Alan Cross: Great Moments in New Rock History #30-21
Ah, it's so good to write it up here online as it happens. :D
30. May 15, 1980: Johnny Rotten (formerly of the Sex Pistols) was now going by his real name of Johnny Lydon. He formed a group called Public Image Limited, but the group was soon involved in internal squabbles / drug abuse / money problems. There was an offer of a gig that paid them about $2500 for two nights, but the band was in no shape to play any gigs: their sixth bass guitarist had just left, and they had no drummers. They hired a 65-year-old jazz drummer from a Broadway shop, but that wasn't enough. The band would just pantomime while backlighted by a curtain.. however, the 15,000 people weren't amused when they found out that the band wouldn't be playing, so they threw garbage at the band. The gig at the Ritz in New York was killed after only 25 minutes.
29. July 1, 1997: the release of Radiohead's OK Computer. The band was expected to release a good album, but nobody expected it to be quite like this. It was anthemic, and had extremely good music. Critics and fans everywhere loved it, and it won all kinds of awards.
28. R.E.M. began their career as a no-name band from the Deep South. They released their first albums on indie records. Eventually, they gathered a mainstream following.. I.R.S. Records couldn't guarantee the distribution and marketing that a major label could. The band had to make the jump to Warner Brothers Records; their $6 million check helped them a lot. (they wouldn't have to tour and record all the time.. a college indie band making the jump to the big-time, as it were) Their first album for Warner Brothers was called Green, funnily enough. It was a very important album because it showed that a college indie band could make it on the major label scene, and still retain complete creative control over their work.
27. The coolest group of them all was Sonic Youth.. Daydream Nation topped all kinds of polls in 1988. Sonic Youth was proving harder to get than R.E.M. was.. at Geffen Records, a new subsidiary was created called DGC. Sonic Youth was in financial trouble, and DGC guaranteed them complete creative control and financial security. Among other bands, Nirvana was swayed by Sonic Youth's signing with DGC: the thinking was that if Sonic Youth could do it and not get burned in the process, so could they. We all know what the effect of that particular signing was. :D
26. David Bowie and Iggy Pop were in rough shape living in L.A. They were a couple of drug buddies, strung out on heroin, coke, and other illegal substances. In late May 1976, they went to a West Berlin apartment to recharge and hang out with the weirdos around there. They began to get clean, and write albums. David Bowie wrote three albums (all produced by the innovative Brian Eno) which helped get his career back on track. The third of these albums was Heroes, and the title track was reportedly inspired by his seeing two strangers sneaking a kiss below his window. Iggy Pop also released Idiot and Lust for Life, and it was definitely a very insane creative time.
25. Dec. 14, 1979: The Clash started to get into reggae, disco, and other types of music. They realized that punk was on its way out, and were also dissatisfied with their record label. Since they had so much energy and new ideas, they recorded their double album London Calling in a very short time. It was definitely very influential.. the color scheme (black-and-white picture, green-and-pink lettering) was a tribute to an old Elvis Presley record. The shot of Paul Simenon smashing his bass was taken at exactly 10:50 PM on a certain day: we know this because he also broke his watch whilst smashing his instrument.
24. May 27, 1990: The Stone Roses played a triumphant gig at Spike Island on Mersey Island near Liverpool. Spike Island was a toxic dump, and there were all sorts of chemicals in the air. There were 30,000 ecstasy-filled people in the crowd to see an indie band: Noel Gallagher (then an unknown) defined it as a cultural watershed, albeit one with a great vibe and lousy sound.
23. June 30, 2000: The Roskilde festival was in full swing; it had been inspired by Woodstock, and had played since 1971. Pearl Jam played a song called MFC from the Yield album, and the crowd was rushing toward the stage.. even the band's customized barriers couldn't do anything. Eddie Vedder pleaded with everyone to just stop, but to no avail. Nine people died in the ensuing crush of fans, and the rest of the festival was cancelled. Pearl Jam cooperated with the Danish authorities and were eventually exonerated. After this, the guilt started to weigh heavily on the band.. they even contemplated quitting, but didn't.
22. Malcolm McLaren was the failed manager of the New York Dolls, and the proprietor of a shop called Sex. The shop became a hangout for the gangsters, and one day Bernie Rhodes noticed a kid with green teeth and weird hair. Johnny Rotten was wearing a shirt that proclaimed "I Hate Pink Floyd," and Bernie told him to come by the shop later on that evening. Accordingly, he auditioned for a band that McLaren thought could be a living advertisement for his store. (the Sex Pistols) He recognized Alice Cooper's I'm Eighteen, and tried his best to sing and dance along to it. There was no band per se, but he got the job. What would have happened if Johnny hadn't been wearing that shirt that day? Punk rock might not have been where it is today.
21. The introduction of the CD: in 1969, a Dutch physicist thought about converting sound into binary bits. In 1970, he and a colleague at Phillips thought about making a disc of polychromate instead of glass. The standards were pretty much set by 1979, and the first CDs came out in 1982: the maximum length of any single CD was 75 minutes, it should be 120 mm long in diameter, and the sound should be recorded with a laser on the disc.
By the end of the decade, vinyl records and cassette tapes were pretty much on the way out. The introduction of the CD proved to revitalize the music industry, which was in a bit of a slump after the end of disco music.
