This treasure is currently in the running for my favorite YouTube video of all time. It features a young dark-haired Kenny Rogers fronting a full band, The First Edition, WHILE PLAYING BASS! I thought Kenny always had white hair, so that makes this view of the 1972 34-year old Mr. Rogers all the more remarkable. And to top it all, this is a great tune called "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" originally written by Mel Tillis. After The First Edition split in 1975, Kenny went on to achieve 25 Number 1 singles as a solo artist.
The origin of the song is as follows:
The song is about a disabled, dying veteran of "that old crazy Asian war" (the Korean War), who begs his lover not to cheat on him. Tillis based the song on a couple who lived near his family in Florida. In real life, the man was wounded in Germany in World War II and sent to recuperate in England. There he married a nurse who took care of him at the hospital. The two of them moved to Florida shortly afterward, but he had periodic return trips to the hospital as problems with his wounds kept flaring up. His wife saw another man as the veteran lay in the hospital. Tillis changed the war to the more recent Korean War in the song, and departed from the ending that happened in real life: the man killed his wife in a murder-suicide. This is however alluded to in the song, with the singer avowing, "If I could move I'd get my gun and put her in the ground. Wikipedia
More information on The First Edition can be found here
"The young people I met backstage, some of them were 20 years old. They wanted to get my autograph and tell me they really liked me. If only they knew how that made me feel, like a new breath of fresh air. To have new fans now is a tremendous thing."
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Update: Porter Wagoner provided his view on the Grateful Dead to Robert Hunter backstage at the Opry. The story goes:
"We (the Dead) were getting off of that psychedelic run that we were on,” said Hunter, who watched the show each week with Garcia in Northern California. “We had evolved from bluegrass and old-timey bands, but what we didn’t know was country & western, or whatever it was that Dolly and Porter were doing. So a little bit of Nashville moved into the Bay Area, and it was like nothing I’d ever seen.”
Hunter eventually made his way backstage at the Opry, where he told that story to Mr. Wagoner, who smiled and said, “Well, I never did hear nothing by that Grateful Dead that I didn’t like.”
Fellow bloggers at Ghosts of Wayne Fontes provide a fascinating commentary on the similarities between NBA basketball great Michael Jordan and jam band great Phish. Check it out here
ConcertBlast.com features downloadable podcasts of concert reviews from the site's contributors. The many casts currently available include Styx, Vince Neil, The Police, and Bonnaroo 2007.
The Bonnaroo podcast runs 58 minutes and comes across as a radio show broadcast from inside the grounds. The 3 'hosts' describe the scene, talk to attendees, and allow the music to come through their microphones. I found them to be quite entertaining and certain fans of music. Their lack of familiarity with the bands made their commentary all the more interesting to listen to. It was a treat for me, as my own memories of attending this summer's Bonnaroo had begun to fade. I am certain that they must have been mere yards away from me as they enjoyed the sounds of Jonah Smith on the Sonic Stage.
Read the story of one music fans conversion from growing up staunchly anti-Grateful Dead in San Francisco to ultimately relinquishing to the power of the Dead's music. It starts...
There comes a time in a music lover's life when one must ask oneself a most fateful question: the Grateful Dead… do I or don't I? My fellows promised me that one day it would all come down to this, that as an informed listener, I would inevitably find it necessary to fully explore the beast of a back catalog and wayfaring, wooly live archive of the Grateful Dead. "Erm... o... kay," I'd say skeptically, "and then what?" “Well,” they'd say, "you will then have to concede to the band's almighty power." I don't think so!
As a San Franciscan with more angry punk than twirly dance hippie in me, I figured it was not only my birthright, but also my moral obligation, to hate the Dead. For my entire natural life, resisting their supposed lure posed no problem for me, even though from the day I was born the very air I breathed was filled with their jams. I made damn sure that very little could penetrate the stony psychic wall I’d erected to protect myself from hearing them or from consorting with their kind, those dirty followers of theirs known as Deadheads.
Passing through the Grand Central subway station this morning, I stopped in my tracks when I saw this group of gentleman banging out a good 'ol fashioned country stomp trying to earn a few bucks. Feast your eyes on the self-titled Ebony Hillbillies, consisting of stand-up bass, fiddle, banjo, and percussion (think washboard).
Cheeky Brit popster Robbie Williams earns our first ever Quote of the Day. This was too good not to share.
"I met Courtney Love and she said she'd like to sleep with me, but couldn't because of my pop star thing. So I said I couldn't sleep with her either because of the ugly thing."
