What Is Hip
Ok, so I’m old, I’m gonna embrace it. Like a fine wine, I improve with age.
The Doobie Brothers back in the day, they rocked, and we just took it in stride. They were a good band, but they didn’t break new ground. They weren’t innovative. There were lots of bands like them in the 70’s. Good bands that rocked, but were just part of the musical landscape. Took ‘em for granted then, didn’t we? Good music was all around and it was never going to go away.
We thought.
If I had to venture a guess, I think this is what they would sound like if they showed up today. “Listen to the Music" remixed. [Listen here. ] What a killer track. Guitars. Harmonies. Tight band. Lyrics that celebrate music.
That was from “What is Hip Volume I.” Gonna even include this unfavorable review, because it isn’t the point. Of course it is superfluous. I would rather hear the original, but it shows me how my music holds up. My over-fed, lazy assed pot-smoking bogus generation had one good thing. MUSIC. People can say what they want, but from the day that The Beatles set foot on American soil ‘til about 1975 the boomers made some MY-T-Fine noise. That’s what we got.
What do you got?
The Doobie Brothers back in the day, they rocked, and we just took it in stride. They were a good band, but they didn’t break new ground. They weren’t innovative. There were lots of bands like them in the 70’s. Good bands that rocked, but were just part of the musical landscape. Took ‘em for granted then, didn’t we? Good music was all around and it was never going to go away.
We thought.
If I had to venture a guess, I think this is what they would sound like if they showed up today. “Listen to the Music" remixed. [Listen here. ] What a killer track. Guitars. Harmonies. Tight band. Lyrics that celebrate music.
That was from “What is Hip Volume I.” Gonna even include this unfavorable review, because it isn’t the point. Of course it is superfluous. I would rather hear the original, but it shows me how my music holds up. My over-fed, lazy assed pot-smoking bogus generation had one good thing. MUSIC. People can say what they want, but from the day that The Beatles set foot on American soil ‘til about 1975 the boomers made some MY-T-Fine noise. That’s what we got.
What do you got?
posted by The Viscount LaCarte at 10:23 AM
7 Comments:
Well, Simon, you don't need to have been born earlier, because all that music from my generation will never stop replaying, on oldies stations, elevators, and TV ads!!! You can hear it anywhere, 24/7!!!
I do think we had great music back then, but good grief, it needs to rest occasionally.
Oh, except for that Cream reunion show... ;0)
Toulouse Street _killed_ me when I was little. Utterly mysterious. Draped in kudzu. The Doobie Brothers with The Cars opening was my first concert when I was twelve. Hated it. It was so utterly flaccid to me. I did get a bitchin' t-shirt with weed on it (a picture of it; not actual weed- that was three years off when reggae gave me permission).
I had to come through punk rock to get revved about music and then go back to what it was all stolen from. And it was, it was. "Long Train Running" is one of the funnest songs to play that there is.
Aw Simon, I didn't mean you.
I hereby make you an honorary baby-boomer.
Feel better?
Though I agree that a lot of this stuff should be given a rest now and then, I grew up with and enjoy a lot of it. For the Doobs it's The Captain & Me.
Who you got?
Death Cab for Cutie. Coldplay. Linkin Park. John Legend. Green Day. The White Stripes. Foo Fighthers. Franz Ferdinand. Bright Eyes. Ryan Adams. The Mars Volta. My Chemical Romance. Evanescence. Gorillaz.
And I'm just gettin' started. There's a ton of great stuff out there, and there's more access to it than ever before. Go on the internet and type in any genre of music you want including:
Dance, metal, punk, proto-punk, psychobilly, New wave, No wave, grunge, industrial, lo-fi, goth rock, death metal, rap, rap metal, electronica, garage rock, progressive, alternative, alternative dance, etc., etc. and you will instantaneously bring up more music than you could download in a month.
Maybe MTV and Clearchannel have pared themselves down to a low common denominator, but so what? The indie and alternative industries are booming and brimming with great artists.
I think we doth protest too much.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Sound,
My point is what is served to us as the pop culture landscape sucks, not that there is no good music out there. Lots of the bands you've mentioned, and some others as well are doing great stuff.
By the way, the question was "what" do you got, not "who." Our generation clearly had a time where the music of the pop culture was often the best music available, like The Beatles.
Al
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