BASEBALL: Kirby Puckett RIP

Bob Costas named a son after him. Future US Senator from Minnesota Al Franken named his Labrador Retriever after him. He was half the punch line of one of Chris Rock's most famous jokes. He was a really good guy and one hell of a Hall Of Fame ball player. Age 44 is a ridiculously young age to die. Kirby Puckett, rest in peace...

STEVE ROCK: Upcoming Love Experts Live Shows

March is a busy month for Love Experts live shows. Catch us if you can, cause you won’t be seeing us the rest of the spring and summer, as we plan to exclusively devote that time to finishing our next record.

Those dates:

Friday, March 3rd:
The River City Yacht Club at Port Cape Girardeau
Cape Girardeau, MO
With Giant Bear (Memphis, TN)

Saturday, March 4th:
Lemmons
St. Louis, MO
With Giant Bear (Memphis, TN) and Brain Regiment (St. Louis, MO)
We go on first (9:30pm-ish), hurray for us!

Thursday, March 16:
SXSW Undertow Records Showcase
8pm
Habana Calle 6 Patio
Austin, TX

Saturday, March 18th:
SXSW KDHX/Twangfest BBQ
Noon
Jovitas Mexican Restaurant
Austin, TX

Saturday, March 25th:
The Duck Room
St. Louis, MO
Undertow "homecoming" show with Magnolia Summer and Waterloo. Order of bands yet to be determined.

MUSIC: Did I Grow My Hair Just To Scare The Teacher?

The deluxe remastered/repackaged cd versions of Mott The Hoople’s All The Young Dudes & Mott were released today. If you know me, then you probably know of my deep love for this band and the profound effect their music has had and continues to have on my life. Their music hooked me at that very awkward and confusing stage/brick wall that most teenagers run into: That time when you dare not speak your most private of thoughts, but you’d give the world to simply have them validated by someone or some thing. Rock ‘n’ roll validated me, and Mott The Hoople really validated me. To a Midwestern kid locked in his suburban bedroom in the mid-1970's, Mott’s music had one VERY LOUD message: “There’s a great big world out there kid, it ain’t pretty, but that’s the best part...”

So as we continue on in the cd age, with a better reissue followed by a better reissue followed by an even better reissue of our most beloved albums, it’s often a little scary when you finally sit down to listen to the latest “best version yet.” Will the remastering bring new illumination to the diamond, or will too many previously unexposed flaws emerge? Well fear not. Two of the greatest rock records ever made are now even better.

You know all the tales we tell, you know the band so well
“The Ballad Of Mott The Hoople”, from the Mott album.

Those of you not familiar with Mott The Hoople’s music and history may want to start here.

You diehards out there, rejoice:

1. The remastering meets the high standards established by Sony Legacy Recordings. I am so beyond knowing every single sound on these records by heart, if I had a dollar for every time I’ve listened to these records over the past 30+ years, I’d be typing this from some island paradise. YES, they sound amazing, and YES, on first listen I heard things in the music I never heard before, like a cute little drum mistake Buffin made toward the end of "Drive-In’ Sister." (They were rocking like motherfuckers, so the take was an obvious keeper.) What comes through sonically is how little Mott sounded like anything else at the time. The production and engineering on these records were forward looking for the era, but the incredible songs are why these records are so timeless. A lot of great ideas were colliding at once on both. Great ideas that all worked and yet never got in the way of the boys and their rocking.
2. Bonus tracks! Seven on Dudes and four on Mott. There’s some cheating, as a few of these cuts are from the 30th Anniversary Edition import version of their live album, but who cares, the live cuts are all kick ass. B-side "Rose" finally makes it onto a cd, as well as the Bowie/Hunter duet version of "All The Young Dudes." But what is of most historical significance here is the inclusion of five fascinating demos. You have "One of The Boys" with a feel reminiscent of the Who’s "Let’s See Action." There’s a version of "Momma’s Little Jewel" called "Black Scorpio," so fast it’s almost punk rock. And there’s a demo of "Honaloochie Boogie" with completely different lyrics! Great stuff all around.

