One of my favorite ways to find out about music that I have never heard is to hear about it from a band or artist that I already love.
Case in point, while at one of the gazillion Pearl Jam shows I attended during the mid-90's they played 'Daughter' and during the interlude Eddie threw in these amazing lyrics that I had never heard before! I spent the next three weeks on a mission to find out who wrote them and what the name of the song was. This was pre-google mind you, so it was harder than you think...anyway, it was Tom Wait's 'Hold On'. I had always heard of Tom, but never attempted to listen... wow, how dumb was I? It took about a day for me to fall in love with Mr Waits music....
Would love to hear anyone else's experiences with this phenomenon!
Peace b
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I can't think of any experiences I've had like that, but I Iove that song!
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Henry Rollins has turned me on to so much great music. The first time I met him back in 1988, he played a very small club in Rochester, NY. The crowd had piled onto the stage and surrounded him during the show. I was standing next to him on his left side. People were jostling me, trying to get into my prime spot. During the struggle, I stomped on his bare foot with my boot. He moved it out of the way, but didn't stop the song or even give a hint that he was hurt. After the show, I went backstage and apologized for crushing his foot. He said, "I love it."
We started talking about music, specifically punk and its origins. He asked me if I liked the Monks. I said I'd never heard of them. He gave me some resources to track them down. I did and loved them. Every time after that, whether I was meeting him after a show, reading his books or, most recently, listening to his radio show, I've discovered some amazing artists from a wide range of genres. I wouldn't have started listening to jazz if it hadn't been for him. He's broadened my musical horizons immensely.
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there was life pre-google? seriously, this is a great post. tom waits is the man, or he shares the space with eddie and a handful of others....
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one time i was on a walk and it started to rain. the rain drops started singing "When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me. Speaking words of wisdom, let it be." I've been a beatles fan since. That's kinda the same thing right? Anywho this is a cool post and I'm new to this whole mog thing, wanna be mog buddies?
-Stan
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oh sure, gosh, probably a hundred artists in my collection started that way. although the genres are a bit different, I got hip to Bill Staines via Nanci Griffith, John Gorka via David Wilcox, and Dntel via Mia Doi Todd. Off the top of my head, those three came to mind.
I think it's the connection between the artists that is so interesting. I mean, Pearl Jam and Tom Waits. Not an obvious one, at least not on the surface, and I'm sure they've introduced a lot of people to Waits besides you.
Loved donia's henry rollins story too . . . one of the things I admire about him so much is the props he gives to so many artists.
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One of my favorite ways to find out about music that I have never heard is to hear about it from a band or artist that I already love.
Yep, I thank Mark Lanegan for introducing me to Twilight Singers, and, I'm sure, other awesome bands... Besides, Mark Lanegan is hot and has an amazingly sexy voice. But you already knew I think that. ;)
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Some of the best bands in my collection are the bastard children or side projects of bands I already like . . .
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Over the years, i've found good artists because they opened for the people i was really there to see - Blondie opened for the Kinks.
Butch Hancock opened for Cowboy Junkies
Tiny Lights opened for Dash Rip Rock
and so on.
Of course, i avoided John (Cougar) Mellencamp and Tom Petty for years afyer bad experinces with them as Kinks opening acts...
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yeppers...Hank (Henry Rollins) turned me on to Nick Cave amongst other artists, hes not the only one, just the most prominent one. Then again, Ive had the other side of the coin where an artist is into another one and you listen to it, and are like what the hell were you smoking?
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God Damn I hate Pearl Jam, but if it pushed you with Ed Vedder's awkward mumbles into Mr. Waits, well then I'm all for it. I too found many old bands from the music of the early nineties, my college years, as they say (though I don't know who 'they' are and I wish they'd shut the hell up already). I caught Leadbelly and the Scottish group "The Vaselines" from Nirvana, for example. But back to Tom Waits: the song "Hold On" is beautiful, and a bit sad, but if you want to hear the two saddest songs in all creation (and you do, right?) grab "Georgia Lee" from the same "Mule Variations" album that "Hold On" is from. Once you come out of your coma from that dreadful (emotionally, not qualitatively) tune, grab the saddest song in history, "A Little Rain" from the early nineties album "Bone Machine". If you haven't dropped dead from sadness listening to those two songs back to back, check out my personal favorite Tom Waits album, "Frank's Wild Years" from 1987. This album, which depicts a sort of broad-way come vaudeville opera, will simply make you smile, as it's just that much fun to listen to as the two songs I mentioned earlier are sad. In conclusion, hit Tom Waits, The Early Years to hear him sing without the swallowed gravel, hit the two wrenching songs I mentioned earlier for depression's sake, and finally hit Frank's Wild Years to get smiling again. Tom Waits is like David Bowie and Lou Reed: No Matter what he does, he's just goddamn cool. Happy Days, my friend.