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When I was a child, way back in the seventies, the number of musical genres wasn't as ridiculous as it is today. Back then, there was classical music, jazz, blues, pop and rock/hard rock. Electronic music was still in its infancy, although several interesting albums had already been released, albums I would discover much later. Same thing with metal, that term wasn't as common as it is today. My journey into music began with rock, before the genre gained the prepositions of 'psychedelic', 'noise,' grunge', 'progressive' or 'post'. It was all rock. Here are fifteen rock songs that shaped my musical adventures.
Golden Earring - Kill Me (Ce Soir)
When you play an album for the very first time, you usually start with the first song. Well, the first record I ever spinned was a compilation named '14 Internationale Hits'. The first song was 'Reach Out, I'll Be There' by Gloria Gaynor. I remember not being very fond of that one (although today I find it a lot better than that horrible 'First Be A Woman' thing). But the second song "rocked" my world. Here was a gloomy tune with an immersive rhythm and intense outbursts. 'Kill Me (Ce Soir)' was released a year after I was born, but it shaped my journey into the darker side of music.
Alquin - Wheelchair Groupie
From the same compilation, immediately after Golden Earring, came another Dutch band. Their straightforward rock song 'Wheelchair Groupie' quickly became one of my all time favorites. That drive, that guitar riff. I was sold. It might also be notable that my fascination with music started with Dutch bands. The Dutch would continue to be a constant in my musical adventures. Because of them, I was able to for a decent idea about how music should sound.
The Cure - Love Cats
Where that compilation became my introduction into music, my brother further developed it. For a while I copied everything he did, including his taste in music. One day, I asked him who released a song where the vocalist says "we miss you kiss the lovecats" (remember, I was ten or so). My brother said that there was no such song, on which I decided to write it myself. Only later The Cure would become one of my favorite acts, apparently driving me into making music myself.
The Sisters Of Mercy - Alice
In the end, my brother introduced me to several bands, including Iron Maiden, The Pixies and Lemonheads, but The Cure and Sisters Of Mercy would by far become my favorites in those early days. My predilection for dark music formed early, and years later I plunged into the gothic scene, discovering so many awesome tunes. Six years after first hearing 'Alice', I tried to play it on my own very first guitar. 'Alice' sparked a lifetime of music making, not restricted to the guitar (and not very successful but that never seemed to stop me).
The Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated
My brother first introduced me to alternative music, but three of his friends ultimately lured me in. Jan, Mario and Bruno got me acquainted to new wave, progressive rock and punk. For a while I often visited any of these three and borrowed some records to copy them on tape. The Ramones blasted so much energy into my life that I immediately adored them. That "1 2 3 4" thing is legendary. Strangely, my adventures is punk began and ended with The Ramones. Even now, I can't find a band that satisfies my punk needs like The Ramones did.
Pink Floyd - Mother
By now, you should have noticed that I don't always pick the big hits. No 'When The Lady Smiles', no 'Lullaby', no 'Temple Of Love'... For some reason, my path has always been a bit different. Take Pink Floyd for example. Today, I realize that 'Dark Side Of The Moon' and 'Wish You Were Here' are two of the most important albums in music history. However, back then, 'The Wall' was the album that introduced me to them, again provided by one of my brother's friends. 'Mother' is probably one of the most beautiful songs they wrote after 'Wish You Were Here'.
Sweater - Write Your Own Song
In the late eighties, my musical preferences started shifting towards the extreme. My cd-player spent hours and hours of spinning Metallica, Anthrax, Sepultura and Overkill. At the same time, I started going to concerts and festivals and thàt turned everything around. Not only did I become interested in more styles of music, I also started loving and respecting Belgian acts. Sweater was one of them, and their concert in Genk caused me to buy my very first band shirt on a concert. I had a few, store bought but this one started an obsession.
Paranoiacs - Song For Debbie H.
When I wrote that The Ramones began and ended my adventures is punk, I lied a little. On the other hand, I never really considered The Paranoiacs to be a punk band. Yes, their music was simple and yes, people called them "The Belgian Ramones" but for me they were just a rock band, and a damn good one too. Although I stopped following them after their 1992 album 'ThirTeen', I still consider their old albums favorites.
Gorki - Engel Red Mij
In my stubborn metal era, I despised everything that was Flemish. Flemish music was something for "stupid idiots" who watch 'Tien Om Te Zien' or go to folk fairs. But then this guy popped up, winning Humo's Rock Rally and releasing this gem in 1992. Luc De Vos is a legend in this country and with good reason too. His success caused the art of Flemish music to become interesting again.
Noordkaap – Een Heel Klein Beetje Oorlog
Gorki was not the only one who made Flemish music interesting again. The early nineties saw several bands pop up on charts and on festivals, including De Mens and the big breakthrough of Belgian Asociality. For me personally, it was always a battle between Gorki and Noordkaap (or Monza or Meuris, whatever Stijn Meuris likes to call his band). Today, I think Gorki wins but Meuris still made a massive impact on my musical history.
The Levellers - 15 Years
Those early nineties showcased an explosion of bands, festivals, genres and favorites. In 1993, Rock Werchter turned out to be the best festival ever (up until then...). Headlined by Metallica , Neil Young and Lenny Kravitz and also billing Faith No More and Sonic Youth, this was a festival never to be forgotten. However, as good as that festival was in its entirety, the most fun I had there was when The Levellers blasted this gem through the speakers.
Red Hot Chili Peppers- The Greeting Song
Again, I'm not picking their greatest hits, I'm pinking the most important song. This one goes out to Tim, a friend from back in the days who I spent a lot of hours on festivals with. We had some great times and we experienced tonnes of bands together. Red Hot Chili Peppers were his favorite band back then, and 'The Greeting Song' is still one of my favorites, along with 'Breaking The Girl' from the same album.
Foo Fighters - Monkey Wrench
For millions of people, Nirvana is the absolute pinnacle of alternative music. For me, caused by an absolutely chaotic concert at Pukkelpop in 1991, they have always been a so-so band. They became world famous mere weeks after that gig but by then I was so drenched in rock and metal that Nirvana was just one of the few. But then came Dave's own project, Foo Fighters. That energy, that intensity. I never understood why Tiamat played metal festivals and Foo Fighters didn't. Then again, Grohl rocks!
Therapy? - Nowhere
Speaking about the thin line between rock and metal, here is Therapy? I saw them live at Rock Herk and then three times in a row in Werchter and I must say, the Rock Herk show is still one of the best ones I have ever seen. I was pummeled by the sheer energy of a young Therapy? And even today, when this or many of their other songs appear on my playlist, I go into party mode.
Ween - Buenos Tardes Amigo
And since I mentioned some of my friends in this article, let me end with a fun story about this masterpiece by Ween. I know this song since it was released in 1994 but suddenly it popped up about a year ago when Marc asked me to play it on YouTube. Bart, another friend of mine was here and immediately adored the song. The same happened with Wouter, who quickly learned to play it on the guitar. It's great to see how one song can bring people together, from jazz fans, over reggae, punk and ska fans to metalheads. That's what good music does...
We already reached the end of this article, or at least the fifteen songs limit I restrict myself to. Of course, rock music goes a lot further than these fifteen songs but we can't extend these lists into eternity. So the only proper solution is keep on writing these Rerooting articles and find tiny variations on the rock theme. Next time, we might take a look at the experimental and progressive scene, but then again, we might also just make up a list of reggae songs.
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