A Message To All

I don’t do traditional blog posts often, but felt it was time for one.  In the wake of the US election, I want to say that my blog, and I, will always be inclusive, diverse, and welcoming. As someone who is out, and disabled, how could I be anything less? I despise Trump and everything he and his ilk stand for. To those who are protesting, my physical health prevents me from marching for now, but I’m there with my words. Make the US ungovernable, paralyze the country, and don’t stop until the Bastards are gone. But be non-violent. Don’t give them a reason to throw you into G’itmo.

I don’t write a lot of reviews anymore, as writing scripts is a full time job now, but my audience is so widespread, from all over the world. To all of you, thank you for reading my reviews. It’s wonderful to look at my stats and see where people are from. Keep reading. I will be here, politically, socially, and musically.

Andrea Weiss

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Game Theory

The Big Shot Chronicles

Omnivore Recordings

This is Game Theory at their most pop, which is to say, direct, streamlined, and concise. That goes for the lyrics, too, even when Scott Miller didn't give their meaning, allowing for interpretations, like on "Regenisraen," a made-up word that came to Miller in a dream, and could be about Christmas, losing a friend, or having a lonely middle of the night.

I remember seeing reviews of this album back in the day, that swore the title was a play on John Cheever’s The Wapshot Chronicles, but Big Shot was actually a photo lab where the band rehearsed.

BSC was my starting point with Scott. I heard the wonderful "Here It Is Tomorrow" on Princeton’s WPRB, ran to buy the album, and never looked back. It could be like that for you, too. If you want to hear a lost classic, or want to get to know Scott’s music, this album is for you.  This is pop in a way that should’ve been a hit, like the mighty "Erica’s Word," as close to a perfect pop song as you’re likely to find. To paraphrase a line about the Bangles album All Over the Place in Scott’s book of music criticism, Music: What Happened?, “If this had been the album that sold, what then?”

The bonus tracks could be their own album of covers, alternate mixes, and demos. I’m partial to the live version of the stinging "Make Any Vows," the rough mix of "Erica’s Word," their take on Todd Rundgren’s "Couldn’t I Just Tell You," and the band’s lovely cover of "Sweet Jane."

Now, a word about everyone who made the music with Scott: the great Gil Ray, alternating between thunder drumming and laying back, Suzi Ziegler the master bass player. Shelley LaFreniere, one of the best keyboardists I’ve ever heard. Mitch Easter was the perfect producer; he knew exactly what to do to make this album so great.

Kudos to Omnivore for putting this album back in play. It’s been MIA for too long, and hasn’t dated one iota during that time. It still sounds fresh, modern, and is a tribute to how wonderful and underrated the late Scott Miller was.

/http://omnivorerecordings.com/music/the-big-shot-chronicles/

Andrea Weiss

I belong to a Facebook group called Screenwriters With Disabilities. What’s mine? A learning disability severe enough that I can't drive or work a regular job. I was very glad to be invited to this group for that reason, as I can write. If I can’t work a regular job, I can at least have a writing career.

The backdrop for this group is how marginalized we are. For example, amid all the uproar over Straight Outta Compton being all but ignored at the Oscars earlier this year, all the allegations of discrimination, the disabled were not mentioned at all. It is too obvious to point out that we exist, but we don’t get a lot of work, from actors to screenwriters to other behind the scenes jobs, because yes, Hollywood is ableist. And when a film about the disabled is made, it might ring true to a point, like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, or have a believable character like Sean Penn in Sam I Am, but with an unrealistic plot.

I mostly write indie scripts. It’s what I write best, and I hope things are better in the indie world. To whomever is reading this, the next time a Compton-like furor erupts, and it will so long as Hollywood is Hollywood, make sure to make a place for the disabled.

Andrea Weiss

Emerson/Lake

Keith Emerson/Greg Lake
Keswick Theater
Glenside, PA 2010

I met Keith Emerson in 2010. He and Greg Lake did a duo tour. I was lucky enough to see the show at the Keswick with my friend, Jen Grover, who had come from WV to see them too. Jen had a blast along with her new friends Sharon and Eileen, who she met in line for the meet and greet. I couldn’t afford that, but I had a great time seeing the show. It was part Q&A, mostly music, a little back story on the songs. For example, Greg Lake wrote Lucky Man when he was 12.

We had heard they were coming out to the barricade after shows to say hello and sign a few things, so we waited, and they did. It was then I met Greg and had him sign my Tarkus shirt. He is a big, tall man, and I was a little starstruck. He picked up on my vibe, clamped an arm around my shoulders for Jen to take our picture, and said, “Relax.” He held me tight for what seemed like minutes.

Keith and I barely spoke, we said hello, he signed my shirt, and I managed to tell him how much I love his music, which he thanked me for. Jen took this wonderful photo, my cover photo for Facebook and Twitter. I was lucky to have had even that moment with him. A rowdy pack of guys behind me were screaming his name and waving things for him to sign. Greg was on his way back to the bus. Keith followed him moments later.

