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Interrupting the flow of fic yet again to engage in some conversation about mainstream/modern rawk.[info]motherendurance's precious, precocious 12-year-old made me a list of his top ten songs, which were startlingly mature and classic-rock centric (Aerosmith! Guns n Roses!).

He was polite enough to ask me, in my turn, for my favourite rock songs - clearly his awesome mom has raised him right! So, here are my top 10 rock faves, sweet boy: feel free to tell me how uncool they are, ha ha.


Springsteen
: "Thunder Road"

I got into the Boss and rock n roll when I was fifteen and writing a comix column for a local rock n roll/pop culture fanzine - I was given a Bruce album and told my musical tastes (80s British new wave!) needed to be improved, pronto.

Bruce has a zillion rock n roll hits, but I've picked classic Thunder Road from his seminal Born To Run album, which, to me, is the best rock song of all time - it speaks of the open road, and taking a chance on love. This vid is from an amazing, high energy live performance in 1978, when Bruce was heartbreakingly young, and, ever the consummate storyteller, he gives this awesome introduction to the song.




The Police
: "Roxanne"

In the history section, I would have named the intelligent music and unmistakable one-of-a-kind guitar work of either Dire Straits (Expresso Love) or Derek + the Dominoes/Eric Clapton (70s Layla), but the vids of Knopfler and Clapton were, to put it mildly, not very interesting (though they were amazing live when I watched them in concert, so many years ago).

Instead, I've picked recently-reunited rock band The Police, known for their blend of rock, reggae and synthesizers. As a girl I fell in love with their sophisticated rhythms, Copeland's progressive snare and syncopated drumming and the complexity of Stingo's early lyrics. I picked Roxanne (a gorgeous, deceptively simple song about a lover who needs to give up her, er, day job) over brooding Synchronicity II (which allegedly references Carl Jung's theory of synchronicity), but both are different, amazing rock songs. This version is the rocking 1979 version from The Police's European tour, complete with backstage footage, and when the boys are ridiculously young.


U2: "Mysterious Ways"


In many ways, U2 has to be my favourite band. The big proponent of stadium rock of the 1980s, they moved into alternative industrial rock in the 1990s and reinvented themselves as the pyrotechnic rock chameleons of the new millennium. I've selected Mysterious Ways with its killer groove and shimmering bass line off the fabulous Achtung, Baby album - this was spectacular when I watched it in 1992, and feels as fresh today.


Del Amitri
: "Always the Last To Know"; Later version

Underrated Scottish pop rock band, whose forte was simple, beautiful melodies and acidly cynical lyrics. I love the Del's album Change Everything, beyond reason - my LJ subtitle is taken from this song. Listen to the bass hook twisting sinously through this ironic song about how you'll always love the lover whom you did wrong and drove away.


INXS
: ”Need You Tonight”

For 80s soft rock I briefly considered listing my favorite song from each of Jon Bon Jovi (acoustic Living on a Prayer), Bryan Adams (Summer of 69) or Don Henley (Boys of Summer), but decided to go with 80s Antipodean New Wave/funk rock gods INXS.

Although my personal favourite INXS song was Never Tear Us Apart, the insistent, infamous, iteratively dirty groove of signature song Need You Tonight (off seminal album Kick) was the rhythm to which my entire college generation, er, engaged in romantic activity, and still makes me fan myself to this day.


Robert Palmer/Power Station
: "Addicted to Love"

Palmer was the elegant, soulful heavyweight of experimental funky, bluesy, bossa nova rock, and this classy, hot song with its horn section, tight guitar line and funky bass groove is pretty much guaranteed to get me on the dance floor (or a table, ha ha).


Melissa Etheridge
: "I Want To Come Over"

I wanted to get a female rocker on this list, and while I adore Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders something fierce, love to rock out to Heart, and from the 2000s I enjoy Gwen Stefani's genre, Melissa's I Want To Come Over has got to be THE classic grrlrock song - all gravelly and yearning - "It's a need I can't explain/I wanna come over/To see you again" - with such a great rocking rhythm.


Coldplay: "Viva La Vida"
Our Lady Peace: "Innocent"

My popular music listening took a bit of a dive in the late 90s to early/mid 2000s - I was busy marrying, gestating and raising littles, and pretty much all about the ballads and lullabies all the time (and Hi!FIVE, but we shall not go there, ahaha).

So, while I would occasionally enjoy the alt/indie/grunge rock offerings of late 90s/00s bands like Nirvana, Oasis, Blur, Pearl Jam and Nickleback, I wouldn't return to really being in love with a rock band until Coldplay. They are the archetypical 2000s rock band - swaggering, bombastic, full of themselves, all labyrinthian lyrics and musical stylings - and I was all primed to love them in all their glory. I love this lush, conceited, gorgeous song, and when they came to play the Island this year, this was just unreal.

Around this time I was also introduced to the raw, occasionally surreal stylings of altrock band Our Lady Peace - in some ways, they are the anti-Coldplay, and the heartfelt, gorgeous simplicity of Innocent (covered by Cook during Idol, downlist!) is the antithesis of Viva La Vida.


David Cook:
"Declaration"

I could go on and on about David Cook all day on this journal. I am insanely in love with his intelligent modern rock oeuvre, and although I dig the dirty, grungy vibe of his older songs and the infectious, headbanging Bar-Ba-Sol, I think this headlong, anthemic offering is the most representative of his style and showcases both his lyrical prowess and assured melodic composition, his edgy growl and his lush upper range. Also, he is so goshdarn *pretty* ;).


