PaulEdwardWagemann

I'm doing an article on bands/artists who had one great album and that was it--the rest was all mediocre or crappy. I've got a list of about 6 or 7 right now, but would like to get an even dozen... Anybody got any suggestions?

I dont know Albini on a personal level so I cant say the I respect his anti-corporate posturing. The reason being I dont know his motives. is he anti-corporate because he thinks like me, that corporate structures breed evil behavior? Or does he do it because its the Hipster thing to do? Or does he do it just to be a contrarian, or any number of other reasons. BTW B-F, you always have very well-thought out and informative responses. Do you happen to have a blog? I'd love ot read it.

maimiSammy--Wow, you are right. Cant beleive I totally overlooked them--I'll have to edit my blog. They'll probally go in at #13. Also Dino Jr. new album has been leaked, anyone here get it yet? last of all, thanks for the recommendations B-F. Also I disagree about Albini being a great 'engineer'. He may be meticulas about mic placement, but that doesnt mean that he captures a bands raw soudn any better than anyone else. In fact I would say that any success he has in that regard is owed more to the top end, analog gear he uses and because he records in big rooms. Also, if you recall, Nirvana had some of In Utero remixed by Scott Litt because Albini screwed up so poorly. I also think he screwed up on his work with the Pixies. To be honest I think the bulk of his reputation rests on the fact that he is always spouting off about how uncompromisingly anti-corporate music industry he is (even though he routinely appears on VH1 specials) and for what ever reason people have bought into that--which means that bands think they get cred-by-association in having him 'engineer' their album. Plus his rates are cheap and he doesnt take a royalty cut on album sales...

Just a quick note to let you know that OTHER PEOPLE'S PROPERTY: A SHADOW HISTORY OF HIP-HOP IN WHITE AMERICA hits bookstores today. The Washington Post Book World calls it "unfailingly empathetic." Seattle Weekly says it "takes exploration of pale-faced rappers to a new level." And Bill Adler, founding director of publicity for Def Jam, says that "Jason Tanz's idiosyncratic reporting, sharp analysis, and deadpan wit flow like Rakim's rhymes." Available at Amazon.com, and in bookstores everywhere. Check jasontanz.com for upcoming events, signings, etc.

Not a big fan os stevie ray vaughan--other than the cameo he played in the Ralph Machio film Crossroads--now that was some Rock baby... As for Run-Dmc...that is less traditonal. But doesnt qualify as a Power Trio. You need at least one guitar, a drummer and then another guitar/bass/keyboard to be a Power Trio...

B-F: Not familar with fudge tunnel, RP, or nerv Rack but you reference Steve ALbini or chicago 80's scene with all three bands. ANd even though I live in chicago and was there for some of the 80s scene, i'm no fan of Big Black, Shellac or any of that noise for noise sake kind of stuff...mclusky did an album with ALbini I think, but I dont find them overly indebted to him...To say that they are average when they are at their worst is not that uncommon of any great band. Anyway, as always, thanks for the insightful and well informed opinion. You should stop by my blog and sound off a bit--I'd really get a kick out of reading some more of your opinions...and I plan on checking out the three other bands you think shoudl be included in the list...

Budgie did rock, "Breadfan" is an awesome tune.

can you believe this list? Nirvana at #7, yo la tengo tied with the Police??? http://blog.myspace.com/paulewagemann

Oh yeah, Im sure Rap will always be around, I mean as long as there are talentless turds who cant sing and can barely ryme, there will alwasy be rap.

check it: http://blog.myspace.com/paulewagemann

I've been listening to George Martin's mashup of beatle songs that was released recently (titled Love) and I'm reminded of what a good drummer Ringo was. He plays a tom solo like no one else and if you listen to the drumming on"Rain" theres no way you can say he isnt a great drummer... or the breaks on "Drive My Car"... It has also been said that Ringo invented heavy metal drumming (Rock scholars point to "Ticket To Ride")...plus he had perfect timing... So why is he not given much credit?

"MTV is to music what KFC is to chicken." - Lewis Black I've heard the argument that Mtv actually made Rock better because the really true Rock rebelled so hard against it--this would be the Hardcore stuff of the early 80s and your Indie Underground stuff of the 80s. So if this was the case Mtv was part of the locomotion behind the Indie scene which it then usurped and regurgitated giving way to what eventually became 'alternative rock'...

be prepared to justify your answer http://blog.myspace.com/paulewagemann

Who has the all-time best mustache in Rock? http://blog.myspace.com/paulewagemann

They both played instruments. I'd prefer to have non-instrument playing lead singers only. And here's why: http://blog.myspace.com/paulewagemann

Non-instrument lead singers ONLY: http://blog.myspace.com/paulewagemann

my spelling sucks...but its a blog, it can be edited...I'm always plugging my blog, but not in an obnoxious way, I dont think. I just put the link at the end of most every post I make. Like this: http://blog.myspace.com/paulewagemann

COOL! http://blog.myspace.com/paulewagemann

Web-infamy? You gots me all wrong BF... Anyway, in regards to Klosterman...for those of you not interested in reading my blog, bascially what I said was that I enjoy his writing, but he seems to represent the Old School Rockism way of looking at the world. That is not a neccesarily bad thing, in fact its part of what I actually like about him. Sorta like why 45 year olds still like bands like Journey or REO Speedwagon. Just seems like his evolution toward music appreciation ended around 1986, and he puts everything into the context of that strange MTV 1986 universe...

what do you think? http://blog.myspace.com/paulewagemann agree or disagree?

It is an impact on SOciety, but that is different than having an impact on Rockism. 9/11 had a big impact on society, but not much of an impact on Rockism as far as I can tell. If the sex pistols had an effect on Rockism, then it is along the lines of Michael Jackson impact on Rockism, and that basically is providing an example of what Rockism should NOT be about...

I dont see any problem with looking at a band (at least in part) in the context of who they influenced, or what innovations they sparked. In the case of the Sex Pistols, they didnt invent the fabricated teen Pop band. Certainly that goes back to the Monkees or to the teen idotls of the 50s and even 40s. But they did add a new demension to the equation. They ramped it up. And now days we see a assembly line of fabricated bands posing as being the next 'big' thing. These bands are mostly corporate sponsored however, as opposed to the Sex Pistols being sponsored by a small clothing boutique.

I think that before the Sex Pistols, not too many bands had a McLaren type-character not only managing them, but actually putting them together. The boys hung around his shop, and he decided to make a band out of them in image of punk that he had picked up from the US. Also, McLaren was a Situationalists, and had a reputation for 'creating' situations/groups for the purpose of agitating others... His motives for creating the band may not have been the same as the Corporate Star-makers that came in his wake, but many of the methods and tactics were the same. So in this context, I see sex pistols doing more harm for Rockism than good.

I think maybe the Sex Pistols provided a shot in the arm to Rock in England, but in the US they were barely a blip on the mass culture radar screen. Punk in general, wasnt much of an influence on US culture in the late 70s either. It was found in small local scenes, generally in industrial and urban wastelands. No one really paid that much attention to it until a few New Wave/art rock bands (who had happend to have played some of the same gigs as the punk bands) hit the big time: devo, blondie, talking heads, etc. In the 1970s, Punk was just one of the many new dirrections music was splintering into in the US: there was a country resergence, disco, new wave, raggae, etc. Punk was probably the least influential of these at the time. ANd certainly less influential than the many Rock genres that were around; hard rock, heavy metal, yacht rock, singer/songwriter stuff, etc.

I don't see why that is essential--I think you know what I think of the sex pistols, but I'm open-minded. Perhaps you can convince me.