On Tuesday, I upset a few people (well, one in particular) with a somewhat offhand remark about Elbow’s lack of popularity in America, or least my perception thereof.
Similar to another unfortunate escapade this year, I guess I just pushed the wrong button with a group of fans who would be willing to fight for their favorite act to the death (or, at least, over multiple posts in a blog’s comment section). Sure, it’s fun to say mean things about a band and have people react to them, but in the end, we’re talking about something people have an emotional attachment to in some way–a connection beyond a disc and a concert t-shirt.
What musical act would I be willing to go that distance for? I was stumped for a while before it came to me.
New Order.
My love for New Order, despite all the embarrassing sidesteps (and by this I mean, everything released following Technique not produced by the Chemical Brothers) borders on the totally irrational. I spent actual time defending the Retro box set, which I purchased on import a week before receiving a promo copy in the mail. I briefly considered choking a teenager in front of me at the Area:One festival who quipped “Who are these old guys Billy Corgan is playing with?” It’s not healthy, and it defies reason, but I love New Order to that extent.
So, what’s yours?
EDGAR WINTER BAND!! just kidding.
My wife’s father would say the band Yes. I don’t get that entirely. I had to think about this quite hard, and I think my answer is Dream Theater. And yes, I just imagined the person who typed that as having his hair teased high, an Ibanez in a glass case, and another guitar he doesn’t play anymore because he tried to scoop out the frets himself in 88… I swear to you, this is not the case (but I completely understand why you would think that.)
That’s easy … The Church and Squeeze. Different bands from different ends of the spectrum. but each have fanatically devoted fans.
The Smashing Pumpkins (original line-up)…
Khia. No, for real.
True story: I had to walk out of a super-exclusive Portishead show in L.A. when a “friend” decided to go off about how Detroit hip-hop producer/legend Jay Dilla (AKA Jay Dee) was “overrated”. It was either walk away or smack the taste of of this girl’s mouth, and I’m a lover not a fighter.
So yeah, I’ll ride for my man Dilla until the end.
see? I get so mad just thinking about it that I can’t even type! I meant to say “slap the taste OUT of her mouth”–like anyone that doesn’t recognize the undeniable genius of Dilla has any taste whatsoever…
Oh yeah, I’ll happily defend The Specials to the ends of the earth. And just to keep it interesting, Richie Hawtin and the ORIGINAL Van Halen are also on the list…
for me, it’s tool.
they’re one of the few bands that i liked in high school that i still would go the distance for. sure, they’ve only put out one record since i’ve been in high school, but that doesn’t really matter, given how often i’m able to go back and revisit their catalogue and find something new.
i would say that my level of devotion is similar to moomintroll in that much of my musical tastes have been influenced by tool… although not everything i listen to can tie back as closely as one degree. especially in the past two years or so.
Manic Street Preachers. Smart rock and agitprop.
For me it’s the Clash. For I, too, am old. Sure they were a bit obvious compared to, say, Wire, and sure they were guilty of being just a little too sincere and politically naive, and sure they made some massive blunders. But god help me, the older I get, the more I keep circling back to them.
Also, I dunno if I would go distance for The Replacements - since they didn’t see fit to go the distance themselves - but I find it really difficult to take anyone’s musical taste very seriously if they don’t bow dow before their greatness.
Ditto on the Clash, and also the Beatles, for I am (probably) older. Also, the Pet Shop Boys and, as anyone who reads my comments hear knows, Liz Phair. I keep waiting for Somebody’s Miracle to turn into a good album, even though I know it’s never going to happen.
Bill Fay
The Wildhearts
Merle Haggard
Belle and Sebastian.
XTC. Better pop-hook writers and wordsmiths you will not find.
@chaircrusher:
XTC, but they lost me with “Nonesuch”
I agree, that’s really a low point for them. I thought they redeemed themselves to a degree with Apple Venus and Wasp Star, though - if you cherry-pick the best tracks off those two, it makes for one solid XTC album.
To your larger point, though:
It’s really difficult for an artist to sustain creatively at the highest level over more than a few years. Either they flame out, or they get careerist, or they end up working at Walmart like Mo Tucker.
I feel the same way - I find it hard to unequivocally defend any band that has lasted for a significant amount of time (i.e. a decade or more), because it’s inevitable that they will gone down some artistic dead-ends during their lifetime. (I dig The Fall, but you couldn’t pay me to listen to Levitate all the way through.)
@D.R. Mosby: Blasphemy! Levitate is fucking brilliant.
Trying to think if I have one now and I don’t, not even MBV.
Either Craig Finn or Girl Talk.
If you make fun of the Foo Fighters in my presence, I will claim temporary insanity when I’m put on trial for your brutal, seemingly senseless murder.
==TJ==
@revmatty: “The Holy Bible” is flawless.
Devo and The Clash.
