Back when I was (by choice) unemployed (for 13 months and spending all my savings), I had the BEST year of my life. Not working played a huge part in that. Sigh.
Drifting back on topic, from Summer 2006 to Summer 2007 I got into some fine progressive rock thanks to the amazing site Prog Archives.
Go there and listen to the streaming mp3s for free. Go there and read about all the creative bands that existed in the early 70s. It’s fucking mind-blowingly amazing to think of all the music made from the late 60s to the mid 70s, and how it’s all so very much better than most everything that came before or after that short time period.
I’m going to sound like an old bastard by saying this, but music today sucks. I think that every age group has its own music-of-the-day to rally around, but if that were strictly the case, I’d be all about the 80s pop music. I’d be extolling the virtues of George Michael and Madonna, and nobody would be reading this blog because you’d all know I was just a fucking idiot who tried to tell you of forgotten gems like Color Me Badd, and who tried to tell you all about how Vanilla Ice was a misunderstood genius.
So, thankfully, I’m more “cultured” than my age would indicate. Instead I blab on and on and on about how the early 70s bands mop the fucking floor with the likes of your Nickelcrack and your Kid Rock etc etc.
And to illustrate rather vividly the chasm between yesterday’s melodies and today’s noise… Supersister!
Here is what some of you may think of when you read that word:
Just another prefabulated (not a real word) pop-tart business venture from England in the mid 00s, I believe. Sure, they’re cute chicks, but who in their right mind would want to listen to whatever the fuck they would have to say? I’m sure they sing about soda pop and “mobiles”, as those Brits call phones over there. Why can’t they speak English over there? Sheesh.
Then there’s THIS Supersister:
From a place called Holland. From the 1970s. From the very depths of Progressive Rock, replete with virtuoso keyboard and flute solos done to ever-changing meter and tempo.
You can hear some songs from Supersister on Prog Archives. You might see why I like these guys, even though I’ve only heard those same free streaming mp3s. Well, in the spirit of my spending my money on non-essential things like CDs, I’ve gone and ordered all their studio albums from Amazon.ca. I’m sure I’ll let you know how I like these guys once I have my fill of side-long prog epics and extended solos from the Low Countries.
I’d actually tried to get some music by these guys before… but Amazon had fucking NOTHING by them. Not even a best-of. Apparently one of their songs was used in a recent movie or something, so in 2009 their record label remastered and re-released 4/5 of their studio albums. The 5th album was available too, so I got that as well.
And we shall see which sister is the superist. God, that’s a horrible way to end this blog post. I’m lucky no one will ever read this.