I am almost ready to do a Top 5 of Gender Blender Rock songs -but letting the years of music run through my brain, I hit a little stumble block.
As a fan, it is easy for me to go back to David Bowie and Spiders from Mars as the start of the androgyny soul train. I consider that record the first popular push for the male/female alter ego.
Immediately- I hear that voice in my head going… “All the music critics will say The New York Dolls were the first androgynous rock band“. In fact the critics will say that the New York Dolls were the first… (Hang on to your seats, here we go!), the first glam band, the first glitter band, the first metal band and even the first proto-punk band. Proto-punk?? They also invented stage diving when David Johansen (NY Dolls lead singer- I have heard some of his stuff) lost his wig and jumped in the crowd to retrieve it….and …and a guy who played triangle on their second record invented the Wham-O Frisbee!!
Music I never heard is supposed to be so influential? I have nothing against these guys but you would think that something of them would be played somewhere I listened at some time if they did in fact, start everything. I am going to admit that I have never knowingly heard a song from this infamous N.Y.C band. I was not hip enough to be in to them at anytime and I am not going to Google my way around them now and take a crash course. I am not a music critic; I am just a fan of Rock music. That is not an excuse, it is just a fact- So get ready for the Androgyny Top 5 coming to the Cave soon…and No New York Dolls will be harmed (or referenced in any other way) in the making of this list.
Time for a Monday classic from the cave. This is like a Punk/Country/Pop song from the great L.A. band “X” . Hardcore fans might say they sold out to get on the charts. I don’t know or care what the thinking was on this because it is well crafted and quality music that lasts a lifetime, it has that feel of all the X songs…you know…”We’re desperate, get used to it” … Happy Monday everyone!
It is cold here at the Cave….brrrrrrrrrrr….even the archives room which is supposed to be kept at 58 degrees year round has dropped to minus 18 Fahrenheit. So cold that Iggy Pop stopped by yesterday and he was wearing a shirt!
Anyway – something to warm everyone up…can’t believe I did a list of 5 perfect Rock songs and overlooked this gem. Someday we will live in a world that will make this sound a little pretentious….that day is not today. This song still rings and reverberates over the entire planet. Thank-you Elvis and Nick Lowe
I thought about this and I asked about this before writing. River songs are more personal than most; opinions are all over the place. The original idea was to write the 5 best and 5 worst but I am tossing that “worst” idea off the bridge. People were so heartfelt and responsive that I can’t risk putting one of their songs on a bad list and crushing it. River songs are often deep and intense and I have too much respect for all involved in this process.
Almost made the cut:
Blackwater- The Doobie Brothers… The River- Bruce Springsteen… …Burn On, Big River-Randy Newman
“The sea refuses no river and the river is where I am” -I have been critical of all the old rockers shaking it around for these geriatric tours – I feel like if you missed them in their prime , then you missed them, because wheeling them out now for a “re-heat” show is something else. The Who have fallen into this trap and I was never a big Pete Townshend fan to begin with….but….but …this is a great song. It speaks to the equality and inevitability of all of us in a stark and poetic way.
Pete Townshend at Beaulieu standing in front of his amps (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
4. Eminem- Stan (with Elton John)
For this list I am utilizing the services of Sir Elton John as a knighted Rock Star to justify bringing a hip-hop artist to the cave. Dido also heavily involved as her song and vocals were used in the studio version. A difficult song that deals with a difficult subject. It is edgy, powerful and surprising (remember when rock music used to be that?)
This song kills me every time I have seen Peter Gabriel. The intensity that emanates from this simple tune is profound and at another level. It may not be manly to admit that a piece of music can completely overwhelm and turn a not tough dude into complete mush, so I won’t.
Oh, the joy and celebration of being artsy was never as much fun as with this hypnotic and cool bunch. If you never saw David Byrne dancing around in his big suit followed by a stint of running around and around the whole stage like a raving lunatic-then you missed some of the best that the 80’s had to offer. What a trip these guys and girls brought you on.
