Monday, September 25, 2006

Number 796 - Thomas Dolby



Number 796

Thomas Dolby

"Blinded Me With Science"

(1982)
.
Genre:New Wave
"Though he never had many hits, Thomas Dolby became one of the most recognizable figures of the synth-pop movement of early-'80s new wave. Largely, this was due to his skillful marketing. Dolby promoted himself as a kind of mad scientist, an egghead that had successfully harnassed the power of synthesizers and samplers, using them to make catchy pop and light electro-funk. Before he launched a solo career, Dolby had worked as a studio musician, technician, and songwriter; his most notable work as a songwriter was "New Toy," which he wrote for Lene Lovich, and Whodini's "Magic's Wand." In 1981, he launched a solo career, which resulted in a number of minor hits and two big hits -- "She Blinded Me with Science" (1982) and "Hyperactive" (1984). Following "Hyperactive," his career faded away, as he began producing more frequently, as well as exploring new synthesizer and computer technology. Dolby continued to record into the '90s, but by that time, he was strictly a cult act. Dolby's interest in music arose through his interest in computers, electronics and synthesizers. The son of a British archeologist, Thomas Dolby (b. Thomas Morgan Robertson, October 14, 1958) originally attended college to study meteorology, but he was soon side-tracked by electronics, specifically musical equipment. He began building his own synthesizers when he was 18 years old. Around the same time, he began to learn how to play guitar and piano, as well as how to program computers. Eventually, his schoolmates gave him the nickname of "Dolby," which was the name for a noise-reduction technology for audiotapes; he would eventually take the nickname as a stage name. "
"Dolby started playing synthesizer on sessions for other artists in 1982. That year, he appeared on Foreigner's 4, Def Leppard's Pyromania and Joan Armatrading's Walk Under Ladders. Also in 1982, he wrote and produced "Magic's Wand" for Whodini; the single became one of the first million-selling rap singles. Even with all of these achievements, 1982 was most noteworthy for the release of Dolby's first solo album, The Golden Age of Wireless, in the summer of 1982; the record reached number 13 in England, while it was virtually forgotten in America. "Windpower," the first single from the record, became his first Top 40 UK hit in the late summer."
"In January of 1983, Dolby released an EP, Blinded by Science, which included a catchy number called "She Blinded Me with Science" that featured a cameo vocal appearance by the notorious British eccentric Magnus Pike, who also appeared in the song's promotional video. Blinded by Science was a minor hit in England, but the EP and the single became major American hit in 1983, thanks to MTV's heavy airplay of the "She Blinded Me with Science" video. Eventually, the song reached number five on the US charts and it was included on a resequenced and reissued version of The Golden Age of Wireless, which peaked at number 13 in America"
But did you know this! ............ "Thomas Dolby best known for his 1982 synth pop hit "She Blinded Me With Science". He is also a successful session musician, music producer, inventor and entrepreneur, whose company Beatnik, Inc. created the polyphonic ringtone software used in over 100 million mobile telephones."
Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (We thought he was a scientist) and the Album ranked at Number (Chemistry student?)
This song has a crowbarred rating of 64.3 out of 108 pts
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posted by crowbarred at 8:57 pm 0 comments

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Number 797 - Devo


Number 797

Devo

"Whip It"

(1980)
.
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Genre:Alternative
Devo to me, were just plain weird, with their odd hats and quirky songs, it was hard for this diehard Neil Young fan to grasp this concept.
But i did, only that it was 20 years later. Oh well, they say its better to bloom than never leaf at all.
Nike's new motto in 2009 "Just Whip It" (love to see a graphic for that)
"One of new wave's most innovative and (for a time) successful bands, Devo was also perhaps one of its most misunderstood. Formed in Akron, OH, in 1972 by Kent State art students Jerry Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh, Devo took its name from their concept of "de-evolution" -- the idea that instead of evolving, mankind has actually regressed, as evidenced by the dysfunction and herd mentality of American society. Their music echoed this view of society as rigid, repressive, and mechanical, with appropriate touches -- jerky, robotic rhythms; an obsession with technology and electronics (the group was among the first non-prog rock bands to make the synthesizer a core element); often atonal melodies and chord progressions -- all of which were filtered through the perspectives of geeky misfits. Devo became a cult sensation, helped in part by their concurrent emphasis on highly stylized visuals, and briefly broke through to the mainstream with the smash single "Whip It," whose accompanying video was made a staple by the fledgling MTV network. Sometimes resembling a less forbidding version of the Residents, Devo's simple, basic electronic pop sound proved very influential, but it was also somewhat limited, and as other bands began expanding on the group's ideas, Devo seemed unable to keep pace. After a series of largely uninteresting albums, the band called it quits early in the '90s, and Casale and Mothersbaugh concentrated on other projects" ~ [All Music Artist]
For Neil Young see Number 938 & Number 677
Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Um ... No) and the Album ranked at Number (However, "Granny State" Rolling Stone liked their first album)
This song has a crowbarred rating of 64.2 out of 108 pts
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posted by crowbarred at 10:25 pm 0 comments

