Brooks on Books: Twilight of the Gods by Steven Hyden

Twilight of the Gods is a funny exploration of classic rock and anyone who grew up listening to the music on the radio, as author Steven Hyden did, will enjoy it--whether or not you actually enjoy the music itself. Now, you might wonder, what exactly IS classic rock? Is it just "music that is played on stations that call themselves 'classic rock'?" Well, yeah, kind of. Hyden attempts to define the oft-nebulous world of this genre in a series of loosely connected essays, drawing heavily on his own personal experiences to create an enlightening and amusing book.

Now, I will admit that for a while Twilight wasn't exactly gripping me the way I hoped, but I believe that is on me, not on Hyden. I was anticipating something a bit more like Chuck Klosterman's work. Hyden doesn't exactly have a lot of the deep (or faux-deep) insights that pop up in Klosterman's work, and for a bit I was a little disappointed that Hyden wasn't really defining classic rock the way I was expecting. However, the more I got into the text, the more I enjoyed it. In the end, I think maybe it's more "just" a collection of interesting chapters about different aspects of classic rock rather than one "grand unified theory." But so what? It's a lot of fun.

Hyden puts all of himself into the book, building it around his own experiences attending shows, interviewing musicians (in addition to hosting the Celebration Rock) podcast, he writes for Uproxx and has been a writer and music critic for outlets like Grantland, The AV Club, and many more), and, yes, listening to the radio! As a devoted radio listener back in the day, including the local station that billed itself as "classic rock," I identify with many of Hyden's experiences. He shows how what we consider classic rock is in large part a function of what a group of programmers decided to play.

Younger music fans might not understand what the big deal is and why we would ponder why REP Speedwagon and Styx are lumped in the same category as Led Zeppelin, but I find the labels and sublabels (corporate rock, anyone?) fascinating. Along the way here, Hyden  explores the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,  the enduring fervent niche appeal of Phish, and the difference between supergroups and "shrunkgroups" (the latter includes the likes of Axl/DC and the Dead and Company--"aging bands break down and then melt into one another").

Maybe my favorite chapter is So Bad, in which Hyden explains how the "worst" parts of a band's discography actually come all the way around to being good. I think this is the quintessential section in Twilight, with Hyden's creative analysis laying out an entertaining case for appreciating things others label as garbage. He talks about the stages in which this happens--completism; in which he has to seek out everything a band does; grudging appreciation, in which some of the more unconventional aspects of the work become appealing; and what he calls "brainwashing." As he once summarized the notion of a good bad record for The AV  Club: "a record that you talk yourself into loving after you've grown tired of all the acknowledged masterpieces and respected second-tier releases in a legendary artist's discography." Hyden's chapter-length elaboration of this is hilarious, drawing on examples from the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, and Neil Young among others.

Ultimately, I am not sure that Hyden really determines why rock is on the downslope or whether it will last forever, but he ties it all together at the end by bringing it back to his personal experience and reflections. More importantly, Twilight of the Gods is packed with enough provocative insights and humor to make it a great read for any serious rock music fan.

Streaming Video Power Rankings #98

Welcome back to the longest-running weekly feature in the history of...this blog. Let's look at what's up in streaming video as we try to figure out something to watch to distract us from one of the worst matchups in the history of "the big game."

1) Unnamed Roku Channel: OK, there's a channel that is available in the Roku Store (i.e., not a private channel), it has tremendous content (much of it not streaming anywhere else), aaaaaand I am pretty sure it isn't licensing the material. I am not gonna name it and risk ruining a good thing, but this is the best new channel to come along in ages.

2) WWE Network: Last weekend's NXT Takeover and Royal Rumble earned high praise, next week brings an anticipated drop of Coliseum Video content, and Mid-Atlantic is great. This network is delivering right now.

3) Netflix: Altered Carbon gets the headlines this weekend, but Netflix added a few odds and ends with the beginning of the month. A new strategy seems to be to add a few franchises each month and hope that tides over the movie fans. This time, it's the American Pie movies and the Ocean's movies. OK, it's not as exciting as the Godfather trilogy, but did the Coppola movies ever cast Eugene Levy?

In other news, One Day at a Time suddenly became the best sitcom of all time, or at least that's what I gather by reading the critics.

4) Hulu:  Added One Tree Hill and Everwood  and made a lot of people happy. I wasn't one of them, but you can't please all of the people all of the time. They could please me by adding those MTM shows. Oh, and they responded to a support question I had on Twitter.

5) YouTube: One of the best channels out there is ClassicMLB11, who has been uploading cool snippets, promos, and miscellaneous videos in addition to game footage. You can't go wrong watching Tom Seaver teach you how to calculate earned run average.

6) The CW: I was just joking about making Barry Allen's prison stint last as long as it did in the comic books, but for a few minutes this week, I thought that might actually happen.

