TSP Special: Are We Safer?

Photo: SOC 2005

Day 1 of New York City Police checking bags of subway passengers. I can't believe this happened so fast -- we heard about it just yesterday, and here it is, already underway. I can't believe there was no public referendum. I can't believe I'm not against it. Go ahead, fucking do it. Right on. Safe me up, bitches.

Is that a Friday 10 in your bag, or are you just...?

01. Stuart - Dead Milkmen: Hilarious. From Beelzebubba. I loved the Milkmen, and got to see them a few times at the Ritz in NYC. Always memorable shows. I always thought of these guys as the Dickies of the east coast.

02. I Love You - Black Flag: From the Complete 1982 Demos disk. It's not an official BF release, but various versions of it are out there and not too hard to find. It shreds. There are a lot of alternate, early takes [what part of "demos" am I not understanding?] of stuff that later popped up on My War and Slip It In. That bald, rotund MusicTV personality, Ian R., had a copy of this that he loved. When I told him I got my hands on a copy for about 20 bucks, he told me I got robbed.

Fuck him.

Patrick Kennedy wrote this about the Demos disk for AllMusic Guide:

While embroiled in a bitter lawsuit with Unicorn Records that cost a countless and overwhelming amount of hours and dollars, the label slapped an injunction against the band, preventing them from recording and releasing under the name Black Flag. Under clear threat of law, in 1982, following the release of the landmark album Damaged, Black Flag snuck into the studio to record songs that would ultimately compose both the My War and Slip It In records. These are the only recordings the band made with possibly their strongest lineup: Henry Rollins on vocals, Greg Ginn and Dez Cadena on guitar, Chuck Dukowski on bass, and Chuck Biscuits on drums. These versions are far more vital and uncontainable than those that would ultimately end up on the official SST releases. Cadena's visceral rhythm is the perfect counterpoint to Ginn's damaging, stinging, cascading leads, while Biscuits' drumming paired with Dukowski's muscular bass is a more feral Phil Rudd-Cliff Williams combo. Though only a bootleg, this is the most visceral and brutal set of Black Flag recordings available. Also included are two songs that never made it past this demo stage: "What Can You Believe?" and the angular "Yes, I Know."

03. I Never - Rilo Kiley: Live in Pomona, CA, in January '04. In 2003-2004, Blake and Jenny from Rilo did an acoustic tour to fine-tine the songs that they'd recorded for More Adventurous. I have about six of these shows booted on cd, and I'm proud of that.

04. Servo - Brian Jonestown Massacre: My wife and I watched Dig! recently. It was a good doc, but it's like Bob Barrenger said, "So... that happened." This song's alright. It's on Give It Back, and a great Bomp comp called Straight Outta Burbank.

05. Die Bitch - Pussy Galore: When Groovy Hate Fuck came out, I signed right up for anything this band would ever record. PG is not for everyone, but they spawned a shitload of great (and easier to listen to) bands. Guitarist Julia is one of the sweetest girls you'll ever meet. This song is from the Corpse Love cd, that comped up all the stuff from the band's first year. I think it's out of print, but you can still find it used here and there. Try Gemm.com.

06. Fancy - The Kinks: Yeah, "Fancy." A mediocre song from one the greatest bands in the history of recorded music. A hundred years ago, I struck up a friendship with the guy who became my best high school pal and partner in all crimes simply because we both had "Kinks" written on our notebooks. Ahhh... boys bonding over similar taste in music -- how romantic!

07. Timebomb - Public Enemy: I can remember back in 2000 when Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch was having his personal and professional issues, he had the guy in control of the Stadium's music play this before his first at bat. It starts, "Yo, Chuck, we got some nonbelievers out there...!" Cool. I always liked Knobby. He had guts. Plus, he took the subway home from games, just like the rest of us. Public Enemy's first three albums are time capsule pieces, must haves.

08. Death's Head - Slayer: From Diabolus in Musica. That record's hot snot. From end-to-end it is room-clearing, sheer sonic assault. Perfect. Recently, my tattoo guy sent me a few mp3s of his kid's band. Every member of the band is 16 or younger. I wrote back that they sound like Slayer (and how a kid makes his voice sound like Tom Arraya's -- I don't even want to know!), and he told me that he turned his son on to Slayer at age 10 and he listened to them non-stop.

09. Whatever - Husker Du: They are this week's Buzzcocks. That is, my iPod has been randomly shuffling in a lot of their music. (I've heard three in the last 90 minutes.) No problem. This is from the mighty Zen Arcade. I've always thought that the Husker stuff sounded like shit on CD. When are they going to get the royal treatment they deserve -- the box set of remasters, with original art, original notes, and additional songs and essays? You've got to be fucking kidding me, that this hasn't happened yet?

10. Coconut - Harry Nilsson: I can't seem to remember the first time I heard Harry Nilsson or which song it was. I have the greatest hits collection and like practically everything on there. Great songwriter -- and from Brooklyn, to boot! I've never gauged his cool/geek factor, but I have a hunch that he's well-liked by those who dig good music. I don't care either way. Stuff like "Spaceman," "I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City," and "Without You" are godhead. When I listen to the song "Without You," I do this thing where I imagine the person I love most is dying. It's kind of like momentarily turning the headlights off on a dark, winding road -- adds a little something, you know? Maybe it's just some morbid shit only I get into.

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Hey, cheers to SOC, who handled his first Sticking Point photo assignment ("Shoot something I can use for a Friday 10") with pizazz.

DIY: Throw the mp3 player or digital music jukebox onto "shuffle all songs," let us know the first 10 songs out.

"Sticking Point Friday 10s make other Friday 10s look like horseshit!"  -- Debi Mazar

Comments

[j]

1. Floodight - Tugoat Annie
2. The Best Is Yet To Come - Combustible Edison
3. Why - The Byrds
4. The Cutter - Echo & The Bunnymen
5. Sugar Mama - John Lee Hooker
6. High Water - Uncle Tupolo
7. Orgasm Addict - The Buzzcocks
8. Young Man Blues - The Who (Live at Leeds)
9. Jackpot - The English Beat
10.Take 5 - Tito Puente

[the mrs.]

cool pic of the doll holding the iPod, SOC.