Monday, February 27, 2012

Best Interview Question Ever Asked of Robert Plant

From Chuck Klosterman's IV, the best interview question ever asked of Robert Plant, followed by Plant's somewhat lame response (Really, Percy? You need to remind us that you can still get a girlfriend in her 20's? You're Robert freaking Plant!):
CK: On "Whole Lotta Love" you say you're going to give some girl "every inch" of your love. But you're British. Why don't you use the metric system?

Robert Plant: That would change the whole tone of the thing! I suppose today it would have to be, "I'll give you several centimeters of bliss." But people of my generation know nothing about the metric system. I'm fortunate to say I still use inches - or at least that's what my girlfriend says, and she's twenty-nine.

Monday, February 20, 2012

If You Need Help Naming Your Band, Part 4

From So You Want To Be A Rock Star, published in 1983, gathering dust at my local library:
Here are some pointers that may aid you in choosing a name that feels right and says what you want it to say:

  1. Your band's name can be derived from an "in joke" among the group as long as it's not so in that no one else is interested or attracted to it.

  2. Most often, a positive, imaginative context works best, as opposed to a "down" quality.

  3. Your name can be derived from an emotion or from a thought in one of your original songs.

  4. Perhaps one member of your group is already fairly well-known or stands out in performance in a way that his name should be part of the group's name, such as Elvis Costello and The Attractions, or Rockpile with Nick Lowe.

  5. It can be a regional name a la the Atlanta Rhythm Section.

  6. Effective group names sometimes are made up of the last names of their members, but these usually work only when the public has already been acquainted with those members; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young was a good choice because fans were already familiar with David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, and Neil Young. If they had been total unknowns, the name might have seemed to say nothing important to the rock world.


Monday, February 13, 2012

Rock Love Letters

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, and if you’re anything like me you shouldn’t be wasting your time reading this blog; you should be scouring the internet trying to find a gift for your loved-one with rush-overnight shipping. Anyway, here’s three love letters written by famous musicians to their beloved (courtesy of Letters of Note, one of the best websites of all time):

“And you are very pretty”
18-year-old Roger Waters to his girlfriend:
http://www.lettersofnote.com/2011/03/tracks-sound-terrific-so-far-especially.html

“This leaf was perfect until I put the fucking lines in it”
14-year-old Slash to his ex-girlfriend:
http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/02/i-hadnt-any-idea-that-i-talked-about-my.html

“Hotter than a pepper sprout”
And finally, the royal couple, Johnny and June Cash:
http://www.lettersofnote.com/2011/09/ring-of-fire-still-burns-around-you-and.html

Monday, February 6, 2012

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Groundhog Day

In honor of the fact that today is groundhog day, here’s Bill Murray singing Stairway to Heaven (as Nick the Lounge Singer):