rock and roll musings by Tim Byrnes

 Ageing Gratefully in Rock and Roll

     As mentioned in my previous post, your humble reporter is rapidly approaching the half century mark and while I’ve thus far thankfully been spared the hair loss and potbelly weight gain usually associated with this milestone, I find (or at least finally admit) I’ve fallen prey to perhaps the most wicked malady that befalls one of such advanced years: sounding like one’s parents.
     Not to mention writing rambling, run on sentences.
     The thing is I try to keep up with the newest trends in rock and roll, the hot new underground bands. I scour the web looking for the cheeziest, most amateurish pages available, ‘cause that’s where the really good stuff is usually lurking. While I’ve been introduced to some fairly interesting stuff  in what passes as an underground in this, the age of wide-open communication (Anti-Flag, Constantly Changing, the ageless and ever-wonderful Leatherface)  as well as some heartening music being made by major type bands (Sigur Ros, The Polyphonic Spree, well before them I have to go as far back as my sainted Afghan Whigs).  I find myself doing what many my age do; replace beloved vinyl with CD reissues, deluxe repackaging , live bootlegs and greatest hits from ‘back in the day’.
     It occurs to me that the beast called rock and roll has become, much like hip-hop, music that is simply not for me anymore. The baton of the rock and roll rebel has apparently been passed to waves and waves of kids dressed in my old clothes. I’ve been holding off on admitting this pretty much since the 1991 release of ‘Nevermind’. It’s been 14 years now, about time I just got over myself and just admitted it to all and sundry…..

                                ALL THESE NEW BANDS SOUND EXACTLY ALIKE!!!!!!

      Whew! That felt good and of course it’s not true, but I now can understand and unfortunately relate to what my father must have felt when I came home with those first Beatles and Stones records. Harmless confusion at first , but the chasm deepened, I‘m sure, once I started blasted more dangerous, mind-poisoning music like ‘Highway 61 Revisited' and ‘White Light/White Heat’. I can only imagine the effect on his heart rate that ‘Ziggy Stardust’ and especially the 1st New York Dolls record caused. Hell, the cover alone on the Dolls debut was responsible for at least 3 square inches of the old man’s eventual baldness. Now there hasn’t been anything come down the pike lately to shock me at all, let alone to the levels of the aforementioned records and that’s what really galls me. Nothing I’ve heard in years has challenged me or even been a half assed throw down to my sensibilities. Manson? Love him (see post below). And honestly, I think Manson is the closest thing this new generation of rockers have produced to an honest shock and, as admittedly gifted an artist as our boy Brian is, he’s very little more than a master of pastiche, combining the best of what had come before him.
     The most exciting news I’ve heard in months concerns the rumors of a new Kate Bush album (that’s how out of it I am, I STILL call them ‘albums’!). But you know what? I’m betting that this new Kate Bush ‘album’ will be the breath of fresh air I’ve been waiting for. Other than a full tilt  My Bloody Valentine reunion (another rumor yet  to bear fruit, alas) I can’t see much hope of seeing anything that’ll make me set the alarm clock early so I can get down to Tower Records when it opens. My loss, I guess, but I just don’t get the new bands.
      So I prefer to be thankful for those old bands that are still producing work of grace, dignity and power. Patti Smith, Richard Thompson, David Bowie, Sonic Youth, Jeff Beck, Lou Reed (I’m real iffy on the new live album, but I’ve learned from experience to not ever write the old death dwarf off completely), Dylan, David Byrne and others I can’t recall right now ‘cause my memory ain’t what it used to be. My memory ain’t what it used to be. My memory ain’t what it used to be……….
     And would SOMEBODY please give Television a new record contract or at least send me a bootleg of the 2004 Irving Plaza show.
     In any event, I’m not one to give up the ghost. I still play a pretty mean guitar (to hear my friends tell it) and, with my recent move from the wilds of Colorado to the heart of the city (well, Denver) I’ve taken advantage of the larger music scene and placed ads online to find musicians to work with. After a few phone conversations with 20-somethings who (and this is only a very educated guess) will likely spend the next few years smoking pot in basements and talking about “how great it’ll be when we play the Gothic Theater” I was blessed by a phone call where a deep voiced stranger asked me: “Well, can you play funk?”
     I answered yes and it turns out I was right. I’m currently working with a group of musicians closer to my age. I’m still the oldest but at least we’re not a bunch of divorced dentists cranking out yet another dismal take on ‘Tequila Sunrise’ (nothing intrinsically wrong with bands like that, just not where I want to be). No, I’ve fallen in with a group of jazz cats who play funk ‘cause it’s danceable and people will pay to dance to it. So after we work up, say, ‘I Wish’ by Stevie Wonder, we take 20-30 minutes to blow over a Im7- V change. We groove and blast equal parts sugar and broken glass. No it ain’t the Sex Pistols, but it makes this old man very happy. Rock on, all ye guttersnipes - grand papa’s got a brand new bag.

Posted by: timbyrnes at 00:51 | link | comments (2)

Comments:

#1  04 February 2005 - 01:30

 

I apologize sincerely. Forgive me.

Anonymous

#2  04 February 2005 - 05:41

 

sounds fun. er, fun-k.

television! now there's a brilliant band. best song ever -- on tom verlaine solo record "breakin in my heart."

limine

Comments: