CENTERSTAGE
It’s real easy to be sick of this whole American band thing. Sure, it was refreshing several years ago when a wide variety of excellent American rock came along to compete with the tedious onslaught of pretentious British guys in funny haircuts mining Bowie’s legacy with none of his finesse.
CENTERSTAGE
AMERICAN STARS ’N’ BARS
THE BODEANS Traxx, Detroit August 26, 1986
Bill Holdship
by
It’s real easy to be sick of this whole American band thing. Sure, it was refreshing several years ago when a wide variety of excellent American rock came along to compete with the tedious onslaught of pretentious British guys in funny haircuts mining Bowie’s legacy with none of his finesse. After all, as any of the Beatles would’ve emphatically told you, rock ’n’ roll was invented in America. But a unique form of showbiz was also invented in America, so now you’ve got bands all over the place ditching their neo-psychedelic or heavy metal gear to come on like blue collar workers or cowpunks lamenting the plight of the American farmer or the death of the (romantic) old West spirit or the sad fact that they were born too late to play the Whiskey A Go Go and actually have been Gram Parsons or the Buffalo Springfield. (Actually, it’s more like the Lewis & Clarke Expedition...) Some of them have gotten major record deals. Some of them have made beer commercials. Some of them seem kinda dishonest.