30. May 15, 1980: Johnny Rotten (formerly of the Sex Pistols) was now going by his real name of Johnny Lydon. He formed a group called Public Image Limited, but the group was soon involved in internal squabbles / drug abuse / money problems. There was an offer of a gig that paid them about $2500 for two nights, but the band was in no shape to play any gigs: their sixth bass guitarist had just left, and they had no drummers. They hired a 65-year-old jazz drummer from a Broadway shop, but that wasn't enough. The band would just pantomime while backlighted by a curtain.. however, the 15,000 people weren't amused when they found out that the band wouldn't be playing, so they threw garbage at the band. The gig at the Ritz in New York was killed after only 25 minutes.
29. July 1, 1997: the release of Radiohead's OK Computer. The band was expected to release a good album, but nobody expected it to be quite like this. It was anthemic, and had extremely good music. Critics and fans everywhere loved it, and it won all kinds of awards.
28. R.E.M. began their career as a no-name band from the Deep South. They released their first albums on indie records. Eventually, they gathered a mainstream following.. I.R.S. Records couldn't guarantee the distribution and marketing that a major label could. The band had to make the jump to Warner Brothers Records; their $6 million check helped them a lot. (they wouldn't have to tour and record all the time.. a college indie band making the jump to the big-time, as it were) Their first album for Warner Brothers was called Green, funnily enough. It was a very important album because it showed that a college indie band could make it on the major label scene, and still retain complete creative control over their work.
27. The coolest group of them all was Sonic Youth.. Daydream Nation topped all kinds of polls in 1988. Sonic Youth was proving harder to get than R.E.M. was.. at Geffen Records, a new subsidiary was created called DGC. Sonic Youth was in financial trouble, and DGC guaranteed them complete creative control and financial security. Among other bands, Nirvana was swayed by Sonic Youth's signing with DGC: the thinking was that if Sonic Youth could do it and not get burned in the process, so could they. We all know what the effect of that particular signing was. :D
26. David Bowie and Iggy Pop were in rough shape living in L.A. They were a couple of drug buddies, strung out on heroin, coke, and other illegal substances. In late May 1976, they went to a West Berlin apartment to recharge and hang out with the weirdos around there. They began to get clean, and write albums. David Bowie wrote three albums (all produced by the innovative Brian Eno) which helped get his career back on track. The third of these albums was Heroes, and the title track was reportedly inspired by his seeing two strangers sneaking a kiss below his window. Iggy Pop also released Idiot and Lust for Life, and it was definitely a very insane creative time.
25. Dec. 14, 1979: The Clash started to get into reggae, disco, and other types of music. They realized that punk was on its way out, and were also dissatisfied with their record label. Since they had so much energy and new ideas, they recorded their double album London Calling in a very short time. It was definitely very influential.. the color scheme (black-and-white picture, green-and-pink lettering) was a tribute to an old Elvis Presley record. The shot of Paul Simenon smashing his bass was taken at exactly 10:50 PM on a certain day: we know this because he also broke his watch whilst smashing his instrument.
24. May 27, 1990: The Stone Roses played a triumphant gig at Spike Island on Mersey Island near Liverpool. Spike Island was a toxic dump, and there were all sorts of chemicals in the air. There were 30,000 ecstasy-filled people in the crowd to see an indie band: Noel Gallagher (then an unknown) defined it as a cultural watershed, albeit one with a great vibe and lousy sound.
23. June 30, 2000: The Roskilde festival was in full swing; it had been inspired by Woodstock, and had played since 1971. Pearl Jam played a song called MFC from the Yield album, and the crowd was rushing toward the stage.. even the band's customized barriers couldn't do anything. Eddie Vedder pleaded with everyone to just stop, but to no avail. Nine people died in the ensuing crush of fans, and the rest of the festival was cancelled. Pearl Jam cooperated with the Danish authorities and were eventually exonerated. After this, the guilt started to weigh heavily on the band.. they even contemplated quitting, but didn't.
22. Malcolm McLaren was the failed manager of the New York Dolls, and the proprietor of a shop called Sex. The shop became a hangout for the gangsters, and one day Bernie Rhodes noticed a kid with green teeth and weird hair. Johnny Rotten was wearing a shirt that proclaimed "I Hate Pink Floyd," and Bernie told him to come by the shop later on that evening. Accordingly, he auditioned for a band that McLaren thought could be a living advertisement for his store. (the Sex Pistols) He recognized Alice Cooper's I'm Eighteen, and tried his best to sing and dance along to it. There was no band per se, but he got the job. What would have happened if Johnny hadn't been wearing that shirt that day? Punk rock might not have been where it is today.
21. The introduction of the CD: in 1969, a Dutch physicist thought about converting sound into binary bits. In 1970, he and a colleague at Phillips thought about making a disc of polychromate instead of glass. The standards were pretty much set by 1979, and the first CDs came out in 1982: the maximum length of any single CD was 75 minutes, it should be 120 mm long in diameter, and the sound should be recorded with a laser on the disc.
By the end of the decade, vinyl records and cassette tapes were pretty much on the way out. The introduction of the CD proved to revitalize the music industry, which was in a bit of a slump after the end of disco music.
Labels: 1997, 2000, alan cross, alice, brian, computer, death, drugs, eddie, history, johnny, lists, money, music, news, paul, sex
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