rpk@mit-eddie.UUCP (Robert Krajewski) (07/08/85)
Before I start flaming away, sometimes there does seems to be a difference between ``rock and roll'' and ``rock.'' Chuck Berry, Little Richard, early Beatles, Stones, Los Lobos, and the Velvets would seem to be exponents of the former, while groups like Yes, Pink Floyd, the Eagles, ELP, the Who (post '69), Journey, the Police , etc. are Rock. Of course, this is a very fuzzy distinction -- vaguely, the criteria are pretensions to art, ambition, ``whiteness,'' and rootsiness (or lack thereof). I think that the punk movement made a small corner of the world safe for r&r again, though not all ``rock'' is bad either. (On the other hand, I think the single most boring kind of music, given its pretentions, is white mainstream rock in the 70's, if you haven't guessed by now.) And people have used both terms in vain. From: nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (Doug Alan) > From: reeg@hamstr.DEC (Jay Reeg, BCG Advertising, Merrimack, NH) > 1. The Velvet Underground is, was, and always will be the greatest > rock and roll band ever. No, "rock and roll" is this boring and cliched form of music that was big in the fifties and early sixties where everyone used the same stupid chord progressions. It eventually developed (thank goodness!) into "rock" (with the help of The Beatles and a few others), which has produced lots of great stuff and lots of drivel for many years. I used to be a pretentious white boy, too, Doug. I like weird, textural, aggressive, progressive stuff, too, but simplicity has its own pleasures. An old Drifters song has far more emotional resonances for me than the entire output of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, a ``progressive'' ``rock'' band. (BTW, these two groups share the same label, Atlantic. Just like Aretha Franklin and King Crimson, or Sam and Dave and Yes.) And pre-Beatles rock DOESN'T all sound the same. There's soul, doo-wop, girl groups, early Motown, Buddy Holly, Sun/Rockabilly (Mr. Presley and all that), James Brown (in a class by himself), and surf music. And a lot more. > 2. The Rolling STones were always second to the Beatles Try more like a thousand and fifty-second! The Rolling Stones have never made an >>album<< that convinced they were great. I liked the hits, but I guess it's just my taste... > 3. Nico cannot be compared to anyone (but Kate Bush comes close...) I think that your statement would be more acurate if you exchange the two names, but why don't you tell more about what Nico did other than with the Velvet Underground.... Nico did several solo albums (if you want to get real depressed, listen to ``The Marble Index''). I suppose she is somewhat like Kate Bush in that both do ``art songs.'' Where is Nico anyway, these days ? > 4. The 13th Floor Elevators discovered psychedelic music (Plato invented > it... I dunno. The Beatles and Pink Floyd come pretty close. Besides, Pink Floyd perfected it! But why don't you try to describe their music to us. Is it "real" psychedelia or more of this paisly "psychedelic" pop? The Pink Floyd probably learned at least some of their moves (but Syd Barrett was ultimately original) from American psychedelic records, as the Thirteen Floor Elevators forged their sound from listening to, among other things, the Stones and the Yardbirds (well, maybe back then, Beck WAS God.) The 13thFEs had their own original in Roky Erikson, who's still going strong. They were from Texas, and started getting noticed in early '67. There seems to be this myth that psychedelia and weirdness materialised instantly just before the Summer of Love. Well, tell that to Frank Zappa, who was making twisted music in 1965 (and earlier). > 5. The world ended in 1968... Bullshit! The world began in 1966 (?) when the Beatles released "Rubber Soul" and it's been going strong ever since! You just have to wade through lots of swill to see that it's still there! Nope, it either began when the blues were born (and who can say when that was ?) or people started to bang rocks (aha !) together for fun instead of survival. -- ``Bob'' (Robert P. Krajewski) ARPA: RpK@MC MIT Local: RpK@OZ UUCP: genradbo!miteddie!rpk
allynh@ucbvax.ARPA (Allyn Hardyck) (07/08/85)
>The 13thFEs had their own original in Roky Erikson, who's still going >strong. In a listing a while back in Melody Maker of "Top 10 Pop Basket Cases," Roky "Creature with the Atom Brain" Erickson came 2nd only to (of course) Brian Wilson.