7) Amazon Prime: Am I the only one who had never heard of this new Prime Original Absentia? It has Stana Kacic. That's something, right?  I don't even think Prime is pushing it. Does this really exist? Who am I? What am I doing here? Is Stana Kacic here? I'm spelling her name wrong, aren't I?

8) Roku Channel: Not to be confused with Unnamed Roku Channel, this one added seasons of I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, and Good Times. I saw an episode of the latter with no commercials. Why aren't those series on Crackle?

9) Nosey: heaven help me, but I am directly responsible for my sister watching this, too.

10) TuneIn: I was listening to a good deal of Internet radio this week and was prepared to rank this higher until I heard a Streisand song and nearly dropped this out of the top 10.

Rolling Stone remembers Tom Petty

I checked in with Rolling Stone again because of its Tom Petty memorial issue. Well, that's a little misleading. In fact, I check in every issue because I'm a cheap sonuvagun who gets it from the liberry (hence me writing about this issue 6 weeks after it came out). But if I were looking at a mag rack, the Petty cover would have caught my eye.

This issue consists of two things: A Petty tribute and "The Photo Issue." Most of the regular features, even Random Notes and Reviews, are missing, though there is a back-page interview with Annie Leibovitz (who seemingly figures in about 75% of the Photo Issue portion). So if you like pictures, you might be in luck. If you like Petty, you might be in luck. Really, though, both sections were a little disappointing.

The photo collection was nice, but not spectacular, and we've seen many if not most a lot of times, and there wasn't a ton of added insight (nor much text). It's a continuation of the sort of scaled-down but drawn-out 50th anniversary celebration the mag is doing this year.

As for the Tom Petty story, well, it feels churlish to complain about a tribute story.  David Fricke knows his stuff, and he delivers a nice piece. I can't help but think he had to rush it a  bit, though. Rather than being an in-depth musical overview or the kind of cultural legacy piece that, say, a Mikail Gilmore does, this one focuses more on the fact that his peers thought he was a good dude.

And, hey, that's a cool thing and fun to read about. I just hoped for a little more depth, especially considering the lack of words in the rest of the issue. Also, Dhani Harrison is featured heavily in the Petty profile, quoted often. He has some great things to say, but is that another indication they had to crank this out quickly?

Overall, it's a fun but all-too-quick read and another reminder that while  Rolling Stone is still worth reading, it isn't often worth the cover price anymore.

Let's check in on Rolling Stone

Say what you will about Rolling Stone. Say what you will about puns. To me it is undeniable that "What a Foo Believes" is a superlative headline, and I am amazed the mag never used it before.

As for the magazine itself, the story isn't quite as epic as the title suggests, but it's a pleasant look at Dave Grohl (the band, too, but, face it, mostly Dave Grohl), who still comes off as the coolest guy in rock. I just wish he wouldn't smoke as much as he does while hanging out with author Josh Eells.

The highlights are Grohl's trip to Amoeba Records to get an album for his daughter, the account of Paul McCartney recording with the band, and a sincere, spontaneous reflection on Chris Cornell that happens in a quiet moment.

Rolling Stone, like so many other print magazines, is shrinking and shrinking (and, Jann Wenner concedes, is shopping for a buyer). Unfortunately, most of the "long-form" pieces in a given issue deal with politics or global warming. The curmudgeon in me thinks this is because today's music is so terrible that there just isn't enough fodder for significant coverage.

The typical formula is profile of a musician featured on the cover--alternating between hot young artist (usually hip hop or poppy female) and dinosaur rocker (I prefer the latter) and an increasingly tiny review section consisting of several pages of capsule album evaluations and maybe a page each for movies, TV, and books. The mag uses smaller features, like the back page Q&A and various sidebars and tidbits, to work in other old-school artists.

For example, Ozzy Osbourne is the subject of this issue's "The Last Word" interview. Brandon Flowers has a "Q&A." We see Randy Newman discuss "My Life in 12 Songs." All of this is pretty quick and breezy.

I hate to say this, but when an artist dies, we still get remarkable pieces. I can't wait to see the Tom Petty article. Usually a devoted dinosaur rock fan can find at least one solid profile in an issue. Overall, though, I wish that as the magazine's page count got smaller, it didn't also devote so many of its pages to non-music and cultural issues. I know that sort of thing has always been part of the mission and so on and so forth, but for me personally, I would rather read more pieces about musicians, even if it's the same old folks cropping up every few years.

And Now...a Word from THEIR Sponsor

Courtesy of my main man Sean Mc, check out this commercial starring Roy Clark, who is shilling for Pringles potato chips:

It's not just regular Pringles. By cracky, it's COUNTRY STYLE Pringles.

"Hey, Roy, can I have your autograph?"
"Sure! Have some Country Style Pringles!"
"Uh...no, that's OK. Just the autograph would be cool. Thanks."

