tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post876227515567315478..comments2024-03-27T23:24:02.731-04:00Comments on PowerPop: Tales From the CryptNYMaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863355110457910935noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-65722347346749268192008-04-24T18:22:00.000-04:002008-04-24T18:22:00.000-04:00You guys forget it is all new for teenagers. Rebel...You guys forget it is all new for teenagers. Rebellious and safe at the same time. <BR/><BR/>When a kid at my high school goes punk, goth or jock for the first time they are very proud and at the same time self-conscious. When I was able to grow my hair down to my shoulders I was so proud of myself. I thought it was very daring and new at the time.<BR/><BR/>Rock and roll was self-renewing for 30 years and it felt great. Only now when there is nothing new for traditional rock and roll to create (only refine) does it finally seem to be getting old to us oldsters. <BR/><BR/>During it's time the Pistols' style of rebellion was very exciting. Yes it was based upon the past but the Pistols were able to create a fresh mix and move beyond the NYC punks. Of course a few years later the LA punk scene trumped the British scene. And on and on it went reinventing itself until there was nothing left fresh to cannibalize.<BR/><BR/>ROTP(lumber)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-77120457296913911492008-04-24T14:55:00.000-04:002008-04-24T14:55:00.000-04:00My fave Nick Tosches quote:"The illusion of newnes...<I>My fave Nick Tosches quote:<BR/><BR/>"The illusion of newness is pop culture's greatest sucker racket."</I><BR/><BR/>Brilliant. And you touched upon that very thing in this piece ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-66964219275140225952008-04-24T13:22:00.000-04:002008-04-24T13:22:00.000-04:00Hmm. Blogger just ate a comment, so I'll try it ag...Hmm. Blogger just ate a comment, so I'll try it again.<BR/><BR/><I>But then, I suppose there's nothing new under the sun ...<BR/></I><BR/><BR/>My fave Nick Tosches quote:<BR/><BR/>"The illusion of newness is pop culture's greatest sucker racket."steve simelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13247393763004076992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-47130591713548374812008-04-24T13:13:00.000-04:002008-04-24T13:13:00.000-04:00Anyway, they were soooo cute. As he was not being ...<I>Anyway, they were soooo cute. As he was not being rebellious, I suppose it was not so boring.</I><BR/><BR/>Then the entire movement has been co-opted.<BR/><BR/>Ironic.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-31653391410097392192008-04-24T13:11:00.000-04:002008-04-24T13:11:00.000-04:00Mrs. Peel, I saw a punk kid with magenta hair in S...Mrs. Peel, I saw a punk kid with magenta hair in San Francisco with his proud mother-- I do not remember whether her hair was magenta. Anyway, they were soooo cute. As he was not being rebellious, I suppose it was not so boring.David Rasmussenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03652293916468672552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-88262558915526850542008-04-24T13:04:00.000-04:002008-04-24T13:04:00.000-04:00New category for a Listomania: Music to Clear a Ro...New category for a Listomania: Music to Clear a Room With.<BR/><BR/>Seriously, though, nihilism for its own sake and an "anti-anything that came before me" attitude never did anything for me. It's just as narcissistic as what it's complaining about. Me! Me! Notice me! And fuck you for noticing me!<BR/><BR/>These days it's all bullshit anyway. If I see one more punk kid with magenta hair and a lip piercing who thinks he's being rebellious and/or individualistic, I'm going to smack him. There are people old enough to be his parents who had magenta hair. Bor-ing.<BR/><BR/>But then, I suppose there's nothing new under the sun ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-23515499007717499362008-04-24T12:57:00.000-04:002008-04-24T12:57:00.000-04:00Reading the review I think you took them seriously...Reading the review I think you took them seriously and dealt with the challenges they presented fairly and honestly.<BR/><BR/>One thing I like about your work is that you take a big picture and philosophical approach without forgetting to say if it rocks or not.<BR/><BR/>In the end, they rock, and while it is difficult to figure out just how many levels of irony build up with them (and Alex Chilton too) the music works for me as music.<BR/><BR/>Maybe because the attitude is part of the music too. I mean, the John Cage piece where he starts the timer and closes the piano is interesting, but it does not work as music. Interesting thought, but no emotional communication, and that is the musical brain hack.