Long One (fair warning)

[Daswer@aol.com]

Hey Anne, 
Welcome to Who Land.  BTW, I'm never offended by debates (how boring would
life be if we all backed away from friendly disagreements about art).
Unfortunately for me, when someone slams The Who I tend to lose 90% of my
objectivity.  But in general, I come from a good size Irish family where
finding and defending your own opinion was a cherished pasttime. Having said
that, its back to the rugby pitch with Carolyn...

>1.  R.E.M. is NOT an overrated band! 

"Are too!  Nyah!"
 
>They are the best group of the past 20 years

Ridiculous.  Countless groups are and were better:  The Police, 
The Pretenders, Squeeze, Cracker, The Cure, Peter Gabriel all were better, to
name just a few (although I'll probably take heat for saying so) And lastly,
when both bands were at their peak, REM never touched U2, the best band of the
80s (their post-Joshua Tree nonsense notwithstanding).

 >probably the best American group *ever*

God no!!  Creedence!  The Allman Brothers!  The Byrds!  The Velvet
Underground!  Lou Reed!  Not to mention Jimi Hendrix!!! (and I consider the
Experience mainly American since Jimi was the creative force).  Many bands can
debatably lay claim to the title "Best American Group Ever", but REM will
never be in that race.  Bite your tongue!    

>and certainly the best new group to come
>along since the Sixties. 

Now THAT'S funny.  So...why am I weeping?  

>Just my opinion.

What's the famous line, (paraphrased horribly), 'I despise your viewpoint, but
I will defend to the death your right to say it (and my right to lambaste it
in return).  BTW, I'm on the fence about Who's Next and Quad myself.

Brian in Atlanta wrote:
>On another note, John says Keith's drumming on his last >session playing with
The
>Who (doing the "Who Are You" video) was some of the best >drumming he'd ever
seen him do. 

Which is funny because I always held back on discussions of the disintegration
of Keith's playing.  Granted, he wasn't what HE once was, but even in '78 he
was damn good.  I always thought the drum track on "Who Are You" was awesome.
Maybe Keith's blinding speed had slowed down, but the intense, wonderfully
erratic rolls were still thundering behind the band.  Whenever I play that
song in my car, I'm constantly airjamming those drums, as opposed to Pete's
guitar, my usual airjam instrument of choice.  Yeah, I airjam in my car!  Come
on, fess up you other Who freaks!
I've constantly argued about Keith with other musicians.  My roommate plays
drums (so so) and he scoffs at Keith's playing.  I've tried a million times
tell him that Keith has again and again been called Rock's best drummer, but
he and many others don't buy it.  "He's all over the place" or the lamest
argument "He doesn't keep time very well".  But I think Howard summed up my
feelings best:
>And the sad state of affairs in the 90's is that most classic >rock and jazz
drummers
>drum by numbers.  They do everything perfectly... but there is >no feeling.
They
>merely portray ferocity, and they do it exactly the way >countless other
unimaginative drummers do it.
Thank you thank you thank you!  Exactly!  What Keith gleefully lacked (or
shunned) in technique he made up with in sheer passion and intensity.  Rock
music has always been more about feeling than technique to me, that's why
Keith is, was and ever shall be the best Rock drummer who ever lived.  When
push came to shove Keith always chose a ferocious drum assault over a
metronomic beat.  God bless him!
-Leo