Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Rock out with the 70s!



Radiohead is obviously the face of genius music. I'm not here to argue that. U2 is slowly kicking and screaming their music in sold out arenas, and I'm not about to criticize them. Pearl Jam quietly nabbed the elder statesman, tied him up, threw him in a closet, and took over his duties. I'm not one to question their behavior. All these bands are successful, critically acclaimed (occasionally) and play to their fans. And they should.

But don't you ever find it all a bunch of pussy music sometimes?



I'm not talking specifically about these bands either, because I know they rock and can get a sea of people to waver their hands in the air and "move as one" to their music. I'm talking more about the state of music in general. Emotional rock and roll seems to be sitting at the end of the music table desperately trying to hear the conversation the other genres are having, straining its ears but only catching bits and pieces. Sure, occasionally it will speak up, and the others will lend a polite ear, but for the most part it's left alone to wallow in its boiler makers, remembering the old times.

And that's a shame.

Because it used to be that roaring guitars, smacked, machine gun drums and screaming singers ruled the roost. I'm of course talking about good old fashioned 70s hard rock and roll. Back when picking up instruments and playing a gig at night meant coke and blow jobs. Back when the music meant something other than a simple paycheck.

Of course, I certainly am by no means an expert on this genre of music. So I went to the round table of experts. A group I can't name here for fear of wiretaps. A gang of guys that don't have nicknames; they have aliases. A bunch that have listened to Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick n its entirety...more than once.

So please, think of this as a time machine that can only go back 35 years or so, back to a time when you played music to get over the fact that you weren't gonna get laid.



Whaat did I miss? Include that I shouldn't have? Let me know in the comments below.

3 comments:

gdr said...

My 'Spooky Two' album is listed as 1969. And it's been in my 6-cd changer in my car since I bought it nearly two years ago. "Evil Woman" is never played less than 30 on the volume knob; as a frame of reference, most music in my car is in the 12-18 range.

Holy Diver released in 1983.

Goose said...

You are correct on both, but I'd argue that 70's rock is not simply a time period but almost a genre in and of itself. Therefore, the songs that live on the fringe of that period can most certainly be included.

Besides, you want me to exclude these 2 great songs and therefore not introduce them to a hungry crowd?

Andrew said...

You throw Pearl Jam in there? Really? I think you mean Coldplay or Modest Mouse or something. Eddie and co are one of the few bands these days that still can rock. Haven't heard the new release yet other than the title track but prior album "Pearl Jam" rocked.

Besides that oversight, I do totally agree w/ the point of your article and thanks for the sweet list of music.