The Years Ago thread

[Inder]

Today!

15 YA: The Beatles — Love was released.

[gkbill]

I've really killed this thread, haven't I.

14 YA: The Eagles were at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Long Road Out Of Eden’ the bands seventh studio album and first since 1979.

You're certainly confirming my position that the past is something we need to escape from!

Hello,

I'll take the half-full side of things. Jenny's post demonstrates the evolution of music and musical tastes. Are many current artists referring to Long Road Out Of Eden as an influence -"Yeah, we were going for a Long Road Out Of Eden vibe/sound"?

Jenny, if you have made progress toward killing the career of the Eagles, then consider your time well-spent and appreciated.

I'm more jaundiced. The Eagles seemed dead and buried and yet they came back. Ancient evils are never fully gone. There will be some band, somewhere, that will take inspiration from the Eagles and that album, and they will seek to drag down music with them.

Hello,

A band that pops up with a heavy Eagles influence will (must?) serve as a reminder of elements of our grim musical past. We must mock them (mercilessly) as a means to educate them and all of our sordid musical history and our bright musical development/future. Thus is the rational for my glass half full mentality - hey, my glass is half full, somebody get me another beer, eh?

[Dr. Medulla]

I've really killed this thread, haven't I.

14 YA: The Eagles were at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Long Road Out Of Eden’ the bands seventh studio album and first since 1979.

You're certainly confirming my position that the past is something we need to escape from!

Hello,

I'll take the half-full side of things. Jenny's post demonstrates the evolution of music and musical tastes. Are many current artists referring to Long Road Out Of Eden as an influence -"Yeah, we were going for a Long Road Out Of Eden vibe/sound"?

Jenny, if you have made progress toward killing the career of the Eagles, then consider your time well-spent and appreciated.

I'm more jaundiced. The Eagles seemed dead and buried and yet they came back. Ancient evils are never fully gone. There will be some band, somewhere, that will take inspiration from the Eagles and that album, and they will seek to drag down music with them.

Hello,

A band that pops up with a heavy Eagles influence will (must?) serve as a reminder of elements of our grim musical past. We must mock them (mercilessly) as a means to educate them and all of our sordid musical history and our bright musical development/future. Thus is the rational for my glass half full mentality - hey, my glass is half full, somebody get me another beer, eh?

Too risky. Separate the head from the body and burn 100 kms apart.

[gkbill]

Hello,

November 20, 1981 -The Clash release This is Radio Clash - my favorite/the best Clash song.

[Dr. Medulla]

Hello,

November 20, 1981 -The Clash release This is Radio Clash - my favorite/the best Clash song.

I hate when people use the term "under-rated" to describe something when they just want to say "I really like this," but I do think TiRC is an under-rated song within their catalogue. It's such a marker of their time in New York and where they were hanging out. Early hip hop and mutant disco are all over this thing, showing both creative restlessness and awareness that, holy fudge, something really cool is happening in New York right now. If London Calling captures the band paying homage to American rock n roll's roots, TiRC is seriously forward looking.

[matedog]

Hello,

November 20, 1981 -The Clash release This is Radio Clash - my favorite/the best Clash song.

I hate when people use the term "under-rated" to describe something when they just want to say "I really like this," but I do think TiRC is an under-rated song within their catalogue. It's such a marker of their time in New York and where they were hanging out. Early hip hop and mutant disco are all over this thing, showing both creative restlessness and awareness that, holy fudge, something really cool is happening in New York right now. If London Calling captures the band paying homage to American rock n roll's roots, TiRC is seriously forward looking.

I love it, particularly the b-side (Hoyston if I remember correctly).

What I find interesting with this and their S! hip hop songs is that they are lyrically way ahead of other hip hop at the time. I'm thinking like Kurtis Blow, Melle Mel which are great, but seem lightweight compared to the Clash's songs at the time. That being said, I don't think the Clash were particularly influential for the genre which seems unusual.

[Dr. Medulla]

Hello,

November 20, 1981 -The Clash release This is Radio Clash - my favorite/the best Clash song.

I hate when people use the term "under-rated" to describe something when they just want to say "I really like this," but I do think TiRC is an under-rated song within their catalogue. It's such a marker of their time in New York and where they were hanging out. Early hip hop and mutant disco are all over this thing, showing both creative restlessness and awareness that, holy fudge, something really cool is happening in New York right now. If London Calling captures the band paying homage to American rock n roll's roots, TiRC is seriously forward looking.

