Tag Archives: The Kinks

The Main Thing that Happened in Hook History in 1967

Posted on December 20, 2017 by Steve Smith

I wish there were annual conferences, or music festivals, with rival presentations on what most importantly happened in hook history in a certain year. Since I’m conducting a festival of sorts for 1967 here in these last months of 2017, … Continue reading →

Posted in Chord Arguments, Rock, Rock Aesthetics | Tagged ", "All Day And All Of The Night", "For What It's Worth", "Get Off My Cloud", "Got A Feelin'", "Greensleeves", "Heaven Is In Your Mind", "Hold On I'm Comin'", "Hush", "I Am The Walrus", "I Can See For Miles", "Jumping Jack Flash", "Knock On Wood", "Light My Fire", "Magical Mystery Tour", "Omaha", "Purple Haze", "Rock And Roll Woman", "Sitting On Top Of The World", "Somebody To Love", "Sunshine Of Your Love", "The Ballad Of You And Me And Pooneil", "White Rabbit", Buffalo Springfield, chords, Cream, Deep Purple, Eddie Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Moby Grape, Rolling, Sam & Dave, Stones, The Beatles, The Doors, The Kinks, The Mamas and the Papas, The Who, Traffic | Leave a comment

The Avant Hook: The Byrds, “Eight Miles High” (1966)

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Steve Smith

New and cool is one thing but avant-garde is something else. If a piece of popular music contained a hook that really sounded and kept on sounding like a challenging, exploratory leap outside the normal—rather an unlikely “if,” under the … Continue reading →

Posted in Rock Aesthetics, Ways of Starting | Tagged "Eight Miles High", "Good Morning Good Morning", "Good Vibrations", "I Am The Walrus", "I Feel Fine", "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", "Norwegian Wood", "Rain", "Revolution 9", "Tomorrow Never Knows", "You Can't Always Get What You Want", "You Really Got Me", John Coltrane, Ravi Shankar, Roger McGuinn, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Byrds, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, U2 | 1 Comment

Diction Hooks: Guided By Voices, “Pivotal Film” (2001)

Posted on January 29, 2010 by Steve Smith

diction. 1. Choice and use of words in speech or writing. (American Heritage Dictionary) A main reason I find myself wanting to listen again to a Guided By Voices track, “Pivotal Film,” is that it has an outstanding word hook … Continue reading →

Posted in Rock Aesthetics, Words | Tagged "A Well Respected Man", "Absolutely Sweet Marie", "Anarchy In The UK", "Anticipation", "Back In The USA", "Demon Rum", "I Am The Walrus", "In Quintessence", "In The Way", "Intellectualize My Blackness", "Like A Rock", "Like A Rolling Stone", "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", "Molly's Chambers", "Penny Lane", "Pivotal Film", Ani DiFranco, Are You Experienced?, Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, Caleb Followill, Carly Simon, Chuck Berry, diction, Guided By Voices, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Rotten, Kings Of Leon, Sex Pistols, Skunk Anansie, Squeeze, The Beatles, The Kinks | Leave a comment

Coming to Get You—The Most Overwhelming Rock Sound: Smashing Pumpkins, “Pissant” (1993)

Posted on September 12, 2009 by Steve Smith

Musical sound always makes a grab for your attention. Even wind chimes are assailants. But music also always makes a peace with you. Even drums and electrified guitars and shrieking vocalists can be lived with comfortably once you get used … Continue reading →

Posted in Arrangements and Sounds, Rock Aesthetics | Tagged "Cherub Rock", "Foxey Lady", "I Can't Explain", "My Generation", "Purple Haze", "Rocket 88", "Rumble", "Train Kept A-Rollin", "You Really Got Me", Are You Experienced?, Austin Dacey, Blue Cheer, Cream, Dave Davies, Dinosaur Jr., distress cries, fuzzbox, Hegel, Ike Turner, Jimi Hendrix Experience, John Entwistle, Johnnie Burnette, Keith Moon, Link Wray, Nirvana, Paul Burlison, Pissant, Public Image Limited, quality, Siamese Dream, Smashing Pumpkins, The Kinks, The Who, Willie Kizart | Leave a comment