Only minor complaint I have with either cd is the respective packaging. Both sets of liner notes are fine, but they really dropped the ball on the photos. The band had millions of great photos taken of them during the era of these two records, so it would have been nice to see a few more of them included. I also wish they had completed the trifecta and reissued The Hoople (my personal favorite) at this time, but I’m sure that one will definitely be worth the wait.

Ok you old Sea Divers, time to run out and pick these up. After all these years, Mott The Hoople continues to tell Chuck Berry the news.

Rock ‘n’ Roll’s a loser’s game, it mesmerizes and I can’t explain
The reasons for the sights and for the sounds
The grease paint still sticks to my face
So what the hell? I can’t erase
The Rock ‘n’ Roll feeling from my mind
"The Ballad Of Mott The Hoople", from the Mott album.

TV/POLITICS: If It's Sunday

A great Eric Alterman commentary on the Media Matters Sunday talk show study.

POLITICS: Best Cheney Joke Yet

"At least when Clinton shot a load in someone's face, no one had to go to the hospital. "

From guest blogger Michael Anderson, on B.A.'s Weblog.

STEVE ROCK: Love Experts At SXSW

Ok, we just got word where we're playing at this year's South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas. We're on the Undertow Records showcase, here's the line-up and venue:

Thursday, March 16 - Habana Calle 6 Patio (709 E 6th Street):
Love Experts - 8pm
Waterloo - 9pm
Steve Dawson - 10pm
Magnolia Summer - 11pm
Milton Mapes - 12am
Jay Bennett - 1am

Habana Calle? Wonder if that's anywhere near Cuba Street?

And our Irish Undertow homeys The Amazing Pilots are currently scheduled to perform at Soho Lounge on Friday, March 17 at 8:00 p.m. And they really are amazing...

TV/MUSIC: Cartoons "Do It" Better

Last night I was knee deep in rehearsals for upcoming Love Experts live shows, so I wasn't able to get to my dvr of the Grammys until this morning. Only got to watch the first half hour or so, but man, I totally loved that Gorillaz/De La Soul/Madonna show opener! Anyone out there besides me catch that hilarious and oh-so-obvious heroin induced nodding off from the cartoon drummer of the Gorillaz as Madonna took the stage? As the English say---BRILLIANT! Leave it to the cartoons to get past the censors...

I had no beef with Madonna's lip-synching, as singing live would have just gotten in the way of her fabulous dance routine. And as we all know, dancing is the only thing people really care about on these shows. But she was just wonderful, and "Hung Up" remains one of the greatest "old school disco" songs ever.

POLITICS: Don't Trust Him, Don't Trust Him, Don't Trust Him

You know I get asked all the time by folks from all sides of the political spectrum, "What do you think about John McCain, would you ever vote for him?" My answer is always the same:

1. Aw hell no, I don't see any scenario possible that would ever lead me to voting for McCain, even if it was a choice between him and Joe Lieberman. And I really hate Joe Lieberman.

2. What do I think of McCain? I say don't trust him, don't trust him, don't trust him.

Daily Kos provides an amazing example, here.

POLITICS: You Tell 'Em, Sparky!

The latest from the greatest: This Modern World by Tom Tomorrow.

POLITICS: SOTU-A Pox On Both Their Houses

Bush's State Of The Union address, as well as Tim Kaine's embarrassing Democratic Response sickened me. I'll forgo the laundry list of horrors, but will point out that I found Bush's sly swipe at homosexuals being the supposed cause of the country's moral decline to be particularly vile, yet of course, no surprise. If Karl Rove's 2006 campaign strategy could be likened to the programming of a classic rock radio station, then terrorism fear mongering would be Dark Side Of The Moon, and gay bashing would be "Stairway To Heaven".

But the most shameful of all last night were the six, count 'em, six lines of absolute nothingness devoted to Katrina recovery, with Kaine's words on the subject every bit as empty. Here's the deal people: NEW ORLEANS HAS VANISHED AND YOUR GOVERNMENT COULD GIVE A RAT'S ASS ABOUT IT!!! But what about that 85 billion? It's just an allocation folks, and more and more it's looking like no one is actually interested in ways to effectively spend it---especially if you're looking for a plan to help the dispersed poor folks of New Orleans move back home.

