve Miller, George Thorogood, and the Rolling Stones. His tunes were garage blues that were easier to play than B.B. King’s and sold better too.

The Righteous Brothers helped define blue-eyed soul with Unchained Melody, (You’re My) Soul and Inspiration, and the immortal Phil Spector produced, You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling. Sure it is syrupy, but it pays off. The duo the late Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley belong in the rock hall. They had quite a bit of up-tempo tunes like Little Latin Lupe Lu, a garage classic.

Smokey Robinson belongs in the rock hall of fame, His voice could make velvet seem like steel. He wrote My Guy for Mary Wells and My Girl for the Temptations. The Beatles covered You Really Got a Hold on Me, and the Stones covered Going to a Go-Go. The upbeat Mickey’s Monkey rocked the dance floor. Being With You stoked the fires of many dates as the speakers were reduced to cinders making it almost impossible to remember mama’s advice to Shop Around.

Smokey Robinson

June 1 Bob and Willie Concert

Bob and Willie

It was a wonderful surprise to receive 2 tickets to the concert from a lady that I have known for sometime. I would write her name but due to the fact that she won the tix I will not for fear that the radio station she won them from would give her some grief. The concert was in the pouring rain. As for the atmosphere, the crowd made the concert miserable. Like my last Dylan concert in Dalton, Ga a few years back, I was standing behind 7 foot giants, one of which even tried to open an umbrella. Many of the other people were in foul spirits as if they had some ancient Woodstock brown acid. I saw more arguing and crying than I saw of the concert. I saw more of the concert than I heard, and I saw more Willie Nelson than Bob Dylan. Willie was enthusiastic and friendly and his son sho can play the bluez. Here is another perspective of the crowd at the show.

Bob was less friendly. I do not think he ever addressed the crowd. His voice was almost as bad as in the days when the G. E. Smith Band toured with him, particularly a show at an amphitheatre near Nashville. Then, it struck me. Maybe Bob sounds better indoors. But then again that would not explain Bob's slumping over the keyboards with X's forming on his eyes. Perhaps the steady downfall was too hard on the old motorcycle injuries. Next time, contact me Bob and I'll recommend a doc for ya. Bob must not have been feeling well. The band was good but almost too good like Nashville professionals or hired guns, just make the singer sound better. Here is the setlist:

1. To Be Alone With You
2. The Times They Are A-Changin'
3. Cry A While
4. Just Like A Woman
5. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
6. Watching The River Flow
7. Visions Of Johanna
8. Highway 61 Revisited
9. Masters Of War
10. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
11. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
12. Summer Days

(encore)
13. Forever Young
14. All Along The Watchtower

Band Members
Bob Dylan - keyboard, harp
Stu Kimball - lead guitar
Denny Freeman - guitar
Donnie Herron - electric mandolin, violin, banjo, pedal steel
Tony Garnier - bass
George Recile - drums

Bob, we love ya. You can do better. But, I'd watch you mime. You are the last Elvis.

Here is a more positive review of the show.