The Blues. Where to even begin. Words and sounds of the devil, roots of rock'n'roll, and in the words of the great Howlin Wolf, "When you ain't got no money, you got the blues" and "anytime you thinkin' evil, you got the blues". The blues are simply cries of shared self victimization. Relentless rhythms repeat the chants of sorrow, and the pity of a lost soul many times over. From the fathers of the blues Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, W.C. Handy, and Albert King to the innovators like Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The White Stripes, The Black Keys and The Raconteurs. When you listen to the blues, you are listening to the deep pit of these musicians yelling for help. You are listening to their trials and tribulations, you're listening to their soul. Jimi Hendrix once said "The blues are easy to play, but hard to feel". Every genre of music has their own interpretation of the blues. The blues began as a feeling and gravitated towards a style that is, in my opinion, the biggest influence on music today. Not a single band, not a single one, can say the were not influenced by the blues. My favorite band without hesitation is Led Zeppelin (my love for them is beyond any possible human comprehension), so it would be morally wrong for me to not appreciate the blues.
Yesterday around the time the sun was setting, my friend and I went to the Mississippi River behind these train tracks, under trees and sat on the rocks as we watched the cargo ships pass by with the sunset behind them. In our ears were my headphones with "In My Time Of Dying" playing. My friend and I both agreed that to truly experience the blues or music for that matter, you have to experience what the song was originally written about. You can't sing the blues and have never gone through hardships. Any song, whether it be blues, rock'n'roll, rap, reggae, pop, you name it, the moment when you listen to a song and can ultimately relate to what the song is about, is when you've undoubtedly experienced that song to its fullest. Last night I finally understood the blues and being on the Mississippi River when that happened was no coincidence.
Robert Johnson is my favorite blues player (it could have something to do with the countless Led Zeppelin songs influenced by his songs). King of the Delta Blues, some say he met the devil at a lonely crossroads at midnight and made a deal to sell his soul in return for becoming the greatest blues musician of all time. If that's the case, then I thank you Lucifer for doing so. Typically the blues are on my "it's time to cook" playlist, but now I listen to them at any given moment. It's inevitable that some of my favorite bands today The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, and The Black Keys are heavily blues oriented. Keep in mind three of those bands are founded by Jack White, a man I would die to meet. Everything he does is golden. From his guitar riffs to his lyrics, I cannot get enough of him. He is the modern day Jimmy Page, the modern day Robert Johnson, he is the blues. Additionally, every song The Black Keys create is blues as well. The documentary/movie It Might Get Loud with Jack White, Jimmy Page and The Edge (why The Edge is on here, I don't know - I won't even begin to explain my disgust for U2), pretty much explains the blues:"If you don't dig the blues, you got a hole in your soul"
-- Albert King
The Playlist
Notice how there are bands like G.Love, Mofro, Iron & Wine, Bob Dylan, and more who all sing the blues. I'm adding more to this playlist as the day goes on - creating a blues playlist is a very slow process. Enjoy
