The Police brought a reggae vibe to unabashedly punk songs and caused quite the stir. Maybe the genesis of the upcoming secondary ska second wave? But The Police were also influenced by rock and have a very 70s rock jam at the end of this song.
Category Archives: WGOM
The Cars – You’re All I Got Tonight
The Cars first album also came out in 1978 and had a mixture of what we would eventually call New Wave, with traditional rock, and a little punk edge. This live version is a bit heavier than the version on the album and heard on the radio.
Talking Heads – Warning Sign
Ok, now we are moving into a more arty not, necessarily rock direction. I love this video in that the crowd seems to be surrounding the Talking Heads. Also, David Bryne throws down some crazy licks on the guitar. The album More Songs About Buildings and Food was a sign that there was something different out there that was really interesting musically.
Bruce Springsteen – The Promised Land
Coming off of Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen was a genuine rock star and while I think Born to Run created tons Bruce fans, Darkness on the Edge of Town turned that crowd into life-long adoring fans that still exist to this day (did you know Joe Pos once wrote about this album?). I love that the lyrics are screened on the video. Probably my favorite Springsteen song.
This verse is just magic:
There’s a dark cloud rising from the desert floor
I packed my bags and I’m heading straight into the storm
Gonna be a twister to blow everything down
That ain’t got the faith to stand its ground
Blow away the dreams that tear you apart
Blow away the dreams that break your heart
Blow away the lies that leave you nothing but lost and brokenhearted
Van Halen – Feel Your Love Tonight
I’m going to start the week with rock and roll because for the most part, rock still dominated popular music. Van Halen came out in 1978 and blew my 15-year-old mind away. This is still one of my favorite songs of all time and this performance really shows what early Van Halen was like alive. I flipped out when I found this video. This album is important because rock was getting a little stodgy (I’m looking at you Foreigner and Styx). Van Halen gave rock a much-needed kick in the ass. The drum solo got a little long, unfortunately.
Claud – Crumbs
Darts – My True Story
The Killers – Mr. Brightside
Nirvana – Heart-Shaped Box
Connected to today's CoC, a friend that knew how to play showed me how to play this song on a shitty guitar that was lying around our house, and that's how I started playing. I'm hoping the boy starts from such simple origins (though I have much nicer guitars lying around the house).