Punk and Rock albums that can be used as reference for mixing?

[the kelvinator]

It's perspective, I guess.
I don't see Guns and Roses as hair metal at all because that really was their point. They were the anti hair metal, or at least anti a certain brand of it.
I know when they were younger Axl had the big gay hair and all, but they never looked like women, you know, and they never went for the simple feel good cheese song idea.
Not in the same ways as White Snake or Poison or whatever.

Heh, maybe that's bollox and I just like them! haha. I can't compare every rose to patience, or paradise city to fallen angel, though.

In addition, my favourite records are Illusions 1+2, so that probably says a bit more about me and what I like.


I'm more inclined to lump GnR in with the group that killed of a certain kind of metal, see?

God bless you, then. I was actually refering to this stupid ignorant article. What's more stupid is how many people agreed with the writer. But I'm guessing most of them are kids who never really experience the whole thing in real time (late 80's-early 90's) and just found 80's metal, grunge and nu-metal on the internet.

Btw, I actually like the singles from UYI.

 

[Greg_L]

Greg, I've probably asked before but your take on spaghetti incident would be interesting.
They shared a lot of heroes with you, I guess.
I always felt that their more mainstream covers at very least equalled the originals - knocking on heaven's door, Live and Let die, Sympathy for the Devil, but I don't think I knew a single song from Spaghetti before I heard it.

I don't like Spaghetti Incident. I don't discount Duff's previous-life punk credibility, but that album seems very contrived to me. They were just going through the motions to fulfill a contract requirement or something.

I don't even really like Guns n Roses. I just like Appetite for Destruction. That band, at that time, making that record, they had everything lined up for something special. After that, blah. The Use Your Illusion albums are horrid shit to me.

 

[Greg_L]

Oh, and for what it's worth, I'm prime age to have been through the 80s hair-rock shit and grunge hit during my high school/college years. I HATED 80s hair glam shit, and still do. Hate it. I have a soft spot for Motley Crue's first two albums, but besides that the entire 80s rock glam hairspray scene is total shit to me. At the time I didn't think much of Guns n Roses, but I didn't hate them. I thought they were more like a throwback to Aerosmith or Led Zeppelin than a peer of Poison and Winger.

I also thought "grunge" was totally stupid. But not because I lamented the death of hair glam. I welcomed it. I was a punk rock purist in those days. Lol. Nirvana was a pretty boy Pixies/Sonic Youth wannabe band to me. There was nothing original or enlightening about Nirvana besides just being something to knock Cherry Pie off the fucking radio. They just repackaged 80s style alternapunk, threw in a hint of The Stooges, and made it prettier. Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, that was just more buttrock without the spandex and hairspray.

Everyone wants to credit grunge for killing hairspray rock, and that's fine, but rap was exploding at that time as well, and it had as much or more to do with the death of buttrock.

 

[RAMI]

Oh, and for what it's worth, I'm prime age to have been through the 80s hair-rock shit and grunge hit during my high school/college years. I HATED 80s hair glam shit, and still do. Hate it.

Me too, but probably for different reasons. I grew up idolizing Alice Cooper in the 70's (which has nothing to do with Alice of the 90's with that "Poison" bullshit). So, anyone with make up or looking glam was just a cheap, cleaned up, rip-off of something that was already done a decade earlier with a lot more edge.

Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, that was just more buttrock without the spandex and hairspray.

So true. I remember hearing early Pearl Jam. Besides how boring I found it, and how shitty I thought Vetter sang, there was nothing "modern punk" about it. Their songs still had guitar solos, the structures were still Verse/Chorus/Verse/Chorus/Solo/Chorus, etc.....There was nothing cutting edge about any of it. They just dressed down and looked poor, and even that looked contrived. That's about it.

 

[jonny deep]

So true. I remember hearing early Pearl Jam. Besides how boring I found it, and how shitty I thought Vetter sang, there was nothing "modern punk" about it. Their songs still had guitar solos, the structures were still Verse/Chorus/Verse/Chorus/Solo/Chorus, etc.....There was nothing cutting edge about any of it. They just dressed down and looked poor, and even that looked contrived. That's about it.

Everyone I knew thought Pearl Jam were amazing - I really couldn't see why. The guys voice puts you to sleep and the songs are equally dull. Their big hit, is it Alive - god that was shit.

 

[the kelvinator]

Everyone I knew thought Pearl Jam were amazing - I really couldn't see why. The guys voice puts you to sleep and the songs are equally dull. Their big hit, is it Alive - god that was shit.

