Bass Lines--Way Underrated, Like Butch Walker

Bibi knows the allure of the lead guitar player--e.g., ANGUS YOUNG, lead guitar player par excellence--but what would the band's sound be without the bass guitar player?  Let's face it:  we say we love Angus, for example, but true fans love the work that the artist has produced.  For AC/DC, that work includes all the band members.  We love the sound of it, the words (even if we can't actually understand what the words are), the attitude expressed, the entirety of the song/songs.  Bibi focuses on Angus, as AC/DC intends, but it's the whole AC/DC package that Bibi is enthralled by.  Everybody knows that one of AC/DC's strengths is the tight, rock solid, killer rhythm section, led by Malcolm Young, reinforced by Phil Rudd on drums and as Bibi once said to AC/DC's bass player, Cliff Williams, with his irreplaceable bass line.  Actually, Bibi referred to one of Angus's primo show-off songs, Let There Be Rock, and giving Angus his due, said to Cliff that the song would not be as great as it is without Cliff in the mix. 

  There was a 92 decibel rocking band



http://youtu.be/DNZXjPES7Cs

Of course, there's no way a living human being will not be totally overcome by Angus in this song. He's so un-fucking-believable in this one. (Don't get Bibi started: Angus is ALWAYS un-fucking-believable, this is just one of the best songs EVER!)


Cliff seemed pleased to be acknowledged.  But, each time I've met Cliff, he's been such a sweetie, so his reaction was completely in sync with what I had come to expect from him.

What brought this to mind today?  Was thinking about the Blues Brothers; watched it again the other night.  What a movie!  Action/adventure, finding your path tale, musical, they just don't make 'em the way they used to.  sigh  Bibi was in Chicago in late December and really liked it.  Thought of the almost end of the movie which took place at Richard Daley Plaza.

Of course, there's this number. 

 Bend over, let me see you shake your tail feather!

With Donald "The Duck" Dunn playing bass, never fails to get Bibi moving.
  Of course, SO many scenes in The Blues Brothers are so memorable, like Bibi said:  they just don't make 'em like they used to.

And I hope you ALL know:  Butch is a fucking awesome bass player!  We know it's true because, well, we LOVE BUTCH and his music.  AND, he said it on Twitter.  Who could ask for more in terms of validity?   In the meantime, "do the twist, do the fly, do the swim, and do the bird..."   Have a fab, wonderful, dancing around day!!!

Butch Walker: Guest on LFDH and Rock Star at The Double Door in Chicago

As my vast, devoted following knows, Bibi LOVES Episode 54 of Live From Daryl's House, her introduction to the great, the wonderful, the truly under-recognized, Butch Walker.  After Daryl gives a short, intriguing lead-in for Butch, we meet Butch, who introduces himself, giving us an idea what he's about. 

I remember thinking:  hmmm, this guy seems nice enough, a bit self-effacing, pretty low-key, laid back.  Wonder how he'll do up against  Daryl's band?  He proceeded to rock it with Bodegas and Blood first on the set list--on mandolin, no less--having a ball, singing back and forth with Daryl and the guys, confidence and performance full out.  Aaaahhh, the beginning for me with Butch. 

And then he did Sweethearts!  Oh, dear! 

Butch singing Bibi's favorite: Sweethearts

Maybe I knew then that a new world had opened for Bibi or maybe I didn't realize it until a few hours later when I was still watching YouTube videos of Butch, taking in as much as possible about this fantastic performer.

Thing is, now, having seen Butch live, I'm amazed at the different sides of Butch--the sweet, almost diffident singer on LFDH--and the rock star on glorious display at the Double Door on December 30. 

Butch Walker: You're SUCH a pretty melody!

I suppose many performers have multi-faceted personalities that they reveal at different times.  Let's take Angus Young as an example.  Apparently, he's quite shy in regular life, unassuming, sitting around drinking cups of tea and smoking Benson & Hedges cigarettes.  Onstage, though, OMG--total fucking wild man on guitar!  Running all over the stage, killing it for two solid hours, driving the audience insane with those riffs, so familiar and such an intense rush of unbelievable energy, excitement, intensity.  Sigh. 

Focus, Bibi...Butch Walker, Butch Walker, you were writing about Butch Walker.  Right.  For Butch, these differences manifest themselves so dramatically, really cool that these two disparate views of him both appeal to Bibi.  You HAVE to see Butch live, really!  His records are fantastic and if you haven't watched episode 54 of Live from Daryl's House, what have you been doing?  GREAT showcase for Butch and then, take any opportunity you can, get out of the house, get yourself downtown and shake it all out at a Butch Walker show.  INTENSE!

