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Olive Branches to Jeff Carter, & Robert Wheeler


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Two of the first (pre-MTV era) rock videos I ever saw-- on a giant screen at a club in Greenwich Village in (?) 1981.

It was the weekend when I became one of the first U2 fans in America-- I had to study the end credits on the video screen to figure out the name of the great band performing, New Year's Day.

It was the heart of the punk rock era, but neither band had "street cred" with punk rockers.

1) They were too musically gifted, and 2) they weren't bona fide nihilists.

P.S. I bought a '78 solid body Guild S60-D electric guitar at a pawn shop in the early 80s, (which I still own) that looks like the guitar the Edge is playing here, except that mine has a rosewood finger board.  Does anyone know the identity of the instrument?

 

Edited by W. Niederhut
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3 hours ago, W. Niederhut said:

It was the heart of the punk rock era, but neither band had "street cred" with punk rockers.

1) They were too musically gifted, and 2) they weren't bona fide nihilists.

Naw, it wasn't like that.   U2 and The Police were too famous too fast. To us insufferably snobbish punk rockers their massive popularity made them declasse. They didn't grind it out for a couple of years playing punk rock shtholes before they hit the big time. 

They hadn't earned street cred because they never put in the time on the streets.  The whiney-vocals/chimey-guitar of U2 was annoying to my ears -- and I learned a long time ago never argue with an ear.

Joan Jett's "I Love Rocknroll" was massively popular but Joan never lost street cred.  She paid her dues in the Runaways and pulled off DIY promotion of her first album.

Here's 5 bands who had street cred in the early 80's even tho they weren't punk rock, they could play their instruments, and weren't total nihilists.

 

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5 hours ago, W. Niederhut said:

Two of the first (pre-MTV era) rock videos I ever saw-- on a giant screen at a club in Greenwich Village in (?) 1981.

It was the weekend when I became one of the first U2 fans in America-- I had to study the end credits on the video screen to figure out the name of the great band performing, New Year's Day.

It was the heart of the punk rock era, but neither band had "street cred" with punk rockers.

1) They were too musically gifted, and 2) they weren't bona fide nihilists.

P.S. I bought a '78 solid body Guild S60-D electric guitar at a pawn shop in the early 80s, (which I still own) that looks like the guitar the Edge is playing here, except that mine has a rosewood finger board.  Does anyone know the identity of the instrument?

 

Great videos. So nice to see U2 early on. Guitar solo about 3 minutes in is so good. 

Edited by Paul Brancato
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11 hours ago, Cliff Varnell said:

Naw, it wasn't like that.   U2 and The Police were too famous too fast. To us insufferably snobbish punk rockers their massive popularity made them declasse. They didn't grind it out for a couple of years playing punk rock shtholes before they hit the big time. 

They hadn't earned street cred because they never put in the time on the streets.  The whiney-vocals/chimey-guitar of U2 was annoying to my ears -- and I learned a long time ago never argue with an ear.

 

Cliff,

      De gustibus non est disputandum,  ("No dispute in matters of taste") but have you had your hearing checked?

      As a musician, I have always been greatly impressed by the song-writing and artistry of Sting, Bono, and the Edge.

      If I recall correctly, Rolling Stone called U2 "the band of the 80s."

      As for the Police, they were a bona fide "super group," IMO -- three very talented musicians.

      I don't know a lot about their origins, but I know that the Police performed at the Rat in Kenmore Square before they went platinum.  Unfortunately, I didn't see that show.

     FWIW, here's a Wiki paragraph on the subject of the Police and London's punk rock scene.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Police

The Police's power trio line-up of Copeland, Sting, and Summers performed for the first time on 18 August 1977 at Rebecca's club in Birmingham in the West Midlands.[20] A trio was unusual for the time, and this line-up endured for the rest of the band's history. Few punk bands were three-pieces, while contemporary bands pursuing progressive rock, symphonic rock and other sound trends usually expanded their line-ups with support players.[21] The musical background of all three players may have made them suspect to punk purists, with music critic Christopher Gable stating,

"The truth is that the band merely utilized the trappings of 1970s British punk: the bleached blond short hair, Sting in his jumpsuits or army jackets, Copeland and his near maniacal drumming style. In fact, they were criticized by other punk bands for not being authentic and lacking 'street cred'. What the Police did perhaps take from punk was a brand of nervous, energetic disillusion with 1970s Britain."[22]

The band were also able to draw on influences from reggae to jazz to progressive and pub rock.[22] While still maintaining the main band and attempting to win over punk audiences, Police members continued to moonlight within the art rock scene. In late 1977 and early 1978, Sting and Summers recorded and performed as part of an ensemble led by German experimental composer Eberhard Schoener; Copeland also joined for a time. These performances resulted in three albums, each of them an eclectic mix of rock, electronica and jazz.[23] Various appearances by the Schoener outfit on German television made the German public aware of Sting's unusual high-pitched voice, and helped pave the way for the Police's later popularity.

 

 

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1 hour ago, W. Niederhut said:

Cliff,

      De gustibus non est disputandum,  ("No dispute in matters of taste") but have you had your hearing checked?

I don’t like whiney vocals.  That’s just me.  Not crazy about REM either.

Adam of the Beastie Boys gets away with whiney, but he’s about it, in my book.

Quote

      As a musician, I have always been greatly impressed by the song-writing and artistry of Sting, Bono, and the Edge.

      If I recall correctly, Rolling Stone called U2 "the band of the 80s."

A lot of bands adopted the whiney-vocals/chimey-guitar sound of U2 in the 80’s.  More power to ‘em, just not my thang.

Nowadays it’s auto-tune on vocals that makes my skin crawl.  Again with that whiney pitch. 

The kids dig it, so it goes.

Quote

      As for the Police, they were a bona fide "super group," IMO -- three very talented musicians.

I never argue with anyone’s ear.  That’s why I think music criticism is the lowest form of human communication.  Musical appreciation is such a subjective experience it defies objective evaluation, in my book.

 

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2 hours ago, Cliff Varnell said:

Here’s a new category — songs you like by bands you otherwise don’t like.

 

Cliff,

      This is a tough one.  I'll go with Iggy Pop's dissonant theme song to Repo Man, which I kind of like.  I've never really liked Iggy Pop's stuff, but he co-wrote China Girl with David Bowie, and I like David Bowie's version of that song.

 

 

Edited by W. Niederhut
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1 hour ago, W. Niederhut said:

Cliff,

      This is a tough one.  I'll go with Iggy Pop's dissonant theme song to Repo Man, which I kind of like.  I've never really liked Iggy Pop's stuff, but he co-wrote China Girl with David Bowie, and I like David Bowie's version of that song.

 

 

See if these Iggy songs do anything for you...

 

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