Thursday, January 3, 2013

Music and my musical obsessions: Styx

I've always loved music(*). I spent 10 years in piano lessons, 8 years in band, 12 years in choir, several years with private voice lessons, and have always loved to listen to music of all sorts. However, I've never really analyzed why I like what I like; have never really critiqued the music and thought about it on a technical level. My husband hasn't had the sorts of intensive lessons I've had, but he's much more critical and knowledgeable about the technical aspects of music, and he's been rubbing off on me, so I've been trying to more critically analyze what music I like and why. I've made short posts in the past about the Crüxshadows and Tommy Shaw, mentioned Tenacious D and GWAR in reviews, linked to songs by Sublime in others... My earliest favorite songs were by the Sweet and Queen ("Fox on the Run" and "Another One Bites the Dust" if you're curious). But my very first true obsession, music-wise, was with Styx.

I was introduced to Styx early by my brother, who along with many other great records, cassettes and 8-track tapes, had the Styx album Cornerstone. I liked it, but didn't think really of music much yet, other than enjoying playing the music my brother had hanging around. (As an aside, my brother later "found religion" and destroyed almost all of them. My niece and nephews were raised in an environment without the benefit of music, other than country, and I think that's just a shame. But that's a story for another day) However, in 7th grade, our English teacher showed us, and played for us, the LP of Paradise Theatre, explaining to us the mythology behind it.   I was interested, especially by the beautiful laser engraving on the LP (you just don't see stuff like that in this modern, digital age). Within the year, Styx released Kilroy was Here, and before I knew it, I couldn't get enough. I begged my mom to buy me every Styx album I could find (and believe me, I managed to find almost all of them), doing odd jobs around the house and ranch to "earn" each of them in turn, and listened to each of them over and over. Styx, Styx II, The Serpent is Rising, Man of Miracles, Crystal Ball, Cornerstone, Pieces of Eight, Equinox, The Grand Illusion, Paradise Theatre, Kilroy was Here... These became my best friends. Those last three became my favorites, their mixture of rebellion and hope being just what I needed to survive the tumultuous waves of junior high. Then disaster! Styx was splitting up! But Tommy Shaw and Dennis DeYoung and James "JY" Young all released solo albums. (Hint: they eventually reformed and are still touring today. I particularly like their album Brave New World, among their newer stuff.)

But what does all this have to do with musical criticism and composition and all that stuff I was talking about earlier? Patience... I'm getting there!


What a lot of people who are only familiar with their later albums might not be aware of is that Styx was considered "progressive" rock, and were way ahead of their time. I've been listening to their albums tonight, and have heard sounds from some of their earlier albums (and while Styx released their first studio album in 1972, they formed in 1961, so they started early on in the rock scene) that are still being used today by such disparate people as Tenacious D and GWAR. My husband commented on one of their songs last night by saying, "That's really 80s," to which I responded, "This song is from the early 1970s." It was off Man of Miracles, I believe, which was released in 1974 (this was prior to Tommy Shaw joining the line-up in 1975; the first album he was involved in was Crystal Ball). Styx was years ahead of its time, and the sounds are still inspiring musicians even today, decades later. That, to me, is pretty impressive, and it has helped me understand why I like the sounds I like, why I become focused on specific bands and certain sounds, and how it all ties in together.

 I like Tenacious D because they use a lot of the same sorts of sounds as early to middle-1970s Styx. I like GWAR because they use some of the same sounds as the harder rock that Styx was known for in the mid to late 1970s. I like the Crüxshadows because they espouse a lot of the same uplifting ideas that many of my favorite Styx albums put into my brain at an early age (even if those ideas were of the "Hey, sit on it and rotate" sort from songs like "I'm OK" on the Pieces of Eight album). I like Dennis DeYoung's solo album Desert Moon because you see in it the reasons he became the driving force behind such a popular band - it was instantly likable, the driving guitar and moody ballads, and every person I played it for fell in love with it. I like Tommy Shaw because he creates intelligent songs in a diverse variety of styles. While they're not always instantly likable, like Dennis' stuff, they grow on you and in the end, I think they are better overall for that. So, for all that, and because they rock, Styx continues to be a strong favorite in my repertoire of music. While Dennis DeYoung no longer tours with them, due to his health issues, and to disagreements with the direction of the band, and while original member and drummer John Panozzo tragically passed away in 1996, they continue to carry on the tradition of rocking. Thanks, guys. You have shaped my life in ways you will probably never know.

