Happy Friday, my Angel,
I found that old Ramones picture, scanned it at Kinko's, then took it to CSUN this morning to post it. Still gotta get me a scanner. That photo goes so far back that it almost feels like another life. I was sixteen, still in high school. That's my punk credibility, though, haha. Basically, my friends and I hated punk rock, lol. I guess I never thought of The Ramones as punk, cause they had long hair, and even though their songs were simple, they could really play. And, they used Marshalls. :)
I also admit to liking the Sex Pistols at the time, but really just a few songs in their case. But The Ramones were cool. Now, they're all deceased except for their ex-drummer Tommy, the guy with the shades on in my picture.
I hope you are having a great day, and enjoying the start of your weekend. I am gonna go do the afternoon part of my walk in about a half-hour, then head to Pearl's at 4:15. Tonight I am just gonna do the usual. Maybe watch a movie if there's anything at Redbox (but I don't think there is.....).
I Love My Baby! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
(back in a bit)
10:50pm : Yeah, Kurt & Nirvana. There's another example, like The Ramones, of using the simple approach. In The Ramones' case it was more of a formula - cause every song had that same tempo, more or less - and Nirvana's songs were a little more varied, but it's still the same concept of taking a very simple riff, or bassline, and writing a very simple - but hooky and effective - melody around it. Kurt Cobain had that ability. It seems like it should be easy, and perhaps it is not too difficult to come up with such riffs or basslines, but what makes it a great song is a second ability - to make it your own, to play it like you own it. Cobain was not the world's greatest guitarist or singer, but when you hear those songs, you can hear that he has put 100% of himself into them. Now, I don't just mean 100% effort. I mean 100% him. And that's where belief comes in, or maybe even more than that, a You-ness, for want of a better word.
Neither The Ramones nor Nirvana made complicated music or had great musicians, and yet their music, a lot of it at least, stood out from the crowd. It's interesting to think about why that is, although the answer lies somewhere in the way we respond to the dynamics of music.
What I loved about 90s music (and I'm glad to know you like Nirvana, and maybe other stuff from that era, too), is that there was a return to the simple song, and to bands just being themselves. There was almost a 60s vibe to a lot of it, like that song by Blind Melon, and in that way there were a lot of "one hit wonders", too, bands that had one big hit single and that's all, just like in the 1960s. There was also a return to festivals, like Lollapalooza. The ones they have now, like Coachella, don't compare because they book 248 bands to play instead of 8 good ones. Anyway.......
I can't compare the 90s to the 60s on a big scale, because the 60s were enormous, just thousands of songs of every imaginable style. But the 90s brought that humanness back to the music, while preserving the idea of the catchy song. It was the original era of Indie Music, and DIY recording, etc. You were born while it was really starting to bloom, and you were also born just a couple weeks after Bill Clinton became President.
That was really a great time in this country.
To get back to music, I admit to liking a few Green Day and Sublime songs. Pop punk. See, with me, if it's a good song, it's a good song. I have no prejudices. I don't care about genre, or if "I'm supposed" to like something or not. When I was a kid, it was all about The Single, the hit song on Top 40 radio, except back then, there were real songs, instead of Beiber...............well, I won't go off on a tirade about that.
There's nothing one can do about the state of the music scene, because what is "popular" is controlled by the Powers That Be, and since about 1997, Top 40 has been the absolute worst.
But the good news is that there has been so much great music to come before (and the great bands that we seek out and find today, despite the Industry) that we will never run out of music.
Well, my Darling, I love talking about music with you. I can't wait to go to a concert together!
I Love You So Much!, and I will see you in the morning. It will be a great day.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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