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Thanks for Keeping Me Alive

27 Aug

In the late 1960s, a singer-songwriter named Rodgriguez was developing a following in Detroit.

Described as an “inner-city poet” and a “wandering spirit,” and hailed as a peer of Bob Dylan, Rodriguez released his debut album, the critically acclaimed Cold Fact, in 1970. A year later, he released his follow-up, Coming from Reality.

But despite the accolades, very few copies of the two albums were sold, and Rodriguez was soon dropped by the record label.

That’s just one of the confounding things we learn in the excellent new documentary Searching for Sugar Man. Continue reading →

There Was Magic in the Night at Fenway Park

16 Aug

What do you say about a Bruce Springsteen show that starts with “Thunder Road,” the previous evening’s high point, performed simply and in classic style, with just piano and harmonica by Springsteen and “Professor” Roy Bittan?

What do you say about a Springsteen show that includes diverse but amazing audience requests like “Thundercrack,” “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?,” “Frankie,” “Quarter to Three,” and “Prove It All Night” (with the 1978 intro), and where a cover of Eddie Floyd’s “Knock on Wood” (a song the band has only performed once before — in 1976) is considered by Springsteen to be the weirdest one of them all?

What do you say about a Springsteen show that also includes an excellent, powerful “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” an awe inspiring “Land of Hope and Dreams,” and a transcendent “Backstreets?”

What do you say about a Springsteen show where he sings “Waiting on a Sunny Day,” and ironically, that’s when it starts raining? Then he does an acoustic “Who’ll Stop the Rain?” and it starts raining even harder?

What do you say about a Springsteen show where he asks for a hot dog and beer so many times that someone actually gives him one — at the start of “Working on the Highway” — and he chugs that entire beer in one sip … while still playing the intro to the song!

What do you say about a Springsteen show where even the usually stoic and serious Max Weinberg smiled a few times?

What do you say about a 31-song Springsteen show where only 12 of those numbers were repeated from the night before, one of which (the aforementioned “Thunder Road“) performed so differently that it kinda doesn’t even count as having been repeated?

What do you say about a Springsteen show that ends — with Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys joining the band for “American Land” — and then treats the audience to a fireworks show off the Green Monster as they’re leaving the stadium?

What do you say about a Springsteen show that’s even better than the one the night before?

Really, what can you say other than that you’re lucky to have been there. Damned lucky. Continue reading →

Greetings from Fenway Park, MA

15 Aug

Bruce Springsteen wrote the song “Wrecking Ball” in 2009 to commemorate the tearing down of the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

It wasn’t too long ago that Fenway Park was threatened with a similar fate.

But here we are celebrating the 100th birthday of America’s Most Beloved Ballpark, with a wrecking ball nowhere in sight, and Springsteen is back to play his third and fourth shows at the stadium in less than a decade.

These are glory days, indeed. (Someone must not have told the Red Sox, but we’ll leave that to another blog post.)

Continue reading →

What Songs Am I Listening to Right Now?

16 Jul

One of the best things about summer is driving around with the windows down and some good tunes cranking.

That means you need the right mix of music.

I like to keep a playlist on my iPhone of all those songs I’m into right now, so they’re at easy access. It’s like those “State of My iPod” mixes I used to make when I burned CDs, except now those mixes are fluid and easily updated when a good new song comes along — like Frank Ocean’s “Sweet Life,” which I’ve basically had on repeat for the past few days.

In the spirit of sharing the songs I love right now, and also, because on Saturday someone actually asked me for some recommendations for new music, I present to you some of the songs on my mix of current tunes … Continue reading →

Do You Wanna Rock?

14 Jun

Ladies and gentlemen, this is how you do it.

So much more than simply Glee for Grownups, the big-screen version of Rock of Ages features a cast of big-name stars (mostly) letting out their inner rock gods and giving audiences what may be the most fun movie of the summer.

I mean, what else do you expect from a movie that’s set in 1987 on the seedy side of the Sunset Strip, and features actors like Catherine Zeta-Jones, Alec Baldwin, Tom Cruise, Paul Giamatti, and Russell Brand singing classic cheesy hair-metal songs by Whitesnake, Poison, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, and others?

I’m not sure I’d say “it don’t get better than this,” but if you’re looking for “nothin’ but a good time,” then Rock of Ages is damn near close to, yes, Paradise City. Continue reading →

Is This the Ultimate “Summer” Playlist?

29 May

The cassette tape may have gone the way of the dodo, and the iPod may have replaced the CD-R, but the mix lives on.

Of course, now, instead of calling it a mix, we call it a “playlist.” But no matter.

