Actually It's All Fiction
Music Was Better When
I often hear the lament that "music was better when I was..." "in high school", "in college", "younger" or some other reference to the past. As someone who has for many years been actively involved in music, whether as a fan, musician, songwriter, or producer I find those statements generally without base.
"It’s digital recording." Music sounds different now than it did, and that is often one of the main complaints. Some people seem to dislike the quantizing (lining up of beats) and the often almost sterile feel they get from many modern recordings. But does that mean all digitally recorded music sounds that way? No. Pop music production techniques have leaked into mainstream recording (with varying results) simply because anyone with a computer can download Audacity, buy a cheap interface, and start recording, but not everyone should. Still, at what point was recording stagnant; when were the processes and techniques not changing? From the time of the first cylinder recordings to today’s hard drives the recording world has been in almost constant flux. Many people were appalled and called it ‘cheating’ when Les Paul began releasing multi-track recordings; are today’s complaints about digital any more (or less) valid? It’s a completely arbitrary line; "this is traditional and good, this isn’t"?
"MP3s are ruining music." It is a more compressed sound but at what point in history did everyone use high end hi-fi audio systems? The all bass car stereos of the 90s, the cheap ‘ghetto blasters’ of the 80s, hand held transistor radios in the 60s and 70s, tiny 45 record players of the 50s... most people want their audio portable, and nothing is more portable than the MP3.
"Musicians were better then." No they weren’t. Sure they broke new ground but the over-all level of professional musicianship is higher now than it has probably been since the height of the swing-era. Let’s face it; there are players out there who could play circles around the best ‘rock’ guitarists of 40 or 50 years ago. They may have built their styles on the backs’ of those earlier players, but facts are still facts and from a purely ‘chops’ perspective many of today’s cats can PLAY!
"Record companies release junk to make money." They are corporations in it for their bottom line. They don’t make decisions based on what they feel is ‘good’ but on what they feel will sell. If anyone is truly objective about music it is (most) record companies since they only have one goal in mind, sales. Looking to a record company for what you should listen to is like asking a car dealer which car you like. Besides, it was that way before the recording industry even existed as publishing companies were tripping over one another to release the most popular ‘rags’.
"There aren’t any classic albums being released." An argument made by jazz fans in the late 50s, blues fans in the late 60s, hippies in the late 70s, punks in the late 80s... you get the point. Because The Beatles, Pink Floyd etc. put out great albums in the 60s and 70s then all music was great then? Of course not; it is not a sound argument to say "The Beatles were awesome and Lady Gaga isn’t so music was better then"; at least take the time to find apples to compare with apples.
Bottom line, yes, there is a lot of hastily written and recorded material out there; it is the downside to the democratization of music. But there is also some great music available by artists that in another time may not have even gotten a chance to be heard, regardless of whether they’re making millions with Billboard chart topping tunes. It is a great time to be a musician, songwriter, producer, and more importantly a fan. Music is available in so many forms from so many places at (generally) fair prices, by both ‘signed’ and independent artists. Sure you might have to dig a little deeper to find something you like, but since when is having too much to choose from all that bad, it’s the American way!
Here is a review of my new Dr Z MAZ 18 NR:
Thing 1: Strat Ultra: Starting with the Strat Ultra might have been cheating a little. It is loaded with Lace Sensor pickups, ebony fingerboard, presence circuit, etc. It was and still is my ‘#1’ and probably 90% or more of everything I have done in the studio has been done with the Strat Ultra. The pickups have about the same tone and output as a standard Strat but they don’t hum. Some people love them, some people hate them. I love them. They are very even string to string and up the fret board. They don’t pack a huge punch but I’m a Strat guy anyway so I don’t want giant output pickups (generally). The first thing that popped out was how even the frequency response is. The Lace pickups were truly shining through the amp. A lot of times the lower frequencies are swamped by rhythm gits, bass, drums, keyboards, etc. However all 6 strings cut right through, it didn’t matter if I was riffing on the low E or the high E the feel and presence was the same. But maybe more importantly the same thing was noticeable when playing chords. All 4, 5, or 6 notes shone through with the same volume (and veracity!). All the notes just ‘pop’ out of the amp. I couldn’t get the amp to fully saturate at a lower volume though and began thinking I may in the long run have to front for an attenuator after all. Still, I was getting a really nice tube breakup, really perfect, just not full on overdrive sound. I also did notice the lack of reverb. Most of what I’ve read says the tone is so good you won’t miss the reverb. When I was playing along with discs this was mostly true, but on its own I did notice it. My studio room is pretty dead so a verb pedal may be on the horizon.
Thing 2: 1973 Aztec Gold Strat: While the Strat Ultra is my #1 studio git, this is my #1 live git (so obviously it doesn’t get used much, but when I practice ‘plugged in’ this is usually the git I am practicing on). This Strat has the original pickups so I think I can pretty much get that old school Hendrix/Clapton/Gilmour/Blackmore/SRV Strat vibe from it. Well, allow me to rephrase, now I know I can get those tones! Again very punchy, very even frequency response string to string (this Strat has the staggered pole pieces so with lighter gauge strings it is sometimes tough to keep a good string to string balance). This thing REALLY shined with chords. Damn, I was going full on with some augmented and dominant chords and each note coming through evenly, and no note fighting for attention. Again I couldn’t go balls out saturation but the tone was so damn good that it just didn’t matter. One thing about great dry tone though, it is unforgiving! Every missed note, every over bend, every ‘clicked’ string poked through just as loud and just as even as the good notes. There’s nowhere to hide!
Thing 3: Ibanez AS80 semi-hollow body: First adjective that popped in my head as I strummed up on the AS80? Harsh! Yes harsh. I love the balance, the neck, the feel of the AS but I do hate the pickups and the reason for that hatred really came through. Like I said earlier this amp makes the good sound great but can make the bad sound horrible. When I backed off the volume, balanced the tone from the two pickups I was able to get a nice clean sound that would be usable in some situations but overall I was unimpressed as when I brought up the treble instead of ‘presence’ I got harsh and when I brought up the bottom instead of warm I got boomy. I was worried that this might be how the amp reacted to humbuckers and thought ‘damn, I should’ve tested it with humbuckers before I bought it!’
Thing 4: 1971 Les Paul Deluxe: The Deluxe Pauls have the ‘mini-humbuckers’. Gibson made a bunch of bodies routed for P90s and decided they didn’t want to put P90s in them so they made a ‘mini-humbucker’ to fit the P90 slot. Like the Lace Sensors some folks hate the mini-humbuckers and like the Lace Sensors I love the minis! When I plugged the Paul in a chorus of angels began singing ‘Hallelujah!’ And a soft warm glow shone on the Dr Z like an angelic halo filtering through the clouds as beam of radiant sunlight. OK, it maybe wasn’t quite like that but it was almost full on tube saturation in the vein of Steely Dan, moe, et al. This is an overdriven tube amp at its best, not the balls out metal distortion but OVERDRIVE, and it is moments like that when you can clearly understand the difference between the two terms. I could see me using the Paul more often with tones like this! I didn’t have time to try it out yet but I shudder to think what the white V will sound like! It should really push the Dr into thick and creamy terrain.
Thing 5: Effects: For the effects tests I reverted back to ‘live #1’ ’73 gold Strat. First up were the overdrives. My favorite overdrive in front of the Ampeg is the Boss Blues Driver so I reached for that. I had it set up for the Ampeg and those settings were a tad too ‘top endy’ (the Dr really brought out the top end of the Strat which was nice but when I added the pedal the top end became too pronounced). I dialed back the tone circuit and there it was, perfect SRV overdriven Fender amp sound. I next went for the old 10 series Tube Screamer. I love the Ibanez 10 series stuff but haven’t gotten much mileage out of the 10 series Tube Screamer as my Boss pedals always beat it out to my ears (Blues Driver and DS1s). However with the Dr the Tube Screamer sounded almost identical to the Blues Driver, weird, but not a bad thing! I didn’t try my 9 series Tube Screamer or either of my Boss DS1s (I have a vintage Japanese DS1 and a newer Taiwan DS1) yet but will soon! I decided to then go for a balls out distortion so I plugged up one of the Ibanez 10 series distortion pedals and it sounded like ass. Kind of like the AS with too much distortion. I didn’t bother tweaking I just unplugged and moved on (in front of a solid state amp like my Princeton Chorus the 10 series metal pedals sound great but I never could marry them up with a tube amp for some reason so I gave up early). How to get full blown distortion? How’s about my ancient MXR Distortion +? I have to be careful with this one as it is a 1979 and I am scared to death it’s going to quit on me! Anyway, there it was, the distortion sound ol’ Lightnin’ has been looking for. One of my all time favorite tones was to get the Ampeg just breaking up, then push it over the top with a compressor and then clip the hell out of the Distortion +, and I could see that working really well here. Yes, it is a tad noisy when pushed hard. But the milkshake thick tone makes up for it! Next up was chorus. With the Ampeg my favorite chorus is my old beater but trusty EH Small Clone. The Dr and the EH didn’t get along real well at first. The wrong frequencies (to my ears) seemed to be ‘chorused’; once I did some tweaking (the Small Clone has one switch and one knob!) I was able to get a nice chorused sound though, but I wasn’t hugely into it the way I was with the Ampeg. Switch over to my ancient Boss CE2. The CE2 put me in analogue chorus heaven! Thick, deep, rich, whatever you want to call it it was in there. I didn’t try my ancient Ibanez chorus but am stoked to do so (although they won’t be able to beat the Boss). Next up was phase. I plugged in my favorite 80s Boss PHr1 and again wasn’t digging it. It just seemed to sweep the wrong frequencies. Switch to my MXR Phase 1 reissue and low and behold, there was the phase tone dreams are made of (I’m noticing a trend here), full wide range sweep that didn’t interfere with the character of the git and amp combination. I didn’t try any Flange yet but will soon. Next up was compressor. I reached for the trusty Nashville necessity MXR Dyna-Comp. I’m running out of adjectives. How about phat? It added a nice enough boost to push the tubes a little harder for more saturation with the Strat which was nice, but the Dr’s tubes seem to compress and even out the signal on their own so other than just using it as a boost I didn’t find it overly useful. And finally, delay. I wasn’t too interested in digital delay so I reached right off for my badass Maxon AD99, and as should be expected by now, it was perfect. I can’t say anything else, just perfect. I then cruised upstairs with a big smile! So many pedals, so little time, next up are the flange pedals, a couple more chorus pedals (especially my 1979 MXR chorus!), and the Boss DS1, which is the greatest low cost pedal ever made, I don’t care what the bloggers say! And of course wah and filter.
So to wrap up: I really love it, I have only scratched the surface as I set up the amp and then just used the git’s controls to work the tone and volume so I haven’t experimented much with the amp’s controls at all (which has always been par for the course for me anyway!). I may eventually invest in an attenuator to really drive the output tubes at lower volumes, and a good reverb pedal is on the horizon for sure. I didn’t try a wah or filter yet but imagine that would be pretty awesome too.
I guess the two things that stand out the most so far is the even frequency response I mentioned. No notes are lost, everything just cuts through. The other thing is how different the amp responds to different gits. Sure, each git sounds different, no point in having more than one if they didn’t but this thing just accentuates and highlights those differences in a major way. Just going from the ’73 Strat to the ’71 Paul was not just like switching gits but like switching entire rigs. I went from a slightly overdriven SRV ‘Cold Shot’ tone to a full on saturated Allman Brothers ‘Statesboro Blues’ sound just by plugging in a different git!
Emulation Simulation
I test drove several amp sims (as plugins for ProTools) and have basically narrowed it down to three finalists: Peavey’s Revalver, IK Multimedia’s Amplitube Fender, and Native Instruments Guitar Rig. The other night I sat down and wrote out several ‘tones’ I wanted to be able to achieve with amp sims and then went about looking for those tones in each sim. I graded on sound, ‘warmth’ ‘realness’, and ease of getting the tone then I took each category and averaged them together for a final grade. The categories were:
clean (bright and funky)
clean w/ chorus
clean w/ phase
clean w/ spring reverb
clean w/ tremolo
clean w/ digital delay
clean w/ analogue delay
slight tube breakup
balls out distortion soloing
balls out distortion rhythm
‘overload of effects’.
As you can see, I am testing not just for amp sims but effects as well.
