POLL - The WEAKEST LINK of Opening Track/Debut Album - Round 4

MedozK

Hope everyone is having fun with these WEAKEST LINK polls. With the new poll we will decide the best "Opening Track on a Debut Album". For these artist this was usually the VERY first track anyone heard of them. So with this one I came up with 10 for us to debate about and choose from.

Disclaimer: I know there are thousands of great debut albums with with great opening tracks, I could not include them all and I want to be the first to say I am sorry for not including your favorite. These are just the ones that came to my mind.

Remember you are going to pick the song that you think is the "Weakest Link" after 2 days I remove the 2 songs with the most votes. We will then move on to the Championship.

Thanks again for playing.

R.E.M.: “Radio Free Europe” (Murmur) - Eliminated in Round 2

N.W.A.: “Straight Outta Compton” (Straight Outta Compton) - Eliminated in Round 3

Ramones: “Blitzkrieg Bop” (Ramones)

Van Halen: “Runnin’ with the Devil” (Van Halen)

Van Morrison: “Brown Eyed Girl” (Blowin’ Your Mind!) - Eliminated in Round 3

The Velvet Underground: “Sunday Morning” (The Velvet Underground & Nico) - Eliminated in Round 2

Boston: “More Than A Feeling” (Boston) - Eliminated in Round 1

Beastie Boys: "Rhymin & Stealin" (Licensed To Ill) - Eliminated in Round 1

Guns N' Roses: "Welcome to the Jungle" (Appetite for Destruction)

Violent Femmes: "Blister in the Sun" (Violent Femmes)

MedozK

Awesome to see the Violent Femmes in the Final 4, but my heart hurts a little watching “Straight Outta Compton” get eliminated last round.

cutz

Van Halen: “Runnin’ with the Devil”

Good Times Bad Times

Purple Haze

brianlux

Guns N' Roses: "Welcome to the Jungle"

MedozK said:

Awesome to see the Violent Femmes in the Final 4, but my heart hurts a little watching “Straight Outta Compton” get eliminated last round.

Blister really is a great song.  And what a killer show the Femmes put on in the early days!  I've never been to a show with as much mixture of fear and excitement.  Gano and company created an atmosphere that was exhilarating yet frequently verging on violent chaos.  Quite the show!

mfc2006

Van Halen: “Runnin’ with the Devil”

MedozK said:

Awesome to see the Violent Femmes in the Final 4, but my heart hurts a little watching “Straight Outta Compton” get eliminated last round.

Same here.

Johnny Abruzzo

Violent Femmes: "Blister in the Sun"

I really can't exaggerate how much I hate this song. I'd vote for it a million times.

1ThoughtKnown

Ramones: “Blitzkrieg Bop”

cutz said:

Good Times Bad Times

Purple Haze

This has been discussed in previous threads. 

OffSheGoes35

Ramones: “Blitzkrieg Bop”

MedozK said:

Awesome to see the Violent Femmes in the Final 4, but my heart hurts a little watching “Straight Outta Compton” get eliminated last round.

Wow you usually don't say anything about  how the voting is going. I'm sorry about Straight Outta Compton. And I agree that it's awesome that VF made it this far. 👍

tempo_n_groove

Ramones: “Blitzkrieg Bop”

MedozK said:

Awesome to see the Violent Femmes in the Final 4, but my heart hurts a little watching “Straight Outta Compton” get eliminated last round.

NWA should have won...

brianlux

Guns N' Roses: "Welcome to the Jungle"

.

Cropduster-80

Violent Femmes: "Blister in the Sun"

brianlux said:

tempo_n_groove said:

MedozK said:

Awesome to see the Violent Femmes in the Final 4, but my heart hurts a little watching “Straight Outta Compton” get eliminated last round.

NWA should have won...

I respect both yours and MedozK's views on music, culture, the world at large, enough so that I wish I could understand why you two and others here are so taken by N.W.A.  I don't understand why you would support artists that are blatantly misogynistic.  I have read articles by black women who speak out against songs like the one in question here.  I wonder if you have looked into that?  Maybe there is something I am missing. 
I'm open to hearing what you think.

