Message from The Congo
Dr X sends comments (see below), and requests information from any of you on section 419 of the Nigerian criminal code. He also asks if the Laird will send him $2,000 via the Western Union office in Brazzaville:
| COFIPA O.M.S BRAZZAVILLE |
| NON LOIN DE LA CITE O.M.S |
| 147 BANQUE COFIPA |
| BRAZZAVILLE |
| (242) 811745 |
Here is the remainder of his text:
"As I travel through this strange land I have had moments of despair, such as the evening I tried to organize a singalong around the campfire of Mahler's Das Klagende Lied...but moments of inspiration, too.
"In the latter category I place the revelation that, for me, the primordial rock drum sound is John Bonham's drumming for "When the Levee Breaks". Recorded at the bottom of a stairwell, with the microphone three stories above, it proved impossible to duplicate in concert, and is one of the most sampled drum performances of all time. And for the Laird and Lord, let me point out it has been sampled by both the Beastie Boys and for the movie "Kill Bill".
"It runs through my head. But, then, so does "My Sharona", so perhaps that is not persuasive.
"And it does reach back. "When the Levee Breaks" is an old song, first recorded (without drums) by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie (she's playing that fine guitar) in 1929. It is based on the Mississippi flood of 1927, and it sounded like this.
"And one cannot dispute Bonham's elemental force - he did not play with the music, he drove it. Here are two astonishing instances of his capabilities - a wild rehearsal for a French television show, and a performance of "Moby Dick" at the Albert Hall in 1970.
"But, listening to the voices of children in the distance at twilight, I conclude that Bonham was not the primordial drummer I seek, but a demonic spirit, a man consumed, rather than enlightened, by his experience of duende.
"If we speak of Bonham we must also speak of Keith Moon, and I am open to the suggestion, though I share some of the same reservations. If you like the song "Won't Get Fooled Again", here is a video focusing on Moon throughout, which demonstrates that he was far more than a pagan skin-pounder.
"By the way, The Who are planning to release a new album this year. The drummer will be Zak Starkey."
posted by Latouche at Large at 10:41 PM
2 Comments:
No doubt, Keith Moon acquitted himself well in that bit.
But would he have had the chops to take on Animal?
I imagine Zak is an excellent drummer in every way.: his quote 'they're all fucking drummers," on his fellow members in the stumbling drunk yet catchy disaster known as Oasis, says a lot about the British rock scene: the level of commitment is extremely high, and very professional.
More than the American scene, it's about being an untouchable rock star, almost like a working class version of aristocracy.
Which is sort of why I usually prefer to rock American, unless you get a crazy intense rock chick like PJ Harvey going all power girly or something. But that's really sort of 1993 thinking.
However, a quick word from experience. The drummer in my 90s Alaska band, Rich, 15 at the time, was a super music genius with a giant drum kit. After a few years, like any serious modern drummer, he'd pared down his kit to a four pieces, and then of course switched to guitar.
It's interesting that in the cloud of two-piece bands drifting around now, one of the two is always a live drummer; the bands depend on the humanity and energy of human being on the coke bongos.
Ahhh.. 1993. It's like some kind of beautiful dream now.
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