Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hi, how's it going. This is Steve Balton and I'm
the co host of the weekly podcast on iHeart in
the Service of where Sage, Bob and I talk every
week with artists like Shepherd Ferry, Cameron Crowe, Coco Jones,
Billy Idel, Samara Joy. The list goes on and on
(00:26):
and on. We just began season two this week with
the great rock star Lenny Kravitz, So hopefully you tune
in every Wednesday to hear the guests where they talk
about their music, their career, their art, and what giving
back means to them, which is where the name in
service of comes from. Its Starting this week, we will
(00:46):
have a new mini episode every Friday, or either Sage
or I or Sage and I will talk about what's
happening in the music world. Normally we'll talk about new
releases on Friday and then go into stuff that's happening.
None of the new releases inspired me that much since Friday,
and there's a lot to talk about. First of all,
today's Grammy nomination Day, which we'll talk about next week
(01:10):
because nominations just came out today and we have no
idea what the hell was nominated yet. I do have
a feeling though that, as in most years, my favorite
categories will be the outlying categories like I'll Turn into
Jazz Americana, things of that nature. You always have some
incredible albums nominated in those categories, and my favorite albums
(01:33):
this year were Noah Cyrus by far an incredible timeless album,
such an underrated songwriter, and then beyond Noah, I Love
the mya Delilah record on Blue Note. Anastasia sam Ryder,
who will be on the season, will be on the season.
(01:53):
There have been so many great records this year, but
not a lot in the mainstream. We're not a lot
that blew me away in the mainstream. My day is done,
died to be a little more out there this year.
So but also happening this weekend is the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame induction in LA and this is
(02:14):
always one of the biggest nights of the year in music.
It's become a huge celebration for all the artists being inducted,
and not only do you have artists representing the bands
being inducted, the ones that are still living, but you
have an incredible cross section of artists like Olivia Rodrigo
Ray twenty one Pilots Avril Levine. There's so many people
(02:38):
involved this year, and it's really a chance for the
younger artists who also celebrate their favorite artists, their heroes.
So you'll see Teddy Swims for example, and the artists
being inducted this year cover a huge cross section of acts.
You have Seattle grunge legends Sound Garden and they're called grungs,
(02:59):
but so much more. They were one of the greatest
hard rock bands of the last forty years. With my
vote for probably the greatest front man of rock, Chris Cornell.
And for those of you who argue, I ask you
simply this, who the hell else could cover Whitney Houston
and Black Sabbath, namely one singer who could do nothing
(03:20):
compares to you and Lincoln Park Not that was the
gift to Chris. You have the great Los Angeles songwriter
Warren Zevon. I'll talk about him more in a minute outcast,
Cindy Lauper, Joe Cocker, seventies Rock God's Bad Company. You
(03:41):
have the White Stripes, you have Chubby Checker, you have
industry I called Lenny Warnicker, and probably some more than
I'm forgetting because one thing about me is nothing is scripted,
and he might be asking, well, who the fuck are you? Well,
I'm a journalist who's been doing this for decades. I've
written six hundred plus articles for Rolling Stone. I've written
(04:06):
for Forbes, for Billboard, for La Times. Who I still
write for Variety, Maxim, Playboy, Mojo, Aol, Yahoo, guitar player,
American songwriter, Guitar one. I like to say I'm the
only journalist who ever sat with James Brown and smoked
(04:26):
out with Asap Rocky. I've had tea with Neil Young.
I've interviewed Mick Jagger backstage at the Rolling Stone Fashion Show.
I have gotten up since in the morning to interview
Dolly Barton. I've gotten up at five forty five to
interview Robert Plant. I have talked with Stevie Wonder in
the back of a limo. I have done it all. So,
(04:51):
as I like to say too, it's not that I'm
that intelligent. It's that I've talked to a lot of
people smarter than me who know a lot about music.
So I do have a lot of good people to
draw upon when I talk about things like the Rock
Hall and other new releases. Everything like that. So this
year's class is particularly exciting because, as I mentioned, it's
(05:15):
such a great cross section of artists. I'm really excited
by Warren Zevon personally. There's been a Facebook campaign for
years to get Warren Zvon inducted in the Rock Hall.