Making playlists is one of my favorite activities, whether I’m compiling single-artist playlists, playlists for a purpose (e.g., working out, relaxing, or driving), playlists for holidays (Christmas, yes, but also Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day), or time-capsule/state of the iPod/things I’m listening to right now playlists.

But those don’t hold a candle to the thematic playlists I create.

For example, I have a patriotic playlist called “American Tunes” that’s mostly a collection of songs where “America,” “USA,” or some related word figures prominently (“Surfin’ USA,” “Pink Houses,” and “America, Fuck Yeah,” to name just three).

I’ve made a similar mix for rainy days, where some form of the word “rain” figures prominently in each tune, and for when I’ve traveled to various cities, like Las Vegas.

It’s a hobby reminiscent of those days when I went to summer camp and we did “Sing Downs,” where a counselor would throw out a word and we’d have to think of as many songs as we could that referenced the word. The team that thought of the most songs won.

The idea’s not so stupid: The recent “Big” issue of Rolling Stone included a “Big Playlist,” with every song on it featuring the word “big” in the title or in the artist who sings it — or both (e.g., Bob Dylan’s “You’re a Big Girl Now,” and “Big Time” by Big & Rich).

Anyway, I realized this weekend that I’d never created a “Summer” mix, so I finally made one. Continue reading →

Thankfully, He’s Not There Yet

2 May

If you’ve never heard of Eric Hutchinson, that’s alright.

Despite releasing two highly enjoyable albums of soulful pop songs — including his latest, Moving Up, Living Down —having a couple of videos that’ve made VH1’s Top 20 countdown, and being an opener for Kelly Clarkson’s tour a couple years ago, mainstream success has so far eluded Hutch.

And I’m cool with that, because I like him (actually, I have for a while), and sometimes being a fan of a singer or band is more fun when they’re on the verge, and success hasn’t yet tarnished their vibe or image.

That’s why last night, Hutch played the Paradise here in Boston — as opposed to, say, the House of Blues, where fun. played just a couple weeks earlier — and it was a more intimate, laid back show that allowed Hutch to better connect with his fans, many of whom were from the area’s colleges. Continue reading →

Some Nights Are Just More Fun

22 Apr

Oh, to be Nate Ruess.

The charismatic, boyish frontman of fun. (yes, the period is part of the name) took the stage at the House of Blues in Boston Saturday night not looking like he had an album to sell. Rather, it seemed like he wanted to celebrate, and bask in the band’s success so far this year.

The guy was positively beaming as he bounced all around the stage, having the best time of anyone in the room, and he commanded the mic like a conquering hero.

That’s how you’d act too if your crossover hit “We Are Young” was on track to be the best selling song of 2012, and you’d already had it featured in a Super Bowl commercial and an episode of Glee.

Sure, “We Are Young,” with its catchy, anthemic chorus, has many of the trademarks of a great one-hit wonder. But fun.’s show Saturday night proved that the band deserves to have a career beyond that one song. Continue reading →

The Song Remains the Same for “Once”

11 Apr

Like the movie it’s based on, Once the stage musical (which I saw last week) begins in unassuming fashion.

The stage has been “converted” to a pub, where audience members can go for a drink before the show (and during intermission). The ensemble is right there on stage performing Irish and Czech folk songs, in a seemingly impromptu jam session, and patrons are treated as if it’s just another night in the pub.

Gradually, all the audience members are led back to their seats, and without any fanfare, there’s someone “new” on stage, who the ensemble parts ways to let sing.

And does he ever.

With broken-hearted passion, this Guy belts out “Leave,” a slow-burn song about his girlfriend, who has left Dublin — and him.

Slowly the lights go down and the show has begun.

Continue reading →

He Took Care of His Own

27 Mar

Hard times … Baby, well, they come to us all.

Few people understand that statement as well as Bruce Springsteen does. And that theme permeated a good chunk of Springsteen’s show last night at the TD Garden here in Boston.

With a new album out, Wrecking Ball, that addresses the tough, unfair economic climate, and a set list that drew heavily from that album, it was clear that Springsteen came to town hoping to give voice to the frustrated and angry.

And he did, beginning the show with sound and fury: “We Take Care of Our Own,” “Wrecking Ball,” “Badlands,” and the Celtic-flavored “Death to My Hometown,” one after another. That’s what he called putting “a whoop-ass session on the recession.”

Later on, he performed “American Skin (41 Shots)” as a not-so-subtle reference to Trayvon Martin.

But it didn’t take long to pick up on the fact that Springsteen had more on his mind than current events. Continue reading →

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