Hello pinball fans and fellas, here comes the pinball wizardry with modern and vintage retro atmosphere back to your Windows PC.

Listen to Pinball Wizard from “The Who” while reading this post!

About

The famous Gottlieb, Williams and Bally arcade game creators ring a bell? And you spent some time with pinball games on Amiga/PC or the real deal in the past?

I discovered a really neat possibility to “emulate” real pinball tables on Windows. As I don’t really know a decent pinball game recently released for any non-console system, I crawled the web for any news on this kind of games.

The results are, there are two decent pinball emulators which you can load a helluva lotsa real tables in and play them in decent smooth speed.

I’ll give you a shot on one of them and how you could install and use it.

Visual Pinball

Also VP for short it is a decent editor, emulator and display tool/manager for any imaginable pinball table.

First of all get some files:

• Visual Pinball – The main “emulator” program install package
• Update v9.03 - Updated .exe
• VPinMAME Binary v2.1 – The LCD display emulator
• A demo table – used in my example table installation below

If you want a sneak peek what awaits you resp. what tables VP could run (besides many more), click on the screenshot below:

Installation

It’s a bit tricky to get this bitch running, so I tried to figure out how it’s the best way to get it installed with the right directory structures and registry setups.

1. Download & install the “Visual_Install_Pack_8.1_2.1+NT_3C.exe” file to any folder. Prefer a folder on any partition on top of their root: f.e. “E:\vpinball”, not “C:\Programs (x86)”.
2. Download & unzip “VP903.zip” package to a temporary folder. Pay attention on that all new files have to be in the root of the in 1.) created new directory!
   This is not the default in the .zip archive! And don’t overwrite “VPinball.exe”, rename the new/old one to their respective version e.g. “VPinball 9.03.exe” resp. “VPinball 8.1.exe”.
3. Download & unzip “vpinmame_21.zip” to a temporary directory and run its setup, click install. That should be all. Keep the files/archive for later troubleshooting.
4. Go to the install-dir selected in 1.) and set run as admin in properties menu for the vpinball*.exe files.

Usage & Troubleshooting

First of all ATI videocards do have issues of incompatibility to Visual Pinball. There’s not (yet) a fix or workaround for that. Main bugs are strange looking transparencies, dithers, jerky pinball and some glitches with gfx overlays. So if you got an nvidia gfx card you’re lucky!

Fellow sys2074 from H1DD3N.R350URC3 tested it on nvidia board and reported smooth gameplay along no glitches. Thx for testing!

If all is setup correctly you have to simply start VPinball.exe (i’d always recommend v9.0.3!), load a table, and “PRESS PLAY ON TAPE”.

Running the right .exe depends on the requirements of the chosen table, v9.0.3 is always slower but with fewer bugs.

Example Table installation

I highly recommend it, as I describe it step by step HOW TO SETUP this table with table-data and ROMs:

• Get the table here: SCAPINOSVPINS Twilight Zone
• Put the .vpt into the PROGDIR:/Tables folder, the other files where you want or trash.
• Run VP, press play
• You’ll get errors, if VPinMAME is installed correctly it displays what’s missing

• Now guess what we’re doing: The ROMs are on ipdb.org. Go there and have a look what’s missing!
• You’ll need the tz_94h.zip ROM set and put it into PROGDIR:/ROMs
• I did not find any documentation who says tz_92.zip is also needed for music, extended sounds AND smoother gameplay. So also get this and put the .zip into PROGDIR:/ROMs
• Regarding to ipdb.org and VPinMAME Game Info you’ll need the Revision L-2 Sound ROMs. Since its not “ROM set conform naming” you have to EXTRACT this to PROGDIR:/ROMs
• Start VP over. Should run now. If not repeat the above steps.

I like it! Where to get more stuff?

Main

• Old visual pinball original site
• Most recent visual pinball actual site

Help

• Very good help forum, table downloads, tutorials (also for creating own tables!) – Great related site

Some table creators

• Scapinosvpins
• JP’s pinballs
• Roney Pinball

Other download pages

• Pinball Nirvana
• IR Pinball
• Pinball Originals

Essential ROMs (IMPORTANT!)

• Essential for running some tables, especially VPinMAME ones – Internet Pinball Database

Installing new tables

The rules for getting new tables to run are:

1. Get the table package, mostly a .zip file and extract it to a temporary folder.
2. Copy the .vpt and .vps (if any) files to PROGDIR:/tables
3. Copy any fonts to SYS:/Windows/Fonts. Backup any existing fonts!!
4. Check if there are ROMs for this table on the internet pinball machine database
   VP table = no ROMs; VPM table = needs ROMs
   Download the PinMAME ROMs and maybe samples (if any), leave them zipped and put them into PROGDIR:/ROMs resp. PROGDIR:/samples
5. Startup VP, load table, check ROMs, play.

Troubleshooting

If any errors, check what error is displayed?

Be sure to run “VPinball.exe” as Administrator!

If it’s VPinMAME related you might not have got every needed rom in the ROMs dir, go back to step 4.) of “Installing new tables” and check what’s missing, maybe you have to extract the sound ROMs or downloading some more .zip ROMs for the same table, it is a little bit fiddling around and not much documented.

Second common error: VPinMAME isn’t setup properly, repeat the installation as described above in the installation topic. It runs properly if you can see the “Game Info” screen after pressing play in VP and an LCD scoreboard etc. on the table ingame.

Always leave ROM SETS ZIPPED! Sound ROMs may need to be extracted. Documentation needed!

You can also try to extract the VPinMAME  .zip archive to the root VP directory and integrate its folders, overwrite existing files etc.

Don’t see the LCD score/FX table ingame? Press Alt-Tab to switch windows to get it to front/overlay.

Feedback

… is appreciated. Feel free to comment and tell me your problems with installing/running this. I’ll try to keep it up to date and helpful for users installing/using this from scratch. I might upload a complete working set with one table (the one described in the “example installation”) if it won’t work at all.