Despite Roy's jaunty little jingle, I can't figure out what makes Country Style Pringles country style other than the "denim" can (which I do love, by the way). Are they fried in possum fat and beat with an ol' switch right after they're dumped out of the pan?

In an attempt to figure this out, I checked out a longer spot for the same product. This one ups the ante on country metaphors ("I'm hungrier than a moth on a nylon sweater!") but doesn't add a lot of detail beyond it's a NEW kind of Pringles. I'm not sure "a peck of hearty flavor" really explains it for me. But then again, I'm a city dweller, so maybe I just don't get it.

Oh, and the denim blue can. Can't forget the denim blue can.

Awesome 80s Video #6: Stevie Nicks, Talk to Me

I am going to go this entire post without making a cocaine reference. I am going to go this entire post without making a cocaine reference.

 

 

Stevie Nicks, “Talk to Me” is my favorite of all of her solo songs. It is not as heralded as other hits like "Edge of Seventeen" or "Stand Back," but it is as quintessentially 1980s as just about any female-fronted rock song of the era. Whoa, is there some 1980s-style production on this track. It almost sounds like a sister song/companion to "Voices Carry."

 

All this, plus a video to match!  It's Stevie in her full [comment redacted] days, twirling all over the place and also doing some kind of choreography with some dudes…and it all takes place in one of those 1980s houses with insanely large and empty rooms!

 

If this isn't 1980s enough for you through the first verse and chorus or so, check out the awesome sax break in the middle.

 

Why, oh, why has no one tried to go "viral" with a wedding party dance copying the routine in this vid? I am normally against any such contrived effort to do such a thing, but I would make an exception in this case.

 

 

Brooks on Books: The Who: The Story of the Band That Defined A Generation

When I saw this sharp-looking hardcover on the New Releases shelf at my local liberry, I was a bit confused. Something seemed off. It didn't look like something I expected to see there, but it sort of looked familiar. I grabbed it and took it home. Well, I checked it out with my card first, of course. I could have been more "rock and roll" and stole it or smashed it on the ground, but I went the conventional route.

Turns out this is a repackaging of the Treasures of the Who collection that combined a book with all kinds of goofy crap--reproductions of handbills, photos, and stuff like that. This is just the book--no crap. I remember seeing the Treasures and thinking it was pretty cool but not wanting to pay for it. I'm sure it ended up in the "bargain bin" at Barnes and Noble like all those books do, and it was probably worth it at that point.

Chris Welch's text in this "unofficial and unauthorized" volume is lively and surprisingly critical of the music. It doesn't delve much into the personal lives of the band members, but there isn't a lot of space for that.  The emphasis is on the band as a band, and each album gets a brief section with commentary on the album as a whole and the individual tracks.

Along the way, Welch tells the basic story of the band's origins and its high and low points, with several "chapters" (each chapter in this book is a few pages) devoted to biographical sketches of the individual members. It's an entertaining and brisk overview of The Who for non-experts.

Arguably the main attraction for aficionados of The Who, if they aren't disappointed at the exclusion of the goofy crap, is the wealth of photos of ephemera like letters to fans, original concert tickets, and the like. There are outstanding action shots and publicity pics as well, and it's all vivid and eye-pleasing in the smartly designed book.

Brooks on Books: Prime Reading Roundup

During my brief stint with Amazon Prime, I tried to take advantage of the Prime Reading program. As with many other aspects of the ever-expanding Prime, it's kind of annoying to navigate and figure out, so I won't try to explain, but many of the cheaper books and Kindle Singles in the Kindle library are available for free reading to Prime members (not to be confused with the Kindle Lending Library and Kindle Unlimited, which...ah, I'm not getting into all that).

Here are some quick thoughts on what I read:

A Spy's Guide to Thinking by John Braddock:  A short read from an intelligence agent who uses a personal incident--being accosted by someone trying to steal his phone while he's out in the field--as a foundation to discuss ways of thinking, touching on game theory and methods of analysis. It's a compelling piece of writing that leaves you wanting more. I might have been disappointed had I paid a full Kindle price, but I really enjoyed it.

Churchill in the Trenches by Peter Apps: In this Kindle Single, a former defense correspondent for Reuters traces the World War I experience of Winston Churchill, who returned to the Army and went to the literal trenches in Belgium after experiencing political defeat. It's an illuminating, focused look at a low point in the man's life, supplemented with accounts from contemporaries and correspondence between Churchill and wife Clementine.

The Spirit of '76: From Politics to Technology, the Year America Went Rock & Roll by David Browne: I was disappointed with this Kindle Single and was glad I hadn't paid for it. Browne is a veteran entertainment journalist who knows his stuff (despite making the gaffe of identifying decathlete Bruce Jenner as a swimmer, an error pointed out by several Amazon reviewers but now corrected), but this is a basic account of the pop culture of 1976 without much insight. It's a quick read of an interesting year, but I don't think Browne really gets across his premise.

