Spring Cleaning

 

 

 

Got an early start to spring cleaning this year, as if I actually DO any spring cleaning. But this year I decided to lighten the load and clean out a closet or two. A few years ago, my wife and I were very close to chucking everything and moving into an apartment above a record store (which we were in negotiations to buy.) It didn't pan out, so finally I decided that all the books, magazines and ephemera I'd been saving for "the store" were no longer needed. Got rid of 3 boxes of magazines and two boxes of books, and they all went to a fellow collector. I think the fact that they went to a good home helped make the transition pain-free. And now I don't identify myself as a "collector" (not that I ever really did) -- AND when my wife and I eventually move, everything we own can fit inside a small U-Haul truck!   

Sex Pistols versus the Knack

 

 

When, in 1976, the Sex Pistols arrived via import singles in the United States, there were those of us who were convinced they were the shot in the arm that rock needed at the time, and others who thought they signaled the end of music (poor Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull never seemed to warm up to punk). For me, hearing the single "God Save the Queen" brought me back to when I was a teenager -- THIS is how music should sound, grab you by the throat and toss you around. It felt like I had a second start at adolescence; I wasn't about to get rid of my Genesis records, but darn if the energy of punk made me feel like a kid again.

So, no, I never thought that the Sex Pistols were The End of Music As We Know It. The fact that they even covered songs like "Roadrunner" indicated they perceived the value of music BP (Before Punk).

But I also worked at a record store when the Knack album came out, and to me, THEY were the ones who invoked the apocalypse, simply because they seemed so cynical. Sure, try to get "My Sharona" out of your head -- I'm not saying they weren't capable of writing a catchy tune. But the way they were marketed seemed like they were trying latch on the Beatles' early look. Not as a tribute, but just crass, cynical marketing, and if you want to destroy something, you first devalue it. The Sex Pistols certainly weren't expert musicians, but they did have passion, and while they likely didn't seem to value record companies, I always thought they DID see music as a valid way to express a point. The Knack on the other hand seemed more like outsiders pillaging and looting. Yes, I know that sounds ridiculous, but still...think of the bands that you instinctively know are just hucksters trying shamelessly to get into your wallet. For me, the Knack epitomizes that attitude, and it's a far more destructive thing than a handful of spotty British kids saying rude things.

Brazill 66: Stepping into the same river twice

 

When I first heard Brazil 66 in, you guessed it, 1966, they seemed to my naïve ears to be very kitschy. Faux Brazilian versions of "Scarborough Fair" and "The Fool On the Hill" --are you kidding me??

 

So when the library bought the Greatest Hits, I checked it out just for laughs. Well I'm certainly glad I did. Guess what? I was SO wrong. Yes, a Brazilian version of "Scarborough Fair" IS loungey, but that's what so great about it, and I'm not being facetious. Why did I think in 1966 that songs by the Beatles or Paul Simon were holy writ, not to be tampered with? Turns out that Sergio Mendes had the bona fides back in the day, lots of Brazilian studio work and albums.

 

Funny thing is, in retrospect, I hear a lot of Stereolab in Brazil 66, and of course it's the other way around. Listening now, I find Mendes' arrangements to be clever -- and fun. Just goes to show that an old coot like me can still be humble enough to admit he was wrong, and glad of it.