Little Steven

Little Steven (Van Zandt) believes that rock 'n' roll is a continuum from the early 1950s onwards and that it is artificial and counter-productive to segregate music by the decade it was created. So Little Steven's Underground Garage presents music from every decade since the beginnings of rock 'n' roll in the early 1950's to the present day. You'll hear tracks from rock pioneers such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis Presley juxtaposed with records by present-day garage bands - and multiple artists from the four decades between every Sunday night from 9PM-11PM on 105.7 The Hawk, Jersey's Home Of Classic Rock

 

Read Little Steven's cover story in the August issue of
Music Connection by clicking here.

Click here and read a story from the Los Angeles Times about the final Sopranos.

Little Steven's Billboard Magazine Column

Saturday, August 11

We talked about this coming some months ago, and now the British government has rejected all attempts at reason and decided not to extend copyright laws for sound recordings beyond 50 years.

The law apparently has always been there, but the fact that Cliff Richard's "Move It," considered by many to be the first home-grown English rock'n'roll record, is suddenly facing royalty extinction has brought the issue to everyone's attention.

This completely arbitrary bit of insanity doesn't seem to apply to songwriters, thank God, but it does stop all U.K. royalties to performers, producers and record companies once the 50-year period is up.

Knowing Europe, the law could originally have been enacted in the 11th century when life expectancy was about 45 and no one cared about the estates of those first goth bands. But that still doesn't excuse it.

The British government's reasoning, and I use the term loosely, is that the law doesn't affect the majority of performers and could lead to increased costs.

Wha? Er, yeah, it affects each record separately as the 50 years end so it will obviously never affect the majority all at once. And yes, giving away the records for free is a decreased cost for the consumer, alright. No doubt about that.

Nothing to fear but fear itself, eh?

Surely stupidity itself should get second-place money at least.

The last time I looked, I'd thought we'd won the Cold War, but maybe those sneaky Commies lost the battle and won the war after all? I know England has a new leader—who's his hero, Chairman Mao?

Who says 50 years should be the limit one can own one's work?

Why should a copyright ever run out?

Or maybe after 100 years or so all copyrights should be donated to a fund to pay living and medical expenses for older artists, musicians, arrangers, producers and engineers.

And why especially should the copyright run out just as downloading might earn some of our elders a few extra shekels?

And the company's investment? Too bad, chumps.

Yes, bureaucrats, paying for a record is more expensive than not paying, you've got me there. But stealing someone's work and giving it away is still called theft in New Jersey.

I just want to know when exactly everyone seems to have lost their freaking minds.

See you on the radio.

Coolest Garage Songs

 1. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club                          “Lien on your Dreams”
2.  Grip Weeds                                                              “Salad Days”
 3.  The Red Button                                                        “Cruel Girl”
 4.  Sisely & The Safety Pin-ups                                       “Do The Robot”
 5.  The Actual                                                               “Lindsay Never Gets Lonely”
 6.  Mooney Suzuki                                                         “99%”
 7.  The Hentchmen                                                        “Some Other Guy”
 8.  Black Tie Revue                                                        “Code Fun”
 9.  The Shake                                                               “She’s My Girl”
10.  Len Price 3                                                              “Rentacrowd”

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Die, Greedy Swine! Die! Die!

When we last tuned in, pun intended, our stalwart record companies had completely given up on the idea of actually making great records people might want to buy, and had instead decided to charge radio stations for having the audacity to broadcast their records over the airwaves willy nilly so that even the unwashed unsubscribed could hear them.

Now it's the rights societies turn to go after those thieving huckleberries who run nightclubs, coffee shops, restaurants and hair salons.

And don't think for a minute you sneaking, sniveling dentists are safe either. It'll take more than laughing gas to save your ass.

The license fee in Australian nightclubs playing records just went from 7 Aussie cents per customer to $1.05—and if there is dancing, from 20 cents to $3.07 per person.

Just in case you're thinking that might bode well for live music, think again, my friend. Performance rights organizations are now going after coffee shops where folk duos play to 50 people.

In Canada the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers is going after barbers, hairdressers and, yes, dentists who play music of any kind that their customers can hear.

