my little rant

["Ben Dean" <benthedean at softhome_net>]

first of all this is not a flame, just so you know. i'm not writing this in
response to any one person but a general idea i've seen a lot.

a couple disclaimers too: first, i'm a OtR newbie, i've had good dog bad dog
for a while but i didn't really get into OtR til this year and i went to
ebay and bought a bunch of old cds.
second, i've only seen OtR live a few times: cstone 2002, purple door 2003
and the beachland ballroom show last week. so i don't have a ton of live
show exp.

but here's my rant anyway. i've noticed a lot of people are a bit uncertain
or even bothered by the change in style with OtR. the band is rockier than
they expected from listening to OHIO. and they're not so sure if they like
it. a lot of people are comparing paul's playing to jack or even ric. and i
understand that its no crime to have a preference.

but a band that doesn't progress and change is a band that dies. ohio's
subtle style and lyrics went down easy with old time OtR fans because it was
more... folky more mellow than films for radio. i think in a lot of ways
even though the style is different from old albums it really captures the
same essence of the band that is on good dog bad dog or something like that.
know what i mean?

and the rocky live performance does the same thing, it takse those subtle
lyrics and unlocks the raw emotional power behind them. i mean "changes
come" is an intense song lyricly and the music live matches that. the world
has gone to hell and i tire of waiting for jesus to come clean house. it
reminds me a lot of "wake up dead man" by U2.

so basicly my point is this: paul isn't jack, paul isn't ric. this is OtR
but this isn't the past. things change, bands change. they HAVE TO. i mean
how rediculous is it to say i wish the beatles had kept making records like
hard days night and never made abbey road. that's just stupid. both are
perfect in their own right. i love jack's and ric's guitar work its very
great. but i really am digging paul's stuff too. i hope he's on their next
album. as for technical prowess, i know he's not perfect but he's pretty
damn good.

if you don't like what OtR is now and how they play their live set now then
see if you can find a time machine to go back to 94.

sorry to sound bitter or stupid or ignorant or whatever, i am just a newbie
but... i listen to loads of music and it bothers me when people want bands
to keep playing the old hits and never change.

something or other,
ben the dean

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