A little ditty on Yoso and other horrible “supergroups:”
I remember the first time I heard the term “supergroup.” It was 1981 and my older brother Kevin, an avid Styx and Kansas fan, had just brought home a copy of a record with a blue sea monster on the cover. He was sitting on the end of his bed checking out the lyric sheet, the album jacket resting on his stonewashed jeans, and nodding his head along to “Heat of the Moment.” He kept a badminton racket beside the stereo for occasions that demanded heavy riffing. And this was most assuredly one of those occasions.
Me: What are you listening to?
Kevin: It’s this new supergroup, Asia.
Me: What’s a supergroup?
Kevin: It’s, like, a band that consists of members from other groups. That’s Steve Howe on guitar from Yes. I think someone from Emerson, Lake and Palmer is in the band too. [Picks up badminton racket]
Me: Awesome, can I borrow it when—
Kevin: Do you think you can shut up for five minutes, zit-fag? I’m trying to listen. [Shreds a power riff with badminton racket]In the household of my youth, the name Steve Howe held deep significance. It was almost akin to bringing up the names David Ragsdale (violin, Kansas), Tommy Shaw (guitar, Styx), or Brad Delp (vocals, Boston). Mentioning these names was shorthand for saying “musical genius.”
Of course, I’ve since come to understand that the most unforgivable thing my brother ever did to me was to convince me—at a very impressionable age—that Styx, Kansas and Boston (his trinity of rock) were good bands. They’re not. How could he have done that to me, I have since wondered in dismay? I was just a kid. I looked up to him, for Chrissakes.
Read it all over at The Awl.
