2.5.13

This is gonna be a quickie!

On February 5th I listened to Public Enemy It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, The Replacements Hootenanny, and Foxygen We Are The 21 st Century Ambassadors Of Peace And Magic.

I remember It Takes A Nation Of Millions having a bigger, harder sound, but I think that’s from hearing this version of “Bring The Noise.” The album version pales in comparison to the Anthrax version.

It’s kind of funny that on “She Watch Channel Zero?!” PE is crowing about a black quarterback in the Super Bowl. How far we've come!

“Terminator X To The Edge Of Panic,” is my jam! “On the count of three I want you all to tell me the name of my DJ!”

Definitely a solid sophomore effort from the band, but there’s some filler on this disc I was scuttling passed. “Cold Lampin’?” Enemy, please!

I hate to say Hootenanny is not a good album, but it’s not a good album. It’s too hyperactive at the beginning, “Hootenanny” and “Run It.” There aren't enough tracks like “Color Me Impressed,” and there is too much weird 80’s non-rock sounding elements strung throughout.

I’m sooooo looking forward to listening to Let It Be next month.

A couple minutes into We Are… I said to myself, “Oh great. Hippie bullshit, my favorite.” Half of me wants to punch everybody in this band to death. Half of me wants to find a tree to hug while this album plays in the background.

I can not decide if I love or hate this album.

Songs like “San Francisco” and lines like “If you believe in love, then everything you see is love,” from “Oh No 2,” aren't helping their case. Nor is the androgynous sound of the singer, whatever his/her name is.

But, there is some hypnotically good stuff on this disc. I’m gonna stay on the fence for a couple more listens and hate fuck this record until I make my final decision.  

P.S. How cool is the name Foxygen?

1.2.13

On January 2^nd I listened to The Who My Generation, The Replacements Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash and Soundgarden King Animal.

I have to admit, I don’t think I ever listened to all of My Generation and if I did, it must have been in the 70s! I know the two hits quite well “My Generation” and “The Kids Are Alright,” but the rest of the album was virtually brand new to me.

Basically, it sounds like a young band trying to take their influences, the Blues and some Soul, and find their own voice. It’s funny to hear The Who finding themselves on their first record when yesterday Led Zeppelin just bust out of the gate with their sound all ready to go and an album packed with classics.

When I was a little kid I remember loving the stuttering in “My Generation.” Remember that scene in Forest Gump when he’s dancing around for Elvis? That’s how I would sing and dance around when I heard “People try to put us down. Just because we g-g-g-get around! Things they do look awful c-c-c-cold. Hope I die before I get old.” Based on the strength of that one song, I can see how this album is always listed as one of the best ever recorded.

I will walk away from this record with a better understanding of The Who’s sound and two songs I really liked, the soulful “I Don’t Mind” and the roadhouse jam “A Legal Matter.”

I always compared The Replacements debut Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash to the first time I ever encountered somebody on cocaine. He was a hell of a lot of fun, yet his abundance of nervous energy made me not want to turn my back on him. Sorry Ma, is a badass punk spaz attack from what you think are the coolest guys you know.

I’m embarrassed to admit, I never listened to 1981’s Sorry Ma, until probably around 1990 and then it was a borrowed copy. I didn’t own the thing til the 2000s, so every time I hear it, it’s a little familiar and a little new.

“I’m In Trouble” has always been my favorite. “You’re in love and I’m in trouble.” “Customer” and “Shut Up,” are other little faves too, but every track has its moments. I always thought in “Hangin’ Downtown,” when Westerberg yells “anyway I got no place else to go,” was a shout out to the movie An Officer And A Gentlemen. But, I just looked it up and the movie came out after the record? Well that sucks, I must have passed that along as fact like a hundred times.

Some day when we can time travel, I’ll be in the studio drinking beers when they record this album.

I didn’t want to instantly dismiss Soundgarden’s return with King Animal. But, anytime a band goes away for a long time and comes back you have to question the motivation for the new album. When The Pixies got back together they refused to do an album. At some point this year My Bloody Valentine is putting out a new disc and people are actually excited about it! 

When I got this Soundgarden disc, I barely listened to it and I fucking love Soundgarden. Ever since I heard “Big Dumb Sex,” I was sold. Badmotorfinger is something that I’ll be writing about this year and “The Day I Tried To Live” and “Fell On Black Days” are two songs I can listen to over and over and over!

Having said that, I can’t make a decision as to whether or not this album is good, bad, or four rich dudes making a record for shits and giggles. I thought maybe something would have jumped out with a giant hook and sucked me in, but there’s nothing like that. “By Crooked Steps” rocks and is kinda cool. “Bones Of Birds” sounds like “How To Disappear Completely,” and when a band like Soundgarden tries to rip off Radiohead, my head starts to hurt.

I’ll just say I’m disappointed.