HAVE FUN!

The Who will perform at halftime of the Super Bowl this season.

The NFL announced during Thursday’s game between the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys that the longtime rock band known for classic hits such as “Pinball Wizard” and “Baba O’Riley” will play Feb. 7 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami.

Driven by singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend, the band’s two remaining original members, The Who gained fame in the mid-1960s and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

Recent halftime acts at the Super Bowl have included Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Prince and the Rolling Stones.

The Super Bowl halftime show is sponsored by Bridgestone.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Torno ad aggiornare il blog dopo troppo tempo di assenza causa duro lavoro. In attesa di cause più serie, mi dedico ad una notizia “leggera” ma che mi riempie il cuore, perché posso parlare di due delle mie grandi passioni: la musica e il football americano…

Tony Romo, qb dei Dallas Cowboys

Il prossimo 7 febbraio, al Dolphin Stadium di Miami, si giocherà il Superbowl, la finalissima, la partita più attesa. Anche da chi non sente questo (magnifico) sport pulsargli nelle vene. E in quest’occasione, per lo show musicale di 15 minuti dell’intervallo, uno dei momenti televisivi più visti in assoluto negli States e non solo, uno degli spazi più ambiti per la pubblicità, sono stati chiamati niente meno che gli Who. Così dopo aver visto negli ultimi anni Bruce Springsteen, Prince e gli Stones, questa volta si potrà ammirare un gruppo british che ha scritto canzoni immortali e pagine eccelse della storia della musica.

L’annuncio è stato dato durante il match del Thanksgiving Day (la serata del tacchino e del football in tv) tra Dallas Cowboys e Oakland Raiders. Ancora non si sa nulla della scaletta del mini-concerto, ma a quanto risulta gli Who, capeggiati dal cantante Roger Daltrey e dal chitarrista Pete Townshend (gli unici superstiti della formazione originale) suoneranno sicuramente due loro cavalli di battaglia come Baba O’Riley e Pinball Wizard.

E noi fan del football e degli Who siamo già in trepidazione!

It's not quite this bad for pinball fans, but it's pretty close. (© iStockphoto.com/steinphoto)

Growing up in the ’70s and ’80s, I spent a lot of time in arcades and skating rinks. And I love pinball. Unfortunately, virtually all of the giant game manufacturers — at least, the ones still in operation — have discontinued the game. As far as I know, Stern Pinball is the only company in the United States still making machines.

Anyhow, last night I was listening to Marketplace on American Public Radio and I heard an interview with Jeff Ely, an economics professor at Northwestern University, who wrote about the economics of pinball for his blog Cheap Talk.

This isn’t an economics blog, so I’ll spare you the grisly details, but I had wondered what happened to all the pinball machines. After all, it’s fun. There are tons of computer pinball games. I still see them every once in a while in a hotel amusement room or at mall arcades (tucked way, way in the back, though). So someone must be playing them. Are people so thrilled with electronic graphics that they’ve become bored with mechanical games?

Ely actually met a pinball designer by chance at a party. In fact, the designer had created some of Ely’s favorite games, notably Black Knight and High Speed. So he figured he’d ask some questions. And as it turned out, both of those machines had a part to play in the near-demise of pinball as an arcade staple.

Black Knight, released in 1980, was among the first machines that incorporated digital displays, ramps and multi-ball play, according to Ely. And then came High Speed. Before this machine was produced, factory settings determined how a player could earn a free game. It was set, and that was that. But High Speed, Ely said, was the first to use a computer algorithm to adjust the free-game reward on a sliding scale based on the scores of those playing. Apparently, Ely said, the idea was to make sure that a certain subgroup of people, say the top 5 percent of all scorers, automatically got a free game. In time, the algorithms were adjusted for scenarios in which pinball masters couldn’t take advantage of free games from machines played primarily by inexperienced players, who, naturally, would get lower scores.

Here’s a video of a High Speed machine on YouTube, if you’d like to see what it looks like when it’s on:

And then there’s the match draw. If you’ve played newer pinball machines, this is where, after your game is finished, you see a two-digit number (a multiple of 10) pop up. The machine then randomly generates a second. If the two match, woohoo! Free game! If not, you’re gonna have to pay for another game. But the computer algorithm can also be adjusted here, too. Ely said if the machine sits unplayed for a few minutes, you’re more likely to get a match. If you keep pumping quarters (or tokens) in, it assumes you’re going to be playing anyway, and if you’re willing to pay to play…

Ely said that pinball players’ skills transfer well from machine to machine. This is a problem for designers — they had to keep throwing more bells and whistles into the machines to keep the fanatics pumping money into the machines. By the time High Speed came out, pinball games were competing squarely with video games, which could get progressively harder. Pinball, physical medium that it is, can’t.

So designers made the machines harder to keep wizards from scoring free game after free game. And new players couldn’t get into the games because they were so difficult. That cut down on the numbers of people playing pinball. Which brought in less money. And there you have it.

Are you a pinball fan? Do you miss the games?

If you’re interested in more about games, take a look at these related articles on HowStuffWorks.com:

How Pinball Machines Work
How to Build Your Own Arcade Machine from an Old Computer
Video — How It’s Made: Pinball Machines

While Tommy became the pinball wizard by his intuition, flipper fingers, and acute sense of smell; another disabled gamer is attempting to use tort law to rise to the top. GamePolitics.com reports on the discrimination lawsuit faced by Sony:

A disabled, visually-impaired gamer has filed suit against Sony Corporation of America, Sony Computer Entertainment America and Sony Online Entertainment claiming that the defendants are denying people with disabilities equal access to their goods and services.

The suit was filed by plaintiff Alexander Stern on October 23 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Stern seeks to “put an end to systemic civil rights violations” allegedly perpetrated by the defendants.

