But, comparing “post punk” bands, or “post 70’s musical wankerism bands” to bands like Zappa, Yes, King Crimson, Mahavishnu, etc, is kinda silly, ain’t it? One is highly technical and skilled and one is more about how much feeling can be had from simple songs…

It would be quite limiting, musically, if all I ever listened to was Frank Zappa, Yes, King Crimson, Mahavishnu, etc. Even the minimalist sounding post punk bands have something to offer to my eardrums. Not every musician is a virtuoso, or needs to be to put their musical point across. For instance, Warren Zevon is no guitar virtuoso, yet I enjoy his music as much as Frank Zappa’s. The difference being Zevon’s strength is as a singer songwriter, and that is what wins out each and every time I listen to him, just as FZ’s guitar virtuosity does for him. It’s not a competition. Everyone is talented differently, each in his/her own way. Perhaps sometimes in our enthusiasm for FZ’s music we, or particularly I, forget this.

The interesting thing about Zappa was and still is that what he did was so different from anyone else that he probably wasn’t even disliked by the ’70s punks like Genesis and Pink Floyd were! Zappa was punk rock from Freak Out! onwards!

A quote from Jamez:

Give me AC/DC anyday. P.S. ‘If You Want Blood’ is also one of the best live albums ever, Urbangraffito.

Either it’s my age, or what happens when a band is around as long as AC/DC has, but their sound tends to become predictable over time. Rumor has it that their new album has been slow in coming because they’ve “gotta get it right”. I’m hoping that they’ll get back to what made them an awesome band to begin with on such albums as High Voltage, Dirty Deeds…, and 74 Jailbreak.

Their new album is apparently produced by Brendan O’Brien who produced Pearl Jam and..er…U2! Hopefully it will be a return to form for them. The best way for them to do that is to bring back the bluesier feel of the the old stuff but still keep the music heavy.

Give me AC/DC anyday. P.S. ‘If You Want Blood’ is also one of the best live albums ever, Urbangraffito.

Either it’s my age, or what happens when a band is around as long as AC/DC has, but their sound tends to become predictable over time. Rumor has it that their new album has been slow in coming because they’ve “gotta get it right”. I’m hoping that they’ll get back to what made them an awesome band to begin with on such albums as High Voltage, Dirty Deeds…, and 74 Jailbreak.

Let’s not turn this into a U2 bashfest. They are still very good at what they do, especially early on in their career as a band, and have achieved justified success as a result. Myself, they lost me after ‘The Joshua Tree’ when their albums began to sound too similar to each other — much like the later albums of AC/DC. This doesn’t mean they’re not still entertaining. Great thing about Bill Bailey is he is educating people with good humor, instead of just outright sarcasm, which is much more likely to sink in. Perhaps when the audiences finally begin to demand quality again (i.e. Zappa), the performers will once more have the freedom to give it to them, instead of just a pre-manufactured musical product meant to sell as many albums/tickets as possible.

Give me AC/DC anyday. P.S. ‘If You Want Blood’ is also one of the best live albums ever, Urbangraffito.

I cannot tell any other person who can fill 8-10 minutes with exciting, on-the-spot improvised music, without being boring.

Why, Neil Young, silly!