Anyone who seriously loves rock music would agree that, although theories abound, there is no one way to define the soul of the genre. From the somber crunch of Black Sabbath, to the endless wisdom of Dylan, to the all-encompassing everything which is Zeppelin, the spirit behind rock music is as endlessly complicated as the prog output of the Mars Volta. Many will say that this is bullshit, that the message is as straightforward as a middle finger shoved up the ass of a high school principal, but are we really comfortable placing the Cars or Traci Chapman in this category?

Yes, I can hear the din: “Traci Chapman?! Are you fucking kidding me? That’s not ROCK!” These dissenting  voices may in fact have a point, but plenty of others would disagree, and this ambiguity is exactly what I am talking about. The depressive moan of Chapman’s folk may be a far cry from Chuck Berry’s initial gift to us all, but is the mathematical holocaust of Pantera any closer?

It’s impossible to say. Rock is ubiquitous. But truly, for me, it all begins right here, with this group of unnamed heroes, reminding me that rock is for every man, woman, and child. It is the one thing joining all of modern culture. Embraced by the masses and attainable to anyone brave enough to pick up a guitar, microphone, or a drumstick. See for yourself:

I would like to bring everyone’s attention to the 2 minute mark of this clip, where you will experience, quite possibly, the most mind melting breakdown in rock history. I only point it out because you were in all likelihood mesmerized by the glorious vocals, and may have overlooked it. And the keyboards…that sound may very well be one of the most common voices in all of western culture. So immediately recognizable.

If anyone knows the name of this group of courageous souls, please forward it along.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 2nd, 2009 at 3:44 PM and is filed under The Golden Age. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.