Episodes
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A little about Country, a little about Soul, and more about how they are really just the same thing. And why it’s not at all surprising that a big Pop-Soul star like Beyoncé is releasing a Country album.
For this RNRA Short, we tapped the expertise of Professor Charles Hughes of Rhodes College in Memphis, author of “Country Soul: Making Music and Making Race in the American South.”
We’ll look at the origins of the Alt Country Revolt, and name-check some great artists working very loudly and deliberately outside the Nashville Pop Country machine.
Y’all keep up the rockin’ now, hear?
Producer and Host: Christian Swain
Head Writer: Richard Evans
Sound Designer: Jerry Danielsen
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To mark the 60th anniversary of The Beatles' inaugural performance on U.S. soil, we decided to do a quick compare-and-contrast. We’ll revisit that watershed moment in music and culture, and talk about something recent that actually comes close to matching that moment: the ongoing Eras Tour from Taylor Swift.
Not “Bigger THAN The Beatles,” but in our not-so-humble opinion, “Biggest SINCE The Beatles.”
Listen in and let us know what you think! www.rocknrollarchaeology.com/listen
Producer and Host: Christian Swain
Head Writer: Richard Evans
Sound Designer: Jerry Danielsen
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The Soul of the 1970s. First, Marvin Gaye kicked the door open with “What’s Going On,” and then Stevie Wonder barged in.
The Wonder Years spanned 1971 to 1976; when the transcendent, diverse talent of Stevie Wonder was in its fullest flower. That five-album span is one of the most successful and impactful creative runs in the history of recorded music.
Our podcast offers immersive storytelling, insightful commentary, and a stellar musical playlist. Join us as we delve deep into the lives and musical genius of these iconic Soul-Music luminaries.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7s4Vyw1FLb4XpJnANduFPs?si=14746e9dd53049b1
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Welcome back to Rock N Roll Archaeology! Got another RNRA Short Podcast for you. This one is named after the Kinks song “Celluloid Heroes.”
Rock N Roll goes to the movies (and television) in this one. We’ll take a look at three shows that feature fictional Rock bands: the movies “Almost Famous” and “This Is Spinal Tap,” and the television miniseries “Daisy Jones & The Six.”
Visit our website for more about this and all our other podcast episodes, and for links to our Patreon and Social Media. Keep up the Rockin’!
Dramatis Personae
Kellen Reiche played Danny Failson
Lynly Ehrlich played Liz Limer
Jerry Danielsen played Joe Conrad
Courtney M. Anderson played Heller Joseph
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RNRA Shorts: Disco Demolition!
Take us back to the Distant Days of Disco, Summer of 1979. Steve Dahl, a brash young DJ at WLUP- FM (“Chicago’s Best Rock!”), has declared war on Disco.
On July 12, 1979, he took the fight to Comiskey Park, in between games of a doubleheader between the home-team Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. Things…got out of hand.
Since then, the “Disco Demolition” at Comiskey has achieved no small amount of notoriety, and at least according to Steve Dahl, it was a turning point, the beginning of the end for Disco.
Was it really? Well, yes and no. In our view, the Disco trend was already on the decline; it had pretty much run its course. But there was a powerful backlash to Disco, that’s undeniable. What motivated that backlash? And what was the fallout from the actual event?
Let’s discuss! For sources and show notes, visit rocknrollarchaeology.com !
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We want the airwaves, baby! Chapter 23 of Rock N Roll Archaeology tunes into radio and radio culture in America and elsewhere. There was a brief moment in the 70s and early 80s where FM Rock Radio was something pretty special.So what was that like, and where have all the good times gone? Some storytelling in this one, but it’s a little heavier on the commentary…and of course we’re featuring some killer songs, because that’s how we roll.
“Begin the day with a friendly voice, a companion unobtrusive, Plays that song that’s so elusive”
For full show notes and to support Rock and Roll Archaeology visit www.rocknrollarchaeology.com.
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Remembering the late great Jeff Beck, the guitarist’s guitarist. An innovator and an iconoclast with a bold experimental spirit, Jeff left his unique stamp on hundreds of great songs.
