Restoring Balance to the Force

All right, yesterday’s doo-wop-fest had me feeling a little hinkey all day today, then I figgered it out. Kharma. Specifically, kharmic balance. I need to restore balance to the Force. That’s macro. On a micro level, I need to even the scales here at the Hopper.

I went through three broad phases of development as a guitarist. First, the initial phase, where my inspirations were primarily AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath. (Neil Young was a subset of my initial apprenticehood.) Once I knew how to do barre chords and read music, I entered Phase Two: Rush. Then, just as the second or third reincarnation of my band started getting some success (ie, playing live shows and making demo tapes), music was turned on its head with grunge. Which was right up my alley, since I’d rather be caught dead than applying makeup or teasing out my hair with product.

Here’s a sampling of what I listened to in the early 90s. I loved Alice in Chains, but they’ve earned the mantel of the Most Depressing Band in the World. Hindsight regarding what happened to their lead singer explains that all this was not an act or a pose. Regardless, I made a conscious effort to give them up around 1997, when I gave up hard rock in general, for classical music.

Still, this song kicks it seriously. So seriously I think it, rather than, say, “Alive”, is the epiphenomenal example of the Seattle sound.