Tag: rock

250. The Beach Boys

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(February 2020) Episode 250 of the “opus project” is THE BEACH BOYS, a band whose popularity and influence need no description.  I divide their recording career into four chapters:

  1. Surf music (62-65) (the perfect period piece worth an occasional dip)
  2. Pet Sounds and Smile session remnants (66-67) (pure magic; a must-listen)
  3. Struggle and transition (68-73) (trying to find their voice amid a changing musical scene and Brian’s troubles)
  4. Phoning it in/running on fumes (76-onward) (avoid at all costs)

It may seem odd I waited so long to get to them, but that’s because I knew two-thirds of their recordings were crap (but I listened to them anyway).  Special mention goes to Brian’s (solo) completion of Smile in 2004; it’s a masterpiece.

Favorite album: Pet Sounds

Favorite song: God Only Knows

Close second: Good Vibrations

Favorite surf-era song: Help Me Rhonda

Worst album (among many): L.A. (Light Album)

Special sauce: Brian Wilson

Compared to expectations: same

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245. Oh Sees

~ ernopepper ~ 1 Comment

(January 2020) Episode 245 is OH SEES (also known as OCS and Thee Oh Sees).  One of my favorite bands of the ’10s; a good representation of the music I’ve been into in recent years, although its style is hard to describe. Their initial lo-fi experimentalism is not so interesting, but they hit the gas around 2010 with psychedelic garage-rock freakouts.  The evolution to space- and prog-rock in the recent albums is excellent.

Favorite song: The Dream

Favorite album: Floating Coffin

Compared to expectations: ↑

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242. Hüsker Dü

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(December 2019) Episode 242 is HÜSKER DÜ. This is what I should have been listening to in the 1980s instead of what I was listening to.  Well, at least the first two kick-ass punk-ish albums; the rest were rather meh.  Highlight is drummer Grant Hart until he let the gated reverb ruin it.  IMHO Hüsker Dü is America’s The Jam.

Favorite album: Zen Arcade

Favorite song: I’ll Never Forget

Compared to expectations: same

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239. Nazz

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(November 2019) Episode 239 is NAZZ. This psychedelic-tinged group out of Philadelphia enjoyably touched the sounds of the late 60s.  As the launching pad for Todd Rundgren, Nazz also, not surprisingly, previewed power pop and soft rock.

Favorite album: Nazz

Favorite song: Open My Eyes

Compared to expectations: same

Nazz

235. The Knickerbockers

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(October 2019) Episode 235 is THE KNICKERBOCKERS. I did this on the strength of their 1965 song “Lies” — the song that sounds more like the Beatles of that era than the Beatles themselves.  This New Jersey outfit had a few other groovy recordings as they responded to the sounds of the British Invasion, although outnumbered by their tepid covers.

Favorite song: Lies

Compared to expectations: same

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234. The Cramps

~ ernopepper ~ 2 Comments

(October 2019) Episode 234 is THE CRAMPS.  Eventually, someone had to fuse a punk attitude onto a rockabilly sound, and Lux and Ivy get the credit.  But the concept of psychobilly is better than the execution, IMHO; it can get redundant.  The Cramps is, however, one of the greatest band names of all time.  Don’t recall if they were every included on a Tarantino soundtrack, but the growl and reverb would make it a natural fit.

Favorite album: Songs the Lord Taught Us

Favorite song: Human Fly

Compared to expectations: ↓

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233. Daniel Johnston

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(October 2019) Episode 233 is DANIEL JOHNSTON. Oddly, I knew nothing of him, but the obituaries compelled me, and I discovered his pure songwriting genius. His tinny voice and no-fi cassette recordings make it hard to listen in anything but small portions, but once he went into the studio, it solved the latter (but not the former). His struggles with mental illness are a part of his story, but at its heart are a bunch of fun and wistful songs that are much covered and emulated.

Favorite album (solo): Fun

Favorite album (collaboration): It’s Spooky (with Jad Fair)

Favorite song: Favorite Darling Girl

Compared to expectations: same

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232. R.E.M.

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(September 2019) Episode 232 is R.E.M. How did a band so central to my generation slip to #232? It may be heresy to my peers, but I find R.E.M. … boring.  Yes, the premier college radio band had 10-12 great songs that were the soundtrack of our college years, and their stripped-down jangle rock was a welcome antidote to 80s synth.  But I find most of it limp and listless. R.E.M. greatly influenced alt-rock, but unfortunately that led to limp-rock acts like Gin Blossoms and Toad the Wet Sprocket.

Favorite album: Lifes Rich Pageant

Favorite song: Superman

Best late-period album: Accelerate

Compared to expectations: ↓

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