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!
November 2004
***RAVE'S RAVES #21.1***
RAVE'S FAVES (on the air since #21)
Velvet Revolver ("Machine"), U2, Green Day (various), Flogging Molly (various), Elefant, Keane, My Chemical Romance, Social Distortion, Dogs Die in Hot Cars.
With their new single, U2 has again shown an amazing knack for hitting the pocket perfectly. Velvet Revolver's "Big Machine" is getting some L.A. play and is my top current track. Flogging Molly is just plain fun, while Elefant's "Misfit" sure sounds like a radio tune to me. It's taken awhile, but the Keane song has now become a fave and is finally breaking nationally. My Chemical Romance is yet another popular band who cite Iron Maiden influences. They say they'd like to tour with the guys, and their "I'm Not Okay" radio tune/video has grown on me as well. Dogs Die in Hot Cars has a fun track called "I Love You Because I Have To" that is highly retro and hooky in the vein of The Killers' "Somebody Told Me." I like the little bit I've heard from Le Tigre's third release, and I want to hear more. The Green Day CD actually turned out to be even better than the hot pre-release buzz. Brian Wilson's "Smile" is another CD that is a highlight of 2004.
ACTIVISM IN ROCK
As it has turned out, 9/11 didn't really bring much activism to rock lyrics and concerts — it was the prospect of a Bush reelection that finally got things moving. Effective as this political wave in music appeared that it would be, 18-29 year olds still didn't vote in the desired numbers. It will take more than just a couple months to inspire younger rockers to the point where going to the polls becomes a priority for more of them. The "moral values" people worked their crowd for many years before getting them to the point where they made the difference in the last two Presidential elections. I never thought I'd be as supportive of Eminem's lyrics(of all people) as I was when I heard his "Mosh" and saw the video.
LIVE
On September 26, I awoke in Madison at an ungodly hour to catch flights that would guarantee my return to L.A. in time for Air's early evening Hollywood Bowl performance in front of an orchestra. The show was worth that pre-dawn pain, as the guys thrilled the sold out crowd. It was their debut adventure with an orchestra, and most of the parts worked quite well. The show was pretty mellow, but when Air wanted to rock, they didn't mess around. The same can be said for when they elected to create a dance club effect ("Sexy Boys"). Stereolab preceded them and only seemed to impress about half of the house. They're an acquired taste and don't do much for me. England's Libertines did a good job at the Henry Fonda, especially considering that singer Peter Dougherty wasn't with them. They are fun and energetic, although the set started to blend together after awhile. Radio 4 opened. They don't have a visual thing going for them, but they're good, precise players with good songs. I like their album.
80'S COLLEAGUES
Duran Duran have received strong reviews for their "Astronaut" album. It has done reasonably well up to this point and their upcoming tour should provide a huge boost. I'm not always a fan of VH-1's editing prowess, which seems to target the lower common denominators more and more. However, I feel they did a great job on The Motels' "Bands Reunited" program. The show captured them well, and it seems the band were pleased. "Getting the Knack," the nicely-produced story of The Knack, is now available on DVD in music stores and Internet sites. I'm hoping that it will be shown on VH-1 Classic, as it is perfect for the channel and it's a must for fans of the band.
...and...
The "Dig" documentary has gotten strong reviews from movie critics and is well-done. I'm not sure music biz insiders will enjoy it as much, as many have already seen much of that self-destructive behavior by musicians. As a big fan of the Dandy Warhols, I wish the film had spent more time on their career. But they're more normal, and normalcy usually doesn't sell movie tickets... I had a blast doing my two "Return of Rave" shows this fall on WSUM-FM in Madison at the University of Wisconsin. It seems that my four shows have been well-received, and I loved the super feedback from some "Raves" readers. Thanks to station GM Dave Black and the others for their hospitality. I'll be back on the air during my next visit in late April. Isn't it cool that as an L.A. dude, I'm again doing college radio in Madison, where my music career began? Life sure takes interesting turns.
...and...
So that does it until mid-December, when the final "Raves" of the year will list my annual Top Five. I always enjoy feedback from my readers and hope you'll write. Please mention "Raves" in the subject line to ensure that your message gets read! Have a good T-Giv. Until I'm back in touch...
RAVE ON!!!
August 2004
***RAVE'S RAVES #21***
RAVE'S FAVES (on the air)
The Killers ("Somebody," "Brightside"), Franz Ferdinand (various), Secret Machines, Muse ("Time," "Hysteria"), Bad Religion ("Burning," "Empire"), Green Day, Hives ("Idiot," "Bones), Duran Duran, Scissor Sisters, Air ("Surfin"), Ambulance, Jet ("DJ"), Radio 4.
