Since I am on vacation next week, check out the site for Bloodshot Records, the home of The Sadies. What type of music do they produce? According to their site “As always, we are dedicated to providing you with only the finest roots inflected music—striving to encourage cross-pollination between the spirit and sound of punk, the craft and tradition of country, folk, bluegrass, and a general disdain for the confinements of mainstream taste making. Call it insurgent country, honky-skronk, alt-country, whatever. No one term can truly encapsulate the sounds contained on this site. We’re glad you stopped by, and hope you find something you like”. Now is this rock and roll? Remember it’s all about attitude and good songs and bands like The Sadies have both so check them out. It’s all part of the rich musical pageant that I like to call rock and roll even if you call it something else.
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(Cue radio announcer’s voice)That’s right, you too can own your very own radio station! (OK fine, Mama Carlson actually owned WKRP but that’s not as funny in a headline) Be the first one on your block to spin the savage sounds of rock and roll to your neighbors and friends. Click over to Panaxis and Radio Free Berkeley to find out more!
Want to reach out to the world? Then check out Shoutcast and Live365 and make sure you read the fine print! Don’t forget, ahem, the short wave option as well. Go for it Big Guy!
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You love garage and psychedelic rock? Do you collect garage and psych records from around the world or around your block? Interested in discovering modern bands influenced by these crazy fuzz merchants? Than check out this incredible, always up to date database “Searchin for Shakes” (Microsoft Access required). An incredible resource brought to you by the fantastic people at Trans World 60s Punk. If you always wondered what Greek punk rock from the 60s sounded like, this is the place to start. You can also check out the Garage Compilation Database for more hip shaking goodliness.
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I love camping. The trees, the beach, the smell of frying bacon in the morning. Add to that the sound of screaming guitars and pounding drums and you have a recipe for a grand ol’ time. That’s just what the Maberly Meltdown promises on August 30th according to Chart magazine. The Constantines, The High Dials and The Sadies are just 3 of the bands that will be there. Break out the tent and clean up the Coleman stove, it’s time to end the summer in style!

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There are literally thousands of web sites offering advice to the aspiring rock and roll band. Over the next couple of months I intend to highlight ones that I feel look genuinely helpful (as usual, all suggestions are greatly appreciated). But before we even get that far, click over to this section of the Bomp Records web site for some very helpful and to the point advice before you do anything. They know what they are talking about. If the last part of their list seems a bit depressing then check out this article highlighting the success of independent labels in the midst of the so called “market slump.”
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I came across Trak Marx (“The Needle and the Damage Done” is their motto) while searching for info on Lenny Kaye’s excellent Nuggets compilation and I try to read it regularly. A great webzine. The current issue features an interview with Mike Stax, the Editor of Ugly Things Magazine which I have already raved about in a past post. Recommended.
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Speaking of covers, this is interesting. The Covers Project is a database of songs covered by people other than the original artists that recorded them. Cool.
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According to the local news rag The Montreal Gazette, both Liam Gallagher and Prince are thinking of moving to Canada. Now, I have no problem with Liam Gallagher. Oasis are a very cool band and Liam’s certainly got the attitude but Prince? The only thing I ever liked about him was Raspberry Beret and that was the cover version by The Hindu Love Gods! I also worry that this great country might pose a serious danger of strangling that snot nose, asshole attitude that Mr. Gallagher wears so well and turning him into, well, just a jerk. Hope Noel visits often.
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Tea Party, Blue Rodeo join Stones show
This thing is just getting bigger and bigger! I am still debating whether to see this spectacle or not but I can tell that I’m getting older when my main preoccupation is where I’m going to sleep and how will I work things out so that I miss the least amount of work possible. Yeesh, some rock and roller! Of course, with a limit of 2 bottles of water for each concert goer, by the end of the day the scene could resemble something out of The Battle of the Somme. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
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It’s been about 2 weeks since I started this blog and I am having a blast putting it together. I have had nothing but positive feedback from all 3 of my readers (thanks mom!) and I am already looking forward to moving it all up a notch.
In the next couple of months I want to move to some more sophisticated software. It has to support public comments, a searchable archives, e-mail notification of site updates and the ability to create posts in advance and automatically have the software upload them according to a schedule I create. So far I’m evaluating Radio Userland, Movable Type, Live Journal and Type Pad. In the more immediate future I will dive into the HTML code of my basic free Blogger site and at the very least reduce the size of the fonts and maybe change the typeface. In the distant future will be a move to www.rockandrollreport.com, which I now own (don’t click on it now, nothing to see, move along). The search is also on for a used “Flower Power” iMac Special Edition. Why? Because it looks cool! Any and all comments and suggestions are appreciated!