Have you had enough yet? No?

OK, just one more, then we can all go back to denial.

A restaurant in Florida was contacted by a company that said it had to pay a license fee for music or it would be fined.

"But we don't play music," the conniving scoundrel claimed.

"You broadcast 'Monday Night Football' don't you?" our protector and saviour asked.

"Yeah, so what?"

"We own the rights to Hank Williams Jr.'s 'Are You Ready for Some Football,' and you're broadcasting it."

Long pause. Looking for the Candid Camera, no doubt.

"I'll tell you what," the former New Jerseyan restaurant guy says. "Next Monday, when Hank comes on, I'll turn the sound down."

Click.

See you on the radio.

Coolest Garage Songs This Week

 1.  The Grip Weeds                           “Salad Days”
2.  The Red Button                             “Cruel Girl”
 3.  Sisely & The Safety Pin-Ups        “Do The Robot”
 4.  The Actual                                     “Lindsay Never Gets Lonely”
 5.  The Mooney Suzuki                      “99%”
 6.  The Hentchmen                            “Some Other Guy”
 7.  Black Tie Revue                            “Code Fun”
 8.  The Shake                                     “She’s My Girl”
 9.  The Len Price 3                            “Rentacrowd”
10. Foo Fighters                                  “Danny Says”

Saturday, July 28

So there I was at E3 2007 having my analog mind blown every five minutes by the sheer size of the new cyber universe, and feeling like a drugless but equally high Hunter Thompson in Las Vegas, since the last videogame I mastered was "Pong."

E3 being the Electronic Entertainment Expo, held in Santa Monica, Calif., this year with 33 of the world's top designers, 3,000 journalists and the future of humankind at stake. The event had been getting out of control so they cut the attendance from the usual 60,000-70,000 (!) to less than 5,000. So I lucked out with that decision.

Electronic Arts (publisher), Harmonix (designer) and MTV Games (distributor) asked me to chair the music advisory board of their new game "Rock Band," and to everyone's surprise, I said "yes." So I went out to visit my new world.

Why, might you ask, would I endorse a game? Well, the obvious answer is for the money—but, tragically, that's not the case here.

Games like "Rock Band" are not only fun but, would you believe, important. It is one of the places rock'n'roll history is going to live. I know how silly that sounds to my old-school paisan out there. But it's time to start asking ourselves, Where is our legacy going to be preserved?

The Web, thankfully, is one place. We're working on a rock curriculum for high schools, but if that is approved tomorrow it's still a year or two away from implementation.

So right now games are where it's at.

"Rock Band" was created by Harmonix, which also created last year's sensation, "Guitar Hero." I ran into Slash, who told me he's actually in "Guitar Hero III," so I'm not the only road dog with arrested development.

"Rock Band" adds drums, bass and singing, along with the guitar controller, making it playable by four friends, an entire family or four players in four different countries. How cool is that?

Will it cause more young kids to want to be musicians? Absolutely.

Will it turn kids on to rock'n'roll songs they have limited access to? Absolutely. But that's not all.

"Rock Band" and any game using music will be a life preserver of new revenue to our drowning music industry desperately trying to find dry land.

More important, it will be revenue for new artists and writers, whose existence is being eliminated by subscription royalties and by radio suddenly being asked to pay for the privilege of broadcasting records. In other words, "Rock Band" is right on time.

Now if anyone happens to have an old "Pac-Man" in their basement, invite me over and I will kick your ass!

See you on the radio.

Coolest Garage Songs for this Week

 1.  The Red Button                      “Cruel Girl”
2.  Sisely & the Safety Pin-Ups      “Do The Robot”
 3.  The Actual                            “Lindsay Never Gets Lonely”
 4.  The Mooney Suzuki                 “99%”
 5.  The Hentchmen                      “Some Other Guy”
 6.  Black Tie Revue                      “Code Fun”
 7.  The Shake                            “She’s My Girl”
 8.  The Len Price 3                      “Rentacrowd”
 9.  Foo Fighters                          “Danny Says”
10. The Breakers                          “Dance the Go-Go”

 

July 21, 2007

As even the slowest of us start to realize there will be no getting out of this permanently bad economy, that it isn't a cycle or a temporary blip, we will begin to see the last vestiges of reason, logic, pride, quality, integrity and dignity fly out the window.

