Power-pop progenitors? O.G. DIYers? The last college-rock survivors? No label adequately captures the four-decade journey of Zion, Ill.’s Shoes, who have released their first new studio material in 17 years. Perhaps the most astonishing thing about Shoes is that this ethic and attitude prevails despite a collection of music-biz bumps and bruises that could rival Charlie Brown in terms of sheer career futility. In some ways, they’re the Forrest Gumps of rock. Shoes essentially presaged punk’s DIY movement by recording its first, early-’70s albums in the living room before garnering enough critical acclaim to merit a major-label contract. Shoes will be guest editing magnentmagazine.com all week. Read our new feature on the band.
Jeff Murphy: Rock ‘n’ Roll is still a relatively young musical form. Coming into full swing in the early 1960s, rock music hasn’t logged as many years as country or classical music, yet the founding fathers and early icons of this musical movement have started to get a bit “long in the tooth.” Evidence of this is that the Rolling Stones have just celebrated the 50th anniversary of their very first gig together! Hardly seems possible.
With most musical genres, the passing of time typically helps to endear its more successful icons with profound reverence. Will rock ‘n’ roll follow suit, or will the cynics persist in mocking their elder statesman? Will rock’s founders be championed and lionized like Beethoven, Bach and Mozart are for classical? Will they be revered like country music artists Tammy Wynette and George Strait? Or blues greats like B.B King or Robert Johnson or Howlin’ Wolf? So far, most aging rockers have been the butt of jokes and ridiculed. Remember the Stones’ Steel Wheels Tour of the 1990s, when it was mocked as the Steel Wheelchair Tour? As rock’s greatest purveyors age, and the likes of Paul McCartney, Jimmy Page and Mick Jagger gray and eventually pass the torch, will they become legendary heroes or simply answers to trivia questions?
The rock of my youth is still a solid part of who I am as a person and what I strive to achieve as an adult. For it to be insulted offends me and attacks the core of the music I love.
Yes, it’s sobering to see my idols overweight and graying, but hey, musicians are people, too! Gravity fights us all and usually wins. But I prefer to remember them for the melodic work they did and see it as a major contribution to society on a cultural and even global level! No politician has ever affected me as profoundly. When the Beatles sang “All You Need Is Love” or the Stones sang “Satisfaction,” it was more like Moses handing down the tablets from the mountain or a call to arms by General MacArthur than a band singing a song. That type of imprint deserves to have its authors nurtured and cared for throughout their lives and canonized after they’re gone. The work that they’ve done and the battles they’ve fought for the love of their musical pursuits helped to bring down governments, stop wars and raise awareness on countless social issues. This should transcend advancing age and a few gray hairs. Hopefully, future generations will look back on our aging icons of Rock with awe and respect, without questioning if they wore wigs or dentures or Depends or bifocals. It’s the music that matters!
Video after the jump.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4p8qxGbpOk
