Jump to content

Tom Petty kicks all kinds of ass

ztejas

By ztejas
in Music

 Share

Recommended Posts

ztejas

ztejas 44144

Posted
Posted

I pride myself on my overall musical knowledge and propensity for listening to and being familiar with artists and trends that happened way before my time. 

Yet - a part of me feels kind of shitty for not recognizing how great this dude is sooner. Maybe it's one of those things where you have to be a bit older and more weathered to really recognize the greatness (at least that's what I'm telling myself) but man did a switch flip for me in the past year or so when it comes to Petty. I mean holy shit the guy is absolutely brilliant. 

I didn't see a Petty specific thread when I searched and thought I might as well try and gather some thoughts on what he's meant to some of you or to music as a whole. 

 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 47068

Posted
Posted

I was ambivalent until many years after he broke.  I remember the day the light bulb came on -- I lived off Far West in NW Austin, spring 1986, giant apartment complex, and I headed up to the swimming pool to hang out.  I took my cassette boombox, and the only tape I could find was my roommate's copy of "Damn The Torpedoes".

For some reason, that day it clicked.  Might have been the smokin' hot undergrad in a bikini on the next chaise over, I'm not sure.  She dug the music, and then her dumbass football player boyfriend showed up.

I just kept that tape rolling.  That dude never even started.

  • Hook 'Em 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Celery Man

Celery Man 21089

Posted
Posted

I remember Last Dance with Mary Jane from when it was hit, and then obviously like everyone else I've heard most of his music by just living in the world. At some point in college "American Girl" started bouncing around in my head - I think it's from the scene in the Sopranos whenever Tony is in a coma and Carmela is talking to him about a beach trip when they were young and that song was playing. That song got categorized in my head as the perfect road trip song, which it is (also the most perfect rock song ever written), and for years any road trip that song gets cycled through at some point when highway speeds have been achieved, there are no tall buildings around, and the conversation has lulled.

I've since branched into his catalogue more seriously, and like a lot of other people here Damn the Torpedos is a favorite. Not seeing him live is one of my big regrets. I've also become a huge fan of Mike Campbell's guitar playing, both generally and from a philosophical agreement with his stance on parsimony. Becoming a dad has made me lean in to Petty a lot more as well.

Here's one.

 

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
South Austin

South Austin 53210

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, dcbc said:

Top 5 Band for me and my biggest regret is not ever seeing them live.

Not sure if in my Top 5, but huge regret over never seeing him live. 

I really got into Petty my junior year of high school in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Learning to Fly did it for me. It came out right around the time my dad was deployed for the Persian Gulf War, and for some reason – as an awkward teen in a new school whose dad was gone for most of the year – the song hit me hard. Great video, too. I was crushed more than I would’ve expected when he died.

 

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Celery Man

Celery Man 21089

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, South Austin said:

Not to veer off into a Stevie Nicks discussion, but her voice paired so perfectly in her duets with Don Henley, Kenny Loggins, and this criminally underrated song with Tom Petty.

not to veer into Don Henley discussion, but one of the reason why The Boys of Summer doesn't suck is because Mike Campbell wrote it (just like he wrote Stop Draggin My Heart Around)

  • Hook 'Em 4
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bogeywon

Bogeywon 2546

Posted
Posted
34 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

not to veer into Don Henley discussion, but one of the reason why The Boys of Summer doesn't suck is because Mike Campbell wrote it (just like he wrote Stop Draggin My Heart Around)

Most unknown great song a riff maker ever

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Carl Spackler

Carl Spackler 3614

Posted
Posted (edited)

I didn't really sit up and take special notice of Petty until 1979, when Damn the Torpedoes came out.  The AOR station I often listened to at the time would occasionally play "Breakdown" or "I Need to Know" (both of which I liked), but Petty didn't really register heavily with me until one of the DJs started raving about Damn The Torpedoes in '79.  "Don't Do Me Like That" had been released as the first single (another great song), and then when the album came out and the DJ was just gushing about how good the whole thing was, I finally got smart and bought the album.  Thanks, Mr. DJ, wherever you may be.      

