Rock's Short List (5' 8" and Under)

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/getback/123828/rocks-short-list-5-8-and-under/

Rock's Short List (5' 8" and Under)
Fri May 22, 2009
Shawn Amos in GetBack

The world's a cruel place for a short dude. Barred from basketball, left off firefighter shortlists, and unable to ride Space Mountain, his life is a never-ending "you must be this tall to ride" sign.

Music is the only place a short dude can go for salvation. While most athletic teams, branches of the armed forces, and theme parks have height requirements, bands do not. A 5-foot-tall dude may never be starting guard for the Lakers, but there's nothing preventing him from shredding a solo at Madison Square Garden. He may get overlooked at the McDonald's counter trying to order a Happy Meal, but he's always 10 feet tall on the JumboTron.

Some say short dudes compensate for their lack of height by becoming overachievers or hostile. Or both. It's not my job to psychoanalyze just to lay out some selectively chosen facts that make my case the way I want.

So I present you with Rock's Short List. Randy Newman was wrong. Short people DO have reason to live. It's rock 'n' roll.

Prince (5' 2")
One of the most diminutive musicians around, Prince makes up for his height by wearing high heels, playing every instrument on his recordings, and making sure none of his women are taller than him - and wear flats.

John Mellencamp (5' 7")
The former Johnny Cougar fits the profile of an angry short dude. He was arrested at age eight for breaking and entering, started his first band at 14, and lost a college job for using profanity. To complicate the theory, though, his wife is supermodel Elaine Irwin, who stands at 5 feet 11 inches.

Bono (5' 7 1/2")
Bono is the classic overachiever. He's determined to be in the biggest rock band in the world, save said world, and receive all of its accolades (he's the only person to be nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Grammy, and Nobel Peace Prize). If the dude was 6 feet 1 inches tall, we wouldn't know who he is.

Thom Yorke (5' 5 1/4")
The Radiohead singer's height is overshadowed by another physical trait: his left eye, which was closed shut at birth. Yorke underwent five operations by the time he was six to correct it. He was left with a drooping eyelid.

Angus Young (5' 2")
The 54-year-old AC/DC guitarist has played the instrument since he was five. And he's dressed in a schoolboy uniform the whole time. It's the perfect way to get people to ignore your adolescent height: just dress like a kid.

Roger Daltrey (5' 7")
Within The Who, Daltrey had a reputation for quickly punching anyone who disagreed with him, including the 6-foot-tall Pete Townshend. He also gets around the height issue by swinging his microphone around his head onstage. It adds a couple feet at least.


Ronnie James Dio (5' 4")
Dio sings so loudly and looks so satanic that no one would notice his elfin height. That is, unless you paid attention to some of those early band names, like Electric Elves and Elf. Those were unfortunate.

Iggy Pop (5' 7 1/2")
Iggy's bare-chested stage antics distract from any height issues his fans may possess. Between the self-mutilation, stage-diving, and self-exposure, who's counting inches (no pun intended)?

Paul Simon (5' 3")
Simon and his duo partner, Art Garfunkel, have famously feuded for more than 40 years. Some say the tension was caused by Garfunkel's acting career. Others say it was Art's jealousy of Simon's solo success. I say it's Simon being overshadowed by a dude who's 6 feet tall - 6 feet 5 inches with the Jewfro.

Bob Marley (5' 7")
The Rastaman was proof that big things come in small packages. Marley is as close to a musical deity as you can get. He had a sound and a message that transcended mere mortals. And with his lion's mane of dreadlocks, you'd think you were standing in front of a giant.

Bon Jovi Raises (Mc)Cain Over Palin Tune

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b63961_bon_jovi_raises_mccain_over_palin_tune.html

Bon Jovi Raises (Mc)Cain Over Palin Tune
10-15-8
by Gina Serpe

Add Bon Jovi to the ever-growing list of liberal-leaning artistes taking umbrage at being used as pied pipers for Sarah Palin.

