Thanks for clearing up my ambivalence towards The Gaslight Anthem...I owned all their best stuff in the '90s, on cassette no less. Even then, it says a lot that in a digital music collection of 30,000+, I've only felt the urge to save one Goo Goo Dolls song (Bitch).
Looking forward to the fist Burning Love conversation on Monday!
My comment concerning The Gaslight Anthem on Power Pop yesterday:
"buzzbabyjesus said...
I'd like to see a band come along that didn't evoke The Clash or Bruce, or The Stones. Or worse, The Replacements. These Gaslight Dudes sound like a million forgettable cd's I bought from the crates at Sal's between 1994 and 1996.
8/08/2012 10:03 AM"
Sal, you've proven my point exactly. Add Soul Asylum to the list.
It's not that I hate Gaslight Anthem. And I certainly don't hate The Mats. They're just not the "second coming." Why didn't anyone make a stink about the Goo Goo Dolls? They were better than good.
You're a funny, funny guy. And I agree on the Goo Goo Dolls. There was a huge backlash against them in the 90s, because unlike the first wave of punks, most 90s music fans couldn't think for themselves and had really bad ears.
I am a big fan of mid-period Replacements, from "Let It Be" through "Pleased To Meet Me", but even at their best, The Mats still aren't The Clash, Bruce, or the Stones. Second or third rate knockoffs are automatically blocked by my bullshit detector. I had a Goo Goo Dolls cd once, and it made me angry. The only good song was a Plimsouls(?)cover.
I'd never even heard of Gaslight Anthem until the other week when I worked the box office at a festival where they were playing. One kid I sold a ticket to was talking about how excited he was to see them play. I said I didn't really know them, and he said I should definitely check them out. After hearing a bit of their set, I still didn't get the fuss. Even after listening to more of their music, I still wasn't convinced.
And then the other day I heard "National Anthem."
It doesn't matter that the rest of their music doesn't yet speak to me (in the same way the Goo Goo Dolls' music never spoke to me); "National Anthem" is beautiful enough for me to understand that one kid's appreciation.
I'm a rock and roll atheist so I don't believe in a second coming. Paul Westerberg with the Mats and solo wrote dozens and dozens of killer songs with great hooks and even better wordplay. Trashy, loose, funny, poignant. A train wreck who has been crashing for two decades. I liked many Goo Goo Dolls tracks (first one I heard was their Paul Westerberg penned We Are the Normal) but don't think their output or songwriting chops are in PW's league. I do like the Gaslight Anthem, a lot, actually. They had me with the the lyrics to '59 Sound. But they're only on album #3 and I don't think they have the staying power or capacity to grow.
i was just listening to A Boy Named Goo today and thought the same exact thing! in addition to "Ain't That Unusual", "Only One" and "Flat Top" are very similar to Gaslight's style (well it isn't quite appropriate to call it their style)
13 comments:
your a funny guy
(inner monologue..."you think I'm funny, I make you laugh, I amuse you")
Thanks for clearing up my ambivalence towards The Gaslight Anthem...I owned all their best stuff in the '90s, on cassette no less. Even then, it says a lot that in a digital music collection of 30,000+, I've only felt the urge to save one Goo Goo Dolls song (Bitch).
Looking forward to the fist Burning Love conversation on Monday!
My comment concerning The Gaslight Anthem on Power Pop yesterday:
"buzzbabyjesus said...
I'd like to see a band come along that didn't evoke The Clash or Bruce, or The Stones. Or worse, The Replacements.
These Gaslight Dudes sound like a million forgettable cd's I bought from the crates at Sal's between 1994 and 1996.
8/08/2012 10:03 AM"
Sal, you've proven my point exactly. Add Soul Asylum to the list.
Used to love them Goo Goo Dolls. Superstar Car Wash is my perfect 90s powerpop record.
@Buzz.
It's not that I hate Gaslight Anthem. And I certainly don't hate The Mats. They're just not the "second coming." Why didn't anyone make a stink about the Goo Goo Dolls? They were better than good.
You're a funny, funny guy. And I agree on the Goo Goo Dolls. There was a huge backlash against them in the 90s, because unlike the first wave of punks, most 90s music fans couldn't think for themselves and had really bad ears.
I am a big fan of mid-period Replacements, from "Let It Be" through "Pleased To Meet Me", but even at their best, The Mats still aren't The Clash, Bruce, or the Stones.
Second or third rate knockoffs are
automatically blocked by my bullshit detector.
I had a Goo Goo Dolls cd once, and it made me angry. The only good song was a Plimsouls(?)cover.
I've never knowingly listened to the Gaslight Anthem, or the Goo Goo Dolls. Had I better not turn up on Monday? :-)
Ooooh, that is funny Sal.
Big difference between the two? One is from Jersey and got Bruce's seal of approval. The other is from Buffalo.
I'd never even heard of Gaslight Anthem until the other week when I worked the box office at a festival where they were playing. One kid I sold a ticket to was talking about how excited he was to see them play. I said I didn't really know them, and he said I should definitely check them out. After hearing a bit of their set, I still didn't get the fuss. Even after listening to more of their music, I still wasn't convinced.
And then the other day I heard "National Anthem."
It doesn't matter that the rest of their music doesn't yet speak to me (in the same way the Goo Goo Dolls' music never spoke to me); "National Anthem" is beautiful enough for me to understand that one kid's appreciation.
I'm a rock and roll atheist so I don't believe in a second coming. Paul Westerberg with the Mats and solo wrote dozens and dozens of killer songs with great hooks and even better wordplay. Trashy, loose, funny, poignant. A train wreck who has been crashing for two decades. I liked many Goo Goo Dolls tracks (first one I heard was their Paul Westerberg penned We Are the Normal) but don't think their output or songwriting chops are in PW's league. I do like the Gaslight Anthem, a lot, actually. They had me with the the lyrics to '59 Sound. But they're only on album #3 and I don't think they have the staying power or capacity to grow.
I love, nay lurve, "Long Way Down."
Just saying.
i was just listening to A Boy Named Goo today and thought the same exact thing!
in addition to "Ain't That Unusual",
"Only One" and "Flat Top" are very similar to Gaslight's style (well it isn't quite appropriate to call it their style)
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