catapult magazine

alright, the “what’s spinnin” topic wet my whistle, but let’s cut the crap and get to the good stuff.

top five albums.

the criteria is whatever you want it to be. i personally have been thinking about this for a couple of days now and have decided that my picks will try and walk that middle ground between personal enjoyment and craftsmanship.

#5: pink floyd “wish you were here”

“dark side..” is probably the better album, but this one is no cream puff. the flow is nice and it never fails to hit me where it counts. (fav. track: “shine on you crazy diamond” all parts)

#4: neil young “after the goldrush”

he whines, he rocks, he thinks about having a yard sale. all the bases are covered. neil shows us that he can jam out (“southern man”) and get pretty (“birds”) all in the context of great song writing. (fav. track: “don’t let it bring you down”)

#3: cream “wheels of fire”:

the “in studio” half of the album keeps it lively by going from the avante (“passing the time”) to the blues (“sitting on top of the world”) to the downright silly (“pressed rat and warthog”) while the “live” half is a blues rock improvisational manifesto. oh yeah, and if i did drugs i’m sure the album cover would be really far out too. (fav. track: studio “deserted cities of the heart” live “spoonful”)

#2: the band “the band”

music americana at it’s very best. made by canadians. it’s folk-rock-progressive-country music and is an album that seems perfect in it’s flaws. a very hard thing to accomplish and type. the genius is that i believe that’s exactly what they were going for. (fav. track: “jawbone”)

#1: led zeppelin “led zeppelin”

anyone who knows me knows that zeppelin had to be #1 and with good reason. on this particular album they do exactly what it is i look for in music. they took a familiar base (the blues) and proceeded to screw it up i their own beautiful way. i firmly believe that good artists create and great artists steal. not to mention the band is powerful and tight like a tiger. (fav. track: “how many more times”)

well, there it is. i applaude anyone who was able to read the entire thing, and would love to hear what you come up with for this top five jive.

well it looks like lopez has quieted down.

hopefully i hurt no one’s feelings.

no offense taken here eddie.

now if i was 14 yrs. old again and you had the gall to say anything remotely offensive or even un-solemn concerning led zeppelin i would have been shocked and upset.

i understand people have different opinions and i think that’s great. it’s what discussions like this are all about.

once again though, having the opening niceties out of the way i have to say that the comments of your last posting were frightningly incorrect and unfounded.

as long as rock music is popular in any sense of the word and as long as people are appreciating music that is created by a small group of men with instruments zeppelin will remain in peoples hearts and minds. not only zeppelin either, but several artists from my chosen era of obsession. hendrix being the next obvious choice.

why you may ask? how do i know? because as long as this classification of music remains current these artists will remain relevant.

proof of this can be heard just by listening to the alterna-crap stations of today whose daily playlist is a regular diet of creed, nickelback, and terrible pop-punk such as sum 41. even on these stations (a musical wasteland) you will still hear songs like “dazed and confused” and “foxey lady”. part of this is out of respect and paying tribute and probably a bit of guilt on the part of the program directors. mostly, however it can be acredited to these bands continued relavancy and ability to inspire a young audience.

just this past week zeppelin was #1 out of 100 in a VH1 “greatest rock bands of all time”. a list that was compiled through interviews with critics and musicians. billy corgan himself said it can never be done again as good as zeppelin did it.

well billy. i happen to agree.

so lopez. we meet again. interesting.

i am glad there is no offense taken. i was just hoping that the small comment would spur the response that you did give. right into my trap. excellent.

the thing is, i dont think that we are going to resolve this. we obviously have a diiference of opinion. hopefully we shall be on the *cino message board in 2038 and we can dig up these messages in the *cino archives and see that i am much more prophetic than yourself. i will bet bottom or top dollar that zep, who, cream, traffic etc. . . will be lost on the listeners of the futureyear. but hey, whatever.