I love it, particularly the b-side (Hoyston if I remember correctly).

What I find interesting with this and their S! hip hop songs is that they are lyrically way ahead of other hip hop at the time. I'm thinking like Kurtis Blow, Melle Mel which are great, but seem lightweight compared to the Clash's songs at the time. That being said, I don't think the Clash were particularly influential for the genre which seems unusual.

Good point about the lyrics. Joe was so good with that social realist/protest style that it fit well with that side of hip hop.

[Wolter]

Hello,

November 20, 1981 -The Clash release This is Radio Clash - my favorite/the best Clash song.

I hate when people use the term "under-rated" to describe something when they just want to say "I really like this," but I do think TiRC is an under-rated song within their catalogue. It's such a marker of their time in New York and where they were hanging out. Early hip hop and mutant disco are all over this thing, showing both creative restlessness and awareness that, holy fudge, something really cool is happening in New York right now. If London Calling captures the band paying homage to American rock n roll's roots, TiRC is seriously forward looking.

I love it, particularly the b-side (Hoyston if I remember correctly).

What I find interesting with this and their S! hip hop songs is that they are lyrically way ahead of other hip hop at the time. I'm thinking like Kurtis Blow, Melle Mel which are great, but seem lightweight compared to the Clash's songs at the time. That being said, I don't think the Clash were particularly influential for the genre which seems unusual.

Good point about the lyrics. Joe was so good with that social realist/protest style that it fit well with that side of hip hop.

That and a LOT of very early hip hop/rap used floating lyrics that could be plugged in when needed (wave your hands in the air like you don’t care, clap your hands everybody and everybody clap your hands, etc.) That sort of stuff was common in the blues and isn’t bad in and of itself, but even 4-5 years later it felt corny compared to what was coming up from the next wave of performers.

[Dr. Medulla]

Hello,

November 20, 1981 -The Clash release This is Radio Clash - my favorite/the best Clash song.

I hate when people use the term "under-rated" to describe something when they just want to say "I really like this," but I do think TiRC is an under-rated song within their catalogue. It's such a marker of their time in New York and where they were hanging out. Early hip hop and mutant disco are all over this thing, showing both creative restlessness and awareness that, holy fudge, something really cool is happening in New York right now. If London Calling captures the band paying homage to American rock n roll's roots, TiRC is seriously forward looking.

I love it, particularly the b-side (Hoyston if I remember correctly).

What I find interesting with this and their S! hip hop songs is that they are lyrically way ahead of other hip hop at the time. I'm thinking like Kurtis Blow, Melle Mel which are great, but seem lightweight compared to the Clash's songs at the time. That being said, I don't think the Clash were particularly influential for the genre which seems unusual.

Good point about the lyrics. Joe was so good with that social realist/protest style that it fit well with that side of hip hop.

That and a LOT of very early hip hop/rap used floating lyrics that could be plugged in when needed (wave your hands in the air like you don’t care, clap your hands everybody and everybody clap your hands, etc.) That sort of stuff was common in the blues and isn’t bad in and of itself, but even 4-5 years later it felt corny compared to what was coming up from the next wave of performers.

It also speaks to hip hop's live roots, where the role of the MC was, literally, giving instructions to the crowd. Which is why the first hip hop records were regarded so skeptically by the original DJs—hip hop was supposed to be a live and social thing, not something for headphones.

[Wolter]

I hate when people use the term "under-rated" to describe something when they just want to say "I really like this," but I do think TiRC is an under-rated song within their catalogue. It's such a marker of their time in New York and where they were hanging out. Early hip hop and mutant disco are all over this thing, showing both creative restlessness and awareness that, holy fudge, something really cool is happening in New York right now. If London Calling captures the band paying homage to American rock n roll's roots, TiRC is seriously forward looking.

I love it, particularly the b-side (Hoyston if I remember correctly).

What I find interesting with this and their S! hip hop songs is that they are lyrically way ahead of other hip hop at the time. I'm thinking like Kurtis Blow, Melle Mel which are great, but seem lightweight compared to the Clash's songs at the time. That being said, I don't think the Clash were particularly influential for the genre which seems unusual.

Good point about the lyrics. Joe was so good with that social realist/protest style that it fit well with that side of hip hop.

That and a LOT of very early hip hop/rap used floating lyrics that could be plugged in when needed (wave your hands in the air like you don’t care, clap your hands everybody and everybody clap your hands, etc.) That sort of stuff was common in the blues and isn’t bad in and of itself, but even 4-5 years later it felt corny compared to what was coming up from the next wave of performers.

