Give me your music, your art, your huddled masses of words and rhythms yearning to breathe free.
Dana Spiardi 
“Everyone else wanted to be Elvis; I wanted to be Scotty,” Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards once told music writer James L. Dickerson. He’s referring, of course, to Scotty Moore, the finger-picking phenomenon who has long been considered rock’s first lead guitarist. Mr. Moore, who turns 83 today, was Elvis Presley’s sizzling sideman from 1954 … Read more
In the early 1960s, The Beatles came off as cute and cheeky, while the Rolling Stones – marketed by manager Andrew Loog Oldham as the anti-Beatles – were seen as snide and snarky. The difference in their personas, real or perceived, is evident in this example of how the two bands expressed their Christmas spirit. … Read more
I’ve stayed in my share of dreary motels, haughty hotels, Socialist-designed apartments with poster-board walls, and even nuclear plant “guest houses” (don’t even ask) in villages with names that lacked vowels, but I’ve never experienced anything quite like Frank Zappa’s 1971 mind-blowing movie, “200 Motels.” But then, I never dropped acid, either. (Becherovka was the … Read more
What do Nerk Twins, Glimmer Twins, and Toxic Twins have in common? They’re all pseudonyms for musical duos who, through some mystic alignment (or collision) of planets, came to front legendary rock bands. Today I’ll take a look at the origin of these monikers and offer up a few of my own. The Nerk Twins … Read more
Imagine the Rolling Stones’ classic “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” sans the embellishments of the London Bach Choir. Definitely doable, in my opinion. Ponder the Beatles’ “The Long and Winding Road,” minus the Phil Spector-imposed orchestral strings and choir of angels. Totally preferable. Contemplate Bob Dylan’s landmark “Like a Rolling Stone” without those … Read more