Rock and Roll Flashpoints

That sounds about right, since if had been six years or so between albums.

Their last album was such a dog, and they were always known more for touring than studio albums, but it was just such a shock for the Dead to have a hit song, especially considering it was 5 years old.

 

That was a joke (hence the blue font). To me, when the singer and principal songwriter dies, it's no longer the same band. The Skynyrd touring today is Gary Rossington and a bunch of guys.

 

I knew it was a joke, just saying the shows aren't bad. In the last year or so I have seen Skynyrd, The Outlaws, and Molly Hatchet. All have one member from the 70s and the rest are new guys. Does that still really make them the group? The jury is out. It's pretty much the same as seeing a really good cover band.

 

Madonna has to be in the discussion. Whatever you think of the music, the way shows were presented changed with her. More BS, costume changes etc. We have her to blame for the plague of backup dancer.
Van Halen's "Jump" took them from metal to mainstream.

 

I don't know about the backup dancers, but Diana Ross and others were doing multiple costume changes well before Madonna hit it big.

 

Was thinking the same thing. They probably would have imploded eventually but who knows what they could have accomplished if Duane hadn't dumped his bike.

 

Clapton was trying to steal Duane away at the time of the crash. Fucking truck. I got off the interstate to go visit his grave once, and decided really fast to get my butt back on the road. I figured Duane wasn't going anywhere, but it didn't seem like the kind o neighborhood I needed to be in at the time.

As opposed to the other groups I mentioned earlier, when I saw the Allmans, Gregg, Dickey, Butch, and Jaimoe were all still there. So it really was the group.

 

Not sure if it's a flashpoint or not, but probably a good place to post this.

About two months ago, I watched a fantastic "American Masters" episode on someone I'd never heard of before: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, known as the "godmother of rock 'n' roll." She was Johnny Cash's favorite singer when he was a kid and a huge influence on Elvis Presley (and you can easily hear why, with the elements of gospel and rock in her music.)

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/sister-rosetta-tharpe-got-rock-rolling-long-before-elvis/

It's mind-blowing to hear the type of guitar solos she was creating in the 1940s (this performance is from later in her life, but she recorded it in 1944 and the song is now preserved by the Library of Congress):

http://youtu.be/4xzr_GBa8qk?t=1m28s

Here's another (whole song is great, and the guitar solo comes around 1:25):

I mean, listen to that. Again, the YouTube performance is later but she was playing that way 10 years before anyone heard of Chuck Berry, 20 years before anyone heard of Jimi Hendrix. That's as much rock 'n' roll as anything I've ever heard. She should have been in the RRHOF a hell of a lot earlier than fucking Rush.

It reminds me of the Marty McFly guitar solo in "Back to the Future." "I guess you guys aren't ready for that. But your kids are gonna love it." Shit, she was already doing that in real life.

Maybe she's more famous than I realize, but I'm blown away that I'd never even heard of her name before.

 

You need to listen to The Rolling Stones more.

 

Holy shit. You can say that again.

 

U2 were awesome before, but "With Or Without You" took them from alt-rock curiosity to arena-rock stardom in 1987.