June 9 - Classic rock: This is why we can't have nice things
CJAY 92, one of Calgary's most popular radio stations, used to be
known as the city's go-to spot for classic rock. It may still be that
way but, like Bob Dylan says, the times they are a' changin.
I remember working the late shift one night and having a hankering to hear Prince sing Little Red Corvette (this was an era before IPods and the Internet; when you wanted to hear a song, you either had to buy it at the record store or wait for it to come on the radio.) I called CJAY and the DJ told me that Prince is not considered classic rock.
"That's silly," I said. "You play Jimi Hendrix and Lenny Kravitz. One was one of Prince's major influences and the other was majorly influenced by Prince."
"Yeah," the DJ said. "But neither one of those guys takes bubble baths."
And that is what classic rock is, I guess. Music made by people who would never be caught dead in a bubble bath.
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This kind of sucks because I love Heart, the Washington state-based group fronted by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. Here is a picture of them:
I dunno... but I kind of think that Ann and Nancy Wilson look like the sort of people who would enjoy relaxing in a bubble bath.
By the way, I am reading Heart's biography right now and the sisters say they don't like it when journalists ask them what it's like being a woman in rock. I agree. This question is patronizing and stupid. It is like asking a woman wearing blue jeans what it's like being a woman in blue jeans. If a woman can sing, a woman should be allowed to sing what she wants to sing, including rock. Eeeeeeeeeeeeee. I am prejudiced because I grew up with a mother who can sing beautifully and a dad who sings like a duck. Because of this, I prefer listening to women sing. This might be why I like Prince so much.
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The bubble bath rule means that Enya is not classic rock.
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I want to amend that DJ's philosophy a little and state that classic rock is defined as music that you don't want to listen to when you're in a bubble bath. I don't think I've had a bubble bath since I was four but if I were to go home and jump in a bubble bath and then get Aerosmith on the iPod, I'd probably hop right out again. You just don't want to soak and think about kitty cats while Steven Tyler is singing Walk This Way.
I'll throw a bone to that old DJ and say I can't think of any songs from Lenny Kravitz or Jimi Hendrix's catalog that I could listen to while bubble bathing. There are plenty by Prince that I could - heck, the beginning of the When Doves Cry video showed Prince actually IN a bathtub - but there are plenty of Prince songs where I really can't sit still while it's going on.
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Well let's Google classic rock and see what it tells us.
Wikipedia tells us that classic rock refers to music that was released from the 1960 through the 1980s. It tends to focus on album rock or arena rock, like Van Halen. This does not explain why Nirvana and Pearl Jam sometimes show up on classic rock stations.
Incidentally, the 60s and the 70s account for 70 per cent of the songs on Rolling Stone Magazine's top 500 songs of all time list.
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When I was in Bible College, there was this book called Why Knock Rock by Dan and Steve Peters. Every page of that book had at least one paragraph telling me that Alice Cooper is bad.
The book featured artwork from about 32 albums that the Peters thought were especially bad. Prince's album Dirty Mind was on there and it was a great place for it to be. Dirty Mind is a filthy album and I don't like listening to it today.
The book also featured a top 10 list of Rock's Most Wanted - or the top 10 musicians that readers needed to pray for. I remember Prince was listed as number 3. Today he is a Jehovah's Witness. Maybe the only people who read Why Knock Rock were Watchtower devotees.
Other names on the list were AC/DC's Malcolm Young, the guy from Judas Priest, Mick Jagger, David Lee Roth, and Gene Simmons. Alice Cooper was not on the list. Today he is a born-again Christian.
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When I think classic rock, I think of the Eagles. I think this even though Don Henley sings and plays drums at the same time. This is bad. Singers should dance while they sing, like Steven Tyler.
I also think CCR, the Stones, Kim Mitchell, Journey, Led Zeppelin, Quiet Riot - any rock music written by someone who is dead now or almost out of hair. Katy Perry is not classic rock and she will not be until she is at least 35.
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When we were kids, my best friend, who played guitar, told me he considered Led Zeppelin to be the best rock band of all time.
"And not just because of Stairway to Heaven," he said. "That's the only song anyone knows because they play it last at all the dances, but listen to this."
He played Black Dog and Rock and Roll for me. I liked it but I didn't like it as much as my best friend did. Still, I could tell that this stuff, recorded before either of us was born. That was from Led Zeppelin IV, released the year my parents got married - can you dig it? (Zoso sure can.)
-
One of my personal heroes, Weird Al Yankovic, has been trying to get permission to do a Led Zeppelin polka medley for at least a decade. He has been unable to do so. I wish Robert Plant and Jimmy Page would allow it. I would have a Whole Lotta Love for them if they did.
