Rocktober Alphabet: Y is for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Indie rock power trio the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are a rockable, danceable mix of rough cut lyrics, great guitar work, and enough attitude to shake up every indie shoegazer who ever tried to pull a Ben Gibbard into an open-mike night PA.
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Rocktober Alphabet: X is for the X-Ray Spex

The X Ray Spex, classic and influential late 70′s punk rockers, came to light again this year. After the death of talented lead singer Poly Styrene in April, people have been rediscovering the group’s music, especially their best (really only) album, Germ Free Adolescents.

Harsh, grating, charismatic, inventive, the group’s dynamic presence shaped punk in its formative days. And they still sound really, really good. 

(photo credit)

Rocktober Alphabet: V is for Eddie Vedder

Eddie Vedder, frontman of Pearl Jam, is the quintessential alt-rock frontman. Angry, intense, loud, with a narrative, confessional style, Vedder helped propel alt-grunge into the mainstream of 90's music.

Outspoken, brash, human, difficult, Vedder is talented, opinionated, and raw.
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Rocktober Alphabet: U is for U2

I will follow…

The boys from Dublin have rocked better, for far longer than any other band in history. But it's not their longevity or prolific, quality output that earn them a spot in Paul's Rocktober Alphabet.

They stand out for the depth of their lyrics, the pounding, huge sound, the breadth and height of what rock music can be. Dynamic, intimate, poetic, angry. U2 rocks with more than  rebellion, more than raw sexual energy. Rather, they speak the truth about humanity's beauty and brokenness, with honesty, dignity, and hope. Read more »

Rocktober Alphabet: T is For Townshend

Who?

Pete Townshend. Though blessed and cursed to live in the age of the Great Guitar Gods (Page, Hendrix, Clapton, Beck), Pete Townshend never felt himself the searing lead guitarist that a late sixties rock band demanded. His technique and "upward" lead abilities simply could not compete.

So he created his own kind of music. Read more »

Rocktober Alphabet: S is for Patti Smith.

Gritty godmother of punk, people still don’t know what to do with Patti Smith. She’s rough, artistic, sacred and profane.

Her sheer poetic force, lyrical originality, and dark charisma hypnotize me.

You need to be in the right mood for her albums, I’ll admit it.
But there will never be anyone like Patti Smith.

Start with Horses.

Rocktober Alphabet: Q is for Queen

Off with your head.

I don't even know where to start.  The monumental creativity and musical experimentation of Queen is difficult to capture in an Encyclopedia article, let alone a blogpost snapshot.

The tongue in cheek prog-rock, formidable technical abilities, and rabid imaginations of Freddie Mercury and Brian May drove Queen to a place in music beyond popular commercial success, and beyond the mainstream music avant-garde. The albums are cohesive, emotional, fistpumping masterpieces with flair, humor, and a flamboyant punch. Read more »

Rocktober Alphabet: M is for Metallica

My heavy metal knowledge is limited. But fortunately, Metallica doesn't fall into that gap.
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Rocktober Alphabet: J is for Jimi Hendrix

Sitting today in the Seattle airport, it’s only fitting that Rocktober’s J post should honor the Emerald City’s favorite musical son.

James Marshall Hendrix.

An electric gypsy still ahead of his time, Jimi redefined what was possible for rock music.

His virtuosity with the guitar made it more than an instrument. He made it a lover, an enemy, a weapon, a true second voice.

Not all his music will be remembered. In fact, about half of his catalog feels dated already to me. But Jimi at his best made music that is timeless, moving, and profoundly expressive.

Though he has wandered on, his early death a bitter and foolish waste of a special creative life, Jimi still has the power to awe, soothe, and move us.

Rocktober Alphabet: I is for Iggy Pop

A Real Wild Child.

Iggy Pop, outrageous singer of songs, bare-chested howler and roarer.
The hop, the swagger, the wild sweaty scream ushered in proto-punk while many bands of the late 60′s and early 70′s were still shedding their flower people bandannas.