The Killers are breaking wide open, and the buzz on their entire CD is very strong. Franz have passed gold as radio loves them and people consistently rave about their live shows. Secret Machines and Ambulance have cool tracks that are gaining in video channel and radio play. A second Muse hit will hopefully begin to increase sales for them. Green Day sound like a new band again, and I hear their upcoming album is more of the same. While the Scissor Sisters are an immediate cult act in their native U.S.A., they immediately hit #1 in the U.K. and are blowing up all over Europe with their interesting new CD and tours. I don't know a whole lot about Radio 4, but they have a danceable rock tune just hitting the airwaves.
Speaking of CD's, Velvet Revolver made a great rock record, most of which I like much better than their mellower second single. Honorable mentions go to Walkmen, Interpol, Sum 41 and Snow Patrol ("Run") songs. Kudos to L.A.'s legendary and influential KROQ for playing all of these, as well as most of the faves listed above. Interpol's new single "Slow Hand" isn't necessarily one of their best, but I'm amazed that KROQ is playing it out of the box. Sum's new single brings them closer to their heavy metal roots. Linkin Park came up with a great melody and have the most played rock song in the country. As of this posting, Social Distortion's hot new song is #1 requested at KROQ while Marilyn Manson's cover of "Personal Jesus" is #2.
The Hives
For me, their new tour and CD were among the two or three most anticipated events of 2004. I like the new CD, and it's an improvement song for song. Hopefully "Bones" or another tune will be a second hit this time around. The record feels rushed and some of the passion from their initial release is missing. Ditto for their live act at L.A.'s Henry Fonda Theatre. Howlin' Pelle Almqvist is as good as advertised and the guys are great. Still, their "we're a great band" schtick gets old because it continues all night. Like the second album, there's the feeling that they're in too much of a rush to get through the set. It was quite a good show, but I was hoping for a "9" or a "10." Spin Magazine calls them "the best live band on the planet." I continue to maintain that these guys can be huge, especially since Almqvist can be a prince to the young girls. This round seems basically like a step sideways for them and CD sales have been disappointing. Let's hope the third time is the charm.
LIVE
Opening for The Hives were Sweden's Sahara Hotnights. Their set was just okay and they seem to be better in the studio. (See The Hives review above.) Meanwhile, The Knack have dates around the country and just conquered the crowd at L.A.'s Canyon Club with their usual splendid gig.
80'S COLLEAGUES
Duran Duran's "Sunrise" is out as their new single after it originally appeared on the "Queer Eye" soundtrack. I believe it was remixed and it sounds great on the radio. It's currently #1 requested at L.A's Star 98.7. From what I've heard of three other album tracks, it sounds like the lads have done exactly what I was hoping they'd do — merging electronic music with those positive melodies they were so good at writing. As lead singer Simon LeBon put it, it's a combination of Kraftwerk with the Mamas & Papas. Weird Al, The Motels and Missing Persons are also active this summer, and Kraftwerk have played some festival dates. The Motels' "Bands Reunited" episode premiers Friday September 10th on VH-1. Check your listings to catch one of its many airings.
...and...
As you know, mainstream rockers tend to be very secondary when it comes to these Raves. If you're a regular reader, you probably agree that most of the true rock excitement is coming from the indie side. Alternative radio has slowly become more accepting and much more fun, while Fuse is helping on the video side. On the other hand, the nice, moderately-known emo band Taking Back Sunday just debuted at #3 nationally with their second CD that sold 220,000 copies in its first two weeks of release. It shows how far newer rock has to go. Let's hope that people like Jet and Franz Ferdinand will come up with stellar second efforts. As we keep saying, it all comes down to freshness and the songs... For my eyes, the best rag by far for indie rock is the U.K.'s "NME." It's at major newsstands, and you can also check out the website at www.nme.com... Finally, I'm doing two "Return of Rave" radio shows on Madison, Wisconsin's WSUM-FM. Mad-Town people can hear me Friday, September 24th from 10-midnight and at the same time on Friday, October 22nd. If the station resumes Internet streaming, I'll update this column to keep you informed.
Any input from you is welcome as always. Make sure you put "Raves" in the subject line to avoid the probability of being deleted as suspected spam. Raves 21.1 will be out in two months. Until then,