Hey kids, today I’m going to tell you about the all time top five greatest albums ever released. This is not up for debate, as it has been scientifically proven beyond any reasonable doubt that these five albums (records, CD’s, downloads—whichever you prefer) are in fact the best ones that have been released thus far in recorded history. Your opinions may differ-this is America after all-but you’re wrong. So without any further ado, here we go!
1. “Self Titled” by the Stooges – I know, surely there’re some of you saying, “Ahemm, “Funhouse”? But you know what? The Stooges’ debut is unbeatable in terms of ridiculously catchy, but still heavy and raw tuneage. Check it:
No fun my babe no fun
No fun my babe no fun
No fun to hang around
Feeling that same old way
No fun to hang around
Freaked out for another day
No fun my babe no fun
No fun my babe no fun
No fun to be around
Walking by myself
No fun to be alone
In love with nobody else
Well maybe go out maybe stay home
maybe call Mom on the telephone
Well come on, well come on,
well come on..........
Ok, “We Will Fall” is a bit on the hippie dippy Doors wannabe side but we all make mistakes right? Freaked out indeed.
2. “Walk Among Us” by the Misfits – Holy crap what an album! Not one weak moment to speak of. Let’s start with the album cover and insert: Goddamn, how fucking cool are these guys? They really walk around in public looking like that? What are you going to do about it if you don’t like it? Now onto the songs—every single one of them gets in, does their job and gets the fuck out. I don’t know, maybe this one should be the all time number one (but I ain’t about to admit I was wrong so I’ll go ahead and leave the Stooges). Plus, back in the day when there weren’t that many ladies who were into this punk rock shit the gals always liked the Misfits--and Black Flag for some reason, that is until “Slip it in” came out anyway.
3. “Exile on Main Street” by the Rolling Stones – Not too many albums actually sound like the precise place, time and atmosphere they were recorded in, but this one most certainly does. Look at the pictures inside. You know the one where Mick and Keith are probably doing back ups and holding a bottle of booze and a can of beer? That’s what the record sounds like to me. It sounds like living in tax exile in France and massive debauchery with a slight dose of violence thrown in for good measure. Yes it does. Not to mention the fact that “Torn & Frayed” is probably up there in the top five SONGS ever written.
4. “Rock For Light” by the Bad Brains – A lot of people will probably try and tell you that the ROIR cassette (or most likely CD these days) is their best, but again, they’re wrong. The production is just too muddy. Look, I’m a lo-fi kind of guy but that one just really loses too much of the impact because of the primitive recording. Obviously it should go without saying that the songs are still great but they sound so much better on the Ric Ocasek produced RFL record. And the reggae on the ROIR album is really pretty bad, whereas on RFL they’re up there with any Scratch Perry record (in my humble opinion). If there were any justice in the world these guys would be as rich as Bon Jovi. But of course there is not.
5. “Self Titled” by the Clash – Now, in all honesty this same spot could just as easily be filled by the Ramones’ first LP, the NY Dolls’ first one, or maybe even the Sex Pistols’ debut, but I’m picking this one because this is the very first punk rock record I ever bought. It was the summer after 7th grade and I was looking for something new. I didn’t want to copy my brother and snag the Pistols record so I actually asked him for advice as to what I should get if I wanted to check out some punk other than the Pistols or the Ramones. For some reason (even though he didn’t even like them) he told me I should check out the Clash. That record blew my mind. It came with a bonus 7” of “Gates of the West” and “Groovy Times” and the whole thing was just unbelievably good. How are you going to have a bonus 7” in 2008?
So there you have it kids. If you’re missing any one of these gems go and get ‘em right now! Preferably if you have a record store nearby go and grab ‘em there but if not I officially give you my OK on downloading them. I would also like to add that if Hank Williams had ever made an actual album (as we define them to be) he most definitely would be here--though I'm not even going to try and figure out which of my other choices would go! But I mean, c'mon, Lovesick Blues, Ramblin' Man, I'm so Lonesome I could Cry? Some of the best American songs EVER written.
Showing posts with label misfits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label misfits. Show all posts
Friday, April 18, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Why Hardcore is the Greatest Music of all Time!
First of all allow me to explain that when I say Hardcore I'm not talking about tough guy-beat down-Biohazard-sounding wannabe metal crap, nor am I talking about eyeliner and tight pants wearing-arm hugging whiney emo crap. If you like either of those types of music right on, I have no problem with that, but that ain't what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Negative Approach, SSD, Void, Black Flag, Necros--you know, the real stuff!
