Okay so I wasn't there I still listened.

Enon

I should like this cd. It has all the parts in music. But there is something I find as I continue to listen to it that makes me reach for something else. The songs taken individually aren’t bad, but when put together for periods of time they tend to just get lost and at times annoying. Tried three times to listen, took six times to finish. 2

The Kills

My biggest mistake with this band is that I watched them live on Conan O’Brien. They were terrible. They relied way to heavily on backing tracks and their voices live were nowhere near what I heard on the cd. So I went from this could be interesting to wow what a studio-produced band. Found myself over analyzing the cd and noticed it was a bit repetitious and again studio produced. 2

REM

The best cd REM has put out in a long time. True, but that doesn’t really set the bar up that high does it? My definition of REM ends when Bill Berry quit the group. Since then they have seemed a bit lost. Luckily for this disc the thing they brought back was not Peter Bucks guitar, but someone who actually plays the drums and not a rhythm track for the rest of the group. All being said this isn’t a great REM cd. It’s not even in their top 5. There are some good songs, the single is quite good, but overall there are too many valleys and not enough peaks. Still it’s a good listen, but when it comes to playing anything by these guys in the future it will probably be one that has Bill Berry playing on it. 2.5

Jimmy Eats World

I like this group a lot. I think the singer has a great voice. They right short catchy guitar driven songs that stick in your brain. My choices might have been different than Jenn’s but her selection is a great representation of the band. Plus they deserve kudos for surviving a great single and still surviving and putting out two decent follow up cd’s afterwards. Tough to do nowadays.

Topic

The demise of the music industry started long before social networking sites even were a thought. With more thought placed on the quick dollar rather than artist development, the industry overlooked a tool that would guarantee them artist success. The Internet.

Instead of using the tools available to get artists out to the public, they looked to fight it and stop music from being heard. So instead of using these networks to bring new artists to the masses as they used college radio in the 80’s and videos in the 90’s, they just blocked exposure.

So its not the social networking sites that caused the demise of the music industry. It’s a poor business plan based on short-term profits over long-term growth. The networking just helped the cause along.

As for the future, it has already started. Artists are looking at the industry as a way to mass distribute product if and when they need them. The truly major labels are only now getting involved if they are promised a piece of merchandising and tour profits. Hopefully that means that the industry will move more towards a support tool with a focus on touring and networking to create artists.

Of course as soon as someone figures out a way to make boatloads of dough, everyone else is going to copy it.

Enon – High Society:
Upon first listen I was a little confused. Was this a mix CD? Did Ken make an error when burning? Male acoustic song, female song with electronic tendencies…rinse, repeat. It took me a little while to get over the disjointedness of the album but once I did I absolutely loved it. Very experimental and very catchy. It’s everything I could want in an album while staying away from the mainstream. I preferred the female fronted songs to the male vocalists’ but the CD as a whole was quality. This album grew on me slowly until it definitely became a keeper and also I-Pod worthy. Score: 4

The Kills – Midnight Boom:
This album is hauntingly addictive. It is dark yet catchy. The interesting percussion and heavy guitars create quite a background for the smoking hot female vocals (and the male’s aren’t so bad either.) My only complaint is that the album was too short. I wanted more! I will definitely be checking out their previous albums because I am hooked on The Kills. I still can’t stop listening to it. Score: 4.5

R.E.M – Accelerate:
There are very few bands from my high school listening days that I don’t listen to anymore. R.E.M. is one of the exceptions. Used to love them, hell I even paid good money to see them at the Meadows in 96 or 97. I don’t know what changed in my tastes but since then I have sold most, if not all, of my R.E.M. albums and I often cringe when I hear them now. This album is no exception. Absolutely boring and nothing new. I almost prefer some of their earlier poppier tunes just because they at least have some pop hooks to keep you somewhat entertained. Score: 1.5

Jimmy Eat World – Greatest Hits:
Jimmy Eat World may not be innovative or incredible musicians but to me, they make great pop rock records. Jimmy Eat World have the exceptional ability to be a bands-band as well as fans-band, marrying credibility with a tuneful accessibly that makes them a permanent fixture of the modern music scene. Their albums just make me happy.

Topic:

True story...A band that I am friends with recently has been getting A LOT of label attention...yet label after label says the same thing..."We'd love to sign you but we'd like to see you have more Myspace friends first." No joke.

1. Are "social networking" sites like Myspace and Facebook helping the demise of the music industry? Discuss.
2. Because of this and downloads...where do you think the music industry will be in 5 or 10 years?

