Playlist: TE Radio 3, Rock HOF, Life Itself

Well, we didn't get the views for 12/13/14 blog as originally thought.  Last year the 11/12/13 blog got over 1200 views, this time out we only got 14.   So much for fads.  The end of year is coming up and some changes will be in store for next year.  Not sure what they will be but something of sort will continue on Record World.  I will continue to focus on my hobby job on Lucky Star Radio called Townedger Radio and will continue to do the playlist of the songs picked.  But I'm thinking the ten song playlist will be replaced by the once a month playlist of songs played that night.  I'm certainly not getting many comments about the playlist of songs like I once has.

The drawbacks of growing old is getting health issues be it chest pains, high BP or too much binge eating at the buffet.  Of course this time each year of the blog, I take an overall view and see if this is worth continuing. Most of my original core audience have gone on to other things or simply disappeared that either life happens or they find new loves and start families and have no time to read and comment or guest host.  Things do change in the 15 years that I have been on internet land.  And continue to do so till we all dead and gone and that remains is what is left up in net land.  And if I believe the ratings the archives do get looked at.  But I quit posting pictures (unless I have the pictures in possession, the ones that disappear come from Google) off the net unless I keep them on computer.  I'm basically tired of trying to replaced the missing ones with new pics.  And then watch them disappear as well.   In other words, what's the point.

Robert Christgau gives A grades to Miranda Lambert's Platinum and Drive By Truckers' English Oceans, not a surprise on the latter but is on the former although her album missed the 10 best by a couple points, not a big deal but she had a tad bit too many songs and a gimmick with Carrie Underwood that sounds more unfinished than half-baked. But we both agreed that Mike Cooley upping the ante in songs made it their best album in years.   As for his A plus of Wussy's Attica!....you're on your own.

The 2015 rock and roll inductees this year seems to be bit more stronger than last year's.  Not phoney baloney rap acts thank God.  But it annoys me to see Stevie Ray Vaughan ignored over the years till a write in vote from people got him in,  who are more in tune with real music than Jann Wanner and the suits who dictate who gets in.  We can now say it's official: Stevie Ray Vaughan is now in, along with The 5 Royals, Bill Withers, Paul Butterfield Blues Band (his Elektra band years with Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop were classic), Joan Jett, Ringo Starr, Lou Reed (after he died of course, I'm sure Laurie Anderson will do a fine job standing in for him) and Green Day get their place in Hall Of Fame history.  Which leaves a few others outside looking in, (Deep Purple, Paul Revere And The Raiders, Yes, etc etc etc).  Like last year we'll put them in terms of my favorites.

Stevie Ray Vaughan

The last great pure Guitar playing rock and blues player before a helicopter crash took him away from us in 1990.  Since then we haven't a guitar player like Stevie that could sell music, Joe Bonamassa comes close but to me it was SRV and Double Trouble.   He got booed off the stage in Montreax during a blues fest which showed how clueless that crowd would be but won over Jackson Browne and David Bowie, who used him on the Let's Dance album.  The recording time Browne gave Stevie would turn into Texas Flood.  And then the legend grew.  Montreaux welcomed him back in 1985 with a standing ovation.  And Stevie overcame a vicious drug habit to the great comeback In Style album of 1989 which gave him classic rock classics as The House Is Rocking and Crossfire. And then jamming with Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy in Alpine Valley before that fate took him away from us.  I hold him in high regard with Hendrix.  That's saying something.

Green Day:

Snot nosed punks that started out like normal punks before getting Tre Cool on drums and reshaping their sound into something like The Who, Green Day is my favorite band of the 90s, Kerplunk showed what they could do with a crazy drummer and then came Dookie, which became a runaway seller. While Insomniac didn't catch on, I thought and still think it's their best to date.  They tripped over themselves on Nimrod but Warning showed they were growing up before our eyes, or their answer to The Who By Numbers.  Their International Superhits covers all the bases of hits, but they surprised the world with American Idiot, kind of a rock opera so to speak. The next album turned out to be their worst and perhaps their Uno Dos Tres albums released a month after each other could have been trimmed down to a be a solid album may have backfired in terms of record sales but it's Green Day as we know them.  Punks with a melodic heart.

