PeakDash

Pop Talk
With David Segal
Washington Post Music Critic
Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2002; Noon EDT

For a few years, he played guitar and sang in a deeply terrible cover band, the Bremers. The highlight of the group's show was a stalker version of "Leavin' on a Jet Plane," which was retitled "You're NOT Leavin' on a Jet Plane." He's been at The Post for going on eight years, first as a Book World editor, then a Business section reporter and finally as pop music critic. He enjoys the work and would like to point out that he is writing his bio, even though it's written in the third person, like someone else wrote it. Segal is doing that so he appears more important than he is, which is hilarious when you think about it!

The transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

David Segal: Hello people,

Thanks for joining me for the other every week gabfest known as Pop Talk. Here's what I've been listening to lately. A couple Clarence Gatemouth Brown albums, which are pretty great, though the guy gave me one of the more curt and ornery interviews a few weeks back, which I struggled to turn into a readable My Top Ten. I'm liking the new Coldplay album a lot. And I got in the mail yesterday two releases from a label called Sympathy for the Record Industry, which is best known for releasing the White Stripes albums. Turns out that Symp is run by one guy -- not a single other employee -- out of a house in California. I tell you, the dude can find good bands and he likes them raw, punky and bluesy. He sent me an album the Compulsive Gamblers, which I first heard at the Hives concert a few months back. (The lead singer was praising the Gamblers to the stars during the show.) Anyway, it's an excellent piece of work. Also, he included a duet called Mr. Airplane Man, based out of Boston. They use the guitar and drum combo deployed by White Stripes. I gave it a quick listen last night and I was pretty impressed. Very raw, pretty low-fi and grabby as hell.

Some trivia. Again, no prize any more, only the sheer joy of showing off in front of everyone else.

What band provides the opening scene music to the MTV show Jackass. You know, it's a guitar riff followed by a hoe-downish beat.

Now let's chat.

Winchester, Va.: David, Have you heard anything about other local venues being added to the Stones dates? Not on their schedule where they do show in Boston, Chicago, and NYC, so I am not hopeful, just asking in case. Thanks

David Segal: First, I'd like to congratulate all y'alls for finding this chat. It's not exactly easy to locate. Is there something else going on today or something because it sure seems like this little hour of music fluff talk has been crowded out by a whole lot of gravitas. Anyway, you all must regular viewers because it's hard to imagine anyone stumbling across this production.

Now to your question. I haven't heard anything about local venue shows on the Stones tour, except that there will be one in Philly, at a place called the Tower Theater. I know about that one because I'll be at it. If you people would do your solemn duty and fork over the $250 fee for seats, we might be able to add an MCI show and maybe, just maybe, a show at an intimate venue, like 9:30. But for now, I think there are tix available at Fed Ex and I doubt they'll add another show here until they're gone.

Rockville, Md.: What was up with the snooty tone of the fall music preview in Sunday's paper? The bad attitude, which didn't come across as funny or entertaining, pretty much drained the article of any interest. Why can't the popular music writers write their previews, reviews and features in a more adult tone, with less negativity and cynicism? I guarantee you'd get many of your readers back who've stopped reading music coverage in The Post.

David Segal: You call that snooty? That was my warm and fuzzy voice! That was me being chummy!

Jefferson, Md.: Any buzz on the new Pearl Jam release? They're so hush hush, I can't take it.

Also, Elvis Costello. Wolf Trap versus Constitution Hall. Should I see him a second time this year?

David Segal: I haven't heard a word about the Pearl Jam disc.

I'm not going to see the Costello show again, for what it's worth. I thought the last show was a little focused on his new album, which I think isn't all that strong. I frankly was slightly bored. But I do think that Const Hall will be a far better venue than Wolf Trap, esp if you caught the Trap show on that infernal lawn.

Alexandria, Va.: Dave --

I've got a question about royalties and rock and roll. I've read a couple of interviews with Jeff Tweedy of Wilco who said he's NEVER received any money from royalties from ANY Wilco record. Could this be true? Do you have to be a mega star to make money from record sales? What's going on here?

