Sunday, January 31, 2010

SNAP, CRACKLE, POP...SMASH!

ON THE RIGHT, THE BIRDS (NOT THE STONES):

I have a friend who loves Radio Birdman (and so do I) but hates, I mean HATES The Rolling Stones. I'm not sure why, and I think it might be a 'long story' reason. It's funny because even though Birdman don't sound like The Stones per se, you can't deny that they bear at least some inkling of their influence as most rock bands do. In a way the disparity of preference doesn't seem completely logical, but that's what makes personal taste...so personal. As we well know, it's hard to gauge who will like what and what will be popular based on simple facts alone. But then I have at least one friend who claims The Stones are the greatest rock and roll band ever, and anyone who thinks differently is wrong. And another friend claims they made some of the best rock and roll movies ever. So what's the best Stones song? Well, I might be too much of a novelty head here but I love their Rice Crispies spot. It's so punk! In and out, get the job done raw and fast. Call them a sell out shilling for cereal, but this still SOUNDS subversive, or at least disruptive:



I used to have this on an 8 hour video tape of garage and 60's bands, from The Kinks and The Who to Q65 and so forth. One of the best clips aside from the Rice Crispies spot was from this British B movie The Deadly Bees that featured The Birds - not to be confused with the U.S. folk group who spelled their name with a Y, but the incredible British beat / r&b band featuring future Faces member and Rolling Stoner Ron Wood. Damn, I wish they'd released this song as a single or something, because this is unfortunately incomplete. This seems to be the only known recording of the song:

5 comments:

Ivan said...

Dave:
I got that beat! Almost...
Check out Thunderbirds Are Go, yes, the puppet movie--English pop "star" Cliff Richards performs a song--yes, as a puppet.

I must have blabbed about this movie before, I must have!
--Ivan

Sq. Dave said...

Ivan: I will check that out. How about GONKS GO BEAT? Seen that? Keep an eye on my posts - I'll try to elaborate soon...

Anonymous said...

nice post. thanks.

Otto Mannix said...

yes, funny how some people get so militant about their pop culture tastes, forgetting that it's just personal taste.

the stones made some of the greatest rock and roll, but they were capable of serious bullshit as well. ultimately, who cares, it's entertainment.

i don't blame them a bit for doing a Rice Krispies commercial. these days, big names do commercials all the time and people love it. the concept of 'selling out' no longer exists.

Sq. Dave said...

Wow, no comments about the phrase, "this British B movie The Deadly Bees that featured The Birds" or the fact that Ron Wood has had the same hairstyle for almost 50 years.