Carl's Record Collection

2008-03-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

Mastodon - "Leviathan" (Relapse Records, 2004) [Key Tracks: Blood and Thunder, Hearts Alive, I am Ahab]
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"I think that someone is trying to kill me...Infecting my blood and destroying my mind! No man of the flesh could ever stop me... The fight for this fish is a fight to the death. White whale - holy grail. What remorseless emperor commands me, I no longer govern my soul! I am completely immersed in darkness as I turn my body away from the sun... White whale - holy grail. Split your lungs with blood and thunder when you see the white whale; Break your backs and crack your oars, men, if you wish to prevail! This ivory leg is what propels me... Harpoons thrust in the sky, Aim directly for his crooked brow and look him straight in the eye! White whale - holy grail"
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I immediately recognized "Blood and Thunder" as a 5 Star song. There have been so few 5 Star ANYTHING in the last 10 years... especially on major labels. So I was suprised as I got into Mastodon to find that not only are they an epic metal band, but that they are also epic song writers. And "Leviathan," a concept album based loosely around Melville's "Moby Dick" is a 4 1/2 Star LP. Not since the early Metallica days has metal been this fantastic, heavy and cranial, innovative and yet so familiar to the genre, and I would say, for all the world to hear, that MASTODON IS 100% BETTER THAN METALLICA EVER WAS! You heard it hear first.
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Carl's Favorite Songs - #28 - Outshined by Soundgarden
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It was hard to get my hands on this LP. Even among the endlessly loyal metal fans, there was a lack of willingness to share. Underpressed and overvauled, getting a copy of this LP secured my collection as one of the upper-deck record libraries of forgotten lore. The sleeve is filled with gorgeous mythological paintings of the white whale and the gods of the sea conspiring to thwart Everyman and Ahab alike, its a piece of beauty as well as a piece of Aenid-grade metal. There is a picture disk pressing floating about which is easier to grab, but be warned... pictures disks sound a little bland, and contrary to what you may think, the art on the gatefold standard release is much, MUCH better represented than the truncated, blurry art of the pic disk.
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I find myself trying to explain how powerful and beautiful this stuff is to you all, realizing if you don't like metal, you'll never understand. If you hate anything harder than White Lion, you will not like this. But if you lean heavy, even in your past glory days, this is a must listen (as is its follow up "Blood Mountain"). When they assemble the catalog of LPs that shook the world (of metal), this will no doubt be on there. And if it isn't, the single for "Blood and Thunder" (featuring otherworldly heavy guest vocals by Neil Fallon of Clutch) damn well better be.
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Horns up!
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2008-01-06T17:37:00.000-08:00

Tom Petty - "Full Moon Fever" (MCA Records, 1989) [Key Tracks: Runnin' Down a Dream, Love is a Long Road, Free Fallin', I Won't Back Down]
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"My sister's ex-husband can't get no lovin', walks around dog-faced and hurt. Now he's got nothin', head in the oven... I can't decide which is worse "
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Since the last time I posted (the epic Melvins "Houdini") I have received a lot of new records, none perhaps as cool and unexpected as today's entry. My friend Matt, with whom I don't get to do enough with, gave me Tom Petty's epic LP, which is not only one of his best, but is also the last great rock album of the 1980's.
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Carl's Favorite Songs - #29 - Dream On by Aerosmith
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Full Moon Fever was a solo album for Petty, although the term solo has never been so inappropriate. True, his Heartbreakers sidekicks were not technically involved with writing this LP, but most of them appear to play regardless. Other significant musicians appear as well. Jeff Lynne, of ELO fame, played huge role in songwriting with Petty. A few lesser known stars also appear, such as Roy Orbison, George Harrison, and Del Shannon (I kid, I kid, these guys are icons). Petty even covers a Byrds song, which seems unnecessary, but fun. Petty has always flown under the radar but maintained integrity (although "Last Dance with Mary Jane" almost shattered that streak).
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Mostly this album is about time and place. It brings back a lost sound of rock and roll, and as Matt informed me and I later confirmed in biographies, this LP was known as Travelling Wilburies Vol. 2 to many since it was a continuation of the vibe and theme started by the all star super-group. It threw away everything that the 70's and 80's did to music and tried to reinvent the wheel... being at once a tribute to early rock without being a throw-back novelty. Petty is at the top of his game here, and if you ever wanted to buy one LP from him, not counting the endless parade of greatest hits repackages, this would be an excellent start to hear Petty as the musician and rock icon. Its rare that an artist's most commercially embraced LP is one of his best artistic achievements as well, but here you go... proof that the exception proves the rule. Sure, "You Got Lucky" isn't on here, but what album is perfect?
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Horns up, and its good to be back. And thanks again Matt!!!
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2008-01-02T08:55:00.000-08:00

Dear Fans of Carl's Records, Carl, or bored surfers... expect a flurry of posts today through next Monday, as I start school next Monday and woefully neglected my site! Time to get back into the habit! Next up, Tom Petty, Chiodos, and more!

2007-10-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

The Melvins - "Houdini" (Atlantic Records, 1993) [key tracks: Hooch, Honey Bucket, Set Me Straight, Night Goat]
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"Los ticka toe rest. Might like a sender doe ree. Your make a doll a ray-day sender bright like a penelty. Exi-tease my ray-day member half lost a beat away. Purst in like a one way sende,r war give a heart like a fay. Cuz I can ford a red eed only street a wide a ree land. Die-mond make a mid-evil bike a sake a like a ree caste. Cuz I can ford a red eed only street a wide a ree land. On a ree land. Find a ree land. "
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Wow, these posts get further and further apart. Rest assured that I have been studying, not record shopping. My newest wastes of time have been shopping for a Stratocaster (I am trying to learn to play surf guitar... and I have a few licks, so I got that going for me...) and playing MLB Power Pros on Nintendo Wii. So as you can see, I still haven't grown up.
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Carl's Favorite Songs - #30 - Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who
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Here is a list of my 6 favorite rock guitarists... #1 Frank Zappa, #2 King Buzzo (Melvins), #3 Josh Homme (Kyuss, QOTSA), #4 Dick Dale, #5 Dave Mustane (Megadeth), #6 D. Boon (Minutemen)
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I won't lie... it took a semi-commercial, easy to access album on a major label for me to get exposed to The Melvins. That is hard to admit, since they are icons in underground music for being so D.I.Y. and un-reliant on rock radio, MTV, or major labels. Thanks to the explosion of grunge, The Melvins enjoyed a small run of LPs on Atlantic... which despite conventional thought are very good entry points to their sound.
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The Melvins are about "grunge" beyond the genre... they have mastered a punk-meets-metal sound that often plods, crawls, and lays gasping for several minutes. Its no wonder that the biggest influences on the Melvins' sound are Flipper and Gene Simmons (his bass tracks, not KISS per se). The music is heavy, low, and brutal... then suddenly wistful and playful. Not in a The Shins way, but in an AC/DC way.
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To me, "Houdini" is an LP that introduces you to this style of stoner/sludge/doom/grunge/punk rock. You have a wide variety of flavors on one LP... experimental ("Pearl Bomb"), heavy metal (the unstoppable "Honeybucket" and "Hooch" show their heaviest chops ever), cover songs ("Going Blind"), and of course, that huge Melvins sound. An incredible find on this LP is "Set Me Straight" which is a captivating song in its own right, but even more so when you hear it played on their "Mangled Demos from 1983" LP... they had a fully realized version of this song, almost completely the same, in '83... meaning the Northwest was already having its glands shaken by the monstrous Melvins sound a decade before the word Nirvana was ever said outside of a World Religions class.
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Buzzo is always very concerned with the fan, which means good packaging and better production. So when you get a Melvins LP, it is a self contained object, part of a larger catalog project... much in the style of Frank Zappa. Therefore what you get is an experience, not a lame concept album, but a snapshot of a band doing what it does best at that given time. "Houdini" represents the time when the Melvins had help invent a sound from the ground up, which was bastardized and marketed ad nauseum as grunge. Any music fan needs to hear it done by the Melvins, which is to hear it done right.
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Ladies and Gentlemen... one of my top 5 favorite LPs ever... Houdini.
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Horns up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-09-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

Public Enemy - "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" (Def Jam, 1988) [Key tracks: Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos, Night of the Living Baseheads]

"I got a letter from the government the other day. I opened and read it, it said they were suckers. They wanted me for their army or whatever; Picture me givin' a damn - I said never! Here is a land that never gave a damn about a brother like me and myself because they never did... I wasn't wit' it, but just that very minute...it occurred to me the suckers had authority"

The floodgates are open and here come the classic LP's I have been ranting about. I haven't much to say non-LP related, so on with the show. This one will make Matt smile, I am sure (Matt and I, the 2 whitest kids in the world, know all the words to this LP. Pretty cool huh?).

Carl's Favorite Songs - #31 - Tusk by Fleetwood Mac

Where to even start with this one? Public Enemy's "It Takes..." is a landmark LP in many ways. I would even say that this album is of historical importance. With this LP, hard core hip hop was swept off the streets and into a bin called "consciousness." Public Enemy was street level, but was also militant, intelligent, and talented. They were able to on the same song criticize the system for marginalizing blacks, yet call the black community to task on its own demons. Unlike Bill Cosby, who seems to be seen as a bit of an Uncle Tom with his criticisms, PE leaned further into the Afrocentric realm; which was not a surprise considering the band's fascination with the Black Panther movement and the Nation of Islam.

At the time of recording, "It Takes..." had all of the PE elements locked into place. They had worked out some of their kinks on their debut album, and taken on their stage persona's fully. Chuck D: the educated former-DJ, defender of the marginalized and fearless of the machine. Flavor Flav: the hype man, seemingly a cross between Daffy Duck, a crack addict, and Kool Moe Dee. Professor Griff: back up MC and leader of the S1W's (which was a paramilitary dance troop... the lines of fiction and reality really got blurred). Terminator X: hands down the most vicious and abled DJ of the times. Better than Grandmaster Flash.

Things started to get interesting as PE gained attention outside of the urban circles they came from. White America was very threatened by the militant nature of the lyrics; even at times depicting unapologetic violence against the establishment. Where NWA was easy to write off as hoods, PE posed a new threat; the Educated Black. While most of PE's material is an exercise in martyr fantasies, stories revealing a deep persecution complex, and conspiracy theories gone wild, they hit a nerve. Afrocentrism was not going to go away, and the system was indeed exposed for being an Old Boys Club for whites. PE was one of the few acts that could point out the disparities of America and also express adequate anger to mobilize troops. The album had very little distraction; critics had to deal with the message. There was no gang-bang glorification, there was no misogyny. "It Takes..." was a voice unheard in many corners of the nation, and because it was so perfectly executed musically, the message spread.

Even though it is cartoonish at times, PE's "It Takes..." represents the first real intelligent rebel music since Bob Marley. It made those of us in the white Midwest ask some questions. Does this stuff really happen? Are drugs that out of control in big cities? Is our government actually using prisons as a file cabinet for blacks? Is TV really ruining the minds on lower and middle class America? Is there more to life than partying? Who is Malcom X? What is the Nation of Islam? Do people really run around with berets and bazookas in NYC? Did the government kill black leaders?

Many of the answers we came to may have been different than depicted on "It Takes..." but the fact remains that we became informed, enlightened, and aware. Any true concern for racial justice that I have within my heart is rooted in my exposure to Public Enemy. Malcom X was born in Omaha, and I hadn't even heard his name until I heard PE. Chuck D 1, System 0. I began to read about Douglas, X, King, Ghandi, and Farrakhan. While I still think that Afrocentrism is just injustice of another color, I think I have become a lot more culturally sensitive and aware since.

As a side note, PE's controversy went far beyond the lyrics on their LP. Professor Griff was very outspoken on his beliefs related to the nation of Islam. As we all know, any blanket criticism of the Jewish community had better be well founded. His was not, and a poorly written expose on his views (think a non-drunk Mel Gibson) got him into a bit of hot water, and he was soon out of PE. Not to be upstaged, on the follow up LP "Fear of a Black Planet" Chuck launches a salvo at the Jews; "Crucifixion ain't no fiction... so-called Chosen frozen, apologies made to whoever pleases...still they got me like Jesus." By the time they were done calling out Hollywood, the government, media, Jews, and the United States health system it was hard to take all of it seriously. Thus the eyebrow raising lyrics became (in the eyes of detractors) shtick. Oh, and then Flav got in trouble with drugs and illegitimate children. Go figure.

As a less interesting side note, this album was also one of the first to take an unapologetic stab at the then new sport of music copyright litigation. I know, I know, Ray Davies sued the Doors. It had happened before. But now they were suing the hip hop industry over use of samples... trying to break hip hop at its core; rap had always been deeply rooted in the MC scene... reggae MC's rapping over the songs a DJ chose. It evolved into hip hop when just the break beats were used to create a wave of body rockin' rhythm, where an MC could brag and boast and call out his rivals. Without the source material, hip hop would have to rely on producing its own beats, its own breaks. The only other option was to pay royalties, which seemed ludicrous and impossible, as hip hop in its infancy was the voice of the poor and outcast (much as punk was in its early days). As Chuck would say "this is a samplin' sport." The rise of litigation against hip hop acts (sadly, even my beloved Flo and Eddie sued De La Soul) forced a shift in approach to hip hop. It evolved, but in a very limited manner. To this day you hear the same recycled synth and drum machine riffs and beats. If there ever was a conspiracy to shut down the voice of Black America, this was a masterstroke in operations. However, thanks to the litigation we have less good hip hop, and more Diddy. A classic LP, a historical turning point, and a great listen.

And it makes me miss track meets. Horns up.

