A photo of Roxy Music from the inside of the "For Your Pleasure" album -- Paul Thompson (guy on the far right) so did not have photo approval! A link to These Vintage Years, the best Roxy Music site. And speaking of which, Brian Eno (feathers on the left) can be heard spouting on about art and systems (It's ok. He's cool) with Will Wright at the Long Now site where he's mainly talking about about generative music and game-playing. After 2 hours he says (paraphrasing) the following, which may not be original, but is really ace Mott Street wrapped in a cookie -- "Culture is everything you don't have to do."

Make me a deal and make it straight.

If you think the idea of Sammy Davis Jr. singing a song to the theme of the "Hawaii Five-0" tv show sounds very Bill Murray on "Saturday Night Live" doing his lounge act, it does, and it does! If you want to hear it you can go to the Bubblegum Machine website. There are many other doozies there that will make you laugh alot.

From another part of the planet, this YouTube video, Lazy Sunday, which I believe originated on "Saturday Night Live" makes me laugh alot. Caution the language is rude by FCC standards...

And "Good Night from Him."

Tom Stoppard's new play in London, Rock 'n' Roll, which just played a sold-out run at the Royal Court and has now transferred to the West End, does indeed feature some interesting rock 'n' roll music during various interludes during the show. Here's the list of featured songs when the show was at the Court. Don't know if the same songs are being used in the West End transfer. The Grateful Dead's "Chinatown Shuffle" is of note because it's only available as a (legitimate) live recording. With several early Pink Floyd and solo songs, the show is also something of a tribute to late Syd Barrett. The Plastic People of the Universe are the extraordinary band who became very close with Czech leader Vaclev Havel. Here's a link to a Guardian (UK) piece about the show moving to the West End and the meaning of Syd.

Act One

Golden Hair/Syd Barrett
I'll Be Your Baby Tonight/Bob Dylan
The Last Time/The Rolling Stones
It's All Over Now/The Rolling Stones
It's All Over Now/The Plastic People of the Universe
Venus in Furs/The Velvet Underground
Break on Through/The Doors
Waiting for the Man/The Velvet Underground
Waiting for the Man/Plastic People of the Universe
Golden Hair/Syd Barrett
Terrapin/Syd Barrett
Astronomy Domine/Pink Floyd
Jugband Blues/Pink Floyd
Only Rock 'n' Roll/The Rolling Stones
Chinatown Shuffle/The Grateful Dead
Welcome to the Machine/Pink Floyd
Wouldn't It Be Nice/The Beach Boys

Act Two

I Still Haven't Found (What I'm Looking For)/U2
Wish You Were Here/Pink Floyd
Give Peace a Chance/John Lennon
Bring It On Home/John Lennon
Don't Cry/Guns N Roses
Vera/Pink Floyd
You Got Me Rockin'/The Rolling Stones

This was meant to post Wednesday, but the date says Tuesday. I like Wednesdays because of happy memories, young people, when we used to get weekly Variety on Wednesdays. We also get advance copies of the Arts and Leisure Section of the Sunday New York Times today, although this often spills over to Thursday. It's also a "wonderful day" as the divine Miss Seldes says, because it's matinee day on Broadway which means, "we get to do it twice!" It's also when Billboard releases the Soundscan charts (but ya gotta subscribe to get 'em!)

Late yesterday afternoon I took and N or the R Subway down to City Hall Park to see Disney on Broadway perform songs from "Beauty and the Beast," "The Lion King" and "Tarzan" on a stage right outside J&R Music. It was a very slick presentation and the casts sounded and looked great. (Full disclosure: My office works on these shows and we are paid by them weekly). While down below Canal Street I did go into the store and picked up the new Tom Petty album. Really smart packaging by Danny Clinch and others. Don't know when I will get to it, but it is something to look forward to listening to driving upstate. Also picked up the Richard Thompson DVD/CD package "1000 Years of Popular Music" on Cooking Vinyl (2 CDs and DVD on sale for $19.99).

It is a great conceit. Literally 1000 years of popular song from "Sumer is Icumen In" to "Oops!...I did it Again." That would be 1260AD to 2000AD.

I first became aware of this several years back through an item in the late, lamented ICE magazine. I was intrigued that Thompson was covering early music through pop (including The Who's "Legal Matter," ABBA's "Money, Money, Money," Prince's "Kiss," etc.) The guy is so smart and so important in contemporary music. This package is an easy way in to the work of one of the most important musical artists of the last century.

I have to say that I resisted his work for 30 years. When he was with Fairport Convention, the band was on Island Records, the hippest and most important small label of the 1970s -- Roxy Music, Traffic, Cat Stevens, Sparks, Robert Palmer, Free, Nick Drake, etc. And that was just the white kids. Bob Marley! Yet, I always found the British folk thing to be kind of dull.

Listening to it now is revelatory and I'm thrilled that there is an amazing catalog of music I can discover and learn to enjoy. He is a fantastic musician.

The earlier release of the concert performance of "1000 Years" (available on the fan club site) has more fun stuff on it. I guess it was either too expensive to include Beatles and ABBA songs, or he couldn't get permission. You can compare the two releases here first release and here second release.

White Bicycles, the new book by Joe Boyd celebrates some of the Fairport Convention story. It is such a good read. A literate (Ivy League, actually) take on "making music in the 1960s." The UK edition and has blurb from Brian Eno: "The best book about music I have read in years." He speaketh with great truth and wisdom.

Make it so.

Good Morning.

Tuesdays are always exciting because the big record labels release new product in stores (and online I guess). I'm looking forward to Tom Petty's new recording, which seems to be getting alot of good media coverage - USA Today.

The Wiz cast announced for La Jolla. Feel good about this.

Funny piece from The Times UK with smart commentary (as often on his blog) from Mark Shenton on The Stage website about London ad agencies and producers pulling good quotes -- or even just making them up -- from crap theatre reviews.

Last Five Years opens tonight in the UK. One of the dozen or so American musicals opening in London this year. Really quite amazing how many musicals are playing there.

I know Variety's own Army Archerd is claiming to be the Original Hollywood Blogger, but what about Earl Wilson. He covered Broadway too. That's Earl folks.