There Goes Gravity

Lisa Robinson has been on Led Zeppelin's private plane, in Mick Jagger's hotel room, had Lou Reed hanging out in her apartment and had Lady Gaga cook pasta. She went to CBGB's and Max's Kansas City nearly every night. She's interviewed John Lennon, Michael Jackson, and Bono. She currently writes a column for Vanity Fair and oversees the photo shoot for Vanity Fair's annual music issue. She's written about music for over 40 years and has just written There Goes Gravity:  A Life In Rock and Roll. I read good reviews of it and decided to give it a try and wasn't disappointed.  

Robinson starts off in 1975 with her joining the Rolling Stones' tour of the U.S and ends with her getting to know Eminem. Reading the book is like taking a historical tour of popular music. I'll be honest here and admit I skipped ahead a bit (although I went back and read the whole book) to the chapter on U2, my favorite band. As she does in the rest of the book, she pulls no punches and offers up what I think are valid criticisms of my "boys". (So, yeah, WHEN is that new album coming out again? Or as she says, "The more successful bands become the longer it takes between albums.") She also offers some very pointed criticism of Madonna (no real talent, only ambition.)

Pretty Cool, and...Meh. Or: Pat Benatar and Cheap Trick

Hi boys and girls--

I went to the Pat Benatar and Cheap Trick show at AVA on June 16. I had been wanting to see Pat Benatar for years and finally got my chance. A big reason I loved Pat Benatar when I was a kid was that she was a woman singing in a more male-sounding style of music. She sounded so strong, so confident, and so cool, and I thought, "Wow. I wanna be her!" I still remember when Hit Me With Your

Best Shot came out and I just thought it was the greatest song. Here's the funny thing:  Benatar was the opening act for Cheap Trick, and I think most people (myself included) thought it would be the other way around. Benatar walked out onstage and opened with All Fired Up, one of her later hits. Her guitar player (who is also her husband), Neil Giraldo (also known as Spyder) had some really great looking guitars and I really liked his sound. She performed Hit Me With Your Best Shot (of course) and the crowd really got into it. Other songs she performed included Love Is A Battlefield, We Belong, Promises In The Dark, and Hell Is For Children. If you're not familiar with this song, it's a song she wrote nearly thirty years ago about child abuse. As she explained to the crowd, "We will continue to perform this song at every show we do until every child is safe." I had tears in my eyes and chills down my spine while they played this one.

As Benatar's set came to a close, I started to panic. She hadn't done the ONE song I really wanted to hear....

The Show I'll Never Forget:

Last year I came across this wonderful book while I working at the Golf Links Library. This is must reading for any type of music buff as it covers nearly every genre of music. There is nothing better than talking with someone about the music they love and why they love it. Usually, when I hear a fresh perspective through heartfelt and organic words regarding a particular musician, I find myself eager to learn more about that artist. I often ask friends what was the best show they ever attended. This single question often blossoms into some of the finest discussions I've shared with friends. Just listening to someone talk about a great live act they once saw is almost like seeing the show for yourself because the person talking always describes everything so vividly with fondness. "The Show I'll Never Forget" is a collection of such descriptions. Please continue reading to learn more.