Songs
Jeff Beck: “Diamond Dust,” from Blow By Blow
Jeff Beck: “Blue Wind,” from Wired
The Yardbirds: “Stroll On,” from the soundtrack to Blow Up
Jeff Beck with Bones UK: “The Revolution Will Be Televised” from Loud Hailer
Jeff Beck: “Freeway Jam,” from Blow by Blow
Bill Haley and The Comets: “Rock Around the Clock,” single released 1955
Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen: “Hot Rod Lincoln” from Lost in the Ozone
Stevie Wonder: “Looking for Another Pure Love,” from Talking Book
Jeff Beck, “Thelonius,” from Blow by Blow
Jeff Beck, “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers,” from Blow by BlowCredits
Author Dennis Hartley voiced by Doug Herzog
In Memoriam
Chip Isaac tribute charity: Bay Area Border Relief. https://www.bayareaborderrelief.org/
Podcasts
Rock N Roll Archaeology, Chapter 21: Guitarmageddon
Rock N Roll Archaeology, Chapter 8: Meet the Beatles, Part 2
Deeper Digs in Rock: Bones UK
Books
Martin Power, Hot Wired Guitar:The Life of Jeff Beck, 2014
Online Sources
The Alchemist: RIP Jeff Beck – Digby's HullabalooJeff Beck's favourite guitar solos
How Jeff Beck made Stevie Wonder go No. 1 with 'Superstition'
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Examining–and reconsidering–The Rocky Horror Picture Show. At the time, it was transgressive, outrageous; but now it seems a little bit tame. And…a bit problematic, when taken in a modern context. But it's still the ultimate midnight movie, and it's still…just a jump to the left! Songs:RHPS Cast: “There’s a Light,” from the soundtrack albumRHPS Cast: “The Time Warp,” from the soundtrack albumTim Curry: “I Do The Rock,” from FearlessRHPS Cast: “Sweet Transvestite,” from the soundtrack albumFrank Zappa and the Mothers: “Cheepnis,” from Roxy & ElsewhereRHPS Cast: “Science Fiction Double Feature,” from the soundtrack albumRHPS Cast: “Hot Patootie - Bless My Soul,” from the soundtrack albumRHPS Cast: “Rose Tint My World,” from the soundtrack albumRHPS Cast: “Super Heroes,” from the soundtrackOnline Resources:First, we want to give a warm and appreciative shoutout to the blogger Alex Mell-Taylor; we leaned heavily on their post for this chapter: Gently Ripping Apart ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ | by Alex Mell -TaylorHere’s a link to more by Alex Mell - Taylor at Medium.com.The Rocky Horror WikiHow I learned to stop worrying and love the Rocky Horror Picture ShowRock's Back Pages: It's only a movieThe 50 Best Sci Fi Movies of the 1970sGolden Age of Science Fiction Books: 11 of the Era's Most Influential TitlesTim CurryThe Rocky Horror Picture Show: A Cult Classic that Challenged Sexual Mores | The ArtificeRocky Horror Picture Show – a How-To Guide for Audience ParticipationWe Live in the World ‘Rocky Horror’ CreatedWritten by Richard Evans and Christian SwainProduced and hosted by Christian SwainSound Design by Jerry DanielsenPartners: Rock's BackpagesVoice Actors: Drew H as Alex Mell-TaylorLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Bands in the van, and a band at the crossroads. In this episode of RNRA Shorts, we’ll get into the early days of Pink Floyd, and the latest from a Pink Floyd member: Nick Mason’s 2022 Saucerful of Secrets tour.
Written by Richard Evans and Christian Swain, Sound Design by Jerry Danielsen.
Sponsors and Partners
Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets
Rock’s Backpages
Songs
Pink Floyd, “Echoes,” from Meddle
Pink Floyd, “See Emily Play,” from Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Pink Floyd, “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” from A Saucerful of Secrets
Pink Floyd, “Interstellar Overdrive,” from Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Pink Floyd, “Bike,” from Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Pink Floyd, “Fearless,” from Meddle
Pink Floyd, “One of These Days,” from Meddle
Pink Floyd, “Jugband Blues,” from A Saucerful of Secrets
Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets: “Arnold Layne,” from Live at the Roundhouse
Books
Mason, Nick. Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd Chronicle Books LLC. Kindle Edition.
