335 Bass

[Granny Gremlin]

Yup - as do the Midtown basses. Everybody likes bound necks on semis, except that little punk Canuck. 

It's grown on me since the Triumph became my main player.... I just wish they used something other than cream - that always looks awful (especially for pup rings and other trim).

[uwe]

Jon, I wasn't all over you as the resident KKK member or anything, I know you have too much brains to be a racist. (Racism is the cult of the inane.)

I grant you that rap doesn't get covered much - that probably has to do with the fact that in rap circles you're nothing if you don't write and rhyme your own lyrics. And that a lot of rap music addresses a certain point or situation in time. No one ever covers Dylan's Hurricane - IMHO his best song and one of his most gripping lyrics - either, that song has done its job, you can't take it out of its periodic context, it would be an empty shell today (which is why Dylan never ever performs it anymore either).

Whether rap is music or spoken poems with some background rhythm is a moot discussion, minimalist music has (and always has had) its place, tribal African drumming doesn't know harmony or melody either, yet we would both hopefully agree that it is a form of music too.

Rap is the voice of black urban youth who rightly or wrongly feel that there is really nobody else who speaks for them. That is why it has its niche. It has always been commercialised and watered down - ever since Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight - and has had its influence on dance music and Euro pop, even  quite a bit of rock (Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Rage Against the Machine), but I can't attribute rock's decline to the rise of rap. More likely, white youth has more means of voicing frustration, they don't need to latch on to rock as doggedly as black youths do to rap.

And as regards affirmative action: I infinitely prefer someone being hired because he/she is black to someone not being hired because he/she is black. Once affirmative action has as long a history as slavery and subjugation of black people, we can renew the discussion. In another two hundred years or so? 

[westen44]

I NEVER thought I would be defending Canadians, after years on the radio along the New York/CANADIAN border and having Canadians always call to request bands from their country.

It was such fun taunting them over the airwaves

BUT.....Canada HAS actually had the last laugh on America. At this point, Canadian radio is SOOOOO much better than its U.S. counterpart. you can hear amazing music up in Canada, especially classic rock and obscure-to-Americans tracks.

IMO, it is because Canada lacks the Black and Hispanic demographics, due to the cold, that have taken over the U.S. music industry and ruined it. Rock is pretty much dead. If it wasn't on American Idol or some othe TV "make a star" show, or rap/HipHop or in Spanish.....there is NO NEW ROCK MUSIC being aired. A good argument for another ice age, no?

And American "music television" is even worse. MTV and the others have decided to ram either "global/world music" or rap/HipHop down our throats.  I ised to laugh at how bad "Euro Pop" was when I was over there a lot in the 90s...horrid pop or dance pop. Now MTV's idiotic vision has forced the U.S. To "catch up" to the rest of the world's music.

AMERICA STARTED ROCK 'N' ROLL, JAZZ...HELL, EVEN RAP AND HIP HOP.
WHY....would we want to become the "rest of the world" in music?

That is as stupid as if Hollywood deciding to imitate Euro or Baliwood/Indian filmmaking.

But Pandora's Box has been opened. it cannot be reversed. Just like the Internet completely changing what had been the record industry. Now no one wants to pay for music. Crazy that all musicians should become buskers with disposable wares, like video games that are thrown away every six months.

I don't have your insight into Canada.  Being in the Deep South, I'm too far away.  But I agree with what you're saying here.  I do agree that rap killed rock.  Not too many people seem to listen to rock anymore.  I'll give an example of a younger relative.  She has always totally hated rock, especially the Beatles.  She also hates Hendrix.  She will listen to neither.  She also isn't interested in any new rock music.  To her there are only two genres:  rap/hip-hop and country.  Nothing else, period.  To me personally, this seems like a bizarre combination.  As for country, I'm not talking too much about the new country, either.  She likes stuff like obscure Carter family songs and that sort of thing.  But if you put on any rock at all, she'll run out of the room screaming. 

That's just one example, but your examples of how rap/hip-hop has been crammed down the throats of the American people is accurate, IMO.  I can get one station in this area that plays some hard rock, but even they are beginning to sprinkle their selections now with a few rap songs.  It's almost all rap and country, rap and country.  Believe me, there is nothing else, literally.  Unless, of course, you want to throw in what they call pop music now.  I hardly even know what to say about current pop.  Meghan Trainor, anyone?

[Pilgrim]

I think that for many years, rock was THE alternative form of music. Protest in the 60's was part folk, but heavily in rock music. As new forms of protest music emerge, rap and hip-hop seem like excellent candidates for that role.

Country and hip-hop seem like **extremely odd** bedfellows to me.  I am challenged to find commonnality in ethos, musical structure or culture.

Radio around the Denver market is mainly based in pop, country, classic rock, psycho-paranoid-ultra-conservative talk and sports talk. There isn't a large minority poulation other than Hispanics, which explains a number of Spanish language stations.   

[westen44]

Maybe my area is atypical.  But there are quite a few people who seem to latch on to the country/hip-hop combination.  They may like either, or they may like both.  But rock is almost unknown now in my world.  Of course, personally I can always listen to it or play it.  I'm just saying that in the real world now, it almost doesn't exist for me.  It's that bad.  It's true there is one light rock station here that plays what might be called rock.  But that's the blandest part of rock.  Listening to that all the time would put someone into a coma.  That's the station they have on in my chiropractor's office.  Whatever new rock there may be simply isn't being played on the radio around here.  As has already been mentioned, it's definitely not on TV anymore, either.  As for local clubs and rock, forget it.  Most people don't want that anymore.  They basically want modern pop, country, or hip-hop, as already stated here.  The kind of stuff that somebody out there is trying to push on the American public.  God only knows how much money is now being made on these genres. 