Here's some background info for those who may not know the story.

Wilco's latest album was rejected by their record company for not being commercial enough. They decided to buy the record back and try to find another label to release it. While they were label shopping, they put the entire album up on their Web site for everyone to download and listen to. They kept it up there for months while they were searching for a new label.

The record was eventually released by another label and got great critical praise and turned out to be their biggest and fastest seller.

After the official release, reporters were asking Tweedy if he was worried that having the album available for free would hurt sales and his royalties. That's when he said he's never been paid for any record.

The irony of course is that an album that was available for free, out-sold all of their other records, and record companies who are trying to "protect" artist from downloads, and mp3, and CD burning are not even paying the artists for the music!

David Segal: I can't imagine why Tweedy hasn't seen a dime in royalties. He co-wrotes the songs, if memory serves, so he ought to be getting paid something. Then again, you never know. These musicians, esp when young and hungry sign godawful deals and maybe Tweedy and Wilco signed away some key rights early on. Most of these guys make their money by touring. Publicizing and recording an album is very expensive and the labels generally take their share of revenues before they hand much of anything to the artists.

Harrisburg, Pa.: I hear that Dire Straits is tired of waiting for Mark Knopfler and is re-forming on their own. Apparently they wanted someone who sounds like Knopfler -- so they went out and got Chris Rea!

Bet you can't guess what they're going to call the band.

David Segal: Crap?

Falls Church, Va.: OK, so I cheaped out and got the $24 tickets for the Elvis Costello show at Constitution Hall in October. They are "obstructed view" seats relatively close to the stage. Any idea how "obstructed" they are? Will we be sitting directly behind some kind of massive pillar? At least the atmosphere can't possibly be as bad as when I saw him at Wolf Trap a few years ago and I was surrounded by yammering Viennese more concerned with how oakey their chardonnay was than with the freakin' music.

David Segal: Ah, the Wolf Trap yammering boors, they are soooooooo annoying. Incredibly so. When I caught EC at the Trap a few months back there was a dude singing at the top of his lungs, which made it pretty hard to Elvis. A friend a few rows back said that a dude stood the entire time and obstructed his view for most of the show.

Speaking of obstructed, I guess your seats aren't behind some pillar. I don't really recall any pillars at Const. Hall. I'd guess you're off to the side and won't have a full on view of the band. I think CHall is actually a great venue, so I think you'll be fine. That said, I might have shelled out for a real seat if I were you.

How much is a real seat, by the way?

Marshall, Va.: Monday Night Football is featuring local bands in each city they visit -- while going to commercial break. For example, in Boston, they had Aerosmith, Boson, in Charlotte they had Ben Folds Five. With the Skins playing the Eagles next Monday Night, what do you think their D.C. picks should be? I think that it will be an interesting shift from Hank Jr. to Fugazi. My picks would be Duke Ellington, Patsy Cline, Fugazi, Bad Brains, Dismemberment Plan, Emmett Swimming and wrapping up with Emmylou Harris. What are your picks for a D.C. flavored MNF commercial break transitions?

David Segal: Can't go wrong with Fugazi, though I've got a feeling they might turn down the chance to appear on Monday Night Football. It's not exactly Fort Reno Park. I'd trot out our very own Bobby Parker, a great old blues dude with a wicked pompadour and an incredible voice. We could offer Good Charlotte for the kids -- do kids watch MNF? -- and Placido Domingo for the high brows. And of course, we close with Chuck Brown, the Go Go maestro. Last shot of the night is Brown and Madden, just dancing.

Washington, D.C.: David:

Smithereens on Sept. 20 at the State Theater! Are they still working in the studio, or planning on doing another album?

David Segal: I don't know. Coincidentally, I was looking at the web site today of Pat Dinizio, who is the band's lead guitarist and songwriter. He's touring around the country doing living room shows -- you know, those gigs where you show up in someone's house and attract a crowd of like 25 people. From the diary he keeps at patdinizio.com it looks like he's having a pretty good time. Played the Posen's house in Tea Neck, New Jersey recently. I'm sure that site will have some info about what the Smithereens are up to these days.