I'd think those who were already taking music seriously by the time "grunge" hit big would have, most likely reacted like you did.
For me, I was little late for the party. With all the hype built on "grunge", I was curious wtf I missed. The first Nirvana album I heard was Unplugged and the first Pearl Jam album I got into was Yield. So I pretty missed the heyday.

Now, I curious what you guys think about the other 90's band that never got as big and were never tagged as "grunge". Like Pixies and Sonic Youth. And going back the topic, any albums by them would you recommend?

 

[jonny deep]

I like the Pixies, but don't know a lot of their stuff. I really like some of the earlier Smashing Pumpkins stuff. I had Nevermind, but wasn't a big Nirvana fan - it was a pretty good album. I was mostly into British indie bands in the 90s.

 

[Raz Klinghoffer]

Nickelback's Dark Horse is my to go Rock reference

 

[Greg_L]

Now, I curious what you guys think about the other 90's band that never got as big and were never tagged as "grunge". Like Pixies and Sonic Youth. And going back the topic, any albums by them would you recommend?

Pixies and Sonic Youth were way pre-grunge. They were well established in the mid to late 80s before Nirvana stole their sound and ideas. Surfer Rosa and Doolittle are awesome albums IMO.

I'm not crazy about Sonic Youth, but they were pretty important to that whole time period.

 

[fat_fleet]

Now, I curious what you guys think about the other 90's band that never got as big and were never tagged as "grunge". Like Pixies and Sonic Youth. And going back the topic, any albums by them would you recommend?

I would have never called the Pixies or Sonic Youth "90s bands", both having peaked before Nirvana broke.

If you're strictly looking for "reference albums", why not just use Back in Black like everyone else? Sonic Youth's peak period albums do not sound like anything anyone around here would ever want to replicate for a polished studio sound. Of newer hard rock bands, bands like QOTSA and Kyuss seem to have loud, fairly modern mixes.. not that I follow either band closely.

 

[the kelvinator]

Nickelback's Dark Horse is my to go Rock reference

Sorry, 70's to 90's only...please.

 

[fat_fleet]

Nickelback's Dark Horse is my to go Rock reference

As lame as both Nickelback and RK are, I'll bet this album sounds a lot more like what most here would sonically shoot for than Sonic Youth.

 

[Greg_L]

As lame as both Nickelback and RK are, I'll bet this album sounds a lot more like what most here would sonically shoot for than Sonic Youth.

Nickelback is to Sonic Youth like Tofu is to a rare Prime Rib.

 

[fat_fleet]

Admittedly though, I've never used a reference CD so take my opinion w/ a grain of salt.

 

[Greg_L]

Admittedly though, I've never used a reference CD so take my opinion w/ a grain of salt.

You should try some Nickelback.

 

[fat_fleet]

Nickelback is to Sonic Youth like Tofu is to a rare Prime Rib.

It's hard to give suggestions.. I think often an artist's best sounding album isn't their best all-around. Not that I've even heard a whole Nickelback album.

 

[the kelvinator]

I would have never called the Pixies or Sonic Youth "90s bands", both having peaked before Nirvana broke.

If you're strictly looking for "reference albums", why not just use Back in Black like everyone else? Sonic Youth's peak period albums do not sound like anything anyone around here would ever want to replicate for a polished studio sound. Of newer hard rock bands, bands like QOTSA and Kyuss seem to have loud, fairly modern mixes.. not that I follow either band closely.

Yes, Daydream Nation was late 80's. The last two Pixies were early 90's. I said 90's "loosely" as they were associated with 90's grunge, or mainly Nirvana.

Sonic Youth's unpolished sound was exactly the reason I brought them up. I'm curious bout you guys, take on their sound, mix-wise.


I'm listening now to Back and Black!

 

[the kelvinator]

you should try some nickelback.

:d

 

[RAMI]

Admittedly though, I've never used a reference CD

Me neither. I think it's an over-rated "technique". Kind of useless to me, actually.

 

[Greg_L]

Me neither. I think it's an over-rated "technique". Kind of useless to me, actually.

Agreed. But there things that I personally like about some albums. Like Back in Black has the best rock guitar and drums to me, for that kind of style. And it's a kind of mix that would work with pretty much any style or genre that uses real instruments. It's very basic, pure, not too much production shit going on. Same with Appetite and that Ramones album I mentioned earlier. I try to make my own mixes in that way - simple, basic, just what's necessary.