I’ll add my two cents, for what it’s worth 

Art oftentimes is supposed to make you uncomfortable.  Anything that is a painting, music, written word that can cause a visceral reaction is doing it right. 

A lot of it is a commentary of what was going on at the time. Right or wrong it was what was happening. It’s the only way most kids from the suburbs even know what south central LA was really like.  

Agreeing with their description or language is secondary to me.  People related to it probably in two ways, it was either describing the life they were living or a life they didn’t know people were living.  Either way it gave a voice to a previously  ignored segment of society 

tempo_n_groove

Ramones: “Blitzkrieg Bop”

brianlux said:

tempo_n_groove said:

MedozK said:

Awesome to see the Violent Femmes in the Final 4, but my heart hurts a little watching “Straight Outta Compton” get eliminated last round.

NWA should have won...

I respect both yours and MedozK's views on music, culture, the world at large, enough so that I wish I could understand why you two and others here are so taken by N.W.A.  I don't understand why you would support artists that are blatantly misogynistic.  I have read articles by black women who speak out against songs like the one in question here.  I wonder if you have looked into that?  Maybe there is something I am missing. 
I'm open to hearing what you think.

I am pretty sure I grew up quite different from you.  Let's just say that I understood where they were coming from, not exactly, but I had an understanding.

At the time this came out you had Eddie Murphy, Dice Clay, and Sam Kinison ruling the comedic world.  PC wasn't a thing. Also you will never find something that is universally loved and not opposed by some.

Music needed a shake and this hit you in the head like a sledgehammer. Dr Dre's sampling and mixes to the groups raw delivery and word play?  We all needed this.  There's a reason that Gangster rap took over the airways, chauvinistic/misogynist put aside, the music was deep and good.

It was angry and we all for the most part, needed angry.

OffSheGoes35

Ramones: “Blitzkrieg Bop”

tempo_n_groove said:

brianlux said:

tempo_n_groove said:

MedozK said:

Awesome to see the Violent Femmes in the Final 4, but my heart hurts a little watching “Straight Outta Compton” get eliminated last round.

NWA should have won...

I respect both yours and MedozK's views on music, culture, the world at large, enough so that I wish I could understand why you two and others here are so taken by N.W.A.  I don't understand why you would support artists that are blatantly misogynistic.  I have read articles by black women who speak out against songs like the one in question here.  I wonder if you have looked into that?  Maybe there is something I am missing. 
I'm open to hearing what you think.

I am pretty sure I grew up quite different from you.  Let's just say that I understood where they were coming from, not exactly, but I had an understanding.

At the time this came out you had Eddie Murphy, Dice Clay, and Sam Kinison ruling the comedic world.  PC wasn't a thing. Also you will never find something that is universally loved and not opposed by some.

Music needed a shake and this hit you in the head like a sledgehammer. Dr Dre's sampling and mixes to the groups raw delivery and word play?  We all needed this.  There's a reason that Gangster rap took over the airways, chauvinistic/misogynist put aside, the music was deep and good.

It was angry and we all for the most part, needed angry.

I think that is the answer to Brian's question. Misogyny is usually put aside by men and women alike, sadly. 

Cropduster-80

Violent Femmes: "Blister in the Sun"

OffSheGoes35 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

brianlux said:

tempo_n_groove said:

MedozK said:

Awesome to see the Violent Femmes in the Final 4, but my heart hurts a little watching “Straight Outta Compton” get eliminated last round.

NWA should have won...

I respect both yours and MedozK's views on music, culture, the world at large, enough so that I wish I could understand why you two and others here are so taken by N.W.A.  I don't understand why you would support artists that are blatantly misogynistic.  I have read articles by black women who speak out against songs like the one in question here.  I wonder if you have looked into that?  Maybe there is something I am missing. 
I'm open to hearing what you think.

I am pretty sure I grew up quite different from you.  Let's just say that I understood where they were coming from, not exactly, but I had an understanding.