<BR/><BR/>TreyTMinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07221261635305430323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-30416618017367610422008-04-24T12:02:00.000-04:002008-04-24T12:02:00.000-04:00nothing, and mean nothing, clears a room faster at...<I>nothing, and mean nothing, clears a room faster at the end of an evening like the opening screech of Pere Ubu's The Modern Dance.</I><BR/><BR/>I always use Marty Robbins' "Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs" album, the one with the seven minute version of "El Paso." But I know what you mean....steve simelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13247393763004076992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-64120341582504341142008-04-24T11:47:00.000-04:002008-04-24T11:47:00.000-04:00Brilliant then, Steve...brilliant now.Yes, conside...Brilliant then, Steve...brilliant now.<BR/><BR/>Yes, consider it nailed. I particularly liked, "But even granted all that, it would be a mistake to dismiss the Pistols as just this season's hype; there's art lurking beneath the artifice of their debut album. Of course, to appreciate "Never Mind the Bollocks" you have to have a certain tolerance for loud noises. You also have to understand something perhaps not readily apparent, which is that the Pistols are wittily well aware of the contradictions in what they're attempting, the most obvious of these being that to reach the mass audience they want they will have to seduce the very types they detest, especially once they invade America."<BR/><BR/>Ha. That was exactly why I loved the record and would put it on the turnatable for everyone I knew at the time.<BR/><BR/>The saturation of Steely Dan's Aja was epic around then and I LOVED ripping that cheesy dreck off of the player and pouncing the stylus onto Holidays In The Sun. The looks of horror and shock were priceless then and in some ways, there are people who still hate this kind of a record.<BR/><BR/>Personally, my favourite cut was always, Bodies, but nothing, and mean nothing, clears a room faster at the end of an evening like the opening screech of Pere Ubu's The Modern Dance.Cleveland Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12514937281212775227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-58488961685588626072008-04-24T11:21:00.000-04:002008-04-24T11:21:00.000-04:00One of my city's best singer songwriters often doe...One of my city's best singer songwriters often does what can only be considered oldies shows, combining the Beatles and the Stones, Charlie Rich, Pink Floyd and many others. "God Save the Queen" is always a highlight. You nailed the Sex Pistols with your first punch.David Rasmussenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03652293916468672552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-38724725768690190032008-04-24T10:35:00.000-04:002008-04-24T10:35:00.000-04:00Nobody likes a wiseguy, Gummo.:-)Nobody likes a wiseguy, Gummo.<BR/>:-)steve simelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13247393763004076992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-52168877123380213032008-04-24T10:30:00.000-04:002008-04-24T10:30:00.000-04:00Okay, steve, just for you:What's with the goofy re...Okay, steve, just for you:<BR/><BR/>What's with the goofy reversal of italics and quotes? Usually songs are in quotes and albums, like books in book reviews, are in italics.<BR/><BR/>Is that some weird Stereo Review quirk or what? I bet it used to drive you, and your writers, completely bonkers!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-79877294093966285832008-04-24T09:53:00.000-04:002008-04-24T09:53:00.000-04:00BTW, I'm surprised nobody commented on the weird S...BTW, I'm surprised nobody commented on the weird Stereo Review style thing in the review -- you'll note that song titles were in italics while album titles were just in quotes. The exact opposite of the way it's done pretty much everywhere else in the world. Used to drive me, and my writers, completely bonkers.steve simelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13247393763004076992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-20092892182091739582008-04-24T09:50:00.000-04:002008-04-24T09:50:00.000-04:00dave™© said... IIRC, you did a review of the first...<I>dave™© said... <BR/>IIRC, you did a review of the first Ramones' album that kinda cheesed me (I could be wrong about this).<BR/><BR/></I>To be brutally honest, I completely didn't get the Ramones at first, although in my defense, I still don't think they're worth listening to until the third album (a not unreasonable position, I maintain).