Love you, Butch!

Oscar Race: Argo, Best Picture of the Year

Bibi is a very discerning movie goer.  Don't even, not even as a joke, ask her about movies like The Hangover, American Pie, A Lot Like Love (Ashton Kutcher movie with a Butch Walker song in it),

It's all about Butch's voice 

the Twilight movies.  If you did ask her, you would deserve the look of pity and scorn you would earn for your tiny little effort.  (Butch has a gesture for that, below.)

And if you pushed Bibi on it, you would deserve the resultant mocking, belittling, totally wipe the floor with your half-wit butt rant that would ensue.  Bibi doesn't mind using her v-a-s-t vocabulary on these little exercises, but they are ultimately unsatisfying.  She'd rather talk about movies she likes and wishes more people would go see. 

For some time, Bibi has been dispirited over what passes as movie entertainment for the masses (see above for a short, incomplete list and see below for dispirited Bibi). 

For all her attitude about good movies, Bibi believes movies are for the masses, not an elite group of snooty know it alls.  The Oscar race throws this argument into the spotlight annually.  Making the best movie category larger doesn't make it a better race, it just gives more less than outstanding movies a shot at muddling the odds for the other movies.  In any case, the faithful readers already know Bibi's favorite (which has no chance at all),  Beasts of the Southern Wild.  This favorite seems to run counter to Bibi's claim that movies are for the masses, but that's because of the way movies are marketed.  Apparently, each movie must fit into a category: 

a) Drama
b) American Pie kind of movie    
c) Action/Adventure
d) Chick flick
e) Art movie

If the movie is marketed so that the intended audience isn't reached, it won't be seen by a large number of ticket buyers.  Too bad for Beasts of the Southern Wild.  It's such a good, unusual, market niche averse film, depicting a hard scrabble community and lifestyle unfamiliar to 99% of the American population.  Great characters, fabulously authentic capture of slices of their lives, piercingly poignant rendering of a lovely, enfant sauvage, so young, so exposed to fear and loss and so strong.  That said, really do not see how some of the other movies got a nomination.  We won't go there for specific undeserving films, but Bibi will say that Argo definitely belongs in the nominated group and should win Best Picture of the Year.

It's a Hollywood movie.  In all the best ways.  My film prof always began class by writing on the board:  Why are movies made?  Then, through the examples of films he would show, we would see why those movies were made (to make money, so you could make another movie, to make more money so you could make another movie, on and on ...) and how and why they might or might not be successful movies.  Argo hits all the marks. (It's like Ben Affleck was in the same classes with Bibi!  Or, he's absorbed all the best ideas on how to make movies by watching lots of great movies.)   It tells a captivating story in a familiar, very successful, way--first, this happens, which leads to this, and in an unusual, but plausible way, this happens, etc.  It builds our knowledge of a character and the events he's involved in, giving us insight into different worlds:  the CIA, US/Iranian history, movie making, and although the time line is straightforwardly linear, we experience an increasing excitement and tension up through the thrilling success of the caper. 

Every bit of information, visual or spoken, is essential to the story and the eventual ending.  The casting is superb and the actors are channeling:  just be the part, totally.  Success all the way around on this.  Production values are way up there, all the better to see the contrast between it and the purported movie-in-the-making, Argo.  The time period and the mindset of the time is excellently evoked.  Like any real Hollywood movie, everyone is attractive.  The scope and reach of the movie is appropriate to what the movie accomplishes. If there were a weakness, it might be that Ben Affleck is too young and/or didn't look tired enough to be Tony Mendez.  Our interest is piqued and then maintained through the end of the movie such that we rejoice with the characters' enforced silent pride of having accomplished the unexpected outcome:  the rescue of civilians trapped in Iran using a far-fetched plan.  We really want an occasion to mock snarl: Argofuckyourself!

Which might be what Bibi says by the conclusion of the Oscar awards presentation.  Hope not!

Butch Walker Coming to Texas--Based on Which Data Sets?

