Archive for January, 2007
Stooges snubbed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, again
In 1969, things were kind of boring. The Flower Power generation was burning out on acid, MTV, VH1, XM, and the internet were a generation away, and the only thing allowed on the radio was pretty boring stuff for the most part. Don’t believe me? Here’s the biggest hits of 1969:
| # 1 |
Aquarious/Let The Sunshine In - The 5th Dimension
|
# 1
|
| # 2 |
In The Year 2525 - Zager & Evens
|
# 1
|
| # 3 |
Get Back - The Beatles
|
# 1
|
| # 4 |
Sugar, sugar - The Archies
|
# 1
|
| # 5 |
Honky Tonk Women - The Rolling Stones
|
# 1
|
| # 6 |
Everyday People - Sly & The Family Stone
|
# 1
|
| # 7 |
Dizzy - Tommy Roe
|
# 1
|
| # 8 |
Wedding Bell Blues - The 5th Dimension
|
# 1
|
| # 9 |
I Can’t Get Next to you - The Temptations
|
# 1
|
| # 10 |
Crimson And Clover - Tommy James & The Shondells
|
# 1
|
| # 11 |
Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye - Steam
|
# 1
|
| # 12 |
Love Theme From Romeo & Juliet - Henry Mancini
|
# 1
|
| # 13 |
Leaving On a Jet Plane - Peter, Paul & Mary
|
# 1
|
| # 14 |
Come Together - The Beatles
|
# 1
|
| # 15 |
Someday We’ll Be Together - Diana Ross and The Supremes
|
# 1
|
| # 16 |
Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley
|
# 1
|
| # 17 |
Crystal Blue Persuasion - Tommy James & The Shondells
|
# 2
|
| # 18 |
Proud Mary - Creedence Clearwater Revival
|
# 2
|
| # 19 |
Spinning Wheel - Blood, Sweat & Tears
|
# 2
|
| # 20 |
A Boy Named Sue - Johnny Cash
|
# 2
|
Now, don’t get me wrong, some of those tunes were excellent. However, exciting is not the word to describe 1969. Except, one band particularly kind of went a different route. It pretty much guaranteed they wouldn’t be heard on FM radio for a decade. The Stooges absolutely shattered the recording norm for 1969 featuring a LOT of distortion, feedback, and recorded so loud it sometimes didn’t make a lot of sense. Nowadays that’s pretty much the norm with a lot of bands. In 1969, it wasn’t terribly accepted. So, The Stooges became concert staples, but sold very very few albums compared to most. Some songs sort of teetered on the edge of popularity, but it wasn’t till about a decade later with “Real Wild Child” in 1976 that Iggy and The Stooges got some airplay. Nowadays Lust for Life and The Passenger are used for commercials. In 1976 there were considered a little too edgy for most FM at the time. But, they still did pretty good on the charts. “Real Wild Child”’s had a life of it’s own, I guess it would be Iggy’s biggest claim to fame.
However, apparently old habits are hard to break. For the sixth time, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has turned down the godfathers of punk. I don’t know why. The Sex Pistols got in, but there would have never been The Sex Pistols if it weren’t for The Stooges. It’s that simple.
Send a message to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that they need to recognize the trendsetters a lot more than the followers.
You can even sign a petition here.
1 comment
Nightflight
Got an email from this fella over there. He wanted me to check out his Myspace site. He mentioned he was a Bowie fan as well.
So I did.
He’s got a remake of Rebel Rebel on there that just absolutely nails it! It’s a very different interpretation of the song, much more so than mine. In fact, I like his a LOT better! I KNOW you will too. He notes that Mike Garson and Carlos Alomar have listened to this version of Rebel Rebel. Alomar notes they play it with a minor ( and lots of strings ). That’s the stuff I love. I remade it so I could karaoke in the car. Most of the other songs I’ve got over there I did because of the same reason. And, I always thought a lot of the earlier Bowie stuff could have been profoundly more exciting to listen to if Bowie had the technology in his prime that we have now. IMO, Nightflight proves it much better than I ever have. Garson and Alomar never have emailed me, so that should tell ya something!
Be sure to check out Nightflight’s version. And, when ya do, leave him a message and tell them Moon sent ya!
4 comments
Ziggy Marley played guitar?
I read something interesting this morning:
Ziggy Marley’s a Bowie fan? Now, I’m not so much incredulous that he likes Bowie’s music, but Ziggy Stardust? I mean, try to figure two more polar opposite musical genres than reggae and British glam. About the ONLY thing Bowie’s never done is reggae. For his 60th birthday present, I think it would be appropriate for Bowie to try something completely different. It’s definitely past-due for Bowie to team up with his namesake and cut us a remake of “Stir It Up”. ( Those are my versions linked ).
Here’s some Ziggy stuff, Marley that is:
And here, of course, is the original:
4 comments
