MetaFilter posts tagged with rockmusic

Pete Townshend Guitar Contest

marxchivist — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:04:30 -0800

The Who: Maximum Windmill Guitar Contest

How in the world were they making that sound?

anazgnos — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:40:20 -0800

In a fascinating, still-ongoing conference on The inkWell, Richie Unterberger talks about the process of researching and writing about the Velvet Underground, for his recently published day by day chronicle of the group. (book excerpts here)

Long live the the Village Green - and the Mellotron

joseph conrad is fully awesome — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:55:25 -0800

The Mellotron features prominently on the 1968 album, The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, more commonly referred to as The Village Green Preservation Society. The weird, eerie quality of this electronic keyboard, which uses pre-recorded tapes of individual sounds such as strings and woodwind instruments, worked well with singer/songwriter Ray Davies' nostalgic, backwards looking sensibility. For Kinks Mellotron goodness, try Sitting By The Riverside, Phenomenal Cat, All Of My Friends Were There, Animal Farm, Starstruck, and Days, the last of which was originally intended for Village Green but dropped from the final playlist. Bonus Mellotron, not on Village Green: Autumn Almanac, which "relies heavily on the MkII trombones and mixed brass". Nicky Hopkins and Ray Davies played the Mellotron on Village Green. Upon its release, reviews were favorable but the public ignored it, in no small part because it was so at odds with the cultural and rock/pop climate at the time. Village Green is now considered a godlike album and a cult favorite, prompting Ray Davies to state in the 2004 re-issue liner notes, "It's the most successful failure of all time." Previously

Cale/Jackson '08!

Navelgazer — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:57:56 -0800

This past Spring, Oklahoma State Representative Joe Dorman (D-Rush Springs) and State Senator John Ford (R-Bartlesville) joined together to put their bipartisan support behind House Concurrent Resolution 1047, a bill to designate the Official Rock Song of Oklahoma, as to be chosen by the people. As long as the song was written or recorded by an artist from Oklahoma, it would be eligible. The lengthy list of nominees has now been pared down to ten, and the voting has opened online. The finalists vary from Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" (written by Okie Mae Boren Axton) to "Do You Realize," by The Flaming Lips, and my personal pick, Three Dog Night's "Never Been to Spain." The official designation is set to coincide with the opening of Another Hot Oklahoma Night, a major exhibit detailing the history of Rock and Roll in Oklahoma, in 2009.

I just want your extra time, and your... Mix.

Eideteker — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:21:11 -0800

Classic tracks: Can't seem to face up to the facts? Searching for the heart of Heart of Gold? Mix Online delves deep into your favorite jams, to find out what was in the air when they were conceived. Know what I mean? via

"Of course, neither Simon nor Garfunkle has been identified as a Nautical Expert"

Navelgazer — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:57:15 -0800

Chief Justice Roberts (mis)quotes Bob Dylan* in his dissent on Sprint Communications Co. v. APCC Services, Inc., making this the first known time that a Supreme Court Opinion has used a "rock song to buttress legal opinion," according to Alex B. Long of the University of Tennessee. Mr. Long knows a thing or two about this**, having authored [Insert Song Lyrics Here]***, a Washington & Lee Law review Article on the subject of Pop Music in legal writing. The article is funny†, insightful, comprehensive in its musical background††, and surprisingly knowledgeable about good taste in writing.††† *To be fair, Alex Long misquotes the line as well. For a full performance, see here. ** The Top Ten Most Cited Musicians (according to Long's admittedly flawed study) are: 1. Bob Dylan 2. The Beatles 3. Bruce Springsteen 4. Paul Simon 5. Woody Guthrie 6. The Rolling Stones 7. The Grateful Dead 8. Simon & Garfunkle 9. Joni Mitchell 10. R.E.M. *** This is a link to a site where you may download the pdf. Also, I should mention that this is the priority link, See † Pro Tip: In legal writing, the footnotes are used not only to exhaustively cite one's sources, but also to provide humor, irreverence, and "off-the-record" personal opinions where they would otherwise not be appropriate. This article is full of both. †† A fun "mix tape" of a small few of the cited songs: Cracker, Teen Angst The New Pornographers, The Laws Have Changed Ludacris, You's a Ho Violent Femmes, Add It Up Elvis Costello, Less Than Zero Tupac Shakur, Holla if You Hear Me Elvis Presley, Mystery Train Chuck Berry, Nadine The Beatles, Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and my Monkey The Kinks, Lola The Undertones, Teenage Kicks R.E.M., It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine) ††† If anyone knows how to do proper footnotes on MeFi, please let me know. Bonus: The "Hum a Few Bar Exam," from Prof. Eugene Volokh of Volokh Conspiracy