2007-09-11T08:06:00.000-07:00

Traffic - "John Barleycorn Must Die" (Island Records, 1970) [key tracks: Glad, Stranger To Himself]
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"There were three men came out of the west, their fortunes for to try. And these three men made a solemn vow; John Barleycorn must die! They've plowed, they've sown, they've harrowed him in, threw clods upon his head. And these three men made a solemn vow; John Barleycorn was dead."
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As I sit and stare at a pile of records, most of which need sleeves, all of which are incredible musical milestones in my life, I cannot decide what to photograph. I have been looking at the pile for an hour. Four new Anthrax LPs, a modern classic Melvins set (that I accidentally defaced opening...thanks for nothing lazy Ebay seller), a southern rock hidden gem, and the usual cast of stoner rock and alternative masterpieces. I have an embarrassment of riches. So today, I am going the safe route, and using one of my "backup" plans. Behold, Traffic.
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Carl's Favorite Songs - #32 - Karma Police by Radiohead
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As hinted at above, I need to save excitement and hyperbole for the coming months of posts. I wish all of you would just start coming over to my house and get the adoration and reviews in person. It would be easier on this man with his limited vocabulary. But much like my fingers need a preemptive pause before the onslaught of posts, my ears needed a break from extreme metal, avaunt-garde post punk, and blunting stoner rock. Traffic perfectly fits that groove. A jazzy, bluesy, rock outfit featuring Steve Winwood (who has a fantastic voice despite his questionable solo milk-toast-pop 80's hits) and a lot of flute. Not that they are Jethro Tull, or even progressive. Instead, they are musicians. Pure and simple. The compositions are very technical, and enjoyable. Think of early and mid era Fleetwood Mac, but enjoyable. For anyone who enjoys rock and roll, Traffic is a no brainer.
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The standout track is the title cut, an arrangement of an old folk song about, well, you decide. The controversy is that it is a call to alcohol abstinence, others say it was a literal reading of a murder done to benefit the community, yet a few retain that it has to do with the nature of business (the big guy pushing out the little guy). Closet whisky fans, like myself, prefer to see it as a call to enjoy as much uisce beatha as possible before Johnny is killed.
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Some trivia about this burlap-sack-themed LP; it was originally intended as a Winwood solo LP, but as the compositions grew more interesting and varied in genre (hippy psychedelic folk jazz pop prog hard rock), members of Traffic started signing on one by one. Soon it was a fully realized Traffic project. Go figure. So put it on, let it spin, and toss one back. Rest up honey, you'll need your strength for the coming storm of vinyl. Don't worry (hic), I'll be here to guide you. Me and John (hic).
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Horns up.
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2007-09-04T16:45:00.000-07:00

The Haunted - "The Dead Eye" (Century Media, 2006) [key tracks: The Medusa, The Shifter, The Flood]
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"High on fire and solid confidence; truthful rantings, but no one is listening. Check collateral, sweep the corners... the fear of words in a fu**ed-up reality. Steal my freedom of speech, my liberty, fail my rights to express myself... All this Half-Life semper-fi stone-faced bullsh** infecting me to deplete my design. I'm drowning in the fear of gods; the more I see the less I want. I was not raised to shut my mouth, but as long as it holds me I'll fight it and scold it, all my life!"
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Next week is going to full of fun posts for me. As I mentioned, in the last month I scored 4 of my top 5 most wanted LPs, and even scored 2 of my favorite LPs ever which I was not even aware existed on vinyl. Happy month for me! Back to the metal today as we look at a modern classic...
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Carl's Favorite Songs - #33 - Cure for Pain by Morphine
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The Haunted. How did I ever miss these guys' existence? Oh wait, I know, because their earlier albums were above average modern Euro-metal. That isn't to say they weren't good, there were just so many others like them. Hailing from Sweden, you sort of build a pre-conceived notion of what to expect... nihilistic black metal right? Screams and blast beats? Until the LP before this one, yep. "rEVOLVEr" was a watershed moment... you could still hear the old recipe at work, but something in their eyes changed focus... you could tell they were jumping off into a new direction. And which direction is that? Where were they looking to for the future?
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How about brutal, industrial-influenced thrash-and-emo-metal. That maybe undersells how great it is. Let me put it another way... "The Dead Eye" is better produced, heavier, and more thrilling than any Tool album since "Undertow." Stunned? I was too. They resisted the urge to turn sludge metal cum whining (ala Isis), or over dramatic concept driven metal (ala Neurosis) and just unleashed a grind/thrash album with a message and a soul. Thank God thrash music still exists without the horrible Nordic cliches that usually come packaged with it. There is still plenty of screaming and violence, but there are also down tempo pieces; movements that do an unexpectedly good job at evoking true emotion, just to set you up for a tidal wave of fury. It never becomes tiring, repetitive, or self-indulgent. It was as if they were aware at all times to throw out even one solo that smelled of past offerings. The bar for modern thrash has now been set higher.
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My favorite song, "The Medusa," is a must hear for anyone being neglected or rejected by a woman. The macho helplessness-slash-murderous-hate that comes out of lead singer Doving's mouth are sinister in every aspect of the word. "She is a saint, her womb is a place of rejection. She washes her perfect skin quietly, and hates me for being real!"
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I would say that "The Dead Eye" is a sleeper smash, and the most overlooked LP of 2006. If you are looking for something that has some real power behind it, and a hell of a lot of talent, this is a must buy. From art direction to production values, this is a perfect modern metal LP. And in my humble opinion, it ranks up in the pantheon of all time metal classics (somewhere lower than "Number of the Beast" and higher than "Justice for All"). Not since Sepultura's "Chaos AD" have I heard a diversion from form this drastic come out so perfect. I hope they can keep it up!
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Horns up!

2007-09-02T12:25:00.000-07:00

Guns n' Roses - "Appetite for Destruction" (Geffen Records, 1987) [key tracks: My Michelle, Welcome to the Jungle, Paradise City, Sweet Child O' Mine]

"Wake up late, "honey put on your clothes. Take your credit card to the liquor store." That's one for you and two for me... by tonight I'll be loaded like a freight train, flyin' like an aeroplane, feelin' like a space brain one more time tonight"

Here it is, in all of its hessian glory. "Appetite for Destruction." 20 years ago, and a few months because I am running way late, this audio-kick-in-the-throat was released, and rock has never been the same. The second pic, the one with the robots and rape victim, was the original cover, which later was stuffed into the inner sleeve and replaced with the now famous G'n'F'n'R cross. Read on about the LP below.
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Carl's Favorite Songs - #34 - Fix Me by Black Flag

The best thing to me about Guns n' Roses' debut LP was not that it was so freaking awesome, a true benchmark in rock and roll. It wasn't that it had so many hits, both popular and hard core. It wasn't the genuine and gritty street feel of the songs, or the incredible talent. It wasn't the unique voice, strange look, brutal lyrics, or legendary stage presence. Nope, to me what was most excellent was the way they instantly self destructed, becoming a cartoonish parody of both themselves and the rock and roll archetype.

Axel became notorious for shooting off his mouth, throwing tantrums, getting into altercations, and showing up late. The whole band struggled with drug dependency and alcohol abuse. Their lives had until "Appetite" revolved around playing incendiary live shows, getting talked up by every talent scout in the rock and roll business, then going home and crashing with heroin, strippers, and whisky. The scouts went back, told the executives about how great they were, and how they know they would make a million, but it was agreed across the board that they were too volatile. It wasn't a question of IF but of WHEN they would explode into a million shattered pieces of wasted talent and opportunity.

Finally the demand for hard rock and the untapped originality of G'n'R forced someone to make a move. Geffen signed them, cranked out the pinnacle of 80's rock and roll, and sat back and counted the cash. As soon as they came onto the scene, they were the reigning kings of rock. No one looked, sounded, acted, or played like them. Their songs were in movies, on MTV, and the radio. Before the songs were released as singles, pretty much everyone I knew already had the LP and had memorized it. By the time Paradise City hit the air (the fourth single, released a remarkable 2 years after the LP), the LP had already cemented itself into our minds as legend. It was, and is, up there with "Master of Reality," "Zoso/IV", "Back in Black", and "Dark Side of the Moon." It was a must have, must listen. And 20 years later, you can still listen to every song, no matter how overplayed ("Sweet Child o' Mine") or how ridiculous ("Rocket Queen"), and it still rocks. Beginning to end... the best hard rock album ever. Or, if you like superlatives, the Zepplin "Zoso/IV" of our generation.

Then just as soon as they came, they went. They couldn't handle the attention and fame. The money and sudden adoration just made more opportunities to get into trouble, or to become pissed off. By the time the "hold on, we're making them work" EP "Lies" was released, fans were pretty impatient. The half-old material/half-acoustic B-sides album woudl have been the death of them if it wasn't for "Patience." Then there was a long, quiet intertestamental period where they released a couple new songs ("Knockin' On Heaven's Door" and "Civil War"); but in actuality it was ages before the 2 LP train wreck of mediocrity and smug self-importance "Use Your Illusion Vol. 1 and 2." Throw in an embarrassing EP of garbage called "The Spaghetti Incident" and you have a candle that burned twice as bright for half as long. Die hard fans are still waiting for the second coming, the elusive "Chinese Democracy" which is basically just Axel and whoever his ego hasn't chased off, and which may never actually be released.

There you have it. It was the Holy Grail of modern hard rock, and yet it was also the eulogy to a street-level anomaly. I did lose one bet however... Axel Rose is still alive. I swore he would die before 2000. At least he looks dead, which makes me feel like I wasn't that far off. The saddest news of all was that rock and roll still has yet to offer up an "album" experience to match. 20 years, and nothing close. The only candidates are Nirvana's "Nevermind," Radiohead's "OK Computer," and U2's "Achtung Baby"... none of which added anything new to rock, and all were niche/genre hits (and to be honest, all but "OK..." have wore thin). If Coldplay is all rock has left to offer, then send me back to 1987.

Horn's up.

2007-08-29T19:03:00.000-07:00

Vanilla Fudge - "Near the Beginning" (Atco Records, 1969)
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"<organ solo>"
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Okay, so no G'n'F'n'R today. Sorry Matt. Before the end of the week I swear. I have so many great new LPs that I I need to get the camera out anyway. Not even an impending Pharmacotherapeutics test can kill my buzz over owning Melvins "Houdini" on LP now. I am at once both unable to explain and embarrassed how excited it makes me. And, the best album of the year, Menomena's "Friend and Foe," is being mailed my way on lovely vinyl as well. I have been DYING to review that LP, I had no idea it was pressed. Get that CD BTW. It is simply the pinnacle of 2007 music, and I would say that it would be hard to top it. But Ween does have a new LP soon...
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Carl's Favorite Songs - #35 - Soul to Squeeze by Red Hot Chili Peppers
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By the way, for you new comers, I am listing my top 50 favorite songs of all time. I won;t comment on them until the top ten. They purposely do not match the LPs displayed, and are intentionally brief segments in the posts. That should do for housekeeping for another 15 posts or so...
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The Vanilla Fudge. Pure rock fury. No, that's Clutch. Pure psychedelic fury. More like it. I am posting this both because it is fantastic, and because its a gem in my collection, but also because there isn't much to say. If you like long organ and guitar acid grooves, and like to hear rock/Motown standards turned inside out ala shrooms, then the Fudge is where you are at. Its like progressive rock without the capes and poems. Between "Some Velvet Morning" and the side long Allman Brothers on Acid jam of "Break Song", your mind will be open. I got into them because Frank Zappa mentioned them a lot (negatively however, because people always expected the Mothers to sound like them), and because Al K. played their seminal track/cover tune "You Keep Me Hanging On." Incredible. Definitely head music that was at the same time a cliche and an achievement. If you like the Doors' more spacey jams, and early Yes, Pink Floyd, and Emerson Lake and Palmer, you got your self a new band to check out. Hey stoner, buy it already!
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Horns up!
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2007-08-28T07:20:00.000-07:00

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Some Loud Thunder" (self released, 2007)
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"All this talking... you'd think I'd have something to say. But I'm just talking, like a siren getting louder and farther away"
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It was an odd twist of coincidence. I was going to post and ask y'all to start firing off requests for albums to review... as long as they were in my collection, or attainable (no, Rich, Adam Again "Dig" is not on vinyl that I know of), and out of no where Matt makes such a request. "You have to," he says. The album? "Appetite for Destruction." Its the 20th anniversary (dear God, that long already?). So I agreed. I will take pics and do it soon. I wanted to take a short break from metal, lest I become a cliche.
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Carl's Favorite Songs - #36 - If the Truth Be Known by No Laughing Matter
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Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are a triumph. They exemplify music as an art form. They are entirely self supported and published; no label, just word of mouth. Their first LP was a marvel, and garnered a lot of buzz. Two of the three most powerful Davids in the world were even fans (Bowie and Byrne, leaving only Letterman to climb on board). While they are a modern take on Talking Heads, They Might Be Giants, and Violent Femmes, they sound little like any of those bands. Furthermore, the hard-to-love-if-you-are-only-a-casual-fan vocals further separate them from anyone coming before. Their 2007 LP, "Some Loud Thunder," was hotly anticipated. Could they repeat? Would there be a slump? Was it all overblown to start with?
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Most critics and moderate fans hated the new LP in its first few days of life. I was very upset to read the negative reviews, because almost all of them didn't get the art aspect of music. It's useless to try to explain to people that when a band has a hit that they don't always strike gold again. And the sophomore slump is usually the result of pressures and expectations out of the band's control. But CYHSY suffered from none of this, yet people turned on them. The biggest criticism is that the album sounded different, that it was more dissonant, that they over experimented with odd production effects, and that it wasn't as good as the first LP. All you have to do is listen to the first track on the first LP to get where they are coming from... they are experimenting with sounds as a collage; building a mood and a way to express feeling without being explicit (meaning "clear," not "dirty").
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If I am ever allowed to teach my dream course, modern music appreciation, I would use "Some Loud Thunder" as a test LP to see if a pupil has patience to appreciate music as art (much as early Modest Mouse, solo Frank Zappa, or middle period Bjork would have served to do before). While it is devoid of any real mix-tape igniting singles, it is a complete and fantastic LP. It was a great start to the slew of '07 releases, and to be honest, it was less of a disappointment than many of the follow-ups released so far (QOTSA leading the way on that list, holy crap was that a miss). Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are for music fans who spend more time lost in thought than trying to work on their fret board work. And best yet, it isn't for the tight jeans set.
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Horns up!

