Mailbag

Subject: Re: C.T.E.

Hey Bob,

Thank you for your sentiments in regards to CTE and the NFL.

It is sad to know that young men who never played in the NFL (or even college football) are also suffering from this disease, with many taking their own lives.

Most of the population isn't aware (or doesn't want to hear) of the risks of CTE and youth tackle football. The risk is there, even if their boys never play past the high school level. 

Football is a religion. People don't want to question their "faith". It's a hard thing for people to accept, and many avoid the conversation altogether. It's easier not to look up.

However, many do openly receive this information. I'm hopeful your writings on CTE and football will inspire those who do to help spread the word and raise awareness. We lost our only son, Chandler Kimball, to this horrific disease. We try to honor Chan's memory by simply raising awareness. Thank you for bringing attention.

Jason Kimball

www.lifesbigwin.com
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Re: The Devo Doc

I produced the DEVO doc on Netflix and just wanted to thank you for the piece you wrote about it. You nailed exactly what Chris Smith and I hoped the film would convey: it's not just about a band, but about people who love making things, who have something to say, and who let their muse take them wherever it leads. We wanted it to feel like a love letter to anyone who draws inspiration from art and ideas and then turns that spark into creation.

And I should also say — a few years back you wrote a wonderful piece on the Netflix Fyre Festival doc that Chris directed and I produced, and I've never forgotten that. Thanks for shining a light on both projects.

Take care,
Danny Gabai
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Re: The Devo Doc

Bob, you are so right about the DEVO documentary. 

One of the few of the genre to be made in the spirit of the artist/band it covers. But then Devo were/are one of just a few to base their music on a consistent philosophy. I loved Jerry Casale's remark that the band was "a musical laxative for a constipated society." 

Just as I was lamenting the absence of their brilliant song/video "Beautiful World," it popped up as the finale. Criticized for being "pessimistic," Casale's brilliant riposte was "If the Captain of the Titanic tells you the ship is sinking, is he a pessimist?"

It is excellent and, as you say, it's a must-see film. 

If the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame stands for anything, this band should be in it.

Paul Flattery
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Subject: Re: Fandom

Bob

Interesting question you ask, at what point did you give up your fandom for a band? I'm a lifelong fan of KISS and Mötley Crüe and whether they or their fans know it or not, both of those bands indirectly and directly asked their fans to make a lot of rationalizations over the years. As a diehard music fan I wanted to know EVERYTHING about these bands. I wanted to know more about them beyond what you could read in Metal Edge or Circus. So, you start reading books by accountants, former managers and anything else you can get your hands on. And you THINK you want to know everything about them. But, it's kind of like your parent's marriage. Maybe some things just aren't worth knowing. At some point, you learn that even though these bands (and I mean every band and/or artist) may have started out with the greatest intentions and maybe initially it was all that band of brothers bullsh*t, at some point (sooner than most people think) it becomes a business. Paul Stanley very bluntly once said, "Do you like everyone you work with?" I probably read that in my mid 20's and that's about when the fantasy was put to rest for me. I still love the music and I'll defend the bands I love, because it's a business for all of them. Some are just more transparent and honest about it. As for Trump being an outlaw "rock star". Look, in 1984 Vince Neil killed someone ("Razzle" from Hanoi Rocks) in a drunk driving accident and it did nothing to derail his or the band's trajectory. Their biggest successes were yet to come. People are more upset about his current inability to sing live than they were about that incident. Those same people very likely voted for Trump. How upset do you think they are about anything he's done? This is what the Democrats are up against.

Neil Johnson
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Subject: Re: Spotify Global Weekly Top Songs Chart

Hello, Bob. 

I am reading your post and I am laughing my ass off.

My 22-year-old son is visiting me this week and I asked what music he is listening to these days. He told me that he is listening to a lot of Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He also loves Yacht Rock because of the Guardian of the Galaxy soundtracks.

I asked him what radio station he is listening to back in Minneapolis and he just laughs and says, "No one my age listens to the radio!" He then proceeds to tell me about all of the comedians' podcasts that he listens to.

