some comments on un-important a-doings these days.
first up, inductions to the rock and roll hall of fame! Takin' 'em one by one...
- Van Halen
- Oh god do we really have to? I mean i guess i understand it but i was pretty happy without the various hair-metal bands in the hall. i know van halen isn't technically hair metal but in the ultimate 80's generalized black/white dichotomy of hair vs. new wave, van halen definitely falls on the hair side of the equation. i mean this is the band that made synthpop palatable to new jersey (that's Jump in case you were keeping score). Basically, if Van Halen gets to be in the hall, so should Depeche Mode cause somehow I just decided they're the new wave equivalent.
- The Ronettes
- YES. yes yes yes. They run a thing on vh1 classic sometimes where 2 of their people discuss who should be in the rock and roll hall of fame and one of the bands they mention is Heart. But lets face it; Heart did not influence anyone like, say, Brian Wilson. So what if they were basically Phil Spector's puppets? Be My Baby, basically the most perfect pop recording ever.
- Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
- a good time to remember that hiphop does not have to be about bling or beeatches.
- R.E.M.
- R.E.M. does not seem old enough to be in the rock and roll hall of fame. but besides that, i kind of have mixed feelings about their inclusion. I really like R.E.M., I think Stipe is a really good songwriter, I think they've done a lot of really good recordings (anthem of my down-period between college and grad-school: Daysleeper). But somehow, their career seems to lack a level of gravitas. i snicker when i read someone write that Van Halen's Runnin' with the Devil is a rock milestone, but I really can't think of any R.E.M. songs that deserve that moniker either.
- Patti Smith
- She gets namechecked a lot. I mean a lot. I don't really have much to say about her, but her inclusion makes total sense.
then there's the iphone (i refuse to camelcase it, i'm sorry). i've basically been thinking for a long time that apple was going to eventually be putting out an all-in-one this-is-your-life-in-your-pocket kind of a product, but i thought that the ipod would ever-so-slowly evolve into one; instead they've jumped in headfirst. it is shiny and sparkly, but still, this comment attached to david pogue's review in the times really says it all about the media coverage.
and finally, suck it mcgwire!
i was similarly wtf about R.E.M. i mean, if it's a group that put out its seminal albums in my conscious lifetime, it weirds me out that they are now fodder for the hall of fame. are U2 in it?
ReplyDeleteand i greatly enjoy how suck it mcgwire will inevitably lead to suck it, bonds. b/c really. he is a king among douches.
I have to agree with what Bill Simmons said about Mcgwire and Bonds re: the Hall of Fame. If you don't admit them into the Hall, you have to take out Ty Cobb, all those cheating pitchers and all the other douches already in there. Simmons said we should admit them and then attach a plaque to their bust that basically says "Bonds holds the all-time home run record. Oh, and he cheated to do it. And he was a horrible teammate and general turd to everyone around him. He's really dumb and you should spit on this bust."
ReplyDeleteI kinda like that idea. As for R.E.M., "Everybody Hurts" is enough for me. We are now reaching the age where we're going to think "WTF?" for every band admitted, because we were alive during their big hits, so there's no sense of historical perspective for us. Just wait until we get to Britney Spears.