working

Gone Hollywood Logo

Obama and McCain Go Hollywood

As I was sorting through my Sunday Washington Post so that I could throw everything but the Parade and Washington Post Magazine my wife reads into the recycle bin, my attention was grabbed by this photo montage on the front of the Style section:

Washington Post Style Section

For a second, I thought they had juxtaposed Barack Obama with Malcolm X (the newsprint version is grainier than the digital one). But the Obama as Will Smith and John McCain and John Wayne comparison is more apt.

The illustration accompanies a Stephen Hunter feature entitled, “Leading Men -Barack Obama and John McCain Want the Biggest Role in Politics, Yet Each Candidate Has Very Different Star Qualities to Offer.” The opening:

Wonderful moment in John Ford’s “The Searchers,” from way back in 1956: John Wayne, as the surly, violent Ethan Edwards, signals to his young compadre that it’s time to move on in their pursuit of Scar, the Comanche chief who’s murdered their family and kidnapped the youngest daughter, Debbie.

“Let’s go, blankethead,” he scowls to the young Martin Pawley.

I love the Duke’s pronunciation of the word “blankethead”; it radiates contempt for the young and the untested. Ethan is using the blast of scorn to tell the young man not only to get going to his horse but to get going in growing up, to acquire sand, grit, salt and all the other granular metaphors for old-guy toughness and savvy. Blankethead: It’s a three-syllable telegram on the theme of the fecklessness of youth, and nobody but Wayne could turn it into poetry.

But in the same instant, I remember Will Smith in the original “Men in Black.” The hotshot young cop has been recruited to an alien-hunting team secretly HQ’d in a New York bridge, and now he’s working for Tommy Lee Jones and Rip Torn. Torn and Jones are babbling about something and not paying attention to Smith. There’s a moment of frustration on the young face, and he interrupts with his own blast of scorn: “Hey, old guys !”

It’s a voice full of impatience, annoyance, even contempt, suggesting they haven’t the energy, the quickness or the attention span to take care of business. It’s on him, now, the new guy, the kid: He’s got to keep them from wandering off, losing track, drifting as the old are wont to do.

A bit strained, perhaps, but interesting.

| Subscribe to our RSS Feed | Permalink | Send TrackBack

 

Bush Stimulus Went to Porn

It appears that one of the prime beneficiaries of President Bush’s Economic Stimulus Plan was the porn industry.


\

quote-picAn independent market-research firm, AIMRCo (Adult Internet Market Research Company), has discovered that many websites focused on adult or erotic material have experienced an upswing in sales in the recent weeks since checks have appeared in millions of Americans’ mailboxes across the country.

According to Kirk Mishkin, Head Research Consultant for AIMRCo, “Many of the sites we surveyed have reported 20-30% growth in membership rates since mid-May when the checks were first sent out, and typically the summer is a slow period for this market.”

Jillian Fox, spokeswoman for LSGmodels.com, one of the sites reporting figures to AIMRCo, added, “In a June 15, 2008 survey to our members, thirty two percent of respondents referenced the recent stimulus package as part of their decision to either become a new member, or renew an existing membership.”

The economic stimulus plan, which includes a check for up to $600 for individuals and $1200 for married couples (among other benefits), is the product of an agreement between House leaders and the Bush Administration, focused on reviving a struggling economy in the wake of a flagging economy.

Fox also added, “Getting more people to buy porn was probably the last thing Bush had on his mind when he came up with his ’stimulus package,’ but we’ll take it.”

So, it wasn’t just Christie Brinkley’s soon-to-be-ex-husband, the porn addict accounting for the surge?

Source:  President Bush Boosts Porn Industry With Economic Stimulus Plan, According to AIMRCo

| Subscribe to our RSS Feed | Permalink | Send TrackBack

 

Rapper DMX Arrested by the Time He Got to Phoenix

Earl Simmons, better known as DMX, was arrested.

quote-picRapper DMX is seen in this Wednesday, July 2, 2008 booking photo provided by the Maricopa County Sheriff\'s Office in Phoenix. The rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was arrested Wednesday, July 2, 2008 on outstanding warrants at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Courtesy of the Maricopa County Sheriff\'s Office)DMX has been arrested at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on outstanding warrants. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Aaron Douglas says the rapper, 37, was taken into custody Wednesday morning after arriving from Florida. DMX (real name: Earl Simmons) is being held on a $1,075 bond for driving with a suspended license and a $10,000 bond stemming from previous drug charges.