2007-08-19T13:27:00.000-07:00

Black Sabbath - "Black Sabbath" (Warner Brothers Records, 1970) [key tracks: NIB, The Wizard]
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"Now I have you with me, under my power. Our love grows stronger now with every hour. Look into my eyes, you will see who I am... My name is Lucifer, please take my hand"
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Hey! I am back. You still check this site? Cool! Way cool! Lots happened this summer. The biggest news from Carl-ville is that we bought our first house. Its a nice little house in Council Bluffs. Come over anytime. I'll make you listen to records though. That's right, the man-cave is fully operational. Now NFL just needs to begin... Other news that makes me happy is the fact that I have now, in my possession, 3 of my top 5 wished for records. More on that in entries to come. And, I started my P3 year of pharmacy school (again... heh). Anyway, busy busy. On to the rock!
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Carl's Favorite Songs - #37 - Wasted Years by Iron Maiden
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Decibel Magazine recently had a Stoner Rock themed issue, in which they attempted to list the top Stoner albums of all time. I have very little quarrel with anyone making a list, because I know how complex and hard it is to do. However, my brother was upset to see that the number one album of all time was "Master of Reality" by Black Sabbath. In his opinion, it should be their first album. And I have a hard time making a good argument against him. The debut LP from Ozzy and crew is as chest crushing and soul blackening today as it was new and thrilling then... hearkening to groove metal and doom metal that wouldn't arise for a decade or two after the LP hit shelves. Frank Zappa himself often stated that his idea of the perfect rock songs/sound was a variety of Sabbath tunes from their first few LPs. The horror show, low toned, plodding macabre blues rock set the pace for ALL good metal bands to come. It is senseless to list Sabbath as an influence; from appearance, to theme material, to sound and packaging... all of metal as we know it is built on the Sabbath template (and to be fair, Zepplin too).
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On this LP, we are introduced to the demonic-yet-perfect vocals of Ozzy, the jazz/doom bass of Geezer Butler, and the still 10-fingered guitar wizardry of Tommy Iommi. The epic tracks just keep coming at you... "Black Sabbath," which is more of a tone setter for their career than a band theme song (the song is itself a miracle; inspired by the Boris Karloff movie that inspired them to change from a blues band named Earth to Black Sabbath, a demonic vision seen by Geezer, and uses a musical trick known as a dissonant harmonic progression with augmented fourth... banned once by Christian monks as being diabolus en musica... the evil-metal connection sealed in blood once and for all), "NIB" which is the musical equivalent of a Hammer horror film, "The Wizard" (a song which it at once about a literal wizard ala Gandalf, and the bands drug dealer. The theme and tone is set for all stoner rock to come, both in fantasy and herbal use), and "Behind the Wall of Sleep" which makes H.P. Lovecraft fandom a requirement for all future metal heads. The LP simply kills (that is p0wns for you l33t fans).
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Well, no use talking about Sabbath, better go listen to it. Thanks for checking in, lots of new vinyl was bought this summer, so I have some great treasures to share with you all. Horns up!

2007-06-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

The Smith - "Meat is Murder" (Rough Trade, 1985) [key tracks: That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore]
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"Park the car at the side of the road. You should know time's tide will smother you (and I will too). When you laugh about people who feel so very lonely their only desire is to die, well I'm afraid it doesn't make me smile... I wish I could laugh... but that joke isn't funny anymore. It's too close to home and it's too near the bone, it's too close to home and it's too near the bone, more than you'll ever know..."
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There are a lot of things in this world I do not understand. I mean, I couldn't even start to catalog even the stuff that I know I don't know. I don't know why people can't live content with what they have. I don't know why nations (and families) always seem to feel as if they have to expand or die. I don't understand the desire to just sit and be passive your whole life in front of a TV, and I don't understand people who don't want to learn anything once they exit the compulsory part of their education. But mostly, I do not understand why in the hell the new Transformers movie is being made. Worse than that, why did they make Bumblebee anything other than a VW bug? A Chevy Camaro? I guess they know their demographic.
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Carl's Favorite Songs - #38 - Let Forever Be by The Chemical Brothers
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According to my brother, the only people around here who like The Smiths are me and Jana. I think there are others. Anyway, "Meat Is Murder" is the best showcase of how all-over-the-board the Smiths truly were. It was their second LP, and already they were growing and becoming very diverse in sound. The debut LP sold not as well as hoped, and rather than go back to teh same well, they decided to throw an absolute caledoscope of styles at music fans; whether to see what would stick or as a middle finger to people who expected easy to love pop, we'll never really know. Morrissey's lyrics are sometimes poetic, sometimes pompous and laughable, where the music lilts between dark and hopeful, indy rock and pop, folk and dance with ease. Yet, it yielded a couple accessible singles. The biggest song of the album isn't even ON THE ALBUM. The quintessential emo song "How Soon is Now?" is a monument to 80's new wave/pop rock. You'd know it immediately if you heard it... "I am human and I need to be loved, just like everybody else does..." The problem is, it was only tacked on to the US release of "Meat is Murder" to help encourage the Yanks to buy the LP. It wasn't until the 1990's that the song officially became a canonical part of the albums set list (that is, on all forthcoming releases and reprints). The title track is a less than eloquent/non-interesting treatise on being a vegetarian. I'm not sold by the way, and it stands out as the worst cut on the LP. And those who allow the LP to grow on them will find it a rich expereince. Don't forget to savor "I Want The One I Can't Have." While not the most accessible, cynical, or moving LP from the Smiths, it is a classic of 1980's alternative rock.
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My copy is one of the original UK copies, sans "How Soon Is Now?" which is fun for a collector and music purist, but disappointing for someone who loves that song. Anyway the LP in question is a fantastic treasure for a Smiths fan, and I found mine at a store in Omaha for pretty cheap and in fantastic condition. Kudos to any music store that doesn't succumb to overpricing or listing all the goodies on Ebay rather that allowing those of us who dig through stacks until our fingertips are black to find a few gems.
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My favorite song on the LP is "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore," a song I listened to a dozen times on a long tear filled road trip home from Denver during a time of great personal crisis and betrayal. Don't even try to tell me I don't have an emo side!
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Horn's up!
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2007-06-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

Modest Mouse - "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank" (Epic, 2007) [key tracks: Dashboard, Missed the Boat]

"Oh, and we carried it all so well...As if we got a new position. Oh, and I laugh all the way to hell... Saying yes, this is a fine promotion."

Its the post of underwhelming revelations. David Hyde Pierce is gay. Really?! Charles Nelson Riley is no longer alive. Really?! The 2007 MTV Movie Awards was infantile and boring. Really?! Sylvester Stallone uses 'roids. Really?!

Carl's Favorite Songs - #39 - Televators by The Mars Volta

The new Modest Mouse album wasn't as great as I had hoped. Really?! It isn't bad; in fact, it is quite good. It is well planned and executed, and the songs are as fun and smart alek/philosophical as always. In many ways, its my favorite LP this year. But it isn't what I had hoped. The last album was the first time I ever heard a single and drove straight-away to a store to buy an album. I saw the "Float On" video and within 15 minutes I was at Target. I soon filled my iPod with anything Mouse I could get a hold of. I love it all. So when I heard "Dashboard" (iTunes had a great pre-release single deal), and learned that Johnny Marr (guitarist for the almighty Smiths) was now in the band, I expected Gospel. So I was let down. Really?! Some great moments exist on the album however; Isaac's presence is as bombastic as ever, and Marr's guitar work proves that the Smiths were great because of the synergy between him and Moz. (Morrissey will be in Omaha this summer too, by the way...maybe he was already here... regardless, solo he is a shell of his former greatness). If you want to hear intelligent, adult "alternative" music, buy this LP. If you want a few snazzy singles to jazz up your iPod Mini and trick young girls into thinking you are hip, buy the new Linkin Park (ugh) or anything off of American Idol (urp).

Horn's Up!

2007-05-29T18:07:00.000-07:00

Pink Floyd - "Meddle" (Harvest, 1971) [key tracks: Fearless, Echoes]
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"You say the hill's too steep to climb, you say you'd like to see me try. You pick the place and I'll choose the time, and I'll climb that hill in my own way. Just wait a while for the right day. And as I rise above the tree lines and the clouds, I look down, hearing the sound of the things you've said today. "
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I am not gay. And I am not weird. Not that gay is weird, I am just saying. But I like scarves. Scarves and teapots. Oh, and the sound of xylophones. Scarves, teapots, xylophones, and little figurines of cute bunnies. Oh man, I need a drink...
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Carl's Favorite Songs - #40 - Runnin' With the Devil by Van Halen
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"Meddle" is hands down my favorite Pink Floyd album. I know, I know, it should be "Dark Side of the Moon," or at least "The Wall." Truth is, I don't have DSOTM on vinyl, and frankly, as good as "The Wall" is, I feel that "Meddle" is more original and interesting. The odd, minimalist art that adorns the cover sort of sets the mood for the LP, which is a jumble of tunes from a band starting to hit their stride. Floyd was finally shedding their psychedelic, art-folk-pop roots and stepping into the realm of pre-stoner, anti-prog-hard-prog-rock (get all that?). The LP opens with "One of These Days," a song that outright rocks in a vein similar to late 80's Queensryche, and has only one line of vocals... spoken through a demonic distortion "One of these days I am going to cut you into little pieces." A hard right turn is taken, and Floyd unleashes a wistful, mature acoustic peace called "A Pillow of Winds." It is the third track where they dig their hooks in, which is also where I find great inspiration. The song is "Fearless," talking about someone who is seen as society's fool, yet still strives to rise above their station. Pretty powerful stuff. Plus, the haunting echoes of "You'll Never Walk Alone" (crowd fight song of FC Liverpool) are chilling. The last 2 tracks of side one are throw aways in my humble opinion, one being a sappy love song and the other a tongue-in-cheek blues song featuring a dog on vocals. The second side is entirely populated by the trippy "Echoes," probably the first great Pink Floyd song (again, in my humble opinion). It is a 20 minute+ epic that explores the themes of sailing, whales, space, and God. Pretty hair raising stuff. It alternates between new-age-esque swelling and soaring, only to then surge into a full-on operatic rock and roll jam. A must hear. "Meddle" may not be the best jump-in spot for new Floyd fans, but I think it is a nice reward for exploring beyond DSOTM.
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Two odd side notes about this LP. One, Andrew Lloyd Weber is accused of ripping off some of the music from "Echoes" for "Phantom of the Opera." Roger Waters never took him to court, but let's just say Weber never got a Christmas card from Pink Floyd. Secondly, I just recently read on Wikipedia that "Echoes" allegedly synchronizes perfectly with the star-gate sequence of 2001:A Space Odyssey (my favorite movie of all-time, hands down). This is another coincidence I am sure, much as the DSOTM/Wizard of Oz synchronization is, but there are some tantalizing facts that make the story more appealing. Kubrick wanted Floyd to score 2001, but it never came together. Actually, Floyd didn't see the need to be involved with scoring a film and passed. Which is weird because they did "More," but that is another story. Kubrick, a fan of Floyd, even has one of their albums up-front and center in the infamous record store scene in A Clockwork Orange. So was this a conscientious synchronization (laughable, considering the somewhat Herculean task it would have been back in those days, before home video and such), or just another statistical anomaly? Three, "Echoes" was once referred to alternately as "Son of Nothing" and "Return of the Son of Nothing," which bring to mind a pair of soul-crushing songs by Electric Wizard (zealots of Floyd-infused stoom) named "Son of Nothing" and "Return to the Son of Nothing." Coincidence? Homage? Rippage?
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What effect can music have on a person? Well, pre-9-11 Republicans were convinced that music motivated every level of sinful action, including the cause of mass murder. The truth is that music is an amplifier of emotions already dormant in you. If you are a hateful person, music emboldens that hate. And if you are perpetually in love, as some of us are, it "enbiggens" (thanks Springfield) that emotion. For me, "Meddle" is catharsis. Both "Fearless" and "Echoes" speak to me, and there was a 3 week period recently that all I listened to was "Meddle." Literally. I must have listened to the album 30 times. There is a line that sort of speaks where my soul is stoically mute, and I will share it then sign off. If you get it, you get me.
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"Cloudless, everyday you fall upon my waking eyes... Inviting and inciting me to rise. And through the window in the wall come streaming in, on sunlight wings. A million bright ambassadors of morning; and no one sings me lullabies, and no one makes me close my eyes, so I throw the windows wide and call to you across the sky..."
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Horns up!

2007-05-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

Yes - "Fragile" (Atlantic Records, 1971) [key tracks: Roundabout, Long Distance Runaround]

B-b-b-b-back. Seems like it has been a long time since I posted, and it has. So I need to do a little house cleaning. First of all, Joan Jett is still hot and still rocks. Second, Carlin you are alive! I haven't heard from you for like a year. Gimmie a email or call or something. Third, I found a new record store in Omaha (Zero Street) that has yielded gems on both visits so far, Drastic Plastic bought out some dude's Iron Maiden collection which I am slowly assimilating into mine, and not to be outdone I found 2 incredible finds at Kanesville the following week. Way to step it up local record stores! Lastly, my plan to burn Early Man into the minds of as many people as possible is officially successful. They owe me a nod on their next LP's linear notes. Psychological warfare for the sake of metal. Heh. On with the show...

Carl's Favorite Songs - #41 - Land of Confusion by Genesis

I won't lie. I got into "Fragile" only recently, and for two reasons: one, Monster Magnet's epic stoner song "Nod Scene" mentions it with high regard, and two, because my friend/boss Dan tells me often about how they commissioned someone to paint Roger Dean's sweet LP artwork on their dorm wall back when he was at University of Iowa. Yes is at once the pinnacle and nadir of progressive rock. When they were fresh, nothing is as sweeping and as energetic as their keyboards, jazz bass, hard rock drums, and spacey guitars. When they were stale, they were a self mockery that exposed what is wrong with prog rock. "Fragile" stands out as one of the "classics" of both Yes' and rock's history, yielding the massive jam "Roundabout." The album sweeps in and out of styles... from hard rock to folk, from pop to classical, yet the sound of the album as a whole maintains an even tone, which makes it a cohesive product. Its tempting to call anything that stands as a unit a concept album, but really the only conceptualization occurring in in Dean's artwork... the front cover shows citizens of a peaceful world trying to escape in a wooden star-boat, and the rear cover shows that same world splintering into islands (which are later used as imagery in Yes tunes, but not here). All in all this is a fantastic head trip and a great introductory LP to classic rock, prog rock, and Yes.

There you go, back in the swing of things. I should be quite productive this week, as I took many pictures ahead of time and am ready to share some of my collection. Actually I want to show off, because I found some great vinyl lately. Have a safe Memorial Day!

Horns up!

