A Bunch of Musings

Well, I scampered over to Tower Records to get my hands on a copy of the newest box set from Rhino Records, Children Of Nuggets. This set takes a look at bands that, in the opinion of Alec Palao and the other compilers, followed in the footsteps of the great bands of the ‘60s garage and psychedelic era. Of course, I had seen the track list months before, and had already made up my mind that I had to buy it.

So why am I not as blown away by this as I was by the previous two Nuggets box sets? It's not that this isn't a bevy of enjoyable songs. It's just that something seemed to be missing. Currently, there are two things that I'm thinking that are giving me this vibe. First, unlike the two prior box sets, this set covers an era where I was around. I not only own a bit over one-third of the titles contained on the collection, I've probably heard another dozen or so tracks. So almost half the set is familiar to me. That deflates a bit of the sense of discovery I felt with the other sets.

Furthermore, since this isn't a generation removed from my experience, I have stronger opinions about the songs. I do understand what Palao is saying when, in the liner notes, he tells folks who think too much is missing from the collection that they probably already have all of this and should wait for some European 10-disc box set. Yet this is somewhat of a cop out. While no box set covering a wide swath of music can really be definitive, it should strive to be so. And I think that there are artists here that might not really belong. I love the early Bangles, but do they deserve two songs to the exclusion of The Thought's "Every Single Day" or, better yet, The Vertebrats' incredible "Left in the Dark"? Of course, add me and 1,000 other college radio vets with similar beefs, and that 10-disc box set becomes a 50 or 100 disc set. This is unfair, since what matters is the job Rhino did, not what a great job I would have done. Still, the feeling remains.

The other thing that may contribute to my being less than awestricken, and my best friend said it succinctly: it doesn't quite seem right that they made this a Nuggets set. Now, after the brilliant first set, which was pretty well targeted in the garage rock arena, the second box set broadened a bit to include freakbeat and psychedelia, but that didn't seem to be such a stretch. On this set, there's power pop, and some folky Paisley Underground stuff and other things that move things even further from the realm of what the original Nuggets means to me. While this might mean the discs are a bit more varied, for this type of comp, I don't really want variety. I would have preferred more of an emphasis on garage and psych, which they could have filled three or four discs with pretty easily. Then they could have done another box set, devoted to the power pop, country rock (The Long Ryders made this box, yet none of their twangy contemporaries), the Paisley Underground, and other genres. They could call it Left Of Left Of The Dial.

Yes, I'm being very picky. On the whole, this a one heck of a collection. It's great to get some of these songs (like the two Chris Stamey and the dB's numbers) on CD, finally. And I've discovered some new gems. For example, "The Trains" by The Nashville Ramblers is now one of my all-time favorite tracks. So the new box set is certainly recommended, in spite of my quibbles.

I also heartily recommend the book TV-A-Go-Go by Jake Austen. This is an entertaining and thought provoking look at the history of rock on the tube. Austen is up front in stating that he is not trying to offer a complete history. Instead, Austen has penned a series of essays that analyze different aspects of rock on television.

There are two aesthetic premises that Austen adheres to throughout the book. First, Austen believes that the studio audience is an essential part of rock on television. Austen uses this to explain the success of shows like American Bandstand and Soul Train. Second, Austen believes that artifice is good. And Austen means that on a variety of levels.

In one sense, he's talking about The Monkees, The Archies and Milli Vanilli. In Austen's world, these are all valid rock acts to be taken on equal terms with any ‘real' rock act. When he discusses the Monkees, I'm on board. They were cast to be a rock band, they sang the songs, and they ultimately played out live. They were a rock band. The further removed from that scenario, the less I'm buying it. Still, it's a fresh take on this topic.

The other aspect of artifice has to do with the production of the performance. Austen thinks that simply showing a band performing live is not enough. In many cases, it's as simple as showing the audience reacting to the performer (Exhibit A – The Beatles on Ed Sullivan). But Austen also means the use of any production techniques to enhance the performance. In his chapter on Saturday Night Live, he observes that many of the performances on the show are rather ordinary, with the exception of great live performers. One example would be Devo's historic performance on the show.

I think Austen does have a point, because many rock performers don't come off well on TV. But that puts them at the mercy of producers and directors who likely don't know what they are doing. Ideally, a good producer or director knows who needs help and who can go on as is.

Anyway, Austen basically uses this template in his discussion of various forms of rock television. While there are some dry spots, he is basically a pretty solid writer. And a few of the essays are brilliant. His essay on black music on television manages to be the best illustration of his aesthetic stance, particularly the importance of the audience to give the viewer at home someone to relate to. But he goes much further, making some great sociological observations while also providing a great historical account of local black music shows.

He also manages to a take a topic that would seem tiresome, Michael Jackson, and provides some keen insight into the King of Pop's persona. All from looking at the history of Michael on the tube. Austen quickly zeroes in on how robotic Jackson was (I don't mean doing the Robot) when interviewed as a youngster. From there, he provides as good an explanation for Michael's otherworldliness as anyone ever has.

All in all, a good read from Mr. Austen. And speaking of Mr. Austen, he was in attendance at the first event of National Bubblegum Month. At the Hideout in Chicago, there was a screening of Bubblegum Music Is The Naked Truth, a documentary companion to the book from a few years ago. Directed and narrated by Kier-La Janisse, the nearly two hour film suffers from the problem that a lot of documentaries have – it's basically talk/film clip/talk/film clip.

Still, the movie hits a lot of the key points and there are some swell clips. I could have done with a lot less of the animated bubblegum music. Seeing the Archies, Groovie Goolies, etc., I realized just how crappy the animation was for these Saturday morning cartoons. But there were a few clips that made it all worthwhile. In particular, there is a marvelous clip of The Lemon Pipers on a Cincinnati local show, doing "Green Tambourine". The show went all out on the production, making a small carousel on which the lead singer rotates, while the band is surrounded by large stuffed animals and other overgrown toys. Very quickly, the band quits trying to mime, and begins hitting the stuffed animals and engaging in other anarchic forms of behavior. Classic.

Finally, let me wind up my ramblings with these quick takes. The new Paul McCartney – it sounds great, though the songs aren't sticking in my head yet. The new Richard Thompson – a little bland. The new Nada Surf – good, but not as good as the last one. The new Bob Mould – there are a few songs on here with really, for lack of a better word, obvious melodies. There are a few good songs here, but it's his weakest solo effort to date, in my opinion.

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