Well, we weren't gonna, then we were gonna, and now we're kinda gonna. Of course, we resereve the right to change our mind ten more times.
Michael: A couple of years back, I heard some media expert twist Andy Warhol's most notorious line, saying that because of the Internet, in the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen people. Teenage Kicks cultivated its fifteen people of fame (more or less) last year for our running commentary on WXPN's 885 greatest artists countdown. So some people may be wondering whether we'll do the same thing for the 885 Most Memorable Musical Moments countdown. The answer is no, partly because (as we discovered through painful experience before) it's too damn excruciating to do. Really, where did we find the time and energy. The other problem is that this rather abstract concept is pretty hard to wrap our minds around. The early moments of the countdown inform us that the 842nd greatest moment was when Henry Mancini composed the "Pink Panther" theme, making it incrementally more memorable than the formation of Fugazi. I just don't know what to do with that. I don't have a problem with it, nor do I have any real grounds to snark it (and we're aware that our more snide reactions to the inclusion of some *cough, cough* "artists" last time around was what many people liked best).
And I've read Legs McNeil's Please Kill Me, but it never would have occurred to me to place it (number 839) ahead of the formation of Fela Kuti's Africa 70 (number 844). It's such an apples-to-orangutans comparison. Still, how fricking cool was it to hear Richard Hell's "Blank Generation" on the radio?
Trip: This countdown is fun to listen to, but it makes no sense. Because if The Hold Steady releasing three 4 to 5 star albums in three years (2004-2006) is not a mmmm and Michael McDonald joining the Doobies is, then I'll listen to a whole album of Frippertronics. But where else am I gonna hear Richard Hell, Big Star, John Fahey, Fela Kuti, Fugazi, Garth Brooks and Husker Du in the same day?
Actually, this list is begging for the right touch... I say we do 'em all... with a 15-20 word limit per entry. It seems impossible but I think I'm game.
M: All right, what the hell, let’s do it.
T: After 50, I say “Uncle”. How about some random entries?
And I've read Legs McNeil's Please Kill Me, but it never would have occurred to me to place it (number 839) ahead of the formation of Fela Kuti's Africa 70 (number 844). It's such an apples-to-orangutans comparison. Still, how fricking cool was it to hear Richard Hell's "Blank Generation" on the radio?
Trip: This countdown is fun to listen to, but it makes no sense. Because if The Hold Steady releasing three 4 to 5 star albums in three years (2004-2006) is not a mmmm and Michael McDonald joining the Doobies is, then I'll listen to a whole album of Frippertronics. But where else am I gonna hear Richard Hell, Big Star, John Fahey, Fela Kuti, Fugazi, Garth Brooks and Husker Du in the same day?
Actually, this list is begging for the right touch... I say we do 'em all... with a 15-20 word limit per entry. It seems impossible but I think I'm game.
M: All right, what the hell, let’s do it.
T: After 50, I say “Uncle”. How about some random entries?
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