Our Favorite Album Covers

Much like a musician who is part of a band but also releases solo material, I'm sort of glad we saved this post for this site as opposed to Pajiba. Of course, maybe if we woulda posted this on Pajiba, we'd still be on Pajiba. Right. Because this post is going to be that important.

I also want you to know that this post is totally NOT SUITABLE FOR WORK! You have been warned.

Anyway, here are each writer's (who cared to participate) Top 3 covers:

Sean

Buchanan, All Understood

It's not graphic or even all that provocative, but it always struck me as amusing. We know what's going on in there, guys. Maybe not the specifics, but...we get it. Lotta steam, too; somebody's good.

Faith No More, Songs to Make Love To

Rhinoceros humping. Indeed.

Rush, Power Windows

Alright, so my musical tastes don't really lend themselves to controversial cover art. You'll have to deal with what I think is cool, then. Hugh Syme has been producing excellent, thought-provoking cover art for decades, and this is one of my favorites.

I'd also like to make a brief mention of another prolific cover-artist: Storm Thorgerson. Not necessarily because he's produced a number of iconic covers, including Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. But because the man's name--his GIVEN NAME--is STORM fucking THORGERSON. I dare you to find me a legit birth name that's more rock 'n' roll than that.

Jez

Dwarves, Blood, Guts & Pussy

Yeah, it's totally misogynist, but there are naked women covered in blood and a dwarf acting like he's having sex with a rabbit. It's totally an affront to your sensibilities.

Black Crowes, Amorica

Umm, so yeah. I kind of like the low-brow covers.

Zipgun, Baltimore

A guy dressed up in a bunny suit giving an easter egg to a poodle. Folks, I dare you to find a more fucked up cover than this. Not necessarily a big smack in the head like the first two, but more like "What the fuck?"

Chris Polley

STNNNG, Dignified Sissy [Modern Radio; 2005]

I already knew the Minneapolis spazz-punk outfit STNNNG were awesome when I saw them live. It just so happened that an album cover featuring a polar bear viciously attacking armed men cinched the deal for me when contemplating whether to purchase their music. Also, every song sounds like the gruesome act depicted in the detailed illustration, so they get bonus points for appropriately complementary iconography.

I Am David Sparkle, This Is The New [Kitty Wu; 2007]

Okay so the actual visual, especially in JPEG form, of this album is nothing notable. But what makes holding the album cover in your hands so special upon purchasing the glistening and climactic instrumental guitar music of Singapore's I Am David Sparkle is that in order to get to the CD, you have to at least partially destroy its paper casing upon which the artwork is printed. Sewed together on all four sides with black thread, it is impossible to remove the disc from the packaging without ripping its cover, forcing you to work, to undo, to disassemble the art in order to hear the music. Call me a sucker, but I love pretentious shit like this.

Owen, At Home With [Polyvinyl; 2006]

Maybe I'm just an idiot, but I owned this album for a good two months before I noticed the item of mystery behind its cover's photographic composition. There the record sat, in my car's passenger seat, every single day for weeks as I listened to it obsessively on repeat, until one night I parked in my garage, picked it up to bring inside as the dim overhead light helped me catch a new found glimpse of its front side. Suddenly, as I stared, crickets chirping and the engine finally whirring down to a slight whine, I noticed it. Behind the fog, lying on the grass amongst the intimidating sprawling tree and foliage I finally saw it. If you're like me and don't see it right away, look closer. Hopefully when you notice it, it won't be as the automatic light in your car and garage turn off simultaneously and freak you out to the point of smacking your head on the door.

Boo

Nirvana, Nevermind

This is probably one of the most iconic album covers of my generation. I mean, you have the triumvirate of power, all captured here in a perversely simple image: money, penis, and swimming pools. (I could get all pretentious here, and talk about the imagery as symbolism for the delicate balance between life and death, but honestly, it's been a long day and I really just want to give this bottle of wine a blow job.)

Ween, Chocolate & Cheese

I had to add my own boobage. Ween and a pro-wrestling reference. I'm Southern. Need I say more? Oh yeah: blowjob.

Aphex Twin, Windowlicker

Jez: I see your Zipgun cover and raise you an Aphex Twin.

Sleep tight, kids.

The Rules of Hell

Here's a history lesson for you: When rock and roll first started in the 50s, it was considered "The Devil's Music." Sure, you may have heard this, but it doesn't get publicized that much. If you read up on any rock and roll history books, you'll find that in the early years of rock and roll, even up into the 60s, that white artists would cover black artists material, and usually do better on the charts. See Pat Boone for an example. That is evil in its own way.

So I present to you some of my most favorite evil bands.

Black Sabbath

The kings, in my opinion, of "evil" rock. I actually was exposed to Black Sabbath by my friend, Robert DiNardo, when I was in 8th grade in Germany. Rob was a big Ozzy fan, and he had the Speak of the Devil double-live album which had Ozzy singing all the old Sabbath tunes, except he had Brad Gillis of Night Ranger playing the guitar, and Rudy Sarzo of Quiet Riot playing bass. Brad was laying down the California version of those Sabbath riffs, and just like California pale ale is more awesome than British pale ale, I always enjoyed Brad's riffs more than the original.

Over the past few years, I've become more and more interested in the stuff Ronnie James Dio did while singing for Black Sabbath. Ozzy was Ozzy, for sure, but Dio's stuff, although very fantasy (Dungeons and Dragons) - oriented, seemed just so much more real to me. In fact, RJD has quite a great bunch of songs with Rainbow, Sabbath, and his own, self-titled band.

Chuck Klosterman wrote a book called Fargo Rock City. His writing is pretty great, although sometimes he delves into more personal stuff (I know, I know...pot kettle black). This book is about his personal discovery of heavy metal, and his justification of heavy metal as a legitimate culture. I actually was able to find Chuck's email and ask him what he thought about Dio. His reply: I did not find him compelling.

I never saw Dio live, but he is somewhat annoying live, what with his, "oh ohhs" and banter while the song is going on. On Live Evil he actually shills the latest Sabbath album, like he's a DJ or something. He's still one of the best metal singers, in my opinion.

Slayer

I think Black Sabbath and Judas Priest were gateway bands to more heavier stuff. I've probably mentioned ad nauseum how I had the first Metallica album when it came out in 1983. I actually missed a chance to see them open for Twisted Sister when I lived in Germany. This was before TS released "Stay Hungry."

Many of my friends moved on to other bands like Venom, Merciful Fate, and Slayer. Most of these bands freaked me out with their up-front Satanic posturing. Quite honestly, I was scared that my parents would find Slayer albums and prevent me from listening to any heavy metal. Just look at the cover of Hell Awaits. Demons ripping people to pieces as they descend into hell. Pleasant.

Then, during my senior year of high school, Slayer released "Reign in Blood" which would be too much for me to resist. Every single one of these songs is incredible. Here are two of my favorites, "Postmortem" and the title track:

Supersuckers

Venom was another of those "satanic" bands, only they weren't very convincing to me. Some of their stuff was even kind of campy. If I'm going to go campy-evil, I'm gonna have to go with the Supersuckers.

I actually got to interview and these guys, and my band opened for them once. I still love these guys. They're really out there doing their own thing, including the release of a country album, that is more "spaghetti-country" than anything. I leave you with the Supersuckers with a bleak message about rock and roll records:

You and Your Sister

If an album or CD is going to stay with me a while, it usually is because it reminds me of a time in my life, or the music is timeless.

As far as the Vulgar Boatmen's "You and Your Sister" goes, it's probably the timelessness of the music. You could have heard this music in the 70s or the 80s and it would have fit well. I discovered this CD in a friend's collection in the early 90s.

