Thanks for the call-out Steve, and thanks for subscribing to my music themed novel challenge69.substack.com hope you're enjoying it (and hopefully some of your readers will join you!)
Not aware of this Scorpions song but will now give it a try. Tim
Wow, so much to unpack here. First, we seem to have followed similar trajectories. I loved the early protometal bands (Cream, Hendrix, then Purple, Sabbath) but drifted into lots of other genres (I hate that term, it's too restrictive but it's useful shorthand). New Wave, punk, house, EDM... in addition to never losing my love for classical, jazz and fusion. So like you, I like lots of stuff, as long as it's done well. I rediscovered hard rock and metal post 2000. I also am not into chasing the latest thing younger people are listening to (in part because the popular music scene in the U.S. has become like twinkies or velveeta--it's frankly boring and saccharine, and pretty awful). But where we may have diverged is that I am very much into new artists and musical acts--its just that a) they are mostly not based in the U.S., and b) they are doing throwback music: Hard rock, heavy metal, even straight-up power metal. Not this minimalist stuff we call "alternative". Which brings me full circle to the Scorpions. What a great band, and under-recognized in the U.S., despite those few hits that made it over here. They were unashamed to do big, loud but sentimental songs. I plan to check out the podcast, it sounds wild. I just have to carve out the time!
I more or less glommed onto the proto-metal at the same time as the 80s metal, so wore my Deep Purple and Sabbath pins right next to the Scorpions and Saxon pins. I think I'm similar to you in that I do like to check out newer music, but tend to gravitate to what leans in the direction of the music I grew up with. I do love lots of younger artists that for sure push the boundaries, such as Sudan Archives and Porridge Radio and even Billie Eilish. But I find that the best ones still have a foundation of what came before them, giving their sound a depth that stands out from the pack. And you are right in that the a lot of the most interesting new music is not coming from the US or UK. That's one aspect of the everything-is-streaming world that I am grateful for: we can access music from across the globe.
I would say I also gravitate to music that leans in the direction of the music I loved way back when--that is why I'm so fascinated with the Eastern European and Japanese metal bands. They take tropes pioneered by everyone from Beethoven and Chopin to Metallica and Helloween and freshen them up, add a jolt of energy, and in some cases bring a level of virtuosity that makes the guys from Iron Maiden look slow and sloppy. So I am with you on the importance of that foundation. A lot of "alt-rock" seems to be a deliberate rejection of that foundation, which is a shame.
Thanks for the call-out Steve, and thanks for subscribing to my music themed novel challenge69.substack.com hope you're enjoying it (and hopefully some of your readers will join you!)
Not aware of this Scorpions song but will now give it a try. Tim
Wow, so much to unpack here. First, we seem to have followed similar trajectories. I loved the early protometal bands (Cream, Hendrix, then Purple, Sabbath) but drifted into lots of other genres (I hate that term, it's too restrictive but it's useful shorthand). New Wave, punk, house, EDM... in addition to never losing my love for classical, jazz and fusion. So like you, I like lots of stuff, as long as it's done well. I rediscovered hard rock and metal post 2000. I also am not into chasing the latest thing younger people are listening to (in part because the popular music scene in the U.S. has become like twinkies or velveeta--it's frankly boring and saccharine, and pretty awful). But where we may have diverged is that I am very much into new artists and musical acts--its just that a) they are mostly not based in the U.S., and b) they are doing throwback music: Hard rock, heavy metal, even straight-up power metal. Not this minimalist stuff we call "alternative". Which brings me full circle to the Scorpions. What a great band, and under-recognized in the U.S., despite those few hits that made it over here. They were unashamed to do big, loud but sentimental songs. I plan to check out the podcast, it sounds wild. I just have to carve out the time!
I more or less glommed onto the proto-metal at the same time as the 80s metal, so wore my Deep Purple and Sabbath pins right next to the Scorpions and Saxon pins. I think I'm similar to you in that I do like to check out newer music, but tend to gravitate to what leans in the direction of the music I grew up with. I do love lots of younger artists that for sure push the boundaries, such as Sudan Archives and Porridge Radio and even Billie Eilish. But I find that the best ones still have a foundation of what came before them, giving their sound a depth that stands out from the pack. And you are right in that the a lot of the most interesting new music is not coming from the US or UK. That's one aspect of the everything-is-streaming world that I am grateful for: we can access music from across the globe.
I would say I also gravitate to music that leans in the direction of the music I loved way back when--that is why I'm so fascinated with the Eastern European and Japanese metal bands. They take tropes pioneered by everyone from Beethoven and Chopin to Metallica and Helloween and freshen them up, add a jolt of energy, and in some cases bring a level of virtuosity that makes the guys from Iron Maiden look slow and sloppy. So I am with you on the importance of that foundation. A lot of "alt-rock" seems to be a deliberate rejection of that foundation, which is a shame.