Know Your Zosos from Your Ziljians

Everyone from Bob Lefsetz to your brother has lamented how bad the new music is today.  It doesn't take a rock star to come to this realization.

Ah, spin class, the trusty go-to for exposure to new music.  Spinning today to LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem," which hit #1 on charts last year throughout Europe, the UK, the US, New Zealand and Australia, got me wondering:

What the heck is up this dreck?

The lyrics:  empty, offensive and below fraternity house antics.
The electronic beat:   catchy but gets annoying.
And the chutzpah to make a Zeppelin reference.
Where, exactly, is the skilled musicianship?
Nary a drum kit to be heard.
Oh, right, that is the definition of electronica.
And, shouldn't everyone in this tune be doing the Hollywood Shuffle instead?  Now, that is quality shufflin'.
The part that bothers me is the thought of the millions of kids listening to this as their early exposure to music.
Oy.


I don't even want to watch this video.
But for pure illustration purposes, here it is.




Ok, I do like to focus on the positive.  I appreciate the club kid influence as evident in some of the outfits in the video and the dude with the big fro's huge white glasses, reminiscent of Laura Biogottis from the 80s.  I like the acting in the beginning.  And, nice fancy steps at the end of the video.   That's about it.

Still, I continue to lobby for real music like Kashmir in spin class.
Robert Plant.  Now there's a rock star.




Then I can envision myself as Jennifer Jason Leigh in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and rock it out on the spin bike like it's 1982.

(they cut out at 2:00 when Kashmir comes on the scene.)
This scene is the reason why I bought Led Zeppelin IV on tape, one of my earliest music purchases.

And we all know that Kashmir ain't to be found on that album!
Oh, Cameron Crowe, the film's screenwriter, is a genius culture maker of my generation.




Good thing the Allmans let him tag along as a teenager.

It sounds so cliche to think it was all better when you were a teenager, but I do think that when it comes to music and popular culture, I was better off without the acronym and certainly the band LMFAO.