That is the music and media landscape for a 22-year-old these days.

Andy Schaal
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Subject: Re: Mailbag-Ed Sullivan

One more thing... In my first year in the business, I was managing The Doors and we did the Sullivan show at the dress rehearsal we found out Ed didn't like us very much and cut us down to one song and gave Steve and Edie another one. He walked over to the band and said to JIm "very interesting but do you have to be so somber?". Jim Smiled. Later the producer came back and told us that the band could not use the lyric "girl you couldn't get much higher". They had decided it was a drug reference and JIm agreed to change the lyric. Of course the show was live and JIm figured we'd never do the show again anyway, so he i sang the original lyric. We were advised we would never do the show again. Didn't hurt us much.

Bill Siddons
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Subject: Billy Joel Doc--Phil Ramone

Bob,

I've just finished the Billy Joel Doc, and it has me thinking about Phil Ramone.

While Phil is certainly acknowledged in the Doc, the scale of his contribution should be underscored.

Phil produced SIX CONSECUTIVE STUDIO ALBUMS for Billy!
Bob, your audience of record-makers will certain appreciate how incredibly rare that is.
What other Producer did Six consecutive hit-packed albums with one Artist?
George Martin, yes.  Maybe Jimmy Miller.  Maybe Roy Thomas Baker.  Others?
And these Six that Phil produced comprise the core of Billy's songbook, and the majority of his hits.

A bit after Phil died suddenly in 2013, his wife Karen and his sons arranged a memorial in a theater in NYC.
It was invitation-only for 500 or 600 of Phil's friends from his entire career.
Tony Bennett, Billy, and Paul Simon each performed a few songs.

Billy said "Phil was the best member of my Band," and then did "Only the Good Die Young."

Paul Simon did "Still Crazy."
Then while tuning his guitar, looked up and said "I know you all think you were Phil's best friend... (long pause)…but that was Me."
Then he did "Slip Sliding Away."

You still hear Phil's many productions everywhere all the time.
But Six consecutive hit albums. Whew!

He is missed.

Best regards,

Hank Neuberger
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Re: Guiding Lights

Dead right! I love this band and, like you, I particularly love this song. It's dramatic, infectious and ironically uplifting given the lyric. 

The structure of the verse and pre-chorus is very daring, musical and quite sophisticated in my opinion - though I would have had a more prominent high harmony in the pre-chorus to lift it a bit more from the verse. 

In any event I think Tobias and his band are brilliant and I love seeing them appreciated like this. They definitely deserve it. 

Bob Ezrin
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Re: Guiding Lights

I took a buddy to see Ghost this summer, and halfway through the show he leans over and says: "I thought it was uncool to wear the shirt of the band you're seeing, but it looks like 20,000 people didn't get that memo. These people are obsessed." Exactly. Ghost isn't just a band—it's a full-blown religion. The campy YouTube "Chapters," the revolving cast of Papas, the lore—it all keeps you coming back.

And for me, "Spillways" might be the catchiest song ever written about depression—an anthem you belt out while it quietly guts you. That's Ghost's magic: taking the heavy, the dark, the theatrical, and turning it into hooks that live in your head for weeks. The new album Skeletal is the best '80s hard rock album released since 1989.

-Adam Spriggs
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Re: Guiding Lights

Great take on Ghost, Bob. I recently attended a show - and I can't remember a concert I've been to where upwards of 80% of the audience knew every word to every song. And one of those people was me, a GenXer. I have listened to Skeleta non-stop since its release. The songs are so rich and melodic, you can't get enough of them.  
It was surreal to see no phone screens at the show, and I agree with you, it seems like a missed opportunity to generate social media posts - but the enthusiasm to be present was palpable. 

