Told you I started getting my Amazon stuff, so today I cracked open and played the first Clash (UK version). Thoughts:
1) Sounded pretty darn good.
2) Last time I played this I had to flip it over.
3) Album kicks best from “London’s Burning” (last song on the first side) through “Police & Thieves” (on the second side).
4) Having not listened to this since I’m older and wiser, I was particularly struck (stricken?) by the bizarre Chuck Berry guitar solo in the midst of the white reggae classic “Police & Thieves.” I wonder if they planned it that way or if it was the only thing Mick Jones knew how to play for a solo?
5) Today I got The Germs and Fear – “The Record.” Bet you guys just love Fear. No redeeming artsy-fartsy qualities whatsoever.
6) I chose to give you “Cheat” because it’s not on the American release, I love the two-note guitar solo, it rocks and the alternate title could be “The Clash Buy A Flanger.”
My big Amazon order from Santa started trickling in today, beginning with The Clash first album (original UK version – of course, although I should eventually get both), Willie Nelson – Red-Headed Stranger and the Bad Brains’ first. Of course, the Bad Brains CD got cracked first.
Circle Jerks were a pioneering LA hardcore band fronted by former Black Flagger and now legendary Off! (who sound a lot like the Circle Jerks) singer Keith Morris.
A couple friends of mine and me went to see the Circle Jerks in Philly back in the day and we had gone to a bar down the street from the show to have a few pre-show drinks. We’re walking back to the show and a van pulls up and a guy says, “Do you know where Love Hall is?” We tried to describe it, but the driver eventually told us to hop in since we were both going to the same place.
There were a bunch of guys in the van and one of us said, “So, you’re going to the Circle Jerks show. . .” One of the guys answered, “We are the Circle Jerks.” I don’t remember saying much else to them being that the ride lasted probably a grand total of five minutes. But it’s a cool memory anyway.
Let me start with a ‘Copters tune that I happened to listen to over the holidays (when I head for a CD to drive with it’s always difficult to past up The Hellacopters). It includes one of my favorite all-time rock lyrics:
“I got my radio on,
It’s playing that same old stupid song,
Over and over for much too long.
I gotta turn that damn thing down,
I gotta turn that damn thing down,
Etc., etc.”
A wonderful answer to Peter’s “We Must Respect Current Popular Music” crusade. Bullshit. Dog shit covered with chocolate is still dog shit.
Also a wonderful answer to all the great songs from the past that urged us to turn the radio up (before the radio became dog shit). Perhaps Mr. Costello started it with “Radio Radio” but, of course, The Hellas version is my favorite.
Speaking of Elvis, a couple of buddies and I finally had our Wake for our departed friend DC Hoffman, the last and best drummer for Follow Fashion Monkeys, who shockingly hung (hanged? – I think that’s correct but no one ever says it) himself a couple months ago on a Saturday morning. His wife was in shock and he never had a funeral or even an obituary.
We got together and started slow with some Lucinda Williams, Ruin, Husker Du, etc. We were drinking and talking all the way. The climax was the entire “This Year’s Model” album (knew I had to tie in the “speaking of Elvis” somewhere) which we discussed all the way through. We finished with wild monkey-dancing to “Supershitty To The Max” and then, the greatest full-length album of all-time, the sacred “Apocalypse Dudes.” It was a great send-off to our old friend, who we never knew was suicidal and who never cried out for help even a little bit. Sad. Here are a couple highlights from those last two. DC was at the reformed Hank-less Turbonegro show that I attended in NYC two years ago, by the way. Right up at the front of the stage with me.
Finally, I have a bunch of Amazon gift card money to spend and I’m making a list, mostly back-filling essential stuff I don’t have anymore since I sold my records. I’m buying CDs, of course, clinging to a format I can hold with my hands as it slowly dies. Maybe I’ll buy all of them. Rock ‘n’ roll everybody! Remnants of it still do exist although you wouldn’t know it from what’s mostly on this site anymore. In no particular order (except the first one):
Hellacopters – Strikes Like Lightening – Pretty much the only CD music left that I don’t have from The Only Band That Matters (well, there are a couple others). It’s expensive, but I’m sure it will be worth it.
Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats – Mind Control – The follow-up to Blood Lust isn’t supposed to be as good, but isn’t supposed to be bad either.
Circle Jerks – Group Sex – We played a couple songs at DC’s wake and I realized I need to re-get this punk essential.
Entombed – Wolverine Blues – The main guy from the Hellacopters first band. Yes, it’s death metal, but, according to reviews, this album is very groovy death metal. I truly think I’m missing something with quality death metal (like jazz, but more important), so I’m gonna make myself listen to this at least five times in its entirety and see if I can get used to the Cookie Monster vocals in order to absorb the rest.
Red-Headed Stranger – Willie Nelson – My favorite country album of all-time. I had this on CD, but loaned it to someone who must never have returned it along the way. Hopefully he paid it forward.
Fear – The Record – Another punk classic I never got on CD for some unknown reason.
The Damned – Damned Damned Damned – How I never got their classic debut on CD I’ll never know.
Joe Jackson – Look Sharp – This was about all for Joe Jackson, but I liked this one a lot at the time.
The Stranglers – Old Testament Box Set – I really wanted the first two albums, but may just buy this box set of all the early stuff instead. Surely I’ll find some hidden treasures.
Generation X – Debut – This is good, even though Billy Idol’s later stuff is awful.
The Germs – Complete Anthology – This is another CD I know I had at one point and I don’t have it anymore. Maybe I need new friends.
Bad Brains – Debut – We played a couple of these at DC’s wake as well and I got excited. Anyone who thinks Living Color was a pioneering black rock band knows nothing.
I do most of my exercising at the Nazareth, PA YMCA where they’ll play either the Sirius Top 40 station or the Sirius 80’s on 8 station, neither of which would be anywhere near my choice. (I’m too lazy and it’s too much hassle to do the earbuds thing, although I probably could bench press twice as much to “Ass Cobra” than Katy Perry. At least I’d like to think I could.)
Anyway, they had been playing the Top 40 station for a long time and, as I’ve mentioned a thousand times before, I can’t find one song these days that I like. This past week they switched to the 80’s, and you have to understand, I pretty much hate 80’s pop. Hair metal is a disgrace to metal and new wavey stuff sucks for the most part too. I spent the early 80’s into hardcore and the late 80’s into the stoner revival, so I stayed away from radio as much as possible.
But I certainly find the bad 80’s stuff to be a lot more tolerable than the godawful current stuff. I remembered “Ah Leah” by Donnie Iris as actually pretty good and even Huey Lewis and Culture Club at least dragged the depths of tolerability.
I think the problem is, there’s very little semblance of Rock to what’s going on today. These two questions occurred to me: 1) What is Rock about that Ellie Goulding song that Peter adores? 2) What isn’t Rock about the Electric Eel Shock song I followed up with?
Simply put, what used to be radio pop rock and what used to be radio hard rock can now only be found on country radio. Donnie Iris and Huey Lewis and probably even the Beatles would be forced to add a steel guitar and moronic lyrics if they wanted to be heard on the radio these days. (Not sure what Culture Club would do.)
Recently, me and a bunch of my old player friends have been semi-reforming the country pop cover band we were successful with about 10 years ago. Because my family left and I have time again, because we’re too old to be a rock band (plenty of old farts out there trying to compete with 25-year-olds and failing – despite the fact that the oldsters can play circles around the newbies), because it’s easy money and because a little bit of rock attitude goes a long way in a country band.
In the 10 years since I’ve played out, pop country has become a lot harder and more riffy. The lyrics are more same-y and moronic than ever, unfortunately, but, I’m not particularly a lyrics guy anyway. You can always just ignore ’em.
Let me leave you with an example of a song we’re playing (it’s not particularly brand new either). It’s moronic, it sure ain’t Hellacopters or Turbonegro, but it beats the hell out of Ellie Goulding, for my money anyway. It’s as close to hard rock as you’ll find on regular radio these days, unfortunately:
Nice to see the Queens 2013 album in all the top 2013 top album lists, because it really deserved it. Maybe one day I’ll write the review I’ve planned to write since the summer. Saw in the Rolling Stone it finished just above stinky Lorde. Good that.
