NPR's All Songs Considered has an awesome series where they ask their "unimaginably young interns to review classic albums they've never heard before." In addition to serving as a sad reminder to aging hipsters like me that Death lurks around the corner, the series is a great exploration of incredible pop music through unjaded eyes. Like, for instance, Will Butler's review of the classic U2 album, The Joshua Tree. Butler unravels several decades of rock influences with one listen, here:
When I hit "play," I can barely hear the synth-pad murmur of the opening cut, so I turn up the volume. "Where the Streets Have No Name" slowly builds, and finally, Bono cries out: "I want to run / I want to hide / I want to tear down the walls / that hold me inside." I'll admit, this got me going. It's vaguely reminiscent of another band, though I can't quite put my finger on who it is. It has something to do with the tightly synchronized bass line and drums, which thump along steadily as Bono wails in anguish off in the distance. Then I realize where I've heard this particular sound before: It's the bread and butter of Arcade Fire.
And again, here:
That said, "Bullet the Blue Sky" is a pretty sweet song. It's a refreshing departure from the sentimental, syrupy quality of "With or Without You," and I like the direction it's going. Larry Mullen starts it with that solid beat, and then the song really takes off into grungier, more dangerous territory. Bono begins by growling out a few verses, but his theatrics serve this type of song well. It's also politically charged. I don't think there's any way that Rage Against the Machine, which formed four years after this song came out, could deny that it was a direct influence. You can hear Zack de la Rocha in Bono's vocals, Tom Morello in the guitar work, Tim Commerford in the bass and Brad Wilk in the drums. I can even hear hints of The Mars Volta.
The whole review is worth reading, and is comes with several classic U2 performances and videos. And while Butler may not be fully on-point with his comparisons and analysis, it's a great lesson in paying attention to the shifting perspectives of time, especially in the world of rock-and-roll.