This a popular topic of conversation amongst my group of friends and I thought it would be interesting to bring up with a different generation of music listeners.
Are sites like Myspace and Facebook helping the demise…no. It is merely the stupidity of the record industy to believe that the number of friends on Myspace will make any difference in selling records.

For one, the majority of Myspace users are probably aged 14-18. The majority of 14-18 year olds are not a good target market for several reasons…
1.) The majority are fickle and will move on to something new and different in 6 months.
2.) Most teenagers do not buy cd’s to begin with, but download them illegally.
3.) To many teenagers, the number of friends you have on Myspace is a status thing…the more you have, the more popular you are…therefore they will accept friend requests from anyone or any band just to increase their numbers. This does not create an accurate representation of projected album sales.

As sad as it makes me because I love my CD collection, I think albums will be a thing of the past and everything will be downloaded. Concert ticket prices will rise even more because no one’s buying CD’s. I think, if record companies are smart, they’ll focus their attentions to more internet buzz and publicity. But, instead, they’ll want a bigger cut of what little money is being made off of sales…larger, well-established bands will go independent and release albums like Radiohead, and the little guys will get screwed. It actually frightens me to think of the music industry my children will have to deal with.

Administrative Post

Admin stuff

1- My new and Monsta’s Ghits will get in the mail to youse all

2- Next Month

a. Old- Greg/Mike M- who wants it since he is now host.

b. New- D’Arcy/Ken

c. Host- MIKE M (changed)

d. Meeting 6/17/08

Lucky for you, it's only my review- no Amy Winehouse

Music Club

May 2008

Enon-High Society

I defy you to categorize this band. First they’re rock then artsy and experimental then pop. Each song has a hook and each is different from next and they keep them short and succinct which keeps them interesting. Their influences are all over the map and intertwined in every song. I stumbled on Enon a few years back from a CMJ compilation and got reeled in. Earlier releases lean more on the experimental but as they have matured they have learned how to keep the creativity without losing “the song”. I hope you all liked this as it is a favorite of mine. (4.0)

REM- Accelerate

I was very surprised that this didn’t resolutely suck. It isn’t on par with their best but it was definitely better than anything they have released since Monster. While Stipe’s voice is unmistakably REM (though a little more throaty) I thought Buck’s guitar work occasionally delved out of their norm. Put another voice on “Accelerate”, “Horse to Water” or “I’m Gonna DJ” and you got a different band (“Accelerate” could have been on Sonic Youth’s Goo- think “Disappearer”). Thank Mary and Joseph that we haven’t lost another great band to adult-contemporary purgatory though “Until the Day is Done” and “Mr. Richard” have fallen into that abyss. (3.5)

Jimmy Eat World

I loved “The Middle” the first 2,348 times I heard it. I did run out and get Bleed American. I found as time went on I got continually bored by their sound. D’Arcy gave me their next one and again I was bored. Now that I have been removed from them somewhat this mix is just enough Jimmy. Just the good songs and not in any order that forces me to listen to all 20 songs at one sitting. Good mix to hold onto when I need to listen to “The Middle” for the 2,349^th time.

The Kills- Midnight Boom

I’m amazed how much Midnight Boom sounds like Mendoza Line’s 30 Year Low. It’s uncanny that their first song also had Will Sheff guest appearing and how each song sounded like a miserable break up. It’s also eerie that when I play Midnight Boom and 30 Year Low simultaneously, they blend perfectly together. Since I gave 30 Year Low a 4.0 I have no choice but to give Midnight Boom a 4.0 since it is the same fucking disc. Thank you and goodnight.

Topic

Are "social networking" sites like Myspace and Facebook helping the demise of the music industry?

In my opinion, no. Myspace is where I go to find a band I have heard of or read of in a review. Because of MySpace I will go out and buy discs or check out if a show is nearby. Of course I can’t speak for the masses but I think more people use MySpace in this way. I think it allows a band with little or no budget to at least get heard and peddle discs, shows and the single song download. There are even pages from deceased artists that allow younger ears to discover them. So I guess I feel Myspace and their ilk are a positive to industry.

Because of this and downloads...where do you think the music industry will be in 5 or 10 years?

We are going back to the early days of rock n’ roll where distributors drove around and distributed singles. The single is starting to become the shit again with the ‘album’ being filler. While I don’t think it is industry wide it is definitely taken over the pop, rap, and urban genres. Kids want just the songs they hear on the radio or who their friends think are cool. The album means nothing. They don’t care about the concept. It is creating an industry that is teeming with “artists” – like the 50-60s, the one hit wonders.

