4.9.09

Classic Rock Junkies: fastforward and smell the roses

Lucas and I are admittedly Classic Rock Junkies (CRJs) and like many in our group are quick to state, "Music is just not what it used to be" or "there is no good/great new music". CRJs really are obsessed with some of the best music ever produced: the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, the Who, the Guess Who, Supertramp and the list goes on. This is some heavy competition for today's artists. The constant covers of hits by these bands shows that many of them know this, trying to revamp what shouldn't really be touched.

But I'm not writing this to hammer home this point. I'm writing this because me, Lucas and other CRJs are wrong. We really need to think twice before stating "there is no great new music". The more we go on with that mantra, the more the below artists go unrecognised by us. And it really would be our loss.

The Black Keys
http://www.theblackkeys.com/

From the website:
"The Akron, Ohio-based duo The Black Keys is well known for its concentrated, hermetic approach to recording, hunkering down with rudimentary equipment in an unfinished basement or commandeering the floor of a vacant local rubber factory to create terse but soulful rock that seems to have time-traveled into the pair's amps from some long-ago radio show."






John Mayer
http://www.johnmayer.com/home
While he may be a bit more mainstream than the above mentioned talent, there is no denying that John Mayer is emerging as one of our time's greatest guitarists. He's played with Eric Clapton on numerous occasions and even Lindsay Buckingham was excited to see his performance above all others at the most recent Grammys. As far as I'm concerned, that's something to take note of.







Joss Stone
http://www.jossstone.co.uk/
I first saw Joss Stone perform with Melissa Ethridge on the Grammys in a tribute to Janis Joplin. My mouth dropped and I was out the next day to pick up her album. Her own music did not disappoint. When I found out that she was only 20 at the time of this performance, I was a life long fan.





AND some other honourable mentions:

Duffy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHvOm-o3AA8

Sharon Jones: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB69Ij5X6AE

If you have any more, please feel free to share.