By Ruth Milne

The Sturgis motorcycle rally always brings music to western South Dakota. The featured acts are usually all-American and frequently a few years past their prime. For one solid week at venues throughout the Hills, we find country singers braying about America and potbellied hair metal heroes screeching about motorcycles. Good times all around.

The Buffalo Chip Campground near Sturgis is one of those venues, usually bringing in fairly big names, and always building up a buzz by gradually releasing their rally week lineup throughout the months leading up to the rally.

But as this year’s announcements trickled in, the Chip’s lineup was looking pretty bleak. Toby Keith, Poison, Ratt, Chris Daughtry, Foreigner…

Bleak, I say. (Feel free to disagree.)

Until today, when it was announced that super-duper-supergroup Velvet Revolver, a motley mélange of heavy metal musicians who made their names in other bands — some decades ago — will play the Chip on Aug. 8. Maybe my ’80s youth is showing, but I expect I will squeal like a teenager the entire time Slash is onstage.

Anyone else willing to shell out that $55 ticket/camping fee for these guys?

There are a few TBAs left on the Chip’s calendar, and other venues have yet to announce their featured acts, so stay tuned.

by Ruth Milne

Many years ago in my wild youth, a guy I was dating had to have a spinal tap.

The ER doctor suspected meningitis, so a nursing student got an enormous needle, stabbed it in the middle of his back, completely missed the gap between his vertebrae, wiggled it around and scraped the tip against bone for a while… apparently this all caused excruciating pain. Several tries later they successfully penetrated the spine, and that sensation was no picnic either, I gather.

(Turns out the spinal tap was unnecessary anyway; I vaguely recall that the final diagnosis was that the guy had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever he caught at an outdoor Bob Dylan concert nowhere near the Rocky Mountains.)

Anyhow, that’s my spinal tap story.

But today we’re talking about another kind of spinal tap, one just as excruciating. This article from the AP caught my eye this morning:

Mock Metal Group Spinal Tap to Reunite
By JAKE COYLE

NEW YORK - Spinal Tap is back, and this time the band wants to help save the world from global warming.

The mock heavy metal group immortalized in the 1984 mockumentary, “This is Spinal Tap,” will reunite for a performance at Wembley Stadium in London as part of the Live Earth concerts scheduled worldwide for July 7.

Click here for the rest of the story.

One interesting thing about watching Spinal Tap the mockumentary these days — what was once simple satire is now also nostalgia. How much do you miss ’80s music?

Anybody else have a fun spinal tap story?

by Ruth Milne

The AP today has a story on the RCJ homepage relating the Don Imus fiasco to disrespectful rap lyrics:

Music Execs Discuss Rap Lyrics
By MARCUS FRANKLIN

NEW YORK - In the wake of Don Imus’ firing for his on-air slur about the Rutgers women’s basketball team, a high-powered group of music-industry executives met privately Wednesday to discuss sexist and misogynistic rap lyrics.

During the furor that led to Imus’ fall last week from his talk-radio perch, many of his critics carped as well about offensive language in rap music.

In theory, I’d like to join in the carping and say I dislike songs that objectify women, etc., and that although it shouldn’t be censored, people should choose not to listen to that sort of thing. What normal person actively chooses to hear songs that degrade women, right?

Besides, as a woman myself, I ought to be righteously offended!

And I would love to be able to say that I only listen to the more genteel stuff, but then I remember how much I enjoy the albums of such artists as the irrepressibly seedy Nick Cave, whose songs are peppered with images of violence and misogyny, among other unsavory elements.

A good example is the unquotable single by his new band, Grinderman. (Look for the video on YouTube, if you’re over 18. The song, which actually uses the word “ho,” made me laugh — does that make me a bad feminist?)

The article in question focuses on rap lyrics, but Cave’s “Murder Ballads” album, for example, features some of the most obscene content I’ve heard. However, in the context of Cave’s tormented and sometimes-poetic songs, the misogyny and sexualized violence — which normally would turn me off an artist faster than a band-aid in soup — doesn’t bother me.

Here’s the thing: I sing along with “Stagger Lee,” but I’m not about to pop down to the local pub and start shooting.

If someone really digs misogynist lyrics by an artist I don’t enjoy, I might automatically judge that person. But when it comes to my favorite music being obscene, I say it’s just entertainment, it’s just storytelling.

(It’s just hypocritical.)

What do you think? Do you always agree with what your favorite songs preach?

by Ruth Milne

Insane Clown Posse will bring their “horror hip hop” to Rapid City on Wednesday, June 6, when they perform with Twiztid & X-Clan at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 28, at www.gotmine.com.

This news comes close on the heels of Ryan Woodard’s story about how the civic center plans to stay away from booking hip hop acts. Now that’s interesting.

Still, Vanilla Ice did well with his derivative concert last year — lots of Juggalos in the audience that night — so this may do well too.

Are you going to the show?

by Ruth Milne

The Reddmen will be featured on an upcoming episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Signs indicate it will probably air on April 26; more details will be in Friday’s Weekend section.

The song is “The Secrets of Amanda Prines,” off the Rapid City garage-pop trio’s 2003 release “Sons of the Morning Star.” You can hear it on their MySpace page linked above.

I don’t watch Grey’s Anatomy, but a little googling reveals that the show was nominated for a Grammy for Best Soundtrack — so it’s clear they pay attention to picking only the best music.

Congratulations, gentlemen.