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July 14, 2009
Cheap Trick: The Latest
Here once again, is Volcano Suns bassist and newfound MS guest blogger, Jeff Weigand. Jeff and the MS board were last seen trading barbs about The Gloved One croaking, in which the question was posited, "Well then, what exactly is it that Mr. Weigand's into, exactly?" A specific answer at least, below...(JK)
First off, let me say that I am unabashedly a Cheap Trick fan and have been since I was eleven years old...so I am pretty much a partisan.
The refreshing thing about these guys is not only their longevity...longevity seems to be a hallmark of music anymore, much to its detriment and many groups have simply refused to leave the spotlight long after most talent and feeling has left...but the damn quality they keep putting forth is astounding. Any newer, younger bands would froth at the mouth to put out such a record as this and 99 percent don't. The stuff being promoted and put out by record companies as being "original and new" is an embarrassment...not just to the artists but to the listening, i.e. buying, public as well.
Cheap Trick always had it, and have it now.
When I was a boy in Missouri (I called it Misery, an ethically dubious ground with a hypocritic sheen glossing over it's pockmarked American skin) I used to write Rick Nielsen fan letters...this would be at the age of 12 or so...and damn it if the guy didn't write back every time. He would scrawl a little note, put in a gift of picks, ticket stubs or other stuff etc., and write something witty as well...buy a stamp and send it back to me.
I can't imagine hardly anyone else doing that, really...somehow I don't see the guys in Foghat or Journey bothering with some confused, fucked-up kid from the Midwest in such a way. Maybe they did, who knows...but Nielsen's kindness had a dramatic effect on my young life. In an odd way, his attention made me feel music was not some super-species of life you saw in magazines or heard on the local mega rock station. A few years later, it helped me pick up a bass and begin learning for myself. Cheap Trick always put off that great do-it-yourself aesthetic that punk also had without whining on and on about it. It was just there.
Later on in life, after being in music for a bit I got to meet Rick and Cheap Trick a few times and of course he was just as you would think...a fantastic guy...
A few years ago, I bought my first house...and upon moving in the only thing I wanted was a housewarming present from Rick to put on my wall. So I asked my friend Bob Weston to see if he could get Rick to do something and explain the situation. A couple of months later a signed photo was sent with the inscription: "To my old friend Jeff....thanks for the guitar lessons!"... which of course hangs on my wall and makes me laugh every time I think about it.
So this new record, called The Latest? All sentimentality aside, it's a stunningly good pop record...it's that simple.
Cheap Trick - "Sick Man of Europe"
Posted by Jeff Klingman at July 14, 2009 08:47 PM
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Comments
He's a drug addict and a pedophile! His music is overproduced and...oh, sorry, I thought we were still talking about MJ. Nice piece, Jeff. Oddly enough, not long ago I came across some sort of discussion board string about Cheap Trick and Rick Nielsen, and one person wrote in saying Rick used to get gas at the filling station where he worked, and he described Rick as a full-of-himself A-hole. I read that and thought, hmm, that sucks, I always thought Rick was cool as hell. So thanks for giving your reminiscences. I am much more inclined to believe your story.
Posted by: david k ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.merryswankster.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at July 15, 2009 04:07 PM
David...thanks for that comment...I didnt mention that all those letters I got from him led me to meeting him at a joplin misery gulf station where I had to take my acdc shortie pants down and sing you want me to want you while he pounded my midwestern butt! Go Royals!
Posted by: Jeff Weigand at July 15, 2009 06:35 PM
It's gonna be tough getting that image out of my head...
Posted by: david k at July 16, 2009 02:26 PM
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