Peavey Revalver: The amp sims in this one are simply great. From nice clean tones that allow the git’s character to come through to that bluesy tube overdrive when you dig in to full bore Peavey high gain chaos. Damn I like these amps (er simulations!). "But what about the effects" you are thinking. Revalver stubs its toe a little on this one. Great convolution verbs, nice EQs (I hate EQs), tube compressor... nice, but (and there’s always a butt) I don’t really dig their modulation effects. Chorus and phase mainly seem almost too ‘tweakable’. I want to bring up one of those and have it ‘chorus’ or ‘phase’, I don’t want to decide on filters and oscillators. Just work! The delays also leave a tad to be desired. The digital sound is good, but I want a nice fake analogue sound too. You can tweak the roll offs of the repeats but again, JUST GIVE ME ANALOGUE DELAY! Still, with a blind fold on most would think they were playing a real tube amp with these sims, and with tweaking the effects are good. One bonus, you can actually get under the hood, change tube types, plate voltages, resistor and capacitor values, basically make major changes to the circuit, building you own amp and/or building a popular amp in the virtual world, amazingly, and almost limitlessly tweakable in that regard. Revalver’s final grade was a 94%
IK Multimedia Amplitube Fender: Fender is still probably the reigning king of clean. Nothing really beats a Fender tube amp in clean mode, or in slight tube overdrive. But these aren’t real Fender amps are they? No but IK supposedly worked their asses off modeling the real thing to get Fender to agree to licensing and it seems to have paid off. Want chicken pickin’ Nashville Tele? Got it. Want James Brown funk? Got it. Want nice Andy Summers/Police chorus? Got it. Want that Chicago tube break up? Got it. Want balls out high gain metal mayhem? Got it... but not really convincingly. Fender’s not known as head bangin amp makers, tried with the MH, and it passes, but not really flyingly. Effects? They’re here. Great spring verbs, really nice tremolo (this is Fender we’re talking about here of course) really good phase, chorus, flange, just over all nice ‘analogue-y’ sounding. The weakensses? Everything is modeled after analogue (that is actually the whole point really) but that leaves out a few options (or forces me to use other plugs). Also, the presets needed more tweaking to get what I liked out them than the Peavey presets did. Not a huge deal but part of the grade was ease and quickness of finding sounds I liked. Amplitube Fender scored a 93%
Native Instruments Guitar Rig: Pretty much everything about this one is really really good, but nothing about it is great. Well almost nothing... The clean sounds sound clean, the tube breakup points sound not so good, the all out distort-o decadence is really good, albeit a tad digital sounding. Some of the effects actually are great and there is a pretty huge variety of them. Great modulation effects, great delays, the verbs are pretty good, tremolo is weak (I don’t use tremolo that much but I do dig some here and there but I want a good sign wave tremolo, not an ‘on-off’ tremolo). As strictly an effects package this is damn good, the amps though seem a tad ‘cold’ (kind of the opposite of Revalver).92%
So there you have it. Not much room between them is there?!
Shoot Out:
I recently did some head to head testing on some of my different gear, here are some brief descriptions of what I found:
Small Diaphragm Mics: Rode NT5 stereo pair: These mics seem to have a slightly harsh upper mid range, it can sound slightly boxy and a little thin on vocals and strummed acoustic guitars but it seems to work on 'picked' acoustic guitar parts as it brings out the individual notes.
Neumann KM184 stereo pair: A much flatter frequency response compared to the Rodes, smooth and 'round'. Great on acoustic guitars and vocals, and also very quite.
Large Diaphragm Mics: Rode NT1: This was my first 'good mic' and I've had it since the early 90s. Mine is pretty bright and cuts well (which isn't what I've read about others). It seems to push the upper mids like the NT5s but doesn't seem as harsh.
Shure KSM32: A very 'tight' and smooth sounding mic, even frequency response, this mic works really good on about anything.
AEA R84 Ribbon Mic: I hate trying to find words to describe sound but... this mic is very warm, round, and thick. Hows that? It is great on vocals and electric guitar, and great if you are looking for a full strummed acoustic guitar sound.
AKG 440: I bought this to have a mic with a variable polar pattern, it is a low cost mic but holds up surprisingly well. It is a tad noisy, not bad, it is a little 'boxy' sounding but nice on vocals. It is very similar to the Rode NT1.
Preamps/Compressors:TL Audio C-1 Dual Preamp/Compressor: This is a great tube preamp and compressor (mine is the older unit with the original design). It is very 'warm', like you'd expect, with a slight mid-range hump that works really well on vocals, and, combined with the AEA R84 ribbon mic, great on acoustic guitars.
Bellari RP220: My RP220 dual channel tube preamp was modded by the guy I bought it from. He made all the changes suggested on gearslutz. This particular preamp is very transparent and definitely 'sounds' more expensive than what I paid for it. Great on electric guitars or somewhere where you don't want to impart too much 'character' (which again, is the opposite of most Bellari gear).
dbx 1066 dual channel compressor: I haven't used a ton of rack compressors but I don't think I need to now. I love this one although so far I have only used it on vocals and bass. It just does all the things compressors should do, and does them well, and does them pretty quietly. It has a few too many bells and whistles but once you get a little used to what to tweak and what to ignore it is great.
Alesis 3630: I know, folks call this the dirty six dirty because they hate how it handles low end. As it seems to be with many things, I am the opposite. The only thing I have ever used this on is the bass and I like how it makes the bass sound. Pulls it up in the mix nicely and cuts off some of the rumble (unless you want the rumble, which sometimes I do), just don't push it too hard.
Cell Out:
“…Made everything from toy guns that spark to flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark it’s easy to see without looking too far that not much is really sacred.”- Bob Dylan
Several years back when The Violent Femmes’ Gordon Gano sold the rights to their single "Blister in the Sun" to a fast food chain I began to realize that more and more of the music from my youth was being sold to the highest bidder in an effort to sell me things I really didn’t want or need. Oh I understand the lure, if I’d written a single that a national corporation was willing to pay me thousands for the rights to would I be able to turn them down? I’d like to think so but… Regardless, I know it bothers me when others do it. Why?
In 1989, at the age of nineteen, I moved into a run down apartment with some friends. The rent was $275 a month and I was making $3.75 an hour. That left enough for Buckhorn beer and Mad Dog. The apartment wasn’t air conditioned and sat on the second floor above an empty building, with a bar on one side and a meat market on the other. In the evenings we’d climb out onto the tar roof, drinking cold beer, and listening to music. A night didn’t go by without a spin of Violent Femmes, The Cure, The Dead Milkmen, The Church, etc. Those times may not have been as great as my memory leads me to believe, but never the less I look back on them as the greatest days of my life. This is the music I thought I was gaining my freedom to (while actually becoming a slave to the machine), the music I met my wife to, the music I partied to, slept to, and so on. It was, for lack of a better cliché, the soundtrack to my life.
I am now a somewhat jaded 41 year old. I still get out the old discs but with each passing year more of the impact and importance of the songs from "The Soundtrack to My Life" are lessened by becoming ‘jingles’. I guess I first noticed it with The Clash. I first heard the album "London Calling" when I was twelve and it changed my life, saving me from a lifetime of Judas Priest, The Scorpions, and Krokus. Then every time I heard a Clash track I was taken back to those first few guitar lessons and my early attempts at turning classic rock covers into punk anthems with my first band The Backstreet Bombers. Now I simply hear someone trying to sell me a car I could never afford, or a cell phone I wouldn’t want.
But when "Blister in the Sun" was sold it really hit home. The song will no longer remind me of those scorching St. Joe summer nights on the roof of that bug infested paradise, instead it will forever represent to me a little hamburger crapped out by a corporation whose only concern is its bottom line, the almighty dollar, and the belief their only responsibility is to their shareholders. I guess I was just naive enough to think Gano and crew were writing about the same experiences I was going through. I’m no pie in the sky "music is art and can change the world" stooge, at least not when I’m sober. I’m selfish and this was my music. But, at the end of the day, no matter how much I believe it is, I have to realize that it really isn’t ‘my’ music and maybe it meant more to me than them. So now I sell a little more of my own soul when I sing along to the corporate jingles.
Guitar Stompbox Comparisons:
I have a pretty nice collection of guitar effects. Some of the boxes are new, some old, some reissues, and some originals, a real mixed bag. The other day I decided to compare effects and see which ones sounded the ‘best’ to me. Of course this is all subjective, and each comparison could change depending on the need, guitar being used, amp being used, setting, song, etc. etc. there are a million variables so this is just straight up comparing effect to effect and looking for the warmest, most natural sound, that didn’t seem to change the over all timbre of the instrument. Of the probably hundreds of FX pedals I’ve used over the years I’ve probably only found two that I couldn’t use for something. The Digitech PedalVerb was worthless for me and a Digitech Distortion pedal I had that was yellow, had two foot switches and about 8 knobs was too ‘EQed’ sounding for me (I think it was a PDS20 or something like that). Anyway, here’s how I did the comparisons:
I used my 1973 Fender Stratocaster into my 50 watt all tube Lee Jackson Ampeg head, which drives a slant 4x12 Ampeg cabinet populated with Celestian speakers. I placed all compression, tone, and distortion effects in front of the amp and all ‘time based’ effects (delays, chorus, and flange) in the effects loop (I only had one effect running at a time so any tone bleed from other effects wouldn’t be in the chain). I divided my effects into the following categories: Compressors, Phasers, Overdrives, Distortions, Flangers, Choruses, and Delays. There were a few surprises, which made me rethink my rig (which is why I did it actually). If you’re interested read on:
Compressors:
I love compression. It’s so subtle, yet can make a good guitar sound great!
Comparing the MXR Dyna-Comp, Ibanez CS10, and the Danelectro Surf 'n' Turf.
Who I was pulling for: Ibanez CS10.
The MXR Dyna-Comp is a great compressor. Very simple it adds everything from a subtle ‘pop’ to huge gain and sustain. It gets noisy the more gain you try and add though. Everything good coming from the guitar gets accentuated, as does everything bad. The single coils on the Strat were humming to me anytime I took either knob close to 3 o’clock. Still, there really is no need to go that high anyway. The Dyna-Comp was made for bright clean chicken pickin’ in country music and funk and it delivers.
The Ibanez CS10 is another great compressor. It is from the 10 series, which debuted and ran from the mid to late 80s. I had one back in the day and used it then solely to get gain and make my Fender Deluxe scream. I didn’t have any need nor place for subtly then! Now I use it to add that compressed punch which make Strats sound so good. The CS10 can do everything the Dyna-Comp can do, it does it a little quieter (not a lot quieter though), plus it has a little more flexibility. This is my favorite compressor.
The Danelectro Surf 'n' Turf is a good little compressor. Sure the case is plastic, the knobs are tiny, and the switch is suspect, but this pedal does what it is supposed to do, does it well, and does it surprisingly quietly and with no distortion. It will squeal if you crank it up too far, but if you’re looking for subtle compression on a budget (which I was when I got this) then this is the ticket.
And the winner is: The Ibanez just does it all, does it well, and does it quietly.
Phasers:
Phasing is probably my favorite effect. There is a lot you can do with it from the subtle 70s phase to, mild wah tones, to all out insanity.
Comparing the MXR Phase 90, Ibanez PH10, Electro-Harmonix Small Stone, and Boss PH1r.
Who I was pulling for: MXR Phase 90.
The MXR Phase 90 is the simplest pedal in the world. It has a rate knob and that’s it. Do you want a real slow phase shift or a real fast one, or something in between? The tone is very natural and you get that nice 70s 4 stage swirl (mine’s a newer reissue). I love this phase and it has been part of my rig since I got it, replacing my Small Stone for reasons listed below. It’s a keeper!
The Electro-Harmonix Small Stone is actually my favorite phaser. It is ‘wetter’ than the Phase 90 and is almost as simplistic, adding only a ‘color’ switch, which makes the phase shift a little deeper (mine’s a Russian reissue). It was part of my rig for many moons and has been used on several recordings (most obviously on the "A Flow of Strangers" song "Pray"). It would never have left my rig were it not for a slight volume drop when it is kicked on and also it’s occasional tendency to have to ‘warm up’. I know it is solid state but for some reason sometimes when you first hit the switch it seems to almost fade in with the phase. That’s OK when you can compensate in the studio but live it kind wrecks things.
The Ibanez PH10 is a bi-mode phaser (why didn’t they call it the BM10?). What’s that mean? It has a switch for either 6 or 10 stage phasing. It also has width, regeneration, and speed knobs, offering a lot more control and options than most other phasers. You can take it anywhere from a static out of phase ‘spot’ (no ‘swirl’) to outrages phasing effects. I was stoked when I won this for a great price on Ebay as I’ve found most Ibanez 10 series pedals to be great. This phaser however is too ‘nasal’ sounding for me. Almost like a rocking wah pedal with a weak battery in some settings. Sure you can adjust your way out of it but dammit I just want it to phase. It’s great for more esoteric effects but stick with the 4 stage phasers for the old school sound.
The Boss PH1r is an old school 4-stage phaser. From what I understand, in the late 70s Boss’ PH1 was taking a beating from MXR’s Phase 90 so they added the r knob to make it more versatile. The PH1r has width, rate, and resonance (the r knob). For me, with phasing, less is generally more. Having said that, I love my PH1r (mine’s from 1982). It can give you that simple phase sound, plus more, with little tweaking, which was the whole idea. It’s very versatile, yet still simple.
And the winner is: Surprisingly the Boss PH1r replaced the Phase 90 in my rig after these tests. It’s thick and rich!
Overdrives:
Overdrives should produce everything from a subtle clip to a nice distorted sound, taking your picking dynamics into account, without going full-blown distortion and without coloring up your sound. Easier said than done.
Comparing the Ibanez TS9, TS10, Boss BD2, and Boss OD1.
Who I was pulling for: Boss OD1
The Ibanez TS9 is one of the overdrive Holy Grails (the others being the Ibanez TS808 and Boss OD1 reviewed later). Mine is a newer reissue so don’t get too excited. Anyway, this pedal pretty much does what it is supposed to do. It offers nice clipping and distortion, without going all out metal. It works well with your dynamics, and usually doesn’t color up the tone much (watch the tone knob though, it is sensitive and I hate the mid to low bump it can put in the signal, which is what others like about it I guess). I dig this pedal but I liked my TS9DX Turbo Tube Screamer better, but alas, it no longer works.
