Steel Kaleidoscopes

Clueless

This blurb is a few weeks old but worth mentioning.

Organizers of the London Olympics reached out to the manager of The Who to ask if former drummer Keith Moon would be willing to participate in the Games' closing ceremony.

Um, Moon died in 1978.

Who's next on their list?

Elvis?

Kudos to Google

Very cool concept and design by Google on its home page today to recognize the birthday of Robert Moog, who invented the Moog synthesizer.

Prog rock wouldn't have evolved without it.

Turn your sound up and record a few bars.

Top 10 Songs with Continents or Countries in Title

Sometimes artists are inspired by a country or an entire continent. Here are the top 10 songs that reflect this thinking:

1. America - Simon & Garfunkel
Lyrically masterful; covered by many

2. China Girl - David Bowie
Remembering the days of early MTV

3. Back in the USSR - The Beatles
Roaring jet introduces the White Album

4. Panama - Van Halen
Eddie's version of the Chuck Berry duck walk 

5. Africa - Toto
Fond memories of senior year at Geneseo

6. Mexico - James Taylor
Reliable like the glove compartment flashlight 

7. Cedars of Lebanon - U2
Bono's portrait of the loneliness of war 

8. France - Frank Zappa
'Playin' in a tent is payin' the rent' 

9. Under African Skies - Paul Simon
Compelling rhythmic track from classic album

10. Ethiopia - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Funky Kiedis-led rhythmic  singalong

Levon Helm

First Dick Clark. Now Levon Helm. The music industry has said goodbye to two legends in two days.

I was never a huge fan of The Band, for which Helm was a founding member. The drummer/singer was a major influence in The Band's sound, which is best described as roots rock with a taste of country.

I did see Helm and The Band once, when I covered Woodstock '94 for Relix Magazine. I remember Helm in a breezy, happy-go-lucky mood, belting out the vocals for "The Weight." Here's an excerpt on The Band's appearance:

"And Woodstock truly became Woodstock on Saturday afternoon when, as the crowd swelled in front of the south stage to see The Band, the skies opened with heavy rain. There were beaming smiles among the masses as the chaos, excuse the expression, mushroomed. The mud is what truly brought the campers together. It introduced a common hardship, giving people a vehicle with which to help each other. Human chains were formed to assist each other up and down the hills."

RIP, Levon.

Pursuit of Artistic Control

I've always wanted to be in control of my music.

Going back to the late '70s, I've made mix tapes (we called them variety tapes), carefully choosing songs and putting them in a selected order. As technology improved, variety cassettes became variety CDs, burned with my artistic control.

I even went as far as reordering how tracks appeared on albums. Pete Townshend would not be happy that I recorded "Who's Next" from my dad's turntable onto cassette, opening with "Going Mobile" instead of "Baba O'Riley."

Looking back, I realize restructuring albums was sacrilegious. An album, especially in the current age of "select-a-track-for-$0.99," is special and should be revered.

Now, my pursuit of artistic control is as simple as choosing from a directory of MP3 cuts and orchestrating a blended mix using sound-editing software. I can create a 10-hour music mix, hit play and move on with my day. But there's thought behind the mix, the order, what's played and when.

It's all about artistic control.

Maybe this is my outlet for never having learned an instrument.

Top 20 Best Songs Written for Movies

Paste Magazine recently published its Top 20 Best Songs Written for Movies list. While there are obvious choices here, some are clearly missing.

Where's Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" from "Titanic"? How about Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" from "Say Anything"? And where's Bill Conti's "Rocky's Theme" from "Rocky" and "Rocky II"?

That said, it's an OK list. Here's Paste Magazine's Top 5:

5. "Save Me" - Aimee Mann, "Magnolia"

4. "Miss Misery" - Elliott Smith, "Good Will Hunting"

3. Don’t You (Forget About Me) – Simple Minds, "The Breakfast Club"

2. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door – Bob Dylan, "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid"

1. "Mrs. Robinson" - Simon & Garfunkel, "The Graduate"

The Burning Sessions, v43

Will there be any Emerson, Lake and Palmer? Perhaps some King Crimson?

The Burning Sessions light up this morning once again in Medford, Mass.

The loft comes alive with CDs, albums and MP3s.

In the shadows of the main track, two college roommates revisit the after-hours format, transforming album sides into snippets of inspiration.

The vintage vinyl comes in many shapes and sizes. iPods, iPhones, flash drives and external hard drives. Twenty-something analog warriors charging forward through time, swapping stories and confirming open-ended questions through Facebook and Wikipedia.

But through the changing technology lies the time-tested muse, the karma, the classic rock.

When it comes down to it, they're still mix tapes.

Variety tapes.

The Burning Sessions.

American Idol: Hiatus

Two years ago, I wrote in this space that I wouldn't be reviewing "American Idol" because of other priorities. After reviving my reviews last season, I am taking another hiatus from singer critique.

It really is about priorities.

Instead of watching the likes of Jessica Sanchez and Joshua Ledet, the potential finalists, belt out unique versions of Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder classics, I was helping my 6-year-old floss her teeth. (Yeah, I caught up through the wonder of DVR after 10 p.m.)

Before that, it was answering her questions about classroom reading etiquette. Then there was the project of  going through all of her old DVDs and watching her make the emotional choice of which ones stay in the family room and which ones are retired to the basement. "Monsters, Inc." and "Finding Nemo" were retired; "Enchanted" and "Tangled" stayed.

A bath, brushing teeth and flossing can easily take an hour.

Then there's math and spelling homework.

From time to time and when inspiration hits, I'll share my views on the singers to watch.

But for now, the keyboard is silent.

Bonzo

John Henry Bonham.

Before She was Lady Gaga

I think she looked better before super stardom.