At the time this came out you had Eddie Murphy, Dice Clay, and Sam Kinison ruling the comedic world.  PC wasn't a thing. Also you will never find something that is universally loved and not opposed by some.

Music needed a shake and this hit you in the head like a sledgehammer. Dr Dre's sampling and mixes to the groups raw delivery and word play?  We all needed this.  There's a reason that Gangster rap took over the airways, chauvinistic/misogynist put aside, the music was deep and good.

It was angry and we all for the most part, needed angry.

I think that is the answer to Brian's question. Misogyny is usually put aside by men and women alike, sadly. 

I disagree.  I like the silence of the lambs.  Doesn’t mean I agree with eating people.   It’s well done, dark, and disturbing. That was the point of it

I don’t understand the idea that you have to agree with something in order for it to be good. 

In most cases I think being critical of the lyrical content is a cop out to avoid getting into the deeper messages which a lot of people just don’t want to deal with. There are tons of examples when people turn a blind eye to just as offensive stuff and are willing to overlook it  for a lot of reasons… except rap music 

OffSheGoes35

Ramones: “Blitzkrieg Bop”

I think we're looking at this from two different angles, I'm concerned with misogyny and you're concerned with rap music. I don't mean that the way it sounds. Hopefully you know what I mean, because I have to drive now. 

Cropduster-80

Violent Femmes: "Blister in the Sun"

OffSheGoes35 said:

I think we're looking at this from two different angles, I'm concerned with misogyny and you're concerned with rap music. I don't mean that the way it sounds. Hopefully you know what I mean, because I have to drive now. 

I agree with that 100%. I’m concerned with misogyny too. I just don’t see it being the fault of the music, If that makes sense.

That music is in many ways a reflection of society and blaming the music is kind of like shooting the messenger. You can turn the music off, doesn’t make the actual problems of violence  or misogyny or poverty or whatever go away.  

OffSheGoes35

Ramones: “Blitzkrieg Bop”

Cropduster-80 said:

OffSheGoes35 said:

I think we're looking at this from two different angles, I'm concerned with misogyny and you're concerned with rap music. I don't mean that the way it sounds. Hopefully you know what I mean, because I have to drive now. 

I agree with that 100%. I’m concerned with misogyny too. I just don’t see it being the fault of the music, If that makes sense.

That music is in many ways a reflection of society and blaming the music is kind of like shooting the messenger. You can turn the music off, doesn’t make the actual problems of violence  or misogyny or poverty or whatever go away.  

That makes sense. And I will admit I'm a fan of The Rolling Stones and their music may or may not be perceived as blatantly misogynistic. Whether something is covertly or blatantly misogynistic, do we really know how much of that seeps in? 

If you listen to angry music all the time, whether it is metal or rap, does that not feed other things? Even if it doesn't make one prone to violence, it may very well feed a penchant for righteous indignation nevertheless. When you listen to music, it usually makes you feel something. If nothing else, it is just something to think about.

brianlux

Guns N' Roses: "Welcome to the Jungle"

tempo_n_groove said:

brianlux said:

tempo_n_groove said:

MedozK said:

Awesome to see the Violent Femmes in the Final 4, but my heart hurts a little watching “Straight Outta Compton” get eliminated last round.

NWA should have won...

I respect both yours and MedozK's views on music, culture, the world at large, enough so that I wish I could understand why you two and others here are so taken by N.W.A.  I don't understand why you would support artists that are blatantly misogynistic.  I have read articles by black women who speak out against songs like the one in question here.  I wonder if you have looked into that?  Maybe there is something I am missing. 
I'm open to hearing what you think.

I am pretty sure I grew up quite different from you.  Let's just say that I understood where they were coming from, not exactly, but I had an understanding.

At the time this came out you had Eddie Murphy, Dice Clay, and Sam Kinison ruling the comedic world.  PC wasn't a thing. Also you will never find something that is universally loved and not opposed by some.

Music needed a shake and this hit you in the head like a sledgehammer. Dr Dre's sampling and mixes to the groups raw delivery and word play?  We all needed this.  There's a reason that Gangster rap took over the airways, chauvinistic/misogynist put aside, the music was deep and good.

