Author Archives: Steve Moyer

A Must-Have

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Got my copy of the pretty-recent double-CD reissue of the T. Rex album (you’ll recognize the front cover on the youtube).

It’s simply kick-ass fantastic. As epic as are Electric Warrior and The Slider it’s hard to find this any less epic while listening.

This is the transitional T. Rex album, sharing elements of acoustic Tyrannosaurus Rex before and electric T. Rex to come.

I’m the first guy to call bullshit on bands and so much of Marc Bolan/T. Rex is bullshit – the Larry the Lamb vocals, strings, the silly fairlyland lyrics. Hell, I’d say any rock music including bongo drums is two strikes into bullshit territory already.

But T. Rex is great bullshit. I liked this album back in the early 80’s when a real punk rocker I loaned this to made off with my copy (among other stuff) when he suddenly moved back to the LA Hardcore scene with no notice. I hadn’t heard all of it in a long time. The song I offer, Beltane Walk, along with Jewel and One Inch Rock are up there with just about anything. And most everything else is pretty darn close.

Beltane Walk is another choice of mine for a perfect pop song with its hooky chorus. I’m also a sucker for the upstroke guitar clucks during the verses. Love the guitar tone too.

The extra disc includes lots of raw stuff that’s fun to listen to. On one cut, Bolan honks a jump up to a Larry the Lamb falsetto with a frog in his throat and the recording ends right then and there.

I’ve said this many times before and I’ll say it many times again, but the fact that Bolan/T. Rex isn’t in the Rock Hall of Fame (and isn’t really even in the conversation) make the whole endeavor a joke all by itself.

“And then we’ll a-woke. . .”

Best Music Website Ever

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I shared this with the Remnants a while ago, before we were Remnants. Thought of it again the other day, went to recheck it out and it has moved. The original site is now about yeast infections.

This site is automatically great because it’s the greatest site ever. Read the Hellacopters and Turbonegro reviews to realize this woman could probably be my soulmate. (I don’t even know a woman with “supershit” in her vocabulary.) Reviewing your entire collection, one-by-one, is a great idea, something I still aspire to do since I’ve kind of given up on having the time to write a book.

The bad part of the site is it’s hardly updated (maybe never) and you can read the whole thing in a couple hours (maybe that’s not a bad thing).

Click and enjoy:

http://thisisnotpitchfork.blogspot.com/

Second Consecutive Terrible Post From Steve

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I am going to see Bryan Ferry at the Tower Theater in Philly in October 4th, my birthday. I’m pretty excited. Since I see a concert about once every five years anymore (what’s to see? – Hellacopters are broken up), this is a true event.

I’ll make a good post this week, I promise. Surely you’ve had enough Robert Cray and Alison Krauss.

I’m Offended

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Peter, I really like the updates you made to the rectangular banners atop this site, except for the one of the “punk” chick lying on top of her “punk” boyfriend. Modern day poseurs like that are exactly what Rock Remnants is not about (or at least shouldn’t be). (Along with Beyonce and Ellie Goulding and Lorde.)

I vote to take that banner down. What in hell made you choose to put it up in the first place?

Shaggs Part Two

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Frankly, any discussion of The Shaggs must begin with My Pal Foot Foot which you’ll find on many “Worst Song Of All-Time” lists. I love this video version, actually one of my very favorite music videos period:

By the way, that creature running around is Foot Foot, drawn by one of the girls as part of the album art. We always assumed it’s supposed to be a cat.

The first Shaggs album is like nothing else. It adheres to very, very few musical conventions. It’s truly its own thing. I don’t know if these girls’ parents kept them trapped in a closet or what, but what they invented is a different animal (Foot Foot?).

I’ve often thought of how difficult it would be to cover one of these songs in a band – not a new rendition – but attempting to copy The Shaggs note-for-note, rhythm for rhythm. I suspect it would be next to impossible.

