Side 4 of Rush's "Exit...Stage Left"
Who's Next
Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush" (in which, by the way, I found remnants of some very old pot. So whoever donated it to Goodwill killed too many brain cells to remember where they left their stash.)
Led Zeppelin (the first)
I like The Who well enough, but I've never really developed a taste for the others. I just want to know what the hardcore fans see in these groups. By that, I mean besides "I like 'em because they're f-ing awesome!" I want to know why you think they're awesome. What is it about the music that you like?
Hi Dave,
ReplyDeleteI like listening to what I think is called classic rock. You know I'm not a big music person, knowing names and songs and who sings what. Would groups like Moody Blues, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, the Eagles, fall into the category of which you speak? If so, here are the reasons I like this music, just off the top of my head.
1) I like the vocal harmonies. They are often complex and involve multiple voices, difficult intervals and dissonant chords. As someone whose primary musical focus has been choral singing, I appreciate the variety of voices and the richness of the harmonies this produces.
2) This music often hearkens to classical music. There is arguably a musical complexity that is not as present in more pop type music. You know, the I, IV, V type patterns. They are plenty pleasing and beboppy and a person can definitely be jazzed up by them. I certainly enjoy those, too. But to me the variety and musical richness of classic rock has its own appeal.
3) OK, this one is a little weird. I could phrase it two ways, neither sounds very academic or in the case of the latter, even desirable. But there it is. Phraseology A) There is often a mellowness that makes me want to close my eyes and sway back and forth.
Phraseology B) It puts me in touch with my inner hippy.
What more can I say.
Thanks for your comment, Mary. I know tossing out a general category like "Classic Rock" means having to refine later.
ReplyDeleteOf the four groups/artists I mentioned, the one that most frustrates me is Rush, who I suppose are most often categorized as being a "prog (progressive) rock" group. The fact the Joe had Rush stuck in his head (as he mentioned in his 6/28 blog post) makes me worry about Joe. What on Earth is there to get stuck? Where's the melody? Where are the hooks? My friend Chad is big into the prog groups, especially King Crimson and something called Vandergraff Generator.
I have some Moody Blues on vinyl. They may have been the first of the prog groups...but I can at least get some melody out of it! I don't listen to them much, but I think they're OK.
I think I have some Floyd, too. They also strike me as being kind of unmelodic. Also, the song that may have been their biggest hit, Another Brick in the Wall, make me want to retch and puke.
The Eagles - I have their Greatest Hits (who doesn't?) on vinyl. I think I overdid that one as a high schooler; I don't listen to it much these days.
The Stones - While I don't think much of some of their lifestyle choices, I can't deny their status as one of the great rock'n'roll bands of all time. On the rare occasions that I find a Stones album in secondhand stores, they usually are not in very good condition, which indicates that they were listened to frequently.
Have you heard Joe's Rush stories? They were his all time favorite band through his high school and early college years, had every album. In a pietistical moment, he burned his complete Rush collection.
ReplyDeleteI know he's been trying to get a comment down on your blog, but I've said that before, too. Who knows if he'll get a chance.
On a vastly different note, but still fitting the music and religion blog theme you have going here, have you read The Hammer of God by Bo Giertz? I was thinking the other day that the portrayal of how men of God have dealt with various music in the church had some similarities with some of your previous posts.
The segue there is pietism. The book is a fictional account of how the Scandinavian Lutherans were effected by pietism in three different historical eras.