We are also losing album art and liner notes which used to provide me with almost as much enjoyment as the album itself.

Unfortunately we are moving away from creativity. With the advent of everything digital many artists are unable to play live or be spontaneous but they can easily mimic a sound that sold big which saps the creative spirit. This leads to concerts evolving into these 2 hour performances from a cast of characters who will each come out and do their 2 to 5 hits and then leave. Many not playing or singing every part live.

The end.

May's Correct Responses

Enon - Interesting mish mash of songs, with the Pavement oriented stuff working better than the synthy stuff. A mostly good vibe overall, but the good stuff, while superb, is in short supply and the weaker stuff, while not awful is....well there is more of it. Possibly interesting enough for me to take a look beyond this to other releases, but only if I can get assurances that he’ll be more involved than she. 2.5 stars

REM – I’ve always been pretty hard on REM and I’m not sure I’ve been fair about it. I loved Murmur for a number of reasons not related to the quality of the record, which is very high to begin with of course. Primarily, I was stuck in a weird place in my life with no money and pretty much this record and this record only to listen to. I listened to it a lot. So for me, nothing else by REM ever held a candle to Murmur although I know many people whose opinions I respect and plenty of critics who love various other REM records and insist they eclipse Murmur. Well this one does not eclipse Murmur either – keeping the streak intact – but it is the best REM release I’ve heard since Murmur. It has a great live off the cuff feel that they really needed after an extremely sleepy last 10 years. 4 stars

The Kills – Taking a page out of the Ken Boucher book, I picked this one without first listening to it. Read something good somewhere and decided to pick it up. My primary complaint is a common one for me. This sounds great when these two act like a garage band, less great when they meander through songs with a base and some weird effects. Although even in those songs they manage to maintain a sort of quiet intensity and tension. And I like the fact that they have the sense to end songs when they should so even the overly repetitious songs don’t drag on. In the end though, there is just not enough guitar and their “we’re singing about honest things and that’s really dangerous isn’t it” pose wears as thin as the music. What starts off as a vital interesting record simply runs out of gas. 3 stars

Jimmy Eat World – Glad I now have this as I own nothing by them and they play that guitars with hooks thing I dig pretty much. Two problems and maybe I’m being too picky, but that’s what this is all about, right? One - they write great 2 minute guitar pop songs, but unfortunately they think they can write great 3-4 minute songs. There wasn’t a single song that shouldn’t have been shorter. What happened to the nobility of the 2 minute and 30 second song?!? The other "problem" is that there are a couple of songs that have too many hooks and they can’t seem to decide what to do. Not a lack of talent, but a lack of songwriting maturity. Also, none of this (except Middle - a deserved hit) really jumps up and hits me, but I think that’s a generational thing. These same types of songs, as played by the Real Kids, The (Paul Collins) Beat and later early Goo Goo Dolls (when they were just a bar band in Buffalo, NY) had me jumping around the room playing air guitar, but those were “my” bands. These guys aren’t my band, so they do less for me but overall they are pretty solid


Question 1


I actually think that facebook and other social networking are ruining social networking, but that’s a discussion for another time. In terms of a bands ability to get signed based on facebook “friends,” it’s really no different than a band's mailing list ( in the old days) being an important part of getting booked into a good club. Wrongheaded possibly, but a reality. A band can become an overnight sensation on the internet (see Kate Nash), so it is inevitable that record people, who are in utter fear at this point, would stoop to any measuring device. Let’s face it, the record business has never been more than 5% smart people and 95% numbnuts. That’s why they are in the position of extinction that they are in at this point. Which leads me to....



Question 2



I never saw the mini-rebirth of vinyl, so I'm not so sure I'm a great prognosticator, but, hey, I'm kind of involved with the record business, so I'll take a shot at it. First off, CDs might as well be cassettes or 8-tracks. They're over unless the record companies decide to sell them for less than $10 and even then, they probably will disappear as the delivery system within 10 years (this is a shame as all of us agree that the "shrine" that is our physical collection - something that defines who we are to some extent - will become a relic). So if the record companies aren't selling CDs, what will they be selling? They hope they will be selling their bands' digital content to content re-sellers like Apple or Yahoo, who will have replaced the brick and mortar and (probably) online record stores. Some of the bigger labels will probably merge with the content re-sellers. Although, since the two things that the record companies traditionally did for bands - produce/distribute the physical product and promote the product - can be done by the bands themsleves, I would bet that the record company as we know it will become extinct. Bands will partner with content re-sellers or simply do it themselves. You'll buy the product from Apple or Yahoo or the bands directly and simply download it.