The Netflix fairy brought VH1 Inside Out: Warren Zevon. The only problem was that the DVD was cracked. It wouldn't play. The film is a behind-the-scenes look at the "making" of Warren's final CD, which was written and recorded in the Fall of 2002 immediately after he learned he was terminally ill from cancer and was given only three months to live. You see Warren was cracked and broken too, just like my DVD. But him, he WAS going play. He refused chemotherapy treatments because he was concerned it would affect his strength to sing and play his songs.
Warren Zevon, what little I knew about him, was that he was a musician's musician. The kind of artist that the rock stars you love absolutely love. That is why the guests stars weren't taking part to further their own careers. It was because they loved him. Included on Warren's final CD, entitled The Wind, were Bruce Springsteen Jackson Browne, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Emmylou Harris, Dwight Yoakam, and Tom Petty amongst others.
You get the feeling from watching the interaction of Warren with friends, family, and fellow musicians that people just absolutely loved being around him. He always had a smile on his face, he seemed like a very intelligent and down to earth man, and most impressively of all he wasn't afraid to let the audience know how he was feeling and what his emotions were at such a personal time. And that he was feeling the pressures of time. After all, how would you feel if you only had three months to live?
A very good friend of Warren Zevon was David Letterman. In fact, in October 2002, Warren was invited to be the ONLY guest on Dave's show that night. Warren originally turned down the offer as he did not want to lose any of the strength he had left by flying from his L.A. home to New York City. A short time later, after Warren stated that he was reading Sammy Davis Jr.'s biography and learned that when Sammy was dying of cancer he refused to stop performing, Warren decided he would be up for the show.
It was on this episode that Warren stated his now oft-quoted statement. Dave asked Warren if he had any advice for him and his audience in regards to how to live your life. Warren's simple answer: "Enjoy every sandwich."
Warren's original diagnosis of three months was incorrect. He passed away September 2003, a full year after diagnosis and four times as long as his doctors had predicted. Ultimately, Warren passed away just two weeks after his album was released. Unfortunately, one thing that Warren did not get to enjoy was winning his first Grammy award. He was posthumously awarded five Grammys for his album The Wind.
That Warren, he had some pretty good advice. I'm off to Katz's deli.
Warren Zevon 1947 - 2003
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was first introduced to this song by Widespread Panic's live version, but this unaccompanied 12-string acoustic version shows Warren performing it the way it was meant to be heard.
"In a slow week for album sales, Bruce Springsteen's "Magic" returns to the summit of The Billboard 200 despite a 42% sales decline. The Columbia effort moved 77,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, climbing 2-1. The album bowed at No. 1 three weeks ago with 335,000."
Billboard
I find it shocking that an artist can have a #1 album on sales of only 77,000. What does it say about the state of the music business? This has peaked my curiousity in wanting to research where this sales total would have fallen on the chart in years past, so I tasked The Weight's research department/intern/me with coming up with some comparable historical numbers. Here is what I found from an article from way back in June 2005:
Coldplay sold 186,000 more copies of X&Y in its third week of release to hold the number one spot. The album has already sold approximately 1.3 million CDs after just three weeks in stores. In second place is Mariah Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi, moving another 132,000 CDs two and a half months after its release. The Foo Fighters' double album, In Your Honor, dropped one place this week to Number Three (116,000), while Monkey Business, the latest from Cali hip-hoppers Black Eyed Peas, climbed one spot to Number Four (103,000) in its third week.
Big debuts this week included Atlanta MCs (and P. Diddy proteges) Boyz N Da Hood's self-titled debut, which sold 101,000 to open at Number Five, and R&B singer Keyshia Cole, whose The Way It Is came in at Six (89,000).
Rounding out the Top Ten were the Backstreet Boys' comeback, Never Gone, which has already started to slide in just its second week, down from its Number Three debut (a low for the blockbuster boy band) to Number Seven (79,000). A compilation of punk-inflected rock from Nineties hitmakers the Offspring, Greatest Hits, did surprisingly well, moving 70,000 copies to come in at Number Eight.
So there you have it. Less than three years ago, 77,000 copies sold would have landed Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band firmly at #8, in between the Backstreet Boys comeback album and The Greatest Hits of The Offspring. But in October 2007, it magically qualifies for #1. It was nice knowing you music business.
Sly and The Family Stone are playing BB King's in NYC on December 7, 2007 - their first NYC show in 33 years (or so I'm told). There's going to be a presale on Friday, and a public sale next week. Stay tuned. This was ripped right from BrooklynVegan. Thanks so much for the plagiarism, er...heads up.