Cutler, Sam. You Can't Always Get What You Want: My Life with the Rolling Stones, the Grateful Dead and Other Wonderful Reprobates . ECW Press. Kindle Edition.
Films, Documentaries, and TV Shows
“What Drives Us,” Directed by Dave Grohl, 2021
"Omnibus" Syd Barrett: Crazy Diamond (TV Episode 2001) - IMDb
Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon (Short 1973) - IMDb
Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets: Live at the Roundhouse (2020) - IMDb
Online Sources
Pink Floyd | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Why Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason Finally Went Solo at 75 – Rolling Stone
How Pink Floyd Carried on With 'A Saucerful of Secrets'
Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets Concert Setlist at Zagrebački velesajam - Paviljon 9, Zagreb on May 31, 2022
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Content warning: Here at RNRA, we don’t hide our views. At all. But when it comes to politics, we try not to be in-your-face about it either. Our little slogan is “Just tell the story, and the point will get made.”This time though, we’re a little more overt, we’re letting it rip just a little bit. This particular burr has been under our saddle for a while now.Now: on with the show.
Summer Time is Shorts Time! RNRA Shorts, that is!
So…here’s a thing. Sometimes we visit Right Wing World online, that’s usually how it starts.On these expeditions we’ll sometimes run into some whinging about “Woke Progressives” cancelling right wing culture and entertainment, or just griping in general about perceived left/liberal bias in popular culture.They’re not totally wrong about that. They’re right, just for the wrong reasons, and we’ll explain why.It’s not just complaining they do. We also see a lot of co-opting and outright stealing. And when they take Rock music and culture and dishonestly try to repurpose it, try to make it serve the conservative agenda, well…unintentional hilarity ensues.So we’ll do some roasting, but we’ll also do some thinking out loud, talk a little about the how and why, and even delve into the deeper history of…the Art of the Steal.
Enjoy!
Sponsors and Partners
BetterHelp
Rock’s Backpages
Boldfoot
Songs
Parliament Funkadelic: “One Nation Under A Groove”
Thomas Dolby: “Pulp Culture”
Ted Nugent: “Stranglehold”
Ted Nugent: “Hey Baby”
They Might Be Giants: “Your Racist Friend”
Neil Young: “Rockin’ in the Free World”
Woody Guthrie: “This Land is Your Land”
Trey Parker and Matt Stone: “America, Fuck Yeah”
Toby Keith: “Courtesy of the Red White and Blue”
Living Colour: “Cult of Personality”
Stevie Wonder: “He’s Misstra Know It All”
Green Day: “American Idiot”
Sources
Apocalypse Now: “Mangoes and Tigers” Scene (Retrieved from YouTube)
Roy Edroso Breaks it Down Substack (Paywalled. Roy writes a lot about this issue, and we think he’s really astute–and hilarious.)
The Five Most Repellent Things Ted Nugent Has Ever Done | Rocks Off
Music News: Why can't musicians get politicians to stop playing their songs?
The President’s Shock at the Rows of Empty Seats in Tulsa - The New York Times
American Cringe: Why can’t the contemporary right make art?
Episode 5: The Ballad of Bob and J.R. — Pantheon Podcasts
A Defence of Poetry
Voice Talent
Darryl Alber as blogger Cameron Summers
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We start with a tragedy, then a cautionary tale of the world not ready for a band. We then find more positive inspiration from an artist who delivers a huge seller. We end with a legend.
Janis Joplin dies just before releasing her magnum opus, “Pearl.” A band called Fanny is ready to rock, but a culture poisoned by the patriarchy isn’t yet ready to accept them. Carole King makes Tapestry, a sincere, modest, and deeply personal album that hits huge and becomes a milestone for women. We complete the story with a profile of one of the giants of 20th Century Music, Joni Mitchell. We discuss her artistic and commercial peak in the early 70s with “Blue,” “For the Roses,” and “Court and Spark.” We admire all of these women for kicking down the door, and we celebrate the progress we’ve made since them, but there is still a long way to go.
