This week, I’m going to listen to what you have to say. Sort of.
Like all music aficionados, I take a certain pleasure in a good music argument. We may agree that Dylan ruled in the mid-60s and that Billy Joel can’t write a song to save his life, but let’s dig deeper into the gritty details of our respective tastes. Which is the greatest Beatles album? Was Marvin Gaye better with or without Tammi Terrell? Which of Eric Clapton’s many bands best represents his talents? (My answers: Rubber Soul, without, Derek and the Dominoes.) We, as nerds, buy just a bit too much stock in the idea that we can, and should, make small judgments about one another based on the ins and outs of our record collection. Truth be told, it’s fun, and those prepared for a verbal beating won’t suffer any permanent emotional damage. So let’s dive into it. I’ll call you a plebian neophyte, and you can call me a self-righteous snob. Sound fun?
I give credit where credit is due. Novelist Nick Hornby, author of the film-adapted novel High Fidelity, is responsible for the most effective device ever designed to start a music argument. The Top Five List, a format so limiting that it not only allows but requires heretical omissions, cuts straight to the core of our musical leanings. Here, I offer just a few of my lists, and I invite - indeed, challenge - everyone to tackle the same questions with their own lists. I look forward to exchanging verbal abuse.
Top Five Side One, Track Ones:
(This one is straight from High Fidelity. For those not vinyl-savvy, side one, track one is the first song on an album.)
5. “London Calling,” from The Clash’s London Calling
4. “Astral Weeks,” from Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks
3. “Like a Rolling Stone,” from Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited
2. “Come Together,” from The Beatles’ Abbey Road
1. “Gimme Shelter,” from The Rolling Stones’ Let It Bleed
Top Five Debut Albums:
5. Are You Experienced? - The Jimi Hendrix Experience
4. Greetings From Ashbury Park, N.J. - Bruce Springsteen
3. My Aim Is True - Elvis Costello
2. Funeral - Arcade Fire
1. Grace - Jeff Buckley
Top Five Guitar Solos on Studio Tracks:
5. “The Thrill Is Gone” - B.B. King
4. “Blue Sky” - The Allman Brothers Band (guitarists Dickey Betts and Duane Allman)
3. “Sultans of Swing” - Dire Straits (guitarist Mark Knopfler)
2. “Shoot Out The Lights” - Richard and Linda Thompson (guitarist Richard Thompson)
1. “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” - The Jimi Hendrix Experience (guitarist Jimi Hendrix)
Jeff Zalesin
To Jeff - No, we don’t “agree that Billy Joel can’t write a song to save his life”. Who the **** are you to make that kind of consensual assumption? In my opinion Billy Joel is one of the best songwriters of his time. All response to music is subjective. There is no good or bad - only what you like and what you don’t like. Personal taste is not definitive, and personal opinion is not empirical. (That is,unless you’re a narcissist.)
Allow me to explain. When I wrote, “We may agree that Dylan ruled in the mid-60s and that Billy Joel can’t write a song to save his life,” I meant the scenario to be hypothetical. You and I don’t agree on Billy Joel, but odds are we have other commonalities in our tastes. Perhaps we both idolize Sam Cooke or dislike 80s hair metal. My point: the mere fact that we agree on some things does not mean we will agree on everything, so two people with generally similar tastes can find themselves in a heated music argument. The fact that you admire Billy Joel while I consider him to be a poor lyricist with a mediocre sense of songcraft is case in point. You are certainly right that no one’s opinion is definitive, and I don’t claim to be any kind of an exception.
Greetings From Ashbury Park, N.J. BOMBED. Springsteen didn’t make it until his third album. And why does he always sound like he’s under local anesthetic when he sings? Also, it is widely known that Billy Joel is very, very boring. Compliments to the good Mr. jeff z.
what, no Freak Out by The Mothers and the first Velvets on your debut lp list?
I am thoroughly embarassed to have missed the Velvets record. I guess when I sat down to make this list, I asked myself, “Which albums gave us a first look at the great stuff to come, and a few great songs to boot?” It didn’t even occur to me to consider a fully formed masterpiece like Nico.
On an unrelated note: Hi, Ira. Who gave you this link?