2007-04-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

Early Man - "Closing In" (Matador, 2005) [key tracks: Feeding Frenzy, Fist Shaker]
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"This is what they do when they're after you! "
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So I have started my summer reading a little early. Currently I am reading about the Black Plague. One of the many fascinating things about the era of the Plague is that it is one of the few biological selective events humans have faced in modern times. What does this mean? Well, there are those who think that if you descended from a survivor from Plague haunted lands, that you may have a genetic mutation that will help you in ways we don;t yet fully understand how to exploit. In short, we have a receptor called CCR5, and this is used by T-Cells and the HIV virus alike. A mutation in this receptor can be traced to about 700 years ago, the time of the Plague. This mutation can either slow the progression of HIV to AIDS, or even make you immune to AIDS as we know it today. All I can say is wow. Interesting reading.
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Carl's Favorite Songs - #42 - Chop Suey! by System of a Down
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Early Man is a gift to Carl from the music gods. Not because they sound like 1980's metal, which they do. Not because they have perfectly mastered the aggro-mindless lyrical approach of thrash, which they do. Not because they rock, or make a mighty noise with 2 people, or that they can totally riff. But I love them because of their back story. The two members, Mike and Adam, were both raised in strict religious (Pentecostal) households. Once they turned 18/19 (depending on who's version of the legend you listen to), they found a big exciting world out there... including all those tapes and records of classic metal that they have never heard. Of course, they fell in love with it. King Diamond, Iron Maiden, WASP, Judas Priest, Dio, Black Sabbath... all of it sounded fresh and exciting. So what did they do? Start a metal band... an old school metal band. And they rip! All triplets, double bass, and high pitched "yeaaaaaahh!", Early Man makes an old metal fan's heart miss a beat. This LP is just over 42 minutes, but goes by way too fast. Not for the faint of heart, and definitely not ground breaking, but it is instantly one of the best metal LPs I own.
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One thing I found funny was the whole image of this band. Funny as in hilarious. They shun their parents' enforced legalistic religion and fell right into the fear of such Fundamentalists... the world of heavy metal. The second deadly sin is their name, Early Man, which alludes to another thorn in the side of Fundies... evolution. Also scary to a Pentecostal are the topics; death, war, persecution, and fire. Unbelievable, and even more so that it is not done with irony. Unlike Dragonforce, this is a band that makes you fall in love with the 80's metal scene all over again. Oh, and no keyboards on Early Man, so even better! Lastly, they shy away from over doing it. There is no gore, no Satanism, no cartoony sword wielding epics (which can be good, if you pull it off... right The Sword?). Just plain rock and fu**in' roll. So for their concerted stab at hypocrisy and superstition, we salute you.
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Horns up!

2007-04-18T13:15:00.000-07:00

Def Leppard - "Pyromania" (Mercury, 1983) [key tracks: Foolin', Photograph, Rock of Ages]

"Lady luck never smiles, so lend your love to me awhile. Do with me what you will; break the spell, take your fill. On and on we rode the storm... the flame has died and the fire has gone. Oh, this empty bed is a night alone, I realized that long ago..."

I guess Shock Week is over. I didn't want to dig too deeply into my recently alphabetized record boxes, so you get this album today. Not that I wasn't going to write about it eventually anyway! So, what else have I been up to? Reading. A lot. And trying to finish up this semester. I won't lie, I have been having a very hard time with the fact that my classmates are moving on and I am left behind. Been a rough week for me. So what a great week to review an LP that has served me well for many, many years.

Carl's Favorite Songs - #43 - Raspberry Beret by Prince

"Pyromania" is by far Def Leppard's best LP. It is hard to believe now, but they were once considered part of the almighty NWOBHM (new wave of British heavy metal), which was supposedly rewriting rock and roll in the wake of Zepplin and Sabbath's decent into self-indulgence and inner strife. Iron Maiden was the biggest representative of the NWOBHM, so when you think of the band who sang "Pour Some Sugar On Me," you tend to giggle. But back in the day, they were metal. Their first couple LPs weren't much to hear, but when they infused just a taste of pop, it resulted in an epic rock and roll LP. "Pyromania" is one of those albums that stands as a unit, not a collection of hits and misses. Of the 10 tracks on the LP, 8 are bona fide rock standards. It wouldn't be, in my opinion, until "Appetite for Destruction" that metal offered such a fantastic LP. The LP is almost 25 years old and I still head bang and lift the mighty mano cornuto as I drive around CB. It sold an impressive 6 million copies in 1983 alone, and that is just in the States. At the height of their popularity, Def Leppard was standing for what was right (and wrong) with metal. The problem was this; the trade-off for the nod to pop was not that metal-heads left, it was that the mall crowd came. Suddenly they were a household name, and the fan base swelled. Nothing kills a genre band more than crossing-over. So what do you do? Swing back into obscurity, give up, or sell out? Leppard sold out. But at least they left one massive metal LP behind. Along with Motley Crue's "Shout at the Devil," Venom's "At War With Satan," Metallica's "Kill 'em All," Slayer's "Show No Mercy," Dio's "Holy Diver," and Iron Maiden's "Piece of Mind", 1983 was one epic year to be a metal fan. Let's remember, 1983 was the year for Huey Lewis' "Sports" after all...

That's it. That's all I got. Go buy the "new" JRR Tolkein book if you haven't. It will be the last thing (allegedly) ever published under his name. Christopher (his son) has done a pretty good job as literary executor, unlike Frank Herbert's no-talent son. If any of this makes sense to you, you are a huge nerd... like me. Horns way up.

2007-04-16T06:01:00.000-07:00

Jane's Addiction - "Nothing's Shocking" (Warner Brothers, 1988) [key tracks: Jane Says, Ocean Size, Mountain Song]

"I was made with a heart of stone, to be broken with one hard blow. I've seen the ocean break on the shore, come together with no harm done..."

There was a time, less than a year ago, when if I had stepped in dog poop, I would have freaked out. Now, in April 2007, I'd say it happens on a weekly basis. Minimum. The apartment complex has slowly become pet friendly. This is good, because we have a dog (which helps my wife's loneliness problem and my laziness problem). This is bad, because the dirtballs that live in my complex just let their dogs crap wherever they want and don't scoop it up. Getting our own house will be an indescribable triumph on so many levels... And with that, Shock Week winds down to a close.

Carl's Favorite Songs - #44 - No One Came by Deep Purple

Jane's Addiction personified "shocking." Not only that, they were the enzyme that allowed alternative music to rise from obscurity to a household genre (for better and for worse). "Nothing's Shocking" was their first official LP (they had released an indy LP earlier, but many of the songs would appear again on their major label releases), and they were already a street level phenomena before it was release. By being signed to Warner Brothers, armies of indy bands suddenly had hope; Jane's Addiction led the way for a musical revolution. As you can tell by the cover, they are all about artistically challenging societal norms. That, and they liked drugs. Perry Farrel, the lead singer, used to dress very flamboyantly; adorned in make up, colorful jewelry, and feminine clothing (more than David Lee Roth's spandex and silk, Farrel wore corsets, hosiery, and so on). This (at the time) was very shocking indeed (even though we were used to seeing metal bands dress this way, it was odd to see a straight man in music proudly devoid of any machismo). Also shocking was their lifestyle; this was a time when tattoos and piercings were not common at all... people were still debating if a man should pierce his ear. Jane's Addiction led the way for every 20 something white girl to have pierced nipples, tongue rings, and lower back tattoos.

On stage they were nothing short of combustible performance art. They weren't the scariest or most shocking live act around, but they were the scariest and most shocking major label live act around (unless you count the Chili Peppers and their sexual harassment lawsuit... the infamous socks on cocks meet teen girls case). Perry would often strip naked and prance around in a very Iggy Pop like fashion. Guitarist Dave Navarro would lay down some pretty heavy jams, utilizing the guitar to pump out some spacey sounds (and before Rage Against the Machine came along, he was the only one tripping out these sort of riffs). And of course the rhythm section of Eric Avery (bass) and Stephen Perkins (drums) were unmatched in the subculture from which Jane's Addiction rose. As artsy and new as their sound was, it was rooted in progressive metal and funk, with a taste of punk, but to a different percentage than contemporaries the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Part Led Zepplin, part Pink Floyd, part Stooges, and part Commodores (all meant as compliments) they were one of the tightest and most original of all the early "true" alternative bands.

The album and band both deserve more than two paragraphs, so consider this a bonus. The album has some amazing tracks. My copy was an early pressing, so it is missing a song ("Pigs in Zen") that may be on all CD copies readily available today. I would venture to say of the 10 tracks on my LP, only 2 are forgettable... and they are the "Up the Beach" intro and the "Thank You Boys" outro. Between these are 8 perfect tracks. You probably have heard "Jane Says" on rock radio, if you listen to rock radio. It became an instant classic, only being nudged out of the limelight for "Been Caught Stealing"(which was on their next LP). If you were really into rock in the 1990's, "Mountain Song" probably popped up a lot in your audio travels. But a song that you need to hear, and one that has deceptively poignant lyrics, is "Ocean Size." The lyrics are a lovechild created by Farrel's love of surfing, and a Zen outlook on life. Their can be dichotomy between people, countries, religions... there can be difference, but they can coexist without clashing, without conflict. And change is within reach. This is the message of this song. I love it, and while I pretty much ignored Jane's Addiction when they were at their apex (I was mostly a metal head in those days), I still mangaed to listen to their stuff, and dug it. Now I look back on their 2 album career as amazing; "Nothing's Shocking" being the purer and better of the two (of course I am going to be partial, since the LP has guest appearances from Flea and 2 members of Fishbone). As is inevitable with all bands with this much creativity and originality, they imploded (alternative bands tend to either implode or sell out). Personalities clashed and they ceased to be cohesive or productive. So once they stirred the pot, invented Lollapallooza, unleashed an edgy lifestyle on the Midwest, and broke the glass ceiling for indy bands, they flung out in separate directions and handed the reigns over to bands like Nirvana and Radiohead to see what they could do with (or to) rock and roll. "Nothing's Shocking" is a perfect LP, and one that any modern rock fan needs to hear and cherish for it's high quality, uniqueness, and the ground breaking change it had on the music scene.

And for the record, I am not a big fan of Farrel or Navarro. Both have done nothing since Jane's Addiction that in any way appeal to me, and Navarro has become something of a joke upon himself. Too bad, they were so good at the peak. And I am still a little bitter about the floodgate of pure drivel that invaded rock because of Jane's Addiction's success. The 1990's were more of a musical nadir than the 1980's if you ask me. To be completely honest, I think my biggest problem with Jane's Addiction was that they allowed everyone into my little club; they made indy music accessible to all. I realize that this is snobbery of the highest level, but a lot of emotion is invested in these bands that you follow and idolize, only to have some white trash CB queen with a copy of "Nevermind" tell you she loves alternative music. Yeah, that Nirvana disc is right next to Green Day, Eminem, Nickelback, and Korn. No thanks.

One last item; in high school I was not exactly cool. Big surprise. But there was a girl in all my honor's classes that was pretty and cool. She was quiet and seemed not to run around with a lot of the normal posse of popular chicks. Something was different and attractive about her and I always sort of harbored a little crush on her. Her name was Emily. Anyway, Emily came to calculus one day with a Jane's Addiction t-shirt. They had just played Omaha in support of "Ritual de lo Habitual" (a coup for our musically bland concert scene). It was enough of an incentive for me to strike up a small conversation about the show. We were both surprised to find that each other liked "that sort of music." I talked to her a few more times over my senior year, and she wrote a very nice thing in my yearbook. This is what this sort of music is about; its a scene, and it brings people of like-mind together. When it works, its a great example to the world around to take notice. I haven't talked to Emily since graduation day (15 years ago now) but I hope she has found nothing but happiness, and I hope she still likes "that kind of music."

Horns up.

2007-04-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

The Dead Milkmen - "Beelzebubba" (Enigma, 1988) [key tracks: Punk Rock Girl, Stuart, Life Is Sh**]
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"I do not like you college brat. I do not like you and your frat. I do not like you at the shore and I do not like you drunk on Coors. I do not like your average life, hope you do not take a wife. I hope you don't decide to breed 'cause that's one thing I do not need. I do not like you radical, I hate you and your fancy school. You're wrong about the working class and I hope they kick your Harvard ass. 'I do not like you, world of ours, I'd rather live on planet Mars and die from lack of oxygen than breathe the air of other men.'"
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GASP! Shock week continues. The funny thing is my stuff won't be truly shocking. Rock and roll is full of filth and horror, and a person could build a ghastly web page dedicated to it. The Scorpions once had an LP called "Virgin Killer" that featured a full frontal nude picture of a barely pubescent girl. GG Allin lives the sort of demon-possessed life Danzig sings about. Unsane used some truly gruesome (and real) crime-scene photos on all of their early releases. And let's not forget the Dwarves, who always incorporate nude women, little people, blood, and sometimes even crosses on their covers (not to mention their songs are about killing, rape, and deviant sex). So consider my shock collection as "eyebrow raising"; just shocking enough to still be fun.
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Carl's Favorite Songs - #45 - Fire Woman by The Cult
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The Dead Milkmen are the princes of slacker punk. More structured than the Butthole Surfers, less drug influenced than The Flaming Lips, a bit more serious than Ween, more musical than King Missile, and more humble than The Dead Kennedys. Every word, cover, and sound is satire of the highest level, yet they come off as bratty and crass. I have listened to The Dead Milkmen perhaps more than any other band, perhaps second only to the Doors (it would be close). "Beelzebubba" was the closest thing they had to a hit album, as it featured the easy-to-spin novelty song "Punk Rock Girl." This song got a lot of attention on MTV, Dr. Demento, and Weird Al TV. The problem is that the band became novelty, and no one realized that there was a lot of fun to be had in all of their stuff. Songs like "I Against Osborne" and "Sri Lanka Sex Hotel" that personify madness, "Bleach Boys" and "Smokin' Banana Peels" that skewer drug abuse, and "Stewart" that fillets Midwest yokel culture (a trailer park king tells a young boy about the horrors of homosexuals and carnivals rides, fearful of what the "queers are doing to the soil"). There is even a track "Born to Love Volcanoes" that criticises society's elite for supporting the arts and PBS when real social change is within reach if they would just write checks to worthwhile charities. "I guess (PBS) needs my money more than a bunch of pregnant teens," is surprisingly poignant for what you expect from the Milkmen. So what's shocking about the Milkmen? Their use of words. "Fu**," "sh**," and so on are on a lot of albums, but are they used in reference to government, religion, and crucifying Charles Nelson Riley? The things they say are incendiary, and not welcome in Iowan households... just ask my wife. You have one of two responses to the Milkmen; that they are quiet geniuses, or that they are totally offensive. Either way, they can shock you.
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It has been a long week for me. I am starting to get the blues again. This stupid weather... it was 80 for like a week, then now we are back to snow, cold, and gloom. I like gloom as much as the next metal head, but this is too much at the wrong time. I find myself not wanting to get out of bed, to go to work, or do my homework. I even lost interest in playing LOTRO or reading. My Wii has been off for 3 weeks. I just need a jolt of sunshine. I hope the record show this Sunday can bring it. Either that or the new JRR Tolkein book that comes out next Tuesday... nerd Christmas!
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Horns up.
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2007-04-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

