Rock? Please!

[logansrogue]

There's a rock history thing on ABC right now. What a load of shit. May as well have called it "Let's Blow Smoke Up The Rolling Stone's Arse."

If you watched this doco, you'd have thought that the Stones invented rock-n-roll for WHITE people!

It's gone on for half an hour about the Rolling Stones. I AM SICK OF HEARING ABOUT THE STONES.

This doco is ridiculous. First, it reckons that rock started in 1965, and it's mentioned neither Elvis NOR The Who. I can forgive them for not focusing on The Beatles as Beatles were more pop than Rock, but their influence is something one can't ignore in any rock history. They had such an impact on the industry that it shook it to its core.

Stupid fucking documentary.

ETA: They've mentioned Bob Dylan about four times now. Only NOW did someone mention The Beatles in passing. Now I'm stroppy!!

ETA2: STILL going on about The Stones! No mention of Jimi or Janis or Led Zep. *angry sigh*

Comments

[windtear.livejournal.com]

No Janis... I assume that also means no Suzi Q, no Joan Jett, none of the big important female rockers?

Stupid boys. That's all it is, stupid male Stones fanboys. Mave they mansplained stuff yet?

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

And Britsplained things as well. It's called "The Seven Ages of Rock" so they haven't gotten to Joan Jett yet. Looks like it's Bowie's turn next week.

[poeticalpanther.livejournal.com]

But...but...but...the Rolling Stones must be the most important, cause they're still playing, see? Right? Amirite?

[phoenixwriter.livejournal.com]

Probably no Queen either^^. Rollings Stones are and always have been so overrated...but that's probably me not liking their music in the first place. Some songs are ok, nice to have then and again but I wouldn't buy an Album.

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and Robbie Williams still sometimes sidles up to a mic. HE MUST BE THE NEXT ELVIS!

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

Yep. Rock and Roll and not one mention of Queen. Next week it's Bowie. I love Bowie, I am fucking OBSESSED with Bowie, but Queen fits the Rock category way more than Bowie did. They were CLASSIC ROCK damn it! >:[ I want to know what dipshit wrote this documentary series.

[apolla.livejournal.com]

OH! Is it originally a BBC production? Or British at least?

If so, I recall getting SO ANGRY that I didn't get through the first Age, never mind the other six.

First thing to take into consideration to toss a soupcon of benefit of the doubt at the producers: they were probably limited by the clips and such they had the rights to use...

I happen to disagree that the Beatles weren't 'rock' myself, although I acknowledge their showbizzing up to 'make it', I don't think the music itself ever strays too far from 'rock and roll'... although stuff like 'thank you girl' doesn't help my argument.

However, to suggest it started with or revolved around the Rolling Fucking Stones is to hold a large sign above one's head reading 'I Have No Fucking Idea What I'm talking About'.

the Rolling Stones are, when it comes down to it, a middling blues-rock band with a second-rate singer and a mediocre lead guitarist who just happen to have been and remain masterful PR types. they have a handful of genuinely good songs, but two things remain, to me, pretty evident:

1. Most of their self-penned songs are forgettable. It's the occasional good riff that elevate the memorable ones.
2. No other band has been on a more extended Greatest Hits nostalgia tour than the Stones.

As far as I'm concerned, they should've likely called it a day when Jones bought it. Nothing since has truly, truly shaken the world. I say this as a person who has no particular love or respect for Brian Jones, a man so awful that even Keith described him as 'a total cunt' not so long ago.

Fact is, they kept going. Lasting longer than everyone else is no marker of quality or influence.

While we're at it, any 'history of rock' programme that doesn't highlight Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Ike turner, Fats Domino and white acts like Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly should be taken about as seriously as a filler episode of Supernatural.

I haven't even mentioned the somewhat less spoken of influence of country and mountain music on rock music... mostly because it's not my thing, but i is undeniable: listen to any of George Harrison's slide guitar work or most things Dylan has done, you know, ever.

And EVEN IF we give them the benefit of the doubt, to omit the 'orrible 'Oo and other mod bands is stupid. the Small Faces, one of my other favourite bands, were easily as hard and bluesish as the Stones and Steve Marriott was SUCH a singer. Steve Marriott is to Mick Jagger what a Rolls Royce is to a Chevette.

thing about discussing music though, is that so much of it is dependent on personal opinion. It's just that I would personally hope professional documentary makers would be less... ignorant? Dickish? Not sure.

By the way, I was at the Stones' much-vaunted appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival in 2007 (much rather be at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 but that's another story)... and I'm genuinely and deeply sorry to say that they fucking SUCKED.

I use as my icon someone I presume was also missing in action on the show except as a sideshow joke. It sounds to me like it was Lowest Common Denominator stuff for people whose heads would explode just knowing that a band like the Velvet Underground ever existed.

I don't mean to sound like a bitter rock snob, but I am so that's how it comes out.*

*paraphrased from Bill Hicks, of course.

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

*sigh* Thank you for this. This made me feel much better. I know I'm not the only one in the world that just stared at this documentary and thought, "Okay, who the fuck phoned it in? Did a space alien that arrived two days ago write this fucking history lesson?"

I agree with everything you said. I was just being kind when I forgave them for not including the Beatles. The Beatles did some of the most influential and culture-shifting rock music since, well, all the original rockers that you mentioned.

Ugh. I won't be watching the other six parts.

[apolla.livejournal.com]

er... I didn't realise I got into such a rant with a side order of rant. Sorry!

[dalekboy.livejournal.com]

The first part of a good doco series should give you an overview so you know what is to come, and make clear what aspects of the subject its going to cover in future parts. I could forgive it if it had said, 'in this series we will only cover X' because a real full on history of rock doco is going to be massive.

But it seems as if they didn't even bother doing a google or wiki search.

[amichandrn.livejournal.com]

I have SEEN Bowie in Concert in 2002. AMAZING. But ou are correct. He's not very rock.

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

Noooo it was brilliant!!

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I'd give my left TIT to see Bowie! I would cry the whole time! Like I did when I saw The Who!

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

As I said, they phoned it in. It was no Walking With Dinosaurs.