"Steve's Karaoke"

 

 

Rock ‘n’ roll music has always been about being a little wild and out of control. At heart, pure rock is just plain messy. Care to dispute that? Ask anyone belting out “Immigrant Song” at 1 a. m. in a karaoke bar.

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The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is a great example of that “messy” rock aesthetic at work. The band is just three guys, all of whom pour sweat, blood and tears into their songs. Crunchy guitars plus lots of fuzz and droning isn’t out of place on their albums, and the elements help to shape the band’s originality on the music scene. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s debut record in 2000 featured lots of squalling guitars and dark energy, both aspects earning the respect of critics. What influences were they hearing on that release? Well, let’s take a look at them.

 

The Jesus and Mary Chain: First and foremost among the influences you can detect in the BRMC sound is ’80s noise-rockers the Jesus and Mary Chain. Their unique style was to bury everything—the music, the vocals, all of it—in a cloud of guitar fuzz. At times, that cloud seems so thick that it almost works against certain songs. But ultimately, most fans of the band enjoy the dark atmospherics that the technique lends to their albums.

 

The Velvet Underground: If the BRMC can point to the Jesus and Mary Chain as a primary influence, then the latter can point to an older band, the Velvet Underground. Pretty much any rock band with dark lyrics and fuzzy guitars can cite VU as a primary influence. Heck, most rock bands have to cite them, period, because they’ve been such an important touchstone for so many artists over the years.

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His music is always about the things that will darken a bit in the shadows, with White Light / White Heat emphasizing between his work as a classic example of noisy rock is scary. Both the first and last tracks played to “sex, drugs and rock and roll”, but the emphasis seems to be on drugs, with the guitarist John Cale, work sometimes best described as “lick.” It sounds as if the guitar is getting away from him, infected by its own power.

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My Bloody Valentine: Like the two mentioned bands previously, My Bloody Valentine created their style of música rock with a strong sense of atm