B, I hope you enjoyed this half as much as I did! You come play any time, okay?


 

 

Date: 2009-06-28 09:23 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] evilgeniuslady.livejournal.com
Long comment, part deux:

I think I'd throw a Depeche Mode on the list as well. Yes, they were heavy on the synths but Personal Jesus has the grooviest groove ever (there goes that bassline fascination again. I think it comes from years of playing the tuba).

More recent music... I'll actually go with some Danish bands. Kashmir's Rocket Brothers is gorgeous. Carpark North's Transparent and Glasslike (sorry for the lack of stimulating visuals) is ridiculously catchy though the lyrics are a bit meh. Tim Christensen is in love with the old-fashioned rock sound, which I love, and he's one of my favourite singer/songwriters (Superior is his newest song, though you might want to check out Right Next to the Right One as well - only song that's ever made me cry at a live concert).

Re. David: Excellent choice of Declaration. There's so much strength in the song, but at the same times the lyrics are sort of hopefully vulnerable? I don't know if I'm explaining it very well, but it's an incredibly intriguing song, not to mention very catchy.

Date: 2009-06-28 10:43 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jehane-writes.livejournal.com
Depeche Mode is really an 80s band for our generation, no? Love their synthesizer, and their entire sound. I remember the angst of Shake the Disease, and holding hands with an ironic boy to Somebody.

I enjoyed all the links you made to the recent Danish music - the Kashmir vid was awesome, and, though your link to Tim Christensen's Right Next to the Right One is giving me a problem, a vid of a live performance thereof was right next to Superior, and when I clicked on it all the hairs on my arms stood on end.

OMG, such an incredible song, so moving; his voice, and that lyric (which I sped off to google up) which speaks of that place I'm sure most of us have been: "What if we were meant to be together/What if you were meant to be the one/ I could hide a million years and try to believe/That any time the girl in mind will come and rescue me".

And the chorus is such a killer! So beautiful, I can totally see why you would have cried; I would likely have cried, too. "Cause you're the fire, you're the one/But you'll never see the sun/If you don't know, you're right next to the right one". I am still getting THE SHIVERS.

Declaration? As JTO said, it's David's call to arms; it makes me headbang whenever it comes on, and at the same time, there's that vulnerable undercurrent, standing alone against the world, loving; bleeding - our boy, who wears his (our!) heart on his sleeve.

♥! I am so glad you so get me, sista ;)

Date: 2009-06-28 11:44 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] evilgeniuslady.livejournal.com
The funny thing is, I didn't really get into Depeche Mode until the 90s - they fell victim of my blind hatred of everything pop and synth in the 80s, I'm afraid, so I had to rediscover them later. But I did, and these days I even love their early overly-synthesized stuff, though my favourite albums are Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion.

Right Next to the Right One was actually written for a tv show - a very popular one, so everyone in Denmark knows and loves that song to bits. When I heard him sing it live, he was the last act of a festival, and the entire crowd stood there in the wonderful summer night, singing quietly along with him. Much like the video you saw, actually (sorry, I forgot to give you the link, which is why it didn't work!) It was magic. You might want to check out Love Is a Matter of ... as well (no good live version available, but here is one with the lyrics), though he's a phenomenal songwriter, so you can't really go wrong with any of his songs. Tim actually started out in one of the best rock bands I've seen live, Dizzy Mizz Lizzy when he was still a teenager (he's around our age), but seems to have managed the craziness that is celebrity (even in such a small country as Denmark) just fine by avoiding attention outside of the music. Dizzy Mizz Lizzy is still revered here, though they broke up ages ago, and only made two records (I get major cred with the younger generation when I speak of the multiple Dizzy concerts I've been to, heh). I would have linked them as well, but they're not exactly recent anymore...

(I need to learn how to write hearts. Imagine there's a whole bunch of them here for our shared musical minds?)

Date: 2009-06-28 01:05 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jehane-writes.livejournal.com
...I think I am becoming a Tim Christensen fangirl. I'm all about the lyrics (as you could possibly tell), and he gives masterly, heartfelt lyrics. Also, his voice and guitaring are lovely!

Depeche - I remember you mentioning you hated the 80s pop and synth sound though (because?) your sister liked them! Um, me, I kind of embraced pop/synth at the time (and became a card carrying Duran Duran fan! which is when my rock fanzine editor friend literally shoved Bruce's album into my hands, to save me from myself).

Hearts: Clio showed me how to make one. You type & hearts ; - obviously, without the gaps. Can't for the life of me figure how to make them sparkly, though ;)

♥, for our shared musical minds, indeed ;)

Date: 2009-06-28 04:33 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] evilgeniuslady.livejournal.com
Yay Tim! He really is awesome, so go ahead and be a fangirl. ;) I've been trying to figure out where you could buy his music if you wanted, but it all seems frightfully expensive and awkward. Let me know if you want samples, though, because I have his first two records.

Yeah, me and 80s pop had a strenous relationship at best. It certainly didn't help that my sister loved it, but I'm not sure it would have changed my preference for rock - I still liked some of the pop she listened to, I just never told her. Like Johnny Hates Jazz, heh. I hated Duran Duran and Wham!, though. They were far too popular for my taste.

Oooh, hearts! Let me try... ♥ hey, it worked! Thanks!

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