Cheers,

Joe Wilford
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Re: Guiding Lights

Great column, Bob.  Saw the subject line this morning and thought, he's not referring to the Ghost song is he?  He is!  I'm a long time fan of the band and I tell people who ask, listen to their music first, don't watch the youtube stuff of them, it will cloud your judgement.  For the most part, its very much classic 70's and 80's rock, metal is a loose term.  As you point out, they're doing it right.  Their tour is incredible, selling out arenas everywhere and they put their money into it.  My wife went with my daughter and I and was blown away.  Well worth the experience and the money for a ticket if you haven't seen them.  And this year's show with our phones locked away was such a great experience.  Sleep Token is next for you – another band that's killing it without radio or media, creating their own genre.
 
Chris Reese
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Re: Guiding Lights

My husband and I just witnessed our first Ghost show here in Austin. I only really got into their music this last year. Also the 2nd time we'd attended a Yondr show (which wow we need more of). Garth Brooks ACL Hall of Fame induction was the 1st and both times I ended up being so grateful the phone was locked up. It's such a drag playing a show where I'm pouring every ounce of my soul into it and look up to see the top of someone's head lost in a phone. Or trying to stand behind someone at a show filming every last moment. 

I grew up on metal and seeing bands like Metallica, Def Leppard, and Queensrÿche (who coincidentally opened for the first two bands when I saw them), and the Ghost show not only reminded me of those early concerts without devices glowing everywhere, but it was an actual SHOW! Very thought out, choreographed, performed at a very high level of musicianship, and wildly entertaining. And yep - way more women there. Oh and their merch game? Sure they had plenty of shirts, but they also had a stuffed Papa doll, and even had a whole separate merch area just for the big fabric posters like the ones I used to hang up of Iron Maiden as a kid. And the best part for us was watching the "nameless ghoul," Cirrus aka Laura Scarborough - who came up in Austin and used to play shows with us at Momo's - absolutely kill it on keys. 

Nakia Reynoso
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Re: Guiding Lights

I'll be honest Bob, most of the time when you recommend something I don't get it. Usually it's because the I find that core musical elements are lacking – little structure, weak melodies, mimimal/elementary chord changes, limited vocal and instrumental skills, etc. Sometimes I can hear the sincerity that I know you value, but that's isn't usually enough to do it for me.
 
This track by Ghost is actual, real music. I actually listened to the whole thing. I can see why you say it isn't metal; it sounds more like Toto to me.
 
But the whole package is there – a structure that develops as the track unreels, chord changes, a melody, vocal harmony, instrumental skill. 
 
The only possible downside (which is not an issue for me) is that it seems a bit retro/80s.

Richard Franklin
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Re: Guiding Lights

I was late to this band (in 2017) and it was my first "New" genuinely moving music experience after yeaaaars of boredom with the rock scene.  It sent me into a deep dive discovery mode to explore the back catalog sequentially, album by album. What a f*cking unabashedly fulfilling ride. Ghost's greatness is also a reflection of Tobias Forge who is essentially 100% of this band and an irrefutable genius, with Bob Marley level humility.  His initial intent was to never reveal his identity, but he was forced to as a result of a lawsuit a few years ago from his hired musicians who tried to claim they were actually band members (they lost).  So he was involuntarily outed.  Listening to his interviews reveals what an absolute brilliant person he is, wanting nothing to do with the spotlight and making it about 100% the music and the imagery, with real …. f*cking …… amazing ……songs!  

Kia Kamran
(No affiliation with them btw)
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Re: Guiding Lights

Just saw them.  Had no idea who they were....just phenomenal 

Maria Brunner
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Re: Guiding Lights

Being 51 I'm pretty much a child of the 80's hair/pop metal scene. Growing up in Top 40 AM radio I loved all those New Wave & pop hits(still do!) of the early 80's but as I started to enter my teens, of course I was looking for something a little harder, so you go with the stuff that's closer to pop initially. Of course I liked Bon Jovi and absolutely loved Van Halen, Def Leppard, Poison, Cinderella, etc. Then I got turned onto even the harder stuff; Metallica, Megadeth, even pseudo metal industrial with Sisters of Mercy. Then came along grunge, which also caused me to look back and really dig into bands like Black Sabbath who influenced Soundgarden, Alice In Chains. Where I got off the train was when a lot of the harder metal that was coming out after, was lacking any serious melody; death metal, doom metal, NU-Metal(Disturbed being the one exception as they clearly wore their Judas Priest influences in their sleeves). Even Metallica at their heaviest and thrashiest, had melodic hooks along with those chugging and thrashing guitars.  When it came to death metal, or doom metal, it was all darkness, no light, ie. melody. The corpse paint and the growling "Cookie Monster" vocals did nothing for me and actually repelled me. 

