I haven't decided what record to write about for this post. But I'm working on it. The thing I've been thinking about lately is exactly why do some people seem to think that it's important to have an extremely diversified collection of music. I've heard some people say their tastes are eclectic, just because they have some Iron Maiden albums next to their Can albums and their Herb Alpert albums. I'm not saying it's impossible to like very different types of music, but I just find it a little more unlikely than the internets would have us believe. It's part of the whole critical listening process that us people in the collecting community are often so proud of mentioning.
Now, the idea behind critical listening is something I understand. I realize that essentially it means that I'm making a decision that one piece of art (music's the only art I'm comfortable being critical about) is more worthwhile than another piece of art. Obviously, other people will agree, while others disagree. That's pretty much half the fun of interacting with other people that like the kind of art you're interested in. I've got a nephew (nephew-in-law?) that doesn't collect music in any form. We were someplace where we were listening to the radio in the background and a Stones song came on and I said, "Cool! I love this song."
He said, "Yeah, this is pretty good."
I asked, "What kind of music do you like?"
He replies, "Oh, I like all music."
Now to me, this is the worst. How can you genuinely like all music? We talked about that a little, but I could tell that it's really just not important to him what music is playing. We saw a band that played 90's hits, and he danced with his wife to all those songs, and they seemed to like the nostalgic aspect of those songs. Maybe those kinds of songs would be his "favorites," I'm not sure. I'm not sure because I think he puts equal value to every song he hears. Now, you can admire that if you want to, but I'm actually very glad I listen to music differently than he does. I don't think The People on the Bus is as worthwhile to listen to as say, Magic Bus by The Who. I understand that I'm not a four year old, and I understand that when I was four I thought The People on the Bus was a terrific song. So is it a worthwhile song? Yes, for children. It's like a crayon. A crayon is great to get a child interested in art, but as that child gets older, hopefully he sees that paint conveys more emotion than a crayon does.
I heard something by Florida Georgia Line the other day. I did it on purpose, and I have to say, that was a mistake. It was a mistake because I don't think all music is good. I think some music is bad. Listening to Florida Georgia Line was like huffing gasoline, or eating paste, or maybe listening to Rush Limbaugh. I could feel myself getting dumber just listening to this. Every second, I felt dumber. I felt like I was wasting my time. I'm a musical snob, for sure, but I can see the joys in a stupid song. I love songs like Wooly Bully and Louie, Louie. Some songs are just fun. But some songs are mind numbingly stupid and sound like they've got paid product placements in them. I mean, there was a time when a corporation wouldn't want anything to do with a song, but now it sounds like Ford, Chevy and Dodge are competing with Budweiser and Miller to get mentioned in some stupid song about looking at a teenage girl's tits. Ugh.
Which got me to thinking about something that's almost universally loved (at least by people in my general age range), and I came up with Creedence Clearwater Revival. In particular, Cosmo's Factory. These guys had like a two year smash of a career. They completely ruled the singles charts, and their albums were really solid. The kinds of albums a real Rock Snob could get behind. It kicks off with Ramble Tamble, which I suppose is kind of just a jam more than a real song, but it's a great way to start an album. CCR sounds like an American band, and their brand of roots music isn't an act or a facade, these guys know why the guitars need to wail right here, and the drums need to pound right there. CCR works in Cleveland as well as it works in Baton Rouge. They're the kind of band that just sounds like what we all want Rock N' Roll to sound like, no matter what part of the country we're from.
The thing with CCR is that they were a truly great singles band, and I know a lot of Rock Snobs scoff at that kind of success, but their albums, at least during the time when they were ruling the world, are even better than the singles. I mean, Cosmo's Factory has five Top 5 singles. Think about that. Five Top 5 singles, and this isn't a Greatest Hits package. Sure, that means you've heard Lookin' Out My Back Door and Up Around the Bend enough that they're burned into your psyche, but How great a world is it when Run through the Jungle is the kind of song that hits number 4? The argument can certainly be made that it's a better one than we have now. The thing is, the charts can have bands with good music on their albums, but for some reason we've decided we don't want that anymore. I dunno. If all albums were as solid as Cosmo's Factory, maybe I'd just like everything, too. But all albums aren't even close.
My copy is a late 70's pressing. I'm sure older pressings have more "bloom" or some other bullshit than mine does, but you can crank it up and hear a little of the passing of the years through my record, but I love the way it sounds, and I love the cool inner sleeve with their catalog on one side and their faces on the other. It's a nice copy of a great record, by a great band. There's not a bad second on it.