1.When the Levee Breaks- Led Zeppelin
A song from Zeppelin 4 that is a remake of a 1927 blues song about a flood can almost make this list before I even hear it. But I have to hear it again and again and it still sounds great. The Drum track may be the best to ever grace any rock song…and unlike other tunes from this seminal chunk of vinyl -it has not been overplayed and otherwise abused.
And a big thank-you to Blackjayne for asking this question and making me generate this post! We are all connected in the blogosphere.
This is a great excuse to play this New Order classic.
Today is Blue Monday-the most depressing day of the year-this is a new holiday invented to get people to travel. (I think?) It’s supposed to be that day in the middle of winter when all the Christmas booze is gone and only the Christmas bills remain, that day when the New Year’s resolutions are all broken and all hope is gone …or something like that…anyway..enjoy!
Peart (right) performing with Rush. Français : Rush en concert à Milan (Italie), le 21 septembre 2004 Italiano: I Rush in concerto a Milano (21 settebre 2004) da sinistra:Lifeson, Lee e Peart. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Why do so many hold up these guys as the pinnacle of an art form?
Almost like Guinness if they were beer; or Lance Armstrong winning those Tour De France‘s on his awesomeness alone instead of using weird blood dope.
Everyone just assumes they are extreme quality and there is no need to question that fact.
A dude who walks around in his 2004 tour shirt can expect other rock fans to high-five him and agree that he has exceptional good taste in music. If Rush was the only band you liked…that would be good enough for most. How did this happen?… And more importantly -why do those of us not going into an orgasmic frenzy during a Neil Peart drum solo have our love of good music questioned? If you claim to dislike any other band- like say The Rolling Stones-other music fans will not question taste, they will understand that not everyone likes everything.
Not so with Rush
There must be something wrong with you if can’t grasp on to the exotic fluctuations of rhythm, the complex philosophical undertow in the sci- fi/fantasy/nerdness of the lyrics. “Today’s Tom Sawyer, he gets high on you and the space he invades he gets by on you” – Wow, man…that is some deep stuff.
I will put it down to the over intelligence of the average Rush fan…they want to make it an intellectual argument. This is not Rocket science-this is Rock n Roll – give me something with a little more emotion and grit.
Oh..and by the way…Congratulations on going in the Hall of Fame and as any other intelligent music fan in the universe will say-you deserve it!
English: (We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and his Comets, Decca 1954. Deutsch: (We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock von Bill Haley and his Comets, Decca 1954. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Even though I hate to give any award on the Cave to Bill Haley and his Comets– The Cave has gone through the history -before Rock around the Clock there were a few rock songs out there but you would have to call them regional, novelty or maybe even underground.
After Bill Haley and his Comets smashed the surface of Pop music with this Number 1…the resulting explosion opened up the flood gates and all types of craft could roll on down this river. With my love of Blues music and the Sun record sound I wanted to give the award somewhere else but Bill Haley changed the culture and I can’t take that away from him. This hurts me and reminds me that Cave awards have to go by merit not just talent, originality and execution.
This brings me to what I consider the first refined vintage of a rock song – This song is what the kids today would call “Legit”-something that is an actual real version of itself, not faked at all. In other words=true, unmistakable quality.
“That’ll be the Day” by the Crickets – They dropped Buddy Holly from the title because of his record contract somewhere else-which made this technically a band release instead of a front man and band format which was standard for the time. It was also the song that The Quarrymen would pick to cover for their first demo –and we know what influence these guys would have on music as they evolved into The Beatles. And more importantly for this blog…I can feature a quality song in this post and add a true relic to the Cave.
Don’t Look Back (John Lee Hooker album) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I have started working on a timeline of Rock music and I am being careful; something I post on WordPress might not get corrected immediately. It could stand there for a long time as a monument to my ineptitude-so we go one step at a time.
There is an argument about the first rock song ever created-Is it “Rock around the Clock” by Bill Haley or one of the many other better sounding songs around that era? John Lee Hooker gets thrown in this mix with his 1948 “Boogie Chillun”.
While my brain is churning these things- I hear “Cheap Sunglasses” on the radio and all I can think is “Damn- that is John Lee Hooker- from the growling “tiger in a cage” vocal to the surly guitar riff.” But then -that is not John Lee Hooker-that is three guys from Texas putting a strong amount of boogie flavor into a song about wearing plastic sunglasses while stalking cute chicks and trying to look cool with epic beards.
