MUSIC WORTH BUYING + MUSIC WORTH A FREE DOWNLOAD Vol VI
ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME EDITION!
Anyone who is tuned into boring news has probably heard that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced their nominees for 2012. The funny thing is that in order to be nominated, your first music release has to be more than 25 years old. That means that most of the people reading this weren’t there to experience the first album drop by any of these supposedly respectable and classic artists. My goal is to deliver some hot tracks for those of you that maybe have only seen these performers in their twilight years. I wish Huey Lewis was on the list so I could make some sort of reference to going “back in time”…but alas, it is not meant to be.
THE BEASTIE BOYS
As you’ve probably heard, these guys started as a hardcore punk band, heavily influenced by Black Flag. I know you can’t hear it when Intergalactic comes on, but trust me, it is true. In fact, I found proof. Their entire Polly Wog Stew EP:
Cooky Puss was their first Hip-Hop attempt and believe it or not, it was big in the underground NYC club scene in 1983-ish.
After this, they hired a young Rick Rubin to DJ for their live set…and the rest is history. The history of jew-rap.
THE CURE
As the podcast guys mentioned, the Cure seems largely responsible for Goth-ness everywhere, while also making what we consider to be almost bubbly pop music. The truth is that the Cure changed styles quite a bit, all the while keeping Robert Smith as the totally depressing lead singer. Their first single was moody and existentialist, inspired by the book The Stranger by Albert Camus. It is all lo-fi and shit. It is called Killing An Arab, but it isn’t the least bit racist. Kinda refreshing in this day and age. Check it out.
DONOVAN
Donovan was the psychaedelic Scottish folk guy of the 60’s who didn’t quite have the lasting power to be embraced by my generation when we went through our pseudo 60’s sentimentalism, but he embodied it so well they used his song Wear Your Love Like Heaven for the famous scene in The Simpsons where Homer is using medical Marijuana. Good enough reason for a Hall of Fame vote in my opinion.
ERIC B. & RAKIM
The first Hip-Hop group to make a “thing” out of using James Brown samples, these guys have a timeless quality about them that makes them good examples for the argument that Hip-Hop is a part of Rock & Roll and worthy of inclusion in the Hall of Fame. I was unfamiliar with their catalogue (minus Don’t Sweat The Technique of course) so I was pleased to enjoy their early stuff so much.
GUNS ‘N ROSES
This is one of the few groups I remember EVERYTHING about from back in the day. Against my mother’s wishes I used to sit in my room and listen to rock radio and absorb all of the awfullness that was crappy metal music from 1986 to 1988. I think I still have my very first homemade mixtapes from that era, where everything was taped off of radio. And while Axl Rose is gross now and a parody of himself, he was SO BADASS back in the day. These guys were only on top for awhile, but they were ON TOP. Period. Nobody was bigger and more epic and more relevant. You can still watch those 80’s festivals on VH1 Classic and Palladia and, as frontmen go, Axl is giving Freddy Mercury a run for his money. Do the latter day sins tarnish the amazing, but short, ride they had? That could be endlessly debated.
HEART
Ann & Nancy Wilson are an intense pair of ladies. They embodied hard rock so well that they MADE IT POSSIBLE for the hardcore ladies of today to be taken seriously. This band had the musicianship abilities to do quiet and loud with equal intensity. The video I picked has Nancy Wilson playing some sexy-ass guitar for the intro and instantly I understand what Cameron Crowe has been thinking all these years.
JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS
Ok, if there was anyone who could be more badass than all the dudes it was Joan Jett. She is a badass punk who has played with 2/3 of the Sex Pistols back when that meant something, and has been called the Godmother of Punk as well as the original Riot Grrrl.
SO. INCREDIBLY. BADASS.
Needless to say, I can’t say enough about her. If anyone every says that chicks can’t rock then Joan Jett is the best rebuttal EVER. She can still do it…as evidenced by this recent short video.
FREDDIE KING
With a nickname like “The Texas Cannonball” this guys is pretty epic as blues guitar player and singer. He influenced a TON of those blues guitar players that your parents love. If you want to see him work with a song you might’ve heard, then check out this video. Great vocals, good band, and guitar work on fire.
LAURA NYRO
With roots in old pop music a la Motown, and a desire to write about the issue of people around her, Laura Nyro possesses a mixture of timelessness and specificity of a time and place that couldn’t possibly become popular again. If you want a well rounded look at that, this video shows her doo-wop roots mixed with a passionate political message, (but not in the same song) from her famous Monterey Pop Festival performance.
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
I don’t want to write about these guys. You know who they are.
RUFUS with CHAKA KHAN
Funky.
A song everyone has heard, but maybe hasn’t really grooved to in awhile. Also, I totally forgot how beautiful Chaka was back in the day, and an effortless powerful voice. Also, enough heavy breathing to get you in the mood with ease.
THE SMALL FACES/
THE FACES
Back before Rod Stewart became awful, he was a kickass rocker with The Jeff Beck Group and then subsequently with The Faces. Ron Wood came with him from Jeff Beck’s band and later became a full time member of the Rolling Stones. So basically what I am saying is that this period of time is the moment before these musicians went on to suck and be boring, so if you want to see them at their best, this is the way to do it.
THE SPINNERS
If The Spinners are gonna make it into the HoF, then it will certainly be for longevity. They still tour, with a different lineup of course. Some of the original members are alive, but mostly it is the new generation, doing the touring production version of the band. Here is the song you’ve probably heard.
DONNA SUMMER
The Queen of Disco was a hard one for me to stand behind on this list. Her songs Hot Stuff and The Last Dance bore me to tears. But once I remembered that she kicked some ass in the 80’s with She Works Hard For The Money I was willing to come around. She did, however, do some verbal gay bashing back in the day, but she’s not the only one, right?
WAR
You would know War as the guys who did Low-Rider and Why Can’t We Be Friends, but if you want to really enjoy these guys, check them out when they were new and acted as the diverse and funky backing group for Eric Burdon (formerly of The Animals). They know how to lay down a groove. Granted, this isn’t the Groove Hall of Fame, but grooves are SO GOOD.
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Thanks for reading everyone! Keep digging deep.