Muse, Kaiser Chiefs, Good Charlotte, Chris Cornell and Korn have been announced as headliners for next year's two-date My Coke Fest, taking place in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. I think this is the best, most obvious name for a rock concert ever. What's next? Weedfest '08? (Billboard)
Buy every Zeppelin album track off iTunes for $99. That’s 165 songs trading at a substantial discount. I smell a business opportunity. Wanna buy a track? (NME)
Elvis Costello came out on stage with Bob Dylan for the first time and performed The Band’s ‘Tears of Rage’ as an acoustic duo. Actually, Dylan and Richard Manuel wrote it. And I wish I was there. (Jambands.com)
Check out Wilson and Allroy’s Record Review page. Their slogan is “We Listen to the Lousy Records so you don’t have to.” A HUGE archive, and best of all, very little post 2000. By nature, they already knew they were lousy.
Joe Cocker became famous for belting out "What would you do if I sang out of tune...". In fact, he is one of the more famous people out there for singing other people's tunes. So it is only fair that he help out the Beatles by singing an excellent version of 'Come Together' for new movie 'Across The Universe'. The flick utilizes Beatles tunes to tell a love story which takes place from Liverpool (where else?) all the way over to New York City.
Come Together was one of those Beatles tracks I appreciated but certainly had no real affinity for. The lyrics obviously made no sense (and weren't supposed to) and the stutter of the drums, bass, and vocal just didn't click for me. And then Aerosmith just flat out ruined it. And now here comes Joe Cocker bluesing up the tune in 2007. This is now my favorite/definitive version of the song. Joe, however old he is (alright, I looked it up...he's 63...we ARE supposed to be an informative blog) comes out and brings the passion and emotion to this track and really "dirties" it up which I think is his specialty.
Listen to the song below. And if any of the surviving Beatles want us to take the track down, it's no problem. Just e-mail us at The Weight.
I'm not a huge baseball fan. Haven't been since back in the mid-90's when the Orioles were still relevant. But I am a huge fan of Bill Simmons, the self-titled 'Sports Guy' at ESPN.com who manages to make me laugh more than most comedians with his insight, quick wit, and inane pop culture references in regards to sporting events.
What I do know about J.D. Drew is that Boston gave him a massive contract, which was pretty speculative at the time. And since then, he has done nothing to support his payday except NOT make anything good happen at the plate. That is until his monumental grand slam in the ALCS which appears to have been the tipping point in regards to the Red Sox winning the pennant. Here are some of the comments Bill's readers sent to him regarding J.D. and their astonishment that he may have just earned his paycheck with one swing:
Matt from Boston: Only the third grand slam in Red Sox postseason history -- and it's by J.D. Drew. I'm ecstatic and furious at the same time. It's like a deadbeat dad mailing it in for his kid's entire childhood, only to show up at his high school graduation with a Ferrari. All i want to do is drive it into a wall just to spite him. But, man, what a car.
Sam P. from Stateline, Nev.: I will never be more surprised than I was when J.D. hit that grand slam. If Reese Witherspoon released a porn video with Julia Stiles and the Quaker Oats guy, I would not be more surprised than I was when J.D. Drew got that hit. Maybe Michael Moore will break the marathon record ... and I will be half as surprised as I was when J.D. went deep.
Mark I. from Los Angeles: Ponder this: As of one hour ago, no matter what either man does for the rest of his career or what they've done previously, J.D. Drew is now and forever more beloved in Boston than A-Rod will ever be in any city. Congratulations to Theo on the genius free-agent pickup. Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria.
Matt R. in Washington: Shocked does not even begin to describe how I felt as I saw J.D. Drew's grand slam clear the center-field wall. I've been trying to come up with a proper metaphor for the past couple hours to describe this feeling, and this is the best I can do: imagine having a son who's a complete underachiever -- gets straight C's and D's, never seems to give a crap, spends a lot of time in his room alone – and after a while you resign yourself to the idea that he's going to end up mopping floors somewhere instead of heading off to college like you know he could and should. Then one day, a letter arrives from the college board that says he got a 1,600 on his SATs. And all at once you're stunned, overjoyed, and maybe just a little bit annoyed that he hadn't been living up to his potential all along – but for the moment, you're willing to forgive him because you're so happy. That's pretty much how I feel right now.
It looks like Bill's readers are pretty much just like him. The full post from 'The Sports Guy' is here.
Rock'n'Roll Fantasy Camp matches ordinary people with rock star counselors who teach them the ins and outs of writing and performing music. The business, which launched in 1997, is celebrating its 10th anniversary with the help of some special camp counselors. Counselors Slash, Roger Daltrey, Joe Walsh and Jack Bruce, among others, will gather Nov. 7-11 for a special camp at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino.
