Hotline to the Underground May 11, 2020

By Joe Viglione

Song of the Week: “Won’t Be The Same” from Phil Darosa

If you want to hear an amazing lyricist / vocalist / musician I urge you to go to the Bancamp link: https://phildarosaband.bandcamp.com/ Phil DaRosa band dot bandcamp dot com.

There will be many a song due to the COVID-19 pandemic – Billie Eilish bringing former Rockport resident Bobby Hebb’s “Sunny” back to the future at the April 18th One World: Together at Home Global special

Won’t Be the Same – Lyrics By Phil daRosa

For every body down, there is somebody who mourns them…

For every mournful frown, there is a deed that turns it ‘round.

Distinctly different from other material by DaRosa, “Won’t Be The Same” features guitar echoing alongside multiple sounds which feel inspired by the late Florian Schneider. Schneider passed on April 21, 2020, not of COVID-19. Schneider was the co-founder of Kraftwerk with Ralf Hütter and either deliberately or – perhaps – subconsciously, DaRosa tapped in to the Kraftwerk sound turning it pop, as did their admirer David Bowie. And “Won’t Be The Same” brings up a good point at the same time. People are still dying from the usual human issues alongside the threat of the coronavirus.

The website notes: 0This track was created in the last month during the stay-at-home order during the COVID-19 pandemic at Phil’s studio on Martha’s Vineyard (www.printshopaudio.com).

The song is sort of a tribute to everyone who is going through loss during this crazy time, and also has sort of a note to the powers-that-be about not acting fast enough to ensure the safety of our citizens. All in all, I suppose it’s a reminder to everyone, including myself I guess, that we’re all in this together and to try and stay positive, and remember those that are dealing with horrible tragedy right at this moment in time.”

Live performances at home resulting from COVID-19 are proliferating as well. On May 16 Steve Dennis, another of our favorite artists, will be performing live in his bathroom. How’s that for an automatic echo chamber? Tune in 5:30-6:30 on Saturday May 16 on Steve’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/stevedennismusic/

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Also to stay tuned in for are live concerts proposed for June 2020 on the water in Boston at what was once called Harbor Lights Pavilion. It’s now the Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion with Alice Cooper, Lita Ford and Tesla…will the show happen on June 16th? That is the question. Steve Winwood and Steely Dan at that same venue July 1. Our old pals the Fools set for November in Taunton. November 28th The Blushing Brides return, one of the ultimate Rolling Stones tribute bands we used to hang out with at the Channel Club back in the 1980s.

Now we go from the real world to the fictional world of Tony Soprano and his ultra dysfunctional two families. HBO has free viewings for some Comcast customers and watching this series the second time around I had forgotten how brutally violent and dark this gangster horror story truly was/is.

Probably not a smart idea to spend COVID-19 time watching a beyond-vicious bunch of angry individuals creating mayhem on your television set. You are the psychiatrist, Lorraine Bracco who migrated to Rizzoli and Isles as well as I Married A Mobster and Blue Bloods. Dr. Melfi is the psychiatrist obsessed with hearing first-hand tales of her gangster client, Tony Soprano. As the late Donald Westlake (of The Stepfather fame) told me, the script writing in the Sopranos is amazing (paraphrased.) Great scripts, terrific acting, and aspects of violence hard to imagine are mixed in with Jon Favreau, Frankie Valli, Lauren Bacall, Sir Ben Kingsley, Steven Van Zandt and many more. Bacall, who passed in 2014, got mugged in a 2006 appearance on The Sopranos. Mugging Lauren Bacall? Really? Tony Soprano is as ruthless as he is screwed up, and second spin around I am convinced that this show is The Munsters in the Twilight Zone. When Uncle Junior makes a second attempt on Tony’s life the dream sequence is very much the Twilight Zone. Racism, homophobia, relentless battling at the family mansion as well as in the dens of sin where Tony reigns supreme all made for a re-launch of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” that they never saw coming.

Some trivia from IMDB – “
He and wife Maureen Van Zandt were married by (Reverend) Little Richard, with a wedding reception band consisting of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Gary U.S. Bonds, Little Milton and the wedding band from The Godfather (1972).” RIP Little Richard Penniman this week.