New Rock Classics -It's time to reassess the term

johnfoyle · Post by **johnfoyle** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 8:07 am

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f ... H8L8V1.DTL

San Francisco Chronicle

The New Rock Classics

- Steve Sande

Sunday, February 19, 2006

It's time to reassess the term "classic rock."

While music scribes and the Bay Area faithful continue to preach the golden-era gospel of monolithic super bands from the '60s, the alternative music congregation believes Kraftwerk, Talking Heads and Joy Division to be more influential than the Beatles, the Stones and the Dead. These alt-rockers know their music has been underappreciated, while all of the references to the Stones printed in The Chronicle over the past 40 years probably exceed the number of times the word "God" is used in the Bible.

Through casual interviews with music fans, I've compiled a list of 20 "new classic" albums, in chronological order of release. I'm sure I'm including albums many readers have never heard, or have dismissed as New Wave junk. I'm sure I've left many great records off the list. Send me your recommendations and we'll print the best of them.

David Bowie, "Station to Station" (1976) The Thin White Duke is almost too popular to include, but this influential album serves as a lead-in to more obscure fare. Ethereal vocals, experimental fortes and irresistible hits like "TVC 15" and "Golden Years" make this buried gem Bowie's finest.

Kraftwerk, "Trans-Europe Express" (1977) "TEE" finds the Dusseldorf quartet at its funkiest and finest. The opening track, "Europe Endless," is pure beauty, outdoing even the mighty Pink Floyd with lilting synths and bending soundscapes. The title track chugs along with a groove predating hip-hop. When Afrika Bambaataa sampled it in 1982 for his single "Planet Rock," the fusion of German beats and urban American rhythms would become a major influence on future genres such as electro-funk, techno and house.

Brian Eno, "Before and After Science" (1977) Master producer Eno could write and sing music with a gentleness and sly humor all his own. "King's Lead Hat" rocks with a pre-punk sort of goofiness, while "Spider and I" transports the listener to the moon. Moby must have soaked this one up as an acid-free, vegan tot.

Kate Bush, "The Kick Inside" (1978) Toss your copy of "Jagged Little Pill" and pick up this landmark debut. Bush's voice is a remarkable instrument -- strange, childlike, fierce and supremely passionate. Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan acknowledge Bush as the godmother of contemporary female rock singer-songwriters. She is unique, talented and underappreciated.

Warren Zevon, "Excitable Boy" (1978) From the opening bars of "Johnny Strikes Up the Band," it was easy to see that this album was going to be a winner. If you don't get Zevon's literate humor, heartfelt sentiment and subversive political bent, you are missing something special.

Joy Division, "Unknown Pleasures" (1979) Creep inside the skin of tortured young artist Ian Curtis at your own risk. Musically, it's harrowing, anarchistic and prophetic (Curtis hanged himself shortly after its release), yet there are upbeat numbers made up of minimalist industrial beats that are full of hooks.

Graham Parker, "Squeezing Out Sparks" (1979) Back when Elvis Costello was a punk impostor dreaming of scoring symphonies with the Kronos Quartet, pub-rocker Parker laid the groundwork for English soul and master songwriting. Van Morrison might sell out $200-a-seat theaters while Parker plays to 40 diehards at Cafe Du Nord for $15 a head, but who cares if he never really made it? Every serious music lover should own at least three Parker albums, starting with this one. It's straight-up rock 'n' roll from a guy Bruce Springsteen once called one of his favorite musicians.

Talking Heads, "Remain in Light" (1980) Who would have thought a couple of white art students from the Rhode Island School of Design could harness the soul of primal Africa years before Paul Simon ever set foot there? One never tires of the layered polyrhythms, wry guitar licks (from Adrian Belew) and the nervous, sweaty, panicked vocals of David Byrne.

Peter Gabriel, "Peter Gabriel III" (1980) Sometimes called "Melt," because the cover art showed Gabriel's face melting away, this album begins with the paranoid and downright scary "Intruder" and ends with the timeless "Biko." Gabriel's first four albums are all winners, so we excuse him for "Sledgehammer."

The English Beat, "I Just Can't Stop It" (1980) The quintessential ska album of its time, "Stop It" rocks and pogos with tracks like "Mirror in the Bathroom" and "Two Swords." Play this at your next house party if you want folks to let loose and dance.

Echo and the Bunnymen, "Heaven Up Here" (1981) Ian McCulloch and the boys have made some fantastic music over the past 25 years or so, and they're still at it. "Heaven" is the perfect Bunnymen record: dark, brooding, intermittently melodic and always hard rocking.

Simple Minds, "New Gold Dream" (1982) U2 has gone miles further, but when they both first came out in the early '80s, these bands were equals. Thick bass lines permeate the underbelly of this album, and Jim Kerr's understated Scottish wail saturates each outstanding track.

ABC, "The Lexicon of Love" (1982) Don't confuse this with garbage like Howard Jones or A-Ha. Martin Fry concocted a mix of showmanship, Roxy Music rip-off and brilliant songwriting that adds up to a bona fide classic. "All of My Heart" easily stands as one of the greatest love songs of the past three decades.

The The, "Soul Mining" (1983) Matt Johnson's masterpiece contains the best rock song of the 1980s, "Uncertain Smile." It's a stormer, with clever lyrics, nifty instrumentation and an undeniable hook. This entire album is introspective, frank, cynical and listenable.

U2, "The Unforgettable Fire" (1984) Brian Eno brought out the best in the young Irish rockers. His slick production on "Pride (in the Name of Love)" and the title track paved the way for the band's ascension to the ranks of rock icons. "Bad" remains a genuine emotional onslaught.

The Smiths, "Hatful of Hollow" (1984) Stephen Morrissey and Johnny Marr were a formidable team in the early '80s. This album is one hit after another. While every song may seem simple and similar on the surface, on close listening, depth prevails both musically and lyrically. "How Soon Is Now?" is the standout among many.

Prince, "Around the World in a Day" (1985) Better than "Sgt. Pepper's," this paisley palette is rich with hits ("Raspberry Beret," "Pop Life"), psychedelia ("Paisley Park" and the title track) and deft political statement ("America").

XTC, "Skylarking" (1986) Todd Rundgren brought out the psychedelic bent in this cultured English rock quartet. The band contributed a wealth of quality music to the rock genre, hitting its peak with this concept album.

The Cure, "Disintegration" (1989) OK, so the band sold "Pictures of You" to Kodak for a cheesy TV commercial. Robert Smith has been creating some of the most unique, honest, soul-bearing, rip-your-heart-out rock for more than 30 years. "Disintegration" has got it all.

Rain Tree Crow, "Rain Tree Crow" (1992) Respected, introspective solo artist David Sylvian reunited with his Japan band mates to create the perfect album to cap off the '80s. Backbeat rhythms urge the body to sway in slow time, while Sylvian's haunting vocals and ambiguous lyrics tantalize the mind.

E-mail Steve Sande at ssande@sfchronicle.com.

alexv · Post by **alexv** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 12:42 pm

Dear Steve, your list raises some interesting questions. I was wondering if you would be so kind as to address the following:

(1) Why is Station to Station "influential"?

(2) How does Kraftwer's groove "predate hip-hop"?

(3) Can you elaborate on Eno's "pre-punk sort of goofiness"?

(4) Zevon's "literate humor, heartfelt sentiment (?) and subversive political bent"? Can you provide examples?

(5) How is Unknown Pleasures "harrowing, anrchistic and prophetic"? What does "full of hooks" mean?

(6) I like GP, but please explain how this talented musician "laid the groundwork for English soul and master songwriting." Also, please tell me what you mean by "straight-up rock 'n' roll".

(7) What do you view as the "soul of primal Africa"? Ever been there? Did you check to see whether "wry guitar licks" had ever been used, and what about the reference to Byrnes' "nervous, sweaty, panicked vocals"? Ever heard that one before?

(8) How is Intruder "paranoid and scary"; why is Biko "timeless"; what makes Gabriel's first four albums "winners"?

(9) Why is "I Just Can't Stop It" the "quintessential" ska album of its time? How does a ska record "pogo"?

(10) What is Heaven Up Here up to when it's not being "intermittently melodic", other than being "hard rocking" of course?

(11) Re Simple Minds: If "thick bass lines permeate the underbelly of an album", do they damage it or make it better? When "Scottish wails saturate a track", do they damage it or make it better?

(12) All of My Heart is "one" of the GREATEST (my emphasis) love songs of the past THREE (ditto) decades, you say. There are those among us who remain unconvinced, please elaborate.

(13) The The produced the BEST ROCK SONG (my emphasis) of the 1980s? . There are those among us who remain unconvinced, please elaborate. Tell me, for example, about its "undeniable hook", and its "nifty" instrumentation.