Greg The Groupie Guy

Enon – High Society – 3.5
Just as one song would be set to turn me off to this band, the next song would come on and change my mind. Songs like Native Numb, In This City and Old Domination kept me listening. I think that they could have cut a few songs off of this cd and had a classic. I won’t judge them by the one or two songs that I didn’t care for though. Maybe I’m just a few IQ points shy of what I need to get the lyrics, but that’s okay too, the music made up for it.

Jimmy Eat World – GH - 4
I’ve liked Jimmy Eat World since they first came out. They might be considered too poppy for some, but they pack a lot of emotion into their short fun songs. J.E.W. make me wish I was in high school again. This is just a really upbeat band that makes me want to drive real fast.

REM – Accelerate – 3.5
I’ve never been an REM fan, I like them, but never bought anything by them. I can honestly say that I don’t think I would have purchased this cd either, but I can appreciate a good cd. All of the songs followed the same recipe for success that has made them so popular for 25 years give or take. I think I’d like these songs even if REM wasn’t doing them.

The Kills – High Society - 3
I’d never head of the Kills before this month. I like some of the songs a lot. There were one or two annoying songs, but I’m used to that. How boring music would be if all of the songs sounded the same. I do think that they were trying a little too hard to be the Yeah Yeah Yeahs without all of the talent (maybe) or sexiness of the YYY’s.

Are "social networking" sites like Myspace and Facebook helping the demise of the music industry?
Having an avenue for new musician and established ones too for that matter can’t be a bad thing. It’s the 21rst century. It’s like saying When I was a kid we didn’t have these crazy video games, this generation is screwed. My feeling is the more ways to introduce people to new ideas the better.

Could be worse, it could be another Amy Winehouse photo

REM – I am an unabashed REM fan, and even I was ready to bury these guys after their last 3 incredibly dull releases. What a pleasant surprise to hear the band found their collective testicles. The first 3 songs right out of the box are stronger than anything they’ve recorded in ten years. Everything I love about REM is here: Peter Buck plugged in playing that jangly electric, Mike Mills singing rock’s greatest backup vocals, and Stipe doing his oblique, vaguely political, Stipey thing. It doesn’t stand up to “Out of Time” or even “Monster”, but they sound like a band playing to their strengths and giving a crap again for the first time in a long while. 4 stars

The Kills – The whole is less than the sum of the parts. Guitar work is good, vocals are good, songs are ok, but there is something missing here, and I believe that something is a drummer. Criminy, even Meg White’s primal 4-4 stomp would be an improvement on the synthesized drum loops that drag this disc down like a pair of cement shoes. A couple of tracks came dangerously close to sounding like Missing Persons outtakes. 2 stars

Enon – Seriously schizophrenic. There are a couple of good songs on this one, notably “Window Display”; and the better tracks (like “Sold!” and “Pleasure and Privelige”) remind me of The Thrills. Unfortunately, there’s a fair amount of crap on here as well. Over-synthesized, and just a little too cute at times. The songs with the female on lead vocal sound like No Doubt or Garbage, neither of which is a compliment. 2 1/2 stars

Jimmy Eats World – Pleasant enough, if slightly generic. Band has good chops, playing throughout the disc is strong. “Middle” is an absolute killer, but a lot of the songs are indistinguishable from the one that came before it. Worked a lot better in a shuffle with a few other discs than listening to the whole thing at once.


Discussion Question

#1) The social networking sites are changing the music industry, and there is a pro/con to this. The pro being that I can go to these sites, find out about the band, purchase product, find upcoming shows, etc. The con is, this is what radio used to do, and now it falls on me to do the leg-work to find new bands. Where I used to discover new music on the radio, I now have to scour music magazine samplers, pay for satellite radio and surf the net. Is it helping the demise of the music industry? I think its more accurate to say it is part of changing the model that has existed for eons.

#2) I think the music industry in 5-10 years is going to be heavily splintered. There will still be an “industry” model like we are used to, but it will be limited to bands who are big enough to move a couple thousand copies of “product” when they release something. Basically, the stuff most of us in this group run away from will still be part of that industry machine. Its easy to forget, but people who take music as seriously as we do comprise a very minute percentage of the music buying public.