Avowed Democrat Jon Bon Jovi, who earlier this year threw a fundraising dinner at his New Jersey home for Barack Obama, has spoken out against the Republican candidate appropriating his band's tunes for her Middle America stump stops.

"We are surprised to hear that our song, 'Who Says You Can't Go Home' was used by the McCain campaign at rallies yesterday and today," the rocker said in a statement. "We wrote this song as a thank you to those who have supported us over the past 25 years."

It's a sentiment that's been gaining ground in recent months, with the Republican suffering a string of highly-publicized backlash after selecting one politically-opposed rallying cry after another.

The good news for the McCain-Palin ticket is that Bon Jovi, unlike some other musical dissidents, has not yet threatened legal action.

"The song has since become a banner for our home state of New Jersey and the de facto theme song for our partnerships around the country to build homes and rebuild communities," he said. "Although we have not asked, we do not approve of their use of 'Home.' "

Just yesterday, Survivor joined the bashing bandwagon, requesting that the McCain-Palin campaign stop playing the band's hit Rocky theme, "Eye of the Tiger," for appearances by John McCain; last week, the Foo Fighters issued a terse statement demanding that the GOP contender refrain from using "My Hero."

Last month, Heart issued a cease-and-desist notice to the campaign after their hit "Barracuda" was twice used at Palin's campaign theme, including being used at the Republican National Convention. In August, Van Halen groused about "Right Now" being used at rallies, while John Mellencamp protested the lifting of "Pink Houses" and "Our Country." Jackson Browne even filed a copyright infringement suit against McCain and the Republican National Committee for using his biggest hit, "Running on Empty," in campaign ads.

There is, of course, a light at the end of the tunnel to the onslaught of negative publicity deriving from the Republican party's ill-advised song selections: The campaign's nearly over.

Mellencamp Deleted from McCain's Playlist

http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=72e71147-ff13-4891-9c65-fd6c7de8fe16

Mellencamp Deleted from McCain's Playlist
By Sarah Hall
Fri, 8 Feb 2008

John Mellencamp wants to make it clear—he doesn't want to R.O.C.K in John McCain's U.S.A.

Upon learning that songs of his, including "Our Country" and "Pink House," were being played at campaign events for the Republican senator and prohibitive presidential nominee, the liberal musician had his publicist draft a letter expressing his discomfort with the situation.

"Mr. Mellencamp identifies very strongly with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and was supportive (with these same songs!) of the candidacy of John Edwards, on whose behalf he made several campaign appearances," read the letter sent to the campaign by spokesman Bob Merlis on Monday.

"Are you sure you want to use his music to promote Senator McCain's efforts?" the letter continued. "Logic says that the facts might prove to be an embarrassment, were they to be circulated widely."

Merlis said the singer couldn't imagine why McCain would want to be associated with him.

"You know, here's a guy running around saying, 'I'm a true conservative,' " Merlis told the Associated Press. "Well, if you're such a true conservative, why are you playing songs that have a very populist pro-labor message written by a guy who would find no argument if you characterized him as left of center?"

A spokesperson for the McCain campaign said Thursday that the songs have since been dropped from the senator's playlist, but declined to elaborate.

Merlis said Mellencamp has not yet endorsed another candidate since Edwards dropped out of the race on Jan. 30.

The rocker is scheduled to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Mar. 10.

Madonna, Mellencamp newest to Rock Hall

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071213/ap_on_en_mu/rock_hall_inductees

Madonna, Mellencamp newest to Rock Hall
By JOE MILICIA, Associated Press Writer
Thu Dec 13, 2007

The Material Girl is about to become a Hall of Famer.

The ever-evolving Madonna was announced as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee on Thursday along with John Mellencamp, The Ventures, Leonard Cohen and The Dave Clark Five.

A panel of 600 industry figures selected the five acts to be inducted at the annual ceremony, to be held March 10 in New York.

