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Post by Kapitan on Apr 2, 2020 18:47:23 GMT
Some of yesterday’s talk about what it means to be an “essential album” got me thinking, as you may have read. In that thread, I compared it to something that would be the pop-music equivalent of the contents of a high school education. You expect high school graduates to have a general understanding of the country’s history: when European settlers began arriving; how they interacted with the native inhabitants; when, how, and why the American Revolution happened; the history of slavery and how it led to the Civil War; and so on. We don’t expect everyone to know everything that’s interesting or valuable, but we do expect them to understand some basics, some things we consider essential. My challenge to you: List the 25 albums you think are essential for a person to be considered educated in the history of popular music since the birth of rock and roll.You're creating the textbooks (ok, text tapes) for Rock and Roll 101. I’ll leave the particulars to you. Interpret it however you see fit: just explain (or be ready to answer questions about) your approach. But these aren’t your favorite bands, your favorite albums, or even your favorite subgenres. It’s about getting a good education. Think about the children!And obviously, 25 albums is far too few. There’s no right answer. It’s an impossible task. Have fun.
EDIT: Hey, I did say "interpret it however you see fit." So if, for example, you see fit to interpret the above as "list 25 albums of each/any decade you think are essential...," well, that's your right. Because seriously, 25 total is probably just enough to make a person realize how terrible his list is. I'd almost rather list five or 10. Twenty-five smacks of being a complete list, but as anyone who has tried realized quickly, it ain't necessarily so.
The point of the game is of course whittling it down to a small number. So let's not go crazy. But take some liberties. Lord knows I'm going to have to.
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Post by kds on Apr 2, 2020 19:13:46 GMT
That's a tough one. To really tell the story of rock and roll in 25 albums, I figure you need some Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, and Elvis. I know next to nothing about the actual LPs they released at the time. So, I'm cheating a little bit with my list. Also, some of these are slightly out of chronological order in order to tell rock's history.
1. Various - The Ultimate Rock and Roll Collection - The 1950s (https://www.discogs.com/Various-The-Ultimate-RockRoll-Collection-The-50s/release/5951056)
2. The Beatles - Please Please Me
3. The Rolling Stones - Out of Our Heads
4. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
5. The Yardbirds - Roger the Engineer
6. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
7. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's
8. Cream - Disraeli Gears
9. Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced
10. The Who - Who's Next
11. Led Zeppelin - IV
12. Chicago - II
13. Deep Purple - Machine Head
14. Black Sabbath - S/T
15. David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
16. Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
17. Queen - A Night at the Opera
18. Alice Cooper - Welcome to My Nightmare
19. Genesis - The Lamb Dies Down on Broadway
20. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
21. The Clash - London Calling
22. Van Halen - S/t
23. Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
24. Guns N Roses - Appetite for Destruction
25. Nirvana - Nevermind
I thought I'd covered all bases, even reluctantly punk and grunge. I even failed to include AOR and "Hair Metal" but I figured I could touch a bit on the rise of AOR somewhere in the late 70s period, and use Van Halen I as a springboard for "Hair Metal."
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Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Apr 2, 2020 19:28:24 GMT
Definitely a difficult task for me. I don't listen to full albums outside of a few artists. Also, I need a little clarification. Are we only doing rock albums? The title says rock and roll 101, but in your post it says pop music since the beginning of rock and roll. I guess your bolded line makes it clear, but I like to be sure of these important things. It seems kds went the rock only route.
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Post by kds on Apr 2, 2020 19:32:09 GMT
I stuck with rock since this would be for a Rock and Roll 101 course.
As much as it pained me to include The Clash and Nirvana, I do think that those movements are a part of rock's story. And I stopped in the early 90s because I really think the grudge movement represented the last real era of creativity in the genre.