Stern notes that other accessibility features are available and have been implemented by “companies whose resources pale in comparison with Sony’s.”

Among other actions, Stern is seeking an injunction to prohibit Sony from violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, a declaration that Sony owns, operates and maintains equipment that discriminates against the disabled, unspecified damages and to have his lawyer’s fees and expenses paid for.

As ridiculous as this case seems, it is not that far-fetched once one considers the premises of “justice” commonly accepted in today’s society. Individuals and corporations are regularly forced to act against their own interests to compensate for the disadvantages of another. Corporations that are too successful are deemed “monopolies” and broken up so that less efficient firms can “compete”. Affirmative action laws force employers to favor one candidate or employee over another due to his race, gender, or other immutable characteristic. Even seemingly noble initiatives, such as legal requirements that companies facilitate customers with disabilities, are an infringement on individual rights. If a private individual or firm chooses to discriminate against a group of people for any reason – no matter how ill-advised and immoral this discrimination is – that individual or firm has the right to do so, provided the discrimination visits no positive harm on the group discriminated against.

And note the last line of the quoted text, which clearly implies that Sony’s resources impose an extra obligation. Once again, our society punishes production as a vice and praises need as a virtue.

It may have happened again as recently as 2004:  the release of a perfect track, “Miracle Drug” by A. C. Newman.[1]  (I am trying to make this sound like “The last perfect game was pitched by Mark Buehrle in July 2009.”)

Do you know what I mean by perfect?  Don’t you agree that, even though “Gimme Shelter” is greater than “Honky Tonk Women,” “Honky Tonk Women” is perfect?  Am I right that even though “Strawberry Fields Forever” is greater than “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” it’s “I Want To Hold Your Hand” that’s perfect?  What would be on your perfect list?  (It should be a fairly short list.)  “Feel a Whole Lot Better”?  “Pinball Wizard”?  “Middle of the Road”?

Whatever the songs may be, what I want to know is what makes the bell ring, the aura shine, the definitive judgment of “perfect” clunk into place.  Criteria might include:

1) Strong hooks working together, reinforcing each other.  (Best of all, slightly surprisingly:  the Rolling Stones that country?  The Pretenders that retro?)

2) Clarity, tact, efficiency:  nary a false move.

3) Strong physiognomy:  whether in verse or chorus or instrumental break, it always sounds a lot like itself.

4) Exemplifies one of the strongest underlying forms of the rock single. Is paradigmatic without being predictable.  We recognize the paradigm, are intimate with the song in a more perceptive way than merely by following the beat, the words, or the guitar licks.  It becomes a Platonic experience.

I think the four criteria are each necessary, and jointly sufficient:  no track satisfying them all would not seem perfect.  (But have I left something out?) “Miracle Drug” has all these attributes in spades, especially #3.  There is a kind of spasmodic vigor in the delivery of the verse that is not forgotten in the relatively more constant chorus.  Then you hear the kinetic signature of the song more intensely than ever in the guitar solo.

As for #4, the experience of a paradigm, “Miracle Drug” clearly marks off the major parts of a pop song—it’s like looking at a giant model of an ant, with head, thorax, and abdomen superdistinct.  I particularly enjoy the elegant drum part that takes me over the boundary between the end of the verse and the beginning of the chorus.

The trouble with deciding that a song is perfect is that then you start listening for flaws.  Right now I’m a little concerned about “Miracle Drug’s” ending:   is it wonderfully to the point, or is it almost perfunctory?  But I shouldn’t have said that!

________________________________________________________

[1] Newman was involved in an earlier perfect track as well, “Mass Romantic” by The New Pornographers.  This is a distinguished track record.

As  Who fan for 20-some years, I’ve been quite familiar with what is arguably the seminal rock opera, Tommy.  By contrast, I’ve only recently discovered Pink Floyd’s The Wall.  By radio play alone, I’ve heard and was very familiar with perhaps as much as half the The Wall’s songs.  But listening to it all the way through and reading up on it, I was surprised at the similarities in themes and even some of the plot between these two, which are among the most revered concept albums ever made.

To try to get a grip on these similarities, I did some extensive searching for summaries or synopses of the stories told by each album.  The following were, I feel, the simplest but most helpful.

TOMMY

British Army Captain Walker is reported missing in action during World War I, and is not expected ever to be seen again. Shortly after his wife, Mrs. Walker, receives this news, she gives birth to their son, Tommy.  Approximately four years later, Captain Walker returns home and discovers that his wife has found a new lover. Captain Walker confronts the two and kills the lover. Tommy witnesses this through his mirror. To cover up the crime, Tommy’s parents tell Tommy that he didn’t see it, didn’t hear it, and he will say “nothing to no one ever in [his] life”. A
traumatized Tommy becomes deaf, dumb, and blind.

Tommy’s subconscious reveals itself to him as a tall stranger dressed in silvery robes, and the vision sets him on an internal spiritual journey upon which he learns to interpret all physical sensations as music.

His thoughtless parents leave him to the care of his cousin, Kevin, who tortures him and later to the care of his uncle Ernie, an alcoholic child molester.  Uncle Ernie, like Kevin, takes abuses Tommy (in this case sexually) knowing he will not be caught.

Tommy’s brilliance at pinball is discovered, and quickly defeats the game’s tournament champion, making him an international celebrity, really like a rock mega-star.

His parents find a medical specialist to once more try to understand and cure his symptoms. After numerous tests, they are told that there is nothing medically wrong with him, and that his problems are psychosomatic. However, as they are trying to reach him, Tommy’s subconscious is also trying to reach out to them.  Tommy’s mother continues to try to reach him, and becomes frustrated that he completely ignores her while staring directly at a mirror. Out of this frustration
she smashes the mirror.  The smashing of the mirror snaps Tommy back into reality. Tommy’s cure becomes a public sensation and he attains guru-like status. Thereafter he assumes a quasi-messianic mantle and tries to lead his fans to an enlightenment similar to his own.