Flint Hill, Va.: Hi David. I look at the mainstream pop charts these days, and I barely recognize any of the songs listed. And those that I do recognize strike me as being essentially "throw-aways" -- songs without distinctive lyrics or melodies that leave no lasting impression on me. With rare exceptions ("Drops of Jupiter" and "Lets Get the Party Started" come to mind), I can't imagine that any of these songs will be remembered one year from now, much less 10 years from now. Quite a contrast with pop charts in the '70s and '80s -- I look at those charts and can recall you pretty much all of the songs. What the heck has happened to the current state of mainstream pop?

David Segal: Well, most of the pop on the charts isn't made with you in mind. I'm surmising that from the fact that you remember pop in the 70s. You're right that nearly all of the stuff on the charts now is junk, but when you recall the great 70s, it's easy to forget how much junk we had to sift through back then. I'm looking at a list of top selling songs in 1976 and it includes the following: "Theme from S.W.A.T." and "Boogie Fever" by the Sylvers and "Disco Lady" by Johnny Taylor. And the no. 2 song of the year was "A Fifth of Beethoven" by Wlater Murphy and the Big Apple Band. Now that's some crap, folks.

I agree, though, that we're going through a particularly dry dry spell here. Every once in a while the great music out there is the music that sells, but with Papa Roach leading the way, and all that teen pop, this isn't one of those moments. One exception is Eminem, who I think WILL be played in a decade. Also, some of the rock out there, like White Stripes, is pretty good and it's actually now on the Billboard charts.

Washington, D.C.: Dear David:

I adore your articles about the top 10 favorite records of various artists. I don’t know if you had the opportunity to interview Richard Thompson when he was in town, but one part of his show was devoted to a Playboy poll about the top 100 songs of the past millennium (from as Thompson put it, their “more breasts, more music millennial issue.”). Thompson claims that his selections were rejected because he misunderstood millennium as meaning more than the past 30 years. Anyhow, he is featuring three songs from his own personal selection in his shows. According to the review in the Post, on the first night, he performed a song from the 17th century, followed by Shenandoah and then the great Squeeze song "Tempted." On the second night of his stand, he performed a beautiful song from the 16th century, followed by a Nat King Cole song (can’t recall the title -- catchy skiffle number). He then followed it up with "Oops, I Did it Again"; an amazing performance, half the audience was laughing uproariously while the other half sang along. Thompson actually made it sound like a decent song. Of course, he followed it up with one of his own great elegies," From Galway to Graceland," laying his own claim to be included somewhere in that top 100 list if this was a just world.

David Segal: I heard about that "Oops" rendition and I was sorry to have missed. Friends who were there swear Thompson was trying to demonstrate that the tune is actually wonderful, but that Britney ruined it.

Columbia, Md.: Dave, a recommendation: Damon Albarn from Blur went all Paul-Simon like and headed down to perform with some musicians from Mali. The cd is called, creatively enough, Mali Music, and the tunes are great.

By the way, the Tower is a great place to see concerts.

And thanks for hosting this discussion today; a little levity in an otherwise somber day can be a good thing.

David Segal: You're most welcome. I listened to "Mali Music" a bit and found it a little on the tough-to-love side. I'll try again, though, because it's a great idea and I love Mr. Blur and his willingness to take chances like that.

DuPont Circle, Washington, D.C.: Easy trivia question this week.

That would be "Carona" by the Minutemen. Any music geek over 25 should get that one!

David Segal: You're good.

Take a bow.

Wheaton, Md.: Hey, will you try to get George Clinton to do a top ten when he comes in town to play the 9:30? I'd love to hear his choices.

David Segal: I'm thinking about that very idea. It's either him or Isaac Hayes.

Let's vote: Whose Top Ten would you rather read? Clinton or Hayes?

