Author Archives: Tim Hall

Eric Berlin challenges people to name their five favourite bands.

I was intrigued by this challenge, and very much struck both by how challenging it was – and is now – and how much the choices seemingly threaten to define my personality. Define me, really.

For example, the person who chooses Adam Ant, Kajagoogoo, Duran Duran, Cyndi Lauper, and Styx is very likely very different than the Iron Maiden, Metallica, Dream Theater, Queensryche, Rush dude, who again is probably worlds different than the Fiona Apple, Indigo Girls, Joan Baez, Patti Smith, Suzanne Vega person.

Here’s my five: I think shows that I’m more interested in musical craftmanship than rebellious posturing or tortured messiah figures. They’re all bands I first discovered around the same period (late 70s/early 80s), and all have careers lasting 20 or 30 years.

Pink Floyd – They’re significant for me, since the first album I ever bought was “The Wall”. The official British ‘rock narrative’ written by self-appointed cultural pundits either ignores the Floyd completely, or dismisses them as symbolic of the worst excesses of 70s corporate rock. Which just goes to show how much such idiots need a clue. Pink Floyd’s amazing performance at Live8 a year ago showed everyone how great they still are.

Blue Öyster Cult – They’re labelled as ‘thinking man’s metal’, but I think they were always more than a metal band. They can rock out with the best of them, but they’ve also excelled at sublime pop with a sinister edge. They’re a great live act even now; I’m seeing them live tomorrow night.

Marillion – They defied the critics by playing full-blown prog rock at the time when it was most unfashionable, and have continued to change and evolve with the times.

Rush – Sometimes I forget just how great their 70s and early 80s material is. Then I dig out classic albums like “Hemispheres”, “2112″ or “Moving Pictures”, and I remember.

Ritchie Blackmore – This is a cheat to include two great bands as my fifth choice, Deep Purple and Rainbow. Forget Jimmy Page, Blackmore was my 70s guitar hero. It didn’t hurt that he worked with three world-class singers, Ian Gillan, David Coverdale and Ronnie Dio.

Honourable mentions – Yes, Frank Zappa, Black Sabbath (both with Ozzy and with Dio), Genesis when Steve Hackett was in the band, King Crimson, Uriah Heep.

Possible candidates for ten years time – Mostly Autumn, Porcupine Tree, Opeth, The Mars Volta, Muse.

I promised I’d post the answers for the 20 first lines tonight, so here they are. Those italics are those people managed to guess, those in bold are those that nobody recognised

1. Too easy to explain, too easy to explain
– Paradise Lost, Shine

2. Transient jet lag ecto mimed bison
– The Mars Volta, Roullette Est

3. Going up, coming down, and she counts every day
– Karnataka, Out of Reach

4. Even after all the days are gone
– IQ, Sacred Sound

5. The ways, the ins and outs of heaven elude us to the end
– Mostly Autumn, Heroes Never Die

6. Coraz bilzej moment, gdy nie poznan juz siebie
– Closterkeller, Cyan

7. József Attila: Reménytelenül
– After Crying, Stalker

8. He captured and collected things and put them in a shed
– Porcupine Tree, The Creator has a mastertape

9. Is there anything good inside of you
– Frank Zappa, Andy

10. Queen of Light took her bow, And then she turned to go
– Led Zeppelin, The Battle of Evermore

11. Every day I have to look to the sun
– Uriah Heep, Traveller in Time

12. You’re burning my heart, you’re burning my mind
– The Scorpions, I’ve got to be free

13. Every time I leave you say you won’t be there.
– Queensrÿche, Jet City Woman

14. I still have questions with no answers
– Queensrÿche, A Junkies Blues

15. The stars are shining bright up here
– Iain Jennings, You Still Linger

16. Is this happening, is this fantasy?
– Blackmore’s Night, All Because Of You

17. Thoughts blow around in your head like a wind that pretends
– Mostly Autumn, Answer the question

18. Lookin’ ’round for a feelin’ I love the rhythm and blues
– Journey, Lay it down

19. It’s killing you, you’re killing me
– Anathema, Alternative 4

20. Morning people take the news, a paper window on the world.
– Renaissance, Can You Hear Me

Hats off to musical rivet counter Steve Jones for guessing no fewer than six.

Last call for the 20 First Lines meme. Half of them have already been guessed (six of them by the Electric Nose!). You have about 24 hours to try and guess the other half.

I’ll post the remaining answers tomorrow.

I’m tagged myself for the music meme from Eine Kleine Nichtmusik.

Like Rob, I’m a luddite and still have everthing on CD. I used the highly non-scientific method of picking up the first 20 CDs I set eyes upon (mostly the ones I’ve been listening to recently), then rolling a d20 to choose the song, rerolling if I selected an instrumental, or one where the first line contains the song title.

So here’s the list of first lines.

1. Too easy to explain, too easy to explain
2. Transient jet lag ecto mimed bison
3. Going up, coming down, and she counts every day
4. Even after all the days are gone
5. The ways, the ins and outs of heaven elude us to the end
– Mostly Autumn: Heroes Never Die
6. Coraz bilzej moment, gdy nie poznan juz siebie
7. József Attila: Reménytelenül
8. He captured and collected things and put them in a shed
– Porcupine Tree: The Creator Has A Mastertape
9. Is there anything good inside of you
– Frank Zappa: Andy
10. Queen of Light took her bow, And then she turned to go
– Led Zeppelin: The Battle of Evermore
11. Every day I have to look to the sun
12. You’re burning my heart, you’re burning my mind
13. Every time I leave you say you won’t be there.
– Queensrÿche: Jet City Woman
14. I still have questions with no answers
– Queensrÿche: A Junkie’s Blues
15. The stars are shining bright up here
16. Is this happening, is this fantasy?
– Blackmore’s Night: All Because Of You
17. Thoughts blow around in your head like a wind that pretends
– Mostly Autumn: Answer the Question
18. Lookin’ ’round for a feelin’ I love the rhythm and blues
– Journey: Lay It Down
19. It’s killing you, you’re killing me, I’m clinging on to my sanity
20. Morning people take the news, a paper window on the world.
– Renaissance: Can You Hear Me?

Yes I know there’s some real cheese in there. Most, if not all, are from artists known more for the music than the lyrics, and some are very obscure. There’s no Morrissey or Pulp to be found in this lot. And no, I don’t know what the two non-English ones mean.

As with Rob’s list, if you think you can identify any, put your suggestions in the comments box. I’ll post the answers in a couple of weeks. No cutting-and-pasting the lines into Google: that’s cheating!

Update: I’ve goofed on #7. The line I quoted was a title, and doesn’t form part of the actual lyrics. The first line is actually “Az ember végül homolos“. Strictly speaking it’s not valid anyway, because it’s spoken rather than sung. Full marks to Chadders anyway for recognising the poem!.