Monday, December 3, 2007

The Flying Burrito Brothers

Purpose:
Determine a band's leader by analyzing a publicity photo.

Disclaimer:
A band's inclusion on this blog reflects neither an endorsement nor a criticism of its music. This post is merely intended as a spotlight on the inner political workings of a collection of individuals who are in the midst of a cooperative, creative endeavor.

The Process:
You, dear reader, please answer the question, "Who's in charge here?"

After sufficient discussion has taken place, a verdict can then be passed based on a majority vote.

Band: The Flying Burrito Brothers
Genre: Hippie Country
Website:http://www.ebni.com/byrds/spfbb1.html (Historical page)

Voting ends on: Monday, December 10th, 9:00am CST (GMT-6)



The Verdict (UPDATED!)

Voting has ended. Here is the tally.

Light Blue Crushed Velvet Jacket - 5 votes
(DGuzman, McGone, PJ, Snave, Freida Bee)

Glittery Gold Enchilada Stain - 4 votes
(Barbara, Jess, Beckeye, Anandamide)

Upper Left Corner - 1 vote
(Randal G)


It was so close! But, in the end, velvet won out. And isn't that how the world is supposed to work?

Congrats to Crushed Velvet! You're in charge!

18 comments:

dguzman said...

Boy, I haven't thought about these guys in a long time. They're legends in Texas, you know. Hmm... I pick new-romantic-frilly-shirt guy in the light blue crushed velvet jacket.

Splotchy said...

A band I was in did a cover of "Sin City".

Barbara Bruederlin said...

I'm going with the elder bro, front on the left. With burritos and brothers, the older one always is in charge.

Jess Wundrun said...

Purple cravat with glittery gold enchilada stain on his jacket.

McGone said...

I'm going with the Roger-Daltrey-looking guy in the front. The blue jacket signifies that he doesn't have to dress like the black and white jacketed guys he leads in the band.

BeckEye said...

The guys in back look like a mildly retarded version of Jack White and Charles Manson, respectively. They're not leading anyone. The guy in the front on the right is a bit too purty. Therefore I go with slightly dishevelled guy, front left.

dguzman said...

hey, I just noticed that the guy in the back on the left (Beckeye's mildly retarded Jack White wannabe) looks a little like a young Diane Keaton! Or is it just the jacket?

Randal Graves said...

Dude in the upper left corner, bien sûr.

Jess Wundrun said...

Turned on the IFC channel yesterday to catch this band in "The Festival Express" about a tour by train through Canada with The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin and others in the late '60s. Way cool.

And of course, I know the answer now but will not reveal....

anandamide said...

ok, i know who it is, but if i didn't i would've guessed the guy in the black jacket.

....which is not to say that isn't who it really is, people.

PJ said...

Pirate shirt/puffy hair.

Snave said...

The guy in the back on the right looks too wild and demented to be a band leader, while the guy in the back on the left looks like he's thinking something like "Wow, what a cool gig, playing bass for the Flying Burrito Brothers!"

I think it's more of a co-leaders thing with the two guys in front, but if I have to pick one, I'll go with:

The guy in the front on the right.

His hair looks like he pays more attention to it, he has a more intense look on his face.

Glad I found this blog! Thanks for coming and checking out mine!

Freida Bee said...

I'm thinkin' biggest hair wins. Doesn't it always? That blue jacket is the Texas band equivalent of the power suit too, so I'm goin' with front right, the power position, right?

Linda-Sama said...

I don't get it. Why is Chris Hillman circled? Gram Parsons -- upper left -- was the "leader" of the FBB.

Splotchy said...

Thanks for the question, Linda. I've answered your question in a separate post.

Joe Koch said...

Gram Parsons. Does no one remember Gram Parsons!? Gram Parsons!! One of the greatest songwriters that ever lived?

Bill Allen Photography said...

Well, Gram did write some good songs, but practically ALL of his most well-known songs - those from the Flying Burrito Bros' first album, Gilded Palace of Sin, were CO-WRITTEN with either Burrito Chris Hillman or Burrito Chris Ethridge. So, to ignore their contributions to the writing of these songs by giving Gram all of the credit only shows how shallow someone's knowledge of the Burritos is. And while the circumstances surrounding his death have perhaps given Gram more notoriety than this bandmates in the Burritos, Chris Hillman was unquestionably the leader of the band and the other members, especially steel guitarist Sneaky Pete Kleinow and bassist Chris Ethridge, were just as important to the sound of the Burritos as Gram. Even Gram's earlier contributions to the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo and his later solo recordings featured mostly covers of other writers' songs or songs Gram co-wrote with other people. Even the lyrics to the title song from Gram's last solo record, Return of the Grievous Angel, were written by someone else. Give Gram is due, but not at the expense of his band mates please.

Splotchy said...

So, to ignore their contributions to the writing of these songs by giving Gram all of the credit only shows how shallow someone's knowledge of the Burritos is.

What is so hard to understand about this blog, anyways?

Did you even read the text of this post?