Washington, D.C.: Not really a question -- a comment re: earlier reader's Elvis Costello question. I saw him at the Tower Theater in Philly a few weeks after the Wolf Trap show and he was great - not too heavy on the new stuff, all the old great songs, lots of encores. I think he acknowledged on his web site that the Wolf Trap show was pretty lousy. I recommend going to see him at DAR - maybe he'll make amends.

Not Elvis Costello's Publicist

David Segal: Ok.

Drumaville: Dave, a few thoughts on recent purchases. Comments?
Van Morrison, “Down the Road” –Very catchy. Van writes almost effortless R&B, though his tendency to growl/moan/mumble is leaning towards self-parody. Enunciate!

Solomon Burke, “Don’t Give Up on Me” – Great songs, excellent singing, but I find the restrained, even muted, production to be a drawback. Soul should snap a little more.

Los Lobos, “Good Morning Aztlan” – Man, the first song on this kicks! SO refreshing to be listening to a ROCK band. This is great when they are jamming, and while the slow tunes have lovely melodies, I think they tend to show off the weakness of the lyrics too much.

Aimee Mann, “Lost in Space” – Yet another quality product from Aimee, who is an almost an incomparable writer of clarity and wit, and one of the most underrated singers out there (so many confuse vocal gymnastics with real singing). Only drawback–she really needs to vary her song tempos and throw in a rocker or power pop tune now and then.

Also enjoy the new Eva Cassidy and like most of Springsteen (“Lonesome Day” is worth getting the disk for).

David Segal: I don't know any of these albums well enough to weigh in, though I've read some really vicious pans of that Van Morrison album. Still trying to get a copy of the Mann record.

Washington, D.C.: Dave, how about an article sometime on the problem with VH1? They always seem to promote the same lame acts - Cher, Celine Dion, Matchbox 20, Bon Jovi - through videos or those stupid shows like Driven and Behind the Music that nobody cares about!!! I know the station promotes looks over music but they're getting ridiculous.

David Segal: I don't watch VH-1 so I'll have to take your word for it. I think the ratings are pretty solid for the station, so I'd bet they don't share your sense that they are promoting lameness. They're just giving the people what they want.

State of Reflection: Ok, so you can't give us your CD anymore. grrr. I have signed up with emusic, however, and so I want to try and create your CD by downloading legally the songs you had, because the CD sounds so interesting. So can you give us a track listing?

Also, I highly recommend Poe (the musician. the writer is pretty good too).

David Segal: I don't have the list handy so I'm going to try to remember.

Two songs by the Coup, Wear Clean Drawers and Ride the Fence.

Rock Steady by No Doubt.

You, You, You, You, You by the 6ths.

New Slang by the Shins.

From Rusholme with Love by Mint Royale.

Glad Girls by Guided By Voices

Dope Nose by Weezer/

Bygones Won't Go by Nick Lowe

Let the Drummer Kick by Citizen Cope

Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley.

Rock on.

Capitol Hill: dave, dave, dave--I almost didn't buy the boss's latest album after reading your review of it. But I did it anyway b/c my husband went to the concert and I figured he'd listen to any bit of drek as long as it was Springsteen. Well, after listening to it over and over (on a very long cartrip), I have to say that you were wrong about the album. It has legs! I love it!! I get those songs in my head and i'm singing all day long!! I think the boss has come up with some articulate, well-sung songs about 9/11 and they'll be with us for some time to come.

So thanks for nuttin'!

David Segal: Well, you're not alone, Capitol Hill. I've heard from a few friends who bought the album and think it's terrific. I've actually tried again to get into the thing and it aint working. But what the hell do I know, really?

Washington, D.C.: Dave gotta disagree (sort of) that we're in a dry spell with good music. The Brits do it right: Cornershop, Elvis, Coldplay, Gomez, Billy Bragg, Joe Strummer, World Party, and so on have all released great albums in the last year or so. The problem is that radio in the States won't give them a try.

