I'm going to uncharacteristically stick to the thread topic and mention that I goddamn hate the Strokes. They make boring, sterile "garage" music for hipsters and wannabe artists who've never heard real garage music before. Saviors of rock and roll, my ass.
Uh. "Garage music", isn't that some form of house or dance music, some scene in the UK? I was under the impression the The Strokes were only called a garage band because they play music that you would expect to hear from some kids practicing in their dad's garage. I mean, seriously, is there even a 'real' garage rock?
Okay, let's step back here.
"Garage" is the term that generally refers to the early 80s post-disco period during which house music came into focus, and many forms of music derived from original Garage. This includes "urbanized" forms of Garage in the UK like 2step Garage, UK Garage, and Grime. The origin of the name comes from the association with Larry Levan's Paradise Garage. I urge y'all to pick up
Live at the Paradise Garage or Gwen Guthrie's
Padlock to get an idea of Levan's DJ prowess.
"Garage Rock" is the raw, youthful rock & roll that emerged in the early 60s from surf rock, R&B and British Invasion influences. We're talking stuff like "Louie Louie", the Electric Prunes, the Sonics, the Human Beinz, and more. A good starter to listen to this stuff is Lenny Kaye's boxed-set
Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From the First Psychedelic Era, or the one-disc
Nuggets from Nuggets cut taking highlights from the anthology.
Garage rock has undergone a few distinct revivals, but only the early 2000s revival (and to a lesser extent, the 80s Paisley underground) has gained much commercial success. Groups that fall under this classification include the Strokes (often recognized as spearheading the movement), the Hives, the Vines, the Hellacopters, Jet, and the White Stripes (though their musical history can be traced to slightly different roots). Rather unfortunate movement, that.
Any questions?
