Showing posts with label 90s. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 90s. Show all posts

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Musical Moments: laughing gas and the Crash Test Dummies


The 90s were awesome, weren't they?

Since I just spent 4 hours at the dentist this morning, I feel the urge to share.

You know how certain songs can remind you of a specific moment in your life? Well the Crash Test Dummies' "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" reminds me of getting high on laughing gas during oral surgery in high school.

Sparing you the gory details, I had a canine in an odd place and it needed to be attached to a chain and slowly pulled to its current position.

My oral surgeon Dr. Hertz (I'm not making that up) suggested bringing in some music to listen to while he performed surgery on my pie hole. I selected a mix I had made for the car (I loved my cassette mixes).

By the time the laughing gas set in, I was on the third song, "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by the Crash Test Dummies, a song about freak children with embarrassing secrets.

Being that this was definitely the first time I had ever been "high," I remember specifically some of the bizarre things that passed through my mind, like thinking that I was inside a duck head: my feet at the bill and my eyes peering through the duck eyes. I also remember giving a little shout (in my head) when my short, hairy, bad-breathed orthodontist Dr. Collins walked through the door to contribute to the surgery. I had forgotten that he was stopping by and his presence startled me.

So now and forever more, whenever I hear that weirdo Canadian song from the 90s "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" and that deep, low voice, I will think of being totally off-my-nut high in the oral surgeon's chair.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Film Reviews from Noise Pop 2011: 'This is Noise Pop' and 'The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of José Gonzalez'

Bob Mould: interviewed in This is Noise Pop (photo BayTapper.com)

San Francisco Music Festival Noise Pop 2011 is on this week and I checked out a couple films this evening.

The first This is Noise Pop tried to answer the question: What is indie rock? Featuring folks like Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, James Mercer of the Shins, Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü and more.

Read my review of This is Noise Pop

The second was a more meandering film called The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of José Gonzalez that follows Gonzalez into the studio and on tour. It features charming moments of humor, frustration, intimacy and animation. Plus, the music is gorgeous and there is some nose-picking.

Read my review of The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of José

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Photo essay and retrospective of Queensryche's show at the Fillmore

I know, I know, this report is months overdue, but I figure better late than never. And since these pictures are pretty good for what I can do with my little Canon Power Shot, I wanted to share them with you.

I am not embarassed to say that I am a Queensrÿche fan. Even though I mostly listened to classic rock and 60s folk rock in high school, something about Queensrÿche's album Empire grabbed me in the early 90s. My older brother gave me his tape and CD because he was soooo over it. But I listened over and over and over. Was it Geoff Tate's insane soaring vocals? Was it the intricate arrangements and guitar lines? What about their unabashed political statements? As a girl whose music tastes were somehow stuck in the 60s, this strange world of Seattle progressive metal was bizarrely appealing to me.

In 2004 Queensrÿche toured through Austin, Texas (where I lived at the time) performing their rock opera Operation: Mindrime. I jumped at a ticket. Yes it was expensive and I went alone since I couldn't persuade anyone else to go with me.

"Queensrÿche? You like them?" people would say.

Yes, I'm crazy. The fans were fascinating, especially these Texan fans. I've never seen so much faux-leather spandex in my life. Metal fans are awesome and the music was not disappointing. The guitars sounded great and Geoff Tate sounded better than ever. This is what singing is all about.

Queensrÿche came through Austin again in 2007 peforming both Operation: Mindrime I and II with theater sets, costumes and props. By then I had met a friend curious enough to come with me and we had a great time.

I saw that Queensrÿche was playing the Fillmore at the beginning of June and I jumped at this show too. They have a fascinating new album out called American Soldier based on recorded interviews conducted by lead singer Geoff Tate with men and woman who have served our country. It was inspired by Tate's father who served in Korea and in Vietnam. Tate told the Fillmore audience that his father never liked talking about his wartime experiences but got him to talk in an interview. This album is not an anti-war album, it's a pro-soldier album.

Tate stated that Queensrÿche has many fans in the armed forces and appreciates what they've done for the United States and "allow us to live the way we live." Earlier this spring they scheduled Military Base Signings open to service men and women only.

These are snippets of Tates's stage banter and photos from the Queensrÿche San Francisco show at the Fillmore on June 4th, 2009.

A highlight of the show was this moment when Tate's stunning 11-year-old daughter Emily joined her father on stage for "Home Again" a song about a series of letters between a father at war and the daughter missing him.


"Vietnam veterans came home to a very divided country. They were called 'baby killers' and people spat in their faces. We've come a long way since then."


"The album Empire is about the war on drugs. [Since the song was written 20 years ago] the money spent on this war as quadrupled. It's obvious that we don't need more money, we need new ideas."


Tate reminised about listening to Queensrÿche on vinyl records and appealed to Bay Area mentality. The audience cheered.

"Are cheering because you like vinyl?" he asked "You mean you like the idea of people being made to sit and actually listen to music? Wow. I'm giddy. The record industy must have it wrong (with mp3s)."



After the show I had the honor of meeting the band. They signed my ticket stub! Check out the the wall of Fillmore posters in the back.

Geoff Tate and me

with guitarist Michael Wilton

Sunday, June 7, 2009

An a cappella arrangement of Heart's "All I Want to Do is Make Love to You"

This morning I sang at a recording session for a demo of Heart's "All I Want to Do is Make Love to You" in 4-part harmony. Do you remember this from 1990?  A film director in LA wants to put this tune in her movie with an all female a cappella group and hired a guy I know in San Francisco (same guy who did the "Good Night Bush" arrangement) to arrange it for her. He wanted to put a quick demo together for her so that she could get an idea of what it would sound like.

Imagine a 4-part a cappella arrangement of this song. The best line is:
So we found this hotel, it was a place I knew well.
It was hard not to bust out laughing during the recording session... oh wait, I did, several times. It was so fun.

Check out Ann Wilson's outfit and Nancy' Wilson's moves. The hair is pretty awesome too.


Monday, March 9, 2009

Barenaked Ladies: "Lovers at a Dangerous Time" circa 1991, I miss this band


This band is so cute. Some day soon I'll post the photo of when I met them at a meet-and-greet at the Taste of Chicago in 1997. I'd never heard about them, but my boyfriend at the time was a huge fan and insisted on going.

The Ladies cracked me up and signed my new copy of "Rock Spectacle".

We, at Always More to Hear, love Canadians.

This is a cover of "Lovers at a Dangerous Time" by Canadian singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn. Wow, the early 90s were awesome. Check out the hair and the tapered jeans.

click here:

Thanks for passing this on Dave!