However, these girls know what they’re doing in their own little world of their own little invention. They clearly rehearsed these songs before recording them in their dad’s studio. There are stops, starts, planned part patterns in the songs, background vocals, etc. But just concentrate on the drum part in Foot Foot to get a flavor of how crazy this invention is. The drummer executes this strange combination of snare drum, clicking on the side of the drum and cymbals. It’s other-worldly.

The more The Shaggs progressed (they made at least two more albums, I believe), the more musical conventions crept in, making initial listenings more tolerable, but never quite capturing that insane “something” on the first album.

As for other renditions, I own a fairly obscure Shaggs tribute album called Better Than The Beatles: A Tribute To The Shaggs. Most of it adds at least a little bit of traditional musicality to the Shaggs’ own world and some turns out pretty good. I noticed today that now-somewhat-mainstream Deerhoof actually does the Foot Foot cover. Back when I bought the album years ago, Deerhoof wasn’t any more recognizable to me than the other bands.

I’ll leave you with Philosophy Of The World by Ida. Lawr often uses the term “haunting.” I think this is pretty haunting and the lyrics are actually quite profound.

Steveslist – Top 5 AC/DC Songs

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If you think Back In Black is AC/DC’s best album, you can stop reading right here. In truth it is the only good Brian Johnson album.

The top five AC/DC songs conveniently came out to one song per each of the first five albums, so I will list them chronologically.

It amazes me that, although I am generally very lyric agnostic, Bon Scott’s lyrics do a lot for me. Always perfect iambic pentameter (very important to me), always very rock ‘n’ roll. Therefore, I will include videos with words and the outstanding song lyric when possible.

Disclaimer – These aren’t about Beatles vs. Bob Dylan vs. Rolling Stones (especially since this one’s about only AC/DC). These aren’t necessarily the “correct” choices that you can find on every other internet or magazine list. These aren’t about who was the first to do this or that. Steveslist doesn’t care. These are about what I reach for and what turns my crank and what makes me smile.

Rock ‘N’ Roll Singer from High Voltage

I do believe this is the first album I played in the brand spankin’ new 8-track player my friend installed for me in my dad’s 1968 Rambler station wagon for my first solo drive after getting my drivers license. I felt like a damn Hell’s Angel.

Outstanding Lyric – “Yes I are.”

Ain’t No Fun Waitin’ Round To Be A Millionaire from Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Seven minutes of boogie woogie drone. (This may well have made the Best 5 7-Minute Songs list if I had realized it was 7 minutes.) Brian Johnson AC/DC fans don’t understand this stuff whatsoever.

Outstanding Lyric – “I got patches, on the patches, on my old blue jeans. Well they used to be blue, when they used to be new, when they used to be clean.”

Overdose from Let There Be Rock

The second guitar’s entrance at 0:47. When the whole thing begins marching along at 1:25. Crazed barely-controllable (the whole thing is constantly threatening to degenerate into a feedback fest) buzzing bee guitars. Electric as electric gets.

Outstanding Lyric – “All over you.”

Gone Shootin’ from Powerage

Cool, light, feel-good, duel-guitar boogie woogie – about heroin. Could drone on forever as far as I’m concerned.

Outstanding Lyric – None to speak of.

Touch Too Much from Highway To Hell

This one was even a hit. Super lyrics all the way through.

Outstanding Lyric – “She had the face of an angel, smilin’ with sin, the body of Venus with arms. . .”

The Perfect Pop Song

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Made the long drive yesterday to see my kids the rest of this week and grabbed Cheap Trick’s In Color as part of my CD driving arsenal. Hadn’t listened to it in many years – I usually pick Heaven Tonight when I pick Trick (ho ho, I should be a morning DJ).

Realized yesterday that In Color is a really good album, better than Heaven Tonight.

This song struck me as as close to perfect as a pop song can be. There’s nothing new here and I have no idea what Robin Zander is singing about, but it sure does give you that giddy feeling in the tummy that a great pop song should.

Considered doing a “Most Perfect Pop Songs” Steveslist five, but how could anyone begin to get that right without months of research?

Enjoy.