So of course, in the 2010s I start hearing about this band Ghost , still having not heard a single song. I saw the imagery but I didn't bother pursuing it because I assumed, them being from Sweden, it's that kind of doom gloomy, growling vocal metal I had no interest in. Then somewhere, I can't remember where/when, I heard something off their fourth album Prequelle. It took a second for me to realize it was from this band with the satanic catholic imagery GHOST! I was gob smacked! The catchiness of the grooves, the hooks of the melodies and yet still heavy and "metal" enough to satisfy me! So of course it became a deep dive into their discography for me. And yes, their first album is darker and heavier and less "pop", but those melodies were still there! And as they/he(Tobais) progressed, it was clear he was injecting more 80s metal pop sensibilities into the music with his Swedish death metal past and it WORKED! 

The real clincher for me was when in 2017 their tour brought them to my secondary market city to play our arena(I'm just outside of Toronto). I figured I gotta see this live based on what YouTube clips I had seen already. Holy moly it was one of the best concerts I've ever been to! It's clear for smallish to midsize touring act that they were rolling all the money back into the production of the live show. The staging was epic and incredibly, the sound was so crystal clear! Even on the lowest bass notes, there was no muddiness or boominess, which I know achieving that especially in an arena is incredibly hard! which means they have spent the money on proper speakers and PA set ups and production to achieve that. I can't count how many times I've been to large scale concerts even by incredibly big acts, and the sound was either muddy on the low end, or piercing and painfully ear shattering on the high end(U2 Joshua Tree album anniversary concert in Toronto in 2019 was especially painful from the get-go of the Edge's opening guitar chords of Sunday Bloody Sunday as they started the show and never improved. Thank God, I brought earplugs!).

Ghost; if you get it, you'll love it! If you're on the fence, go see them live! If you're disappointed, then the issue was with you not the band or the production. 

Michael Moniz
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Re: Guiding Lights

I went to see the band Ghost play in Austin a couple of weeks ago, and I happened to read your letter about them just yesterday. 

I went because I was curious to see what they were all about. I actually knew very little apart from a quick listen and being aware of the buzz around them!

I used to be super aware, but now a band with a number 1 album can slip under my radar! 

I have worked with a fair few goth bands over the years such as HIM from Finland, and THE MISSION from UK, so I was interested to see what was going on.

The concert was at the Moody Center, our new largest venue in town, and what struck me first was the audience. Around ninety percent of the crowd was dressed up in fairly traditional GOTH outfits, white face paint, nun outfits, fishnet stockings, and skull makeup etc etc 

What also stood out was that about eighty percent of the audience were women.  

The lights, the atmosphere, and the Gregorian chants etc playing before they came on all set the mood. But once the band appeared I was surprised by how melodic the music was. I had expected something much darker and sombre, but instead it reminded me of STYX reimagined by a younger band with heavier guitars. The first song even felt familiar, and then I realized it reminded me of Journey 'Separate Ways'

I find the band being hidden by the masks etc makes then a bit insipid, I know it worked for KISS but to me it makes the members replaceable and lacking in character. They perform well, almost too well in my opinion but the band are another example of how music just re invents itself. Music trends are very cyclical. Melody and songs will always win in the end, no matter what genre!

The woman sitting next to me was not young but she was on her feet the whole night, screaming with total enthusiasm. I was surprised, but I do see the appeal of this band!

Tim Palmer
www.timpalmer.com

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