American Bands and Artists 9 - The Hip Quotient

My Wild and Innocent Days Loving Bruce Springsteen

Post author:Dana Spiardi
Post category:American Bands and Artists Bruce and the Boys
Post comments:5 Comments
Post published:April 12, 2012

Jimmy Cagney, hat brim low over his eyes, talking wise to Joan Blondell. Soapy and Bim picking pockets in Hell's Kitchen. Platinum angels with arched, pencil-thin eyebrows, sipping bathtub gin and waiting in vain for their square-jawed mugs to return from the hoosegow. Sharpies named Ace and Lefty. Dames named Ruby and Peaches. Those were the cinematic heroes of my youth. So, it's no surprise I'd fall hard for the denizens of Bruce Springsteen's second LP, "The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle." To this day, it's the most romantic "life on the street" album I've ever heard.

Micky’s Monkee

Post author:Dana Spiardi
Post category:American Bands and Artists Pop Matters
Post comments:1 Comment
Post published:March 8, 2012

With the sad passing of the ever-youthful Davy Jones last week, I beg the question: who was your favorite Monkee? For me it was pixie-faced Micky Dolenz, who turns 67 today. Why Micky? Well, like Ringo, the "real" drummer on which his TV character was modeled, he just charmed the heck out of me with his goofiness.

Neil Diamond: He Is, He Said

Post author:Dana Spiardi
Post category:American Bands and Artists Pop Matters Singer-Songwriters & Indie Artists
Post comments:7 Comments
Post published:January 24, 2012

The protagonist in the movie "What About Bob" attributes his failed marriage to this time-tested rule: "There are two types of people in the world -- those who like Neil Diamond and those who don't. My ex-wife loves him." Well, despite the fact that Neil Diamond is sometimes rebuked by rockers for his symphonic serenades, I'm proud to say I'm a fan. He wrote some of the most memorable pop songs of the 1960s, including "Cherry, Cherry," "I'm a Believer," "Solitary Man," and "Cracklin' Rosie." And he's a good sport, too, appearing in movies ("Saving Silverman") and TV shows ("Saturday Night Live") that have playfully mocked him for his sometimes grandiose anthems and dramatic delivery.

‘Scuse Me, While I Kiss This Guy

Post author:Dana Spiardi
Post category:American Bands and Artists Guitarists: The Axemen Cometh Psychedelia
Post comments:1 Comment
Post published:November 27, 2011

Oh, Jimi Hendrix! Why did you have to swallow those 9 sleeping pills, suffocate in your own vomit, and deprive us of many more years of power-charged electric rock? You died 43 years ago today. We can only imagine what contributions you would have made had you not expired at age 27 in a London apartment.

Draggin’ the Line with Aging Pop Stars

Post author:Dana Spiardi
Post category:American Bands and Artists Pop Matters
Post comments:0 Comments
Post published:July 24, 2011

On July 22, 2011, I had the pleasure of seeing two major pop/rock acts from the 1960s -- The Young Rascals (now known as Felix Cavaliere and the Rascals) and Tommy James and The (new) Shondells -- at the Chautauqua Institution, that venerable adult education center that began as a camp for Sunday school teachers in 1874!