It's pop from the 70s, likely. Little River Band, Styx, Air Supply, stuff from players but hated by angsty former yoots for whatever reason. The Glammers are actually younger than the CHARTING musician/singer duo Pizza tried to make a joke about
When did sales and popularity start to matter to you? Your posts didn't address anything I said, which was, why is it that soccer fans can't listen/eat/drink/watch the same films/listen to the same music/wear the same clothing as the rest of the country? Nevermind isn't even in MY top ten rock albums. I'd put Ten way ahead, and I love Nevermind. I'm not that into the Clash, and I don't care if Charlene likes it or not.
Slash was born in the UK but only his father is British and he spent the bulk of his childhood in the US.
Wait. What keeps Zeppelin from being Cock Rock? I ask because if any band on Earth can be credited with the onset of glam/cock, it's Zep. Pure and simple. Not the Beatles, not the Who (Zep era). Certainly not Floyd (too serious) or the Stones (too wannabe R&B). Thanks! Did not know that. Googled an interview and he sounds like a typical American, speaks English without an accent
The original GNR lineup (Axl, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, and Steven Adler) was mostly Midwest (Indiana, Ohio) while Slash and Duff were from LA and Seattle respectively.
Born in London. Moved to L.A. when he was like 5 or something. I know this because my local NPR station used to have a show called American Routes, and they did a bit on Ray Charles providing music ed for underserved high schools in L.A. Slash would contribute his time.
I have never heard these before. Is this an 80s band? I think I've heard the name, but I don't recognize this at all.
Whoever said the Clash couldn't play??? Their aesthetic was built around simplicity, but not of necessity but by choice. I'm anything but a fan- the simplicity produced a musical coloring book effect overall that seems artistically empty to my ears. But OTOH "Rockin' the Casbah" is absolutely on the short list of great great singles... I certainly wouldn't want "London Calling" anywhere near my top 10. Now Nirvana I just don't hear as musical. It alternates between irritating and boring.
This is the kind of stuff that warms the heart. Ray didn't have many haters* by the time he died, but it's nice to know he did this. *like James Brown. No other Black man on earth could have led police on a car chase in rural Georgia and come out alive
A guy I went to college with went to Tufts for a degree in ethnomusicology. His thesis was on African roots of rythm and blues, using research that came out of the once-influential book African Rhythm, African Sensibility, by a guy whose name I don't remember. Part of his research involved an afternoon interviewing James Brown, WHO READ THE ********ING BOOK FOR HIM. I got to hear a couple hours of his tapes. Alas, because of rules, the tapes become property of Tufts University and he didn't make copies. But it was pretty cool. Long story short, the guy wasn't just functioning on intuition. Brown had some ideas behind his music.
Haven't read his book yet, but Nicolay is a cool dude. Saw The Hold Steady live just last month. Always a great show.
Yes, 1985. They were Andy Bell & Vince Clarke. Vince was founding member of Depeche Mode. Hugely talented. Co-wrote a lot of DM's Speak & Spell. They were massively popular in the dance club scene, especially gay.
Electrified American blues passing through an English lens. Their lifestyle became cock rock-ish (as did many acts of the era) after their first few big albums. But the mid to late 80s hair metal turds were in it for the cherry pie. Not breaking any new ground like LZ or Black Sabbath.
My heretical take is that the best Clash album is the American version of their debut. It's great high-energy pub rock with agitpop lyrics.
Well I can think of one person round here... Topper Headon the drummer wrote Rock the Casbah. Combat Rock had some of their biggest hits. But I think it's sometimes overlooked because they were basically done as a band by then. I've always liked this little ditty
It's bigger than that IMO, and it's Bonham who gets them there in the first 30 seconds of their recording history. I've been in two or three dozen homes watching folks get that feel right or wrong and seen several cover band drummers bail on it by playing eighth notes. It's his standard loose kick feel in one measure followed by perfect quantized playing on all limbs in the next. Ain't nobody else doing this shit in rock OR R&B in 1968, Pizza. You are underrating them. Give the drummer some. You have to admit that they were what the glam guys aspired to be, including Van Halen. Plant's voice became a blueprint for zillions of long-haired lead vocalists (Roth was not one of them, but Hagar absolutely was). Bonham was a ham while doing shit other rock drummers would get up to speed on half a decade later. The dragon suit... Jimmy Page is the most iconic guitarist in history who did not sing in his own band. JPJ had too much different shit to do to act up. You're right about the lifestyle. I was talking a few years ago with someone about who defined rock, and we never could come up with any one band. But we agreed that if one was to look up "Jet Set Rock Band" in a dictionary, the photo would be of Zeppelin. No, I know that. I was commenting on the Hollywood shot taken at them. I get that they're cock-y, but they put out a cool album. The thing about that subgenre is that a bunch of bands have a foot in it, got at least one hit that carries that beer-soaked arena singalong feel, but they don't get the same tag. Heart is as cock as it gets without having one themselves. Bryan Adams played more cock rock than half the guys who get tagged for it, but his lyrics and short hair didn't follow along.
I kinda like Combat Rock--always sounded to me like they distilled the best bits of experimentation from Sandinista! and made a proper rock album.
I'm not sure I've said that about them specifically. I have said that I liked Stay... Go. Combat Rock is the album a college friend played in the car constantly, and S/G and Casbah are the two I remember.
Back in the mid 80s the bands I'd look to as a yoot for political messaging were the Dead Kennedys (humorous and more in your face), The Clash (macro level "the working man's getting F'd by the system"l and Midnoght Oil (aboriginal rights Down Undah) Before he passed Joe was still writing meaningful songs
Second rock concert I ever went to was the DKs, but for me their music hasn't aged well. I suspect I'd still enjoy Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables were I to listen to it now, but even at the time I always had this nagging dislike for their sound. A little East Bay Ray goes a LONG way for me, and Jello Biafra's schtick got old as well. That said--they were a hardcore band for disgruntled kids not middle-aged dudes like me, so maybe I'm just saying I need my music a little more musical and my politics a little more fleshed out. All that said: I loved Klaus Flouride's debut sold EP and recently listened to it again and it still holds up as a nice slice of all-over-the-place weirdness. Seven songs, not a single one anything like the others: Started with this: And closed with this: I smoked a LOT of seedy, stem-laden ditch weed listening to that record in the Fall of 1985 in my parents basement.