Delete This Account Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 (edited) ¶ rock isn't dead, never was, and for those searching for it can find it right back where it began in the deep south, in alabama and in memphis to be specific. ¶ you can have your tools and coldplays and arcane fires, pretentious posers and tepid troubadors, tin-eared frauds with bad haircuts, mullet melodies and feathered lyrics. i'll take my music dirty-pickin and southern fried the way it used to be because evidently the garage bands still live and they can be found cranking out jams in greasy guitar fashion if you listen hard enough for a well-placed backbeat. ¶ i'm talking about the Dexateens, a five-member outfit from muscle shoals, with curious crooked licks that pack an understated yet powerful punch. they're carrying the Drive-By Truckers torch, and may be the anti-thesis to the seattle sound, or anything else from the granola-eating northwest, the neo-hippy-filled decemberists be damned. ¶ and they ain't minneapolis, either, though i'm sure Westerberg's left impressed someplace in his cold resonating basement studio, because he's all too familiar with the Big Star memphis sound. and if you don't understand the meaning of that last sentence, then perhaps it's time you looked it up. ¶ because in the name of W.C. Handy, we're going back to the roots. and it makes no difference that big Stevie Earle's now living in new york city, because he's never forgotten where he's come from, and that's really all that counts. ¶ and Jim Jarmusch was well ahead of his time when he made "mystery train," or "down by law" and had the inspiration to throw Mr. Tom Waits on the black and white screen. ¶ ¶ you can have your yes's and nirvana's. and i'll stick with Johnny Cash and Joe Strummer and the fall-down-drunk 'Mats and their one-fingered salutes to an ever entrenched cul-de-sac safe society cozied up to its j-lo's and carrie underwoods. ¶ ¶ it was a few weeks ago when i got into a discussion in the bills locker room with some young kid, who works for the city's "rock" station. he brought up nirvana and i responded by saying, "i'm tired of hearing about the legend of kurt cobain." ¶ sacreligous as that might be, i really meant it. so he asked me what he should be listening to. ¶ and i said, "start with `Exile on Main Street' and you'll get an idea of an album that has influenced just about everything good that's succeeded it right up to this day." ¶ "well," he said with great indignation. "`Some Girls' is a better album." ¶ ¶ after throwing up in my mouth, i turned and told the kid that i was going to stand at the opposite end of the room because there really was no need to continue this discussion. ¶ to which he brought up radiohead. ¶ ugh. ¶ i'm tired of this fascination with cult bands whose navel-gazing distinction has far outsold its "genius" talent. they might as well be yesterday's "Smiths." and i know i'm stepping on a lotta sensitive toes, but Let It Be. ¶ ¶ some might say the same thing about me and the 'Mats. and yet the mighty Replacements stayed true to form right to the bitter drunken end. they never made it, and they didn't make it on their own terms. they didn't sell out by instead putting out songs true to their spirit still resonate today, even though they've been ripped off by everyone from here to tom petty. lord knows, one day rod stewart may apply strings and sugar to "Bastards of Young," and do to that song as to what he did to Waits' "Downtown Train." ¶ ¶ and that was the point i made in my discussion with this kid. ¶ he said, "if i had the privelege to play in front of 15,000 fans, i'd play to my technical best because the audience deserves it." ¶ that might be music, but it ain't rock and roll, because spilling guts is a sloppy business by nature, and none of us can claim to be perfect. i ain't, that's for sure. ¶ so i told him to grow up, and we'll have this discussion in 10 years when his balls grow under him, and he maybe takes a trip to memphis to appreciate how Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee and Alex Chilton unraveled in such sweaty insober wonder to create an illicit sound that still rocks the foundation of instability. ¶ as much as we like to believe that music is subjective, it's really not. ¶ no matter what anyone thinks, "Tumbling Dice" and "Turd on The Run" and "Can't Hardly Wait" still stand today, where others have whithered. ¶ paul simon's best stuff was still with garfunkel, and the doors are dated. and the foo fighters of today are putting out such crap that it's reminiscent of the baloney of what rush was releasing 30 so-called spirit of radio years ago. ¶ ¶ so take a listen to the bone-dry Dexateens' "The Ballad of Souls Departed," and you'll get the dirty grief-stricken idea of how music today can still stir souls. ¶ ¶ long live rock, its Cheap Tricks and Johnny Thunders and "Let the Bad Times Roll." ¶ ¶ jw Edited January 7, 2012 by john wawrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 (edited) just d/l lost and found, gonna listen to it as i take a late morning walk...you better not ruin my walk! it was good...i think i was expecting more gritty Roadhouse sound(...Roadhouse...) like DBT...they have a very nice sound, funny you brought up Simon & Garfunkel in your diatribe as I heard a lot of their influence in one of their songs... Edited January 7, 2012 by The Poojer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philly McButterpants Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Wow, and