What Era of Rock was the best?

[charlie and algernon]

[ghostsofgiants]

1. If I had to choose, I'd say punk/post-punk, late '70s/early '80s.

Because of the era itself, and its influence on the current good stuff.

[SoxFan]

11. Correct!

Punk, post-punk, "The Big Music" (Big Country, The Alarm, Waterboys), cowpunk (did alt country 10 years before Wilco and did it better), janglepop, garage revival (Del Fuegos, Del Lords, Turbines, Lyres)...gooooood stuff.

[abq e streeter]

24. As a geezer who said mid 60's, I gotta agree that any era that gave us The Clash

is right up there among the best

[ghostsofgiants]

32. Goddamn right.

The Clash are unfuckwithable.

[abq e streeter]

40. Never saw them, dammit, but did see Joe and The Mescaleros

almost exactly 10 years ago . A great, powerful band in its own right, and finally seeing Joe Strummer; well what can I even say. They happened to be in Chicago when I was visiting family, and only knew a couple of old friends there by then. Only talked my buddy Brian, a somewhat jaded musician, into going by promising to reimburse him for the ticket price if he didn't think it was worth it. At the end, he turned and thanked me for talking him into it, saying he'd "forgotten there were people ( Strummer) with this kind of charisma still making music". And this was in a club ( albeit a fairly large one) and we were probably no more than about 15 or 20 feet away from Joe . I can only imagine ( and see from old live performance film/video) how incredible it would have been to have seen The Clash.

[mitchum]

43. Saw them twice; I was at the Atlanta gig pictured on the back of "London Calling"...

and then a couple of years later saw the "Cut The Crap" travesty.
The first gig was stellar, the second was...ughhh

[mitchum]

39. That's the era I would also go for (and of course the "proto" bands)

[Rhythm]

45. +1

[madinmaryland]

2. The Jazz Era in the 20's and 30's. Midlo turned me onto that music!

:P

[LostInAnomie]

3. I'm always amazed at how pissed adults were when Rock & Roll became popular in the 50's - early 60's

And, how they thought it was leading their kids to sex and Satan. I remember reading a story once about The Platters song "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes". Apparently, the widow of the guy who wrote the song was PISSED because they turned his song into a Rock & Roll record.

Seriously, who could find this offensive: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57tK6aQS_H0

[Oeditpus Rex]

8. Makes you wonder what Richard Rodgers thought

of the Marcels' version of "Blue Moon."

The original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWddzmJgKT8

The Marcels: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-avJPsuArgs

[surrealAmerican]

16. That reaction was mostly just racism.

This was a very different country in the 50s.

[jobycom]

25. I had preachers calling it "Music from the pit" in the early 80s.

Every generation hates the music of their parents, then they hate the music of their kids. Scan the Lounge, count the number of "GET OFF MY LAWN!!" posts about "Today's music."

People really do grow up to be their parents, if they don't try to avoid it.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

4. Mesozoic

Fossilized Dinosaur Tracks - Exhibit at Dinosaur State Park, Rocky Hill,
Connecticut, USA. These tracks were found at this location in 1966 and have been left in place. Photo by Flo Bruehl September 30, 2006.

[jeff30997]

7. Lol!

Good one. :rofl:

[Zavulon]

5. I'm going with classic 1970's.

It seemed that I liked just about every song on any rock station back then. Nothing could be further from the truth now.

[abq e streeter]

6. None of the above---mid- 60's but definitely not extending into the early 70's

[old mark]

9. I couldn't vote - I like a lot of different music, although I am

having a hard time with some of the slag that is coming out now.

I love nearly anything with a well-played guitar in it, and I have very broad ideas on what well-played is.
I don't like whe really processed stuff from the early 60's, mid 70's. late 80's, etc.

I like when raw rock music is re-discovered and kills the big label shit.


mark

[whistler162]

10. Precambrian

[Jetboy]

12. Guess I am the only person who voted for the Golden Age of

rock-n-roll.