David Segal: I agree. You have to look around a little harder these days, but the music is out there. Radio makes it nearly impossible for all but the label-backed big boys to get heard. What's interesting, though, is that every once in a while the charts actually reflect the best of what is happening in music. I think when grunge happened, there was a harmonic convergence, with Nirvana both the best band out there and one of the real commercial forces at the time, too. One exception, as I've said, is Eminem, who will have the best selling album of this year. He made an amazing, funny, wicked record.

Orange, Va.: Ten questions would definitely work better with Hayes. I think George Clinton is great but I worry that his memory might be a little "cloudy" after all those years of extended P-Funk jams

David Segal: That's exactly my concern. I've heard from others who have interviewed Clinton that he's really a bit addled these days and has a hard time focusing on the music. It would stink to show up there with 10 songs and have the guy just mutter for an hour.

Silver Spring, Md.: On the subject of over-40 rockers... what are your thoughts on the new cd by Excene's new band, the Original Sinners? For my part, I think it's as hot and fun as early X, as was their show at the Velvet.

David Segal: Haven't heard it, sorry to say. I'll have to get a copy.

Alexandria, Md.: Re: living room shows -- are they that common now? Who else is doing them?

About 5 years ago I got invited to one in NJ -- I think the occasion was somebody's birthday, but I was tagging along as a friend of a friend. Nils Lofgren performed (with brother Tom). They charged admission, but we got food and drink too -- definitely worth it.

David Segal: It's a great idea because what stinks about most show is how big they are and for the most the bigger the show is, the harder it is to connect to the artist.

I remember reading a trend piece on the front of the New York Times about living room shows. I hear about them often but I have no way of knowing whether they're more popular now, or less.

Arlington, Va.: After what seemed like a bit of a lull, the fall concert calendar seems to be filled to overflowing. The Brits seem to be re-invading. Now that I'm not a youngster anymore I can't see as many of these shows as I'd like, but I am looking forward to Gene on Monday night. I just hope I'm not the only one there.

Not sure that eminem will still be getting much play ten years from now. But I've never "gotten" his phenomenon in the first place. All of his "songs" sound exactly the same to me, whiny and annoying. There's no variety to his style, it's just different words maybe but the same rhythms and tones. Boring. But I'm not a connoisseur.

David Segal: The thing about anything you don't like is that it tends to sound the same. I remember when my dad was trying to get me into classical, he played me both Beethoven and Mozart and I told him they both sound the same. He couldn't believe it, but at the time I thought they both were just heavy slabs of violins -- and neither of these dudes was using a guitar.

Eminen's album to my ears has a lot of different sounds and a few different moods, too. There's a square dance on the album with banjo, of all things. It doesn't sound like anything else to me.

K Street VH1 fan: Matchbox 20 isn't lame and Behind the Music rocks! Where else can you learn the many ways to burn through millions of dollars like Hammer did? Or how one of the Motley Crue guys was clinically dead and had an out of body experience? Fascinating stuff there.

David Segal: I agree with everything you said except that non-lameness of Matchbox 20. Those guys fill me with dread and horror. They're an old person's idea of a young person's band, to paraphrase something Michael Kinsley once said about Al Gore.

Fairfax, Va.: I agree with the VH1 whiner. I am tired of all those Michael Jackson retrospectives on VH1. Also, why on earth would MTV give Michael Jackson a birthday cake at the VMA awards? Plus who told Justin Timberlake that imitating Michael Jackson is still cool?

David Segal: That was really weird. Justin needs to get his own schtick. Or maybe not, depending on whether his disc sells. I was amazed at how blatantly he was stealing from Michael. I also thought he was a pretty good dancer, to be honest.

Baltimore, Md.: Just discovered Nick Cave (covering Pulp's "Disco 2000" on the b-side of "Bad Cover Version '02") & LOVE him!! Which album of his would be best for a new fan?

David Segal: I don't know his library well, but I enjoyed a few cuts on his last one, No More Shall We Part. Much of it is pretty pretentious and dreary, but there are moments like "Love Letter," that are astounding.

I once sat behind the Bad Seeds on a flight to New York and I tried to get them talking about their show. It didn't go so well.

Arlington, Va.: Hey Dave -

I'm looking forward to seeing Andrew WK on Friday - what's your take on his antics?

