Coming Attractions: Emptywheel Live Music Trash Talk

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Hi there. I mentioned it previously, but without live sports, and the trash talk we often do and it is hard to see any of that anytime soon, Emptywheel Music Trash Talk is an idea long discussed, but the time may have come. Listen, this would be a kind of dead period anyway. The Boys Of Summer would still be in spring. The NBA and NHL seasons that seem to go on forever, would not have even been close to their playoffs. And don’t start about football, at best that would be over four months away.

So, I started a thing about maybe having some trash talk about music. It was an afterthought that caught more steam than I anticipated, even though I had considered it for many years in one form or the other. Probably would have happened this weekend, but for some unfortunate dental experience that left me a bit daff. But, additionally, I have to figure how to do this, as people will want to post a lot of You Tubes in comments, and that is a bigger concern than you may think.

Assuming my dentist gets me off of the painkillers, maybe this can go off Thursday or Friday where everybody can lob in over several days. In the meantime, Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii will always make the cut of the best. The 2016 Gilmour version, even not as iconic as the original band, but back at the ancient grounds…likely will not, but it is beyond freaking fantastic. Get ready to get live, get ready to rip up this juke joint.

Until we meet again…..

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77 replies
  1. Jim White says:

    Hey, Snaggletooth. Good to hear from you.

    I’ve been streaming a lot of Leon Russell while doing yard work lately. He definitely has a lot of overlooked gems.

      • earlofhuntingdon says:

        So you’ve gummed up the works. I know you use floss to sew your own combat wounds, but it’s really intended for something else. My condolences. Hope you’re off the drugs soon so that happy hour can properly begin.

    • orionATL says:

      i’ve run it here sometime back, but it’s definitely time to run “hard rain gonna fall” again … and again… and… with that earie exit – ohwooh.

      oh no here it comes.

    • John K says:

      I recently installed exterior speakers specifically to do work in the back yard and for me, it’s been Jeff Beck’s “Blow by Blow”, then Johnny Cash’s greatest hits and Etta James Chess collection. “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” is the perfect marriage of gospel and rock. Yard looks great!

      • Jim White says:

        Awesome! I have five acres to mow, so I use bluetooth earbuds to stream Pandora on my phone. The $5/month to go ad-free is a hell of a deal.

    • Lawnboy79 says:

      My first Rush was 1972, Downstairs John Bar , McMaster Uni , Hamilton. As a bar band, Gedy with platforms and bell bottoms, very loud.

    • Rollo T says:

      Music is all subjective and everything but bmaz appears to have given permission to trash talk…so I can’t help myself. Rush (Gedy Lee) sounds like multiple cats being strangled in a dark tunnel. I say this with some authority because my college roommate used to study with Rush blasting loudly. Roommate went on to great success inheriting his dad’s boat company, so there’s a slight chance I’m mistaken. On a more positive note, Autograph’s “Turn Up The Radio” can be used to remove paint from metal surfaces.

      • punaise says:

        LOL – I was a narrow-focused prog-rock snob in the 70s – Genesis, Gentle Giant, PFM, Nektar, Camel, Caravan, etc.) but never got into Rush.

  4. BobCon says:

    For those who liked Bill Withers, who recently died at age 81, these are a couple of great pieces:

    https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bill-withers-the-soul-man-who-walked-away-111535/

    https://music.avclub.com/bill-withers-1798225695

    Withers was the songwriter for most of his hits, and mostly worked without a manager, meaning he made a ton of royalties from his songs and didn’t lose a large percentage to anyone supposedly looking out for his interests.

    He got tired of music industry headaches and quit to live off of his royalties and investments, and never looked back.

    He clearly had no problem speaking his mind, but was happy to give lots of credit where it was due. And of course, his hits like Ain’t No Sunshine and Lean on Me will go on for a long, long time.

  8. dakine01 says:

    I do so look forward to participating in this exercise. I’ve always found live albums a good way to get a career mix from artists. I recently counted & have owned & enjoyed 40 different live albums on vinyl, 8 track, cassette, and/or CD.
    Twill be of interest

  9. bmaz says:

    Okay fellow mopes, the actual post for this will come soon, hopefully Thursday or so. It is a discussion that can last a while, and a holiday weekend is made for that. Don’t blow your best ideas and references here tonight.

