4.18.13

On April 18th I listened to NOFX Punk In Drublic and Face To Face Face To Face, and Three Chords & A Half Truth.

NOFX was never “my band.” I think if I was younger, I might have been attracted to their sound. But, by the time I got wind of them when they released the wonderfully titled White Trash, Two Heebs And A Bean,  I was a big man of the world and a very mature 21-years-old. Not really, but NOFX’s brand of goofball Punk Rock wasn't for me. Sure, I love the Dead Milkmen, but I started listening to them when I was 14, and I’m not even sure you can really compare the two.

I’m definitely not saying I don’t like NOFX, I just wasn't part of their scene. Punk In Drublic was released in 1994 and there was an avalanche of fucking awesome music released that year. I was riding high on the Alt Rock wave and NOFX wasn't on my radar. Oddly enough, I absolutely love Me First And The Gimme Gimmes, which features NOFX’s Fat Mike.

I picked this album, because it’s the band’s most successful release. It’s somewhat fun. I didn't hate listening to it, but I also don’t have the time to give it, to really “get it.” I liked “Dig” for some reason and kept going back to it.

The one thing that I always loved about NOFX is their integrity. They made music for the fans and didn't give a shit about anything else. Interviews, videos, major labels and selling out were all never a part of their agenda.

The only thing I knew from Face To Face prior to Face To Face was the song “Disconnected,” which was on both of their first two albums.

Face To Face was usually a one or two song an album band for me. When this one came out in 1996, I’d listen to “Ordinary” and “I Won’t Lie Down” and not much else. So, I wanted to go back and give the whole disc another shot.

There’re a couple other good tracks here that I was ignoring. I never really compared Face To Face with Bad Religion, but the album’s opener “Resignation” has a definite Bad Religion vibe. “Walk The Walk” is a keeper. I definitely remember “Everything’s Your Fault,” and I’m pissed I probably haven’t heard it since the 90’s.

When I got my first MP3 player in 2000, a 5G Nomad Jukebox, it only fit 1,500 songs, so I had to make a lot of concessions. I only ripped the two songs I liked from this disc and never looked back and I did that with probably a hundred other albums.

The major problem with a lot of band’s like Fact To Face and NOFX is, outside a few little pieces of flair here and there, most of the songs sound way too much alike. But, it’s the themes and passion, conviction or humor put into the lyrics that keep us interested. I dunno, maybe?

I like the first song, “123 Drop.” Everything else seemed forced, misguided, or just boring. Sorry Face To Face.

4.14.13

On April 14th I listened to The Goo Goo Dolls Hold Me Up and Superstar Car Wash, and Alkaline Trio My Shame Is True.

I love The Goo Goo Dolls and I don’t care who knows it! We’re both from Buffalo, NY and I watched them go from local band to International Superstars!

I also have a great deal of respect for the band. Back in the day they had to literally fight for their very existence against the evil dicks over at Metal Blade Records, who had them locked into a pretty unfair contract. The financial hardships they endured at the hands of Metal Blade could have easily dissolved the band, but they stuck it out and they’re still around today! Living well is the best revenge!

Somewhere along the way they perfected a brand of chick Rock that keeps them in business. They put out albums every couple of years and go out on tour. This summer they’ll be hitting the road with Matchbox Twenty and I say, “Good for them!” Do I wish they’d get back to their Replacements worshiping Rock days? Yeah, but I won’t ever fault them for what they’re doing.

I currently work for a Pop radio station. I was on the air a few weekends ago when the station was giving away tickets to the upcoming Goo Goo Dolls/Matchbox Twenty shows. Before I gave away a pair of tickets, I tweeted from the radio station’s account. “We’ll be sure to tell everybody your ‘Name’ if you win Goo Goo Dolls/Matchbox 20 tix in 30 minutes! Get it? It’s a Goo’s song!” I know I suck.

A young lady replied to the tweet saying that she got it! “Name” was her favorite Dolls song, she was a superfan, and I should give her the tickets. I wrote back saying that she’ll have another chance to win in an hour and that “Two Days In February” is our favorite Goo Goo Dolls song. She had never heard it! She went and listened to it online, liked it and thanked me for recommending it. Her twitter handle had the word “goo” in it and her background was a picture of the band. Honestly, I can’t wrap my head around that. How could you call yourself a superfan of a band if you’re not familiar with their complete body of work? It makes me want to go to a Goo Goo Dolls show and hand out copies of Hold Me Up and Superstar Car Wash. “Here you go. Be sure to listen, because there’s gonna be a test!”

OK, the Dolls first two albums certainly aren't for the average thirty-something broad, but if you’re a self-proclaimed superfan, you should be familiar with Hold Me Up! GEE FUCKING WHIZ!

One of my favorite parts of older Goo Goo Dolls records are Robbie Takac songs. Robbie sang some great stuff for the band and Hold Me Up has two of his best songs, “Laughing” and “On Your Side.”

But it was “There You Are,” “Just The Way You Are,” and “Two Days In February,” that showed Johnny Rzeznik was emerging as a strong songwriter and his jams were going to start taking the band places. 

You should watch the video for “There You Are.” Johnny was quite a dresser back then.

I always thought Screaming Trees stole the entire concept for “Nearly Lost You.”