  

Keith took his own life on March 10^th, 2016. I wasn’t depressed so much as very sad. It took a while before I could listen to him again. I feel better now. But this is his legacy, what he means to me. I’ll be forever grateful that I got to meet him. That we exchanged a few words. And this wonderful photo.

Andrea Weiss

Game Theory

Lolita Nation

Omnivore Recordings

One of the greatest albums ever made, and a true lost classic. I don’t want to belabor the comparison, but the only album Lolita Nation can be compared to is Sgt. Pepper. If that album had been made in 1987, with all the advances in recording studio technology, it might have sounded like Lolita Nation.

From the first piece of music, the sound collage “Kenneth, What’s The Frequency?” comes words to live by: “You can pick the game, you can, when you know what it is you’re doing. But when you know what it is you’re doing, then you despise it.” More proof that Scott Miller, and yes, all of Game Theory, were geniuses. Because after that opening, a headspinning, yet very sensible album goes forth, influenced by James Joyce, TS Elliot, and the band’s own pop sense, making for wondrous moments in every song on the album. And also for the sound collages, including one with a title in computer code, that is just tremendous.

The newly added second disk is outtakes, rarities, demos, and live versions of selections from Lolita Nation, a disk that can stand on its own, but that also succeeds in making Lolita Nation essential for not only fans, but anyone who is curious about college rock at its peak.

For me it means even more than that. When I first bought the tape of this album in 1987, I sat down with it, wrote out what I thought the songs were about, and while I was wrong about their meanings, I did have a plot for a novel. So yes, I found I could write. Which is one of the things I love most of all about this album.

Maybe you will love this album too.

Andrea Weiss

Scott Miller

Don’t All Thank Me At Once

The Lost Pop Genius Of Scott Miller

Brett Milano

125 Books

This is a masterpiece, no other way to say it. I hope to do this book justice because it is.  One of the best books I’ve read all year, to say the least.

Scott Miller never made a bad album. And that comes through Milano’s book too, and I should add that Scott’s book Music: What Happened has that same effect.  And the stories behind each album are fascinating, since their told by those who also loved Scott, both as a musician and as a person.

And with Scott as a person, he’s great, but there wasn’t just one side, the musical side, there was him as a person, what made him human, and what made him wonderful.

My personal favorite of Scott’s albums is Lolita Nation, so a little about it here, to give an example of what I’m talking about.  My first impression of it was Sergeant Pepper, for the way and lyrics made an indelible impression, but also that the record was a blast from start to finish, and also made you think. For example, “but when you know what it is you’re doing, then you despise it,,” a watchword that will stay with you.  The music was guitar rock, “power pop,” doesn’t seem to fit, and the twin leads suited the music., as did the big melodies, hooks and otherwise, that drove everything. And not just Scott, Donnette Thayer’s contributions are essential too, particularly “Look Away,” a favorite of mine period.

And all of what is written about here underscores the tragic turn things took. Suicide  is so hard to write about, but it must be, as that’s the ending, and also the starting point here. And as sad as it is, it’s also the right one, since it informs everything that goes before Scott’s final act.  He is missed so much, and on so many levels, everyday.

This book is informative for newcomers, a tonic for Scott fans, and a must read for music fans everywhere.  Everything, sad and happy, is handled with much grace,  and is one of the many reasons you won’t be able to put this book down.

http://www.amazon.com/Dont-All-Thank-Me-Once/dp/0692484698/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1447051577&sr=1-1&keywords=brett+milano

Andrea Weiss

Three Reviews

Palehound

Dry Food

Explosions In Sound

Catchy, noisy, acoustic indie-pop. Ellen Kempner, all of 21 years old, from Boston, writes and sings like Speedy Ortiz’s Sadie Dupuis. Fans of that band, and others like them, will enjoy this album very much, as will people who can’t get enough wry-humored songs about breakups. I like both, so this album is a treat.

French Horn Rebellion

Fooling Around EP

Ensemble Records 

I’m not big on music solely intended to dance to, but I'll make an exception for French Horn Rebellion. This duo from Brooklyn rock, or at the very least strut their stuff around the dance floor. Their lyrics are meant to think to, and thinking of joyful things predominates here.  The album’s title may hint at silliness, but there is nothing silly about this band. This is the sound of pure exuberance. 

Monika

Secret In The Dark

Other Music Recordings

Monika has been through a breakup, and a sailing accident, both sung about here. It's part of what makes this singer from Greece much better than the usual mainstream pop: there’s a lightness to these songs, instead of the usual weighty take on such things, and a minimum of drama. In the end, it's quite enjoyable. This is music to think to as well as dance to, songs that mean something, instead of just partying and sex. 

Andrea Weiss