Edited by Carl Spackler
  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kringelbert Fishtybuns

Kringelbert Fishtybuns 945

Posted
Posted

One of my favorite ACL Fest memories is Leaning to Fly in the rain.  That was before 2 weekends, ridiculous prices, and all the assholes putting their damn phones in the air.  His set got delayed due to the rain, but he still came on an hour late and played 2 hours.  
 

It stands as one of my favorite live music  experiences ever.

  • Hook 'Em 5
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
dcbc

dcbc 14644

Posted
Posted

The number of hits is just immense.  And it's not a bunch of fluff either.  The guy (and the Heartbreakers churned out song after exceptional song for decades.  They managed to stay relevant and, more importantly, cool throughout.  I just about wore out Full Moon Fever.  Can you imaging if an artist released an album that solid and full of greatness today?  By the time Wildflowers came out, the radio wore out and irritated me with the overplay of You Don't Know How it Feels to the point where I didn't buy the album until 20 years later.  A crime, I know.  But I got to enjoy it in full for the first time later.  And then, there's Echo.  Good grief, it's amazing.  Room at the Top may be one of my favorite TP songs of them all.  The guy (and the Heartbreakers) are a treasure.  I need to get out and see the Dirty Knobs when they eventually tour again.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
dcbc

dcbc 14644

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, Celery Man said:

not to veer into Don Henley discussion, but one of the reason why The Boys of Summer doesn't suck is because Mike Campbell wrote it (just like he wrote Stop Draggin My Heart Around)

Mike Campbell is a great Instagram follow.  That Boys of Summer story was unexpected.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
dcbc

dcbc 14644

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

Mike Campbell is a HOF guitar player and songwriter who has never once wasted a note.

Cosigned.

I would add that Mike Campbell, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children.

Edited by dcbc
  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
smuggs

smuggs 9395

Posted
Posted (edited)
11 hours ago, Kringelbert Fishtybuns said:

One of my favorite ACL Fest memories is Leaning to Fly in the rain.  That was before 2 weekends, ridiculous prices, and all the assholes putting their damn phones in the air.  His set got delayed due to the rain, but he still came on an hour late and played 2 hours.  
 

It stands as one of my favorite live music  experiences ever.

I was there too. We were real close to leaving when the storm came through and they left the stage. When he came back out and cranked back up with lightning still in the sky, holy shit that was an incredible set.

My parents and brother were TP fans so growing up his music was always echoing through the house. When Wildflowers came out my senior year in high school and I was a temperamental teen who had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, Time To Move On hit pretty hard. Still get the goosebumps when I hear it.

 

 

 

Edited by smuggs
  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12622

Posted
Posted (edited)

I don't remember a time when Tom Petty wasn't a huge figure in my life.

When I was in pre-school (about a year after Full Moon Fever came out), my mom was picking me up from class and the teacher pulled her aside and said that she had concerns about what I was being exposed to at home.  My mom looked at her dumbfounded, and she went on to explain that they had all the kids sing nursery rhymes that they knew, and all the other kids had sang nursery rhymes like they were supposed to.  I sang (and the teacher had to pull out a piece of note paper as she had written this down) "Free Fallin'" because that was my favorite fucking song and I didn't want to sing dumb-ass nursery rhymes. 

I went with a bunch of buddies to see the Drive-By Truckers (one of my all time favorite bands) open for him and the Heartbreakers on my 25th birthday.  It remains one of the best days of my life.

My brother once pointed out that Tom Petty is the one artist that almost everyone at least likes a little.  Have you ever met someone who hated Tom Petty?  It doesn't really matter what kind of music someone listens to, you can almost guarantee they're going to be fine with putting on Petty.

Petty is the man.  His songs are cornerstones of my life.  I can't really say enough about what his music means to me.

