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Monday, May 30, 2011

'Why don't we all drink some very sexy wine?'

I wrote a song a few years ago in which I name-checked one of my favourite comedic actors – Dom DeLuise. I can remember several movies in which he made a mere cameo, but stole the scene – and he often did with little effort – much like Bill Murray seems to do these days.

This was originally going to be a post about Dom Deluise's gut-breaking cameo in Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

But along the way to writing it, I was reminded of another classic comedy scene starring DeLuise and a an ensemble i like to think of as "the Crazy gang" of comedy: Dom, Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn...

I guess what made them funny was that they were so firmly rooted in old-school theatrical technique, so really the director had to point the camera and let them 'chew scenery'. Result? Comedy gold.


Case in point: The opera scene from The Adventure (singular) of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother is an outstanding bit of slapstick married with the absurd... translating 'Gambetti' into a sex farce in the middle of a murder plot is insane... insanely funny.


Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Various Artists - Gods of Guitar

Bryan AdamsCover of Bryan Adams
With all due respect to recent popular achievements The Killers don't fit into the track list on the first disc, and Queens of the Stone Age are worth far more than just a guitar-band label anyway.

Paul McCartney isn't really guitar god per se, and of all the U2 songs that could have showcased The Edge's contribution, "Beautiful Day" is not a great choice at all. Same with Bryan Adams, whose "In the Heat of The Night" is a better song, even if it is Keith Scott that handles they the key guitar work.

And finally, I may have a personal problem with the inclusion of The Buzzcocks and Ramones on a compilation like this – not because they're not guitar bands, but because they're also proto-punk bands, who pride themselves on evolving from a genre where you don't have to know how to play at all.

Read the full review here
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Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Is hard rock dead in SA?

Heavy Metal concert somewhere in East BerlinImage via Wikipedia
With CD sales declining globally across all genres, and the further monopolising of airwaves by the Top40 playlists, certain 'genres' of music previously thought to be the staple of suburban identity have fallen by the wayside. Or have they?

In South Africa, rock is historically regarded as music played by and for the white suburban teenager. The harder brands of rock in particular have retreated into the dark corners of those suburban alleys, but can still be found thriving there, albeit on a smaller scale.

One band that happens to serve as a great example of this is Cape Town outfit STONECOLLAR, who are about to launch their debut album, and have been getting lots of positive buzz from international weblogs and such with preview and demo tracks.

But is wanting to be a hard rock band in SA really that advisable in this day and age?

"I don’t honestly see being in a full-time HARD ROCK band in SA as completely viable," says STONECOLLAR drummer Bryan Nicol. "The market is probably too small. One would realistically have to look internationally for enough support to keep the band going...which I can only imagine is a long and hard road."

International


STONECOLLAR's Myspace posts talk a bit about the international reviews they've received.

"We have put a lot of effort into trying to get people across the globe to hear our music, including SA," Nicol explains. "Clinton (Jurgens, guitarist) especially has been doing a lot of networking online with international music sites, publications, reviewers, etcetera to try and get them to hear our stuff. And it is starting to work.

"All the international reviews, of which we already have quite a few, have been very positive, especially surrounding the music itself – the feel, the song structure, composition, etc. I think that’s a great reflection of where the demand may lie…abroad.

"As a result we have had a tremendous spike in online traffic on our site with people, mostly from the USA, listening to our tracks online. We can’t say the same for the local scene…yet. The reviews have been quite varied and the interest in good old head bobbing hard rock seems to be less than our US / European buddies."

Touring in SA

But is there (still) a touring circuit in SA for a band that sits on the 'louder' side of the rock spectrum? Nicol is positive:

"We have seen that we seem to get great feedback and reception from all audiences. At festivals as well! We might play after a much mellower band and the people still seem to really dig it. We have also found that metal fans seem to appreciate what we do quite a bit...as we appreciate their music too!

"There is a rich vein of metal talent in SA and, along with them, a core of die-hard metal fans. Local bands seem to tour quite well on that circuit nationally, and we get a great vibe from metal lovers. The only thing being that we’re not a metal band per se and may not fully appeal to the ‘screamo’ / hardcore fans…but I think there are enough fans of rock and metal combined to appreciate hard rock. 

 "As for internationally, it’s to keep trying to create some form of profile overseas. Getting our stuff onto foreign radio stations, creating interest, to some extent, in STONECOLLAR in other parts of the world.

"We hope for this to pave the way, in some part, for an excursion abroad. This is part of our vision, but it’s still very early days, with the album launch still a week away. What's encouraging is that we're already getting approached by music journos and fans abroad who want to listen to and review our music. More of that would be nice."


STONECOLLAR launches its debut album on May 17. at mercury Live and Lounge in Cape Town.
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Monday, May 9, 2011

The worst pop cover versions ever?

Occasionally, pop artists attempt claim a part of rock n' roll history for themselves by covering a classic track. But most times, the endeavour goes horribly wrong.

Take Britney Spears, who has on at least two occasions courted the apocalypse with her own versions of the Stones' "Satisfaction" and Joan Jett and the Black Hearts' "I Love Rock N' Roll" (Capital N required).


Madonna weighed in with a mass-murdering take on Don McClean's "American Pie", making us all wonder if the music really had died. Or maybe it was just the cat.






Still, the worst of them all for me was a nails-on-blackboard version of AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" by Celine Dion and Anastasia. And that's taking into account Dion's version of Cyndi Lauper's "I Drove All Night".







Seriously, of all the crimes perpetrated upon humanity in the 20th century, listening to either of those say the line "he was a fast machine/he kept his motor clean" is by far the worst... even worse than this:






But what were your moments of pop cover madness? Go on, share.

Five great Roxette videos

With Roxette in SA, we thought we'd take a look back at some highlights from an outstanding career of pop hits.

Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle's project is the second most successful act out of Sweden ever (behind Abba), and they have sold around  60 million records.

Here are videos for a few of their classic hits.




Roxette – The Look







Roxette – Dangerous







Roxette – How Do You Do






Roxette - Spending My Time (Unplugged)








Roxette – It Must Have Been Love