Fan mail/Correspondence
Chris Cutler
liked the stockhausen interview
good choice
have been doing a few concerts of kontakte
and will be doing a rare london show in march a tribute to KS
Mitchell Feldstein (Lungfish)
Subject: re:satanic's majesties.... to tony sclafani
thanks for the insightful article on what i always felt to be a misunderstood record. have you ever hear the mono edition? the "bootleg" would be worth tracking down as it also includes many outakes and rough mixes.
to me TSMR relates more to the beatles magical mystery tour.......... MMT sounds much better with the addition of strawberry fields forever,penny lane,all you need is love,and baby your a rich man imagine how much "better" TSMR would have been received with the inclusion of jumpin' jack flash, dandelion,child of the moon,and we love you.... if you can find the mono edition of the cd drop me a line and i will see if i can burn you one.... you might find it enlightening.many of the songs sound "truer" to the stones roots.
for the record i think i like the stones more than the beatles.............
Klaus Mueller
I just went over it, and luckily the article also mentioned the famous tv show BEAT CLUB.
On the other side, being a German teenager in the sixties, I have never heard (until today) of this "Beat Beat Beat" (?!)
... but the BEAT CLUB from "Radio Bremen" was a sensation then, and is well-remembered still today by most people of my generation. Many articles were written about it, in retrospect. Also a book was done in 2005. The whole younger generation was sitting in front of the tv then, once in a month on a Saturday afternoon. The older people hated it, of course
Today, there are CDs and videos and DVDs available from this show, and as far as I know they all sold successfully. Every German of my generation remembers the host, a naive girl who seems not to know much about music: Uschi Nerke. Still today, as an older lady she gives interviews from time to time about the "good old time". Or she is hired to make the announcement of an "Oldie" tv program, and still she is doing it in her very naive but charming way. The way people remembered her.
The real man behind the BEAT CLUB was: Michael Leckebusch (1937–2000). Every German with a bit of interest in the history of Pop and Rock knows: it was film director and audio/tv technician Leckebusch and his BEAT CLUB that brought this new and rhythmic music via tv into every German's home. It was a sensation, a revolution in Germany's normal tv program during the sixties. EVERYONE young person was looking it. The way of presentation was also "new" and very modern, and waht is most important: to the taste of the young German people
Maybe, the other program that I have never heard of ("Beat Beat Beat") was only seen locally? The mentioned "Hessischer Rundfunk" is the "official" radio and tv station responsible for (only) the Frankfurt area, called "Hessen". But that's just a guess. Also, I do not remember to have seen artiocles about this "Beat Beat Beat", or mentioning in articles... Strange.
Evan Russell
Senior Project Editor
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill
"No, Thank YOU"
by Jeffrey Thiessen
What is this guy, like 16 years old? Is this an example of kids raised on bad internet rock writing now getting their chance to unloose their rock-writing brilliance on the world? And you guys usually steer so well clear of this kind of shallow wrong-headedness!
Robert Stuart
I just discovered your magazine and I love it already.
Please consider the Unknown Instructor's March 2007 album "The Master's Voice" for one of your top picks of 2007. This album is one of the best rock records I've heard in years. If you haven't heard it, get ready for your ears to melt.
rfdrj
Subject: CRACK THE SKY
I somewhat agree with your reviews. The live shows have still been good. From what I can tell, once John Palumbo turned into a rabid left winger, his lyrics went down hill and in many case, he ended up insulting many of the CT fans. We love the music. We liked the quirky lyrics. We do not want to hear a political ad, that apparently is anti American, every time we hear the music. If CTS reads this.........stop with the radical politics. Get back to good music. And maybe next time, play the many parts at the same time and have someone mix it who is not in the band.
Just to let you know, I am a huge CTS fan. That has not been easy for many years. Dogboy saved me for a while and all the live and reissues. Here is my website. Check out who is the first group on page 2.
http://krakatack.googlepages.com/home
http://krakatack.googlepages.com/aboutthesegroups
Daniel Watson
Crack the Sky
Just read your review on what I consider to be one of the most important US rock bands to happen in the 70s.
I have to say, this is contrary to most anything I have ever read on them but exactly how I feel.
In a way.
Safety was a little hollow but in some ways as good an album as any other CTS offering. I am about as close to a Crack the Sky fanatic as you are likely to meet. I really believe they were the true predecessors of The Beatles. And I say this with a straight face.
What Safety offered was a chance to see how great a band CTS was even without their proposed main element John Palumbo. It is true that he likely wrote most of the album but the fact that it is so incredibly balls without his physical appearance vindicates those of us who always thought of the band as a true collaboration rather than a band with a leader.
My favorite CTS album is Animal Notes, but I easily place Safety very close to this one with the first album scoring at the bottom of their great period.