Edited by Al_4_ISU
  • Hook 'Em 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12622

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, dcbc said:

The number of hits is just immense.  And it's not a bunch of fluff either.  The guy (and the Heartbreakers churned out song after exceptional song for decades.  They managed to stay relevant and, more importantly, cool throughout.  I just about wore out Full Moon Fever.  Can you imaging if an artist released an album that solid and full of greatness today?  By the time Wildflowers came out, the radio wore out and irritated me with the overplay of You Don't Know How it Feels to the point where I didn't buy the album until 20 years later.  A crime, I know.  But I got to enjoy it in full for the first time later.  And then, there's Echo.  Good grief, it's amazing.  Room at the Top may be one of my favorite TP songs of them all.  The guy (and the Heartbreakers) are a treasure.  I need to get out and see the Dirty Knobs when they eventually tour again.

That song is fucking devastating.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Celery Man

Celery Man 21089

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I went with a bunch of buddies to see the Drive-By Truckers (one of my all time favorite bands) open for him and the Heartbreakers on my 25th birthday.  It remains one of the best days of my life.

I would go to that show. I would go to the shit out of that show.

 

Was "Walls" a hit at the time it came out? As someone who... didn't grow up among Tom Petty fans or anything and more backed my way into realizing I'm a huge fan, I'm not actually sure if I knew that song before the Lumineers covered it. The Petty version is on my dad approved background baby jams playlist and I eventually looked it up, I guess it was from a movie soundtrack. Good song.

Also on that baby jam soundtrack is the Wailing Jennys version of Wildflowers

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12622

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

I would go to that show. I would go to the shit out of that show.

 

Was "Walls" a hit at the time it came out? As someone who... didn't grow up among Tom Petty fans or anything and more backed my way into realizing I'm a huge fan, I'm not actually sure if I knew that song before the Lumineers covered it. The Petty version is on my dad approved background baby jams playlist and I eventually looked it up, I guess it was from a movie soundtrack. Good song.

Also on that baby jam soundtrack is the Wailing Jennys version of Wildflowers

 

I remember Walls being on the radio in the 90's.  I don't think it really qualifies as a hit, because it doesn't get played on classic rock radio now, and a lot of people seem to not know it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Carl Spackler

Carl Spackler 3614

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

My brother once pointed out that Tom Petty is the one artist that almost everyone at least likes a little.  Have you ever met someone who hated Tom Petty? 

I've met one or two people who don't like his voice -- too nasally, too Dylan-esque, etc. -- so they aren't fans of his songs.

I don't hang out with those people.

 

Edited by Carl Spackler
  • Hook 'Em 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bogeywon

Bogeywon 2546

Posted
Posted

If you haven’t seen the doc runnin down a dream watch it now. He’s the best so is his band. They are all very down to earth low key humble guys. 
 

a few things to expect from a petty live show:

you WILL feel like you just had a religious experience 

The harmonies are always perfect.

Mike Campbell and his long list of cool guitars


Also I saw him do “southern accents” once live and wow what a song

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 47068

Posted
Posted

My long time partner-in-crime, with whom I've been in many bands and written probably a hundred or more songs over the decades, is not a Petty fan.  But, he's kind of a moody arty dude (indeed, he's a well-known visual artist), and his musical tastes lean towards dark British pop and punk like The Damned, Bauhaus and The Cure.  So, I don't push it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ten Bears

Ten Bears 2500

Posted
Posted
19 hours ago, dcbc said:

The number of hits is just immense.  And it's not a bunch of fluff either.  The guy (and the Heartbreakers churned out song after exceptional song for decades.  They managed to stay relevant and, more importantly, cool throughout.  I just about wore out Full Moon Fever.  Can you imaging if an artist released an album that solid and full of greatness today?  By the time Wildflowers came out, the radio wore out and irritated me with the overplay of You Don't Know How it Feels to the point where I didn't buy the album until 20 years later.  A crime, I know.  But I got to enjoy it in full for the first time later.  And then, there's Echo.  Good grief, it's amazing.  Room at the Top may be one of my favorite TP songs of them all.  The guy (and the Heartbreakers) are a treasure.  I need to get out and see the Dirty Knobs when they eventually tour again.

