Aerosmith says “Walk This Way”. Well, Let’s Do It!
Added 2025-02-02 16:48:17 +0000 UTCClassic, classy, colorful, vintage and a little bit … naughty? Just like a Norman Rockwell painting.
Comments
I never said it was different, but I don’t really agree they’re the same either. The vocal delivery on the Run DMC is true Rap style compared to Steven Tyler’s original, which is more like a Rockabilly scat, if that makes sense. Mainly, the guitars are very different on the Run DMC version. I was only agreeing with Amy that it was easily turned into a Rap song with very little tweaking. They did enough to separate the two. I prefer the original, but the Run DMC is cool as a novelty.
Julian Ortiz
2025-02-05 01:24:08 +0000 UTCSHB is clearly a rap, and a great one at that. "Don't follow leaders, watch your parking meters" is one of my fav lines from any song.
Rea Lavi
2025-02-04 23:58:47 +0000 UTCOne of the few examples where the video compliments the song. It reminds me of a video that Joe Walsh did, where he destroys a hotel room while trying to kill a fly. "These bars are like COVID - you get 'em right off the bat - they come at me with machine guns - to fight off a gnat." - Eminem
DJ Marquis Marc Rambeau du Tacoma
2025-02-04 17:32:32 +0000 UTCYes, Evelyn... Norman was "secretly subversive," so it's no wonder that you're not one of the cognoscenti, like me.
DJ Marquis Marc Rambeau du Tacoma
2025-02-04 17:31:14 +0000 UTCI don't know, Julian... it seems to me the RUN DMC cover isn't so different from the original... which was already proto-rap. Bob Dylan's SUBTERRANEAN HOMESICK BLUES of 1965 is also a proto-rap song, so says no less an expert than rapper ICE-T in his recent autobiography, SPLIT DECISION.
DJ Marquis Marc Rambeau du Tacoma
2025-02-04 17:29:53 +0000 UTCThat was my Jr. high too. And John Denver. And KC and the Sunshine Band. And Bee Gees. And Sweet. And the Captain and Tenille. And and and... They also had a song called THE MARTIAN BOOGIE: "Meanwhile... I was stiiiiillll thinkin'!" https://youtu.be/RU8EqkQKfw0
DJ Marquis Marc Rambeau du Tacoma
2025-02-04 15:55:35 +0000 UTCI’m a day late on this and I see the Norman Rockwell comment is getting a lot of attention. Believe it or not, I don’t think the comment is that far off the mark considering the track that follows “Walk This Way” on the Toys In The Attic album. If you thought this song was a little naughty, you’re in for something that will literally have you in stitches because it sounds dirty unless you get the context. Trust me, if you do hear that song, it literally is a Norman Rockwell picture put into song. Even the style of the song harkens back to 1940s style Big Band. It’s called “Big Ten Inch” and I truly think Amy will get a kick out of it. I agree with everyone encouraging Amy to hear the Run DMC cover. It does feature Aerosmith so it is truly a collaboration, though early on Aerosmith were against it. It got pretty huge and I can still remember everyone loving it at the time. Especially, those of us who grew up listening to Aerosmith. Just like Amy said, the song already lends itself easily to a Rap and Hip Hop style so I’d love to hear what she’d have to say about that one. Loved this. I’m an old Aerosmith fan since the late 70s.
Julian Ortiz
2025-02-04 03:02:57 +0000 UTCI second this.
Julian Ortiz
2025-02-04 02:53:11 +0000 UTCNORMAN ROCKWELL???
Evelyn
2025-02-03 22:49:22 +0000 UTCDA judge! 😏
Evelyn
2025-02-03 22:48:22 +0000 UTCReal funky rock
Donald Holloway
2025-02-03 16:29:25 +0000 UTCTry Sweet Emotion
Donald Holloway
2025-02-03 16:19:35 +0000 UTCDo you remember Brownsville Station SMOKIN’ IN THE BOYS ROOM That was my jr high
TONY SURRATT
2025-02-03 12:52:08 +0000 UTCgive me some Limp Bizkit , I like it
TONY SURRATT
2025-02-03 12:48:23 +0000 UTCEnjoyed that. Actually this song was played at my high school dance. and that was fifty years ago. I remember, one of our chaperones, my English teacher Mrs. Gurly singing and dancing “walk this way” And when RUN DMC version came out, this tune was in classic status, those ten,eleven years was a lifetime of music apart
TONY SURRATT
2025-02-03 12:30:43 +0000 UTCHilarious, but true!
