Are You
a Music Snob? Edition
by J. Freeman
This edition to the couch is inspired by LakinLand freelancer Norm who sent the article reprinted below (all copyrights have been violated). It furthers the the picture of all of us who identify with the movie/book "High Fidelity"...the record collector. Enjoy
The cost of...... being a
rock snob
There are music snobs of every persuasion - hip-hop snobs who loathe
Will Smith and Puff Daddy, soul snobs who seek out every Stax classic,
and jazz snobs clad in black, still mourning the passing of jazz's
golden age.
But the rock snob is the original. You may know one. He won't tolerate
ignorance of pop history and delights in making references to obscure
60s bands. He will only tolerate Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd and will own
not only a few Mama's & Papa's albums but also ex-member John
Phillip's solo work. And when he talks about Television, he's referring
to the 70s New York band. But can anyone become a rock snob?
It can start innocuously - a Nick Drake album here, a Byrds album there.
Before you know it, you have got both Gram Parsons solo albums and his
Flying Burrito Brothers albums (above) and are considering a trip out to
Joshua Tree in California (no, the U2 album is not rock snob-rated) to
see where he died in 1973.
Rock snobs don't specialize in one genre - indeed, they delight in
tracing rock'n'roll from Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music
(boxed set, through the blues and country to Elvis. Compilations such as
Nuggets - a collection of obscure songs between 1965 and 1968 by bands
such as the Electric Prunes - are always useful starting points.
Rock snobs prize exclusivity and obscurity above everything else. This
can manifest itself in an expensive record-collecting habit. The
original vinyl is essential; rare promos, foreign versions and deleted
albums are better. Their bibles are the Rare Record Price Guide 2002 and
the New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. Record Collector
magazine is also useful, as are old issues of Crawdaddy, Creem and
Rolling Stone. The Philles issues of Ike & Tina Turner's River Deep
Mountain High LP and The Phil Spector Spectacular LP are a few of the
priciest purchases. There are cheaper records, of course.
Finally, classic rock writing, such as the soon-to-be-published Lester
Bangs collection Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung, edited by
Greil Marcus, adds vital rock-snob credibility.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001
As I love to add to my rock snob
credibility I recently picked up another copy of the Lester Bangs book
(which I highly recommend) and all can say is....What the hell has
happened to music today? -- reading about the glory days and Bangs
struggle to find music that matters has given me renewed interest in
finding that perfect record the one that defines you and your life. I'll
leave it to Lester to finish this edition of "From the Couch":
"And the whole purpose of the absurd, mechanically
persistent involvement with recorded music is the pursuit of that
priceless moment. So it's not exactly that records might unhinge the
mind, but rather if anything is going to drive you up the wall it might
as well be a record. Because the music is strong and guides and cleanses
and is life itself"
Past Editions:
| View From the Couch -Top 10 at the Half way mark- From Alt.Country - June 2002 | ||
|
View From the Couch -
Take a quick hit- |
View From the Couch CD Reviews |
View From the Couch -
Cd Reviews |