Lou Reed:

Stolic old crank that made a career out of confronting and alienating his audience with albums such as Metal Machine Music and even his last album with Metallica Lulu raised ire but this is Lou Reed at his best.  Never content to stay to one formula, he went from a solo album with members of Yes to glam with Mick Ronson and David Bowie overseeing, and then rework rock and roll with the legendary Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter (Rock And Roll Machine).  And then Metal Machine Music, two records of feedback noise that only weirdos could listen to all the way through, but then turn around and make Coney Island Baby.  His Arista years were uneven, even Street Hassle had problems, and he became a stand up comic on the Take No Prisoners live album before going back to Growing Up In Public which is better than The Bells. A return to RCA gave us The Blue Mask, a title track that is Metal Machine Music with melody and singing the praises of his new wife (which would end in divorce 10 years later).  New Sensations was as close to Lou Reed making music for radio and I consider this to be his best of that time.  The Sire albums had their moments he kissed and made up with John Cale on the Andy Warhol eulogy Songs For Drella and even The Velvet Underground got reunited before Reed's iron hand got in the hand and the rest of the band told him to take off.  His last years he spent much time with new love Laurie Anderson and revisited Berlin, his 1973 anti classic and for a finale, jammed with Metallica on Lulu, a album that's more Lou with Metallica being the backing band.  He thrived on controversy and got it in spades.  The way he wanted to go out.

Ringo Starr:

This is where the Paul Revere and Deep Purple fans go up in arms, another member of a classic band gets his due and they're still out in the cold, I'm one of them.  But I also admit that I have more Ringo Starr solo albums then the other guys.  And Richard Perry managed to coax up some top billing stars to be on Ringo's classic 1973 album Ringo and Goodnight Vienna and Ringo did managed to get John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney to appear on his albums.  Kind of a mini Beatles reunion.  Later recordings on other labels were more miss than hit but Ringo did have one fine album in him on the 1991 Time Takes Time album which he got members of Jellyfish to sing and play for a power pop sound.  Later recordings with Mark Hudson and Dave Stewart were so so.

Bill Withers:

His Sussex years got him into the HOF.  Ain't No Sunshine one of the best 2 minute songs ever made, Use Me and of course Lean On Me.  Later became too MOR for me when he moved to Columbia but overall a fine vocalist and songwriter.

The 5 Royales:

Recorded for King back in the 50s.  Legendary R and B group in the style of the Clovers.

Paul Butterfield Blues Band

I thought he was a limited vocalist but a great harmonica player but what got him in was his excellent band of the 60s when he recorded for Elektra that featured Elvin Bishop who tolerated him most of the time and when he went solo Butterfield never recovered and a switch over to Bearsville didn't bring much either.  The quality of music went downhill despite the best efforts of some producers Willie Mitchell for example.  But with Bishop or Mike Broomfield  East West,the album has been the one to seek out.

Joan Jett:

Part of the Runaways and later fronted the Blackhearts.  Really didn't get into her, we all got burned out by I Love Rock And Roll, but I do give her points for her beliefs and playing with Evil Stig, the band known as the Gits after their lead singer got murdered, Jett made a live album with the band.  Jett's last album was actually quite good.


Townedger Radio Broadcast on Lucky Star Radio Playlist 12/17/14

I Bet You They Won't Play This Song On The Radio-Monty Python
Rolling And Tumbling-The Strypes
Institutionalized-Body Count
I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight-The Fresh Young Fellows
Bird Dance Beat-The Trashmen
Lo And Behold-Bob Dylan/The Band (the basement tapes raw version)
Psychedelic Pill-Neil Young/Crazy Horse
Spiderman-Ramones
Can't Be Who You Want Me To Be-Lizzy Williams Band
Can't Be What You Want Me To Be-The Townedgers
Rust Belt Town-The Randy Cliffs
Pictures-The Len Price 3
Coke 2-The Who
Quark, Strangeness And Charm-Hawkwind
Sally Can't Dance (45 Version)-Lou Reed
Dear Lisa-The Townedgers
Stupid Things-Elizabeth Cook
Bad Girl-Slim Gallard
I'm Going Find That Girl-Dixieland  Drifters with Norman Blake
Wrong-Train Hits Truck