Rock Monuments - Chelsea Hotel, New York

[Ed. note: Our UK music correspondent Miles Gallagher recently filed this entry from New York City.]

"I remember you well at the Chelsea Hotel" sang Leonard Cohen ("Chelsea Hotel No. 2"), ". . . in fact I'm tired of 23rd street, strung out like christmas lights, on these Chelsea Nights" sang former resident Ryan Adams ("Hotel Chelsea Nights"). In 1966, Warhol filmed "Chelsea Girls" there which served as the inspiration for Nico's album by nearly the same name. Janis Joplin had suite #411 (and a liason with Cohen who lived there for years). Bob Dylan had #2011. Of course, Sid and Nancy had #100. Mark Twain, Thomas Wolfe, and Arthur Miller were residents there. It goes on and on. See Cohen's excellent summary. I recommend a stay there, its reasonable, clean, cosmopolitan, one of the closest hotels to the Village, there is a subway stop on the corner, and most importantly it has a creative energy at its core. Maybe its the winding stairwell (left as payment), maybe its the funk of the casement windows, the singing in the hall, but it does have an energy.

Take a tour. This intrepid filmmaker provides a walk through right up to my room, She ultimately takes the door to the left; mine was the one on the right.

Cheers,

MG

Rock Monuments - Preservation Hall, New Orleans

In 1997, TNOP made its first visit to 726 St. Peter Street in New Orleans. It was an early Sunday evening in November, and a small crowd had gathered in line outside of the structure, which dates back to the mid-1700s. [In fact, it is a building that has survived city-wide fires and devastating hurricanes over the course of almost 250 years.] The gate was opened and we all were invited to walk through a long hall and into a small, musty room, outfitted with only a few chairs; as a result most stood or sat on the floor, backs to the wall for support.

A few minutes later, magic happened. Thirteen musicians crammed into the front of the room, somehow making enough space for one another and not stepping on the patrons, started playing a true American art form: jazz. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band has been entertaining millions since 1961 (save for about nine months post-Hurricane Katrina) at this address with the distinctive jazz sound that was nurtured in the Crescent City.

As past patrons are aware, there is no charge for the short concerts at Preservation Hall; the hat is literally passed around for the effort. In the latest attempt to support the historical landmark as well as its musical outreach program, notable musicians have recorded songs associated with New Orleans - all backed by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The result is the CD Preservation, to be released on 16 February. The roster of acts spans from the ground-breaking New Orleans native Louis Armstrong to Jim James and Andrew Bird. According to a special website, here's the track listing:

All Tracks featuring the PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND
Andrew Bird – "Shake It and Break It"
Paolo Nutini – "Between the Devil and Deep Blue Sea"
Tom Waits – "Tootie Ma Is A Big Fine Thing"
Yim Yames – "Fairytale"
Del McCoury – "After You've Gone"
Ani DiFranco – "Freight Train"
Pete Seeger & Tao Rodriguez-Seeger – "Blue Skies (Comin My Way)"
Jason Isbell – "Nobody Knows You"
Brandi Carlile – "Old Rugged Cross"
Richie Havens – "Trouble in Mind"
Merle Haggard – "Basin Street Blues"
Blind Boys of Alabama – "There is a Light"
Dr. John – "Winin' Boy"
Louis Armstrong – "Rockin' Chair"
Amy LaVere – "Baby Won't You Please Come Home"
Steve Earle – "Tain't Nobody's Business"
Cory Chisel – "Some Cold Rainy Day"
Buddy Miller – "I Ain't Got Nobody"
Angelique Kidjo with Terence Blanchard – "La Vie En Rose"

Bonus Tracks (Deluxe CD):
Anita Briem – "C'est Si Bon"
Paolo Nutini – "Pencil Full of Lead"
Yim Yames – "St. James Infirmary"
Tom Waits – "Corine Dies On The Battlefield"
Pete Seeger & Tao Rodriguez-Seeger – "Sailin' Up Sailin' Down"
Pete Seeger & Tao Rodriguez-Seeger – "We Shall Overcome"

FURTHER VIEWING

Watch a ten minute documentary on the story of Preservation Hall and its Jazz Band.

Rock Monuments - Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin

Not far from the South Bank of the River Liffey in the Docklands section of Dublin, Republic of Ireland is a block of buildings chock full of graffiti tags located on a small street named Windmill Lane. [Our own TNOP correspondent Celtic Ray is seen strolling the area above.] A two-story building, now boarded up, was in fact the site of many great moments in rock 'n roll.


Windmill Lane Studios was opened in 1978 by Brian Masterson, who designated himself as company director and head engineer. Traditional Irish music and film scores (performed by as many as an 80-piece orchestra) were recorded initially at the facility. Even though the Irish rock scene had started to bloom around this time, groups like Thin Lizzy, The Boomtown Rats and The Undertones all went overseas to record their records.


Then came producer Steve Lillywhite and his production in 1980 of U2's first album, Boy: "We recorded at a place called Windmill Lane in Dublin. It was great for traditional Irish music but no Irish rock band had recorded there. . .So the studio crew were very surprised when I decided I wanted to record the drums out in the hallway by the receptionist, as there was this wonderful clattery sound I wanted to get. But that meant we couldn't record until the evening, because this girl was sat answering the phones all day. . .It was all pretty slapdash, But funnily enough, it's not unlike how the band still records."


U2 would go on to record October as well as the seminal War with Lillywhite at Windmill Lane. Portions of The Unforgettable Fire and one of the best selling albums of all-time, The Joshua Tree, helmed by producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, were also recorded in studio two.


The studios expanded in the 1980s and until its closing in 2006, Windmill Lane hosted a number of rock's luminaries, including R.E.M., Van Morrison (Back On Top), The Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello (Spike), Kate Bush (Hounds of Love) and The Waterboys (Fisherman's Blues).


After moving to a new facility in Ringsend, Dublin (and retaining the same name), the boarded up Windmill Lane studio became a place for an on-going fan homage to U2. In addition to our original photos above, you can check out these shots as well.