<BR/><BR/>But in any case, the brief dismissive review of the first Ramones album was not by moi. That was my late colleague Noel Coppage, a lovely guy and a terrific writer who nonetheless didn't have much use for loud noises.steve simelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13247393763004076992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-10128683571584831272008-04-24T08:55:00.000-04:002008-04-24T08:55:00.000-04:00Gummo is absolutely right about the band's debt to...Gummo is absolutely right about the band's debt to the Ramones.<BR/><BR/>Also, even though they slag off NYC, it is ironic how much their music steals from the Dolls, especially Steve Jones' wholesale lift of Johnny Thunders guitar sound.<BR/><BR/>Obviously they were listening to them.Kid Charlemagnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12109953353900729258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-2785130452353942452008-04-24T08:13:00.000-04:002008-04-24T08:13:00.000-04:00I have vague memories of reading that review "back...I have vague memories of reading that review "back in the day", Steve, and you pretty much nailed it.<BR/><BR/>It did bug me at the time, as a New York punk chauvinist, that more wasn't made of the Pistols' obvious debt to the Ramones, without whom etc. etc. Most old-guard music writers seemed to think the Pistols had sprung from the mire of English class resentment full-blown and without antecedents of any kind. Your review was a good corrective to that attitude.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-54841671480658209982008-04-24T07:16:00.000-04:002008-04-24T07:16:00.000-04:00A record cost $7 back in the day? That is prety ex...A record cost $7 back in the day? That is prety expensive if you think about it. The record companies must have really been raking it in back then. You can pick up the whole album now for just 50% now on iTunes.Rinjo Njori!https://www.blogger.com/profile/06637737178786110394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-67937998288197241092008-04-24T06:59:00.000-04:002008-04-24T06:59:00.000-04:00I remember this review very well. I can't say I to...I remember this review very well. I can't say I totally had bought into the punk rock thing yet, and can only admit to having heard one or two Pistols songs at the time. I do remember this as one of the more intelligent things written about the band up until that time. I'd agree that this review--as well as the album--still holds up.<BR/><BR/>In another review in the same issue (I can't remember which one, unfortunately), you stated that the Pistols made exciting singles but only so-so albums. You also did an article on punk rock in late 1978 for SR in which you gave a sidebar review on the punk acts of the day. For your Sex Pistols entry, you stated that the band would probably be remembered more as an influence than for their music. I'd say both opinions are arguable, but I suppose I would als have to ask if you still stood by them as well.<BR/><BR/>Finally, this brings up a question I've had for awhile as to whether the old Stereo Review issues could somehow be revived in digital form, as is the case with the old Rolling Stone magazine issues. Any insight on that?TJWoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00312890704167853988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-22461355578257781762008-04-24T04:03:00.000-04:002008-04-24T04:03:00.000-04:00$6.98 list for that album! Pretty sure I got it on...$6.98 list for that album! Pretty sure I got it on sale for $3.99 at Tower... *sigh*dave™©https://www.blogger.com/profile/15303249276504183167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-83823684097569312362008-04-24T03:47:00.000-04:002008-04-24T03:47:00.000-04:00IIRC, you did a review of the first Ramones' album...IIRC, you did a review of the first Ramones' album that kinda cheesed me (I could be wrong about this).<BR/><BR/>And I'm <I>still</I> looking for that incredibly bad Hirschfeld-esque caricature of you that used to grace your SR column!dave™©https://www.blogger.com/profile/15303249276504183167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8921382.post-50132281081766055552008-04-24T00:25:00.000-04:002008-04-24T00:25:00.000-04:00The punks at my high school worship the Pistol esp...The punks at my high school worship the Pistol especially Sidney V. <BR/><BR/>Us oldsters hear a good rock band, the punk teenagers see themselves as the Pistols in Chemistry class or in the cafeteria. They want to wreck havoc out of being bored (and forced to show up to school early in the morning). <BR/><BR/>And who can blame them.<BR/><BR/>ROTP(lumber)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com