i find it curious that you dont care for sum 41 though. the more i confer will you, the more i find your mind closed to anything outside of the woodstock era. while sum 41 may not be the most progressive band out there, they are fun, and you can’ty deny that their stuff has the sweet smell of ear candy. while i probably would never by their albums, one must admit, the stuff is pretty catchy. see, i am willing to let me “cool meter” slide a bit and admit that these bands do, infact, have at least a little merit. they write a catchy lick, riff, beat, whatever, and they should be given props for it.

pop punk is obviously hot right now. and it IS getting old, but as a musician i still can find it in a given song to pick the parts out that sould like something. i can listen to my zep albums, my who albums, and love it, but i can also listen to the local station and hear sum or blink and not change it. does that make me a bad person? i think not. travis from blink 182 happens to be an amazing drummer. so does vinnie colauita, so does bonzo.

anyway, we should think of tsomething else musical to discuss, because this is fun and enlightening all at the same time.

one more, you made an original comment regarding springsteen. did you watch the grammy’s (which by all accounts are generally lame and fixed) but they had a lot of performers this year and i tell you what — springsteen’s performance was not only stellar — but moving.

i think you’re right eddie. we should agree to disagree on this one. i do however think you have me all wrong when it comes to modern music.

my words were strong concerning modern music, but they should only be taken in the context of the fact that i was comparing it to my all-time favorite era of music.

i believe there is some really great musicians out there today. on the more mainstream side of things i really enjoy beck, the beastie boys (mostly for the funky stuff like “check your head”), and the chili peppers (again i love the funk).

also, however, there’s a whole burgeoning scene developing around bands like phish. this includes people like the north mississippi all-stars, the string cheese incident, and widespread panic. some of these bands are better than others, but they all put on great live shows and keep things interesting with a spirit of organic down-home, yet diverse, sounds and improvisation. another good band that will probably never make it big is called billy midnight. you should check out their website at www.billymidnight.com. if you go into their downloads section you can even download a live performance and interview they did on my college radio show. good good stuff.

probably the most exciting “new scene” that is not at all mainstrean, but i feel should be enjoyed by the masses (as opposed to bands like sum 41 and blink) is the funky, experimental, improvisational jazz scene that’s happening all over the place led by bands such as medeski, martin, and wood, robert walter’s 20th congress, and (the band that probably has the funkiest drummer alive right now stanton moore) galactic. this is music that not only gets your ass moving, but gets your mind working too.

there’s nothing wrong with listening to popular music today as long as you know that this other stuff is out there. if you know that something like a live robert walter concert exists in this world and you still choose to listen to this pop-punk alternative music and be impressed by mediocre rockers who’ve somehow achieved longevity like bruce springsteen then go right ahead. but i believe that you’re selling yourself short.

well, well, well. when i was told to check out this site i had no idea i would be checking out alt.drinks.kool-aid. i guess when life gives you lemons, you pick out the top five, maybe a couple of honorable mentions, and mix up some lemonade.

my original plan was to throw out 5 horrible albums and wait for the flames, but i’ve decided i might like to stick around a bit longer, so i won’t pick kind of blue just because everyone else does, and i won’t throw out mr. big’s classic “lean into it”

here goes.

miles davis “kind of blue”

there’s a reason many people put it in with the best of all time, and it’s because it’s that great. i first heard “blue in green” on an npr special about three years ago and bought the album that day. best improv album of all time

stevie wonder “songs in the key of live vol 1&2”

“sir duke” and “i wish” are two of my alltime fav songs. get me moving everytime. my wife and i put together cds to be played at our wedding reception, and we had to include “joy inside my tears” and “knocks me off my feet.” needless to say, those are sentimental favorites.

led zeppelin (first album)

if i get out of my car and my hands are bleeding, it’s because “dazed and confused” was on the radio. my dashboard hates that song. bonzo rules.

pink floyd “meddle”

norb and lopez threw out WYWH (my second pick) and DSOTM (third) so i’ll pick “meddle.” “echoes” is my personal fav floyd (shine on close second). fearless is great too. love the lyrics.

phish “junta”

if you know me i guess it was assumed that i would have phish somewhere, right? i don’t dissappoint. “YEM,”“david bowie,” and “divided sky” are almost as good in the studio as they are live.

