“Lenny” - Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble
“Lenny” - Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble
but nothing warms me up more than my record player. Especially when SRV is spinning…
mmmm it’s that time of night—just listenin to Stevie reminds me of Austin…oh how I wish to be there right now…
Well, we all do. But I’m talking about music that turns you on to a certain emotion. I am an avid follower of emotional music, and firmly believe music should be juiced up with some form of expression from its creator. Let’s face it - without emotion, songs would simply be a collection of assorted tones (or not even assorted in some cases), completely void of purpose and impossible for anyone to connect with. As for me, I seek out and long for that music I can form an emotional connection with, and those that have made such a connection know that it takes you places no physical or mental path can take you.
With this as my musical foundation, its pretty easy to figure out musical characteristics that captivate me: songs that drip with expression, melodies sculpted from improvisation, ballads with building tension. All of these effectively describe the Blues, which I have the utmost appreciation for, but let’s save that for another Tumble. I love being able to look at my record collection and ask “How do you want to feel?” when deciding on what to listen to, and being able to pull out a record that will take me to that feeling.
To stop myself from rambling on for countless hours, I’ll wrap things up by revealing some of my favorite artists to listen to. These bands control my life with the passion they convert into audible form, and my outlook of music has become what it is because of their work.
• Led Zeppelin - Obviously. No description needed, just listen to the music. Zeppelin has been and will always be my favorite band.
• The Beatles - Another obvious selection, but still must be noted. The Beatles were the first band I really listened to, and I first started learning the drums by listening to Ringo. John, Paul, George, and Ringo sparked what would become the lifelong fire that is my musical passion.
• Incubus - They are entirely their own genre in themselves, and I love them for it. Incubus has been my favorite “modern” band for their unique sound and ability to connect with me in ways very few bands have been able to achieve. (One of the greatest concerts I’ve been to)
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience - not only does Jimi tickle my psychedelic funny bone, but Mitch Mitchell’s one-of-a-kind drumming style is, in itself, a trip to listen to and still stumps me on a couple songs.
• The Dead Weather - mmmmmmmm….so dark, so mysterious….so damn good. Their songs range from what I refer to as “Macabre Blues” to hard-hitting, voodoo-laced tracks. TDW definitely taps into my darker side when I need them to. (Also one of the greatest shows I’ve been to)
• The Black Angels - with mesmerizing psychedelic tones blended with vibes that can only come from Austin, TX, you’d swear they were a band from the ’60s. Thankfully, though, they are not, because I managed to see them twice at SXSW this year as well as chat with their lead vocalist, Alex Maas. (Damn, their show was good too)
• The White Stripes - Ah Jack, Meg…….their band personifies passonate emotion to perfectly. Sadly, I never got to seem them live…but I can’t wait for the Third Man’s latest Vault Package…..
• The Doors - incredible music, poetry, feeling - you can’t go wrong listening to them. Check out the “When You’re Strange” documentary - the best documentary of The Doors ever.
• Stevie Ray Vaughan - I love that Austin vibe so friggin much; when I think of Stevie, I think of Austin; when I think of Austin, I think of Stevie. He sounds so good on vinyl, off vinyl; however he’s heard.
• The Black Keys - another duo that has their sound dialed in. Their earlier work (thickfreakness, Rubber Factory) definitely connects with me stronger than their newer stuff, but i love it all just the same. I can’t wait to see them live someday.
Well, there’s a very rough picture of what I listen to…there’s tons more that I should have mentioned but don’t fret - they’ll definitely all come up when I start having a weekly vinyl post or something.
P.S. - this post was written while jamming Physical Graffiti :)