David Taylor
2025-02-03 02:44:54 +0000 UTCI don't think Rockwell did anything risqué maybe: "No swimming"
Michael T.B
2025-02-03 01:32:33 +0000 UTCYes, you should definitely listen to the RUN DMC cover and the VIDEO! It’s hilarious watching Steven Tyler play the part of the Grumpy Old Man screaming at the young punks next door to TURN IT DOWN! Not to mention how uncannily prescient the “breaking through the brick wall” scene turned out to be.
Gary Wilmot
2025-02-03 01:14:02 +0000 UTCYou know, Wayne... I've not had that experience... but, now, I kind of guess that I have ;)
DJ Marquis Marc Rambeau du Tacoma
2025-02-02 22:37:37 +0000 UTCI was not a teen when this song came out. I was an adult in my 20's. My niece was a teen and loved this band. She told me what this song was about. Whoa. I had no clue. It isn't Norman Rockwell, for sure. More like Lolita. LOL
TangoEliott
2025-02-02 22:08:51 +0000 UTCA LiTTLE BIT naughty? Watching you listen to a song like this is like watching a dirty movie with my mother
Wayne Wheatley
2025-02-02 20:49:48 +0000 UTCAmy, regarding your thoughts on hearing the RUN DMC cover: That cover came about because of producer RICK RUBIN, who was prolific just about everywhere - but, in particular, in creating the genre of rap-rock, some of which depends HEAVILY on "sampling" other artist's sound recordings without their prior permission - and was eventually sued-out-of-existence as the 90s were getting started. RUN DMC also has MY ADIDAS and IT'S TRICKY. Another Rubin creation was THE BEASTIE BOYS, (three Jewish white kids from Brooklyn who started off as a punk band) who were even more instrumental in bringing rap-rock to the mass audience (like myself) at the beginning of the MTV era with songs like FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT (TO PARTY). And, of course, Amy, you have already listened to KILLING IN THE NAME by Rage Against The Machine... where rap-rock turns its focus onto social issues, also made popular by N.W.A.'s BOYZ-'N-THE-HOOD and Ice-T's 6 IN THE MORNIN' and Cypress Hill's HAND ON THE PUMP. Yes, Amy, all of these songs still fall under your purview of Virgin "Rock" music... so, "put a pin in it" and keep this genre in the back of your mind for further exploration - for when you're really in the mood for heavy messages spread over dope hip-hop beats.
DJ Marquis Marc Rambeau du Tacoma
2025-02-02 20:06:33 +0000 UTCHere Come The Judge!
DJ Marquis Marc Rambeau du Tacoma
2025-02-02 19:57:34 +0000 UTCNorman Rockwell? No it conjures for me more along the lines of Robert Crumb
Michael T.B
2025-02-02 19:43:34 +0000 UTCDust in the Wind.
Paul D. Hoffmaster III
2025-02-02 19:35:41 +0000 UTCYeah - is there a raunchy Norman Rockwell calendar available? They say Amazon has everything you can possibly imagine... for a price.
DJ Marquis Marc Rambeau du Tacoma
2025-02-02 19:32:50 +0000 UTCRUN DMC and THE BEASTIE BOYS, both produced by Rick Rubin, who contributed the genre of rap-rock among many other styles. Amy might also listen to Blondie's RAPTURE, which more or less introduced rap music to the masses after serving at the CBGB club along with other acts like The Talking Heads... the club had a mixture of rock, punk, and rap music, and the song name checks Fab Five Freddy and Grandmaster Flash.
