Really enjoyed Spin's exceptionally well-written and compiled 100 Greatest Drummers of Alternative Music feature. Not only do these underappreciated players finally get some respect (how many "best singers" and "best guitarists" lists have you already seen?"), but the Chris Weingarten-edited list also honors an excellent selection of great metal drummers. Some of my favorites are below, along with their Spin-selected "Most Booming Moment."
Showing posts with label Dale Crover. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dale Crover. Show all posts
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Song of the Day: The Melvins, "Goin' Blind"
Steven Tyler had a great idea this week. Sensing the need to promote a terrible new album and distance himself from the self-parodic, cartoonish image he's earned over the past 20 years, he took care of both causing by going on the radio and insulting KISS.
"KISS is a comic book rock band and they got a couple hits but they're more of a comic book. You see them in their spackled faces," said the former American Idol judge. "It is different: a KISS lick, a Joe Perry lick--two different worlds, and sometimes depending on the time of day get offended. I hear that and I go, 'Yeah, that's alright. Do they really mean it? And what's this all about?'"
Anyone who's been lucky enough to hear Rocks and unfortunate enough to suffer through Just Push Play can tell what he's doing. But for better and worse, he's right. KISS is a comic book band. Still, once upon a time, KISS were a colorful, multi-dimensional, auditory comic books series.
On Hotter than Hell, KISS' second album, they were still figuring out how weird they could be if their ultimate goal was world domination. Thus, they were still brave enough to write and record "Goin' Blind," a plodding depiction of an old man despairingly ending his affair with a young girl. "I'm 93, you're 16/Can't you see I'm going blind?" howls Gene Simmons. Within months, the band sensed that kids would rather get down to "Rock and Roll All Nite," and stopped playing "Goin' Blind."
20 years later, an uncompromising sludge-metal band got a deal with Atlantic Records on Kurt Cobain's behest. The result was Houdini, which included a cover of "Goin' Blind."
The Melvins' version of "Goin' Blind" is darker and more ingratiating than KISS'. King Buzzo and Dale Crover's performances embrace the bizarre elements of the original without any conflicts of trying to be the world's biggest band. But I also like hearing how KISS at their weirdest still sound downright catchy in the hands of the Melvins. A bleak reboot of the original comic book band.
"KISS is a comic book rock band and they got a couple hits but they're more of a comic book. You see them in their spackled faces," said the former American Idol judge. "It is different: a KISS lick, a Joe Perry lick--two different worlds, and sometimes depending on the time of day get offended. I hear that and I go, 'Yeah, that's alright. Do they really mean it? And what's this all about?'"
Anyone who's been lucky enough to hear Rocks and unfortunate enough to suffer through Just Push Play can tell what he's doing. But for better and worse, he's right. KISS is a comic book band. Still, once upon a time, KISS were a colorful, multi-dimensional, auditory comic books series.
On Hotter than Hell, KISS' second album, they were still figuring out how weird they could be if their ultimate goal was world domination. Thus, they were still brave enough to write and record "Goin' Blind," a plodding depiction of an old man despairingly ending his affair with a young girl. "I'm 93, you're 16/Can't you see I'm going blind?" howls Gene Simmons. Within months, the band sensed that kids would rather get down to "Rock and Roll All Nite," and stopped playing "Goin' Blind."
20 years later, an uncompromising sludge-metal band got a deal with Atlantic Records on Kurt Cobain's behest. The result was Houdini, which included a cover of "Goin' Blind."
The Melvins' version of "Goin' Blind" is darker and more ingratiating than KISS'. King Buzzo and Dale Crover's performances embrace the bizarre elements of the original without any conflicts of trying to be the world's biggest band. But I also like hearing how KISS at their weirdest still sound downright catchy in the hands of the Melvins. A bleak reboot of the original comic book band.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Song of the Day: Queensrÿche, "I Am I"
Does anybody* care at all that Geoff Tate was kicked out of Queensrÿche last week? News that one of history's greatest metal bands fired their lead singer for over 30 years should be significant, but most music news sites couldn't be bothered with the story. In truth, Queensrÿche's legacy has already been too defiled for this story to matter. Since Chris DeGarmo left in 1997, they've only been relevant as a comedy of errors, and the latest Tate episode is just another embarrassing flog to a fossilizing horse.
By all accounts, Tate deserved to get canned. But none of his exasperating behavioral or artistic choices cover the fact that this guy had a voice. Exhibit A: "I Am I," from 1994's Promised Land.
Hopefully you have good speakers and headphones. "I Am I" has some of the most encompassing production that you'll hear. The compression and rawness wars hadn't taken off yet, and each one of Tate's strange harmonies and affectations seem to get their own mix. The result is dazzling--I don't know who James Barton is, but he makes a case for investing in a producer and engineer.
'90s-era Queensrÿche gets dismissed for being radio-friendly, only because they were selling more records than before. Truthfully, it's very weird music. "I Am I" dresses a hypnotic sitar riff in bells, sound effects and strings, packing prog-rock senses into a song that doesn't even last four minutes. Scott Rockenfield's drumming sounds like Dale Crover broke into Danny Carey's mansion. All to arrive at the Iyaric conclusion that "I" is, in fact, "I". If that sounds silly to you, remember that this was written when Queensrÿche still was Queensrÿche.
*Besides the married couple with matching Queensrÿche tattoos whom I met outside the Best Buy Theater.
By all accounts, Tate deserved to get canned. But none of his exasperating behavioral or artistic choices cover the fact that this guy had a voice. Exhibit A: "I Am I," from 1994's Promised Land.
Hopefully you have good speakers and headphones. "I Am I" has some of the most encompassing production that you'll hear. The compression and rawness wars hadn't taken off yet, and each one of Tate's strange harmonies and affectations seem to get their own mix. The result is dazzling--I don't know who James Barton is, but he makes a case for investing in a producer and engineer.
'90s-era Queensrÿche gets dismissed for being radio-friendly, only because they were selling more records than before. Truthfully, it's very weird music. "I Am I" dresses a hypnotic sitar riff in bells, sound effects and strings, packing prog-rock senses into a song that doesn't even last four minutes. Scott Rockenfield's drumming sounds like Dale Crover broke into Danny Carey's mansion. All to arrive at the Iyaric conclusion that "I" is, in fact, "I". If that sounds silly to you, remember that this was written when Queensrÿche still was Queensrÿche.
*Besides the married couple with matching Queensrÿche tattoos whom I met outside the Best Buy Theater.
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