Sponsor

wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

A '70s Smackdown

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

In another installment of Soundcheck Smackdown we look back to that much-maligned period of popular music: the 1970s. Author Dave Thompson talks about his new book, "I Hate New Music: The Classic Rock Manifesto," and music critic Jim DeRogatis tells us why he’d rather forget that era altogether.

Soundcheck blog: John Schaefer on the '70s

Tell us: Classic rock -- dynasty or dinosaur?

Comments [18]

Bob Babcock from Morristown NJ

I'll give you Hey Negrita, but Memory Motel is on the same album. And the seventies was a decent decade for the Stones overall- Sticky Fingers thru to Some Girls, alot of good stuff you just can't write off, dude.
Seventies- how about Clapton? Santana? The Who? sure they all got a little bloated by the end- but the next crowd was around to show them out- The stones were upstairs at electric ladyland doing Emotional Rescue while Topper was downstairs with mikey Dread (R.I.P) laying tracks for Sandinista. And everyone trying to look like Travis Bickle.
How about Bob Marley? Peter Tosh? Shite- he was doing concerts with Mugabe and had the CIA on his ass he was soooo big...
And I still have The Night Chicago Died on 45, a real cool song I thought in Ms. D'Allesandro morning Kindergarten (biggup to all you Belmont Hills Elementary School alumni-represent!)

Sep. 23 2008 11:27 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
AR from Brooklyn

I listen to the classic rock stations whenever I'm on summer vacation. It's great music and it puts me into a nostalgic, great summers of the past state of mind. But if I listened to classic rock exclusively I would be a dinosaur and I would be missing out on a lot of great music. I listen to everything from bluegrass to hot jazz to cesaria evora. it's small-minded to try to pit one generation of music against another's.

Sep. 23 2008 04:20 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
Brian from Manhattan

This was quite possibly the worst Soundcheck I've ever heard. It was divisive in a way that wasn't insigntful or playful. It just caused people to wax nostalgic and make wholly unsubstantiated claims about "their" music.

There was a time, before electricity, when you had to travel to hear music. Then there was a time, when radio existed, that you could hear music in your home, and a lot of it was quality. Now, there's the internet and too much radio, so we have to travel, in a figurative sense -- by way of research, getting word of mouth recommendations, etc. -- to find good music, which is still out there, and, arguably, in greater quantities than it ever has been before.

All of you people who listen to popular radio stations and then complain about the dearth of good music today are only showcasing your ignorance.

Today's episode was a complete bust.

Sep. 23 2008 03:54 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
Roger from Chatham NJ

One thing that I think had a lot to do with the "quality" of music from that 70's decade was the limitations of the LP record format. Once CD's came on the scene and musicians had an hour to fill, they did just that - filled time.

22 minutes per side - Ah!, The good old days.

Sep. 23 2008 02:42 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
dave from Brooklyn

Wow... I just learned that greed was not a factor in the record industry until the 70s! How fascinating! Apparently, prior to that, record companies were charitable enterprises.

[sigh]

That ridiculous assertion aside...

Add my vote to the "it's a generational thing" chorus. I might be open to the idea that the percentage of lousy recordings has generally been trending upwards - but so what? There is good music, and there is crappy music. It has always been so, and always will be. And those labels are completely subjective, so that it's likely no two people will ever agree completely. I try to keep an open mind about such things, as I have several friends who are fans of, say, the Flaming Lips (a band that makes me cringe). I have, however, decided on one possible litmus test that I might employ: anyone who does not like Squeeze is not someone I want to know.

Sep. 23 2008 02:36 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
Dennis from Bronx

Mr. Thompson may have a point that the 70's was the last period were popular rock was largely critically worthwhile, but I'm not sure that's a reflection on the quality of all modern rock. To contend that is just a sad, lazy generalization.

It makes sense that someone who grew up having great music served to him on the radio isn't going see anything he likes in this post commercial/arena rock landscape. It seems like going out and finding it just takes more effort than he's capable of putting in.

Sep. 23 2008 02:35 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
Elizabeth Stillwell from NYC

I am really enjoying the pre-80s music lovefest of today's show because every time my husband asks me "Where is the Led Zeppelin of today?" I dont know what to say.