The worst thing that ever happened to rock-n-roll IMO is when bands stopped reaching back to that first era for inspiration. New York Dolls and Ramones (and to a lesser degree Social Distortion) oozed that 50s cool and 'GOT' it, but after them the Golden Age influence seems to have ended. Maybe a doo-wop ooh or aah here or there and an occasional rockabilly riff, but really it's all gone and that is a shame.

Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bill Haley and the Comets, Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Richie Valens, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Wanda Jackson, Frankie and the Teenagers, Shirelles, Shangri Las, Coasters, Platters... and so many more. This is the most important era in RNR history and it is sadly overlooked and understudied IMO.

[EndersDame]

14. 50s Rock oozed of sex and rebellion

I am 23 and love it! They also sound more genuine and primal to my ears any way. You should check out the Reverend Horton Heat

[Jetboy]

17. The good Rev is playing my local rock club in August.

Check out a DVD called 'The London Rocknroll Show' sometime. It features Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and many others playing a concert at Wembley Stadium in 1971. The most hardcore of hardcore punk bands cannot match the intensity of a Jerry Lee or a Little Richard live and out of control IMO. Those guys show how it's done, but sadly almost nobody gets it anymore.

[abq e streeter]

30. Are you familiar with The Cramps? The real originators of "psycho-billy"

and if you dig Horton Heat ( uh oh, I used "dig" , just gave away my age), and you don't know about the Cramps, I really recommend checking out some of their stuff, especially via you tube videos. Its terribly sad that Lux Interior passed away recently; I was stunned to find out out he was 62. And since you love the pure early stuff, I also, like I just did with Jetboy, highly recommend making ( as I viewed it) a "pilgrimage' to Sun Studio in Memphis; gave me goosebumps standing in the same room where Elvis ,Scotty and Bill had broken into an impromptu rendition of That's All Right Mama, and changed the world forever.

[Coventina]

31. Some members of the Cramps worked with Wanda Jackson

(I forget which ones right now).

I haven't heard that material, though.

I loved the Cramps.

RIP, Lux.

:cry:

[abq e streeter]

42. didn't know that---how cool---thanks ( and again, so sad about Lux being gone way too soon)

[jonnyblitz]

37. R.I.P. Lux. nt

[EndersDame]

48. Thanks for info

I real wish i could time travel and hang out at Sun For a day

[Coventina]

19. I recently turned on to Wanda Jackson! Yowza!!

Where has she been all my life?

:shrug:

[abq e streeter]

21. Actually she's been a dedicated christian for many years,

but as far as I know, she doesn't try to shove it down anybody's throat. She will mention having become a christian and what she believes this has done for her, and then goes on and does her thing. I have never seen her, but this is what I hear anyway. I had a gig last time she was here, but hope she comes back; would love to see her perform. Also, if you get a chance to see it, there was a really good PBS documentary called Women of Rockabilly, and one of the people they focused on was Jackson; in fact I think this is where I became aware of her having become a dedicated christian...it also features Brenda Lee, Lorrie Collins, and the late Janis Martin, with a fascinating opening segment about Charlene Arthur. Hope you can somehow find this( don't know if its available for purchase or not)-- I think you'd really enjoy it.

[abq e streeter]

23. I'd said mid 60's ( and NOT extending to 70's) ,but seeing this list of artists,

you make a hell of a case for the original rock n roll era too. I've been fortunate to have seen a few of these artists , and in one case, Bo Diddley, actually played a gig with him ( and had an off-night too---me, not Bo, a fact that I'll probably never stop kicking myself over, but hey, I at least can say I played with him once). I don't know about only a few bands reaching back to the originals for inspiration though. I think almost any really good rock n roll band does, whether they're consciously aware of it or not. The great bands/artists have always had at least of touch of that original spark and sound, and feel...from The Beatles to Bruce Springsteen, The Clash, the Cramps ,Chris Isaak, Rancid, Creedence Clearwater....just to name a few ( but some of the best) of many........ Have you ever been to Sun Studio in Memphis? I finally went about 3 years ago, and it was a pilgrimage worth making...

