After attending community college part-time for longer than I want to admit and finally finishing my degree, I have learned a couple things about getting old:
I am now old…A.A.R.P wants me as a member! Jamie Lee Curtis wants me to eat Greek yogurt (and I am thinking about it)
So what
When you take classes with kids often half your age, you do reach a point where you just have to get over yourself and get on with it or risk not making it to the end. No one really cares about age more than yourself…As long as you focus on what you have to do and not worry about anything else, you will be O.K. That is basically it. Age only knocks you out if you let it- you can not stop it but you can stare it down until the very end.
So here is my little Rock Opera on the 5 stages of aging according to the Cave
“Look out you Rock n rollers, pretty soon you’re gonna get older”
I did not believe this wise oracle of rock the first time I heard this line. I thought I would stay young forever. David Bowie saw it coming and tried to warn us.
Act 2: Feel it slipping-try to get it back-Slight desperation-
Weezer.The Good Life
“And I don’t wanna be an old man anymore. It’s been a year or two since I was out on the floor.
Shaking booty, making sweet love all the night…It’s time I got back to the good life”
You sense it is fading but still don’t have a grasp on it
When Keith Richards does his vocal bit-it just takes this to another level- this is my favorite Rolling Stones song and it may be a straight-ahead country music tune. It’s got memories and pick-up trucks in it. This is a drinking song!
Age does build up a reservoir of hurt feelings to go immerse yourself in. It might seem like nice warm water, but you only need a few inches to drown in- and tears and beer can make this get to a level that will break those levees around your heart in no time. …But having said that…Wow!-this is a great song!
Act 4: Acceptance- Oh no- this is real! And happening to a person near me…in fact me, myself!
‘My body is a cage, it keeps me from dancing with the one I love”
When I saw Peter Gabriel perform this live in 2011, I was knocked right on my ass. The intensity he brought to this Arcade Fire song was something to watch erupt on stage. What I took away was this guy trapped in his 63 year-old body but still giving everything he had. The spirit is strong but the vehicle it operates in is getting worn. You could see it happening, and like only genius artists can do…you could feel it happening. There was this transference of emotion from the stage to the audience.
Act 5: So what- it happens to the best of us and the worst of us-I still choose to rock n roll
Little Feat.Old Folks Boogie
“You know that you’re over the hill when your mind makes a promise that your body can’t fill”
So you’re old!!—-Enjoy yourself—it will happen to the best of us in the end if we are lucky enough to make it that far.
The passage of time and the relentless scourge of gravity will hunt us down like dogs. We will be history to future generations. So let us rock while we still can!
Rock dies and comes back all the time. Each generation shocks it back to new life. It will echo their frustration and pain; it will celebrate with them.
Yeah, yeah, yeah…that’s what I’d like to think but:
Nickelback was the greatest rock band in the worst era of rock music (the dreaded 0’s). They produced hit after hit and set the standard for commercial success while the music industry got derailed by the monster of file sharing. Like a sophisticated factory fishing vessel wiping out the last of the great whales, Nickelback harpooned and sliced their way to the top with mechanical precision. They took everything and reached a saturation point that made them the pinnacle of rock music.
Is that bad?
Every form of entertainment needs a good villain.
While the general average public was busy supporting their favorite band by buying tickets and CD’s and downloads-we serious types were doing way too much of thinking what good taste we had and not supporting quality music with our hard earned dollars. We can learn a lot from Nickelback fans.
It is simple and it works.
This band was formed for the sole purpose of making hits and making money. You have to respect them for getting away with it.
“Nickelback is prefabricated emotionless garbage, I need my music to live on the edge” -O.K fine, but isn’t it good to have a band that shows young people that even with limited talent and zero originality- you can still make a good living as a RockStar?
Someone needs to set the standard in order for all the haters to respond with stuff of their own.
And are they really that bad or are we just piling on? Admit it Rock Fans- if 5FDP does a version of “Follow you Home”…all the kids would love it.