Tommy opens his own home to anyone willing to join him, and urges them to bring as many people with them as they can.  His home ultimately turns into a “holiday camp” run by Uncle Ernie, who is apparently motivated by greed and not spiritual enlightenment.  Tommy demands that his followers play pinball and blind, deafen and mute themselves in order to truly reach their spiritual height, but the heavy-handedness of his cult and the exploitation of its followers by his family and
associates cause his followers to revolt against him. Abandoned by his followers and worshipers, Tommy gains a new enlightenment.

Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_(album)#Story_in_chronological_order

THE WALL

From the outset, Pink’s life revolves around an abyss of loss and isolation. Born to a war-ravaged nation that takes his father’s life in the name of “duty,” and an overprotective mother who lavishes equal measures of her love and phobias onto her son, Pink chooses to build a mental wall between himself and the rest of the world so that he can live in a constant, alienated equilibrium free from life’s physical and emotional troubles. Every incident that causes Pink pain is yet another brick in his ever-growing wall: a fatherless childhood, a domineering mother, a country whose king signs his father’s death certificate with a rubber stamp, the superficiality of stardom, an estranged marriage, even the very drugs he turns to in order to find release. As his wall nears completion, each brick further closing him off from the rest of the world, Pink spirals into a void of insanity, cementing in place the final brick in the wall. Yet the minute it is complete, Pink begins to realize the adverse effects of total mental isolation, helplessly watching as his fragmented psyche coalesces into the very dictatorial persona that antagonized the world during World War II, scarred his nation, killed his father, and thereby defiled his own life from birth. Culminating in a mental trial as theatrically rich as the greatest stage shows, the story ends with a message that is as enigmatic and circular as the rest of Pink’s life. Whether it is ultimately viewed as a cynical story about the futility of life, or a hopeful journey of metaphorical death and rebirth, the Wall is certainly a musical milestone worthy of the title “art.”

http://www.thewallanalysis.com/Intro.html

Is it just me, or are there some amazing similarities?  Here are those that jumped out at me.  Both Tommy and Pink lose their fathers who fight for Britain in a world war.  Tommy’s father is only presumed dead so long for his mother to take a new lover; Pink’s father is forever lost.

Most startlingly, the cruelty of parents, relatives and authority figures in general twist and warp the minds of the characters.  Tommy’s parents, indifferent and distant at best, turn him over to be tortured by a bully cousin and sick and twisted uncle.  Doctors torture him with ineffective “cures.”  Pink endures his overbearing mother and viciousness of wicked teachers.

Stardom is the temporary salvation, or at least solace, of each character.  Their celebrity, Tommy’s as a “pinball wizard” (really a rock star) and Pink’s as a rock star, bring them the fame and glory, make them little gods.  As is often the case in real life, that glory eventually becomes their emotional and psychological undoing.

While both arrive at their end point by extremely divergent paths, both cult-like figures, are taken down by their followers.  Tommy’s holiday camp attendees overthrow him.  Pink is “tried” in some fashion of a court for what in essence amount to war crimes.   Tommy is booted from his throne.  Pink’s wall is torn asunder.

At the risk of overstating the importance or depth of these works, there’s no doubt a more scholarly look at them might find more interesting and detailed similarities.  I’m neither a music nor literature expert.  My eyes are untrained to find themes, moods, tone and so on.  Nevertheless, there appear to be enough points of likeness between Tommy and The Wall to merit mention.  I’d love to read anything others might have said on the subject and welcome lots of feedback.

Tal día como hoy, hace cuarenta años, Jimi Hendrix puso punto y final, guitarra en ristre, con una psicodélica interpretación del himno de los Estados Unidos (bajo estas líneas) al Festival de Woodstock, o mejor dicho, a la Feria de Arte y Música de Woodstock (The Woodstock Music & Art Fair), la denominación oficial que recibió.

El legendario músico —tristemente fallecido un año después en Londres— puso de semejante modo el broche a tres de días de música envueltos en un halo de paz harto difícil de repetir, en plena Guerra de Vietnam, 15, 16 y 17 de agosto.  Un broche que a la postre se tornaría dorado debido a la relevancia que aquello cobró con el paso del tiempo, hasta el punto de ser considerado en la actualidad uno de los eventos más importantes en la historia del Rock ‘n’ Roll. Ni organizadores, ni artistas, ni asistentes, es decir, nadie se atrevió a imaginar que aquel escenario levantado sobre un lodazal en mitad de la nada terminaría siendo el éxito que hoy rememoramos. Porque una cosa fue la idea original y otra muy distinta, el resultado final, tanto para lo bueno como para lo malo o menos bueno.

Michael Lang, el padre de la criatura, pretendía celebrar un festival en Wallkill, Nueva York, en 1969 tomando como modelos el Monterey Pop de junio del 68 en California y el acontecido en el londinense Hyde Park en julio del mismo año. En él actuarían los nombres más prometedores del panorama musical de la época, del más “alternativo”, entre ellos Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Bob Dylan, Jethro Tull, The Byrds, The Who, Jefferson Airplane o el citado Hendrix, ante la atenta mirada de unos 200 000 espectadores y las cámaras de Michael Wadleigh, quien se encargaría de rodar Woodstock Festival: tres días de paz, amor y música, documental que ganaría un Oscar en 1971 y en el cual también trabajó Martin Scorsese. Vamos, el negocio perfecto.