Very deserved. This is one of the great songwriters of
all time. Most of you know him from Werewolves of London,
which is a catchy little ditty. But I mean this
(05:35):
is also the guy who wrote Lawyers, Guns and Money.
You know, excitable boy. He was very good at writing
clever songs, funny songs, which is a hard fucking skill
to do, so it is impressive. But what people don't
realize about Zevon he wrote some of those beautiful songs
of all time. He send down the Wind, which has
(05:56):
to me one of the greatest lines of all time.
She's so many people, well he can't find the one
that was his friend. Come on, that line is just
too good. He also wrote accidentally like a martyr. He wrote, uh,
of course his last album with the incredible and comfortable
keep Me in Your Heart, you know his farewell, and
(06:17):
he wrote when he Was Dying, which had Bruce Springsteen
and Jackson Brown, so many of his friends. Zevon was
absolutely revered by his peers. Not many people know this
or remember this, but Time out of Mind, the great
Dylan album. That line came from a Zevon song. That's
how great Zevon was. Even Dylan was a fan. So
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for him to be inducted, especially in LA where he's
a local legend, is a very big deal. I interviewed
Rock Hall chairman John Sykes, who's a friend for the
La Times and a story that ran yesterday, and he
said that, you know, because it's in LA there will
definitely be a light shown on Zevon. That's another thing
(07:00):
about me. Nothing is scripted. Everything is off the cup,
so it is live and there will be fuck ups,
and I'm quite fine with that because buckups are a
big part of music. When I interviewed the great producer
Daniel Lamoi, who did Time out of Mine, who worked
with you two on several albums, who worked with the
Young who's one of the greats of all time, he said,
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you get a lot of happy accidents from mistakes. So
I'm not saying my mistakes are any good, but they're
part of music, so they will be in there in
addition to Zevon, He's my favorite in this class and
Sound Garden because I was friends with Chris Cornell. I
interviewed him seven times in six years, so I got
to know him well. And I've interviewed the other Sound
(07:42):
Garden guys as well and definite advance, but I just
knew Chris the best, and he was one of the
most specially unique people in music. Not only was he
an incredible front man, as I said, but one of
the kindest people you will ever meet. I mean, I
remember seeing Chris. The last time I saw him at
I was at a dinner for Jimmy Page at the
Sunset Marquee in LA and he, you know, when the
(08:07):
star was there, Kirk Hambick, Joe Walsh, all these great
rock stars, and before the night was over, Chris came
over just to say hello. You know. Always made a
point of connecting with people. I remember one time I
saw him at a Sound Guarden performance, a radio station show,
and afterwards, everybody was taking pictures with them, and when
they tried to rush me through, Chris stopped to talk
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to me and I got yelled at and Chris like
said to them, I know this guy. He always wanted
that human connection. He could have been the biggest rock
star in the universe. Everything was there, but he really
just wanted to be a human who got to know people.
So I'm very happy for them in particular. In addition
to that, of course, you have the White Stripes, whose
(08:52):
legacy is you know, I mean very much doesn't even
really need to be discussed, you know on seven Nation
Army of Force, which is the biggest hit. They had
so many hits and influenced so many people, and Jack
White has had an incredible career. Outcast was one of
the greatest hip hop bands of all time. I mean,
(09:13):
they created so many different styles. They were always ahead
of things, you know, And I mean I just listened
to Missus Jackson like on repeat the other day. Those
songs never go out of style. They're so catching. You
have Cindewauper is another like she obviously her hay Day
was in the early eighties. But you know, if you
(09:36):
think she was just girls just want to have fun,
you have no idea that woman's had an incredible forty
plus year career. Just doing her retirement tour this year,
so she's been doing for forty plus years, you know,
so much personality, brought so much to music, and it's
been such a great activist as well. You have Joe Conker,
(09:56):
who is just sorry because immediately when I thought of
Joe Cocker, I thought it was the late great John
Bealishi on Saturday Live doing Joe Cocker, and it was
a compliment. That's how unique Joe Cocker was. There was
no one who sang like that motherfucker, one of the
great singers of all time. You know, people loved him
(10:17):
rightly so, and I mean, you know, his cover with
a Little Help for My Friends was so important feeling
all right. This was a guy who just was loved.
