Punk - how did the 70s arena bands react?

Communication Breakdown, sorry.

(Tusk)

Also probably worth mentioning that Blue Oyster Cult put Patti Smith on their album (and had her co-write songs) in 1976.

Patti Smith was writing songs with BOC beginning in '72. I think she was fucking Allen Lanier or Al Bouchard, or both.

As alluded to above they didn't really have to react since punk was no commercial threat Stateside. The Sex Pistols did not break Billboard's Top 100 nor did the Clash until London Calling. Punk's whole media presence was pretty low; some people forget about that or find it hard to comprehend.
Most of the gossipy quotes about punks, supportive or critical, come from the UK.

This is good stuff, thanks. I realize the big acts didn't HAVE to react, I just wondered if any of them liked what they heard and were influenced (as has been cited upthread) or otherwise simply enjoyed punk. There's a good interview with Rick Emerson where he's talking about how it felt like overnight short songs were in and longer songs like his were out. And another with John Lydon where he says "The musicians weren't enemies even if the music was." Links:
http://www.johnlydon.com/nordoff_robbins.html
http://www.keithemerson.com/Gallery/2006Appearances/200603-KEandJR.html
http://www.bloggernews.net/19703

Btw, there's a long related thread somewhere around here about hundreds of aging AOR dinosaurs "going new wave" in 1983 or so, if anybody can figure out what it's called.

damn that Zeppelin track kicks ass, I've never heard that before

― southern dads get tuckered out, totally (Curt1s Stephens), Thursday, December 17, 2009 2:28 AM Bookmark

^^^

That thread xhuxk is talking about is a great read, but yeah, can't remember the title of it either.

1981 = year of 70s dino rockers w modren/wavo comeback LPs

1981 + year of 70s dino rockers w modren/wavo comeback LPs

how did you miss it?

but yeah, shortening the songs and wearing denim and t-shirts instead of white flares with unbuttoned dress shirt it part of it.

Billy Joel said whatever, it was still rock 'n roll to him.

Life in London is bittersweet
Spray canned slogans along the street
Some kind of revolution in the town
Oh razor blades and safety pins you look like a clown

-- Pat Travers, "Life In London," 1977

And, as Gorge pointed out on another thread a couple days ago, Travers was probably writing from experience, given that Topper Headon worked for him, pre-Clash. (Headon: "I got a gig with a guy called Pat Travers and I was sacked from him for not playing the drums hard enough" -- ha.)

I think you just mean "The Sex Pistols", like the spectacle and all. Otherwise I am really not interested. A lot of it is just rock and roll played by kids in torn clothing.

"I'm disappointed in, " he said, and left the club

hay u s steel, make sense one time plz

Yeah, I'm so in on the joke! Thank you for informing me of your games, it's so helpful of you!

you think yr mark e smith dontcha

What is the point of bullying people like this. I think I make perfect sense. I also think this dishonesty has gone on long enough, it has real life consequences.

subscribe me 2 ur newsletter

Again with the personal and threatening remarks. I guess having something intelligent to say about music is not a priority then. I'm not here for personal insinuations, I am here for intelligent discussion of music.

which 70s arena band were u in

It's called read the press, again let's talk about something of interest to everyone. Either that or explain your game why you can't stop seizing on one person, it's creepy.

i played basstar for llama in '76

lol @ "threatening"

No, he's just having one of those magical thinking delusionary periods where he thinks some girl/boy/individual he refers to as "they" that he has exchanged a couple of messages with and has projected all of his hopes and joys onto will somehow manage to be the human embodiment of everything his life has been missing so far.

FULE.

I get that all the time, I love bitchslapping and humiliating sentimental weak people like that. I mean when you can communicate and live like a real person not some sissy sentimental emotional freak maybe someone will care about you.

― i just like barbecue rib, whatever (u s steel), Wednesday, 1 September 2010 20:42 (1 month ago)

what a nice person!

this thread is

FREAKING ME
THE FUCK
OUT

Did you see that emblazoned on a t-shirt in Hong Kong?

Looks like you guys need to spend some time on Love Beach.

http://www.vinylrecords.ch/E/EM/Emerson_Lake_Palmer/Love-Beach/love-beach-10.jpg

Hey, get off my thread if you're not down with the topic!

