Remember when the macarena was the dance to do? Or how about when you could turn on the TV and watch new episodes of Seinfeld or Friends or could scream about how terrible The Phantom Menace was and still be considered relevant. Yes people, I’m talking about the music in the 90s and I don’t mean Brittney or Christina, ‘NSync or the Backstreet Boys (pre-coming out of the closet) or even the Tupac/Biggie feud. I’m glorifying these bands of the 90s to help create a musical legacy that isn’t just gangsta rap posturing, soulless pop or teen idol emptiness.
I’m going to start off with probably the nerdiest band of the past two decades: Weezer. Pick a color either blue, green or red and you’ve picked a great album. Listening to Weezer is sort of like being shot into an alternate universe where your angst isn’t particularly angsty and it doesn’t hurt because you yourself can trivialize it to the point of hilarity. In that alternate reality though, all memory of Buddy Holly and Mary Tyler Moore are preserved so you don’t need much else.
Now I would be remiss to talk about 90s music without mentioning the great grunge movement of long greasy hair, angry angst, unwanted popularity and battles against commercial success. My favorite band from this lovely genre is Pearl Jam, whose battles against their own popularity included taking on ticketmaster and refusing to release one of their most popular songs as a single. That being said, Pearl Jam could both rock (on Even Flow) and ballad (on Better Man) and are one of the still relevant grunge acts of the 90s.
In a totally different universe from pretty much anything else I listen to lies Rage Against the Machine. Built primarily on testosterone and pedal effects, Rage built up a following because their anger was directed not at themselves or evil heart breaking harpies but at the unseen forces that control our political and economic landscapes. Switch out Rage frontman for Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell and you get Audioslave which I confess is not a 90s band but draws heavily from grunge music and is definitely worth a listen.
So let me introduce to you, the one and only David Peel. Wondering why I just quoted “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band?” You will find out in due time (even though the reference doesn’t link up perfectly because McCartney wrote these lyrics even though the lyric is credited to the Lennon/McCartney songwriting duo). I’m being pedantic. Let’s move on to the first post in the new category Obscure Classic Rock.
I want to first share with you all how I heard about David Peel. Don’t worry, this is not a long, fireplace story. Actually, my father told me about David Peel last night. This is one thing I love about 60s/70s music. At times, the list of acts seems endless. It’s not, obviously. There is a fixed number. But I have done a good amount of research on 60s/70s music over the past 4-5 years (starting when I was a senior in High School), and, I’m still learning about influential acts that I had never come across previously. And that is awesome.
My dad recalled how he used to go down to Greenwich village in New York City with his buddies back in his teens (early 70s) and he would often see David Peel (born David Rosario) performing with the Lower East Side Band (apt name). Peel would sit down and talk with my dad and his friends occasionally. My dad remembers him as a nice, intelligent guy, who sang songs about marijuana and revolution. Revolution, specifically the recent Wall Street Occupation, is why Peel was brought up in conversation.
David Peel and the Lower East Side Band. Ever hear of them? No? Well did you know that they are often cited as early progenitors of punk rock? Also, did you know that Peel became incredible friends with John Lennon and Yoko Ono (there is your answer for the opening segment)? Lennon had good taste. Well, so did Peel!
David Peel (left) performing with Yoko Ono and John Lennon. Don't Lennon and Peel sort of look alike? More on this later
John Lennon once compared Peel to Pablo Picasso. A bold proclamation, indeed. Well, similar to Picasso co-founding the Cubist movement, Peel definitely had a hand in providing some inspiration to the emerging genre of punk.
Peel and the Lower East Side band first recorded music in the late 1960s. They created a blend of “street rock” that targeted topics like marijuana and the police. It was fresh and attractive to the counterculture movement. Songs like “I Like Marijuana” and “Oink Oink” were obviously scorned by authority, but enjoyed by the youthful population that gathered in Greenwich Village. Peel and the Lower East Side band was actually among the first bands to regularly perform on cable TV in Manhattan. He appeared on the public-access cable TV channel of Manhattan Cable Television. He also performed at the first Smoke-in concerts at Central Park.
It was in front of a crowd at Washington Square Park in 1971 when Lennon first saw Peel. He was quoted saying, “He was shouting: why do you have to pay to see stars? I was embarrassed. I thought surely he must know we are here. Yoko and I love his hair, snazzy tight trousers and Hai Karate aftershave.” They quickly became friends and Lennon signed Peel to Apple Records where he promptly released The Pope Smokes Dopein 1972. The record was banned in nearly every country in the world, except for the US, Japan and Canada. I don’t believe this record was playing in cafes outside the Vatican. The fervor that Peel engendered is funny. It’s very…punk! And the music backs that statement up.
I mean listen to this. “Oink, Oink” was recorded in 1968. It is like Beach Boys meets the Ramones. And this was recorded when Dee Dee Ramone was 17 years old. Punk music is rooted in US garage rock and the New York underground (bands like the Velvet Underground). Peel, like Lou Reed, sang about drugs and unsavory NYC practices. In 1969 Protopunk was founded by MC5 and the Stooges (Michigan-based bands), but I do believe that Peel was a true predecessor of the burgeoning movement and, unfortunately, he does not get the credit he does deserve.