Y así fue, un negocio, aunque tal y como adelantamos no se produjo exactamente de esa manera ni en ese momento. Los gobernantes de Wallkill no aceptaron acoger el evento temerosos de una “invasión” juvenil, cuando tan sólo restaba un mes para su inicio. Afortunadamente para Michael Lang, en su camino se cruzó un tal Elliot, apellidado igual que cierto río que nace en los Apeninos y atraviesa Roma. Pues bien, el señor Tiber, quien regentaba un motel en Bethel —también en Nueva York y en torno a una hora de Wallkill—, le puso en contacto con Max Yasgur, vecino y propietario de terrenos agrícolas en las cercanías de la localidad, donde además comerciaba la leche de sus reses, para tratar de lograr el alquiler de una parcela. Hubo acuerdo y se pagaron, o mejor dicho, John Roberts y Joel Rosenman, los socios capitalistas de Lang, pagaron 75 000 dólares por 600 acres de hierba.

A pesar del visto bueno de las autoridades locales, la noticia de la inminete  llegada de 50 000 visitantes —cifra que astutamente presentaron Lang y compañía, a sabiendas de que la auténtica era cuatro veces mayor como ya señalamos— no fue recibida con tanto agrado entre los lugareños, quienes invitaron a cambiar de parecer a Yasgur mediante un “bloqueo” consistente en no comprar su leche. No funcionó el invento, la leche y el Tíber siguieron su curso y Bethel, a 69 km de Woodstock, se convirtió definitivamente en la sede del Festival, y de ahí lo de su nombre.

Una vez el escenario estuvo instalado a la sombra de la colina que dominaba la granja para facilitar  la visibilidad en la medida de lo posible, se entiende, al igual que un par de quioscos de venta de comida, comenzaron a acampar los esperados 50 000 festivaleros —millar arriba o abajo según la fuente consultada—, los mismos que habían adquirido sus entradas a unos 18 dólares de entonces lejos de allí, puesto que en el recinto no había taquillas (por no haber no había publicidad, algo impensable en nuestros días). Y entonces llegó el viernes 15 de agosto de 1969 y con él se fueron al traste todos los planes, al margen de las ausencias en el cartel de Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Bob Dylan, Jethro Tull y The Byrds, que por unas causas o por otras finalmente rechazaron la oferta de formar parte de él .

Y es que instantes antes de que subiera al escenario el primer músico, la carretera de acceso al lugar estaba sorprendentemente sumida en un atasco kilométrico. De hecho, las bandas tuvieron que ser desplazadas hasta allí en helicóptero, pero aún así hubo una que no logró llegar a tiempo, Sweetwater, y para más inri era la encargada de dar el pistoletazo de salida de Woodstock. Por este motivo, el que estrenó el evento pasadas las 17:00 horas fue Richie Havens, cuya actuación arrancó con High Flyin’ Bird y concluyó con Freedom (abajo), una canción genialmente improvisada sobre la marcha y elevada más tarde a los altares de himno de una generación, la de las flores y el amor libre, la droga consumida en pipas de papel de plata y el sentimiento antibelicista, es decir, la generación hippy.

De modo que aquel día 15 de agosto, alrededor de la colina de Woodstock, se congregaron más de 50 000 hippies, y de 200 000… fueron unos 450 000, un número que superó con creces las expectativas de propios y extraños, incluidas las de la organización, lógicamente. Y  como ésta no tenía manera de controlar tal marea de gente y hacer que cada cual comprara su entrada, o desalojarlo, decidió que el Festival pasara a ser gratuito en detrimento de sus intereses y salud económicos. Entonces comenzaron unas jornadas de armoniosa y multitudinaria convivencia con el Rock ‘n’ Roll como excusa y fundamento. Algo muy meritorio si se tiene en cuenta que transcurrieron en medio de la falta de organización citada anteriormente y de unas condiciones insalubres  fruto del hacinamiento y de la lluvia que convirtió aquello en un barrizal. Mientras el gobernador Nelson A. Rockefeller declaraba el condado zona catastrófica y el ejército repartía medicinas y comida desde las alturas, se produjeron varias muertes a lo largo del Festival; dos por sobredosis y una ocasionada por un tractor que atropelló a un individuo.

Pero nada interrumpió la orgía de música iniciada por Richie Havens y ese mismo viernes tocaron otros como The Incredible String Band, Bert Sommer, Sweetwater —quienes a pesar de los pesares también participaron— y una embarazada de seis meses Joan Baez, que firmó la última actuación de la jornada al amparo de la noche con el siguiente We Shall Overcome.

Más y mejor pisó el escenario unas horas después. Un sábado que empezó en Woodstock al mediodía con la intervención de los estadounidenses Quill, a quienes siguieron John Sebastian (en la imagen, de Henry Diltz/CORBIS), un joven de 22 años llamado Carlos Santana, que obsequió a los presentes con punteos y temas intemporales como Evil Ways o Soul Sacrifice (primer vídeo bajo estas líneas), Mountain, Grateful Dead liderados ya por Jerry García, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin acompañada por The Kozmic Blues Band, o Jefferson Airplane, el máximo exponente de la música psicodélica de la época, y quizás el gran revulsivo en el listado de bandas que se dieron cita en Woodstock con temas de la talla de White Rabbit (más abajo).

De madrugada, los encargados de cerrar la velada fueron los Who  con su mítica formación original al completo, esto es Pete Townshend a la guitarra, Roger Daltrey como vocalista, Keith Moon en la batería y John Entwistle de bajo. Tras de sí dejaron canciones como la célebre My Generation o la no menos conocida Pinball Wizard.

La última jornada empezó con la misma calidad de la que hizo gala la anterior, y así la inconfundible voz de Joe Cocker (en la fotografía) dio forma entre otras a With a little Help from My friends (arriba). Acto seguido la tormenta obligó a realizar un paréntesis en el programa, pero cuando se reanudó retomó el pulso de la mano de The Band, Johnny Winter o Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, grupo que precisamente  en 1970 triunfaría en Reino Unido con un tema dedicado al Festival, Woodstock. El último en aparecer fue Jimi Hendrix, quien a pesar no tener que demostrar nada a nadie, dejó constancia de su maestría con una púa entre los dedos en composiciones como Foxy Lady, Fire, Voodoo Child, Purple Haze (abajo) o Hey Joe. Abandonó el recinto bajo el sol del lunes 18 de agosto, después de interpretar su particular Star spangled banner. Pero para entonces ya había entrado a formar parte de su historia, de la Historia, aquella grabada en una placa de cierta granja de Bethel que recuerda al visitante lo mismo que hoy celebramos. Woodstock, su espíritu, vive.