(14) Is Eno's "slick production" good? What is a "genuine emotional onslaught"?

(15) On Hatful of Hollow, how does every song manage to be seemingly "simple and similar" but at the same time contain musical and lyrical "depth"?

(16) Please elaborate on how Around the World in a Day is "better" than "Sgt. Pepper's". There are those among us who remain unconvinced.

(17) On Skylarking, how has XTC "contributed a wealth of quality music to the rock genre"? A number of us agree, but we would like to hear your reasoning.

(18) On the Cure, how has Robert Smith created "some of the most unique, honest, soul-bearing, rip-your-heart rock"? There are some among us who remain unconvinced, please elaborate. I see you think Disintegration "has got it all". What is "all"?

(19) I have no clue who or what Rain Tree Crow is or are, but I take your views under advisement.

Mr. Average · Post by **Mr. Average** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 4:26 pm

ot sure of the credibility of the author or the org he represents, but I can say that this list, more than most, is reflected in my record collection in it's entirety sans:

The The "Soul Mining"
ABC "The Lexicon of Love"
Rain Tree Crow at least I am aware of the other two and appreciate their significance...)

Tim(e) · Post by **Tim(e)** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 5:41 pm

I think it really is an excellent list. I particularly like the fact that he has seen the ABC album "Lexicon of Love" for what it really was... something far more than just another New Romantic pile of poo.

I hadn't heard of Rain Tree Crow either, but if it is a David Sylvian project then I am looking for this one post haste!! He is one of my all-time favourite artists... all the way back to when Japan first appeared on the scene with their rather odd version of "Don't Let it Rain on My Parade".

I might have opted for English Settlement ahead of Skylarking and would like to have seen the Stranglers album "Live X-Cert" included... but hey, you can't have everything.

alexv · Post by **alexv** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 11:29 pm

I have no particular quarrel with the list itself, though I would not put ABC, The The, The Cure, or the English Beat on a list of classic rock records, but that's just me, and tastes differ.

My objection is to the hackneyed nature of the writing. Every one of his assessments is full of lazy, overused, trite cliches and unexplained conclusions, some of which are howlers, such as arguing that Prince's record is better than Pepper, arguing that The The wrote the best song of the 80s, or arguing that ABC wrote one of the best love songs of the past THREE decades. Claims such as these call out for explanations. He jsut seems to assume that we all obviously concur. His writing exemplifies, for me, how awful much of rock criticism is these days.

noiseradio · Post by **noiseradio** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 2:41 am

I think that list is spot on, at least in terms of titles. All of those are really important records. Whether the author's commentary on each is up to par is another matter.

alexv · Post by **alexv** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 12:02 pm

Exactly, Noise. The shoddy commentary by the author was the matter that I was addressing, not the content of the list.

Having a Prince record on a "classics" list is fine by me; casually noting that the record is better than Pepper, is a problem. Listing an ABC record on a classics list is acceptable to me (although I would not put an ABC record on such a list, but that's just me, I can see where others might hold a different view); casually noting that an ABC song is one of the best love songs of the last THREE DECADES is the kind of comment that calls for explanation. Saying that The The wrote the best song of the 80s is something that calls for further elaboration.

Every one of his assessments, even when assessing great records, is chuck full of cliches and lazy writing. My post was an effort to point as many as I could, just because I hate lazy writing.

Post by **BlueChair** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 12:34 pm

David Bowie's Station to Station is a great album, but at thirty years old is not exactly something I'd call a modern classic. I think Bowie is already pretty much regarded as 'classic rock', and many songs from 1976 are Classic Rock radio staples.. like "More Than A Feeling" by Boston and "American Girl" by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

noiseradio · Post by **noiseradio** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 1:33 pm

Alexv, I agreed then and now.

Blue,

I think Station to Station is one of the most underappreciated gems in the Bowie catalogue, and considering the sounds of New Wave to follow, I think it qualifies as a classic. BUT, I also think he did better work to follow--Low, Heroes and Scary Monsters at least. (Lodger is good, but STS is better).

Post by **BlueChair** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 1:45 pm

noiseradio wrote:Alexv, I agreed then and now.

Blue,

I think Station to Station is one of the most underappreciated gems in the Bowie catalogue, and considering the sounds of New Wave to follow, I think it qualifies as a classic. BUT, I also think he did better work to follow--Low, Heroes and Scary Monsters at least. (Lodger is good, but STS is better).