The Dirty Knobs have rescheduled their twice covid canceled Antone's shows for late May 2022. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

Posted
Posted
15 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

My long time partner-in-crime, with whom I've been in many bands and written probably a hundred or more songs over the decades, is not a Petty fan.  But, he's kind of a moody arty dude (indeed, he's a well-known visual artist), and his musical tastes lean towards dark British pop and punk like The Damned, Bauhaus and The Cure.  So, I don't push it.

 Why not both comes to mind, but I'd just give him a push off a ledge, but that's just me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
South Austin

South Austin 53210

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

I wouldn't say the Cure is spectacular, but I've always dug 'em.  Their musical range was nowhere near what TP's/Mike Cambells was.

I agree with this. I was a fan of The Cure in the 80s, but never liked their stuff as much in the 90s and beyond.

A couple years ago I saw The Cure at ACL Fest and had two distinct reactions: (1) Holy shit, Robert Smith is looking old and pudgy, and (2) Holy shit, those old farts can still play.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
stc

stc 1500

Posted
Posted

greatest american rock band. saw them 10+ times and it was always amazing. their acl festival performance is definitely a favorite...the band took a break because of the rain and A LOT of people left the festival. significantly improved my spot in the crowd. 

speaking of stevie nicks...i always liked this song more than stop draggin my heart around.

 

  • Hook 'Em 3
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Underdog

Underdog 29132

Posted
Posted
On 1/1/2022 at 10:16 PM, dcbc said:

Top 5 Band for me and my biggest regret is not ever seeing them live.

Only saw him/them once, early 80s at FEC.  The stage setup was such that FEC was half draped off for more intimate/theater feel.  Great show from what I remember, never bought any of his albums though. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Post Oak

Post Oak 20554

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, stc said:

greatest american rock band. saw them 10+ times and it was always amazing. their acl festival performance is definitely a favorite...the band took a break because of the rain and A LOT of people left the festival. significantly improved my spot in the crowd. 

speaking of stevie nicks...i always liked this song more than stop draggin my heart around.

 

I've never heard that one before.  Thanks for posting it.  What a fantastic song.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Celery Man

Celery Man 21089

Posted
Posted

Yeah, Refugee is great. 
 

Jamming Insider right now. I never was into Fleetwood Mac at all but I’ve had to rethink that as my appreciation for Tom Petty has grown.

 Sorry to continue the Cure tangent - their recordings suffer with age (or sometimes scratch that exact 80s itch) like almost any genre band but they are minute for minute one of the hookiest bands on the planet. I love hooks, love cramming little hooks into every crevice of a song, they are so great at that.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
stc

stc 1500

Posted
Posted (edited)

mike campbell gets a ton of credit (deservedly so) but i also think benmont tench is criminally underrated. good to be king, breakdown, don't come around here no more, etc wouldn't be the songs they are without his influence. same can be said for the harmonies with howie epstein, their voices blended together so perfectly. really that's what makes them such a great band, take out any individual piece and it just isn't the same. there's a magic that happens when they're all working together. 

i fucking love this acoustic version of king's highway so much, better than the original version i think. 

 

Edited by stc
  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Judge Roybeanbag

Judge Roybeanbag 11860

Posted
Posted
On 1/1/2022 at 12:38 AM, jimmyjazz said:

I was ambivalent until many years after he broke.  I remember the day the light bulb came on -- I lived off Far West in NW Austin, spring 1986, giant apartment complex, and I headed up to the swimming pool to hang out.  I took my cassette boombox, and the only tape I could find was my roommate's copy of "Damn The Torpedoes".

For some reason, that day it clicked.  Might have been the smokin' hot undergrad in a bikini on the next chaise over, I'm not sure.  She dug the music, and then her dumbass football player boyfriend showed up.

I just kept that tape rolling.  That dude never even started.

Wait, what apartment complex?  I lived at Wood Hollow that year. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!

×
×
  • Create New...