| MUSIC: The Spin
Rarely do the worlds of Belle Meade high society and Nashville's hipster underground meet, but when they do, it's a good bet Tupper Saussy is involved. The former ad exec/'60s rocker/author/painter/IRS fugitive brought his latest incarnation, the Chocolate Orchid Piano Bar, to The Basement last Thursday night, and it's safe to say that the jewelry in the joint was worth more than the combined annual salaries of all the bands that have played the club in the last year. Though the crowd was mostly made up of what NFocus magazine would call “A-listers," there were more than a few local rockers in sight, including bassist Hags Haggerty, guitarist Audley Freed, Charlie Degenhart, Bill Lloyd and The Plastic Rulers' Warren Pash, who is currently producing a Saussy CD. The evening started with a short film about Saussy's life, including priceless footage from an early-'90s WSMV news broadcast about his time as a tax protestor on the lam from the IRS.
Bloc Party reveal new sound
There are some surprises... Bloc Party are close to finishing the recording of their second album. In a letter to fans, the group have revealed that it features R'n'B beats, strings and double drum kits. Posting on their official fan space, bassist Gordon Moakes said: "Bloc Party have finished a month at Grouse Lodge in County Westmeath in Ireland laying down licks and chops for the next record. It rained a lot but it was a truly enjoyable experience." Moakes revealed that the band and producer Jacknife Lee have explored new sounds and styles in the recording of the album. He added: "We've all been banging and hitting things, detuning guitars, programming beats and making various kinds of racket. I guess we had big ideas for this album and Jacknife has given them the green light and urged us to go further.
Priestess Upstage The Bronx In Denver
It's hard to believe that only five months ago while visiting London and hearing a then little known band called Wolfmother, I never would have thought heavy rock music would be making such a come back, pummeling fans with sheer walls of sound and fury. I'm talking about music that simply wants to blast out your ears, and race through A/E/D chord progressions faster than MTV pop music gets tossed into the $1 CD bin at your local music store.
So when I heard Priestess, a four-piece rock band from Canada, I knew that Wolfmother was not a freak occurrence of the music world. I knew that Rock, with a capital "R" was back from the dead. Hard enough to be metal, but melodic enough to cater to those who lean toward pop tendencies, Priestess immediately found a place in my current musical rotation.
Over the 'Borderline'
Geopolitics being what they are today, Madonna might want to reconsider one element of her "Confessions Tour," which returns to Madison Square Garden tomorrow for two nights. Midway through the show - which is otherwise excellent, even inspiring - a montage of images of world leaders is displayed above the stage. There's President Bush, President Ahmadinejad, Secretary of State Rice, Kim Jong Il, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, Fidel Castro, and everyone's favorite punching bag, Vice President Cheney. The montage makes Madonna's worldview quite clear: The only difference between a Republican and a dictator is a mustache. Right, they're all the same. This jolting moment of moral equivalency is topped only by Madonna giving the president of the United States the middle finger. It's all a big dollop of juvenile thinking in the middle of a highly sophisticated show.
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