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Post by kds on Apr 2, 2020 19:39:18 GMT
For S&Gs, here's a slightly alternative list if I got to teach the class while ignoring punk and alternative
1. Various - The Ultimate Rock and Roll Collection - The 1950s (https://www.discogs.com/Various-The-Ultimate-RockRoll-Collection-The-50s/release/5951056)
2. The Beatles - Please Please Me
3. The Rolling Stones - Out of Our Heads
4. The Yardbirds - Roger the Engineer
5. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
6. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's
7. Cream - Disraeli Gears
8. Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced
9. The Who - Who's Next
10. Led Zeppelin - IV
11. Chicago - II
12. Deep Purple - Machine Head
13. Black Sabbath - S/T
14. Queen - A Night at the Opera
15. Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
16. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
17. Alice Cooper - Welcome to My Nightmare
18. Genesis - The Lamb Dies Down on Broadway
19. Journey - Infinity
20. Van Halen - S/t
21. Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
22. Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet
23. Metallica - Master of Puppets
24. Guns N Roses - Appetite for Destruction
25. Alice in Chains - Dirt
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 2, 2020 19:53:37 GMT
Let the record show, I hate myself. I hadn't begun making my list when I posted initially. I knew it would be impossible, but it's impossible.
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Post by kds on Apr 2, 2020 19:58:05 GMT
Let the record show, I hate myself. I hadn't begun making my list when I posted initially. I knew it would be impossible, but it's impossible. It's definitely impossible.
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 2, 2020 20:00:58 GMT
I'm not sure whether my list will be according to my own rules, or an innovation... (I'm thinking one more strictly rock based list and another more non-rock, popular list.) I don't know yet. I am trying to stick to the original plan. We'll see. Kudos to you on your bravery!
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 2, 2020 21:28:01 GMT
I'm opening this up a little. See initial post for an edit.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Apr 2, 2020 21:43:03 GMT
Great topic. Wouldn't it be fun to teach a course - Rock & Roll 101. I'd do it for free!
01 Elvis Presley - The Sun Sessions 02 Chuck Berry - The Great 28 03 Little Richard - Here's Little Richard 04 Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan 05 Johnny Cash - I Walk The Line
06 Phil Spector - A Christmas Gift For You 07 The Beach Boys - Endless Summer 08 The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night 09 Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited 10 The Mamas & The Papas - If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears 11 The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds 12 The Doors - The Doors 13 The Jimi Hendrix Experience
14 The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band 15 Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul 16 Motown - 50 17 The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers 18 The Who - Who's Next 19 Carole King - Tapestry 20 Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon 21 Led Zeppelin - IV 22 KISS - Alive 23 The Ramones - Ramones
24 The Bee Gees - Saturday Night Fever 25 Bruce Springsteen - Born In The U.S.A.
I can't stop myself... 26 Michael Jackson - Thriller 27 Nirvana - Nevermind
I should've included a Creedence Clearwater Revival album.
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Post by B.E. on Apr 2, 2020 21:48:38 GMT
How tough was it to leave out Pet Sounds?
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Apr 2, 2020 21:50:35 GMT
How tough was it to leave out Pet Sounds? (cough) I have to go back and do some quick editing...
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 2, 2020 21:53:48 GMT
Great topic. Wouldn't it be fun to teach a course - Rock & Roll 101. I'd do it for free!
A friend of mine, while getting his doctorate in music maybe 15 years ago, taught a history of rock and roll class at the U of MN. He actually brought me in to guest lecture during a session he dedicated to the Beach Boys!
He and I had a blast. The kids couldn't have cared less.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Apr 2, 2020 23:50:24 GMT
1. Various - The Ultimate Rock and Roll Collection - The 1950s (https://www.discogs.com/Various-The-Ultimate-RockRoll-Collection-The-50s/release/5951056) Good idea to go with a comp for the early years which includes SEVERAL of the great artists and songs. But, has to have Elvis in there for me. He's too important.
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Post by lonelysummer on Apr 3, 2020 6:32:58 GMT
I see a definite lack of 50's rock and roll on these lists. And part of the problem is that everything was geared towards singles back then. But I think if you're talking rock and roll, you gotta start at the beginning. Not with the British Invasion of 1964, nor with the surf music trend of slightly before that. So who do I put on the list to represent 50's rock and roll? I think most of us would agree on Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard. Buddy Holly, oddly enough, seems to be the 50's rocker that most younger fans are familiar with. I could not leave out Fats Domino; i think the Everly Brothers need to be on the list. But i could go on and on with this. Bo Diddley was a huge influence with his rhythms; Carl Perkins was a huge, huge influence on the Beatles, especially George Harrison. Where do i stop? Eddie Cochran? Ricky Nelson? Dion? i think i am more suited to giving a youngster a beginners guide on early rock and roll, up through about 1966. After that, it shoots off in a dozen different directions; too hard to represent with just 25 albums.
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