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Author: MrFab
Date: 02-28-12 15:14
1974 is considered to be the nadir of western music: rock's post-Beatles/pre-punk doldrums, the funk era slipping into disco, fusion's bitches brew turning into the 'smooth jazz' mush of Chuck Mangione and Herb Albert's "Rise," and lots and lots of cheeseball pop of the Donny Osmond/Starland Vocal Band/America variety. There's some truth to it - alright, there really was a lot of awful crud then - but it wasn't all "Seasons in the Sun". If you were to find yourself falling into a time machine set to '1974', I think you'd still find plenty to amuse yourself with, even if much of it wouldn't be on the radio, or even that easy to find at your local record store chain:
Sparks "Kimono My House"
New York Dolls "Too Much Too Soon"
John Cale "Fear"
Nico "The End"
The Residents "Meet the Residents"
Brian Eno "Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)"
not crazy about "Diamond Dogs", but "Rebel Rebel" is a helluva single
v/a "June 1, 1974"
Big Star "Radio City"
Kraftwerk "Autobahn"
Roxy Music "Country Life"
King Crimson "Red"
Can "Soon Over Babaluma"
and in non-TP territories:
James Brown "The Payback"
Funkadelic "Standing on the Verge of Getting It On"
The Sweet "Desolation Boulevard"
Genesis "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway"
Miles Davis "Big Fun" and "Get Up with It"
Gil Scott-Heron "Winter in America"
The Meters "Rejuvenation"
Herbie Hancock "Thrust"
I haven't heard the Henry Cow, the Blue Oyster Cult, or Cockney Rebel albums of this period, but if I burned thru the above, I'd check 'em out, I've heard good things about 'em.
I fear no year!
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Author: nosepail
Date: 02-28-12 15:38
1974 - year of my birth - but admittedly a pretty shitty year in music. There wasnt even any Zeppelin this year. If you read the Will Hermes book, Love Goes To Buildings on Fire, which starts in 1974, you will certainly find a few things to get excited about.
Here is a decent place to start.
My favorite records are probably these:
Van Morrison: Veedon Fleece
Richard and Linda: I Want To See The Bright Lights TOnight
Eddie Palmieri: Sun Of Latin Music
Joni Mitchell: Court and Spark
Parliament: Up For The Downstroke
Randy Newman: Good Old Boys (his best!)
Steely Dan: Pretzel Logic
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Author: totaji
Date: 02-28-12 16:01
Great year actually! I would add:
Neil Young: On The Beach
Mott The Hoople: The Hoople
Gram Parsons: Grievous Angel
Gene Clark: No Other
Bowie: Diamond Dogs
TRex: Zinc Alloy
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Author: breno
Date: 02-28-12 17:53
Is '74 still considered to be the worst era in music? I thought that most learned sages on the subject now considered the mid-80s - specifically anything bearing the dreaded "80s production sound" - to be the absolute low point in the history of rock music. I think the early 70s got let out of the basement a while back.
Of course, since many of the hippest bands are now openly referencing 80s mainstream music (M83, Destroyer, Goldfrapp, the Radio Dept., Bon Iver, etc.) those same learned sages are already toning down their anti-80s rhetoric and trying to figure out ways to declare "no, no, I never said that, you misunderstood." (I especially enjoyed NPR's All Songs Considered best of 2011 podcast where they briefly attempted to square their picks for the year's best with the fact that a couple of years back they spent an hour declaring the 80s to be the worst era ever in music. They trotted out a few vague platitudes on the matter then ran from the subject like it was a rabid mongoose.)
I expect within a couple of years the mid-80s will be off the hook and the Worst Era tag will move to the late-90s, the era of nu-metal and ersatz alternative. That period will be the goat for a few years until some hip band of youngsters from Brooklyn cite Korn as their primary influence, then the merits of 1999 will be rediscovered and the onus will move to 2007, as the people in charge of cool will then wonder why anyone ever put up with the excesses and intellectual pretensions of the Decemberists and Arcade Fire, conveniently forgetting the fact that they were the same people praising them in 2007 (please note, that was a hypothetical and does not necessarily reflect my views on those bands).
It's all cyclical, which makes me wonder why anyone still insists on naming any era of music as the worst ever. Anyone who does will just have to try to figure out a way to backtrack gracefully in a few years if they want to stay hip and current, because sure as shit if you declare nu-metal to have been the worst genre ever, in a year or two the hottest, hippest, grooviest band on the block is going to sound just like friggin' Coal Chamber and you're either going to have to hate them and not be cool anymore or love them and try to figure out a way to explain yourself.