The Boss OD1 is another sought after favorite, probably coming in a close 3rd to the original TS808s and TS9s (mine is actually not mine but Vin’s and is from 1981). It is a simple design with drive and level knobs and no tone knob. The hallmark of this pedal is great dynamic distortion; pick hard get more distortion, like a real tube amp. I like the overdrive of the OD1 but it seemed to color my Strat’s sound. Maybe some of the single coil harmonics were lost in it, I don’t know but I seemed to loose an edge when it was kicked on. Kind of hard to explain, just those bell like tones I love about Strats seemed to get lost. Maybe I will try it with my Les Paul.
The Ibanez TS10 replaced the TS9 in the mid 80s. Many consider it just as good at about half the price. I’ve never played an original TS9 so I don’t know about that but I do know that this pedal just seems more natural than my TS9 reissue. It does everything it should do and nothing it shouldn’t. Nice clipping, nice tone, no coloring, and a pretty good thinkness if you want it.
The Boss BD2 was Boss’ answer to Ibanez’ continued success with the TS9. The BD2 sounds a lot like the TS9 but without the Strat-friendly mid range bump. I think it can drive a little further than the TS9 too but it doesn’t sound too good if you push it too far into overdrive. I think I like it a little better than my TS9 reissue on subtler settings as it seems to be a little brighter in a friendlier manner, but the two are pretty similar.
And the winner is: I was surprised to pick the TS10, although I have to admit I’m not completely satisfied with any of them and recently pulled the TS10 for another Boss DS1 (see below). I need to hunt down another good deal on a TS9DX, which I used to love.
Distortions:
Distortions should pick up where overdrives leave off, although a good distortion will be able to do both. They are a little less subtle, respond to your picking dynamics less, and give you more gain and of course, distortion.
Comparing the Ibanez MS10, Ibanez DS10, MXR Distortion+, newer Boss DS1, and an old Japanese Boss DS-1.
Who was I pulling for: Boss DS1 (either)
The MXR Distortion+ I have is from 1979. I didn’t know what to expect from this pedal when I first got it. I knew Bob Mould, Guy Picciotto, used it and of course Randy Rhoads, but those guys all sound totally different from one another. So I plugged her in and "Wow!" this pedal added tons of gain, and distorted from a subtle clip to all out walls of noise, yet it remained in control, bright, and didn’t mess with my Strat’s tone. I have to say I love this thing and was worried my Boss DS1 might have to take a back seat.
The Ibanez MS10 is also a great distortion, and tries, and for the most part succeeds, in doing it all. From creamy overdrive to balls out distortion this pedal will deliver and you can get a great harmonic distortion too. It has a dark characteristic to it, which I like, and this one could easily find a spot in my rig if I didn’t already have too much in the chain.
The Ibanez DS10 looks a lot like the MS10, same layout, lighter color, and they give the knobs a different name. The pedals sound similar too but the DS10 doesn’t seem to drive quite as hard and it is also brighter (this can be controlled with the knobs but when A-B-ing the two I noticed that at the same settings the DS10 was a lighter, brighter distortion). This is also a great pedal but between it and the MS10 I prefer the MS10.
The Boss DS1 has been a staple in my rig for years. I have a newer one, but I can’t say it is a reissue, as Boss simply never stopped making them. And why should they? This has to be one of the most versatile distortion pedals made. Dial in the blues, the metal, the punk, and about anything in between and all for about 40 bucks! I love the bright, clipped, gain this thing gives my old Strat. It boosts right where I want it boosted and it winds up out tube screaming the Tube Screamer. I know, I’ve read the cats on Guitar Geek’s forums saying it was a pedal they couldn’t get a good sound out of. Whatever.
My other Boss DS1 is a Japanese made (my newer one is Taiwanese from about 2001) from 1983. On lower distortion settings it sounds almost exactly like the newer DS1 except it’s a little brighter. As you turn up the distortion it does get, for lack of a better adjective, ‘creamier’, very nice saturation, much like the MXR Distortion+ but with a little less noise.
And the winner is: By an ass hair the DS1 stays, and probably always will. As a matter of fact, I have both of them in my rig right now, using the newer one for an overdrive boost and the older one for heavier distortion.
Flanging:
I never use flangers much, I like the effect, I just use phase and chorus more. I like flange when it is real subtle, not so much the static detuned flange sound like John Scofield has taken to using, although that’s OK in small doses.
Compared: Boss BF2, Ibanez FL301, Ibanez FL9, and the MXR Flanger.
Who I was pulling for: Ibanez FL9.
My Ibanez FL9, like the Boss OD1, isn’t mine but is Vin’s and is an original from the 80s, not a reissue. The FL9 is a great flanger and is very versatile from a subtle effect to damn near going into self-oscillation (an insane sound when an effect affects the effect into infinity, like holding two mirrors up to each other and seeing a long line of reflections). My only issue is it gave the Strat a slight mid to high boost. Like the OD1 I think this flanger is better with humbuckers.
My Ibanez FL301 is my Ibanez Chorus CS505’s sister, both born in 1981. A very simple and very effective flange it is warm and sounds very much like the FL9. It only has three knobs (no ‘manual’ knob), which may limit it a little but I don’t notice (I actually like the simpler layout more).
The Boss BF2 sounds pretty much exactly like the FL9 but without the mid-high boost. It is an excellent flanger (mine is from 1985) that I dig a lot. My only complaint is at some settings you get a little too much high end ‘swoosh’ as the flange reaches it’s peak. This isn’t noticeable when playing but if it’s on when your not playing you’ll hear it (all flangers tend to do this but I noticed it more with the BF2).
The MXR Flanger is probably the most famous flanger. Why? Listen to Van Halen’s "Unchained" or "And The Cradle Will Rock" to hear one. Eddie took the flanger out of the psychedelic 60s and placed it squarely in front of his distortion (which I don’t do but should probably try). This is by far the warmest of the tested flangers, and without a doubt the best (mine is a reissue). Of course it goes from a subtle texture to underwater speaker sound at the twist of 4 knobs. It does color my sound a little, but it is in a very good and subtle way. My only complaint is it has to be plugged in, no 9 volt munching with this one.
And the winner is: I knew the MXR was the best flanger. I rarely use flange but when I do I turn to the MXR in the studio, but I hate having to plug it in on my live rig so I will probably go with the Boss BF2 (it’s not like I even play out live but I like to be as mobile as possible if I do).
Chorus:
I’ve always liked a subtle, cool chorus sound. Having said that chorus was my enemy in the 80s. I’ve always been a somewhat belligerent guitarist. If something is trendy then I want nothing to do with it, even if it’s a good idea, and in the 80s saying chorus was trendy was like saying breathing is trendy. Good lord chorus was used and abused. Cats would hit the chorus pedal, crank up the depth, and not look back. Some cover bands would leave the chorus on whether they were playing the Police or Motorhead! In the early 90s the chorus abuse subsided so I started using it. One thing I have found is that I tend to like digital choruses a little more than analog (gasp!) They seem a little subtler and yes ‘colder’, which to my ears is what I want from a chorus. I want chorus cold and subtle, flange and phase warm and noticeable.
Comparing Electro-Harmonix Small Stone, Ibanez SC10, Ibanez CS505, MXR Stereo Chorus, and Boss CE2.
Who I was pulling for: I love them all equally.
The Electro-Harmonix Small Stone has been around for years in one form or another (mine’s an older reissue), but it didn’t really make a name for itself until the 90s when Kurt Cobain made it a staple of his sound (think "Come As You Are"). It was often the only pedal in his rig and he used it throughout his short career. And personally I understand why. This is a great chorus. It has a rate knob and a depth switch, making it maybe a little more limited than pedals with more bells and whistles but what else do you need besides rate and good tone? I dig this one.
My Ibanez SC10 was in my rig, then out, then in, then back out again over the years. It has the rate and depth (or width) knob but it also has a ‘delay time’ knob, which moves it into an almost detuned flange territory, which I don’t dig too much. But if I put the delay time all the way counterclockwise and set the rate and width at about high noon this chorus sounds great. It is one of my favorite sounds, which is why it has found its way into my rig; but it keeps getting bumped for the more versatile ‘multi’ pedals, which is where I generally get my chorus.
My Ibanez CS505 Stereo Chorus is an original 1981. It sounds warm, and well, great! What can I say, it choruses from subtle to deep and fast. Two knobs control rate and depth, easy to use, easy to dial in what you are looking for. The downside is it uses two 9-volt batteries, which gives you more headroom, but most 9-volt choruses don’t clip anyway.
The Boss CE2 is one of the Holy Grails of choruses. Boss really made their name with the CE1 and CE2. The CE1 is basically the exact same circuit in the legendary Roland JC120 amp from the 70s (Boss is a division of Roland). Boss wanted to work that circuit into a smaller box so the CE2, along with Boss’ entire stompbox legacy and look, was born. Although they are currently up to the CE5 and use digital circuits now, the basic look and layout hasn’t changed since those late 70s CE2s (mine’s from 1983). I really dig this pedal a lot, but blindfolded I wouldn’t be able to tell it from the Ibanez CS505. They sound pretty much exactly the same to me. Which is a good thing, except that I have two pedals that sound the same.
The MXR Stereo Chorus is an MXR box through and through. Built like a tank, giant mechanical on/off switch, 3 huge knobs. Mine’s from 1979 (it has an on/off LED which is odd for these pedals). This is simply the BEST chorus for insane ‘top endy’ chorus. I’ve used it on quite a few recordings (despite some noise) most noticeably on the "A Flow of Strangers" song "This Is It". This chorus is very unique as choruses go. It is great for fast, underwater sounding chorus and it has a nice mellower chorus too, but I only use it for batshit insane chorus sounds, there’s something about the almost flange like sweep on the mellower settings that I don’t dig.
And the winner is: Right now I’m sticking with the Small Clone. It just has a character all its own without giving too much of its own character to your sound if you know what I mean.
Digital Delay:
I broke delays up into analog and digital. A lot of cats try and compare the two but I see them as very different effects. Although they both simply create an echo, digital delays create an exact duplicate of the signal and repeat that duplicate, sometimes with a volume loss with each repeat, sometimes not, depending on the settings and the ability of the pedal to ‘hold’.
Compared: Boss DD3 and Ibanez DDL.
Who I was pulling for: Boss DD3... or Ibanez DDL
My Boss DD3 is a Japanese version from 1992, just before they shipped the construction off to Taiwan. I hear the Taiwanese versions aren’t as good but I have never played one so I don’t know. This pedal has a great tone and a wide variety of time and effect options. It will self-oscillate, but digital pedals doing that don’t really sound too cool. What can I say? It does exactly what it is supposed to do. Create an echo and give you the options of how many times, how long, and haw fast.
The Ibanez DDL is from the mid to late 80s. The ‘L’ pedals resembled the 10 series pedals and were produced at about the same time. This pedal is great, like the Boss it does what it is supposed to do. It has a little longer delay time than the Boss (both have a hold function though) and the repeats are a little ‘warmer’. Mine is old and the pots are a little scratchy though so...
And the winner is: It was actually a tie. I like the tone of the repeats on the DDL a ‘tiny’ bit more but my Boss DD3 is in better shape so I use that one.
Analog Delay:
Analog delays create echo by using chips full of capacitors. They call them ‘bucket brigades’ as they take the signal, store it, pass it, store it, pass it, etc. creating a delay with a little loss of tone on each pass, like each echo is a copy of a copy, whereas a digital echo is an exact duplicate (within binary reason). As I stated above, I don’t think digital delays and analog delays are interchangeable, they are really two different effects due to the signal loss on each echo of an analog delay and the inherent limitations (or strengths depending on who you ask) of capacitor chips.
Compared: Maxon AD999 and DOD 585.
The Maxon 999 has the longest amount of delay time of any analog delay. Clocking in at 900 milliseconds (most have 300 milliseconds with a few pushing 500). Maxon prides themselves on true bypass, and top-notch component quality. When they discovered they would no longer be able to buy the capacitor buckets for their analog delay they promptly bought out the factory’s inventory (I think it was Panasonic) and then they opened their own factory and started churning their own out (there’s not much use for those types of analog chips anymore) and the AD999 with it’s 900millisecond delay was born. This is exactly what you’d expect it to be. From the weird ‘bathtub reverb’ to the authentic rockabilly slap back to walls of psychedelic self-oscillating feedback ala Pink Floyd and Radiohead and literally everything in between. It’s warm, it’s nice, it works as advertised but it has to be plugged in with another damned wall wart. Delays eat batteries and take a fair amount of overhead so I guess that’s not a bad thing.