It was probably around this time of year in Iowa. It was more than likely cold than cool, and I was going through Kevin's CDs. I remember him having a lot of Skinny Puppy and Ministry. Then I saw this CD.

The Vulgar Boatmen. Heh. A funny play on the song "The Volga Boatmen." You and Your Sister. Heh. Dirty thoughts. I thought that it might be one of those jokey-gross metal bands like The Mentors. Those were always good for one listen, and then you'd give it to someone else like the way you shared a joke.

Once I put on the CD, though, I was surprised for a couple of reasons. First, that Kevin in all his industrial rock front owned such a jangly CD was interesting. Second, having liked the Jayhawks and Uncle Tupelo, how could I have missed such a great rock and roll record? The opening chords of "Mary Jane" (apparently, it's NOT about marijuana, but instead about, uh, a girl named Mary Jane) start the call to arms, letting you know, "Young man, we don't need a Marshall stack to kick your ass, this Stratocaster through a the clean channel of this Fender tube amp will do just fine."

The vocals at times are remniscent of the Everly Brothers, in a good way. At first, I expected that the CD would have a few good tunes and then have a bunch of crap on it. While I will say that I have my favorites, each of these tunes have come back into my head at one time or another because of their catchiness. Each song stands alone.

My hands down favorite is "Margaret Says". The imagery in the vocals is great, and the tune has a nice groove that picks up and moves you down the road. In fact, the entire album is a must have for a long road trip, and not just because "Drive Somewhere" is the perfect song for driving somewhere.

I had this on one side of a 90-minute tape one spring break when my sister and I drove to Oklahoma to stay with our grandparents (our folks were in Germany at the time). I think my sister thought this was okay, but she favored the flipside of the tape, which had the Operation Ivy CD on it.

Friday Blog - Music and Movies!

To some extent, I agree with Boo that if you have a good soundtrack, you have a good movie. But not always.

Take Honeysuckle Rose, for example. Willie Nelson, Dianne Cannon, and Amy Irving. Anyone reaching for the remote yet? While the movie itself, as I remember when I saw it in the theatre during my youth (Dad liked Willie, and quite honestly, so do I). Yeah, this is the one with "On the Road Again" on it. Some old dude named Jimmy who used to hang out at Dugan's Deli in Ames back when it was Dugan's Deli used to get shitty and sing this with Jack Gallup at their Sunday night open mics. Jack would always introduce this Jimmy character as a guy who co-wrote "On the Road Again" with Willie. I got the Honeysuckle Rose CD, and it doesn't give Jimmy co-writing credit for it, so who knows. I don't want to believe that Willie wouldn't give credit where it was due.

The soundtrack is great because it provides an example of how great country music can sound when it's live. Throw back a few Buds, and it's all good.

Valley Girl convinced me that 80s new wave wasn't just the "pop sounds of the decade." With tunes from The Plimsouls, Haircut 100, Sparks, Modern English, and Josie Cotton's covers, I realized that there was some really cool new wave out there.

Check out the sweet squares of Haircut 100 doing their big hit, "Love Plus 1".
The movie, "Laurel Canyon" was just okay (hey, TK, howsabout reviewing this movie on Pajiba?), but I really liked the soundtrack. Includes hits by Mercury Rev, and a version of this awesome Sparklehorse song:

Sometimes the movie is the soundtrack. I really like the whole background and all the great tunes in the movie "Gimme Shelter" which features the Rolling Stones. This movie sounds so fucking good on my home theater system.

I saw Good Will Hunting with my wife as sort of a first or second date. I actually think our first "official" date was a hockey game. But we saw this movie the same weekend. We went out and bought the soundtrack immediately. For the most part, it's a depressing soundtrack, with lots of Elliot Smith (but I'm guessing the Strong Sad contingent of readers for this blog will actually dig these) songs, but the two standout tunes are the cool "raggah" version of Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby" by Andru Donalds and the way they scored Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street" to the fight scene:

I've loved this song ever since I was a kid, and it has a ton of personal meaning to me, but I really like how the violence of the movie contrasts with the slickness of the tune.

Another song that brings up a movie memory for me also includes a song Gerry Rafferty had a hand in as part of the band, Stealer's Wheel. Ladies and Gentlemen, Michael Madsen, a can of gas, an ear, and "Stuck in the Middle with You:" (WARNING! CONTAINS TORTURE! JOHN MCCAIN, PLEASE DO NOT WATCH!)

Happy Friday, everyone!

After the Show with Uncle Tupelo

As far as I can tell, I am the oldest writer of this group. The advantage that holds is that I’m able to talk about shows and events that happened in the early to late 90s, that might have some historical significance (well, at least to me, let me not be overdramatic here) as long as I can remember the events. The 90s weren’t that long ago, so this shouldn’t be a problem. Although you obviously have no idea how much beer I’ve drank since those days.

I was introduced to Uncle Tupelo through a fellow musician named Brian Buhman in Ames, Iowa. Brian is currently living in Chicago and you might find him in any number of swing, country, rock, or otherwise bands prowling the taverns of America’s greatest city. I was really into the first Gear Daddies album, but Brian was more schooled in the history of Gram Parsons, the Birds, and the Flying Burrito Brothers, which he considered more “echt” than the sounds the Gear Dads were bringing, so he loaned me the “No Depression” CD and told me that they would be playing at People’s Bar & Grill, there in Ames, the following week.

If you’ve heard the album, and you like it, you know that it was groundbreaking. I’m with Tweedy when I say they didn’t really invent the genre, they were just making good music, but the album DID have a really strong influence on alternative country, a genre that seems to have a lot of followers, but musicians and bands reluctant to be categorized as such.

Let’s just set the record straight: Def Leppard IS a hair band as much as they don’t wanna be, and if you play good, straight up country-influenced music (listen for the pedal steel guitar) and aren’t being played on modern (shit) country radio, you’re more than likely and alt-country band. Can you get over it and keep making great music? If AC/DC can be okay with their lot in life, you can, too.

I remember seeing Uncle Tupelo for the first time at People’s. Being in a band in Ames, People’s was always my favorite place to play. Tom, the owner, was a good guy, and I gave him a hard time about booking cover bands. But truthfully, he brought in a wide variety of bands, and had the best stage and sound system in town. The clientele varied depending on the band, but I think it, more than any other bar in town, was the bar where most of the Greek system boys and girls hung out.

Uncle Tupelo played there on the Thursday night the week before spring classes were going to start in January of ’91 (I think). People’s was having a special: quart jars of any mixed drink for $2. Sure it was well liquor, not the premium stuff, but you might as well call that the “Hungover Fer Sure” special.

I got a whiskey and coke and noticed that the band was playing pool. Buhman, James Stone (who played drums in a couple of bands with me) and I walked up and started talking to the guys, played pool with them, and I bummed Mike Heidorn’s Marlboro reds. Brian Henneman was with them. Brian has his own band, the Bottle Rockets.

I don’t remember too much about the show that night, but that’s what will happen when you drink three quarts of whiskey and coke. I know that afterwards, they needed a place to stay, and Buhman told them they could stay at his house. We helped them load out, they got a case of Leinenkugel’s from People’s Bar and Grill, and we got in their van and headed off to Perkins for some breakfast. I remember gibbering something over my hamburger that it would be so great if they could come back to Ames because mostly all we got were cover bands (I had a problem with cover bands back in college. As I look at it now, it was kind of silly, but mostly I was just jealous that people wanted to hear covers as opposed to coming to see my band(s) that played all original music).