Or if M83 all of a sudden were the biggest selling group in the world-All “serious music fans” would dismiss them as just “a bunch of over-important artsy monk-chanting mixed with atmospheric disco”.
So thank you Nickelback for helping me see that music for the masses has a place in this world.
The bloggers below all approach music with a passion that makes each a good visit. So I am spreading the joy of the ABC award to all of them. The requirements are to state something about yourself with each letter of the alphabet and nominate a few other bloggers. It can be as simple as one word or as complicated as you see fit. This is my crack at it. https://caveoffame.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/abcs-of-music-challenge/
I am hoping that the response is good because I can’t wait to read what these rabid music fans will have to write. And after going through this somewhat difficult but rewarding process myself-I completely understand if some choose to pass on this one.
And I know I probably left some deserving bloggers off this list but that is the dilemma in doing these things. So fear not and keep blogging and I may get you with one if the blogging gods keep sending them my way!
ABC’ s of Music I love to know what bands people like and don’t like. It is impossible to hide your personality if you are honest about it. So for the ABC’s I will give you one of each for each letter to help fill in my musical personality. First listed is the good one, I have to clarify because I could see someone having a complete opposite view.
A. Aerosmith the rock band /Aerosmith the pop band: One day these guys were “Back in the Saddle and Toys in the Attic” and all of a sudden they were “Love in an Elevator” and “Angel”. Hey! We all got to make a living and I know drug addiction is bad but damn you guys rocked when you were wasted! (sorry kids, drugs are evil but sometimes great art comes out of conflict and it may be a just a coincidence that they cleaned up and produced crappy music-the good thing is that they remained alive so they could still rock out to the good stuff in concert!)
B. Beatles/ Beach Boys: The Beatles are true icons and even if you don’t like them-you cannot argue about the influence on every single thing that followed them. The Beach Boys and endless youth and endless summer. Youth does not last forever and summer turns to winter, we all reach a point when a good day on the beach is finding a few coins and ring with the metal detector. C. Clash/Chicago: Saturday in the park I think I don’t care what day and the righteous preaching of my favorite band.
D. Death Cab for Cutie/Dead or Alive: Death Cab for Cutie is a great band name and my favorite hipster group. D’s are tough because it’s hard to find a bad band with this letter…so I picked this one because the dudes botched plastic surgery photos have given me at least 5 nightmares.
E. Everclear/ Eddie Money: Everclear makes it just because I love “Santa Monica” so much and Eddie Money makes it just because he looks so bad in that Geico commercial.
F. Foo Fighters/Foghat: Foghat may be the worst band name ever and yeah.. Fool for the City and Slowride…got it… anything else?…no didn’t think so. Foo fighters keep the fire burning.
G. Goo Goo Dolls/Genesis: The best thing to come out of Buffalo since hot wings against an over-artsy band with Peter Gabriel or an over-cheesy band with Phil Collins.
H. Heart/Huey Lewis and the News: Ann and Nancy Wilson know how to rock and Huey does not. I know this isn’t news to anyone.
I. Iggy pop/Iron Maiden: Iggy is all substance and no hype (or shirt!) IM is a name and artwork with little substance.
J. Jam/Jefferson Starship: “Pneumatic drill and ripped-up concrete, a baby wailing, stray dog howling” That is entertainment!…”We built this City on Rock and Roll” still causes countless migraines among serious music fans and has been ruled the source of at least one minor earthquake in the North Pacific.
K. Kinks/Knack: Ray Davies is a genius and “My Sharona” is “OO my little pretty one, my pretty one.”
L. Lumineers/Lifehouse: My new favorite band in the Lumineers and a band that I really tried to like but they would not take.
M.Mumford and Sons/Marilyn Manson: Mumford and Sons grow on you and like Johnny Depp says “they are sublime”. Marilyn Manson has two M’s.
