OFF: 10 MOST HATED

[Carl Edlund Anderson]

On mån 22 mar 1999 19.53 +0000 "Jonathan Jarrett"
<jjarrett at CHIARK.GREENEND.ORG.UK> wrote:
> I was listening to a compilation tape of the Beatles when this
> blew up and though I can't say that they've ever struck me as particularly
> able musicians (George's guitar's all *right*), the songs themselves
> are none too bad and they still strike me as being incredibly innovative
> in lots of different ways. Even if they didn't originate their ideas
> (which given my grounding in 60s stuff is possible) they still used it
> good and fast. I'd cite 'Revolver' as well as 'Sgt. Pepper' for influence,
> though.

     The Beatles' importance in terms of influence far outstrips
their actual product.  I remember everyone thinking the "reconstructed"
Beatles track from a few years back was pretty lame--well, it wasn't
any lamer than yer average forgotten tune from side B of _Help!_.
But there's a reason people forgot them :)
     Beyond the usual Revolver, Pepper, and white album picks,
I think they were far more influential on other bands at the time.
Lemmy standing gob-smacked at the Cavern thinking, "I can pull
birds like this." :)

     I'll always like them for the context from which I remember
them, even the really dated cover tunes from the early albums :)

>         Can't help laughing at that... When grunge hit the news in the UK
> it was mostly Nirvana, though there were some long-haired disreputable
> types who got very upset at the way Nirvana had hijacked the phenomenon
> when people like Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains, who somehow 'deserved'
> success more, were being left behind. And with Nirvana, the stance on
> drugs always seemed to be, "No, I tried that and it's crap as well." The
> US perception was probably a bit, well, closer to the music.

     But I think the whole "heroin chic" thing now started
from there.  Among Cobain's many problems was being a heroin
addict--same with a lotta people in bands from that scene.  (which
is not to say that Garcia wasn't also!).  So unglamourous, that it's
glamourous.  A real grunge drug. Nasty, as the Lemmster points out.

     I kinda liked Alice in Chains, though I never bought any
of their records.  I could admit liking their riffs less
reluctantly than with Nirvana.  Never warmed to Pearl Jam.

     Now, Mudhoney ... their guitar player is a Hawkwind fan,
as I recall :)

Cheers,
Carl

ps - Hmmm, time to consider getting dressed and going to the pub!

--
Carl Edlund Anderson
Dept. of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, & Celtic
St. John's College, University of Cambridge
mailto:cea20 at cus.cam.ac.uk
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~carl/