The Weird Al song would be a nice thing.
I remember working the late shift one night and having a hankering to hear Prince sing Little Red Corvette (this was an era before IPods and the Internet; when you wanted to hear a song, you either had to buy it at the record store or wait for it to come on the radio.) I called CJAY and the DJ told me that Prince is not considered classic rock.
"That's silly," I said. "You play Jimi Hendrix and Lenny Kravitz. One was one of Prince's major influences and the other was majorly influenced by Prince."
"Yeah," the DJ said. "But neither one of those guys takes bubble baths."
And that is what classic rock is, I guess. Music made by people who would never be caught dead in a bubble bath.
-
This kind of sucks because I love Heart, the Washington state-based group fronted by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. Here is a picture of them:
I dunno... but I kind of think that Ann and Nancy Wilson look like the sort of people who would enjoy relaxing in a bubble bath.
By the way, I am reading Heart's biography right now and the sisters say they don't like it when journalists ask them what it's like being a woman in rock. I agree. This question is patronizing and stupid. It is like asking a woman wearing blue jeans what it's like being a woman in blue jeans. If a woman can sing, a woman should be allowed to sing what she wants to sing, including rock. Eeeeeeeeeeeeee. I am prejudiced because I grew up with a mother who can sing beautifully and a dad who sings like a duck. Because of this, I prefer listening to women sing. This might be why I like Prince so much.
-
The bubble bath rule means that Enya is not classic rock.
-
I want to amend that DJ's philosophy a little and state that classic rock is defined as music that you don't want to listen to when you're in a bubble bath. I don't think I've had a bubble bath since I was four but if I were to go home and jump in a bubble bath and then get Aerosmith on the iPod, I'd probably hop right out again. You just don't want to soak and think about kitty cats while Steven Tyler is singing Walk This Way.
I'll throw a bone to that old DJ and say I can't think of any songs from Lenny Kravitz or Jimi Hendrix's catalog that I could listen to while bubble bathing. There are plenty by Prince that I could - heck, the beginning of the When Doves Cry video showed Prince actually IN a bathtub - but there are plenty of Prince songs where I really can't sit still while it's going on.
-
Well let's Google classic rock and see what it tells us.
Wikipedia tells us that classic rock refers to music that was released from the 1960 through the 1980s. It tends to focus on album rock or arena rock, like Van Halen. This does not explain why Nirvana and Pearl Jam sometimes show up on classic rock stations.
Incidentally, the 60s and the 70s account for 70 per cent of the songs on Rolling Stone Magazine's top 500 songs of all time list.
-
When I was in Bible College, there was this book called Why Knock Rock by Dan and Steve Peters. Every page of that book had at least one paragraph telling me that Alice Cooper is bad.
The book featured artwork from about 32 albums that the Peters thought were especially bad. Prince's album Dirty Mind was on there and it was a great place for it to be. Dirty Mind is a filthy album and I don't like listening to it today.
The book also featured a top 10 list of Rock's Most Wanted - or the top 10 musicians that readers needed to pray for. I remember Prince was listed as number 3. Today he is a Jehovah's Witness. Maybe the only people who read Why Knock Rock were Watchtower devotees.
Other names on the list were AC/DC's Malcolm Young, the guy from Judas Priest, Mick Jagger, David Lee Roth, and Gene Simmons. Alice Cooper was not on the list. Today he is a born-again Christian.
-
When I think classic rock, I think of the Eagles. I think this even though Don Henley sings and plays drums at the same time. This is bad. Singers should dance while they sing, like Steven Tyler.
I also think CCR, the Stones, Kim Mitchell, Journey, Led Zeppelin, Quiet Riot - any rock music written by someone who is dead now or almost out of hair. Katy Perry is not classic rock and she will not be until she is at least 35.
-
When we were kids, my best friend, who played guitar, told me he considered Led Zeppelin to be the best rock band of all time.
"And not just because of Stairway to Heaven," he said. "That's the only song anyone knows because they play it last at all the dances, but listen to this."
He played Black Dog and Rock and Roll for me. I liked it but I didn't like it as much as my best friend did. Still, I could tell that this stuff, recorded before either of us was born. That was from Led Zeppelin IV, released the year my parents got married - can you dig it? (Zoso sure can.)
-
One of my personal heroes, Weird Al Yankovic, has been trying to get permission to do a Led Zeppelin polka medley for at least a decade. He has been unable to do so. I wish Robert Plant and Jimmy Page would allow it. I would have a Whole Lotta Love for them if they did.
The Weird Al song would be a nice thing.
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