Smitty wrote:
I listened to the Rolling Stones A Bigger Bang the other day for the first time in years and was astounded at how great some of it was. What more could you possibly expect from a band that's been doing this shit for half a century? A- record.
I have a clear (but not necessarily correct) recollection of you and me forming a defiant crowd of 2 in defense of A Bigger Bang a few years ago. I haven't listened in some time but I assume that it would still hold up for me as well.
Nothin' wrong w/ some of that early John Cougar Mellencamp. I personally am especially fond of "Cherry Bomb".
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
Beebs wrote:Heard an interview with Rundgren in the last few years (maybe WTF? with Marc Maron) and upon realizing what a despicable human he is I can't decide whether to dislike this album more as it's one of his projects or to like it more to support Meatloaf, who Rundgren repeatedly referred to as "that fat sweaty idiot" (or something like that).
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Rundgren is cocky, cutting and sardonic, but I wouldn't say a despicable human being. The Meatloaf thing was an intentional imaging of using 50's era hunk imagery and then putting Meatloaf in it, and at the time he truly was obese and very sweaty and they played that up for the marketing, however nasty it sounds to talk of it that way now. I don't think Rundgren thought much of Meatloaf largely because he didn't write the songs or play any instruments and they're both prima donnas, but mostly because Meatloaf essentially fucked the project over by quitting his record label contract the day before recording was to begin with the studio and players booked and ready after ten days of rehearsing as the record was mostly a live recording, leaving Rundgren to finance the whole project when he had only intended to be a hired producer and leaving him hoping he'd get his money back (which he obviously did in spades and eventually sold off his royalty rights to get his place in Hawaii), and in the studio Meat became demanding of how the songs should be recorded and played and kept interrupting to make musical suggestions, which would obviously piss off a producer who was now paying hourly out of pocket costs. That doesn't mean Todd shouldn't be nicer about it interviews, but playing nice is not really his thing, just like with Isbell who has that same cut to the bone thing. Rundgren did the whole thing as a Springsteen spoof and Rundgren didn't tell any of the people involved that he thought of it as a sppof, including the E-Street guys he got to play on the record. They also got Phil Ruzzuto to do the Yankees-style play by play calling without telling him it was about sex. Anyway, in the end, Todd and Meat got along well enough for Meat to have his wedding at Todd's house.
Wow. I can only go on the impression he made on me, being pretty nasty about anyone he could name in an hour+ interview. But you obviously have a lot deeper knowledge than me, so I'll digress.
Silly factoid: Dated a girl from a town in CT where Meat coached girls soft ball.
Zip City wrote:Pink Floyd's "The Final Cut" gets slagged for being (basically) a Roger Waters solo album with Nick and David along for the ride. The band was breaking up, Rick had already been fired, etc., but there are some really amazing songs on that record
I don't think I knew anything about this album's pedigree when I first fell in love with it but don't think it would have mattered. It resonates with me plain and simple and I think it's one of Roger Water's (if not Pink Floyd's) greatest works.
Smitty wrote:
There's also a lot of 90's/00's alternative rock that gets shit on that I still enjoy.
examples?
I don't mean to steal Smitty's thunder, but I too like a ton of the one-hit wonders and forgotten 90's bands. Some great songs in there. Maybe 10-15 years from now, someone will do a 90's Nuggets.
Smitty wrote:
There's also a lot of 90's/00's alternative rock that gets shit on that I still enjoy.
examples?
I don't mean to steal Smitty's thunder, but I too like a ton of the one-hit wonders and forgotten 90's bands. Some great songs in there. Maybe 10-15 years from now, someone will do a 90's Nuggets.
Ask and you shall receive (more or less): The estimable folks at Rhino Records came out w/ the box set Whatever, billed as "the 90's pop culture box, but it's mostly music and it's mostly on point. I don't know how available it is these days.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
hell yes they are, self titled especially. thats a classic of that 90s roots boom as far as im concerned
i like the globe sessions quie a bit and scattered stuff afterwards too. her album last year was surprisingly solid and in line with the sound of the first two
rlipps wrote:Sheryl Crow's first 2 albums were both really good
Yep and yep (not totally up on Crow's 2nd, but definitely the first and my memory of the 2nd is positive)
As far as I can tell the grumbling about "shiny happy people" falls into the "they were better when they were unknown" category. On its own, w/out the "surround" the song is a great pop single.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
rlipps wrote:Sheryl Crow's first 2 albums were both really good
I'll go first three. Anything but Down, My Favorite Mistake, and If It Makes You Happy are great songs. I definitely think she works better for me on her sadder, if you will, songs.
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing
rlipps wrote:Sheryl Crow's first 2 albums were both really good
I'll go first three. Anything but Down, My Favorite Mistake, and If It Makes You Happy are great songs. I definitely think she works better for me on her sadder, if you will, songs.
Yeah, definitely first 3. I hadn't listened in so long, I was thinking of the 2nd and 3rd albums as one album. Those 3 got a lot of spins during my college years.