My DOD 585 has seen better days. Wires hang out in front, the two 9 volt batteries it takes to run it don’t fit in there quite right, which is probably why the door is missing. When I use the AC adapter... well read on. I scored this pedal on Ebay for a great deal awhile back; I was stoked as I hadn’t had an analog delay in my rig since the 80s and the (now Holy Grail of delays) Ibanez AD9. Man I miss that pedal but they are going for damn near $200 on Ebay and I can’t justify that so I went on the cheap with this 80s DOD. It came with an AC adapter and when I plugged everything in the first time I was shocked at how noisy and well, shitty this thing sounded. It was all but worthless. Yeah it echoed the signal, and then echoed all the noise it made into a swirling mess of hissing and buzzes. Maybe this wasn’t such a great deal after all. I unplugged the adapter and plugged two 9-volt batteries in hoping all that noise was coming from the 25-year-old adapter and not the 25-year-old pedal. It was. I instantly fell in love with this pedal. It had all those nice analog adjectives going for it. Warm, organic, thick, etc. I had read that these pedals would self-oscillate at the drop of a hat and they do. I dig that though, although at times it does get a little hard to control. It is a great delay that does everything a great analog delay should do. I actually like it’s sound more than the Maxon, despite the fact that the Maxons go over 300 bucks new!!! BUT and this is an all caps BUT, this pedal does have a mind of its own. It gets hard to control at high volumes, and worst of all, when it’s turned off you can still barely hear it echoing. It is barely noticeable at all and only when you first stop playing, but it’s just enough to catch my attention. This also causes it to echo the last passage you played when you kick it on, whether you want it to or not.
And the winner is: Well the DOD actually wins for tone (that statement probably automatically disqualifies me from entering the tone-a-holic convention) but the Maxon will probably be replacing it in the rig because of the DOD’s problems.
So here’s my current rig: Guitar-> Ibanez CS10 Compressor-> Crybaby Wah-> Boss PH1r Phase-> newer Taiwanese Boss DS1 Distortion-> older Japanese Boss DS1 Distortion-> Ampeg Lee Jackson 50 Watt Head-> Boss BF2 Flanger-> Electro-Harmonix Small Clone-> Boss ME50 multi-effect pedal-> Boss DD3 Digital Delay-> Maxon AD999 Analog Delay.
The 100 Greatest Rock Discs of All Time
1950s
In the 50s rock was very 'singles oriented' so picking albums is a little tricky.
1. Bill Halley and the Comets- Shake, Rattle, and Roll: Bill Haley was playing with a country band, The Saddlemen, in the late 40s and early 50s when he started mixing a little R&B with his country music. Here's what happened next (from rockabillyhall.com): Bill Haley was the first bandleader to form a Rock 'n' Roll group. First Rock 'n' Roll star to write his music. First Rock 'n' Roll star to reach the national charts with music he wrote and recorded. First Rock 'n' Roll star to own his music publishing companies. First Rock 'n' Roll star to own his record label and recording company. First white artist to be elected as the "Rhythm & Blues Personality of the Year." First Rock 'n' Roll star to sell a million records. First Rock 'n' Roll star to receive a gold record. First Rock 'n' Roll star to go on a world tour. First Rock 'n' Roll star to sell a million records in England. First Rock 'n' Roll star to star in a full-length motion picture. First white Rock 'n' Roll star to tour with all-black supporting artists. First Rock 'n' Roll star to appear on a network television show.
2. Elvis- Elvis Presley: Elvis' life is pretty much the rock'n'roll cliché. Start out as a raw controversial performer, sell out, record a bunch of crap, make a come back or two, die. Elvis wasn't the first but you don't have to be the first to be The King.
3. Little Richard- Here's Little Richard: Plain and simple, Little Richard's early stuff ROCKED! But Little Richard, you can quit it now.
4. Buddy Holly and the Crickets- The Chirping Crickets: Buddy Holly not only broke new ground, he tore it all up. He was a great songwriter but also fought to be his own producer too, which was all but unheard of in the 50s. When artists die young, people always talk about "What could've been" and I usually figure they would have just fallen into obscurity or hit the oldies casino tours like so many others (which used to be a put down but really isn't anymore), but Buddy Holly probably would've went on to greatness as a producer.
5. Chuck Berry- Rock Rock Rock: Chuck defined rock guitar for several generations. That odd combination of jazz licks, played in a blues scale, over a boogie-woogie beat. You can't hear a lick like that without instantly invoking Chuck and that's a powerful thing 50+ years after his first hits.
1960s
As its listeners aged so did rock music and songwriters realized you could use more than 3 chords and write more than just love songs.
6. Bob Dylan- Bringing It All Back Home: Many Dylan discs could make this list but I chose "Bring It All Back Home" because I feel Dylan's songwriting is at an all time high here. Personally I think the lyrics to "It's All Right Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" are the greatest lyrics ever written so that was reason enough for me to pick this one.
7. The Beatles- Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: "Pepper's" is over rated. There I said it. "Revolver" is a better disc but I can't deny the groundbreaking recording and presentation of this disc.
8. The Jimi Hendrix Experience- Are You Experienced?: Hendrix' debut is to modern rock what the Saturn V was to going to the moon. It did no less than get us to where we are today. This disc came flying into a world of Beach Boys and Paul Revere and The Raiders and it took no prisoners. Nothing would ever be the same.
9. The Beatles- The Beatles (white album): In my not very humble opinion the white album may just be the greatest rock music album(s) recorded. Only a handful of bands have even come close to this.
10. Cream- Disreali Gears: Eric Clapton and 60s psychedelia never sounded so good or so 'not dated' as they do here. Cream proved great musicians could also write great songs and they influenced everyone from Rush to Van Halen in the process.
11. The Doors- Morrison Hotel: The Doors only released one bad disc, "The Soft Parade". Everything else they did was ground breaking, especially their debut which not only broke the 3 minute single rule (twice), but showed songwriters that rock songs could swing from Greek Tragedy to Beat Poetry to The Blues and not come off as pretentious, although few could pull it off after them. Still, I chose "Morrison Hotel" as it stands the test of time better with the cold metal sound of "Peace Frog", poetry of "Waiting For The Sun", and balls to the wall blues of "Roadhouse Blues" and everything in between. Probably a bigger influence on later bands like The Cure and Bauhaus than many realize.
12. James Brown- Live at the Apollo (1968): Couldn't decide on a JB disc so I went with this live disc. Not all of JB's stuff is 'great' but none of it is 'bad' unless by bad you mean good, then yeah, he's bad.
13. The Byrds- Sweetheart of the Rodeo: The Byrds broke a lot of ground in a short period of time. First electrifying folk on their debut "Mr. Tambourine Man" (beating Dylan to the punch by a couple months), then bringing rock's country roots back to bear on "Sweetheart of the Rodeo". Sure Blues gets all the credit for begetting rock music, but for some reason its country pa doesn't get the respect it deserves. Let's face it, Buddy Holley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Haley, Carl Perkins, etc. were all playing country music with a blues backbeat. Plus no one rocked harder than Johnny Cash. The Byrds (with Graham Parsons) brought that side back out and The Eagles, Jackson Browne, The Allman Brothers, etc. were taking copious notes.
14. The Band- Music From The Big Pink: I think The Band's second disc "The Band" is probably a more consistent effort, but this is still the masterpiece that set the standard for quality songwriting in the new genre melding rock and roll environment of the times. Great lyrics, great musicianship, great tunes, and a great 'atmosphere'.
15. The Rolling Stones- Beggar's Banquet: The Rolling Stones, though they tried, never really fit in to the psychedelic peace and love 60s, but instead of continuing to beat that dead horse they turned their attention back to reinventing 'blues rock' and by doing so they defined the sound of the early 70s and became a huge success and that sound began on "Beggar's Banquet".
16. The Jimi Hendrix Experience- Electric Ladyland: Hendrix only released 3 studio albums. His posthumous output has far exceeded that despite varying quality. "Electric Ladyland", his 3rd and final release before he died, is often written off as just stoned ranting with a couple of hidden gems but I totally disagree. Granted, the double album is a little directionless and the help of a heavy-handed producer keeping the band in line would've probably improved it tremendously, or maybe not. Maybe it is that lose vibe that is captured here that makes this a masterpiece in my eyes. It doesn't have the 'singles' of the debut but it does have the intangibles that make a great disc great.
17. Led Zeppelin- I: Who really invented heavy metal? Steppenwolf? Blue Cheer? Hendrix? Black Sabbath? The MC5? Alice Cooper? Tough to say but there is no doubt that this disc dropped like a lead balloon and that was a good thing. At the end of the day Zeppelin has probably been the single most influential band in rock, turning more kids into musicians than even The Beatles and it all started with that massive thump of "Good Times Bad Times" on this, their debut.
18. Black Sabbath- Black Sabbath: While Zeppelin would play a huge influence on bands from Aerosmith to Zebra; Sabbath laid it down even heavier and influenced a different breed that would eventually lead to bands from Adema to White Zombie. This is where the "Metal" in Heavy Metal starts.
19. King Crimson- In The Court of the Crimson King: Other bands flirted with the sound that would become prog rock but King Crimson literally defined it on "In the Court..."and would influence everyone from Uriah Heap to Weather Report in the process. (How many people have covered "21st Century Schizoid Man" not counting Bad Religion's "21st Century Digital Boy"?)
20. The Kinks- Arthur- Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire: Tough to choose one Kinks disc. The first 'punk' band these guys really didn't care about making hits, which was a good thing as their best material, including this disc, were commercial flops. Luckily we don't define greatness by sales (at least on this list) and the music on many of the Kinks later 60s discs stood the test of time much better than almost anything that was deemed a hit at the time. This is probably their best but "The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society" was great too as were many others.
21. Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention- We're Only In It For The Money: Zappa more or less literally flipped the bird to the whole pop music scene and he did it no better than on this disc with The Mothers of Invention. Think about it, the disc considered his most 'commercial' was "Apostrophe" and the biggest single on it was called "Yellow Snow".
22. Creedence Clearwater Revival- Willy and the Poor Boys: CCR had to have had one of the best runs of any band in rock history. Look at their output, they released 6 albums in about 3 years and all of them contained at least one hit song that you will still hear today on classic rock radio! And nowhere did they (John Fogerty) shine like on "Willy and the Poor Boys". Sure some of it is basically bubble gum country rock pop, but it is so laden with hooks that you can't help but notice it, plus that rage in "Fortunate Son" is real and works really well. CCR wasn't first at the table in anything, but they were one of the best.
23. Sly and the Family Stone-Stand!: Sly and the Family Stone had such a unique combination of rock and funk that would be the forerunner of everything from the funk metal of The Chili Peppers to rap and hip-hop.
24. The Rolling Stones-Let It Bleed: While CSN and Y's "Déjà vu" may have been a snapshot of the cracking of the "Peace and Love" generation, The Stones' "Beggar's Banquet" with the opening track "Gimme Shelter" signaled the death of the movement, even though the movement didn't know it yet. The song is nothing short of intense, only to be tempered by the drug influenced country blues of the rest of the disc until finally we are told "You Can't Always Get What You Want". Although the Stones released many a masterpiece (and many an over rated disc) this is my personal favorite.
1970s
Rock had a midlife crisis. Should it continue to focus on jazz and blues influences (The Allman Brothers), should it move in a more classical direction (Yes), should it continue to push political boundaries (The Clash), should it go back to its roots, only with a more gritty urban feel (Ramones), or should it reinvent itself yet again (The Cars)? The answer is "Yes" to all of the above.
25. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young- Déjà vu: The folk rock movement peaked with "Déjà vu". The disc is a masterpiece and is the perfect snapshot of the end of the 60s as the 'peace and love' movement was beginning to crack, and it would play a huge influence on everyone from James Taylor to Led Zeppelin.
26. John Prine- John Prine: Is it country? Folk? Americana? Rock? Who cares? John Prine is one of the greatest American troubadours ever. He is a poor man's Dylan and I mean that as a compliment. Dylan often approached song subjects more esoterically while Prine played to the "every man" in us all with lyrics like: "But your flag decal won't get you Into Heaven any more. They're already overcrowded from your dirty little war. Now Jesus don't like killin' No matter what the reason's for, And your flag decal won't get you Into Heaven any more", "I chased a rainbow down a one-way street... dead end and all my friends turned out to be insurance salesmen And you may see me tonight with an illegal smile It don't cost very much, but it lasts a long while..." and "Sam Stone was alone when he popped his last balloon climbing walls while sitting in a chair. Well, he played his last request while the room smelled just like death with an overdose hovering in the air. But life had lost its fun and there was nothing to be done but trade his house that he bought on the G. I. Bill for a flag draped casket on a local heroes' hill. There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes, Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose. Little pitchers have big ears, don't stop to count the years, Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios."
27. The Allman Brothers- At the Fillmore East: Here's what a cat named Steven Stolder says on Amazon.com: "There has never been a better showcase for improvisational rock than this 1971 concert recording, and few (if any) live rock albums are in its rank. With only two studio albums (and plenty of touring) under their belt, the Georgia sextet tore into the Fillmore East with road-tested buoyancy. Titanic guitarist Duane Allman was at the peak of his powers, pushing his foil, Dickey Betts, to unsurpassed peaks. Vocalist-keyboardist Gregg Allman would have been a star in any other setting; here he's merely one more component in a brilliant ensemble. Duane Allman died shortly after "At Fillmore East" shipped, and the Brothers haven't scaled such heights since. But, then, neither has anyone else." - Steven Stolder. And I agree wholeheartedly!
28. Deep Purple- Machine Head: Deep Purple defied classification. Were they metal, prog, psychedelia, a little of all of that? They were what I call a bridge band. They bridged that gap between 60s psychedelia of Cream and 70s heavy metal of Black Sabbath. Deep Purple has always been one of my all time favorite bands and Ritchie Blackmore has always been one of my favorite guitarists (despite some sub par Rainbow material) and no where does Deep Purple shine more than on "Machine Head", the disc that launched a thousand guitar lessons and invented 'shred' guitar.