Douglas says DMX had failed to appear in court and warrants were issued. He is expected to appear before a judge late Wednesday. His lawyer in Phoenix, Cameron Morgan, declined TO comment.

The musician/actor has had a recent string of run-ins with the law. He was arrested Friday in Miami on charges of attempting to purchase cocaine and attempting to purchase marijuana.

Way to give rappers a bad name, dude.

Interestingly, country music star Glen Campbell had a song, recorded before Simmons/DMX was born, called “By the Time I get to Phoenix.” It had nothing to do with getting arrested, though. But, five years ago Glen Campbell was arrested — in Phoenix — on drunk driving and hit and run charges.

Clearly, the lesson here is that, if you’re a popular singer who commits crimes involving your vehicle and intoxicating substances, you should stay the hell out of Phoenix.

Source: “DMX arrested in Phoenix on outstanding warrants” (AP)

UPDATE (Allie): The “Many” mugshots of DMX

He’s getting good at this, no?

| Subscribe to our RSS Feed | Permalink | Send TrackBack

 

Rush Limbaugh’s $400 Million Deal

Rush Limbaugh isn’t going to have any trouble affording good cigars, having just re-upped with Clear Channel through 2016 for $400 million, including a $100 million signing bonus. And you thought pro athetes got paid a lot.

New York Times Magazine Cover Story on Limbaugh\'s $400 million contract extension

Said to be Limbaugh’s most lucrative deal ever by far, the new agreement runs through 2016 and includes a previously unheard-of nine figure signing bonus. For those of you in Rio Linda, that means more than $100 million, upfront.

[...]

Beyond infuriating the left, that staggering sum is sure to reinforce the widespread industry belief that talk represents one of broadcast radio’s only remaining bright spots. While several other major outfits are struggling to survive, Limbaugh and Premiere have provided a steady revenue stream for Clear Channel.

In fact, while advertisers have begun to abandon music radio for the Internet and other media, Limbaugh has recently added sponsors.

Clearly, I’m in the wrong business. Then again, if I could captivate 20 million listeners three hours a day for a couple decades, I’m sure I’d make more, too.

| Subscribe to our RSS Feed | Permalink | Send TrackBack
 

Homosexual Sets World Sprint Record

Tyson Homosexual ran 100 meters in a wind-aided 9.68 seconds at the U.S. Olympic trials today, in what would have been world record time. I mean, Tyson Gay.

Leftie People For the American Way’s Right Wing Watch blog reports that,

In addition to blocking traffic from websites they don’t like, it looks like the web-geniuses behind the American Family Association’s OneNewsNow site have a few other tricks up their sleeves, such as automatically replacing any use of the word “gay” with the word “homosexual” in any of the AP stories they run … leading to instances in which proper names are reformatted to meet their ridiculous standard, such as this article about sprinter Tyson Gay winning the 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in which he is renamed “Tyson Homosexual

As Steve Benen observes, “auto-replace is not your friend.”

Tyson Gay holds the U.S. flag after winning the men\'s 100 meters final at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon June 29, 2008. (Mike Blake/Reuters)I checked and, apparently, someone tipped off OneNewsNow and they have rendered Gay’s name as Gay in updated stories such as “Gay runs 100 in windy 9.68 to make US Olympic team.” Which, in this context, is still a pretty funny headline.

via memeorandum

| Subscribe to our RSS Feed | Permalink | Send TrackBack
 

George Clooney, Union Man

George Clooney might have a gazillion bucks in the bank but he’s apparently a union man through and through.

quote-pic In a two-page letter released Thursday, Clooney adopted a neutral stance in the dispute between the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Screen Actors Guild.

“What we can’t do is pit artist against artist,” he wrote.

