BOC: CotHM (long)

[Joseph Brooks]

Well, I may be negative but at least I got people talking about BOC again,
eh? (this is, after all, BOC-L, right?)

Ok, here we go. Quoting from various replies from digest...

-=snip=-
Date:    Tue, 26 Jun 2001 08:04:47 EDT
From:    Ted Jackson <tojackso at LIBRARY.SYR.EDU>
Subject: Re: BOC: CotHM


Yeah, same way the Stones will never make another Beggar's
Banquet, ZZ Top will never remake Tres Hombres, on and on...
Name one band that's still making stuff that compares to their
classic albums?  Personally, I think Jeff Beck's new stuff stands
real tall, but he's changed directions several times, and I suspect
that a lot of old fans hate his 'techno' stuff and bemoan that it's not
'Truth...'
-=snip=-

Very true. My expectations may be unreasonable and if they were reading
this, the band would get my most sincere apologies for this. You have to
understand what an impact BOC had on my early years. I can't help but have
unrealistic expectations. I was 14 when I first saw the band back in '74..
Those first few years of BOC fanhood left an indelible (excuse my spelling,
still on first cup of coffee) mark on my musical soul more than any other
band that I can think of. So much so that nearly 3 decades later, I'm still
trying to recapture that feeling. It may not be fair to the band but there
it is...

-=snip=-
The sad fact of being a fan of classic rockers is that you have to
compromise a bit.  Most people simply run out of ideas over time,
and considering that BÖC lost so many crucial songwriting
contributors over the years, it's surprising they can put out albums
at all.
-=snip=-

I realize this but that doesn't mean I can accept it on an emotional level.
I don't REALLY expect "Secret Treaties II" (I just used that to make a
point) but that doesn't mean that I don't WANT it. I just wish they could at
least come close, not in style neccesarly but in intensity, class and pure
inspiration. We all want to recapture our youth. BOC, for me, totally
represents my youth.. I want it back, dammit! (toothless grin).

-=snip=-
Except Lemmy, but let's face it, if you own
one Motorhead album, you've got 'em all...
-=snip=-

Bad example (for me anyway). I consider even HF/CotHM or Club Ninja lyrics
to be vastly better than any Lemmy/Hawkwind lyric I've ever heard
(admittedly, I haven't heard that much. The hackneyed psuedo poetry of
"Space Ritual" was enough to convince me of that.. Apologies to all you
Hawkies out there...)

-=snip=-
Hmm...do you think their live shows are bad too?  I agree with a lot
of what you say, but I think you're expectations are unreasonably
high...
-=snip=-

No, I still enjoy them live, the last few times I've seen them.. (its been
about 2 years). But again, you must understand, I am a natural born critic
and rip into everything, regardless of how much I like it. I can find
something wrong with *anything*. Its just my opinionated nature and bad
taste to spout off about it in public. That being said, even live, I find
the shows to be predictable and somewhat stale. Buck, Eric.. suprise us..
Drop the BIG 3 for a year and see how it goes...

-=snip=-
> You can't go back, I guess...
>
> JB
>
No, you can't.  But consider this:  how pathetic would it be if BÖC
intentionally tried to recreate Secret Treaties?  At least CotHM isn't
afraid to explore new stuff.
-=snip=-

Pretty pathetic, I fear. And thats the crux of it I guess and why I get my
ninnies all rigid about it. I want BOC to have a career (of Evil?). I WANT
to like CotHM.. I really do. I'm trying. I just can't get away from the
feeling that they're just going through the motions. Not that I blame them..
If the muse has fled, what are they supposed to do? Can you picture EB as a
manager at Sears? An insurance salesman? (ok, maybe a Car salesman... ;).