The other albums (although they have their moments) completely lack the special magic that made the first three irreplaceable American Rock albums.
If you have labored through all of this, thank you.
Doug Blask
Subject: Ryan Settee - Material Issue
I just finished your article on this band, and yes - they were great. I always wondered why nothing further ever happened to them, and was unaware of Jim's suicide. They should've been bigger.
They did get a good deal of play on at least one station, however - Toronto's CFNY. Valerie Loves Me, Kim The Waitress, and What Girls Want all got fairly regular air time (any maybe some others, I can't really remember), though probably less than a lot of the Canadian artists they played. I never would've heard of them otherwise, or had the chance to buy a CD. CFNY was a unique station at the time, their playlist consisted of whatever was "good music" - not necessarily whatever was commercially successful, or appealed to fans of one narrow genre. They took that "indie/alt movement" and made it big.
Thanks for the article. I've been sort of hoping for years that Material Issue might be resurrected with a new album, and I'm saddened to find that it would have to be a little more literal than I imagined.
John Scheinman
Subject: riot at the ritz
Hey, I just stumbled across your page on the PIL riot show. I was there. If you're keeping track of the survivors, like they did for years with the Titanic, count me as one. I don't believe I threw a single thing, though, lord, the pint glasses were tempting. I distinctly remember having a flash memory during the start of the "riot" of the time a town bully from my youth threw an ashtray at me at a bowling alley and not liking it, so I didn't throw anything. We were wet and we were pissed off and we were drunk and high and exhilarated. The screen was such an affront. I think the show got what it deserved, in both a good and a bad way. I saw PIL again after that, in Washington, I believe, and John kept his back to the audience through most of the thoroughly professional show. By this time, I had begun my fledgling writing career covering music at the college paper and I wrote it up and finally understood the rock star-audience walls that the band had been tearing down and renouncing. Big concept for a smart 21-year-old punk. --
John Kelly
Subject: Clear Spot
Dear writer,
I'm a Southerner, a white guy, equal parts Chet Atkins and James Brown, still gigging for fun on guitar and drums. We Beefheart fans share the idea that his great albums are unknown treats for we cognoscenti, and they are! It's a real pleasure to find your thoughtful retrospective on your experience with Clear Spot, which I've always considered to be 'perfect' art; like A Clockwork Orange or Absalom, Absalom. It’s the most powerful mix of funk and poetry and virtuosity. The poetry: "Men, let your wallets flop out. And women open your purses, for a Man or Woman without Big Eyed Beans from Venus is sufferin' with the worsest of curses!"
Rockette Morton in a Red Camoflauge suit playing the first five string bass I’d ever seen, and Zoot Horn Rollo in wrap around shades and ‘fairy fountain’ hairstyle tied on his top knot.
Anyway, thanks for your review.
Richard Harries
Subject: A request
I am trying to contact those who may be interested. Petula Clark is one of the most venerated of British female vocalists she is now 75 years old and still touring, writing and recording. please can you consider signing and giving this publicity.
There is a Downing Street online petition asking the British Government to make her a Dame. This is being supported by many of her contemporaries and Sir Cliff Richard, Phillip Schofield, Wendy Richard, Anita Dobson, Sir Michael Caine, Sir Tim Rice, Susan Hampshire, Michael Jayston, Bill Kenwrght, Ruthie Henshall , Amanda Jane Manning, Leo Sayer, Bill Tarmey, Guy Fletcher, members of the Shadows, Searchers, 10CC, Honeycombs, and many others have signed.
Please can you consider signing and pass the link on to anyone else who may be interested. I feel this is a very worthy cause.
The link is :
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Damehood/
t r
Subject: REF.Gary Stewart Article
Just found the gary Stewart write up, Ya hit the nail on the head, knew Gary well( all of them) traveled with him ,lived in he and Lou's house back in the 70s till found a place nearby to live.Was with Gary the night near the Va KY state line in a what else, wine and beer store, when we found the Playboy Mag interview with Dylan,Dylan saying he dug Gary's music,had to drag his ass outta there, the clerk thought we were there for a stick up, when Gary started yelling!!!Loved him,hated him but would have given my life for him in those days.Have a million memories of the little imp!!! God bless you and ur staff for keeping the truth and his memory alive.BTW been keeping in touch with one of the old band members, Boobie Bob Melton, he tells me that some of the outcasts in Nashville are trying to put together a tribute album and a book about Garys life and death, check out the rumors,let me know.
