By Steve Rhodes

Jukebox run, 5-25-07.
1. Shining Star/Earth, Wind & Fire. So funky smooth and glide-y.
2. Scarborough Fair/Simon & Garfunkel. For some reason this song led to a debate about the name of the crime dog, determined to be McGruff. Says Beachwood Bob: “Did you play this Joe? Don’t ever play it again.”
3. El Condora Pasa/Simon & Garfunkel. Sparks debate about the song title. At one point I suggested it was “Ticonderoga or something.” Preferred consensus: The I’d Rather Be a Hammer Than a Nail Song.
4. Last Train to Clarksville/The Monkees. CTA jokes ensue.
5. Sloop John B/The Beach Boys. We liked it better when it was Sloop John A. During this song I learned that Will Patton does the Al Gore audiobook. Will Patton kicked butt as the villain in The Postman. He was the copier clerk turned militia general.

Read More

Posted on May 28, 2007

By Don Jacobson

1. U2 was at Cannes, hawking their new three-dimensional movie, U2 3D. I dunno, even if it turns out to be the most awesomely great visual experience I’ve ever had, I still have a funny feeling about something this gimmicky. As Milhouse says, “It used to be about the music, man.”

Read More

Posted on May 23, 2007

By Don Jacobson

Rock has had seven “ages,” according to BBC Television, which has launched what seems like a pretty darn comprehensive seven-week, seven-part documentary called, appropriately, The Seven Ages of Rock, which works out to one age per week. That’s a lot to cover. Here’s how they break down the history of rock ‘n’ roll.

Read More

Posted on May 21, 2007

By Steve Rhodes

The jukebox run from May 18, 2007.
1. Another Done Somebody Wrong Song/BJ Thomas. Hey, won’t you play, another somebody done somebody wrong song? ‘Cause I miss my baby.
2. School’s Out/Alice Cooper. A graduation party came into the bar the other night. A college graduation party. Plus, Beachwood Bob likes to keep the jukebox seasonal. So this went on the box instead of “Eighteen.”
3. Behind Closed Doors/Charlie Rich. This is a great song, but let’s face it: Everyone knows what goes on behind closed doors.

Read More

Posted on May 21, 2007

By Don Jacobson

This is the moment in 1966 when the steam starting coming out of a Righteous Brothers juggernaut that, thanks largely to the ever-lovable Phil Spector, had all but invented the genre of “blue-eyed soul” during the preceding two years. Only 12 months after Verve Records had succeeded in prying the (probably very grateful) Righteous boys away from gun-totin’ Phil for the then-unheard of sum of $1 million, not even Carole King and Gerry Goffin could keep the times from changing, and it shows on Sayin’ Somethin’.

Read More

Posted on May 14, 2007

By Don Jacobson

1. If you met Bowzer from Sha Na Na, would you be “star-struck”? Moreover, would you do his political bidding? Apparently bowled over by the who-knew star power of the 1970s doo-wopper, that’s what legislators in 10 states have done, according to the Associated Press, which reports that Tennessee, the birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll, has passed Bowzer’s Law (my name for it), which makes it illegal to pass yourself off as an original 1950s vocal group.

Read More

Posted on May 11, 2007

By Don Jacobson

1. Thursday’s Velvet Revolver show at the Riviera is sold out. Why? Maybe it’s because no less an expert than Sammy Hagar says they’re “the best rock ‘n’ roll band left on the planet.” That kind of endorsement I’m sure sent the fans a’running to their nearest Ticketmaster outlet. It assumes there were only a finite number of rock ‘n’ roll bands to begin with. Perhaps Sammy thinks they stopped making them after Scott Weiland’s Stone Temple Pilots broke up. Now Weiland’s got fellow hard rock dinosaurs Slash and Duff with him in Velvet Revolver, so everybody else who believes there hasn’t been any good rock since Axl jumped the shark can rejoice this week. Oh, and keep in mind Sammy also endorsed the Bush-Cheney campaign. I guess that means they’re the best ol’ leaders left on the planet.

Read More

Posted on May 9, 2007

By Don Jacobson

Much as I loooove to hate them, I have to admit that I could be detecting a tiny glimmer of mercy in the steely eyes of Clear Channel Radio. Could they finally be thinking of, gulp, music fans? Are they wising up in the face of stupendous competition from satellite radio and the Internet and devising an alt-slash-southern-slash-outlaw country format that might, just might, be worth listening to? I know, it’s crazy, right?

Read More

Posted on May 1, 2007