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Is Apple Computer’s iTunes software going to revolutionize the music business? Charles Haddad seems to think so and he makes some pretty good points. Should Metallica and the Chili Peppers be scared? Only if they release crap I suppose. Check it out.
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The debate rages on about what should be considered the greatest rock and roll movie of all time. Well, let’s look at some of the candidates: “Don’t Look Back”? Maybe. “The Last Waltz”? Possibly. “A Hard Days Night”? It has potential. “Woodstock”? Excellent but not too sure. ”Gimme Shelter”? Maybe, but watching that fat naked guy on stage is a bit disturbing. “The Great Rock and Roll Swindle”? No. My vote would have to go to “This is Spinal Tap” an engrossing documentary or “rockumentary” if you will about the English heavy metal band Spinal Tap on tour in America in the early eighties. Some people say these guys are all actors. Some people say it’s actually the English folk group “The Thamesmen” in wigs and spandex. All I know is that Jeff Beck is the lead guitarist and this site is the place to go for all things Spinal Tap although I’m not quite sure if it is clever or stupid.
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So Sharon Osbourne is coming out with a daytime TV chat show this fall. Good for her. I think she is pretty cool considering that she hasn’t killed Ozzy yet (although he has tried to kill her!) and she manages Ozzfest (Have you ever seen some of those bands? They scare the crap out of me!). Hell, she saved Ozzy’s career and I like Ozzy so she deserves to join the ranks of the Oprahs and the Maurys and hopefully she’ll keep the rock and roll attitude. If my mom starts watching, the apocalypse must be right around the corner.
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When spring turns to summer it gets depressing reading British rock mags. You flip to the back pages of Uncut, Q or Mojo and all you see are the lineups for an incredible variety of festivals that I would give anything to see (well except for money since I don’t have any but I digress). And it’s not just Britain. France, Italy, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland for heaven’s sake all have really cool rock festivals in really cool towns and villages. Glastonbury, The Move Festival, Guilfest, Reading and Canterbury Faire feature hundreds of cool artists and (more or less) a great atmosphere. Granted an open air festival is not the best place to experience rock and roll, but these European festivals are a great chance to catch a real diverse set of acts with the added funkiness of festival “villages” and all the side attractions they provide. Combine this with the opportunity of experiencing another culture and the whole thought becomes quite appealing to any rock and roll fan with cash to burn (or willing to take the cheap Air Courier route ). While North America has had and continues to have some great festivals, the diversity and regularity of European festivals is really impressive. Hoping from festival to festival across Europe. Now that’s the way to spend your summer vacation. They even brought back the Isle of Wight festival!
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Two tours making their way around the world look really great in my mind. The first one is Pearl Jam with the reformed Buzzcocks opening up for them on some dates. I’ve always been a big fan of Pearl Jam and have just recently gotten in to the Buzzcocks. Did I see them when they came to Montreal. Uhh no. Why? I’m an idiot. They wind up their current tour this weekend with 3 shows in Mexico while the Buzzcocks have gone their separate way and will be winding up their tour in Fort Lauderdale this weekend. Pearl Jam will be releasing a CD of rarities this fall.
R.E.M. are currently in Europe kicking up a storm and they are looking great on this tour. They told the press that they had rehearsed over 75 tunes for this trek and they have already played 48 different songs, including “Permanent Vacation” a song that they used to play when they first formed in 1980-81and have never officially recorded! They hit North America in August and will be embarking on an even bigger tour next year behind a new studio album. Go see them if you can. They will have a greatest hits out October 28th.
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WDOA is a free form non-profit internet radio station based in Worcester, Massachusetts. What sets WDOA apart is not so much what they play as to what they don’t play. They focus on independent music of labels and bands not affiliated with the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) or as they call them, “the bastards.” Right now you can listen to so-so quality streams of recorded shows but the quality of the streams should improve as they phase in live stereo MP3 streaming. Check them out now!

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If you are looking for a very cool music festival in a very cool city, then look no further than the Noise Pop Music Festival, touted as the indie rock festival. A very impressive list of alumni proves that this is no idle boast. Spend some time on their site and you’ll see why.
