A piece of paradise

My two least favorite music blog words

reggpal — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 07:58:46 +0000

I visit a lot of music news sites and a ton of blogs to try and find interesting information to put on here. Plus, it is a great way to learn about new bands and what is going on. The sad part is how often you hear the same thing. Plus, our society clings to certain words and phrases. Two of these words would be supergroup and hipster.

Supergroup

I actually wouldn’t mind supergroup except that it has been overused in recent years. Every group that has members from two or more separate somewhat popular bands become supergroups. There are only a few certifiable groups that deserve that title. Examples would include Cream, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and Bad Company. These bands all have members from numerous groups, but the reason they are supergroups is because they have made great music, and not just the members.

Examples of groups that are considered supergroups that had great artists, but never really made (or haven’t made) great music are Damn Yankeess and Contraband. They might have a song or two, but they never panned out. But it is more recent years that have a supergroup come out every other week. Groups like Hellyeah,Chickenfoot, and Them Crooked Vultures are all decent but shouldn’t get by on reputation alone. Most of these groups never get around to being original, they just put out unoriginal and uninspired music.

Hipster

Now on to the word I am sick of even more. Hipster is a word that was introduced a long time ago, but was out of commission until the last couple decades. Most of the time, this word is used in a negative tone. In fact, I would go with almost all of the time, someone called a hipster is about like being called a sellout. A hipster is not interested in popular music, they like music on the outskirts of society.

As a guy who enjoys metal music and metal websites, being called a hipster is next to the worst thing you can be called. According to most people, a hipster would first like a band like Mastodon, but wouldn’t like them anymore once they were popular. Obviously metal isn’t the only music for hipsters. Most hipsters are into indie bands like Animal Collective or Grizzly Bear.

This word doesn’t just work for music. Movies, clothes, and just about any other part of life can fit into the hipster category. And if you read enough comments on blogs, most of the people that talk about hipsters are hipsters themselves. I tend to look at it from a slightly different angle. I would use the word elitist since they are folks that think they know more about everything than anyone else. Their opinion matters more.

Eventually these words will be replaced by the next catchy word or phrase. So I suppose I shouldn’t worry about it, but it is fun to bitch from time to time. And if you are a hipster, I certainly didn’t mean to offend… too much. Even I like Sigur Rós.

Pitchfork lists winter releases

reggpal — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 00:02:04 +0000

Here is a good list of soon-to-be released albums. Pitchfork covers a wide variety of music… enjoy!

A case for ABBA?

reggpal — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:11:27 +0000

I was reading the Monkey See Blog by Linda Holmes recently and she had one that I had to respond to. In her blog, she discusses why ABBA should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She does a good job explaining how certain acts, such as Pete Seeger and Mahalia Jackson, and how they aren’t exactly the most rocking artists. Then she goes after certain artists and bands coolness factor. And she has plenty of room to argue many of these points, but to me this isn’t he issue.

The issue with ABBA, and many of these acts, is that where do you draw the line. Maybe it is already too late. We should just start letting everyone in. Pete Seegeris an easy artist to argue for because of his influence on later artists, such as Bruce Springsteen. The same would go for another act that Holmes mentioned, Lead Belly. But these acts, along with ABBA, are the very reason why many current rock and metal artists could care less about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

So honestly, I am not saying what Ms. Holmes said was wrong. I tend to feel a different argument should be had on whether they should change the name of theRock and Roll Hall of Fame to the Rock and Pop Hall. I visited the Hall of Fame a few years back and loved it. But I enjoy museums and history and loving music, I could have spent a full day there. The exhibits and layout of the Hall was amazing. That being said, I didn’t really even think of it as a Hall of Fame. I had visited the Pro Football Hall of Fame the day before and it was a lot easier to recognize it as a hall of fame because they had a room of the busts of the inductees.

Maybe it should be called the Rock and Roll Museum and leave it at that. Either way, this is why I don’t worry about who is inducted because it is hard to find exact specifications to get elected. But if ABBA gets in, good for them. Much of music is about opinion anyway, so there will be tons of people on both sides of the debate.

MetalSucks lists of 2009

reggpal — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 07:42:43 +0000

Go here to read the lists of 2009′s best from the MetalSucks‘ writers, along with a few others. For anyone that likes metal, it is worth a look. Or even if you just like lists like me.

Jónsi releases “Go”

reggpal — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 07:34:43 +0000

The singer of Sigur Rós, Jón Thor Birgisson or Jónsi, is releasing a solo album entitled “Go.” For more details, go here.

Mastodon in TIME

reggpal — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:06:47 +0000

Ok, so I am a little behind. I meant to post this last week. If you have paid any attention to my posts, you will realize that I like Mastodon. Well, as Metalsucks! has pointed out… Mastodon has gone mainstream by making it on Time magazine’s The Top 10 Everything of 2009 list.

Pink Floyd footage found

reggpal — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:00:58 +0000

Some rare “lost” footage of Pink Floyd on Top of the Pops from the Syd Barrett days has been found. To read more, go here.

She & Him to return

reggpal — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:51:07 +0000

Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward are going to make a second album. The group She & Him will release “Volume 2” has a release date of March 23rd. To read more about it, go here.

The Vatican’s Playlist

reggpal — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:20:06 +0000

Go here to see The Vatican’s Playlist. Interesting choices.

Prince surprised me

reggpal — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 06:11:37 +0000

First off, I am a fan of Prince. I am not afraid to say it. He is certainly a talented song writer and musician. But this blog is about something I saw on PBS this Sunday. PBS was showing old footage of the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame induction concerts. During George Harrison’s song “While My Guitar Slowly Weeps”, Prince plays an amazing emotional guitar solo. And of course, he also adds his own flare. Harrison‘s son, Dhani, was playing beside Prince and was obviously enjoying it. Even if you don’t like Prince, after watching this, you can’t say that he isn’t talented. Well, you can, but you will be a douche.