Man, oh man, oh man, did Tom DeLonge put together a good band with a really, really bad album. I think this is one of the very few albums I actually wanted to rush back to the store and strangle the cashier to give me my money back.
The problem is that I had such high hopes for this band (obviously being carried by Tom DeLonge’s fame w/ Blink 182). I don’t care what anyone says, Blink rocked and they made no apologies for being Greenday like punks, just having fun playing high energy music that appealed to a mass of teenagers. Blink’s music was tight, had great guitar licks, and had probably one of the best rock drummers around today, Scott Raynor (who I now hate along with one of my old fav’s Dave Navarro for going all “Reality show” on me – what a waste)
So that being said, what the hell was Tom DeLonge thinking!?? Wait, wait, I know…he was thinking “Man, I’m so huge with Blink that I think I’ll start a new band..yeah! a band that I can control, yeah! and this new delay pedal makes me sound just like the Edge! Oh, oh, and I’ll basically write one song, put a ton of reverb on all the instruments, Oh! and I’ll use this new delay pedal on EVERY song which will make all of them sound EXACTLY the same. I’ll also take the same lyrics and same droaning vocals and use them on every tune too! My fans will be bored to tears! It’ll be SO Rad!
In short. This album sucks. Don’t waste your money. Oh! And remember the list of musicians as being the luckiest people on the planet? Example: Michael Anthony of VH. Well, add the rest of the members of Angels & Airwaves because even though this album bites…they’ll probably still make some money. Blah.
Instead of this crap check out some really old Blink: Dude Ranch
Top 40 Music Sucks! - A New Music Blog 
Here we go.A list of the luckiest musicians ever!!Great.Well, we all know that number is the one and only…1. Michael Anthony – he is the luckiest musican ever and may very well qualify for the luckiest human being ever…in the whole history of existence. And I don’t think I’m exagerating.2. Krist Novoselic – The bass player from Nirvana. This guy sucks. Interesting that this list is begining with bass players.3. The bass player from Rush – an obvious no brainer. The lead singer should just learn how to play bass and then just play it. They would be much better off. Oh and the guitar player sucks too. So does the singer and the keyboard player. Drummer sucks too.4. Duff – Guns ‘N Roses bass player – and the bass player’s list continues. His luck ended though when he was kicked out.5. Linda McCartney – because she married a Beatle and got to play in big shows with Wings, skipping the “paying your dues as a musician” part and going straight to the source and then promptly fucking that source and bearing it’s children. I kid the late LInda McCartney because I actually kind of like her. What did she ever do to me? Still, she was very lucky…until the cancer took her life.6. Denny Laine – another Wings alumnus. He did nothing before, during, or after Wings. I think Paul McCartney lost a bet or something.7. Sean Lennon – for being born John Lennon’s son. Granted he did a pretty good rendition of the BEatle’s song on that show but still….8. Yoko Ono – these lucky people seem to come in groups here. She took a play straight out of the LInda McCartney playbook and boy did she milk that one. Again, like LInda, very lucky…until John Lennon was killed…and even then, perhaps even more so, very lucky.9. Steve Nieve – he’s actually a good musician but let’s face it, if he hadn’t met Elvis Costello, no one would know who he is. He surely wouldn’t be playing the venues he’s playing now.10. Tina Weymouth – I like her bass playing, she definitely has her own, albeit simplistic style but still we have to go back to the increasingly unoriginal formula of lucky bass players.11. Jerry Harrison and Chris Frantz – They would definitely be nothing without David Byrne, although I have to give Jerry Harrison a little more credit because he would have some sort of presence in the emerging new waving music movement anyway, because he’s that type of guy. Still, he’s lucky.12. Kip Winger – He made his money and then got out. Very lucky. Who knows what he’s doing now and who cares. Lucky fucker.13. The indian guy who plays bass for the Eagles. Very lucky fucker. Although he sang that song “I can’t tell you why” so he gets a little cred, but still, come. He defintely goes into the Lucky Fucker category. And yet another bass player graces the list.14. Johnny Guitar Watson – with album titles like “A Real Mother For you” and “Beyond the call of funk”, I guess he isn’t lucky. That’s all skill, baby. All skill. Still, I know who he is so he’s lucky.15. Blink-182 – I have to disagree with Mike here and say that they’re very fucking lucky because they very much do suck.16. The drummer from Smashmouth – Even he’s scratching his head going “God, I was lucky for like nine months.” But now, he’s not very lucky. No, it’s kind of sad actually.Let us add to the list, gentlemen.
Nice list. Besides #3 & #15. What do you think about adding Garfunkel to the list? He didn’t do shit but let Paul Simon write the songs and then harmonize w/ him, no? And have really big hair.
