Re: Other Artists; OK! I Give Up!

[Dongerous! <fastslow@idt.net>]

At 11:44 AM -0700 7-28-97, Ronald Girardin wrote:

>A lot of people are all too eager to get on a new artist's bandwagon.

Huh? What's wrong with getting excited about something new?

>Case in point:  Jewel.    She's cute-n-shit.   but where she'll be in 5
>years will up to the record companies and promoters.

So? What does that have to do with my enjoyment of an artist (I'm not a
Jewel fan, BTW).

> How the HELL can
>Jweel be a VH1 artist of the month....when she only HAS 1 album????  aarrgh!!

Get a clue, Ronald. She sells records and attracts viewers. THAT's the sole
critirea.

>In the past 3 years, I've "discovered" several bands & artists that started
>their careers in the 60's.  Most of those artists are still around.  Their
>longevity is indicative of the quality of their music.

Poppycock. Look how long Barry Manilow's been around.

> For me, three come
>to mind right away:   Grateful Dead, Moody Blues and Amazing Blondel.  I LOVE
>those 3 bands.  I was fortunate enough to have seen 4 Dead shows before Jerry
>Garcia died and I consider myself very lucky.  It was fabulous.  I've yet to
>see The Moody Blues...but that's just a matter of time.

The Moody Blues? Hohohohohohohohoho. Hahahahahahaha. Hehehehehehehe.

Surely you jest. Haven't you ever watched the PBS special that they run
every pledge drive of the Moody Blues live (at Red Rocks, I think)? It is
hysterical. These guys indulge in endless unaware self-parody. They give
pretention a bad name.

>  As for the
>Amazing Blondel, I can only hope they'll tour America...

I don't know about them. However, I'd prefer KB tour first (note mandatory
KB content).

>These three band (as well as many others of that era) offer a quality in their
>music that I just can't find in the likes of Smashing Pumpkins, Cheryl Crow,
>Alanis Morrisette and Green Day.

I'm not a Sheryl Crow fan, but the Moody Blues are a joke compared to The
Smashing Pumpkins, AM and Green Day...that is if you care about music with
lyrics that actually MEANS something to the people making it. The Grateful
Dead wasn't a lyric-based band...they were an excuse to get high and jam.
The Moody Blues were just riding the progressive wave for all that it's
worth...talk about a bandwagon band. Have you ever heard "Go Now!"?

>   it seems that the newer bands just can't play
>their instruments....They bang them...but they can't "play".

How terrible. They don't let some people's need for musical self-abuse get
in the way of them expressing themselves. Gee whiz, that Bob Dylan guy
sucks. He doesn't play the guitar, he just bangs away.

> The messages that come across are often bleak and devoid of love
>(any of you "Generation Xers" recognize yourselves?)

Are you talking about Generation X, the band?

So what if the messages are bleak and devoid of love? If that's what you
can relate to, go for it.

"Emptiness is loneliness, and loneliness is cleanliness
And cleanliness is godliness, and god is empty just like me
Intoxicated with the madness, I'm in love with my sadness"
- "Zero" by The Smashing Pumpkins

When I saw these guys play this song it was an incredible moment. The crowd
erupted into a huge roar when Billy Corrigan proclaimed, "God is empty just
like me." Amazing...and something you WON'T see at a Moody Blues concert.

>  For my tastes, there have only been a select few "newer"
>bands that can make me stand up and pay attention:  Phish, Crash Test Dummies,
>Tears For Fears and Bjork.  Tori Amos was there too, until Boys For Pele.
>Sonmehow, she switched gears and I can no longer identify myself with her.
>but
>I still LOVE  Little Earthquakes and Under The Pink.

Okay.

>In recent years, there has been a certain "revival" of a lot of 60s and 70s
>bands...what does that tell you?   It tells me that they offer something that
>the newr bands don't have or can't deliver.

You're joking, right, Ron?

What the older bands offer that the newer bands can't offer is MEMORIES for
the aging boomer population, "Remember when we first got stoned to 'Nights
In White Satin.' Wow, that was heavy," or "Remember when we lost our
virginity in the back seat while 'Kashmir' was playing on the 8-track?"

>You'll see a lot more young
>people liking Pink Floyd than older people liking Green Day.  There's got to
>be a reason for that.....

Well, yeah. There are stoners at any age. You don't see a lot of 45 y.o.
mosh pitters. Also, younger fans are more likely to check out something
they've never seen or they want to see what all the noise about a
"legendary" band is about.

>  It must be the music....

Uh-huh.

- Don