So I've come to the conclusion that I'm not very well versed in popular music history. Sure, I know plenty of superficial details, but when it comes to the actual music--the albums, not just what's played on the radio--I feel like I'm a novice. And I don't want to remain one forever. My life is an eternal battle to "catch up" with my probably imaginary peers and become cultured.
For whatever reason, as you can see in my description of the film club we're starting, I am interested in the idea of going through an artist's career chronologically, to chart their development and "grow up" with them. I didn't really used to care about this, and I might well not in the future, but for the time being, that's my thing. And another thing I'm trying to focus on at the moment is really taking the time to get into music artists. Though there are times when I zero in and obsess over a group/artist, buying a lot/all of their albums and listening to only them at the exclusion of others (this has happened with Bob Dylan, Joe Sariani, and Steve Vai), usually I try to buy a wide variety of albums and tend to get all different sorts of things. However, for this particular musical journey, I want to try something new. Until I lose interest, I'm going to try to go through the godfathers of rock, jazz, blues, hip-hop--popular music essentially--one by one, really digging deep into their catalog. Obviously I don't have the financial ability to buy all of their albums, but I'm at least going to try to go through their major albums in chronological order.
Since I already have pretty decent knowledge of Bob Dylan and the Beatles, I figured the next two big artists to go into in terms of rock music would be the Rolling Stones and the Who. Other then what we hear on the radio (and let's not even count that, since it really teaches you nothing about the artist as far as I'm concerned--not in terms of their real music catalog), I have only a minimal acquaintance with either of these giants. I have (in addition to two greatest hits collections) only Exile on Main Street and Beggar's Banquet by the Stones, and only a greatest hits collection for the Who. Although I understand the purpose of greatest hits collections, I think for album-artists like these two bands, it's really doing them a disservice to listen to only their hits. The real meat of their careers, and what they really focused on, are their studio albums (although they are also among the greatest live bands ever). However, I think there is a lot of merit to greatest hits collections for certain groups--stuff like Motown, where it's completely focused on the singles, or the early progenitors of rock music, like Chuck Berry or Elvis. I have a great Chuck Berry CD--The Definitive Collection--with thirty of his hits, but with an artist like him, I feel that I don't necessarily have to dig deeper, whereas someone like the Kinks, you really do have to dig deeper to understand their genius.
I'll probably try to keep track of my journey through various artists here on the blog, but this is a big project that will take place over a long period of time. I am hoping that by recording it publically, I will be motivated to follow through in this endeavor. I asked for the first two albums (The Rolling Stones [England's Newest Hitmakers], 12*5, My Generation, and A Quick One [Happy Jack]) by both the Stones and the Who, respectively, for my birthday, so that will begin the process. I also have to go through a shit-ton of my current albums that I own but haven't listened to all the way through (or at all, in some cases). If something strikes my interest, maybe I'll post about it on here. But I really want to explore more of the foundations of popular music--the big names that I really know nothing about musically, even if I know the facts of their lives.
Other people I would like to explore more: Miles Davis, the Kinks, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, all of those early grandfathers of rock (Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Ray Charles, I'll throw in Fats Domino for Daniel, Buddy Holly), the Beach Boys, Pink Floyd (I own the two obvious records by them, but I think there is more to dig out of them, and I have never listened to The Wall all the way through--some would hate me for that and others are probably like, Don't do it!), Black Sabbath, Public Enemy, and many others. I feel like I have decent knowledge across the board in terms of a variety of styles and time periods (at least compared to people I know--compared to what I would like to be, I'm an absolute and hopeless rook), but I wish I had more really deep and specialized knowledge about some artists that you really should have knowledge of. Anyways, the journey shall begin shortly when I get those CDs. Stay posted.
--Edward
Let the listening begin. I like the idea of a post being a review of an album (or even a song). This goes for movies, games, books, and all the rest of it too. I'd like to do the same kind of thing (though obviously not as disciplined and focused) for whatever I listen to (and yes that involves listening to the whole album all the way through).
ReplyDeleteIt's been a goddamn decade and I still haven't fully gone through the Who's catalogue! I listened to their debut, A Quick One, The Who Sell Out, Tommy, Live at Leeds, and Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy, but I still had Who's Next and Quadrophenia waiting for me. To be honest, I never got hardcore into them thus far.
ReplyDeleteI was satisfied with my journey through the major Stones albums, though. I ultimately concluded they were more of a singles artist than an albums artist, but their late-60s and early-70s peak did have some absolutely phenomenal albums, with the high point probably being Sticky Fingers. Beggar's Banquet, Aftermath, and Let It Bleed are also phenomenal, and Some Girls and Tattoo You aren't too shabby either!