Nice Guys Are Losers

According to Rolling Stone, vocalist Chris Brown was seen attending one of Jay-Z's recent Brooklyn shows in the company of former girlfriend and destination of his fists, Rhianna. Can't tell if it's worse that thousands of girls have pledged online their willingness to be on the business end of a Brown beatdown or that Rhianna may have taken him back.

RRHoF Class of 2013 Nominees

Just like what songs should've been excised from a classic double or triple album, who belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is one of those things continually disputed, particularly by those who feel their favorites have been unduly slighted. However, these might fight themselves pleased once they peruse the list of nominees for 2013 induction. (Although Lord knows how much they'll gripe if their favorites don't get in.)

The artists nominated include the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chic, Deep Purple, Heart, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Albert King, Kraftwerk, the Marvelettes, the Meters, N.W.A., Randy Newman, Procol Harum, Public Enemy, Rush, and Donna Summer.

And where the hell is Yes? Unbelievable. (Sorry, couldn't let it pass...)

Oh, and instead of New York City or Cleveland--site of the RRHoF itself--the induction ceremony gala will take place in Los Angeles on April 18 of next year and will be broadcast on HBO at a later date.

Dying for Your Art

Not to diminish in any way, shape or form the deaths of Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., and other rappers who fell victim to violence, but the so-called East Coast-West Coast feud at its most vicious could not hold a candle to the numerous, frequent and often gruesome deaths of artists in the world of narcocorridos.

Due to close relationships with prominent members of the Mexican drug cartels--whose adventures are extolled in narcocorridos, hence the narco part--in recent years, a significant chunk of artists involved in the subgenre, which comes from the norteño folk corridos, have met untimely deaths, rumored to be at the hands of rival drug gangs who target these artists out of spite and/or jealousy.

According to Wikipedia, those murdered include, Valentín Elizalde; Sergio Vega; Sergio Gómez, lead singer of Chicago-based Duranguense band K-Paz de la Sierra; Gerardo Ortiz; Javier Morales Gómez, singer for Los Implacables del Norte; members of Tecno Banda Fugaz, and Los Padrinos de la Sierra; trumpeter José Luis Aquino of Los Conde; record producer Marco Abdalá, manager Roberto del Fierro Lugo, Jorge Antonio Sepúlveda, Jesús Rey David Alfaro Pulido; Nicolás Villanueva of tropical group Brisas del Mar; and four members of Los Herederos de Sinaloa, among others.

In addition, assassins made a concerted effort to kill lead singer for Zayda y Los Culpables, Zayda Peña, who despite not being a singer of narcocorridos or having any criminal affiliation, was allegedly targeted for being the daughter of a Mexican prosecutor.

Yikes!

Linda Must Love This One, Too

Few, if any, songwriters have been covered more than Sir Paul. And while there have been some choice reinterpretations, Macca probably digs this one more than many of the others. He should, anyway.

Happy Birthday

Former Policeman Gordon Matthew Sumner aka Sting (61).
Enjoy these two great live performances ten years apart:

"Roxanne" (arguably, the definitive version) at The Secret Policeman's Ball [1981]




"The Wild, Wild Sea" on his 40th birthday, appropriately enough, in Los Angeles [1991]

Thought of the Day

This article on Grizzly Bear got us thinking...if music is to no longer become a possible path out of poverty for rockers, will we see a future in which only rich kids make rock music?

While Their Guitars Gently Weep

Frequently trotted out as some sort of consolation prize/silver lining, stats showing interest in learning an instrument and, by extension, in music itself, where supposed to be the mitigating factor in the continuously bleak saga of dwindling numbers for pre-recorded music sales. But it turns out the recession of the late '00s--from which we have not completely recovered--put a significant dent in instrument sales. So, despite their large market share, Fender Musical Instruments--makers of the iconic Stratocaster and Telecaster guitars, respectively--have not been immune to the downturn.