    I honestly meant to do this late Friday or early Saturday, but other events took over. That is my fault, and totally on me. But also why I did this filler to explain that.

    But we are gonna do this for real. Hang back, load up, and get ready. Because we are not even scratching the surface yet. Lot of ground too plow.

  10. Worried says:

    My favorite group as a college student, T Rex, made it into the R&R HOF this year.
    Now, like other favorite events like The Masters and Wimbledon, there is no planned induction ceremonies. I was trying to figure out which of Marc Bolan’s songs would be played. Now moot…..
    I am not computer savvy enough to put up my favorite, 20th Century Boy, for scrutiny here.
    My other favorite in those days was John Prine. I keep my fingers crossed that he will survive his ordeal with COVID-19. Humming Hello in There and keeping my fingers crossed.

    • Worried says:

      He didn’t make it, RIP John Prine.
      He wrote so eloquently about Americana.
      I learned of his passing Tuesday while watching a YouTube video of the 1986 FarmAid duet of Angel from Montgomery with Bonnie Raitt. In the comments section was a note, 8 minutes old, saying “John Prine RIP”.
      Too sad.

    • Worried says:

      Sorry to say John Prine passed away on Tuesday.
      He has a famous duet with Bonnie Raitt singing his composition Angel from Montgomery. That would be my nomination for best live cut.
      Actually, I was watching them singing that masterpiece at a 1986 FarmAid concert on YouTube Tuesday evening, when I became aware of his passing.
      His words in that song, Hello in There, Sam Stone, Illegal Smile and so many others uniquely invoked Americana.
      His songs are treasures.

  11. paulpfixion says:

    Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii is the best music video in the history of rock n’ roll. Everything else is a pale shadow.

  12. reasonable rob says:

    Finally, a subject that I feel qualified to contribute to. Long-time listener, third time caller (thanks for the Libby live blog and everything since).

    Peter Gabriel Growing Up was the most spectacular show I’ve experienced. He was also my first, at the men’s gym at San Jose St. 1978.

    I’m done with big shows, but I would travel to see Big Big Train live (sometime in the imaginary future times).

    And the Stones suck (it’s trash talk, right?).

    As requested, I’ll save the ammunition for the next round. I’ve got plenty.

    • bmaz says:

      I don’t understand the hating some folks have for the Stones. They are The Greatest Rock And Roll Band In The World. Are they quite as good as they were the first time I saw them with Linda Ronstadt as a surprise guest in the late 70’s? Nope. But I saw them last August, “after” Mick’s heart issue, and they were still fucking great.

  16. Ohno says:

    Yah, if ya gotta hate, ya oughta hate on the Beatles. The Stones always were a great live, working band, with 50 years behind them. Beatles couldn’t cut even 10, and quit the road for good before the end. Heroin ruined John, and Yoko ruins fucking everything! And hell, Keith kicked the junk in the early Eighties, ditched the booze a year or two ago (vodka and orange soda all day, yucko!) and supposedly’ kicked the graspers just recently. (Didjya realize Charlie was on smack for much of the Eighties?) And, yeah Bmaz, they kicked ass in 2019,

  17. Ian says:

    Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers live anthology is incredible. Leaving some for the next round, I must add that Roy Buchanon on Austin City limits and Emmylou Harris at The Ryman are also hard to beat. Dismissing the live album as an artifact not a treasure is for fools and fans of bands that maybe aren’t so good live.

    • RacerX says:

      Yes to FZ! I lived in in the NYC metro area until ’97 and saw plenty of great Zappa shows, including most of the Halloween shows at the Palladium. Different lineups, but Zappa ran a tight Ship (Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch).

  20. Ohno says:

    Oh, damn! Danny Gatton and Robert Gordon “The Humbler” is w/o question one of the top live albums I’ve ever heard. Gatton’s a guitar virtuoso, superlative w/ rockabilly (as here), jazz, country and blues, and Gordon’s a damn good singer living and deliverin’ a good rockin’ rockabilly feel. I saw Gordon perform once and I’m convinced he truly thinks he lives in the hep cat era. Or lived, it’s been many years since. Sadly I was gonna catch Gatton play one weekend at a swank DC club but a day or two before the show he shot himself dead. A damn shame cuz he was gifted AF, revered as a genius among other guitar players. (Hence the nickname The Humbler, as in you think you’re good, check out this guy.)

