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Re: [ARSCLIST] A Holiday vision



Yeah, according to some here, this would mean Elvis Costello can't play. Perhaps he isn't Segovia, but neither was Buddy Holly. Playing poorly? The same thing can be said of all popular music. Only a handful of musicians are extraordinarily talented. Most classically trained musicians aren't virtuosos. They play in an orchestra, or teach music, etc...

A lot of punk sounds like early rock, but played much louder and faster. Take "Maybelline" or "Hot Rod Lincoln", play it double time, scream the lyrics, and give people "the bird". Ska, which I also enjoy, is similar (play at a walking tempo, add a couple horns, make the upbeat really pronounced, and you have instant ska).

Yes, I think it was a response to economic struggles and musical excess, like Disco, Prog, etc..., not to Thatcher. The Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen" was aimed at the establishment, but that was 1977. There was the Clash's "I'm So Bored of the USA", which had nothing to do with the British government (released in '77). That entire album is entertaining. Weren't there shirts that said "Pink Floyd Sucks"? Wish I had one. I'd rather hear The Clash, bad playing and all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I'm_So_Bored_with_the_USA

I'm waiting for a remake of "I'm So Bored with the USA" by a Conjunto band. "I'm So Bored of You, Ese".

Phillip

Matthew Barton wrote:
Whatever else it was or is, Punk Rock was not a response to the Thatcher government in England, which didn't take power until mid-1979. Some, even at the time, would say that Punk was already dead by then. The social situation in mid 70s England was certainly important, but Punk was also a response to the musical trends there, which many were tired of. The American scene, which predated the British one and influenced it musically, wasn't much concerned with who held power in England.

The notion that Punk Rock was simply about playing bad music poorly was promoted heavily at the time in the media, and some bands happily took the bait--one might even say that Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren and some others baited the hook themselves--but that doesn't make it so. The name of "Punk" was applied indiscriminately to countless bands and local scenes that didn't fit into the mainstream for one reason or another. Musically, bands with such disparate styles as the Sex Pistols, Pere Ubu, The Real Kids and Television have little in common, but if you were looking for something different than was readily available on the radio or in your local record store back then, as I was, it was exciting stuff, "punk" label or no. Some of it still is.

Matthew Barton
MBRS
The Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20540-4696
202-707-5508
email: mbarton@xxxxxxx
"Steven C. Barr(x)" <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 12/27/07 12:34 AM >>>
----- Original Message ----- From: "Roger and Allison Kulp" <thorenstd124@xxxxxxxxx>
Once and for all will somebody please explain to me the outright
vindictiveness so many on this list have with music recorded after 1950,or so ?
Quite simple...insofar as I have heard it (and I'll change the definition
to post-*1990*, not post-1950...?!) it sounds like...well...faeces...!


Keep in mind that the (supposed, anyway) point of "Punk Rock" was
originally a message thrown at Margaret Thatcher...who had slashed
welfare and unemployment benefits, at the request of her corporate
masters...! The punk-rock reply was, "If we have to support ourselves
with no help, we'll try playing music, even though we're really
bad at it...!"

Okeh...that said, 1950-1955 represents a nadir of popular music
in North America...an era which gave us such unforgettable tunes
as "Doggie In the Window"..."Oh, Mein Papa"..."That's Amore"...
"Tennessee Waltz"...et al...?!

And...can ANYBODY out there in Radio-Land name a memorable
popular song and/or recording of the 1992-2007 period...AND...
hum the tune back to me in identifiable form...?!
(reciting rap "lyrics" does NOT count...?!)

Steven C. Brr



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