29. Alice Cooper- Love it to Death: I like pretty much everything Alice Cooper put out, even the later obviously over-the-top gimmick material after Alice Cooper morphed from a band to a person, so it was hard to pick one disc. I knew I wanted it to be a disc from the 'Band' Alice Cooper so I just went with this 1971 disc, which contained their first commercial successes. This was raw horror movie punk shock rock way before The Misfits, WASP, Gwar, Marilyn Manson, Slip Knot or a host of others who went down this path. If imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery then Alice Cooper should be flattered indeed.
30. The Who- Who's Next: Pete Townshend had a great idea for a concept album, then he threw the idea away and released "Who's Next", an explosive and politically charged disc of huge rock'n'roll magnitude that only the bigger than life Who could pull off. I would count The Who among my personal biggest influences and this is their best disc among many great ones.
31. Aerosmith- Aerosmith: Though many of metal's clichés had already been invented, Aerosmith made sure those clichés were set in concrete. This disc was a direct ancestor to 80s hair band metal, but don't hold that against it as for a short while an American band out Rolling Stoned the Stones and out Led Zeppelined Zeppelin.
32. Lynyrd Skynyrd- Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd: Though they didn't invent Southern Rock they did define it and they defined it on their first two discs "Pronounced..." and "Second Helping". Remove yourself from years of over exposure on classic rock FM radio and try and listen to this disc with fresh ears and you'll agree that this may be some of the best rock, southern or otherwise, ever recorded.
33. Paul Simon- There Goes Rhymin' Simon: Where do you start with someone who has had as great of a career as Paul Simon? Very few have matched him in the songwriting and lyrics department let alone consistency and longevity. You could pretty much pick anything of his but "There Goes Rhymin' Simon" is a great place to start.
34. Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon: I can't say anything that hasn't been said about this disc. Almost every band in the late 60s and early 70s wanted their own "Sgt. Pepper's" and most were doomed to fail. Pink Floyd however picked right up where the Beatles left off and never fumbled the ball, or looked backwards.
35. Bob Marley- Catch a Fire: I know, I know, "Exodus" is supposedly the greatest album ever recorded but in my opinion this 1973 Island records debut (along with it's sister release "Burnin'") defined modern reggae, real reggae, catchy, melodic, rhythmic, and just a little gritty. Even if you don't care for reggae you have to admit Marley was a great artist who has risen to heights few artists have reached, penetrating and influencing musicians worldwide, and also leaving a stamp on the political side of music. Marley was a man of peace in a violent world and he wasn't afraid to address that world, we could use more like him today.
36. Neil Young- Harvest: Neil Young has always been a great songwriter and a true artist at heart. He is one artist who has never sold out and when pushed to do so has lashed out at the industry in his own subtle and/or sarcastic way (changing genres every album in the 80s which lead to Geffen suing him, which in turn lead to REM signing with Warner rather than Geffen, and then releasing "This Notes For You" which was a slam at corporate sponsorship). But nowhere does Neil's songwriting skills shine through the way they do on "Harvest", a perfect blend of folk and rock.
37. Led Zeppelin- IV: Granted, I don't ever need to hear "Stairway..." again but I can't hold that against this masterpiece. If you can force yourself to forget years of over exposure on FM radio and look at this disc with fresh ears I think you will rediscover rock'n'roll greatness, from the monster weight of "Four Sticks" to the folk of "Going to California". After this everybody wanted to be Led Zeppelin, and oh so many tried, and failed, to write their own "Stairway".
38. Ramones- Ramones: Some would say that the Ramones in general and this album in particular defined punk rock. To them I would say "sort of". I would say it redefined the punk rock sound, which had actually been set down years earlier by bands like The Music Machine, The Castaways, and The Trashmen. All the Ramones did was remind people that rock and roll really wasn't about synthesizers, poetry, and 20-minute guitar solos, no easy feat when you're surrounded by Yes, Fleetwood Mac, disco, and southern rock. Rock and roll was first and foremost an attitude and the Ramones, thankfully, reminded all of us of that one simple and easily forgotten fact on this one simple and unforgettable debut (and for that matter on a lot of their discs after this one).
39. The Grateful Dead- American Beauty: Sure I should've picked a live disc by the Dead but where to begin? Although I was never a big Dead fan (The Allman Brothers and Little Feat always did it so much better) I can't deny their massive influence that is still felt today and "American Beauty" was arguably their best studio disc until "After Dark".
40. Pink Floyd- Animals: Of course I could pretty much put all Floyd discs on this list (Except "Atom Heart Mother" and "Ummagumma" disc 2, which, except for a couple songs, are both over bloated tributes to pretentiousness), but "Animals" is a masterpiece. "But," you say, "isn't an album with huge 20+ minute songs still pretty pretentious?" Yes and no. Yes because maybe rock should only be 3-minute metaphors for intercourse and no because if we allow it to be otherwise then this is what it should strive for (well this and stuff that makes people mad like the Clash, Marilyn Manson and Rage Against The Machine). Besides, this disc flows from folk to rock to funk without leaving that signature Floyd sound behind (and the solo on "Dogs" is one of the greatest ever but that's for another list).
41. Warren Zevon- Excitable Boy: Warren Zevon is my personal favorite 'singer songwriter' and nowhere does his wit and melody shine through better than on his break out disc "Excitable Boy". From the title track to "Lawyers, Guns, and Money" Warren's lyrics sting, and the longing and melody of "Accidentally Like A Martyr", let alone it being one of the best song titles ever, are amazing. And of course it contained his biggest hit "Werewolves of London" too.
42. Fleetwood Mac- Rumors: Sure this disc sold millions and was huge at the time of its release, but it still holds up without sounding dated. So much of that 70s syrup music today sounds so much like... well, 70s AM Gold syrup and I hate that stuff, but "Rumors" rises above that, way above it. From great lyrics, great chops, great melodies, and great production, there are no weaknesses. Plus the band was living this stuff, it wasn't just fiction, and it shows through.
43. Sex Pistols- Never Mind the Bullocks: I love this disc. It's a rare month that passes that I don't whip it out at least once and give it a listen. It is the prototypical punk disc. Snotty, political, and a nice "F you all" British attitude. I would rank this as a close 2nd to Stiff Little Fingers' "Inflammable Material" in the best punk discs canon. However, despite my love of it I have always had a creeping suspicion that it was all a big act perpetrated by Malcolm Mclaren.
44. The Cars- The Cars: I think success ruined The Cars. If they wouldn't have gotten so big and rammed down our throats then they'd be lumped in with cult bands like The Replacements and Madness and they'd be getting props all over the alternative rock world. They defined the keyboard centric New Wave sound on this debut but never lost site of great song craftsmanship and pretty cool guitar playing too. Then they got huge and somehow lumped in with bands like Van Halen.
45. Van Halen- Van Halen: Not since Hendrix' debut was rock guitar turned on its head like it was here. It was beginning to look like the keyboard would replace the guitar as rock's signature instrument, but Eddie made sure that didn't happen as he inspired several generations worth of kids to pick up the guitar, then he started playing keyboards. (Although to be fair Eddie pretty much stole his technique from Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett).
46. Bob Segar- Stranger in Town: Sure he's become cliché, but give the man his due. He wrote some of the greatest blue-collar rock ever, in my opinion beating Springsteen disc after disc. The only problem with Segar discs is they often contain several great songs and then several not so great songs. I had this cassette back in the day and all but wore it out in my mom's station wagon's deck so I pick this for sentimental reasons, but "Against The Wind" or "Night Moves" might be better discs for this list.
47. Boston- Boston: Seriously man, Boston... Love em? Great chops, incredible production values, great melodies and harmonies. Hate em? Over produced over hyped over played arena rock pap. Whichever side of that argument you fall on you have to at least admit this disc was incredibly well made, from the songwriting to the recording it simply doesn't get any more perfect than this... Or maybe the word is sterile.
48. Elvis Costello- This Year's Model: Elvis Costello has always been somewhat of an enigma. He looked old school, wrote punk, but sounded new wave in his early days. He has since edged into jazz, crooner, and pop, but without ever really losing that punk edge. He's put out great stuff after "This Year's Model" but as a whole this disc is probably his best and points to the great things to come. Plus "Radio Radio" is one of the greatest punk songs ever written.
49. Elton John- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: I wanted to pick "Madman Across The Water" but my wife insisted on "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and she's probably right. Yeah, it's a little self-indulgent but it's Elton John, what do you expect? This disc is loaded with classic songs, great lyrics, and incredible hooks which Elton and collaborator Bernie Taupin had been working up to on previous efforts and, in my opinion at least, it was all down hill from here.
50. Joe Jackson- Look Sharp!: In the 70s rock really started splintering off into sub genres. Punk was a huge movement but it was somewhat limited in what it could do musically so inevitably it grew. Joe Jackson, like Elvis Costello, was a punk at heart ("I'm the Man" from the follow up to "Look Sharp" is one of the greatest punk songs written) but wrote what would soon become New Wave (and later he moved into a jazzy crooner stage with "Night and Day"), which was basically punk with keyboards and his slacker angst ridden anthem "Is She Really Going Out With Him" set the standard.
51. Talking Heads- 77: Like Devo, Talking Heads wanted to combine a punk attitude with art. Though now that doesn't seem too far-fetched of a combination, in 1977 it seemed almost blasphemous (except to followers of Andy Warhol or Malcolm McLaren) and had to seem like it would never work. Talking Heads proved it could work with their debut "77" and they continued to prove it for several years (especially on my personal favorite Heads disc "Fear of Music"), though they slowly lost their edge after "Speaking In Tongues" when the band became more about stroking David Byrne's growing ego.
52. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers- Damn the Torpedoes: Although many consider this disc's follow up "Hard Promises" a better disc all the way through, I still feel this is Petty's best. His songwriting chops are perfect here with an easy combination of Dylan and The Byrds mixed with just the right amount of 70s pop savvy. Plus "Even the Losers" was one of my high school theme songs.
53. Joy Division- Unknown Pleasures: Joy Division was another 'Bridge Band' in my book. They bridged the gap between punk and goth/industrial/new wave. Theirs was a dark world that capitalized on the irony of their name. This music is admittedly not for everyone. Monotone, depressing, and dark their delivery was very original and they rarely get the credit they deserve for influencing a host of bands including Bauhaus, Depeche Mode, and The Cure. After singer Ian Curtis killed himself the surviving members formed the also very influential New Order, though I personally never much card for that band.
54. Devo- Are We Not Men? We Are Devo: Devo had a triumvirate of great discs, this, their debut, and also "New Traditionalists" and "Freedom of Choice" (skipping their second disc). Art punk new wave never sounded so good. With politically incorrect lyrics this band maintained a happy sound with disparaging lyrics. Yeah they were fun, but they had a message, a message they have since pretty much literally sold down the river, which may in fact be the whole point of the message. Oh well, it was great while it lasted.
55. Stiff Little Fingers- Inflammable Material: Some people say The Clash's "London Calling" is the greatest punk album. Some say The Sex Pistols "Never Mind The Bullocks" deserves the crown. Some may bring up Rancid, Minor Threat, The Minutemen and on and on. These are probably people not familiar with Stiff Little Fingers' "Inflammable Material" which is in fact the greatest punk disc because it contains the greatest punk song "Suspect Device".
56. The Clash- London Calling: "London Calling" is a landmark album in the real world and in the little hidden world in my brain. I remember when I was 12 or 13 a buddy of mine and I walked to the local record store so he could pick up this double disc (this would've been around 1983). I was just coming out of my Jethro Tull/Doors phase and heading into my Led Zeppelin/Black Sabbath phase when I heard those opening chords to "London Calling". The harshness of the sound, the urgency in the voice, the rawness of the recording. I have to admit, I couldn't get into it right then, but after repeated listening I got it and my view of music has never been the same. Although I wouldn't say "London Calling" was the greatest punk album I would say The Clash were the greatest punk band.
1980s
The 80s saw rock sub genres grow from small-localized splinter groups into full-blown movements. Looks became more important than talent and pop became confused with rock and big money ruined almost everything.
57. David Bowie- Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps): It's tough to fill a whole album with good songs and that's my main complaint with Bowie. I am a huge Bowie fan but let's face it, most of his discs have 4 or 5 great songs and then several mediocre or just plain rotten songs. Because of that I picked this disc. Sure he had material that was much more influential and cutting edge in the early days ("Ziggy...", "Hunky Dory", etc), and there is no doubt he was a huge influence on rock's visual side, but this disc has "Ashes to Ashes", my all time favorite Bowie song.
58. Rush- Moving Pictures: Rush jumped into the 70s prog metal scene with a very unique signature sound. Not just Geddy Lee's voice but their over all 'sound' was like no one else. They were able to pull off writing material that, if done by almost anyone else, would've come across as, for lack of a better word, silly. But these guys were simply too good, instrumentally, lyrically, and in writing original material. You could take your pick from any of their discs and get great material (although personally I'm not real crazy about their keyboard heavy mid 80s run from "Signals" to "Hold Your Fire"). For me personally it was a toss up between "2112" and "A Farewell To Kings" with "2112" barely edging. But then I showed a rough draft of this list to some friends and they berated me for not picking "Moving Pictures" and I thought back to throwing papers and singing "Tom Sawyer" when I was a young and realized they were right.
