Monday, March 11, 2013

Phish is a "New Immortal"

Well Well Well.... What do we have here? Is this my band finally getting some respect? I think so. 

**Warning I know that this post is about a list and everyone hates lists. I warned you**

Rolling Stone has named Phish as one of their "New Immortals". Now I still think it is bullshit that they were left off the original list in 2004 of "the Greatest Artists of All Time". They finally smartened up and added 14 new artists to this list. This is a list of bands whose music they believe will stand the test of time. Its also artists whose names "you wouldn't be surprised to see on a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot at some point down the road when they become eligible". The list has no order but all I know is that Phish is now listed among them. 

This is their write up:
"Phish spent the Eighties in Vermont honing their chops with some unconventional practice techniques: jamming for eight hours straight after drinking mushroom-laced hot chocolate, playing long stretches blindfolded or hitting a single note for an hour. The band let fans bootleg their actual shows freely, and by 1993 they were conquering amphitheaters around the country, even organizing their own gigantic camp-out music festivals. Phish's weirdness wouldn't work without tight songs ("Bouncing Around the Room," "You Enjoy Myself") and vast graduate-level improvisational skills: Trey Anastasio can mimic Bach, Jerry Garcia, King Crimson and John Coltrane on his guitar with ease, and the band can nail entire albums by Little Feat or the Beatles at their famous Halloween gigs. They can also get away with stunts like the Big Ball Jam. "We had huge exercise balls we threw into the audience," keyboardist Page McConnell told Rolling Stone in 2003. "You had to play rhythmically with the way your ball bounced around the room. That's how our whole career has been – stupid ideas that work."

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