After we ate at Perkins, we went to Buhman’s house and passed around an acoustic guitar. I was playing punk rock back then and didn’t really tool around much with the acoustic (this experience would change all that) so I started playing “Dust in the Wind.” As one of my most embarrassing life experiences, Jeff Tweedy said, “Dude, I think I’m all dusted in the winded out,” or something to that effect.

When I woke up the next morning, the band and Brian Henneman were gone, but they left us the untouched case of Leinenkugel’s.

I saw Uncle Tupelo again in Austin, Minnesota, where they played with 4 other bands at the Gear Daddies “last show” at the Austin County fairgrounds. House of Large Sizes, the Draghounds, and Run Westy Run were there as well. I don’t think there were any others. I drove from Wisconsin and met up with some friends who drove up from Ames. They had an interim drummer, as this was just after the release of “March 16 – 20, 1992” and did a good set. I didn’t talk to them, but I do remember talking to Run Westy Run. A couple of my friends who were in an Ames band called Funky Thermos and the Soular Grape Fruit Band (Funky Thermos for short) worked out a deal where they would open for the Westies on an upcoming Ames show they caught wind of.

The final time I saw Uncle Tupelo was after I got out of school in 1993. I drove down to Ames from Decorah, Iowa on a Friday to see them play at a small venue at Iowa State University called the M-Shop. Joe Henry and his band opened. They were great. Uncle Tupelo played an awesome show, as well. They came out with “Acuff Rose” and everyone went nuts. I remember them doing “Whiskey Bottle” as an encore, without the loud, crashing choruses (I later asked Ken Coomer why the toned down choruses, and he said it was “too heavy metal.” Whatever!) and Jay Farrar messed up the words, which will happen.

My friend, Shanda, was talking to Coomer and Stirrat after the show and invited them back to her place for an after-party. We stopped and got a case of cans on the way there. They showed up. Farrar was standing in a corner with a roadie nursing an Old Style. I think they were telling jokes to each other. Tweedy comes in and he heads straight for the sink and gets a water. I see this and look at Stirrat and ask, "Do some members of the band not drink?" He says, "Some of us don't," and takes a swig out of his bottle of Old Style.

This is where it gets good...or annoying if you're Jeff Tweedy. I start asking him questions about different lyrics of his songs. I can't be sure what I asked him now. After about the 3rd question, he asks, "Are you going to interview me all night?" I sort of crack a smile and two of my friends, Andy Strom and Eric "Smoke" Smith chime in with, "No, you gotta understand, we've been talking about this stuff for the longest time, and you're the guy who can answer it." Jeff sort of shrugs his shoulders and I think he's left alone for about five minutes.

I didn't talk to him or really anyone else for the rest of the "after-the-show" party. My friends practiced with their friends in that house, and I think they got at least 2 members of the band to jam with them until the neighbors upstairs called the cops. As we were leaving, the band was leaving, too, and Jeff apologized to me for being agitated. I just grinned and shook my head. I said, "It's okay, Jeff, I know how I am." He smiled and nodded. Not sure he expected that kind of response.

What's funny, however, is that in Golden Smog, a side project many musicians from about 3 other bands are involved in, including the Jayhawks and Soul Asylum, Tweedy wrote a song called, "I Can't Keep From Talking." When I interpret it for myself, it appears to be about annoying people like me, with the final verse being about his feelings for those who ask. You can get this off of iTunes, if you so care to.

When the Wilco book, “Learning How to Die” came out, it had a lot of information about the Uncle Tupelo years. It’s not like I was really involved with the band or anything, but they were around during such a short time, and as I read it, I felt I was “this close” to actually getting into the book.

I was in Bellingham, Washington in May 1994. I was there for Garage Shock, a 4-day festival of bands held in the 3B tavern. I was looking through a Rolling Stone magazine at a local record store when I read that Uncle Tupelo played their last show in St. Louis earlier that month. I was kind of bummed out, but knew there would be more coming from the guys in this band.

The Lost Art of the Mix Tape

There is a two-page ad in The Rolling Stone I got today for this movie. The first page is your basic movie ad. The second page of the ad makes me want to throw up, because some fucker in Marketing has decided to build a guide on "how to make the perfect playlist." It gives advice such as "a playlist is for someone special. Someone who means something. Period. If you start giving away too many, they become like party favors - fun for a minute and easily forgotten."

Fuck you. Maybe if you made good mix tapes, then you wouldn't have to worry about this sort of shortcoming. Here's a clue: Maybe keep all of the throwaway hits of the past 3 months off the playlist. It's a start, sweetie.

I started making mix tapes when my dad brought home different components, linked them together with RCA jacks, and called it a "stereo." This was definitely an upgrade to the "all-in-one" Sears stereo with no cassette, and no 8-track, just the radio and the record player. Okay, maybe it had an 8-track, but I'll be damned if we owned more than 5 of those. I started out by putting all of my 7-inch records (both A & B sides) onto a tape. I quickly learned the importance of a pause button. This totally improved the time between songs when having to stop the tape between single songs.

I'd make mix tapes for everyone and anyone. The mood had to strike. I will admit that the majority of my tapes went to girls. But it wasn't because I was looking for love. It was because I wanted to share something important to me with other people, and well, to tell you the truth, the girls just seemed to "get it" a lot more than the guys ever did. Most of all, I did it to introduce people to the stuff I was interested in, or at times, put one together to meet the occassion.

My friend, P-Mart, was throwing a bash in Kansas City at his house circa 1995. I was invited, but it was like a 6-hour drive from where I was living in northeast Iowa. I had two weeks, so I told P I wouldn't be there, but I'd show up. I threw together a 90-minute mix tape full of 70's tunes. This was before you had satellite radio and Music Choice on cable TV. I had to dig to find some of that material. Oh, and special thanks goes out to the "Carlito's Way" soundtrack for that tape. P called later in the night, saying that the people at the party loved the tape. Course they did! I'm the master, bitches!

The loss of the mix tape is unfortunate in so many ways. The length of the 90-minute tape was perfect. 45 minutes per side allowed for approximately 11-14 songs, depending on the style of music and how you put them together. Sometimes I wanted 2-3 seconds between songs. Other times, I wanted to have the songs go bang! bang! bang! and carry the banner. The trickiest part was squeezing that last song onto the last part of the tape. I can't tell you the number of times I nailed the last dying note on the tape before the leader came in. Sometimes it was two or three cranks of the wheel with my index finger before the leader showed up. That's close enough for rock and roll. The CD is a solid 74 minutes, which usually leaves me wanting a bit more. And there's no thrill thought of "Wow, that was great. Can he nail it another 45 minutes?" Flip that sucker over and find out!

Making the tapes were as fun as listening to them. Usually, drinking beer is involved. Also, song selection and order is important to keep the flow going. It was nice having two tape decks, a CD player, and a record player hooked up. Usually, I could plan two or three songs ahead, and as I was listening, I could figure out what would go good where. I always adjusted the volume level, since not all songs are mastered the same.

How do I know I made good tapes? I still get people that I run into on the internet that I went to school with who say things like, "You made me a great mix tape back in the 80s," or, "Man, I was just going through and listening to some of the tapes you made me...you were ahead of your time!" P-Mart's little brother sent me a book by Dr. Frank of the Mr. T Experience. In the package was a letter stating, "You made me a punk mix tape when I was in high school and that really got me into the Mr. T Experience. I never got to thank you, so please enjoy this book."

