Drifting off once again....I don't like "double issues" but with the news that Woodstock 50, which I've pretty much gave undue time on several occasions this year, would be canceled, then still go on, then "who knows what's gonna happen?", I figured I'd bring this up to date.
So, anyway, here we are. After myself spending many hours blogging about this 50th anniversary concert which really isn't celebrating any anniversary and becoming just another "grand festival" at a site which has nothing to do with the original landmark festival, the big question seems to be "will it happen"?
After all, the work in getting this together was there: Whether to have this at the original site (where Bethel Woods stands now) or at another venue. All the bands were signed and were given a deposit to perform. Bethel Woods, which was to have a similar lineup, canceled their event, instead having a few concerts that weekend in August to commemorate the original event (Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band on Friday, Santana on Saturday). It seemed like a done deal right?
Not so fast! Apparently, tickets were supposed to go on sale April 22, and they didn't, fueling rumors that this may be nothing but a pipe dream. Apparently at that point, a mass-gathering permit to have the event at the Watkins Glen International Speedway was not yet approved fort, causing the delay.
Exactly one week later, one of the investors of the festival, Amplifi Live, pulled out of the festival, and word had it that the whole event was canceled. Apparently the issue was camping at the site, which would reduce the capacity of attendance from 100,000 to 75,000. (Wait right there! Wasn't the reason why organizer Michael Lang didn't want to have it at the original Bethel site was because it couldn't hold that many people? And didn't the 1973 concert at Watkins Glen draw 600,000 people?) That seemed to be the final decision. But wait a minute!
Turned out later that same day, Lang and the other organizers insisted that planning will continue for the festival, and will look for new investors. Then on May 1st, Superfly, another investment group, pulled out of the festival. Also, it was revealed that Amplifi Live had contracts with many of the performers; hence none of them were obligated to perform. Dead and Company, the band consisting of surviving Grateful Dead members plus others, removed themselves from the lineup; the Black Keys had previously done so as well, although that was before all hell broke loose (the reason was stated to be a scheduling conflict, but my current #1 band's tour isn't slated to start until September.
So, where do we stand? Well, that all depends on whether the situation with investors has stabilized. Getting others aboard, including one which also had tackled other festivals such as Mountain Jam---relocated from its home at Hunter Mountain to Bethel Woods in June---is imperative to its future. But remember that the original festival had many obstacles of its own. If you recall, Woodstock was originally supposed to BE in Woodstock, NY. It was then moved to Wallkill, before settling on White Lake, and even then there were issues in gaining permits, and protests from that town's residents, as well as a backlash against Max Yasgur, who owned the dairy farm where the festival took place
So, if Woodstock 50 crumbles, would Bethel Woods consider something bigger? Recently, John Fogerty, who was also set to perform at Watkins Glen, had been added to Bethel Woods, as are Blood, Sweat & Tears, both were fixtures at the original concert. Santana has both sites on its itinerary.
With three-and-a-half months to go before this purportedly happens, it's anybody's guess.
HISTORY LESSON: A few weeks ago, I left my Night Auditor job at a local hotel and went back to substitute teaching a couple days a week. Usually, the job entails pretty much babysitting.. If a teacher has a lesson planned, it is usually just to give out exercises to the students. Otherwise, you pretty much just sit around and the students will work on whatever they had been working on.
Two classes that I filled in for this past week were in U.S.History II. Back in my day, we pretty much got to the end of the 1800's, past the Civil War and the Reconstruction, and never really knew too much about the first part of the twentieth century. Well, one of the classes was studying the Cold War around the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. But it was the other class in the same subject that I was pretty much filling in for the alternate teaching spot, i.e., just sitting in the back listening: The Counterculture of the late 1960's. The instructor, who had been teaching about the Vietnam War, took a break to talk about the going-ons in the United States during that time; mainly the protests and violence that was happening stateside in protest of that unpopular war.
As you might suspect, music was a big part of it. He talked about various protest songs and gave out an assignment to the students. They had to take a song from that era, quote the lyrics, and make a visual poster accentuating those lyrics. Five of the songs he suggested the students use: "Blowing in the Wind" (Bob Dylan); "Fortunate Son", which he played a YouTube lyric vide off (Creedence Clearwater Revival); "Ohio" (Crosby Stills, Nash & Young), "Revolution" (The Beatles), and "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)" (James Brown). He then invited the students to take a more modern-day protest song and do the same thing.
It does feel weird that a U.S. History Class would cover a topic that I lived thru, but that just shows I'm growing old! That generation are now grandparents to the high school students that are taking the class. However, covering subjects like this gets the students to think, and relate, especially with the situations taking place in this country in recent years. Some of the latter-day bands and artists that the teacher suggested included U2, Green Day, N.W.A., early Kanye West and others.
If it were up to me, I'd also include Gary Clark Jr's, "This Land" (currently at #71), and Hegazy's "Here to Stay".