AFTRA has already reached a tentative agreement with Hollywood studios. SAG wants AFTRA members to vote against the deal, saying its approval will handcuff SAG at the bargaining table. Both unions’ current contracts are set to expire Monday, leaving Hollywood on edge about a possible replay of the 100-day writers strike that ended in February. Results of the AFTRA vote are expected July 8.

Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin and others have joined hundreds of actors in signing an online petition urging actors to ratify the AFTRA pact. Meanwhile, Jack Nicholson, Viggo Mortensen and Holly Hunter have endorsed a SAG ad calling for AFTRA to return to the negotiating table to get a better deal.

Clooney called the fight counterproductive. “Because the one thing you can be sure of is that stories about Jack Nicholson vs. Tom Hanks only strengthens the negotiating power” of the studios, he said.

Clooney also called on higher-paid actors to chip in a greater share of union dues and for 10 A-listers — “people that the studio heads don’t often say ‘no’ to,” he suggested, listing only Nicholson and Hanks by name — to sit down with studio heads once a year to “adjust the pay for actors.”

The idea of millionaire actors unionizing, let alone going on strike, has always struck me as ludicrous. But Clooney’s instinct here is right: if they’re going to organize, the big money stars ought to take care of the little guys. It makes sense to have a system in place for the folks struggling for scale jobs trying to get regular employment. Not so much one that has the likes of Clooney and Hanks walking a picket line.

| Subscribe to our RSS Feed | Permalink | Send TrackBack
 

Greg Norman Wedding Chris Evert

Greg Norman and Chris Evert are getting married.

Chris Evert and Greg Norman Wedding Photo Golfing legend Greg Norman(R) and former tennis star Chris Evert(L), seen here in April 2008, will marry this weekend in the Bahamas, the Australian Associated Press reported Thursday. (AFP/File/Mark Ralston)

Golfing legend Greg Norman and former tennis star Chris Evert will marry this weekend in the Bahamas, the Australian Associated Press reported Thursday.

The couple, both 53, are to wed Saturday at sunset on a beach in Paradise Island, the AAP said, citing various media reports. The pair announced their engagement last December.

Guests are believed to include former US presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush senior, American actor Chevy Chase, tennis great Martina Navratilova and singers Gwen Stefani and Kenny Loggins.

Norman, who has won two British Open titles among scores of other tournaments, and Evert, who won 18 Grand Slam titles, arrived in Paradise Island on Thursday.

Both are well past their heyday but they were indeed legendary figures in their games. Evert was America’s sweetheart for years, although overlapping careers with Billy Jean King and Martina Navratilova, who were arguably more dominant players. She was much more telegenic, however. Norman was one of the great golfers of the 1980s and early 1990s, although he’s probably best remembered for an epic collapse at the Masters.

Norman, Evert to marry in Bahamas (AFP)

| Subscribe to our RSS Feed | Permalink | Send TrackBack
 

Iron Man 2008 Movie of Year

Iron Man has grossed over half a billion dollars worldwide, making it the top movie of 2008.

Robert Downey Jr. Iron Man Movie Photo

quote-picThe biggest movie of the summer just became the biggest movie of the year.

Iron Man became the first film of 2008 to pass the $300 million mark at the domestic box office today.

The Robert Downey Jr. career-resuscitating, comic-book adaptation had grossed an estimated $299.3 million through Tuesday, per the number crunchers at Box Office Mojo, and should have reached the milestone by the time you read this. Wednesday’s totals were not yet available, but the film has so far made no less than $680,000 per day in ticket sales, meaning if the Marvel flick didn’t hit the mark last night, it’s a statistical certainty it will do so today. Worldwide, the film has grossed an additional $250 million, bringing its global gross to more than $550 million.

And yes, a sequel is on its way.

It was an excellent movie. Probably the best of the superhero films yet.

Sources: “Iron Man Soars to $300 Million” [E!] and “IRON MAN Soars to $300 Mil | Claims title Movie of the Year” [Digg]

| Subscribe to our RSS Feed | Permalink | Send TrackBack
 

Movies Getting Longer (But Just Barely)

Film Length by Decades Graph Somebody has taken the top fifty movies, as ranked by IMDB, for each decade and produced the graph at right.