Slayer - "South of Heaven" (Def Jam, 1988) [key tracks: South of Heaven, Ghosts of War]
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"Time melts away in this living inferno, trapped by a cause that I once understood. Blind obedience carries me through it all; do only what is expected of me. March on through the rivers of red... souls drift, they fill the air. Forced to fight behind the crooked cross."
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Okay y'all, its time for a theme. The next week's worth of posts will be under the theme "SHOCK WEEK." That is, the common theme will be shock. It won't be too hard to come up with a weeks worth considering a) I am not posting very often, b) I love metal, and c) people have a hair trigger for offense when it comes to music (they'll put up with a lot more on TV or movies than they will in song). So without further ado...
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Carl's Favorite Songs - #46 - She's Your Baby by Ween
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Slayer quietly escaped the 80's as the last true thrash metal band of the big four (Megadeth, Metallica, Anthrax are the other 3). Thrash metal was an answer to glam metal and MTV; kids who had punk attitude and loved metal, but wanted it fast and hard. All of these bands are still recording, but of them all Slayer is the only one who stayed true to the scene. That isn't to say they haven't evolved, but one listen to this, their 5th LP, then their latest LP ("Christ Illusion") and the spirit remains. They straight hate. They hate musical trends, hate social norms, and hate organized religion. Their covers are almost always shocking... with the classic era of Slayer LPs (of which South of Heaven is one) displaying some Hieronymus Bosch-like visions of madness and horror. Always present are pentagrams, crosses askew, and blood. Slayer aims to challenge everything that "playing nice" stands for by jumping in the face of everything held dear. Themes on their songs often include Nazis, terrorism, murder, Satanism, and war. On "South of Heaven," you get the point quickly. This LP was a point of maturity for Slayer, as their previous LP ("Reign in Blood") was as fast and mean as metal can be played. It would have been impossible to top. Their answer; slow down but retain the attitude. It worked. At the time, many fans didn't care for it... but in time it stood as a brutal and enduring monument to heavy fu**ing metal. It isn't for the squeamish, but then again it isn't extravagantly grotesque (like Cannibal Corpse) or self-deceiving (like Mayhem). They also manage to hold tight to the "pentagram" scene (aren't really Satanists by the way... few metallists are) without becoming campy, operatic, or progressive. Slayer is thrash metal, and this is one of their heaviest LPs.
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Shocked? Here's something else shocking. In the record collecting business, metal records are consistently the most over priced. Why? They were under printed, not distributed very widely, poorly taken care of, and well loved still by their fans. Metal fans are the most die hard of all music fans... high pitched screams and 2 hand tapping solos that once sounded fresh in 1983 still sell in 2007. And metal heads never forget the classics. They may buy the new Trivium or Priestess LP, but they are just as likely to shell out $20 for a VG to NM (very good to near mint) condition Slayer LP. I do and I did. And if you find me a copy of "Seasons in the Abyss," I will allow you to name my firstborn. IF you don't find one for me, I will name him or her Moloch. Now go, and bring me Slayer!
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Horns up!

2007-04-04T13:53:00.000-07:00

Talking Heads - "Speaking in Tongues" (Sire, 1983) [key tracks: Burning Down the House, Girlfriend is Better, This Must Be the Place]
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"Down in the basement, we hear the sound of machines. I'm driving in circles, I come to my senses sometimes. Why start it over? Nothing was lost, and everything's free... I don't care how impossible it seems."
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Just a refresher for those of you newer to the site: here is how the thing works. Ideally it is a 3 paragraph "wham bam thank you ma'am"... an intro (you are reading it), a record review, and a paragraph unrelated to music (the fossil of my previous blogs and journals). Between the intro and review, I will be posting in reverse order my top 50 favorite songs. I won't comment on the songs until we get closer to finishing, and the songs will rarely have anything to do with my album choice. For you nay-sayers who said you couldn't come up with such a list, maybe you were right. I finalized my list this weekend and I realized a lot of great bands were left out. I made a list... 62 bands that are either epic or important to me and they are not on the top 50 list. So with that, we play.
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Carl's Favorite Songs - #47 - Never Been Any Reason by Head East
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Ah, the Talking Heads. Smarter than you. More artistic than you. And yet their music is infinitely accessible. The biggest single of their career opens this LP, "Burning Down the House." There can;t be many of you who haven't heard this song. In MTVs early days, it played non-stop. Its been played on retro-radio, soundtracks, and a pop culture reference since its release. This album sort of marked the Talking Heads' jump into mainstream. Hard to believe that they were integral in founding American punk... when punk was a person not a genre/sound. Their sassy intelligent art rock challenged all of the conventions of pop radio, and yet made fans of even the most material Material Girl. Little did top 40 radio realize, that this music was at once giving the finger to format, and embracing the ability to create within conformity. While not my favorite Talking Heads album, it is perhaps the most cohesive. David Byrne takes on new characters for each song, all of which he would flesh out for the subsequent tour (chronicled and glorified by the Demme film "Stop Making Sense"). The album ends in one of the strangest moments of Talking Heads history... a love song. "This Must Be The Place (Native Melody)" is perhaps the most heart tugging, honest love song ever, and it just comes out of nowhere from among a track listing full of TV preachers, UFOs, singing arsonists, and social criticism. Bryne's disjointed "art-nerd" persona may have equated the Talking Heads to a cousin to Devo to some, but one glimpse at the lyrics on "This Must..." will dissolve such a notion. "Love me 'til my heart stops, love me 'til I'm dead." It's all we really want. One last comment, check out the minimalist, goofy art work. All of the Talking Heads albums lack truly memorable cover art, yet everything was very elaborate and intentional. In the words of my father, "I'll never get art."
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What is joy to you? For my friend Andrew, it's his wife (literally, her name is Joy). For me, its simple things... like rearranging my bookcases, drinking a good root beer, playing Guitar Hero, and joining an online book club. One of the best moments of my recent years was key to me keeping my sanity... I took a class at IWCC called "The Nature of Evil in Literature." The professor was oddly qualified for the job, which was a welcome surprise (it was IWCC after all). My classmates were typical community college knotheads, and I gleefully crushed every one of them every chance I had on the message boards (you perhaps can;t appreciate the level of moron that takes classes at K-Mart U, I mean IWCC). As for my discussions with the professor, I actually learned a lot about literature and myself (no small task). So when I saw that Barnes and Noble had online book clubs, and there is one currently doing Paradise Lost, I had to join. I also joined one that does a different Shakespeare play every month... I couldn't be more pleased. Now I just need to find time to read, post, and reply... Anyone else here into book clubs or discussion boards?
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Horns up!

2007-04-03T07:56:00.000-07:00

Sunn 0))) and Boris - "Altar" (Southern Lord, 2006) [key tracks: The Sinking Belle, Her Lips Were Wet With Venom]

Passion week continues, and I keep posting. Lucky you! I will try to keep up this week, so keep checking back. My record collection is (without duplicates) just under 500. Can you dig that? I desperately need some vinyl slip bags. I also want to sit down and listen to a few records so I will try to keep this post short.

Carl's Favorite Songs - #48 - Hell by The Squirrel Nut Zippers

If you know this album, then you are cool. If not, hey don't feel bad guy. It's no secret that the Melvins have a cult following. What may surprise you is that it extended deep into Japan, and Boris is an homage in name and sound to King Buzzo and his crushing experiment. Sunn 0))) is also a tribute of sorts, as they were heavily influenced by Earth, another Melvins-esque band. So what happens when this new generation of stoner drone ambient doom metal team up? You get Altar. Musically, I won't even try to explain it. Without a point of reference, I don't know how to. Remember when electronica hit big and there were all of those trippy new age CD's... Moby made a living off that crap... well imagine if that same sound was done by a metal band. See, it makes no sense unless you hear it. Let's just say it is atmospheric, heavy, and very interesting. Songs build into a swell of anxiety, then end leaving you wanting to reset the needle to the beginning of the track again.

The best part of this LP is the packaging. As you can see above, there is a beautiful green marbled vinyl... actually 3 of them. The CD tracks appear on disks one and two, while the third LP is a two sided song new to this album. The album itself opens up to a full color libretto (booklet) inside, filled with gorgeous pictures of the bands pictures separately in black hooded monk robes hiding in a corn field, some artistic shots, some fantastic illustrations, and a group photo. There is also long introductory letter by Kim Thayil (yes, of Soundgarden!) who came out of seclusion to play a little guitar on this LP and wax poetic on the drone scene. Joining Kim are also guest appearances by Joe Preston (Melvins) and Dylan Carlson (Earth). At $29.99, it was worth every penny... except that it is too fat to fit into a vinyl sleeve (meaning I will need to buy another unspoilt copy to leave sealed as my play copy will get abused).

It was hard to sit through the Easter play Sunday for me. Its the same old play as always, which is usually good, but something was off this year. The lighting was sloppy, the songs seemed hurried, the drama was stiff, and in the back of my mind I was distracted. My distraction is this; Easter is the time of the year when we focus on redemption, on healing, on reconciliation, and on the Godhood of Christ. So as I sit there, watching my fellow parishioners act out the healing miracles of Jesus, I can't help but feel furious that a good man in my church was allowed to die from pancreatic cancer recently. Worse yet, a good friend of his and equally good man has the same thing and is just counting the days until he has the same fate. There are times when it is really hard to reconcile the idea of an all powerful, kind, loving God with the fact that so many bad things happen to good people. And yet the squawking, nosy, gossip loving, judgmental woman (the one who always lets out a loud sob and makes a small scene leaving service when the message is emotional) finds it within her to be the first one standing at the end of the play, clapping her heart out demanding a standing ovation. She was standing as soon as the house lights came up. Did I miss something, or is she merely displaying the cruelty of life... the good die in horrible ways, while the crooked and annoying flourish in their own world of back patting and attention grabbing. And all the while, God is up there, detached, letting his physics, biology, and chemistry slowly but steadily devour this Eden... If you can believe in times of frustration like this, you know your faith is real.

Horns up, Easter style.

2007-03-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

These Arms Are Snakes - "Easter" (Jade Tree Records, 2006) [key tracks: Horse Girls, Perpetual Bris]

"Praise be Thomas for fingering the wound, because if he had his doubts then perhaps we should we should too..."

There are 2 types of rewards... inside rewards and outside rewards. Inside rewards have to do with integrity, outside rewards have to do with reputation. When you are in a profession like health care, ministry, or education you have to be ready to internalize all of your rewards. And it gets frustrating, because you do so much good and rarely get recognized for it. Those who seek recognition, to turn inside rewards into outside ones, often do so at the sake of their integrity. So to those of you who quietly toil away, building integrity and missing out on recognition, here's to you...

Carl's Favorite Songs - #49 - You've Got Another Thing Comin' by Judas Priest

These Arms Are Snakes is a dangerous band. Dangerous because they are flying so far below the radar. Even fan-generated-content sites like Wikipedia and My Space are somewhat devoid of any real information on this hard touring, interesting band. Even their label is somewhat unknown. Yet they are incredibly talented, very clever, tremendously structured, remarkably tight, and disarmingly simple. They play a very subversive genre of music called post-hardcore (the word post is used to denote music that is inspired by a genre, but is given a modern, mature, and unidentifiable twist). The music is at times soul crushingly heavy, yet isn't in the metal or punk tone. The lyrics have a lot of feeling, but do not stray into emo. And some tracks sound like straight "alternative," for a while. Solo structure and lyrical delivery often fly in the face of all popular music forms hold dear. Similar acts are Fugazi, At the Drive In, Shudder to Think, and The Blood Brothers, but they sound like none of these.

I wasn't always a fan of TAAS. The first EP had a great cover (a gloomy blond tied up and gagged by Christmas lights), but the music only hinted at how far they would come before there first LP. "Easter," their second LP, is a theme album of sorts, dealing with the notions and emotions represented by the Easter holiday... while some of the music on the first LP ("Oxeneers...") was throbbing head-bobbing jams, its the lyrics on "Easter" that work the head. They challenge your perception of renewal, redemption, and religion. This band could break loose of their obscurity and strangle rock radio, finally edging Tool out the "new Floyd" niche, or simply fade away, leaving a catalog of amazing music behind for future gem hunters to discover.

And check out that beautiful vinyl, even their packaging is wonderful. Check 'em out. Happy early "Easter" and horns up.

2007-03-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

Guilt has got the best of me... despite posting 2 records in 2 days, starting a new top 50 countdown, and being a pretty swell dude all around, I am still feeling horribly guilty for insinuating that anyone other than Neko Case is my dream girl. Sorry Gap girl, as molten hot as you are dancing about in your khakis, the title of fantasy girl can only belong to one. Try not to take it too hard. I only wish I was seeing Neko on April 3rd in Lincoln, NE... why do I miss every awesome show?! So friends of the site, feast your eyes upon Neko and prepare for a killer record to be posted either late tonight or tomorrow afternoon. And if you have been negligent in reading, look below and try to catch up. A lot of great records and some insights into Carl Smith await. Dig it? Horns up!

2007-03-29T07:55:00.000-07:00

The Mountain Goats - "We Shall All Be Healed" (4AD, 2004) [key tracks: Home Again Garden Grove, Young Thousands]

"The ghosts that haunt your building are prepared to take on substance, and the dull pain that you live with isn't getting any duller. There's a closet full of almost-pristine videotape documenting sordid little scenes in living color..."

Today is a banner day for the site, because I am starting a new feature... I am going to count down my favorite 50 songs of all time! Yay for you! Yay for me! Yay Billy! In interest of saving this blog from becoming book-length every post, I will not expand too much on the songs except in response to comments, so I expect heated discussion in the comments section (please!). I will introduce one song per post, then discuss the album featured (and they will usually not have anything to do with one another). So today we start with...

Carl's Favorite Songs - #50 - Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode

"We Shall All Be Healed" was an important album for The Mountain Goats. Until this 2004 LP, John Darnelle recorded in fits and bouts... usually recording in one take, alone, and into a boombox. His songs covered many themes, often resurfacing as a series across many albums and singles. It was on "We Shall All..." that finally saw The Mountain Goats as a full band, in a studio, with an album completed as a coherent "whole"; a project planned and executed in singular mind. The result is a little hit and miss... gone is some of the frantic (and fun) spontaneity and legendary lo-fi sound, yet his talent as a proper singer/songwriter shines brighter than before. The album is a look into his past, a semi-autobiographical glimpse at the people he has left behind... slackers, tweekers, addicts, crooks, and nobodies. Inside this concept is a reoccurring ray of hope (John "got out" as they say), and a melancholy look at how one can't really go home again (nor should one want to). One of the highest points on this LP is the song "Home Again Garden Grove" with its brutal honesty about the way youth misunderstands their relationship to the environment, and how that comes back to bite you as an adult. The album ends on a similar fantastic note, the brilliant "Pigs that Ran Straightway Into the Water, The Triumph of"; a song, in my interpretation, about hope springing eternal... even in the damned. It isn't the greatest Goats album, but it was a watershed moment, and like all of their stuff, totally worth buying in any format.

