{ From the Editor }
Gimme Danger
I GREW UP THINKING of hard rock as dangerous music. I wasn’t entirely wrong. As a young musician with older brothers, and parents who indulged our musical interests, I was exposed to everything from the Who to the MC5 in the 1960s, well before I turned 10, and saw some hard-rock acts of the day performing at free outdoor concerts in and around the Detroit area. It was a rough scene in a rough place, a sense that perhaps no band represented better in their music or stage show than the MC5, a truly revolutionary band of musical rebels. But like most rebellious things, it was seductive as well, and I soaked up everything I could from that time, especially local acts like the MC5, Grand Funk Railroad and the Stooges, whose singer, Iggy Pop, summed up the attitude best when he ominously crooned, “Gimme danger, little stranger.” I can’t think of three bands who could better warp a young child’s mind.