    Fire (cover of Springsteen original)
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AI_Hd9AizVc&list=PLZewuX5SUzeyrjoIW-brQRI-X8pJZqQXm&index=10&t=0s

    The Way I Walk (orig. by Jack Scott and the Chantones)
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KTdzOWkeu-U&list=PLZewuX5SUzeyrjoIW-brQRI-X8pJZqQXm&index=13&t=0s

    • Crack of Don says:

      Thanks Ohno, visited most of the links on this here trash talk that wasn’t familar and fell down that Danny Gatton y Robert Gordon rabbit hole. Fabulouso. And my $0.02 Live at Leads famous The Who bootleg

  21. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Pussy Galore has passed away. Honor Blackman, 94, co-starred in 1964 with Sean Connery in Goldfinger. It was the best of the Connery Bond films and one of the best in the series. The film introduced the world to the Aston Martin DB5. Blackman had a prolific, eight decade acting career, which included everything from Shakespeare to preceding Emma Peel in the original Avengers. Unlike Connery, she did have a black belt in judo. She was also a longtime progressive and activist. Au revoir.

    https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/apr/06/honor-blackman-james-bond-pussy-galore-avengers-dies-aged-94
    https://www.theguardian.com/film/gallery/2020/apr/06/honor-blackman-a-life-in-pictures

  22. Ohno says:

    And Marianne Faithful is hospitalized with covid-19. Sadly, she’s certain to have compromised health from all that hard living. In addition to banging the gong there’s no way she wasn’t a heavy smoker.

  23. fikshun says:

    I’m currently doing a couple of Pink Floyd covers for a tribute project. It’s been an interesting study and has forced me to rethink assumptions I had about the band. I think too much gets made about the distinction between Syd Barrett Floyd and Waters/Gilmour Floyd. Syd may have been a genius, but that period of psychedelia wouldn’t have lasted for one reason or another. Acid can only take you so far and you’re never more than one trip away from losing your mind.

    With the Waters/Gilmour Floyd, I had always felt a bit of kinship to Gilmour and Wright. I thought of Waters as a misanthropic, petty tyrant. The more I dig into these covers though, the more I feel like I understand Waters better. The more I realize my writing style is like his … the more I can relate to the catch-22 of feeling like it’s important to soldier on past the survivor’s guilt all the while questioning why it’s important to be soldiering on in the first place. There’s a lot more Vonnegut in there than I realized.

    I still have more to work on, but if you’re curious (and if the link doesn’t violate any terms), here’s my take on “Nobody Home”:
    http://www.fiction8.com/secret/music/Nobody_Home.mp3

  24. fastenbulbous says:

    I saw three different geezers in concert last year. Old but masters of their craft, all excellent musicians.
    Herbie Hancock (with Kamasi Washington and Robert Glasper warming up) at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley was a wonderful show. The only issue was the sound curfew.

    Steve Hackett performed all of Selling England by the Pound and a good chunk of Spectral Mornings too. His new material was also excellent, just a fantastic show. I guess I never fully appreciated how integral he was to the Genesis sound. (Plus their compositions went to shit after he left the band post-Wind and Wuthering)

    Last but not least was an acoustic(!) Richard Thompson show at the Fillmore. I haven’t seen him for a few years and was surprised at how much he is aging into the Burl Ives look. But he was still fantastic and funny as always. Plus it was a real treat to hear him sing Sandy’s “Who Knows Where the Time Goes?”

    This year — probably no concerts…..

  26. person1597 says:

    Ladies and gentlemen…
    There are seven acknowledged wonders of the world
    You are about to witness the eighth
    Standing in the spotlight on showcase are
    12 young men who have given you such tunes as
    “The Grunt,” “Pass the Peas,” “Gimme Some More”
    Ladies and gentlemen, without no doubt, these are The J.B.’s!

    https://youtu.be/4N-NrucQcB8

  28. Ohno says:

    Richard Thompson, fuckin’ aye! Would love to see him on electric, though. He rages! But amazingly nimble on acoustic too! Ever heard his solo acoustic cover of Britney Spears’ “Oops, I Did It Again”? It’ll stand your hair on end it’s so rousing !

