Note Taken...Kinda

Well there ended up being quite a bit of response on the Essential 12 list so I’ll tackle that first.

Aside from one reader noting a spelling error on number 10 and another arguing that Emo and Industrial cannot both be used in reference to NIN, there were some interesting points raised. I have to agree that the true term Emo, does not apply to NIN, as Emo is for bands like the Cure. But just like Indie, the term has grown broad and vague in use.

Points of note included a dislike of Public Enemy making the list, and finding a better Phish song. I stand by both, for the most part. I am not a fan of Public Enemy and I think Fee is a relatively weak song. I do feel both served their purpose. Personally I don’t care for rap, I’m more of a true hip-hop fan and would rather have A Tribe Called Quest on the list. Their exclusion came only due to my difficulty in finding a defining song for them. Fee was an early success for Phish on a double album for a relatively unknown band. Aside from Dead fans and some college kids in New England most had never heard this new generation of Jam and for better or worse, Fee got the same kids buying Dave Matthews and Hootie CD’s to notice the Vermont crew. From there bands like Widespread became more accessible.

There was also a mention for PM Dawn, which interesting in and of itself, doesn’t make my list.

Some that missed the mark and came highly suggested:
Longview – Green Day
Summer Babe – Pavement
Push It – TLC
Block Rockin’ Beats – Chemical Brothers
Loser – Beck
Enter Sandman – Metallica
I Got Drunk – Uncle Tupelo
Crazy – Aerosmith
Each of these raises an interesting discussion about their respective impact on music.

TLC lead the way for numerous R&B girl groups, but they did roll off the success of Salt ‘N Peppa, so it’s tough to tag them as essential.

Longview, Summer Babe and Loser are amazing songs and launched big careers, but for each of these there was a Rancid, REM and Flaming Lips with a hit that came first to introduce or reintroduce the genre.

I Got Drunk is considered by many to be the defining birth of Alt Country and spawned no end of good bands from Wilco to Ryan Adams. A worthy suggestion.

Block Rockin’ Beats is the first big Techno single in the US and in retrospect should be on the list. Perhaps swap with Public Enemy.

Enter Sandman, although one of the biggest rock songs of all time and certainly a staple of this era certainly was not groundbreaking. Power rock songs and awesome Metallica songs had been around for a while by this point.

Crazy, one of my more hated songs, did have massive implications on the radio for years to come. Not only did Aerosmith subject us to about 12 more songs that sounded just like this, it spawned an influx of crap sappy love songs from once worthwhile rock bands.

I enjoyed the interest this sparked and will continue this side story leading up to modern day music, notably the Indie rock scene.

Keep the feedback coming and don’t be afraid to post a comment for others to see. The comments are always at the end of the post; just click the link and type away.

Friday’s Modest Mouse gig to be reviewed soon.