Ken Burns: The Kindle Single Interview by Tom Roston: This is a worthwhile and revealing longish interview from 2014, and Burns comes off well here. He covers his storytelling/filmmaking philosophies and also shares revealing details of his personal history that shaped him. Highly recommended for Burns fans. NOTE: The Errol Morris Kindle Single Interview is good, too.

The Rolling Stones Discover America by Michael Lydon: There are parts early on in this "Singles Classic" that make you think, uh-oh, this is gonna be an overwritten slog. Lydon seems to be straining at times to be literary, but this is overall an excellent account of the Stones' ill-fated 1969 tour that culminated in disaster at Altamont.  Embedded with the Stones organization (even then it was a machine, as Lydon illuminates), he takes advantage of the access to provide fascinating details of an explosive act at the heights. He even writes about the access itself and how its extent on a given day affects him. It's a self-aware but piercing look at not just the Rolling Stones, but at the nature of fame and the culture of the era. It's short by book standards but a must read if you're into this sort of thing, and it is well worth the $1.99 price for non-Prime members.

On the Radio: "You May Be Right" by Billy Joel

I'm gonna get right to it this time: Why in the heck does Billy Joel's character tell a woman, "and you told me NOTS to drive," in this song?

Seriously. Listen to it again. The official lyric is:

And you told me not to drive
But I made it home alive
So you said that only proves that I'm insane

Sure, that's what Big Publishing WANTS us to think. But what Joel actually says is, "You told me NOTS to drive."   What's up with that?

Is it supposed to show how CRAZY this guy is? "Whoa, that lunatic talks like Sheldon Leonard! He IS insane!" (NOTE: I have no idea what that Sheldon Leonard reference means)

Is it Billy Joel's way of slipping in something a little extra edgy? Does it have something to do, somehow, some way, with dynamic range/mixing/some other technical aspect of the recording process I don't actually care about?

Am I crazy?

Streaming Video Power Rankings: Week 42 (Special Best Weekend of NFL football edition)

Note that you will not find the NFL's Roku channel on this list anytime soon. If the football turns bad or you just aren't that into "Spot the Concussion," you might want to check out some of these streaming video outlets. #HereWeGo

1) Netflix: Back on top after a strong week filled with adds like Alice Through the Looking Glass and--OK, let's pause here. I love to use instantwatcher.com to keep up on Netflix additions, and I notice each time any high-profile movie appears, it shows up on the site's list of most popular titles. Are people genuinely excited to learn that a movie they know is probably crap is available? Is it just like, "Eh, it's new, might as well watch it"? It goes to show you why people really watch Netflix--not for Cheers reruns like I do.

However, I also saw Cinco, the new Jim Gaffigan standup, and it alone earns Netflix the #1 ranking. The new Lemony Snicket series premieres this weekend, too.

2) Amazon Prime: Amazon Prime: Yep, I'm into season 2 of The Man in the High Castle. Yet I still find time to watch goofy crap like compilations of random 1950s/1960s game show footage. I haven't seen it yet, but Bryan Cranston's Sneaky Pete deserves some attention, too.

3) Hulu: Mere hours after last week's power rankings were released, news broke that Hulu was adding The Golden Girls. Hey, at least someone is still out there adding "vintage" material. I'd like to see more a little older than that, but Hulu just seems to be trying harder these days when it comes to remembering TV existed before 2007.

4) Shout! TV: I penalized Shout! last week for major buffering problems I suffered, and the January update was the usual batch of MST3K, Cavett, and Jerry Lewis, but again: it's all free. I think people are sleeping on this one.

5) NBC: I could be watching Miami Vice on Hulu, but for some odd reason I think I'm watching it here just to spite Hulu for "losing it" for a few days.

6) Pub-D-Hub: Another solid if unspectacular update last week. It's odd that a random Naked City episode was added to the movies section, but, hey, it's still a Naked City episode. And I enjoyed seeing Bing Crosby and Jerry Colonna (but oddly, not Bob Hope) pitching Pepsodent in a vintage commercial.

7) YouTube: Some of my favorite old-school commercial uploaders came through again last week, and I enjoyed some more vintage AWA wrestling as well. I just saw a news story about a mom who built a house for her family using YouTube tutorials as her guide. A HOUSE. I tried to use a YouTube video to change a fuse, and it took me half a day to figure it out.

8) TuneIn: Would be higher, but I hit one of those stretches where somehow I kept hearing songs I hated. Nothing against the late George Michael--well, this pretty much IS against him because it's his song--but I would like to hear songs other than Father Figure when I put on an 80s station. It was cool hearing the Beatles' Ain't She Sweet on an oldies channel, though.
:
9) Days of Dumont: I didn't watch anything here, and nothing new  happened, but I am not gonna drop this one just yet. I meant to watch it. I'll do better this week.

