While Uncle Joe is best known as one of America's top Classic Rock historians, throughout his 35-year career he's always been acutely aware of current trends in the music industry. Indeed, Classic Rock itself was the finest new music of its day, composed and performed by artists at their creative peak. For a scholarly insight into today's trends, J.B. presents Rave's Raves.
Rave's Raves are composed by Bruce Ravid, a veteran of Capitol Record's A&R Department and in no way reflect the official viewpoint of Uncle Joe, his staff or management. They are written from Rave's industry viewpoint, originally for friends within the music business, but now shared with the world. New editions appear in April/May, August/September, and December with occasional updates in between. Enjoy!
June 2004
***RAVE'S RAVES #20.1***
RAVE'S FAVES (since column #20)
The Hives, Snow Patrol, The Sounds, The Streets, Goldfrap, Ben Kweller, Secret Machines.
The new Hives' Stones-like single is my top song of the year so far. It doesn't have an obvious radio chorus, but it's great fun. I'm glad to see that Goldfrap may finally be on her way to a hit with "Strict Machine." The other five artists all are up and coming with cool tunes. Snow Patrol and The Streets are from the U.K., and Sweden's Sounds' song sounds like radio in the 80's. An honorable mention goes to Queens of the Stone Age for their cover of Romeo Void's "Never Say Never."
As we approach the midpoint of 2004, my favorite musical events have been the Von Bondies show and CD (see below), the Franz Ferdinand concert, and Air's CD. Franz have a nice disc, but I think they'll have trouble following up "Take Me Out." They're one band that few people actually seem to dislike. Air will play at the Hollywood Bowl with an orchestra on September 26.
LIVE
While in Europe, I got to catch a Von Bondies/Ima Robot gig in Amsterdam. The V.B.'s were nothing short of awesome with their blues-flavored garage rock. They play great and look great with lots of intensity. There was not a dull note in their set. Ima Robot, much like their CD, were uneven but had some hot moments. Both bands have star potential, especially the V.B.'s. The B-52's continue to be great fun, and they're still backed by some great players. This blast was at Hollywood's Avalon, and New York's Scissor Sisters preceded them with a fun, tight, camp show. Already big in the U.K., they're starting to develop a domestic buzz in the dance and indie rock worlds. The Knack emerged from their hiatus with a great show near San Diego.
80'S COLLEAGUES
The Motels will be on VH-1's Bands Reunited series this fall. The taping went really well and the original members got along great. Meanwhile, Duran Duran's Epic Records deal is getting publicity, and they anticipate a fall release.
...and...
We've been talking recently about guitar hooks, and many rock cuts are actually doing well because of their backing tracks rather than due to hooky choruses. I think this is a reaction to all of those grunge and post-grunge songs in the 90's, and it may also be influenced by rap, where there are rarely such things as vocal melodies.
Rock has returned to many of the top slots on the CD sales charts. Most of these disks are of the harder, mainstream variety. Jet have the second "garage" CD to go platinum, following the White Stripes. Like most other genres, the biggest garage hits will come from bands who get the most airplay. Stations that play heaps of indie rock can get into trouble if they're not careful how they present it. I hate to report that Internet legend WOXY is gone. However, LA's new Indie 103.1 can be heard at http://www.indie1031.fm/listenlive.html. "Rolling Stone" called them "the coolest station in the country," but I don't they can survive long-term unless they find a way to attract a somewhat broader audience.
My spring visit to Madison allowed me to do my semi-annual "Return of Rave" show on WSUM as I again revisited my college radio roots. This year's recipient of the Bruce Ravid Music Industry Award is station Music Director Errol Packard, who was recognized for his hard work and contributions to the station's musical profile.
So that's it for now. I wish you a great summer and encourage you to write with any feedback that you've got for me. Please remember to reference "Raves" in the subject line of your email. Have a great summer. Until late-August,
RAVE ON!!!
April 2004
***RAVE'S RAVES #20***
RAVE'S FAVES (on the air)
Franz Ferdinand, Jet (various), Modest Mouse, Phantom Planet, Von Bondies, Strokes, Muse, Bad Religion, Velvet Revolver, The Killers, Morrissey, Steriogram, Jem, Air (various), Zero 7, Postal Service (various), N.E.R.D., Lenny Kravitz.
There continues to be more than the usual number of "fave" tunes on our nation's airwaves. Franz (from Scotland) are my favorite new band. "Take Me Out" should do well here, and there are additional contenders on their strong CD. Many great tunes on Jet's disc continue to get spins. Look for their "Look What You've Done" ballad to become a hit. I've never been the biggest Morrissey fan, but his new single is my favorite from him. Air's album took awhile to grow on me, but I'm liking it more and more. Steriogram are from New Zealand and The Killers are from Vegas. Both have fun, quirky airplay tunes. I either love or hate Kravitz songs, and his new single sounds great to me. Honorable mention goes to The Living End, Snow Patrol, and The Walkmen.
Kudos to Aerosmith, whose energetic blues album is one of their best ever as it sounds like the band in its early days. Felix da Housecat and Miss Kitten, two disciples from the "electroclash movement," are both rocking harder this time around and have come up with some good stuff. They both disavow any association with that musical genre, but the electroclash hype of 2002 certainly didn't hurt them at the time. In the same general vein, the Scissor Sisters from New York have a refreshing electronic sound that's going over big the U.K.
LIVE
Franz Ferdinand provided one of the best live shows that I've seen in awhile. LA's Troubadour was sold out. The band are very straight forward, but they're tight and fun. Their album doesn't quite catch their live energy. Hopefully the next one will. Rufus Wainright was in good voice and had a nice, albeit mellow, performance. Elton John was Rufus' surprise guest. The Vines and Jet were completely disappointing. We unfortunately arrived too late to see The Living End. Reports were that they were anywhere from fair to great, so one can expect that they were probably the best of the three Australian bands on the bill. Jet admit that the quality of their shows depends on the amount that they've had to drink. Including two TV appearances, I've now seen them three times and they have yet to blow me away. With such a strong CD, it's really a shame.
80'S COLLEAGUES
I was pleased to participate in a Knack documentary that is being developed by Passport Entertainment. I'll provide more details as they come available later this year. Condolences to Weird Al Yankovich, whose parents died so tragically at their home near San Diego. I never met Al's parents. At the time of his signing, he told me about his mom's phone reaction. "That's nice" she said, "So are you eating enough? Are you making your bed?"
...and...
My rant on Courtney Love got loads of reaction from people, but there wasn't one note of disagreement. With the 10th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death, there has recently been a new round of theories implicating Courtney. While we will probably never know the answer to that mystery, it is safe to assume that she wasn't exactly a stable, comforting influence on the guy... I'm happy for Uncle Joe Benson now that he has become the veteran "afternoon anchor" at Arrow 93. This means that Joe is going to get to sleep like a normal person for the first time in many, many years. It also means that Joe's voice will no longer convey the first spoken words to greet me at 7:30 in the morning. His show had the highest common denominator approach of any morning rock show I've heard. Unfortunately, the station is handing those reigns over to yet another "morning maniac," which means that Rockin' Rave will now be waking up to classical.
For Madison readers, I'm looking forward to WSUM-Madison's annual Party in the Park this Saturday (4/24), which will be followed by my second "Return of Rave" radio show Sunday night (the 25th) at 11:00. As always, I welcome your input. Please make sure "raves" is in the subject line to avoid your message being deleted as suspected spam. Enjoy your spring, and I hope you take advantage of every opportunity to...