The other part of the business will be smaller labels and individual artists relying heavily on direct marketing (touring, web-sites, e-mail, etc) to specific target audiences. The more fan-friendly and web-savvy the band, the better results they will have.

Wilco (sorry, Ken) is a perfect example of the successful model. They tour like fiends, and their (free) web-site is phenomenal. New albums are streamed weeks before the official release, tickets are offered to fans (without the ticketbastard charges) before the public, and a different live show is available on the site on almost a weekly basis. They even have a spot where you can request songs for upcoming shows. In doing this, a band that gets absolutely no radio play in this market is playing three sold-out shows at a 2500 seat theatre this week. That doesn’t happen without top-notch direct marketing.

Even More Notes From Sunny Los Angeles

The Mong
Music Group Commentary
May 2008

ENON – “‘HIGH SOCIETY” = 4 STARS
Enon’s “High Society” is great mix of genres and influences with consistently excellent hooks.

THE KILLS – “MIDNIGHT BOOM” = 3.5 STARS
Some great tracks (particularly “Tape Song” and “Hook and Line”) mixed with some good tracks makes for a very good overall 2008 release that will definitely be in rotation for awhile and maybe even a star adjustment before year’s end.

R.E.M. – “ACCELERATE” = 3 STARS
A perfectly enjoyable if not predictable release from these college radio pioneers.

G’HITS
If there was a G’HITS it didn’t make it to me on time via my twice-weekly snail mail forwarding. Sorry.

Topic Questions:

Question 1: Are "social networking" sites like MySpace and Facebook helping the demise of the music industry?
Answer 1: In all facets of the entertainment industry, from movies to video games to music and beyond, the so-called “folks in charge” are living and dying (or, more accurately, buying and selling) by the whims of the general public, which is all too accessible yet inaccurately measurable by the Internet. So instead of setting tastes and trends the folks in charge all to often follow these; or, more accurately, they follow the faulty indications of tastes and trends. “Faulty” because it’s usually the squeaky wheel that gets the most attention (online and elsewhere) and the Internet’s most popular sites are determined by hits, which, more often than not, is a measure of good marketing and promotion (high financed or grass roots) over quality or content. Worst of all, the big-shots who rely on “social networking” sites and other types of Internet indicators do it not from a desire to please the public but as a way to cover their collective and individual asses. For example: “How could we have known this record wouldn’t be a smash hit; the band has 100,000 MySpace friends?!?” And their boss nods in agreement and no one gets fired. This is, perhaps, an oversimplification, but I see this “cover your ass” MO here in La-la land, in one form or another, almost every day.

Question 2: Because of this and downloads...where do you think the music industry will be in 5 or 10 years?
Answer 2: I think it’ll be much the same: Idiots in control trying to figure out never-miss ways to guarantee hits and failing miserably most of the time. As for downloads, it seems that this has more or less equalized with iTunes essentially cornering the market. As for the industry tycoons, they’ll probably still be making money off the work of artists but since pretty much any band can use iTunes and other Internet methods for self-distribution, it seems like this could lead to a revolution of artist control over content and the bottom line. Who knows?

In my place tonight......

makes you want to change your plans and get to the meeting now, duzzenit?






I will send reviews to Jay for your enjoyment.
Love,
Ken

A little something to clean out the sinuses.

April Reviews

Black Mountain – In The Future:
I was conflicted at first about whether this was a new or old release. They have that retro feel to them but something about it sounded new. Stellar male and female vocals, the heaviness of the bass, the organ…oh my! The first track was absolutely killer and had the rest of the album kept up that momentum it would have probably gotten a 4 or 5 from me, but it seemed to go all over the place after that. Still, it was a good disc. Score: 3

The Answer – Rise:
I was completely hooked on this album. It may seem like a complete cliché album but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Definitely a keeper. Score: 4

Nick Lowe – Pure Pop For Now People:
The album sounds really dated and could use a re-mastering but it is a catchy pop record in the same vein of Elvis Costello…and I loves me some Elvis Costello. And then I learned he wrote “What’s so Funny About Peace Love and Understanding” and all because clear. There are several gems on this album and his lyrics have a great dry humor to them that is highly appealing. Score: 3.5

The Greenhornes – Dual Mono:
My husband got me into the Greenhornes when we first started dating. He discovered them in a very “High Fidelity” sort of way when they were playing overhead in a now-defunct local Hamden record store. We also had the opportunity to see them play Café Nine. (Fantastic live band, by the way!) I think they are one the best 60’s revival acts to come out in the past few years that hasn’t been “forced” or overproduced. This album continually sneaks its way back into my car listening rotation and I love it. Jack White personally handpicked them to open for the White Stripes and then picked the rhythm section (bass & drums) to be in the Raconteurs with him. Score: 4

Tool – Greatest Hits:
Don’t worry Greg, I got your back on this one.

