If you're looking for new wave country, first thing that popped into my mind was Seven Year Ache by Rosanne Cash, which was a country number one maybe on the strength of her last name despite the synths.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miIqI9Gql9M
Those of us quarantined with our kids (and Larry Fitzmaurice) know that this song was in a medley in the new Trolls movie along with Wannabe, Good Vibrations and Gangnam Style, so we have heard it a lot recently.
I guess poptimism was designed to dislodge bland rock music like this from its pedestal in music writing and unearned reputation for authenticity, but it's still jarring to see a wholesale dismissal of a popular artist and its genre. I think a lot of us came to indie rock from the mainstream rock station many eons ago, probably got alienated for a lot of the reasons Chris describes, but still...in this cultural climate, I am still inclined to root for popular rock bands, even the sucky ones, because there are so few of them. Doesn't preclude me from liking pop and hip-hop, on the contrary, but it's still a bummer to me how little cache rock music has. Listening to that new Hum album, I couldn't stop thinking about how good it would sound in a huge venue, how awesome it would be if something that heavy could still be massively popular. Is it time to start thinking about a "Week in Rock" column that sifts through the mainstream rock and alt stuff to find the songs popular with normies that are worth listening to?
As cool as a No Doubt collaboration with Ivy Queen would probably sound - even now, maybe more than ever now - it was actually Lady Saw who was on Underneath It All.
Always down for Zevon content on Stereogum. Deusner should rank his albums from worst to best or count down his ten best songs next! His self-titled album is one my all-time favorites.
I will not have this "We've Got Tonite" slander in my field of vision.
Did the Wonder Years not change your opinion of this song in the slightest?
I have always had the softest of soft spots for the song, possibly due to my parents' radio dial always being tuned to Lite-FM stations that played the hell out of it.
Hopefully this doesn't foreshadow further diversions in our tastes as the 80s arrive in this column!
Zach said Bush should be hung, tried and shot last time they reunited at Coachella. Seeing a band reunite when they already reunited another time makes me feel old. And the presidents don't get any better either!
OK, who's got a Spotify playlist of Ocasek's best production work?
Have you all listened to Bad Religion's the Gray Race recently? The songs themselves sound like they could have come out of the Trump era, and that Ocasek production with almost no spaces between the songs makes it all sound so urgent. It wasn't a huge hit like Stranger Than Fiction and yeah Bad Religion is one of those bands that doesn't really deviate too far from their basic sound over the course of their discography, but the Gray Race is one of their best if you ask me, and Ric was a big reason why.
My critical faculties tell me this song is manipulative and cheesy, my lizard brain blubbers like a baby when I hear, especially now as a dad who tries his best not to be like the dads in the song. Years of hearing this on my parents' favorite Lite FM stations probably just added an extra layer of nostalgia. Much respect for any song that can actually make big gobs of sentimental claptrap work in its favor. I like this song for the same reason I like Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffett, Journey, and all sorts of other music I should probably hate because it is corny, but I can't help myself. 10/10
A lot of criticism of Imagine comes down to "human nature" supposedly being very defensive of one's own nationalism, relative economic position vs. lower classes, and religious beliefs. They seem to view an "Imagine Police" that will be an authoritarian implementation of the song lyrics. I think that is a deliberate misreading of the song that mostly serves to show that Lennon touched a nerve, by making people reflect on how much their personal chauvinism and selfishness perpetuates barriers to peace and understanding. Then there are those that find that sort of lecture from a rich white rock star unbearably pretentious and hypocritical, and yeah there's some of that. But again, I feel like Imagine is held to a very high standard that most political rock and pop songs would also fail if held to the same standard.
Would be interested to hear your opinion about political songs that go beyond dreams and actually comment on bringing those dreams to fruition. What should we compare Imagine to by those standards? Genuinely curious.
Imagine gets a 4??? Why is this song so divisive? So many people whose opinions I otherwise respect absolutely hate Imagine, and I don't get it. Sure, it's simple, and probably pie in the sky, but so are most song lyrics, to say nothing of religious texts. I always thought about Imagine as a goal worth striving for, even as you know you most likely won't succeed in attaining it. It is not that different from, say, sins that you know you never able to fully avoid committing. It is even a little ironic that way! And the piano riff is sublime! WTF? I also don't get people who hate the Doors, so maybe I am just easy to please when it comes to classic rock.
Once Napster collapsed, Audiogalaxy came along and for whatever reason seemed to have a lot more oddball stuff available for download. That was when I finally was in college and I have a lot of fun memories of drunkenly downloading songs there with a group of friends and plunking them in winamp.
Can you share the 1974 playlist? Wonder how many songs you share with this one: https://open.spotify.com/user/marathonpacks/playlist/2fnEVbLEFLaRnbnIAJK6OB?si=Jwlffg6jTpii9IarAZfSvA
I actually dug out my old Play CD not that long ago and liked it much more than I thought I would. I remember loving this at the time, it really did seem fresh, and while I get the backlash to it, at the end of the day it is still a very pleasant listen.
On the other hand, I went to the Area Festival with Outkast and Incubus and Moby was so boring I left.
I definitely thought Merry Clayton and Clare Torry were the same singer, and I think I said so while stoned on a number of occasions listening to either Gimme Shelter or Dark Side of the Moon, totally talking out my butt.
Another way I remember watching this video was the official compilation of Chris Cunningham videos on DVD. There were other DVDs for Michel Gondry and Spike Jonze videos too. Definitely remember getting blazed and sitting around with my friends and watching those over and over again in the mid-2000s.
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