15 months ago I started a 55-act countdown of Rock's best music, and last month I finished out my list with #1. What remains is to draw conclusions. Like,... solo artists or groups?
1. Solo vs. group. 28 solo and 27 groups, which is as close as it comes to evenly split. Groups like Santana and Tom Petty are somewhere half-way between, so I guess you could say I'm in both camps.
2. US vs. Other Countries: 30 US and 25 Other; that's counting any group with an international member or two as 'other'. Of those others, there are 16 British acts and 5 Canadian. The remaining 4 are U2 (Ireland), Bob Marley and the Wailers (Jamaica), Dave Matthews Band (D.M. himself being originally from South Africa), Django Reinhardt (Belgium/France). In retrospect, I seem to have a weak spot for British dudes, as all but 1 (Fleetwood Mac) of 16 Brit bands are male. Must be that British school I attended when I was in 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade. Or, maybe the Brits just know a good thang.
3. Where I fall down is not having anybody except Django, Thelonius Monk, B.B.King and The Weavers from before I was born. Where's Chuck Berry, Elvis, and Lead Belly? Answer: they just missed.
4. '60s Beginnings vs. Later. 26 acts emerged in the '60s, and 25 in the '70s or later (if it was a close call, like with Linda Ronstadt, I went with 'later'). Of those 25, there are 17 with '70s beginnings, 4 with '80s origins and Dave Matthews Band ( '91 ), Sleater-Kinney ( '94 ), Radiohead ('92) and Alanis Morissette ( '91 ) getting going even later. So, that's 4 - 26 - 17 - 4 - 4 for the final five decades of the 20th century.
5. Pop or Heavier? 18 and 37, respectively: Mainly pop: Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, Elton John, The Supremes, Jefferson Airplane. Minor pop: The Beatles, Sarah McLachlan, Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Fleetwood Mac, The Doors, Emmylou Harris, Donovan, The Weavers. Little pop: U2, Sly and the Family Stone, Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon. Most decidedly non-pop: Natalie Merchant, The Grateful Dead, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, David Byrne/Talking Heads, Thelonius Monk, Sleater-Kinney, Radiohead. So, the remaining 27 would be somewhat heavier.
6. Female vs. Male? 19 and 36, respectively, if one places any group with at least one core-group member in the female column. And evenly divided between early and later female artists.
7. Sound or Lyrics? The Kinks, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, The Band, and The Grateful Dead, excel with their lyrics. The rest, to one degree or another, have an equally strong or stronger sound.
8. When? My earliest -- > latest likes:
Grade School (in chronological order): The Weavers, The Beatles, The Supremes, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Donovan.
Jr. High: Beatles, Stones, Doors, Hendrix, Clapton (member of Cream), Jefferson Airplane.
High School: Stones, Beatles, Santana, Sly & Family Stone, CSN, Leon Russell, Paul Simon, Traffic, Carole King, Kinks, Elton John, Janis Joplin.
College: The Grateful Dead, The Band, Joni Mitchell, Allman Brothers, Neil Young, Django Reinhardt, Dylan, Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Fleetwood Mac, Thelonius Monk,
'80s: The Grateful Dead, Neil Young, Dire Straits, Peter Gabriel, David Byrne/Talking Heads, Paul Simon, Emmylou Harris.
'90s (listening to radio again after 20 years): Natalie Merchant, U2, The Grateful Dead, Dave Matthews Band, Pink Floyd, Sarah McLachlan, Mark Knopfler, Bob Dylan, Sting, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Steely Dan, Chrissie Hynde, Marvin Gay, Al Green, B.B.King, Alanis Morissette, Aretha Franklin,
'00 -- > present (recent discoveries and re-discoveries): Natalie Merchant/10,000 Maniacs, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Led Zepplin, REM, Sleater-Kinney, Radiohead, Indigo Girls.
9. Second Chances. Believe it or not, some favorites were disliked or found wanting when I first heard them. Here they are:
Janis Joplin -- In my early-to-mid teens Janis seemed too 'far out', as the saying went. But listening to her "Cry, Baby" has, on occasion, cheered me up no end.
Al Green -- I heard Green when I was a teen and just didn't have the exposure to jazz and soul that I'd need. That would come.
Sleater-Kinney -- Last year I bought their latest CD and was shocked by the raw punk sound--even at my age. Listening to the songs a second and third time, though, revealed what wonderful music it was.
Thelonius Monk -- I listened to a lot of jazz in college, and took major steps in appreciating sound in whatever form. Luckily, I had a friend who played some of the most innovative and challenging sound to be found.
R.E.M. -- I remember checking out their Green LP from the local library and just not 'getting it'. Perhaps it was hearing their big hits when I finally started listening to the radio again in the '90s that did the trick.
Led Zepplin -- This was perhaps the most intense dislike. Again with the 'far out', the seeming immodesty on stage, the clothes, in a word: vulgar. But you wouldn't know it with their now being in the #9 slot.
Bob Marley and the Wailers. I know, unthinkable. But I can remember checking out both Jimmy Cliff's The Harder They Come and a Bob Marley LP some time in the '80s and very strongly preferring the former. At our own pace.
U2. The most surprising, probably, on this list is U2. I remember listening to Rattle and Hum when I was sick with a fever, when it had just been released, and thinking the music was just too melodramatic. I'm well now.
10, Riffing on the above #8, When? here are the musical likes I'm most proud of (that is, those outside the obvious 'comfort zone' for someone like me):
Grade School: Stevie Wonder (not your daddy's music)
Jr. High: Hendrix (the media celebrated psychedelia in the '60s, but still...)
High School: Traffic (jazzy, hints of world music, and John Barleycorn)
College: Joni Mitchell and of course, Thelonius Monk (feminism and abstract jazz)
'80s: David Byrne/Talking Heads (the best of punk sensibilities)
'90s: Alanis Morissette (raw, exciting emotion)
'00s: Sleater - Kinney (full throated shout-out)
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