Musical Heroes
by I've been dwelling a bit on my musical heroes. There are two that I am really impressed with. One man is currently performing in his second REALLY BIG band and the other is a legendary musical genius.
No... neither one are in any way part of the Beatles... click on "Read More" to find out who they are...
The first one up is Dave Grohl, currently with the Foo Fighters. My first exposure to the Fighters was, like many in my age bracket, the video to "Learn To Fly". The video was very funny and very cool... something that was missing from rock videos (and bands, in my opinion) for a very... very long time. So I downloaded a few of the videos recently.. the video for "Big Me" is a classic that spoofs the Mentos commercials. They've also been to the moon, played in a burning motel, played a concert to no one and learned to fly a plane.. they do it all in their videos!
Anyway, back to Dave Grohl... I was impressed by the Foo's and his obvious leadership in the band.. but then I realized he was the drummer for Nirvana! I never cared much for Nirvana when they burst on the scene, Kurt Cobain's death never affected me, but I have come to appreciate their contribution to music. My respect for Grohl doubled! Oh, yeah, he's also directed some music videos for the Foo Fighters... much talent!
My other musical hero is Brian Wilson. This man WAS the Beach Boys for a period in the mid 1960's. If you think the Beach Boys were just a surf band, think again. The harmonies and complex musical arrangements of their stuff from mid 1964 to 1967 were (and still are) unequalled. Brian Wilson "saw" music in his head and would break it down into individual parts. When the rest of the band was touring, Brian would get studio musicians to play the music to have ready for vocals to be added after the tour dates. The musicians reportedly wondered what they were playing (since they only had music for their parts) and how it would fit. When they would hear the playbacks, everything fit together like the pieces of a puzzle.
To top that all off, Brian can play just about any instrument and was the bassist for the Beach Boys.
Opinions... comments... your musical heroes??
AI Summary
63 Comments
sorry i dont worship or idolize musical heroes.
hahaha. had to do it. to be annoying if not anything else.
Very funny... not idolizing, just admiration ;-)
or even adoration?
sigh... no... ugh...
i like billy joel...his music moves me. i can't wait till i play well enough to try 'root beer rag'. i haven't heard any of his classical stuff, tho.
dude, Brian Wilson has been in a mental institution for years. He just went nuts. And yet, somehow, he still writes songs...
Um.. no... he had a nervous breakdown in '66 or so... was in bed for years (he would get out from time to time)... and he was privately counselled, I don't think he was institutionalized. But yeah, he can still make music...
you know what, I thought this article was going to be about that brother who played in louis armstrong's band. yeah.
that big fat guy has a band?
HAD a back up band... Satchmo died in '69...
i thought louie was doing family fued...
i didn't know about that....a brother that used to be an elder in my hall played with ike and tina turner...he and his family moved back out to cali a couple years ago.
i love dave grohl!!!! he is my personal hereo, not only is he the drummer from nirvana, foo fighters front, as you mentioned but he is also in queens of the stone age, which i have become a big fan of. he's so amazing. i was reading this thing that kurt cobain wrote and it was just how dave was so amazing and cool and such a funny guy when you see him in interviews. i love it!
Yeah, the humor thing is what is awesome about the Foo's as a whole. If they weren't musicians, they would all be great comedians
are you aware that dave grohl played all the instruments on the foo fighter's albums (at least the first one, not sure about the others). have you ever tried banging on drums and strumming a guitar at the same time? I have, and it sounded nothing like The Foos. Of course I don't have any musical talent, so that must explain it.
my comment reminded me of an article I read in Spin about them. They played the Halloween K-Rock show, and dressed up as The Hives and started off with "Hate to Say I Told You So" that was "dead-on". they are an awesome band. I'd love to see them live.
They were amazing in concert. I saw them two summers ago with RHCP. SO great. He put on such a good show...came into the audience and everything. I love the foo fighters
Yeah, I know the "demo" album for the Foo's was all Grohl... what a talent...
on the 1995 debut album "Foo Fighters" Dave Grohl plays all the instruments except for a guest guitarist on one song.
that's not really how it works... they use overdubbing. still, that's talent to play all those instruments
dude. I. know. or are you making a joke? sometimes I hate the internet
(...and this would be one of those times...)
hey, earth to brent, I KNEW THAT!
i saw a guy on the boardwalk strumming a guitar and banging the drums...