[Jetboy]

29. I love when Springsteen does a Golden Age tune like And Then

She Kissed Me or Quarter to Three. The whole band dancing around in a circle with the sax a wailin'- can't be beat! It's the painful slow songs that I can't stomach. Clash and Cramps are good examples of rockabilly influenced bands but their aren't many of 'em. CCR was definitely one of the few bands of their era who carried the flame for the Golden Age stuff. I feel that rock-n-roll is at it's best when a post Golden Age band captures that Golden Age magic and ups the intensity. A band like the Stones made Golden Age magic AND survived to rev it up to 11.

I would like to see as many of the Golden Age cats as i can. Perhaps a trip to Memphis would achieve several goals. It is awesome that you played with Bo Diddley. He was one of the Greats for sure and I am sorry that I never saw him play.

[abq e streeter]

33. To respectfully disagree (only a little--we're mostly on the same wavelength here)

The best of Bruce's slow stuff carries the same emotional intensity ( if not necessarily the same sound) of a really good doo-wop ballad, especially Drifters type stuff. Gary Tallent, and Steve Van Zandt are well-known rockabilly and garage band fanatics, and Bruce has been quoted more than once regarding his awe of the early rockabilly guys , whether the obvious ones like Elvis or more obscure like Hank Mizell ( Jungle Rock ). I myself was in a good rockabilly band about 9-10 years ago, and still miss it. We did a live in the studio CD( mainly covers) ; if I ever get computer-savvy enough to know how to post a cut or two here, maybe I'll do that one of these days. The best cuts were Buzz Buzz Buzz by the Hollywood Flames, Flip Flop Mama by Eddie Bond, Let's Fall in Love by Bob Luman, and Bill Haley's Train of Sin. :toast:

[Jetboy]

36. Yes Steve Van Zandt perhaps more than any human alive,

carries the torch for the forgotten greats in rocknroll. I like Bruce, a lot, but most of his stuff simply wanders away from my taste. I take great joy from the songs I mentioned and some others and leave the rest. I would love to hear your tunes sometime as it sounds right up my alley. A bit like the Blasters maybe? I love that band.

I collect records and it is hard to find old rockabilly records at a reasonable price. I have to settle for compilations that often include some cheesier material, but it is still worth it. Cheers to you abq e streeter!

[abq e streeter]

41. I've actually done all sorts of Blasters stuff, in fact our version of Buzz Buzz Buzz

by the Hollywood Flames is taken from the Blasters version. Have seen them about a half -dozen times, including a New Years Eve show with Los Lobos at the beautiful Pantages Theater on Hollywood Blvd in the early 90's. They had the full contingent too; Gene Taylor on piano, and both Lee Allen and Steve Berlin ( who did double duty--both The Blasters and Los Lobos)on saxes that night. Also..... I have a friend; a semi -retired roadie-soundman-guitar tech etc, who now mostly just makes his living buying and selling rock n roll memorabilia and hard to find records. Doesn't particularly specialize in rockabilly, but probably has access to people who do( and can generally track down specific stuff himself--I have no idea if his prices are good, bad, average...)...If you'd like, I'll email him and ask if its OK to PM you with his email address....let me know here or by PM if you'd like me to ask him about that.

[begin_within]

13. 1964 through 1974

[Moondog]

27. + 1

[underpants]

15. I think the early/mid 90's is overlooked at how good it was

good music usually comes about in times of great upheaval (War, Clinton beats established powers, the expected rise of crime, etc.)

Even the "one-hit wonders" were pretty good especially the likes of Toadies, Cake, Afghan Whigs, Bush, etc.

:shrug:

I grew being told that the 60's and into the 70's were the "Classic" period but the 90's were at least a close second in my opinion

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

18. PROG!

[Celeborn Skywalker]

57. Yep Yep.

Excellent albums, all.

[Raffi Ella]

20. Classic Rock 1970s

B-)

[Deja Q]

22. New Wave, followed by the 1960s

Though some 60s music is bad... "Good Shepherd" didn't get society very far and, in reality is a stark contrast to real life events of the time...