The Democratic Response left me ashamed to be a Democrat. We had Bush set up like a bowling pin, and we threw a gutter ball.

TV/POLITICS: All Hail The Daily Show

The Daily Show is not only the funniest show on television, it is now arguably the most important. This video clip, courtesy of Crooks And Liars, is another of the endless examples why. Scroll down to the heading, TDS: Oprah vs News.

POLITICS: Filibuster, Damn It!

John Digby has a great post on his blog on why Democrats in the Senate should filibuster the Alito nomination here, (scroll down to the heading Conviction Politics).

Money quote from the post (actually a paraphrase of a Bob Beckel quote):
"Now you know that in this enviroment if a Democratic president nominated a pro-choice, pro-affirmative action, pro-government secrecy judge to the high court that many Republicans would want to filibuster. Sometimes politicans do things out of conviction and many Democrats are supporting a filibuster because they really believe that he should not be on the Supreme Court."

POLITICS: Gay Rights In Washington!

There's a reason why they call it The Great Northwest...

POLITICS: Doing Missouri Proud

Daddy Blunt, you're a naughty boy...

MUSIC: What's On In The Car, Vol. 1

I've decided to introduce a new feature that I'll drop on here from time to time called, What's On In The Car. It's pretty simple. Whenever the fancy hits me, I'll send along a few words about whatever six cds are currently sitting in the six cd changer in my car. Maybe you'll be inspired to check some of these tunes out, maybe not...

So here's the first installment of What's On In The Car (label the record is on in parentheses):

1. Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3---...tick...tick...tick (Down There)
Another total ass-kicker from my man Steve and his wonderful band The Miracle 3. More of what he does, but this time there's a spooky sort of night time desert feel to the proceedings, as they cut this record in Tucson. Great basic two guitars, bass & drums rock, with Steve's typically dark cinematic lyrics on top. He and fellow guitarist Jason Victor are probably the best Television influenced guitar team around these days. www.stevewynn.net

2. The Sir Douglas Quintet---The Collection (Castle Communications)
Picked up a used copy at work of this nice little greatest hits collection cause I didn't have their cover of the 13th Floor Elevators "You're Gonna Miss Me" on anything. Doug & the boys do a more, uh, canabis flavored version compared to whatever the Elevators were on, but it's still pretty rockin' nonetheless. Don't know any other way to say it, so I'll just say it: I can't stand that Doug Sahm is not alive and still making music. http://www.dougsahm.com/

3. Doug Gillard---Salamander (Pink Frost/Big Takeover)
Great solo effort from the former lead guitarist of Guided By Voices, Gem, Cobra Verde & Death Of Samantha. The songs vear to the dark side of the Beatles' White Album street and share the spotlight with Gillard's formidable guitar. Not the greatest of singers, but that's ok. Gillard's voice is still listenable enough to carry the show here, a nice little pop album. www.douggillard.com

4. David Axelrod---The Edge: David Axelrod At Capitol Records 1966-1970 (Capitol Jazz)
If you dig adventurous ‘60's orchestrations, then this compilation of the famed producer’s work for Capitol Records is for you. Known for producing Lou Rawls, Cannonball Adderley, and The Electric Prunes, Axelrod solo records have long been a favorite source of samples for hip-hop & electronica DJs. Some of that work for Rawls and Adderley is represented here, but the bulk of this compilation comes from three of Axelrod’s most innovative and far out solo records, Songs Of Innocence, Songs Of Experience, and Earth Rot. Fans of legendary bassist Carol Kaye should also check this out, as it features some the greatest playing of her extraordinary career. The David Axelrod Information Society

5. The Move---Message From The Country (Reissue) (Capitol)
Ah yes, the mother lode. The 1971 classic, their finest moment, beautifully remastered and repackaged. It’s incredibly hard to convey what this particular music has meant to my existence. I played this record and its companion record Split Ends, just about every day when I was in high school, and on through the years the importance of this music only increases as it continues to influence my musical life. This is Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne---two of the world’s greatest songwriters at the height of their powers as a team, let loose in a studio to do whatever they wanted, resulting in some of the greatest rock music ever recorded. This cd also includes the five monumental singles the band made after the album’s release, all completely essential, plus two album outtakes and a Peel session version of "Do Ya". Already the reissue of the year. www.themoveonline.com