Monday, May 14, 2007

Number 617 - Van Halen


Number 617

Van Halen

"Panama"

(1984)
.
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Genre:Rock
Van Halen's "1984", here is what Rolling Stone rated "1984" in their Top 500 Albums ZERO and lets see what they decided on their Top 500 Songs NOTHING. "Hmmm" you say, "but surely there must be another Van Halen song in their list" NOPE not one, "but what about Van Halen's other classic albums?" YES but only one and that's the self titled Album "Van Halen" and to rub more salt into the Halen addicts, is only rated by Rolling Stone Top 100 Guitarist's of all time at Number 70 (Ouch!) and also claim & were better than him. (Don't even get me started that they rated David Gilmour & Neil Young worse than Eddie at #82 & #83 respectively ~ how dare they)
If you have ever wondered why i created this site, this is one of the reasons why!

Van Halen's 1984 is arguably the best and most defining rock release of the '80s. Eddie Van Halen's guest appearance on Michael Jackson's massive 1983 hit "Beat It" introduced VH to the pop audience, which the band attracted in droves with this expertly crafted set of hard rock with pop leanings, not to mention its imaginative accompanying videos. Musically, 1984 was a gamble that paid off massively -- was finally given the green light by his bandmates to incorporate keyboards into their sonic palette, resulting in the number one single "Jump" and the almost new wave-ish Top 15 love song "I'll Wait." But wisely, the keyboards weren't overpowering, and all of the other selections were typical VH hard-rocking heavies -- the perennial radio favorites "Hot for Teacher" and "Panama," as well as the highly underrated album tracks "Top Jimmy," "Drop Dead Legs," "Girl Gone Bad," and "House of Pain."

While the strong and instantly memorable songs were obviously the main ingredient for the album's success, a string of imaginative and humorous videos really introduced the band to a whole new audience (the hilarious clip for "Hot for Teacher" has to be one of the all-time best). 1984 also opened up the floodgates for many faceless, identical pop-metal bands (something VH was the complete opposite of), who suddenly realized that adding synths to heavy metal could increase their chances of commercial success. Still, it didn't tarnish the fact that 1984 is a timeless hard rock masterpiece, which eventually sold a staggering ten million copies. Unfortunately, the album would be the last Van Halen recording to feature David Lee Roth, who surprisingly left in 1985 at the height of the band's popularity. ~ Greg Prato

For Van Halen also see Number 822
For David Lee Roth see Number 997
For David Gilmour see Number 923
For Neil Young see Number 938 & Number 677
For Michael Jackson see Number 621

What does Almightier Than Thou "RS" think?
This album confirms what a lot of fans have suspected for some time: this is no mere arena-rock band. Beneath all the strutting and heavy-metal antics lies a band with more pop savvy than a dozen s, as well as the chops to pull hooks from the most unlikely places. And 1984 is the album that brings all of Van Halen's talent into focus. From the start, it's clear that the band has a few tricks up its sleeve. The opening track, "1984," is a wistful synthesizer instrumental that could have come from Pete Townshend or Thomas Dolby. It manages to sound simultaneously streetsmart and glowingly pastoral, and it's the perfect prelude to "Jump," the album's initial single. Like "1984," "Jump" is not exactly the kind of song you'd expect from Van Halen: the main synthesizer figure uses suspended chords and a pedalpoint bass in a manner more suited to Asia. But once Alex Van Halen's drums kick in and singer David Lee Roth starts to unravel a typically convoluted story line, things start sounding a little more familiar; and by the time Eddie Van Halen reinforces the synthesizers with steely bursts of guitar, you know this has got to be Van Halen, even though it's a mainstream pop tune.
Of course, 1984 isn't completely dominated by synthesizers. Aside from "I'll Wait," a spurned-love song boasting a haunting melody and flashy guitar solo, the rest of the album features the band's trademark guitar excess. And on 1984, Eddie Van Halen manages to expand his repertoire of hot licks, growls, screams and seemingly impossible runs to wilder frontiers than you could have imagined. On "Top Jimmy," for example, he moves without the slightest bit of hesitation from the incredibly precise stutterstepped fills in the verse to the fretboard gymnastics on the solo. "Hot for Teacher," on the other hand, finds Eddie plugging his two-handed arpeggios into brother Alex' fiery tom-tom work before the two light off into a turbocharged boogie riff that sounds like ZZ Top at Warp Factor 8.
But what really makes this record work is the fact that Van Halen uses all this flash as a means to an end – driving the melody home – rather than as an end in itself. Every song hits harder than expected, until by album's end you're convinced that, despite all the bluster, Van Halen is one of the smartest, toughest bands in rock & roll. Believe me, that's no newspeak. (RS 416) ~ J.D. CONSIDINE 1984
For Thomas Dolby see Number 796
For Asia see Number 658
For ZZ Top see Number 647
Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (As we said before in Number 822..) and the Album ranked at Number (....NO!!)
This song has a crowbarred rating of 71.6 out of 108
Van Halen - Panama
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posted by crowbarred at 7:55 pm 0 comments

