F*CKF*CKF*CKF*CK... Tom Petty in critical conditon after cardiac arrest
- Thread starter dmn23
- Start date
Devil is Dill
Doubleplusgood
Also thought his radio show was pretty good.
335clone
Living the dream
Interesting anecdote; that song was written about Ike Turner trying to hit on Toms wife.
I played quite a few TP tunes last night, many that I had never played before. There is a simplicity inherent in most of his songs that belies their greatness. Just a fabulously talented songwriter.
335clone
Living the dream
I would definitely rate them in the top 5, with very good company.
Chad
Slender Hobbit
I was trying to think of an American band to put up against him and the only thing I cold really come up with is Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Both similar careers and a named frontman but I'll take Tom over Bruce though.
Dogsinplastic
avuncular to no one
Yeah, Tom's in that league despite Bruce's larger fanship. Springsteen and Mellencamp are two of the only other artists that I can think of that fall into his peer group AND that have continued to record/release new music. Bands just don't last for 40 years, despite the anomalies of TP & tHBs and BS & tESB. Maybe we add the Dead for the post-Jerry iterations and amalgams. Neil Young is among the few other North American artists that continues to do the same...and until recently Rush. The vast majority of their peers from the 1970s and 1980s have been oldies acts/live jukeboxes...not that that isn't their right. Further most of them don't have anywhere near the oeuvre of Petty.
Woulda and definitely shoulda made a point of seeing TP & the HBs...a real musical regret. Can't imagine how his family, bandmates, and friends are feeling.
Devil is Dill
Doubleplusgood
I'd nominate R.E.M. for top 5 even though they kind of ran out of steam at the end. I think they were mostly un-fuck-withable for about 15 years, but I do know a lot of people who don't care for them.
Gary Blanchard
beloved, local musician
I am so saddened by this. I have the greatest respect for Petty's songwriting and showmanship, it is terrible to recognize that, aside from some stuff that may already be in the can, we will hear no more music from Tom.
The fact that we are the same age makes me a bit nervous, TBH.
The fact that we are the same age makes me a bit nervous, TBH.
xStonr
Kick Henry Jackassowski
I first heard TP back in 1978. I was in my mid 20's and living in a college town. At the time radio sucked. No classic rock yet and the local radio station played pop and disco. On the hand, the college station played new artists at the time like Dire Straits, Elvis Costello, and TP. How refreshing it was to hear the next wave of rock artists. I've been a fan since. I got to see TP play live once 1n 1983 at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, PA. This was before he played in the huge arenas. Many of his songs are in my guitar playlist and of course will remain. He will be missed. RIP TP
Dogsinplastic
avuncular to no one
I had a sentence/paragraph mentioning REM. They are just outside of his peer group and slightly left of the traditional rock of Tom, Bruce, John, and others.
REM had an amazing run. I think unlike a Billy Corgan, they realized the game had changed and didn't want to play the new game. They made their mark and benefited greatly from it from an artistic and financial perspective. I'm wondering when they might get back together...
Dogsinplastic
avuncular to no one
So you had an optometrist appointment earlier in the day....understood.
Chad
Slender Hobbit
REM is probably my favorite band of all time almost anything I play sounds like Peter Buck. I will say that I didn't care for the Around the Sun, Reveal or Up (late 90s early 2000s) their last 2 albums, Collapse Into Now and Accelerate are as good as anything they ever put out.
That said, I'm not sure I can put them on Tom's level.
335clone
Living the dream
Not to debate your list, but omitting the Allman Brothers Band this soon after Gregg's passing seems glaring. They had a pretty damn good 45 year run. Agree about the Dead/Dead & Co.
Dogsinplastic
avuncular to no one
I qualified inclusion based on the recording and releasing of new material...studio albums. That's part of Tom's amazing legacy...he wasn't done.
The last two albums from the Allmans were in 2003 and 1994. As such they were squarely in the greatest hits mode for the better part of the last two decades (especially if you look at set lists). The Allmans are one of my favorite bands, arguably the best of what a jam band could be...excellent songs in which they'd weave jams as opposed to complex tunes and potentially endless noodles (not that they didn't have their fair share, but their melodies are hum-able/whistle-able). Great ear worms of hooks with killer vocals, tasty guitar, great grooves, etc.
Also, the Allmans were from the "generation" of late 1960s artists that were part of the Tom's and his band's influences...I was trying to keep it to TPs peer group of eaerly to mid '70s artists and the smaller subset of those that are still "relevant" and producing new material.
Peen Simmons
Let’s Get Obtuse!
Up is a very good, very interesting record. It's long and it's weird (for a band of R.E.M.'s stature at the time). But I think it warrants reappraisal.
Peen Simmons
Let’s Get Obtuse!
Tom Petty was a wealth of pop rock singles. Dude had a commitment to churning our gleaming little pop confections that seem like they've always existed. Plenty of his peers and idols had higher highs (and lower lows). His consistency rendered him a little boring at times. But he was a vital part of rock and roll's institutional dominance after the real wildness died out.
It's weird that he's gone, because his work is like furniture or the landscape..simply there, part of the context. His loss doesn't feel world altering like living a cold, tawdry Bowieless existence. Still, very sad.
Someone please check in on Bruce Springsteen and make sure he's taking his pills.
It's weird that he's gone, because his work is like furniture or the landscape..simply there, part of the context. His loss doesn't feel world altering like living a cold, tawdry Bowieless existence. Still, very sad.
Someone please check in on Bruce Springsteen and make sure he's taking his pills.
Help!I'maRock!
Mediocringly Derivative
Wholeheartedly agree. I spent many weird Sunday mornings in college working at a record store listening to that album.
Chad
Slender Hobbit
I've gone back to it over the years and it doesn't work for me. I'm not saying it is a bad album, its just not something I ever grab when I want to hear REM.