(Hows that for working in 3 BOC lyrics into one inane paragraph? hehe)

-=snip=-
For that matter, BÖC in their heyday
never came close to Secret Treaties, even when AB, JB, RM and
SP were still aboard.  Times change, and you have to decide if
there's enough interesting music left for you to enjoy.  For me, there
is.  BD's playing is better than it's ever been, esp. live, there's no
comparison.  the only real objection I've got to CotHM is some of
the lyrics, not all of them.  True, there's a lot of power pop on it, but
I bet most of us liked Flat Out when it was released!

theo
-=snip=-

Oh my god.. You've made me think that for all these years, I've been not a
BOC fan but a Pearlman/Meltzer/Bouchard fan? Hmmm... Nah...

Good post, Theo. Thanks for making me think.


-=snip=-
Date:    Tue, 26 Jun 2001 08:27:59 -0400
From:    Nick English <nick at NETPHD.NET>
Subject: Re: BOC: CotHM

In addition to classic rockers changing over time, I
think classic rock FANS change over time as well.  We
can't wear our mullets forever, after all.
-=snip=-

I never wore a mullet, thank you. Long and stringy was my hair gig... :)

-=snip=-
I'm in such a different place than I was when I first
became a BOC fan.  I've got two youngsters running
around, a mortgage, two car payments, etc.  I'm not
looking for rock and roll to fulfill my life in any
way -- just make it a little more fun.
-=snip=-

Ditto on the adulthood thing. Maybe thats my problem? DO I expect too much
from my music at this late date?

-=snip=-
And -- horror
of horrors -- I could not possibly care less what the
saga of Imaginos is about, what order the songs should
be in or what may have happened to him after the album
ended.  I do, however, think it's an extremely cool
album.
-=snip=-

My first though when Imaginos came out was.. "They're back!" and all was
right with the world. I just love that album. To be honest, except for
Imaginos which was sort of a psuedo-BOC album, I've been disappointed with
everything they've done since CE. But I hang on for some demented reason
(see above) and hope...

-=snip=-

Date:    Tue, 26 Jun 2001 18:05:58 +0100
From:    Kirsten Procter <kprocter at CHIARK.GREENEND.ORG.UK>
Subject: Re: BOC: CotHM

True. And every  new generation of rock fans changes the way rock
works. But Idon't think Curse lives up to that well.

 Having said that, I don't dislike the album and will continue to
listen to it, I just hoped for more.

Kirsten
--
Kirsten Procter
ghoti
NP:Farflung - the Myth of Solid Ground
-=snip=-

I couldn't say it any better...

-=snip=-

Date:    Tue, 26 Jun 2001 13:21:31 -0400
From:    "John A. Swartz" <jswartz at MITRE.ORG>
Subject: BOC: COTHM

> by the way, I love the new album.  One solid hour of good rockin' fun.
>

EXACTLY!  Frankly I was getting a bit tired of the complaints here about
COTHM.  Too much living in the past for my tastes.

-=snip=-

BOC has its roots in my past. How can I do otherwise? Should we blindly
accept without reservations or criticism? I know I'm negative but its not as
easy as you think for me to rip into a band that has been with me for 30
years. Its a dirty job but someone has to do it... I'm just saying it how I
see it. I can't help the way I feel about it. Mom always said, if you can't
say anything nice, don't say anything at all. But I don't think thats
appropriate here. Do you?

-=snip=-
This album is
getting LOTS of play in my CD player, and consensus of non-BOC-L fans is
that this album is much better than Heaven Forbid.  Doesn't measure up
to Secret Treaties?  That was 18 years ago!  Give it a rest - enjoy the
album, or don't.

-=snip=-

Agreed (that its better than HF) but all artists will forever be held up to
the yardstick of their greatest work. Its inevetable.. All bands have their
swan song and spend the rest of their careers trying to live up to that
moment. Some come close, some fail miserably, few surpass.

-=snip=-
But unless you've been living under a rock for 10
years, you'd probably realize that this album represents who BOC is
TODAY very accurately.
-=snip=-

Sadly, you are correct, sir.

Damn, there were a few more I wanted to reply to but my boss is giving me
the fish-eye so I'm outta time! (I know, thats probably a *good* thing :)

JB