• Fuentes consultadas:

efeeme.com

rtve.es

lavanguardia.es

elpais.com

publico.es

farodevigo.es

mercuriovalpo.cl

imdb.com

Esta noche en la Sala El Tren de Granada, dos grupo sevillanos se juegan su pase a la final nacional de grupos del Festival Internacional Emergenza Festival. A los grupos, ya los conoces. Por un lado, Pen Cap Chew ntentará convencer a jurado y público con su rock alternativo. Por otro, Pinball Wizard - con nuevo disco bajo el brazo- defenderá su hard rock y presentará su Rock and Roll Ladies.

En esta ocasión, los grupos participantes dispondrán de media hora para hacerse con un puesto en la final. Recordemos que la asistencia de público es muy importante, pues es el “respetable” el encargado de elegir al ganador. La votación se realizará a mano alzada.

Además de estos dos grupos, también luchan por entrar en la final Closed (Punk/ Rock), Innfernosis (Metal/ Thrash), Quimera Stoner (Rock/ Garage/ Psychedelic), Sin vuelta Atrás (Pop/ Rock), Undergroove  (Rap/ Metal/ Punk)y Koolayd (Rock/ Metal). ¡Mucha suerte a todos los participantes! Desde Sevilla Te Suena te iremos informando sobre la evolución de este certamen, uno de los más importantes a nivel internacional.

Pinball Wizard

Tal y como ya te anunciábamos el mes pasado, la banda de Hard Rock Pinball Wizard ya tiene primer LP titulado Rock and Roll Ladies.  Si te gusta el buen Hard Rock puedes adquirirlo por tan sólo 5 euros.  ¿Dónde puedes comprarlo? Pues entra en el Myspace de la banda o manda un correo con tu petición a  pinballwizard@hotmail.es

También te informamos de que Pinball Wizard ofrecerá varios conciertos para presentar su nuevo trabajo. Te dejamos las fechas:

- 16 may 2009, 23:45 11:45 PM – Sala El Tren                                             
Carretera Antigua de Málaga, 136. Nave 7, Granada, Granada 18015 – 8€
Semifinales del Festival Internacional Emergenza.

- 29 may 2009, 20:00 08:00 PM – Rock en Frio.                                        
Granada.

 - 30 may 2009, 20:00 08:00 PM – Mingatron (Sevilla)

Festival que este año se celebra en el Parque Miraflores, contará con 12 bandas y será entre las 12 del mediodía hasta la medianoche, entrada gratuita.

 - 05 jun 2009, 22:00 10:00 PM – N&A  

Sevilla. Entrada: 3 euros.

 - 13 jun 2009, 20:30 08:30 PM. Alameda de Hércules.                            

Sevilla. I Alameda Rock Festival

Thinking out loud today, “what is bad is good,” and “what is good is bad”  — good reports out today and the market goes down. Maybe to understand this game, or to be able to play it successfully, you have to be a Pinball Wizard –

“That deaf, dumb and blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball.”

kenne

This week’s Top Of The Pops Thursday features a live performance of my all-time favourite song.

It needs no introduction, other than to say it’s The Who performing Pinball Wizard in front of 600,000 people at the Isle Of Wight Festival on August 30th, 1970.

Enjoy!

By ALEXANDER LAWRIE

DISGRACED banker Sir Fred Goodwin was an “unremarkable” student – because he wasted his time at university addicted to pinball machines.

The vilified former-banking boss would “dodge lectures” while studying law at Glasgow University just to get in extra practice, a close friend has revealed.

Goodwin was also exposed as a right-wing “true blue Tory” who was in favour of maintaining the university’s controversial male-only bar which was decorated with tasteless murals of naked women.

Alan Smart, 49, a former-head of broadcasting at the Scottish Parliament, admitted Goodwin was a “likeable guy but he didn’t shine” during his spell studying law in the 1970’s.

Mr Smart said: “I was vice-president of the Student representative Council and my brother was head of the Labour club, but Fred wasn’t really anything.

“You would think that someone who was going to be one of the world’s leading bankers would have been president of the accounting society or something, but to the best of my knowledge he just sank without trace.

“He was a good, likeable guy but he didn’t shine.”

Addicted to electronic games

Mr Smart grew up beside Goodwin in the middle-class Paisley suburb of Ralston, and says the ex-bank boss was addicted to electronic games.

He said: “We used to meet quite often at lunchtimes and he played a lot of pinball. For a while we played every lunchtime and you could see the competitive streak in him.

“Sometimes we would doge lectures if we went on a good run and won a lot of bonus games.

“The other game that was a real rave at the time was Asteroids. He was really good at that as well.

“He wasn’t a big boozer, he was just an unassuming nice guy who was good company. He would lend you a quid or tap you a fiver and he would wait for you if you were late.”

And Mr Smart, from Dollar, Clackmannanshire, had drinking sessions with Goodwin in the infamous male-only bar at the University Union – which used to be decorated with erotic female images.

After years of protests, the union was forced to admit female students during the 1980s.

Not a man of mystery

Mr Smart said: “Fred was very traditional and he was for an all-male bar. The rest of us were mostly for mixing.

“I remember saying to Fred once that I found the pictures in the bar offensive and he said he thought it was great. I’m sure he did it to wind me up, I’m not saying he was sleazy or anything.

“He was not a man of mystery but he was certainly not going around pulling birds and bragging about it. I don’t even recall him having a girlfriend and he certainly wasn’t a disco-goer.”

