Sound Opinions, being the scholarly work it is, has provided footnotes to help you navigate through the show's vast maze of musical knowledge.
Because, let's face it—sometimes even we have no idea what the heck Jim and Greg are talking about.
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12-02-06 Footnotes
Listen to the MP3 Stream of this show: (link)
Download the Podcast: (Download the MP3)
1 Since August of 2005 the Rolling Stones have pulled in a whopping $437 million from their most recent tour, “A Bigger Bang.” They played 110 concerts in front of 3.5 million fans. It is not much of a shocker they are #1, considering the average ticket price is $135. Greg points out that fewer people are seeing shows by big acts, but bands are making higher profits. He feels we should be championing acts that still charge reasonably priced tickets like the Dave Matthews Band did on their recent tour. (Their average ticket price was $47.) This is really saying something considering both Jim and Greg aren’t exactly crazy about the DMB. Jim is amazed that the Rolling Stones still came in at #1 despite Keith’s Palm tree mishap, Ronnie checking in to rehab, Mick catching laryngitis, and Mick’s father passing away. Mick’s laryngitis even prompted a class action suit from a disgruntled fan.
2 Axl Rose is back on tour this fall fronting the latest incarnation of Guns N’ Roses. Greg went sans Jim to G N' R’s recent Chicago leg of the tour. After having Sebastian Bach and burlesque troupe the Suicide Girls warm up the crowd, Axl and his new gang came on stage to play a smattering of songs from the much delayed Chinese Democracy album, as well as play the G N’ R standards. Greg feels that Axl has created a brand more than a band, and thinks the songs from Chinese Democracy already sound dated. Apparently the G N’ R brand wasn’t so friendly with the Eagles of Death Metal who were originally slated to open prior to last week’s Cleveland gig.
3 This week Jim and Greg sit down with Andy Summers, the former guitarist for the 1980’s super group the Police . Andy was in town promoting his latest tome, “One Train Later”. It’s a memoir, and a good one according to Jim and Greg, about his years before and during the Police era. Andy is honest and frank in the book, and it comes across in the interview. Our hosts start things off by asking Andy about the origins of the band and creating the Police’s distinctive sound. Andy was largely influenced by jazz growing up and firmly established himself as a professional musician well before he helped form the Police. He had a brief stint with the jazz fusion/ progressive rock band Soft Machine and did session work during the 1970’s for artists like Neil Sedaka and Joan Armatrading. His Police band mate, drummer Stuart Copeland also came from a musically trained background. Jim points the irony in having two highly trained musicians emerge out of the British punk scene — a scene that demanded unpolished musicians and hated music solos. Andy considers the Police to have been fake punk band.
4 Although Jim did not get to catch The Police at their first US gig at CBGB’s, he did see the band shortly after at New York’s The Bottom Line. The young self proclaimed “drum geek” strategically sat behind Stewart Copeland’s drum kit. He discovered the Police’s disdain for each other after noting the “nasty, nasty” words Stewart had written in magic marker on his drum skins cursing the other band members. Jim asked Andy what it was like to work in such acrimonious conditions, especially with the rising mega star Sting. Summers says nothing negative about his experience and feels the fights helped fuel the creativity of the band. Greg reiterates that although several people over the years mistake the Police as Sting’s band, Andy and Stewart really shaped the sound. Andy concurs detailing how songs like “Walking on the Moon” and “When the World is Running Down” involved all the three of the band members.
5 As the interview nears a close, Jim asks the question that burns in the brain of many a Police fan: Will the Police reunite? Andy is up for reuniting and is in contact with the other two members. He had dinner with them this year but he won’t sit around waiting for the phone to ring. He’s busy with his own career producing solo albums, working as a photographer and bandleader. The closest the Police came to a reunion was in 2003 for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. A reunion sounds possible. Let’s hope this former Sting fan doesn’t squelch such a possibility.