Of course few of us will notice since most of those things have been systematically compromised, trivialized and marginalized by our corporate elite, and Lord knows our government, for quite some time and live on in our culture exclusively in disparate groups that by now must resemble religious cults and pitifully handicapped social niches.

The latest evidence of this sad loss of logic, pride and integrity comes in the form of a feverish obsession by virtually everyone to make all those greedy, evil radio stations pay for the privilege of playing our precious records.

How dare they!

The free dance is over, buddy, it's time to pay the piper!

It's perfectly obvious that this has been the problem with the record industry all along.

Too much damn airplay!

And now that we've figured out that radio is the enemy, we're going to need a spokesman to voice our feelings and calm the outraged millions of customers who are angry and embarrassed at having been hoodwinked into foolishly buying records simply because they heard the song on the radio. And ladies and gentlemen—right on cue—here he is:

University of Texas at Dallas economics professor Stan Liebowitz, who argues that radio "acts as a substitute for music sales. If they weren't listening to the radio in their cars," he opines, "they might buy more CDs."

What else is he teaching those lucky kids in Dallas? That those oil wells out the window are the real keys to the greening of America?

With all due respect, professor, why will everyone be buying these CDs, or downloading or whatever? Because they like the artwork?

We have talked about, right here, the new ways people hear music and its significance especially for young bands: ads, videogames, TV, movies, ringtones, car horns, whatever.

But can any sane human being think all that can ever replace a great radio station?

Could it be that the professor has forgotten, or is too young to know, that there would be no record industry without radio?

Does anyone think it's a coincidence that ever since radio has been playing less and less new music, new music sales have gone down? And now we want to make it less profitable for radio to support new music?

I am a songwriter and a performer and I own record companies and publishing companies and I do not believe radio should pay anything to anyone. And I mean every kind of radio.

Let me go further and say anyone performing a song on TV or in a movie in a concert context shouldn't have to ask permission to do it or pay anyone either.

Soundtracks? Yes, that's different. Videogames? Yes. Ads? Yes.

But radio stations and concert performers shouldn't have to pay for promoting our music and helping us sell it. Radio is the greatest thing that ever happened to us all, not counting Les Paul sticking that pickup on his guitar—which also worked out quite well.

The record industry, the publishers and our government should be doing everything possible to help radio, old and new, and start treating it like the national treasure it is instead of trying to kill the golden goose that's carried everyone for 60 years.

And as for you economics professors, how about you spend some time figuring out why the value of the dollar is worthless and leave the music stuff to us?

See you on the radio.

 

July 14, 2007

Two quick observations, if I may.

First, Larry King did not call Ringo Starr the wrong name of George as he has been ruthlessly and relentlessly accused. I've seen it three times now and what he said was, to Paul McCartney, "Where were you when John [Lennon] passed?" McCartney answers, and then King says to Starr, "And [with] George [Harrison], where were you?" In other words: "And when George passed, where were you, Ringo?" So give King a break and don't make me translate from Brooklyn-ese ever again.

And in a related story . . .

When did the drug dealers take over TV?

Is this some ironic, cynical, anti-tribute to the anniversary of the Summer of Love? Only this time instead of illegal drugs that probably shouldn't be, it's all about legal drugs that probably shouldn't be.

Celebrex, Enablex, Requip, Unisom, Plavix, Vytorin, Activon, Crestor, Lipitor, Zocor, Pravachol, Mevacor, Atocor, Lescol and of course, Viagra.

And that's just one "Larry King Show."

Taken for arthritis pain, prostate health, blood clots, stroke, sleeping, not sleeping, good cholesterol, bad cholesterol, creepy crawly restless leg syndrome and of course, sex to the max—OK, the last one we got no problem with—but how about those warnings?