I think you forgot Goldfinger in this story... their energy is uncompared... as far as im concerned.. i think they def ROCK OUT! wooohooo
yeah, i think he forgot about them for a reason. they are wacked out in concert!
they suck
they arent wacked out in concert, you saw them once and you werent paying any attention to the show just looking at mens butts, and even if you think they DO suck, which they dont, i just said that they have incredible energy onstage...
incredible GAY energy! i like their CDs and stuff, but they are weird live
no stinkin way!!! goldfinger is GREAAAAAAAAT live! they're my favorite show to see....man! they are so much fun....tons more fun than any other show i've been to. man! its been like 6 months since hte last time i've seen em! hopefully they're be at surf & skate this year.
i love Mike.
Mr. Wilson took some pills and i don't blame him, it's hard to be alive..
Even though the Foos are great, as well as the other ones mentioned...My personal favorite has to be Lionel Richie.
Yeah, he couldn't do any wrong back in teh '80's... then poof!
the troubled life of an '80s playa
i also decided on other people who are just so amazing. beastie boys. sooooooo good. i was reading their statements about how on-line music is good, and they have all these amazing songs and hey, they were way before eminem to be white rappers (although race doesn't matter.)
The Beach Boys didn't have a theremin, but I still liked them, because they at least had sense enough to have Paul Tanner play his instrument, the "tannerin," in the song, "Good Vibrations." That's right. You know the solo line, I'm talking about. "ooooo-oo-oo-oooooo-ooo-oo-oo." You know what? Play the song, and you'll pick it up. I think Brian Wilson, occasionally played this tannerin on tour, also. Oh. ..And, I like the Foo Fighters, too. They don't have the theremin or tannerin, but they rock out!
what good songs that you enjoy do have a theremin?
Pamelia Kurstin plays theremin on this brilliant collaboration project called Action Figure Party. The title of the song escapes me. Still, you'll find it on that album.
I heard it was a theremin that was played... that's how I heard of it! What's the difference between the two? BTW, it was Mike Love who plyed it in concerts...
yeh, it's of popular belief that it's a theremin that's heard in "good
vibrations." truth is, it merely mimics a theremin. you see, the
tannerin (built in the 1950s, by paul tanner) has fixed reference points on a
dummy keyboard so the musician knows exactly where notes can be found, and
produces similar sounds that were before, only unique to the theremin (built in
1919, by lev termen). but, then, of course, after the theremin, and before
the tannerin, the ondes martenot was built (in the late
1920s, by lev termen and maurice martenot), which is also often confused with
the theremin. you can hear the ondes martenot being played in radiohead's
song, "the national anthem," on the album, "kid a." after all these years,
tho, there is still no instrument other than the theremin that can be played
without touching. the theremin is 'til this day, the only
"space-controlled" instrument. you have to imagine where the notes are,
and depending on the person and where you are standing in relation to the
instrument, the notes will always be in a different spot each time.
there's a video at blockbuster about theremin...this explanation makes me want to rent it
Actually Brian Wilson owes alot to the beatles. He wrote his best album "Pet Sounds" only after listening to Beatle's "Seargent Peppper's" album
That would be kind of impossible, since Pet Sounds came out in '66 and it was what inspired McCartney to do Sgt. Pepper for a summer '67 release. McCartney still considers Pet Sounds as one of his favorite rock albums...
oh, maybe i had it backwords. woopsiedoopsiedoo
Willie nelson and gary colman should make a band THE WILLIES
haha, you are a wacko
whatchoo talkin bout willis?
yeah and halfway through the show willie could throw gary coleman into the crowd for the record of the furthest stagedive ever
Phil Collins is the man
i can feel it, callin in the air tonight! AWWWWWW LAWD!
i thought it was 'coming'
you got that right--A for effort, dan
whatever--GENESIS!!!!!!!!
Wouldn't you agree, baby you and me, we've got a groovy kind of love
Ohh-ho baby, don't you know I missed again? Oh-ho-ho I missed again
oh it must be some mis-understanding...it must be some kind of mistake...
Did you ever hear that phil collins song where the guy could have saved him but he didn't?
stan, just relax dude. i said that stuff only clownin'
dear mister i'm too good to call or write my fans.....
I never heard it but I heard it mentioned in Stan- Eminem just a minute ago