    • fastenbulbous says:

      I saw him do that song during the 1000 Years of Popular Music tour. (We were so close to the stage that we could read the set list). I’ve seen him maybe 10 times, mostly at the Fillmore but also at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (free!). I prefer the acoustic shows because the songs you get are different, more rarities. (Like “The Sun Never Shines On the Poor”, an audience request!)

      Best electric memory was the show (Sweet Warrior tour?) where a very drunk Donovan joined him on stage for a few songs. Bet you’ve never seen Richard play Mellow Yellow live….

    • rosalind says:

      looove that cover. have to replay several times before going to the next song. and “shoot out the lights” remains one of the alltime best couple-splitting-up and baring all LPs.

  29. punaise says:

    Teeing up some ideas for the actual call to post:

    Allman Bros, Live at Fillmore East: In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
    Traffic, On the Road: The Low spark of High Heeled Boys
    CSNY, Four Way Street: Ohio (or several others)

      • tinao says:

        So what do i edit PJ? This makes me feel duh at this point, but being the expectant grandma someday I DON’T CARE, HOW DO I DO THIS. Thanks PJ. I guess my question is what the fuck is the identifier? And for all of you who could do without my comments, when’s the last time you contributed? HMMMM?
        I’ll tone it down now, I just looked at my plaque on my wall that says,” Lord make me an instrument of your peace.”

        • P J Evans says:

          On Youtube, everythign after that question mark: “v=” is for video; you leave it in because otherwise you end up on their front page, which isn’t what you want.

          If the first thing after the question mark is “utm_campaign=”, take out everything including the question mark, because it’s a tracker.

  31. Ohno says:

    Lou Reed, Rock n’ Roll Animal, perfection! Intro/sweet Jane is one of the best instrumental buildups of all time, kicking into the song proper with muscle. The whole album to follow also flawless. Rock n’ Roll, Waiting for the Man, Lady Day stand out.

    Love the intro to St. Stephen from Live Dead, by The Grateful Dead.

    Waiting for Columbus, Little Feat, an old school all-time live classic.

      • Sonso says:

        I will post something elsewhere (30 years in the music biz), but a note here to say that Dirk Wagner’s guitar on Sweet Jane is a peak in R&R history. One of the greatest nights of my life was seeing Lou Reed at the Paradise (what up, BossTown?!) and then Miles Davis’ return to the stage at Kix (Kenmore Square) with Mike Stern, Bob Berg (RIP), Mino Cinelu, Al,Foster, and Rodney Jones.

        • bmaz says:

          I had the chance to meet Dick Wagner (at a local Alice Cooper thing). Nice guy, and, man, what a guitar player. But it was not just Dick Wagner, but also Steve Hunter along with Prakash John on bass. After Rock and Roll animal, they later went, together, on to play with Alice. Absolutely fantastic. All coordinated by Bob Ezrin.

          • vvv says:

            Fun fact: they played guitars for Aerosmith on some songs on *Get Your Wings*. “Train Kept-a-Rollin'” is one …

  32. vvv says:

    I suspect that when we get down wit’ it, my suggestions are going to be rather different than many of yours.

          • punaise says:

            *almost* had to call party foul on you, for posting a video on a thread where you made that T sign with two hands (timeout) to everybody:

            Hang back, load up, and get ready. Because we are not even scratching the surface yet.

            But your finely tuned wording gives you a plausible out!
            Anyway, it’s not like you can’t give yourself a mulligan.

            • bmaz says:

              Lol. I confess I really did intend this to be a “we’re gonna do this soon!” announcement, but it kind of started up already on its own. Oh well, totally cool.

              Maybe there is more interest in this project than I was really expecting. At any rate, the real post, hopefully, will go up tomorrow night or Friday morning, and then we can really get down to business and let the music and fun play out over a long weekend while we are all cooped up anyway.

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