This is pretty much a flawless record for me. I can listen to the whole thing and never look for the fast forward button. Lance Diamond does a stellar job on the Prince cover, “Never Take The Place Of Your Man,” and their version of The Plimsouls “Million Miles Away,” is spot on! “Two Days In February” is my favorite Goo Goo Dolls song, because it’s a great little ballad and because they recorded it on the front porch of their house. You can hear cars driving by during the recording. I always thought that was kind of cool. They rerecorded it for their Greatest Hits collection, because fuck Metal Blade, but they couldn't recapture the charm of the original late night porch recording.

I remember hearing “We Are The Normal,” on WDRE in Long Island in 1993 and thinking the Goo Goo Dolls are the real deal! Here they are on the radio, outside of Buffalo, with a song they wrote with Paul Westerberg, whom they revered as a God. Who doesn’t?

Another perfect album for me, I can listen to the whole thing anytime and it still sounds fresh. Superstar turned twenty this past February and it doesn't sound dated at all.

“Girl Right Next To Me” was always my favorite from Superstar Car Wash. And I absolutely love Robbie's "Domino."

A couple of years ago I was having a discussion with some 20-year-old pukes about Alkaline Trio. They were fans of the band and I've been a casual follower since their 2001 release From Hear To Infirmary. I mentioned that I really liked “Calling All Skeletons” from their 2008 album Agony & Irony and was nearly laughed out of the room. “It’s too Poppy! I only like their earlier stuff,” was the general consensus. Typical. It’s like every band should just break up after their third album.

If “Calling All Skeletons” was too Poppy, then My Shame Is True could be made into heroin! Cause Poppy plants are used to make heroin. F U!

Do you remember the movie That Thing You Do? Towards the end Tom Hanks' character is telling Jimmy, the lead singer of The Wonders, what time it is. "I don't want any of this lover's lament crap," says Mr. White. "I want something peppy, something happy, something up-tempo I want something snappy." Alkaline Trio takes the "lover's lament crap," and makes it "snappy."

As far as Pop Punk goes, I’m not a big fan, but this album is solid from beginning to end. “She Lied To The FBI,” sets the pace for the disc with a fun little hooky romp and then My Shame Is True doesn't slow down for forty minutes. “The Temptation Of St. Anthony” is my favorite! “St. Anthony this agony, it’s eating at my soul.” St. Anthony, as we all know, is the patron saint of tattooed sleeves. Then Tim from Rise Against shows up on “I, Pessimist” and this album pops it into fifth gear as it tears down whatever road goes along the lake in Chicago. I’m not looking it up.

The last time I saw Alkaline Trio play was at Roseland ballroom in New York City on a bill with Rise Against and Gaslight Anthem. This was probably four or five years ago and I started talking with a woman by the bar between band sets. We were chitchatting for about ten minutes when I realized she wasn't really into any of the bands playing and she said, “I’m here with my daughter and her two friends, they’re all 13-years-old. Who are you here with?” “My nephew,” I blurted out. “I better go check on him. See ya!” 

4.13.13

On April 13th I listened to Depeche Mode Violator, Pavement Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, and Depeche Mode Delta Machine. Depeche Mode is the Oreo and Pavement is the creamy filling.

I could definitely make a strong argument that this is the last great Depeche Mode album. Sure, they've had some great music since, but not a collection like Violator. Songs Of Faith And Devotion my ass! I’m looking at their discography right now and I have no memory of 2001’s Exciter! No memory of it what so ever!

That is weird, because I went to see them on that tour on June 30, 2001 in Philadelphia! I remember it vividly because I went to the show with Kurt Steffek from Mute Records! He bought me dinner beforehand. We went to Buddakan. I had the Pepper crusted Tuna Tartare! It melted in my mouth! I remember the show too, because we had been checking the setlists from previous shows and I really wanted to hear “Policy Of Truth.” They were switching it out with “Clean” in the encore every other night or so. Guess what? I got “Clean.”

If I can remember what I had for dinner and what the encore of a show was that I saw in 2001, why can’t I remember an album from a band I love? Hold on…

OK, I just scanned it. I do remember “Dream On.” Not much else. Weird.

I got off on a tangent there.

The only problem with Violator is that it’s too short! A mere nine songs make up this album, but they’re all flawless. It’s a perfect record, so maybe that’s why they didn't want to fuck with it and add a tenth song. For an album that just turned twenty-three years old, its timeless vitality has brought it to 2013 sounding as fresh as ever. One of my all-time favorite albums.

This is a spring record to me. I was nineteen when it came out in March of 1990. Awful Buffalo winter was coming to an end and the weather just kept getting better and better the more I listened to this album. 

I remember a night of college drinking and riding back to campus with a car load of people. It was one of the first warm nights of the year, so the car windows were down and Violator was cranked up in my friend George’s 1989 Chevy Cavalier Z24! Good times.

Soon after its release, Violator contributed a phrase that became a permanent part of my lexicon of slang. A small group of us drove up to Toronto to see Front 242. I broke a guy’s nose at the show, but I’ll save that story for a Front 242 record write up. The show was loud, we over did it in the mosh pit, and on the way home there was a slight argument about what to listen to on the 90 minute drive. My head was pounding and after a minute of bickering I turned the radio off and said, “Let’s just enjoy the silence for a little while.” It actually worked and to this day it’s my polite way of telling someone to shut up.

At its best Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain captures the trials and tribulations of being a young man and in a band, in typical young man fashion… all over the place. At its worst, this album is annoying as fuck. Quite a dichotomy.

