Lake and I had been sparring about Bjork. Understandably he’s in favor of all things Icelandic right now. But there’s a limit. He wanted me to watch a Bjork video called Mutual Core. He also recommended a song by a talented young female rock vocalist from somewhere else (see above). I watched and responded by text:
Watched Mutual Core. I concede she is loud.
Lake, you know I love you, but we’ll have to agree to disagree about Bjork.
However, I did listen to Metric’s Black Sheep. I thought, okay, until I dialed up this old veteran:
But then I got to thinking. How had she been earlier in life? We’re talking Patti Smith here. She was a groupie, an addict, a wannabe who somehow made it. Would she have been better or worse decades ago?
Here’s what I found.
So I sent that to Lake too. With an observation.
Here’s an earlier version of the same same song, same artist. Sad realization. Those of us us who were on the edge did really and truly spend ourselves.
I keep wondering where my energy went. I’m thinking I spent more than anyone is supposed to have. Not on heroin and cocaine but on the war it’s now clear I’m losing. Still, I look at Patti Smith and feel a curious camaraderie.
Haven’t heard back yet. I know he’s on the road and quite busy so I’m not implying he’s nonresponsive. It’s just that I keep coming back to the fact there is this huge gulf between the generations. I have done more to wage war against the Boomer Generation than any other person any other person can name. But the measure of our crimes is that we had so much more talent than any subsequent generation.
The music of the sixties and seventies was an unprecedented explosion in every genre of music. Today people yearn for the 80s. The 80s were shit compared to the late sixties and early seventies. The whole 21st century is shit compared to the 80s. That’s not old guy talk.
It’s just the facts, Jack.
Yup. The explosion actually started in the late 50’s with early Elvis, Buddy Holly, and some others. Then in the early 60’s without Holly, with Elvis in the army, the entertainment industry trotted out the likes of Fabian and (hell, I don’t remember all their names now), the beach blanket movies with Annette Funicello, etc. It wasn’t until about 1964 when The Beatles and Dylan and The Stones hit the scene that it really took off. The music really did die for awhile with the death of Buddy Holly. I actually hated the Stones for a long time. In the summer of 1965, three carloads of us guys took a trip from northeast Kansas to Estes Park, Colorado for a week. I swear, about every half an hour Satisfaction came up on the radio. At the time I was still in my classical music phase and didn’t have much use for rock and roll (still under the influence of Ayn Rand), especially that kind of song. I have since come to realize that Satisfaction is one of the greats.
Okay, I’m back. There’s something that I think you don’t know. When I was in Iceland, we went to a concert on our last featuring Icelandic acts (with one exception). We were surprised that Bjork opened up the whole thing, and she just did three songs (like nearly every performer). That song above, Mutual Core, was new to me. I don’t love it or anything, it wasn’t on my top list, and I don’t think I’ve listened to it since, but it was incredible in concert — powerful, unusual, shocking, visceral. I think you knew that I’d seen her in concert recently, and that’s probably the only reason she popped up on my list… we’d been to Iceland. We had an experience.
But at that same concert, do you know who came out a bit later? The only non-Icelandic act of the night. Patti Smith. And she performed Because the Night, as well as Wing, Pissing in a River, and a heartfelt cover of Lou Reed’s Perfect Day. I heard both songs you linked above within a span of 20 minutes. And both were great.
So it’s funny that you bring up Patti Smith as I happened to see both Bjork and Patti Smith on the same night, virtually side by side. Synchronicity, even. They were doubtless hanging out backstage as the top two acts of the night. I was able to enjoy them both. You said it on the phone, I’m much more open than you. I don’t think you think that’s a good thing. But I fear you’re turning into (or have long since become) a music snob, intentionally and even aggressively closed to anything new, always comparing with the music of the past that caught your fancy at the time. Not that I’m the paragon of finding new music and listening to full albums and keeping my finger on the pulse of modern music. It’s just that while I, just like you, appreciate the music from my youth the most (like everyone else out there), I haven’t given up my interest in the new. I wonder when I will. I hope it’s not soon.
Your riposte would be brilliant. If it weren’t so wrong. You’re the champion of the new, I’m the bitter clinger to the old. Why I had at least four Eminem cuts on my list, Haddaway(!), Mumford and Sons, and the best song from Once, which if I didn’t find as a source before you, I wrote about before you. I linked Motorhead, watched the Metallica movie with appreciation,
I would add, as testament of my openness, my acknowledgment that Philip Glass’s The Hours (which I meant to add to my y Added Things post) is one of the most stirring pieces of classical music I have ever heard. I actually wrote an IP post strictly about the video, having already bowed to the music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpBg05HV6Q8&sns=em
This outburst because I don’t cotton to Bjork. Sorry to have offended.
P.S. I didn’t link two Patti Smith songs. I linked one song recorded decades apart. What remains is the artist. We’ll see about Bjork when you’re old and I’m dead, won’t we?
Who’s offended? I’m enjoying every bit of this! Just ruffling the feathers a bit, I’m sorry if it was too much. Not my intention to derail the conversation, I think both our recent phone call and these threads are wonderful.
Also, believe me, I wouldn’t hold Bjork up to any of the great songs on either of our lists. I’ve had some good experiences with a few of her songs, and I’m fine with agreeing to disagree. Not for you, not any good compared to the great artists of the past, no problem. Let’s move on.
I wanted to talk with you about Eminem, actually, as I think we’re the only two with him on our lists (or rap of any kind?). I remember your comparison of Mr. Mathers with Rimbaud and your admiration for his backtrack of Lose Yourself over the history of Detroit and the dire struggles of the American auto industry. I was interested in comparing our track choices because they’re different.
One thing I think we both like about Eminem is that he can and often does tell a vulnerable, self-reflecting, and serious story, miles away from the standard braggadocio of modern rap. Your picks of Cleanin’ Out My Closet and Mockingbird show that beautifully, and we appreciate his honesty and openness about his mother, daughter, and ex-wife. Sing for the Moment is rousing, victorious, powerful, and The Way I Am is reflecting and challenging. But what about Just Lose It?
I was wondering if you had heard Berzerk off the new album. The samples in the course get a bit messy, but the back music is a tribute to The Beastie Boys especially, along with many others. I included Lose Yourself from the 8 Mile Soundtrack because of its energy and inspiration, but it was with some trepidation that I also included Rap God, again from the new album. Have you listened to it? I’m not too proud to admit that it runs through my head often, I’m a bit stuck on it. There are a few spots in the middle that weaken the song, and I believe they’re specific call-outs and mockeries of other rappers, but the rest of the song is a mix of deft and complex word play, self-depreciation, sheer braggadocio, and perhaps the fastest rap verse I’ve ever heard. The backbeat annoyed me a bit at first, too techy, but when that bassline kicks in…
So if you want to talk about Eminem or any of the other songs on either of our lists instead of harping on some crazy Icelandic chick from both ends, I’d love to.
Oh, and I wanted to talk about your 100 list and keep the discussion going. Is this the place to do it? Or should I backtrack to the old thread?