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Boring songs and irrelevent nostalgia acts


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There have been multiple posts about David Gilmore and Donald Fagan, two artists that I find aurally objectionable, to put it mildly. But to each his own, I suppose. That being said, I’ve been doing a bit of reminiscing myself lately, pulling out some old vinyl classics and remembering when music still sounded fresh and exciting. In particular, the late 70s/early 80s west coast hardcore/punk scene.

 

Just to show that not everyone pushing 40 and above listens to elevator music, here are my top five (although this list changes almost as quick as the tempo of the songs, and if you were to ask me an hour from now it would definitely change, or not…get out of my damn face).

 

Circle Jerks-Group Sex

Adolescents-Adolescents

Dead Kennedys-Fresh Fruit for Rotting vegetables

Germs-GI

Flipper-the Love Canal/Ha Ha Ha 7”

 

Why isn’t Fear-The Record, Black Flag-Damaged, X-Los Angeles or the Let Them Eat Jellybeans compilation on the list? Because I could only get five on the top five, not nine. Just stick’em in there somewhere yourself and leave me the hell alone.

 

That’s my west coast list of some old vinyl I’ve recently dusted off from that time period. Anybody else hate long, boring songs and irrelevant nostalgia acts?

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There have been multiple posts about David Gilmore and Donald Fagan, two artists that I find aurally objectionable, to put it mildly.  But to each his own, I suppose.  That being said, I’ve been doing a bit of reminiscing myself lately, pulling out some old vinyl classics and remembering when music still sounded fresh and exciting.  In particular, the late 70s/early 80s west coast hardcore/punk scene.

 

Just to show that not everyone pushing 40 and above listens to elevator music, here are my top five (although this list changes almost as quick as the tempo of the songs, and if you were to ask me an hour from now it would definitely change, or not…get out of my damn face).

 

Circle Jerks-Group Sex

Adolescents-Adolescents

Dead Kennedys-Fresh Fruit for Rotting vegetables

Germs-GI

Flipper-the Love Canal/Ha Ha Ha 7”

 

Why isn’t Fear-The Record, Black Flag-Damaged, X-Los Angeles or the Let Them Eat Jellybeans compilation on the list?  Because I could only get five on the top five, not nine.  Just stick’em in there somewhere yourself and leave me the hell alone.

 

That’s my west coast list of some old vinyl I’ve recently dusted off from that time period.  Anybody else hate long, boring songs and irrelevant nostalgia acts?

622199[/snapback]

Face it, you/we like music that was destined to die, made by artists who didn't mind it. DF and DM are on the musical equivalent of life-support.

 

I don't mind long songs/pieces/works, so long as that is the point. Listening to Terry Riley or Christian Marclay or some serious drone-based artists, listening for and to subtle changes and calling attention to them is cool, if that's what I want. But there are more often moments I want to listen to something that lights up and expires like a candle. That's kind of what punk was.

 

That said, as you age, what do you do to reflect that process? As an artist, is one supposed to be resigned to fading away or burning out? Not necessarily. An artist like Tom Waits is an old guy making music who's turned less and less into a nostalgia act as he's gotten older. His early stuff is more ripe with nostalgia and pretension and his more recent material is abrasive, edgy and more punk than these guys a third his age who claim to carry the torch.

 

You're probably not much of a folk fan, either, but listening to something like the American Anthology of Folk Music for me brings an immediacy that's pretty amazing considering a lot of that music is 70+ years old. These are weird songs about murder, starvation, famine, executions, and worse. It's fantastic. It's not vapid, it's not elevator music, it's not the polished-to-a-sheen country and blues we accept as facsimile right now.

 

I'm not sure where I'm going with this. I'm just a giant music nerd, and I enjoy talking about it and where I am as a listener right now. Glad you're finding some gold in digging up those old records.

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My favorite vinyl was stolen from me back in the 80's. :rolleyes:

It came from the Stranglers fan club, "Bring On The Nubiles (Cocktail Version)"... sung like Sinatra/Tony Bennett. Luckily, it appeared many years later on a import CD.... but I never found my Gizmos "Muff Diving" EP that also got ripped. :)

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Face it, you/we like music that was destined to die, made by artists who didn't mind it.  DF and DM are on the musical equivalent of life-support.

 

I don't mind long songs/pieces/works, so long as that is the point.  Listening to Terry Riley or Christian Marclay or some serious drone-based artists, listening for and to subtle changes and calling attention to them is cool, if that's what I want.  But there are more often moments I want to listen to something that lights up and expires like a candle.  That's kind of what punk was.

 

That said, as you age, what do you do to reflect that process?  As an artist, is one supposed to be resigned to fading away or burning out?  Not necessarily.  An artist like Tom Waits is an old guy making music who's turned less and less into a nostalgia act as he's gotten older.  His early stuff is more ripe with nostalgia and pretension and his more recent material is abrasive, edgy and more punk than these guys a third his age who claim to carry the torch.

 

You're probably not much of a folk fan, either, but listening to something like the American Anthology of Folk Music for me brings an immediacy that's pretty amazing considering a lot of that music is 70+ years old.  These are weird songs about murder, starvation, famine, executions, and worse.  It's fantastic.  It's not vapid, it's not elevator music, it's not the polished-to-a-sheen country and blues we accept as facsimile right now.