Also wanted to mention that I've seen a lot of great local bands lately - Q and Not U, Metropolitan, Sounds of Kaliedoscope. I urge everyone to support their local music scene.

David Segal: I haven't seen Mr. W.K., but in general I think he's a hoot. I also think he'll disappear almost as fast as he arrived so get a good look now!

Falls Church, Va.: Good pop these days:

Well, U2 does it right, even after what, 15 or 20 years? Their first tunes sound as good as their newest, Electrical Storm, which is to me, amazing. It took me a while to catch on to U2 but thankfully they still keep coming out with great stuff.

Anyone out there know what ever happened to the group Alarm? My friend and I loved that album, "Eye of the Hurricane," in high school. I just thought of them yesterday, for no particular reason.

David Segal: Heck if I know about the fate of the Alarm. Anyone?

Living room or house concerts: I haven't been to one in a while but they are great! It seems to be big in folk music circles. There are actually a good number of them in the D.C. area, especially if you include the many churches and coffee houses that offer shows. houseconcerts.com has a state-by-state listing.

David Segal: Cool. That's helpful. Thanks much. I guess it was inevitable that there was a web site for this sort of thing.

Washington, D.C.: Not sure if this fits in your areas of expertise but I'm gonna ask anyway since its a quiet day and there has been a lot of chatter about how weak commercial radio is these days.

Do you know anything about satellite radio? I know I have two to choose from but I am wondering if its really worth it.

Thanks for your thoughts.

David Segal: I've not heard XM, but I have a bunch of friends who swear by it and say they're never going to back to regular. I'd be inclined to get the thing but I'm rarely in my car, thank the Lord. But really the reviews so far have been terrific.

Washington, D.C.: Is it just me, or are there an unusual number of artists who are releasing new albums after really looooooonnnnnngggg times out of the limelight? Springsteen, Peter Gabriel, Linda Thompson, Kate Taylor, Michelle Shocked -- is this the year of the "comeback" album?

David Segal: Hmmmm. Hadn't thought of that. I guess to know you'd have to look back and see if every year there are a handful of artists who emerge after a long silence.

Washington, D.C.: I'll stay with you till my seeds are dry? Did Clapton actually write that? Is that the worst line in all of rock n roll?

David Segal: What song is that from?

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: So, in your expert opinion, are The Police, one of the greatest bands of all time, going to make the cut for the Hall of Fame for 2003, or will they have to wait another year?

David Segal: I don't know. Nobody should give a pull about the Rock Hall of Fame. It's a ridiculous notion and the idea that there are a bunch of folks in Cleveland -- or anywhere, for that matter -- deciding who gets canonized is pretty silly. It's just Chamber of Commerce concept that got out of hand.

Single music lover: Kinda late - but here goes: My music tastes are very very different from those of my friends (why are they my friends, I often ask myself).

This cramps my style b/c it seems weird to go to concerts alone. For instance, I would love to see Elvis Costello - but none of my friends know who he is muchless would pay $50 for real seats at Const Hall!

What's a gal to do?

David Segal: Hmmmm. I think I should start a concert buddy service. You know, let folks post the shows they'd like to attend and throw open an invitation to the Pop Talk listeners.

Why wouldn't that work, Producer Joe? Give me one good reason? Can we allow folks on this chat to post their e mail addresses?

Cap Hill Grrl: Dave-

You going to see John Doe with Grant Lee Phillips next weekend? Or are you still on the "banned" list thanks to your X antics?

David Segal: They didn't ban me, I'm glad to say. I'll think about that Grant Lee/Doe show. Lots of stuff before and after and I might need to give the ears a break.

Well, I've had fun people. I appreciate you taking my mind off our national tragedy, at least for an hour, and indulging in urgent discussion about a non-urgent matter. I'll see all y'alls in a couple weeks. We'll have lots of new material then and I'd like to share a bit about the Ted Nugent interview I did and will never forget for as long as I live.

Till then, rock on with your bad selves.

David

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