Pen Cap Chew y Pinball Wizard son semifinalistas del Emergenza Festival. Desde que arrancó esta edición de Emergenza Festival hemos seguido, con especial atención, el paso de estos dos grupos sevillanos. Y de momento, ya te podemos adelantar detalles sobre la semifinal.

La semifinal será el día 16 de mayo, a partir de las 22, 00 horas, en la sala El Tren de Granada. El torneo musical enfrentará de nuevo a ocho grupos andaluces, de los que dos son sevillanos. De esta confrontación, serán elegidos finalistas cuatro bandas.

El criterio de selección de estos finalistas es los más curioso, pues ,excepto uno que es escogido por el jurado, el resto de finalistas los decide el público presenta votando a mano alzada. Por ello, la asistencia al evento es muy importante.

Por este motivo, tanto Pen Cap Chew como Pinball Wizard están barajando la posibilidad de poner un autobuses para que todos los seguidores puedan ir a verlos en directo. De momento, la banda de Hard Rock Pinball Wizard ya tiene su autobús preparado para todo aquel que quiera acompañarlos en su experiencia, para contactar con ellos y conocer todos los detalles envíales tu petición a: pinballwizard@hotmail.es

Los sevillanos Pinball Wizard han sido seleccionados para participar en el Emergenza Festival. Se trata del segundo grupo sevillano convocado para participar en este maratón musical que se celebra a nivel internacional. Los Pinball Wizard lucharán por pasar a las semifinales el sábado día 14 de marzo en la Sala Telonera, sita en la calle Londres número 9 de Granada. La batalla de bandas comenzará a las 21,00 horas y participarán ocho grupos. Pinball Wizard actuará a las 01, 00 horas, siendo el grupo que clausura el evento. En este concierto, la asistencia de público será fundamental puesto que es el responsable de elegir a los grupos que pasarán a la semifinal.

Por otro lado, os informamos de que Pen Cap Chew, que como os comunicamos la semana pasada también había sido seleccionado por el jurado del festival para participar , ya es oficialmente semifinalista del Emergenza Festival tras el concierto que ofrecieron el sábado 7 de marzo en Granada. Próximamente, os informaremos de todos lo detalles de la semifinal en la que esperemos están seleccionados estos dos grupos sevillanos.

Pinball Wizard

Sevilla Te Suena: ¿Qué propone Pinball Wizard con su música?

Pinball Wizard: Con nuestra música queremos llegar a todos aquellos que, como nosotros, aman la música. Se trata de que todos los que nos escuchen y disfruten como nosotros cuando ensayamos, tocamos en directo o simplemente componemos nuestros temas. Pero la intención que más nos motiva es poner el Hard Rock de moda, porque este estilo musical desde los años 80 parece que está algo muerto.

STS: Derrocháis energía en directo y, además, no os olvidáis del público invitándolo a participar. ¿Con qué mensaje queréis que se quede el público que va a veros actuar?

PW: Las letras las escribe Keane y versan sobre la mujeres, el amor, las relaciones y mucho “magreo”. Esto es el Hard Rock : “sexo, drogas y Rock and roll ”. La música la compone Joey y luego entre todos se hacen los arreglos.

STS: ¿Qué os diferencia de los demás grupos sevillanos, que al igual que vosotros intenta abrirse un hueco en este mundo?

PW: Que hacemos buena música (risas). Es broma. Lo cierto es que no solemos escuchar muchos grupos sevillanos, pero sí hemos visto alguno que otro en directo y, desde nuestro punto de vista, no se implican tanto con el público como nosotros.

Su primer disco: Rock&Roll Ladies

STS: Estáis a punto de publicar vuestro primer disco. ¿Qué ha supuesto esta experiencia?

PW: Ha sido algo “mu grande” (risas). Hemos pasado muy buenos ratos en el estudio de grabación y musicalmente hemos aprendido mucho. Primero grabamos cuatro temas y, más tarde grabamos los otros cuatro que conforman las ocho canciones que contiene el disco y cuando escuchamos los temas con detenimiento nos dimos cuenta de que, después de haber grabado los cuatro primeros, habíamos subido un nivel y alcanzado cierta madurez musical. Este cambio lo notamos incluso a la hora de volver a componer temas.

STS: ¿Cómo habéis solventado los gastos que supone pagar un disco?

PW: No hemos contado con ningún tipo de apoyo por parte de agentes ajenos a la banda. El disco y todo lo que ha supuesto la grabación, desde el punto de vista económico, lo hemos pagado de nuestro bolsillo a partes iguales. De hecho, aún no hemos cobrado por dar conciertos, aspecto que queremos cambiar con el lanzamiento del disco porque para nosotros ha supuesto un gasto enorme.

STS: Tal y como está el panorama musical ¿Es posible que un grupo se dé a conocer sin contar con el apoyo de discográficas, distribuidoras, productoras y promotoras?

PW: Es imposible. Como se suele decir “quien no tiene padrino no se casa”.

 STS: ¿Os da miedo que vuestro primer disco fracase?

 PW: Está claro que el panorama actual no nos acompaña, pero nos gusta engañarnos. Es decir, somos plenamente conscientes de que no es un buen momento para sacar el disco y aspirar a un número de ventas, pero preferimos pensar que podremos salir adelante. Date cuenta que todo vuelve en moda, tendencias… Y el Hard Rock volverá … gracias a nosotros (risas).

 

  Pinball Wizard con Sevilla te Suena

 

 

STS: Si hasta el momento habéis sido autosuficientes en esta aspecto ¿Cómo buscáis los conciertos?

PW: Es cierto que, por el momento, todo lo que ha hecho Pinball Wizard lo ha hecho por sí mismo. No nos importa coger el coche y patearnos todas las salas de Andalucía en busca de conciertos, somos nosotros los que hablamos con los propietarios de las salas que ofrecen conciertos, los que buscamos concursos en páginas Web de música.