 

I'm not sure where I'm going with this.  I'm just a giant music nerd, and I enjoy talking about it and where I am as a listener right now.  Glad you're finding some gold in digging up those old records.

622207[/snapback]

The internet has become a god-send for someone like me, because it's opened up the ability to scour the world for great punk rock and minor independent lables. There is so many free and legal mp3s out there, it boggles my mind that anyone would want to download some ancient classic rock relic illegally. Whether it's the european indy love-affair with Queers/Ramones/Screeching Weasle style pop-punk, the low-fi trash from Japan, or the groundbreaking stuff coming out of Norway and Scandinavia, it's pretty easy to not get complacent and dwell on the past. If anything, my need for 1-2-3-4 and a cloud of dust has grown with the digits in my age.

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RtDB

 

I believe you were the one who recommended Centro-Matic awhile back.  I have been listening to the stream of their new CD the past few days and it's really good stuff.  I'll definitely be picking this one up.

622226[/snapback]

Glad you like it!

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Recently got Sirius and have been moving between the NFL station (obvious choice given by devotion to the Bills) and Standards.  Tony Bennet, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald were before my time...but certainly timeless.

622224[/snapback]

Sarah is Mo's mother, right?

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Circle Jerks-Group Sex

Adolescents-Adolescents

Dead Kennedys-Fresh Fruit for Rotting vegetables

Germs-GI

Flipper-the Love Canal/Ha Ha Ha 7”

Why isn’t Fear-The Record, Black Flag-Damaged, X-Los Angeles or the Let Them Eat Jellybeans compilation on the list?  Because I could only get five on the top five, not nine.  Just stick’em in there somewhere yourself and leave me the hell alone.

622199[/snapback]

 

The Minutemen- Double Nickels on the Dime couldn't even get an honorable mention.

 

I liked the Ads back in the day. Agnew was a bad ass.

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You probably parked your monkey sh-- brown Subaru on the corner of 5th and Vermouth, while drinking coffee that was too weak to defend itself, so you could deliver your emotional weather report at the diner! :rolleyes:

 

Waits was great in the 70's and has improved with age.

 

Try WFUV streaming radio.

 

Face it, you/we like music that was destined to die, made by artists who didn't mind it.  DF and DM are on the musical equivalent of life-support.

 

I don't mind long songs/pieces/works, so long as that is the point.  Listening to Terry Riley or Christian Marclay or some serious drone-based artists, listening for and to subtle changes and calling attention to them is cool, if that's what I want.  But there are more often moments I want to listen to something that lights up and expires like a candle.  That's kind of what punk was.

 

That said, as you age, what do you do to reflect that process?  As an artist, is one supposed to be resigned to fading away or burning out?  Not necessarily.  An artist like Tom Waits is an old guy making music who's turned less and less into a nostalgia act as he's gotten older.  His early stuff is more ripe with nostalgia and pretension and his more recent material is abrasive, edgy and more punk than these guys a third his age who claim to carry the torch.

 

You're probably not much of a folk fan, either, but listening to something like the American Anthology of Folk Music for me brings an immediacy that's pretty amazing considering a lot of that music is 70+ years old.  These are weird songs about murder, starvation, famine, executions, and worse.  It's fantastic.  It's not vapid, it's not elevator music, it's not the polished-to-a-sheen country and blues we accept as facsimile right now.

 

I'm not sure where I'm going with this.  I'm just a giant music nerd, and I enjoy talking about it and where I am as a listener right now.  Glad you're finding some gold in digging up those old records.

622207[/snapback]

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You probably parked your monkey sh-- brown Subaru on the corner of 5th and Vermouth, while drinking coffee that was too weak to defend itself, so you could deliver your emotional weather report at the diner!  :rolleyes:

 

Waits was great in the 70's and has improved with age.

 

Try WFUV streaming radio.

622369[/snapback]

FUV's pretty good. FMU is wilder; I prefer it, but I enjoy FUV.

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There have been multiple posts about David Gilmore and Donald Fagan, two artists that I find aurally objectionable, to put it mildly.  But to each his own, I suppose.  That being said, I’ve been doing a bit of reminiscing myself lately, pulling out some old vinyl classics and remembering when music still sounded fresh and exciting.  In particular, the late 70s/early 80s west coast hardcore/punk scene.

 

Just to show that not everyone pushing 40 and above listens to elevator music, here are my top five (although this list changes almost as quick as the tempo of the songs, and if you were to ask me an hour from now it would definitely change, or not…get out of my damn face).

 

Circle Jerks-Group Sex

Adolescents-Adolescents

Dead Kennedys-Fresh Fruit for Rotting vegetables

Germs-GI

Flipper-the Love Canal/Ha Ha Ha 7”

 

Why isn’t Fear-The Record, Black Flag-Damaged, X-Los Angeles or the Let Them Eat Jellybeans compilation on the list?  Because I could only get five on the top five, not nine.  Just stick’em in there somewhere yourself and leave me the hell alone.

 

That’s my west coast list of some old vinyl I’ve recently dusted off from that time period.  Anybody else hate long, boring songs and irrelevant nostalgia acts?

622199[/snapback]

I'd bump the Adolescents off the list and replace it with the Avengers album - an amazing album of early singles and other stuff. The Germs would get the shove too - influential but Darby was a wanker. give me X's Under The Big Black Sun instead (the first 2 lps were good but they really hit their stride on the third lp) - just my 2 cents.

 

btw, Fear's album still cracks me up...

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