6. Robert Pollard—From A Compound Eye (Merge)
Pollard’s first post-Guided By Voices "big" release is a deeply rich psychedelic masterpiece. As the cd booklet clearly points out, this is an old-fashioned ‘70’s double album with four distinct sides of music. The classic Pollard trademarks are all here: the brilliant melodies, riffs, singing, lyrics, and song craft; but longtime listeners will quickly be able to distinguish that this is definitely not a GBV record. Though not the sound of a rock band playing (Pollard and collaborator Todd Tobias played 99.9% of the instruments), it’s nonetheless one of the "largest" rock records Pollard has ever made. The whole thing plays like 70 minutes of random late night programming from some FM rock station somewhere in 1972---that special period in rock history when established late ‘60's rock sensibilities were merging with the burgeoning new musical sensibilities of the new decade, and any style of music that the term "rock music" could be applied to was all getting played on what was definitely still "free form" radio. Believe it or not, the one thing a majority of these songs remind me of is Peter Gabriel era Genesis, especially in Pollard’s singing---a good thing in my book, but something that may horrify the indie-rock kids, so keep that a secret. Heck, songs from this album like "I’m A Strong Lion" and "Kingdom Without" could have easily fallen off of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. But hey, it’s Pollard, so there is still a lot of rocking out, though this time the Who-flavored power pop is more The Who Sell Out than Who’s Next. I’ve already listened to this record in its entirety about a dozen times, and I continue to hear a hundred or so different things in it with each new spin. What more can you ask for from a rock record? All that’s left to say is the fucker’s done it again. The Pollard legend marches on . . .
robertpollard.net

POLITICS: Same Pig, Same Trough

The great E.J. Dionne on Karl Rove's 2006 campaign strategy.

POLITICS: Go Molly!!!

HERE IT IS FOLKS! LEARN IT, LIVE IT, AND TAKE IT TO THE STREETS! From the pen of Her Majesty Molly Ivins.

ST. LOUIS: Utz In The Funny Papers

A nice piece in today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch on my Vintage Vinyl homey Jim Utz's unique appreciation of the Rolling Stones. In St. Louis, Jim is king of rock, there is none higher. And he certainly helps make my work environment a much better and fun place to toil in.

POLITICS: You Go Girl!

At last---someone from the left with the stones to finally out closeted RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman on national television. Perhaps it only fitting the always great Rachel Maddow was the one to do it.

POLITICS: I'll Be You Mirror

Tattoo this on your forehead, courtesy of Daily Kos.

MUSIC: Wilson Pickett, RIP

He was the greatest. And yes, he definitely knew how to pony...

POLITICS: Rudie Can't Fail

Another ass-kicking money quote from my main man The Rude Pundit:

Democrats need to think of themselves as an organized resistance, an insurgency against a dictatorial government, an uprising with popular support among the citizens of the United States. A resistance doesn't succeed unless it actually, you know, resists. And if not on Alito, then what? Dianne Feinstein-leaning Democrats need to take a page from the anti-abortion movement: if you believe it's about life and death, then act like you wanna save lives.

TV: Golden Globes

1. No one cheered louder than I did when Mary-Louise Parker won last night. Great to see her and Weeds get the recognition they so deserve. Too bad co-star Elizabeth Perkins didn't win in her category, as she was most deserving. But hey, it'll be more than fine with me if the Weeds writers take Parker up on her acceptance speech "proposition", and take their characters into, uh, "new territories" next season. It was also nice to see her pay tribute to the late John Spencer in her acceptance speech. Pretty classy...

2. I haven't seen Brokeback Mountain yet, so I really don't know if Heath Ledger was more deserving of the win, but Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance in Capote was downright staggering.

3. I've got it bad for Felicity Huffman, no matter how awful her dress was last night. William H. Macy, you're a very lucky man indeed.

4. Clooney's Abramoff joke was a good one, but are there really any bad Abramoff jokes at this point?

POLITICS: In case you missed it....

...and because it was just so damn good and needed, here's Al Gore's speech on NSA spying, sans his charismatic delivery, but still pretty powerful nonetheless.

