the sticking point

“Well Whaddya Know?”

...writes Sticking Point pal SO'C, who has settled a few friendly debates by sending me this link to detailed technical instructions for getting thixotropic liquids, such as ketchup, out of a bottle. He was a firm believer in the “Bang the 57 method.” I have always been the guy who'd try and fail using a few different approaches, until finally saying, “Fuck it. I don't need ketchup.”

Today's Friday 10 is “slooow goood”... 

01 Rock - The Kleptones: Everyone who hears it wants me to burn a copy of Night at the Hip Hopera for them. The Kleptones are one guy, Eric Kleptone, I think. I've forgotten nearly everything I once knew about him/them. But there's a website with a link to downloads. Night at the Hip Hopera is a re-imagining of classic Queen music. People call these “mashups,” but since I don't like those, I've decided to call this a “re-imagining.”

02 Gin and Juice - The Gourds: I don't know anything at all about these guys, but this is a hillbilly-style version of the Snoop song. Guilty pleasure, I guess. I used to work at this place where I shared an office with my wife and three co-worker friends. I was the unofficial office DJ, mixmaster of the RealPlayer Jukebox. Mostly, I kept the volume for my ears only, but whenever this (or the James Brown phone interview) came on, I could raise the volume for the rest of the room to hear.

03 Marcus Has The Evil in Him (L) - Rollins Band: It took me awhile to come around, but in the last year or so I've begun to appreciate the Only Way To Know For Sure album. It's pretty hot. And it's all real live. No studio overdubs. So many of the so-called live CDs that we buy these days hit the shelves pitch-corrected and with solos and vocals re-recorded weeks later in the studio. The whole point behind the title of the record is that the only way to know for sure whether a band is any good is to hear them live. The Mother-Superior version of Rollins Band was solid. (The Marcus referred to in the song title is bassist Marcus Blake.)

04 A Better Son/Daughter (L) - Rilo Kiley: This is off a bootleg I have of their Pomona, California show 01.09.04. Rilo Kiley is still my favorite band of the last 10 years. I listen to them every day. “Better Son/Daughter” is my favorite song of theirs; I remember being blown away the very first time I heard it. I once thanked Jenny Lewis for writing it.

05 Run To The Hills - Iron Maiden: Yeah. Back in the 80s, this song and band was a big favorite of the kids who sat in the back of the bus that took us from the White Plains train station to our high school a few miles away. I was not one of those kids and wanted no part of socializing with them. So I hid my appreciation for Maiden, lest the reprobates from the back of the bus might accept me, and withstood their derisive nicknames “Clash” and “Pistol” with great pride. I'm not a fan of Maiden, but I think their songs -- especially this one -- are great fun. I met lead singer Bruce once. Man, did that cat take himself seriously! “Run To The Hills” is, of course, from the Number of the Beast album.

06 Happy Birthday, Mr Burns - The Ramones: I can't tell you which season or episode of the Simpsons this is from, but Brian Last Stop probably could. I found this track online and downloaded it with great haste. Best line: “Hey, up yours, Springfield!”

07 Moral Majority - Dead Kennedys: I wonder if the dispute between Jello Biafra and the other DK members is what's holding up the full-on box set treatment of this band. I don't have to tell you how important the DKs were to the West Coast hardcore scene, if you're at all interested in great music, you already know. Their concerts were phenomenal. They're touring again, with a guy -- some former fan -- named Jeff Penalty singing. I could never go. Without Jello, it's just not the Dead Kennedys. Biafra's still at it. He still runs the great Alternative Tentacles label. Last time I was there, the website had a lot of free downloads. “Moral Majority” is on the great, must-have In God We Trust album.

08 Get Out of the Car - Richard Berry: Richard Berry is the man who wrote “Louie Louie” and was the first to record it. His original intent for the song is way different from what you hear in the Kingsmen version or any of the Calypso or reggae renditions. It's the pure one. It's the real one. I have been listening to Berry for 15 years, and I'm still into all his stuff. The tunes are great and his vocals have this cool lazy badness to them. He always sounded like he'd be the toughest gangsta around... if he could just get off his ass and out of bed. Check it! There are two really cool Richard Berry CDs that aren't hard to find: Get Out of the Car and Have Louie Will Travel. You can find a lot of information on the man here.

09 Plateau - Meat Puppets: From the classic Meat Puppets II record -- every song is a gem, and too few people own it. Cobain and Nirvana did these Phoenix geniuses a load of help when they performed a trio of MP songs on that Unplugged show. (They were the opening act on the In Utero tour.) The Meat Puppets formed in 1980, and were right there in the thick of all that great music that radio programmers and Rolling Stone called “college rock” at the time. Still, they outlasted almost all their peers. This second album came out in 1984, and held its own against some incredible competition for music fans' attention; you know the story -- some of the best albums of the last thirty years were released that year, including the Replacements' Let It Be, the Huskers'  Zen Arcade, Double Nickels on the Dime by the Minutemen, REM's Reckoning, and Black Flag's My War. Personally, I think this Meat Puppets record is the most consistent in the whole pack. “Plateau” is a great song. But there had to be something a little more synthetic (and less legal) than caffeine or beer coursing through Curt Kirkwood's brain when he wrote lines like “Holy ghost and talk show hosts are planted in the sand.” 

