Posts Tagged ‘Rock & Roll’
Michael Jackson: The Memorial
There’s so much to be said about today’s Michael Jackson Memorial. But the chorus of pundits, critics and sycophants is at fever pitch. Three things, then. It was difficult to take in the once-in-a-lifetime event as a fan or even a regular member of American culture. I was in the back row of the MTV…
Read MoreLife & Death In The Magical Kingdom
I left the office at 7:15 last night. The sun was still casting its golden light across the Hudson. After five days of Michael Jackson coverage, it felt like a half day. I stopped at the grocery store on my way home and, inspired by the sight of fresh limes (on sale, natch), resolved to…
Read MoreBlack Or White – MP3
From the moment the Michael Jackson story broke Thursday night, just one song has been on my mind. I appreciate that most would cite “Beat It,” “Billie Jean,” or “Thriller” as Michael’s finest pop song, and they may well be right; they’re great songs with great hooks. But it’s Jackson’s 1991 “Dangerous” single, “Black or…
Read MoreBreaking The News: Michael Jackson
Sadly, breaking news doesn’t surprises me much anymore. It is immediately what it is. I was in a seventeenth floor corner office overlooking Times Square on a conference call with a blogger from VH1’s Best Week Ever (of all media entities) when I heard the news. “Michael Jackson had a heart attack.” Now, I was…
Read MoreHit Hard
Such is my rock bio jones that, not only was I the only person in the office to grab a copy (an unproofed gally, natch) of Joey Kramer’s “Hit Hard” out of the mailroom, but surely the only to read the Aerosmith drummer’s tale of drug addiction and recovery in a measly 24 hours. Listen,…
Read MoreMy American Idols
I shuttled between mixing “Feels Like Home” in my bedroom studio and “American Idol” on my living room flat screen tonight. I caught Black Eyed Peas “performance” (freaky nails, Fergie), Cyndi Lauper and Allison Iraheta’s “Time After Time (like the pants, Cyndi, but not nearly as deep as Tiff and my version), Rod Stewart’s “Maggie…
Read MoreThings To Text In Denver When You’re Bored
I spent this afternoon tracking vocals on my cover of The Nadas “Feels Like Home” for the band’s forthcoming tribute record. I don’t know what I was thinking. Mike Butterworth hits a superhuman high note in the chorus, one I can only nail consistently in falsetto. I’ve seen him hit higher notes on a radio…
Read MoreLove In The Time Of H1N1
One never knows how a four o’clock rock show is going to turn out. We’re not talking the Iowa State Fair here. We’re talking New York City on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Ends up it’s one heck of a time to rock. Chris Abad and I booked the show months ago not because four o’clock…
Read MoreSerious Business
Used to be, I thought that rock bands solely made records like The Rolling Stones, Warren Zevon or Guns ‘N Roses: late at night, loaded with gin, and stuffed with amphetamines. And maybe some still do. What’s more, I held some sort of anxious romance for the studio, like the magic there is intangible, elusive…
Read MoreFeels Like Home
Oh man, wait until The Nadas get a load of this. At one point in tonight’s rehearsal, I said to the guys, “You know this is The Official Song Of The City Of Des Moines™, right?” But let me back up… My name is Benjamin Wagner. By day, I am a middle manager for a…
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