*Not sure why this got cut off at the end of my last blog....
Lewis Carroll said "I can't go back to yesterday - because I was a different person." I think that explains some of this. It was an era and it was a fashion, and it was a mind set, and........it was my foolish heart that all conspired to allow me to actually like some of this stuff.
There's a ton of similar artists and albums from that era that were victims of cross pollenation attempts like that. It's even been suggested that The Game by Queen was their response to the revolution in music at the time.
Anyhow, I guess that sometimes music takes you back to an era, other times it just kind of stops the bus briefly and a few passengers get off and a few get on.
Cheers,
D
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Billy Joel vs. the new wave
Funny how music has the ability to time warp you right back to a long gone era. I was listening to old albums the other day and pulled out Glass Houses by Billy Joel. Let me say straight away that BJ's early body of work was pretty respectable. A very gifted songwriter, perhaps the analog of across the pond's Elton John in many ways. Billy Joel's work always seemed to carry a bit of NYC swagger and a touch of the angry young artist. He could switch gears and write anything from an anthem to a respectable ballad.
Punk turned the music industry upside down. It deconstructed the myth that music could only be made by the elite or gifted. Very quickly the labels, as well as the established artists, were faced with a creative dilemma-"how do we remain relevant?" For many it didn't matter, bands like the Eagles or Journey just plowed ahead without missing a beat. For some, even a band like Fleetwood Mac, oddities like Tusk were proffered. A strange beast that contained some very contrived sounding attempts at the "new wave" sound. Very odd indeed because the "new wave" itself was a pretty limited affair in terms of bands and time frame.
So then BJ puts out Glass Houses. It's a very odd duck indeed. I would be lying if I told you I knew how old Beej was at that point but I'm guessing well into his 30's. The snappy little tunes like It's Still Rock and Roll To Me and It's Just a Fantasy try very hard to fit the blueprint of the new wave, quirky with silly subject matter and angular rhythms. It makes me blush a bit because I think I actually liked this album at one point. I have no beef with Bill over this, I'm guessing that existing in a town that churned out Television, The Talking Heads, Blondie, The Ramones, Patti Smith, CBGB's, the Bottom Line, and a myriad of others probably provided some true inspiration. And, as a gifted artist he put his spin on it but it sounds pretty funny now.
Lewis Carroll said "I can't go back to yesterday - because I was a different person." I think that explains some of this. It was an era and it was a fashion, and it was a mind set, and........it was my foolish heart that all conspired to allow me to actually like some of this stuff.
There's a ton of similar artists and albums from that era that were victims of cross pollination attempts like that. It's even been suggested that The Game by Queen was their response to the revolution in music at the time.
Anyhow, I guess that sometimes music takes you back to an era, other times it just kind of stops the bus briefly and a few passengers get off and a few get on.
Cheers,
D
Punk turned the music industry upside down. It deconstructed the myth that music could only be made by the elite or gifted. Very quickly the labels, as well as the established artists, were faced with a creative dilemma-"how do we remain relevant?" For many it didn't matter, bands like the Eagles or Journey just plowed ahead without missing a beat. For some, even a band like Fleetwood Mac, oddities like Tusk were proffered. A strange beast that contained some very contrived sounding attempts at the "new wave" sound. Very odd indeed because the "new wave" itself was a pretty limited affair in terms of bands and time frame.
So then BJ puts out Glass Houses. It's a very odd duck indeed. I would be lying if I told you I knew how old Beej was at that point but I'm guessing well into his 30's. The snappy little tunes like It's Still Rock and Roll To Me and It's Just a Fantasy try very hard to fit the blueprint of the new wave, quirky with silly subject matter and angular rhythms. It makes me blush a bit because I think I actually liked this album at one point. I have no beef with Bill over this, I'm guessing that existing in a town that churned out Television, The Talking Heads, Blondie, The Ramones, Patti Smith, CBGB's, the Bottom Line, and a myriad of others probably provided some true inspiration. And, as a gifted artist he put his spin on it but it sounds pretty funny now.
Lewis Carroll said "I can't go back to yesterday - because I was a different person." I think that explains some of this. It was an era and it was a fashion, and it was a mind set, and........it was my foolish heart that all conspired to allow me to actually like some of this stuff.
There's a ton of similar artists and albums from that era that were victims of cross pollination attempts like that. It's even been suggested that The Game by Queen was their response to the revolution in music at the time.
Anyhow, I guess that sometimes music takes you back to an era, other times it just kind of stops the bus briefly and a few passengers get off and a few get on.
Cheers,
D
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