N. New Order/Nazareth: New Order always the serious commentator that was telling the truth in the confused dance crazed 80’s…Nazareth is on my bad side because “girl you’re messing with a son of a bitch” has been stuck in my head for about 30 years…I can hear it now (I guess that is the upside of being music insane instead of regular insane-songs instead of voices play in your head!) O. Oasis/One Direction: Wonderwall is reason enough for one. Boy Band is reason enough for the other.
P. Pretenders /Paul McCartney: I know that I am talking about Sir Paul and rock royalty but if you can imagine Wings and the solo stuff without all the work he did with his first band…I could see him being billed with Eddie Money and Al Stewart for a “three crooning whiners of rock tour” coming to a hockey rink near you. The Pretenders were not pretending to be friggin’ awesome with Chrissie Hynde, who deserves to be knighted as first lady of Ohio.
Q. Queen/ Quiet Riot: Queen is growing in statue ever since Freddie Mercury passed on to become a legend but even when he was around this band had the respect of all different kinds of music fans. Not easy to accomplish. Quiet Riot ripped off Slade to become a quick success. Even if Slade made some serious money off this deal, they stay on this list because there are not many “Q” bands.
T. T.rex/Triumph: Did Marc Bolan invent glam rock? I don’t know but I love this band. I am sure there is a power pop trio from this great northern land that I like but it’s not these guys and it’s not Rush.
U.U2 /Uriah Heep: U2 is classy. Great live band and stewards of peace and freedom. And it is getting tough to find new reasons why I don’t like bands with silly names.
V.Vampire Weekend/ Van Halen with Sammy Hagar: V’s are tough so I know the SH thing is a bit of a stretch but man that hurt when Dave was flung out of the band. Vampire Weekend are intelligent and quirky- two things that seem to go together.
W. Weezer /White snake: Weezer is like a joke so good that it keeps going and going and somehow transforms into true quality somewhere along the way. WhiteSnake is a chick on a car in a video and probably other stuff but I can’t even remember the song…just the chick on a car.
X. X/Xtc: O.K if you made it this far, I can admit that I like both these bands. I could not find a band starting with X that I did not like.
Y.Yaz- Yazoo/ Yes: Yaz is a guilty pleasure from the early eighties and I always think it is cool when a band has to change its name to play in a different country. Yes is no pleasure at all, just another over self- important vintage art band.
Z. Frank Zappa/ Dweezil Zappa: I love Frank and I love all those that are also fans of the comic cynic and original character. I have trouble with sons carrying on the legacy of famous parents and this is a “me” problem, not a Dweezil problem, who is by his own right a very talented and respected musician. I hit the same wall with the Bob Marley children. Both these stars were so bright and influential -it is too much for us as fans to ask the kids to carry that weight.
Listening to “Snow” on the iPod got my brain working .The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been around a long time. The catalog of albums show growth as artists and human beings. This is the exception rather than the rule.
Case in point and coming to a hockey rink or basketball arena near you is the “Midwest Rock N’ Roll Express” featuring R.E.O Speedwagon, STYX and Ted Nugent. I don’t know the exact line-up of each band, but I would guess you are going to get Kevin Cronin from R.E.O, Tommy Shaw from STYX and Terrible Ted himself at a minimum. As rock fans we sometimes don’t want the artists to mature and evolve. We want to hear Cat Scratch Fever and Come Sail Away over and over again. “Roll with the Changes” is a great song and I want to hear it in the cave but I’m not sure I want to hear it without Gary Richrath playing it. The original versions of these bands used to fill stadiums and now it takes all three of them to ¾ fill a hockey rink. This is stardom being sent down to the minors to live off the glory days. This is Spinal Tap in real life. The ugly side of nostalgia; there will not be many young people at these shows. You never want to see your heroes eating day old egg salad sandwiches at the bowling alley late at night when once they were gods. But there you go….get your tickets now or wait ‘till next year when you can catch them opening up for a puppet show at the county fair.
