Mixing modern with m-oldy

Does anyone think we’re headed for a decade of radical change?

I’m not the most well versed student on history but I get the feeling that America is heading for another decade that could be like revolutionary era, or more like the 60’s. Could the old saying about history repeating itself be true? With so much information being tossed around about the planet, the economy, health, fuel sources, government, etc… It’s hard to dig in and find the truth about what is the best direction to head in. To me, when that happens it leads to confusion, when there’s confusion, someone will stand up and group enough people together and cause change.

One that’s been pushing it’s way forward recently is the concept of power/fuel. The entrenched situation is oil and gas. From my minor research into it apparently gas isn’t all that hard to refine from oil. In fact prior to the industry as we know it, it seems that any old mom & pop who had oil under their land could make it and use it. Then a business man with lofty goals came along and got the government to step and say, no you can’t do that.

Now we have people learning to use new fuels like the original intent of the diesel engine running on vegetable or peanut oil. I know, I run my tour bus on it. Now there are cars, viable cars that can run solely on electricity which could easily be gotten from solar sources. My next car purchase will be a Tesla Motors, that is my goal. The heart of that matter is batteries.

In the past year I’ve been reading about advances in batteries where they are making capacitors and/or batteries that can charge instantly then discharge over time. All thanks to nanotube technology. It’s a safe bet that the oil industry isn’t happy about such advances. Why? Because it puts their bottom line in severe risk. Would you drive a car that could take a full charge in seconds. Could go just as far on a charge as it could a tank of gas, with less moving parts in the transmission, and able to go 0 – 60 in 3 or so seconds? Oh it also has 3 speeds, fast, faster, and reverse. The reality of most of that is here already. It’s the battery part that is being held up with arguments that changing the system will screw up the economy. I can’t wait until I have an electric car like that.

The same could be said for some music. There’s always going to be people/artists/bands that revisit genres from bygone eras. However, how many of those attempts actually take the old ideas and make them new? The easy answer is extremely few. Chevelle is one of those few. I’m always impressed with this band. Every time I hear them I can’t believe how amazing their guitar tones are. How clean the recording is and how tight they are as a band. At some point I have to see them live to convince myself as to whether they are that good or if it’s a “pro-tools” thing.

Another thing I really dig about Chevelle is how they take guitar playing techniques from the 80’s guitar gods and update the sound with the modern heavy vibe that lots of bands use now. It’s that quality to their playing that sets them apart and it’s what I think makes them a band that I hope is able to stay around for a while. If you haven’t delved into their world, you best do it now. Today’s song is the version from a soundtrack unavailable on iTunes, so get the live version I’ve linked to.

(** Disclaimer: If Chevelle’s label attempts to reform me in some way, I’ll have to oust the audio off the server. The post will remain to show that it’s time for change. **)