59. Peter Gabriel- III (Melt): Peter Gabriel left the weirdness and 20 minute marathon songs of Genesis' prog period to go solo and make shorter but equally weird songs. He proved to be one of the best songwriters out there and he surrounded himself with the best session men he could find and, although I like almost all of his darker, edgier stuff, "Melt" is where he hit his sound.
60. Bauhaus- In The Flat Field: Many a Bauhaus fan cringes at the 'goth' label. They cry and moan that Bauhaus wasn't goth. Bauhaus may have even tried to ditch the label. Sorry guys, this is goth. This is so goth that it almost single handedly defined goth. A groundbreaking album that was for those that couldn't stomach the building current of sappy pop music that would eventually overwhelm the 80s music scene.
61. Husker Du- Zen Arcade: Husker Du took the fury of punk, the noise of metal, and the melody of pop and mixed it all up in a blender. The result was pure genius and "Zen Arcade" (I would also accept arguments for "New Day Rising").
62. Judas Priest- Screaming for Vengeance: A new standard for metal was set by Judas Priest and they became, for better or worse, the cliché metal band lampooned by "Spinal Tap" and "Rock Star". Still, they were a huge influence and "Screaming for Vengeance" was a hard to reach peak that few others have ever made.
63. Violent Femmes- Violent Femmes: Bluesy country acoustic post punk. Shew, that's a big category and one band fills it perfectly. The Femmes edgy debut was a shot of fresh air in a world littered with synths and Europop crap. There was something odd and almost scary about this band. Folksy and quirky on the surface, dark and moody if you scratch down a little, they were somehow able to put a perfect face on a rock world after punk had burned so brightly and quickly.
64. The Replacements- Let It Be: The Mats came out of the Minneapolis 80s post-punk scene with Husker Du. "Let It Be" is my personal favorite disc of theirs as it saw them shedding their non too convincing punk clothes for a more mainstream sound. This disc led to the major label signing for good reason.
65. Minutemen- Double Nickels on the Dime: Prog punk (for lack of a better phrase) masterpiece and Minutemen's answer to Husker Du's double disc "Zen Arcade" (and supposedly also a stab at Sammy Hager, double nickels on the dime meaning driving 55 on Interstate 10). Minutemen, Husker Du, Minor Threat, Fugazi and other 80s punk never had great commercial success but you can hear their influence all over what is and was called 'alternative rock' from the 90s on.
66. Bruce Springsteen- Born in the USA: I would've picked "Born to Run" but my wife insisted on "Born in the USA" and I relented. Apply 'fresh ears' to it (if possible!) and you will remember how good this disc was from start to finish. Not a bad track from landmark political lyrics to Springsteen's trademark (via Bob Segar) blue-collar songs, this probably is his most consistent effort.
67. Pixies- Doolittle: Devo and Talking Heads had proven that punk could also be art and Pixies would prove that punk could be rock and rock could be punk and both could be art and good and... Oh Hell, forget it, this is one of the best discs ever period.
68. The Fixx- Reach The Beach: New Wave ended here. Possibly the best of the sub genre, or maybe not even a member of it who knows, I loved this disc and have no other reason for putting it on here other than that. I just wanted something that epitomized that 80s feel and it was either this or Psychedelic Furs' "Mirror Mirror" or The Church "Starfish".
69. REM- Document: From "Murmur" to "Green" REM really didn't release a bad disc. "Green" is actually my personal favorite (I know that's when their hard core fans say they sold out), but "Document" is actually more of a 'perfect' record and captures that REM sound and what I think they were all about, at least then, from start to finish.
70. The Police-Zenyatta Mondatta: When the Clash began mixing reggae in with their punk, industry insiders thought they were nuts but it worked and The Police then ran with it. Though I think The Clash had better songwriters the Police were better musicians and, although I think "Ghost in the Machine" has some better lyrics, "Zenyatta..." is a great disc from start to finish and nails the Police sound before they started getting too slick and poppy.
71. U2- The Joshua Tree: U2 has released some great material but for me personally "The Joshua Tree" might as well just be their greatest hits package. Lyrically, melodically, and production wise U2 simply nailed the mood and feel of the times on this and its companion "Rattle and Hum". It was their "Sgt Pepper's..."
72. The Cure- Disintegration: Though their hardcore fans knew about them long before "Disintegration" hit the shelves, it was this disc that made sure everyone else knew them as well. Some may say it was a sell out but it really wasn't, it was just that good. A statement that forced the rest of the music world to notice The Cure on their terms. There isn't a bad track on here.
73. Run DMC- Raising Hell: Yeah, we've all heard thousands of times about the crossover "Walk This Way" but seriously, this has to be one of the most important discs ever recorded. Although production and sound have changed quite a bit in rap and hip-hop since this disc's release, its influence is still being felt and will be for years to come.
74. Public Enemy- It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back: Rap/hip-hop had great potential and once that potential was realized PE took off. These guys not only had the best lyrics but they also had some of the best production of the genre then or since. The noise they made sat somewhere between punk and industrial metal, all with politically charged raps over the top. Many rap artists have tried but few have climbed to these lyrical heights.
75. Ministry- The Land of Rape and Honey: Ministry didn't invent industrial metal, they just perfected it and this 80s disc is a grim masterpiece of rhythm, noise, and political ranting. This stuff will move you, for better or worse. It simply doesn't get any better than this.
76. NWA- Straight Outta Compton: Although Ice T was there first, this disc set the standard for 'gangsta rap' and that West Coast sound which remains a huge influence in the rap/hip-hop world to this day.
77. Guns 'n' Roses- Appetite for Destruction: I have a love hate relationship with this one and have since its release. When I first heard it I hated it, then it grew on me and I dug it, I realized it was really just a Stones disc with a modern twist. I played the crap out of for a couple of years and now I think I may hate it again. But I can't deny that it was a small bomb dropped on the "My Cherry Pie" pop metal world that few were expecting and that's always a good thing. Sadly egos and over indulgence would limit G'n'R to only one truly great disc.
78. Metallica- And Justice for All: The pure metal genre peaked with Metallica's "And Justice For All", a great disc of alienation, politics, and noise all formulated into 10 minute marathons of tight taut guitar riffs. Metallica would change directions on and off after this disc with varying results, but this one holds up.
79. Nine Inch Nails- Pretty Hate Machine: Nine Inch Nails took industrial metal, a sub genre that was destined to languish on the fringes of rock culture, and put a melody to it. That's all it took really and history was made on this debut. Like many bands on this list, they (he) didn't do anything new, they just did it better.
80. Faith No More- The Real Thing: Yeah "Rap and roll" is getting a little old now but in '89 it was a fresh movement and no one did it better than Faith No More, and, although most of their material wasn't 'rapped', enough of it was to be a major influence on all rap metal to come. They were one of the first to go there (actually beating Run DMC by a year) with their first single, 1985's "We Care A Lot", which was a flop, but it really took off when Mike Patton joined as the singer and "The Real Thing" broke through a couple years after the idea became accepted via Run DMC and Aerosmith.
81. The Red Hot Chili Peppers- Mother's Milk: Like many bands on this list, the Chili Peppers took what had been done before and perfected it, in this case funk metal. Oh sure, I should have picked "Blood Sugar Sex Magic" but in my opinion The Chili Peppers peaked on "Mother's Milk". Yeah "Blood Sugar..." is a masterpiece and deserves to be on here, but, for me, it really started with "Mother's Milk".
1990s
Like in the 70s, rock took a step backward to look at itself, and it didn't like what it had become; revolution ensued.
82. Mother Love Bone- Apple: Mother Love Bone was one of those "Bridge Bands". They bridged the gap between 80s pop metal and grunge, and they did it very well. Although we hear a lot about Nirvana, Mother Love Bone was the band that started the avalanche, they just didn't stay around long enough to see the results as singer Andrew Wood OD'd and they reformed with Eddy Vedder as Pearl Jam.
83. Smashing Pumpkins- Gish: Smashing Pumpkins are one of my favorite bands and "Gish" is one of my favorite discs. Somehow Billy Corgan was able to get the Pumpkins huge, experiment with their sound, have a huge ego, live the rock start life, release over indulgent double albums, and still manage to maintain enough street cred to make it all remain 'real'. It started with "Gish" which is an incredible exploration of the dynamics of rock, from whisper soft to explosive metal, and all with great lyrics and melody.
84. Jane's Addiction- Ritual de lo Habitual: Funk metal didn't start with Jane's but it sure sounded good. This disc just plain kicked ass and was a nice departure from the grunge scene.
85. Rage Against The Machine- Rage Against The Machine: This band is full of... well, rage. Political rap metal at its very best Rage would influence a ton of other bands that would only pail in comparison. I didn't always agree with their politics but I sure liked the way they presented their views!
86. The Beastie Boys- Check Your Head: The critics will tell me "Paul's Boutique" is a masterpiece and the Beastie's best work, to them I say "Nope". Like "Paul's...", "Check Your Head" is a masterpiece in rap, mixing in a dizzying assortment of influences including electronica, funk, punk, and a grab bag of other things. I just think it flows better and plus it sounded good in my monster car stereo back in the day!
87. Nirvana- Never Mind: Grunge had been percolating under the surface for many years (you could argue it had been around since the 70s as it was really just a mix of punk and metal). "Never Mind" was Nirvana's second release, it was a slightly more cleaned up, more melodic follow up to their great "Bleach" debut and it changed the direction of popular music. For the rest of the 90s rock strove to be more real and address more than what would fit in an 80s power ballad.
88. Soundgarden- Badmotorfinger: Four bands from the same area, the same era, and more or less the same sub genre all made this list. Either that scene (Seattle grunge) deserves a lot of accolades or I was just turning 21 and forming my own band in their (and the Smashing Pumpkins) image. If Nirvana were The Beatles, Alice In Chains were The Rolling Stones, then Soundgarden would be The Who. Does that make sense? Get "Badmotorfinger" and turn it up as loud as it will go.
89. Morphine- Cure for Pain: Avant rock with incredible hooks. This band consisted of detuned drums, two string fretless bass, and baritone sax. Not much sonic room there but who needs it when you have these melodies and lyrics? There is nothing quite like Morphine (the band) and "Cure For Pain" is an over looked masterpiece of minimalist rock.
90. Green Day- Dookie: I wasn't much into Green Day back in the day. I felt they were over rated and over played wannabes. The explosion of punk in the later 90s along with the emo/punk movement has changed my mind about Green Day. They were a pretty big influence and on a second look, their songs really weren't that bad. "Dookie" was a monster and inspired a lot of bands to form. I like "American Idiot" a lot too as they have grown gracefully but not too quickly.
91. Beck- Odelay: I wanted to pick "Mellow Gold" but then I whipped out "Odelay" and remembered how good it was. From start to finish this is simply one of the best discs ever produced, a masterpiece in growth as Beck slowly started shedding his slacker rap skin.
92. Pearl Jam- 10: 10 great songs, powerful lyrics, great production, and awesome guitar playing (don't believe the detractors that say the 90s in general and grunge in particular somehow didn't have great guitar players, just because the over indulgent atonal shredding of the 80s was gone didn't mean these cats couldn't play!). Pearl Jam wrote and played from the heart and it showed nowhere more than on this disc which is a must have. Although their output has been hit and miss since this debut, they are still one of the best bands out there.
93. Alice in Chains- Dirt: Different artists explore their drug habits in different ways. A lot of 60s bands wrote weird psychedelic songs trying to recreate the experience. The Stones used blues jams, John Prine used folksy country, and Alice in Chains used grunge. I'm pretty sure every song on this disc addresses singer Layne Staley's drug addiction from the grit of "Angry Chair" to the desperation of "Digging a Hole", this disc pulls you into a real problem and let's you see it from the inside. Not an easy feat. Layne Staley would eventually succumb to his habit, making this disc even more intense.
94. Radiohead- OK Computer: Like Tool you could pretty much put any of their discs on this list and I'd be satisfied. Radiohead are a very unique, often minimalist sounding band, who's sound I am a huge fan of. I chose "OK Computer" because I feel it is their most consistent from start to finish.
95. Dave Mathews Band- Under the Table and Dreaming: Dave Mathews is one of those cats that, like many on this list, is just simply a great songwriter. Yeah he's got a great band, yeah he's great live, but it all starts with the song and he's great at writing those. "Under The Table and Dreaming" is a great place to start for me as I love "Ants Marching".
2000s
A little bit of this, a little bit of that.
96. Tool- Lateralus: Take your pick from Tool's discs. I am a huge Pink Floyd fan and to me Tool is a modern metal Pink Floyd (making me a huge Tool fan also), but not in a derivative way. Like Floyd they are strikingly original and unique and aren't afraid to put whatever they really want to on a disc, hit singles be damned, and luckily they are talented enough to pull it off. I chose "Laterlus" because the title track is probably my favorite Tool song
97. Modest Mouse- Good News For People Who Love Bad News: Modest Mouse is an avant band with a unique sound and great lyrics. They are one of those bands where there isn't a lot of middle ground, you either love them or hate them and I love them. Although they have released quite a few discs (my personal favorite is "The Moon and Antarctica") I think this one is their best so far and it's nice to see rock music remain so creative.