May cause indigestion, abdominal pain, nausea, sleeplessness, drowsiness, blurred vision, fainting, vomiting, dizziness, unexplained muscle pain, fever or flu-like symptoms, severe muscular degeneration, blinding headaches, trouble swallowing, trouble speaking and nerve damage, and seek medical assistance if erection lasts more than four hours. Oh!

OK, I got no problem with that last one—but if I hit four hours, I'm not seekingmedical attention. I'm calling my high school girlfriend to complete some unfinished business—or the Guinness Book of World Records, whoever answers first.

See you on the radio.

This Week’s Coolest Garage Rock Songs

Coolest Song in the World This Week

1. The Actual “Lindsay Never Gets Lonely”
2. The Mooney Suzuki “99%”
3. The Hentchmen “Some Other Guy”
4. Black Tie Revue “Code Fun”
5. The Shake “She’s My Girl”
6. Len Price 3 “Rentacrowd”
7. Foo Fighters “Danny Says”
8. The Breakers “Dance the Go-Go”
9. White Stripes “Icky Thump”
10. The Contrast “Believe”

July 07, 2007

Three-piece bands are a fraud. The minimum amount of instruments required for a rock'n'roll band is four.

It wouldn't matter so much if it wasn't symptomatic of a larger cultural fraud infecting us everywhere—government, business, entertainment, religion, you name it. Wherever we can we're delivering less, expecting less, learning less, teaching less, doing less, thinking less, being less, becoming less.

We're getting away with it. Isn't that what life is all about? Give them less, who's going to notice? Who's going to care? They're probably doing the same thing. They don't know any better. Go ahead, compare us to the competition.

Pay people less and keep more for yourself. If they don't like it, there are plenty more in line waiting for the job.

Make it quickly and cash out, right? To where? Having accomplished what? Having contributed what? There is no longer an example that exists in daily life that would prompt someone to even ask those questions.

Shorthand, short cuts, text me, I'll text you. Cliff Notes is now the long, full-length version.

The Ramones worked because there were no solos. The Who worked because no one played their instruments the way those three did.

We were awestruck by the guitar playing of Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix, so they got away with it, but even they got bored with naked virtuosity by the end of the '60s.

I saw Cream the other day and it didn't work. Clapton was playing magnificently, in spite of not wanting to be there. Without chords under his solos they became well-crafted notes adrift in a vacuum—no context, no contrast, no texture, and ultimately, no meaning.

About half of what U2 does works because of the Edge's unique echo style; for the rest, they wisely play tapes.

Green Day wisely tours with a fourth instrument.

Are you overdubbing a fourth instrument to make the songs more fully realized musically than playing live with three? Giving the audience an outline? They can fill in the emotional blank spaces themselves, right? Are you making more money in the short run this way?

Of course you are. You're a fraud.

See you on the radio.

TOP 10 COOLEST GARAGE SONGS

1. The Mooney Suzuki “99%” (coolest song in the world this week)
2. The Hentchmen “Some Other Guy”
3. Black Tie Revue “Code Fun”
4. The Shake “She’s My Girl”
5. Len Price 3 “Rentacrowd”
6. Foo Fighters “Danny Says”
7. The Breakers “Dance the Go-Go”
8. White Stripes “Icky Thump”
9. The Contrast “Believe”
10. Peachfuzz “Her of Nineteen Eighty-Three”

June 30, 2007

Somewhere in the earliest part of the 21st century, it became obvious that a profound paradigm shift had taken place in the relationship of rock'n'roll and music licensing. With the end of the rock era (1965-1994) the rules began changing just as fast as the technology.

During the height of the rock era, if one of your songs was used in a TV commercial, your career was on the way out. And after the late '60s, hit singles weren't even cool again until the '80s.

But now the opposite is almost true. If you don't have a song in a TV commercial your career is over. I'm exaggerating slightly but you get the point.

And a hit single that actually sounds like rock'n'roll? We should all live long enough to see that again.

So in 2002, while I was meeting with various sponsors for my "Underground Garage" radio show, I'd take the extra time with the ad agencies to try and convince them to use more up-and-coming bands in their TV spots.

