We couldn’t go another Friday without dropping a Mix Tape, so we’ve enlisted our friend Neddy to do our dirty work. Take it away, Neddy… I guess if you were
The weather in March may have come in like a lion and left like a lamb, but both Hidden Track and Runaway Dinosaur kept busy all month long. So let’s
Our friend and oft-contributer Neddy attended a benefit for Scotty Hard at the Highline Ballroom on March 19 and filed this report about that magical evening:
I guess it’s part of the human condition. It goes beyond just the proverbial lemonade. When the fickle dice of the Fates turn up a losing roll for one of our own, we rally around him and do our best to bring him back from the abyss. Fuck fate, we’ll make our own rules the best we can. So it was Thursday night in Manhattan: a guy who only needed one or two of his allotted six degrees to connect to most of the major names of good music in the city and beyond got pushed to the physical limits by the gods of shitty drivers. And what was the natural reaction of his friends and colleagues? Throw a fucking party, that’s what!
All Photos by Greg Aiello except where noted
The Highline Ballroom donated the space, an A-list cast of musicians brought the goods and the guy who makes it happen helped make it happen all to support Scotty Hard quite literally get back on his feet. I don’t know him nor have I met him, but under the two golden rules — “do unto others…” and “any friend of…” — plus the other part of the human condition — i.e. not wanting to read about what I missed the night before — ensured that I was in the house.
A full rundown would be a ridiculous attempt on my part to remember all the names and faces that passed over the stage last Thursday night, not to mention missing the forest for the trees, but I’ll do my best. I got there midway through what I think was the first set, with John Medeski and Billy Martin with John Scofield on guitar, DJ Logic on turntables and big grins and, I believe, Mike Rivard on bass playing slippery groove music and getting the crowd all lathered up.
Read on for more of Neddy’s review of the Scotty Hard benefit…
HT welcomes the final opening day at the current Yankee Stadium with a mash-up put together by our resident Bruce Springsteen expert Hal Hansen:
Life is good for fans of the New York Yankees and Bruce Springsteen. The bitter memories of last year’s post-season have given way to a cautious excitement as the final season at the current Yankee Stadium begins today. With regards the latter, The Boss is in the middle of yet another leg of his seemingly never-ending tour, supporting the critically-acclaimed 2007 release, Magic.
Bruce, Bernie and Patti Scialfa
The month of March has been especially fun for these fans.
Yankees box scores came back into the world of the stat-obsessive fans, along with daily updates from the spring training complex in Tampa, FL. Are Phil Hughes’ three wins this spring a sign of things to come in the regular season? Will Robinson Cano be the first Yankee since Bernie Williams to win a batting title in pinstripes? How will Joe Girardi fare in his first season as skipper? Such topics are just a fraction of the questions posed by Yankees fans leading up to today.
Similarly, the last thirty days have given Springsteen fans more than a dozen shows and set lists to read, digest and analyze. Fans across the country are probably still in disbelief that these spring training shows have led to three performances of Rosalita, the tour premier of twelve more Bruce classics, including Rendezvous, Lost in the Flood and Trapped, as well as the heroic appearance of Danny Federici, who had left the E Street Band in November to pursue treatment for melanoma.
Read on for Hal’s Yankee/Springsteen mash-up…
After a long winter we’ve finally made it to the cusp of the 2008 baseball season. The Red Sox and A’s just finished kicking things off in Tokyo, while the rest of the teams finally play real games on Sunday and Monday. It’s time to play ball!
We thought we’d begin our baseball coverage by asking U-Melt’s Rob Salzer, who’s a huge Mets fan, to list his ten favorite Metropolitans of all-time.
Let’s see what he came up with:
1. Keith Hernandez
2. Dwight Gooden
3. Mike Piazza
4. Jose Reyes
5. David Wright
6. David Cone
7. Edgardo Alfonzo
8. Sid Fernandez
9. Ron Darling
10. Darryl Strawberry
Be sure to read on for Rob’s thoughts on the acquisition of Johan Santana…
In our never-ending quest to dig up some great bands that cost less than a corned beef sandwich at Katz’s Deli, we bring you another round of Blips. Blips highlights some great bands that are largely still in their larvae stage, but will soon morph into their beautiful butterfly. In this edition, we have some really cool new music, so take a sec, poke around their various websites, and see what you think.