I thought the "I'm cooler than you because of the music i listen to" attitude ended when you graduate from high school . . . Apparently not. Music, as with all art is inherently subjective. I like what I like and vice-versa, despite what YOU think I should feel is great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrojanitor Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Wow, and I thought the "I'm cooler than you because of the music i listen to" attitude ended when you graduate from high school . . . Apparently not. Music, as with all art is inherently subjective. I like what I like and vice-versa, despite what YOU think I should feel is great. I don't think that's true at all. Art is good or bad, the only thing subjective is someone's relationship to it. Rolling Stones are better than Black Eyed Peas...Citizen Kane is better than Bio-Dome. No subjective relationship to either of those examples changes the absolute truth of one thing being better than another. Quality, by its very nature, cannot be subjective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 I love Radiohead and Tool. And also the Replacements and some others you think are hip you elitist. To each their own Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Jim Jarmusch mention! Mystery Train and Down by Law are two of the greatest films that hardly anyone has ever heard of, not to mention two of my favorites ever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Wow, and I thought the "I'm cooler than you because of the music i listen to" attitude ended when you graduate from high school . . . Apparently not. Music, as with all art is inherently subjective. I like what I like and vice-versa, despite what YOU think I should feel is great. Just a typical jw 2:30 AM post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Hahaha...my thoughts exactly! Just a typical jw 2:30 AM post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Great stuff, JW. I'll look 'em up and look forward to the listen. I don't think that's true at all. Art is good or bad, the only thing subjective is someone's relationship to it. Rolling Stones are better than Black Eyed Peas...Citizen Kane is better than Bio-Dome. No subjective relationship to either of those examples changes the absolute truth of one thing being better than another. Quality, by its very nature, cannot be subjective. I agree but that said, there are grey areas and rough equivalents. It's certainly not possible to make any sort of absolute hierarchy based upon "quality." Jim Jarmusch mention! Mystery Train and Down by Law are two of the greatest films that hardly anyone has ever heard of, not to mention two of my favorites ever I love all of his stuff but of the early stuff, Stranger than Paradise is a fave. I loved Coffee and Cigarettes too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Had never heard of jim jarmusch until a couple weeks ago when he was in an episode of hbo's bored to death. Maybe i'll check out one of these movies Jim Jarmusch mention! Mystery Train and Down by Law are two of the greatest films that hardly anyone has ever heard of, not to mention two of my favorites ever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Had never heard of jim jarmusch until a couple weeks ago when he was in an episode of hbo's bored to death. Maybe i'll check out one of these movies Personally I really like Jarmusch but he's not for everyone. He also did Broken Flowers, Ghost Dog… some other stuff. His style is often dry, understated, deadpan… I know a lot of people who don't like his style. The early stuff is very primitive, almost film-schooly. If you saw Sling Blade, Jarmusch did a cameo as the guy selling fries to Billy Bob Thornton at the drive-in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Citizen Kane is better than Bio-Dome. Somewhere out there, someone disagrees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JinVA Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Wow, and I thought the "I'm cooler than you because of the music i listen to" attitude ended when you graduate from high school . . . I listen to bands that don't exist yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Please....I've been listening to them for years....poseur..... I listen to bands that don't exist yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Had never heard of jim jarmusch until a couple weeks ago when he was in an episode of hbo's bored to death. Maybe i'll check out one of these movies Like SJBF said, he's definitely not for everyone. I'd check out either Coffee and Cigarettes or Down by Law to start (Down by Law was my first Jarmusch film, and there was no looking back after that)...if you are a Johnny Depp fan, he was in a Jarmusch film called "Dead Man", which was good. Of course, given your passion for music, you might enjoy some of the elements of Mystery Train. Just don't be surprised if you see a scene where someone is literally sitting there doing nothing for like ten minutes. That's part of this guy's style, and I find it brilliant. Broken Flowers was pretty good and was his most commercial film. If you do check out his stuff, definitely let me know what you thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Please....I've been listening to them for years....poseur..... Those aren't bands, those are the voices in your head. (oops, sorry, wrong thread) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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