Rockers On Trial: Defense Attorney Paul Biegler Makes a Case For Rock History's Greatest Screams!

Your honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury...

Rock music screamers have been getting a bad rep
and a bad rap, and today they are on trial here in this
courtroom. Submitted for your approval...or disapproval
as the case may be - Exhibit A - Maria Brink and her
rock/metal band In This Moment. Click at the
3:11 mark of the video and listen for
17 seconds... until 3:28.

"Her Kiss" - In This Moment

from Sept. 2008 album The Dream)

 (START PLAYING AT 3:11 MARK
AND LISTEN TO 3:28)

People who judge "Her Kiss" solely on the basis of the
crunching guitars and screaming vocals in that portion
of the song are getting a distorted impression
of the recording and the artist. Those who
listen from start to finish enjoy quite
a beautiful love song.

Now I'm just a humble country lawyer trying to
do the best I can against this brilliant prosecutor
from the big city of Lansing, but I intend to prove
beyond a shadow of a doubt that screaming
in popular music is nothing new.

You see, as a lawyer, I've had to learn that rock
isn't just good or just bad. Rock is many things.

Oh... now... now it's true that the kids listen to it
and play it too loud and it gives us old folks a
headache and so forth... but... but...

...well, if it please the court, I would like to submit
Exhibit B. Click at the 4:36 mark of the following

video and you will experience Janis Joplin, a
Screaming Mimi whose shouting vocal style

made her The First Lady of Rock - loved
by millions - 40 years before Maria
Brink appeared on the scene.

"Ball 'n' Chain" - Janis Joplin

(Live at Monterey Pop, June 1967)

(START PLAYING AT 4:36 MARK!)

Listen now to Exhibit C - "Won't Get Fooled Again,"

a hit by The Who that made Rolling Stone's list

of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Click at the 7:45 point on the video

and you'll hear one of the greatest

primal screams in rock history!

"Won't Get Fooled Again" - The Who

(Summer season 1971)

(START PLAYING AT 7:45 MARK!)

Exhibit D is "Whole Lotta Love" by the much loved
British blues rock/heavy metal band Led Zeppelin.

Listen at the 4:19 point of the song and you
will hear another epic rock scream!

"Whole Lotta Love" - Led Zeppelin 

(November 1969)

(START PLAYING AT 4:19 MARK!)

Now here's Exhibit E, something the younger generation

calls a mash-up. It combines "Whole Lotta Love"

with another classic rock song, "Helter Skelter,"

by the Beatles, the world's most popular band.

The Beatles often shouted and screamed their

vocals and I never heard anybody complain

about them... except my mommy!

"Whole Lotta Helter Skelter"
Soundog Mix - The Beatles vs. Led Zeppelin

(November 1968/November 1969)

Now listen, this is a cross examination in a rock music

discrimination case, not a high-school debate!

What are you and Dancer trying to do, railroad
Miss Brink into the Clink? Hey, that rhymes!

Your honor, the prostitution prosecution would have us
believe that screaming in modern rock is more dark,
dangerous and evil than it was in the 1960s.

Well that's like trying to take the core from an apple
without breaking the skin. (Did that argument make
any sense at all?) I beg the court... I beg the court
to let me cut into the apple... because we've
been at this all morning and I'm hungry.

Exhibit F is "Lost Someone" by the Godfather of Soul,
James Brown. An early 60s ballad, "Lost Someone" is
nevertheless peppered with passionate screams from
Mr. Brown and from the audience. Please click at the
55 second mark of the song for indisputable proof!

"Lost Someone" - James Brown

(Live at the Apollo, October 1962)

(START PLAYING AT 55 SEC. MARK!)

In summation, screaming has been an integral part of
popular music for more than 60 years. Think about it.
Nobody raised a fuss when mainstream superstars
like The Beatles and James Brown screamed.

It is our contention that all screamers are created equal.
Moreover we believe it is a crime to condemn modern
rockers who practice the same age old technique that
their beloved predecessors used. The defense rests
with one last assertion, your honor. At its best,
rock is a scream and we ask...we, we beseech
the good citizens of the blogging community

to give it a fair chance.

I tend to agree, Mr. Biegler.

There's no reason to make

a federal case out of it.

Happy anniversary to

one of my favorite movies...

...Otto Preminger's

 ANATOMY OF A MURDER 

released in the U.S.

 60 YEARS AGO TODAY! 

Have a Shady day!