HIM. I know a lot of people think they are melodramatic and overrated, but hearing one lame song on the radio does not negate over 10 years of amazing music.
Janet Jackson.
Jay-Z.
The White Stripes.
@moomintroll:
i am so right there with you. my friends love it, because they know they can rile me up so ridiculously easily just by saying something about how weak the great escape is or something like that.
actually, theres part of me that thinks, nay, knows, that damon albarn is kinda a prick, but the rest of me doesnt give two shits.
also, there are many bands i love more than them, but for some reason i really dont like people talking shit about the auteurs.
ooh, and xtc as well.
Faces.
I run into so many people who have no idea that Rod Stewart was at one time totally incredible.
For me, it’s absolutely Blue Rodeo. There are some other groups lingering in the background, too. I’ve got jetsetjunta’s back with Wings and the Eagles and I’ll go to bat with drjimmy11 for Billy Joel.
@Charlie Kerfelds Jetsons Tee: I agree, I stand up for Rod and everyone thinks I mean “Do You Think I’m Sexy” era. Rod the Mod is not well known.
This Heat, The Ramones, Jandek, Iron Maiden… so many sacred cows really
LCD Soundsystem. James Murphy hasn’t done anything critically panned yet, but when it happens, I will probably be on the front lines defending it.
Even though they’ve sucked for close to two decades now, I get agitated and close to violence when other people criticize the Pretenders. I won’t even learn their songs or sing them at karaoke, because the first two Pretenders albums are sacred and I refuse to debase the songs with my bad singing.
Basement Jaxx probably, The Roots maybe (not too keen on the last album, this might be a loyalty test).
Information Society.
and also MBV, Camera Obscura, B&S, Talulah Gosh, Anything Box.
@NoNewYork: If someone goes after The Great Escape you can always shut them up with The Universal. Thank God that’s on the album otherwise it would be difficult to stand up for.
I believe the correct answer is, “none, I’m not psychotic.” What’s my prize?
Superchunk. And I defend the Fiery Furnaces to my friends daily, so them too.
Thumbs up to whoever mentioned Information Society…
Also agree with New Order, including the “anything up to ‘Republic’ caveat. Beyond that, my personal sacred cows are most likely to be:
Wire - I actually discovered their 80s output first. Amazing how every album can sound completely different yet still completely brilliant.
Meat Beat Manifesto - discovered realtime video sampling and went all EBN for their live show, making them just about the best electronic show around this side of Daft Punk.
Kraftwerk -’Nuff said.
The Jesus & Mary Chain.
I realise they’ve been recycling the same three chords and four songs since day one; I recognise that their whole Stooges-do-Velvets-do-Motown schtick could have easily been concocted in a lab…
However, their entire output is beyond criticism.
The Smashing Pumpkins
Love - Arthur Lee may have been a real jerk at times, but there’s no denying “Forever Changes”.
R.E.M. I’ll even defend about half of Around the Sun.
Better Than Ezra. Kevin Griffin became a truly great songwriter around 1998; it’s too bad everybody had already written them off.
Electric Six. Amazing live.
@Reidicus: I like Republic
@moomintroll: That’s another band I like to defend, mostly to idiots who have only heard “Song 2″.
David Bowie - my first 45 was “Fame” I was four years old.
Duran Duran - still an 11 year old fangirl at heart.
REM - totally lost me after “Automatic” but everything pre “Green” - love. “Accelerate” is the best thing they have put out in years.
NIN - fangirl since I was seventeen - I’m 36 now. The current tour is amazing, seriously.
Rilo Kiley
@TheRunningboard7: anything progressive leads itself perfectly towards fanboyism.
So it has to be Dream Theater and Tori Amos. I even like The Beekeeper (though not THAT much).
I will defend Midnight Oil…forever.
New Order, and yes, I hated Republic when it came out, but as I’ve become older it’s grown on me and I thought the last 2 were pretty good.
I always try to spread the love of Kitchens of Distinction and the Trashcan Sinatras. They did/do no wrong.
I don’t have too many, though I have my share of relatively new bands and artists that I’m tired of hearing people go after — M.I.A., the Hold Steady, Justice — mostly because the backlash I’ve seen seems disproportionate to anything they’ve actually done. I’m more likely to be like this with genres and styles than individual bands (”disco sucks” and “more like (c)rap music” = man, fuck you).
Still, the closest I’ll ever get to feeling completely dumbstruck at someone not liking an artist without being able to write it off as an agree-to-disagree deal or “just, like, your opinion, man”? The first time I run across someone who really, legitimately dislikes P-Funk.
(I also kinda carry a torch for post-Syd, pre-Wall Pink Floyd, though if I got fight-to-the-death-angry at everyone who dismissed them on the internet I’d have to be strapped to a gurney. So I largely gave up on defending them.)