Iggy has never received the acclaim he deserved.
Rabidly original, widely influential, nonetheless the public has never known quite what to do with him. He smiles too much, shies a bit like he’s scared of his crowd – then proceeds to sear our ears with biting, punishing words. He’s too tough to pigeonhole, and that makes people nervous.

He deserves more. Give him a listen. Start with Fun House, on a day when you can turn it up in an empty house and stomp a little bit.
Iggy may surprise you, but he won’t let you down.

(Photo Credit)

Rocktober Alphabet: F is for Fripp

Fripp with King Crimson, 1973

Robert Fripp.

One of the truly great guitar innovators, Fripp’s meticulous, obsessive attention to the musical craft of rock, combined with his groundbreaking uses of technology, carved a lasting niche in the music world. He could easily be called the “thinking man’s guitar hero.”

Extremely talented, both in performance and production, his virtuosity with the guitar and creative use of analog looping in a real time technique he dubbed “Frippertronics” influenced a generation of players and producers, notably Brian Eno.

For his fiercest rock foray, listen to King Crimson’s sonically vicious In the Court of the Crimson King.

A taste of Fripp/King Crimson live in the late 60′s (pardon the poor quality):

And, for the purists, a demonstration of Frippertronics:

Remember when he was developing these reel to reel performance techniques, lest you be jaded by the ubiquitous looping, sampling, and digital correction of today’s music.

In an interview, Fripp says this about art and the creative process:

“For me, art is the capacity to experience one’s innocence. Craft is how you get to that point. Maturity in a musician would be the point at which one is innocent at will. At that point, the relationship between music and the musician is direct and reliable.“

Fripp’s body of work reflects this philosophy and maturity, in a rare and challenging way.

(Photo Credit)

Rocktober Alphabet: E is for Elvis

Falling from Graceland

Elvis Presley arguably is rock n’ roll to more people than any other artist. Cultural icon, velvet voiced rebel, hip-shaking corrupter of a generation, Elvis needs no introduction.

Or does he? For many, Elvis the icon eclipses Elvis the musician, the tousle haired boy that won his fame fairly, by completely rocking.

If you’re one of those (like me once) who thinks of Elvis as a punchline, a blur in a mist of pink Caddilacs, silver sequins, Vegas impersonators, and black velvet paintings, pay attention.
If you only think of pompadours, Graceland, fried peanut butter and a grotesque death in a bathtub, listen up.
Please meet Elvis Presley for the first time. He can sing, and he has an attitude.
You should get to know him.

(image via Wikipedia.org)

Rocktober Alphabet: D is for The Doors

As Rocktober gets into full swing, The Doors are an obvious “D”.

Though the band as a whole was remarkably talented, it’s frontman Jim Morrison that took the group from the morass of forgettable mid-60′s music and into a permanent place in rock history.

I remember my dad telling me about attending a Doors show in Hollywood when he was young.
The one impression he shared of that performance was the sense of Morrison as a consummate, terrifying, nigh perfect storyteller.

It’s true, no matter how you hear him. When the man snarls, it’s gentle, when he sings smooth you know he’s going to stab you with something. Don’t ever trust him. He’s dangerous. 

Morrison – even 40 odd years later – remains hypnotic, difficult, frightening.
He alternatively sounds like a lover, a killer, a prophet, a poet, delivering his lyrics with a growl of authority, and the indefinable sense that no matter what he’s singing, he’s telling you a story.

Other than the inherent mesmerism of hearing a man whose sheer vocal and narrative energy can cut you through vinyl, I wonder sometimes how The Doors became so popular. They wear you out. The music is good, great even, but I’m always left emotionally exhausted.
Great art -and they made great art- is rarely a recipe for commercial success, but to date they’ve sold over 100 million albums.

That kind of following occasionally means something.
In this case, trust me, it does.