10) Warner Archive Instant: I give it a bit of a pity ranking because it DID add 40 new titles this weekend. At least, it says it did. For some reason, there is still no Newly Added category, making it hard to tell what is there. Oh, and the titles they highlighted in their news announcement? Many of those were on WAI but have just returned. Why am I ranking them in the top 10 again? If I keep writing, I will probably change my mind. So let's wrap it up. Have a great weekend, and see you on Monday!

Cultureshark Remembers: Year-End Edition Part IV

Here's our final look at the notable deaths of 2016, with a recommendation or embedded video of something to check out from each individual. Note that we will have our SVOD power rankings tomorrow, and then we will see you in 2017!

OCTOBER

Zacherle:

Tammy Grimes:

NOVEMBER

Fritz Weaver: Twilight Zone, "Third from the Sun" A nice take on the paranoia of the times, and yeah, a twist ending! I could also pick the Mission Impossible episode I chose for Steven Hill because it starred Weaver as well.

Grant Tinker: This blog post by Ken Levine

Robert Vaughn: I am far from a Man from U.N.C.L.E. expert, but how about his performances on Columbo, particularly Season 4's "Troubled Waters." (Alternate: His spotlighted episodes on The Lieutenant, or as Ivan and I like to call it, The Marriage Counselor.

DECEMBER

Craig Sager:

This CNN studio clip from 1987 isn't representative of how he will best be remembered, but I think of Sager not even as a TNT guy, but a TBS guy back when the Superstation was a novelty in the 1980s.

Za Zsa Gabor:

Alan Thicke: Any Fernwood Tonight Forget Growing Pains, behind the scenes, Thicke was one of the driving creative forces behind this way-ahead-of-its-time talk show  parody.

Greg Lake: "I Believe in Father Christmas" Because we don't have to stop talking about Christmas as soon as December 26 arrives.

Florence Henderson: The Brady Bunch, "The Voice of Christmas" See above entry. This episode shows Carol Brady in her glory, almost more an ingénue than the corny mom she became on the show. Plus she shows off her singing chops at the end of the episode if that's your thing.

George Michael:

Carrie Fisher: I recommend the SNL she hosted in the fourth season, which is easily found on Hulu. It has one of the silliest sketches--the beach party movie--that is still compelling for some reason.

Debbie Reynolds: I love Singin' in the Rain, but just for variety, let me mention a movie with my boy Dick Powell: one with a vaguely disturbing premise:

Cultureshark Remembers: Year-End Edition (Part II)

Continuing our look at the notable deaths of 2016, with a recommendation of something to check out, or maybe just an embedded video, to remember each one:

APRIL

Chyna:

Probably the best moment this troubled soul had: Her amazing WTF debut on Raw.

Prince: Raspberry Beret The Man won't let anyone upload the official music video. I understand wanting people to pay for the music, but it's not like you can buy the music video. Uh, at least I don't think you can. Anyway, this is my favorite thing he ever did.

Merle Haggard:

I confess I never really "got" Merle Haggard, but this is great.

MAY

Morley Safer:

Alan Young: Mickey's Christmas Carol He gave an excellent performance as Scrooge McDuck!

Mark Lane:

William Schallert: How do you pick just one thing when the guy was in everything? Let me stray from his looooong TV resume and offer his appearance in The Incredible Shrinking Man, which is representative of his scientist/doctor/authority roles...though he was pretty wrong about Scott's condition!

JUNE

Muhammad Ali: My favorite Ali is the one in Superman vs. Muhammad Ali from DC Comics, but here's something you can view:

Buddy Ryan:

The 30 for 30 on the '85 Bears shows how the coach was both divisive and beloved, but this clip reminds you of how he was often just hated. Now, THAT was a rivalry!

Awesome 80s Video #5: Kylie Minogue, "It's No Secret"

Yes, I am resurrecting this short-running series because there is no shortage of awesome videos from that great decade. Today it's a little Christmas cheer...only it has nothing at all to do with Christmas.

Let's go back to 1988 and revisit Kylie Minogue's "It's No Secret."

Her breakthrough “The Locomotion,” which I never liked (not even the original, not even the Grand Funk version), is pretty well remembered today. Not so much her follow-up single, “It’s No Secret.” Somehow this just popped into my head, and I had totally forgotten the video.

It’s cool that it starts with ACTING, including "Locomotion" playing in the bar where we see the characters! Who says meta wasn't cool in the 1980s? I guess the makers of this clip really wanted us to know she was Australian. “Not AGIN!” Hey, Crocodile Dundee was big in 1988.

There are some imperfect things about this—the lyrics are lame, most of the music is unexceptional, Kylie’s hat is almost as big as she is. But the chorus is catchy as hell. Overall this really sounds to me like something that could have come from one of those R&B-ish pop girl groups of the day, like Expose. Is that a compliment? Judge for yourself.

My extensive research (i.e., reading the comments on this video) reveals that the song makes Minogue cringe now, but as I said, it’s a nice dose of frothy pop as we ease into the holidays. Incidentally, I’m undecided on whether her jeans outfit in this video is adorable or abominable.