here’s the fun part. honorable mentions.

galactic “crazyhorse mongoose” -thanks lopez. i owe you a few
neil young “after the goldrush”
moe. “no doy”
beatles “abbey road” and “white album”
grateful dead “workingman’s dead” and “american beauty”

okay, now my beef with lopez. general top fives are too tough to nail down, and you end up with 18 honorable mentions. how bout top five road trip albums, or top five albums that you can’t help the huge smile that spreads across you face evertime you pop it in. i’ll start.

top five before snowboarding (or whatever it is that YOU do that you need to be woken up and psyched up for)

parliament – “mothership connection”
- make MY funk the p-funk
galactic – “crazyhorse mongoose”
- turn bass knob quarter turn to right
moe. – “no doy”
beastie boys – “check your head”
-“hello nasty” and “ill communication” work too.
leftover salmon – “euphoria”

go well.
nips

Flippen Eh. Lopez, Nips, Norbert, Blisster. Shouts to ya. Never thought we’d meet up in cyberspace. Wierd.
Well I’m gonna “Type Loud” here for a moment.

hmmm top 5. I don’t have a top 5, I probably have a top 50. I agree with Nips. Ya need to specify what top 5.

But for the sake of this post here it goes.

1. Pink Floyd (Division Bell)
Because WYWH was taken. Dark Side is ok but I overdid it in College. Lopez you got me hooked in college man. Its all about the Floyd. Should check out my CD collection.

2. Tea Party (Which ever one is released at the time, except for Transmission which is bogus)
Big time Tea Party fan. Excellent mucisians incorporating Eastern sounds with heavy rock and a bit of balad. Awesome performers. Saw them at the Orpheum with the VSO. Amazing.

3. Smashing Pumpkins (Siamese Dream)
Cuz it brings back so many college memories.

4. Delerium (Poem)
This one of those albums that will probably be off the top 5 by the end of the day from overplaying it.

5. Dire Straits (Dire Straits)
Mark Knophler? Yeah Dude.

Oh and I’ve just recently discovered the joy of Bass. I picked it up a couple years after Grad. Have myself a 6 string Northwood Custom job. Loving it. And with that I have found a renewed love for Stu Hamm, Jaco Pastorius, and of course Less Claypool (Primas, which I got to see at OzzFest a few years back).

Oh and don’t mind the Username. I’m a total tech nerd, you know that. Hanging out with all you English and Theatre majors was cool but I have stay real to my techie side.

Xyrak (aka Dave) signing off.

no particular order (heck, you could throw the honorable mentions in there to):

Johnny Cash (Live at Folsom County Prison)

Fugazi (Repeater)

Pedro the Lion (It’s Hard to Find a Friend)

The Pixies (Doolittle)

The Smiths (Hatful of Hollow)

HM:
Eric B. and Rakim (Paid in Full)
PJ Harvey (Is this Desire?)
Minor Threat (Complete Discography)

Just to revive this controversy, I went to a Pearl Jam concert a few weeks ago, and it felt more like a Bruce Springsteen show than what I imagine Led Zeppelin would be like. Pearl Jam seems like a working-man’s band for the common man, not the innovators of sound and rhythm that Zeppelin was.

I just reread this this thread, which was great! Lopez claims the best rock happend between 1968 and 72. What are some of the best albums from that time that one might want to own?

You know what cracks me up about this discussion board? The fact that everyone pontificates to no end.

With that out of the way, I am sure that PJ sounded like a Springsteen concert. Yeah. Anyway, I think that there is more there than just a common man’s band. Oh well. If you arent the common man, grant, then what are you doing at the PJ concert anyway? Just curious. I figured we find you at a Radiohead concert opr something. Funny, for a common man, like myself, I enjoy radiohead as well. Am i allowed in your world?

PJ, Springsteen, U2, they are all chipping from the same stone, scribing passionately sung lyrics over intelligent, catchy riffs. I dont get the issue here really though. But after all, I am just common.