You know, after watching the trailer to that movie, it doesn't look too bad. I'll leave you all with a case of Sierra Nevada Porter and a sample of the playlist for my 2007/8 New Year's Eve party:

It Never Rains in Southern California - Albert Hammond
Kodachrome - Paul Simon
Like the Weather - 10,000 Maniacs
Take It Easy - Andy Taylor
Angst in My Pants - Sparks
Million Miles Away - The Plimsouls
California Stars - Billy Bragg & Wilco
Sometimes Found - Bottle Rockets
Lost in the Supermarket - The Clash
The Beast and Dragon, Adored - Spoon
Black Cadillacs - Modest Mouse
California - Semisonic
Maggie May (live) - The Faces
Drank Like a River - Whiskeytown
St. Cajetan - Cracker
I Couldn't Spell !!*@! - Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs
Sucked Out - Superdrag

I Got the Need to Blow It Out on Saturday Night

Occasionally, there have been tunes that have inspired me. More often, though, it's been a band that has become my favorite that has been inspiring with their catalog. In 2002, I had just moved my family to Wilmington, North Carolina, which is still holding on by a thread as being my favorite place I've lived in this country, after living almost 7 years in Pensacola, Florida. I was reading a Rolling Stone magazine and read something about the Drive-By Trucker's Southern Rock Opera.

I think I used Lime Wire or some other shit download software and pulled all the songs from Southern Rock Opera off the internet. I must have listened to disc one of that album for like 6 months straight. Then I found a Yahoo group that was dedicated to the band.

Soon thereafter, Decoration Day was released. I bought the CD right away and they became my favorite band. When I got my head cut at the end of 2002, a member of the Yahoo group who worked for the same company as me in a different state sent me a whole bunch of live recordings by the Drive-By Truckers to ease the pain of losing my job. In fact, there was another guy who contacted me from that list to see if I would be interested in moving to Memphis to work for his construction company, which I thought was damn nice.

Writing about the DBT is a difficult thing to do, because I could talk about this band all day. I'll give you a brief rundown if you have never heard of them before: Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley are the two main guys in the band, but if you have to pick a leader, it's Hood's band. Both Hood and Cooley grew up in Alabama. Hood's dad is David Hood, who played bass in the Swampers, the "house band" for Muscle Shoals Sound, where a lot of great music has been recorded. You maybe could give a fuck about that. It lets me know that Patterson has a great appreciation for the history of music in this country, and THAT is important for me, because understanding history is important, boys and girls, even in rock and roll.

When Decoration Day came out, Jason Isbell joined the band and provided them with a third songwriter. He stuck around for two albums, wrote some great songs, and now has a solo career. Shonna Tucker also joined the band at this time on bass, and even has 3 songs on their latest release, Brighter Than Creation's Dark.

There's a lot more to the history of the band, but if you're that interested, I suggest you check out their website, run by the wonderful Jenn, or go over to the Nine Bullets forum. You can join the Yahoo group if you want, but mostly you'll just get crazy great messages from Ant and others who may discuss the band, but there's no guarantee. Also, if you like your DBT sprinkled with liberal politics (and who wouldn't?), check out J's site called Alabama Asswhupin'.

The greatest thing about the Drive-By Truckers is that you could get 15 people in the room to talk about which songs are best on any album, and you'd likely come up with 15 different lists. You may think a song is the greatest they've ever written and there are people who would say it was their worst, and vice-versa. There is something for everyone in this band.

I have only seen the band once; it was at the Vic Theatre in Chicago in May of 2006. They came on and Cooley started playing "One of These Days" off Pizza Deliverance. There's a line in that song that goes, "I remember him saying Chicago was a hell right here on earth..." When Cooley sang that line, I completely lost my shit. Some people cry at movies. I cry at rock concerts.

Let's start things off with a recent tune off their latest album, Brighter Than Creation's Dark, "The Righteous Path." The most amazing thing about this video is how awesome it looks and sounds. If only half the vids on Youtube were this amazing...seriously, open a new tab and just listen to the sound. The mix of instruments is so great. It may even sound better than the actual album, and that's saying something.

Really, though, you can go to fabchannel.com and check out the entire show. This is probably the best way to introduce you to this band. In a lot of cases, these live arrangements are better than the studio ones, including the first tune, "Putting People on the Moon", which grooves so nicely here. I recommend checking out the versions of "Zip City" and "I'm Sorry, Huston" as well, if you're short on time. I would've created a muxtape for you, but the RIAA has completely shot that to hell. So here's a list of my favorite tunes by the DBT. And I do own all of these CDs. The artwork by Wes Freed alone makes them worth having.

From Pizza Deliverance:
"Nine Bullets", "Uncle Frank", "One of These Days", "Margo and Harold"

From Gangstabilly:
"The Living Bubba", "Panties in Your Purse", "18 Wheels of Love", "Sandwiches for the Road". I'm sorry, but I'm not a big fan of "Steve McQueen" or "Buttholeville". They're okay in a live setting, but to me, they stick out like sore thumbs on this album of mostly acoustic-styled numbers.

From Southern Rock Opera:
Everything on disc one is pretty much a keeper except for the spoken word selections (Days of Graduation and The 3 Alabama Icons) and "Moved". " Zip City" is my overall favorite of the disc. There is just something so beautiful about the statement "I got three-fifty heads on a three-o-five engine, I get ten miles to the gallon, I ain't got no good intentions" that has nothing to do with automobile engines and fuel efficiency.

Disc two has some pretty great songs as well. My favorites are "Let There Be Rock", "Plastic Flowers on the Highway" (so haunting and beautiful), and the lyrical winner, "Shut Up and Get on the Plane". Yes, Cooley, living in fear is just another way of dying before your time.

From Decoration Day:
"Outfit", the title track, "Heathens", "When the Pin Hits the Shell"

From The Dirty South:
This is damn near as perfect album as I have heard from anyone. The track order flows so nicely. Overall very rocking. I can't say as there are a lot of my favorites on this album, but they are all at least 4-star songs. If I had to pick three, I'd go with "Tornadoes", "Danko/Manuel" and "Daddy's Cup".

From A Blessing and a Curse:

I really like what they did on this album. Some really good tunes on here, and a little bit of a departure from their past stuff. I like "Aftermath USA", "Gravity's Gone", the title track and "Daylight".

From Brighter Than Creation's Dark:
What's cool on this album is there are quite a few songs less than 3 minutes. Sorta fucks with what I'm used to. "Checkout Time in Vegas" has 26 seconds of instrumental before the lyrics kick in, and it's only 2:41 in length. When a song starts out mellow then delivers the words, "Bloody nose, empty pockets, a rented car with a trunk full of guns," you know Cooley brought his best to this album. That includes "A Ghost to Most", which I think is Cooley's best song ever. If this song was released in 1978, it would be a top 10 hit. I really like what Shonna is saying in "I'm Sorry Huston." Even though it's about an intense, small man looking for a horse, the lyrics really say so much more to me than what it was written about. Patterson's got a ton of great songs on here as well, including "The Righteous Path", "That Man I Shot" (real cool song about soldiers and people in Iraq) and the thoughtful "Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife".

The Drive-By Truckers are on tour with The Hold Steady this fall. Check them out if you can. I've heard a few tunes by the Hold Steady and I think they're great. If you're at the show, the DBT recommend you enjoy it with a can or 8 of Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Rock Ain't Dead

Every so often, someone will come up to me and say, "Man, rock and roll is dead!" and then I hear a song that tells me, no, rock and roll is not dead, it may not be the same three chords and mayhem, but if a tune can get you to pump your fist or bob your head, then I say to you truly, in the immortal words of Heavy Pettin', "rock ain't dead."

To prove my point, I give you the following examples. First, the Beauvilles. Faced with a firing squad, do these young men cower? No, they do not. They burst forth with song and bring the rock.