The Mountain Goats are a very collectible band. As you can imagine (if you know anything about the lo-fi, DIY approach to music John takes), the entire catalog is a a chaotic mess of cassette only issues, limited print runs of 7" records, and a few indy pressings of the full lengths. It wasn't until 3 Beads of Sweat twisted his arm that he allowed to reprint a couple of the early LPs, and even (somewhat begrudgingly) released a 3 volume CD series collecting all of the odds and ends of his pre-CD era. The records, even of the latest releases, are hard to find. One album, "Come Come to the Sunset Tree" is actually an alternate version to the CD companion, and a pricey treasure for a Goats fan. The reason I bring all of this up is to help you appreciate the fact that I got this album for free. It came in the mail recently, apparently from Ebay or GEMM, but I never paid for it! I bid on this album a few times in the past, but the price always climbed outside of my budget. Imagine my surprise to get an anonymous record in the mail, but to have it be one of such a rare and beloved nature! The only thing I can imagine is that on one of my past bids, the seller had trouble collecting the winner's cash, and maybe over the stretch of time somehow pulled up my address. There was no return address, no invoice slip, no note... nothing. Maybe its LP karma coming back around (Lord knows I pimp music/vinyl enough to earn some of that!). So I guess what I want to do here is say thanks to the cosmos for delivering a third Goats album into my humble collection...

But next time send Kyuss "Wretch" or Flaming Lips "The Soft Bulletin."

Horns up.

2007-03-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

Black Oak Arkansas - "High on the Hog" (ATCO Records, 1973) [key tracks: Happy Hooker, Jim Dandy, Moonshine Sonata]

Okay so I am finally back in business. School and work conspired against me, then I went through a short spell where production of posts was halted by a missing memory card (digital cameras...). In better news, I have a new dream girl. Have you seen the new Gap commercial, with the "I can do better" song? W - O - W. That is probably the hottest commercial ever, if you measure in Carl Standard Thermal Units (CSTUs). On with the show...

There is a "unified theory of everything" when it comes to rock and roll. You can't undo it and you are helpless to disagree with it. I'll share it with you so you will be a wiser modern human; to reach epic rock status you have to hail from one of two places... the American South or Great Britain. That's it. Anyone else who achieves any success beyond the chains of their geographical conscription is an anomaly and should be celebrated as such. Black Oak Arkansas is one of these southern rock bands, epic in every way... in sound, in legend, and in personality. Led by the raunchy pre-Ronnie Dobbs hillbilly rocker Jim "Dandy" Mangrum, these boys languish in relative obscurity. In my life, I have seen the so-called "resurgence" of Southern Rock at least 3 times... and yet BOA fails to get any props or revitalization.

The story behind BOA is as epic as the music... the story is told that as a young rock band (known then as the Knowbody Else) they needed PA equipment to start gigging (as we all know, it is useless to be in a band if you aren't going to gig... that's how chicks know you are a rock god!). To get their equipment, the boys decided, in true Dukes of Hazard (or Cops) fashion to steal it from a local high school. They got away with the goods, and began gigging... but the law found out. They were found guilty of the theft, although not present at the hearing, and a warrant was issued for their arrest. In fear of the be-clubbed arm of the southern law, they withdrew to a mountain compound, where they honed their chops and lived off the land. During this time they cultivated both a more mature (musically) sound and a godlike mastery of marijuana farming. They experimented with the popular drugs of the day, as well as the moonshine that was a staple of rebellion in the south, and explored the music of the times; psychedelic rock bands playing with Eastern mysticism. They adapted these new worlds with the very real (to them) world of the simple God-fearing south. When the 26 year prison sentence was suspended, they emerged from their rock and roll Eden, moved to Nashville, and hit the scene and never looked back, releasing one album as The Knowbody Else (which failed to gain any attention), then launched into their dirty, loud, circus-like career as Black Oak Arkansas.

This LP was their opus, their fourth full length album, and the breaking point where they gave up entirely on trying to be another Allman Brothers or Lynyrd Skynyrd and just gave their stoner-billy fans what they wanted... dirty rock and roll with a nod to their mountain dwelling, God-fearing, southern charm. All of the typical southern themes are here, God, cheating, highways, the beauty of the country unspoiled by tar and concrete, and sex. Some tracks, such as "Happy Hooker" sound as if they could have been lifted from an AC/DC sound check, while others sound much more structured and serious (such as the toe tapping instrumental "Moonshine Sonata"). This LP came with a rather tasty extra... a huge fold out poster of tour snapshots and backstage antics. As always, Kanesville came through and my copy was bought with the poster perfectly preserved, intact, and never hung. If you like your rock with soul, a southern twang, and a little boogie, check out Black Oak Arkansas and help the industry finally do them justice.

Horns up! See you soon!

2007-03-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

I'm back.. sort of. New post coming March 26th. Be there!

2007-03-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

A Momentary Lapse in Picture Postage

Last week Matt asked me in the Comments what I thought about a list of the "top 10 albums of all time." Man, I love getting questions like this. The problem is, my answers are never satisfactory for my own obsessed musical appreciation. It would be easier to ask "your favorite LPs" or "best album covers" or even "most influential metal albums." But best 10 LPs ever? Wow.

Well before I tackle that, I will have to share the ground rules. First of all, no greatest hits or repackages of any sort can be considered. Second, I am not going to consider sales or chart position in my decision making. Third, I am voting the LP as an album... not as a collection of singles. That means the total package matters most. Fourth, just my opinions and no ass-kissing... so no Clash, Beach Boys, Bruce Springstein, Elvis, or Van Morrison. Sorry, I just never got into those cats.

Lastly, I cannot avoid considering sentimentalism but I will try. As proof, notice Queensryche "Operation Mindcrime" is not on the list. Please post comments on my list about albums or the list itself. As I said, even I am a little wary of this list... but it is what it is. Boatdrinks...

1. Led Zepplin "IV" (I sort of hate to do this, but it is such a great album. Overplayed, over lauded, but great. It set the tone for all metal, hard rock, and crossover rock to come since. And as an LP, there is not a single low spot. My favorite track, and one of the few on the LP that still captures my attention, is "Battle of Evermore.")

2. The Beatles "Rubber Soul" (You could fight that the whole top 10 be littered with Beatles LPs, and no one would agree which was better than another... but to me "Rubber Soul" is the last great Beatles record before drugs took over. The album is rock, pop, balladry, and even some playful foreshadowing to the psychedelia to come. My favorite track here is easily "In My Life" a song that chokes me up most of the time.)

3. Radiohead "OK Computer" (Radiohead saved mainstream music with this LP. It completely lacked formula or genre and appealed to indy fans, wanna-be indy fans, critics, and the pop listening public all at once. Someone once wrote to save rock and roll, Radiohead had to tear it down. That is exactly what this LP does. Favorite track is "Paranoid Android.")

4. Guns 'n' Roses "Appetite for Destruction" (G'n'R didn't crossover from gritty streets and seedy clubs to rock radio, they drug rock radio into their gutter. Unapologetic, aggressive, dirty, and technically sound... this rock album in many ways is better than the best offerings of much better, and more respected, bands. Where AC/DC was seen as brash and incorrigible, G'n'R was raunchy, but could still write hooks. Their songs are as memorable and combustible as they are because the bandmates themselves bordered on cartoon characters; out of control. I will figuratively spit on anyone that says this ranks lower than "Nevermind" on any list! This LP changed rock and roll, and no one has ever repeated the epic nature of this LP. Not even G'n'R. Favorite song is arguably "My Michelle.")

5. The Mothers of Invention "Freak Out" (No one seems to want to give Frank Zappa any props, so I will. Not only was he one of the best rock and roll guitarists ever, and an incredible musician in every way, he was also a social commentator of the bravest type. It would be a long time before rock songs would be this critical of government, society, fads, and religion. He also ushered in an age of creativity and continuity that was unheard of prior to "Freak Out." Zappa created a vibe that allowed future bands to exist, such as Mr. Bungle, The Flaming Lips, Sonic Youth, Coldplay, The Residents, The Mars Volta, Beck, Butthole Surfers, Radiohead, and Dave Matthews Band. And he would have hated all of those bands. Best track on here is probably "You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here," but it changes every time I hear the LP.)

6. Minutemen "Double Nickels on the Dime" (The Minutemen made it cool to be smart if you were punk, and cool to be DIY if you were smart. This album sounds like anything but punk, but at its very core is the essence of punk rock... DIY, strong work ethic, and a lot of questions that the system needs to answer. The music is surprisingly tight, the words alarmingly poetic, and the band is vastly under appreciated. This is why I hate The Clash. My favorite track is "Two Beads at the End.")

7. Bob Dylan "Highway 61 Revisited" (Dylan did the right thing by going electric. Even at its peak, the folkie movement was a self-referencing joke. Much like the criticism leveled at jam-band fanatics, the fans so rarely took the message and put it into action. So to add some artistic growth, some power, and to throw off the trappings of stale "folk" he went electric. This album, in my opinion, is his best with or without electricity. Best song for me is the title track, but "Like a Rolling Stone" is a monster in its own right.)

8. Stevie Wonder "Talking Book" (Wow. Almost everything he did was magic, but this LP really stands out to me as special. My favorite track is "Superstition." Nothing that groovy has ever been recorded since. The ballads break your heart, the jams make you completely rock out.)

9. The Doors "s/t" (The first Doors album, to me, launched a great tradition in rock and roll... the frantic shaman unleashed upon pop listeners. It was dark and edgy but embraced. When nice little Jr. High girls sported Korn shirts or Eminem beanies decades later, it was thanks to Jim. It wasn't the first time a larger than life, dark prophet was let loose on Top 40 listeners...which were not yet officially invented yet..., but it was one of the strongest events of this type in my opinion. The songs were both "of the day" and original, but the personality cult that would be built around Jim would rarely be matched. He was on another level than most of us, both in the gutter and in the stars... and yet he managed to win acclaim with the lay people. He introduced the masses to philosophy and poetry and art of all sorts, as well as the dangers and thrills of self medicating. Because of The Doors, there will always be that one rock idol you hate that your innocent daughter is into. Best track, hands down, is "Break on Through.")

10. U2 "Achtung Baby" (U2's greatest miracle... they saved pop music. In a time when the majority of the youth culture decided to become neo-hippies, complete with horrible dress, fake social agendas, fads, and distrust of industry and adults, U2 showed that true musical talent and attitude can exist outside of grunge. In pop music, there is no selling out... as the goal is to sell out. While fingers were being pointed at bands who were getting too big, U2 decided to go all out and be the biggest band of all time. Every song on this LP was a grand spectacle, and it was all minuscule compared to their subsequent tour. Bono was a rock and roll icon before this LP, he was a god afterwards. In my summation, "Achtung Baby" is probably a better LP than The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds." which gets too much sentimental lip service. Sorry Brian. Favorite track on this LP is easily "One.")

So there you have it. Not my favorite LPs of all time, but my guess at what a top 10 would look like. I feel bad that I left off Public Enemy, Loretta Lynn, The Ramones, Paul Simon, AC/DC, Michael Jackson, Kyuss, Bjork, Marvin Gaye, Pixies, Black Sabbath, Johnny Cash, The Cure, Steely Dan, Beck, and many others. That is why it is hard to do a cross-genre list like this. And frankly, stuff that is too old has to be pretty great to still seem magical, and stuff that is too new suffers from not having enough wear and tear.

So why no Rolling Stones? None of their LPs really stand out to me as "great" even though their library is stuffed with rock and roll greatness. Why no Pink Floyd? Well, I just haven't spent a lot of time with them. As a cultural phenomena I should list "Dark Side of the Moon" but as an album, I am not very familiar with it. And it kills me I didn't list any Prince, but every one of LPs has both the best and worst songs ever recorded. The guy was just too prolific. And why no Metallica? Because they suck. Any given Iron Maiden LP would be a better choice than anything Lars and James have done. Hell, Meatloaf's "Bat Out Of Hell" would rank higher than any Metallica LP in my book.

Horns up.

2007-03-07T21:57:00.000-08:00

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The Bronx - "The Bronx II" (Swami Records, 2006) [key tracks: Three Dead Sisters, History's Stranglers]
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"L.A. lady, you always look so uninspired when you're hanging around... living with creeps and loving with liars. And everyone knows it's true, that all you're ever gonna be is entertainment, so entertain me..."
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If I was going to make a list of the albums I most wanted on vinyl, which either do not or I cannot confirm exist in record format, it would look like this;
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25. Bright Eyes "Fevers and Mirrors"
24. Camarosmith "s/t"
23. The Haunted "The Dead Eye"
22. Butthole Surfers "Independant Worm Saloon"
21. Polyphonic Spree "Begining Stages of the Polyphonic Spree"
20. Frank Black "Honeycomb"
19. Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments "Straight to Video"
18. Vengeance Rising "Once Dead"
17. Trouble "Manic Frustration"
16. Anthrax "Sound of White Noise"
15. Fireball Ministry "Their Rock is Not Our Rock"
14. Atreyu "A Deathgrip on Yesterday"
13. Chiodos "All's Well That Ends Well"
12. The Lost Dogs "Scenic Routes"
11. Melvins "A Senile Animal"
10. Ministry "Psalm 69"
9. King's X "Dogman"
8. Dead Milkmen "Soul Rotation"
7. Swirling Eddies "Outdoor Elvis"
6. Deadboy and the Elephant Men "We Are Night Sky"
5. The Crucified "Pillars of Humanity"
4. Burn Witch Burn "s/t"
3. Neko Case "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood"
2. Adam Again "Dig"
1. Scaterd Few "Sin Disease"
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The Bronx is one of those rare bands that comes from nowhere and becomes a gem in your collection. And because you have no pre-conceived hopes or expectations, you have no recourse but to be blown away. Like most objects that deserve cult-like following, I was turned onto this by a devotee... a cool dude that works at Drastic Plastic over in Omaha. He played a track, and at the time I thought "that is pretty cool." He also played some other stuff, Boris and something else, so my palate was washed pretty clean. Then I got home and popped this on... wow! Its like a breath of fresh air and a punch in the nose at the same time. Take the energy and garage attitude of any band making a scene in this century... and then amp it up a million times over. This is what Red Bull sounds like. The Bronx, proudly hailing from Hollywood, kick rock and roll square in the teeth. Full of attitude and pure rock and roll riffage, there is no way to categorize what this band is doing or sounding like. Stoner? No, its too upbeat. Metal? No, it's too structured. Punk? "F**k that." No, The Bronx is a new creature that sounds very familiar... like a cross between McLusky, the Ramones, Jet, and AC/DC all wrapped up, spoiled rotten, and living on Island Records' cash. They leave it all on the stage, and that somehow comes through on the LP. I would be shocked if even the most casual rock fan couldn't find at least one song that would burn up their iPod... great stuff, and I can't wait for their next LP... and at the rate they work (and milk the label), it will be a while. Let's hope they tour through the Midwest sooner or later...
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Not much to say today. I have a toxicology test tomorrow AM. Actually, it's a midterm. It was postponed from lst week when we had the Blizzard of '07 (pronounced "ought seven," thank you). I am sort of ready for it... which may sound odd since I have had an extra week to prepare. The truth is, I let it ride since last Thursday, so I need to do some refreshing. Thus, the 12:30 AM blogging session... me and my distractions. Go figure. So wish me luck, and enjoy whatever it is you do on your Spring Breaks... oh wait, most of you are adults and don't get those anymore. Believe it or not, I am jealous...
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Horns up!
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2007-03-06T19:29:00.000-08:00

Every Time I Die - "The Box Set" (Ferret Music, 2007) [key tracks: The New Black, Apocalypse Now and Then, Floater]

"Are we baiting the right hook to get your attention? The media needs another blackout... we’ve been calling, flooding hot lines. We’ve applied mascara to the radio, but that’s just a quick fix and we need a little more. Does it matter to you at all? Are you listening or have you tuned out? We’ve gotta get it together... but first we drink and we take it all apart. Because everywhere we go 'we’re the local boys and we’re back in town'... well that’s just the way it is, and it breaks my heart."

