FogBlueInSanFran
Well-Known Member
Listening to it now, I can see why it was a cause celebre but then again, I can't. It's kind of like The Cars. When you first heard them it was like "Wow, nothing sounds like this!" And then they got in their groove and you still liked them, but realized that after the novelty wore off, they were just very good, but never going to be great/earth-shattering/influential.
Contrast that to Nirvana and "Nevermind." I was on it early cuz a friend had "Bleach" and turned me on to them. He was deep into music and predicted quite specifically they were going to be the biggest band in the world. I couldn't hear it on "Bleach" and laughed and said "No way, dude" but as soon as I heard "Nevermind", I said, "Oh. I get it. Bon Jovi RIP." Meaning bands LIKE Bon Jovi with no edge and nothing to say -- "corporate rock" (sub out Journey or Boston or whatever if you're old). They were finished. They'd be laughed off stages. They out-muscled Guns n' Roses handily -- remember when "Appetite For Destruction" made them the next big thing?
They sounded like Pixies but had constant momentum and monstrous, titanic hooks and were loud and nasty and moany and a little shocking and Kurt was a little scary whereas Black Francis was a wimp. They changed everything, forever. Anyone who doesn't have "Nevermind" in the five most important records ever made is factually incorrect.
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