My father’s birthday fell in the middle of the week, which paired him up with my Rock & Roll Hall of Fame post on Joan Jett. Not a bad place to land.
My mother’s birthday is today, a Random Weekend day, which provides me with one of those opportunities to spin the wheel and honor her with a mystery track.
This last happened on June 20, which was both Father’s Day and my older daughter’s birthday. The Random iTunes Fairy served up a Billy Joel song that day, a nice treat for both of them.
‘Tonight’ is a track from TV On the Radio’s 2006 album Return to Cookie Mountain.
This album received a ton of critical praise, ending up at or near the top of many year-end best-of lists. It doesn’t work for me, though. I picked up the record after really liking its follow-up, 2008’s Dear Science, but this one didn’t have the same effect on me. Dear Science still holds up, though.
I was shocked to see Lou Reed’s name on the list of 2015 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, a class formed a full 17 years after his initial eligibility. Reed was nominated in 2000 and 2001 before finally making it in 2015.
The long delay made more sense after I learned The Velvet Underground was inducted back in 1996. Even that seminal group had to wait its turn, however, with nominations each of its first five years of eligibility before getting voted in.
These Rock & Roll Hall of Fame posts often surface acts that are musical blindspots (deafspots?) for me. Such is the case with the next 2015 inductee, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
Formed by Chicago-based harmonica-player/singer Paul Butterfield in 1963, the band recorded seven well-received albums before breaking up in 1971. They also made a splash as a live act, playing many festivals in the late 60s, including Woodstock.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has a dreadful track record when it comes to inducting women. TO date, less than 10 percent of the 348 artists included in the Hall have been women.
The 2015 class beats that ratio, barely, by including Joan Jett among its eight inductees. Of course, her band The Blackhearts — made up of three men — was invited along with her.
Meet Me In Montauk 