Then you have Les Savy Fav. I won't say this video is the best video. Looks more like an afternoon with friends, a keg of beer, and a video camera, if you were to ask me, but then, don't ask me:




I wish I could find a video with a good studio version of Spoon's "The Beast and Dragon Adored". The tune is absolutely rock and roll and about rock and roll. Unfortunately, this amateur film with the music as the background will have to do:




Then you have My Morning Jacket. I've heard two new tunes off their new album and like them both a lot. Here's the official vid for "I'm Amazed".




Leave your suggestions in the comments section, and enjoy with a Goose Island Pere Jacques.

The Road to Hell

Okay, if you’re keeping score at home, you should already know that this next series of Friday posts is about guilty pleasures, tunes that you would be embarrassed that anyone close to you would find out you like.

To tell you the truth, I could give an entire bowl of fuck about what anyone thinks about the music I like. See, my earliest memories were listening to music. Music, has therefore, always been a part of my life, whether it be good or bad. So I’m going to list music that I believe would be perceived as guilty pleasures by the majority of readers.

Crappy 70s pop including tons of one-hit wonders.

There was a lot of really great music coming out in the 70s. Most of what is considered “Great 70s Music” by the masses is still heard today in the form of the Classic Rock radio stations. What I consider really great, though, are the one hit wonders. I dig Albert Hammond’s (yes, Strokes fans, it’s Jr’s daddy) “It Never Rains in California”, “Driver’s Seat” by Sniff N’ The Tears, and a lot of disco. Yes, I said it; DISCO. I played it off by scribbling AC/DC and Blue Oyster Cult onto my Trapper/Keeper, but deep down inside, I still was into things like “I Love the Nightlife” by Alicia Bridges. My favorite disco tunes? “Boogie Nights” by Heatwave and “Boogie Oogie Oogie” by Taste of Honey.

The most amazing thing I found was this video of Taste of Honey. In the 70s, there was no MTV. I mostly learned of these artists listening to the radio daily. I could tell that there were women singing on this song, but I kind of figured that it was a Supremes type set up, where there were several female singers backed by a band. Yeah, I know it was pretty stereotypical of me. I apologize, but I was a product of the white honkey recording establishment. I would have never thought that the singer was also playing such a killer bassline. This is as amazing as watching Stevie Ray Vaughn play guitar. Seriously.



Crappy 80s pop including tons of New Wave bands

If I learned anything about 70s music is how much disco and pop was shunned. Shame on those people for not seeing the glory in such bad music. I truly believe that my peers in the 80s subconsciously decided that when it was our time, we would embrace the music of our generation.

For the most part, I was into metal in the 80s. I ran the gamut from hair metal to the heavy stuff. I had “Kill ‘Em All” by Metallica when it came out. I didn’t discover them later and then backtrack. I was there in the beginning, bitches! I fronted with the whole metal posture. But secretly, I was also really into Cyndi Lauper and Culture Club, thanks to an ultra-cool and fashion trend-setting younger sister.

So yeah, I walked around saying Boy George was a fag, and I’m sorry. That dude had some great tunes:



Not that the metal was really any better. Yes, Metallica was my favorite band for the longest time. But when that first Poison record came out, I was all over it. Later, I would find out that C.C. Deville had completely ripped off Rick Nielsen’s (Cheap Trick) guitar solo in “California Man”, but then, that was a song by Jeff Lynne’s earlier band, The Move, so I’m not sure who’s ripping off who anymore.

But the song, “Cry Tough” still remains a favorite. What an anthem!



Unfortunately, pop music got really shitty in the 90s. There were some great hits, to be sure, but once the Mouseketeers got recording contracts, that whole scene went into the shitter for me.

I liked punk rock as well, during my formative years. That, combined with my love of metal, evolved with the Seattle scene. I found a friend in college that was a key influence on me, and I began ordering everything with a Sub Pop label on it. Of course, Nirvana came off this label, and once again, I was into them way before a lot of people ever sniffed a flannel shirt after a hard night out at your local punk rock club. While Nirvana, Soundgarden and The Fluid all moved on to major labels, there were so many bands that didn’t. So yeah, I got the Cat Butt EP and the Blood Circus EP. I got every Supersuckers release from Sub Pop. While some people have long since disowned grunge, it will forever keep its place in my unbathed, drunken heart.

So there you have it, folks. My Little Secret (thank you, Afghan Whigs).

Enjoy your weekend, and don’t forget to pick up a bottle or two of Goose Island Harvest Ale.

Kick Your Ass to Heaven with Rock and Roll Tonight

When I lived in Germany, I never saw the Scorpions, but the thing about rock and roll that you will never understand if you are American is the nationalism involved in rock and roll. It seems that no matter what country you’re from, you love your nation’s artists more. The USA and the UK seem to be the exception. I have never met anyone from these countries who point out the artist’s country of origin, unless it’s sort of unique. “Oh, they’re from Sweden.” Canadians are more likely to point out artists that are from Canada, and Germans seem to be proud of their countrymen who make it onto a big stage as well.

I can say this because I was actually at The Metal Hammer Fest in 1985, headlined by Venom and Metallica. If you ever see the “Cliff ‘Em All” video that Metallica put out in the late 80s, there is footage of that same festival in there. Warlock, who at the time only had 2 albums out, before Doro and the boys actually had a video on MTV, played in the middle of the day, and let me tell you, the crowd went apeshit. They were the only German band on the bill, and I’d say they had as vocal of a crowd as Metallica or Venom.

Which brings me to the Scorpions. My main focus on the Scorpions is the four album run starting with Love Drive and ending with Love at First Sting. There is actually a fifth album, World Wide Live which is sort of a greatest hits of these four albums, recorded live. I remember actually making a tape of this album and playing it at the Lindsey Air Station post office where I held a summer job in Germany, and either Anne Park or Deena Limbaugh regretting the fact that it was a live album, because the quality of the studio versions was so much better. I still don’t believe I’ve picked my jaw off the floor from that comment. I never heard anything off other previous albums, and the stuff after World Wide Live was never of any interest to me, for some reason, since I was still into metal, but that "Winds of Change" Gorky Park song was so lame to me. I don't want to hear Klaus Meine talking about political change. I want him talking about "loving you Sunday morning."

While the Scorpions are German, they were and probably still are, HUGE, in the USA. The only time I was able to actually appreciate this was during a trip back to the U.S. between the years I lived in Germany. Love at First Sting had just come out, and the video for “Still Loving You” was all over MTV. The video featured footage of them live in California, and showed people walking to the concert at the beginning of the video. I don’t know if it was just the hot summer, and missing the convenience the U.S. had to offer, but it just felt so American. They didn’t come off as a German band at all.

The other thing I want to point out is the art work. From all the issues of Hit Parader and Circus magazine I read back in the day, I believe drummer, Herman Rarebell (pronounced Rahr-uh-bell in his native country, not Rare Bell like we do here in the States), was the dirty-minded one in the group. He would come up with the naughty lyrics, and I’m pretty sure he had his hand in designing the album covers as well. So, this is your warning that this post may not be suitable for work (NSFW).

Here are my notes on the records, as I remember them:

Love Drive

Man, I forgot how great the first side of this album is. Actually, looking at the song list, I remember everything except the three middle songs. “Loving You Sunday Morning” is your typical Scorpions mainstream song. It could have been played on Top 40 radio. “Another Piece of Meat” is kind of a throwaway, but is kind of funny, speedy, and rocking all at once. And while the title track is excellent as is the rocker ballad, “Holiday”, “Always Somewhere” intrigues me the most on this album. If you played this song back-to-back with Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man”, you would swear the Scorpions ripped it off. In fact, I would love to hear some classic rock bar band make a medley of the two songs just to watch people’s confused reactions. Wacky, naughty album cover. Is that supposed to be gum, or flesh that the guy has on his hand?

