2.15.13

On February 15th I listened to James Brown Live At The Apollo, Hüsker Dü Zen Arcade, and Adam Ant Adam Ant Is The Blueblack Hussar In Marrying The Gunner’s Daughter.

On the opening track of Live At The Apollo, Fats Gonder introduces James Brown by basically reading the setlist he’s about to perform. I kinda wish they did that at shows back in my day. Nowadays, we can do a little online snooping to see what some bands will play if they’re in the middle of a tour, but for the most part the setlist is supposed to be the best kept secret at a concert.

James Brown was the real fucking deal! Live At The Apollo is a whirlwind. After Fats gives up the goods, James comes out and drops four rapid fire jams. “I’ll Go Crazy,” “Try Me,” “Think,” and “I Don’t Mind,” all clock in around two minutes. Then comes the ten minute behemoth “Lost Someone.” Brown transforms this song into a living thing that wanders the Apollo, sniffing all the ladies and making them scream. Panty puddles. Long live the Godfather of Soul!

Are you sure he's dead? He might just be on Propofol. 

I was never a Hüsker Dü guy, and I was hoping that listening to all of the band’s albums this year would help me see the light. Zen Arcade isn't the clincher. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am a giant Bob Mould fan… I just feel like he didn't do his best work with Hüsker Dü.

Arcade is the Dü’s second album and is rooted in the band’s Hardcore/Punk sound. It’s also a double concept album about a boy and his dog or a Space Invaders contest in Las Vegas or something. Musically there’re definitely some new elements in play, but for the most part this is an 80’s Punk Rock record.

While listening to the angst filled acoustic “Never Talking To You Again,” I couldn't help but wonder if they ever sued Jars Of Clay for “Flood?” It’s a pretty blatant rip off.

I’m just going to cherry pick a few faves here. I liked “Broken Home, Broken Heart,” “Chartered Trips,” “Pink Turns To Blue,” and “Turn On The News.”

I had no idea I picked two double albums on the same day. Adam Ant’s first album in almost twenty years is goofy and weird and unbelievably stupid or brilliant. I can’t tell which. Some of it is new, some of it is reworked demos from years ago, and all of it is all over the place.

I kinda liked a song called “Sausage” and I thought the disc's best jam was “Cradle Your Hatred.”

The epitome of the disc’s weirdness is “Who’s A Goofy Bunny?” A rollicking little number dedicated to the memory of legendary asshole Malcolm McLaren. He was the guy that guided The Sex Pistols into oblivion. 

It wasn't too much of a chore listening to this, but did Adam Ant really need to put a double disc out and give it a name longer than the whole thing? No.

Apparently in the Royal Navy when they used to flog an insubordinate they would often bend the guy over a cannon and that’s where the expression “marrying the gunner’s daughter” came from. Now you know… and knowing’s half the battle! Yo! Joe!

1.3.13

On January 3^rd I listened to Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers, Hüsker Dü Everything Falls Apart and Deftones Koi No Yokan.

I have to say that I am thoroughly enjoying this New Year’s resolution and I truly think I’m going to stick it out all year. I don’t know how much writing I’ll be doing every day, but I’ll be listening to the music for sure! One of my asshole friends in L.A. was giving me some shit for this whole thing by saying that it’s a bit “self-indulgent,” “nobody reads blogs” and “nobody wants to see pictures of me.” It’s my own fault, really. I decided to run with the asshole crowd in college and now I’m stuck with them. F U Fisher (sic)! Roudboy and Marcus backed me up. Although, Bagodonuts didn’t seem to care either way.

Tom Petty And The Heartbreaker’s debut is another album I don’t remember much. I love me some “American Girl” and “Breakdown,” but I did also unearth some gems that I’ll be putting into rotation in my MP3 player. (Has anyone noticed I call my iPod my MP3 player? Cause fuck Apple!)