You Are So Beautiful is one of the still the
great love songs of all time. That voice was so unique.
And speaking of iconic voices, you have Bad Company with
(10:39):
the great Paul Rodgers, who's one of the great voices
in the history of row. I mean, you have songs
like Shooting Star rock and Roll Fantasy. Of course Bad Company,
they had so many great songs, very deserved for them
to get in at this point. The odd one to
me is Chobe Checker, not because he's not great, but
because he had one massive hit sixty plus years ago,
(11:02):
so a lot of people, like myself, I wonder why
the hell now? But you know what you can't like,
you can't denigrate what Schoby Checker brought to rock. And
then you have, as I mentioned, Lenny Warnecker, who was
with Warner Brothers, who was such a huge a and
our person, such an icon, you know, it was such
(11:23):
an important person in the industry. And if you get
a chance to read Camer Crow's new book, The Uncool,
which is amazing. I'm a little biased, Cameron's a friend,
but we had a great interview about it. He really
talks about the importance of what he calls the connectors,
as he talked about in the book. Yeah, he got
to hang with fucking David Bowie. He would not have
hung with David Bowie if it wasn't for a guy
(11:44):
named Russ Shaw. So these connectors, these industry people are
vital to keeping everything going. So check out the book
and make sure that you know when he watched The
Rock All stuff, which is on Hulu and ABC, that
you pay attention to what Lenny did and things of
that nature, because it's not just going to be the
(12:06):
artists that are honored. It's the people who made their
careers and yeah, and of course everybody with Ron Colloways
talks about snubs. So I have campaigned hard and will
continue to do so for John Coltrane to get in
as an influence. Bill lest once told me that there
(12:26):
would be no Grateful Dead without John Coltrane, So that
right there makes him rock and roll relevant. But Carlos
Santana was a huge fan, you too, the doors. I
did an article earlier this year for the La Times
on the sixteenth anniversary of A Low Supreme, which is
one of the greatest albums of all time, and everybody
from Felle and Saint Vincent to Q Tip and Common
(12:48):
to Camasi Washington talk to me about how much they
love that album, how important it is. So Coltrane needs
to get in. In addition to that, I would start
to say, or I would say that you're starting to
get rock bands from the nineties. Ninety Snails have already
gotten in, Green Day's already gotten in. Where the fuck
are the women from the nineties? Alantis needs to be
(13:10):
in there, Snead O'Connor, PJ Harvey, bona Apple, who to
me is probably besides Tom Wait, it's the most interesting
artists in music. Biona hasn't released a lot of music
over the last thirty years, but everything she does is
brilliant and interesting and adventurous. So we need to start
seeing more women from that era get in there as well.
(13:31):
Yeah that's all I have for her today. But I
will always talk about music. I will always get out
on music. I've been lucky to talk to so many
amazing people. I've had an incredible career and I love
just sharing new music. Music that matters, music says great.
So I would say, of all this stuff, go back
and listen to like ten warrens zvone songs that aren't
(13:53):
fucking Wearables of London. Great song, but Halloween is done,
so go back and listen to stuff as I mentioned accidentally,
like a Martyr, you know, excitable boy, poor porfit of
for me. Listen to Linda Ronstepp version of that too,
because that's incredible. Go back and check out so many
(14:15):
of the artists that are inducted this year. We will
see you next week, and I hope you tune in
this season because we will have amazing guests. Mark Ronson,
Patty Griffin, Good Charlotte of Monsters and Men, as that
we did last year. It we'll cover a huge cross
section of all styles of music, you know, and I
(14:39):
want it to be something that represents just good music.
I mean, there are no such things as guilty pleasures.
If you love music, then you should be proud of it.
I've seen Taylor Swift in concert, and I've seen led Zeppelin,
I've seen Adele and I've seen Black Sabbath. I've seen
Asap Rocky Who's a good friend, and I've seen Iron Maiden.
(15:04):
I've seen fucking everybody, you know. And a good show
is just a good show. A good album is just
a good album. There's so much great music out there.
Be open to it, listen to it, and you know,
one day we'll talk about the acts who are going
to be in the rock hall in another twenty five
years when they're als ball. Anyway, I'm Seve Balton. We'll
(15:25):
see you next week. Thanks,