Now for some general remarks about the research and writing.
To the best of our ability, we tried to center women in this chapter. We’ll leave it to the listener to decide how we did with that.
There’s a diversity of opinion about this, but we think it’s fair to say the second wave of feminism hits the crest during the period we are covering, and it is not at all a coincidence that women really start to make big and important contributions to Rock Music right around this time too.
Roe vs Wade was decided right around here, about fifty years ago. We are painfully aware of the US Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe, stripping many millions of American women of their fundamental human rights to bodily autonomy and medical privacy.
As we move forward with our chapters, we will document that half century of regressive backlash and how it got us here; it’s part of the story. Like we often say, Rock N Roll reflects back on, interacts with, and affects the larger society. And vice versa. In the late Sixties and early Seventies, it seemed like the progress would be permanent, and that more progress was on the way. Some of us were naive enough to believe that. We would do well now to remember the words of the anti slavery activist Frederick Douglass, way back in 1857:
This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.
Voice Talent
Richard Evans as L.A. County Coroner
Stephanie Pena as Alice Echols
Stephanie Meyers as the voice of Creem Magazine
Amanda Morck as Meredith Ochs
Christy Alexander Hallberg as the voice of the IMA mission statement
Carole King as Herself
Erin Alden as Tanya Pearson
Lynley Ehrlich as Carol Hanisch
Thessaly Lerner as Judy Kutulas
Holly Cantos as the voice of the New York Times
Online Resources
Rock’s Back Pages
Coroner's Report, archived at janisjoplin.net
ABC Nightly News Report, from October 4th, 1970
Deeper Digs in Rock: 'Rock N Roll Woman: The Fifty Fiercest Female Rockers' with Meredith Ochs
The Institute for the Musical Arts
1416 N. La Brea Ave, Hollywood
50 years ago, the Sylmar earthquake shook L.A., and nothing’s been the same since
Women of Rock Oral History Project
"That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be": Baby Boomers, 1970s Singer-Songwriters, and Romantic Relationships
Carol Hanisch The Personal is Political
New York Times “Albums as Mileposts in a Musical Century”
Deeper Digs in Rock: Reckless Daughter - A Portrait of Joni Mitchell
Jonimitchell.com
Joni Mitchell, Woman of Heart and Mind
Books
Joan Didion, “Slouching Towards Bethlehem”
Alice Echols: “Scars of Sweet Paradise”
Carole King: “Natural Woman”
Meredith Ochs: “Rock And Roll Woman: The Fifty Fiercest Women Rockers”
Sheila Weller: “Girls Like Us”
Jerry Wexler: “Rhythm and the Blues”
David Yaffe: “Reckless Daughter”
Documentaries and Films
Fanny: The Right to Rock
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Welcome back to RNRA Shorts! This time, it’s Filth Through The Ages, and let’s meet some unlikely Free Speech Warriors. Yes, we said it, and we will die on this hill: The Juggalos Are Alright.
Psst, hey! Got a topic suggestion? Let us know!
Songs
Frank Zappa: “Stinkfoot,” from Apostrophe’, 1974
Insane Clown Posse: “My Axe,” from Bizzar, 2000
Insane Clown Posse: “Hokus Pokus,” from The Great Milenko, 1997
Insane Clown Posse: “To Catch A Predator,” from Bang! Pow! Boom! Nuclear, 2010
Insane Clown Posse: “Boogie Woogie Wu,” from The Great Milenko, 1997
Insane Clown Posse: “What Is A Juggalo,” from The Great Milenko, 1997
AC/DC: “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” from Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, 1976
Insane Clown Posse with Perpetual Hype Engine: “Let’s Go All The Way,” from Bizzar, 2000
Books
Nathan Rabin: You Don’t Know Me But You Don’t Like Me, 2013
Documentaries and Videos
American Juggalo (Recommended!)
