Rant #2,332: Video Killed the Radio Star

Yes, that was the old, old Buggles song, the song that was the first video ever shown on Music Television, what became known as MTV, a bastion of music and controversy for a generation of kids and younger people that debuted in 1980.

It is still on, still on all the cable and satellite packages, but it certainly does not have the cultural significance that it had in the 1980s and 1990s.

But today's column really is not about MTV; it is about how older musical acts, acts that have been consigned to the scrap heap called "oldies," continue to keep on giving.

Last Saturday night, at the stately Beacon Theater, my family and I were part of a nearly packed house that saw the Monkees perform.

Hey, yes, we know, there are just two Monkees left on this earth, but Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith ARE the Monkees at this juncture, so my family and the crowd just took it all in.

And if you think that this was just a perfunctory two hours of two old guys singing at their microphones with a backing band in tow, think again; the two singer/musicians can still carry a tune, can still hit the high notes pretty much, and yes, they can play their instruments and play them very well, thank you.

They went through a virtual glossary of Monkees hits, album cuts, newer music from their excellent and universally acclaimed "Good Times!" album of a few years ago, and Nesmith did a heartfelt rendition of the only hit record he had for himself outside the Monkees' pantheon, the beautiful "Joanne."

And yes, time was given to the late Davy Jones and Peter Tork, with the intermission given over to Tork, who did a spot-on rendition of the old Mills Brothers' chestnut "Till Then," in a video performance from a few years back.

I have tried to put up a couple of videos here, so you can see and hear for yourself that these guys just didn't mail it in; they gave their all, with nothing that I could see being held back, but for whatever reason, they will not upload. Sorry about that.

Sure, the memory of songs we have heard thousands of times--and that they have performed thousands of times--clicks into our brain cells, and hangs on like glue, and this is an advantage that these older acts have over newer ones.

But they still have to go out and do it, and when you are in your mid to late 70s, I am sure it is not as easy to do as when you are 25. Nothing is.

Tonight, my family and I are going to take in another so-called "oldies" show, as we are going to the NYCB Theater--or whatever they call the old Westbury Music Fair nowadays--to see a show with the Grass Roots, the Box Tops and the headliner, Tommy James and the Shondells.

The Grass Roots are holding on to that legacy, and while they aren't the guys that made the records or sung the hits--there were about three or four Grass Roots outfits way back when, and the band was finally settled by the Rob Grill-led group--they do a good job recreating the classic band and their bundle of hits.

Grill gave his blessing to this version of the band before he died, so at least we have that to hold on to.

The Box Tops are comprised of a few members of the old group, but lead singer Alex Chilton passed away several years ago, so again, this is kind of a shell of the old band, but I expect a really good show from them, because their hits do hold up pretty well 50 years after the fact.

And then we have James. There have also been dozens of Shondells bands, but they have all pretty much served as a backup band to James, who I have a new appreciation of after finally reading his book about his years at mob-run Roulette Records.

And again, he does not mail in his performance either. The likable James, who has his own show on satellite radio, takes the audience through a whole gamut of hits, one after the other after the other, and even when you get to "Crimson and Clover"--one of the best live performances of a single song that I have ever seen or heard--you still want more.

No, these musicians are not just there to do perfunctory performances. They really give it their all, and that is why people keep coming back to see them.

Heck, I have personally seen the Monkees probably 20 or 25 times now, and I have seen James maybe 10 or 15 times, and neither act ever goes through the motions.

So yes, I expect a great show tonight.

Call them "oldies" acts if you like, but their music is as new today, because of these top-flight performances, as they were when they were actually new.

Speak to you again on Monday. Have a great weekend.