Andrew Sullivan, who I gather has just seen the “Sex and the City” movie and found it long, quips, “They don’t all have to be endless.”

But Andrew is only two years older than I am, which means contemporary films he’s likely to remember date from no earlier than the very late 1960s. Since then, the range has been within +/- 2 minutes, a duration not likely to register in the consciousness of the average moviegoer.

“Sex and the City” in particular ran for 148 minutes, a whopping 19 minutes (or 14.7 percent) more than average. That’s noticeable but likely objectionable only if the movie isn’t particularly enjoyable. By contrast, “Iron Man” was a measly 126 minutes; I’d have been happy for an additional 22 minutes worth.

Tags | Movies
| Subscribe to our RSS Feed | Permalink | Send TrackBack
 

Sara Evans Marries Jay Barker, Former Bama QB

Country star Sara Evans has married former University of Alabama quarterback Jay Barker, the AP reports.

Jay Barker and Sara Evans Photo

quote-picLori Genes, the singer’s publicist at Sony BMG Nashville, told The Associated Press on Monday that Evans and Barker had married but didn’t provide details of the wedding. People magazine reported on its Web site that the outdoor ceremony took place Saturday on a farm in Franklin, Tennessee.

The 37-year-old singer filed for divorce from Craig Schelske in October 2006 after 13 years of marriage. The divorce was completed last September.

Barker led Alabama to a national championship in 1992 and hosts a radio show in Birmingham.

I didn’t even know they were dating, to be honest. Then again, those of you who weren’t attending the University of Alabama or fans of its football team sixteen years ago, as I was, have likely never heard of Jay Barker.

Sara Evans Marries Jay Barker, Former Bama QB

Source: “Sara Evans has married former Alabama quarterback” (AP/YahooNews). Photos: CMT and Bumpshack

| Subscribe to our RSS Feed | Permalink | Send TrackBack
 

Commodores Reunion Tour Planned

The Commodores are getting back together. Probably. If they don’t all die first.

Lionel Richie Concert Photo 2008 Lionel Richie performs at the TV Land Awards on Sunday June 8, 2008 in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

quote-picGrammy award-winning pop singer Lionel Richie said Saturday that he and the Commodores will reunite soon for a tour. Richie said a reunion could happen in the next two years.

“We better do it now, or in the next 10 years nobody would care,” he told reporters before singing at Antigua’s Romantic Rhythms festival. Richie, 58, said it was important for the group to get together before it loses more band members. Lead guitarist Milan Williams died two years ago.

Richie was confident that synergy still existed between band members. He said Commodores’ bass player Ronald La Pread joined him on stage during his last tour and played some of the group’s old hits. The Commodores were known for hits like “Three Times a Lady” and “Brick House.”

Richie broke away from the Commodores in the late 1970s and topped the charts in the 1980s with songs like “Endless Love” and “Say You, Say Me.”

The Commodores made their reputation as a funky R&B band but “Three Times a Lady” and similar ballads had more mainstream appeal, much to the chagrin of Richie’s band mates, who were more interested in music than commercial success. For a decade or so, Richie was the king of the romantic ballad, cranking out top ten hit after hit.

Ironically, Richie is probably best known to the younger generation as “Nicole Richie’s dad.”

Source: “Lionel Richie pledges Commodores reunion” (AP/YahooNews)

| Subscribe to our RSS Feed | Permalink | Send TrackBack
 

Wonder Woman Finds Dead Body

Strange things happen when Wonder Woman tries to go to D.C. on a boat.

Lynda Carter Photo 2008 In this May 5, 2008 file photo, actress Lynda Carter shows off her Wonder Woman bracelet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala in New York. Carter says she didn't do anything extraordinary when she discovered a body Wednesday June 4, 2008 in the Potomac River in Washington.The body of 47-year-old Helen Johnstone of Washington was found floating on the river Wednesday.<br />
(AP Photo/Evan Agostini, file) quote-pic The actress who played Wonder Woman on TV in the 1970s says she didn’t do anything extraordinary when she discovered a body this week on the Potomac River in Washington.