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I love Google. It’s amazing what you can find when you’re searching for something else! This site “The Boston Rock and Roll Museum” is very cool, especially if you’re from Beantown. Great domain name. Check it out.
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When Tom Donahue, arguably the father of FM Rock Radio, pulled up to the microphone at 8:00 PM on August 7th, 1967 at KMPX FM in San Francisco, who knew that he would herald the beginning of the end to the traditional Top 40 AM Rock and Roll DJs. Championing a new radio format called “free form radio” he played, like, whole album sides man! Far out! He unleashed a wave of “underground” FM radio stations all over North America that used DJs that posessed more of a calm and collected persona (the Montreal local “underground station CKGM FM even had a meditation room!) with the focus strictly on the music and the community that tended to listen to the acid drenched, psychedelic music that was all the rage then. Check out this site for some cool stuff related to KPMX and Tom Donahue. For a brief history of free form radio, check this site out at WFMU, one of a handful of stations still practicing the art form today (done well it is an art form). Finally, check out “The History of Rock and Roll Radio” at the Museum of Television and Radio to see what you can actually listen to if you happen to be in LA or New York with nothing better to do.
Up next, we go to the swinging London of the mid ‘60s to check out those cheeky British pirate radio stations that dared to take on the BBC.
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This week’s Label of the Week features Orange Sky Records, part of the Dionysus Records family of labels (we’ll look at the other members of the Dionysus Records juggernaut a little later). Featuring the great British psychedelia influenced band The Tyde, this is a fun, relatively new label that features, according to their site “the finest in classic ‘60s and ‘70s influenced mod, pop, and psych with a thoroughly modern twist.” Another fun label with great music run by dedicated fans. Thank you.
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According to this article from the Honolulu Advertiser, the CD is dieing because people are not buying enough classic rock causing the record labels to have to actually, gasp, promote new talent which is very expensive by the way according to numerous “big label head honchos.” The milk is running dry from this cash cow, on to Audio DVDs dagnabbit! Full steam ahead! And copy protect everything!
I miss vinyl records. Remember those? Sigh.
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As a follow up to my post on the Webcaster Alliance and their threat to sue the RIAA, this article in The Register quite succinctly sums up the issues facing webcasters and their fight to ensure a level playing field with Corporate Radio. Read it. Digest it. Help if you can.
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Surprise! Bet ya didn’t see this one coming! Didn’t think I liked Canadian power trio Rush? How could I not! I grew up listening to these guys and the sadly forgotten Max Webster and if you like complicated time signatures, deep lyrics, screeching banshee vocals (although Ged has toned them down in recent years) and impressive musical chops that combine for some truly great songs, then Rush is your band and Power Windows is your source for all things Rush. A truly great resource when you’re trying to track down the inspiration for “Red Barchetta.”
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If you want to see the source behind one of my inspirations for writing this blog then you need look no further than this editorial “Revolution: Now” penned by Rock and Roll super fan and Bomp Records Grand Pooh Bah Greg Shaw. What I like about Shaw’s outlook on Rock and Roll is that he refuses to label it, pigeonhole it, or otherwise get bogged down in classifying any of Rock’s supposed genres like a botanist classifying some plant species. I agree wholeheartedly with his opinion that “rock and roll itself should be seen not as a genre, not as a mere noun or even a verb, but also as a process.” That “process” is what The Rock and Roll Report hopes to be all about. The conditions are ripe for the revolution that Shaw writes about (and in fact in a lot of ways it has already begun), the evidence is out there, you just might not notice it amongst the background noise of “American Idol” and Eminem. There are amazing record labels, bands, clubs, websites and blogs showing the way. Major, indie rock, garage, alternative, retro. These are just smokescreens hiding some great music. Check it out. Go to your local clubs. Start a band. Buy some CD’s from some of these cool new bands. Start a rock and roll radio show at your local community radio station or on the internet. Read and contribute to The Rock and Roll Report or any other website/blog out there and show the way. Have fun. Rock and Roll is here to stay. Sometimes you just have to look harder to find it. Let’s look together.
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Always wanted to know why Brian Jones stumbled into the foothills of the Rif Mountains in Morrocco to record an exotic sounding but otherwise unheard of band of hillsman just before he “quit” the Stones? Listen to some of these tunes and you’ll float off into another world. Arguably the first instance of “Third World” music influencing a rock and roller. Robert Palmer (the writer) wrote an excellent article for Rolling Stone about them. They played on Steel Weels to.
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Jajouka

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