Heartless Music

Biz Markie

Posted on 23. Aug, 2010 by katz in 1980's Music

I wouldn’t normally classify Biz Markie as a music rebel, or a music anything for that matter. But I do have to say that he didn’t conform to the typical hip-hop and rap world, and in doing so brought us a new form of music that integrated comedy into a genre almost always filled with serious and dramatic lyrics. It’s similar to what Will Smith did with his songs that incorporated humorous lyrics (without profanity) into the hip-hop world.

Tags: Biz Markie, hip hop, humorous songs, Just a Friend, Will Smith

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Posted on 17. Aug, 2010 by livetheclassics in 1980's Music, 1990's Music, 2000's Music

Red Hot Chili Peppers Live

Hailing from Los Angeles, the Red Hot Chili Peppers formed in 1983 with a pure funk that California held dear with the decline of Disco music. In the early years of the band, the original line up would throw in rock and thrash which gave them an entirely unique flavor that nobody had heard before. To this day, nobody comes close to replicating the Red Hot Chili Peppers in terms of their sound. To some, they’re considered the “Led Zepplin of Cali,” in reference to their inadvertent way of creating their own genre.

Unfortunately the early days for the band weren’t that easy. RHCP has had 14 members to date while retaining the original count of 4 at any given time. Only two of the original founders remain, Anthony Kiedis, the frontman and lyrical mastermind, and Flea, the signature bassist with what he dubs his ’slap-happy’ style of play. Dealing with the death of their original guitar player Hillel Slovak from a heroin overdose and the departure of their drummer, the band adopted different musicians styles of play. Anthony Kiedis has stated that their influences blended with the direction of the band helped form their genuine appeal, infusing punk rock with their homegrown love for funk music. This plethora of styles resulted in the record now available as free music downloads Blood Sugar Sex Magik, which although it was their 5th album, sold over 15 million copies to date and introduced the world to the band.

Dave Navarro

In the following years, RHCP would recruit Dave Navarro, guitarist of Janes Addiction, to record One Hot Minute. Though a reputable album with a bit more rock power, it didn’t perform nearly as well as Blood Sex Sugar Magik, so Navarro went right back to Perry Cantrell and continued his career in a different direction. The band wouldn’t see a similar sort of success from their 5th album until completing Californication with guitarist John Frusciante, who had left the band previously after succumbing to a heroin addiction. After hits like Scar Tissue and Californication ate up the airwaves over the composition team of Anthony Kiedis and Frusciante, the band had nothing but success.

Their most recent album, Stadium Arcadium, has given the band their first American #1 album with tracks such as Dani California and Snow. Though they lost John Frusciante again as he wanted to pursue a solo venture, RHCP remains strong with relentless touring and a positive outlook for the road ahead. They have one of the rockiest histories for a successful band, but continue to prevail with flying colors. They are determination incarnate.

Here’s a personal favorite from Californication and a fun video encompassing the feel of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Can’t Stop:

Tags: californication, flea, red hot chili peppers, scar tissue, under the bridge

The Ramones

Posted on 17. Jul, 2010 by nancystone in 1970's Music, 1980's Music, 1990's Music, Uncategorized

Joey Ramone

Jeffry Ross Hyman, (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001) better known to the world as Joey Ramone, was one of the original punk rebels. Joey Ramone was an outcast in high school. Inspired by David Bowie, Iggy & the Stooges and The Who, he took to the drums at age 13. In 1974 he formed a band with his school mates, John Cummings and Douglas Colvin from Forest Hill, Queens, New York. Giving themselves new names (Dee Dee, Johnny, and Joey) they took the conventional idea of what was acceptable for rock music at the time and went on to change the way that music would be thought of forever and influences a hard edge even today in the era of where soft artists and music downloads for free seem to run the industry.

With their manager who took the name Tommy Ramone, the group decided they could take on the world of commercial rock with their own brand of unique raw power. At the time the main rock acts in the world were very polished, technically accomplished and even over-produced.

The Ramones had a gritty, unrestricted energy that did not rely on lengthy guitar or drum solo’s like the mainstream. The songs consisted of two or three chords and short repetitive lyrics. The emphasis was on the emotional expression of the band and their lead singer. It was the strenth of the Ramones performances that gave them a reputation of leaving nothing to question and everything to remember.

In the UK, the band’s influence soon took hold. After their 1977 tour, British bands immediately changed the way they delivered their songs. The music became more basic and gritty, faster sounding and songs were shortened to around two minutes, all directly attributable to the Ramones sound.

Here is a video from the Ramones influential English full tour in 1977:

What the Ramones did for music is like what Warhol did for art… stripped it back to it’s most basic form, and in doing so made it reproducible. In the Ramones case, I think that their sound was so unique at the time, and simple, that it spawned imitation all over the UK. Is that a bad thing? Well, if it wasn’t for the Ramones challenging the status quo there would never have been the Sex Pistols, and punk music would never have existed

Tags: Iggy & the Stooges, joey ramone, punk, Sex Pistols, The Ramones