quote:Originally posted by He Who Wanders: ^I had a crush on Michael Steele.
I thought about trying to be a Bangles groupie, but was too busy trying to make a go of it with my own band at the time
-------------------- First comic books ever bought: A DC four-for-47-cents grab bag that included Adventure #331. Been addicted ever since.
From: Stuck in the Psychedelic Era | Registered: Jan 2010
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Set
There's not a word yet, for old friends who've just met.
posted
I read this thread before work, and spent the next four hours with 'Manic Monday' stuck in my head.
I was willing to destroy the Earth, no, the entire universe, to escape that hell...
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
Well, at least you weren't walking like an Egyptian.
-------------------- The Semi-Great Gildersleeve - writing, super-heroes, and this 'n' that
From: The Stasis Zone | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Don't feel bad. I had Eternal Flame stuck in my head all day...and I HATE that song!
-------------------- First comic books ever bought: A DC four-for-47-cents grab bag that included Adventure #331. Been addicted ever since.
From: Stuck in the Psychedelic Era | Registered: Jan 2010
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quote:Originally posted by Set: I read this thread before work, and spent the next four hours with 'Manic Monday' stuck in my head.
I was willing to destroy the Earth, no, the entire universe, to escape that hell...
It wasn't your fun day?
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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cleome46
or you can do the confusion 'til your head falls off
posted
quote:Originally posted by Fanfic Lady: Good points well taken, Cleome.
I'm not so sure Hoffs was pushed into that singing style, rather I suspect that she cold-bloodedly appropriated it because she had her eye on the prize. She was by far my least favorite Bangle.
Vicki Peterson, on the other hand...that lady is awesome!
IIRC, more than one band member said All Over the Place lost money, so there was a lot of pressure on them from the record company to sell, sell, sell, with the next effort-- or else! Ah, show biz...
That LP and the EP before it are still miles ahead of In A Different Light. I don't care if together they only sold fifty copies.
And for those two reasons, I've decided to let the Bangles off the hook, and just go for having Nickelback cover all the songs of the Black-Eyed Peas. Or vice versa. Doesn't matter. Evil is evil.
-------------------- Hey, Kids! My "Cranky and Kitschy" collage art is now viewable on flickr. Drop by and tell me that I sent you.
From: Vanity, OR | Registered: Dec 2008
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quote:Originally posted by Fanfic Lady: Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit."
The vocals, if you can even call them that, are a mixture of mumbling, whining and bed-wetter screaming.
The lyrics are even more infantile than the "singing."
The riff and the beat date all the way back to 19-frigging-76 and Boston's "More Than a Feeling."
And if Turd Cobain was as punk-rock as he claimed he was, why was the mix so oily-slick?
The song was sold as a "generational anthem for teenagers" but it said NOTHING to me about my life at the time, and I was 17!
I realize this conversation has passed and that my views are not likely to change anyone's opinion, but I just happened to listen to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and wanted to offer a dissenting view. (Hey, that's what I do. )
The genius of Cobain (yes, I used the word "genius" and "Cobain" in the same sentence) is that he made a really catchy song that could be about anything or nothing, take your pick. Once you hear that riff, you're ready to rock. It doesn't matter what the lyrics are about. The lyrics are almost an afterthought (and, really, are they any worse than John Lennon's "Come Together"--a simple play on words?); they just give the voice something to do. I just played a video on YouTube that gave the lyrics, but realized I didn't care about the lyrics. The song works on a more subconscious level, a desire to just let go and let be, to not take life so seriously.
I was 28 when this song was a hit, and while I can't say it said anything about my life, either, I enjoy it every time it comes on the radio.
-------------------- The Semi-Great Gildersleeve - writing, super-heroes, and this 'n' that
From: The Stasis Zone | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
BTW, I just listened to "More Than a Feeling," and I don't see the resemblance, except superficially. All riffs and beats can probably be traced back to previous songs. It's the total experience the song evokes in the listener that matters, IMO.
-------------------- The Semi-Great Gildersleeve - writing, super-heroes, and this 'n' that
From: The Stasis Zone | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by He Who Wanders: The song works on a more subconscious level, a desire to just let go and let be, to not take life so seriously.
I find that hard to believe, considering it was written and performed by a guy who, in my view at least, appeared to take everything way too seriously.