They take a musical style and bend it to their own view point- adding in the tight sweaters and cheap sunglasses while removing years and years of the frustration that created the riff to begin with.
I don’t want to start another lawsuit but this goes right to the roots of rock. That difference between inspiration and downright theft. When white musicians started borrowing blues and gospel for the first time -Rock started to gain form. Almost nobody disputes that.
John Lee Hooker playing John Lee Hooker is pure blues. ZZ Top playing John Lee Hooker is Rock Music. Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup doing “That’s alright Mama” is delta R&B while Elvis Presley covering the same song is Rock n Roll. It’s like the same river flowing through a different landscape. I am not saying that the originals are bad…I love all of it!!!…Even those famed Robert Johnson records from the 1930’s, but when Eric Clapton takes those records and channels them through his own experience and talent-they become something else…they have to …different time-different culture-different world.
If you lived in some alien universe and happen to crash land your U.F.O in my back yard. I would make you a good cup of tea and play these 5 for you as prime examples of this thing called rock.
Coldplay is like a quality lager….bright and satisfying. I don’t care if they have taken over the world; they are still producing a quality product that is very drinkable. This is a great song that music fans all over the world will crank up loud when it hits the radio or Pandora or iPod (whether they admit to it or not)
My personal favorite is from “Live Rust” and this is a masterpiece. We know the story of Cortez and Montezuma. We know it as history but this track converts that historical angst to emotion. So many rock songs are about “women does man wrong” or “man does women wrong” – but this- Conquistador does a civilization wrong by removing it from the face of the earth is an elegant twist.
Lindsey Buckingham is kind of underrated as a song writer and guitar player. Most songs about unrequited love are kind of depressing and bring you down. This one has a kick to it. Like soaking those cooked chicken wings of despair in a hot tangy buffalo sauce and taking a big bite.
The timing on this makes it perfect. In 1991 hip hop was taking over in a big way…Rock was stale- the charts were full of reheated leftovers and half-hearted efforts by big stars. Rock had lost its edge. This song was a kick to the balls that Rock Music needed in a big way. When you heard it…it knocked you over.
Just for fun kids-Let’s look at a couple reheats and stale artists from 1991 –
“Live and Let Die” Guns and Roses- really Axel and Slash? You had to cover this? You guys couldn’t find other ways to pay for all the hotel rooms you trashed…how about working at the hotel instead of this reheat?
Kiss- God gave Rock and Roll to you– Yes, he gave it to us to help us make sense of this world…he did not mean for us to add water and boil a novelty song by Argent for a movie soundtrack so Gene Simmons could buy more jewelry for his girlfriends.
As far as the half hearted attempts go…Bryan Adams and Genesis (The “hey, let’s try to sound like Motown, only with weaker songs- Phil Collins version of Genesis…instead of the “hey, let’s be like Pink Floyd, only more theatrical and pretentious- Genesis with Peter Gabriel*”) both had multiple hits that year.
My apologies to Metallica as Enter Sandman was released this same year…I won’t call it perfect but I would not argue against it.
Is this about heaven or hell or drugs or being seduced by desert women? I don’t know- but book me a room here. It’s full of references to some kind of unavoidable trap that we all fall for even though we should know better. This took the Eagles from country rock to cool as a fresh breaker from the Pacific Ocean. Joe Walsh added just enough to put this over the top. This is what a title track and an album cover should be. Rock songs should take you somewhere- give your brain a bit of a work over and let you find your own way back. Perfect.
*Disclaimer- I love Peter Gabriel…The New Blood show of 2011 is the single best concert I ever attended!
This song has been played and played and played by every rock radio station and every beginning guitar player in the universe. The abuse that has poured on this classic should have done it in years ago…and it did. But…Wait…In the best example of digging a relic up and proving it can take it-Heart had the sheer beautiful audacity to get out there with Jason Bonham and play this in front of not just the President but also Led Zeppelin themselves… Rock n Roll audacity.
Cave of Fame 