@TheJohn: Honestly, we're on the same page. I completely agree that, as long as the song is good, the precise quality of the musician doesn't matter as much.
When I say skill, I just mean knowing how to play the song so that it sounds like it should, and not saying "fuck it, let's just play", even though you'll sound like you don't even know how to hold the instrument.
Honestly, music isn't, and has never really been, about how many fills you can put in, or how accurately you strum. Minute details like that come after years of experience. As long as you can play the music, it doesn't matter if you're a neophyte or a master; it'll sound good, and that's what's important.
It's just pure laziness, however, when you don't even bother to really learn the music, and just cheese it because you can't be bothered to put the effort in. I guarantee you that good punk bands, even if they don't have some virtuoso guitarist, still put the time into making their pieces performance-worthy. A bit subjective, but then again, there are some people who can't stand bluegrass, and think it's all shit.
Really to sum it all up:
I'll bet that you, as a musician, have an idea of what you want the songs you play to sound like. Your efforts go into making them sound like that. That's all I mean by putting in the effort.
@example1013: Yeah, we agree. I guess it was the word "laziness" that got me going in the first place. As an active musician in my thirties I've heard so many variations of that now that I tend to ramble a bit whenever it pops up. What I make might sound like pure noise to others, and I'm comfortable with that, but at no point does laziness play a part.
@Shookems: I hear you, and I'm not gonna lie and claim that I haven't done the same, often giving the exact same bands as examples. But claiming that X is not punk, while Y is, rarely leads to fans of X checking out Y. While I love to be exposed to new sounds, I'm rarely gonna listen to anyone that tells me I'm flat out wrong about liking what I am currently enjoying.
@ThePhantomnaut: I see your Spazz, and raise you one Dropdead/Totalitär split 7". That fucker is gold, start to finish.
No. I think that punk's "fight the man" message is too opposite the fact that they get signed to huge record labels and get all kinds of money and stuff. Though the music can be ok.
Going from Guitar Hero, to the Boston local scene to watch the bands in the game, ended with me listening to a lot of Boston punk for a long while. Still do to a lesser extent.
Its very select for me, but the other day I was lisening to the dead kennedys and felt compelled to mosh around like the idiots I usually make fun of. In the right mood its a great release of emotion and energy
Log in to comment