A Thread for Musical Blasphemy you Truly Believe

[Lammycat]

Townsend is the writer...his lyrics are often extended whining sessions.

 

That being said...I think that the band was done after Quadrophenia.

Over-poroduced extravaganzas like Tommy and Quadrophenia make By Numbers a welcome return to simple song-writing/compostitions, in my opinion. I actually find the lyrics quite humble on it.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

I like By Numbers because of the whininess. After these rock operas, and other generally huge chunks of tough guy rock, By Numbers is a nice step back. Except Slip Kid, which is full on tough guy rock.

[JohnO]

I Can't Explain is the only tune I still crank. The rest are like Charlie Brown's teacher blah blahblah blah blah.

 

Dizzy in the head and I'm feeling bad

The things you've said have got me real mad

I'm gettin' funny dreams again and again

I know what it means but

[tinnitus photography]

'Cut My Hair' is the best song that Townshend has ever written.

[Dude]

The greatest song of all time is Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds.

[Jesusetc84]

a fistful of blasphemy.

 

- The Ramones are easily the weakest band from the CBGBs scene. I'll take Talking Heads, Television, Patti, Blondie, The Voidoids etc over the Ramones any day.

- Bob Marley bores me to tears. His songs have no tension, which I consider a key element of composition.

- I vastly prefer the Stax sound to the Motown. Give me horns over frilly strings any day.

- Kurt Cobain is my favorite vocalist of all time and Nirvana is probably in my top 5 favorite bands. Deal with it.

- I think Are You Experienced is Hendrix's weakest album, and that Purple Haze is overrated. Electric Ladyland and Axis: Bold as Love are much more interesting to me.

- I think that Uncle Tupelo is for the most part pretty average.

- John Lennon (solo) is an overrated lyricist.

- For all the talk about them being "Punk Godfathers", I think The Who's biggest influence was on Boston, Cheap Trick, KISS and other arena rock, and that they were entirely too slick to be considered "punk" related.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

- Bob Marley bores me to tears. His songs have no tension, which I consider a key element of composition.

- I vastly prefer the Stax sound to the Motown. Give me horns over frilly strings any day.

- Kurt Cobain is my favorite vocalist of all time and Nirvana is probably in my top 5 favorite bands. Deal with it.

- I think Are You Experienced is Hendrix's weakest album, and that Purple Haze is overrated. Electric Ladyland and Axis: Bold as Love are much more interesting to me.

- I think that Uncle Tupelo is for the most part pretty average.

- John Lennon (solo) is an overrated lyricist.

- For all the talk about them being "Punk Godfathers", I think The Who's biggest influence was on Boston, Cheap Trick, KISS and other arena rock, and that they were entirely too slick to be considered "punk" related.

I agree with all of this. Especially the one about Cobain. I love his vocals so much. Unplugged really proved his range.

 

In general, I think reggae is boring music.

[cryptique]

a fistful of blasphemy.

 

- I vastly prefer the Stax sound to the Motown. Give me horns over frilly strings any day.

- I think Are You Experienced is Hendrix's weakest album, and that Purple Haze is overrated. Electric Ladyland and Axis: Bold as Love are much more interesting to me.

- For all the talk about them being "Punk Godfathers", I think The Who's biggest influence was on Boston, Cheap Trick, KISS and other arena rock, and that they were entirely too slick to be considered "punk" related.

I don't regard these as blasphemy.

[PopTodd]

David Crosby is the weak link in every band of which he has been a part.

[Jesusetc84]

David Crosby is the weak link in every band of which he has been a part.

 

He also has a weak septum.

 

I'd like to add that despite thinking they're the greatest band of all time compositionally by a mile, that I don't consider The Beatles particularly innovative. Basically everything they did had been done. They were more musical chameleons than true innovators.

[Dude]

I'd like to add that despite thinking their the greatest band of all time compositionally by a mile, that I don't consider The Beatles particularly innovative. Basically everything they did had been done. They were more musical chameleons than true innovators.

 

Wrong. Try again.

[Jesusetc84]

Wrong. Try again.

 

While they weren't 100% rip offs like Led Zeppelin, they were hardly true innovators in the sense that The Velvet Underground were.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

a fistful of blasphemy.

 

- The Ramones are easily the weakest band from the CBGBs scene. I'll take Talking Heads, Television, Patti, Blondie, The Voidoids etc over the Ramones any day. I concur fully. The Ramones always seemed like an extended joke to me

- Bob Marley bores me to tears. His songs have no tension, which I consider a key element of composition. I must agree here too.