I always thought the album’s opener “Silent Kit,” was a subtle rip-off of Buddy Holly’s “Everyday” and when I Googled Pavement and Buddy Holly, I found this guy. I was right about something! Fuckin’ A!

Some Guy Mashing Up "Everyday" and "Silent Kit."

For too long this album was just about “Cut Your Hair” for me. I remember thinking that it was a novelty song that I would probably get sick of, but that didn't happen. It's too cleaver and I'll never get sick of the word play with career and Korea and the line, "did you see the drummer's hair?"

I had listened to the whole album a bunch of times and just didn't “get it.” But then one night out I heard “Range Life” in a bar and that all changed. The whole thing started to sound great to me pretty quickly after that. 

When I say something like that, it makes me wonder about music that I’m quickly dismissing in my old age. If I was twenty would I have listened to Sleigh Bells over and over and found their appeal? I did that with Pavement and countless other bands. I just kept listening to them until I heard what I needed to in order to “get it.” Can I make it work with so many bands I'm not "getting" today? Grizzly Bear? Best Coast? And all the other wimpy bands that get fawned all over? No, everything does suck nowadays, but I’m sure proud of myself when I have thoughts like that. I’m deep.

I only got to see Pavement once on the Lollapalooza Tour they played in '95. I remember fighting with my asshole friends cause I wanted to move closer, but nobody wanted to get dirty. Pussies!

“Stop Breathin’,” The Pixies inspired “Unfair,” and the annoying “Hit The Plane Down” are just a few more of my favorites from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain.

Long before Delta Machine was released it was being described as a Blues album. The name alone, Delta Machine, screams blues and I was kind of hoping the boys were going to be picking up a steel guitar and twanging out the down and dirty sounds of the American south. I initially was disappointed that it’s more of a synth Blues affair.

The first time I listened to it, I was bored out of my mind! Creepy and too slow were my two biggest complaints. “Angel” is the biggest culprit of that. But then I listened to it again and it got a little better. Finally, on the third listen I found some stuff I liked, but Delta Machine isn't really a solid album as a whole. I read a couple reviews that said it's the band's best album. Pffffft!

I’m now having a love/hate relationship with “Angel.” Dave Gahan’s performance really punches some buttons in me on this one and I like that. “Broken” has an old school DM feel to it, but falls just a pube short of actually sounding like the band in the 80’s. It’s close though! Martin Gore’s vocals on “The Child Inside” make me feel uneasy, to say the least. “Heaven” reminds me of Portishead just a little.

The first time I listened to the album when I got to “Slow,” I thought, “Yeah, that about sums up this whole record.” But, it has the first hint of an actual Blues inspiration. I just wish it was rawer.

"Soothe My Soul” is definitely the hit here and it’s a shame that I’m not hearing it outside of when I’m hitting play myself on my MP3 player. “Goodbye” delivers some more Blues sounds, although there’s some synth noodling I could do without. I’d love to hear stripped down mix of it. 

Tomorrow I listen to Goo Goo Dolls Hold Me Up and Superstar Car Wash and Alkaline Trio My Shame Is True.

Here's April's Playlist!

4.11.13

On April 11th I listened to Frank Black Frank Black, The Afghan Whigs Black Love, and Clutch Earth Rocker.

Black Francis is dead! Long live Frank Black! Or Frank Black Francis!

I don’t think I love another whole album from Frank, post-Pixies, as much as I love his first two solo projects. Frank Black and Teenager Of The Year are slick and fun and then everything he recorded after was coarse and almost as much fun.

Originally conceived as a collection of cover songs, Frank Black only features one. He does an upbeat version of the Beach Boys’ chilling “Hang Onto Your Ego” and the rest is all Frank Black.

A big collection of 15 songs, there isn't much on this album that isn't worth listening to. I get why he didn't continue making records that sound like this. It just wasn't him and maybe it was his shot at breaking through to a larger mainstream, but when he realized that wasn't going to happen, he just said “fuck it.” Now he does what he wants. I dunno, maybe?

I had been a little miffed at Frank since I was supposed to interview him in 1996 and he bailed at like the absolute last second. He “ wasn't speaking to save his voice for tonight’s show.” As I left through the back door of the venue, the crew was still loading in when I heard a guy yell, “Hey Bill! Where’s that box of cables!” I turned around and guess who it was? Dick! Frank did reply to one of my tweets last year, so I guess all is forgiven.

Do you hear that? A train’s coming. A train bound for the darkness! A train bound for enemy lines. A train bound for evil. A train bound for commercial disaster. All aboard!

Hands down, this is one of the best albums of the 90’s! It’s dark and brooding. It’s soaring and bluesy. It’s dirty and spiteful. It’s a fucking masterpiece.

The Afghan Whigs handed Elektra Records this masterpiece and said, “Go forth and promote the brilliance!” Elektra proceed to drop the ball with a record they had no idea what to do with. 

Granted, there wasn't much that was gonna get on the radio at the time, but putting out “Honky’s Ladder” as the album’s lead single with an awful video pretty much sealed its fate. The Whigs even sued the label afterwards so they could go somewhere else for their next album.  

I used to live with this Phish loving materialistic chick that loved to start fights with me for stupid shit. After the yelling, I’d throw on Black Love just to piss her off. “Do you think I’m beautiful, or do you think I’m evil!” She was both.

I’m not the biggest Clutch fan in the world, but are they just putting out the same record every two years now?

