While surfing the internet the other day, I ran across an article that stated a fact that should be obvious to most by now: 70 percent of music sales in the U.S. is basically old music.
There was more to the article than that, but my takeaway was that for the first time in decades, my own personal musical tastes have become aligned with what would be considered the mainstream.
Having said that, here’s my housecleaning list of obsessions from 2021 (late to press as usual). It’s the usual grab bag of odd bits mixed with others more typical, although at this point, I suppose none of us should be surprised about anything. What was once new is now old – and now new again.
ROCK AS CINEMA
Let’s start with the release (finally!) of The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The Boss and his associates rip through a quick hour-and-a-half set, demonstrating why they were considered to be the No. 1 live rock show of their era. Not just for fans, but for anyone that that never got to see the E Streeters in their prime.
Another live performance that escaped my notice the first time around is Road Movie, which documented the tour in support of R.E.M.’s mid-’90s effort Monster. Pretty cool. Bassist Mike Mills ought to get the Rock ‘n Roll Secret Weapon award for his great performance while wearing fancy suits without looking like he’s trying too hard. A delicate balance.
Then there’s the fictional Slade in Flame, a mid ’70s film that stars glam-rockers Slade as an up-and-coming rock ‘n’ roll group called Flame. There’s not much glamorous about the intrigues of the music industry here, and Slade turns in a credible job of acting the part of a working band turned pop sensation quite naturally. Track this one down if you can.
Let me insert here a quick thumbs up to The Sparks Brothers, a film about Ron and Russell Mael, whose band Sparks continues to exist around the edge of pop and rock quirkiness.
And finally, let’s not forget the event of the season: The Beatles: Get Back. Lots of Beatles’ fans and commentary out there, so I’ll keep this short: it’s everything everyone says it is.
ROCK AS BOOKS
Yes indeed, there are some out there that still read, and there is still lots say about music and the people who make it. (I’m not going to bother you with the correct bibliographical citations – another thing that’s changed since my school days.)
STEVEN VAN ZANDT – UNREQUITED INFATUATIONS: Yep, the consigliere to the Boss himself has his own story to tell. As well as a few Bruce Springsteen stories, Steven Van Zandt also discusses his solo music career, his acting debut as a supporting cast member on the hit TV series The Sopranos, and his star turn in the Netflix show Lilyhammer.
ROBBY KRIEGER – SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE: A non-chronological account of Robby Krieger’s career covering his perspective on his work pre- and post-Doors.
JOHN MILWARD – AMERICANALAND: Pretty good discussion about the roots and current understanding of the Americana genre.
MILES ON MILES, edited by Paul Maher Jr. and Michael K. Dorr: A collection of interviews with trumpeter Miles Davis. I think this was originally a hardcover back in 2009, but I just got a copy, so it’s new to me. Jazz is not typically my bailiwick, but Miles’ influence crosses a lot of boundaries. A very complex man.
ROCK AS … MUSIC
Oh yeah, as promised, the old/new music. A scattering of sounds this year, which also included my re-infatuation with mid-’70s Frank Zappa albums like Apostrophe, Roxy & Elsewhere, Zoot Allures, etc.
THE GRIP WEEDS – DiG: The Grip Weeds are a psych/garage band from New Jersey who have been around since the ’80s, which means that they are all old enough to play the ’60s sound and get it right. Their latest is an album of ’60s-style covers.
DEEP PURPLE – TURNING TO CRIME: Speaking of covers, Deep Purple recently released this stellar album. Here’s a case of a band long known for its heavy rock/prog leanings cherry-picking, well, anything they want: Love’s 1966 release “7 and & Is,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well,” and Cream’s “White Room.” It’s all good, and all gets the hot-wired Deep Purple treatment. In particular, their cover of Little Feat’s “Dixie Chicken” is revelatory: even though they’re in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, they really are a very fine, very underrated band.
RAY MANZAREK’S NITE CITY – NITE CITY: The mad dash to the finish line starts with Ray Manzarek’s post-Doors project, which produced this self-titled album. Overall, a pretty good rock effort, but couldn’t scale the heights of pop or art like the Doors did.
(An aside here re: Pop, Art, and Commerce – sometime, there’s got to be a discussion about all the artists who have sold or are negotiating to sell their music publishing. Likely, they know something that the rest of us don’t.)
THE ROLLING STONES: You know, there’s been lots of talk lately about the wonderfulness of the Rolling Stones’ late-’70s/early-’80s pairing of Some Girls and Tattoo You. I’ve always been partial to Emotional Rescue, if for no other reason than I always wanted to hear Bo Diddley and Jerome Green cover “She’s So Cold” (“How cold is she?” “She’s so cold …”).
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE/STARSHIP: I used to find albums like Long John Silver and Blows Against the Empire in the delete bins of the local department stores. Those were the days when $1.99 could get you a copy of Bark or both a burger and fries.
DION – STOMPING GROUND: He still writes or cowrites new original material, he still has a great voice – and he’s still cool.
THE STACCATOS/FIVE MAN ELECTRIC BAND: I fell in love with “Half Past Midnight” about six months ago.
THE GREEN PAJAMAS: “Such a Lovely Daughter” was only ever released as a fanzine promo flexi-disc. I fell in love with this song about six days ago.
DM3: With “Hourglass,” the Dom Mariani Three became my pick for last year’s Best Band I Never Heard First Time Around.
- How David Bowie’s ‘The Next Day’ Stripped Away All of the Artifice - March 15, 2023
- Why Deep Purple’s ‘Who Do We Think We Are?’ Deserves Another Listen - January 11, 2023
- In Defense of the Often-Overlooked Mott the Hoople - November 10, 2022
