I just bought the vinyl slab of Sonic Highways yesterday. I am very impressed with the music and the quality of the recording. And the vinyl is very quiet too. Highly recommended!
Shakey |
This week's show, (the sixth) was in New Orleans. New
Orleans is probably my favorite city in the country. Been
there many times. It's one city you can wake up to music
and go to sleep with music. There's music everywhere.
They interviewed Cyril Neville, Bonnie Raitt, Ben Jaffe, and
talked quite a bit about and to Allen Toussaint and Mac
Rebennack, or as we all know him Dr. John. The group the
Meters was also featured.
They discussed the history of Preservation Hall and the jazz
band that plays there.
They also spent some time around the city to show how the
diverse mixture of cultures make New Orleans the city that
it is. They also talked about Hurricane Katrina and the
devastation and rebuild that followed.
They played and recorded this show's song in Preservation
Hall.
Another excellent segment. My favorite so far. |
The fifth segment was filmed in Los Angeles although most of the action takes part "outside" of the LA area.
I had never heard of Rancho de la Luna before. It's a pretty crappy, rundown house in the desert that has a world renowned recording studio inside. They talked a lot about the two guys that started it and it is still used to this day.
They also flashed back to Rodney Bingenhiemer's club that was very popular in the 1970's. His "English Disco" was home to some of the soon to be top acts from that era.
I also learned about "generator parties". They would take a gas generator out into the desert and plug in all of their instruments and play out in the middle of nowhere.
They interviewed Joan Jett, Joe Walsh, Joshua Homme, David Catching and a few others.
The song called "Outside" was written and recorded at Rancho de la Luna.
Each week has had a pretty interesting show and I've learned
quite a bit that I didn't know. |
The fourth installment was in Austin. I have learned so much about the different cities so far in this documentary series.
I didn't know that the music scene is Austin, as it is today, might be very different if Willie Nelson hadn't returned to Austin from Nashville.
I also wasn't aware that the show Austin City Limits has been going for almost 40 years! And that Willie was the first to play on that show.
They interviewed Jimmie Vaughan, Willie Nelson, Gary Clark Jr., Billy Gibbons, and Terry Lickona who has been the producer of Austin City Limits since 1978.
They let the Foo Fighters play and record their song in the old studio 6A that Austin City Limits used for many years, (they have since moved to a new state of the art facility).
I have been to SXSW several times, but not recently since it's gone pretty commercial and pretty much zoo like. I did have a wonderful time, each time I went, but fear I might not make it out alive, if was to return. :-)
Again, I have really enjoyed this new series and hope the remainder of the episodes are as good as the first four. |
The series is quite watchable, and I like the focus on the more obscure players on each scene, but has anyone noticed how every new song the FF play at the end sound exactly the same? |
Like him or not, Dave Grohl, is the MAN!
He has done so much for music fans since the demise of Nirvana. I am pretty sure that his wealth from those days would have lasted him for many, many years. Still, he took on new projects and constantly perpetuates his talents.
This latest endeavor, Sonic Highways, is too cool. Certainly, every major U.S. city has a musical history and story to tell.
And this is only major cities. Imagine, smaller cities or even large towns. There is a musical plethora out there yet to be discovered. ROCK ON! |
Austin is on the list. They're taping an ACL segment here tomorrow night. Agreed, very good, in depth series that's really about the music. |
Phase...I agree with you about Minneapolis, but alas, that's
not one of the towns listed.
Maybe if this does well, they will do other cities. |
We need Dave to come to Minneapolis...prince, soul asylum, Husker du, replacements, run Westy run
, cows, babes in toyland, atmosphere,etc |
The third installment of the excellent series was filmed in
Nashville. They interviewed Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris,
Tony Lee White, Willie Nelson and a few more.
Knowing nothing about how Nashville got started, this
segment delved deep into Nashville’s past. Like, I didn’t
know that the jukebox made Nashville. The city is a big
music making machine, but makes it with singles. They have
several top songwriters that pin the songs, then the right
artist is chosen to record it. Few artists actually write
their own stuff, whether it’s a single or a whole album.
There are exceptions, like Zac Brown, which they did a great
interview with and Taylor Swift, but for the most part, you
don’t deviate from the formula.
We get to see the famous Bluebird café and they record at
Southern Ground Studios, which used to be the famous
Monument Studios.
The song they created for this show had a little bit of a
country influence even though Dave Grohl was adamant not to
go down that road.
So far, I LOVE this series! I’ve learned so much about the
music scene in the United States that I never knew. |
The second installment was in Washington D.C. They focused on Go-Go and Punk music. I had never heard of the Go-Go music like that, associated here.
They showcased bands like The Bad Brains, Scream, Minor Threat, Fugazi, Chuck Brown. I have never heard of any of these bands and really enjoyed learning about the music scene that developed in D.C. over the years.
They also filmed and recorded at Inner Ear Studios.
The song they did on this segment was pretty punk oriented with a little Go-Go influence mixed in.
So far, I'm really impressed with this series.
This series airs on Fridays, with reruns all through the following week. |