(*) PS: "Music Time" by Styx, the only studio song from the otherwise-live album Caught in the Act, was universally panned, but I loved it.  After all... "I love music..."





16 comments:

  1. Katy! I adore Styx. This is spot on exactly why I'm a huge fan to this day. I think one of the reasons I'm basically a positive thinking person is because of listening to this band through those tumultuous teenage years. Songs like Fooling Yourself, Come Sail Away and yes, even I'm OK, all have the same uplifting, you're going to make it through the tough times message. I hope you've had a chance to see them recently since they still put on one of the most rockin live shows ever. Great post! Thanks for sharing.

    Jolea

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    1. I credit the album "Paradise Theatre" with literally saving my life. I was often suicidal and depressed in my early teen years, and listening to that album would never fail to cheer me up.

      They actually will be near here in the next couple weeks, but sadly I do not have the money to go :-( My husband and I discussed it, but I just could not fit it into the budget. Maybe next time *sigh*

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  2. Lol, omg, I haven't though about Styx in YEARS! Paradise Theatre was one of the first albums I bought (aside from a disco album but we'll just keep that between us). Two of my favourite songs were Lorilie(?) and Miss America. My husband can't stand them and turns them off whenever they come on the radio.

    Hmmm...you've just given me a reason to get an itunes account. :D

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    1. "Lorelei," yes, that's a wonderful song, and so is "Miss America." In earlier years I liked the Dennis and Tommy songs, but as I've aged, I've begun to appreciate the dark wonder that was JY: "Miss America," "Snowblind," and so forth. I finally managed to find copies of his solo albums recently, and they're just exactly what you would expect! Hard rockin', great guitar riffs, and not a ballad to be seen. Love it!

      You can pick up most of Styx's stuff on Amazon, for that matter, now that they offer digital music.

      And the very first album I bought myself, personally? The "Xanadu" soundtrack. So, don't feel bad. I have a secret love of disco myself :-)

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  3. I think that "Music Time" was the result of studio execs saying "Can't you do something like Devo?"
    "Come Sail Away" was probably my favorite at the time.

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    1. Hehehe. Still, I can't help but enjoy the song. I remember when I first heard it, the week it debuted at #40 on the charts (yes, I listened to the Top 40 shows obsessively every single week, often recording them). I was so excited! A new Styx song!! And the next week it was gone. *sigh* I had to buy the live album just to have a copy of it, and only recently was I able to find a good digital version.

      "Come Sail Away" is a classic. I don't know if I could name a single favorite song. I mean, some days it's "I'm OK", some days it's "Light Up" (Styx's ubiquitous "let's get stoned" song; after all, everyone has to have one!), some days, when I'm feeling melancholy, it's "Crystal Ball." When I feel like rocking, it'd be one of JY's songs... Heh. With music I'm a bit like I am with books - the more the merrier!

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  4. Styx, Queen and even Yes may very well be responsible for my love of theatrical over-the-top progressive music. Today, that love is embodied in my obsession with Muse, Radiohead and even the soundtrack to Repo! The Genetic Opera (anyone check that out?)

    And yes, I still have Styx in rotation on my MP3 player.

    Great post.

    S.L. Madden

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    1. Ah, yes, Yes, Rush - love those guys. My husband hates Yes and Rush, but he doesn't seem to mind Styx too much. Well, he can manage to fall asleep when I have it playing, so I guess that's his version of "meh". Heheh.

      I have not heard of the album to which you refer. I shall have to try to find it!

      Thanks, to everyone, for commenting!

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  5. I love talking music, Katy. What a cool post!
    I love that line about "rebellion and hope". That's the way I feel about it, too. I spent so much of my adolescent years in my bedroom, listening to hard rock, classic rock and early heavy metal music. Thankfully before then I made the switch in junior high school from pop music to rock. Styx is definitely in my iPod.
    A few weeks without food, a few days without water, but without music, I'd only last a few hours...

    -Jimmy

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    1. It does my heart good to know that there are Christians out there who are willing to not only listen to, but really understand the message behind wonderful bands like Styx. Like I mentioned above, in the mid 1980s my brother became very religious (over a girl *sigh*) and threw out and burned all his albums, all his tapes, all his 8-tracks (except Cornerstone, which I had long since claimed as my own; I was particularly bummed over the loss of Desolation Boulevard, as it was hard to find the Sweet's music by then) and raised his children without letting them listen to anything but country, which simply cannot (in my opinion) inspire the same sorts of ideas. Styx inspires a positive form of rebellion, I believe - rebellion against the need to conform to outside influences, rebellion against believing that you need to change to be special. So many of their songs are about accepting who you are and being okay with that, that it's okay to be different - that it is, in fact, a necessary thing. I think this helped me to a great deal to maintain the mindset that I developed very early about being my own person.

