The Boss, The Rocker, Massive Attack, Metallica, and This Is Also Radio Hell

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – Live at Superbowl XLIII

The Boss knows how to rock, and every show is a party. So many records over the years, so many hits. Pretty hard to deny he is, by now, an established living legend.

Story: I got invited by a friend to watch the Superbowl yesterday at the local Knights of Columbus. Big screens, free pizza, cheap beer, people hooting and hollering. Good fun. Not a bad game either. And the half-time show, of course, was The Boss and his gang.

They tore the roof off the mothersucker. In their short ten minutes they raised the patriotic fervour south of the border several notches beyond its normal pitch, too.

But damn, Bruce, I watched you try to jump up on that piano… Look, maybe 20 years ago it would’ve been a breeze for you, but that time it just looked slow and painful. Also funny was the mis-timed knee-slide right into the cameraman. Oh jeez.

Great music, high energy, and physical comedy too. Gotta love The Boss.

The Rocker

The whole time through this film, I kept thinking ‘but, we’ve already seen Jack Black play this kind of role. And maybe a bit better.’ But I shouldn’t be too hard on it, as the flick has heart and, though it’s completely formulaic, it’s perfect for a certain age group below, say, the age of fifteen. It had funny moments for the grown-ups too (like Will Arnett fronting a wanna-be-Poison hair band), but all in all it was pretty tame. Oh well. And now we’ve done that.

Massive Attack – Mezzanine

Have I already reviewed this record for this site? If I haven’t, I’ve been remiss. This is fantastic. I think the first time I heard it, Paul MacLeod was playing it on a boombox between his sets at the Walper Pub. Then we moved to Montreal and this type of music was everywhere, especially in the chic restaurants. This group’s work led me to Portishead, Morcheeba and Supreme Beings Of Leisure, among others. But I always came back to the tracks on this record. It builds from throbbing low ends to ecstatic highs, the vocals soar and caress, and it’s all done with intelligent and delicious power. Oh yes, this is a classic.

Metallica – Garage, Inc.

No matter what Metallica does (detractors take note), the end result is always powerful and sincere. Even if, as is the case here, they toss out a two-disc homage to the bands they cut their own teeth covering, all those years ago. In fact, perhaps it’s even more sincere, since it’s clear they were having a bloody blast the whole time. Metal fans will not be surprised by any of their song selections here, and they bring their own polished sound to these well-established tracks. Not much amiss, here. Turn it the hell up.

This Is Also Radio Hell

I have recently decided that most current radio is a form of arrested development. The Lite FM crowd hears the same shite over and over again as much as the Classic Rawk fans do. The limited rotations offered are appalling, no matter what you choose. How much can you listen to Can You Feel The Love Tonight or Sweet Home Alabama before even the simplest mind starts to chafe for something different, even from the same artist? It’s like they’ve only paid for the rights to play so many tracks and so they’ll hammer us to death with them. Ye g-ds. And I dont expect that people would only listen to new tracks at all times, but there has to be a happy balance somewhere, right?

The Ataris were totally right, on their track from that Fat comp called Short Music: it is still quite plain to see that the radio still sucks. I am sure I’m done with it. For quite a while, I should imagine.

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