It’s summertime and there’s really not all that much to talk about. Nobody gives a shit about baseball. A guy knifing his own jersey is the biggest story of the season. The Olympics are approaching but the USA Basketball team will run through its opponents quicker than Brazilian prostitutes run through their government-appointed condoms. Michael Phelps will add a few more gold medals to hang around his water bong and some currently unknown US gymnast will become a household name.
That’s about it.
We’ve got forty more days and nights until football starts so let’s talk a little music.
As you recall, Part I of my summer concert series started in NYC where I saw a little-known yet funkifiably, fantastic hip-hop act called People Under The Stairs. Don’t be disappointed for Part II doesn’t involve a concert at all but rather a conversation over a bar about one of the most prolific pop acts of all-time: Hall and Oates.
Some kids walked into the pub the other day and by kids, I mean they were in their late twenties-early thirties.
Two of them had heard of Hall & Oates, even seen them perform in concert. The other, the only male in the group, had not, which I suppose is a pretty good ratio. If you randomly polled the next 100 people you met, do you think that two-thirds of them would have heard of Hall & Oates? I’m guessing that answer would probably be yes, regardless of age or gender but I could be mistaken.
In the past, oddly enough, I’ve written about another disturbing soul who had never heard of Hall and Oates. The band has somehow become Marty McFly’s fading brother and sister at the end of Back to the Future.
I mean, we are talking one of rock music’s most popular duos that released hit after gold-plated hit in the late 1970s and 80s. According to Wikipedia, the source for all things unverifiable, Hall and Oates are the third best-selling duo ever, behind the Carpenters and I’m guessing Simon and Garfunkel. They had six number one hits. Billboard listed them in their top 15 greatest artists of all-time which is a stretch but their mark on modern pop music is undeniable and most certainly recognizable, not to mention Darryl Hall has perhaps the most soulful voice God ever gave a white man.
There was a point in the early 80s when basically every song H&O released was a smash hit. Yet this gentleman who sat at my bar could barely name one of their songs. I began playing some of their music over the house speakers at which point he eventually nodded his head, acknowledging he had heard the songs but if I asked him to pick them out of a lineup or even name a title of one of the songs, it wasn’t happening. To this kid’s defense, he was raised in Utah but the Beehive State is no third world country. I mean, they do have radios there, right? Even the aforementioned Brazilian prostitutes are probably slipping some Sara Smile onto their transistor radios before convincing their tricks to perform sex acts they’ll eventually regret.
Which got me thinking of another conversation I had many years ago, not about Brazilian hookers but about which bands will be remembered fifty, one hundred or one hundred-fifty years from now, which ones would stand the test of time. This particular friend with whom I had the conversation swore up and down that, of all the great rock acts of this generation and last, Pink Floyd would be the one most remembered. I disagreed.
Well, much to Darryl and John John’s dismay, apparently Hall and Oates won’t be making that list either.
When I play classics behind the bar to set a mood, Sinatra always resonates. So does most quality classic rock, i.e., Stones, Zeppelin, Doors, Otis Redding, Aretha, Stevie, Michael and countless others. But allow me to Marty McFly forward in our time machine and press play on the jukebox one hundred years from now. As difficult as this might be to forecast, which of these artists will still be playing? Whose contributions will be recognized and remembered? All? Some? None?
How will our greatest artists, singers and musicians stand the test of time? When I play Ray Charles’ I’ve Got A Woman, people start tapping their feet. It never fails. That song was recorded in 1954. That’s over 60 years ago and it is still going strong. Of course, the song was rejuvenated by the film Ray and Kanye West’s sample of it for Gold Digger but nonetheless, the song still kicks much ass.
How well will we honor our greatest audible art down the road? Personally, I can’t imagine a time where Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough doesn’t make me want to get up and dance. I’ve noticed that song has the same effect on younger generations as well.
So who makes the cut and who gets left out in the cold?
The Mona Lisa is still hanging in the Louvre and is one of the most recognizable pieces of art in the world. She’s over 500 years old and is still turning heads. So maybe there’s hope for Hall & Oates after all.
Years ago, I saw some teenage girls screaming about a poster they had just bought. At first, I could only see them and not who was on the poster. I figured it had to be Bieber or whatever boy band was popular at the time.
They turned the poster around. On the front of it were four moppy-headed blokes that knew a thing or two about singing and songwriting. It was a poster of the Beatles.
Fortunately for humanity’s sake, some works of art are just timeless.
H & O are still great. Of my favorite duos however, I am still enamored with Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox of the Eurythmics ! After they split , Lennox went to have a successful solo career , while Stewart become a top-notch lyricist and producer.
Rap has become boring , tedious and now , I only now have time to listen to the likes of Kendrick Lamar , Common Yassin Bey (Mos Def, Talib Kweli and Common.
I’ll come out of hibernation when the NFL regular season starts and not before.
