A Mama's Rant

Two Books for Your Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle

Boy Howdy!

I blame my musical tastes on one event in my life - finding an issue of CREEM magazine in a grocery store magazine rack while I waiting for my mom to finish her shopping. It was the August 1978 issue with Bob Seger on the cover. I was 13 years old and, like Lou Reed sang, in love with rock 'n' roll.

I must have bought the magazine for the Paul McCartney story because I was still obsessed with bands like the Beatles and the Stones even though I was listening to a lot of new wave on the New York City radio stations - Patti Smith Group, Blondie, the Ramones, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Joe Jackson, Lena Lovich, Talking Heads, Tom Robinson Band, the Cars, and so on. Of course, there was new music from the Who, the Stones, the Kinks, and local boy done good, Bruce Springsteen to enjoy, too. (Did I mention I grew up on the Jersey Shore? And yes, I know where Bruce lives - very close to my old house - but I'm not sharing. Tough.)

It was because of CREEM that I learned about all the other bands I still listen to like Cheap Trick, the Clash, Elvis Costello, and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Yes, I'm stuck in the '80s, but it's a great decade to be stuck in. After all, CREEM was a very good influence. The magazine opened my eyes and my ears to the latest trends in music and some magnificent rock 'n' roll writing by the likes of Lester Bangs, Dave Marsh and Dave DiMartino. It didn't matter that most of the dirty jokes and drug humor went over my head. (My mom asked me once if CREEM was a porn mag, LOL.) The writers and editors of CREEM magazine loved the bands I did. It was teenage rock 'n' roll heaven with the Clash and Joan Jet right in your face. Man, what a hoot!

So when I read that they were releasing a book called CREEM: America's Only Rock 'N' Roll Magazine, I rushed to Border's to get it and immediately sat at the store for an hour thumbing through the coffee table sized book. The cool thing about CREEM: America's Only Rock 'N' Roll Magazine is that there are articles from the years before I discovered CREEM on bands like the MC5 and the Stooges who influenced the punk bands I love.

The book also covers the Midwest origins of the magazine. Its rustbelt Detroit roots helped them sympathize with the UK punk bands, gave them a fresh perspective on the NYC scene, and helped them promote fellow Midwesterners such as Cheap Trick, Devo and Chrissy Hynde. They knew what kids in heartland America were dying to hear. And it also explains why the San Francisco-based hippy holdout Rolling Stone magazine became irrelevant to teens like me who loved punk and new wave.

My only disappointment was that they didn't reprint every article from 1978 onwards. That would have been a big book. Well, maybe they could leave all the KISS articles out. Nah, they were entertaining too, even though I wasn't into the band. Still I want to read the Springsteen interview where he gets drunk on two beers, so I hope they publish a volume two (and three and four.) Can't get me enough CREEM!

THE PASSING OF TWO LEGENDS

I must be getting old, because two people that were part of my scene here in Denver and out in San Diego recently passed away.

First, there's Buddy Blue, a founding member of the Beat Farmers. He was like a big brother to one of my best friends from high school, Todd, who played bass on one of his albums. He was also the roommate of my friend and hair stylist, Debra. I didn't know Buddy personally, he was friends of friends after all, but he was incredibly influential on the San Diego music scene, whether you played in a punk, new wave, swing or rockabilly band. He was a character too, and an alumni of my old high school, Grossmont. Buddy is survived by his wife and his three-year-old daughter.

(Click here for some great concert footage at YouTube.com.)

Then Russell Enloe, an old friend from here in Denver, passed away a couple of weeks ago from a heart attack caused by the medications he was taking for depression and a skate boarding injury. His injury was so bad he had multiple surgeries and nearly lost his leg and it took him years to recover. Russell was very influential on the local and international rockabilly community as well as in the vintage clothing business. You could walk into a vintage clothing store in New Orleans, mention that you were from Denver, and the owner would ask you if you knew Russell.

Both men were the coolist of the cool and will be missed.

SPRINGSTEEN RELEASES "WE SHALL OVER COME"

I eagerly await the arrival of Bruce Springsteen's We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions that I ordered today from Amazon.com.

(Even though I'll have to wait for my order, Amazon.com put bonus audio and video tracks in my online "digital locker." Cool!)

I don't know about you, but I grew up singing Seeger songs like "Erie Canal" in grade school. You'll probably recognize some of these songs, like "Froggie Went A-Courtin'" from your kid's music CDs as well.

Unlike so much of today's popular music, this is real American music that you can share with your children. Check it out!

