music these days

when i was younger, a LOT younger, my best friend and i used to love pretending we had our own radio show. we'd mock other djs on the radio and we'd record what we did. we'd play songs off 45s, tell jokes, do play-by-play of fake sporting events, make news flashes, whatever. it was a way jason and i spent a lot of time and we loved doing it. he kept some of those tapes and he even gave me a couple a while back.

i happened to watch a video on roadrunner records' website the other night. someone had commented about a particular band and said that "rock and roll was truly dead," apparently because they disliked the band's song and video. i know that everyone's entitled to their opinion and i'll keep it at that. i'll also say that it really does depend on what type of music you like and too many people are varied in their likes these days. diversified? is that a good term to use?

after jason and i got a little older and in to high school we both became heavily involved in our high school radio station, which is still in operation today.
he and i both did sports, had our own radio shows, did live remotes, got to do a little bit of everything. one thing we got to do was spin a lot of records to songs that we loved. there was some censorship to what we could play, however, but we managed to play some of our tastes.

jason had a huge 45 collection of a little bit of everything. i can remember seeing all those records and wishing they were mine but all i had to do was go to his house and play them and i forgot about wanting all of them for myself. i used to tape the radio on a little cassette recorder i had. when i was little i thought that every time a song was played on the radio that the band actually came to the studio to play it. i was amazed how it sounded the same each and every time they played.

casey kasem was doing "america's top 40." i listened to it religiously and got pissed when my songs didn't crack the list or didn't move up in the #1 spot. then it was rick dees who took over and began doing his version. i liked casey's "long distance dedications" the best. no, i never sent one in.

but having the chance to be on the radio for 5 years helped me listen to a variety of music. some i wanted to play, some i had to play. some i just chose not to. then after high school i went to college and found jazz. fusion jazz is what it's called. mind you, i still listened to rock and still had my dislikes, but i liked jazz. easy to listen to, great for studying to, and nice to fall asleep to. the likes of joe sample, the rippingtons, fourplay, earl klugh and george benson kept me mellowed out. the rippingtons was my first jazz concert. loved it! saw them at the roof ballroom downtown indy. they were fantastic back in 1991. took the wife and saw them again just about a month ago. they were STILL fantastic. a couple new faces but they sounded awesome. my head bopped, my feet tapped, and my hands clapped inceasently all night long through the 90 minutes show. it was fantastic!

in indiana we're lucky to have the slippery noodle, home of indiana's oldest bar, and of some of the area's best live blues. short older black man who could wail on the microphone, beebop like cab calloway, and have fun doing it while having the entire crown at the front small stage cheering like mad. his best song, to me, was "big fat woman." terrific performer who had fun packing the crowd in the noodle and enjoyed singing.

i remember my first rock concert at market square arena. got to see guns n' roses open up for aerosmith. that was when gnr just broke out as a small but up and coming band from lafayette, in. they blew steven tyler off the stage. pure rock with great booming guitar with those cat shriekingesque vocals to each and every song.

my brother told me one time when i first heard his "doors" 8-track that someday i'd learn to love the doors. didn't then and still don't today. just personal taste. now, a lot of what he liked back then i love now. rush, van halen, styx, some of the good older rock he and i grew up with. i still listen to a classic rock station here in town. i also listen to an alternative station that has some good rock on it (the "x"). i don't like all of it but i like a lot of it. it's good to see a lot of the bands i grew up with either still around or making comeback or reunion tours. they still sound great and sometimes better than before. it's too bad that some of them are no longer around or members have died off.

take boston for example. brad delp was a wonderful lead singer. great band, outstanding coordination in band playing, nice easy lyrics, and usually kick ass guitars in all the songs that made them one of the better bands in the 70s and 80s. i watched a couple of their videos on youtube the other night. they played like they were having fun, not just high or stoned or drunk. they looked like they enjoyed what they were doing when out on stage. a lot of bands from that era went through the motions just to make money.

youtube has come to be such a library of videos of all types; it's amazing what you can find. i watched videos from toto, styx, rick springfield, the outfield, ah ha (just happened to pop up, i swear!), the fixx, lynrd skynrd, van halen and van hagar, just to name a few. i usually spend an hour or so just watching videos of songs i grew up with. we didn't have mtv back then so i didn't get to see a lot of these videos. then i went to roadrunner records' site and watched black stone cherry in a couple videos. their lead singer is relation to the kentucky headhunters. good "southern rock" band.
good sound, great guitars, all from a band whose oldest member is 24 years old. they put out a new video for "soul creek," one of their songs off their folklore album. makes me want to play strip poker.

anyway, rock isn't dead. it's just changed. from linkin park's chester screaming at the top of his lungs to genesis' abacab to the who's "who are you?" new and old, take your pick and find what you like. youtube seemingly has all there is to view at your convenience.