      Thanks for commenting!

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  6. Thanks for putting up that clip of Music Time. I hadn't seen it before – despite being so ancient – and I thought it was great. I don't care if it was panned. Do you like Pink Floyd?

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    1. The thing about "Music Time" is that it debuted at 40 on the charts and then dropped back off. So, it didn't receive a lot of play. As you see, the clip is pretty crappy quality - it was probably taped on a VCR and then someone translated it into digital to upload it. Every version I've seen has been like that. It's really a pity - I've love to see a nice, clear, HQ copy of it. I think those people we see in several scenes - the older man and woman? Especially noticed in the Guitar Solo scene? I think those are Dennis' parents. But I'm not completely certain.

      Anyway, yes, love Pink Floyd! The Wall is my favorite "brood and wallow in depression" album, and I practically wore out first a tape and then a CD doing so during many of my "brooding and wallowing in depression" years. I also enjoy the movie a great deal... but only "ON WEEED" LOL Which mean I haven't seen it in years, sadly.

      When I first went to college in Bozeman, MT, one of the dorms in the boy's hall was beautifully painted to look like the cover from The Dark Side of the Moon. Wonderfully well done. I think it had been that way for years; no one wanted to paint over it. I wonder if it still is?

      Oh, and PS: you aren't ancient. IIRC, you're not much older than my big brother. So there. :-P Heheh. Thanks for dropping by!

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  7. You didn't mention seeing them in concert. You should add that to you 2013 To Do list. You won't be disappointed, I promise, Their shows are a-mnaz-ing.

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    1. *laugh* I discuss that above in my response to Jolea. They will actually be about an hour and a half away from here at a resort in Cherokee, NC on the 18th and my husband and I discussed whether or not I should try to go. He said he'd drive me and wait in the car. But my editing is really slow right now - I won't even make enough to cover this month's medical expenses - and I simply cannot justify the expense any way I look at it. We're saving money to spend at Dragon*Con (pretty unsuccessfully, might I add) and that will probably be the extent of major excitement for the decade. *sigh* But... I DO want to see them. I also want to see GWAR again. And if Tenacious D ever shows up... *laughing* You see my problems. My bank account is not big enough for my desires.

      Maybe their next tour will find me in a slightly better place monetarily speaking :-) It's sort of nice to be worried about things like this rather than whether or not we'll have food this month, anyway. :-)

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  8. I remember listening to the Paradise Theatre vinyl religiously when I was about 12. I listened to the Grand Illusion album too but I don't remember having that record. Maybe I listened to it on 8-track tape. I remember listening to my mom and dad's collection which included Stevie Wonder, Elton John, The Beatles, David Bowie, Funkadelic, Barry Manilow, The Doobie Brothers, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd amongst many otherss. Pink Floyd'd The Dark Side of the Moon was one I snuck downstairs in the middle of the night to listen to a lot. I remember finally purchasing my first records on my own and Styx, Journey, Asia, and Foreigner were amongst my faves. Along with some of them, I remember buying cassettes during the same time period by The Cure, Aztec Camera, Altered Images, Yazoo, Depeche Mode, Duran Durna, Missing Persons and Berlin. I remember always coming back to Styx though. To me their songs were mystical while being rockin'(!). Gosh, I haven't listened to them in years. Maybe I'll have to take another Styx journey.

    Great review Katy! Man! I had some whiplash memories from reading it along with all these comments! Let's do the timewarp again! But classics always stay classics. Those songs will stick with me forever.

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    1. Yup, that's about the same time I was introduced to it. My mom and dad's collection was classical country--Sons of the Pioneers, Patsy Cline, that sort of thing--so it was my brother to whom I turned for musical inspiration, and since he was 11 years older than me, I was listening to things almost a generation behind the rest of my class. I think that is part of why I have such diverse tastes in music.

      I have a post about David Bowie I put up early this morning, so be sure to take a look at that one while you're here! :-) The post is here or, if the HTML doesn't work, it's here:
      http://katysozaeva.blogspot.com/2013/01/more-music-talk-david-bowie-to-release.html

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