This is where my brain goes to, especially when confronted with crappy modern music. When were peak years in music? I've narrowed it down a bit to these two based on how many great albums were released year by year and personal preference mixed in, so you guys don't have to wonder anymore. So, drumroll please.
Originally Posted by rabblerouser:
Grunge died in 1994.
1992 was a GREAT year. I remember watching the 1992 VMAs the same week my 8th grade year started :
The Black Crowes opened with Remedy, Chris Robinson in white feather boa, glitter black shirt and leather pants with pot leaves up and down the sides...
Lenny Kravitz did "Are You Gonna Go My Way" with John Paul Fucking Jones on bass.
Pearl Jam did "Animal" and then Neil Young walked out and did "Rocking In The Free World" with them.
U2 (with host Dana Carvey on a 2nd set of drums) did "Even Better Than The Real Thing"
Def Leppard did "Let's Get Rocked", iirc
Milton Berle and RuPaul almost got into a fistfight while introducing an award winner (my money was on Uncle Milty.)
Nirvana did "Lithium" and at the end Krist Novoselic knocked himself out by throwing his bass in the air and trying to catch it with his head, and Dave Grohl taunted Axl Rose from the stage.
Red Hot Chili Peppers, not to be outdone, get the entire P-Funk All Star crew onstage for "Give It Away".
Elton John did some maudlin thing.
Eric Clapton did "Tears In Heaven"
Then, Elton John joined Guns N Roses and a goddamn symphony orchestra for "November Rain."
that was ONE SHOW. On MTV.
In 1992.
I agree; it was a bit selfish on my part to choose 94 over 91. It was based on the mid-90s production of those grunge albums being god-tier, especially In Utero ('93) and superunknown. And my favorite bands from that era are alice in chains and soundgarden; Jar of flies might not be the best alice in chains album but I'm partial to it.
As for grunge being dead in '94, I never understood that. Is that because it became mainstream, and therefore wasn't cool? I like the '95 albums tripod by aic...dark as hell...mellon collie by smashing pumpkins was bloated but had some great songs. Burden in my Hand was an excellent note to go out on for the grunge era in mid-96.
Originally Posted by rabblerouser:
Don't have a problem with the production on Flick or Video. The production on Fly on the Wall sounds like a hot flaming dumpster filled with people creating a new kind of AIDS.
I agree that it has the worst sound of all three, but all of them suffer in comparison to Back in Black and For Those about to Rock. "Live at Donington" featured a couple of tracks from the Blow Up Your Video album and they sound much much better despite only being released a couple of years later.
Another album doomed by bad production: Black Sabbath's "Born Again." You know Deep Purple's success with Perfect Strangers the following year had to kill Tony Iommi. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bowser:
Fair point, especially the 70's.
But the 80's just had it all - The Eagles, Metallica, Depeche Mode, Michael Jackson (in his absolute prime), Van Halen, New Edition, N.W.A., Blondie.....literally every ricochet tangent of subgenre you can think of. Love some classic rock/pop, but for my buck the 80's wins.
Ab.so.lutely.
I mean don't get me wrong, great arguments can be made for the 70's and 90's
But for the sheer variety of well represented genres, its gotta be the 80's for me [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mennonite:
I agree that it has the worst sound of all three, but all of them suffer in comparison to Back in Black and For Those about to Rock. "Live at Donington" featured a couple of tracks from the Blow Up Your Video album and they sound much much better despite only being released a couple of years later.
Another album doomed by bad production: Black Sabbath's "Born Again." You know Deep Purple's success with Perfect Strangers the following year had to kill Tony Iommi.
The production isn't great and honestly, I'm not super fond of the songwriting either, but Born Again is still Iommi and Gillian. Tough to say anything bad about those guys. [Reply]
Originally Posted by htismaqe:
The production isn't great and honestly, I'm not super fond of the songwriting either, but Born Again is still Iommi and Gillian. Tough to say anything bad about those guys.
I have a show on CD called "Purple Sabbath" from that tour, when I get moved I'll rip it and up it here in this thread. I owe someone a CCR From Europe that I've already ripped. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pablo:
1973 produced DSOTM, Houses of the Holy, Tres Hombres, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Goddamn the 70's were loaded.
73 produced Allman Brothers Brothers and Sisters the first album after Duane's death.
Originally Posted by CoMoChief:
Nobody wortha shit plays real instruments anymore. I mean there's a few out there left that do and who are authentic but there not much.
That's because there is absolutely no money in trying to become a "Rock Star".
All of the best musicians and composers today are working in Film & TV, whether as Composer/Producers, Ghost Composers, Hired Guns or all of the above. I know dozens of guys earning $300k a year and more that own homes and have families without ever having to leave their families to go on tour.
On the other hand, only the Legacy Acts and current superstars are the only people really earning money. All of those bands on Warped and Van's tours are paying out of pocket to perform on stage, with more than 95% of them supported by their parents.
It's just nearly impossible to earn a living writing songs and playing clubs with the hope of getting a song on the CW or a Netflix/Amazon/HBO series in order to drive traffic to iTunes and Amazon.
The good news is that last year, Fender Guitars was on the verge of bankruptcy but due to COVID, sold $700 million dollars in merchandise to have to their best financial year, ever! Ibanez, Gibson, Seymour Duncan and so many others in the MI business literally ran out of parts in order to keep up with the demand and many are still out of parts and electronics.
We can only hope this leads to a new generation of people that want to write and play their instruments live, slinging guitars, basses and drums onstage as opposed to a laptop and a turntable. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
On the other hand, only the Legacy Acts and current superstars are the only people really earning money. All of those bands on Warped and Van's tours are paying out of pocket to perform on stage, with more than 95% of them supported by their parents.
Most of the bands I support are like this. They depend on merch sales to get them to their next gig. If a van breaks down or something, the tour is over. A lot of them only tour half the year and spend the other half working construction or other seasonal jobs to fund the next tour.
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
We can only hope this leads to a new generation of people that want to write and play their instruments live, slinging guitars, basses and drums onstage as opposed to a laptop and a turntable.
Making a comeback. It's absolutely true. My daughter is in her room practicing her guitar right now. [Reply]