The Stone Roses -- Greetings Tim!!
in OK Go
Greetings to all, but especially to my old friend Tim who I haven't seen in so long.
This is your ol' pal Willy M. from the Zoo, from back when we were Iowa street urchins in "The Music Man" at the Civic, and then all the times I came over to your house and we shared music and talked music. I remember coming over with the Pixies "Here Comes Your Man" CD-maxi-single, that had, I believe, the UK Surf version of "Wave of Mutilation" on it. We both recognized it as pure magic, and that was just when I was first getting into the Pixies - still my desert island band, I'd have to say, and if I were Gilligan I'd take Surfer Rosa to my island.
I thought you and your fans would like to hear a few memories I have that I think are very funny.
1) Speaking of Pixies - I remember how you thought "Debaser" was the greatest, and you liked the funny ideas in it. You'd say the chorus lines with a British accent: "I want to grow, grow up to be, be a DEBASER."
2) You loved band names, and I remember that you loved the name Ned's Atomic Dustbin. We also were talking a lot about the Charlatans UK and the Happy Mondays, I think. Which leads me to the funniest memory….
3) "I think the Stone Roses are going to be the next Beatles," said Tim.
First of all, we know now that there will never be another Beatles or a pop-culture phenomena quite like that except for maybe when they make another Flinstones movie…. but it makes me laugh to think about it because you were so wonderfully dead serious. I still listen to the Stone Roses record sometimes, and "I am the Resurrection" is such a singalong jam. You loved "I Want to Be Adored" and I think I'd gotten the "Simone" single from a WIDR DJ I knew and your eyes got all wide. When I was in Manchester a number of years ago, Ian Brown had just come out with a solo album and I saw posters around town and on bustops…. He had the most ridiculous haircut I'd ever seen. He definitely made the move I did a few years ago. I know longer go to a barber. Now I see a "stylist."
4) Back in the early summer of 1994 I lived in a degenerate party house on Minor St. in the Zoo, and I remember you showing up after hours and declared "I've got the Beastie Boys new album (Ill Communication)" as if you were holding a golden dinosaur egg in your hand - which you were! Your eyes were wider than when you saw the "Simone" single. All hallmarks of a true lover of music!!!
And while I love "Ill Communication" to bits and pieces, here's maybe a discussion point for this post:
Check Your Head is the greatest B-Boys album in my book, and one of the great albums of all time. I think it's mix of rawness and newness, like they were discovering new lands, makes it better than "Ill Communication" or the much lauded "Paul's Boutique." What do you think, Tim and other readers? What's your favorite B-Boys? Is "Check Your Head" the B-Boy's Rubber Soul/Revolver/Sgt. Pepper (I refer to the debate about the greatest Beatles album - I vote for RUBBER SOUL!!!)
It's been a joy to see your success, Tim!! Keep up the great work.
Tim and Readers - greatest Beastie Boys and Beatles album, anyone?
This is your ol' pal Willy M. from the Zoo, from back when we were Iowa street urchins in "The Music Man" at the Civic, and then all the times I came over to your house and we shared music and talked music. I remember coming over with the Pixies "Here Comes Your Man" CD-maxi-single, that had, I believe, the UK Surf version of "Wave of Mutilation" on it. We both recognized it as pure magic, and that was just when I was first getting into the Pixies - still my desert island band, I'd have to say, and if I were Gilligan I'd take Surfer Rosa to my island.
I thought you and your fans would like to hear a few memories I have that I think are very funny.
1) Speaking of Pixies - I remember how you thought "Debaser" was the greatest, and you liked the funny ideas in it. You'd say the chorus lines with a British accent: "I want to grow, grow up to be, be a DEBASER."
2) You loved band names, and I remember that you loved the name Ned's Atomic Dustbin. We also were talking a lot about the Charlatans UK and the Happy Mondays, I think. Which leads me to the funniest memory….
3) "I think the Stone Roses are going to be the next Beatles," said Tim.
First of all, we know now that there will never be another Beatles or a pop-culture phenomena quite like that except for maybe when they make another Flinstones movie…. but it makes me laugh to think about it because you were so wonderfully dead serious. I still listen to the Stone Roses record sometimes, and "I am the Resurrection" is such a singalong jam. You loved "I Want to Be Adored" and I think I'd gotten the "Simone" single from a WIDR DJ I knew and your eyes got all wide. When I was in Manchester a number of years ago, Ian Brown had just come out with a solo album and I saw posters around town and on bustops…. He had the most ridiculous haircut I'd ever seen. He definitely made the move I did a few years ago. I know longer go to a barber. Now I see a "stylist."
4) Back in the early summer of 1994 I lived in a degenerate party house on Minor St. in the Zoo, and I remember you showing up after hours and declared "I've got the Beastie Boys new album (Ill Communication)" as if you were holding a golden dinosaur egg in your hand - which you were! Your eyes were wider than when you saw the "Simone" single. All hallmarks of a true lover of music!!!
And while I love "Ill Communication" to bits and pieces, here's maybe a discussion point for this post:
Check Your Head is the greatest B-Boys album in my book, and one of the great albums of all time. I think it's mix of rawness and newness, like they were discovering new lands, makes it better than "Ill Communication" or the much lauded "Paul's Boutique." What do you think, Tim and other readers? What's your favorite B-Boys? Is "Check Your Head" the B-Boy's Rubber Soul/Revolver/Sgt. Pepper (I refer to the debate about the greatest Beatles album - I vote for RUBBER SOUL!!!)
It's been a joy to see your success, Tim!! Keep up the great work.
Tim and Readers - greatest Beastie Boys and Beatles album, anyone?