Articles/Reviews:

• Springsteen's 'Seeger Sessions' is short of greatness by Richard Cromelin of the Los Angeles Times
• A Boss Nod to Seeger: 'We Shall Overcome' from NPR
• The Boss jubilantly plays Seeger by Joan Anderman of the Boston Globe
• Springsteen Rocks Pete Seeger and the Folk Tradition by David Corn of Yahoo News
• Rolling Stone's review
• Springsteen's 'Seeger Sessions' take folksy turn by Larry Shane of the Associated Press

CAN MOTHERS ROCK?

In Water Over Stones Tina deVaron writes and sings about motherhood and raising teens. Her music has a Bonnie Rait jazzy blues feel. However, I was disappointed by the lightness of her lyrics, and the cliche of her sentiments.

So I began to search for other women who were writing songs and singing about motherhood.

I read about the Motherlode Trio in Parenting magazine's March 2006 issue. I enjoyed their fun folk music and thought their lyrics on children and motherhood were more substantial than Tina's. Still I wanted more.

I needed to listen to music that ROCKED OUT and would help me get through a day of surly kids and household drudgery. I wanted lyrics that expressed the frustration and exhaustion of motherhood as much as the love we feel for our children.

So I turned to one my favorite bands, The Pretenders. Now I admit, I'd probably like Chrissie Hynde singing her grocery list, that's how much I love her voice. But the song "I'm a Mother" is powerful both lyrically (see below) and musically. The song was released on Last of the Independents in 1994 when Chrissie was 43 and her eldest daughter was 11. (It's hard to believe she's in her late 50s and has 20-something daughters now.)

But since then, who's been rocking out about motherhood? Patti Smith? Kim Gordon? Exene Cervenka? Heck, what about Madonna or soon-to-be mom Gwen Stefani? I don't think so.

Why can't female rockers write/sing about motherhood? Why do we have to treat motherhood with soft lullabies and sentimental lyrics?

THESE MAMAS ROCK!

Dear Friend Michelle (and new mom to Miss Agnes) writes in:

I saw these moms [Candy Band] on CBS morning show today and they ROCK! Sean and I are buying their albums today. Nothing like a group of mom's singing kids song like PUNKS! I swear they are so cool. You know how much Sean and I love punk music so we think they are the perfect band for Miss Agnes.

I totally agree after checking out Candy Band's blog, too. Nice to see that you can keep the spirit of the Clash, the Ramones and the Stooges alive and still be a mom.

Punk rock moms RULE!

WE ARE DEVO

Any Devo fans out there?

Seems that Mark Mothersbaugh is doing some weird-ass photography these days. You can view his Beautiful Mutant photographs, "images pulled from man's past, then corrected into sickeningly beautiful beings" here.

Nice to know that time and producing music for the Rugrats hasn't mellowed Mark one bit.

Thanks to Brook's Blog for the link.

THREE MORE REASONS WHY YOU SHOULDN'T SMOKE

Johnny Ramone, guitarist and co-founder of the punk band The Ramones, died of prostate cancer yesterday. He was 55.

Joey Ramone, lead singer for the Ramones died in 2001 of lymphatic cancer. He was 49.

Joe Strummer, lead singer for the Clash, died in 2002 of a heart attack. He was 50.

Why are my punk rock heroes dying so young from old people's diseases? Could it be CIGARETTE SMOKE? Either these guys smoked or were subjected to countless hours of second hand smoke in clubs and concert venues.

Just another reason to tell our children that cigarettes are bad.

Rock on, Johnny, Joey and Joe. You are missed.

(Photos: AP)

BOYCOTT MARILYN O'GRADY

I rarely listen to Redmond & Newman on 630 KHOW. Frankly, I think their show sucks. Their topics are stupid and the hosts are even more so. But now that Enid Goldstein is gone, I'm desperate for anything on talk radio that isn't sports, Dr. Laura or Rush Limbaugh. (Peter Boyle's show on KHOW is fantastic but I seldom have the radio on from 5-9 a.m.)
So I was pleasantly surprised to hear a topic of interest, that the New York Conservative Party's candidate for the U.S. Senate, Marilyn O'Grady, is launching a "Boycott the Boss" television commercial that lambastes Springsteen's tour in support of Vote for Change.

"He thinks making millions with a song-and-dance routine allows him to tell you how to vote," Marilyn O'Grady says in the 30-second spot. "Here's my vote: Boycott the Boss. If you don't buy his politics, don't buy his music."