We'll dispense with any well-thought out introductions & get right to the blog. It's been a hectic two weeks, so we have a lot of ground to cover. First off, I'd like to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving! As our way of saying "Thanks" for all those who read the blogs, listen to 360 Degrees of Alternative, as well as send along great comments & suggestions - we've added over 25 new groups / artists & added more songs in one week than we have in any similar time period over the past 6 months. The music spans the decades and truly screams "diversity". Be sure to check it out!
The first tidbit I'd like to pass along is a little off the beaten track as it has to do with books, not music. However, the author is very well known in the alternative music circles. It is none other than Patti Smith. I found out this week that her book (memoir actually) called "Just Kids", which details her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in the 60's & 70's, won the 2010 National Book Award in the nonfiction category. The book has received rave reviews since it's release back in January. Congrats Patty!
We've been noting quite a few (that's an understatement) bands that have new releases coming out between now & the Spring of 2011. Rather than go into a long diatribe about other new stuff I've read about, here's a short list of bands. This is in addition to the ones I've already commented about in previous blogs. Note to self - it's going to be a busy Spring...
- Smashing Pumpkins
- Blink 182
- Patrick Stump (former Fall Out Boy frontman)
- The Strokes
- Say Hi
- White Stripes
- Jane's Addiction
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- REM
- and quite a few more! Details as they come in!
The part of "Playing Defense" in the title also ties in with the Artist of the Week feature. It seems every once in a while, we get an email from someone who asks why we play certain songs. Most seem to concern the music from the 60's. I can see the argument (weak as it is) that these songs just "don't rock hard enough" to be on the station. Sorry people, that's not the point nor a criteria. ALL the songs 360 Degrees features that are garage rock songs & groups from that era were a major influence on punk & alternative music. Remember, you can't appreciate the present unless you respect the past.
Case in point, our Artist of the Week feature is on The Kingsmen. Some of you are saying "who?" while others are saying "what are you nuts?". Hardly. Let's delve into some history.
Yes, the band is pretty much known for their very popular cover of Richard Berry's "Louie Louie". In my humble opinion, this song is pretty much the starting point of garage rock and the foundations of punk and alternative music.
Now, before you start sending me tons of hate mail, check it out. As far as the starting point, the song was released in late fall of 1963. To my knowledge, there are no other songs that were released earlier and can be classified as garage rock. Yes, there were loud & fast rockabilly songs that date back to the 50's, but they are missing one big key factor - "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen had all the ingredients of a classic garage rock / punk song.
We'll even leave out the fact that the song was (and still is) very popular. The 1st key ingredient - the audio was rough & sounded borderline horrible... even by early 60's standards. The music (especially the bass) was distorted. Quality production was obviously not high on the list.
The 2nd - No one could understand the lyrics! They were, in fact, innocuous, but Jack Ely's baffling enunciation permitted teenage fans and concerned parents alike to imagine the most scandalous obscenities.
The 3rd - The song was banned (by now, can you see similarities between this & the Sex Pistols?). The band attracted nationwide attention when the song was banned by the governor of Indiana, Matthew E. Welsh, and even attracted the attention of the FBI because of the alleged indecent lyrics in the song. All this hoopla only made the song more popular.
The 4th - the song has been covered by countless alternative & punk bands throughout the years and many artists list this song as a major influence in regards to "getting started in music". To me, The Kingsmen were the originators of proving, "if we can do it, so can you!"
Lastly - don't worry I didn't forget - the part about Punk invading LA. The following photo essay was published on Spin magazine's website this week. It's only contains 14 pictures, but it's a excellent look back into the heyday of mid-70's to 1980 punk out on the left coast. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Here's the link for "Beautiful & Damned".
That's it for this entry. But don't worry - there's another entry coming very soon. Until then, keep listening!
Peace out,
Dave
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