Imaginos :Black & Silver

[Ted O. Jackson]

>
> Heh.  That reminds me of a story that I heard about the Clash
> reunion.  The story goes that Joe Strummer told the record industry
> reps that the Clash would only reform at the cost of $1M.  So
> some record company coughed up the million, and the Clash got
> back together.  ;-)
>
> Somehow I don't see anybody doing that for BOC.  I have this notion
> that record execs aren't the sort who recognise the importance of
> songwriting.  I bet they buy into the idea of bands having "image" and
> big-name presences as their main draws.  They probably view the BOC

And, don't forget the infernal MTV.  I recon that plays more
importance to record execs than anything else:  how the band comes
across on MTV.  Which is even more the shame 'cause, ironically, I
think BOC is the ultimate MTV band due to their whacked-out song
concepts.  I mean if MTV can shurn out these magnum-opus videos for
the likes of Pearl Jam etc. with their moron lyrics, imagine [ouch
again] what video could do with stuff like 'imaginos' or 'Dominance
and Submission!'

> name as a commodity, one whose selling value is almost, but not quite
> entirely used up.  In all likelihood, they couldn't give a shit who
> was in the band, although the ones who still experience occasional
> outbreaks of neural activity might recall that BOC once had a "name"
> guitarist, back in the 70s when people had still heard of them.
>
Right.  I think if all the Stones but Mick somehow quit, they'd still
try to market his records under the name Rolling Stones.

> Furthermore, I bet that these market-driven lumps of flesh probably
> view BOC as a nostalgia act, suitable for grabbing a slice of the
> yuppie baby-boomer i-used-to-be-a-rocker pie.  That yuppie car
> commercial "You used to dream of playing power chords with Blue Oyster
> Cult" probably summarizes the point of view of a lot more than just
> the auto industry towards the band.  They didn't back Imaginos because

Don't get my blood boiling.  That commercial is so offensive it could
induce me to murder.  As though BOC were as disposable as the 1910
fruitgum company!  Sad thing is there're probably more than a few of
those ugly yuppie types turning up at BOC concerts nowadays?  Whatta
ya think?


> it was a weird album from an old band, and even the band didn't
> understand or want to have anything to do with it.  Imaginos was an
> orphan.
>
Right on, I'm afraid.  I've always maintained that CBS was afraid of
the project, and figure it was too weird to sell, that's why they
dropped it like a hot iron.  But the rest of BOC should have known
better.  Hell, it was the whacked-out shit that drew us all to them
in the first place.  Maybe just too jealous of Al to admit his stuff
was what put them on the map?  Maybe their collective mind blown
after too much drivel like CN and RBN.  Or maybe they somehow thought
their fortunes lay with lighter stuff like 'Reaper' and Burnin?  But
the radio lightweights are fickle, while us die-hards would have
stuck with them.  They never gave us enough credit for appreciating
their weirdness!


> This fantasizing about how things might have been if the band had
> stayed together, and if Pearlman had kept working with them, etc...
> yes, I agree with most of what has been said.  A 3-album Imaginos
> saga, all by the original BOC lineup, with Pearlman's lyrics and
> production...  it would have been astounding.  Something that I
> sometimes forget, in all this wrangling about the Imaginos project,
> and the discussions about the current state of BOC, is that the
> original lineup was my favorite band, and I think that (to cop a
> phrase from Carl) they ruled, with crown and sceptre.
>
> Steve
That, my friend , is the genesis of my own nostalgia.  It will
always nag at me how great they were, how nobody really is close to
the original BOC.  I just can'tt resist speculating...
theo