Hector Lavoe (Sept. 30, 1946 - June 29, 1993)

Redux

Let's keep it short and sweet: after a prolonged absence "5" is back. Why? Well, it would surely benefit--or at least make it cool--to have some interesting story or grand epiphany behind it, but no. The truth is, we found there was no point in posting commentary, reviews, etc. on a regular basis elsewhere, when the ideal forum was just sitting there; in a way, pointlessly cybersquatting. And, obviously, we could use the hits way more than some monster social network site. So, "5" is back.
To our old readers, welcome. Again.
If you're new to "5", we hope you find our opinionated musings and occasional snarkiness to your liking. Stick around, it'll be fun. - KJ

20 Years of Nevermind

"The teen spirit that is always a component of the ether can hover for years without coalescing into anything more than a haze — that vague, uneasy, something-in-the-air feeling rising like swamp gas as a byproduct of living young and unsteady in a hostile world that hasn't yet made its intentions clear. But it can also go off with a spectacular atmospheric bang. The catalysts that ignite such cultural explosions rarely survive the experience, and the havoc they instigate is invariably all out of proportion to their efforts. But the changes so wrought can be vast, leveling the land and ushering in an era to which old rules no longer apply."

- Ira Robbins, on the Nirvana phenomenon and specifically their album Nevermind in the invaluable "Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock" [Fireside-1997].

It could be speculated—well, as much as one could under these circumstances, with hindsight enabling the ability to easily deduce patterns—that Nevermind would not have had the monumental impact for which it is often times credited, if the album had been released, say, 5 years earlier or 5 years later. Although, honestly, its release in 1996 would be cause for endless speculation as Nevermind had a tangible influence on the indie rock scene—and the mainstream, as well—in the years following its appearance in 1991. But on the other side of the argument we can say with some confidence that Nevermind would’ve gone virtually unnoticed had it been released in the late '80s.

By that time Nirvana had their debut Bleach [Sub Pop-1989] under their belt; an album released by the “it” independent label of the time, which made the band a known quantity in contemporary punk circles. Bleach, however, was not a revolutionary album but a revealing one: despite being of respectable caliber, present but still undeveloped are the elements Nirvana later refined—punk’s aggro bent; the Black Sabbath/Melvins influence; Kurt Cobain's affinity for an infectious melody—on the album that secured them a place in music history.

To be in the right place at the right time often presages the arrival of success in any facet of life and Nevermind saw the light of day on September 24th, 1991, the same day as The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ BloodSugarSexMagik and The Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest, two of the most subsequently acclaimed albums of the decade. In addition, a few months prior, the album debuts by Smashing Pumpkins (Gish) and Pearl Jam (Ten) had been released; and that summer, with Jane's Addiction leading the way, the first edition of Lollapalooza took place. So there was already something in the air: a wave of musical renewal which Nevermind took advantage of in a big way.

But Sonic Youth had somewhat paved the way for this phenomenon, as the veteran New York avant rockers enjoyed great popularity and respect within the ranks of so-called alternative nation. And when that foursome left the world of independent labels and signed with Geffen’s DGC label in 1989, with the understanding that they would serve as pseudo talent scouts for the label, Nirvana eventually turned out to be the most favored recipients of this designation.

Butch Vig, who had recorded demos that were later used to convince DGC to sign Nirvana, was selected as a producer of what would become their landmark album. Definitely a significant leap from Bleach in terms of songwriting and production, Nevermind benefited from the to-this-day underrated rhythm section of Krist Novoselic on bass and then-new, hard-hitting and impressive drummer Dave Grohl. Upon completion of the album sessions the band hired Andy Wallace, who had become known for his work with thrash metal legends Slayer, to mix the album.

Two weeks before the album was released the first of its four singles, the unforgettable "Smells Like Teen Spirit" arrived—followed by "Come As You Are", "Lithium" and "In Bloom"—its popularity rising in an explosive and unexpected manner, taking Nevermind to the top of the Billboard charts, where it dethroned Michael Jackson’s Dangerous in January of 1992.

With 20 years to look back on, we can safely say Nevermind—like another album which it partially shares its title with: the iconic Never Mind the Bollocks by the Sex Pistols—is more hard rock than punk. It did, however, help bring a new version of punk rock to the masses and also gave voice to a generation that had been somewhat marginalized by the classic rock of the ‘60s. Not bad.

To date Nevermind has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, one third of these sales (10 million) in the US alone.