Essay – Page 3 – The Daily Vault

27 May

Who Is ‘The Artist Of The ’70s’?

Bruce RuskEssay70s

One of my distinguished colleagues recently posed a question on the Daily Vault's staff mailing list, asking essentially "Which artist defined the '70s?" Here's the original comment, to put this article in context: "I was watching my Almost Famous DVD the other day, and included in the special features is an interview done with Lester Bangs*. During the course of the interview he says that Dick Clark told him that, (paraphrasing) 'In the '40s there was Sinatra, in the '50s there was Elvis, in the '60s there was the Beatles, and we are waiting on the '70s.' My question to you…

27 Apr

What Was An Album?

Jeff ClutterbuckEssaywhatwasanalbum

It isn't that farfetched to think that by the time I have kids that can appreciate music, one of the first questions they'll ask me will be, "What was an album?"In the days of Elvis, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis, the music industry was unquestionably a singles-driven business. If you couldn't keep delivering top-notch songs one at a time, then your time in the sun was up. However, things started to change in the late '60s, thanks to visionaries such as the Beatles and Brian Wilson. These artists completely changed the way music was viewed; instead of buying a…

18 Feb

Fame: The New Pop Commodity

JBEssaypop

Many would point to Britney Spears as the symbol of the End of Pop.Grossly unfair. Britney Spears is a classic pop icon: she can sing, in this interesting-sounding rasp which is frankly more nuanced and emotive than Christina Aguilera's Mulan-murdering aaaa-aaa-a-a-aaaa-aa-aa. Spears' concerts are fun to watch, and you can put down money for her albums and expect pop satisfaction, instead of feeling ripped-off and more determined than ever to support the filesharing masses. She also has good taste in choosing songs, more so than we can say for Jessica Simpson or (recently, alas) Mandy Moore, and please can we…

21 Jun

Live’s Throwing Copper — Ten Years Later

Sean McCarthyEssaylive

Kurt Cobain's death was marked, and in many media circles, almost celebrated a few weeks ago. His death was a symbolic end to the "grunge" era, even though grunge continued to live a waning existence. However, April 19, 2004 marked the tenth anniversary of Live's Throwing Copper, and with the exception of Live fans, the occasion was marked with virtually no fanfare. Like Cobain's death, but in an infinitely more superficial way, the marking of Throwing Copper's ten-year anniversary can't be met but with a little ping of depression for those who came of age in the '90s. Throwing Copper…

15 Sep

RIAA: The Collective Devil

Adam MicoEssayriaa

Over the past couple weeks, I have been reading and progressively stewing about the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA's) pending legal action against file sharers. As a result of record companies' whining, RIAA declared that the sources of the problem are people who download and make their downloads available for other like users, and that they consider this pirating. The 'pirates' are generally avid music fans. It makes perfect sense for a cost-conscious society to want to test a product before it is purchased. A general business principal relates that a product or service is refundable if a customer…

03 Jun

The Return of Metallica: Looking Forward, Looking Back

Paul HansonEssaymetallica

I can remember:. . .hating Metallica because they were too fast.. . .driving west on I-80 from North Liberty, Iowa, towards Vermillion, SD, a few years ago, rocking to "For Whom the Bells Toll" on one radio station and to "Master of Puppets" on another station a few more miles down the road.. . . trying to play "Phantom Lord" on drums with a guitarist in 1989. Over the years, we worked on "Seek and Destroy," "Am I Evil," "No Remorse," and "Harvester of Sorrow." He played bass when my band played "Enter Sandman.". . . bassist Jason Newsted telling…

22 Jan

Joe Strummer: Through Death And Glory

Sean McCarthyEssaystrummer

If I had a time machine that could take me back to see one rock concert, it would have been the Clash, around 1979. No question. No debate. Thinking of all the potential concerts: U2 in Austin during the Joshua Tree tour, Nirvana at a club in Seattle in early, early 1991, Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Ranch Bowl in 1992, when each band was hungry and had something to prove. Public Enemy in 1989 in New York. James Brown at the Apollo in 1968 (OK, that one would be close).But, honestly, at their most…

21 Jan

Death Of The Deth

Paul HansonEssaymegadeth

It was the summer of 1990. I was a soon-to-be junior in college and working in a restaurant, bussing tables, doing dishes, waiting on tables, cashiering - - I did anything but cook. A co-worker, a punk reject who quit school between 8th and 9th grade, came in to work with a casette version of Rust In Peace. "Listen to this."Remember, this is 1990. Thrash metal was on the verge of going mainstream. Slayer's South of Heaven was out and The Clash of the Titans tour was in full-swing: an unknown band called Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Megadeth and…

31 Dec

New Year’s Madness 1998

Christopher ThelenEssay

December 31, 1998 -- New Year's Eve A to Z Please take a moment to look over today's menu... your waiter will be back for your orders in a minute.A Accept - Balls To The Wall B The Beatles - Live At The BBC C The Cure - Paris D Dire Straits - On The Night E Eagles - Hell Freezes Over F Flipper - Generic G Grateful Dead - Dick's Picks Volume Two H Heart - Passionworks I Donnie Iris - Fortune 410 J Jane's Addiction - Ritual De Lo Habitual K Kiss - Destroyer L Living Colour -…