That ain't like no camp I've ever been to. Sure my counselors taught us about sex, drugs, and rock n roll. But this is ridiculous.
Pete Doherty is formerly of The Libertines and formerly a serious drug addict. He is much more known for the latter. Babyshambles is his current band. And their new album, Shotter's Nation, gets one hell of a review from The Observer Monthly. An excerpt: "It's also about love, loss, the British urban landscape, laughing at yourself, great guitars, exciting chord changes, tight rhythms, the Stones - Who - Kinks - (Small) Faces - Clash - Jam - Smiths - Happy Mondays - Stone Roses - Oasis - Blur history of Britrock, rich, simple production, songs with layers, a really good band and a singer who has relocated his voice." Wow, Well done Babyshambles. If I could write a FAKE review for myself, that is EXACTLY what it would say. Stay with those 12-steps, buddy.
States that Counting Crow's 'August and Everything After' is a modern classic. Agreed.
Has Albert Hammond, Jr. mentioning The Strokes have a new album in the works, after he shows his love for his own solo work. Um, can you jump on over to that Strokes disc, please.
Nas, never one to avoid controversy (or publicity) wants to title his new album Nig***. Not with the asterisks, though. And, yes, Al Sharpton already has something to say about it. (mtvNews)
The Weight favorites 'The Verve' are expanding their limited (i.e. UK only) reunion plans by an additional date (UK only of course) AND releasing new music. Their first new music in 10 years!! Verve, Come to the U.S.!! I didn't even like you guys my freshman year in college when you last put something out. All I knew was that Richard Ashcroft was the creepiest Rolling Stone cover I've ever seen and I was too busy listening to crappy jam band tapes (maxell XL-IIs, anyone?)!!
The new music is called 'The Thaw Session' and can be downloaded here from nme.
Weekapaug Orchestra Saturday, October 20 8x10 Club Baltimore, MD
They play Phish really really well...
Baltimore natives The Weekapaug Orchestra had the smiling crowd at the cozy 8x10 Club in Federal Hill dancing along to the best band playing Phish songs today. Countless bands in the jam scene will tell you that Phish has influenced them considerably, but how many of them will even attempt to recreate one of their tunes? I don't know of any. And why is this? It's because there is no sense in doing it if you can't do it right. The Weekapaug Orchestra not only does it right, they are fantastic at channeling the Vermont quartet ... and they didnt let up for hours.
The four guys in T.W.O. only come together a few times a year to put their spin on a deep collection of Phish's originals and oft-covered favorites. They bring to life not only the songs, but also the stellar musicianship, the improvisation, and an interest in having some fun on stage. They can bring the funk (Cities, Camel Walk), the rock (Piper, Antelope), the composed jazz (Lizards), the hard rock (Carini), and the nonsensical (Roses Are Free). And in each one of these genres, they are convincing. Guitarist Matt Chase and keyboardist Aaron Levy are two-thirds of Charleston, SC based Black-Eyed Susan and bassist Ryan Porter and drummer Paul Weinberg are both formerly of Baltimore's The Bridge.
Phish has mostly faded into the background of my regular listening rotation. For a number of years in the mid to late 90's they were just about all I listened to. They have been replaced by country music, indie rock, and classic rock. And at this show last night I was happily reminded why they commanded my stereo as much as they did. They had enough songs, enough live shows, and enough albums to not have a reason to listen to anyone else.
If you ever find yourself reminiscing about the magical nights of seeing Phish play live or if you never got to see them, keep your eyes and ears open for the next time the Weekapaug Orchestra comes together. You have to hear it to believe it.
That line is a main part of the chorus to Springsteen's new single, Radio Nowhere. And the first song he used to tear the roof off of Madison Square Garden. I think this is a pretty fitting title for a blog entry on a music site that has barely posted a thing in the last two to three months. So is there anybody alive out there reading our site? I guess I could have thrown out a Pink Floyd reference too...HELLO, Hello, hello...Is there anybody out there???
Am I just posting for myself?. Do blogs get read like people use tissues...consumed for a second and then thrown out? Maybe that is really the best case scenario. Are we important enough to get more than a half second of your time? I think music fans want to connect with other music fans. I think people who get moved by the tunes and can agree with a lyric line or two want to share their favorites.
So...Is there anybody alive out there????
Bruce Springsteen Radio Nowhere Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA 10/6/07
Check out the energy in the room from both Bruce and the crowd.
Am I the only person obsessed with all things Apple? I'm pretty sure they could try to sell me Apple break pads (kind of like in Tommy Boy) and I would be first in line. And I don't even own a car. You know they would be sleek and shiny and impeccably packaged.
