Quote:
Originally posted by Pretty Little Flower
Here is what the argument has now become, in its latest pathetic, withered, tortured recharacterization:
1. Rock is a music that is defined as bands that have drums, bass, two guitars, and maybe a keyboard.
2. Rock bands, as defined in 1 above, sound best only when the above instruments are present, and the addition of a horn section is just a distraction.
3. Bands that use horn sections to good effect are not rock bands, as defined in 1 above, and therefore using them as examples of bands who use horns to good effect is irrelevant.
I am not even going to address the "Rolling Stones are punk rock because, like the Pistols, they have a guitar, bass and drums" argument. It pains me to see what Hank does to logic. It is almost cruel.
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How are the Pistols different from the Stones? The words are different. So what. The attitude is different. That's a red herring - we're talking sound, not attitude. The chords are different, but not that much different - both are just guitar driven rock music. "Punk" is a disingenuous definition. It was just a way for bands to say "Zeppelin and Floyd suck." It was good, it was necessary, and now its dead.
Yes, its all just pop music. Some is better than others, but its just pop. That its really good doesn't somehow elevate it to another higher category. Even Visions of Johanna is at its core a pop song. Brilliant, but a pop sing.
I really detest semantics. Its my life. These debates, everything I write at work, everything I argue... its all just a mathematical game of which definition fits. I am almost as depressed by this reality as I am by the fact that ever since I've been on the Atkins and alcohol diet, I have seen things that were not actually there. I'm thinking I may have utilized a fat store containing collegiate LSD deposits. Last evening, I looked to my left while sitting in traffic and was certain I saw a girl walking along the road. i looked back and she wasn't there. I also see my cats at the office from time to time, despite the fact that I bring neither to work. Terribly annoying. I need to understand this phenomenon so that I can arrange it so I see nude women instead of cats and random chicks... but I digress. I hate horns.
