The "mystery" of the Iron Man song.
I don't get the status of Black Sabbath, by the way. To me the drummer sounds amateurish, and Ozzy sounds like a choir* boy with a cold.
Probably I'd feel different if I'd grown up with it. That seems to be the overruling factor of musical appeal.
I apologize to Black Sabbath fans.
* "Choir" is pronounced "quire"? Geez.
Maybe you just don't like anything cool, being such a stone-cold square.
ReplyDeleteAre you just now realizing that English pronunciation often makes no sense?
-Brian H.
Well they were the starting point of heavy metal music. Without them there would be no Dethlok. ;)
ReplyDeleteOzzy a choirboy? If the choirboy had a voice like that there'd be a priest performing an exorcism on him.
Well, Black Sabbath is by far my favorite band. The Stooges are the only band that remotely comes close in my mind(another amateurish band that still made great music), so maybe I can explain it a little.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up with it? Nooooooooo. They were disbanded long before I was even born. First of all, Tony Iommi simply made the most memorable riffs ever. Iron Man's just the tip of the iceberg. Virtually every song they made had a way of sticking in your head for days and days(I still find myself humming their riffs on a regular basis). And even the solos had this great, sing along quality about them. Sure they were simplistic, but that's the great thing about them.
Then there's the lyrics. I was practically raised by video games and cartoons, so naturally their horror, sci-fi lyrics struck a chord with me. Not to mention the confused, pissed off nature of it. When Ozzy sang "Nobody wants him/He just stares at the world" it sounded like he was singing about me. Same thing with Paranoid and any number of their songs. And of course, War Pigs perfectly captured the anger I was feeling(and still feel) toward my federal government for how they handled the terrorist problem.
Now I'll admit a lot of people don't like Ozzy's voice. It's the sort of thing you either love or hate(though I notice the people who hate it are usually music critics :P). Personally, I think it sounds like it comes from another universe. To me, no other voice would fit with those lyrics and music. Maybe that's why I always hated Sabbath after they dumped Ozzy. Who else can sing like that?
I guess you could say it's a lot of things in one. The first time I listened to Paranoid(the album), it changed my life. I wouldn't be so psychotic about music if it weren't for them. And plus, ya know, they're the first heavy metal band. :) Pretty cool, but kind of an afterthought to me. Naturally, I don't expect any of this to change your mind, but maybe you can understand why so many people love them.
"they're the first heavy metal band."
ReplyDeleteHats off for that.
Though Sabbath had some pretty cool tracks, I'm not sure I would rate them among my favourite bands. I was very happy to have a copy, oh balderdash I forget, was it "Technical Ecstasy", but that kinda was enough for me, that and "Paranoid".
ReplyDeleteI guess my favourite HM are "Stand By Me" by Atomic Rooster and All About Eve's live cover of Pink Floyds "See Emily Play".
As a rule though, I'm not into the heavy stuff. I guess progressive rock, acid rock are more my bent in the rock world, with some of the punk/goth bands like Sisterhood and The Damned sneaking in. To be frank though I would say 70% of my collection is more in the Electronic (Jarre/Vangelis/Tangerine Dream) and ambient (Fripp and Eno, FSOL, Delerium). I prefer music to infuse into my being a lot of the time, I guess it's my Soma.
Ozzie certainly had an interesting sound. They say Janis Joplin was a great singer, all I hear is a screaming stoner. Ozzie, at least has something special, even if I couldn't put up with 4 hours of it straight. Kinda like whatsis face from Rush.
For SF lyrics though, I would probably go more "Hawkwind". Hmm, I guess Alan Parsons and Rush also did good SF lyrics.
As for the choirboy thing. Go listen to some Aled Jones and then tell me Ozzie is a choirboy. And I just realised I've mispelt his name all through this post, and I'm feeling too lazy to fix it, so sorry.
Why the sudden interest in Iron Man? The latest "Reasonbly Clever" competition is Iron Man related.
I guess my favourite HM are "Stand By Me" by Atomic Rooster and All About Eve's live cover of Pink Floyds "See Emily Play".
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to hear that. However, the subject was "Iron Man revisited" not "Alex's poor taste in music".
They say Janis Joplin was a great singer, all I hear is a screaming stoner. Ozzie, at least has something special ...
In many other blogs this would have earned you a permanent and irrevocable ban.
Hahaha! *Claps loudly at RAF* Now do me! Do me!
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ReplyDeleteNot here though.
ReplyDeleteearned you a permanent and irrevocable ban. For the JJ comment, not the misspelling of Ozzy?
ReplyDeleteI know I shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but every one trying to sell JJ on "Little Piece Of My Heart" and "Oh Lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz", particularly live versions of fuzzy videos may not be the best encounter. Good lyrics, displeasing delivery. I am sure I tried a full album before rejecting her, but just not my style really. I was going to say I liked the lyrics to Big Yellow Taxi too, but that's Joni Mitchell isn't it.
Anyway, glad I'm still allowed to post here.
This comment has been removed by the author.
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