POLITICS: "the Babe Ruth of evasion..."

E.J. Dionne neatly wraps up all the ScAlito bullshit, here.

POLITICS: Ok, I'm Finally Convinced

After watching Bush's bizarre and totally out to lunch presentation of Sam Alito very early this morning, I now believe W. is indeed back on the sauce. I was a bit skeptical of all the rumors & examples offered as evidence over the past few months, but not anymore. He seriously looked drunk this morning...

POLITICS: The Good McCarthy

A great piece here on Eugene McCarthy from the great Tom Oliphant of The Boston Globe.

Money quote:
In today's Iraq war climate, McCarthy's life teaches the lesson of taking a stand. Of all today's politicians, Senator Hillary Clinton is the one who should think about the limits of quiet positioning as opposed to speaking up when the country is clamoring for clarity.

POLITICS: 80%

The next time someone is telling you how much they "support the troops" in Iraq, shove this down their throat.

ST. LOUIS: Shock! Horror! Super Smokers Closes!

Great St. Louis bbq chain Super Smokers went out of business last night! Very, very sad news indeed---they did good work. I will be making a mad dash to the nearest supermarket to load up on remaining bottles of their excellent sauces. I suspect some folks will probably be selling them on eBay in the near future....

MUSIC: Kiss Looked For...FOUND!

In the early '70's, famed rock photographer Bob Gruen bought one of the first portable video cameras. He then spent three years hanging with and capturing on tape his good buddies the New York Dolls being The New York Fucking Dolls! Thirty years later these tapes have finally surfaced as the dvd All Dolled Up, arguably the most important documentary of previously unseen historic rock footage to emerge since MC5: A True Testimonial.

I must say it's quite astonishing thirty years after the fact to see fly-on-the-wall video documention of early Dolls' exploits I voraciously read about as a teenager in the pages of CREEM and Phonograph Record Magazine. And boy does All Dolled Up take you there! Gruen and his camera went everywhere with the Dolls, both onstage and off, and one thing that quickly becomes apparent in All Dolled Up is that the New York Dolls were never really offstage.

What makes All Dolled Up so historically important is that you are right there as the band is having it's specific big bang. Here are the Dolls in all their pre-drug deterioration, pre-mainstream rejection glory. They are very young & very hungry. They want the world and they want it now, and they actually think they're going to get it. And from the great live footage full of their legendary chutzpah, who's to say they were wrong to think so? What a rare privilege it is then to see their legend unfold right before your eyes---the great songs and performances, the great pre-crisis personalities of the guys in the band, the circus they brought with them everywhere they went and the freaks that were attracted to it.

I can't recommend this dvd enough---there's so many amazing things in it. Like a trip to Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco complete with David Johansen and teen groupies preening on it's dancefloor, or behind the scenes at the tv show appearance that resulted in the cover of their second album, a very funny video introduction of the band/pep talk for the sales staff at Mercury Records given by Johansen that of course is now full of ironic hindsight, and clip after clip of the Dolls shopping for clothes and getting dressed and doing their hair and make-up before shows---perhaps the most revealing side of their story of all.

But the thing I liked best about All Dolled Up is the much-needed balance it provides to the legend of Johnny Thunders. Generations of people who only know him as one of rock's most legendary wasteoids can finally see that for a brief glimmering moment he really was the shit. Sure he's fucked up, they're all fucked up, but he's lean, mean, young and in control. At this specific period of time Thunders is one of the baddest rock n' roll motherfuckers ever. Johansen certainly was the intellectual core of the band, both onstage and off, but Thunders was it's heart and soul. It's clear from the live footage that when they were onstage they all knew who was boss calling the shots---it was his band. There are plenty of videos & dvds out there of Johnny during his zombie years, so it's nice to see him at a time when he was still together and totally kicking ass. He seemed like a real fun guy to be around then too.

The "extras" included on the dvd are also nice. Handsome Dick Manitoba interviews Gruen, and there's a gallery track of his photos with comments. And Johansen and Syl Sylvain, the only living members of the band, also provide commentary tracks that are both cynically humorous and sweetly touching. So big thanks all around to Bob Gruen for sharing his little home movies with the rest of the world...