"The 2008 inductees are trailblazers — all unique and influential in their genres," Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation President and CEO Joel Peresman said in a statement. "From poetry to pop, these five acts demonstrate the rich diversity of rock and roll itself."

To be eligible, artists must have issued a first single or album at least 25 years before nomination.

Madonna Louise Ciccone signed with Sire Records in 1982 and became one of MTV's first stars two years later with "Like A Virgin." She has constantly altered her image and appearance ever since, showing staying power that few '80s stars could muster.

From rosaries and bare midriffs to cone-shaped bras, Madonna's reinvention of herself has been as prolific as her chart dominance, which included seven No. 1 hits and three No. 1 albums in the '80s alone.

Mellencamp, the Indiana native with the ever-changing name, hit the scene as John Cougar in the early '80s with "Jack and Diane" and "Hurts So Good." He later became John Cougar Mellencamp — and the voice of America's heartland — with hits like "Pink Houses" and "Small Town" before finally settling into his given name, John Mellencamp.

"I'm very honored and pleased to be recognized this way, especially among people whom I greatly admire," he said in a statement.

Cohen went from acclaimed poet in Canada to a folk rock icon with "Suzanne" and "Dress Rehearsal Rag" in the late 1960s, making him a big part of the singer-songwriter movement.

The Ventures defined instrumental guitar rock in the '60s with surfer anthems like "Walk Don't Run" and "Hawaii Five-O," and The Dave Clark Five were one of the most successful British invasion bands with the iconic "Glad All Over."

The Rock Hall will also honor Little Walter in its sideman category for helping establish the modern blues harmonica on recordings with legends like Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley.

Producers Gamble & Huff will be honored in the non-performer category. Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's Philadelphia International label, which had artists that included the O'Jays, McFadden & Whitehead, and Lou Rawls, featured powerful rhythm sections with a disco beat.

They won a Grammy for best R&B song on Simply Red's cover of the Blue Notes' "If You Don't Know Me By Now."
___
On the Net:

http://www.rockhall.com/

Up for Rock-God Status

http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=864c9b51-062e-4e65-afd2-e518182584f2&entry=index

Madonna, Beasties, Mellencamp Up for Rock-God Status
by Josh Grossberg

Madonna's love may be on the borderline, but apparently her rock credentials aren't.

The Queen of Pop joined a disparate group of artists on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame shortlist, a ballot that includes the Beastie Boys, John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen and another music royal, Queen of Disco Donna Summer, for the Cleveland class of 2008.

Rounding out the nominees, which were announced Friday: Afrika Bambaataa, Chic, the Dave Clark Five, and the Ventures.

An act becomes eligible for induction 25 years after its first release, be it single, EP or album. That means the current contenders had to have issued their inaugural record no later than 1982.

Born Madonna Louise Ciccone in Detroit, the Material Girl emerged from New York's underground club scene and shot to fame on the success of her self-titled 1982 debut album, which spawned the singles "Holiday," "Borderline" and "Lucky Star."

Her follow-up, Like a Virgin, became her first chart-topper and went on to sell 19 million copies worldwide thanks to such ditties as "Material Girl," "Into the Groove" and "Dress You Up."

Her penchant for boundary-pushing behavior, both onstage and off, and constant reinvention has kept her on the charts and in the headlines. Over the course of her 25-year-old career, the 49-year-old entertainer has logged six number one albums (including her latest, Confessions on a Dance Floor), 12 number one singles and 49 top 10 hits on her way to selling more than 200 million albums worldwide.

The Beastie Boys—Mike "Mike D" Diamon, Adam "MCA" Yauch, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz and their deejay, Michael "Mix Master Mike" Schwartz—not only paved the way for white rappers like Eminem but are considered among hip-hop's elder statesmen after their quarter-century career.

Like Madonna, the Beasties sprung from the New York music scene in 1982, but instead of party-hearty rap, the Boys were a hard-core punk band. But under the tutelage of Def Jam maestro Rick Rubin, they switched to rap, and their 1986 debut, License to Ill, exploded onto the charts with radio-embraced anthems like "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)," "No Sleep till Brooklyn" and "Brass Monkey."

