Labyrinthitis

   A number of years ago famous rockcrit Dave Marsh sent me a complimentary note on my Steve McKay piece on Perfect Sound Forever.  Which was flattering, given Marsh and his peers were my guides through the rock and roll wilderness back when.  So I took the moment to ask him if he'd ever considered giving the MC5 the treatment he gave The Who in Before I Get Old .  He wrote back that it was of interest, but for various reasons, probably not.  He mentioned that the late Ben Edmonds had been working for years on such a book, but had left it unfinished at the time of his passing, so likely it would never see the light of day.  Shame.  I'd like to read a massive MC5 book, like B efore I Get Old or Bob Mehr's Trouble Boys , or Paul Drummond's fascinating tome on the 13th Floor Elevators, Eye Mind ;  books which told in depth the stories of the artists and analyzed their music and their place in rock and roll. MC5: An Oral Biography of Rock’s Most...

Slim Dunlap checked out on Dec 18.  Sad news.   I met him once.  Actually I sort-of met Tommy and almost-met Paul once but those are stories for another time.  On to Slim... Despite being "the replacement Replacement" I generally had the impression most Mats fans welcomed him with open arms.  There were and always will be the armchair quarterbacks who thought the Mats lost it post-Bob, but actually I don't think that went for most serious fans who always knew that, great as Bob Stinson was, he wasn't what made the band special.  I never saw them with Bob, but those I met who did c. `84-`85 opined that the band might well be better off without him.  Say what you will.  All I know is when I first saw him up there with them in `87, I couldn't imagine a more perfect fit. I really like Slim's two ragged-but-right solo albums ("Girlfriend" would have been a hit single in a rock-and-roll friendly world).   Back around 1996 I was on an inte...

Pretty girls keep growing up, playing make-up, wearing guitars –  Yee Loi - the freshest rock and  roll band of the moment: two teenage sisters,from Liverpool, and now their little brother on bass.  They’ve mastered their Ramones tributes and are now branching out in seemingly every possible direction playful covers, stripping Boa’s “Duvet” of its pop sheen and turning it into a “raw wail from the gut” (thanks L.B.), The Cranberries “Linger” into a moan of longing, Olivia Rodrigo’s “Bad Idea Right” into a snotty punk sneer and now Lana Del Reys “West Coast” into a  surly blues-rocker that sounds like Lucinda Willams jamming with Johnny Thunders.  More importantly, they’re already knocking out originals worthy of their influences, singer Mathilda can seemingly sing anything, and her sister Rose is already one hell of a guitarist (kudos for being hip to Jason and the Scorchers, too!).  Their breadth of interests and good taste suggests limitless possibilit...