OFF: Motorhead/Another Perfect Day, Jethro Tull/Thick As A Brick

[Stephan Forstner]

What with the recent Motorhead noise here and the wrestling argument, I
dredged through my memories and came up with what follows - long boring
old-fart type ramblings, you have been warned...

Previously -
>> I got flak for championing 'Another Perfect Day' when it came
>> out, but I stood by it then (and now) - its a shame Brian
>> didn't manage to stay longer with the band.
>
>wow......my 'crowd' loved it; still do...

My crowd liked prog AND metal AND punk (AND folk AND soundtrack music AND
electronic music AND bar bands AND etc. - we liked what we thought was good,
screw 'genre' and those who tied their musical identity to any one limited
type of music or herd-approved group of artists  - but sometimes you had
better be prepared to explain WHY you thought it was good) and most of them
loved APD too, but we overlapped with other crowds, including some comprised
of militant militia-type metalheads, some 'pure punk' adherents, some NYHC
cadres. The metal/punk-only groups were pretty hostile to APD when it came
out, for a few reasons I think - first, Fast Eddie had left and ANYBODY new
would probably have faced resistance, after all, he pretty much helped
define the MH sound - second, the previous album was Iron Fist, probably
their LEAST musical release up to that point, and not coincidentally a
favorite with the punks - and finally, and probably most importantly, the
fact that BR was playing that synth-guitar thingy. At this time, anything
remotely synth was anathema to the aforementioned purists - even a
relatively above-ground band like Iron Maiden trumpeted 'no synths!' on
their releases, and ludicrous terms like 'sellout' and 'commercial' were
freely tossed around in relation to APD which was where we got into our
disagreements.

Then MH came to NYC in '83 on the APD tour and did a 3-night stint at
LAmour, and we all went out for that, even the detractors. No question,
Brian ruled the stage on the night I was there, synth-guitar, shorts, and
all. To their credit, many of the nay-sayers ate their words after that, and
even the hardcases muted their criticism - it was a storming set of gigs. I
later acquired a boot tape of one of those shows (unfortunately not one from
the night I was there) - so the memory of that time hasn't faded. I might be
wrong but I think the CD 'King Biscuit Flower Hour presents Motorhead' may
have some tracks on it from that gig as well. And if you'd like to get a
taste, go to the official Motorhead site (imotorhead.com) - the Tour Through
Time section is currently featuring 45 minutes of live Motorhead w/ Robbo
from '83 recorded in Zurich Switzerland.

As for wrestling/crossover - well, the other night I heard Thick As A Brick
coming out of the TV in the other room, rushed in, and saw a car (Hyundai)
commercial. Thick As A Brick! Now, I'm not someone who wants artists to be
'pure' and eschew commercialism or the pursuit of cash, but TAAB! Silver
Machine, divorced from context, actually makes sense as a car sales tool.
Motorhead is aggressive enough, musically and lyrically, that it fits with
wrestling, even if you don't particularly like the fact that Lemmy has
decided to associate himself with lowest-common-denominator entertainment.
I've heard Locomotive Breath used in a beer commercial - and there the gap
between the song and the purpose of the commercial begins to get noticeable,
but LB regularly appears on Greatest Rock'n'Roll Riffs lists, so party on -
but with TAAB that gap becomes a chasm! Ian & co. were (usually) way too
intelligent to make sweeping social pronouncements or try to pass themselves
off as having any kind of 'answer' - most of their songs were metaphor-heavy
examinations of personal experience or storytelling vignettes that might
illuminate a particular aspect of society without (again, usually, side 2 of
Aqualung being an exception) explicitly voicing righteous indignation or
criticism - but TAAB! I wonder what the man who wrote TAAB in the early 70's
would have said if told that some 30 years later it would be used to sell
cars on TV. He would probably have thought it a great joke and approved.
TAAB! Damn! I am perplexed. I know I shouldn't be but I can't help it. I
don't know what to thick. I mean think.

Stephan