My three simple reasons did convince a few. One, a big star is going to overwhelm your brand. I remember Beyoncé doing a commercial, but who cares what the product was? Two, it's cheaper. For the tens of millions spent on Beyoncé, you get 30-60 new bands. Band, master, song, all in. And third, it's a hip thing to do, and it's a good thing to do. The fans of the band will appreciate it and never forget it. It might help break a new artist and you get the credit, and much more brand recognition for all the right reasons. "Did you see that cool new band in the Coke commercial?" type stuff.

Also helping the indie world these days, and always has, is movies. "Spider-Man" just became super-important, using up-and-comers and indie tracks for its soundtrack, a refreshing and unusual move for a major flick.

I don't know who started it—Allen Moyle's "Pump Up the Volume" with Christian Slater comes to mind—but it's good for the movies and good for the music world, which, now more than ever, must rely on the synergy of strangers.

See you on the radio.

June 23, 2007

This week is the 40th anniversary of the Monterey International Pop Festival. It was the mother of all festivals (the Human Be-In in nearby San Francisco six months earlier would be the grandmother) and would punctuate the Summer of Love and the amazing year of 1967.

Two of the many things we learned that year were that life is short but you could do eternally cool things in that short time. Jimi Hendrix's and Janis Joplin's mainstream public existence would be only three years, Brian Jones' five, and Otis Redding had just six months.

The second thing we learned that year, taught to us by Native American and Eastern philosophy, was no matter how short an individual's life is, the planet continues to function for succeeding generations. And how well it functions depends on how much we screw it up.

So, 40 years later, we finally seem to be getting it.

Reverb, a nonprofit started by Guster's Adam Gardner and his wife Lauren Sullivan, devotes its time to "greening" concert tours, following Bonnie Raitt's example.

Willie Nelson's biodiesel company (we predict) will influence virtually every tour to travel green within five years.

MusicMatters introduced "carbon offsetting," planting trees and supporting alternative sustainable energy sources equal to your sins of emission.

The Vans Warped tour is using solar-powered sound. Bonnaroo, Coachella and Lollapalooza give prizes for recycling. The Hove Festival in Norway has pledged 100% carbon neutrality. The Wakarusa Festival will include a sustainability symposium. And on it goes.

It feels like a paradigm shift, folks—one of the best ever and there's no going back.

Festivals are now putting into practice what was implicit in the spirit of Monterey.

And maybe we're starting to act like the responsible Human Be-Ins the Indians always hoped we'd become.

This Week’s Top 10 Coolest Garage Songs

1. Black Tie Revue “Code Fun” (coolest song in the world this week)
2. The Shake “She’s My Girl”
3. The Len Price 3 “Rentacrowd”
4. Foo Fighters “Danny Says”
5. The Breakers “Dance the Go-Go”
6. White Stripes “Icky Thump”
7. The Contrast “Believe”
8. Peachfuzz “Hero of Nineteen Eighty Three”
9. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club “Weapon of Choice”
10. Mary Weiss “My Heart is Beating”


June 16, 2007

Some stuff:

Keith Richards could nab $5 million for a tell-all. But what would he call it?

"A Pirate's Life"?

"Gunslinger"?

"You Don't Really Expect Me to Remember Any of That Do You?"

Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones flick will be called "Shine a Light" and be out Sept. 21. He filmed two nights at New York's Beacon Theater with a bunch of award-winning cinematographers, so the live stuff will be amazing. Don't know how much other stuff—interviews or whatever—will be included. I was hoping Scorsese would interview Andrew Oldham—the Stones' original manager/producer/publicist, who's got about a thousand great stories—but it hasn't happened yet.

It will be great no matter what.

As will the remake of "Barbarella," because the newest coolest director in the world, Robert Rodriguez, will be directing it.

He just released the most amazing B-movie, like, ever—"Planet Terror" (even King B Roger Corman would agree), as part of the very cool "Grindhouse," which he did with Quentin Tarantino. And he should have won something for "Sin City," but the clowns running OUR Planet Terror are TOO BORING!

Alan McGee, the man of exceptional ears who brought us Jesus and Mary Chain, Oasis and the Libertines (and still manages Dirty Pretty Things and the Charlatans) is walking away from his current record label Poptunes, according to the BBC. He also started Creation Records, by the way. But now he says it is no longer realistically feasible for record labels to profit from new bands.