[ZombieHorde]

26. Underground industrial, 70's to present. nt

[mitchum]

34. I also like that genre and maybe you will enjoy this "joke"...

Now that Genesis has completed the transformation
there will always be two women at every Throbbing Gristle show

[ZombieHorde]

35. I think you need to update your joke to PTV. Are PTV still together?

[mitchum]

38. Throbbing Gristle just played gigs in NYC in April...

and they have more scheduled in various places for the rest of the year

[ZombieHorde]

46. Really! With the original members?

[mitchum]

49. Yes, all four of them

Pretty incredible

[jobycom]

28. What star in the sky shines the prettiest?

Music is always beautiful. It is always an expression of the best of a civilization, mixed with the worst. Listen to it for what it offers, not what you want to take, and you won't be able to decide a favorite era. You'll still have preferences, but you'll realize they are based on taste and experience, not some inherent quantifiable quality of the music.

[mvd]

44. Beatles were in their prime mid-60s, so I'd say..

mid-late 60s, early 70s.

[Xipe Totec]

47. Santana to the Moody Blues

[carlyhippy]

50. 1964 through 1974

Beatlemania through pre-disco.

[JimWis]

51. 1950's through early 60's. When rock really started. The voting

results would probably mirror a poll on - how old are you. 50's and early 60's was the best and you can tell I am an old fart.

[Iggo]

52. Metal: from Beethoven forward.

[MadBadger]

53. Classic Rock of the 70s to me.

[MrSlayer]

54. It's all about the fucking Metal.

[Sebastian Doyle]

55. I'd say every era had it's good and bad

Though it would be damn hard to find the good after about 1996 or so.

One thing I've noticed in the past, you get some crappy fad that comes along towards the end of the decade, and then the new decade begins and something takes its place.

Like disco in the late 70's or that cheesy hair band "metal" from the late 80's.

Problem is, nothing came along in the early part of this decade to wipe the suckage away. Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears are probably the first bubble gum manufactured teen idols to have a career span longer than two years. At least Creed and Limp Bizkit eventually broke up, but there wasn't really anything else to replace them. Or at least anything that gets played on corporate radio or signed to corporate labels.

And as a result of this void, both Creed and Limp Bizkit have reunited so they can take this decade out on a low point just like it came in :puke:

[Celeborn Skywalker]

56. All have their good points.

I like the progressive rock of the 70's (Pink Floyd, Rush, King Crimson, etc.) the best.

[Lucian]

58. The granites of MN from the Precambrian.

Some of the granites of the North Shore of Lake Superior is ~3.3 to 3.5 billion years old!

[Bennyboy]

59. Last weekend!

Bruce Sprngsteen and Phish jamming out to Glory Days. That has to be tops in my book. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWLMSpJlp1A Till next weekend that is.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

60. Toss up between the Late 60s to Early 70s and most of the 90s.

Fifties and early 60s the music was still getting its bearings. Mid to late 70s had a lot of overdone glam and arena rock (think KISS), and punk never did much for me. 1980s, with a few notable exceptions, were essentially the Dark Ages. And very late 90s to present day harkened the era of horrible nu metal and mostly forgettable mainstream acts.

But the Stones/Beatles/Woodstock era rock to Zep and Floyd eras were great. And most of the 1990s were pure rock perfection as far as I was concerned. Most of it was interesting but not over pretentious. Not to mention a little band called the Smashing Pumpkins (you knew I wasn't going to leave them out, now did you?)

[vi5]

61. The 70's, but not just classic rock....

I think the 70's was a great intersection of a lot of things happening in a lot of different styles and genres.

You still had a lot of classic rock bands doing a lot of great things musically. You had the advent of post-Sabbath modern heavy metal.....you had punk and art rock emerging. And if you weren't a rock fan at all you had a lot of great pop songs going on at the time also.

[NJmaverick]

62. Rock took a big hit with the introduction of the music video

it has been down hill ever since