Holden Caulfield, Rock Critic

So I recently heard a friend mention how he didn't know the difference between Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, citing them both as "old," and this bothered me a bit. I understand if the type of music these two bands play don't appeal to you (but I will hold it against you because they're both fantastic bands), but don't write off a band simply because of their age. Especially if you've never listened to them.

Nothing's going to change my world, Nothing's going to change my world

I happen to be a huge fan of these so-called "older" bands, partially because they've made some fantastic music and because it's what I was raised on. You can thank (or blame) my parents for imparting in me the spirit of rock and roll that is Bruce Springsteen. His first album can out in 1971, the same time as Led Zeppelin IV (one of the best albums of all time, in my opinion), and even though it's been forty years since it came out, listening to it never gets old.

I am the world's forgotten boy, The one who searches and destroys

His next several albums were also just as fantastic. The Wild, The Innocent And The E Street Shuffle, released in 1972, is one of the most underrated and under-appreciated albums ever, and if you have some time on your hands I advise you to give it a listen. I actually think it's better than 1975's Born To Run as a whole, even though Born To Run has some better songs. And then there's "Racing In the Street" on Darkness On The Edge Of Town from 1978. You can't write a better song than that.

Acting funny and I don't know why, Excuse me while I kiss the sky

I think it's my love of Bruce that's led me to fall in love with other bands from the 1960s and 1970s and help shape my view on rock in general. Discovering these older bands has always been fun because one of the things that interests me when it comes to music is understanding where it fits in historically, because it's inherently unfair to compare The Beatles to a band like Coldplay.

And as we wind on down the road, Our shadows taller than our soul

Part of this approach stems from what you might call the "Holden Caulfield Test" I have for music. This so-called test is basically my own subjective belief of whether or not bands are (you guessed it) phonies (or sellouts/commercial-first/whatever you call a band like Nickelback). I completely understand that this is in no way a foolproof way to judge the quality of the music, but I'm probably not the only one that applies this test on most of the music they listen to.

Show a little faith there's magic in the night, You ain't a beauty but hey you're alright

It's this test that these old bands tend to pass. It was hard to be a sellout when there was nothing or no one to sell out to. A perfect example of this is The Velvet Underground. Listening to them, you can just tell that they cared about making good music and wouldn't sacrifice that just to get on the radio. Listen to the 1967 album The Velvet Underground And Nico and if you don't think it's bleeding artistry one thousand times more than commercialism, you're deaf.

If I ventured into the slipstream, Between the viaducts of your dream

The same can be said for Jimi Hendrix. Give a listen to Are You Experienced? and tell me there isn't something special about that album that can't be put into words. Bob Dylan is another great example. By today's standards, Dylan is an awful singer. But he's a wonder songwriter and after watching him perform at this year's Grammys, it's shocking how much he stands out from today's music. He was so much more real and genuine than almost everyone else at the show.

Kiss the boot of shiny shiny leather, Shiny leather in the dark

It's this sincere quality to the music that draws me to artists such as Van Morrison and Iggy Pop. Listening to Astral Weeks is like a drug: it transports you to another plane, and for 45 minutes there's nothing else I'd rather be doing than being swept away by the Irishman. This quality is also what attracts me to protopunk bands such as The Stooges, New York Dolls and MC5. Knowing that these guys were doing it before everyone else lends them (at least in my eyes) artistic credibility that a lot of bands today lack.

The time is gone the song is over, Though I'd something more to say

Take a listen to the eponymous The Stooges (1969) or Raw Power (1973) by Iggy And The Stooges or Kick Out The Jams (1969) by MC5, who had the audacity to release this, their first album, as a live album, and tell me these albums don't also capture something beyond just the music. They have that indescribable thing that goes beyond the lyrics or the notes. It's that thing that "I Wanna Be Your Dog" has. It's that thing that "Kick Out The Jams" has.

There must be some kind of way out of here, Said the joker to the thief

And of course there's The Beatles. No discussion of rock music can be considered complete without talking about the fab four. I'll be honest and say I don't care much for their early work (Please Please Me through Help) because it's mostly nothing but love songs but once that phase ended, they showed just how great they were. Rubber Soul through Let It Be pretty much established The Beatles as simply the best. Rubber Soul, fantastic. Revolver, fantastic. Magical Mystery Tour, fantastic. Sgt. Peppers, groundbreaking. The White Album, fantastic. Abbey Road, fantastic. Let It Be, fantastic.

Out here in the fields, I fought for my meals, I don't need to be forgiven

I don't understand people who would shake off The Beatles simply because their some old band from all the way back in the '60s. People like that don't have my respect when it comes to their taste in music. And I think it stems from the fact that we're quite spoiled today by 1960s standards. Back then The Beatles were limited with what they could do from a sound standpoint. But today, thanks to all the developments in technology, we can perfect someone's pitch and artificially create music.

Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again

Because we're spoiled, we tend to overlook the simpler, more elementary song-writing of the 1960s. There is just so much out there that it can be easy to become desensitized to it all. And there's such a wide range of styles today that The Beatles don't always stand out against them sound-wise. And this ties into what I said about comparing Coldplay to The Beatles: context matters. Both are great bands but it's like comparing apples to oranges.

Kick out the jams, Motherf****r!

Now just to be clear, I don't hate new bands. I just don't happen to listen to a lot bands that didn't exist until after 2000. I've also never been much of a fan of pop or hip-hop, both of which have become immensely popular during the last decade as well as having been the predominant forms of music to receive substantial radio airplay (though I will admit I've never listened to much radio). Part of this has to do with the fact that I simply don't like the sound (or "feel") of those styles, but also because now there are a lot of sellouts and artists who have nowhere near the artistic integrity (those phonies!) of bands like Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd.

Bye bye Miss American Pie, Drove my Chevy to the levy, But the levy was dry

There's a quote of Bruce Springsteen that I think sums this up perfectly: "More than rich or famous, I wanted to be great." That's the standard I hold most bands to. That's why Bruce Springsteen will always remain one of my favorite artists of all time, because I don't think there are enough musicians out there with this frame of mind. And until that changes, I will enjoy my old people music.

Lord I can't change, Won't you fly high, Free bird

Until next time, Orange Hat Guy