Everyone goes through phases as they grow up. One day your favorite band is Def Leppard the next it might be Guns N Roses. Then high school hits any everything changes. Your body is going all wonky with hair appearing in new places and your desire for the Starscream is replaced with an insatiable urge to masturbate. Most teenagers also begin to feel the need to be “deep” and “meaningful”. Some joins bands. other write poems. I decided to listen to “Alternative” music and smoke cigarettes.
Believe it or not Live did indeed start out as an alternative band, they even played on MTV’s 120 Minutes Tour. They eventually became huge superstars, selling 8 million copis of Throwing Copper only to then fade into obscurity. For one reason or another Live struck a chord with me and I became obsessed. I had the EPs, the singles and the t-shirts. I could tell you where the band was from (York, PA), how they got their name (it has to do with watching a breaking news story on TV) and if they are currently together or not (they aren’t). Did I use “Beauty of Gray” as the subject of a high school poetry project? yes, I did but I also used songs by Cracker, GnR and others. I wasn’t very creative.
Live will always be with me for another, very big reason. Not only was Live my first concert but I got my first DUI while hanging out near the campus of James Madison Univeristy the night before the show. Was I released the next morning in time to nap and attend the show? Damn right.
I will never apologize for liking Live. They were great for a little while and then just lost it. It happens. But we shared some good, and bad, times and I will always remember them.
Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition) – This song comes from the band’s first full-length and I think it still stands up. The band was obviously talented but still young and raw. It kind of worked with the whole coming-of-age period I was going through.
White, Discussion – Just a great song. So great that the band closed the show with it for a while. For the true Live enthusiast be sure to pick up the Virtuosity soundtrack for a killer re-mix.
Lakini’s Juice – The first single from Secret Samadhi, the follow-up to the smash-hit Throwing Copper. This single gave me hope that the band had been able to follow their big hit record with another great record. Sadly, this was not to be. Lakini’s Juice has a great guitar riff and is the only good song to come from Live for the rest of their career. But that is just my opinion.
You don’t need to defend any band that has a lead singer who rocks the same haircut as a monk.
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