So all of a sudden Michael Jordan has a voice when it comes to social conscience ? Leaving his race flabbergasted, he makes what is said to be a generous six-figure donation to a police benevolent foundation. Yet, when questioned over the deaths of Tamir Rice and Laquan McDonald , his (Jordan) dumb @ss had nothing to say. However , with the Charlotte Hornets now out of the running to stage the NBA All Star Game , he was pleading the state legislature to rethink HB20 , the North Carolina State Legislature’s LBGT Bill. The economic impact loss to the state will exceed $150 million. I guess , that was perhaps the primary reason Jordan and his Hornets’ cohorts were trying to get the state legislator to change their mind ? North Carolina governor , Pat McRory basically told the NBA hierarchy to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine .
The three biggest threats to the upcoming Olympics . Vladimir Putin launching a pre-emptive military strike against Brazil , after the IOC , says it will not accept a full delegation of Russian athletes in Rio. Second threat , the Zika Virus as the spread of the disease can be also be traced to the exchange of bodily fluids and kissing. Ergo’ hookers won’t be offering blow-jobs in the flavellas of Rio or on Copacabana Beach . Third threat, ISIS can’t be sure whether or not it’s best to disrupt the games with a terrorist attack or simply take aim at softer targets elsewhere around the world . DT meanwhile will be taking aim at Hillary and Mike Pence .
This will be a fun time to be in the US as a British expat . Me, I’m now leaning towards joining a contractor in the Far East if the right offer comes my way !
I’ll be back in a month. I’ll catch up on H&O and visit you and attempt to redeem myself.
Hard to believe there’s someone that has never heard of Hall & Oates.
What’s funny is that in the 80’s I goofed on H&O. I was more into Van Halen, Zep, Sabbath, Tom Petty then Run DMC, PE & NWA…H&O seemed too mainstream to me back then. But in retrospect, I now appreciate them a lot more. Anytime I Can’t Go For That comes on, I defy anyone to not bob their head to the infectious beat. How many rappers have sampled that bass line and created art from the two white guys with that big ass 80’s hair?
The tv show Live From Daryl’s House is a great watch too.
Dude’s still got it. Tivo it or YouTube it if you’ve never indulged.
Oats…Well, I have no idea where he is these days.
I’m guessing probably still producing the Howard Stern show and still rocking that 70’s porn stache like a fucking boss.
OK – I’ll be the first guinea pig. These are not all household names. Dave Matthews Band live, Ray Wylie Hubbard (post drugs) live and of course SRV live. Jerry Jeff Walker gets an honorable mention as well as Jimmy Buffett.
Yeah, Al, here’s hoping the Rio Olympics go off without as many glitches as we expect might happen.
And yes, while it was magnanimous of Jordan to drop two mil on anti-violence charities, I think it took most of us by surprise considering his usual silence on these issues.
It’s a shame, isn’t it, Rag.
However, it looks like our boy has shown up and is willing to do some homework.
Tim…
Thanks for the inspirational conversation. Hope it didn’t embarrass ya’ too bad.
Even if it did, don’t worry about it. None of these people here know you. Yet.
Porn ‘stache.
Yea, I saw John Oates at some function in Tampa not long ago. Tiny fucker.
I have yet to see these guys perform in concert though.
It’s on my bucket list for sure.
The fact that D. Hall can still hit those high notes is amazing.
Moose…
I had the chance to see Stevie Ray play Jazzfest in ’90 three months before he did yet passed on it because I didn’t have money for the ticket.
Bad call on my part.
Hey Chris…im going to go off topic in a second so please forgive me. First Il try my best to answer your question for this topic…the group that jumps out at me, though maybe its become too cliche….is “The Eagles’. They could stand the test of time.
Ok, a little sports…Ive been a Royals fan a long time…i may move to the Tampa area someday..not quite sure yet on that. About five years ago, you wrote a piece called ” One fans internal struggle: When is it ok to switch Allegiances” posted October 4th, 2013. Is there anyway I could get you back into Marty McFly’s delorean, and revisit that column you posted and view my response…..and perhaps help me with my dilema? And….yea…Hall & Oats are great.
David…
I responded to your comment on the switching allegiances post although I must admit it seems odd to jump off the winning team’s bandwagon to root for what is perennially one of the lowest budget teams in the league.
There’s a reason low budget films (the Rays) don’t make it in Hollywood (the playoffs). It’s because they suck. What we need here is another “Clerks” and those movies come only once in a generation.
Chris , Silence is golden , especially from Michael Jordan . The franchise has lost 2017 NBA All Star Game after the legislative statute signed into law (HB22) within the state . Now this from Jordan as a gesture ?
I see Matt Silverman of the Rays , is still selling his bull#%it to the Rays’ fans after the trading of Matt Moore ? His statement , that the franchise is now in a better place and more competitive as a team , makes about as much sense , as racing a three-legged horse in the Kentucky Derby. Is there any reason to go on supporting the Tampa Bay Rays at this juncture? They provide no real entertainment , than their constant losing and the numerous ways they go about accomplishing such a feat.
I’m not too sure how active Jordan was in the whole legislative decision that prompted the NBA losing the All-Star Game. As famous as he is, I doubt even his influence could have changed the government’s decision on the matter. That’s even if he disagreed with it to begin with.
And the next time I believe anything Matt Silverman has to say will be the next time they’re over .500… which will be a while.