I'm not trying to demonize drug use. I've done my fair share. But I hate the notion that rock music requires it. It places a huge burden on people just looking to make a living doing what they love.
I'm not trying to demonize drug use. I've done my fair share. But I hate the notion that rock music requires it. It places a huge burden on people just looking to make a living doing what they love.
As for bands being sober role models, I used to think that about Rush, which had a reputation for most of its career as the thinking man’s rock band whose members did not have hard drug problems, tattoos or other unkemptness. But then it gradually became known that in the 1980s the guitarist had a cocaine problem. (And he also began extolling the virtues of ecstasy in interviews which, though arguably a soft drug, might have made some people uneasy.) So, for other clean-looking bands, appearances may be deceptive.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Knack
>However, the band's rise to the top of the charts also precipitated a backlash. Capitol's packaging of Get the Knack included a perceived cover likeness to Meet the Beatles! with the record's center label being the same design and style as the Beatles' early 1960s LPs. Coupled with the band's "retro" 1960s look and pop/rock sound, the company's stylings led detractors to accuse them of being Beatles rip-offs, which the band and their record company denied. Fieger acknowledged the band's likeness to the Beatles, claiming that it was their intention to present the Knack as a replica of the British Invasion. He went on to mention how fans of the Knack had not been able to experience the times of the 1960s, and that it was wrong to deny them the privilege of experiencing something similar. Critics fought back, claiming the band was imposing inadequate memories of the 1960s on those who didn't know better. Soon, as Get the Knack became more popular, the band was met with hostility from other artists who felt the intense marketing of the band was invalidating their own efforts of invoking the 1960 sound. This perception, and the perception that the object of some of the Knack's songs were teenaged girls (subsequently acknowledged when the band were years older), quickly led to a "Knuke the Knack" campaign led by San Francisco artist Hugh Brown.
They may not appreciate the references to the original songs but they can still enjoy the songs for what they are.
His style parody originals are as much fun (and as numerous) as his song psrodies.
I guess on some level it's because like many people I spent a good portion of my youth (and occasional moments of my adulthood) changing the lyrics of songs to silly (or vulgar) alternatives. I don't spend the amount of time Al does and I don't have his level of talent/dedication of course, but I get it.
But being able to write a song that sounds recognizably like another artist while being entirely original is a whole other level of talent. It requires both an understanding of what makes a song sound like The Police or Crosby, Stills, and Nash and the musical chops to sing/play/produce it.
Hearing those songs gives me a feeling like I know which one he's spoofing but not being able to put my finger on it--because it doesn't exist.
"Close But No Cigar" is probably my favorite Cake song.