Music appreciation with Andrew Loog Oldham
I became a Sirius subscriber in December 2005. Which means that I was one of the millions of people who made the leap because Howard Stern was coming in January 2006. I grew up in New York City and had been listening since the WNBC days, and I wanted to follow him to satellite.
I might have never invested in the equipment and $13 per month if it wasn’t for Howard. But, I’m glad I did. I only listen to the show sporadically these days, I think I’m getting a bit bored of the same characters and gags. It’s the music stations that keep me interested.
I can turn on Left Of Center – Channel 26 and get a quick education in the latest hot indie bands. Sample everything without needing to download tracks or surf numerous sites. I’ve discovered some music that I really like recently – Raveonettes, MGMT, The Foals, Coconut Records, and others. I can hear one of my favorite bands, Kaiser Chiefs on a regular basis, and not just their semi-hit “Ruby”.
Many times I catch the Kaiser Chiefs on Underground Garage – Channel 25. This station is run by Little Steven from Bruce’s legendary E-Street band. I have lots of respect for Bruce, but that’s not why I tune in. I love listening to Andrew Loog Oldham and his morning show (East Coast time).
I’ve always been a peripheral Stones fan. I’ve never seen them live, I’m too young to have gotten the real career-prime Stones experience. Seeing them in the 90s or even this year would be kinda like seeing Bowie in the past ten years, which I’ve done. He’s still good, but it’s not the Berlin years anymore.
Oldham is the guy who co-managed the Stones and produced many of their early hits. Listening to him is like getting a history lesson in 60s and 70s London – what was it like to be on Carnaby Street in 1967? The scene…fashion…the sounds. You’re there for a few minutes when he starts telling a story about Cat Stevens’ manager and some strange meeting that they had at his apartment. What kind of hat the guy was wearing, what he was smoking. There are the little details mixed with fuzzy recollections that make the stories so fascinating.
It’s not just music, it’s a religion. His description of a singer’s performance that happened 30 years ago will almost bring you to tears.
Some of these tracks are way before my time, being born in 1968. But they are songs that I should hear. I understand the importance of The Wall of Sound and know the basics of 60s pop and rock, but he’s playing the deep cuts and giving cool tidbits of history about the labels and the bands. I am such a nerd when it comes to music trivia, and I love that I can get all of this info in an entertaining way.
Just last week Mr. Oldham was taking about Einstein and Ronny Wood in the same breath. They are both geniuses in some way, right? Why not?
But, it’s not just Vietnam-era pop that he’s playing. There are also lots of newer bands that he takes a shine to, and they are mixed in with The Ramones or The Strawberry Alarm Clock, perhaps.
He’s supposed to have another book coming out this year called “On Hustling (How to survive in rock’n roll )”. If anyone knows how to do it, I guess it would be him…
