Jan 252011
The rules: Don’t take too long to think about it. List 15 reasons why you still give a shit about rock ‘n roll…
List the first 15 you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. And in no particular order. If you’re on Facebook, tag 15 friends, and me. I’m interested in seeing why my friends still give a shit. Show how cool you are and open avenues of casual, innocent flirtation with an old crush!
1. It still makes me feel good.
2. The “geeze factor”/nostalgia buzz can be pleasant.
3. I still believe in the power and the glory of rock
4. The mythology/baseball card/band family tree nerd-vibe is still fun.
5. Gear — to a point.
6. Rock star fashion statements.
7. Vicarious lifestyle gawking, to a point.
8. Every now and then, I discover something new, which can be a thrill.
9. Scantily clad chicks in videos.
10. Snobbery can be fun.
11. Rock Town Hall fun and games.
12. My opinions about things change, and that’s interesting to experience. Just the other day, I realized that Dylan’s “The Times They Are a-Changing” album was awesome!
13. There is still a universe of interesting music out there to discover — mostly (for me) in the past, but I’m willing to entertain the notion there could be some in the present and future as well.
14. Swagger.
15. BOB SEGER!
Are we allowed to re-use other Townspersons’ reasons? A few of hrrundi’s really resonate with me.
Certainly – and make sure you tag an old flame or two, OK? That’s really why we gather here on a regular basis, right?
1. It’s got a good beat & you can dance to it.
2. It speaks to my emotional immaturity.
3. Electric guitars sound cool.
If you have 15 reasons, chances are you’re not talking about Rock & Roll.
1. Outdoor rock shows
2. Driving with radio on LOUD
3. Gazing through my CD stacks
4. Knowing that I will never be as old as Mick Jagger
5. Concert t-shirts — new and vintage — I have been really geeking at the gym of late — wearing Dwight Twilley, The Beatles, and Beach Boys shirts — my silent protest against Under Armour.
6. RTH Confessional
7. Rock trivia contests
8. Making mix tapes/CDs
9. Listening to Eno on headphones
10. Rock Arguments (eg. Pink Floyd v. Led Zep)
11. Spinal Tap
12. Rock shows at dive bars
13. Rock hair
14. Roots rock genres
15. Rock chicks (eg. Liz Phair)
I always did, and I always will.
New bands still get me excited.
Other music isn’t very cool, even Jazz.
The Rolling Stones.
Records smell good and look neat.
It has a sense of familiarity, and it still seems new.
Guitars make the best noises on earth!
It’s great to run into another Rock Nerd, and have something to talk about. I mean, model train guys got nothin’.
You can have a cool Audio Nerd subset and talk about speakers and watts and turntables and stuff.
Concerts are still fun.
It’s funny that the snob appeal that makes a band great for one person makes them laughably bad for another.
Exile on Main St.
The Dexateens.
Record Shows.
Record Stores (especially Music Saves!)
What if you had an argument about Pink Floyd vs. Led Zeppelin and nobody came?
1. The way it’s always let me know that it was all right.
2. The backbeat, the four-on-the-floor beat, and forearm-driven rhythm guitar parts.
3. Album covers.
4. Bassists playing octave leaps.
5. Teamwork.
6. Like sports, it serves as a platform for people bonding and talking shit, like we do here.
7. Unlike sports, there are no winners in rock ‘n roll, but one can have a blast trying to beat the odds.
8. Fuzz guitar riffs, concise solos.
9. My uncle, my friends, and all others who’ve turned me onto cool sounds.
10. Getting chills from the same old songs at the same old points I always have.
11. The rare times I discover something new or, more often and sometimes more unbelievable, discover that I like something I’ve rejected for years.
12. The ability to apply my rock knowledge in analogous ways to help me understand all sorts of issues that have nothing to do with rock ‘n roll, best of all when my old friend andyr and I make cross-analogies between rock ‘n roll and baseball.
13. Laughing over some rock insight with E. Pluribus Gergely until I cough.
14. Meeting musicians who are as nice and open as I’d like to think creative people should be.
15. Repetition.
That would be Genesis.
Where I grew up — that was the argument that blew people’s minds — brother vs. brother, drunk vs. stoner.
Yeah, I meant to type something like, “That sound would be Genesis.” Floyd vs Zeppelin was a big one. Beatles vs Stones is another all-timer.
1. The Beatles. There’s magic in those recordings. It’s like God said, “If we’re to have Rock n Roll, we might as well have The Beatles.
2. Guitars make glorious noise.
3. It brings people together. I’m especially feeling the love after a recent gig/trip to Memphis in which finally visited the Rock n Soul museum. Those Stax guys didn’t know anything about color.