Sounds like Clutch! Right on, man! 

Tomorrow I listen to Gun N' Roses Use Your Illusion I and II, and Stereophonics Graffiti On The Train. 

Here's April's Playlist!

4.10.13

On April 10th I listened to Poster Children Daisy Chain Reaction, Samiam You Are Freaking Me Out, and Suede Bloodsports.

Remember a few years ago when Britney Spears put out that stupid song “If U Seek Amy?” By saying the title you’re basically spelling out “fuck me.” Well, she stole the whole thing from Poster Children’s song “If You See Kay.”

I don’t remember why I didn't pay attention to Poster Children. I remember when all their records came out. I think I went and saw them once. I just didn't ever listen to them on my own.

This is a pretty sold Indie Rock album. It’s fun. It reminds me of Pavement in places, mostly vocals. I have no excuse for ignoring this band. Their music was right up my alley.

“Want It,” was my favorite from this listen.

Samiam is another band I was late on. I should have listened to Clumsy, because I don’t know it very well and I've listened to this one a million times since it came out in 1997. I also love Astray from them too.

You Are Freaking Me Out is top loaded with three shoulda been hits. “Ordinary Life,” “She Found You,” and “Full On” are three slam dunks! I still have no idea why they didn't get played all over the radio. They’re strong, they paint wonderful pictures of dysfunction and you can sing along to them. I don’t get it.

“If You Say So,” “My Convenience,” “Nothing New,” and the Beatles cover “Cry Baby Cry” help round out You Are Freaking Me Out and make it a solid album and not just a couple of strong songs and filler.

I’m almost shocked at how much I like this Suede album. When they were having their moment in the sun during the 90’s I wasn't really paying attention. They were a little too theatrical for me.

I pretty much came into this album thinking, making it through the first half will be quite an accomplishment.

The disc’s opener, “Barriers,” is a nice attention grabber. It’s a soaring track awash in a lush 80’s grandeur akin to what the Killers have been doing. I actually like it! Great nostalgic feel to the lyrics and a big hook.

The proper single from the album “It Starts And Ends With You” is great too! What is going on here? Am I going to have to go back and listen to the Suede back catalog? Here’s all I remember about Suede from back in the day. We had to call them The London Suede, cause of another band that used the moniker, their song “Metal Mickey” was OK, and one of their albums featured a couple of broads making out.

I was hoping “Sabotage” was going to be a Beastie Boys cover. It’s not. It’s not bad either. I actually had to look up who was playing keyboards on this album, because Neil Codling’s playing gives each track such a layer of depth. Everything sounds so important with him back there. I like that.

“Hit Me,” sounds like one of those songs that should have been recorded years ago. It sounds like it was a hit in 1995. Big song, huge hook and I don’t even mind the “la la la’s!” It’s got summer hit written all over it! (Well, certainly not in 'Merica, but over there in the U.K.) I love when a band can somehow tap into the magic that made them to create a song that is new, awesome and just reeks of their signature sound... twenty years later.

Tomorrow I will listen to Frank Black Frank Black, The Afghan Whigs Black Love, and Clutch Earth Rocker. 

Here's April's Playlist!

4.4.13

On April 4th I listened to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones Don’t Know How To Party, Reel Big Fish Turn The Radio Off!, and Big D And The Kids Table For The Damned, The Dumb & The Delirious.

Do you remember the Ska explosion of 1997? A phenomenon that was sparked by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and the moderate successes of other third wave Ska bands. (I’m not writing a Ska book here, so I’m not going into the differences in the waves.) 

Every major label in the county was pissing in their pants to sign a Ska band. Fucking Less Than Jake got like a five record deal with Capitol. They actually released two. I believe that whole bout of buffoonery set Ska music back years! It’s just now catching up! In the aftermath around the turn of the century known Ska bands were releasing albums without horns or with the horns scaled way back, because the genre had been tainted by the tyranny of evil men. Bad times.

To quote the amazing A House, "The music business is incapable of bringing music to the future, as it sits just waiting to pounce on any third rate trend, milking it to death, once again putting money where the music is not."

I'm certainly NOT saying Ska was or is a third rate trend, but that quote completely describes The Major Label Ska Explosion Of 1997.  

I have a confession to make. As much as I love the Bosstones, they don’t have one album I really love. Do they have about ten songs I can’t live without? You betcha!

Back in the 90’s the Bosstones were constantly on a northeast swing and I'd go see them play at least once a year. They'd come down from Boston and hit all the towns in New York along the 90; Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo. Bands would call it the Glamour Run. 

Anyway, one night in 1993 the Bosstones were booked at the Horizontal Boogie Bar in Rochester and then were playing the Tralf in Buffalo the next night. During the Rochester show the band whipped the crowd into one of those “pogo” frenzies that were in fashion at the time, and the floor collapsed! The best part is nobody was seriously injured! 

The next night they played the Tralf, and God damn it if we didn't try and collapse the floor too. F those Rochester d-bags! While we “pogo’d” our hearts out in Buffalo, they fixed the floor at the Boogie Bar and two nights after they broke the place, the Bosstones played the same room. They wrote a song about it, I think. True story.

I sure love “Someday I Suppose!” Yes I do. "Don't Know How To Party" sounds like I had listened to it in the past a couple few times and then there’s the rest of the album. Good stuff.