Garfunkel’s voice is transcendent on Bridge Over Troubled Water.Paul Simon could never sing the song the way Garfunkel did.What’s more, I don’t think the song would be as great if Paul Simon sang it.That in and of itself is more than enough reason for Garfunkel to evade the luckiest musicians list.And his harmonizing is amazing. Paul Simon can’t harmonize the way he can.He has a great voice. Granted, perhpas people wouldn’t know who he is had he not met Paul Simon, but this is not a case of a hack musician being carried along by talent.This is a case of a great vocalist being carried along by talent.So, no, he does not make the list.Sorry, I just can’t put Garfunkel on the same list as Krist Novoselic.
You know that Krist Novoselic wrote most of the music for Nirvana right? I’d actually take him off the list because most people don’t realize that Krist brought most of the musical ideas to Curt Cobain for lyrics…something that Michael Anthony probably didn’t do. But you know what? Dammit if michael Anthony didn’t play some damn good bass on Fair Warning.
Krist wrote most of the music for Nirvana?Bullllll Shhhhitttt!!!That’s right! Two words, baby!!!
dude…VH1 Where are they now…watch it.
Okay, first I must disagree with Chadd that Jerry Harrison should be included on his list. That would be like saying Paul Carrack was lucky Mike and the Mechanics asked him to be in their band. When they first started out, the Talking Heads were lucky he agreed to be in their band. Now as time went on, this dynamic changed, but he was the only pro in the band at first, and was the most skilled musician of the lot, in a traditional sense. Has everyone forgotten that he was in Modern Lovers?!?!?!? And he could play lots of instruments (and well) and he kind of looked like a cross between John Oats and Martin Short whenever he got all smiley and jumpy. He also looked a lot like that guy in Blondie, and if you told me he was a member of Toto, I’d believe you. What’s not to like about that? And don’t forget he went on to produce a lot of important alternative/indie albums in the 80’s and 90’s. I have never listened to any of his solo records, but I am assuming they kinda suck, so I can see that maybe he would not have had the idea anyone would be interested to hear a Jerry Harrison solo album had he not been in Talking Heads, but does that make him lucky? No, Chadd, no. And I am disappointed.Now, let me add a few people:1. Joel Gion–a “member” of the highly regarded but totally fucked up SF-based Brian Jonestown Massacre. He was their “percussionist” but pretty much all he would do was stand around wearing huge sunglasses, hit or shake a tambourine, dance around a little, and occasionally sing a few unintelligible backing vocals. Oddly enough, all these activities rarely seemed to be done near a microphone, since they were not really an integral part of the music. It was also said that he provided the band with “a lot of musical and creative input,” which I’m going to assume means he provided the band with a lot of heroin. The only value to the band he had was that, as the longest-running member, he helped keep its druggie leader somewhat sane, and yeah, he did some funny stunts and told some jokes that were funny to himself and the 3 people who happened to be at the same exact stage in the trip of using whatever drug he had taken that day. But they guy gets to be a full band member, then he is featured prominently in the documentary Dig! (both in the film and on the cover) and subsequently gets guest appearences on TV shows. Want to see him in action? Just go to his workplace: Amoeba Music. Seriously. Unless he’s gone on Brian Jonestown Massacre’s reunion tour. Lucky bastard. 2. I’m going to get some flack for this, but….Ringo Starr. He was such a poor drummer the producer replaced him for the first few Beatles recordings. Yes, he wrote and sang some wonderful, endearing songs, and even his solo output had some gems. And I’m a big fan of his work on Thomas the Tank Engine. But really, would he ever have been able to do any of this stuff if he hadn’t known the Beatles? 3. Anybody in the band Rush. Because I was made fun of elsewhere on this blog for all my gushing about Yo La Tengo, and I’m pissed at him, so I am attacking his favorite band. Actually, I always hated this band. They make me physically ill. And I know there are millions out there like me. And some of those millions are not as peaceful or non-gun-owning as I am, so Rush are damn lucky they have not all been murdered yet.4. The composer of the music for the kids’ TV show, Barney. This guy gets paid big bucks to play “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star” and “Yankee Doodle” on a mega-expensive synth and guitar rig.5. Angelo Badalamenti, composer/musician/producer/songwriter. This guy would have done something in music, but nothing nearly as big as he has been able to do thanks to his longtime relationship with David Lynch. Like John Barry, this guy seems doomed to repeat himself over and over. With a few notable exceptions, (The Straight Story being one of them and the theme to Inside The Actors Studio not being one of them) manages to endlessly write music that has the same emotional state and pretty much the same melody, chords and synth sounds as his groundbreaking Twin Peaks theme, no matter what the music is going to be used for.6. Bernard Sumner of Depeche mode. He never wrote a single song for DM over their more than 25-year existence. In live shows, he plays very simple synth lines and (very)occasional bass. He often has poor timing, so the band would be better off if his parts were pre-recoreded. They always set up a mic in front of him in live shows, but it is never turned on. He pretends to sing backing vocals for show, so it seems like he has a purpose. His only purpose to the band seems to be as more of a manager, peacemaker and spokesperson. Who knows, maybe he would have been more lucky if he had been a manager and spokesperson for multiple bands as a career, rather than as a member of one of them, but I’m thinking DM has brought him pretty damn good bank over the years.7. Moby. Don’t get me wrong, I actually like some of Moby’s stuff. But this guy is lucky. And he became a lucky superstar in the classic way–take all the exciting, groundbreaking stuff happening in the underground and then do a much simpler, lazier version of it for a mass audience. Then really kick start your career by picking up a guitar and kind of learning how to play it and add that to the drum loops and synthesizers and drum machines. Then sort of sing in a few songs. Then sample a bunch of folk music from the library of congress and play it over exactly two drum loops from a $99 sample CD you got from Musician’s Friend. Then get a guest vocalist of note to sing on a few songs. Further benefit from everyone confusing you with Michael Stipe. Write film scores. Start a raw veggie restaurant. Have a super-rad recording studio in your Manhattan apartment. Play countless sold out shows where all you do is press “play” and jog around onstage clapping, yelling and occasionally singing. The guy is lucky.