Funny story real quick, flew to Melborn from Tenn at Garys expense first time to stay at his house and meet Lou, Gary got me blown out on the trip from Melbourn Airport. On the way he told me Lou ran a tight ship and taught Sunday school not to let her know i was stoned or she would kill both of us.Got there showered,she called us to dinner, munchies were eating me alive. Lou said ready now lets do the blessing, bowed my head and almost nodded out, she spoke up, said "Dear Lord we really wanna thank ya for all this good food and the good dope that makes it taste so fucking good", Amen, Thanks for the memories, Tuck
Matthew Miller
Subject: Enduring Rhythms
Just writing to say that I really enjoyed the article called, Enduring Rhythms by Ken Moore. I felt that it was very informative, and reinforces what I have been teaching to my music class for some time now about the history of African music in the Americas.
Marc Catchpole
Subject: comment on the Thieving Magpies..
Thanks for an interesting couple of articles on the origins of many LZ songs.. I found a link to ‘the roots of led zeppelin’ where you can hear it for yourself.
I don’t think they’d dispute their influences, but the late 60s & early 70s were different times – you couldn’t do it now! The Stones stole shamelessly from Robert Johnson for Exile on Main St, & I don’t remember them ever admitting that! Or crediting RJ on the album. Doesn’t stop it being an excellent piece of work tho!
Same with Zep – their interpretations of these classics, drawing on the original inspirations, stand in their own right.
Be interesting to see if this issue resurfaces if Zep does fly again on a tour later in the year..
Lucas Souza
Subject: The Insect Trust
I'm from Brazil and would like to thank all the work about the "Insect Trust" band and all the history behind them. Amazing job
From: Keith Fontaine
Subject: Rock & Roll
Just been reading your write up on the web about 'The Rock & Roll Hall Of Shame'. A good article, but there was no such thing as "rock" back in the 1950's. Rock did not grip the country back in the 1950's....it was ROCK & ROLL. The very first person to coin the phrase was Alan Freed. REAL rock and roll died in, or around 1960. Everything that followed on from that became universally called "rock". What I have a problem with is the fact that the so-called 'Rock & Roll Hall of Fame' appears to just about induct anyone. Sometime back, I had heard that they inducted Robert Johnson, the delta blues player, of whom had as much to do with rock & roll as Son House! These were BLUES pioneers, NOT rock & rollers! I gave up on the 'Rock & Roll Hall of Fame' many years ago as I could see where it was all going to go.
Besides, didn't WE lose the aspect of REAL rock & roll? True, nothing stays the same including music. But I listen to so many talking about rock & roll, and many of them do not have the slightest idea of what real rock and roll is..... or was!
Maxine Hunt
Subject: Bad songs comment
I've been listening to most of those songs since they were originally aired on radio so you can imagine how repulsive they sound after all these years. DJ's play them ad nauseum which is probably the reason . I confess I liked many of them when they were originally aired but gag at the thought of Ricky don't lose that number' again. I'd rather listen to dead air than walk in a grocery store and either be forced to choke it down for the 300th time or walk out without what I came in for. Hey, it was fun reading the list but-sorry-I couldn't even get through that whole thing. Congrats on not having any Doors songs listed.
Brian Threlkeld
Subject: Suggestions
Your list is great fun; I feel more positive about a few of the selections than you, but there's real pleasure in reading confirmation that there are other folks out there who recognize just how dreadful certain '70s songs were.
That said, I'm perplexed by the inexplicable omission of the Canadian group Edward Bear, perpetrator of such treacle as "You, Me and Mexico" (that may actually have been a 1969 production), "Last Song," and "Close Your Eyes."
I'm also puzzled by the omission of the Bay City Rollers, Scotland's worst export ever. Surely some of their follies -- "Saturday Night," "Remember (Sha-La-La)," "Shang-A-Lang," "Summerlove Sensation," "All Of Me Loves All Of You," "Bye, Bye, Baby," "Give a Little Love," "Money Honey," or any number of others -- merit a place in your hall of shame!
KSNF
Subject: Do you remember this song?
You forgot to add the song "Baby Believe Me" by Kurt Russell. In all these years I have never heard anything about it. No one ever talks about it or even seems to remember it. But I certainly do. I loved it at the time. Most 12 year old girls dig that kind of thing. But looking back...it's a perfect candidate for your list. The comments pages are hilarious. People just can't admit that those songs blow! Oops "One Tin Soldier"...bad bad song.
bygone37585
I agree with many of the choices on your list of bad songs. On the other hand, many of your choices were songs that were critically acclaimed back then as well as now. The idea that you can put an obviously bad song like "Billy Don't Be a Hero" and a great folk song like "Sundown" on the same list demonstrates an appalling level of ignorance and lack of even the most rudimentary musical education.
Moreover, the fact that you feel the need to riducule and put on a separate list anyone who disagrees with your views clearly indicates a great deal of insecurity and immaturity on your part. People like you wouldn't have lasted ten seconds in the '70s.