Sorry if you misunderstood me - Station to Station is a total classic, I just don't consider it a modern classic. To me, we should really only look at post-1980 releases when talking about "modern" classics, though I agree that it's ahead of its time.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 2:30 pm

alexv wrote:His writing exemplifies, for me, how awful much of rock criticism is these days.

You can't expect thorough analysis from a newspaper writer. He's obviously giving quick opinionated impressions, I don't think it's pretending to be an authoritative piece that people should ponder for very long.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 6:11 pm

I agree. Some of the writing is hackneyed for sure, but not all the things you pick on, and as a piece of list journalism, with a justifiably original raison d'etre, it's expected that it will be full of subjective opinion that there isn't space to qualify. Good list.

Tim(e) · Post by **Tim(e)** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 7:04 pm

One thing that seems to have been overlooked while making all of these criticisms regarding the author's comments is the following line:

"Through casual interviews with music fans, I've compiled a list of 20 "new classic" albums, in chronological order of release. "

I would say that the commentary is just a distillation of those interviews and not necessarily the author's personal views.

Mike Boom · Post by **Mike Boom** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 10:56 pm

some "new" classics

Marquee Moon - Television
Loveless - My Bloody Valentine
Crooked Rain Crooked Rain - Pavement
Tim - The Replacements
Bandwagonesque - Teenage Fanclub

alexv · Post by **alexv** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 12:39 pm

Tim(e), you may be on to something there. I did not focus on that paragraph (shoddy reading on my part, my bad). If all he did was print the material sent to him by fans in the Bay Area, then it's only the fans in the Bay Area who have a way with music cliches and gargantuan generalizations. The fact that the writer chose, if that's what he in fact did, to put their stuff in verbatim, without comment, puts him in the same category, but he still has the defense that it's not his writing. Point noted.

Otis, it's not the subjective opinions that bother me. My post pretty much details what does bother me, which is something else entirely. But as you can see in my response to Tim(e), it may all just be caused by his putting down verbatim the mutterings of hysterical fans.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 1:49 am

alexv wrote:shoddy reading on my part, my bad

Can you read at all? Tim(e) suggested it was probably a distillation of their views, not that they were quoted verbatim or that the author didn't write it.... No-one said the subjective opinions bothered you (though clearly they did/do), Otis said you'd expect they wouldn't be qualified.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 10:27 am

I mean, fer fuck's sakes, get off yer high horse. Your own writing ain't that good.

If you've got THAT much of a problem with the dude, email him.... -- "E-mail Steve Sande at ssande@sfchronicle.com.".... instead of makin' us read all your confused shite! Who're ya trying to impress, anyways?

alexv · Post by **alexv** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 2:28 pm

Bamboo, this is a public forum. We register and then participate at our discretion. I'm not required to read what you post, and you are not required to read what I post. If you don't like my posts, don't read them. I suggest that when you see my alexv appear on the screen you save yourself the trouble of checking out what I say. Just skip it. My feelings won't be hurt, believe me.

Mr. Average · Post by **Mr. Average** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 3:14 pm

Here here!

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 1:14 pm

That's ridiculous. I might need to read what you write to follow a discussion.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 6:04 am

An' shut up, Mr. Average, you're always such a crawler...

Mr. Average · Post by **Mr. Average** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 3:28 pm

What is the meaning of "crawler" used in this context?

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 3:53 pm

Mr. Average wrote:What is the meaning of "crawler" used in this context?

A sycophant.

Mr. Average · Post by **Mr. Average** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 5:11 pm

Okay. Unfortunately my "flattery" or well-wishing is genuine, so I think it may behoove you to beter understand the meaning of the term.

If I have a history of capitulating and deferring to others opinions to gain thier respect or admiration, that is news to me, and probably to most others here.

Try a dictionary, Boo. There are better, and even more bitter words that may properly describe me, but you selected the wrong one.

I'll wait....

Mr. Scapegoat

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 4:12 am

I understand the meaning of the term just fine-- one who seeks favour by flattering people. Alexv was desperately trying to camouflage his phoniness on this thread, just what else he was trying to achieve with his phony, condescending paternal wisdom complete with dumb suggestions was anyone's guess, but you threw yourself in like an overzealous cheerleader in support. Only a crawler would do that.