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Author: rhettlawrence
Date: 02-28-12 18:27
A thread from Mats in 2006 called "1995-2000, Recommend Me Something" is semi-relevant here on both the early 70s and late 90s fronts (I tried to link to it, but that blasted # foiled me again). And I seem to recall another one where Paganizer listed out in more detail his faves from the early 70s, tho I could be confusing that with another discussion about the 90s.
Here's the less useful link:
http://trouserpress.com/forum/read.php?f=1&i=4258&t=4258#reply_4258
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Author: rebelwithoutaclue
Date: 02-28-12 18:39
wouldnt the worst era in music possibly be the early 60s. post elvis prime and pre beatles.
i simultaneously agree and disagree on the 80s being the best and worst time for music.
I was born in 1968. i just started getting into music just as the 80s started .
the early 80s had a lot going on. there were punk bands growing musically and exploring new territories. {clash,jam etc} elvis costello was still in his prime. graham parker was a little past his prime but still was putting out great music. u2 was just starting. lots of veteran rockers who didnt put out their best stuff but still put out solid albums. dylans material "his christian period n infidels . and of course the replacements.
the start of rap n hip hop.
what we remember is things that the masses loved. cheesy metal n that bad drum sound all that dated stuff . journey,reo speedwagon ,styx.
the 80s had a lot of music that isnt so associated with its time.
if i go to a 80s party im not going to hear joe jackson,squeeze or the minutemen. you are gonna hear dated stuff and stuff that makes your average joe or jane remember high school.
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Author: MrFab
Date: 02-28-12 19:05
Hey rhett, that thread was from 6 years ago - you got a good memory!
Quote:
wouldnt the worst era in music possibly be the early 60s.
I love the early '60s, actually - all that sleazy early rock/rockabilly, raunchy r'n'b, novelties, and esp. surf - that whole wrestling/hot rods/monster movie/burlesque aesthetic that the Cramps spent their lives trying to revive. But it was a singles period, not an "artists" era of chin-stroking artistes making heavy concept albums. Just lots of horny teenagers knocking out glorious bits of 7" mayhem in their garage. So it gets no critical respect, to which I say, 'Feh!'
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Author: totaji
Date: 02-28-12 19:08
I love a lot of that retro 80's stuff (Kavinsky, Chromatics, Washed Out) The 80's was an easy target but time has looked back favorably. I still love the show Miami Vice, not ironically.
There was some good 90's music (Britpop and Elephant 6 stuff) even some hip hop. But all the nu-metal, grunge, boy bands, and general alt- music was pretty dire. I think of that one "naked" band that did the white-man rap shit. or the test dumbies. Yuck!
The 80's were a great time for music.
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Author: totaji
Date: 02-28-12 19:12
That would suck to go to an 80's party and not hear Joe Jackson...and the early 60's were incredible! Some of the best music ever made actually. It was just a different way of consuming music. very singles driven.
Check out this website and look up the songs for 1960,61,62 etc
http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/
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Author: HollowbodyKay
Date: 02-28-12 19:14
"It feels like 1974 ...
Syd Barrett's last session, he can't sing anymore.
He's gonna have to be Roger now.
For the rest of his life."
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Author: totaji
Date: 02-28-12 19:16
The Top Songs from 1960
Rank All Time Rank Artist Song
1 110 The Shirelles Will You Love Me Tomorrow
2 142 Roy Orbison Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel)
3 260 Chubby Checker The Twist
4 262 The Everly Brothers Cathy's Clown
5 318 Ray Charles Georgia on My Mind
6 448 Etta James At Last
7 465 The Shadows Apache
8 689 The Drifters Save the Last Dance for Me
9 767 The Ventures Walk - Don't Run
10 780 Barrett Strong Money (That's What I Want)
11 794 Sam Cooke Wonderful World
12 840 Smokey Robinson and The Miracles Shop Around
13 1006 Brenda Lee I'm Sorry
14 1224 Howlin' Wolf Spoonful
15 1228 Wanda Jackson Let's Have a Party
'
16 1350 Elvis Presley Are You Lonesome Tonight?
17 1354 Fats Domino Walking to New Orleans
18 1369 The Stanley Brothers Rank Strangers
19 1370 Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs Stay
20 1431 Johnny Kidd and The Pirates Shakin' All Over
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Author: mats84
Date: 03-04-12 17:33
In Too Much Too Soon and Radio City are two of my favorite albums.
I'd be hard pressed to find any records from '96-00 that I like half as much (and I literally mean half as much).
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Author: hoip chiggs
Date: 03-06-12 06:18
Yeah, I can picture people from now time traveling back and saying, don't worry kid, this garage crap won't last forever. Keep practicing and someday you'll be mature, respected musicians like Radiohead.
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