The Weak In Rock

Most folks I know who play music if asked will readily give you a list of their heroes who inspired them to get into music.  Most of the time those lists are pretty dull.  If you had a dollar for every guitar player who told you he was inspired to pick up the guitar by Jimmy Page or Eddie Van Halen you’d have enough money to buy out Bill Gates’ share of Microsoft.  Likewise, you won’t find many drummers who deviate much from the John Bonham, Keith Moon, Neil Peart orbit of inspirations.

I was always a weirdo though.  I got into constant scraps with my musical friends in high school and college over my love of Phil Manzanera’s  and Robert Fripp’s guitar playing.  I still get ribbed over saying Tom Petersen and Cliff Williams are my all-time favorite bass players, and not a drummer I’ve known hasn’t guffawed when I’ve declared Phil Rudd the best drummer to ever stalk the earth.

It shouldn’t be any surprise then that my favorite front man and all-around musical genius is Mark Mothersbaugh.  What this man did with DEVO will, I’m quite sure, never be completely appreciated.  Too many people think of DEVO as a joke band or some kind of cartoon band.  They don’t get how absolutely radical and different they were from every other band of their time and I’ve yet to see anyone who pulled together as much artistry in a single performance as Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Cassale did with DEVO.

Here’s a link to a video clip, courtesy of Weird America, of Mark Mothersbaugh talking about his history as an artist and musician.

Thanks to Boing Boing for the link.

Technorati Tags: Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, Bill Gates, Microsoft, John Bonham, Keith Moon, Neil Peart, Phil Manzanera, Robert Fripp, Tom Petersen, Cliff Williams, Phil Rudd, Mark Mothersbaugh, DEVO, Jerry Cassale

So, the other day I wrote about my retirement from the world of punk rock and over the weekend CBGB’s closes for good.  Hmmm.  Perhaps we’re tied together by a force much more powerful and mysterious than anyone will ever know.  Or maybe it’s just a coincidence.  Nah, it’s that powerful mysterious force thing.  I’m sure of it.

As always, The Onion does a better job of summing up my thoughts on the subject than I ever could.  Maybe I should just get those folks to be my personal spokespersons.

Money quote:

“When I think of the bands I saw there—The Dictators, Blondie, Suicide—I can’t help but think, ‘time for a prostate exam.’”

Technorati Tags: punk rock, CBGB’s, The Dictators, Blondie, Suicide