Can someone please be explaining to me the appeal of what is called Cheap Trick?
- Thread starter smurfco
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bsman
b00b
Back in the mid- to late-70s Cheap Trick played in Madison all the time (Rockford, the band's hometown is < 1.5hrs away), and having seen them numerous times at bars (mostly The Stone Hearth, which was crawling distance from Sellery Hall, my dorm at UW freshman year) there I can attest that their energy was unmatched by most other bands of that era. Also, Smurfco is obviously clueless - apparently believing that rockers have to LOOK like rockers. I found (and still find) it refreshing that a band can be un-telegenic and still be great, but I guess there will always be those shallow types who are more into "the look" than the sound....
smurfco
Meatus McPrepuce
That hat is like a criminal offense to me. It says "don't take me or anything I do seriously". The look of a band is as important if not more important than the songs or the sound. You'd never see that hat on the head of a band member in a band worth listening to, that is all I am really saying. I don't think anyone can argue with that.
Gary Blanchard
beloved, local musician
This is the internet, everyone can argue with everything.
I'm not a big fan, but can appreciate their talent. Wearing odd things is not unusual; look at AC/DC. (Hell, I've been known to wear some odd things myself. Ask Jelloman about my boots.
)
smurfco
Meatus McPrepuce
It's not about wearing odd things, it is about that hat specifically. It just doesn't fly, and it ruins the band for anyone with an ounce of sense.This is the internet, everyone can argue with everything.
I'm not a big fan, but can appreciate their talent. Wearing odd things is not unusual; look at AC/DC. (Hell, I've been known to wear some odd things myself. Ask Jelloman about my boots.
Peen Simmons
Let’s Get Obtuse!
Cheap Trick suffer from Chicagoitis...which is a terminal condition whereby pop and rock musicians in the orbit of the 2nd city cannot help but half-kid their way out of contention. A good band that is too clever by half. I dig them, but they’re off putting and a weird mix of angry and silly...which is what undermines everyone somewhat major from here...Kanye...Albini...the class of 1993 bands...even almost rans like Shoes.
jelloman
Couch'd Tater...
Those boots are so YOU!This is the internet, everyone can argue with everything.
I'm not a big fan, but can appreciate their talent. Wearing odd things is not unusual; look at AC/DC. (Hell, I've been known to wear some odd things myself. Ask Jelloman about my boots.
smorgdonkey
Kick Henry Jackassowski
I saw them live a few years back at a small venue. It was fantastic.
And the display of amazing guitars which got switched out every song or two was guitar lovers' heaven.
And the display of amazing guitars which got switched out every song or two was guitar lovers' heaven.
dmn23
Duller than cardboard
That's certainly an element.
I don't know this for a fact but I always interpreted Nielsen's shtick as a sort of smarmy, smart-alecky middle finger to all of the bloated, pretentious crap that dominated the era when Cheap Trick emerged. It was funny and it was a sort of solidarity with the punk movement, and it wasn't craven or mercenary (or stupid) in the way that Kiss were. And if anyone thinks the juxtaposition of Nielsen and Carlos with Zander and Petersson—the gorgeous long-haired rock gods—was an accident, they're mistaken. It was clever and it was deliberate.
Cheap Trick were/are much more sophisticated than they get credit for. They're often dismissed as a power ballad band by folks who only remember their 80s stuff and that's unfortunate. I tend to think of Nielsen as Jeff Lynne with a punk streak. Great pop sensibility and a trove of interesting ideas.
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frunobulax
Gak Pernah Cukup!
This, exactly.
bsman
b00b
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sunvalleylaw
Yep.
To me, the hat was a huge F-U to the overwrought stadium act bands of the day. It was on purpose, IMO. And I loved it.
EDIT: And I see @dmn23 also said it but with more eloquence.
It was like a lot of bands I really grabbed on to were in reaction to the Disco years and the Zepeffication movement, VH movement, and the hair band movement that was coming just on the heels of all that. I loved Cheap Trick's clever middle finger approach. It makes more sense in that context.
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DdBob
Dogue in teh desert
dmn23
Duller than cardboard
Fun fact: "Hello There" exists because in the early days they frequently didn't get a sound check. It was a simple way for their sound guy to ride the faders and come up with a mix on the fly as each instrument joins in.
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