I say I also don't know where the Mozarts and Chopins are. I try to explain that I think there are bands like Nirvana in the class of great bands. (and he agrees), I also say that music genres have divided and subdivided but still that there are too many styles for one band to appeal to as many people as the Beatles. But these answeres are ultimately unsatisfying. Usually I have to concede that there are now really no galvanizing authentic bands, that the artists everyone recognizes (like Briney Spears and the like) are essentially fed to teenagers for image and style but not for musical creativity or talent. So the quesiton always remains, "Where are today's Beatles?"

Thanks for your program!

Elizabeth

Sep. 23 2008 02:34 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
Frank Grimaldi from New York

The current artist that comes closest to Queen is MIKA - Vocal wise.

David Bowie did most of his greatest work in the 70's. Yes, Moody Blues, Led Zepplin, Mott the Hoople, Sweet, Kiss, etc.

Sep. 23 2008 02:29 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
Rachel

I'm 25 and I hate today's rock. It sucks. What sort of world do we live in where Nickelback can win the same awards that the likes of some of those giants won?

I'm not missing anything by not listening to the radio.

Sep. 23 2008 02:27 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
David from Morningside Heights

The problem with rock -- all rock, classic or new -- is that it's old. It's our parents' and grandparents' music. All the tours are people in their 60s. It's old fashioned. And the people who like it are old. It didn't ruin itself. It just grew frail.

Sep. 23 2008 02:27 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
Brian from Manhattan

This is infuriating. Mr. Thompson cannot be serious. To state that "soul went out of music" at any point seems an act of psychological projection more than a fact to be proven by pointing to modern music. This is so ludicrous. I'm at a loss for words. How presumptous and just plain wrong.

Sep. 23 2008 02:27 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
kp from NJ

I came of age in the 70's and I, like most people, think the soundtrack of my youth is the best. I can't think of a great album recorded after 1980. Do they even record 'albums' any more or is it just about hit singles?

Sep. 23 2008 02:27 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
MichaelB from UWS Manhattan

Another inane and pandoring Soundcheck show. Who needs WNYC to do this smarmy stuff? There are thousands of "pop" stations that already do it.

Sep. 23 2008 02:25 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
Jamie Prince from manhattan

I was in high school and loved rock and roll, but looking back, I think most of the music was horrible! I rarely listen to it now (maybe some Led Zeppelin). I'm 46 now, and what I really love is alternative rock- Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Lit - I don't understand why people cling to the old music or still go to Rolling Stones Concerts - they all look and like dancing corpses.

Sep. 23 2008 02:22 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
david in nyc from NYC

Rolling Stones -- Sorry, but they've produced absolutely nothing worth listening to since Exile on Main Street. Is it any coincidence that Mick Taylor dumped them after that?

The ONLY decent music produced in the '70s was from the Grateful Dead, Leo Kottke, and ESPECIALLY Ry Cooder. (And John Lennon, but most of us never appreciated him at the time).

Wise up.

Sep. 23 2008 02:20 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
Art from Brooklyn

Pathetic. Put any one of the three of these opinionated fools in front of a mic to sing and we'd all run out screaming.
You have no clue about music, the making of it and even less respect for people who feed you - ie the musicians who create the music you demean with your ignorance,

Sep. 23 2008 02:16 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
mombi from NYC

I turned 17 in 1974 so I should agree with Thompson but happily my daughter keeps enough new music on my iPod to pay back me making sure she heard, and has on her iPod, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, etc.

Sep. 23 2008 02:15 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0
bas from brooklyn

Sadly, for a program about music- you sometimes play very bad copies of recordings- I can hear the particular crackle
of poor digital downloads in snippets you play on your show. How could you! Of all shows! Buy a CD or an LP to get a proper recording to play on your show! Think about it! Today you started your show playing a bit of that poor digital Lo Fi .

Thanks

Sep. 23 2008 02:05 PM
Vote this comment up Vote this comment down Score: 0/0

Leave a Comment

Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.







URL

If you enter anything in this field your comment will be treated as spam
Location
* Denotes a required field