Woohoo!  Got the tickets for the Dallas show, made the hotel arrangements for Dallas and Austin.  Well, it's not precisely in Austin (Round Rock), but at least it's not in San Marcos (!)

and it's reasonably priced with an excellent rating from Trip Advisor.  Plus, already have a restaurant recommendation for Round Rock--known for its pie!  Was a bit touch n go getting it all settled, but now feeling a sense of accomplishment.  Hey, Bibi, it'll be spring break, lighten up with all the planning and thinking ahead!   

Bibi is fascinated by the whole decison process that brings BW to Texas, especially Dallas.  There has to be more to it than geography, airline routes, and seemingly interminable airport to hotel distances, right? 

As the readers know, Bibi's MBA background kicks in every now and then and excel tables sprout up, along with questions:  what data was gathered to come up with this itinerary?  It could be that Butch has other things he wants to do in these cities around these dates--heard there are some good art museums in Dallas, not sure what there is in Little Rock, maybe it has a hot, undiscovered music scene?  Is Chuck there?  (Read Butch's very-readable Drinking with Strangers for the backstory on that.)   These and other opportunities drove the decisions to construct this route?  Just wondering.  Could Bibi have access to the SWOT analysis on this?

Right. 

Burning question:  why favor Dallas instead of Houston?  Doesn't matter, really, in terms of Bibi making the trek--SO HAPPY Butch is coming to Texas outside of SXSW--I'd go to El Paso, Nacogdoches, hell, even Eagle Pass, Pasadena or Baytown if any of those had been his city of choice.  Kind of funny:  been talking about Butch to my economist/finance prof friend, also one of the statistics profs, and my supervisor, a management Ph.D.  All of them expressed curiosity about how Butch's management group decided on Dallas:  industry data showed a higher level of Butch cd, mp3 sales there?  Disposable income substitutes  trended higher there for Butch tickets?  Facebook and Twitter hits were tallied and gave the Butch edge to Dallas?  Views of Live From Daryl's House, episode 54 and YouTube BW videos tracked higher in northern Texas vs southern Texas?  How DID they use best business practices and all kinds of regression analysis to know this?  Or, some secret, trademarked  algorithm using information from some/all/other of the factors mentioned?  Something like: 

 

Little jokes.  Will check with my marketing prof to see how entertainment world data is generated and made available.

Bibi has been so engrossed in these business geek considerations, the Downton Abbey routine for Sundays (homemade cherry/pineapple pie to go with the traditional tea--lovely DA viewing.  Thanks, Janet Neighbor!) and some time watching the Superbowl adverts, not much time for thinking about the set list requests.  OK, spent a few random minutes thinking on that; keep coming back to the BWM series.  BWM V.2 is really, really good:

Maybe It's Just Me
Mixtape
Don't Move
Race Cars and Goth Rock
Bethamphetamine (Pretty Pretty)
The Weight of Her
Here Comes the…
Ponce de Leon Ave.
Ships in a Bottle
Passed Your Place, Saw Your Car
Sweethearts
Synthesizers
The Closest Thing to You
Pretty Melody

For Texas, would leave out Mixtape, Ships in a Bottle and one of my all-time Butch faves, Don't Move and ROCK it way more by adding Summer of '89, Day Drunk, Bullet Belt, Bodegas and Blood--just love this song, maybe Dublin Crow and of course, Sucker Punch.  (that would make it almost all of The Spade, but it really is so good.)  Plus, She Likes Hair Bands--cannot leave this one out.  This would still leave room for three of the new songs, right?  Hmmm...too long?  Leave out Ponce de Leon Ave.?  It's a great BW showcase in versatility, with that oh so cool Todd Rundgren vibe. Would like new listeners to discover it, but, OK.  Please add Here Comes the...please.  Have been listening to I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart and really like it.   A couple of those cuts added to the set list would go over very well:  Days/Months/Years, Don't You Think Someone Should Take You Home.  Jeez, it's tough discerning the BEST of Butch Walker's songs to really show off his phenomenal talents.
Butch will come up with a GREAT set list; he's a seasoned professional, knows what works in a live setting, what he's comfortable with, how to reach the audience, etc., etc.  Brings to mind the consistent AC/DC fan concerns about the set list.  I could never believe some fans' complaints about the selection.  Some would even say that leaving out You Shook Me All Night Long would be no loss!!!  Weirdos, really, they are everywhere!  In the end, AC/DC made almost no changes in a tour that lasted almost two years.  I saw them six times during the tour and LOVED EVERY SHOW.  So, we will see what Butch does.

Love you, Butch!  Can't wait to see you in Dallas and Austin!