Also, the singing takes me out of the song, not just because it's technically bad, but because it sounds very affected to me, like he thought, "this is the way the cool guys sing, so I better try to sound like that." Maybe if he'd lived longer he could have evolved into his own style of singing, but we'll never know.
posted
Could it be that Cobain wanted to take life less seriously but couldn't?
I haven't researched his life, and it's easy to speculate on any song writer's psychological make up. What's more fascinating to me (and probably more verifiable) is the effect the song has on a listener. To me, "Teen Spirit" conveys a sense of anarchy, down to the nonsensical lyrics and surfer-dude-next-door singing. It evokes a punk-like rejection of standards and a desire to thrash away, either with a guitar or in a mosh pit. In that sense, the song is truer to the spirit of rock 'n' roll than most of the '80s corporate and hair band rock which preceded it.
-------------------- The Semi-Great Gildersleeve - writing, super-heroes, and this 'n' that
From: The Stasis Zone | Registered: Jul 2003
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cleome46
or you can do the confusion 'til your head falls off
posted
Yeah, honestly. I don't think a musician that took himself too seriously would have been amused at being parodied by Weird Al.
I'm not a huge Nirvana fan, but I guess my favorite songs in their repertoire were "Come As You Are" and "About A Girl." Both of which I know largely through cover versions.
-------------------- Hey, Kids! My "Cranky and Kitschy" collage art is now viewable on flickr. Drop by and tell me that I sent you.
From: Vanity, OR | Registered: Dec 2008
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quote:Originally posted by He Who Wanders: What's more fascinating to me (and probably more verifiable) is the effect the song has on a listener.
The effect it has on me is one of profound discomfort. The message I get from it is one of impotent rage, a resignation to everything negative in life, a denial (HA!) of anything positive in life, and an inability to feel catharsis from anything. Obviously millions of people do find it cathartic, so I'm not sure what that says about me (I do get catharsis from the so-called corporate rock/hair metal of the 80s -- as if Nirvana were any less corporate -- so maybe I'm just not really a rock and roller at heart.)
As for Nirvana covers, Sinead O'Connor did a version of "All Apologies." It made for pleasant enough listening, but it still didn't convince me that Cobain had any genuine songwriting talent.
posted
It's interesting that you mention rage. I listened to an NPR interview with Ice-T the other day, in which he argued that rap is rock because it expresses the same feeling of anger.
He makes a good point, although rock music can mean different things to different people. You're probably right about the rage and resignation--I can see those qualities in the song. Nirvana tapped into the same sense of alienation and anger as Guns 'N Roses and Metallica, both bands achieving enormous commercial success in the two or three years preceding "Teen Spirit."
But (and maybe this is just my psychological make up), I find Nirvana in general more palatable than either of those bands. There's something in the nonsensical lyrics of "Teen Spirit" (what lyrics I can decipher:"a mulatto . . . an albino . . . here we are now: entertain us! . . . acting stupid is contagious") as well as the energetic rhythm which celebrates life and yearns for something positive. I don't get that feeling from GNR or Metallica.
-------------------- The Semi-Great Gildersleeve - writing, super-heroes, and this 'n' that
From: The Stasis Zone | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
GNR and Metallica were much more my speed, because to me they represented an almost romantic sense of bloodied but unbowed "Me against the world" defiance. I much prefer that attitude to "Oh, well, whatever, nevermind," which to me represents an utterly nihilistic surrender to the unfairness of life. I get no yearning for something positive out of any of Nirvana's music, just a kind of smug resignation to being pushed around by the negative forces of the world.
posted
Good points. I hadn't thought of GNR or Metallica in those terms.
You may be right about Nirvana and resignation--Cobain committed suicide and the title of their album was even "Nevermind". But I think they also offered an alternative to the "bloody and unbowed" defiance of the other bands, perhaps an alternative that kids (and young adults) who aren't aggressive or who don't identify with an aggressive image could more readily accept. When I hear "Teen Spirit," I feel like forgetting my problems, at least temporarily, and head banging (not that I do that while driving!). GNR and Metallica are too "serious" for my taste.
-------------------- The Semi-Great Gildersleeve - writing, super-heroes, and this 'n' that
From: The Stasis Zone | Registered: Jul 2003
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And for those two reasons, I've decided to let the Bangles off the hook, and just go for having Nickelback cover all the songs of the Black-Eyed Peas. Or vice versa. Doesn't matter. Evil is evil. ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
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