Brooks on Books: Disco Demolition

This is an odd but totally compelling book. I admit I just love the fact that someone wrote a whole book about one of the most infamous nights in Major League Baseball history: Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park in Chicago on July 12, 1979. The idea was to blow up disco records on the field in between games of a White Sox/Tigers doubleheader. Things escalated quickly, the field was a mess, and a rare forefeit was called as the second game was canceled.

There's the compelling part accounted for; it remains a notorious event in the annals of sport, and I would have enjoyed any book about it.  As for the oddness of it...It's credited to "Steve Dahl with  Dave Hoekstra and Paul Natkin," but Dahl only wrote an intro, and Natkin contributes many of the vintage photographs. It's nice of Hoekstra, a Chicago columnist and radio personality, to share credit, but it is odd that Dahl, the Chicago DJ who was the ringleader of the original event, disappears as a direct voice despite the author credit.

Also, Dahl refers to the book as an oral history, and while it is structured almost like that, it's not a direct oral history as we think of, say, the SNL and ESPN books. There are lots of short paragraphs and plenty of white space in between them, but it is not just direct quotations. Hoekstra makes it more of a narrative (though one that jumps around) than just an oral history, though the dozens of interviews he conducted are the framework of the book.

Here's another unusual thing: I expected more baseball, and there isn't a lot of actual baseball content. It's far more about Chicago, specifically the musical and cultural scene of Chicago in the 1970s. I expected there to be a lot of interviews with fans who actually attended the game, hopefully some who stormed the field, but there isn't much of that, either. The emphasis is on the Chicago radio landscape and how disco rose and fell in the decade.

There is some discussion of how critics called the Disco Demolition Night event racist, but it's mostly from a defensive stance, with interview subjects saying, "Some people claimed it was racism, but..." Yet there is not a good context showing just how exactly it was called out as racist. Frankly it sounds like a ridiculous accusation to me, but I would be open to a deeper dive into it. As it is, it reads as unorthodox to have so many people bringing up an argument that's not fully presented.

All that said, this is a fascinating book. It's a slim book--under 200 pages--and the white space means there  isn't a ton of text, but it is a hardcover and feels substantial. The art design is stunning, with colorful disco-style graphics and lettering throughout. The pictures are great. And though I was left wanting a bit on the baseball end of it, you do get a full view of how the main participants felt.

There are some unusual choices in the book--a whole chapter devoted to Dennis DeYoung's thoughts, for example--and it seems geared more for a Chicago audience, but it is a fun book.  I wish the text were a little more cohesive and that there were more about the event itself and less about side detours into Chicago nightclubs and whatnot, but I was glad I picked this up.

5 things you didn't know about Rick Astley (Rick reads Entertainment Weekly So You Don't Have to)

I chuckled at finding an article on 80s superstar (it wasn't all fun and games back then, kids) Rick Astley in Entertainment Weekly recently. I don't know if he really is a humble. decent guy, but he sounds like one in the article. Here are 5 things I learned:

1) Astley turned 50 in February, and that's the name of his new album. 50, that is, not February. Hey, wouldn't it be great if someone released an album called February in the fall?

OK, this item isn't all that interesting, but it IS news to me. It'll get better.

2) Astley turned to music to escape a somewhat dark childhood, including a broken home.

3) The producers who discovered Astley in England put him to work as a "tea boy," which is apparently NOT some kind of euphemism.

4) He developed a fear of flying at the height of his fame, and he now believes it was a subconscious desire to get out of the business. So he became a stay-at-home dad.

5) He slowly got back into performing when he accepted an offer to play dates in Japan, mainly so his family could tour the country. Now he tours, playing his hits alongside covers like "Highway to Hell." WHAT?

Am I a Rick Astley fan? No. Am I going to seek out this new album? No. Am I--wait, what was my point again?

Ah, yes. My point was that I actually enjoyed this article by Clark Collis, and to Rick Astley, I say, fair play, mate. Good luck to you.

Plus I was listening to 1980s light hits lately, and I heard Astley's "It Would Take a Strong Strong Man" TWICE. I can't get it out of my head! I hope this post purges it somehow.

First Impulse: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees announced

Hat tip to my BOTNS co-conspirator Mike for telling me about this earlier: Today the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced this year's list of nominees. I think a Hall of Fame should feature people who you can judge pretty quickly: a HOF'er or not.  With that said, here's the list and my initial take. Remember that you can vote here. Oh, but you're limited to casting one ballot a day. So you KNOW it's legit!


Bad Brains: No.
Chaka Khan: No.
Chic: I guess if they keep getting nominated, they are bound to get in eventually, but no.
Depressed Mode: Wait, that's Depeche Mode. Sorry. Anyway, no.
ELO: I like a lot of the music, but no.
The J. Geils Band: No offense to Mr. Geils, but I was stunned to see this act on the list.
Jane's Addiction: The Lollapalooza Hall of Fame, maybe, but otherwise, I don't think two albums and a bunch of reunion tours make you worthy.
Janet Jackson: No, but she is about the only commercial heavyweight (not a reference to her body issues) on this list.
Joan Baez: I had the idea that someone should ask Bob Dylan whether he thinks Joan Baez should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and see what happens.
Joe Tex: No.
Journey: The only question: Why is this band not in there already? AM I RIGHT?
Kraftwerk: No.
MC5: No, but they will get in eventually.
Pearl Jam: My favorite music act of the last 25 years, but they don't really feel like a first ballot Hall of Famer. Tremendous peak, but how much impact after the first few albums? My heart says yes, but my mind says...yes, leaning yes on the longevity and enduring success as a live headliner. After Green Day getting in, though, you have to think PJ is an absolute lock.
Steppenwolf: No Mountain or Iron Butterfly?
The Cars: I like how they come this far down on the list because they are listed with THE at the beginning. If they get in, do we get a New Cars performance with Todd Rundgren? I love The Cars, but I don't think they are necessarily HOF. I lean no.
The Zombies: Short career. Much love for the act, but no.
Tupac Shakur: No, but he will probably get in this year.
Yes: No. (Can't resist)

Here's who I think WILL get in: Janet, Tupac, Pearl Jam for marketing/political reasons. Beyond that, they need a few actual older acts, but I don't know who they will choose.

Instant Gratification Theater: Documentaries Return

It's been a while, but let me return to some quick takes on documentaries I watched on various streaming video platforms:

Eight Days a Week: The Touring Years: The Beatles are the best everything everywhere in all of history, so if you put a movie about them up on Hulu, I'm going to watch it. Add the pedigree of acclaimed director Ron Howard and a promise to focus on the live concert experience of the band, and you...eh, actually I didn't expect all that much. I expected to enjoy it, but I kind of feared a safe, middle-of-the-road approach that would be designed for a more general audience as opposed to the hardcores.

That's what the movie is. Despite the subtitle  and the announced emphasis on the Beatles as a touring act--I remember the early calls for fans to share any footage they had--Eight Days a Week veers off a bit into more general territory and becomes almost a watered-down version of the epic Beatles Anthology. Personally I would have rather seen more vintage footage. What is in here looks and sounds great, and really if you want to provide a sense of the group as live performers, here's a novel concept: Show us more of the group as live performers. No disrespect to the likes of Elvis Costello, but the real thing is much more effective than talking heads telling us about it.

That said, the documentary is professionally put together, though I could have done without pointless "modern" touches like colorization of archival footage (I was marveling at how good one of the clips looked, and then I thought, hey, wait a minute...) and bizarre cigarette smoke effects added to old stills. It's nice to hear from Paul and Ringo in new interviews. most importantly, it's the Beatles.

I imagine this would be a great experience in a theater surrounded by Beatlemaniacs. At home on Hulu, it's worth seeing but not at all revelatory. I still think I would be more excited by an official release of the Let It Be film, but I will (and did) gladly take something like this and enjoy it.

Crossfire: The Plot that Killed Kennedy: A low-budget documentary focusing on JFK assassination theories from the point of view of famed conspiracy theorist Jim Marrs. Back in the heady days of Oliver Stone-induced conspiracy fever, I devoured Marrs' book of the same name. I caught this documentary version during a trial of Amazon Prime many moons ago, but it's still available.

The movie isn't sophisticated, and it throws a lot of stuff at you without being as absorbing as the book, but it is entertaining. Marrs is a real character, and his guided tour of sorts through conspiracy facets of the assassination is a fun watch.

I feel sorry for Britney Spears

A lot of the hype about tonight's Video Musi--Wait, we have to call them the VMAs now, I think--about tonight's VMA show on MTV concerns the potential SHOCK generated by Britney Spears' performance. Will she lip-sync (Uh, yeah)? Will she make an inappropriate gesture of some kind (perhaps)? Will she wear something revealing (Magic 8-ball says...signs point to yes).

I long ago stopped caring about the MTV Awards (If I were younger and angrier, I'd say that MTV stopped caring about ME, man!!!), but I'll admit I still care whether or not Britney Spears is going to dance on TV in something revealing, and I might even watch the YouTube clips the next day. But it's a shame that this is all the media is talking about.

One might argue that it's her choice to do this, and to an extent, of course that's true. However, she has a history of mental issues, was stripped of the ability to control her own career (her own life, even), and now spends much of her performing career at a residency in Vegas to keep her off the road, presumably because she needs a stable, controlled environment. Every time you see her post on a red carpet or in some kind of publicity deal, she dons a fake-looking smile that makes her look like a prisoner. I don't think she hates her fans or any BS like that, but I think she is genuinely trying to play the part, which makes it even sadder to me.

