I said recently that I wanted to try and be more active with this blog in 2016. Turns out it looks like that might happen, but for reasons about which I'm not very happy.
Everyone by now has heard about the passing of David Bowie (Jan. 10) and now Glenn Frey today (Jan. 18). I think you could look for a long time and not find many musicians who had more influence on music than these two did.
Frey, of course, was a founding member of the Eagles. I was in college in the mid- to late-70s and you couldn't walk down a dorm hallway without hearing someone somewhere blasting an Eagles album.
The music was part country(ish) and part rock and roll. In fact, it's possible that the Eagles were largely responsible for the country-tization of rock and roll (or the rock-etization of country) making the careers of many artists in each genre possible. Listen to 'Already Gone.' Is it country or is it rock? The answer is 'Yes!'
David Bowie (and his Spiders from Mars, or Ziggy Stardust). How many great songs has the Thin, White Duke given the world?
05 Rebel, Rebel
06 China Girl
07 Blue Jeans
08 Ashes To Ashes
09 Changes
10 Young Americans
11 Heroes
12 The Jean Genie
13 Diamond Dogs
14 Fashion
15 Under Pressure (with Queen)
16 Dancing in the Street (with Mick Jagger)
17 The Man Who Sold the World
18 All The Young Dudes*
19 Cat People (Putting Out Fire)
That's just some of the more widely-known songs. The list of hits goes on. Influence? Many of the artists you listen to regularly were influenced by Bowie. Nikki Sixx (Mötley Crüe), Lou Reed (Velvet Underground), The Pixies, The Smiths, Bono (the U2 lead singer claims Bowie as a major influence), Marilyn Manson, Nirvana, Joy Division, The Cure, Queen, Depeche Mode, Madonna, Nine Inch Nails, Boy George, The Killers, Lady Gaga, Arctic Monkeys, and one of my favorite bands - The Runaways.
Austin, Texas calls itself the live music capital of the world. Austin has a 'Bowie Street.' Following Bowie's death someone 'vandalized' the street sign for Bowie Street by replacing it with a (very official-looking) street sign that read 'David Bowie Street.' That's probably worthy of a vandalism charge. Either that or destruction of city property. The city of Austin has decided to leave the sign as-is for the time being. Kudos to the City of Austin.
Two legends sadly no longer with us. Even more sadly it doesn't end there. Motörhead (in the event that you haven't noticed, both Motörhead and Mötley Crüe band names include an umlaut. How many OTHER bands do that? How many rock bands even know what it is!) has been around since 1975 - roughly a short time period after Lemmy was fired from the psychedelic band Hawkwind for, as he explains it, "...doing the wrong drugs."
November 11, 2015 the drummer on Motörhead's most successful releases, Phil 'PHILTHY ANIMAL' Taylor died of an unspecified illness. About a month and a half later, the only constant in the band - bassist Lemmy Kilmister (nee Ian Fraser) - died. He had been suffering from several ailments for some time prior to his death.
Natalie Cole has joined her father in musical heaven. I can't say "Rock and roll heaven" because the music definitely wasn't rock and roll. Well, I guess for the time (1940s, 50s, and early 60s), some of his recordings could have been considered soft rock. Natalie was much more R&B than rock, but with Donna Summer in the rock and roll hall of fame, who's to say? She died of congestive heart failure at age 65.
Finally, you might have noticed the asterisk after All The Young Dudes in Bowie's' list of hits above. Though Bowie has recorded the song and co-wrote it. Mott the Hoople had a hit with the song. Dale Griffin, Mott the Hoople's drummer died at age 67. After that band split, he produced musical appearances on the BBC of Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, and Pulp. He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's several years earlier. He died January 17, 2016.
Definitely hasn't been the start of the year that I expected and certainly not one that doesn't bring up ideas that your favorite band is mortal - but their music isn't!
Everyone by now has heard about the passing of David Bowie (Jan. 10) and now Glenn Frey today (Jan. 18). I think you could look for a long time and not find many musicians who had more influence on music than these two did.
Frey, of course, was a founding member of the Eagles. I was in college in the mid- to late-70s and you couldn't walk down a dorm hallway without hearing someone somewhere blasting an Eagles album.
The music was part country(ish) and part rock and roll. In fact, it's possible that the Eagles were largely responsible for the country-tization of rock and roll (or the rock-etization of country) making the careers of many artists in each genre possible. Listen to 'Already Gone.' Is it country or is it rock? The answer is 'Yes!'
David Bowie (and his Spiders from Mars, or Ziggy Stardust). How many great songs has the Thin, White Duke given the world?
01 Space Oddity ('Ground Control to Major Tom.')
02 Golden Years
03 Fame
04 Suffragette City 05 Rebel, Rebel
06 China Girl
07 Blue Jeans
08 Ashes To Ashes
09 Changes
10 Young Americans
11 Heroes
12 The Jean Genie
13 Diamond Dogs
14 Fashion
15 Under Pressure (with Queen)
16 Dancing in the Street (with Mick Jagger)
17 The Man Who Sold the World
18 All The Young Dudes*
19 Cat People (Putting Out Fire)
That's just some of the more widely-known songs. The list of hits goes on. Influence? Many of the artists you listen to regularly were influenced by Bowie. Nikki Sixx (Mötley Crüe), Lou Reed (Velvet Underground), The Pixies, The Smiths, Bono (the U2 lead singer claims Bowie as a major influence), Marilyn Manson, Nirvana, Joy Division, The Cure, Queen, Depeche Mode, Madonna, Nine Inch Nails, Boy George, The Killers, Lady Gaga, Arctic Monkeys, and one of my favorite bands - The Runaways.
Austin, Texas calls itself the live music capital of the world. Austin has a 'Bowie Street.' Following Bowie's death someone 'vandalized' the street sign for Bowie Street by replacing it with a (very official-looking) street sign that read 'David Bowie Street.' That's probably worthy of a vandalism charge. Either that or destruction of city property. The city of Austin has decided to leave the sign as-is for the time being. Kudos to the City of Austin.
Two legends sadly no longer with us. Even more sadly it doesn't end there. Motörhead (in the event that you haven't noticed, both Motörhead and Mötley Crüe band names include an umlaut. How many OTHER bands do that? How many rock bands even know what it is!) has been around since 1975 - roughly a short time period after Lemmy was fired from the psychedelic band Hawkwind for, as he explains it, "...doing the wrong drugs."
November 11, 2015 the drummer on Motörhead's most successful releases, Phil 'PHILTHY ANIMAL' Taylor died of an unspecified illness. About a month and a half later, the only constant in the band - bassist Lemmy Kilmister (nee Ian Fraser) - died. He had been suffering from several ailments for some time prior to his death.
Natalie Cole has joined her father in musical heaven. I can't say "Rock and roll heaven" because the music definitely wasn't rock and roll. Well, I guess for the time (1940s, 50s, and early 60s), some of his recordings could have been considered soft rock. Natalie was much more R&B than rock, but with Donna Summer in the rock and roll hall of fame, who's to say? She died of congestive heart failure at age 65.
Finally, you might have noticed the asterisk after All The Young Dudes in Bowie's' list of hits above. Though Bowie has recorded the song and co-wrote it. Mott the Hoople had a hit with the song. Dale Griffin, Mott the Hoople's drummer died at age 67. After that band split, he produced musical appearances on the BBC of Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, and Pulp. He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's several years earlier. He died January 17, 2016.
Definitely hasn't been the start of the year that I expected and certainly not one that doesn't bring up ideas that your favorite band is mortal - but their music isn't!
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