[drbassman]

All music has value as a representation of a culture and the people that produce and listen to it.  Each genre has its place and a story to tell. All of us are judged, rightly or wrongly, by the music we consume and condone.  I just don't care to listen to any music genre that is laced with profanity, misogyny, or gratuitous violence.  Just a matter of taste!

[Highlander]

I'm in talk-radio mode at the present mo... everything else (radio) here is not worth discussing...

Disco, rap, reggae, hop-hip... never did click any of it...

Rather oddly, just stumbled on a Finnish singer called Maija Vilkkumaa, all in Finnish language, and it's quite enjoyable... certainly not mass appeal... I could listen to her material in considerably more comfort than any of that other stuff... absolutely no idea what she's singing about...

[westen44]

I'm in talk-radio mode at the present mo... everything else (radio) here is not worth discussing...

Disco, rap, reggae, hop-hip... never did click any of it...

Rather oddly, just stumbled on a Finnish singer called Maija Vilkkumaa, all in Finnish language, and it's quite enjoyable... certainly not mass appeal... I could listen to her material in considerably more comfort than any of that other stuff... absolutely no idea what she's singing about...

On one of my trips to Holland a few years ago, I was around one of my acquaintances one night listening to and talking about music.  He had recently been to Finland and had a new CD of Finnish hard rock.  Although I couldn't understand any of it, I loved it.  I'm not used to even being around anything like that now.  If he had been a friend instead of just an acquaintance, I might have asked him to at least let me borrow it.  But he said a lot of people listened to hard rock in Finland.  Evidently, it must be quite popular there.

[uwe]

Each generation has its own art forms. Rock was the music of the 60ies and 70ies and reigned supreme then. It began to lose foothold in the 80ies and 90ies, but did a good job doggedly defending itself. Still, it is now "dad-music". Your son is not going to be able to impress or shock you with the statement that he just went to a Foo Fighters concert when you tell him you saw Led Zeppelin or The Who in 1973 with all members still alive. It's ok for the current generation of young people to wish to have their "own music" and to many the rock bands of today aren't really far enough removed from what we listen(ed) to to pass the "this is me"-test.

My 20 year old son likes 70ies and 80ies rock (and hates Nirvana just as much as U2), but it is in part his way of setting himself apart from his peer group. He is not revolting against me with his music taste (he's jealous that I have seen Lynyrd Skynyrd and he hasn't, we'll make good on that next year!), but against his peers. My 23 year old daughter, who grew up with the same music as her brother, is permissive in what music she likes. It can be dance floor electro pop or a Glenn Frey number she once heard in the car with me, but to her rock, pop, country, electro bop, world music etc is just an aural tapestry, not anything she identifies with or expresses herself with.

Something would be wrong with today's youth if they followed our rock afficionado footsteps.

[Highlander]

Did you see Skynyrd with RVZ...?

[Pilgrim]

My 25 and 26 year old daughters will go to Dick Dale concerts with me.  Neither will listen to him on CD, but they really like the unique performance he puts on...he's one of those guys who is really about the live experience.  Last summer the older one brought her same-age boyfriend along; he had no idea who Dale was and listened to some of his music for the first time the week before the event.  He was completely blown away.

I guess all live music is powerful - but it seems to me that some types are more emotionally compelling than others. For those who like it, surely rap and hip-hop must be in that category.  But they do nuttin' for me.

Like Bill said, " I just don't care to listen to any music genre that is laced with profanity, misogyny, or gratuitous violence."

So I'll listen to classic rock that's laced with references to sex and drugs. That's good, homeland American values at work!!

[westen44]

Speaking of the profanity, I had a recent experience about songs and profanity.  I was reading an article about early 20th century music.  I'm not sure how widespread this was, but some of those songs were way more graphic and vulgar than I was expecting.  The best examples I wouldn't even be able to post here, though, even if I could find them now (which I doubt I could.)  Anyway, my point is I was kind of surprised. 

[uwe]

Did you see Skynyrd with RVZ...?

Naw, I think around that time they only toured Germany once in 1973 or so (with Queen as their opening act, the bands reputedly hated each other). I saw the lil' brother/Rick Medlocke outfit some years back. It was a good show. They "opened' for DP, but were allowed a full set. It was a good mix of old and new. And frankly, when I hear the kid brother singing those songs today, I don't think of RvZ anymore.

[Highlander]

Blackfoot toured with the Scorpions here... I have some good b&w's of that set, somewhere... I saw LS in '76 and '77 for the GBMB's tour and in support of the Fox Theatre LP...
They played one date in 74 and 4 in '75 in Germany, that I've found... '73 would have been circa the time they toured with Golden Earring, iirc...
I was not impressed with Led Zep live... vastly overrated...
The Who were stunners... end of story...

[westen44]

In case anyone is interested, I found something which looks like a summary of the article I read about songs of the 20th century.  The original article was in much more depth.  I mostly concentrated on the period from 1900-1930.  I looked up songs on YouTube, listened to a few, listened to similar songs, etc.  It was somewhat interesting, but I finally decided I could probably make better use of my time.  Also, the music of that time period was so alien, I found it very hard to relate to.

Music up to 1955 was called pre-rock, btw.  I think we're already in the post-rock era, although it's too early to say exactly what the beginning date for that will be.  Something for the historians to decide at some point. 

http://www.verysmallarray.com/?p=1752