It was angry and we all for the most part, needed angry.

tempo_n_groove

Ramones: “Blitzkrieg Bop”

brianlux said:

tempo_n_groove said:

brianlux said:

tempo_n_groove said:

MedozK said:

Awesome to see the Violent Femmes in the Final 4, but my heart hurts a little watching “Straight Outta Compton” get eliminated last round.

NWA should have won...

I respect both yours and MedozK's views on music, culture, the world at large, enough so that I wish I could understand why you two and others here are so taken by N.W.A.  I don't understand why you would support artists that are blatantly misogynistic.  I have read articles by black women who speak out against songs like the one in question here.  I wonder if you have looked into that?  Maybe there is something I am missing. 
I'm open to hearing what you think.

I am pretty sure I grew up quite different from you.  Let's just say that I understood where they were coming from, not exactly, but I had an understanding.

At the time this came out you had Eddie Murphy, Dice Clay, and Sam Kinison ruling the comedic world.  PC wasn't a thing. Also you will never find something that is universally loved and not opposed by some.

Music needed a shake and this hit you in the head like a sledgehammer. Dr Dre's sampling and mixes to the groups raw delivery and word play?  We all needed this.  There's a reason that Gangster rap took over the airways, chauvinistic/misogynist put aside, the music was deep and good.

It was angry and we all for the most part, needed angry.

Different, my friend, perhaps, but maybe not all together different.  I'm not naive to urban and/or black culture.  When I lived in San Francisco, it was not all the high rent tech haven that it is today. There were rough neighborhoods. 
For one of those years, I lived in a high rise row rent apartment complex that was 80% African American.  I kept a low profile, got along fine. 
Another year I live in the Mission District that was predominantly Hispanic.  That OK except for the time I heard neighbors shooting at each other.  I've watched people shoot heroin a couple of times. 
I had a back kid try to pull that "knock out" game on me while his other black buddies watched on.  I split and after the punks took off I went back and talked to the two older black brothers who we manning the station to get their take on the incident.  They were very cool and said they were sorry I got punched.  They also told be they had been robbed.  We traded info and shook hands before I split. 
I was on a bus in Hunters Point- a highly predominantly black neighborhood-  late one night and watched a black dude steal a purse from a sister and then he gave me a look that said, "Keep quiet motherfucker or you die."  I kept my head down, mouth shut. 

I've also been to NYC a few times.  Once got lost in a black neighborhood and had dudes rapidly approach my  vehicle.  I had to run red light to get out alive. 
Anther time, before it was gentrified, I got off the subway at the wrong stop and found myself in Harlem.  I kept my cool and jumped on the next bus.

I've seen plenty of shit.

And I call bullshit on misogynistic attitudes toward black women.  Sorry, but my feeling about that is, "fuck that shit".

So you got nothing out of the times we were living in and how that was just normal at the time?

You don’t have to agree with everything bands say, hell if I did I wouldn’t be a PJ fan.

The old cartoons would have the male animals cat call the women.  I still enjoy those cartoons even though I disagree w the message.

brianlux

Guns N' Roses: "Welcome to the Jungle"

I'll duck out for the duration on this poll and maybe see what come around next time.

Carry on and enjoy, folks.

dankind

Violent Femmes: "Blister in the Sun"

“Hoes gotta eat, too.”

OffSheGoes35

Ramones: “Blitzkrieg Bop”

dankind said:

“Hoes gotta eat, too.”

I thought you would have more to say about the subject than that.

tempo_n_groove

Ramones: “Blitzkrieg Bop”

OffSheGoes35 said:

dankind said:

“Hoes gotta eat, too.”

I thought you would have more to say about the subject than that.

"I'm a brotha who'll smother ya mutha, and make your sister think I love her"

Brutalizing, yes.  The streets were rough and it was meant to show that.  Easy-E wasn't going around asphyxiating people's mommas but wanted to show he can be ruthless.  That was how you portrayed yourself. 