Lynda Carter tells The Washington Post she was alone in a boat when she saw the body Wednesday. She says she didn’t have a cell phone with her, so she yelled to some fishermen and asked them to call police. Carter waited until rescuers arrived and directed them to the body.

District of Columbia police say the body of 47-year-old Helen Johnstone of Washington was found floating on the river Wednesday. The medical examiner’s office has not declared an official cause of death.

Carter says she “did what anybody would have done.”

That’s one way to meet Lynda Carter, I guess.

Source “Wonder Woman actress finds body on river in D.C.” YahooNews/AP

Tags | Lynda Carter
| Subscribe to our RSS Feed | Permalink | Send TrackBack
 

10 Best Celebrity Quotes of the Week

People are apparently buzzing about the celebrity quotes of the week, so who am I to argue?

Pete Wentz - Ashley Simpson quote-pic“The Wentz family, our Christmas card just got upgraded!” – Pete Wentz, on new wife Ashlee’s decision to change her last name to his, to PEOPLE

“Pole dancing really isn’t as easy as it looks.” - Carmen Electra, who is releasing her own line of stripper poles, to PEOPLE

“I think he’s 1 percent water and 99 percent talent.” - Mike Myers, describing his The Love Guru costar Justin Timberlake, to PEOPLE

“It’s amazing what a haircut and forgetting to shave will do.” – American Idol David Cook, on being a “cougar” magnet, to Today’s Meredith Vieira

“I don’t really like to respond to things I read about myself in the press but, for the record, I was not thrown off anybody’s yacht in Cannes.” – Singer Lily Allen, dismissing rumors of rowdy behavior via her MySpace page

“Can we get the ranch?” – Ellen DeGeneres, asking newlywed Jenna (Bush) Hager if she could have the same no-fly zone wedding location

“I’m about two months pregnant right now and we’re getting married on August 8th of 2008.” – Reality star Kim Kardashian, fooling with reporters (and her boyfriend, NFL star Reggie Bush), at the Hampton Bays nightclub Whitehouse

“I would start by eating an entire box of Fruity Pebbles out of it. Then I’d take an afternoon sponge bath in it. Then I’d retro fit it with handles and make it into a Stanley Cup handbag.” – Detroit Red Wings’ hockey fan Kristen Bell, on what she’d do with the Stanley Cup championship trophy if she had possession of it for a day, to NHL.com

“A little whipping every now and then, Harrison?” – Regis Philbin, asking Harrison Ford if he ever took home the Indiana Jones whip, on Live with Regis and Kelly

“That’s cheap. Everyone’s kissed George Clooney.” – Madonna, after auctioning off her Chanel purse for more than $471,000 – that’s $171,000 more than a kiss from Clooney fetched – at the amfAR Cinema Against AIDS benefit in Cannes

Source: “10 Best Celeb Quotes this Week” [People]

Tags | Top 10 Lists
| Subscribe to our RSS Feed | Permalink | Send TrackBack
 

Condi Rice Enlists in Kiss Army

Condi Rice and Kiss are mutual fans, apparently.

Condi Rice Enlists in Kiss Army

quote-picThe Kiss Army fan club has an enthusiastic new recruit: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

In a departure from her normally staid diplomatic duties, Rice met the legendary glam rock quartet when they happened to share a hotel in the Swedish capital. Rice was in Stockholm on Thursday for an international conference on Iraq. Kiss had a sold-out gig to play on Friday.

“I was thrilled,” Rice said of her late-night encounter with frontman Gene Simmons and bandmates Paul Stanley, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer in the executive lounge of the Sheraton Hotel where they signed autographs and handed out backstage passes and T-shirts to her staff. “It was really fun to meet Kiss and Gene Simmons,” she told reporters, noting they seemed well informed about current events. The band had asked if she could stop by after she finished dinner with the Swedish foreign minister and Rice readily agreed, she said.

