the Rock Report

One of the best things about Sixties rock (incidentally, now called era rock by some) is that (hey … wasn’t that the place where Noah landed the ark?) the performers of the era know how to adapt (those who call it ‘era rock’ usually don’t like our stuff. I smell ararat …). McCartney’s the exception: he has the timbre of voice that actually can pull off the oldies as he sounded back then … and perfectly!
But, notice Clapton (especially the shuffle-version of the formerly-hard-driving Layla); Rod Stewart (though he can do the same as MaCca, he’s doin’ a lot of old standards with great results);
and Ray Davies. Though the Kinks have konked out, his unplugged sets are getting a lot of positive swag from audiences around the nation. (By the way, he’s trying to get McCartney to go “extreme” with his (Paul’s) music … or slow it down to a crawl. I think MaCca’s got a few other things on his mind right now, though …) Sure, he does some later Kinks/”Muswell Hillbilly” hits, but there are some dynamic new ones as well.
I like Ray, because he’s very direct, to-the-point, and, though he has an outlandish wit, can be as serious and outspoken as any Dylan. And that’s what got his Kinks in trouble back during the British Invasion days:
Y’see, when he and Quaife, Avory and his bro Dave were performing stateside in ‘65, he downed Americans for making too much of the Beatles, Stones, Animals, et al — including his own foursome.
So, although he meant that we needed to support our home acts more, his stateside management banned the group from playing here in America. That’s why many of the mid-Kinkisms (and forward) had a decidedly British slant to them (listen to Well-Respected Man and Dedicated Follower of Fashion as examples).

Anyway … I said that to say this:

We’ve got an election coming up in a couple of days. While not THE election (ie, Presidential donkey [some say ass] vs. elephant. Which reminds me: a guy told me that Lewinsky votes Democrat because “nobody wants a piece of elephant!”), it’s still gonna be important.
Look … we’ve seen a bit of the same “censorship” style that Ray and the Kinks experienced in their heyday: Speak your peace (especially anti-war to a Republican suit from Washington), and get banned from wherever you made the remark! So, on Tuesday, we need to vote in the Congressfolks, local suits and Guv’nors who’ll actually oppose that callous cra … er, junk.

So, on Tuesday, remember to put a kink in the voting booth … and let’s see some changes made! Can’t be done without the lever being pulled (except in Florida, where you may have to pull the lever, a few strings, a chad-box and maybe even the toilet chain!) … so get out there and vote early and often!

Over the past month, this Relic’s been busy putting together the new “THIS GENERATION” Spaper for its debut control-run in the Tri-State of Kentucky/Ohio/West Virginia. As they say, “If it plays in Peoria (which, by the way, is in Illinois), it’ll play anywhere!
I know the R, R & R blog updates have been as scarce as Republican votes in New Orleans, and I apologize.
But things, they are a-changin’ …
First, a major overhaul over at the Great Internet Newspaper&#8482 site.
Second, an updated version of my audio production of the ’80’s, The Birth of Superock!&#8482, is nearly in the can.
Thirdly, I’m working on updates for the Rock Relic site itself. These’ll be posted in about a week.
Meanwhile, I’m doing ad copy and comp, articles, layout, sales and distribution setups for the new Spaper.
So, the RR&#8482 has been just a bit on the busy side.

Now … for a few rock updates:

Finally, the Dave Clark Five are gonna get the recognition they’ve deserved! They’re up for induction into the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame soon. While Mike (who’s still recovering from that terrible accident three years ago), Lenny, Rick and Denis laid down some tremendous tracks and vocals for their hits (they spanned from 1963 to 1971), it’s still debatable about Mr. Clark himself; my British contacts (who were in major groups back-in-the-day) have said (and, in one outspoken case, proved) that Dave didn’t provide the driving backbeat on record .. and, sometimes, not even on stage. His offstage demeanor over the years — despite his successes as a producer — has shown an inflated ego and callous indifference to fans and friends alike.

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Man, I got a friggin’ cat on the keyboard. Shouldn’t've eaten a tuna salad before writin’. Let’s move on:

In other news: McCartney’s planning on a remake of his Beatles ‘67 hit, When I’m Sixty-Four — only (due to the fact he’s made it to the three-score-and-four) it’ll be called When I’m EIGHTY-four! Now, whether he was MACcajoking or not, we’ll have to wait and see. But the dude still has some amazing pipes on him … and is as fresh, composer-wise, as he was back in the Sixties.
Have ya heard that ad using Sonny and Cher’s I Got You, Babe as its base? Look … use whatever song ya like from the Bono Bible, but PLEASE don’t try to imitate his voice! That’s sacrilege … it’s almost like mocking the man …

Okay, time to get on to other things. Look … if you’re reading this, PLEASE leave a message, okay?? I wanna hear some noise out there! Lemme know the blog’s up for a reason!

Now … gotta go find some cat food …