SIDEBAR – The “Greatest Hits” package ruined Rock N’ Roll. They basically did the same thing the MP3 players and the Spotifies are doing now. There’s probably going to be a hundred albums that I’ll listen to this year for the first time, because I had the radio singles on a greatest hits thing. The Kids In The Hall’s Bruce McCulloch once said, “Greatest Hits album are for housewives and little girls.” So true.

Back to Mr. Tom Petty! Does anybody remember the It’s Garry Shandling’s Show? There was an episode of the show where Garry was flying somewhere, and Tom Petty was there too, I don’t remember the specifics of the episode maybe Tom was Garry’s neighbor? I dunno. Anyway, they’re all on a flight and the stewardess (You ain’t nothing but a waitress in the sky.) comes by with dinner and says to Tom, “and here’s your Kosher meal, Mr. Petty.” This was like 1987 or so. To this day, I’m not sure if Tom is Jewish or not. But I just remember thinking it was really funny.

“The Wild One, Forever” sounds super familiar to me, but I’m pretty sure I haven’t heard it in over 25 years! I also love “Anything That’s Rock N’ Roll.” “Strangered In The Night” is fucking weird! I wonder if it couldn’t be called “Strangers In The Night,” because of Frank Sinatra? The song’s about a black guy and a white guy and somebody gets stabbed or shot. I dunno, maybe.

I know I have heard music from Hüsker Dü’s debut Everything Falls Apart, but I don’t remember what. It was a staple on my college radio station for years, I just didn’t play it. The Replacements were MY band and Hüsker Dü, I just didn’t get. Oddly enough, on Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash, which was listened to the day before, there’s a song called "Something To Dü," which is a nod to Hüsker.

Falls Apart is definitely an old school lo-fi hardcore album. It’s got some moments and it’s annoying in spots.

Ironically, I thought it was weird the word “fag” was getting thrown around on the track “Blah Blah Blah.” Considering Bob Mould is gay, I’m assuming in his youth he just kept quiet about things like this. His book See A Little Light is next in my reading queue, so hopefully he’ll talk about that in there.

Their cover of “Sunshine Superman,” is odd, to say the least and I did like “Gravity,” but a record like this is tough to get into. Let me explain:

I once had a discussion with a friend of mine about trying to discover old indie rock music. I was playing him Please To Meet Me by The Replacements because he had never heard it. To me the album sounds like a favorite meal or seeing an old friend, to him it sounded like shitty production and songs that meant nothing. The point is… sometimes the brilliance of a song or album can only be recognized in the pocket of time it came out. Back in 1983 Hüsker Dü spoke volumes to people that were looking for something else. It wasn’t on the radio, it didn’t sound like anything, and it was made by guys that weren’t rock stars… just restless young men. It could even be you making a record like this! If you fell in love with it when it was happening, then you took it with you through the years. Sometimes, without that nostalgia it’s a hell of a lot harder to enjoy something like that. Does that make sense?

I have gone back several times to listen to the big albums from Hüsker Dü, Zen Arcade and Warehouse, but they just didn’t speak to me. They’re all going to be featured in 2013 The Year Of Music and I’ll try to listen with an open mind and eagerness to find out what I’ve been missing. I love so much of Bob Mould’s other stuff, I’m looking forward to go back one more time and do the Dü! (NO I DIDN’T!)

Deftones are back! Although a dumb name Koi No Yokan (In Japanese it means, “premonition of love.” Oh brother.) rocks and I love it! Going back to the formula that made their first three records tit sandwiches. (I’m trying to coin new phrases for great. I can’t keep saying “great,” or “awesome.” Tit sandwich works, maybe?) Hopefully, we can all forget about the last three records which were definitely shit sandwiches and nobody took a bite. (Man, I suck.)

Although the formula is almost a little too much like tracks off of Around The Fur and White Pony, I don’t give a shit. I missed the old Deftones too much! Plus the cover just looks like something from their late 90's heyday. “Swerve City” starts the disc off and running and doesn’t falter from there.

Much love and positive thoughts for bass player Chi Cheng, he is still recovering from a coma as a result of a 2008 car accident. Although he’s making great progress he’s still got a long way to go and I hope he plays with the band again someday.