— Musings —03.20.2017 07:53 AM
Chuck Berry on the Sex Pistols, Clash, Ramones, Wire and Joy Division
…wherein Chuck, RIP, slices and dices my fave bands of all time (save and except Da Brudders), here:
The Sex Pistols — “God Save the Queen” What’s this guy so angry about anyway? Guitar work and progression is like mine. Good backbeat. Can’t understand most of the vocals. If you’re going to be mad at least let the people know what you’re mad about.
The Clash — “Complete Control” Sounds like the first one. The rhythm and chording work well together. Did this guy have a sore throat when he sang the vocals?
The Ramones — “Sheena is a Punk Rocker” A good little jump number. These guys remind me of myself when I first started, I only knew three chords too.
Wire — “I Am the Fly” and Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures So this is the so-called new stuff. It’s nothing I ain’t heard before. It sounds like an old blues jam that BB and Muddy would carry on backstage at the old amphitheatre in Chicago. The instruments may be different but the experiment’s the same.
No disrespect for the recently deceased, but Berry sounded like a lot of old rockers who are trying to re-live their glory days, and put themselves back in the spotlight. “My generation did all that” ; “This new stuff is just derivative crap, copying my stuff”; etc…
Come on, show some class, and recognize that no one “invented” music, nor any specific style of music. Be complimentary towards musically-talented people, and appreciate the joy they give others.