I think Tool is an amazing band through and through. But I will say this…they are a visual band. Their live shows and videos are truly works of art. To listen and watch their videos is quite a different experience. That is how they first captured my attention. Perhaps it is my love of all things macabre but the twisted nature of their videos makes me smirk. I’ve seen them live 3 times and every show has been very different from each other and extremely entertaining.

Fantastic picks…I agree with the majority of the song selection. It had been a little while since I had listened to some Tool so it was refreshing to hear them again. Thanks Greg.

Topic:

1. Favorite Song – This changes from month to month but one of my all-time favorites that I always come back to is “Hallelujah” – the Jeff Buckley version.

2. Favorite Guilty Pleasure – Perhaps it is drunken college memories but the Backstreet Boys - “I Want It That Way.” I’m so ashamed. Kill me now.

3. Perfect Rock Song – I’m going to veer away from classic songs and go with something different and new to change things up and pick “Hysteria” by MUSE. I think its one of greatest rock songs to come out in the past decade or two.

Playing Catch-Up While the Boss is on Vacation...

Jebediah Parish – 21st Century American:
At first I tried listening to it the car but the album bored me and I need something with a little more oomph to get me to and from work. I was all ready to pan it until I gave it a try while doing some stuff at home. I enjoyed it a little more then. Some tracks were top notch and others tended to be off-putting since he tends to whine a bit. Score: 2.5

Joe Ely – Live at Liberty Lunch:
It’s no secret that I don’t like bluesy rock and it was rough for me to even force a second listen. I can’t even really comment on the musicianship because nothing screamed out to me. It just seems like generic blues rock. Score: 1

Puscifer – V if For Vagina:
I wanted to like it and back Greg in his love for Maynard & Tool, but I will have to admit that I guess not everything Maynard Keenan touches turns to gold for me. Considering too that Tim Alexander from Primus played on this album too…man, it could have had such potential. It just didn’t work for me. It wasn’t as dense and challenging as Tool and it wasn’t as emotional and cathartic as A Perfect Circle. He tries to be experimental but falls short of greatness. There were a couple tracks that I did decide to keep on my I-pod so it wasn’t complete trash. Score: 2

Kate Nash – Made of Bricks:
The thing that scares me about this record is that MTV got me buy it. Yeah, MTV, you know…the station that doesn’t play music anymore. I was watching some “True Life” late night documentary thing when a bit of insomnia was kicking in and they were playing her tracks before commercials as a “featured artist.” I was immediately hooked by her cockney accent and quirky pop songs. I’ve always been a fan of singer/pianists like Tori Amos and the Dresden Dolls and Kate Nash is a great additional to that family. From what I have heard, the album was rushed out because of hype and label pressure but I think she pulled off a great album for something that was supposedly rushed. I can’t wait to see what she kind of album she makes when she has more time to write and construct her eccentric gems. Score: 4

Thin Lizzy:
I have always liked what I heard by Thin Lizzy and this G.H. was no exception. Some songs of course pulled me in more than others, but overall a great collection and I’m glad to finally have some more Thin Lizzy in my I-pod.

Topic:

Did Nirvana change music? No. But they helped it.

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” came out when I was about 12 or 13, I think. At the time I had mostly been listening to hair bands and still the occasional new wave record. The first time I heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit” it immediately captured my attention. What was this new sound? You have to understand that as a young adolescent, I was only exposed to what was on MTV at the time. I didn’t have the resources (nor a license) to explore other music. So, Nirvana, for me, was huge and life-changing. I know plenty of people my age who feel the same. It might be a generational thing, but they opened the door for me to get into a whole other music scene. They awoke this passion in me that probably began my music obsession.

They brought something new to the forefront. Was it technically “new”…NO. But they brought it to the mainstream and that is important. They made every label scramble for the next “IT” grunge band and yet no one, to me, compared to the raw sound, angst and energy that Nirvana had. It was new for me as a youngster and therefore very important in my life.

Part 2 –

First song I remember liking…Wheel in the Sky by Journey. I’ve talked about this before, so I won’t go on any further.