We say: DON'T DO IT, ALAN!

Just as the great bands are not being replaced, the old-school music biz cats will not be replaced just because their old jobs are occupied by mindless talentless bean counters.

We need you to stick around, Alan. Just make the records cheaper and keep fighting the good fight, and suffer for the cause like the rest of us. Or else we're going to end up with a bunch of robot downloading machines scoring the best chicks at the next Love-In.

See you on the radio.

GARAGE ROCK
June 09, 2007

This week is the 40th anniversary of the release of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."

After obviously being the "greatest album ever made" for years, it ran into a bit of revisionist history these last, oh, 30 years or so.

It probably began with one of the Beatles putting it down or shrugging it off or making the mistake of suggesting it wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

All the great ones sooner or later put down their own work: Mick Jagger does it, Ray Davies, Pete Townshend (every hour or so), and it's always a mistake. They may be trying to be honest, but all it does is give license to the mindless vultures looking for permission to attack the otherwise invulnerable.

Anyway, someone somewhere down the line pointed out that Paul McCartney's idea of making a "concept" record (the Beatles writing and performing as a fictitious group and having the album tour instead of them) lasted only through the second song, and when the album was pulled apart and studied it wasn't their greatest collection of songs, and blah, blah, blah.

So, with the only disclaimer that the appallingly awful stereo mastering is, tragically, the only available version right now, let me revise revisionist history and suggest "Sgt. Pepper" was, and is, an incredible piece of work and absolutely the best representation of the Summer of Love and the very psychedelic 1967.

It was universally mind-blowing at the time. The band, producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick did everything possible and more with the technology available at the time. And then the band pushed Emerick to invent things that weren't available.

And although it wasn't as linear a concept as the Who's "Tommy" would be two years later, it felt like we were being taken on a trip, a transcendent experience, not just listening to a group of songs.

Interestingly, in direct contrast to the ultra modern sound, the lyrics and sensibility were wistful, nostalgic. Very much looking back (made more obvious if you include "Strawberry Fields" and "Penny Lane," both meant to be on the album) when the world was looking forward. Full of depressed, dysfunctional, cynical, confused and, yes, lonely characters going through the motions of life, implicitly asking, "Is this all there is?," when the band's audience was never more full of hope, discovering love and becoming philosophically enlightened.

The world was unified in its praise of and inspiration from the album as the world has never been before or since—for anything.

Find the mono version and don't download one song at a time—listen to it all the way through.

I promise you will be transported to a place you've never been. A place that gives you unexpected energy, encourages you to dream and, somehow, makes you feel a little bit better about life.

Coolest Garage Songs

1. “Rentacrowd” by the Len Price 3 (coolest song in the world this week)
2. “Danny Says” by the Foo Fighters
3. “Dance the Go-Go” by The Breakers
4. “Icky Thump” by The White Stripes
5. “Believe” by The Contrast
6. “Hero of Nineteen Eighty-Three” by Peachfuzz
7. “Weapon of Choice” by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
8. “My Heart is Beating” by Mary Weiss
9. “Free and Freaky” by The Stooges
10. “Dancing on the Lip of a Volcano” by The New York Dolls

Who says the Rolling Stones don't read Billboard?
May 26, 2007

They have changed the venue of their upcoming Belgrade, Serbia, show to avoid traumatizing the 300 horses housed at the Hippodrome (undoubtedly at our urging; see the May 12 issue). Good for you, lads, we're proud of you.

All right, I'm kidding a little bit, but this gig needs some good vibes to offset the two postponements, one because of the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, and one for Keith Richards' coconut encounter. So the Stones are not only doing a good thing, they're doing a wise thing.

And keeping those good vibrations . . .

Moby has an area on his Web site where independent and nonprofit filmmakers can download his music and use it for free.

How cool is that?

And if they end up making money, they pay a modest license fee that Moby donates to the Humane Society.

Damn. This must be the 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love.

