Re: Rust in peace
very sad. was jamming to Rust in Peace yesterday in his honor.
very sad. was jamming to Rust in Peace yesterday in his honor.
That’s some excellent analysis, JaPaBo. I can’t argue with the math!
What I can say, however, is that I don’t intentionally go against the grain per se. If anything, I try to avoid groupthink and keep an open mind about albums I’m going to listen to. The payoff comes in those moments when I find myself saying, “You know, this new Winger album is pretty good!”
I’ve been thinking a lot about your answers to my question. I agree with both of you on some points.
In particular, I can think of plenty of examples of bands that have a shifting relationship with the genre over time. (Hey, we can’t all be Overkill Inc.) And yet, most people don’t talk about metal albums; the categorization happens around the band.
Although I suppose we could come up with a definition of metal based on some combination of objective musical criteria (e.g. double-bass drumming, de-tuning, distortion, etc.) or some common sense standard like the Supreme Court’s definition of pornography (i.e. “you know it when you hear it”), I have a nagging suspicion that metal is best defined by the particular emotions it most commonly expresses.
The age old question: what makes something metal? It has come up for me lately a bit because my daughter has been enjoying AC/DC lately (started with hearing Highway to Hell over the closing credits of one of the Iron Man movies, now she likes some other tunes like Dirty Deeds and TNT) and she asked me “Is AC/DC heavy metal?”
Chris Squire had a bigger impact on my bass playing than anyone else I listened to in my youth. Ged taught me how to step forward and fill up musical space with the instrument, which is a great counterpoint to Mike Rutherford’s subdued, almost Frippian unshowmanship. But Squire was really my Coltrane.
Thanks for the kind words, JaPaBo. I’ve been on a Yes kick since he died. I listened to one of the new 1972 live releases–7 or 8 whole shows are available. Good stuff. He was a bass genius. Arse, would you say he was your biggest hero back in the day?
I’ve been in mourning all week. It’s still too soon to listen to Fish’s bass playing (although maybe I’ll break my fast by finally listening to “Fish Out Of Water”).
That’s too bad about Chris. I hope he gets better soon. The only Yes I know other than the hits is Tales from Topographic Oceans, which you played for me in college. I’m not sure you were trying to make me a fan…