Renminbi
You what really turns me on? Chicks with huge balls. Renminbi is a power trio of badass ladies that hold nothing back in creating a flustering stampede of sound reminiscient of Billy Corgan meets Shpongle. These girls will not only impress you with their writing and playing, but they will also knock you flat on your ass. Remnimbi’s musical compositions are noticeably mature as they often teeter the line, but never fully cross, into harmonious resolves. Rather they perpetually build tension and give you a lot of mini-releases, but never succumb to the full release. Justin Lin Yifu, a well-known economist, stated at a recent conference with Chinese officials that, “Renminbi’s rise must be controlled.” To that, we say good luck. – Rupert
Read on for three more bands that have caught our attention…
Tjinoh recently returned from Big Cypress and filed this report:
Until last weekend, Langerado was among a select group of major national festivals that had yet to enjoy my company. 10KLF, too far. Wakarusa, too…Kansas. But South Florida? In early March when it’s still snowing in Ohio? Just tell a brother where to sign up.
I had resisted Langerado’s supple charms in the past mostly due to the non-traditional festival setup I had been told about – multiple late night sites, odd re-entry policies, etc. The move to Big Cypress – thus centralizing and consolidating the event – was a good one, but not without problems. Any event on the scale of Langerado – and on a property as large as Big Cypress – is going to have growing pains. I think the festival staff did a commendable job, and that Langerado is only going to get better and more organized in the future. But enough about all that…let’s get down to the getting’ down.
Through sheer will and determination I was able to catch at least one full song from 31 different bands over the long weekend. That’s some ample tunage for your festival dollar. I won’t delve into all 31, but will do my best to briefly give credit where it’s due and highlight what I considered to be some of the finer moments I was fortunate to enjoy. Read on for more about Todd’s experience in the Everglades…
Chuck Myers is back, and he’s about to debunk a myth about disco music…
Okay. Let’s have a show of hands. How many of you, at some point in your lives, scrawled the words “Disco Sucks” on a tattered spiral notebook, or smiled when some schmuck on the radio broke a copy of Saturday Night Fever, or regretted snorting that line of coke from Bianca Jagger’s asscrack at Studio 54?
Yeah, that’s what I thought. Well, here’s the deal. You were wrong. Disco didn’t suck. Disco was one of the most revolutionary forms of American music in the past 50 years, right up there with rock and punk and hip-hop. Disco is music about rebellion and revolution and equality and freedom and joy and sex and drugs and having a good time when the whole damned world is trying to keep you down.
In other words, disco is music about Love.
The music you probably know as disco was what mainstream culture spit out for the masses. The disco you know was about money, not love. So before you decide you hate disco, let me ask you something… Did The Grateful Dead stop mattering because Dave Matthews sold a zillion records to kids who shop at Abercrombie & Fitch? Did the Clash become meaningless the moment that Alvin, Theodore and Simon put out Chipmunk Punk? Could a thousand hairsprayed pretty boys from L.A. destroy the ass-kickery of Iron Maiden? Read on for more of Chuck’s defense of the disco era…
While I travel down to Langerado our good friend Sleepy Floyd will keep you occupied with an extra super special edition of The B List:
March 10th will see the evening that Leonard Cohen, the Dave Clark Five, Madonna,John Mellencamp, the Ventures, Little Walter and Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff get inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame. Who you might ask? Yes, Little Walter, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.
Each year there are a few Burt Blylevens in the bunch, artists who contributions to rock and roll are indistinguishable, yet their credentials are always a “bat decapitation via the mouth” or a lengthy “2112/Overture/Temples of Syrinx” from being considered rock and roll royalty.
According to the Hall’s website to be nominated as a performer…
Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria include the influence and significance of the artists’ contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll. The Foundation’s nominating committee, composed of rock and roll historians, selects nominees each year in the Performer category. Ballots are then sent to an international voting body of more than 500 rock experts. Those performers who receive the highest number of votes – and more than 50 percent of the vote – are inducted. The Foundation generally inducts five to seven performers each year.
So, forget the Clive Davis’ and the Grammy Award stuffy music industry crowd, who defines rock and roll immortality strictly be album sales. Here we go with Glide/Hidden Track’s Ten most overlooked eligible artists for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Read on to find out which bands made Sleepy Floyd’s list…
We’ve always been big fans of The Weight, so we were thrilled that one of The Weight’s writers was interested in creating a column for Hidden Track. Ryan from The Weight plans to share some thoughts on the songs bring up strong memories immediately from the opening lick, with lyrics that make you sit back and think about the “what-ifs”and reflect on what you are doing with your life.
Here’s his first column on The Five Stairsteps classic one-hit wonder Ooh Child:
If you’ve been through high school, college, a break-up or a tragedy, you know that music often becomes more than just a soundtrack. This first tune I wanted to use for this column came immediately to me when thinking about songs that bring back memories, bring on the tears, and ultimately uplift the spirit. Let me set the stage: cops, handcuffs, and Doughboy and Chris being led to the waiting police cruiser. Then Ricky shuffles off and Tre can’t believe his 10-year-old eyes when his buddies are sent off to prison. Read on for more of The Weight Presents…