Since our little 'The Weight' hiatus, I have purchased:
MacBook Pro laptop (technically, I bought this just before our hiatus. So to the a$$hole who blasted my spelling on my Bob Dylan post, I couldn't find the blog spell check because of my new computer and I was sick in bed at the time. Jerk) iPhone iPod Nano (for the gym) Bose "on-ear" headphones for the nano nano armband for the gym Bose dock so I can play my iPhone and my nano in my apartment A bunch of stuff off iTunes I get new podcasts every night for my subway commute
Anyone have the Apple Anonymous number for rehab? I guess there won't be any celebrities at that one. You think I'll be on Perez Hilton?
As you know, Bruce wasn't solo tonight at Madison Square Garden. Actually, I was. Not having bought tickets when they went on sale, I was the only person of my friends that I figured would pay upwards of $200 at StubHub to see The Boss. Their loss. But in fact you are never truly alone at a Bruce Springsteen concert. As I took my seat at the equivalent of Knick's center court, I overheard the people sitting behind me playing the "I'm the bigger Bruce fan" game. After they both figured out they had seen Springsteen 50+ times (I only used to hear these crazy games of one-upmanship at Phish shows) one guy drops the bomb that he lives in Australia and he flew to NY just to see the show. In fact he told me Springsteen hasn't played Australia in over fifteen years. So this guy has put some serious miles on his Springsteen passport.
The E-Street Band is the hulking Clarence Clemons, who was adorned this evening with his pimp hat, Nils Lofgren who looks like a mini-Bruce, Little Steven "Silvio" Van Zandt, Max "I wear a suit just like my British counterpart Charlie Watts" Weinberg, the Professor on keys, and Bruce's wife Patty Scialfa on guitar and vocals. And Clarence actually spends the majority of the show on tambourine. He may have the greatest gig in the history of rock n roll.
The show was just tremendous. I knew seeing Bruce Springsteen in the NY/NJ area, his home base, would be just fantastic and something I would always remember. And that is exactly what I got. I had been listening to Bruce's new album, called "Magic" on my iPhone for the last two weeks and a few songs had stuck out and I hoped he would play them. Radio Nowhere, the single, opened the show. We also got a good number of additional songs from the album that I really liked: "Livin In the Future", "Girls in their Summer Clothes", "Magic", "Devil's Arcade", and "Long Walk Home". He also played a couple songs from his 9/11 album, The Rising, which I really love.
Bruce had some great lines when saying how happy he was to be in New York City and what he loves about it. He reels off: "The Statue of Liberty" which he says, by the way, is actually in New Jersey. Then he says how great the New York Jets/Giants are, and oh yeah, they play in New Jersey too. And don't you all love the song "New York, New York" Bruce claimed as the crowd went wild. And then Bruce pipes in amongst the cheers, "You know that guy was from New Jersey, right", referring to Mr. Sinatra.
We also got a run through of great versions of Badlands, Brilliant Disguise, Darlington County, Dancin in the Dark, and Born to Run.
Seeing Springsteen in concert, for the uninitiated, is like going to church. You jump to your feet, you listen to Bruce preach, you get teary-eyed thinking about the lyrics of youthful abandon and leaving the stressful working world behind. And most of all you are there to celebrate music and as Bruce says, "The power of rock 'n' roll". I am already converted, but it felt good to hear Bruce testify. Even if I was going to have to leave The Garden alone. But damn if I didn't have 20,000 new friends to walk out of there with. And only two shows at MSG so far this tour?!? Please Bruce, you know you'll be back soon.
Bruce Springsteen Madison Square Garden 10/17/2007
Setlist:Radio Nowhere>The Ties That Bind>Lonesome Day>Gypsy Biker>Magic>Reason To Believe>Adam Raised A Cain>She's The One>Livin' In The Future>The Promised Land >Brilliant Disguise>Backstreets>Darlington County>Devil's Arcade>The Rising>Last To Die>Long Walk Home>Badlands>>Encore: Girls In Their Summer Clothes >Thundercrack>Born To Run>Dancing In The Dark>American Land
Hold on a sec, that little play on words came out wrong. We aren't going anywhere. That's right, we're back and better than ever at our little hole in the wall on the web. Well, not quite better than ever. Our logo is the same, the font color is the same, and the site is a little dusty. But our little self imposed (cough, lazy, cough) vacation is over and we are back to spread our insight, wit, and lonely nights and bored work days with you. Music runs through our veins, is the soundtrack to so many of our memories, and its concerts have taken so much of our money.
The Weight, version 2.0, is officially open for business.