- I vastly prefer the Stax sound to the Motown. Give me horns over frilly strings any day. Al Green is the greatest Soul Singer of all time. Deal with it

- Kurt Cobain is my favorite vocalist of all time and Nirvana is probably in my top 5 favorite bands. Deal with it. I would have loved to have heard Cobain if he was able to get clean

- I think Are You Experienced is Hendrix's weakest album, and that Purple Haze is overrated. Electric Ladyland and Axis: Bold as Love are much more interesting to me. Axis: Bold as Love is more stunning today than Sgt. Pepper. (Maybe that is blasphemous on its own merit)

- I think that Uncle Tupelo is for the most part pretty average. There's always nostalgia for bands that ended prematurely. Tupelo's best work was definitly ahead of them

- John Lennon (solo) is an overrated lyricist. If he hadn't been assassinated, he would have traveld the schmaltzy path with an extreme gusto

- For all the talk about them being "Punk Godfathers", I think The Who's biggest influence was on Boston, Cheap Trick, KISS and other arena rock, and that they were entirely too slick to be considered "punk" related. The Who influenced Punk the same way that Motown influenced the Beatles. The did some covers, copped a bit of the attitude and proclaimed love for it to endear themselves to a segment of the audience

[Jesusetc84]

Oh shit. Forgot Al was on Motown.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

Oh shit. Forgot Al was on Motown.

 

 

Al Green was Stax. (I was wrong)( I was agreeing with you in a most vociferous manner about the superiority of STAX/Volt)

 

See my amendmant below.

[PopTodd]

Oh shit. Forgot Al was on Motown.

 

Naw. He was on The Right Stuff Records. (I think that he had one album on Motown.) But def. not Stax.

Discography

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

Naw. He was on The Right Stuff Records. (I think that he had one album on Motown.) But def. not Stax.

 

Let the blasphemy be amended as follows: Memphis Soul kicks the shit outta Motown.

 

Let it be further said that Al Green is a better soul artist than Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye.

[PopTodd]

Let the blasphemy be amended as follows: Memphis Soul kicks the shit outta Motown.

 

Motown is pop, not soul.

Apples to oranges.

 

But there is NOTHING wrong with Motown.

(So, yeah. that's blasphemous.)

[Dude]

While they weren't 100% rip offs like Led Zeppelin, they were hardly true innovators in the sense that The Velvet Underground were.

 

Led Zep innovated too a bit. There's a progression from You Shook Me to Stairway to Heaven. Communication Breakdown is quite a distance away from the blues to as to be considered unchartered territory. (Actually, if anything, it ripped off the Yardbirds.)

[barbkm]

All these REM haters....I feel so alone, but I will keep my little REM fire going for all eternity. (And I like Reveal more than Automatic and Out of Time -- how's that for blasphemy).

 

Especially Peter Buck -- for a guy in his 50s, he just is so rocking hot. For me, it's a very tight race for my guitar hero supremacy between PB and JT -- I now these guys are not on par with the greats, but screw that, I love em.

[hardwood floor]

it's a very tight race for my guitar hero supremacy between PB and JT

 

wait ... JT? Jethro Tull?

[Doug C]

Barb, I have never posted in this thread because we like what we like and I don't see the point in these kinds of discussions BUT like Davis in 12 Angry Men, you stood alone. I, like McArdle, will give you my support. I have loved R.E.M. since Hibtone and still do. I agree that Peter Buck is the shit.

Carry on with the blasphemous rumors.

[Sir Stewart]

 

I'd like to add that despite thinking they're the greatest band of all time compositionally by a mile, that I don't consider The Beatles particularly innovative. Basically everything they did had been done. They were more musical chameleons than true innovators.

 

Your earlier 'fistful' post was good, but you should've quit while you were ahead.

[Mr. Heartbreak]

Your earlier 'fistful' post was good, but you should've quit while you were ahead.

 

I have always been a huge Beatle fan, but check out this quote from a contemporary rock critic (1960s):

 

Why should the Beatles limit themselves to pop? Why can't they just expand as they want, not thinking about categories? No reason--they're responsible only to themselves, and they can work whichever way they like.

 

The only thing is, without pop, without its image and its flash and its myths, they don't add up to much. They lose their magic boots, and then they're human like anyone else; they become updated Cole Porters, smooth and sophisticated, boring as hell. Admitted, the posh Sundays say they're Art, but what's so great about Art?

[barbkm]

Barb, I have never posted in this thread because we like what we like and I don't see the point in these kinds of discussions BUT like Davis in 12 Angry Men, you stood alone. I, like McArdle, will give you my support. I have loved R.E.M. since Hibtone and still do. I agree that Peter Buck is the shit.

Carry on with the blasphemous rumors.

 

My peeps! If I had a beer, I'd drink to you.

 

wait ... JT? Jethro Tull?

Ahhhh ...JT = Jeff Tweedy.