I am what you would call a casual fan of Ska. I like a bunch of it, but definitely not all of it. Ska is just another station stop on my lifelong musical journey. Keeping that in mind, I would say that pound for pound this is THE BEST SKA ALBUM EVER RECORDED! The guys in the band probably wouldn't agree with me on that one, but Ska doesn't get much better than this.

Turn The Radio Off is a perfect album. There is not one dud among the sixteen tracks. Every song has a hook. Every song is a shitload of fun. Every song has that big beautiful brass section blowing up a storm. And the album even has a bona fide hit... "Sell Out." 

It’s one big old immature and oafish hell of a good time! I think the chorus from “All I Want Is More” can sum up the whole thing. “Someday… Maybe she’ll come back to me… and I’ll say… Why don’t you go fuck yourself?” Why don't you go fuck yourself, indeed.

You know the Desert Island Disc thing? What ten albums would you take with you if you were going to be stranded on a deserted island? I can't say for sure if I'd take Turn The Radio Off, but it would be in the discussion right up until I made my final decision. 

A bunch of years ago I did a song exchange with my friend Veronica Beans. I sent her The Monkees "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?" and she sent me Big D And The Kids Table "My Girlfriend's On Drugs." 

My song was about a tender love affair that takes place south of the border between a gringo and a sweet senorita. They spoke the international language... OF LOVE! The international language of love! (A dollar to anybody that can name the movie that last line is from!) Anyway, its a cute little song about longing and the heartbreak of saying goodbye. 

Her song was about some loser who is dating a girl on drugs. She's into pot, coke, pills and thinks that huffing is a challenge. 

I can't say for sure how much Beans listened to The Monkees, but I really dug the rollicking Ska jam she sent me. Sadly, that's pretty much all I know about Big D And The Kids Table.

I was sent a physical copy of this album a couple years ago when I was working for a Rock station in NYC. I immediately emailed Beans and said she could have it. She said she didn't like having CDs and no thanks. Did I mention she's a twenty-year-old puke? I should also mention she's a very promising young lady with a great future ahead of her. She did the whole Binders Full Of Women thing. 

So, here we are two years later and I'm listening to For The Damned, The Dumb & The Delirious, finally for the first time.

I liked "Clothes Off" a lot! And now I have two Big D And The Kids Table songs I like!

Thanks, Beans!

Correction - Tomorrow is Post Hardcore Day! Whatever that means. 

Here's April's Playlist!

4.2.13

On April 2nd I listened to Jimmy Eat World Clarity, Failure Fantastic Planet, and The Black Angels Indigo Meadow.

Spending all your free time listening to music sometimes will give a person a musical sixth sense, if you will. It’s like a combined sense of hearing, comprehension and intuition. You can listen to a band’s first couple of recordings and make a really solid educated guess as to where they’re going. My music sixth sense used to be sharp and pointy, now it's a little bloated and dull. But, I definitely remember in 1999 listening to Clarity and thinking that Jimmy Eat World was poised for greatness. That’s not saying that Clarity isn't a great record in its own right, because it is definitely something special. The songwriting from Static Prevails to Clarity had really taken a giant leap, the sound of the recording, and the growth of the arrangements all pointed in one direction. Up. Yet, Capitol records dropped them anyway because nobody bought Clarity. Stooopid!

In 2001, I was working for a shitty little radio industry rag and I swear to God we were sent an advanced copy of Bleed American from Capitol records. (I just emailed the guy I shared an office with, but I can not confirm this.) Regardless, Dreamworks scooped up Jimmy Eat World and Bleed American (later named Jimmy Eat World after 9/11) became one of the greatest albums of the new century… so far.

And I saw their whole arc of greatness coming with my musical sixth sense. I’m like a Disco Jedi.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Jim Adkins in the summer of 1999. Jimmy Eat World was playing an outdoor mini-festival for my radio station and I was broadcasting live from the venue. We started talking about Emo, because it was a Hot Topic (Hi-Oh) in the late 90’s, but I could tell he really just wanted to change the subject. “Would you consider Jimmy Eat World an Emo band?” I asked. “No,” he said quickly. I pointed out that the band’s fans would disagree and he agreed with that. “Well, what is Emo music?” I asked to try and find a common ground. He very quickly said, “What do you think it is?” I paused for what seemed like forever. I was trying to clean up what I was thinking which was “Crybaby Rock,” but I said, “I think it’s Rock music with very sensitive lyrics.” I just remember the look that he gave me, as if to say that he knew what I was thinking, heard what I said and would you want your band labeled that?  He gave a very polite response about music being subjective, and whatever someone takes away from Jimmy Eat World… blah blah blah. I've run into him a handful of times during my radio career and he's always been a nice guy. 

It's been way too long since I listened to all of Clarity. I forgot all about the Christmas jam! Every Christmas I always listen to Jimmy Eat World’s cover of “Last Christmas,” when I could have been listening to “12.23.95” too! “A Sunday,” and “Blister” were always two standouts. And then there’s “Lucky Denver Mint.” One of my all-time favorite songs!

The joke with the band Failure has always been, “you don’t name your band Failure.”

Fantastic Planet was released right before I got my first real job in radio and after I was hired “Stuck On You” was being worked as a single. Check out the CD single they sent out. The shape of that guy’s helmet is the shape of the CD. It was the only time I ever remember getting a weird shaped CD like that and it worked in almost any CD player. So, I listened to that song a lot showing my friends the weird CD I just got for free at my new job down at the radio station!

