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| From | "Josh Chasin" <jchasin@nyc.rr.com> |
| Subject | Re: Cobain + 10 |
| Date | Tue, 6 Apr 2004 13:23:44 -0400 |
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Again, I don't want to get locked into an argument, but in my universe,
music didn't sound much different as a result of Nirvana. By the time they
came out I'd already heard Mother Love Bone, Soundgarden, and on and on;
what distinguished them was they had a popular single.
Whereas, Remain In Light rippled out in ways that are still being felt, in
the integration of rock and world music. On the list of albums that made
music different in their wake, Remain in Light makes my top-5, easily.
Music never sounded the same to me again afterward. Remove Remain in Light,
I submit you pull the wool out from under Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon's
famous and popular 80s work, to name just 2 artists. Indeed Remain in Light
may have paved the way for the early rap crossover (Remain in Light > Tom
Tom Club's "Wordy Rappinghood" > Afrika Bambaata & Grandmaster Flash).
Maybe the music would have been made-- but would white kids have heard it?
By the time Run-DMC came around, Byrne and Eno's work was done.
When you separate pop culture from music itself (I know, impossible to do) I
think you find that the results are different.
You know what? I'm cranky and ornery today and probably getting my period,
so maybe just ignore me.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Bennett" <mrhonorama@hotmail.com>
To: <audities@smoe.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2004 12:52 PM
Subject: Re: Cobain + 10
> Josh,
>
> My post tried to delineate the two reasons that could support Cobain's
> elevated stature in the rock panthenon. The first reason would be the
> music. And you are correct, opinions can vary as to the quality of
> Nirvana's music. I tried to make it clear that my disagreement with you
was
> not on that basis.
>
> The other reason is because of the larger impact Nirvana had on the music
> scene in general. Shawn Campbell did an excellent job of articulating
that
> in her post last night. For the same reason, this is why I listed The Sex
> Pistols and Run D.M.C. as signpost figures in the rock era.
>
> The fact that you find Talking Heads REMAIN IN LIGHT to be superior to the
> works of Nirvana, The Sex Pistols and Run D.M.C is just subjective musical
> judgment. That's opinion.
>
> And while it can be argued how extensive the influence of The Sex Pistols,
> Run D.M.C. and Nirvana had on music in general, it is clearly a fact that
> The Sex Pistols and Nirvana had a wide ranging cultural impact that, no
> matter how great the Talking Heads were, they simply didn't have. Of the
> three, I think it is unassailable that The Sex Pistols had a incredible
> effect on music -- thanks to them, tons of bands formed, the D.I.Y.
> aesthetic developed -- their impact is still being felt today. I think
that
> Run D.M.C.'s impact is generally short shrifted, but they really broke rap
> through to the masses and helped establish for rap what The Sex Pistols
did
> for punk. Nirvana picked up those threads and legitimized them into
> something very permanent.
>
> It's one thing not to like the music -- it's another not to acknowledge
the
> impact (which means that maybe I should have included Dylan on my original
> list...)
>
> Mike Bennett
>
>
>
> Record reviews and more at http://fufkin.com
>
> >From: "Josh Chasin" <jchasin@nyc.rr.com>
> >Reply-To: audities@smoe.org
> >To: <audities@smoe.org>
> >Subject: Re: Cobain + 10
> >Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2004 12:26:47 -0400
> >
> >Yeah, I know there are the usual Cobain adherents on this list. Never
got
> >it, never will. Bought Nevermind when it came out, sort of liked one
song,
> >mostly couldn't abide the thing. Bought the Teenage Fanclub album
> >Bandwagonesque at the very same time (first exposure to each). Now that
> >one
> >made the trip to the record store worthwhile. What impact did he have on
> >popular music, outside of stealing the "hey, this song is really really
> >soft-- no wait, now its really really LOUD" shtick from the Pixies?
Which,
> >if I hadn't heard it on that album, would have been unmistakable a few
> >months later on Siamese Dream.
> >
> >Don't answer, Michael. Its a rhetorical question. I know he has his
> >adherents. I just want to voice the opposing POV; I'm not being
> >argumentative. Its like those top-50 lists; there is no right or wrong.
> >
> >By the way, in my book, the Talking Heads and Remain in Light had more
> >impact on music than Cobain, Run-DMC, and the Sex Pistols combined. Can
> >anyone really listen to the Sex Pistols album in this day and age all the
> >way through, with no sense of irony, and not wince?
> >
> >These are opinions, not facts. Yours may vary.
> >
>
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