STS: ¿Con qué grupo sevillano os gustaría tocar?

PW: Nos gustaría repetir experiencia con el grupo Toma de Contacto que son amigos y grandes músicos y si pudiésemos escoger una sala sería Calle 32. También, nos llaman la atención otros grupos como The news o Hiroshima Atomic Garden.

 STS: ¿De qué concierto guardáis mejor recuerdo?

 PW: Cada uno tiene el suyo. Pero, entre todos, destacamos el que dimos en el X Rock Festival de Utrera y el que dimos junto a Damage Off en la sala Deluxe. Pero, como mejor actuación del grupo el último que dimos en la sala Fun Club junto a Humo Sapiens.

STS: Cuando empezasteis con Pinball Wizard teníais unos sueños o aspiraciones ¿Cuántas se han cumplido?

PW: Nos ha sorprendido gratamente. Cuando se creó el grupo éramos conscientes de que el Hard Rock había muerto en muchos aspectos. Pero esa sensación desapareció al comprobar que el público nos respondía. En el movimiento alternativo, lo que más se lleva actualmente es el Metal Extremo. Por ello, nos sorprendió que el público nos acogiera con tanta entrega.

STS: ¿Cuál es el futuro inmediato de Pinball Wizard?

PW: Hemos hecho nuestro trabajo, hemos tenido que renunciar a estudios, tiempo libre y dinero. Al disco le quedan un par de detalles y estará listo. Sólo nos queda esperar respuestas y seguir buscando salas para dar conciertos a nivel nacional, para que nuestra música llegue lo más lejos posible.

Más sobre Pinball Wizard aquí

www.myspace.com/pinballwizardrocks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

La banda de rock de Toledo Humo Sapiens está de gira. Y dentro de los muchos muchos conciertos previstos para presentar su nuevo disco, está el que ofrecerán este viernes día 30 en la sala Fun Club de Sevilla a partir de las 21.00 horas. Pero no estarán solos. Será el grupo de hard rock de Utrera, Pinball Wizard el encargado de acompañarlos en una velada que promete buen rock y adrenalina.

I was supposed to go into the studio last night to finish mixing a few of my songs for The Swagger Sticks debut but I had to cancel ’cause I’m sick! I did, however, find the strength to play along to The Who’s ”Pinball Wizard/See Me, Feel Me” medley on guitar this morning but that was about it.

In the meantime, here’s a little Mudhoney for you. You guessed it, it’s the classic ”Touch Me, I’m Sick!”

Todd MacCulloch parlayed one pretty good NBA Finals series as a 76′er against the Lakers in 2001 into a $34 million contract with the New Jersey Nets. After only one year in Jersey, albeit one that took them to the Finals, he was traded back to the Sixers for Dikembe Mutombo. Unfortunately for MacCulloch and the Sixers, it turned out that MacCulloch’s feet were battling against him, eventually receiving a diagnosis of bilateral neuropathy, a condition which means he has severe nerve damage in his feet. Only 2 years after signing that 6-year $34 million contract, the 28 year old MacCulloch was retired, unable to stand the rigors of playing basketball any more.

These days MacCulloch passes the time playing on any of his over 80 different pinball machines. In fact, he’s so into pinball that he participates in tournaments and is a ranked player, currently 130 although apparently the rankings are a bit screwy and he really should be more like 60-70. For someone whose average game salary in the NBA was approximately $70K, MacCulloch has pulled down a robust $700 in pinball earnings.

Of course, it’s not about the money, for MacCulloch it is the love of pinball, something he can trace back to his childhood in Winnipeg when he’d go the 7-11 and play the pinball game in the corner. Once he signed his contract with the Nets he bought a couple pinball machines and, while injured on the Nets roster started playing more and more to pass the time. Soon his obsession was full-bore. These days he spends hours on the phone with other pinball enthusiasts comparing machines and strategies, finding an outlet for his competitive instincts.

When he plays in tournaments MacCulloch brings a stool as even still the pain makes it too difficult to stand at length. Recently when he went to treatment for his nerve damage his physical therapist was shocked to find glass in MacCulloch’s foot, he’d stepped on a lightbul days before but because of the nerve damage had no idea.

“Parts of my feet are so numb I don’t feel anything,” he said. “Other parts I feel too much. They’re always irritated and buzzing and tingling. You don’t know what causes it and you don’t know how to make it go away. And it’s constant. There’s nowhere to run. There’s nothing I can do. Being on my feet makes it worse and irritates it, and even if I sat with my feet up on an ottoman that nerve pain is still there. The pain is not a weight-bearing result. It can happen at rest, which is really frustrating.”

Now, on the verge of his 33 birthday, MacCulloch is relaxing into his retirement, meeting up with friends from the pinball world and participating in tournaments against people, some of whom have been competing for over 30-40 years. You’d think that for a man who has battled Shaq down low in the paint and held his own that pinball would be a cake walk in comparison, but that is not the case for MacCulloch.

“I still get nervous in big tournaments where there has been some big money on the line and it might have been a fraction of what I made in a check in the NBA,” he said. “But it’s still the pressure of the moment — the heart starts beating a little bit, the games are designed to increase the music just to make you feel something, to make you feel the pressure and rush your shots. When I’ve needed to I haven’t been able to pull some games out of my, um, hat.”

Despite the nerves, MacCulloch’s star is rising on the pinball circuit. “I perceive him as one of the fastest-rising players,” said Bowen Kerins, who is currently the world’s second-ranked player. “Two or three years ago he was good. Now he’s really good.” So look out world, and keep an eye out for a 7 foot tall, 300 pound giant of a man pounding away at a pinball machine at the local pinball tournament.

[Washington Post]

Elton John übernimmt hier den Part des Sängers, weil er Mitwirkender in der Rockoper “Tommy” war, in der “Pinball Wizard” von The Who einer der Kracher war.

Das Original von The Who hier.

Pinball Wizard