I kinda agree with the Nirvana comments. I happen to think that their bass lines were integral to many of their most memorable songs. Nirvana came out of the punk aesthetic of economy and directness. The bass lines needed to be simple and repetitive. Look at the Pixies. Generally very simple bass lines, but without them they are not the same band.
yltwatcher:#1: I have no clue who this is so I’m going to say I agree.#2: I completely agree. The best stuff he’s done was in the Traveling Wilibury’s. And he was DAMN lucky to get in that band.#3: Damn you. I’m buying a gun today. Where do you live?#4: Agreed!#5 & #6: See response to #1#7 AAAAAAGREEED! And IMO anyone with Fruity Loops or Acid who put a bunch of crap ass loops together to form the disco of our ages…yes I’m talking about the music all the sucker licking, glo stick wearing, tweakers who attend raves and consider DJ’s…musicians. BLAH!
Oh, and don’t forget that this thread is about how bad Angels and Airways blow. Now that we all have posting ability let’s start a new post’s on this type of stuff.
Ringo Starr isn’t a crappy drummer. Not in the least. Sure he couldn’t play Ticket to Ride but his drumming on Abbey Road is pretty fucking great. I think the Ringo comment is made in complete ignorance. Not to mention he actually has one really fantastic solo album, which is really a greatest hits album, and for the life of me I can’t remember what it is but you would be shocked at how good it really is. Once you’ve heard it, YLTstroker I’m pretty sure you’d change your mind.No one on the list of luckiest musicians ever produced a solo album, much less a greatest hits album . Period. Ringo did and it’s excellent. Even Jerry Harrison which, okay, he was with modern lovers and he did play a bunch of instruments but it’s not like he was that fantastic I feel like he may have been a void that could have been filled eventually if not inevitably.but he did produce this one album by this band, the Bogmen and it’s really good.but fuck it, had he not run into David Byrne, sorry, he would have been an anonymous player from the Modern Lovers and I don’t want to hear another word about it.Ringo Starr? Ignorant fucks.Even if his only contribution was Octopus Garden, it’s still a good enough song to keep him off the lucky list. Again with Nirvana, Krist NOveselic’s bass playing could have been played by anyone, have a strong grounding in an ability to play with absolutely no style does not count as having style. And his bass playing was defined by his lack of ability in playing the bass. Again, an easily filled void.And let me add, Michael Anthony didn’t write any songs. You could have found dozens of aspiring rock bassists to fill his void, if you know what I mean.YLT, you just made the list with Paxtejana. I’m keeping an eye on you.
I’m making a new post for this. Please go there. You all have admin privlages so feel free to post the appropriate topic on there. Biatches…
Blink can eat one and i am borderline ashamed to know you now that you have spilled your man love for those san diego faux punks. The only good band in that genre is Green Day and they will kick everyone’s ass from now until the end of eternity (well maybe not that long). For the record I HATED Green Day when they started …being a snotty guitar player and all .. but those rascals have tuned themselves into a perfect pitch juggernaut of rock. Also fo rthe record I LOVE to hear myself type. Will you please set up an audio blog? This is a lot of work with the stupid word verification and archaic input method.
“This is a lot of work with the stupid word verification and archaic input method.”Agreed, I’ll see if I can get rid of that thing. But for the record, the last thing I need is to hear your blogs in voice form…I find it would be hard to decifer what you’re saying between the bong hits and drunken slurs!
I’m sure someone has pointed this out already, but the drummer for blink 182 your thinking of is named Travis Barker, not Scott Raynor. Scott if the old drummer for the band, after blink’s album “dude ranch” they kicked him out of the band and replaced him with Barker.
Ah, good to know. Dude Ranch was a good album IMO and both bad ass drummers. Thanks for the info!