Animal Magnetism

Overall, I never really cared for this album. There were two songs that stick out. “Falling in Love” which is a mid-tempo, unforgettable rocker and “The Zoo” which a lot of people liked, but was actually kind of boring to me. It’s too long and too plodding for my tastes. However, the most interesting (and fucked up) thing about this album is the cover art, and not just the front of the album. You’ve got a dude holding a beer, and a woman “assuming the position” as well as a Doberman there. I can’t find the original German back cover online anywhere, and I would have taken a photo of the cover had I not given this up in the Great Vinyl Clearout of 1998 when I was making room for my future wife. The American version had the same photo on the back, with the track listing. The German version had the track listing but the dog’s head was extended so that it was out of view, as if the dog was “taking care” of his master. It appears just to be a doctored photo of the original. I know that I wouldn't want a Doberman that close to my John-Thomas.

Blackout

Every tune on this album is solid. Even the grunge-like “China White” – although grunge had not been invented yet, there was still Sabbath, and there may or may not have been an influence here. You have the rocker ballad, “No One Like You” and the straight up party rocker “Can’t Live Without You” which I’m sure whipped many a crowd into a frenzy. When I first heard the title track in 8th grade, via an American Forces Network commercial showing some kind of tank launching a rocket (remember, this is Germany), I thought to myself, “This is the heaviest rock I’ve ever heard!” I also dig "Now" and "Dynamite" off this album.

Love at First Sting

An even stronger outing than Blackout, I think the Scorpions really hit the mainstream with this one. All the tunes are great, and they scored big with “Rock You Like a Hurricane”, “Big City Nights” and the rocker ballad, “Still Loving You.” My favorites are “I’m Leaving You” (for the great riff after the chorus) and “Coming Home” which starts out like a ballad and then rocks out with its cock out the rest of the way.

You would think that German rock would deserve a good German beer, but quite honestly, I think just as many Americans love the Scorpions as Germans. Therefore, I am recommending Boulevard’s Lunar Ale, which is an American version of a Dunkel Weizen. Enjoy!

Hope Everyone Had a Vampire Weekend

Being a part of this blog has made me realize that even though I know about more music than the average person, I am falling behind on all the newer good music coming out these days. It's overwhelming to me, actually. You've got myspace, where anyone can put songs of their band up, and that's great, but how much crap do you have to go through just to find the good stuff? Truly, it's unfair of me to say "crap" because a lot of the stuff I find on Myspace is quite decent, or at least good enough for the girls I go with.

I've had a subscription to Rolling Stone since around 1987. While they are frustrating at times (Kings of Leon gets a mention it seems, every other month, but my favorites, The Drive-By Truckers, where are they? They truly deserve a cover, even though they're not pretty, but then, when was rock and roll ever pretty?), I am able to keep up on some popular stuff, but by no means get the goods on stuff that is causing a buzz.

A couple of weekends ago, I was at my local library. For a town of 20,000 people, we have an AWESOME A/V department in our library. Passing by the "new" section, I saw the Vampire Weekend CD. I grabbed it, figuring I really knew nothing about the band, save perhaps, a proper mention in Rolling Stone, or somewhere on the web.

I found it quirky at first. Were these guys from England, or are they Ivy League rich kids turning out rock and roll? I still have not investigated this, other than a quick review of the liner notes, and I'm still not sure. Not sure I want to kill the mystery, although it's all right if you do so in the comments section.

Overall, I'd probably give this debut 3/5 stars, but I haven't listened to it all the way through. On first listen, I probably would have told you that "Walcott" was my favorite song. Typical melody, with really snotty lyrics about Cape Cod. I dig that the singers voice is very pleasant, and when he claims that "The Bottleneck is a shit-show", it's way more powerful than when some metal or punk dude is screaming "fuck".
Then I found the "Oxford Comma" video:

The song itself is pretty great. Dig the line, "Why would you lie about how much coal you have?" What does that mean? I don't know, but it sticks with me everywhere I go.
"A Punk" is pretty awesome as well:

The last tune I'm going to mention is the closer, "The Kids Don't Have a Chance." I love the keyboard in this one. This sort of sounds like it was influenced by Elvis Costello.

Maybe I'm behind on discussing these guys. My friend, Tommy Tune, states that the blogosphere has already hyped these guys up and brought them down. Oh well, I guess I'm not hip. Guess I'll go cower in a corner somewhere.

Fuck that. I never said I was cool, I just know what good music sounds like, and a lot of these tunes are simple, but fantastic. It's been a while since I've heard 50's-styled, clean guitar work. It's a pleasant surprise.

I definitely recommend this album, a cool evening, and a six pack of Three Floyd's Gumball Head Wheat.

Quick Cuts: Black Mountain - "Angel"

I'm definitely going to have to check out more of these guys:




Best enjoyed with Salvator Doppelbock.

I'm Certainly Not Stoned

Tomorrow marks the 13-year anniversary of when Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead died, and put an end to the aimless travel of stinky, tie-dye making hippies until they discovered Phish. Eh, maybe I’m just jealous. Right.

I haven’t seen it here yet, but I don’t really think many of the writers here are “jam band” fans. I dunno, maybe Kelsi is a moe. fan, but I doubt it.

I think you either love jam bands or hate them. Maybe you could like a jam band for their records but totally hate the noodling they do during a live show. I mean, I dig that song “Off the Record” by My Morning Jacket (did they totally rip off the riff from "Hawaii Five-O" on that, or what?), but if they went into a prolonged jam at the end of the song, sort of like they do on the studio recording, I’d be going to the bathroom or getting another beer.

Let’s face it folks, masturbation is an act preferably performed alone. It shouldn’t be done in front of a crowd of people, and that’s what “noodling” or jamming is.

“I got a recording of the Dead from their ’74 tour at the Fillmore East. Jerry did a 14-minute guitar solo in the middle of ‘Ripple’!” Whoo-wee! Sign me up for that suckfest!

I’m not alone in my feelings about the Dead. So let’s have a party with somewhat of a theme of celebrating Jerry Garcia’s life through my eyes with the understanding that the real reason we’re celebrating is to drink cold beverages and get shitty. Here's a muxtape to go along with the session.

The Coolies – “Talkin’ Bout Doug”

The first song of the album Doug that takes a satirical look at the 1970’s genre referred to as "the rock opera." I totally recommend this album for a couple of listens. It's never gonna be in your Top 5, but the concept is great, and the rip-off of the Who in "Cookbook" is fabulous. A very compelling, dark and hilarious story of Doug the street punk who steals a crack recipe from a cross-dresser and goes from rags to riches to rags again. Gem lyrics from the above song: Had the pledge of allegiance tattooed on his head, always talked about finding and killing the Grateful Dead.

NOFX – “August 8th”

You want a band that absolutely hates jam bands? Look no further than this ditty by punk rockers, NOFX. The song gets the date wrong, but the tune is straight up about the Day Jerry Died.

Not that it has anything to do with the song, other than the message, but I was in a band called Total Passover. Before we were Total Passover, the other three fellas in the band were called Sham Rock Shakes. Every year at Iowa State, around Earth Day, they would have bands play in the arboretum, this big open meadow that sloped up. Sham Rock Shakes played around 10:00 a.m. that day. Think about college, and 10:00 a.m. on a Saturday. I was just getting going around that time, if anything. So here are all these hungover (mostly) hippies listening to a 2-minute, 3-chord punk rock band. I think I woke up at 8:00 a.m. so I could shower, eat breakfast and witness the spectacle. The in-between song banter between Tom Meehan and Andy Levy was funny. "Tom, this next song is called 'Le Toi Se Moi' (okay, sue me, I don't know French. It means, I Am The State). What does that mean?" Meehan was being his surly self and said, "It means FUCK YOU!" Later Andy went into a rant about music and ended it by saying, "Jerry Garcia is dead and I killed him." Of course, this was 1989, so he wasn't dead, yet. Which brings us to the next song...

