Reviving San Diego's Rock Renaissance
I’ve opined that the two definitive eras for Christmas music were the Middle Ages and the 1940s. Even my favorite performers from later eras have come up with compositions that underwhelm me. (Exhibits A and B: Chuck Berry’s “Run Rudolph Run” and the Beach Boys’ “Little Saint Nick,” with both Lennon’s and McCartney’s efforts representing C and D.)
However, there are some holiday songs that do offer new views of the season … Not always jolly, but interesting in one way or another.
(Paul Kaufman gives new meaning to the phrase “Trivial Pursuit.”)
Here’s another parlor-type game: Describe two songs that seemingly have nothing in common (era, style, etc.) yet have multiple disturbingly similar characteristics once you list them.
Here’s an example: The Beatles “I Saw Her Standing There” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll All Night” by KISS. You’re thinking this is crazy, but hear me out:
(Paul Kaufman contemplates exciting new hacks for the Beatles simulation game.)
VH1 is in full promotional mode for the release of the The Beatles: Rock Band game. I’m an unabashed fan of the band, and I’m generationally marked as one who never tires of hearing these tunes and seeing the film footage. Seth Schiesel of the New York Times raves that “by reinterpreting an essential symbol of one generation in the medium and technology of another, The Beatles: Rock Band provides a transformative entertainment experience.”
I like that idea in concept, and teaching a new generation about this music via today’s electronic vernacular is a great idea. But somehow, hitting color-coded buttons in time to the music strikes me as a rather limited goal. As the technology grows, these are the buttons I’d like to be able to push: