It blows my mind when bands record a song this fucking fantastic and decide to leave it off their album. Tough as nails, and the guitar solo from Jorma is simply scorching.
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Friday, April 9, 2021
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Endless Ruins Of The Past
Two bands that are totally polarizing: the Grateful Dead and Steely Dan, both of which I've loved both since I was a little kid, and through all the stages of my life. I do understand why people don't dig 'em though: with Steely Dan the slickness is usually the turn-off, but the songs, playing, and especially the lyrics transcend the overly-polished production for me. In fact, the gloss of the recordings doesn't bother me in the least. With the Dead it's usually the fans and their often awkward dancing, extended jamming*, and a lot of false perceptions: lyrically the Dead are not really a "peace and love" band — tell me "Black Peter," "Wharf Rat" or "China Doll" isn't some seriously dark shit? (I do think a lot of people get off on saying that they hate the Dead without giving them a deep listen).
In my early DJing days I'd often spin "Cream Puff War" and without fail some garage-punk acolyte would eagerly ask me who it was. Their face inevitably changed to horror when I informed them.
* It baffles me when someone tells me that don't like the Dead due to the jamming, yet they're big jazz fans (particularly Coltrane or Miles Davis, both of whom happened to be a big influence on the Dead's vision of how far out music could be taken).
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