Olive Lawn – “Hate”

Not necessarily about Jerry Garcia, or about hippies, but just an overall heavy, negative vibe in this one that will get you going if you’re in the mood. Actually, this is not recommended for playing at parties. I’m thinking if this song comes over the stereo at a party, you’re either in Seattle circa 1992 or someone is about to get their skull cracked. Great sample in the beginning from the movie, “Gimme Shelter.”

Cracker – “Loser”

Let’s just set the record straight: I’m not saying that the Dead didn’t have some good songs. A friend let me borrow “American Beauty” years ago, and I listened to it once, and it was decent enough, but still, I don’t think I could name one song off it for certain. I could guess, but then that would just be the game show side of me coming out. The whole reason my friend let me borrow that CD was because we were discussing the cover of “Loser” on Cracker’s Medicine Hat CD. Cool lyrics, mellow vibe. I dig it.

The Modern Lovers – “I’m Straight”

Pretty much, just to sum this up, is this fine tune from Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers. Only, he wasn’t selling the band with his name in front of it at the time this piece o’ wax hit our consciousness.

I’ll admit that I’m a beer drinker, but that’s pretty much it. I do have an occasional home made margarita, because my wife makes a damn good one, but I do not partake of drugs. I’m not judgmental about it, either. I don’t give a damn if someone wants to smoke pot, or what have you. I tried it (um, a few times, in college - Hey! It was the 90s!), and that shit is not for me. So, I don’t know. I kind of think I’m “straight” when it comes to that whole drinking/drug thing, but I could be wrong since alcohol is a drug, too.

That’s Jonathan’s main message in this song:

Now I've watched you walk around here.
I've watched you meet theseboyfriends,
I know, and you tell me how they're deep.
Look but, if these guys, if they're really so great,
tell me, why can't they at least take this place
and take it straight?
Why always stoned,like hippie Johnny is?
I'm straight and I want to take his place.

I’m with Jonathan. I like him, too, I like hippie Johnny, but I’m straight.

So, anyway, there’s my “party list.” As you can see, it’s not easy for me to pile on too much grief, but I thought it was interesting enough to know that there’s a contention out there putting that feeling to music and lyrics.

I put a couple more Coolie songs on the muxtape for your listening pleasure. Those are my two faves of that album. Have a great weekend everybody!

This post best enjoyed with Rogue Dead Guy Ale.

Let Me Introduce You to Some of My Favorite Women

Hello, boys and girls. Today I decided to introduce you to some songs that have to do with women. Not just women in general, but an ideal or actual woman that someone wrote about who affected them. In some cases, we have an actual name given to the woman, although we have found all through history that the real name is not always given (see “Layla” by Derek and the Dominoes, written by Eric Clapton, about George Harrison’s wife, Patti Boyd as an example). In other cases, it’s the relationship with the woman (as in “She’s My Ex” by ALL, listed below).

It’s hard for me to nail down in words, but most of the time I feel that when men write about women, there’s a lot of unknowns or mystery in the songs, maybe even confusion or hurt because of misunderstanding or a lack of knowledge when the songs involve love or intimacy. Think about this when you look at the lyrics of the songs that are familiar to you. I intend to show how men are more specific in fleshing out the subject when they are talking about men in another post.

Remember as always with me, it’s not only the lyrics but the combination of music and lyrics.

“V” – Golden Smog

When I was down, she was full of advice
She said she’d been there once or twice
With a ring on the side of her nose
Wearing other people’s clothes

V is a woman who used to wait on the guys at the bar, and when I mean wait, I mean she served them cold beverages. Then, on a cold December day, V up and went away. Where did she go? The song never knows, but V used to light the place up so much the boys in Golden Smog wrote a song about her.

“Lovely Rita” – The Beatles

Here’s one of my favorite Beatles songs. Rita is a meter maid. Written by one of the masters of silly (and quite honestly, very cheesy) love songs, Paul McCartney.

“Sara Smile” – Hall and Oates

Probably one of the best examples of White Boy soul out there. This is always a favorite of mine due to the vocals and the smooth music.

“She’s My Ex” – ALL

Both ALL and the Descendents (basically the same band with different lead singers) write some great tunes about women, and the relationships with them. Not quite “emo”, these guys were probably writing songs about not expressing their true feelings or being shy with innocent angst long before Rivers Cuomo came around with the truckload of female fear he delivers into those kinds of songs.

In this tune, the dude singing the song is still in love with his ex, but you sort of get the feeling that if he had a woman who appreciated his love, he’d forget her despite the fact that, “she’ll be my ex til I say when, until I get her back again.” Right click on the muxtape link and open a new tab to listen to this song while you read.

“Margaret Says” – The Vulgar Boatmen

This is probably one of the better tunes about a woman that I enjoy. A very nice description of Margaret’s personality. The album this is on, You and Your Sister, will get a proper review from me at some point.

“Angelyne” – The Jayhawks

Lots of regret in this one. Beautiful, sad vocal harmonies as well.



“Evangeline” – Matthew Sweet

Matthew writes a tune about a girl he’s infatuated with, but she’s in love with another “man.” The man, in this case, happens to be God above.

“Annie Mae” – The Twilight Singers

The music in this song is so funky, it makes me feel dirty. Sort of how the person singing this probably makes Annie Mae feel. Coming around when he’s lost, and not sticking around too long.

“Caroline” – Concrete Blonde

How about a song written about a woman by a woman? I love the sound of the bass in this tune. Caroline left, and instead of the confusion you get from a male songwriter, you get poetry that lets you know how she feels.



“Josephine” – Slobberbone

This is actually, it’s a Mulehead song, but I only know the Slobberbone version, and it kicks ass! A story of a guy who loves this girl Josephine, but he can’t even talk to her. Spray paints her name in a bright color on the water tower, goes to jail for it, and with his one phone call he dials her up and then can’t say anything.

“Jackie O” – John Mellencamp

I’m not sure what to make of this song. It’s kind of got this goofy 60’s pop sound to it, and appears to use a xylophone or some kind of wacky organ in the mix. Nice tune, overall. Can your daddy get us backstage passes? You know how we love to dance. With all his political power it would seem to me that you could dance better than you do.

“Jennifer Grey” – Total Passover

Okay, so I’m self-promoting here. But this song is about Jennifer Grey, the actress, and focuses on her role in Dirty Dancing. Nobody puts baby in the corner. Also on the muxtape.

“Sharon Needles” – Earl Lee Grace

The Dwarves’ Blag Jesus decided to make a bluegrass album in the 90’s. This is one of my favorite tunes off it about a girl who had a lot of fun in high school named Sharon Needles. Sharon Needles went to the prom with her dad, he could not get none so he went away mad.

“Yankee Rose” – David Lee Roth

A metaphorical woman. Mostly great because it was the song used in the video that returned David Lee Roth to us in all of his greatness. Give me a glazed donut and a bottle of anything…TO GO!




Other honorable mentions:

“Josie” – Steely Dan
“Lesbian Nun” – Dwarves
“Liza and Louise” – NOFX
“Maggie May” – The Faces (live version)
“Maybeline” – Chuck Berry
“Sister Luck” – The Black Crowes
“Somebody’s Baby” – Jackson Browne
“There’s This Girl” – Sweet Baby

This post best enjoyed with Magic Hat #9 (a girlie beer)

Set the DeLorean for 1993

I graduated from college in May of 1993. It was sort of a tough year to find a job, but I lucked out and made my own luck.