I know many people that love the main guy behind this band, Ken Andrews. I’ve talked about him in this blog already. He’s been in a few other bands and has produced a lot of albums. He’s a musician’s musician. There are countless amounts of music heads that will tell you that Fantastic Planet is one of the best albums ever recorded that nobody has heard! Meaning that if given the chance, the masses would have eaten this record up and it would be as big as that President’s Of The United States Of America album that three million people bought and then sold back for two bucks because they realized when the listened to "Lump" and "Peaches" they looked like drooling wieners. Mr. Average Radio Listener would have kept his copy of Fantastic Planet and it would have become a cherished possession. There's a WHOLE other reason that atrocities like that happened, but I'm not even gonna go there right now. I'm talking about good old payola and I'll broach that topic somewhere down the road.

Feeling adventurous? Go listen to three songs from this record. “Saturday Savior,” “The Nurse Who Loved Me” (A song that A Perfect Circle fans should know.), and “Stuck On You” should have you wanting more from Failure. If they don’t then you’re a douche bag. Sorry, but it’s true.

I loved “Telephone” from The Black Angels' last album, Phosphene Dream. I hated the name of that album. I also hate the name Indigo Meadow. Fucking hippie dirtbags.

This is another one of these records that I don’t know what to do with. I like it. As I’m listening to it I think little parts, here and there, are cool. But, I know me, I’m never going to throw this record on and listen to the whole thing for the rest of my life. I’m not in the market for a band that thinks Jefferson Airplane is the shit. I just want to find the good song or songs I can take away from this album. A trophy or a participation badge that says I listened to Indigo Meadow and I although I'm not down with their whole thing, I like this song.  

Music is such a strange gift. Sometimes it’s opening up an Atari 2600 in 1980 on Christmas morning, with two games! It’s instant and euphoric. Sometimes it’s like your first beer. It’s awful. But all the cool guys are drinking beer, so you stick with it. Sadly, I don’t see any cool guys listening to The Black Angels right now and I don’t feel like drinking this album 20 times to get it.

This is the biggest conundrum of my 2013 Year Of Music. Some of these new records I’m listening to just suck a monumental amount of dicks, and I’m pissed I wasted my time listening to them. I’m looking at you Dirty Projectors! But then there is something like Indigo Meadow that I feel has some potential, I just don’t have the time to give it to find it.

I’m almost as guilty as those awful singing asshole shows, where douche bags tell nice people they suck and millions of people grow strong on the broken souls of the innocent. You know, American Idol, The Voice et al.

I did like the single “Don’t Play With Guns.” “The Day,” “Evil Things,” and “Always Maybe” were pretty OK, I guess. I think I just liked “Always Maybe,” because I’m Brad Maybe. “I Hear Colors” was kind of fascinating because I saw sound a couple of times while using LSD. It’s not quite the same thing, but I get it. Fucking hippies.

Tomorrow is "What The Fuck Happened To You" Day! I will listen to Bush Sixteen Stone, Lenny Kravitz Mama Said and the new turd The Strokes just dropped. 

Check out my second month of 90's music April Playlist!

4.1.13

On April 1st I listened to Superchunk Here’s Where The Strings Come In, Guided By Voices Bee Thousand, and The Men New Moon.

Back in my day, if you liked Indie Rock each band had an invisible line drawn in their sands of coolness. I’m sure this still applies today but a lot of grey areas probably muck it all up. Before the internet and the complete dissolution of the Rock caste system, it was pretty easy to see where the line was drawn.

Take the great Dinosaur Jr. It’s easy to find their line. It starts at their album Green Mind because it came out on Warner Bros. and everything before that was on an independent record label. So, in the 90’s I’d take shit for liking Green Mind, while the Indie Rock “purists,” would say things like, “I only like Bug and You’re Living All Over Me because those are SST records. Everything else sucks.” And that was pretty much that. No point in even engaging a dickhole like that.

I love Superchunk, but I didn’t start listening to them until they released Here’s Where The Strings Come In was released. They have always been fiercely independent. They put out two albums with Matador records, and then started their own Indie label. Merge records has become a powerhouse. It’s the home of those hosers everybody fawns all over, Arcade Fire. So, you’d think that there wouldn't be a line for them, but there was… at least in the mid-90’s.

Coincidentally, Superchunk released their first album the month I started working in college radio, January 1990, and would put out two more albums before I graduated. I played a few songs here and there, I was exposed to them, for sure, but I didn't really connect with their singer’s voice. I have since gone back and spent many hours with all their albums, and consider them one of my all-time favorite bands.

But, for some reason Here’s Where The Strings Come In was considered too commercial by some Indie d-bags. I remember getting guff from the local record store clerk when I bought it. “Oh, did you see their video on 120 Minutes this week?” he said with a snide little smirk. “Yeah! I did! Here’s my thirteen bucks! Go fuck yourself!” He replied with, “I’m spinning at the Old Pink tomorrow night, you stopping in?” “Yeah, see you there,” the guy was actually a friend of mine. Really though? 120 Minutes played their video and somehow they lost all their inherent coolness?

It didn't end there. The their-first-couple-albums-were-better phenomenon also came into play.

You have to understand that I based my life on what I considered “good” music, surrounded myself with people that followed the same philosophy and hung in places where The Clash and The Replacements were king and a James Brown song was coming up next on the jukebox. So, I was talking about music almost as much as I was listening to it. 