KEYS TO THE TOP: The Black Keys maintain the top spot for a second week with "Lo/Hi", and still gaining points. However, "I've Been Waiting", by Lil Peep and ILoveMakonnen featuring Fall Out Boy, moves 3-2 and closes the gap between it and "Lo/Hi". It should be an interesting battle next week for the top spot. Also, don't rule out Fitz & the Tantrums' "123456" (6-3) and Nick Waterhouse's "I Feel An Urge Comin' On" (10-5); both taking big leaps. In the middle of it is The Kooks' "Chicken Bone", a former #1 which is actually still gaining points but sliding back to #3.
In a couple weeks I will be heading to Myrtle Beach, SC, which is the "beach music capital of the world". In parts of the previous two summers, Sirius XM had featured a channel, "Carolina Shag" which played beach music which dates back to the 1940's when which The Shag is the featured dance. Along with many R&B-oriented songs from the 1950's thru the 1970's, primarily, newer songs which fit that beat are featured. There is even a current chart out there that features current beach music; The Smokin' 45 chart which is updated once a month. You can find the chart at beachmusic45.com. The top two debuts this week are currently on that chart: The James Hunter Six, who had a big SNS hit here last fall, the #3 "I Don't Want to Be Without You", are back with "Whatever It Takes", which combines that beach music beat with a little jazz-infusion that probably isn't too far from what Nick Waterhouse is doing.
The #1 song on the beach music chart for April belongs to "Got the Rhythm" by Too Much Sylvia. The four-piece band does, in fact, hail from the Carolinas, and the song is what you'd expect from the genre: A nice, bouncy, uptempo happy romp. Glad to see that this music is still being made.
PANIC! SELLOUT?: It's no secret that Panic! at the Disco's "High Hopes" was an unexpected rock crossover hit across many formats. The song reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was #1 on numerous airplay charts including alternative, Adult Top 40 and pop, much of it for double-digit weeks. It also spent a week here at #1 and still hangs in the top 20 at #19 after 25 weeks. The band, of course, has been around for more than a decade, and beginning from their second set Pretty Odd in 2008, they've gone to either #2 or #1 on the albums list. They also have two Hot 100 top ten's to their credit, the other being "I Write Sins, Not Tragedies" from back in 2006, which seems like a whole other era.
So, what do the Vegas boys do for an encore? Their follow-up, "Hey Look Ma, I Made It", their third single form the current Pray For the Wicked, seems to have taken the pop success to their head. The song begins very auto-tuned as if they're fully trying to gain pop acceptance (good luck with that). The tune progresses into a sort of funky synth-infused pop confection that is pretty much okay, but a bigt of a sacrifice from the band had been noted fort. The song stands at #80 on Billboard this week, which is better than what many recent rock crossover bands have accomplished with follow-ups to big hits, but thus far, a far cry from Top 10 acceptance.
As far as other debuts, it's a pretty mixed bag. Aside from the two beach music songs, and Panic!'s latest, alternative is served with the latest from The Interrupters and K.Flay, pop songs from Meghan Trainor and Pink, and country from Blake Shelton, with "God's Country", the first country song I've added in some time.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
April 22 / 29, 2019
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 1 |
NUMBER ONE:
Album: 'Let's Rock'
(2 weeks at #1)
|
6 |
| 2 | 3 | Lil Peep and IloveMakonnen f Fall Out Boy - I've Been Waiting | 5 |
| 3 | 2 | The Kooks - Chicken Bone | 10 |
| 4 | 6 | Fitz and the Tantrums - 123456 | 4 |
| 5 | 10 | Nick Waterhouse - I Feel An Urge Coming On | 3 |
| 6 | 5 | Kungs f Ritual - You Remain | 10 |
| 7 | 4 | Cage the Elephant - Ready to Let Go | 10 |
| 8 | 11 | Mark Ronson f. Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart | 11 |
| 9 | 12 | Slothrust - Rotten Pumpkin | 8 |
| 10 | 13 | Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper - Shallow | 18 |
| 11 | 9 | STRFKR - In the End | 11 |
| 12 | 7 | The Revivalists - Change | 12 |
| 13 | 16 | Florence + The Machine - Moderation | 5 |
| 14 | 8 | Elle King - Baby Outlaw | 13 |
| 15 | 19 | Wild Belle - Mockingbird | 4 |
| 16 | 17 | Dreamers - Die Happy | 6 |
| 17 | 30 |
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
Album: Neotheater
|
5 |
| 18 | 22 | Foals - Exits | 12 |
| 19 | 14 | Panic at the Disco - High Hopes● | 25 |
| 20 | 18 | Sharon Van Etten - Seventeen | 9 |
|
|
Songs
with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week.
● Songs
with 25 or more plays on my iPod.
▲ Songs with 50 or more
plays on my iPod.
¨ Songs with 100 or more
plays on my iPod.
The “Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100” is a list
of current and recent song playlist which I am listening to.
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