98. The White Stripes- Elephant: I wanted to pick "White Blood Cells" but I think "Elephant" is a better pick. The White Stripes have taken that Rolling Stones rock/country and blues sound circa "Let It Bleed", mixed in some punk and metal, removed the bass, and made a great old school yet very modern sounding disc. You really can't go wrong with any of their stuff but "Elephant" is probably their strongest.
99. Jack Johnson- On and On: Another example of great songwriting still going on. Some feel that cats like Paul Simon, Warren Zevon, etc. are no longer around, that somehow good melodic lyrical content simply isn't available in new music. They haven't heard Jack Johnson. "On and On' doesn't have a bad song on it and it holds up against any of the singer songwriters of the past.
100. Death Cab For Cutie- Plans: This disc is full of great melodies, great lyrics, and incredible production. Anyone who says "They don't write 'em like that any more" hasn't heard this one.
Close But No Brass Ring:
1. MC5- Kick out the Jams: Along with fellow Detroit band The Stooges, the MC5 essentially invented punk metal.
2. Eric Clapton- 461 Ocean Boulevard: Clapton has done a lot of great stuff but one thing people forget in this post reggae/rock, post ska world is that EC introduced, for better or worse, rock and reggae on this disc (for better with The Clash and The Police, for worse with 311).
3. The Eagles- The Eagles: It's really tough not putting The Eagles on the list but they really didn't do anything new, they just ran with the country rock sound of the Byrds in their early days and then they got all slick and put out crap like "The Long Run".
4. Yes- Fragile: Not the first but maybe the best prog rock band.
5. Jethro Tull- Aqualung: Prog metal concept album at its 70s best. Do you think bands like Tool owe Tull a debt?
6. Peter Frampton- Frampton Comes Alive: I put this on here because I feel like I should even though I friggin' hate it.
7. Dead Kennedies- Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables: The Dead Kennedies picked up where the Sex Pistols left off. Politically charged hard-core punk didn't get much better than this (some may say Minor Threat was better but they are too atonal for my tastes, I mean there still has to be some facet of melody.)
8. John Hiatt- Slow Turning: One of the best singer/songwriters and lyricists. Who should he replace though?
9. XTC-Skylarking: XTC is an underrated band that has influenced a lot of today's alt rockers, I'd also accept "English Settlement" arguments.
10. Concrete Blonde- Blood Letting: Sometimes Concrete Blonde is labeled punk, sometimes goth, but they were both... and neither. This seminal 80s disc didn't contain a bad song and was lyrically and melodically some of the decade's best music.
11. The Smithereens- Especially For You: I know I throw around genres and sub genres a lot. Although I never really pigeon hole bands, it is just an easy way for my brain to categorize a sound and makes for fun conversation. Having said that The Smithereens are plain and simply a rock and roll band. They have released many a great disc in my opinion but none as good as this. The songwriting is at an all time high here from edgy rock, to mellow rock, to novelty rock, this was a great and fresh sounding disc in the 80s that still holds up today.
12. Ice T- Power: It was between Ice and NWA but I think in the long run NWA was a bigger influence and Ice sold out anyway.
13. Living Colour- Vivid: One of my all time favorite discs, just not sure who it should replace.
14. King's X- Gretchen Goes To Nebraska: Nobody combined Beatles harmonies with Rush chops like King's X. Come to think of it, nobody combined Beatles harmonies with Rush chops except King's X.
15. Tool- Aenima: I thought Tool couldn't get any better when this came out and then they went and recorded "Lateralus", and then after that they went and recorded "10,000 Days".
16. Radiohead- The Bends: Masterpiece!
17. Stone Temple Pilots- Purple: Simply an amazing disc all the way through. There isn't a bad song on it, yet I can't find a place for it on this list.
18. The Flaming Lips- The Soft Bulletin: Creative, influential avant- rock.
19. Hot Hot Heat- Elevator: It may not be one of the 100 greatest ever but this is a veritable grab bag of alterna-rock hooks.
20. The Killers- Hot Fuss: Great alterna-rock sounding like 80s New Wave with a modern touch, destined to be a classic.
Why Do They Insist "You Only Have Two Choices":
War, Politics, Patriots, and Lies.
It's been quoted to the point of cliché now but what Benjamin Franklin said many years ago still holds very true today, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety". So few seem to see the irony in taking away our freedoms and privacy in order to secure our freedoms and privacy. Our very way of life depends on these easy to define but hard to implement concepts. Some would say "but I have nothing to hide, only those with something to hide should be afraid" and statements like that smack very loudly of fascism. Today it is those threatening the government, tomorrow those that simply disagree with the government.
Now you may be thinking we are far removed from such extremist measures, however until the recent sway in public opinion those opposed to the war in Iraq were labeled as unpatriotic, and, in the politicization of the collective "Vietnam Hang Over", labeled as those that "Don't support the troops", thereby implying they support terrorism. Concepts such as these are early signs of fascism, a loss of free and independent thought, and the loss of healthy and open political debate as our political discourse is rendered down to bumper sticker slogans such as "Cut and Run".
We simply cannot allow our freedoms to be usurped in the name of 'freedom'. We cannot give free reign and blindly follow failed policy (the current administration likes to not so subtly remind us it has been five years since the last attack on American soil, what they hope we will forget, in typical Orwellian manner, is that it was eight years between foreign terrorist attacks prior to 9/11) and the makers of that failed policy and we cannot throw bad money after good and hope the situation resolves itself as we "Stay the Course".
What if we refused to allow congress to waste time on wedge issues like gay marriage, flag burning, and "Under God" in the pledge and forced them to focus on real issues that effect us everyday and will affect our children and children's children. I strongly believe in democracy, but I'm not naive enough to think it will work when only right wing Christian soccer moms and corporate lapdogs are the only ones voting. It won't work when we allow people to say they are for a 'culture of life' while killing 655,000 people in another country. It won't work if we allow an administration to invade a country under totally false pretenses and then refuse to hold them accountable while they try and change the subject and move forward under the charade that the invasion was about terrorism once the real cause was proven unfounded. It won't work if we allow our political dialogue to be reduced to "Cut and Run" and "Stay the Course". But alas, we are seemingly (as a society) more concerned with stopping two consenting adult males (or females) from 'civicly' showing their commitment to one another than we are about killing thousands and spending billions (and billions and billions) on a 'bad intelligence'. We are appalled by what the fanatical fundamentalist Muslims do while we still debate whether god created the world in 7 days and whether evolution is really just a "theory" and insist that our body of civics laws are based on Judeo-Christian 'values' while conveniently forgetting the Magna Carta, the philosophy of John Locke, Voltaire, and Thomas Jefferson, and other English common and property laws that our system is actually based on. (Not to mention the fact many now conveniently forget that most of our founding fathers including Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Franklin considered themselves deists, not Christians per se.)
So vote. If you agree with me then that's two votes for our ideas, if you disagree then you'll offset my vote and we'll call it even. Democracy can be a beautiful thing
Allow me to close with another quote from the great American, Benjamin Franklin: "All human situations have their inconveniences. We feel those of the present but neither see nor feel those of the future; and hence we often make troublesome changes without amendment, and frequently for the worse."
What follows is a simplistic, condensed look at the history of 'alternative' rock.
Those Damned 70s:
Those Damned 70s! This isn't about 'Classic Rock Radio'. You can find those stations littering the airwaves in every market in the country. This is about those bands that rebelled against the status quo, that brought rock'n'roll back to the masses, that weren't afraid to knock it off the pedestal it had been set on sometime in the late 60s.
It was in the 60s that rock'n'roll became a business, and then in the early 70s it became big business. But it also evolved into more of an art form along the way with mixed results. Of course this is just my opinion but the way I see it for every Doors there was a Jefferson Airplane, for every Pink Floyd there was a Styx, for every Bob Segar there was a Christopher Cross. You get the idea. And while Peter Frampton was selling out stadiums and bands like Yes were writing about things no one understood and bands like Queen were writing songs that sounded like opera, the average disconnected, disgruntled, dysfunctional male teenager had no where to vent his angst. Sure there was Kiss, but that was more spectacle than music, there was Alice Cooper and Ted Nugent and they fit the bill, and there were some others that made it to the mainstream, but each city fostered that small but hard core group that kept the 50s ideal of easy to play hook heavy, raw, and raunchy, controversial rock'n'roll alive. They were inspired by those 1-hit-wonders of the 60s like The Castaways 'Liar Liar', The Standells 'Dirty Water', The Trashmen 'Surfin' Bird', The Music Machine 'Talk Talk', and so on and on. That raw garage rock that could swing from songs about cars and girls to songs about alienation and angst to songs about politics and revolution (sometimes in the same verse) and all in about three minutes and three chords.
It was an interesting time for rock music. Bands like The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac smoothing out rock. Making it safe for everyone. Bands like King Crimson pushing the limits of what rock music could be about and do. Artists like David Bowie making the genre more visual. And then the bands that just flipped the bird to all of it, sometimes literally. Listen to the lyrics of Elvis Costello's 'Radio Radio' or the anger and irony in anything by the Dead Kennedys. No it wasn't a joke to these guys, it just wasn't about smooth, user-friendly rock or fifteen minute songs about philosophers.
So, briefly, how did it start? Well, it started with guys like Iggy Pop wanting to recreate those raw Blues records by cats like Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, and Muddy Waters. The result was Iggy and the Stooges. It started with bored New York punks who couldn't understand all this prog rock and syrup sweet rock streaming out of their radios so they taught themselves to play and the result was The Ramones. There were others who lead the way. The New York Dolls just wanted to shock and disgust people by dressing up like hideous women and singing raunchy songs. Iggy Pop followed suit when he went solo by shocking people with his stage shows and singing about his heroin addiction in 'Lust For Life' (which is now a cruise line commercial!). The Sex Pistols wanted to shock by tearing down tradition and being blatantly political. The Dead Kennedys jumped on that boat and made lots of people mad and uncomfortable.
The 70s were an interesting time in rock music. Rock looked inward and reinvented itself and in the process began to splinter into sub-genres which would be a trend brought to fruition in the 80s.
Nothing Good Came From the 80s:
I worked with a guy years ago that used to say no good music came out of the 80s. Sure he'd concede a couple bands, mainly REM and The Red Hot Chili Peppers, but still insisted that, for the most part, the 80s music scene was barren of anything worth listening to (I think most people say that about the music of the generation just prior and/or just after the generation they are part of). Looking on the surface that statement would seem to be true. The 80s were polluted by so much over-hyped pop crap that wading through all that just may seem like it's not worth it. But it is.
By the 80s rock was huge business. Signing artists, recording those artists, and picking the singles became a science. In most cases rock responded by becoming cold, digital, and selling its soul to become 'pop' music and commercial jingles. So we heard lots of Michael Jackson and his clones, Madonna and her clones, Paula Abdul and her clones, etc. There was dancing, videos, more dancing, and day-glo colors. What remained of true Rock became pop as well with lots of Led Zeppelin clones all dressed up like The New York Dolls and singing saccharin sweet attempts at being rebellious and raunchy but never failing to keep their hair teased while writing the obligatory power ballad. The late 60s and early 70s savior of rock that fell off the beaten path, FM radio, also became a bought and sold commodity. Stations took polls, read reports, watched ratings, and sold out. You basically had four choices; the big three were Pop Music, Pop Rock, or Classic Rock. It would appear that my co-worker was right. But that fourth choice, hard to find in many markets, was College Radio. Good music will always find an outlet, even if it's a small one, and college radio became that outlet and escape from the attack of the clones.
By 1980 Punk had, with a few notable exceptions, burned itself out. Most good Punk artists were dead or exploring new territory like Ska (a fusion of rock, funk and reggae). New Wave had been around a couple years and was basically punk with nicer clothes, a shave and a haircut, and keyboards. Make New Wave angry, distorted, and a little less melodic and you have Industrial. All these movements were born of the 70s but came to fruition in the 80s. Rock again became experimental, unafraid, fresh, and even more so than before, underground. In some cases it adhered closely to the punk ethic like The Minutemen's "Political Song For Michael Jackson To Sing", in some cases it embraced the past like Bauhaus' obviously Pink Floyd influenced "Bela Lugoi's Dead". In most cases it went off into it's own little world with bands like Violent Femmes, They Might Be Giants, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, and The Butthole Surfers. If the 80s should be remembered for anything it should be the diversity of music. Or better, the diversity of music that was essentially ignored by the mainstream, and, despite that, still managed to make more than just a dent in the minds and lives of fans. Yes there was a din of pop clones and hair band pop-rock poseurs to be consumed and regurgitated and it would seem to the uninitiated that's about all the 80s had to offer, but we know differant.
The 90s became a reaction to that pompous glammer of the 80s. Maybe not as radical as the departure from "Rumours" to "Never Mind The Bullocks" but definately a bigger one. And it was those "Underground" College Radio bands that ended up having the biggest influence on what was just around the corner. There became far more Pixies and Meat Puppets wannabes (like me) than Poisen and Warrent wannabes.
Ladies and Gentlemen: The 90s:
There are certain times in rock music that seem more important than others. For instance 1954- 1958 saw Bill Haley, Elvis, Buddy Holley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, etc. 1967-1971 saw The Beatles reach their creative peak, Hendrix, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, The Allman Brothers among others make their debut. As you've seen roughly 1975 to 1980 witnessed the best punk had to offer and the beginnings of whole new sub genres like New Wave, Techno, etc. not to mention Van Halen, The Cars, Motorhead, and others. There seemed to be no focused time that contained the best of the 80s, it was just here and there, peaking through all the crap that floated to the surface. But the 90s, the 90s almost seemed like a non-stop barrage of the best Rock had to offer. Or maybe I was in my early 20s and hungry.
