I Tried... Once

Kevin was shocked to her me listening to 3 Doors Down in my car. He thought I'd consider that too noisy. Truth is, the last time I tried to discover music (about 10 yrs ago), I found a few bands I liked:

• Vertical Horizon
• Goo Goo Dolls
• 3 Doors Down
• Third Eye Blind
• Matchbox 20

I've had these cd's since the 90's. I realize I still like this category / genre, including their more recent music. But they sound so similar, I needed more variety and got bored by them. BTW - what would you call this category? What genre do they all fall in?

Today's song is . . .
Goo Goo Doll's Iris

How to Name a Band

I've often wondered where bands got their names. Here are a few interesting ones . . .

Black Eyed Peas - copies the Red Hot Chili Peppers name out of respect and because "Black Eyed Peas are food for the soul" (ie, their music is too...according to will.i.am)

Grateful Dead - chosen at random from a dictionary (possibly while playing a game, definitely while high)

Led Zeppelin - when forming the band, some drummer refused to join, saying it would fail like a "lead zeppelin" = a blimp made of lead (spelt "led" so people don't mis-pronounce lead as "leed", which would mean the #1 zeppelin)

3 Doors Down - a broken sign in an alley said "doors down", the 3 represents the 3 original members.

Nine Inch Nails - it abbreviated nicely

AC/DC - from the back of a sewing machine, old label for electrical wiring (Hey, I remember when things had this label!)

Green Day - "is Bay-area slang for a day with lots of green bud where you just sit around taking bong hits, hanging around" (according to their site)

One thing stands out to me: the total randomness of it all. I'm sure there are a slew of fascinating other examples, these are just ones I've stumbled across while reading for this blog.

Today's song is . . .

Vertical Horizon's Go

Missing Comments

Sorry all, just realized I'd missed a bunch of comments people posted. So I went back through and read them all. Guess I'll be turning email notifications on so that doesn't happen again.

A lot of people are giving suggestions in the comments, so those are definitely going into my list of things to check out. Might take some time before they surface as postings though. This will be an excellent way to expand!

Today's song is . . .
U2's Where the Streets Have No Name



It's time for another U2 song. I've mostly been listening to the Joshua Tree CD when I can't stand the radio any longer. This is the first song on the CD, so I'm starting to learn / like it.

This video follows Eddie's recommendation - U2 at Super Bowl 36, Many people have observed that they're incredible in concert, and I think I can see why. They have so much energy, seems pretty awesome.Hmm, they're coming to the Rose Bowl . . . guess if I get really ambitious I could go to my first concert . . .

. . . but that would be REALLY ambitious.

Maples? Oaks? Politics?

Wandering through the office, I spied a random cd lying on the desk. Akio being on hand, he immediately told me that they have the single best drummer ever. That says something coming from a drummer.

So, I stuck it in the computer, pulled up lyrics, and discovered Rush. I liked the songs I read (yes, read, it's all about the lyrics!). This made me realize how most people discover music . . . rather randomly.

Today's song is . . .
Rush's The Trees



Liked it. A lot. 'Nough said.

Pioneers of Hard Rock

Genre names aren't always what they seem. Alternative Rock? Pretty mainstream. And hard rock? Can be kinda mellow.

After hearing a recent reference to Led Zeppelin, I decided to learn about them next. Well, I should rephrase that, I decided to learn about him. Cuz, you see, I've always thought Led Zeppelin was a man. Thought it was some cool stage name or distortion of a foreign name.

Anyway, I discovered it's a band. Hard rock, from the 70's. I respect their breakup at the death of the drummer (less drama than I would have expected) and their release of their nameless fourth album (a stick-it-to-the-man attitude).

Today's song is . . .
Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven



Long and reflective. It surprised me that this is their number one song.

Radio Silence

I've been trying to listen to these stations so I can become familiar with the current music. It's not happening. I hate the radio.

What's the issue? First, they talk. People babbling about the music, or commercials, or news. I either don't know or don't care what they're talking about. Second, sadly, is the music itself. I don't know the band or the lyrics and get annoyed real fast.

So I end up driving in silence. It's better than the radio.

Today's song is . . .
Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back
(in tribute to the most obnoxious KIIS)



Surprisingly, I get it. I mean, I get why it's popular. Not much for the lyrics, but it's catchy (good rhythm? I dunno, anyone care to enlighten me?) The best part is this video works in a Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. First, I like the live vocals better than the official music video, and, well, it's just a perfect match.

Meet the Beatles

Apparently, they're number one. According to Billboard. According to Rolling Stone. According to RAII. They top all the lists. They are, irrefutably, number one.

I don't know why. Ok, I really shouldn't confess this, but I don't get it. Of course, I've only sampled a few songs, but the lyrics are shallow . . . Maybe I just need to find the right songs?

"We all live in a yellow submarine" sounds like a kid's song. That's fine, but really, all we need is love? "Yesterday" was a bit better lyrically, but still seemed simplistic.

Exactly! Simplistic. Idealistic. Happy. I suppose those aren't bad things, probably the very things that made them famous. Just feels immature to me? Man, I'm such a cynic!

I'm not saying I don't like them, I just don't get why they're number one. Truth is, I think I just need to keep trying them.

Today's song is . . .
The Beatles's "Help!"



Definitely my favorite out of the five or so I listened to, although the song's opening is a bit too much. (Wasn't that used for some commercial? I think that ruins it for me.)

Also, I like this video of it (maybe from the film? I dunno). For one thing, it gives me a close up of their faces, although I don't know which is which. Also, it has a nice aesthetic simplicity.

No Favorites

I hate it when people ask me to pick a favorite. I mean, seriously, one single favorite out of the hundreds that I know? Favorite color? Well, what are we talking about here? Color for a shirt? Then it might be teal to match my eyes. But never for a car! It's all about context.

We don't ask people to pick their favorite among their children: your precocious 6-year old daughter, or the athletic and popular 10-year old son? What about that sulky teen you rarely see? Pick one! Go on, tell me your favorite! The more you know something / someone, the harder it is to choose.

BUT . . . I can usually decide what I don't like. That was a major discovery during our music discussion last Sunday. All the music that I remember from when I was young, the music that I hated . . . Grunge!

I didn't like grunge. But decided to pick one for today's song:

Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"



This was their first big hit in 1991. They only lasted a few years until Kurt Cobain killed himself . . . depressing.

Opinion: I vaguely remember this, especially the annoying repetition of "Hello". On the other hand, reading the lyrics, it's not that bad. Maybe that's just cuz I control the volume.

Music 101: Intro

Today I addressed the hardest subject: music. A friend is very knowledgeable and I wanted the simplest beginning point. I do mean, the simplest, most rudimentary introduction. Say, the top five bands I should familiarize myself with.

The results were astonishing! We headed to a computer and he used YouTube to show me videos, the kind of videos most of my generation grew up watching on MTV. But the best part? Several dear friends, all of whom know my wretched illiteracy, joined in.

We ended up polling people on their favorite bands and discussing the 90's pop I should have listened to in high school (most of which was actually vaguely familiar due to crazy high school skits). Then I got some current pop and a variety of rock categories that will soon get confused. Seriously, why can every category just end with "rock"? Indie rock, alternative rock, classic rock . . .

The verdict: I need to start with 3 of the most popular bands:

1. U2
2. Coldplay
3. Beatles

Today's song is . . .
U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"



Opinion: I like it. I'm sure I've heard it before, but now I've listened five times and read the lyrics. I might actually recognize it in the future.