OffSheGoes35

Ramones: “Blitzkrieg Bop”

tempo_n_groove said:

OffSheGoes35 said:

dankind said:

“Hoes gotta eat, too.”

I thought you would have more to say about the subject than that.

"I'm a brotha who'll smother ya mutha, and make your sister think I love her"

Brutalizing, yes.  The streets were rough and it was meant to show that.  Easy-E wasn't going around asphyxiating people's mommas but wanted to show he can be ruthless.  That was how you portrayed yourself. 

That isn't making me want to listen to it nor endorse it. 

OffSheGoes35

Ramones: “Blitzkrieg Bop”

Why is that a good example of manhood?

OffSheGoes35

Ramones: “Blitzkrieg Bop”

Manhood anywhere.

tempo_n_groove

Ramones: “Blitzkrieg Bop”

OffSheGoes35 said:

Manhood anywhere.

It uncovered a world that many people didn't know existed.  If all you see are lyrics and aren't interested in the rest of the story behind them then there isn't anything I can say that will sway you differently unfortunately...

No one said it was a good example of manhood either...

I'm going to drop it after this because it's not going anywhere.

OffSheGoes35

Ramones: “Blitzkrieg Bop”

tempo_n_groove said:

OffSheGoes35 said:

Manhood anywhere.

It uncovered a world that many people didn't know existed.  If all you see are lyrics and aren't interested in the rest of the story behind them then there isn't anything I can say that will sway you differently unfortunately...

No one said it was a good example of manhood either...

I'm going to drop it after this because it's not going anywhere.

Has that attitude towards women changed over time in rap music?

dankind

Violent Femmes: "Blister in the Sun"

OffSheGoes35 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

OffSheGoes35 said:

Manhood anywhere.

It uncovered a world that many people didn't know existed.  If all you see are lyrics and aren't interested in the rest of the story behind them then there isn't anything I can say that will sway you differently unfortunately...

No one said it was a good example of manhood either...

I'm going to drop it after this because it's not going anywhere.

Has that attitude towards women changed over time in rap music?

Not all rap music incorporates misogyny into the lyrics -- just the subgenres in which the misogyny rings true to the culture it's representing.

And there's an argument to be made that the misogyny in gangsta rap lyrics (and gangsta films for that matter) was beneficial in shining a light on what young black women from that culture were up against. 

Jesus Christ! A lot of the precious classic rock acts drooled over on these pages (Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Eagles, RHCP, KISS, Bowie, Iggy Pop) are statutory rapists. They weren't merely representing a culture; they were actively raping teens.

tempo_n_groove

Ramones: “Blitzkrieg Bop”

dankind said:

OffSheGoes35 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

OffSheGoes35 said:

Manhood anywhere.

It uncovered a world that many people didn't know existed.  If all you see are lyrics and aren't interested in the rest of the story behind them then there isn't anything I can say that will sway you differently unfortunately...

No one said it was a good example of manhood either...

I'm going to drop it after this because it's not going anywhere.

Has that attitude towards women changed over time in rap music?

Not all rap music incorporates misogyny into the lyrics -- just the subgenres in which the misogyny rings true to the culture it's representing.

And there's an argument to be made that the misogyny in gangsta rap lyrics (and gangsta films for that matter) was beneficial in shining a light on what young black women from that culture were up against. 

Jesus Christ! A lot of the precious classic rock acts drooled over on these pages (Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Eagles, RHCP, KISS, Bowie, Iggy Pop) are statutory rapists. They weren't merely representing a culture; they were actively raping teens.

I was going to go there too.  I was going to list all the songs that say "little girl" in the lyrics from bands that everyone seems to love.

OffSheGoes35

Ramones: “Blitzkrieg Bop”

I understand some of the points made by both of you, so I don't feel as if this discussion isn't going anywhere. I understand that that segment of society was previously ignored and didn't have a platform. I understand that art is sometimes meant to be uncomfortable. I understand that you believe that I am missing out on something of more consequence somewhere in the totality of the work. Do you understand that I'm wondering if it is merely storytelling or if it is meant to perpetuate this way of thinking