Peer Comments

To Claibourne Washington:

Reaching the Top 40 charts 22 times and your name not being The Beatles is an amazing feat. That statistic solidifies The Beach Boys as one of the greatest groups ever assembled. I really like the fact that you mentioned how cleverly crafted their lyrics were. You could definitely picture catching a wave on all their songs pertaining to surfing, or riding around in your nice car in songs like Little Deuce Coupe and 409. By listening to their songs, you could almost learn how to be cool as if their lyrics were instructions on how to live. The nod you gave to the Four Freshman was a worthy one, but don’t forget about other artists that influenced their sound as well, such as: Chuck Berry and the Hi-Los. 

It looks as if you came away from your research of the Beach Boys with a newfound respect, and I think that’s awesome. It’s always a gift when our eyes are opened to something new. I wish there were more groups influenced by the Beach Boys’ style. There is a group that I recently came across called The Davis Brothers who are substantially shaped by The Beach Boys’ methods of harmony. If you have time check them out, you won’t be disappointed. I really enjoyed reading your post because of the enthusiasm it contained. I look forward to seeing more posts from you in the future.

Hi Elisia,

I really enjoyed reading your post about The Velvet Underground; it was very informative. You included information that I wanted to squeeze into my post and I’m fascinated by the way that you found links to tie certain facts together that I couldn’t necessarily do the same with. One particular statement you made about Lou Reed’s bisexuality and the electroshock therapy he received to treat it was great. You tied his experiences as a youth into the lyrical themes of in his music as an adult, but I would’ve loved for you to be more specific and point out some examples of his work that coincided with the abuse he suffered. You also touched on the band’s demise, which you correctly stated had a lot to do with their lack of cooperation with one another. If I were unfamiliar with the history of the band, I would want to know who was mostly responsible for the infighting? I think there are not only a great deal of similarities between Cale and Reed, but a great deal of contrast as well. There’s a lot left to that story to explore and if I played the role of the uninformed reader, you would leave me thirsting for further enlightenment on the situation; which could be great if you were intentionally trying to draw me in, or bad if there was no set-plan to administer more information on the subject.

You seem to have great awareness of what accounts need to be told when writing your blog. I would’ve learned a lot from post, but I also would’ve craved more. Don’t be afraid to go into more detail and thoroughly explain your thoughts to the reader. Overall you did a great job and I am impressed with your understanding of The Velvet Underground. I can’t wait to see what you have written for Kraftwerk!

Take Care,
Cameron McBride-Gee

Hi Justin,

This piece about Aphex Twin is amazing! I was excited to read about someone I was unfamiliar with, and I was not disappointed. I had to check out some of his music after reading your post, and your description was spot on. His work is very abstract, very electronic and at times very disturbing. The drum line in “Come to Daddy” reminds me of UK Garage music and the synth was very catchy. The video looked to be inspired by a few horror movies I’ve seen; I’m not sure if he directed his own video or not but I’m interested in finding out. I’ve seen some songs categorized as Hardcore, I’ve even seen songs categorized as Horrorcore, but that song was the first that I’ve ever seen under the label of Breakcore. I don’t even know what to say about "Windowlicker"! It was funny, very creepy and the music was actually really good. The melody was soothing, almost similar to a down tempo type of song. I saw you make reference to the “glitch” styles in your post, and I saw someone describe “Windowlicker” as Glitch-Hop. My mind has officially been blown after being introduced to Aphex Twin.

I can definitely see how this may be considered avant-garde because of the variety of styles he incorporates into his creations. I really wish I was aware of him when his videos were shown on MTV, I’m sure they created quite a stir. I will certainly follow up on Aphex’s work from here on, and get familiar with his earlier releases, as I’m quite intrigued. Kraftwerk was a little eerie, but Aphex Twin is outright terrifying! Thank you for a great blog and exposing me to some new music.

Cameron McBride-Gee