Never before or since has there been a more organic and real "music scene". OK maybe when field workers were singing songs out in the fields before there were records (or illegal downloading), that was pretty real too. But the original hardcore scene was entirely a grassroots, word of mouth kind of thing. You heard about bands from your friends, older siblings or xeroxed fanzines. MTV didn't exist and even when it finally did there certainly weren't any Meatmen or Circle Jerks videos being played (or being made for that matter). If you were lucky enough to have one in your hometown (or if you lived in a city) you could also go down to your local independent record store and check out the latest stuff. I bought plenty of albums and 7 inches based soley on the fact that they had cool looking covers.
The internet was still years away. There were no tour announcements in Rolling Stone magazine. No one else at your high school had heard of the shit you were into, and a lot of them wanted to beat you up for it even. You had to work for this stuff. Not to sound like your great grandpa telling you how many miles he had to walk to school through snow and rain without shoes, but it wasn't easy being hardcore back then. If I had a nickel for every time some asshole yelled "Rock Lobster" or "Whip It" at me from a passing car or pickup truck I could definitely go buy a fresh case of Budweiser right now.
This was music truly by and for the people. It was completely ignored by mainstream culture and corporations except when they wanted to ridicule it/us or make fun of it. Anyone remember the "punk" episodes of Quincy and Chips? How about the movie "Class of 1984"? They always got it wrong when they tried. Always.
There were no interested record labels so people put out their own records. Eventually there were a couple hardcore labels but even those were mostly just people from the scene putting out records they liked in relatively small pressings. Plenty of classic HC 7"ers now go for one or two hundred bucks or more. Ever see someone pay 150 bucks for a Michael Jackson record? I haven't.
One thing that hardcore never seems to get credit for is great songs. As far as I'm concerned, the true test of a great song is whether or not you can sing and play it on acoustic guitar and it still sounds like a great song. You can do that with Black Flag songs, you can do it with Misfits songs, you can even do it with Negative Approach tunes. Try doing that with a Britney Spears or a Rihanna song. You can't. They need the studio gloss.
I'm not saying other forms and styles of music aren't good (I'm as open minded as the next guy after all), I'm just saying that to me this is the real thing, like no other. It's the ultimate form of rock music--stripped of all fakery and bullshit star trips and played with utmost intensity. Playing music for the sake of playing music, not to get rich or be on the cover of some slick magazine. This kind of thing doesn't exist anymore. It's like the blues almost.
Never before or since has there been a more organic and real "music scene". OK maybe when field workers were singing songs out in the fields before there were records (or illegal downloading), that was pretty real too. But the original hardcore scene was entirely a grassroots, word of mouth kind of thing. You heard about bands from your friends, older siblings or xeroxed fanzines. MTV didn't exist and even when it finally did there certainly weren't any Meatmen or Circle Jerks videos being played (or being made for that matter). If you were lucky enough to have one in your hometown (or if you lived in a city) you could also go down to your local independent record store and check out the latest stuff. I bought plenty of albums and 7 inches based soley on the fact that they had cool looking covers.
The internet was still years away. There were no tour announcements in Rolling Stone magazine. No one else at your high school had heard of the shit you were into, and a lot of them wanted to beat you up for it even. You had to work for this stuff. Not to sound like your great grandpa telling you how many miles he had to walk to school through snow and rain without shoes, but it wasn't easy being hardcore back then. If I had a nickel for every time some asshole yelled "Rock Lobster" or "Whip It" at me from a passing car or pickup truck I could definitely go buy a fresh case of Budweiser right now.
This was music truly by and for the people. It was completely ignored by mainstream culture and corporations except when they wanted to ridicule it/us or make fun of it. Anyone remember the "punk" episodes of Quincy and Chips? How about the movie "Class of 1984"? They always got it wrong when they tried. Always.
There were no interested record labels so people put out their own records. Eventually there were a couple hardcore labels but even those were mostly just people from the scene putting out records they liked in relatively small pressings. Plenty of classic HC 7"ers now go for one or two hundred bucks or more. Ever see someone pay 150 bucks for a Michael Jackson record? I haven't.
One thing that hardcore never seems to get credit for is great songs. As far as I'm concerned, the true test of a great song is whether or not you can sing and play it on acoustic guitar and it still sounds like a great song. You can do that with Black Flag songs, you can do it with Misfits songs, you can even do it with Negative Approach tunes. Try doing that with a Britney Spears or a Rihanna song. You can't. They need the studio gloss.
I'm not saying other forms and styles of music aren't good (I'm as open minded as the next guy after all), I'm just saying that to me this is the real thing, like no other. It's the ultimate form of rock music--stripped of all fakery and bullshit star trips and played with utmost intensity. Playing music for the sake of playing music, not to get rich or be on the cover of some slick magazine. This kind of thing doesn't exist anymore. It's like the blues almost.
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