SOUNDTRACK: BLUE ÖYSTER CULT–Blue Öyster Cult (1972).
Craig Ferguson mentions that the only concert he saw as a teen in America was Blue Öyster Cult. My guess is that it would have been around the Agents of Fortune or Spectres tour (ie, around “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”) so that must have been a killer show.
In honor of his book, I’m going to look at the lesser known early work of BOC. Their first disc is a fascinating amalgamation of hard rock, blues, boogie and psychedelia. All of that is coupled with the utterly perplexing lyrics that they came up with. In addition to the huh? factor of titles like “She’s a Beautiful as a Foot” and “Before the Kiss, a Redcap” we also get fascinating title like “Transamaniacon MC” (later on John Shirley would write a book called Transmaniacon as a tribute to this song).
The album isn’t heavy by today’s standards, but at the time, this was some pretty heavy stuff. The rocking chorus of “Transmaniacon,” the blistering speed of “Stairway to the Stars,” and yes, the undeniably heavy riff of “Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll” let you know that this is no simple rock album.
And yet, they work so well with the fundamentals: Steppenwolf is clearly an inspiration. This is classic rock that doesn’t quite fit the classic rock mode (which, frankly, makes it far more interesting). There’s a lot to like here, and there’s more to come.
[READ: February 26, 2010] American on Purpose
I keep saying I don’t read memoirs but then I keep reading them. Yes, I’m a liar.
Well, in this case, I felt it was justified because a) Craig Ferguson is hilarious and I assumed his book would be too and b) he has already written a novel that I really liked (as well as 3 screenplays which I have not seen). So I figured it would be a well-written, funny book. And, since it turned out I had two days off because of the “snow” I finished the book in a couple of days.
Right, so Craig Ferguson is the host of The Late Late Show, a show that Sarah and I fell in love with last year and then kind of forgot about it. And then we caught it again recently and have been enjoying some TiVo’d bits every now and then. Ferguson has a wonderfully warped sense of humor and his show veers into the bizarre more often than not. But he is always enjoyable, and his celebrity interviews are worth watching for how funny and un-promotional they are.
But what about this book? This book basically details his life growing up in Scotland, moving to the States and becoming a “huge star.”
But the crux of the book is about his descent into alcoholism, how it destroyed his first marriage and several other long term relationships, as well as potentially his career. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: MODEST MOUSE-We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank (2007).
Shouty shouty shouty. Modest Mouse are a fun shouty band, they have some catchy songs, but they seem so noisy most of the time that I am shocked, shocked, I say, that they ever had a hit. And “Float On” from their last album WAS a hit. So much of a hit that “Weird Al” stuck it in a medley of songs of his latest album. Now THAT’s making it big. And, yet, I’m still confused, because their music isn’t pretty. 
I Just Read About That... 