About 4 years later I was in Pensacola at my local record/CD store, and I was looking for the new Dinosaur Jr. CD. Plus, I was picking up some used stuff - they had some of The Fluid’s single CDs that came off of their 1993 release, “Purplemetalflakemusic.” I told the girl at the counter that I wanted the new Dinosaur Jr. CD (she had to get it out of the glass case for me. This was a record store that specialized in punk and alternative music, but carried everything). I stated that I hoped the new one was as good as 1993’s “Where You Been?”

She said, “Yeah, it sure would be great if we could have another year like 1993, there was a lot of good music released that year.”

I’ve been thinking about that for 12 years now. So this morning, with a cup of coffee in hand, I retreated to the basement and began rifling through all of my CDs and records to see if that was true. Sure enough, here are some examples to hold that up:

Uncle Tupelo – Anodyne

The final release before these guys broke up. Enough has been written about Uncle Tupelo that I don’t really need to go into it here. This is my favorite release by them. Sure, I have songs that I like more on their other albums, but overall this is an amazing album, recorded live in the studio. It starts off with the mellow “Slate”, and then moves into the upbeat “Acuff Rose” (the dynamics of this song are especially great in live setting. I saw them in the small Maintenance Shop at Iowa State University and the instruments are all acoustic except for the bass. It’s a very raucous song, just check out this clip when Tweedy does it solo. Listen to the crowd.)





Afterwards, it kicks into some more rocking tunes before mellowing out with the title track. The entire album is fantastic. Every song is great. Definitely a good way to go out on a good note.

Afghan Whigs – Gentleman

If you’re in your twenties, are into substance abuse (the legal and illegal kind) and bad relationships, do I have a record for you. Sort of a concept album about the above, including going to support group meetings to possibly meet women, this was, to me, the Afghan Whigs' transition album from Sub Pop grunge band into the soul-influenced rock band they would become and then later when Dulli would take that even further with the Twilight Singers. The lyrics here are just plain killer. Even Dulli had to get someone else to sing “My Curse” because he couldn’t sing it without breaking down crying. My favorite tunes are “What Jail Is Like” (helluva description for a relationship) and “When We Two Parted” (You’re saying that the victim never wants it to end, good, I get to dress up and play the assassin again, it’s my favorite, it’s got personality). Click on the band's name above to read a kickass review and see some videos from this album.

Dinosaur Jr. – Where You Been

A lot of people rave about the earlier DJ albums with Lou Barlowe on them, like Bug. Me, I picked up some singles, but my love affair with Dinosaur Jr started with Green Mind. Then Where You Been came out and it changed everything. The whole alternative rock movement was in full swing and J Mascis and his band actually had a hit with “Start Choppin’” with its cool playful guitar riff, vocals that sounded like J had a bag of broken glass in his throat (I was actually playing a CD called Martin and Me by J Mascis at my house back in ’98 and my wife said, “This guy sounds like he belongs in a gas station, not on a CD”) and a catchy, rockin’ chorus. I think every song on here is great except for “Not the Same” which kind of has the same things I dislike about Neil Young’s “A Man Needs a Maid” – shrilly high vocals and timpani. Keep the fucking timpani out of rock music, please.

Cracker – Kerosene Hat

Cracker is one of those “clever” bands that I never really wanted to like, but something about what they do gels with my personality and I can’t help myself. I feel the same about the first two Oasis albums. Don’t want to like them, but don’t have a choice. It’s the music that’s making me do it, folks.

Kerosene Hat contains “Low”, which in my opinion, is just okay, and in fact, I usually change the channel on the (radio, TV, internet, etc) when it comes on. I love the title track with its goofy wordplay and downer feel, and the blues/slow tune “Take Me Down to the Infirmary” probably for the same downer feel. The cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Loser” is awesome, and “Eurotrash Girl” (hidden track #69 on the CD) is, in my opinion, an updated version of Three Dog Night’s “Never Been to Spain”. Really. Play them side-by-side and tell me you can’t see the influence there. There are also some decent mid-tempo rockers on here including “Sick of Goodbyes” and “I Want Everything”.







The Fluid – Purplemetalflakemusic

When Nirvana got big in 1992, it ended the era of hair metal, and pretty much all the crap metal that was going on at the time. Don’t get me wrong, I still like some metal, but there was a lot of really bad stuff coming out there in the end that if it came out today…the stupid white trash of this country would still eat it up. Okay, sorry, that was totally uncalled for. But Trixter? Firehouse? Gimme a break!

The thing I didn’t understand was a band like The Fluid should have soothed all those metal dude’s hurt feelings. Purplemetalflakemusic is the proof. This album has great heavy drumming, two guitars played through Mesa-Boogie stacks, and a kickass bass player laying down ominous low-tones. Some of the songs pulled influences from old-time rock and roll, though, with the backing “la-las” only sung by masculine men. Check out “My Kind”. The production on this album is awesome. Total WALL OF HEAVINESS coming down from the instruments.

Both “My Kind” and “7/14” are my favorites here, but the entire album has to be experienced from beginning to end to truly appreciate it. I could be wrong, though. Get the CD for the kickass purple metal flake sticker.

Prisonshake – The Roaring Third

Okay, here’s an album that I think you have to get by importing it. Kinda “pompous rock critic” of me to bring it up, I know, but this album rules. The song “2 Sisters” was on a compilation CD I got of a whole bunch of singles released in 1993, so I sought out the album. “Hurry” off this album, is top 5 all time for me. In one line, it sorta sums up this site to me: Hate to write, love to drink, hate being drunk, love haven written. If that makes any sense to you at all I’d have no choice but to say I failed…

Only one bad song is on this album, in my opinion; “Asiento”. Too loud and noisy. Lots of good guitar interplay on these songs. Some are stonesish, but it’s definitely a rock and roll album.

Cheap Trick – Budokan II

I am totally breaking the rules here. Cheap Trick at Budokan is still an album that I listen to, and it came out in 1977 when I was 9 years old. However, that album only had about half the concert on it. So in 1993, Cheap Trick released the rest as Budokan II. Both these albums pull from their first three full releases, and one song, “Can’t Hold On” was only available on their Found All the Parts EP, which is an import. At least 3 songs on here are about suicide, and I’d have to say if you want a suicide song, Cheap Trick does them the best (“Auf Wiedersehen”). These two albums have since been thrown together into the correct order they were played that night in Tokyo. I don’t have it.

Other honorable mentions:

Teenage Fanclub – Thirteen
Rocket from the Crypt – Circa Now
Dwarves – Sugarfix

The 1993 Playlist

7/14 – The Fluid
Gone to the Moon - Fastbacks
Start Choppin’ – Dinosaur Jr.
That was the Greatest Song – The Pooh Sticks
Hurry – Prisonshake
Last Dance with Mary Jane – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Pickin’ Flowers For – Best Kissers in the World
Chickamauga – Uncle Tupelo
Perfectly Good Guitar – John Hiatt
Gene Clark – Teenage Fanclub
Between You and Me Kid – Mudhoney
Dissident – Pearl Jam
Stadium – Monster Magnet
Ditch Digger – Rocket from the Crypt
Serve the Servants – Nirvana
Divine Hammer – The Breeders
What Jail is Like – Afghan Whigs
Missed – PJ Harvey
Don’t Tear Me Up – Mick Jagger
Auf Wiedersehen – Cheap Trick