I’d be listening to Here’s Where The Strings Come In in my car and a friend would say, “No Pocky For Kitty is such a better record.” I asked someone in a bar what album “Slack Motherfucker,” an earlier song, was on and was treated to a five minute monologue about how it’s from Tossing Seeds which isn't really a proper album, and that I probably “ wouldn't get it.” 

When I flat out ignored Superchunk, nobody tried to convert me, now that I was opening up to them… I was doing it wrong. Every other album they put out was better for some reason! Back in the 90’s, Indie snobs sure liked to piss on everyone’s parade with examples of how they were cooler because they owned and “liked” albums you never heard of or haven't heard yet. I do respect that, but it sucks when you’re on the receiving end of it. Do the kids still do that?

Just to put it into perspective, if you were to ask 10,000 random people between the ages of 18 and 34, in 1995, who is Superchunk, you’d be lucky if any of them said that guy from The Goonies.

Here’s Where The Strings Come In, is my favorite album from Superchunk. It’s perfect, in that I can listen to all of it and love the whole thing. Yeah, it’s a little whiney! Sure, some of the songs sound very similar to each other. But, it speaks to me! 

Released just a month before Oasis’ (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, Here’s Where The Strings Come In, to me, stands up there with some of the decade’s best!

Did you know that I’m lazy? It’s true. Remember how I was saying that I hate Indie douche bags that dump on everything, but I understand them? Remember how I said I surrounded myself with people that drenched themselves in “good” music? Good, because this write up is going to be easy and prove that I’m also guilty of being a music snob.

I have four longtime friends that I worked with at my college radio station. Fisher, Marcus, Bagodonuts and Roundboy. We email each other somewhat regularly to share crap. Internet videos, music, dumb stories, whatever. In 2009 Roundboy felt compelled to email us all a copy of Guided By Voices Bee Thousand and wanted to know what we thought.

I had always not really cared about GBV. They had a song called “Glad Girls” I liked for a hot minute in like 2001? I dunno, maybe? I just don’t wanna spend my time listening to them. It’s not for me. Although, I will say that during this listen of Bee Thousand I understood or appreciated it a little more. Was there one song I will add to my regular rotation? Just one, “Smothered In Hugs,” but just so I can seem “cooler.” I’ll secretly hate it, but if anybody comments on my musical choice I’ll be all like, “Guided By Voices? I love these guys.” And they’ll probably say that their first album was better. Fuck you imaginary dick in my head!

After I listened to this album in 2009 at the behest of Roundboy this is the email I sent out to our little group. The ONLY amendment I’d make is that I’d say George Harrison and not Paul McCartney.

Here’s the email:

Dicks,

Okay it's an awesome Friday. Just made a vodka tonic and threw on GBV Bee Thousand.

First five tracks are a fucking pill. They're so bad, they're almost begging you to turn off the record. Then Smothered in Hugs kicks in and I think... somebody's in love with Paul McCartney. Yours to Keep and Echoes Myron sound like Beatles fart tracks. But I'm not saying I don't like them. If I could write a Beatles fart track I would. The effects on his vocals gets a little annoying. But if you're trying to rip off the Beatles and you can actually sound a little like them, what the hell. But I think EVERYBODY is ripping off the Beatles. Just listen to Superunknown by Soundgarden... total fucking Beatles rip off. Beatles. 

I give it a 6.5 out of 10. I didn't like them much then I don't know if I'll be listening much now.

I took a record a friend of mine loves and pee'd all over it. The circle of dickheads continues.

Fisher’s response to my email was “When you’re unemployed, isn't every day an awesome Friday?"

I like the sound of this record. I like the energy of the band. I like the passion in their performance. But this record is utterly forgettable. I listened to it yesterday. Listened to it again today, but I fear if you played it for me tomorrow in a blind taste test I’d be all like, “who’s this?”

Is “genericism” a word? Cause there’s a thick vein of it running through this whole record.

Tomorrow I listen to Jimmy Eat World, Failure, and The Black Angels.

Check out the April Playlist!

3.9.13

On March 9th I listened to Faith No More The Real Thing, Faith No More Angel Dust, and Tomahawk Oddfellows. It was Mike Patton day! I love Mike Patton, mostly in Faith No More.

I believe Rolling Stone called The Clash’s London Calling the best album of the 80’s, although it was released in December of 1979. I mention that because if the dicks at Rolling Stone can include London Calling in the 80’s, I can discuss Faith No More’s The Real Thing with the 90’s. Besides nobody but Metalheads cared about it until February 1990 when “Epic” became a single. So there!

The Real Thing is the first Faith No More album to feature their new singer Mike Patton. He replaced Chuck Mosley, who departed the band because he’s a dick… or something.

“From Out Of Nowhere,” “Epic,” and “Falling To Pieces” kick off The Real Thing! Bing, bang, boom! Welcome aboard Mike Patton! Where have you been all my life? Whoever your favorite singer is, Patton is better. Plant? Pffft! Sinatra? Pfffft! Rose? PFFFFFF!

After the first three jams, the rest of the disc doesn’t really have the hooky bite it started off with, but there’re some listenable album tracks here. Then there’s a cover of “War Pigs” and Patton takes Ozzy to school! Eat it Sharon!

As far as I’m concerned Angel Dust is Faith No More’s crowning achievement. It’s almost flawless.

