Dirty Water - The Boston Rock & Roll Museum

January 10, 2004 9:03 AM

"Kids were standing on chairs and dancing in the aisles the minute the police backs were turned. The building was dark with only the spotlights on...Satin jacketed packs of teens slugged, beat and robbed 15...Over my dead body will there be another rock show in the Boston Arena." ....from the 29 chapter History of Boston R&R at Dirty Water - The Boston Rock & Roll Museum.
posted by madamjujujive (11 comments total)

Quote above is from Chapter 3. Great post!
posted by SpecialK at 10:24 AM on January 10, 2004

Ha! I love this site. This particular entry is a pisser. I was on a kick collecting songs by athletes awhile back and stumbled upon his stuff. It's musically mediocre, but like all cultural ephemera it gives you a glance into the mood of a place and time. I'm still trying to find a copy of "Go Go Joe Charbonneau."

The Boostown Sound chapters are a great lesson in the perils of hype, and it's great to see some underrapreiated and misunderstood bands getting their due.
posted by jonmc at 10:44 AM on January 10, 2004

Quick trivia quiz:

Why is a site about the history of rock in Boston called "Dirty Water"?

(Bonus points if you know the lyrics. Hint hint.)
posted by bdk3clash at 10:48 AM on January 10, 2004

Too easy.

This site is not really related but it's wicked pissa and it does make a good companion.
posted by CunningLinguist at 10:52 AM on January 10, 2004

bdk3clash:

Because of the Standells gargae rock classic "Dirty Water" which contained the verse: "Love that dirty water, Boston you're my home," referring to the fetid Charles river.

Oddly, the Standells were from LA..

CunningLinguist was right. Too easy.

Here's a tougher one. What did Boston guitarist Tom Scholz do for a living before forming the aforementioned band?
posted by jonmc at 10:56 AM on January 10, 2004

OK, jonmc, I won't give away the answer to your question since I had to cheat via google. But it's interesting that just this past week he was a pilot in the news. This account has a rather misleading headline.

New England Music Scrapbook is also a good site on the area music scene, but it is a geocities page so I am not sure how reliable it is before bandwidth is exceeded.
posted by madamjujujive at 12:29 PM on January 10, 2004

jon, he was an engineer for Polaroid. No google necessary for anyone who spent the summers of 78 and 79 in Harvard Yard.
posted by billsaysthis at 2:05 PM on January 10, 2004

I thought Tom was getting his masters at MIT. And he lived in Watertown at the time.

Anyway, [this is good].
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 7:17 PM on January 10, 2004

Cunning, Jon -- Want to clue the rest of us no-nothings in? :-P
posted by SpecialK at 8:27 PM on January 10, 2004

billsaysthis is correct. Scholz was an engineer.
posted by jonmc at 8:53 AM on January 11, 2004

Let's just say when Boston's second album finally came out, back when three years between releases was an eternituy and not SOP, that every rock station DJ went more than a little overboard.
posted by billsaysthis at 12:01 PM on January 11, 2004