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Number 795 - Guns n Roses


Number 795

Guns N' Roses

"Civil War"

(1991)
.
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Genre:Hard Rock
Truely groundbreaking music in 1991, a combination of hard rock with as equally hard hitting lyrics about war and loss. Guns N' Roses were on top of the game in 91 with "Use your Illusion" 1 and 2 both being released in the same year....."Messy but fascinating, the albums showcased a more ambitious band; while there were still a fair number of full-throttle guitar rockers, there were stabs at Elton John-style balladry, acoustic blues, horn sections, female backup singers, ten-minute art rock epics with several different sections, and a good number of introspective, soul-searching lyrics. In short, they were now making art; amazingly, they were successful at it. The albums sold very well initially, but while they had seemed destined to set the pace for the decade to come, that turned out not to be the case at all."

"Nirvana's Nevermind hit number one in early 1992, suddenly making Guns N' Roses -- with all of their pretensions, impressionistic videos, models, and rock star excesses -- seem very uncool. Rose handled the change by becoming a dictator, or at least a petty tyrant; his in-concert temper tantrums became legendary, even going so far as to incite a riot in Montreal. Stradlin left by the end of 1991, and with his departure the band lost their best songwriter; he was replaced by ex-Kills for Thrills guitarist Gilby Clarke. The band didn't fully grasp the shift in hard rock until 1993, when they released an album of punk covers, The Spaghetti Incident?; it received some good reviews, but the band failed to capture the reckless spirit of not only the original versions, but their own Appetite for Destruction. By the middle of 1994, there were rumors flying that the band was about to break up, since Rose wanted to pursue a new, more industrial direction and Slash wanted to stick with their blues-inflected hard rock.
For Elton John see Number 531
What does Rolling Stone think of Guns n Roses?
When Guns n' Roses recorded their major-label debut in 1987, after a few years of slogging in L.A. clubs, they titled it Appetite for Destruction. It was a proclamation that they would rail against and knock down anything that stood in their way; it would become a banner adopted by millions who wanted to turn their dead-end street into a freeway. Four years later, when the band is closer to its destination than its members ever had any right to expect, Guns n' Roses release two follow-up albums: Use Your Illusion I and II. The title is a confession; now that the physical barriers are gone and nothing stands in their way except maybe their own myth, they've got to set their sights on something less tangible. "Old at heart," Axl Rose sings on "Estranged," from II, "but I'm only twenty-eight." Like Aerosmith in the classic "Dream On," they realize that to go on, you've got to have faith.
With Use Your Illusion II, the band rewards the loyal legions – with fourteen songs, which range from ballad to battle, pretty to vulgar, worldly to incredibly naive. The seven-minute power ballad "Civil War," which opens the album (and which previously appeared on the Romanian orphan-relief album Nobody's Child), begins with fingers studiously squeaking on acoustic-guitar strings and a few lines of dialogue from Cool Hand Luke, then drops the band's characteristic patriotism for amplified rage and a sober look at political deceit: "So I never fell for Vietnam/We got the wall of D.C. to remind us all/That you can't trust freedom when it's not in your hands."
Because the band is reaching beyond its own experience on this song, Axl's question "What's so civil 'bout war, anyway?" – backed by thunderclaps and rainfall – is almost excusable. The outstanding cover of Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is epic, beautiful and heartfelt, with little flourishes like guns cocking behind the obvious verse ("Mama put my guns in the ground/I can't shoot them anymore") and Axl wailing as only Axl does, through his discolored teeth, turning vowels into primitive cries of pain or resolve. Quite a few songs mine the territory of love gone awry: the spiteful "14 Years," the disillusioned "Locomotive," the lonely (and very long) "Estranged" and the bittersweet "Don't Cry" (a different version from the one that appears on I), which is chapter 2 of "Sweet Child o' Mine," the song that, at least in the summer of '88, bridged the distance between rural route and urban drawing room. The clunkers on II are "Shotgun Blues," a sonic assault with surprisingly little impact, and "Get in the Ring," which challenges the band's detractors by name but basically hits below the belt. On Appetite it was "Feel my serpentine"; on Illusion II it's "Suck my fuckin' dick" – meant in a different spirit, yes, but it's beneath them just the same.
Axl Rose has stopped teasing his hair, taken a few of the chains off his cowboy boots, left the pink lipstick to Skid Row's Sebastian Bach and gotten a bit of perspective. So he shouldn't be bothered by his critics, because even with years of practice, no one has come close to that snaky dance of his, that dance that whips victimization, menace and struggle into one fluid, triumphant motion. (RS 615)
For Bob Dylan see Number 929 & Number 841
For more Guns 'N Roses see Number 557
Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (3 other songs but not Civil War ~ pity) and the Album ranked at Number (Not "Illusion" but Appetite checked in)
This song has a crowbarred rating of 64.3 out of 108 pts

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posted by crowbarred at 9:05 pm 0 comments