Trailer for “The United States of Insanity” (Just released on 12/10/2021, also recommended!)
ICP Press Conference Video from 9/16/2017 (Behind Time Magazine’s paywall, but the first three views are free.)
Online Resources
Insane Clown Posse’s Official Website
Catullus
The First Amendment Right to be a Juggalo
The FBI Memorandum on Juggalos in pdf format (This one is a real piece of work!)
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A quick look at an intriguing relationship: Joni Mitchell and Prince.
Enjoy! Oh, hey! Got a topic idea for RNRA Shorts?
Shoot us an email: [email protected]
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The fuse was lit in 1966. Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and Keith Moon came together to record a proto-metal classic. After the session an offhand quip from Keith Moon sticks with Jimmy Page.
Then we meet The G; the imposing Peter Grant. Led Zeppelin’s fearsome tough-guy manager was a key reason why Zep dominated the rock landscape in the early 70s.
Well away from Swinging London, in the grimy industrial town of Birmingham, Black Sabbath comes together. We’ll also take a look at one of the greatest Jam Bands ever, Deep Purple.
Then on to probably the single saddest story in all of Rock History, the final days of Jimi Hendrix.
Jimi towers over all of it, the late, lamented godfather of Heavy Rock--Rock that centers around the guitar and celebrates blazing virtuosity on that instrument.
Gone but not forgotten: the Guitarmageddon explosion has reverberated way beyond the Seventies--all the way up to the present day.
Far more than any other movement or genre within Rock music...Metal, Heavy Rock, Jam Rock, pick your label...it’s got legs. It changes and grows, continues to reinvent itself, and it sticks around.
Still with us, still going strong, still powered by fans.
Voice Actors
Jemma Sconce as Sophia DeBoick
Bryan Reesman as Gauntlet.com
Tony MIchaelides as Martin Power
Jerry Danielsen as Oxford Dictionary
Courtney Anderson as Gregg Tate
Peter Ferioli as Stephen Hyden
Mistress Carrie as Consequence of Sound
Charles Cross as Charles Cross
Rich Price as David Fricke
Dave Sloan as Jon Landau
Full show notes at http://pantheonpodcasts.com/rock-n-roll-archaeology
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Rock N Roll as the First Draft Of HistoryWe begin in the midwest college town of Kent, Ohio, in the late spring of 1970. We’ll meet three future rockers--students at Kent State University, barely out of their teens--who will be changed forever by what they witness. We’ll check in on Motown, where the fluffy pop “Sound of Young America” is still alive, but there's a big change coming, a movement towards a tougher, more topical sound. We’ll foreshadow that just a little--lots more to come in a later chapter. Rock N Roll is now Rock, and it is mainstreamed now, big and getting bigger. It set out to subvert the dominant paradigm, now it is the dominant paradigm. It can be downright paradoxical at times; defined by its own contradictions. We come back to the campus for the shattering events of May 4th. They inspire a unique musical response, something we really haven’t seen since then. Written by Richard Evans and Christian SwainHosted and Produced by Christian SwainSound Design by Jerry DanielsenVoice ActorsHolly Cantos as the voice of the Kent State Official HistoryDr. Stephen Arnoff as the voice of Prof. Charles ReichJames O’Laughlin as the voice of Jimmy McDonaughEric Nash as the voice of Kevin C. SmithDavid Browne as the voice of David BrowneSongsRandy Newman: “Burn On” from Sail Away, 1972James Gang: “Funk 48” from Yer’ Album, 1969The Stooges: “1970” from Fun House, 1970Rare Earth: “Hey Big Brother” single released in 1970Graham Nash: “Chicago” from Songs for Beginners, 1971Edwin Starr: “War” from War & Peace, 1970Eric Burdon and War: “Spill The Wine” from Eric Burdon Declares War, 1970 Frank Zappa and The Mothers: “Nanook Rubs It” from Apostrophe, 1974John Lennon and the Plastic Ono: “Working Class Hero” from Plastic Ono Band, 1970Jackson 5: “I Want You Back” Single released in 1969Marvin Gaye: “Inner City Blues” from What’s Goin’ On, 1971War: “Slippin’ Into Darkness” from All Day Music, 