Any hint of 80’s metal or 80’s rock tinge is pretty much gone from the band’s sound on this album. For 1992, Angel Dust sounded fresh and unique, 21 years later, its sounds fucking better. Patton is possessed on this record. He acts like a vessel adding an emoting voice to the soundscapes that surround him. It’s a pretty fucking deep record, among other things. I don’t want to put all the attention on Patton, because without Jim Martin, Roddy Bottum, Billy Guold and Mike Bordin there is no Angel Dust.

I particularly love “Be Aggressive” and its outwardly gay theme about oral sex. Written by the band’s gay keyboard player Bottum, Patton sings the song with absolutely no sense of irony or jest. As far as you know Patton is a cocksucking homo, because the song and his performance are so God damn good! It's the feel good sing-a-long song of the decade and there're cheerleaders! 

“A Small Victory” has always been my absolute favorite from this album. A pretty simple song about winning and losing that the band and Patton turn into a giant complex soft walking beast. “If I speak at one constant volume, at one constant pitch, at one constant rhythm right into your ear... you still won’t hear. You still won’t hear. You STILL won’t hear…”

“Midlife Crisis,” “RV,” “Land Of Sunshine,” “Everything’s Ruined,” and their delicious cover of “Midnight Cowboy,” which closes the album out, all add to the colorful tapestry that is Angel Dust.

I can’t talk about this Tomahawk record without going a little deeper into my thoughts on Mike Patton and his entire body of work. Patton is too prolific.

While Patton was in Faith No More, he was putting out records with Mr. Bungle, his first band. I always listened to those albums as they came out, but I never liked them all too much. I do know many people who swear that the first self-titled album is brilliant. I plan on listening to all the Mr. Bungle records this year.

After Faith No More, Patton started Ipecac Records and churned out music as Fantomas, Peeping Tom and Tomahawk. There are nine total studio albums from those three outlets since 1999. Then there’s Hemophiliac, one of like three bands he’s in with saxophonist John Zorn.

To me, all that music sounded weird and/or too busy. Imagine tangling off the ledge of a tower that looks like a dog’s dick, while being chased by killer marshmallows. If you need a song to capture that mood, Patton probably has three from two different bands and there's probably a line about a dog's dick. 

I can tell you exactly where I was when I got bored with following Patton down every little hallway he wanted to see what was at the end of. September 1, 2003. I was dragged to one of thirty John Zorn 50th Birthday Celebration shows. Hemophiliac was playing at Tonic in NYC. The band consisted of Zorn on sax, a little Asian lady playing a computer and Patton scatting.

In the four years leading up to this show I had sifted through two Fantomas albums, two Tomahawk albums, something called Lovage and a Dillinger Escape Plan EP that Patton sang on, searching for something to bring me joy. There wasn't much. I’m not saying it’s all awful or there isn't an audience for experimental avant-garde stuff. It’s just NOT FOR ME… most of the time.

About thirty minutes into the Hemophiliac show, I am bored out of my fucking mind. I’m standing in the back pounding beers and thinking about just leaving... when it happens. Up until this point Patton has done nothing but make farting and clicking noises over Zorn’s sax and whatever the broad on the computer was doing… I’m convinced she was playing solitaire. All of a sudden Patton busts out with a beautiful four or five second note of his signature awesomeness and the place erupts with applause. Then it was gone, he was back to farting and clicking. I thought to myself, "that’s it." He’s not gonna regale us with anything close to that for the rest of this fucking show. God damn it! “Call me when the shuttle lands, Patton,” I yelled as I walked out of the room. It’s a line from the movie Heathers and as far as I know his shuttle never landed because he hasn't called me.

Of all the twenty dollar bills I have wasted in my life, I want that one back more than all the others!

Since that show, I resigned myself to the fact that Mike Patton had left the building. He was going to follow his muse off the far ends of the planet. God bless! Send me a postcard if anything cool happens, because I can't take the trip with you. The only thing I've truly loved since then was "Not Alone" from Peeping Tom and the Faith No More reunion show I saw a few summers ago... minus Mr. Watermelon farmer himself, Jim Martin. Or is he a pumpkin farmer? I dunno, maybe. 

Having said all of that! 

Tomahawk hasn't done much in a while, I can't imagine why. But the supergroup made up of dudes from bands so hip they could explode the sun (Jesus Lizard, Melvins, Helmet) is back with a new guy and of course Mike Patton. I love the album cover so let's jump in!

Tomahawk starts off this one with the odd “Oddfellows” and I think, “here we go.” It’s not awful, just busy and weird. But then what’s this? “Stone Letter,” starts off with an almost Jesus And Mary Chain vocal style and then kicks into a pretty fucking great song with a hook! Now I’m thinking, “shit, what albums have I missed in the last few years from Patton?”

“I.O.U.” is kind of a weirdo festival, and then “White Hats/Black Hats” is a normal song with another hook! What the fuck is going on here?! The rest of it was kinda just there, but the last song “Typhoon,” goes from road house Rock to psychotic and back in about two minutes.

I guess I’m going to have to start wading through all of Patton’s shit again. I’ll have to call my friend Kevin Boyce, the world’s leading authority on Patton, for some starting points. 

Tomorrow I'm gonna listen to Rage Against The Machine, Rage Against The Machine, Catherine Wheel Chrome and IAMDYNAMITE SUPERMEGAFANTASTIC. 

Check out the rest of the March Playlist!