For Your Listening Pleasure
Vince Guaraldi Trio – A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Original Soundtrack Recording of the CBS Television Special
I’ve gotta say, the Peanuts Christmas special is still the best one ever. Now, don’t get me wrong, Rudolph, Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas, and all the rest still have a special place in my heart — and even the new Muppet special was pretty fun, Bigg Snoop Dogg or not — but there’s something wrong with you if December rolls around, you see that Charlie Brown is on TV, and you let yourself click past it. Just inexcusable.
News to You
Speaking of Christmas, I just sent my annual email to Santa, and decided to leave Kurt Cobain’s Journals off the final Christmas List… As you know, I’ve been facing a dilemma regarding whether or not I’ll actually break out and read the damn thing, so of course, the news item I’ve decided to highlight today is this one, featuring comments on the journals from Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Unfortunately, the more people that say they’re not going to read it, the more will power I lose.
“Must not rape Kurt Cobain’s personal thoughts… Must not rape Kurt Cobain’s personal thoughts…”
Knowing When to Quit
When W. Axl Rose and the “new” Guns N Roses surprised everyone by performing at last year’s MTV Video Music Awards, it sparked a few questions:
Is Axl washed up?
Should they still call themselves “Guns N Roses” if SLASH, etc. aren’t in the band?
Why is his face so puffy?
Who’s that guy with the bucket on his head?
But here’s another one, as the above-mentioned Kurt Cobain included in his “suicide letter” while misquoting Neil Young: Is it better to burn out than to fade away?
While GnR continues to be more confusing than ever, there are plenty of bands that don’t know when to just hang up the guitars and call it a night. Taking things a step further, there are WAY too many acts that stick around long after a key member quits or drops dead — due to spontaneous combustion, drug overdose, or some other typical Rock Malady — while trying to pass themselves off as the original.
Think about it… just naming bands that changed their name and/or re-formed minus a key member, and you have a who’s who of rock and roll hall of shame shoe-ins. Jefferson Starship (or worse — STARSHIP), anyone? How about The Heads? Or this new Doors project that everyone’s talking about, with The Police’s Stewart Copeland on drums and Ian Astbury of The Cult playing the role of a wannabe Jim Morrison? Have they no shame?
Now, I’m not saying you can’t replace a member and continue to be successful. Floyd’s done it, The Who has done it — twice now — and if you’re talking nineties rock, you can’t name a band that hasn’t had at least one drumming change (Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Sunny Day Real Estate… the list goes on and on). And stop it with the “but they’re just drummers” comments, ok? But I think you get my point without me having to get into the bizarre, incestuous relationship between the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane’s Addiction, or grunge/punk-whore Pat Strange’s various jumping around from band to band. You CAN be Nirvana without Chad Channing, you CAN be the Foo Fighters without Will Goldsmith, you CAN be Pearl Jam without Jack Irons.
JACK IRONS!
Ha!
The Who without Keith Moon, though, that’s a different story. Even the surviving members have questioned their decision to keep going without their drummer, their backbone. Once John Entwistle died this year, and the band got their tribute/memorial concerts out of their system, I think we’re all hoping Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend just hang it up for good.
And now I’m hearing that Led Zeppelin wants to have a reunion tour — and they may ask David Grohl to accompany them on drums. Don’t get me wrong, you know how I feel about Grohl, but you can’t even ask John Bonham’s son Jason to play? It just seems wrong. (I’d even take Tracy Bonham, just to respect the name of maybe the greatest rock drummer of all time.) The fact that Copeland is involved in the Doors project is the only thing keeping my mind the slightest bit open — out of curiosity alone — but I’d feel more comfortable with Val Kilmer on the mic than the guy who used to sing “Fire Woman”…
I donno, maybe I’m just set in my ways… I couldn’t even get 100% into the NWA performances on “Farm Club” a year or so ago with Snoop spittin’ out Eazy-E’s rhymes. And we all know how I feel about Snoop!
Except for rare cases like AC/DC (a band that I only became familiar with AFTER chauffeur-turned-lead-singer Bon Scott died in 1980) and Menudo (did ANYONE remain in this boy band longer than a couple of years?), though, it’s hard for me to accept it when bands choose to continue on, when it would have been better for them to just quit before completely bastardizing themselves.
Oh, and don’t even get me started on Van Halen.
I think RUN-DMC did it right. Jam Master Jay got killed this year, and that’s that. As Run put it: “I cannot get out in front of my fans with a new DJ. Some rock bands can replace the drummer and I don’t know any other way but to be the three original members. That’s all I can say. We are retired.”
Call me old-fashioned…
Until next time… peace. love. moe.
– Matt
Till My Head Falls Off can be found weekly on 411 Music (old columns are archived in the pull-down menu below). Already hit everything on 411? Matthew Michaels also contributes to 1-42.