1971CSN&Y: “Carry On” from Deja Vu, 1970Neil Young & Crazy Horse: “Come On Baby Let’s Go Downtown” from Tonight’s the Night, 1974Neil Young: ”The Needle And The Damage Done” from Harvest, 1972Elton John: “Burn Down The Mission” from Tumbleweed Connection, 1970Ten Years After: “I’d Love To Change The World” from A Space In Time, 1970CSN&Y: “Find The Cost Of Freedom” single released in 1970CSN&Y: “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” from Four Way Street, 1971CSN&Y: “Ohio” single released in 1970Led Zeppelin: “What Is And What Should Never Be” from Led Zeppelin II, 1969BooksDavid Browne: Crosby, Stills, Nash & YoungBob Burroughs: Days of RageRobert Giles: When Truth MatteredTodd Gitlin: The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of RageChrissie Hynde: Reckless: My Life as a PretenderJimmy McDonough: Shakey: Neil Young’s BiographyRick Perlstein: NixonlandCharles Reich: The Greening of AmericaNeil Sheehan: A Bright Shining LieKevin C. Smith: Recombo DNAHunter S. Thompson: Fear and Loathing in Las VegasOnline SourcesThe Cuyahoga RiverJames Gang on TourPort Huron StatementJerry Casale at Kent StateKent State University Official HistoryMore Resources on the The Kent State MassacreAssassination of Fred HamptonAssassination of Fred Hampton--Gov’t DocsPodcastsWTF With Marc Maron: Episode 942, interview with Joe WalshDeeper Digs in Rock With Christian Swain: Interview with David BrowneFilms and DocumentariesThe Murder of Fred Hampton, Directed by Howard Alk, 1971This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.@PantheonPodsListen in HD only at www.rocknrollarchaeology.comLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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This episode is dedicated with love to the memory of our dear friend Dennis Gordon. Dennis was the big booming voice on our show “bumpers” that would begin and end each chapter of Rock N Roll Archaeology. Thank you Dennis, we miss you. May the Four Winds blow you safely home.
Welcome back to the second half of our big chapter telling the big story of a big year in Rock. If you haven’t done so already, we highly recommend you listen to Episode 18 before you delve into this one!
We tell the story of 1969 by telling the story of four concerts: The Beatles on the Roof, The Rolling Stones in Hyde Park was the first part. Part Two will take us to the peak, to the apotheosis of Woodstock...and to the abyss at Altamont. And we’ll go to some other places in between too.
1969 is the year Rock N Roll goes global, and we’ll get into that a little, and set up later discussions of great topics like Rock behind the Iron Curtain and the growing influence of Reggae and World Beat.
Then we’ll take you to Woodstock, and call off the roster, with lots of great music and commentary.
The first mythical Rock tour--the Rolling Stones ‘69 tour of America, is up next. That will take us to the final show of the tour, on a dark December night in California, where everything that can go wrong, will go wrong, and the consequences will be tragic.
We close out with some thoughts on the year and on the decade we’ve just completed, and on what comes next.
This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.
@PantheonPods
Listen in HD only at www.rocknrollarchaeology.com
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We’re putting down a marker with this episode, and the follow-up: the highest highs and the lowest lows of the entire Rock Era occurred in 1969. It’s a year so big, we had to cut it in two, in order to serve it up properly.
We start in January, with The Beatles on The Roof, a 42-minute outdoor concert that definitely warmed up the neighborhood of Mayfair, London, England. Then we catch up with their friends and rivals, The Rolling Stones.
The Stones broke out HUGE in 68 and 69, the beginning of an incredible five-year run: from Beggars Banquet on through to Exile On Main Street. Peak Stones, the sweet spot for the World’s Greatest Rock N Roll Band.
Brian Jones is out, Mick Taylor is in. We talk about how that happened, and how it impacted the Stones’ sound and attitude. Another influence starts seeping in: American Country Music, thanks to Keith’s new best buddy, Gram Parsons.
