Test Pattern, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 . . .
Today I was helping my buddy
Dave lay wood panel on the floor of the rec room, and get it ready for the
"Barnston Island BBQ Bash" (ya better all come; I'm slaving away for your enjoyment ;p). Whilst I was doing this very activity, I thought about
Melissa's B-Day celebration at the Cambie. Specifically, she asked me about my "5 Favourite Bands" of all time. This question really stumped me. I've known and loved many a musical act throughout my many begotten years on this here plain of existence. Who do I include? Who do I exclude? Being drunk and very tired, my initial response to her was way off. For anyone interested, in no particular order, that night my picks were:
- The Beatles
- The Beach Boys
- WEEZER
- BEASTIE Boys
- Nirvana
Now, I'm not saying that I have no love for these bands, but, upon further pondering I cannot whole heartedly abide with this list. 2 will remain though. Those 2 picks were easy, and then and even to this moment, they were automatic buys into my top 5. I will get into why further down in this post. As for why I must drop the remaining 3? Well, As much as I love them, my love for these other musical icons just overshadow the last 3 listed above.
WEEZER:
I adore this band. I've been through a lot with this band. My friends and I trekked all the way to Seattle to be in the presence of them. My last haircut occurred the day prior to their Vancouver concert. Being forced to do so for a family engagement, and wanting to so dearly don a mushroom bob cut for the concert, I have not trimmed my hair for over 3 years since. They were the subject of my French language presentation in grade 12. I get excited when other people acknowledge their liking for the Pinkerton album. I was sad when Matt Sharpe and WEEZER parted ways. I geeked out like a gushing fanboy upon the news of Matt Sharpe and Rivers Cuomo talking to each other again after all these years. They are what I enjoy about music today. However, I cannot put them in my Top 5. In a Top 10? Oh hellz yeah.
BEASTIE Boys:
Prior to my days as a headbanger, I was really into rap. Not Hip Hop, but, rap. It was the 1980s. Sure the word Hip Hop existed, but, on a mass scale, this music genre was recognized as rap. Yet, even at that age, I liked a plethora of music. With my family friends, I was the odd one that liked stuff outside of rap and R&B (I still don't like the current bastardization they title as R&B). Well, except for my god-bro P.J., but he was a full on metal head, dodgy reputation included. Being that I grew up in Richmond, B.C., Canada, there were 2 customs for kids those days. Skateboarding and rap. All my friends could skateboard, but, I being awkwardly taller than everyone else and possessing no sense of balance what so ever, I never could skateboard myself. Closest I'd get would be what people call "road luging" nowadays down a hill and swerving to avoid cars. Then here was this band that knew how to both board and rap. Sure, down in the USA they were played all over MTV, but, up here they still had an underground feel. Atleast with their first 2 albums they were. As I grew my appreciation for rap (and later hip hop) went into the down low. However, it still remained and would take shape. Along with this change, the BEASTIE Boys grew and changed as well. While most people would slag off the Check Your Head album, it opened up what hip hop can be for me. Despite my admiration for Da Boys, I still leave them off my list of 5.
Nirvana:
How many bands do you know kicked Michael Jackson off #1 of the Billboard Charts back when he actually was still the "King of Pop"? Thought so. This band transitioned myself from childhood to my teen years. Did they spark a revolution? Maybe not. But they did bring into fruition what their forebearers created. If anyone awakened my senses to music, it would have to be this band. Being young, full of supposed angst, and a sense of disillusionment how can I not love this band? Then 1994 happened. I was so depressed for so long. A combination of that and my own personal issues, Nirvana symbolized passion. Every experience was intense and to its extreme. Everyone still waits for the next Nirvana. There will never be another Nirvana. Yet, still not in my top 5 list.
Now you may ask yourself, "Must he ramble? Can't he just get on with it already?" To relieve this hunger for knowledge, I will get to my top 5 list. They are as follows, in no particular what so ever:
The Beatles:
The first of my automatic buys. Growing up in my home, there were 2 mainstays in regards to music: 1) The Beatles and 2) Elvis Presley. To put things into perspective, I kinda find Elvis annoying. So it was The Beatles all the way. Their catalogue ranged from poppy love songs to ruckus riot inducers to pieces of musical masterpieces. Unlike most bands in their and even in our day, they grew beyond the formula that got them on top. They were that good. Listen to an album. Any album. Hell, watch one of their films. And if you're a history buff like me, please watch "Anthology".
The Beach Boys:
My other automatic buy. In the 1980s there was one feel good band that were still going strong after how many decades. Despite their poppy sound, if you were to closely examine their early songs, you'll discover just how complex their tunes were. The bottomline was that they were able keep tight knit harmony. I swear, just listen to the vocals alone, it's mind blowing. Also, unlike their peers at the time, they wrote, performed, and produced their own material. They were an oddity in the music industry. If you don't believe they are still relevant in music, go take a listen to WEEZER. No Beach Boys, no WEEZER. I mean come on, they only made the most influential album ever. If it weren't for "Pet Sounds", The Beatles wouldn't have to be forced their most experimental and influential material ever.
The Cure:
Dark? Check. Moody? Check. Can their songs make you cheerful and depressed at the same time? Check. Robert Smith and company are those guys that can just be so raw and vulnerable. They're haunting, ethereal, and charismatic. I've always liked this band. Theirs songs would just get stuck in my head and I'd welcome the experience with open arms. It's not the fake compassion that you get with a lot of bands (eg. staind, theory of a defaultback, etc). You have a sense that it's real. My compulsion to do a geeky dance when The Cure comes on is quite unexplainable. I can't help it. I have to close my eyes and "feel" The Cure.
The Police:
The talent held within this trio is mind boggling. For a while they ruled the nest of the music industry. They forced the Americans to acknowledge that there is good music from Britain, yet again. Sure upon closer examination of their songs you can find some sort of "stalker" subtext, but, what other soundtrack would you want whilst stal . . . err . . . nevermind. In a time when New Wave was gaining predominance, The Police exposed the masses to outside influences upon "rock & roll" music. They brought elements of ska, reggae, punk, and jazz to say the least. Growing up in scene where in order to stick out, you don't emulate the others around you, you had to be different from everyone else, The Police flourished by adopting a sound that fit them and by outplaying those around them. A crazy Yank on drums. A jazz aficionado session guitarist. The haunting vocals and baseline of a man named "Sting". The emotion they invest into their songs and performances can be seen through the violent interactions that the trio inflict upon each other. Even though they don't exist as a band anymore, they still are friends. Each member have been successful in their respective careers. However, if given the chance, they can still be better than you. A feat witnessed at a wedding where they were all present. A friend drunkenly suggested they play, since the band wasn't playing and all the instruments were still there. Needless to say, to all present, it was as if they never went on hiatus. They're that damn good.
Johnny Cash:
The man in bucking black. He was "rock & roll" when it was still music that those pesky African Americans played. He was contemporaries with the likes of Elvis, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis. And he was still considered the bad ass. He's still considered a bad ass. He was among the forefathers of the "Renegade" movement in country music. Country's equivalent to punk. To put things into perspective, they rocked harder, got more girls, did more drugs, drank harder, fought more, and partied harder then ANYONE in punk music. He sang about happiness, depression, violence, redemption, murder, and God. Each subject still touched you, whether you wanted it to or not. His voice could scare the bejeebus outtta ya. There was no persona per se. Just a man and his music. Do you know anyone else who can cover Nine Inch Nails and make you believe he owns that song and think maybe Nine Inch Nails might have been covering him all along? Thought not.
Go back to your lives.
End Scene.