I recall reading in Creem that Ted Nugent attempted to visit The Clash backstage at one of their Detroit shows, but was informed that the band wouldn't see him unless he cut his hair. A remorseful Joe Strummer lamented later, "That wasn't right. That would be like Aerosmith refusing to see me unless I had my teeth fixed."

And we all know what happened to Ted after that.

He went straight to Love Beach. And shot Emerson, Lake & Palmer with blow darts.

Good article on this subject: https://music.avclub.com/wearing-and-tearing-an-hour-of-classic-rockers-grappli-1826199125

Asked about punk in a 1991 Spin interview with Bob Guccione Jr., Zappa said:

I liked the attitude of punk, I didn’t necessarily like it from a musical standpoint; it is anti-musical. The whole idea was we’re gonna play shitty and fast and so what? The “so what?” part I always like. But anybody who’s against music I don’t like.

Even as late as 1990, Zappa thought punk involved “playing shitty” and was “against music”?

Yes's "Release, Release" sounds like a response to punk, at least lyrically, and the presence of a drum solo saying "Look who can REALLY play" ("Tormato" may be uneven - or, in the parlance of this medium, more "Infatuation Shoreline" than "Love Beach" - but the sequence of "Onward" into "One the Silent Wings of Freedom" is absolutely sublime).

"Sheer Heart Attack" is fucking awesome, and it leads one to wonder what would have resulted had Queen decided to make an entire punk-esque record.

Judas Priest adopted the leather.

Halford said that was more from "rough trade" (not the label)

though musically I think British Steel does a great job of embracing the brevity of new wave

i am also kind fascinated by this general topic - i think the paucity of known info and reactions by the big megastar people is weird - i dont think its too controversial to say that whether you liked it or not that the punk thing was one of the most significant cultural/ musical revolutions of the 20th century and the evidence would suggest many of these acts just lived in such a strange bubble that they just had no reaction to it or didn't know how to react - surely they actually knew about it and had an opinion - maybe they just were't asked the right questions - dont know

Zappa thought punk involved “playing shitty” and was “against music”?

We say noise is for heroes (heroes)
Leave the music for zeros (zeros)
Noise Noise Noise is for heroes (heroes)
Oh yeah

I enjoy tying to imagine the moment and feeling when Jon Anderson realized he’d been lapped

I love the old guys a lot more but kind of feel bad for them

Bowie was a 70s arena band during the era of punk. he headed full on into punk, or at least post-rock, with the Berlin stuff. recorded albums with Iggy Pop and Lou Reed.

T-Rex toured with The Damned and Blondie. apparently he was washed up and considered a one-hit wonder by then (at least in USA) but his final record "Dandy in the Underworld" is a great album w heavy goth/new wave vibes.

Good thread. That AV Club mix is interesting, though mostly abysmal. Wearing and Tearing has to be in the top 5 worst zeppelin tracks and some of the rest are comically bad.

Robert Palmer is the poster boy for "Established star who loved punk & new wave unrepentantly". I had forgotten about his cover of "I Dream Of Wires", it's damn good!

linda ronstadt's take on the ramones -- as academic deep dive into one fractional aspect of the rolling stones -- is interesting. not exactly wrong, per se.

Do you care for punk music at all?

Well, I like the New Wave stuff, and that couldn't possibly land in L.A., because nobody moves that intensely. So, of course, it would have to come to New York, because New York is in a similar situation economically. I mean, it's a similar sort of sociological greenhouse, so to speak, for developing this style of music. The punk stuff is not very musical nor very multifaceted. It seemed to me, when I saw the Ramones, for instance, that they had taken one facet of what Mick Jagger does, which is a kind of stance, maybe one move and maybe one little chip off of an emotional statement, and it was sort of limited to that. Mick Jagger has such a tremendous overview that is so many-faceted that it makes it sound so much more. But if you just take a chunk of it, it doesn't glimmer as much.

Are there any punk rock groups that you've thought made it?

Well, I like Television a whole lot, and I love Elvis Costello. Elvis Costello just touches my heart. The first thing that you associate with him is anger. But there's also tenderness and a great deal of humor.

Have you seen him perform?

I've seen him perform, and I was just mesmerized. I saw him at Hollywood High. I was in the back row and I had to stand on my seat through the whole thing. I mean, I wouldn't stand on my seat for anybody.

Robert Palmer rules

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