Peel and Lennon stayed close friends, Peel adopting Lennon’s thick-glasses style, and Lennon sampling Peel’s leather coat look (similar to retro Cavern Club Beatles). The two looked so much alike that Bob Dylan actually called a picture of Peel, John Lennon, and, because everyone takes what Bob Dylan says as the truth it seems, the FBI was also fooled. A picture of Peel was in Lennon’s FBI file. Lennon did help Peel become well known and he has performed with musicians like B.B. King, ELP and Alice Cooper. Peel still records music today and his full discography can be acquired. I suggest checking him out more. He is a punk visionary. And he recorded an album entitled The Pope Smokes Dope. I mean, come on.
In sitting down and thinking of folk artists I really like, it became apparent to me that folk is the red-headed stepchild everyone loves to criticize, but secretly enjoys. Very few artists are “folk.” James Taylor was clearly a folkie underneath his porous shield of vulnerability, yet he’s considered a singer/songwriter. The Byrds, The Band and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young all were examples of bands that took folk roots (such as multi-part harmonies and 12 string acoustic guitars) and branched out into a more traditional rock sound and Johnny Cash first and foremost was country. But I am here to glorify some guys that, although they may dabble in other genres, are folk through and through.
Bob Dylan is the most important single person in music since the 60s. Period. The Beatles may have been more popular, the Stones had more swag and Zeppelin was more talented, but as an individual no one influenced music more than Dylan. On one hand, he was a traditional folk singer, a common man against the world as he became a leader of the counterculture movement with such songs as “Blowing in the Wind” and “The Times They are A Changin”. Upon seeing just just how wild the Beatles could make the ladies, he went electric and spawned folk rock. Even later, Dylan borrowed the use of the 12 string guitar and helped to create yet another genre, country rock. That being said, Dylan remains a folk icon. (The video below is included just because it’s one of the funniest things I’ve seen).
Going in a whole new direction, Mumford and Sons are a folk band and one of my favorite bands of the past year or two. You may have just heard the name or maybe listened to “Little Lion Man” on the radio but I’m here to tell you to listen to more. The band has a unique lineup. Lead singer Marcus Mumford usually plays acoustic guitar, singing and also doing percussion with a kick drum (Letterman joked that they would take the money from going on his show to buy a real drummer) and the band also includes a banjo, stand up bass and a keyboardist. However, they still do change things up a bit as someone will sometimes get on the drumkit and the electric bass will occasionally make an appearance and in the following video, the electric banjo becomes something of an electric guitar.
Did you enjoy the waving pencil? I thought the black-and-white image was fitting. Hope all is well. I know the new posting schedule that I posted back in August does not see me posting on Mondays, but I felt the necessity to catch up on a few things. I feel like I haven’t posted in forever, and I am definitely going through music withdrawal. I have been busy, both with work and a pesky sinus infection that I am just getting over.
I did want to post today to preview two new sections that I will be adding to the blog in anticipation of the New York autumn. The Manic Monday Music Machine, along with being a terribly forced example of alliteration, will see me returning to Mondays every-other-week to preview some songs that I just happen to think you should check out that week. So, you will have two posts on some Mondays! By the way, hasn’t Aaron (peepirate) done a great job thus far. I hope everyone is enjoying his music selections and words as much as I am. Also, like always, I do want to give credit to our psychedelic savant, Okocim, for blowing our minds every Sunday with his kaleidoscopic adventures.
Every Tuesday throughout the Fall (unless I encouter a significantly busy day) will feature the new category Obscure Classic Rock. This is a bit of a spin-off of the 60’s Band of the Week. At my astute father’s request, I will focus my attention every Tuesday on my true music love, 60s/70s rock oddities. There are hidden gems and I can’t wait to share them with you.
Now, because I cannot possibly leave you all without providing some goodbye music, here is a song that popped on my iPod today while I took a walk around New York City during my lunch break. Not unknown, but still incredible. Here is “A Salty Dog” by Procol Harum. Enjoy.
Jam bands are special to me. Any music I listen to, I try to find a live version. There’s something about knowing a band can recreate their music and actually seeing a band perform that’s so exciting. My favorite part about Jam Bands is that each and every night they create, for one fleeting moment, music that will never again exist in the same form.
Nothing says jam band like playing over three thousand shows, but never in the same way for the same set list, and the granddaddy of them all never played the same show twice. Go to The Live Music Archive (a great website for getting free live shows for hundreds of bands) to listen just a few thousand of the Dead shows they offer. Born from the psychedelic movement in San Fransisco during the 1960’s, the Grateful Dead created flowing jams that fused their psychedelic core with folk, blues, jazz and other American roots music. Listening to the Dead, while always enjoyable, can be best described by the men themselves, “What a long strange trip its been.”
If you think record sales and radio airplay indicate popularity, you’ve never been to Dave Matthews Band concert. I just was watching my sister’s Dave videos from the postponed Governor’s Island shows and it was nuts just how crazy the crowds were, not to mention the band was as good as ever. The diverse instrumentation (electric violin, acoustic and electric guitars, and a horns section) coupled with Dave’s crazy personality and always fascinating lyrics makes this band one of my favorites.
There’s no I in team, but there is an I in Dispatch, which is weird because they’re the ultimate team. Most songs feature all three members singing, with each one singing lead at different points and all three switching instruments like it’s their job (which it is of course). In addition to singing harmonies, all three individuals play guitar, bass and some type of percussion. Their most popular song is “The General,” but all the songs they play live are really good, especially the following entitled Mission.
The Music Court 