OFF: now 90s v. 80s

[John A. Swartz]

>
> As far as the 80s vs. the 90s in terms of rock and roll, I think the
> 90s wins hands down. Rock and roll was watered down pop in the 80s
> for the most part. I still think grunge is about the ugliest style of
> rock I've ever heard, but there's some new rock out there that I can
> really dig.

I was in college in the 80s and listened to a lot of music.  There was
some great metal music from the 80s in particular.  I think that
guitar-wise, there was a lot of great music produced in the 80s.

>
> >Also (and I wonder if anyone else has noticed this) it seems to me that the
> >90's were a lot more darker. Like the singers and bands out there were more
> >depressed or something. The 80's were more joyful, cheerful. It shows in the
> >videos too. Nowadays, all the videos are really dark and gloomy, at least
> >the vast majority.

Yep - that's because grunge became the mainstream, and grunge was all
about the anti-corporate pop culture that was happening in the 80s -
just like punk music was a reaction to a lot of big-time corporate rock
in the 70s.

But, if you thought the 80s didn't have much darkness, you weren't
watching too many heavy metal videos - then again, I don't think heavy
metal really resonated with the MTV crowd at that time.

And, then again, heavy metal in the mid to late 80s became very
mainstream, and watered down with everyone becoming a Poison look-alike band.


> I have to admit I haven't heard BOC's last studio album. The cover scared me
> off. It was better than it looked?

"Never judge a book by its cover"

I'm amazed to hear that people who are familiar with the musical
capabilities of the amazing Blue Oyster Cult would actually NOT buy one
of their albums because the didn't like the cover artwork.  That is just
so foreign to my way of thinking...


> I guess it depends on which period BOC you like. From my limited
> observations, which will probably turn out to be totally unfounded now that
> I'm actually on a BOC mailing list, people tend to prefer either their 80's
> sci-fi/biker type stuff, or their early, hard-edged, surreal stuff.
> Personally I love the first three albums, and adore Imaginos, and find the
> 'Fire of Unknown Origin' type stuff pretty bland. I think I just liked
> Pearlman's lyrics.  and I just loved getting lost in his bizarre settings
> and rantings about telescopes and huskies and shrubs and whatnot. I  always
> considered Pearlman a genius, and it seemed that mostly when he was
> involved, the music really fired, too. The Albert Bouchard/Sandy Pearlman
> combination was the real essence of BOC to me, though I remember reading an
> interview where AB expressed some disdain for those early albums.

Well, in that case, you might not like *Heaven Forbid*...

> Howls!  But remember that a big part of that vision was due to Al and
> Pearlman and Meltzer.  BOC's definitely in a different vein now.  I do
> hope that they continue to experiment--that was something they were
> always known for back then...

True - now I guess BOC just has their talent to rely on...  ;-)


> at least-at least and nothing more...duran duran was a _band_ what had to
> play their equipment, click trax notwithstanding, but the BB sing along
> w/finished 'product', ready and waiting for them. i think that's a measurable
> distinction these days.


They are the Menudo of the 90s/00s ...

Scary to think that one of them may be the next Ricky Martin in 10 years...

> >
> > And I don't know when the CD was 'invented,' but there's no way people
> > were routinely buying them in stores in 1979!

Nope - I think the first CDs came out in 1982.


> >(And anything before 1967, totally irrelevant.  I just put that in there for
> >any Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame voters here on boc-l.)  :)
>
> Blasphemy! The Beatles' _Revolver_ can never be irrelevant! :)


Absolutely!  Not to mention all the blues records that came before it.
Just picked up the latest issue of Fender's "Frontline"
magazine/catalog, and there is an article in it on Muddy Waters - and
the title is "Muddy Waters - A Tribute to the Man Who Invented the
Modern Rock Band".

>
> I wish there were some commercially viable reason to get the entire
> original BOC braintrust back in one camp. I think maybe we should
> organize a letter-writing campaign to Mike Meyers. If there's gonna
> be a Wayne's World 3, maybe the guys can do a Dominance and
> Submission sing-along in the Mirth Mobile or something????????

Well, all members of the original BOC braintrust are still making music
(o.k., at least the music-making ones are).  Enjoy it all and remember
that, as with mutual funds, past performance is no guarantee of future returns.

John