6 After a 4 year drought stemming from a record label deal mishap, the sibling rapper duo The Clipse have finally released their second album entitled Hell Hath No Fury. The Clipse come from Virginia Beach, the same town as Timbaland, Missy Elliot and The Neptunes. In fact, the super-producing pair The Neptunes are friends with rappers Malice and Pusha T and produced the album. Both Jim and Greg feel the album covers much of the same old clichéd Gangsta rap territory, but does so with a tremendous amount of artful, novelistic detail. Jim compares it to the literary precision of Ghostface Killah’s Fishscale. The sound of the album is dark, brooding, futuristic and inventive. Both Jim and Greg feel the album’s production redeems the Neptunes for their recent lackluster effort (see Jim and Greg’s 2006 Turkey Shoots which discusses Pharell Williams’ In My Mind). Greg boldly proclaims that Hell Hath No Fury is one of the best albums of the year. The albums receives a double Buy it.
7 Jim and Greg’s second album review is of the Deftones’ fifth release, Saturday Night Wrist. This Sacramento, CA band came out of the Nü Metal genre explosion of the mid 90’s. As Jim likes to point out that’s “Nü” with the umlaut. He feels the rap-rock genre that combines Heavy Metal with a DJ is tired and played out, much like the Gangsta Rap genre mentioned earlier. However, he explains that the Deftones moved away from Nü Metal into a more inventive sound with their 2000 release White Pony. Jim even witnessed their desire first hand when he interviewed the band years ago, for a Guitar World magazine interview. On this album the band has hired producer Bob Ezrin, the man behind Alice Cooper’s albums and Lou Reed’s Berlin. Greg feels this is “an interesting record in terms of tone and texture”. It is a “plush sounding record” that would sound great through headphones. He applauds the band for making the progression. But with all that, Greg feels the song writing lacks substance. Due to this unevenness, Greg can only rate the album with Burn it. Jim disagrees and gives it a Buy it. He feels the album is for anyone interested in “hard rock that is trying to push the envelope and redefine itself.”
8 It’s Greg’s turn this week to pop a quarter in the Desert Island Jukebox. With such great guests as Andy Summers on the show, Greg explains that he feels like the legendary BBC radio host John Peel. Mr. Peel had every band under the sun perform on his show up until his death in 2004. One the artists Mr. Peel embraced throughout her entire career was Polly Jean Harvey. John first had her on the show back in 1991 when she was only 20 years old and fresh from a sheep farm. Greg chooses a song from that original session entitled, “Sheila Na Gig” which has been compiled into a new album, PJ Harvey – The Peel Sessions 1991 – 2004. The title, “Sheela-Na-Gig,” is a reference to the Irish fertility goddess. The symbol was commonly represented in stone carvings. The meaning of the symbol is debated. Some argue it was meant as religious instruction to warn women from the sins of the flesh, while others argue it was meant to protect people from evil. In her song, PJ Harvey reworks the symbol’s misogynist meaning via a war of the sexes dialogue which turns the symbol’s negative denotation upside down.
Songs Featured in Show #53
The Rolling Stones, "Salt of the Earth", Beggars Banquet, 1968
Gun N’ Roses, live concert recording, "Chinese Democracy", 2006
Police, "Be My Girl – Sally", Outlandos d'Amour, 1978
Thelonious Monk, "Nice Work if You Can Get It", Round Midnight, 2000
The Police, "Next to You", Outlandos d'Amour, 1978
The Police, "Roxanne", Outlandos d'Amour, 1978
The Police, "Spirits In the Material World", Ghost in the Machine, 1981
The Police, "Walking On the Moon", Reggatta de Blanc, 1979
The Police, "When the World is Running Down", Zenyatta Mondatta, 1980
The Police, "Every Breath You Take", Synchronicity, 1983
The Clipse, "Ride Around Shining", Hell Hath No Fury (2006)
The Clipse, "Keys Open Doors", Hell Hath No Fury (2006)
The Clipse, "Hello New World", Hell Hath No Fury (2006)
The Clipse, "Wamp Wamp (What it Do)", Hell Hath No Fury (2006)
The Clipse, "Nightmares", Hell Hath No Fury (2006)
The Deftones, "Hole in the Earth", Saturday Night Wrist (2006)
The Deftones, "Mein", Saturday Night Wrist (2006)
The Deftones, "Xerces", Saturday Night Wrist (2006)
PJ Harvey, "Sheela Na Gig", The Peel Sessions 1991-2004 [LIVE] (2006)
(Credits) Malajube, "La Fin", Trompe-l'œil (2006)
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