Disclaimer:
I am quite aware of the irony of me, a nobody, taking shots at these guys when I am not qualified to scare wildebeests out of the bush so Ted can take a shot with his machine gun and opening for a puppet show at the fair would qualify as my best day of the year!
Nostalgia’s not what it used to be (Photo credit: marc e marc)
Warning! Nostalgia is coming up from the depths to sink your little ship of happiness. Nostalgia will rob you of great new experience happening all around you. Nostalgia will stop your brain from firing and creating new pathways as you learn and evolve…nostalgia is killing you! There is only one cure- new stuff for the brain.
I know this is rich coming from a guy that runs a blog about digging up good songs from everywhere. But the key here is: we dig them up and polish them off while trying to keep them in perspective; organizing these artifacts in line with their place in music history and go rescue some more. We don’t dwell on them and live with them…there is a reason that the past is gone and if you try to live there, you will diminish yourself to the point of an unfunny joke. Yes, nostalgia is that bad.
I can’t even listen to “classic rock” radio…Could you please play “Stairway” and “Freebird” again my brain is not numb; if I hear “Come Sail Away” or in fact anything else from Styx again…I am pretty sure with a good lawyer that I cannot be held responsible for the ensuing panic attack that will hit me. Why would you choose to live with this stuff and just stay there? The brain is not stretching and creating new things…it is stuck in dangerous limbo and suffocating on stale air. Get on that bus and head to the Church basement for a bingo game…it is over…you are done! (O.K, getting on a bus and attending a rousing bingo game is an upgrade for ‘Mr Classic Rock”)
So I strongly encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and find something different to tackle; I don’t care what it is. And when I say listen; I mean really get in to the depths of what they are saying and who they are saying it to, let the sound wash over you. Fall in love with a new band or genre…really listen.
And if you do this…magic might happen. The magic of understanding and really enjoying something that was unknown before. Now you are not just sampling something for the sake of exploration. You have added something new- you have forced the brain to change and grow. This does not mean that the old favorites will be replaced; the opposite happens as there is more variety to help frame them and place them in perspective. I did this a few years ago with Hip-Hop as I listened and listened ‘till I found something that would stick and gain traction in my rock n roll conscious. I discovered GZA from Wu-Tang and was blown away by the lyrical assassin. The beat is wrapped around the words and the words are something I did not expect- they are intelligent and insightful and relevant. The music is open to interpretation and can be enjoyed by people from all walks and ages and situations.
And this goes the other way as well. The 15 year old can learn a lot from ditching Mac Miller for a day and cranking up a little Led Zeppelin.
I have been listening to rock music for so long that a lot of what I know has gone from the relevant to the relic. It requires a little digging in the caves of forgotten “cool” music to dig it up. I started way, way back with British bands like Slade and T-Rex…moved smoothly through Led Zeppelin and Lynyryd Skynyrd…got a little funky with Little Feat and The Talking Heads…found my soul band with the Clash…that lead me towards L.A with “X” and that emerging crazy bunch known as the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I fought against the “fad” of hip-hop for years and years finally breaking down recently with the Wu-Tang Clan. All these groups were relevant for the time they were in.
I have no clue what a great band is right now. It really depends on the listener themselves. If you are convinced that Molly Hatchet is the best band to ever sweat profusely under stadium lights, then to you they are. Music is a personal thing. Believe me, if that is you- I will try to help you develop a more rounded taste of music. You should enjoy other things……AND NOT OTHER THINGS JUST LIKE MOLLY HATCHET…..I mean other things that are good and relevant to your life and soul.
And maybe that is the last thing this blog wants to be about…what do you listen to when you reach the point that you don’t have an idea what is going on anymore? When none of “new” stuff makes any sense. Do you just give up and only load Nickelback and Justin Bieber on the 3 generations ago ipod that you still have trouble finding the volume button on. Or do you step out into this brave new world and find some “now” good music.
I want to go into this cave that is ancient music and drag some relics out…but I also want to find things from today that are worthy to be painted on these walls.
Cave of Fame 