Happy Birthday Muddy Waters...
From the original Analog Industries archive. Some links and images from that era no longer resolve.
My general theory is that if you have style in your delivery, everything else (production, lyrical content, the music itself) is fairly unimportant, and Muddy Waters went a long way towards supporting that theory. I mean, if you listen to his records or live shows, they’re kind of a mess. The music is all over the place, everyone on stage or in the studio was self-taught, you can tell they generally tuned by ear, and the gear is the 50s/60s equivalent of Behringer shit.
But these dudes delivered more style in one note than most of us can manage to conjure in a lifetime of playing and performance. No histrionics. No cutesy bullshit. No outlandish outfits. No backing tracks. No video. Just a sharp suit and a huge wallop of attitude.
15 comments
Here's some reinforcing your point: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IynJBgrG2pw
Gives me the shivers every time.
Wow, thanks for that Onar, I've never heard that album before. Dang purists.
I think "style" is the wrong word. Or at least has the wrong connotations. A lot of music today has style: all sharp suit and no attitude.
But it's not just attitude, it's how he can deliver the goods without overselling them.
I love AI. Thanks for this. Very inspiring.
Throw down, throw down, throw down. That's the only thing I wanna do.
- c
One of my favorite Muddy albums is "Hard Again". Like a house party cut to vinyl. You can't not like it. Thank you for commemorating this day.
I think the word we're looking for is -- SOUL.
I wish at any point in my life I was as cool as that bass player is in that video.
bb
That's the White Man's Burden. We've got a hard limit on how cool we can be, and for better or worse, Tom Waits is the event horizon.
Unfortunately, most of us end up more like Moby. Except with less licensing of our mediocre electro-pop, and thus no fly lower East side loft full of shit-hot gear.
-CR
That hurt. Because it's true.
bb
"...and thus no fly lower East side loft full of shit-hot gear."
and when it comes down to it, this is the real tragedy.
No doubt. That chode has David Bowie as his next door neighber. Shit is made of stars, you know?
I'm trying to get on the Don't Hate, Appreciate tip. I know the building. It's really nice. And right around the corner from the Horseshoe Bar so there's a good cocktail to be had.
-CR
He can collect all the vintage drum machines he wants; I'd still rather be me than Moby.
And I don't even mind some of the music.
Those of us who've been around since the early 90s remember Moby when he was a kid who seemed to base every move he made on advice he begged for on mailing lists -- he was such a clueless his very cluelessness spawned mailing list threads ripping on him.
I don't begrudge him his success, but there are many people who were running in those same NYC early 90s electronic music scene that have some artistic credibility left. Taylor Dupree comes to mind. Super-nice guy, great label 12K, and he's somehow managed to put together a career without providing the soundtrack to Savings & Loan adverts.
12K is amazing. I wish they had some kind of SUBSCRIPTION option, 'cause I'd subscribe for sure.
- c
Spoonful by Howlin' Wolf - everything you need to know about soul, taste, and musical creativity. And for a 21st century update: Konono No 1 - who needs MIDI?
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