Musical tastes

I was just thinking of this at lunch. Bringing up your music preferences invariable starts a debate about who's better. I've had each of the following arguments with others fairly recently:

David Lee Roth vs. Sammy Hagar – There are three kinds of people in the world. Van Halen lovers, Van Hagar lovers, and people who couldn’t give less of a shit about either of them. I’m one of the former. David Lee Roth was in Van Halen first, so there’s a point for him. He’s honestly quite odd, which is another point in his favor (most people like a spectacle in their lead singers). I happen to like his insane screeching, and would love to be able to mimic it at karaoke. Also, since leaving, he’s been a gigolo and an EMT, and has gotten back together with the Van Halen brothers more times than most celebrity couples. Then there’s Sammy. The guy brought us “I Can’t Drive Fifty-Five” and “There’s Only One Way to Rock” prior to joining the band. Once installed, he pussified them quite quickly (Seriously, “Why Can’t This Be Love?” They’re supposed to be rocking about drop dead legs and stuff). Sure, it’s possible that Eddie might have written the lyrics for some of the Van Hagar songs, in which case, another point goes to Roth for refusing to let Eddie wax romantic during his tenure. I heard Sammy is a nice guy, I’ll give him that, but there’s not enough Cabo Wabo in the world to make me change my allegiance.


David Gilmour vs. Roger Waters – Yes, it’s true, when Roger Waters split, Pink Floyd took a turn into pop territory. Mostly gone were the dark depressing odes to Syd Barrett, dead fathers, and mental illness; and when a dark sounding song did turn up, it seemed to be trying too hard. BUT, Waters did not make Pink Floyd what it was; rather, he worked with Gilmour’s musical skills to make his odd concepts bearable to listen to. When he tried to do it alone, his works came out sounding like pieces of performance art rather than songs. “Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict,” anyone? Hint: it can’t even be loosely classified as a song. Or take his post-Floyd album “the Pros and Cons of Hitchiking.” Even in the beginning, right after Syd got dumped, Waters wrote songs that mimicked (not perfectly) Barrett’s compositions. There’s no doubt that Dave is the better musician, but his heart lies with pop, and most Floyd fans aren’t keen on it. So, I will say that this argument is a tough one, but I for one am going to go with the actual music rather than concept. Also, Gilmour has historically been more attractive than Waters, and of course that's important.


Little Wing – Jimi Hendrix vs. Stevie Ray Vaughn – Yes, I know Jimi wrote it. Yes, I know he is a guitar legend. But Jimi’s version is about two and a half minutes, and Stevie’s is almost seven. Also, compared to Stevie’s smooth bluesy style, Jimi’s is quite rough and manic, as if he’s simply waiting to set his Fender on fire again. And I’m sure he meant it to be that way; it is Jimi Hendrix, after all. I have immense respect for the man. I just happen to prefer Stevie’s take on it, mostly due to the fact that he’s made it an instrumental to focus on the melody while Jimi mostly showcased his singing. Hell, they’re both dead and probably beyond caring anyhow, but Stevie it is, for me.