DJ Marquis Marc Rambeau du Tacoma
2025-02-02 19:32:31 +0000 UTCWell, Amy, somehow you made it all the way through one of the most scatological songs ever played on mainstream radio, without explicitly mentioning the lyrics. Aerosmith is one of the best American hard rock bands ("Too Bad", "Back in the Saddle", "Sweet Emotion", and this song, being my favorites, and their first album the one I play the most). I appreciated your musical observations - I've seen them live several times before their near breakdown breakup, and Run/DMC comeback (which I like, but not as much as this version) and they were terrific. Seems like this video is preparation for the mashup that is the real point - I haven't checked, but I think those lyrics are still there (Run/DMC called them "hillbilly gibberish", while other sources say it's simply about a "young man losing his virginity" - well, yeah!)
George Brady
2025-02-02 19:26:19 +0000 UTCPoor Fred... but you're right, of course.
George Brady
2025-02-02 19:06:38 +0000 UTCSWEET EMOTION - I am SO happy that you chose this song! Here's how it happened for me: I'm in high school in 1976, and I come into art class and speak to my friend: "WOW! I heard this song on the radio... I think it's called 'Home Sweet Home.'" "No," he says, 'it's LAST CHILD by Aerosmith." And then I'm in P.E. class, where for 3 weeks, I'm learning how to Square Dance. But on the last day, we students are allowed to bring in our own music, and someone brought in Aerosmith's debut album, with their anthemic DREAM ON... Say no more! Aerosmith was good for two periods, imho: from their beginning in 1973 to their Draw The Line album in 1977. They then "came back" after teaming up with rock-rappers RUN DMC covering Aerosmith's WALK THIS WAY... (have you heard that song yet? ;) and their album Permanent Vacation in the mid-80s... Pretty much every video that I've seen of Aerosmith playing live, up until very recently in Japan, they just keep on groovin' and rocking... and they've done it much more consistently than The Rolling Stones, whom Aerosmith was constantly compared with when they came out. DREAM ON; MOVIN' OUT; LORD OF THE THIGHS; TRAIN KEPT A'ROLLIN'; UNCLE SALTY; WALK THIS WAY; SWEET EMOTION; LAST CHILD; RATS IN THE CELLAR; SIGHT FOR SORE EYES; KINGS AND QUEENS; THREE MILE SMILE; DUDE (LOOKS LIKE A LADY); RAG DOLL; LOVE IN AN ELEVATOR; and LIVING ON THE EDGE are all good songs from across their career.
DJ Marquis Marc Rambeau du Tacoma
2025-02-02 18:53:52 +0000 UTCSpeaking as one of the biggest fans of rap and hip-hop here (although that's not saying much), while I agree that Amy should definitely hear Run-D.M.C.'s cover at some point, it shouldn't be one of her first exposures to rap. (Although anything would be better than having her listen to Fred ****ing Durst again ...) When it comes time for Amy to go down that rabbit hole, I'm really hoping Vlad can find an expert on rap for Amy to interview, someone who can teach Amy about rap flows, so she can understand better one of the key features of rap that makes rappers' work so different from one another. Run-D.M.C. is definitely one of the groups I think Amy needs to listen to at some point, but I would strongly recommend that she first hears another of their early tracks that better showcases how Run and D.M.C. "bounce" off one another in their tracks. "Peter Piper" (especially its iconic intro) comes to mind. Even before then, I would have Amy listen to the Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message" first, to give her a background in the evolution of early rap and hip-hop, before Run-D.M.C. hit it big with their rendition of "Walk This Way."
Sean Shannon
2025-02-02 18:21:18 +0000 UTCPretty raunchy for Norman Rockwell....
Ye_Humble_Scrivener
2025-02-02 17:58:10 +0000 UTCRun Dmc version also has Aerosmith playing with them as sort of a duet. You should watch the iconic music video.
todd morrison
2025-02-02 17:57:56 +0000 UTCReally need to get to Carry on Wayward Son by Kansas soon!
Eric (bucketfootbaseball)
2025-02-02 17:45:16 +0000 UTC