Just to maintain some balance here, Swedish '90s novelty band Rednex is selling itself on eBay (see story, page TK). No, not to be booked for a gig, and nothing to do with charity. Sold. Like the trademark, the music, the records, the Web site and future deals. For only $1.5 million.

And for another hundred million they'll throw in ABBA as an opening act.

See you on the radio.

May 12, 2007

A Serbian animal rights organization called ORCA is protesting the Rolling Stones' plans to play the city's Hippodrome because the sound and vibration will disturb the 300 horses housed there. I strongly recommend that the Stones take this seriously, because animal rights freaks worldwide stick together and never forget. I know, because I am one. And there's one more thing to consider. Besides doing the right thing, this may be the last chance Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have left to duke the maitre'd, so to speak, and get into heaven.

In a related story of potential abuse, the Swedish government is one of the most liberal in the world. OK, it ain't Holland, but what is? Sweden, however, has one bizarre law that requires government approval of baby names. Well, you'll be relieved to know Karolina Tomaro's seven-month fight to name her daughter Metallica has just been won. Swedish tax authorities objected to the baby being named after the rock band (licensing complications?) and have the right to approve both first and second names to protect the unsuspecting child of being the victim of a moniker that is unsuitable, offensive, embarrassing or just plain stupid.

I have to wonder how they would have ruled on a few of these interesting handles that immediately come to mind. You know, like, Dweezil (son of Frank Zappa), Moon Unit and Diva (daughters of Zappa), Zak (son of Ringo Starr), Doremi (daughter of Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues), Dog (son of Sky Saxon), Zowie (son of David Bowie), Apple (daughter of Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow), Bamboo (son of Big Boi of OutKast), Chastity (daughter of Sonny & Cher), Fifi Trixabelle (daughter of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates), Hendrix Halen Michael Rhodes (son of Zakk Wylde named after four guitar players), god (Grace Slick and Paul Kantner were just kidding, but the nurse wrote it in), Jagger (son of Scott Stapp of Creed) or—and here I've got to go with Sweden—Jermajesty (daughter of Jermaine Jackson and cousin of Prince Michael and Prince Michael II, sons of guess who).

I wonder what Karolina's second choices would have been had Metallica been turned down. Blue Cheer Tomaro? Iron Butterfly Tomaro? Megadeth Tomaro? Tomorrow Tomaro? Tomaro Never Knows? Somebody stop me . . . Twisted Sister Tomaro . . . ?

See you on the radio.

COOLEST GARAGE SONGS

The Contrast “Believe” (coolest song in the world this week)
The Len Price 3 “Sailor’s Sweetheart”
Peachfuzz “Hero of Nineteen Eighty Three”
Black Rebel Motorcyle Club “Weapon of Choice”
Mary Weiss “My Heart is Beating”
The Stooges “Free and Freaky”
New York Dolls “Dancing on the Lip of a Volcano”
Jesse Malin “In the Modern World”
The Apples in Stereo “Open Eyes”
The Dollyrots “Because I’m Awesome”

May 5, 2007

Some wild publishing stuff going on. Sony/ATV, a joint venture of Sony and Michael Jackson, just added the catalog of legends Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller to their already impressive roster that includes the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Hank Williams. You may remember a few of the pair's obscure tunes like "Stand by Me," "Jailhouse Rock" and "Hound Dog."

This should make Marty Bandier, new head of Sony/ATV, the happiest boy in Pub Land—give or take Lawrence Mestel, head of Primary Wave Music Publishing, which just bought Julian Lennon's piece of his father's writing royalties (not publishing, which Sony/ATV mostly has). Everyone I've talked to about this has been happily surprised that Julian had been taken care of a little bit by his father's estate.

Meanwhile, Vivendi Universal is about to become the world's biggest publisher by buying BMG Music Publishing from Bertelsmann, which shouldn't be confused with Sony BMG Entertainment or Sony/ATV for that matter.

You following this nonsense? It doesn't really matter anyway, it's all real estate. None of this has anything to do with music, since publishers have no legal obligation to do anything with songs once they buy them.

When publishers started, and actually worked for a living, their job was to support and encourage writers, then connect songs to an appropriate singer or TV advertiser or whoever. Now they mainly sit back and collect money from either automatic annual revenue streams or some ad agency music fan or film supervisor luckily picking their songs.

