From Belfast Common

Modern Moonlight 6/24/09

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:18:10 -0400

C'mon C'mon, the Von Bondies / Planet Of Sound, the Pixies / Another Girl Another Planet, the Replacements / Pieces, Over It, I Don't Wanna Go There, Dinosaur Jr / Skeletons, Tiny Masters Of Today / For What It's Worth, Placebo / Graveyard Girl, M83 / Whirring, the Joy Formidible / Glad Girls, Guided By Voices / I See Lights, King Khan and the Shrines / Who Can Say, the Horrors / Bong Hits 4 Jesus / Chips Ahoy, the Hold Steady / Los Angeles, Frank Black / One Of Us, Wire / Satellite Skin, Modest Mouse / Knock Knock Knock, Superchunk / Hypocrite, Lush / Poison Arrow, Sonic Youth / Peek A Boo, Siouxsie and the Banshees / Sick Muse, Metric / We Call Upon The Author, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds / Teflon, the Mars Volta / Chrome Plated Suicide, Flaming Lips / Stay Up Late, Talking Heads

Enough, Already

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:57:55 -0400

Day after day, the Michael Jackson circus never ends.

I respect the feelings of those who cared deeply for Jackson and his music, but the deification is getting out of hand. The fact is, Michael's influence on music was, on balance, detrimental. That is not to say that he didn't write some catchy tunes, and the guy could definitely dance his as off. But, let's get serious about his influence on the music scene over the past couple of decades. Personality and the trappings of celebrity have been a part of popular culture as long as there has been such a thing as popular culture. But only in the 1980s, with the ascendancy of Michael and Madonna, did the cult of celebrity personality become so prominent that it outweighed all other considerations. Michael Jackson was renowned for his dancing, yes, but he was renowned just as much for wearing one white glove!

The title "King Of Pop" was not something that sprung up from the grassroots, in the way Elvis became known as the "King Of Rock and Roll" or James Brown became "Soul Brother #1". Jackson's minions cut a deal with MTV in which the station was contractually obligated to refer to him as the "King Of Pop' in return for exclusive rights to show his videos. No artist before him, (and again, Madonna was doing much the same contemporaneously) ever gave so much primacy to marketing over music.

As to the many charges against him, the allegations of child abuse, the way he screwed Paul McCartney, the vast number of people left holding IOU's at his death, well, all that crap dies with him. He's beyond the reach of justice, whatever the truth might be. But as to his legacy, his legacy is Britney Spears. The Spice Girls. The Jonas Brothers.

Not much worth celebrating, in my opinion.

Another Basetard For Sarah

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:55:59 -0400

Modern Moonlight 6/17/2009

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:43:26 -0400

I'm trying to keep up on these, honest!

Happy Birthday to Jello Biafra.

Pipeline, the Ventures / Rock and Roll Radio, the Ramones / Satellite Skin, Modest Mouse / Rock The Casbah, the Clash / Widow Of My Dreams, the Obits / My Orphan Year, NoFX / Last One To Die, Rancid / I Wanna Be A Girl, King Khan and the Shrines / Let's Lynch The Landlord, Holiday In Cambodia, Trust Your Mechanic, Bleed For Me, Police Truck, A Growing Boy Needs His Lunch, the Dead Kennedys / Plethymograph, Those Dumb Punk Kids, Jello Biafra and the Melvins / Monkey Gone To Heaven, the Pixies / Twist and Shout, Art Brut / Too Late, Wire, Our Time, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Seven Nation Army, the White Stripes / What We All Want, Gang Of Four / Girlfriend Is Better, Talking Heads / Take Out The Trash, They Might Be Giants / Antenna, Sonic Youth / Execution, Pink Mountaintops / Devotion, Viva Voce / Sometimes, My Bloody Valentine / Humor me, Pere Ubu

Modern Moonlight 6/10/2009

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:37:13 -0400

Pledge drive show, co-hosted by Kristie!

We're Gonna Have A real Good Time Together, Velvet Underground / Son Of A Gun, Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam, the Vaseliens / Institutionalized, Suicidal tendencies / Learned To Surf, Superchunk / Leaky Lifeboat, Sonic Youth / Gift, Sugar / Memphis Egypt, the Mekons / Sugarcube, Yo La Tengo / Cause I Sez So, the New York Dolls / What A Rush, Art Brut / Creeping Out Sara, NoFX / Party Time, Iggy Pop / Loose, the Stooges / The Insistor, Tapes N Tapes / Roadrunner, the Modern Lovers / Blues From A Gun, the Jesus and Mary Chain / Love Will Tear Us Apart, Joy Division / Girlfriend, Modern Lovers / I Can Hear The Grass Grow, the Fall / Corona, the Minutemen / Wolf Like Me, TV On The Radio / Sacred Trickster, Malibu Gas Station, Sonic Youth / Let's Go To Bed, the Cure

Speaking Of Comics...

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:33:07 -0400

I've been reading X-Men, from the first issue. Now, I'm an old time Marvel fan. I absolutely loved Fantastic Four and Spidey as a kid, and still have a warm place for them in my heart. Jack Kirby was a god. I have a giant Kirby memorial art work by Robert Berry hanging in my dining room.

But this comic book just plain sucks. In the first 60 some issues of the original run, there aren't 6 issues worth reading. I ended up skimming most of them. Once Claremont and Byrne show up, things turn around though, and it becomes a terrific book. But those early issues....shudder.

Comic Book Zen

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:29:13 -0400

You fly billions of miles across space. You land on an alien planet. And when the native life forms show up, you ask "Where did it come from?"

'09 So Far...

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:22:18 -0400

Every year since I began Modern Moonlight I have done a Top 50 albums of the year. (2006- Sonic Youth's Rather Ripped, 2007- Both Before I'm Gone by Girl In A Coma, and 2008-Dig Lazarus Dig, by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds were the number ones for those keeping score at home). Now that the show is down to two hours, I'll probably have to cut the list down to a Top Thirty, but hey, less work that way.

Anyhow, with the year half over, I've been mulling over the top contenders so far. Art Brut Vs Satan will clearly be high on the list. From a few listening, I'd have to say that the new Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr albums will be up there s well.

What are your favorites so far this year?

Modern Moonlight 6 / 3 / 2009

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 19:28:43 -0400

As part of the move towards all night programming on WERU, Modern Moonlight is now a two hour show, Wednesdays from 10 to midnight.

Here Comes The Summer, the Undertones / Satellite Skin, Guilty Cocker Spaniels, Modest Mouse / Blitzed, the Raveonettes / Keep It Coming, the Manhattan Love Suicides / Tel The World, Vivian Girls / I Remember You, the Ramones / On The One Hand, Half Japanese / What We Know, Leaky Lifeboat, Malibu Gas Station, Sonic Youth / House I Call Home, The World's A Mess, Johnny Hit And Run Pauline, X / Fractured Skies, Parts And Labor / Execution, Pink Mountaintops / Die A Little, Viva Voce / Happiness Bleeds, Wussy / Mm17, Bob Mould / Rotten Shame, Meat Puppets / Letter To Memphis, the Pixies / Crazy Eights, Tapes "n Tapes / Living North, Cymbals Eat Guitars / Androgynous, the Replacements / Remake Remodel, Roxy Music / Hunted By A Freak, Mogwai / Big Day Coming, Yo La Tengo / Stowaway, Chris Conelly / The Mercy Seat, Nick Cave

Hummer In The Lilac

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 19:27:41 -0400

Sounds sexy, doesn't it?