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Who are you? Today's bands are faceless
By Renee Graham, Globe Staff, 7/2/2002

Just a guess here, but it's probably safe to assume
that when the bassist for Nickelback dies, he won't be
eulogized by Peter Jennings and Charles Osgood. 

Nor will his passing likely inspire the lengthy
newspaper appreciations or television features which
accompanied the sudden death last week of the Who's
legendary bassist John Entwistle. That's not meant as
a slight against Nickelback's bass player (who, by the
way, is Mike Kroeger), the same could be said about
Creed's drummer, Hoobastank's guitarist, Default's
lead singer, or Linkin Park's turntablist.

Of course, all the attention paid to a 57-year-old
musician whose band, despite countless tours, hadn't
released an album of new material since 1982, could be
blamed on a cultural spasm by time-warped news editors
and producers who probably haven't purchased an album
since Led Zeppelin called it quits. (Although if
Entwistle had contributed nothing more to rock history
than his sputtering, funky bass solo on the Who
classic ''My Generation'' he still would have deserved
a moment of silence in his honor.)

This isn't a lambasting of self-absorbed baby boomers;
it's a lament about today's faceless brand of modern
rock.

Entwistle's death marked not only another lost link to
rock's thrilling past (yes, kids, rock was once
thrilling), but recalled those days when a band's
members were as distinct and recognizable as their
songs. Even casual music fans could distinguish
between Mick and Keith, John and Paul, Roger and Pete.
There was no more confusing Ringo Starr and Charlie
Watts, any more than you'd mix up ''Hello Goodbye''
and ''Sympathy for the Devil.''

If a song or album infatuated a fan, then it was the
boys in the band that often made fans for life. They
didn't just buy a record, they were invested
emotionally in the band itself.

But where's the love today? Perhaps the modern rock's
target demographic (which I've most certainly
outgrown) feels the same soul connection to Drowning
Pool and Puddle of Mudd, as others once felt for Cream
and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. But, the fact remains
that many rock bands are now as anonymous as gas
station attendants.

They're not only sonically similar - Default sounds
like Creed, Earshot sounds like Tool - but as
personalities, they're as dull as ditch water. To
illustrate the point, MTV once sent a correspondent to
a Train show, and most of the concertgoers interviewed
didn't even know the lead singer's name.

Or was it a Vertical Horizon show? Does it even
matter? Can anyone (without cheating with the Web)
easily name a single member of either band?

Devotion to a band, not just a single song or album,
is what blesses a band with longevity. As kids, you
buy the T-shirt, you plaster your bedroom wall with
glossy photos clipped from magazines, and you know the
band members' birthdays. Such fan loyalty carries a
band beyond its first splash of success. Without it, a
band could quickly find themselves in the cut-out bin
next to the Spin Doctors and Hootie and the Blowfish. 

Bands such as U2 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers have
lasted more than 20 years because their fans feel as
connected to the members as to the music. As long as
they stay together there will always be people eager
to buy the next U2 or Chili Peppers record, whether
they have a top-selling single, and regardless of the
latest form or fashion.

Now visually, as well as aurally, rock has been boiled
down to an undistinguishable mass, an assembly line of
sameness and namelessness. Once, when rock was still
dangerous and grand, it meant Keith Moon's ribaldry,
Joey Ramone's nerdy swagger, Jim Morrison's
unpredictability, Kurt Cobain's insouciance, and Keith
Richards' cadaverous cool.

And, for nearly 40 years, it was also the bearded
Entwistle thundering out a world of sound, and even
while standing as still as a lawn jockey, emitting
more personality than just about all of today's modern
rock acts combined.

This story ran on page E1 of the Boston Globe on
7/2/2002.
) Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company. 


=====
-Brian in Atlanta
The Who This Month!
http://www.thewhothismonth.com
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