Simmons and his crew, who are on a European tour, weren’t wearing their trademark stage makeup, but were recognizable as rock stars to even non-fans by their hair, according to State Department officials who were with Rice.

Rice, a classically trained pianist, said she has eclectic musical tastes ranging from Beethoven to Bruce Springsteen. Hard stadium rockers like Kiss are included in the mix and Rice said her favorite tune of theirs is “Rock and Roll All Nite.” But, she conceded she had never seen the group in concert.

In fact, although she frequently attends classical music performances, Rice claims to have been to only four rock concerts in her life. The first was in the early 1960s when she went as a 10-year-old to see Paul Revere and the Raiders in her home state of Alabama. After her family moved to Colorado, Rice went at the age of 16 went on her first date with an Air Force cadet to see Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. She later saw Earth, Wind and Fire in Denver and her last rock and roll show was a U2 concert in Washington, she said.

Amusing.

Condi Rice enlists in Kiss Army [AP/YahooNews]

Tags | Music
| Subscribe to our RSS Feed | Permalink | Send TrackBack
 

10 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time

The gang at Rolling Stone has come up with a list of the “100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.” But who’s got time for that in the fast-page Internet age? Here’s their top 10 — the other 90 suck in comparison, right?

1. “Johnny B. Goode” Chuck Berry (1958)

“If you want to play rock & roll,” Joe Perry told Rolling Stone in 2004, “you have to start here.” Recorded 50 years ago, on January 6th, 1958, at the Chess Records studio in Chicago, Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” was the first great record about the joys and rewards of playing rock & roll guitar. It also has the single greatest rock & roll intro: a thrilling blast of high twang driven by Berry’s spearing notes, followed by a rhythm part that translates a boogie-woogie piano riff for the guitar. “He could play the guitar just like a-ringing a bell,” Berry sings in the first verse — a perfect description of his sound and the reverberations still running through every style of rock guitar, from the Beatles and the Stones on down. “It was beautiful, effortless, and his timing was perfection,” Keith Richards has said of Berry’s playing. “He is rhythm man supreme.” Berry wrote often about rock & roll and why it’s good for you — “Roll Over Beethoven” in 1956, “Rock and Roll Music” in ‘57 — but never better than in “Johnny B. Goode,” a true story about how playing music on a guitar can change your life forever.

2. “Purple Haze” The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967)

The riff is pure blues — the same kind of guitar figure Hendrix played nightly back on the R&B-club grind, as a sideman for Little Richard and the Isley Brothers. But in “Purple Haze,” Hendrix’s second British single and the first track on the U.S. version of his debut album, he declared himself a free man — “‘Scuse me while I kiss the sky” — and unveiled a new guitar language charged with spiritual hunger and the poetry possible in electricity and studio technology. “Guitar — you can play it or transcend it,” said Neil Young when he inducted Hendrix into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. “Jimi showed me that. I heard it, felt it and wanted to do it.” Hendrix wrote “Purple Haze” backstage at a London nightclub in December 1966 and recorded basic tracks with his band, the Experience, two weeks later. But the galactic travel came in overdubs recorded on February 3rd, 1967: Hendrix’s solos, swimming in echo and sparkling with harmonics, were put through an octave-boosting effect and played back at twice the speed. In less than three minutes, Hendrix opened a new age of expression on his instrument.

3. “Crossroads” Cream (1968)

Eric Clapton once described Cream’s music as “blues ancient and modern.” This track is what he meant. He was not yet 23 when he played this high-velocity version of the Robert Johnson song at San Francisco’s Winterland on March 10th, 1968. Everything in Clapton’s solos is grounded in the blues vocabulary but pointed to the future. “When Clapton soloed, he wrote wonderful symphonies from classic blues licks in that fantastic tone,” Little Steven Van Zandt told Rolling Stone in 2004. “You could sing his solos like songs in themselves.”