You know when she does look really happy to be there (I'm not a psychiatrist, but I play one on Blogger)? When she is with her kids. I hope she really loves being a mom, and I think she does. To a lesser extent, I get the feeling she enjoys performing sometimes, maybe a lot of the time given the right circumstances. Yet if she really had the choice, would she really be doing this? What really makes her happy at this point in life?

I've seen enough accounts of her demeanor offstage to wonder if it's at best a "grin and bear it" situation or at worst a "lights are on, but nobody's home" situation. I can't help but wonder if the ongoing media narrative about how controversial her high-profile performances are going to be is part of the problem. She recently released a music video, and with suspicious rapidity, stories circulated about outraged fans complaining that the "sexier" version was scrapped. I suspect that whole incident was a publicity stunt, but here's the thing: Was it Britney Spears' publicity stunt, or was it "Team Britney's" stunt, with her being dragged along?

Perhaps I am underestimating Britney Spears and she is a canny manipulator who knows exactly what she is doing and relishes any kind of attention. But based on her complicated history, I wonder if maybe she'd be happier out of the spotlight, raising her kids, doing what she wants to do, and not feeling pressure to be outrageous on an awards show.

Fall Book Preview (that is, a list of upcoming books that I want to read)

Nothing against literary fiction, mind you, but I'm focusing on the books I really want to buy this fall.
Here, in no particular order, are books I might actually read and would love to get this season:

1) American Heiress by Jeffrey Toobin: An account of the Patty Hearst case, loaded with social context, no doubt.

2) Powerhouse by James Andrew Miller: The guy behind the oral histories of ESPN and "SNL" (what exactly did credited co-author Tom Shales do on those books, anyway? Nobody ever seems to talk with HIM about them) returns to tell the story of Creative Artists Agency.

3) Monsters in the Movies by John Landis: OK, the guy may be liable for a few movie set deaths here and there, but he knows his monsters! This is actually a paperback reissue of a book that came out 5 years ago. I confess I totally missed the original.

4) Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hell's Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock's Darkest Day by Joel Selvin: Title says it all.

(Note: Books 1-4 are all out now)

5) Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers on Stage by Robert Bader: I think we can count on this Marx expert to deliver a fantastic read. (October)

6) That's Me, Groucho: the Solo Career of Groucho Marx by Matthew Coniam: Sounds great, but it's from McFarland, so unfortunately, it's 40 bucks MSRP for 188 pages. (September)

7) The General vs. the President: MacArthur and Truman at the Brink of Nuclear War by H.W. Brands: I enjoy Brands' works of popular history, and this should be a good read. (October)

8) Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen: I'm not a hardcore fan of the Boss, but I'm curious to see how this book turns out. (September)

9) Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy by Mike Love and James S. Hirsch: Yes, Brian Wilson has a memoir coming out, too, but I have to admit I'd much rather this one even if I won't believe all of it. (September)

10) Disco Demolition: The Night Disco Died by Steve Dahl and Dave Hoekstra: Tells the story of the infamous disaster known as Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park in 1979, an event that got out of control and actually led to the cancellation of the second game of a doubleheader. What a great idea for a book! (August 30)

11) Based on a True Story: A Memoir by Norm McDonald: How could this not at least merit a look?
(September 20)

12) The Best of Shoe by Jeff MacNelly: On one level, a hardcover collection almost seems inappropriate for this strip, but since nobody's making pocket-size paperback reprints anymore, it'll have to do. (October)

13) Super Weird Heroes (Various) Giant Yoe Books anthology of oddball Golden Age comic book stories.

14) TV: The Book: Two Experts Pick the Greatest American Shows of All Time by Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz: That title is a lot more pretentious than these guys' actual writing. Two perceptive and entertaining critics use this gimmick to survey all of TV history. I expect an addictive read.(September)

15) A Thousand Cuts: The Bizarre Underground World of Collectors and Dealers Who Saved the Movies by Dennis Bartok and Jeff Joseph: This sounds fabulous: An exploration of film collecting and a history of the FBI's efforts to harass the collecting community in the 1970s. (August 25)

On the Radio: Everybody's...something for the weekend

On the Friday before Independence Day, I was listening to the radio when I caught a "Big Riff of the Day" contest on a local classic rock station. The DJ played a snippet of Eric Clapton's "Cocaine," and the idea was listeners would call in to identify the song. It's a fun little contest.

What struck me was her comment after playing the brief clip. "I know it's an easy one," she said, "especially with everyone's mind on the weekend." Now, I THINK she meant she was giving everyone an easy song because everybody was distracted by it being Friday before a big holiday. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was the idea.

But my first thought was, "Is she saying this particular song is easy because everyone is already gearing up to do some cocaine this weekend?" Like, "Yeah, it's a 3-day weekend! USA! Cocaine bender!"

I don't think that was the meaning. I'm not sure, though.