Brian’s tragic--and still unexplained--demise changes the Hyde Park Concert from a coming-out party into a memorial service. Emotion and conviction carry the day, and Hyde Park sets a very high and hopeful bar; it’s an early example of How To Successfully Pull Off A Really Big Concert.
During that “Moon-Crazy Summer” of 1969, NASA pulls off something really big. It’s the single greatest feat--so far--of human exploration: The Apollo 11 mission to the moon and back. We look at the moon landing through the Rock N Roll lens; we’ll talk about space travel, science fiction, and fantasy...in books, film, television, and most of all, in Rock Music.
Then David Bowie, with his lifelong knack for being ahead of his time, said take your protein pills and put your helmet on.
And we did.
And in just a short time we got used to it, became a little jaded about it.
That comes later. Here and now in the summer of 1969; stardust, golden, billion year old carbon...got to get ourselves back to the garden.
We’ll open Part Two at Yasgur’s Farm in upstate New York, and we’ll light a candle in the rain.
Head over to Pantheon Podcasts for full show notes.
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Chapter 17 of Rock N Roll Archaeology is bookended by a couple of Simon & Garfunkel albums: “Bookends” from the spring of 1968; and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” from January of 1970. Our story takes place mostly in New York City: a city big enough to spawn two very different, very talented--and very influential--artists: Paul Simon and Lou Reed. We skip work on a cold January afternoon to catch a movie: Mike Nichols’ “The Graduate.” It’s a generation milestone of a film, and Simon & Garfunkel’s music is a big part of that; what’s more, we argue, it’s a different kind of soundtrack, something new in film and popular culture. We meet Tom Wilson, the first African-American staff producer at Columbia Records. Tom oversaw the first two Simon & Garfunkel albums. We follow him for a little while and he leads us to...Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground.We get to know Lou and the Velvets, and the scene from which they sprang: Andy Warhol’s Factory. We meet a Factory hang-around, an angry young woman with good reasons to be angry, but she takes it way too far, with tragic consequences. And we’ll meet the first Punk Rock band: The MC5, and the revolutionary political milieu they occupied. Wayne Kramer of the MC5 has some things to say about that, and about a fateful MC5 gig at the Fillmore East. Finally, we’ll meet one of our favorite artists ever, who came from the same scene as the MC5: Iggy Pop. We say “Amen” to Iggy Pop. We wrap it back around to Simon & Garfunkel, and their take on the anger and disappointment, on the turmoil of the late 1960s. An offer of comfort and healing is the first big Pop hit of the 1970s.Listen to episodes 1-16 of Rock N Roll Archaeology and all our other podcasts at www.pantheonpodcasts.comLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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We start our tale of Paradise Lost in Buena Vista Park, San Francisco, in the fall of 1967. Hippie, the Devoted Son of Mass Media, is dead, and the San Francisco Diggers are conducting the funeral.
From the funky streets of the Haight we head east a couple miles to the Fillmore West, and meet a complicated man, concert promoter Bill Graham. It was during these early years in San Francisco that Bill created the rock concert experience.
Then a brief trip to Texas, where Janis Joplin cleans up and then heads back; to San Francisco to find her family. We get to know Janis a little better, and talk about her early work with Big Brother and the Holding Company--and what happened when Janis left Big Brother.
We’ll spend a little more time on the Big Picture. Politically, culturally, in pretty much every way, 1968 was a pivotal year, in America and around the world.
Then across the Bay, to the lands that lie East of Eden. We’ll meet two very different acts, that interestingly enough, have similar stories: Sly and the Family Stone, and Creedence Clearwater Revival.
We close it out with a short meditation on the aftermath of the Summer of Love. We still dream it and dance to it.
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An impressionistic look at the interplay of Rock N Roll and Culture in Los Angeles during the latter half of the 1960s. There are familiar elements: storytelling, critical discussion and commentary, and lots of Rock N Roll attitude. But this one is different from most of our previous RNRAP offerings.
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