It’s been a while since I’ve updated this little blog and I blame it on my sly mistress whom I call “chronic laziness”. To be honest, I’m kind of embarrassed to say that I haven’t really been following pop/crap culture in recent weeks. However, today I stumbled upon a pretty decent find while trolling the Internet. It seems British artist Adele is kind of the “it” girl right now, and has been the “it” girl in progressive circles for some time. Sorry, I guess I’m late to the party and a buck short (typical).
Anyway, the main point I bring up Adele is her single “Rolling in the Deep.” I’ll admit, at the beginning of the song I was thinking to myself, “Hmm…Kinda dark smoky voice, bluesy, I likey.” Then the first chorus rolled up around the 1:00 mark and I couldn’t help but think that this song reminded me A LOT of another song. This of course led me on a 25 minute Internet safari until I finally found the song I was looking for, the ever famous “Gimme Shelter” by the Rolling Stones.
Released in 1969, “Gimme Shelter” definitely has this ominous feel. According to a Rolling Stone interview with Mick Jagger in 1995, Jagger described the ever present violence of the era, highlighted by the war in Vietnam, and that it was kind of an “end-of-the-world” song. I know, I know, it’s very easy to sit back with decades of time on your side and proclaim that the 60’s and 70’s were filled with rock classics, each conveying important political and social commentary simply not found in today’s music. Trust me, I’m sure there was a lot of shit music back then to, but nobody remembers shit music 30-40 years later.
However, a question remains, “Why hasn’t there been any quality, symbolic period music for the 2000-2010 decade?” I mean, this past decade (especially as an American) was wrought with major political and social events. Think: 9/11, the Iraq War, the Afghanistan War, the entire “War on Terror” mentality, the election of the first African-American president, etc. I mean, you would think such major events would inspire some really great music; songs that would stand the test of time much like the classics from the 1960’s and 1970’s. I’m talking about that instant kind of mental connotation that Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower” conveys. I mean, for fuck’s sake, the first time I heard that song I instantly imagined rows of Huey helicopters flying through dense forests (and this is coming from someone whose parents were barely teenagers during the Vietnam War. Furthermore, the only time I’ve actually seen a Huey is at air shows).
Interestingly, it seems that Nirvana, especially their single “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, is being incorporated into the historical lexicon as the representative “period” music of the early 1990’s (I’m sure some people will disagree with this). But it remains to be seen what, if any, true period songs will arise from the recently passed 2000-2010 decade.
If any of you guys know of any, please let me know. Below, for your pleasure, are Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”, the Rolling Stones “Gimmie Shelter” and finally, a mash-up of both. I think the mash-up clears up any doubts you may be having over whether the two songs sound eerily similar.
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