Wow, Spring break is half over. And all I have managed to do is pick up a pile of papers, have lunch with Matt, and work. Go me!

Every Time I Die released this box set for its fans, as a collectible and a "thanks for getting us this far." It contains their three studio LPs, which covers the bulk of their repertoire except their debut EP "Burial Plot Bidding War." If you listen to the 3 LPs in order, you can hear the subtle evolution of the band... which is really more of a reallocation of resources that were always there. The band is as brutal and punishing as ever, pumping out a Bronx/Zeke post-hardcore-crust-metal assault (never once does it sound Nu, by the way). They call this "mathcore" or "metalcore," but we all know it either rocks or sucks. It rocks. Anyway, the shift from "Last Night..." to "Gutter..." is in the lyrical delivery, which became less stressful (ala Unsane) and more playful (like Louis XIV, but more intelligent, less sexy). The take-home fact here is that this music gets you hyped. Unlike other metal, played fast or with hip-hop beats, or with growling and screaming, this music gets into your blood. It does make you want to fight, want to get in someones face, makes you want to grab that hot girl at the bar by the arm and "make out on her." This is adrenaline on vinyl. So suffice it to say that there is no good way to slide someone into Every Time I Die... either they are beckoned by the attitude and and energy, or they hate it. Believe it or not, Mark hates it. Mao eats it up. Other facts: the box cover mimics the deluxe reissue edition of "Gutter Phenomenon," the record sleeve for "Last Night in Town" features the original cover, "Hot Damn!" is drawn in lipstick not blood (the back side has two women about to kiss), the vocalist and lead guitarist are brothers, the vocals are often written and recorded well after the songs are established, and the band is currently on their 10th bassist. Take that Spinal Tap!

So I found myself swimming in religious debate lately. I sort of miss it. Except for the morons that refuse to think out a position, belief, or statement before they share it. Unfortunately they are on both sides. Worse yet are those who feign a position. Not just playing devil's advocate, but pure straight fakin' the funk. It all started because I watched 3 hours of Discovery Channel coverage of the "Tomb of Jesus" and then proceeded to stay on the message boards for another hour and a half beyond. When I woke up Monday I had a glut of emails from strangers as well, and I answered as many as I could. This morning, more emails. Wow. So, rather than share my views, I invite you to email me (only if you aren't a moron), and PLEASE quit quoting DaVinci Code as if it was part of the Apocrypha.

DNA tested horns wayyyyy up!

2007-03-01T08:44:00.000-08:00

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David Bowie - "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" (RCA, 1983) [Key tracks: the farewell speech]
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"So I cried for all the others till the day was nearly through, for I realized that God's a young man too."
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In honor of my friend Megan, who just recently saw a movie with subtitles, and the rest of you who may ignore classics and foreign films, I present a mini movie review before the record review! Today being a snow-day, I was over joyed to see that Turner Classic Movies was showing good films! One of my all time favorites, "Divorce Italian Style" was on. It is a classic comedy, filled with the sort of introspection and fantasy that all middle aged married men can relate with. Everything about the movie is impeccable... the acting, the characters, the plot, the settings, the way the shots were set up... everything. In short, it is about a man who covets a young woman (ala Bathsheba), and begins to hate his own wife (at times painted as an unknowing victim of male wanderlust, at other times a relentless harpy). During these time, he fantasizes about the many ways he can get out of the marriage since divorce is not an option in old-world Italy... murder, accidentally falling in quick sand, being launched to the moon in a rocket... hilarious stuff. This is a great "gateway" movie to get you hooked on foreign film... and it has a great lesson about fidelity as well. Also noteworthy is its incorporation of Fellini's masterpiece "La Dulce Vida" into its plot. Add this to your Netflix list and you will not be sorry.
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I don't have much to say about the music on the LP, but rather the story behind it, David Bowie had created some personas during his career; role playing as characters was part of his charm. This creation, this Ziggy Stardust ultimately took on a life of its own. The fans immediately fed back into the mythos what Bowie had created, making him a rock and roll messiah... and David himself was sucked into the fantasy, and he needed out before it destroyed him. So at this concert, unknown to even his band, he announced it was the last show he would play. We all know he didn't "quit" for long, but he definitely put Ziggy to rest for good. This LP was recorded in 1973, and filmed, but the album was not released until 1983. The LP pictured is one of the 2003 limited edition pressings which improved the sound and lengthened the set list to include all of the songs and announcements. You can hear the audience collectively gasp and moan when David makes his surprise announcement. A great piece of rock and roll history. The music, by the way, is probably one of the most fun Bowie experiences... a quick vamp through some of his most iconoclastic work, including a tarty cover of "Let's Spend the Night Together." Bowie at his prime, and a beautiful collectible for any record collector.
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That's it for today, no 3rd paragraph. Its hard to type about music/life when you watch Italian movies about infidelity and lust all morning while your wife may or may not be stuck at work (thanks to the snow)! Makes me wanna start "drunk" dialing my female classmates... and I can blame it on the snow and the cinema. Salut!
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Horns up, and drive safe...

2007-02-28T08:27:00.000-08:00

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Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Cosmo's Factory" (Fantasy, 1970) [key tracks: Lookin' Out My Backdoor, Long as I Can See the Light]
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"You can ponder perpetual motion, fix your mind on a crystal day. Always time for a good conversation, there's an ear for what you say. Come on the risin' wind, were goin' up around the bend."
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It's mid-term exam week for me, so thus the lack of posts. Sorry about that. On with the show (now with 70% less metal)!
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There has never been or never will be another band like CCR. In an industry not known for true innovation or uniqueness, CCR stands out like a sore thumb. Four years before I was even born, CCR recorded what should have been the defining record for any band. But what really happened was they merely released another CCR LP (I think they dropped like a half-dozen records in 2 years! and they were all good!), full of swampy bluesy rock and roll. 37 years later (can you dig THAT?!) it still sounds as toe tapping and fresh as ever. Just about every CCR album reads like a greatest hits for classic rock, but just look at the songs on this LP. Ramble Tamble, Travelin' Band, Up Around the Bend, Who'll Stop the Rain, I Heard it Through the Grapevine, and Long as I Can See the Light (among others). Simply amazing. As a side note, the drummer (Doug "Cosmo" Clifford) resented John Fogerty's insistence that the band practice without ceasing to be as tight as possible before recording. He was known to say that Fogerty was turning the studio into a "factory." Thus the title. And, due to the vision and drive, the album stands today as a timeless icon of rock and roll.
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CCR, along with Hank Williams and The Doors, will always mean one thing to me... my dad. My dad would make sure that these bands were played loud and often in the Smith household. Contrary to popular belief, true country folk have a lot of soul (which is proved by the fact that "Cosmo's Factory" ranked #1 on pop charts, and an impressive #11 on soul charts at the same time). Through CCR, my dad (probably inadvertently) taught me what music was about... expression of the soul. CCR taught me how to groove. So when Fogerty talks about "hoodoo" and "chooglin'" I just nod my head and feel it. Every dirty road I rode down with my dad, every hunting trip, every night on a farm, every evening spent around the fam' out at Uncle Dallas' place... all of that is the soul behind what makes CCR so great. The music is about something, about a way of life, and about a feeling. It is something lasting that will always stick with me, because it is such a deep part of who I am as Carl Smith. Thanks, pa! I wonder which bands my kid will thank me for playing loud... (scary to think about, isn't it Sandy?)
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Keep on chooglin'!
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2007-02-20T19:18:00.000-08:00

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Melvins - "Stoner Witch" (Atlantic Records, 1994) [key tracks: Queen, Revolve]
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"As a measure of a soul like a dumb-run, bring your fear... you and me, we got the same air going; breathing here. You got sent the cold water you're in, like someone left to could half breathing... Maybe me and the Queen could take another order and lock it away "
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Every day I wake up and I am disappointed. Why do people still chew their food with their mouths open? Why isn't the world like a Frank Frazetta painting? Madonna is still making a living? So many other disappointments, so many betrayals... at least I can count on my records!
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The Melvins. That is all you need to know about inventive music in the modern age. They were playing the Seattle area before "grunge," and had evolved past that sound by a few years by the time it became a nationwide fad. It was an odd time for anyone having to do with music... never has "selling out" been wielded like such a weapon, and never had more people "sold out." The fact is, record companies were dumping money on people's lawns, hoping to cash on on the grunge/alternative craze... especially bands based in Nirvana's hometown. The Melvins were not immune to the lure of financial gain, and were signed by Atlantic. Being a prominent company, they knew talent but had no idea what to do with it. During this time they released 3 LPs. "Stoner Witch," much like "Houdini" before it, found the Melvins doing their thing, but also doing their best to make a few commercial-ish singles. You won't hear a "Black Hole Sun" or "Heart Shaped Box" here but there is "Queen" and "Revolve." Both of these tracks were heavy and structured like "normal" songs, odd for a band all about forging their own path through sludge, doom, metal, punk, ambient, and noise. As can be expected, it is a great LP to introduce a newbie to the music of the Melvins, but ultimately it does not represent what they stand for. And as with all bands with huge cult followings, original vinyl pressings are equivalent to the Holy Grail. I am very lucky to have this, Atlantic Records printing, in its pink glory.
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King Buzz, Buzzo, or Buzz Osbourne. Take your pick. All are the same guy, the guitarist and vocalist of the Melvins. The guy oozes rock deity, from his Jack Nash-ish afro (now grey), to his nonsensical lyrics, amazing eye and pen for art, and his trailblazing vision. I think the reason it is easy to get lost in music is because of icons like King Buzz. Not that he is Ghandi mind you, but it gives you a hero... someone to look up to, with little "serious" expectations. As long as King Buzz stays off To Catch A Predator, I'll be somewhat pleased (not that he has ever shown an air of being that way, mind you...its just an illustration). In real life, there are so few people to look up to, so little to get excited about. I am trying to restrain my enthusiasm for Obama, because I know my nation and I know what they will do to him as he runs... and I fear he has little chance to be elected. Even so, the excitement over Obama has no quantifiable past for myself. What has any politician done for me? Same goes for everyone else around me... so unfortunately here in Iowa, Earth I have only my dog, my wife, my few friends, and my records to find any sort of hope in. And as long as there is always a Buzzo, John Darnielle, David Byrne, Isaac Brock, Josh Homme, Omar Rodriguez, and Lemmy I'll be fine...
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Horn's up.
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2007-02-15T12:50:00.000-08:00

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Electric Wizard - "Come My Fanatics..." (Rise Above Records, 1996) [key tracks: Son of Nothing, Demon Lung, Wizard in Black]
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"A tower stands on the edge of time, upon it stands the astral mind. The burning Chaosphere seethes behind...ours to see but we are blind. The eyes of God look upon what he's done, and the eyes of man look on and beyond... I am a god. I am the One. Into the chaos ,see my time has begun..."
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Stoner rock. Learn it, live it, love it. It was in most of our veins before we even knew what "stoner" even meant. These days, it is music with the only groove I want to hear. It isn't that the music has to do with pot, or that the bands have to paste a sweet leaf to their drum head... its a feeling, an attitude, and a soul behind the music that makes it "stoner." So if you hear me talk about it, understand that in no way am I saying that I sit in my garage, smoke weed, and listen to songs about sitting in your garage and smoking weed. "Stoned forever, forever free" may be the mantra but a lot of us get the trip without the trip. Dig?
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Electric Wizard is quite simply the heaviest band around. Black Sabbath invented the stoner low sound when Tommy Iommi screwed up his hand in a carpentry accident, and had to down-tune to be able to press the notes. Kyuss ushered in the modern age of stoner when (as Josh Homme claims) they simply dug how it sounded and failed to bother tuning their guitars. The Melvins blew minds with their 3-minute-long sustained dropped tune doom metal notes, feedback and all. And Electric Wizard has mastered incorporating these heart fluttering low waves of power into song form. "Come My Fanatics" is probably the pinnacle of stoom (stoner-doom, my favorite of all musical sub-genres). Pressed on beautiful purple vinyl, it wastes no times creating an audio have that nods heads and ignites lighters. There are only 6 songs on the 2 LPs, none shorter than 5:30, and then a 7" is thrown in with 2 additional tracks. Nothing beats stoom, because good stoom fills your listening space with atmosphere... much like lighting a scented candle would. You feel the hurmmmmm of a low B note rattling so low that the fretboard can barely keep the string in place. You hear the grind of the slow blues rhythm. You ingest the trippy psychedelic spiritual high fantasy/sci-fi lyrics. And best of all, the band never takes itself too seriously, allowing for the fan to immediately become part of the trip, not feeling inferior (my big complaint with bands like Tool and Fugazi). Electric Wizard: heaviest band on the planet! And best of all, no synth...
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Man was it cold today! How can one person live in Iowa his whole life, only making short excursions to Norfolk, NE (colder) and Westminster, CO (higher altitude) and STILL not be used to winter? I am finding myself dressing in a ridiculous amount of layers lately, and still shivering. On a walk from an "arrived late" parking spot at Creighton University to class, one feels as if they will never see summer again. I listen to the Doors sing of "Indian Summer" and wistfully daydream, as if Jim was talking about a mythical land that never existed. Man, I hate winter.
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Frozen horns up!
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2007-02-14T14:00:00.000-08:00