They enjoyed immense critical acclaim with such subsequent albums as 1989's Paul's Boutique, 1992's Check Your Head, 1994's Ill Communication (with the monster hit "Sabotage") and 1998's Hello, Nasty. The band has also gotten political, helping launch the Tibetan Freedom Concerts. Their most recent album was a dub-influenced postpunk instrumental affair, appropriately titled The Mix-Up.

Originally billed as John Cougar when his then agent thought his last name wasn't marketable enough, Mellencamp became the first artist since the Beatles to have two simultaneous Top 5 hits with "Hurts So Good" and "Jack and Diane" off his 1982 breakthrough, American Fool.

He changed his name to John Cougar Mellencamp and then eventually to just John Mellencamp while gaining artistic credibility with his Scarecrow album and such top 10 Heartland anthems as "Pink Houses," "Crumblin' Down," "Authority Song" and "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." He also cofounded Farm Aid with Willie Nelson and Neil Young. The concert series, which benefits strapped family farms, just celebrated its 22nd year.

A singer, songwriter, poet and novelist, Cohen achieved his first folk-rock success with a pair of songs on Judy Collins' 1966 album, In My Life, one of which, "Suzanne," became a signature hit. He eventually moved from his native Canada to New York a year later and established himself as a folk troubadour with his 1967 debut, Songs of Leonard Cohen. Cohen has influenced everyone from U2, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and R.E.M. to Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley and Rufus Wainwright.

Summer reworked her R&B sound to take advantage of the 1970s disco era and quickly established herself as one of its top performers. She scored three successive number one hit albums between 1979 and 1980, Live and More, Bad Girls and On the Radio. Among her best known songs are "Love to Love You Baby," "Hot Stuff," "Bad Girls," "This Time I Know It's Real," "She Works Hard for the Money" and the Bruce Springsteen-penned "Protection."

Chic was also among the biggest disco acts. Formed as a jazz-funk group in 1976 by Nile Rodgers, the band is best remembered for "Le Freak." Other hits included "Dance Dance Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" and "Everybody Dance." Chic's rhythms also inspired earlier hip-hop performers, notably the Sugarhill Gang, which sampled Chic's "Good Times" bass riff for "Rapper's Delight."

Bambaata is credited with laying the foundations for hip-hop in the 1970s as a deejay and South Bronx community leader. He began his performing career while still in high school. He founded a collective known as the Universal Zulu Nation that sought an end to gang violence through block parties that facilitated the development of rap music.

After building the Zulu Nation into a group consisting of deejays, rappers, break dancers, graffiti artists and writers, Bam released in 1982 the seminal Kraftwerk-sampling hit, "Planet Rock," which spawned a the genre known as electro-funk. He also joined forces with former Sex Pistol John Lydon for one of the earliest songs fusing rap with rock 'n' roll, "World Destruction."

Part of the original British invasion, the Dave Clark Five scored 1960s hits with "Glad All Over," "Over and Over" and "Bits and Pieces." The DC actually appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show more times than the Beatles or Rolling Stones and sold more than 50 million albums worldwide before disbanding in 1970.

A pioneering surf-guitar instrumental act from Seattle, the Ventures' best-known hits included 1960's "Walk Don't Run" and 1969's "Hawaii Five-O." The Beatles, Stephen Stills, Joe Walsh and Aerosmith have counted the band as an inspiration.

Nominees are chosen by a 70-member committee of label execs, rock historians and journalists, with ballots mailed to an international voting body of 700 music industry types. Ultimately, the five honorees will be announced in January, with the 2008 induction ceremony taking place, per tradition, at New York City's Waldorf-Astoria hotel in March.

Chic, the Dave Clark Five and the Ventures have all appeared on recent ballots but never made the cut.

Last year's inductees were R.E.M., Van Halen, the Ronettes, Patti Smith and the Hall's first rap act, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.