Sublime

an insistence on rigorous standards of judgment and taste in a relativist culture; a preference for the uncommercialized, unadvertised small bands rather than name bands; the development of a private language and then a flight from it when the private language (the same is true of other aspects of private style) is taken over by the majority group;

Arthur Alexander and Hendrix. In case anyone is interested, Arthur Alexander is a hero of mine. Check out his high-hat sound on his song “Anna,” long before the Beatles came along.

“Musicians left to their own devices are incredibly lazy. Outside of sea slugs, I don’t think there’s any species less oriented toward punctuality.”

The basis of Berry’s rhythm was an alternation of guitar chords comparable to the “alley” piano style of the Coaster’s “Searchin’ ”, but the effect was complicated by frequent lead guitar figures and by a piano that seemed to be played almost regardless of the melody taken by the singer and the rest of the musicians.

But our charter changed for a little while. We were trying to make sense of Jimmy’s theory of the five-second read: if a song doesn’t grab you within that short span, it’s not going to grab you at all.