1960's

MLIS — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:13:47 -0800

The Psychedelic 60's: Literary Tradition and Social Change

The Birotron: The Keyboard of the Future

40 Watt — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 12:14:06 -0800

In 1975, armed with a big pile of 8-track car stereos and a whole lot of moxie, Dave Biro set out to change the sound of rock music. He failed spectacularly. This is the fascinating and tragic story of one of the rarest instruments in rock music- The Birotron. Even if you don't recognize the name, you've probably heard the Mellotron. The Beatles, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, The Kinks and countless others featured the unusual sounds of the keyboard on many of the most recognizable songs in rock music. However, despite the popularity of the Mellotron, it wasn't without it's flaws- heavy, bulky, slow, and- most important to this post- limited to 8 seconds of sound per key before the tapes which made up the sounds needed rewinding. Dave Biro decided to improve upon the Mellotron, and by cramming all those 8-tracks in a case and wiring the whole mess together, he was able to create an instrument with virtually infinite sustain. Unfortunately, his timing was a bit off: 4 years after the first Birotron rolled off the line, the world's first polyphonic digital sampling synthesizer was introduced. That, plus some serious technical and quality control issues, was enough to kill off the Birotron after only a handful were made.

You are boring the $#!* out of me!

JBennett — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 13:19:34 -0800

A new video by Jed Davis' Hanslick Rebellion. A meanspirited, though easy to identify with, piece about office small-talk. A feel good summer song for those of us tied to desks. Warning: Loud swearing.

... which is to say to my mind, there is continuous repetition and propotionally they are a bit boring.

Afroblanco — Mon, 29 May 2006 16:25:56 -0800

On May 14th, 1967, the new British pop group The Pink Floyd makes one of their first ever TV appearances. Despite a stellar performance of the song Astronomy Domine, the pretentious host of the show, Hans Keller, has nothing good to say about the band. During the interview (youtube, performance comes first, interview starts about 5:50 in. transcript here.), he chastises the band for their "continuous repetition", "terribly loud" volume, and their "proportionately a bit boring" sound.

However, it seems that all Hans' show will ever be remembered for is this single interview. Pink Floyd, on the other hand.. Well, we all know what happened to them. Syd Barrett, on the other hand, was not so lucky.

Does this mean I can only listen to hip-hop now?

scatman — Thu, 25 May 2006 16:03:13 -0800

Republican-Approved Rock Music (NYT link). The National Review, the standard-bearing conservative rag founded by William F. Buckley (you know, Gore Vidal's good pal), has published a list of "Top 50 Conservative Rock Songs Of All Time" (NYT again -- not TNR). The explanations for the picks tend toward the obvious, if also occasionally nauseating. The top pick, and many of the others, are just this week's evidence of how irony is lost on much of conservative America.

totally unexpected

lilboo — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 19:00:31 -0800

Simply the best Rice Krispies commercial ever. ....from YouTube. I'm speechless...

Rock Challenge Quiz

MiguelCardoso — Wed, 15 Oct 2003 07:16:03 -0800

So You Think You Know All About Rock Music, Do You? Well, try Rough Music's Rock Challenge quiz. (Click on the top left-hand corner, where it says "Test Your Rock Knowledge", include nom-de-plume and imaginary e-mail addy - with spaces even - and prepare to ransack that befuddled memory of yours.). There's additional fun to be had by betting on each question. I loved it! Be warned, though: if you're any good, it's a great time-waster! P.S. The site itself isn't half-bad either. (Via LinkFilter.)

Lester Bangs - Rock critic god.

ashbury — Tue, 07 Oct 2003 07:32:06 -0800

Lester Bangs, rock critic. Some reviews to read and enjoy. Patti Smith. Astral Weeks. Captain Beefheart. The Shaggs. Black Sabbath. Weather Report. Lou Reed. There are books you can read about him, too. (Previous mention in this thread.)

jonmc — Wed, 08 May 2002 19:03:24 -0800

Remember all the furor in '70's and '80's over Backmasking , which for the uninitiated is inserting backwards messages(usually Satanic) into records to seduce the innocent.Usually the allegations came from folks like this. Judas Preist even found themselves dragged into court over it. Thankfully, the audio at this site you can judge for yourself. More links here. I don't buy it myself. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go kill my parents.

mathowie — Sun, 27 Jan 2002 23:04:39 -0800

Lego isn't just for geeks anymore. The latest video directed by Michel Gondry for the White Stripes melds lego with rock in a wonderful way that just has to be seen.

geronimo_rex — Wed, 06 Jun 2001 08:12:39 -0800

Every rock list ever. Collected on one site - every imaginable list related to rock music. Browse by publication (Rolling Sone, SPIN, NME, Village Voice, etc.), by favorite critic (Christgau, Marsh, etc.), by year (1952 to present), or search.