The needle and the damage done

Times Herald ^ | 8/27/06 | Gordon Glantz

[Tokra]

Spooky. Tragic. Cold. Icelandic. Pink Floyd gave me the creeps, for all their musical sophistication.

That's what attracted me to early Pink Floyd - the eerie minor-chord sound. So different from Yummy Yummy Yummy I Got Love in My Tummy.

[Screamname]

Yeah, that guy was the real deal. I guess Iggy was too ugly for mainstream appeal like Cobain. Same with the Ramones, they could sell out tours but not any albums. Hey speaking of which, check out this video of them from 1974 at CBGBS..Talk about a mind blower, this must literally be one of the first gigs they ever did, if not the first gig...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWHAL_q1ne8

[LexBaird]

I hope he knows that Manfred Mann wrote blinded by the light

Mann recorded it. Springsteen wrote it.

[Dementon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEZCkyQLAIE

An great cover of an excellent Nine Inch Nails song.

[Screamname]

Here you go, Iggy Pop 1970, 4 years before the Ramones, yet the Ramones are called the Godfathers of Punk. Explain that one to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD_XCECbAEU

[gonzo]

"...A while back someone in the school paper where I teach refered to "Come Together" as an Aerosmith song..."

Aerosmith did cover "Come together". Not bad - same arrangement as the Beatles..............FRegards

[mylife]

well that just goes to show you that Im a lousy music cricket ;)

[Finny]

I often listen to Benny Goodman and Big Band swing music of the 40s. Also lately am indulging in long-beloved Bob Wills Texas cowboy stuff, Asleep at the Wheel and whatnot. That stuff infuses the spirit with goodness. I listen to Big Band and especially some hard-core boogie-woogie, and think to myself, "No wonder the U.S. won World War II."

Comparing it to my and the current American generation's music that is/was, with some exceptions, either whiny and self-aborbed, or angrily rebellious, I find myself thinking: Music for Grownups versus Music for Adolescents. Look at the pictures, for the past what, 30, 40 years -- the "serious" young rock band poses for the camera, nary a smile among the musicians. The setting is gritty, somber. "This is serious work that weighs heavily on us," they seem to be saying. Dopes.

[Lancey Howard]

Wow. Great find, and a BUMP.
By the way, I remember picking up Barrett's 'Madcap Laughs' back in college (circa 1975) and it was terrible. But although this writer mentions Barrett's inspirations on his old band he fails to mention the most important and obvious: 'Dark Side of the Moon'.

[Lancey Howard]

So maybe it is better that the immortals like Hendrix and Morrison died young -- otherwise they would be spouting the same leftist anti-Western BS today, and sabotaging their own musical legacy.

That's pure speculation. Those two guys were definitely not wimpy go-alongs.

[durasell]

The big band guys were no angels, either. Don't let the snazzy suits fools ya...

[Tokra]

Thanks for the flashback! Boy does that bring back some memories. I feel very lucky to have grown up in Detroit during it's musical heyday. Besides Motown, Mitch Ryder and Aretha, we had the Stooges, the MC5, Bobby Segar and the Last Heard, the Rationals, Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent & the Amboy Dukes, SRC, the Frost, the UP, Teagarden and Van Winkel, Wilson Mower Pursuit, Jagged Edge, Third Power, Savage Grace and many more. As well as all the great venues - the Hideout, the Grande Ballroom, the Easttown and all the rest.

And Nashville calls itself "Music City" and the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame went to Cleveland.

Sometimes there's just no justice.

[Lancey Howard]

I saw a Sprinsteen concert in 1974 when he didn't have a whole lot of his own material. He played a lot of oldie covers and the concert was outstanding. I remember it was the first time I ever saw a disco ball.

[Screamname]

Well I meant music wise. Iggy had the idea, but his songs where a lot of basic three chord stuff where Cobain had come up with a lot more complicated melodies and pushed punk further. I don`t care what anyone says, but you listen to that album Nevermind, the music in that thing is brilliant. I`m not talking about the words, but the music. Listen to Lithium or Drain you, it isn`t the usual punk but music that brings it to a whole new level.

[dfwgator]

Sorry - but Iggy Stooge singing 'Cock in My Pocket" in 1969 had already pushed punk rock as far to the limits as it could go.

Amen, there is Iggy, the rest are posers.

[b9]

I listen to Big Band and especially some hard-core boogie-woogie, and think to myself, "No wonder the U.S. won World War II."

Another excellent post, Finny ~ especially love this sentence of yours:

That stuff infuses the spirit with goodness.

[Ignatz]

I hope he knows that Manfred Mann wrote blinded by the light

Oooh, sorry! Springsteen wrote "Blinded by the Light" and "I Came for You", both of which Manfred Mann recorded. They are found on Springsteen's "Greeting from Asbury Park" album.

[durasell]

And don't forget Iggy's brilliant, Oscar-worthy performance in Snow Day!

[murdoog]

Aerosmith did cover "Come together"

I know they did. But the Beatles did it first, and calling it an Aerosmith song is like calling "It Ain't Me Babe" a Turtles song. Or calling "Needles and Pins" a Tom Petty song. (See the post I was responding to.)

[Finny]

The big band guys were no angels ...

You entirely misread me. Whether or not these people were or are "angels" is wholesale irrelevant. Music is the ONLY relevant factor, because music is language that transcends visual or verbal cues. The lyrics could be in Chinese, for all I care. It's the MUSIC that inspires you to feel good, optimistic, energetic, mature, in charge -- or MUSIC that inspires you to rage, depression, self-pity, adolescent arrogance, or darkness.

But I'd be willing to bet you quite a lot that pound for pound among musicians, there's been a LOT more despair and junkie-ism rampant in one kind of music than in the other.