Lance Freed from Rondor/Universal is the only exception I know. He came up the old-school way and never changed. His company may have been absorbed by one of the faceless titans, but he knows every song by every writer he's ever signed. And his people are actively working existing catalog, while he continues to encourage songwriters to work together and write, write, write. He knows no matter what may be trendy this week or next, eventually, if the music business is going to continue to exist, it's going to need to create music. This has become radical thought.

You know, songs. Written by geniuses like Leiber & Stoller.

See you on the radio.

Coolest Garage Songs Chart

1. Sailor’s Sweetheart Len Price 3 (coolest song in the world this week)
2. Hero of Nineteen eighty-three Peachfuzz
3. Weapon of Choice Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
4. My Heart is Beating Mary Weiss
5. Free and Freaky The Stooges
6. Dancing on the Lip of a Volcano New York Dolls
7. In the Modern World Jesse Malin
8. Open Eyes The Apples in Stereo
9. Because I’m Awesome The Dollyrots
10. Ruby Kaiser Chiefs

Tony Soprano's 'No. 2 guy' awaits the end: Steven Van Zandt contemplates the final episode of 'The Sopranos.'

By Martin Miller
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

June 5, 2007

After the penultimate episode of "The Sopranos," the question hanging over Steven Van Zandt's head is what happens to, you know, the wig? Does it stay in the family, does the Smithsonian inherit it, what?

"What do you mean?" asks Van Zandt with an edge of the same menace and dark humor that he has brought to Silvio Dante, Tony Soprano's pompadour-styled right-hand man, for the last six seasons. "Half the difficulty I face each day is getting all that hair under my bandanna."

OK, the 56-year-old actor and guitarist is stuck in the first stage of grief. He admits it.

"I think we're all in a little bit of denial," he said Monday morning on the phone from New York City. "We've had so many long breaks on the show that it just doesn't feel like it's really over. It's hard to accept."

Spoiler alert — if you haven't seen Sunday's episode, "The Blue Comet," stop reading. After years of dodging bullets, Tony's violent temper and drunken Bada Bing patrons, Van Zandt's character, who has been looking more and more like Richard Nixon over the last few seasons, finally took a bullet, or two, or three. While his celebrated hairpiece would appear to have a chance for a happy and productive life on another show, the man underneath doesn't seem to have a future.

"He's still breathing — at the moment," said Van Zandt, who gained national and international fame as a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. "Well, he's doing better than Bobby Bacala." (Bobby, Tony's brother-in-law, was gunned down by two assassins at a hobby train store in the same episode.)

While Silvio's perhaps mortal wounding isn't shocking to "Sopranos" fans, it is nonetheless occasioned by some sadness. Part of the show's magic is that even though the character is a strip club manager, not to mention a murderer, he's still sympathetic. If for nothing else, for being as honest as anyone is around Tony.

"He's one of those rare people that is truly comfortable with who he is," said Van Zandt. "He likes being a No. 2 guy, and he's also probably the only character not afraid of Tony."

Like most of the show's cast members, Van Zandt has known for months there were several bullets with his name on them. His pat answer, one he's been endlessly repeating, to the next question — what happens in the finale? — is: "Tune in and find out."

But he did add: "It's going to be controversial, it's going to be talked about."

For someone who has been part of one of the most successful rocks bands in history, the cultural clamor over "The Sopranos" has surprised even him. "Can you imagine any other television show — except, I don't know, 'American Idol' — generating so much discussion?" said Van Zandt. "It's great to see what a cultural phenomenon it has become."

Van Zandt's "Sopranos" afterlife promises to be extremely busy. Along with his radio programs and music career, he's developing shows for television. And he's working with educators to incorporate a rock 'n' roll component to high school curriculums nationwide.

"Music got me through my life, no question about it," said Van Zandt, who notes that only around half of the nation's public schools have active music programs. "You can't get from a computer game or a text message what you can get from music. Youjust can't.

"I just want to make sure the next generation of kids have the same option with music that I had."

 

 

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