VT Readers All Share a Golden Age of American Music

            by Jim W. Dean,  VT Editor

Despite all of our individual life’s trials and tribulations, one thing that most all of us intimately share is the wonderful musical heritage we have passed through

If you take the music out, you take a lot of the American out of us. Despite all the other tags, good and bad that Americans carry with them around the world, we all have the privilege and honor of carrying the American music passport with us.

Gordon Duff and I were discussing this generational thread last week. He was doing to a Doors concert Friday night reminiscing about the 60’s music.

I had finished up a re-edit of his classic Vietnam combat story, The Last Bayonet Charge in Vietnam,  and he told me about what fabulous music the troops got through Armed Forces radio there…and how those songs got imprinted on the ‘other’ memories from there.

I had done a few experimental concerts pieces in the Spring, before we launched the new multimedia website. So our talk motivated me to get the ball rolling again on the VT Weekend Concerts.

The goal is a big one, a mish mash really, everything from low video quality classic performances of the early Rolling Stones and Springsteen in the ’70’s,  which most of us never got to see, to the fabulous HD big arena productions that are available now.

We have big music egos around here so appointing ourselves Noble judges of the good stuff comes naturally.

Because of the unlimited room on this wonderful platform we have built, all of our favorites will be going up.

And frankly, we all need some lighter diversion from the heavy topics were are dealing with here on a day to day basis.

I passed on digging out my saved material from the summer. I had not done any serious music cruising in a while, so yesterday I went looking for how the high def material was looking.

The good news is that a lot of the HD concert material is just fabulous, and I have picked few of my best finds for today.  We will try to save you the hunting time. But please pass along your ‘best of’ selections and we will put them in the hopper.

First up are the Foo Fighters. I had never seen them in concert, but fortunately I have. And what a debut.

Below is their Wembley Stadium London gig, packed with 86,000 British fans for what was the biggest concert of the band’s career. Both they and the crowd enjoyed it together.

The HD filming is just fabulous. Use the 720p selection and view in the medium size window, or full screen. Audio levels vary a lot of all these YouTube finds, but the Foo Fighters should be cranked up.

If you don’t have a decent pair of computer speakers, now is the time to get them or you will be missing half the rush.

Dave Grohl was formerly the drummer for Nirvana, and had been writing songs quietly and stashing them away, intimidated he said from putting anything out under the glow of Kurt Cobain.

But frontman Kurt Cobain was found dead after committing suicide in his Seattle home on April 8, 1994, and Nirvana subsequently disbanded. Grohl received offers to work with various artists; he almost accepted a permanent position as drummer in Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Ultimately Grohl declined and instead entered Robert Lang Studios in October 1994 to record fifteen of the forty songs he had written. With the exception of a guitar part on “X-Static,” played by Greg Dulli of the Afghan Whigs, Grohl played every instrument and sang every vocal on the tracks.

“I was supposed to just join another band and be a drummer the rest of my life,” Grohl later said. “I thought that I would rather do what no one expected me to do. I enjoy writing music and I enjoy trying to sing, and there’s nothing anyone can really do to discourage me.”

The band first toured in 1995 and the Wembley Stadium show below was done in June, 2008, a thirteen year road trip to the concert of a lifetime with the band playing dual roles as entertainers and audience. As a Foo Fighters newbie, I was just blown away.

The media calls them and alternative rock band. I don’t get that. I would call them hard core classic rock and roll artists.

This first cut is Everlong. Grohl is in heaven, walking down the ramp sipping his draft beer, and if you notice, also chewing gum. I guess he is over the nervous years.

His wardrobe guy was cut out of the budget it seems, but you will see him holding this 86,000 strong audience in the palm of his hand. This is an artist at the top of his game, folks, and a pleasure to see enjoying the moment so much. Notice how the drummer seems to have a permanent grin stuck to his face.

[youtube a-ahy218_FM] – Everlong

 Next up is There Goes My Hero. The crowd joins in on it, with Grohl making them part of the show. I still don’t see any alternative rock yet. But I do see an alternative form of ‘Crowd Control’ !!!

[youtube -YZjczUflLc] -There Goes My Hero

Next, the Foo Classic… Learn to Fly.

[youtube ucOwTAceeuM] – Learn to Fly

Great closing number here, with Best of You…and a fireworks display. Lot’s of emotion for the last song of the greatest concert of their lives. It doesn’t get much better than this…long dramatic pause at the end, his not wanting it to end…and then one last refrain…the tears. My thanks to the band, and the fabulous production work with the HD cameras to create a gem for all of us who were busy that night.

[youtube P34Msrjn5oA] – The Best of You

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Jim W. Dean

Jim W. Dean was an active editor on VT from 2010-2022.  He was involved in operations, development, and writing, plus an active schedule of TV and radio interviews.

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