Got one!
Drove down to Bloomington, IL, on Friday afternoon and picked it up Saturday Morning on Record Store Day at Reckless Saint Records.
Not that all of this happened without incident ...
Sure enough, Friday Night Bloomington got hit with a tornado!!! Extensive damage and power outages ... so I EARNED this one! (lol) [Seriously, the weather has been SO bad here lately ... going into our third week of dangerous and treacherous storms ... but fortunately we have survived them all so far] ... but Friday Night was pretty darn scary. (kk)
Tom Cuddy sent us this article from Billboard, featuring an interview with John Sykes, The Chairman of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, in which he discusses some of the surprises, some of the snubs and some of the goals of The Rock Hall moving forward.
By his own admission ... and in his own words ... Sykes says The Rock Hall is “still playing catch-up,” which is why so many inductees were selected this year under his directive. (As we all know, there’s still a WHOLE lot of additional catching up that needs to be done ... but it's nice to know that they recognize this!)
It's an interesting read as Sykes says that even he was surprised to see that Mariah Carey did not make this year's list of inductees ... especially since this was her third time on the ballot. (Interesting, too, that during the course of his interview, he mentioned that Mariah has written eighteen #1 songs ... a surprising consideration perspective in light of our recent discussion of Linda Creed’s selection this year.)
Mariah, of course, belongs in the “Performer” category as she was truly like no other … but as we’ve also seen in the past, once an artist is overlooked enough times, The Rock Hall simply moves them into a different category so they can justify their inclusion.
With Chubby Checker’s induction last year, I was hopeful that more 1st Generation Rock Artists might start to make the cut … but Sykes ALSO points out during his interview that he doesn’t want it to become an “Old People’s Hall Of Fame.” Guess that’s why an artist like Joy Division (an immediate "Who?!?!" from most observers) deserves more recognition in their eyes than acts like our previously mentioned, proven, tried and true Guess Who, Paul Anka and Neil Sedaka. (kk)
So he says, "We need to catch up." Yes, they do but that's not accomplished by inducting non rock n roll artists. I love Sade and listen to her music often ... but she is not rock n roll. Of course, neither are all of the rap artists who have been inducted. Rock n Roll has its roots in blues and country music. I can see those artists being included, but the definition of this art form has been terribly contorted.
Thank you for reading my daily rant!
Joe Montalto
As I've been saying for a long time, he needs to go visit The Country Music Hall of Fame. They really understand how to properly honor their history.
Mark
I have come to accept quality-worthy Rap Artists being inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame because these artists have helped take rock and roll in a new and different direction ... even if I don't personally care for the genre myself. (Let's face it ... rock and roll itself is rhythm and blues based ... and this just happens to be where that music has developed over the years. There's no denying it ... rap and hip-hop have been with us for a good 35-40 years now ... it isn't going anywhere so we might as well accept it as a new rock form.) But that being said, there is still SO much "unfinished business" to be done in the way of honoring many of the OTHER overlooked artists who ALSO deserve their spot in The Rock Hall for THEIR contributions along the way before they're forgotten altogether. (kk)
Tom also sent us this piece about a very special 90 minute show that Paul McCartney did in Los Angeles last Thursday (April 16th) before a select audience of 30 fans, during which he played each track from his new album and then told the story and inspiration behind each one.
Billboard recapped the whole thing (which unfortunately doesn't hold anywhere near as much power for the reader in that WE can't hear these songs ourselves until May 29th) ...
But still it was a very nice and special gesture.
(As for me, I'm printing out Macca's comments so that I can have them beside me when I give the new LP my first listen.)
Billboard says the album overall is "delightfully Beatle-esque in terms of melodies, instrumentation, bold tempo and stylistic changes and, of course, McCartney’s vocals, which sound by turns sturdy and robust and then delicate and vulnerable."
Producer Andrew Watt stressed again that for the most part, (other than the strings and orchestration), McCartney played all the instruments himself on the album, including drums … "though he got a very able assist from Ringo Starr on one track."
Looking forward to hearing it! (kk)
https://share.google/Rr9auzbh1XtDNarL7
All kidding aside, isn't enough enough already?!?!
KISS have announced that they're getting back together AGAIN (what is this, the THIRD time since the played their final, farewell show a couple of years ago?!?!) How can ANYONE take them seriously anymore?!?!?
But sure enough, the legendary band will perform unmasked again for the Official 2026 KISS Kruise in Last Vegas, November 13th - 15th, at the Virgin Hotel.
Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer will perform TWO shows, just like they did a KISS Kruise last year ... only this time, fans won't be on a boat ... they'll be at The Virgin Hotel in Vegas. More ticket information to come (for anyone crazy enough to fall for this again!) kk
Here's an interesting back story you may not be aware of ...
Best Classic Bands tells this tale of Felix Pappalardi ... producer of Cream and Mountain ...
Also from Tom Cuddy ...
This "Last Man Standing" article about Lee Loughnane of Chicago ... what an incredible career he's had.
Chicago's Trumpet Player Lee Loughnane on Outlasting His Bandmates: Rolling Stone Magazine
In case this has missed you — Craig Krampf passed away Friday in Nashville. He was the drummer with The Robbs first, then went on to play on plenty of rock classics through the years. He loved to tell the story about The Robbs winning the Battle Of The Bands and becoming part of Where The Action Is. He was just a super-nice guy.
David Lewis
No, I had not heard this ... thank you for letting us know. (kk)
[Craig had HUNDREDS of studio credits over the years and performed with everyone from Alice Cooper to Kim Carnes to Flo and Eddie to The Hudson Brothers! He was also one of the co-writers of the Top Three Steve Perry hit "Oh Sherrie." -kk]
And Chuck Buell proves that I'm not the only one who can't dance ...
Well, since Trump is such an obvious fan of AI and is constantly reminding us about his great sense of humor and personal little jokes, he shouldn't mind this one at all, right??? (kk)