4. “You Really Got Me”
The Kinks (1964)

It was, at first, “a jazz-type tune,” said Kinks singer Ray Davies, and the two-chord figure driving it was a sax line. “That’s what I liked at the time.” Then his brother Dave played it on guitar through an amp speaker he had poked with needles and shredded with a razor blade. (”It was a Gillette single-sided blade,” said Dave.) Dave’s solo — a tangle of zigzags and viciously bent notes — heralded the birth of Sixties garage and punk-rock guitar in one fell swoop. “I said I’d never write another song like it,” said Ray. “And I haven’t.”

5. “Brown Sugar” The Rolling Stones (1971)

“Satisfaction” may be the Rolling Stones’ most recognizable riff, but this Sticky Fingers hit — based on a gutbucket guitar part devised by Mick Jagger — is the band’s raunchy guitar pinnacle. Keith Richards’ secret weapon: He’s playing a guitar that’s missing its lowest string.

6. “Eruption” Van Halen (1978)

Eddie Van Halen’s 102-second mission statement was a piece he invented onstage: a solo showcase for his mastery of tone and technique, notably the rush of notes he produced with his fretboard tapping. An army of teens would try to duplicate it, emerging years later in every metal band of the Eighties.

7. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” The Beatles (1968)

This is a tale of two guitar giants at an empathic peak: George Harrison, who wrote this song on acoustic guitar in India, and Eric Clapton, who amplifies Harrison’s vocal dismay with a waterfall of blues fills. It’s the finest examaple of his jagged, late-Sixties tone.

8. “Stairway to Heaven” Led Zeppelin (1971)

“Stairway,” Jimmy Page told RS in 1975, “crystallized the essence of the band.” It’s a masterpiece of dramatic ascension: Page’s acoustic picking rising into chiming chords, which introduce the solo, a brilliant succession of phrases that steadily move toward rock & roll ecstasy.

9. “Statesboro Blues” The Allman Brothers Band (1971)

In 1968, Gregg Allman went to visit his older brother, Duane, on his 22nd birthday. Duane was sick in bed, so Gregg brought along a bottle of Coricidin pills for his fever and the debut album by guitarist Taj Mahal as a gift. “About two hours after I left, my phone rang,” Gregg remembers. ” ‘Baby brother, baby brother, get over here now!’ ” When Gregg got there, Duane had poured the pills out of the bottle, washed off the label and was using it as a slide to play “Statesboro Blues,” the old Blind Willie McTell song that Taj Mahal covered. Duane had never played slide before, says Gregg, but “he just picked it up and started burnin’. He was a natural.”

The song quickly became a part of the Allman Brothers Band’s repertoire, and Duane’s slide guitar became crucial to their sound. “Statesboro Blues” was the opening track on their legendary 1971 live double album, At Fillmore East, and ever since, the moaning and squealing opening licks have given fans chills at live shows. “It wasn’t something that Duane would play the same way every night,” says current Allmans guitarist Warren Haynes, one of many guitarists who have filled Duane’s shoes since he died in late 1971. “But in all of our heads, that’s the way it goes.”

There’s one thing the current band doesn’t try to replicate from the Fillmore East performance: At the end of Duane’s sublime “Statesboro” solo, the guitarist hits an off-key note that Gregg calls the “note from hell.” “He left it in because he knew I hated it,” says Gregg, claiming that the mistake only adds to the song’s legend. “It was live. It was something that happened.” EVAN SERPICK

10. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” Nirvana (1991)

Most of “Teen Spirit” came easy — Nirvana nailed it in three takes — but that crucial Kurt Cobain guitar intro required an overdub (”That pissed him off,” said producer Butch Vig). It was worth the effort: That riff, along with the band’s loud-quiet-loud dynamics, defined Nineties rock.

It’s a pretty lame list, if you ask me. “Johnny B. Goode” and “Purple Haze” are certainly top 10 material but most of the others aren’t. A lot of them aren’t event particularly good guitar songs.

Certainly, almost any AC/DC song you’ve ever heard of is better than “Stairway to Heaven” as a guitar jam. Indeed, so are quite a few Zeppelin songs, notably “Rock and Roll.” And where’s Lynyrd Skynrd’s “Freebird”? That’s gotta be in the top 10.

Source: “The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time” [Rolling Stone]

| Subscribe to our RSS Feed | Permalink | Send TrackBack