4. It sounds good when it’s LOUD.
5. It speaks to my inner-teen.
6. Pete Townshend. Read any interview or listen to any Who song.
7. Rock Town Hall
8. The live experience. LIke a gathering of like-minded believers.
9. It’s fun to play.
10. Discovering new music.
11. Visual. There’s nothing like a GREAT Rock photo or video.
12. The assembly/motorcycle story.
13. Collecting every note recorded by a favorite artist.
14. The prospect of live cattle sharing a stage with a beloved band.
15. LASERS!
TB
1. new, inventive rock and roll happens every day
2. rock and roll makes hot girls even hotter
3. jazz is dead
4. hip hop is dead
5. country is dead
6. old rock and roll keeps on getting better
7. there is so much rock and roll that you have never even spent time with yet
8. it’s easier than ever to make a rock and roll record
9. it’s easier than ever to get people to hear your new rock and roll record
10. Neil Young still makes a good record every few years
11. Bob Dylan still makes a good record every few years
12. Satan
13. rock criticism is on the ropes
14. the drums are awesome
15. the guitar is great
1. Because I have lots of the albums
2. Because nobody makes you dance to it.
3. Because 16 is an age I’ve been.
4. Because there’s almost always a bass player.
5. Because there’s almost always an electric guitar player.
6. Because it doesn’t have to actually be good to be able to defend it.
7. Because Opera singers are rarely involved.
8. Because of RTH.
9. Because it eludes definition as a genre and that pisses smug people off.
10. Because even when it’s bad, it’s better than listening to the feckin news on the radio.
11. Because I think can play it, I know I can’t play jazz.
12. Because sometimes you can see a band you like doing it for an affordable price.
13. Because without it, I might still be playing a clarinet. Nobody wants that.
14. Because I get to hear misfits from Lennon to Tweedy sing to me about how messed up it all is, with imperfect voices and words, and make me care about it anyway.
15. The mistakes sound good.
15. The refrain to “The Bitterest Pill” by The Jam.
14. “Animal Farm” by the Kinks.
13. This version of “Nights on Broadway,” esp. when Robin Gibb does that thing where he cups his ear on the harmonies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6glc04bG0A
12. Joe Strummer screaming “you’re my guitar hero!” on “Complete Control.”
11. “Don’t Go Back to Rockville”
10. Elvis’ recording of “My Baby Left Me.”
9. The Syndicate of Sound doing “Hey Little Girl.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA8tUUrSTIw
8. The identical openings of the Stones’ version of “Hitch Hike” and VU’s “There She Goes Again.”
7. “Idiot Wind” live on the Hard Rain lp.
6. Bowie, “Life on Mars?”
5. Savage Young Seger doing “Lucifer” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMQmSvKQpUs&feature=related
and “Oh Carol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rnqRCEl4mo&feature=related
and “East Side Story” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPxwWnJD_Uo&feature=related
4. “Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)”
3. George’s guitar and Paul’s bass on “Old Brown Shoe.”
2. “This is called ‘I Don’t Believe You.’ It used to be like that and now it goes like this.”
1. The Remains doing “Don’t Look Back.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-ne_H5HL88
How can anybody in their right mind not think the Seeg’s “Lucifer” is completely fantastic?
No time to read everybody’s responses now but I am looking forward to it later.
1. The listening pleasure it continues to give, whether it is finding something new (to me, it could be old or newly recorded), an old favorite playing in public or putting on the right tunes at the right time
2. Excellent hobby – there are a million ways to go with it and you can never reach the end
3. Music marks important events and people in my life
4. And it marks imporatnt events and milestones in recent history / culture
5. Celebrate one of the U.S. (and England’s) greatest contributions to world culture
6. It’s both active and passive – you can concentrate on the music alone or you can socialize / read / cook / have sex with music in the background
7. It’s a shared experience, nearly everyone loves some kind of rock
8. Plus, it pisses off those types of kids that think nothing good happened before Tupac
9. Anticipation of the next breakthrough, you never know who or when something big will hit
10. Express your appreciation to some greats who are still with us (Chuck Berry, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan)
11. Great artists continue to record and release music. I’ll be there for the next Dylan, Townshend, Westerberg, Radiohead, Amy Winehouse release.
12. To stick it to The Man!
13. Maybe not that last one. Looks like I’m done here and no sense in overthinking the question.
How, indeed. It’s a killer.
K says: “Excellent hobby – there are a million ways to go with it and you can never reach the end ”
This point really resonates. I find the fact that I will never master the guitar to be quite comforting. I’ve got something to keep me entertained for the rest of my life. With the ease and availability of recording technology, I can keep at it after I’m too old to play in bands. And if I need an audience, I can throw it up on youtube or whatever the next technology is.
1. I get to play rock drums 2. I get to be in a band. 3. I get to take shit from my friends. 4. I only have “friends” through rock and roll. 5. I got to be on MTV. 6. Rock music gets my blood boiling. 7. Rock music sounds better on my stereo. 8. My drums are my all time favorite things. 9. Records are my #2 all time favorite things. 10.Rock music helps young people see the country and it helps their self esteem. 11. If I meet some new suburban friend of my wife, I can see how cool they are by seeing what kind of music they liked in the 80’s. If they liked REM, Journey, Genesis or Phil Collins I just smile and nod. 12.The vast majority of rock from my youth is better than the stuff of today. 13.Laying down rythm tracks is a very exciting activity to me. 14. Mixing songs in a studio is really fun and draining yet very satisfying. 15. Satisfaction is what it’s all about!