By the late 80s people were getting tired of over promoted, over produced, over glammed shit spraying out of their radio speakers and all over their cars and living rooms. It started with a band called Guns'n'Roses. No matter how hard the record company tried to make them a hair band, the label simply didn't fit. This was really raw music about drug addiction and street life all played with basic Blues progressions through cranked Marshall stacks. That wasn't exactly a new idea but it did seem fresh compared to everything else we were being offered. The next band that had a hit but didn't fit was Living Colour. Yeah, they dressed the part, but that sound... All dissonance, melody, funk, and effects loaded guitar. Now this did seem new. The underground was beginning to climb above ground. Mother Love Bone was signed and started a mini landslide that would eventually trigger a massive landslide with the release of Smashing Pumpkins Gish and Nirvana's Nevermind. Suddenly bands that had been influenced in the 80s by cult bands like The Minutemen, The Pixies, Husker Du, The Meatpuppets et al were not only getting signed, but also getting airplay and having hits. REJOICE!!! Punk with a dash of Heavy Metal was suddenly called Grunge. New Wave mixed with Techno became Electronica. Southern Rock became Jam Band. Prog Rock became Art Metal. College Radio became popular. Just as in the 50s when some guys combined Country and Western with The Blues and came up with something new they called Rock and Roll, in the 90s some guys combined everything with everything and came up with something new. They reinvented Rock and Roll...And Serious Wilson was born. I remember those days off of work around 1989 to around 1993. Bozz, Bobbo and I would go skate boarding or hanging out at the river. We'd bring along a disk or tape of the newest best band we'd discovered. It became a contest to see who could find the best new stuff. Like the song says, those were the best days of my life.
There's too much great music from the 90s. It is the soundtrack to my post high school life. Living with Bozz in the roach infested Taj (late '89 actually but close enough), forming Serious Wilson, DL being born, hanging out in KC and seeing many of those bands live, dating, then living with, then marrying Jenny, working terrible hours for no pay at the grocery store, living in the rat infested 'Drug Store', recording 'Phantom Dreams', 'Only on the Avenue', 'requiem for the brain', 'An American Standard', drinking, drinking, and drinking some more, buying our house, reforming Serious Wilson, the lows the highs, and everything in between. Just a typical American life lived with grundge/alternative/post-punk/rock'n'roll music constantly playing in the background.
The Oughts:
So what's happening now in the world of rock. Rock Music has always, from it's birth, been a mixture of popular music. It started out as a mix of Blues and Country Western/Hillbilly music. In the 60s it began to incorporate classical and jazz influences. The 70s saw a bigger influence exerted from the Blues with bands like Led Zeppelin, the Allman Brothers, Humble Pie, etc. Rock also reached an age where it could influence itself. As stated earlier those simple rock bands of the 50s and 60s influenced The Stooges and the Ramones. The 70s also saw rock begin to splinter into sub genres like Punk, Prog, Southern, and Metal. The 80s took that splintering a step further with the propagation of Electronica, Industrial, New Wave, Glam Metal, Hip Hop, and a mixture of all those. The 90s were a reaction to the 80s just as the late 70s were a reaction to the late 60s and earlier 70s, a correction in the maturation of rock music, a step back to look at where we'd been and where we were gong. And now we are seeing the results of that correction, just as the 80s saw the results of the Punk correction of the 70s.
Rock influences rock and mixes with rock now. Bands like Hot Hot Heat sound a lot like The Cure, but not quite enough to call it copying. The Killers are just an 80s New Wave band. Modest Mouse could really fit in about any decade as could Franz Ferdinand. The Strokes, The Hives, Jet all sound like they jumped right out of the 70s. She Wants Revenge could have very easily opened for Bauhaus in the 80s. The Darkness could have been a glam rock band from the 70s, or a hair band from the 80s or a little of both. Louis XIV sounds strangely like a mix of The Stones, Humble Pie, and The Faces. Punk, Pop, Synth, retro, Alternative. These are all words used now to describe what's happening in rock. It is an interesting time in music and there is really some great new stuff out there. Stay Tuned...
"His simultaneous belief and unbelief, finally, produces not only beings and landscapes at once living and dead, but such other derivatives as images of things at once conscious and unconscious, near and far, present and absent, lost and inalienable, evoking feelings of grief and joy, despair and hope, loss and return, separation and union- expressions of what he himself called his 'Innate love of contradiction.'"- Kenneth Silverman, Edgar A. Poe: A Mournful and Never Ending Remembrance
The human mind; It has created great works of art. It has built cities and civilizations. It has allowed men to walk on the moon and it has seen fit to send robots to explore other planets and has even sent them beyond the very edge of our own solar system.
The human mind; It has fought great wars. Mastered the art of killing its own kind. Constantly inventing new forms of cruelty and depravity. Making quicker, more efficient ways of torture and death. It brought the very planet to the edge of extinction, peered over the edge, stepped back.
For every Bach there is a Marilyn Manson. For every Miles Davis there is a G.G. Allan. For every Monet there is a Maplethorp. For every great novel there is a romance novel. For every Mother Theresa there is an Adolph Hitler. For every Pope John Paul II there's a Pol Pot. For every caring individual there is a serial killer. There is no right or wrong in it. Or is there?
We are in possession of these very same minds.
Think for a moment about great paintings; Creations from Rembrandt to Dali, Rockwell to Pollack. Picture works from Van Gogh or Monet, Ernst or Michelangelo. Take a Saturday this summer and visit an art gallery. Witness real creations by human hand from the human mind.
What about great works of fiction? Joyce's "Ulysses" or Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath", Hesse's "Siddartha" or Burgess' "A Clockwork Orange", Plato's "Republic" or Huxley's "Brave New World", the works of Poe or Orwell's "1984". Read or reread a great novel over the summer. Let yourself be taken to an event that never really happened in a place that never really existed. Think about what it takes to invent these things from nothing but a group of nerves located in a big bundle in the human skull. Why are we moved by fiction? We know the events aren't real. They didn't happen. The characters are made up, yet we sympathize or empathize with fiction, with something that, no matter how much we enjoy it, is not real.
And what of music? Take 12 semi-tones. Set them equally apart so the 12th semi-tone is an exact doubling of the frequency of the first semi-tone. If the first tone vibrates at 440 Hertz, then the 12th will vibrate at 880 Hertz. Now divide those 12 semi-tones into 8 'notes' and set up a series of whole and half steps (a half step being one semi-tone to the next, a whole step skipping over 1 semi-tone) between them in what feels like a 'natural' progression; The progression being 'whole whole half whole whole whole half' steps. Now take the first note, the third note and the fifth note and play them at the same time. You will have a nice, almost happy sounding 'triad' (three notes), or chord. Now play the same three notes except lower the third note by a half step. Now you have a serious, almost sad sounding chord. Stack more thirds by adding the 7th degree from your list of notes or the 9th degree. Build other chords from the same list but starting at other degrees rather than the first. Now play different 'scales' by starting on different notes of the first scale we built but keeping the same series of whole and half steps. It sounds 'right'. Try playing the 1st and 2nd degrees at the same time. They don't sound right. Your ears perceive an 'out of phase' feeling. It's good to get your attention, but not too nice to hang out on those notes. It's dissonant, uncomfortable.
This is a very brief primer on Western Music Theory. Oh no, not all music has rules. Maybe art shouldn't have rules. Without them we get Oriental music where harmony and melody are incidental (or accidental). We get Indian music with its stream of conscious rhythm and no real harmony or melody. African music with its 5 note scales, incidental harmony and melody, where all emotion and communication is conveyed via rhythm. What we don't get is Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. We also don't get Blues Music, Jazz, or even Rock'n'Roll. The last three being, for lack of time, space, or any real understanding, a combination of African rhythm and European harmony (this is way over-simplified but will do for this observation). What a beautiful thing is music. Edgar Allan Poe believed that music was the only real way for man, while alive, to get to a higher plain, in Heaven with the angels. He believed his poetry, with its meter and rhyme could get him close, but only music could take you all the way. We drive to music, work to music, fuck to music. (Oh yeah, there is no denying music's sexual element, people have tried, but come on, it's all around you.) Songs remind us of things, times, places, events. Jenny dislikes Miles Davis' 'Bitches Brew' because of the way it makes her 'feel'. I can only occasionally listen to Sonny Sharrock's 'Ask The Ages' because I feel great pain in the music. (I don't know if he intended it that way or not, but it is what I feel.) When I hear Journey's 'Feeling that Way' I am instantly transported back to Mongo's Citation, flying down 6 Highway without a care in the world. It's early spring, nice enough to have the windows down, as long as I had my leather on. That musky smell of rain hanging in the air, drops occasionally breaking through the cloud cover to kick up wetted dust on the side of the highway. If I hear The Doors' 'Riders on the Storm' I am transported to 'The Gates of Hell'. Sitting there alone in the dark, sad. A storm is coming. Lightning streaking across the sky and playing tricks on my eyes with shadows, light and dark, across the rows of corn for miles in every direction. Suddenly and without reason I feel terror well up in side of me and I haul ass for the safety of my 1979 Bronco.
We all have these stories, these feelings about music. It's unavoidable. Would the movie Halloween be as effective without the soundtrack? Would any movie? Sometime over the next couple of months make a list of those songs that hold a special place for you, even if the memories they invoke are dark. Listen to those songs. Get inside them; relive those times, good or bad. Savor those emotions. Learn to use them.
Do these things. We only live once; let's make something of it.
The Universe is infinitely huge (even if it's not literally infinite, it might as well be where we're concerned). Our planet amounts to less than an atom in the cosmos. When it's all said and done, we amount to less than nothing. Or do we? Maybe we are the 'conscious' part of the Universe. Maybe we are the 'conscience' of the Universe. Maybe our art, our thoughts, our philosophies are in fact the tracings of a God. Maybe mathematics is a higher plane of communication, or maybe not. Maybe evolution has afforded us these minds as our only means to survive when times were lean. Maybe art is simply an extension of our incredible ability to communicate. Our thoughts are evolution's way of making us survivors, without them we parish with the Neanderthals. Maybe our philosophies are an attempt to apply order where there is only chaos, our need for a God only an evolutionary leftover of the need for an alpha-leader. Maybe our ability to see order where there is only chaos allowed us to invent and apply mathematics to situations that need order. We are at times amazed when mathematical problems work out and solve a problem for us, yet we are applying something that we invented specifically to solve these problems. It's the age-old quest for man's place in the Universe.
And what of society? Man has created great societies throughout history. They've all had their flaws, but only as a reflection of the imperfection of those who created them (if that's the case, how can God be perfect?). We could talk endlessly about societies and cultures from the Ancient Egyptians to the Ancient Greeks to the Persians to the Romans to the Mongolians to the British Empire to America in the 18th century to America today. Which is what we can all relate to. What about today's society? We may see it as shallow, crass, thoughtless, rude, and devoid of creativity. But is it really any worse than past societies? Are humans really somehow different now than they were 200, 300, 2000 years ago? I doubt it. We live in a time of great communication, great discoveries, breakthroughs, and unprecedented personal freedoms and individual educations (or at least the ability to be educated). Yet all of us, at times, feel empty and shallow. Alone. We're entertained by mediocrity. Reality TV, poorly written rehashed sitcom plots, remakes of old movies that maybe weren't that good to begin with. Is Brittany Spears pregnant? Will Jessica leave Nick? Man simply can't throw off those shackles of evolution that have kept us enthralled with celebrity, forced us to seek entertainment rather than knowledge, allowed us to be convinced that good looks equate to great talent, submit us to often accept at face value what those that lead us say, and turned us into a tabloid culture by making us want to tear down those that we ourselves have made 'Alphas'. Is modern society any different than those of times passed? I doubt it... but it should be.
You've looked into the sky and contemplated man's place in the Universe. You've looked out the window and addressed man's place in society. Now you need to look in the mirror. What are your faults? What are your strengths? What are you regrets? What are your triumphs? Reflect long and hard on whom you really are. What kind of person you are. If you are where you thought you would be. If not, then where you would like to be? You should explore places in your mind, in your thoughts, in your memories that you normally wouldn't explore. Places in those corners, closets, and crevices of your mind that hide your inner most thoughts, fears, and memories. Yes, it should be uncomfortable. You should be moved to anger, sadness, or joy. If you don't work up some uncomfortable emotion, choke back a tear, punch a wall, then you aren't trying. When you shine a light into those areas and watch the cockroaches scatter, then spill out what your thinking and feeling into words or pictures, use metaphor, simile, and symbolism. One amazing ability that evolution has afforded us is the ability to think abstractly. To use one point, one story, one phrase, to describe something entirely different. Is "Lord of the Flies" about some kids trapped on an island or about how close to being animals man really is? Is "Dracula" about a vampire or about repressed sexual desire and the need for power? You, hopefully, will be exploring areas of who you are and how you came to be who you are. These should be personal and at times, as I've said, hard to deal with. They are things you probably don't want to share.
Explore what's on the outside; explore who's on the inside.
dB
© 2012. David Burns