It also speaks to hip hop's live roots, where the role of the MC was, literally, giving instructions to the crowd. Which is why the first hip hop records were regarded so skeptically by the original DJs—hip hop was supposed to be a live and social thing, not something for headphones.

From what I’ve gathered, most of the earliest recorded hip hop was done by disco studios trying to cash in on a new thing, and a lot of what would be later done as samples was session musicians copying beats and riffs.

[Dr. Medulla]

I love it, particularly the b-side (Hoyston if I remember correctly).

What I find interesting with this and their S! hip hop songs is that they are lyrically way ahead of other hip hop at the time. I'm thinking like Kurtis Blow, Melle Mel which are great, but seem lightweight compared to the Clash's songs at the time. That being said, I don't think the Clash were particularly influential for the genre which seems unusual.

Good point about the lyrics. Joe was so good with that social realist/protest style that it fit well with that side of hip hop.

That and a LOT of very early hip hop/rap used floating lyrics that could be plugged in when needed (wave your hands in the air like you don’t care, clap your hands everybody and everybody clap your hands, etc.) That sort of stuff was common in the blues and isn’t bad in and of itself, but even 4-5 years later it felt corny compared to what was coming up from the next wave of performers.

It also speaks to hip hop's live roots, where the role of the MC was, literally, giving instructions to the crowd. Which is why the first hip hop records were regarded so skeptically by the original DJs—hip hop was supposed to be a live and social thing, not something for headphones.

From what I’ve gathered, most of the earliest recorded hip hop was done by disco studios trying to cash in on a new thing, and a lot of what would be later done as samples was session musicians copying beats and riffs.

I haven't read that, but it makes sense. The success of the Sugarhill Gang seemed like disco all over—just whip some shit up on a weekend and profit. Even the backing music was disco, so why not treat it as an extension of the form and apply the production formula?

[Wolter]

Oops. Phone malfunction. Ignore.

[gkbill]

Hello,

November 20, 1981 -The Clash release This is Radio Clash - my favorite/the best Clash song.

I hate when people use the term "under-rated" to describe something when they just want to say "I really like this," but I do think TiRC is an under-rated song within their catalogue. It's such a marker of their time in New York and where they were hanging out. Early hip hop and mutant disco are all over this thing, showing both creative restlessness and awareness that, holy fudge, something really cool is happening in New York right now. If London Calling captures the band paying homage to American rock n roll's roots, TiRC is seriously forward looking.

I love it, particularly the b-side (Hoyston if I remember correctly).

What I find interesting with this and their S! hip hop songs is that they are lyrically way ahead of other hip hop at the time. I'm thinking like Kurtis Blow, Melle Mel which are great, but seem lightweight compared to the Clash's songs at the time. That being said, I don't think the Clash were particularly influential for the genre which seems unusual.

Hello,

The political content didn't pick up until KRS-1 and Public Enemy came to the forefront. My ideal show would have been Public Enemy warming up for the Clash.

[Dr. Medulla]

Hello,

November 20, 1981 -The Clash release This is Radio Clash - my favorite/the best Clash song.

I hate when people use the term "under-rated" to describe something when they just want to say "I really like this," but I do think TiRC is an under-rated song within their catalogue. It's such a marker of their time in New York and where they were hanging out. Early hip hop and mutant disco are all over this thing, showing both creative restlessness and awareness that, holy fudge, something really cool is happening in New York right now. If London Calling captures the band paying homage to American rock n roll's roots, TiRC is seriously forward looking.

I love it, particularly the b-side (Hoyston if I remember correctly).

What I find interesting with this and their S! hip hop songs is that they are lyrically way ahead of other hip hop at the time. I'm thinking like Kurtis Blow, Melle Mel which are great, but seem lightweight compared to the Clash's songs at the time. That being said, I don't think the Clash were particularly influential for the genre which seems unusual.

Hello,

The political content didn't pick up until KRS-1 and Public Enemy came to the forefront. My ideal show would have been Public Enemy warming up for the Clash.

There was that audio documentary on the Clash from a couple years back hosted by Chuck D, where he paralleled PE with the Clash, that they were spiritually bound. He was being a bit kind to the Clash, I think, given the intensity of the two groups' politics, but it's not a batty assertion.

[JennyB]

30 YA: Genesis scored their 5th UK No.1 album with 'We Can't Dance' (no shit?), featuring the singles 'Jesus He Knows Me' and 'I Can't Dance'.