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Run DMC - "Raising Hell" (Profile, 1988) [key tracks: It's Tricky, Walk This Way]
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"I'll cut the head off the devil and I'll throw it at you!"
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Wow, I am managing to have a hard time deciding which LPs to post! Maybe I should spend so much energy on my studies... There has long been an uneasy relationship with rap music in the Midwest. It was (and is) at once feared and embraced. People in the Midwest like their very safe, very white world. Rock and Roll was a hard sell as it was... they burnt Beatles albums just north in Minnesota for Pete's sake! Then comes all these African Americans from DMZ-like neighborhoods in NY and LA. You can imagine the fear. Oddly, the whitest of the teens embraced rap as the "new punk"... many of us loving Ice T, Public Enemy, NWA, and Geto Boys immediately. There is no introduction to rap for white, 14 year old Carl Smith without MTV and Run DMC...
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Run DMC. What can be said about these guys that will do them justice. They were already established by the time "Raising Hell" was released. But for us pudgy, pale, corn-eating, pig raising, Iowans (like my stereotyping?) we were fine with either Hank Jr. or Poison. AC/DC got a lot of love here, and so did Def Leppard. So how did we ever hear this distinctly urban, coastal, and black music? Run DMC. That's how. By incorporating rock in their sound, and pairing up with Aerosmith for a cover of "Walk This Way", they ensured that they would be heard on every Top 40 white channel on the radio. And their unique sense of humor and style got their video on MTV non-stop. It's a great album, but almost laughable when you hear it now. The beats are so canned, and the lyrics are just shy of hardcore. I can still put in old LL Cool J, Kool Moe Dee, or BDP and feel the same way. Only Public Enemy really stands out as harder than we knew at the time... But its fun to hear songs like "My Addidas," "Dumb Girl," "You Be Illin'," and "Peter Piper." As a matter of fact, I grew up with an unnatural attachment to Addidas shoes (although I rarely was allowed to buy them) thanks to this LP. Run DMC were boundary crossers, and for better or worse, unleashed the age of Hip Hop upon America... a fad that has just recently seemed to stagnate. They may not want us Iowans wearing Kangols and pants down to our knee caps or co-opting their street lingo, but rap acts have gained an "industry" of the dollars of curious and devoted farmer's sons craving to hear music first exposed to us by Run DMC.
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School is such a funny thing. It never seems like there is enough time to get anything done, and when you are there its the last place you want to be. I will never understand how to balance my time around my entire social network and manage to get stuff done. I am finding out fast that I work best when I am left completely alone, which is a rare time to find. But on those days when I am allowed to plug away at my studies in anonymity I crave nothing more than a friendly face. I miss talking to my classmates... I went through a withdrawal after NCC, and I am doing it again now as I am being phased out of the P3 class. And I know my limits... I will not be able to form too many friendships next year, so I will be lonely among 100 others. If I don't have to get on Prozac in the next 2 years, I will never need it! : ) As for my former classmates, I already feel alien around them. I find myself asking them about their classes, and that's it. I miss Tahisha, Katie, all the Megans, Becca, Cody, Christian, Jim, Yiota, Becky, the Ashleys, Liz, and everyone else as well! It's a hard time to be Carl right now, lemme tell you. Good thing Iron Maiden keeps cranking out the hits!
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Horn's up and Happy Valentine's Day!
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2007-02-12T10:02:00.000-08:00

Vengeance Rising - "One Dead" (Intense Records, 1990) [key tracks: Warfare, Frontal Lobotomy]

"The time is limited, don't die a pointless life lived. That which you do matters for eternity... you were left here to warn the world to flee..."

Something that was happening with the old incarnation of this site was a propensity to only talk about heavy metal. That is part of the reason I eliminated all of the old posts. Now, it seems, we are back in that mode! Or is it I am only posting records that will make Matt's day... But of course, if you ask Mark, nothing good has been posted yet...

Vengeance Rising was a Christian grindcore/thrash band that was one of my favorites back in the day. This is their second LP, and it is absolutely retarded that this vinyl exists in such perfect shape, and that I was able to purchase it so easily. I ordered it from the UK, but the patience in waiting for delivery paid off! Every song is better than I feared, if not as good as I remembered. Roger Martinez's growl changed on each of the 4 LPs. What struck me most of all was the quality of the guitars on this LP. The band totally shreds! And they have a humorous side to them as well, as they do a great stoner metal-esque cover of Deep Purple's "Space Truckin." The maturity of the metal on this LP really shows (despite the Christian angle) the sort of musicianship that people overlook when metal is discussed. More than just 40 minutes of grind, growl, and double-bass-pedal blast beats, there is actually some interesting time signatures here, and some inventive structure to solos. All metal bands should sound this tight or not make an LP, in my opinion. Just record with a tad less treble; a problem that plagued about every Christian metal album ever made (as well as any LP produced by Ted Templeman). Scott Reeder and Rick Rubin, where were you? Not a good crossover LP to get people into metal by any means, but a seasoned rocker will dig the surprises of this completely unknown masterpiece of thrash and grind.

As a funny side story, this was the last LP with the real band, as Roger started a descent into madness that left him self recording and producing the next two albums (each a classic in grindcore BTW) before completely denouncing Christianity and going off the deep-end. He spent many years as a drifter in Europe, and his delusions have seemed to solidify in the form of Satanism. Not passive Motley Crue Satanism, "principal of it all" LaVey Satanism, annoying campy Rob Zombie Satanism, or imaginary Mike Warnke/1980's Evangelical-scare-tactic Satanism, but real, scary, psychopathic, volatile, taking-it-too-far, and misguided Satanism. Roger currently is planning a Satanic metal onslaught with a new band forming, and he also won rights to use the Vengeance Rising moniker. His former band mates, still championing their white metal (that is, Christian metal, not Caucasian metal) are performing as Once Dead... Roger also hosts a very profane blog here, just to see how far he has fallen...

Horn's up indeed!

2007-02-09T11:25:00.000-08:00

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The Mars Volta - "Frances the Mute" (GSL, 2005) [key tracks: the whole album!]
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"You can't bend your crooked arms or fold your punctured proof... The air is growing cold and there's nothing you can do. Soon there'll be no gauze inside the confessional, only rows of crows defrocking every breath "
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Today's entry is going to be a special edition, so I can geek put about this LP and have a long weekend without posts. This means I am going to cheat on my three paragraph format (already).
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Ah, The Mars Volta... the band that single-handedly revived my faith in music, rekindled my desire to collect records, and encouraged me to start this site up again. And this album, THIS ALBUM, what a magnificent creative accomplishment! The Mars Volta is , to be too acute in my description, a prog rock band with all sorts of varied roots (having been formed from post-punk band At The Drive In's better parts... Volta uses jazz, psychedelia, metal, Latin ballads, noise, electronica, emo, and hardcore together seamlessly). Their concept albums and meandering improvisational live shows have cemented them as living legends. Unlike most concept albums, they are neither too heavy handed or too obtuse. The story is told through the emotion felt by the characters... either through the tone of voice or the abstract tapestry of words used to describe the narratives. In short, The Mars Volta is the best new band to emerge for a very, very long time. I can think of no other band that is as satisfying and promising as Volta.
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First I'll talk about the pictures. I finally got a hold of the limited edition version of this LP! It comes bagged in a red vinyl bag, and not only has the 3 disc LP itself but the 12 inch single that contains the "missing" song. That song is the album's title track, which sets up the whole concept, yet was left off the album due to CD time restraints (the lyrics are still in the CD's sleeve, behind the CD itself). None of that is hard to find individually, but in this package, all of the records are pressed on glow-in-the-dark vinyl! Unbelievable collectible for a fan of this band, this album, or novelty vinyl.
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The album... wow. Other than being musically perfect (an emotional roller-coaster) it also has a very intriguing story behind it. A friend of the band once worked as a repo man, and in his travels he found a woman's diary. The diary told about her search for meaning and her birth parents. He was shocked to find so many parallels in his own life, and was quick to make this a project for the band. This man, Jeremy Ward, died sadly, and the band decided to champion this concept and made what I consider a life-changing album, and the best LP recorded in over 10 years. Each track tells a segment of the story, focusing on a person involved in this woman (Frances the Mute) and her quest, which builds to a troubling climax as she still struggles with the betrayal and abandonment, and ultimate questions of self.
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Much like Radiohead's "OK Computer," nothing really prepares you for what you begin to hear. I am convinced that hearing this LP for the first time is the closest thing you can get for my generation (and the next younger generation) to feeling what it was like to have heard Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" in its time. At times, this LP will completely distract you from what you are doing... absorbing you to into its tale. Even when the band lashes into Spanish lyrics (a common occurrence on a Volta LP), you can feel the story, the emotions, the consuming sense of curiosity and dread. A true highlight is the song "The Widow," which was a single for the band. And while it stands well as a single, it really doesn't make sense to take anything on this album out of the context of the project as a whole. The song gives you a taste of Frances' haunted psyche and her uneasy descent into self discovery.
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You can easily find this album on CD (or even vinyl) at local record stores. I suggest doing so, and listen to it a few times as a whole, undistributed. And not to cast dispersions on your moral character, but if you are one to "enhance" your listening experience, I can only feel a bit jealous, as I am sure it will be an intense and possibly overwhelming experience. No bad trips, man.

Spacey, heavy, and entirely too good, this is a must own for all music fans. Even without "Frances the Mute" the song (the intended title/first track on the album, which even the band is quoted as saying 'decodes the whole album'), the CD is a better-than-nothing purchase. And I'd be more than happy to sit you down and play my non-glow-in-the-dark copy of the song for you... Unless you find the rare 3 CD set of the album, the single, and a live DVD. Lemme know if you do...;)
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Horn's up, and long live Omar Rodriguez!
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2007-02-07T11:21:00.000-08:00

Lacuna Coil - "Karmacode" (Century Media, 2006) [key tracks: Fragile, Our Truth]

"I'll be there when there's nothing left. And night and day, holding you... harmony... deep inside your soul, meet me there."

Day two and I am still pumped about blogging again. I am lucky enough to have already received 2 emails from friends I had long lost track of (stupidly), and even had a mystery comment. It was one word, but hey! Cristina, thanks for stopping by (I know you could care less about heavy metal records) and I will try and stay in touch! Matt, we'll get back together (it's stupid we don't do more wince we are in the same dang town). And Rich, Facebook? At your age? (kidding man, I'll chat with you later too)

Lacuna Coil is an Italian rock band that sort of sways goth. It hurts me to say that, because it doesn't really tell you what they sound like, and the word "goth" sort of conjures a lot of negative (and ridiculous) images. First of all, the female vocalist, Christina Scabbia has an angelic voice. I'd rank her with Sussanna Hoffs when it comes to women who you'd fall in love with by voice alone. Second of all, the band is incredible. They play very tight, and can swing from angst filled ballad to metal thunder in a heartbeat. Third, Christina is the single most beautiful woman in rock and roll, EVER! Don't believe me, check her out here, with the band. Lyrically, nothing paradigm changing, but they are the best at what they do. They are usually compared to America's own Evanescence, who are pale and weak by comparison. Amy is less attractive, a worse vocalist, and her band as a whole rocks less that Lacuna. This import record was a rare find for me, as I have only ever seen one listed on Ebay or Gemm... and I bought from an Iowan record store. Check it out on CD... you get an amazing cover of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence" and a hot poster of Christina (oh, and the rest of the band too).

So I hate winter, okay? I am so tired of snow and cold... maybe moving to Arizona when I graduate is a good idea... And I am really starting to get bitter about not being in classes with my classmates. Between these two things, I spend days like today paralyzed. I have homework to do, I have all sorts of independent studies I could be working on (for both fun and credit), I could be boning up on Spanish or Japanese, reading books, cleaning the house, playing my Wii, or even watching some killer movies on DVD I haven't had time to see... but I don't do any of these things. I sit here, listening to records, mindlessly surfing wikipedia, and moping about being a P2.5 while I wait for Sandy to get home. Not a happy camper these days, and I hate that my hands are tied by being blue. I'm bound to get over it, getting back to blogging will help. At least I have my music, my soda pop, and MSN messenger. Horns up!

2007-02-06T11:44:00.000-08:00

Trouble - "Trouble" (1990, Def American) [key tracks: The Wolf, Black Shapes of Doom]

"Alone in the universe, seems our lives are cursed. See where eyes cannot follow and believing there is Tomorrow...it's here. It's here now."

Matt may have asked for DA or Tom Petty, but he gets this. Love it or leave it. What can I say, I am glad to be back posting! The new format will be less wordy than ever before! I will try to have a "fun" paragraph (like this one), a paragraph about the album, and a paragraph long blog entry. I am hoping every post will be no longer than 3 paragraphs. So before I start the fourth or fifth incarnation of Bubblegoose blogging, welcome back! Hi Matt, hi Mark, hi Rich, hi Tahisha, and hi everyone else... I missed you all. And we begin...

This is the LP that should have blown up for Chicago's own Trouble. They went from heavy doom metal in the early 80's to this... smart, soulful, psychedelic metal. In an era still buzzing from the high of G'n'F'n'R, and before Metallica totally sold out with the "black" album (groan), this LP should have been pounding from the rooms of every teenager in the midwest. Hell, it was even produced by Rick Rubin for Def American (the "it" label of the times). Instead, the 90's brought us the musical inquisition... all metal was murdered or forced underground. More appropriately, it was the metal Diaspora, fragmenting and flinging metal in several fractured directions. But we got a lot of bad pop rap, pop grunge, and pop alternative in its place... yuck. Long live Eric Wagner's ghastly vocals, and long live Bruce Franklin's downright evil mixture of shred and doom guitar riffage!

Okay, so today I saw a sight for sore eyes. It's what I can only refer to as "Council Bluffs Garland." In the days before digital won every format war, we used to have these things called "cassette tapes." All over town broken tapes would be discarded into the street, eventually to be broken and have their sensitive magnetic entrails strewn about. If the sun and wind conspired just so, this analog crime scene would glitter and sparkle like any diamond sold at Sol's Pawn. That is, sparkle only until the inevitable filth and Loess Hills dirt collected and choked all beauty out of everything in west-end Kanesville. It was a shock to see CB Garland today, as I haven't seen a cassette tape for months. God bless CB!

2007-02-05T21:11:00.000-08:00

Coming soon, it's back, and starting from scratch.