10 The Lines You Amend - Sloan: I have a ton of Sloan on my iPod. They've never made a bad record, and I've never seen them put on a bad show. They come to the U.S. (from Nova Scotia) far too seldomly, so when they play around these parts, it becomes a mad dash for devotees like me and Mrs. Sticking Point to secure ourselves some tickets. Seriously, Sloan concerts are phenomenal; they're one of those bands that make me think: Holy shit -- imagine if some poor band had to follow them onstage tonight?!  This song is from the great One Chord To Another CD. Get it today, it is packed with great songs. It's got one of my all-time favorite Sloan songs on it, “Autobiography.” The pressing I have, which is a little harder to find, but well worth scouring eBay or GEMM for, came with a bonus disk of a live, in-studio “concert.” Sort of like the Beach Boys' Party record. On it, they do some get Sloan songs, some covers, and a fucking psychotic medley of Canned Heat's “On The Road Again” and “Transona 5” by Stereolab. I said medley. Believe it!

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Do It Yourself: Put your mp3 player or digital jukebox on “shuffle all songs,” and tell us the first 10 tracks you hear.

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“It was for fun shit like [the Sticking Point Friday 10] that I had my crew of geniuses invent the iPod! Kudos, Sticking Point!”
--- Steve Jobs

[posted with ecto]

On iTunes right now: “Hard To Explain” from the album Is This It? by Strokes, The

Nikki Sudden

Former Swell Maps lead singer Nikki Sudden performed a show with his more recent band, The Jacobites, at Knitting Factory here in NY Saturday night, and died less than a day later. I checked his website and saw that he and the band were booked to do a show in London tonight. Must be a lot of bummed out people in that city right now. Nikki was cool, the Swell Maps were great.

Google News links.
Swell Maps on Punk77 site.
Nikki Sudden site.

Download International_Rescue.m4a

[posted with ecto]

Miscellany River

Yesterday in the Barnes & Noble magazine section, some guy shushed H. My son shouted his new sound, “Gaaaagg-elll!” a few times, and I noticed the guy giving us dirty looks. I was waiting -- just eagerly fucking awaiting -- for him to say something. Then he shushed. Not joking, not even smiling. He was pissed. I said, “You didn't just shush my son, did you? Where the fuck* do you think you are -- a library?! If you can't take a little noise, get the hell out of the store.”

So there. I know I'm a little bit late on this rant, because plenty have opined about it before me, but... these bookstore patrons are getting out of hand. It's getting harder just to navigate the aisles, because each is crowded with 5-7 nomadic freeloaders, squatting, sitting, and laying all over the rug. Who are these people?

* I whispered this word, both for violent effect and to protect my son's tender sensibilities.

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Can a 21-and-a-half-month-old with a mouthful of teeth start teething again? Just asking.

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Interestingly coincidental shuffle of songs this morning during H's breakfast. The playlist was “3+ Stars,” which has six hours of music contained therein. In succession, we heard “Just Get a Grip on Yourself” (The Stranglers), “Orgasm Addict” (Buzzcocks), “Rather Be With Me” (Viletones), and “Get Off” (Dandy Warhols). Is our iTunes sending a not-so-subtle message?

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The Devil and Daniel Johnston finally comes out Friday.

[posted with ecto]

On iTunes right now: “National Health” from the album Low Budget by Kinks, The

“I keep it inside and let it out on the weights.”

Critical Bench has an interview with the great Ed Coan: one of the good guys.

Unfortunately, it's riddled with typos, and could have used a professional editor; but here it is...

Critical Bench: Ed Coan

[posted with ecto]

On iTunes right now: “What More Can I Do” from the album The Singles Collection: A's & B's, 1964-1969 by Zombies, The

The Punk Rock

New documentary in production. Trailer and lots of info here.

[posted with ecto]

On iTunes right now: “Truckin'” by Pop O Pies

Wanted: The Clean or The Clear

This is the “BEFORE” picture of a Friday 10, pre-steroids. Today's was a good one! Hopefully, later I can add my notes.

01 Blue Train - John Coltrane: This is the title cut and first track from my all-time favorite Coltrane record. I had a gorgeous 48“ x 48” repro of the album cover that I bought in D.C. in 1991 with the very last $11 in my pocket. You know it, it's that amazing Francis Wolff photo. I treasured it for a long time, and it came with me from apartment to apartment. I wish I knew where it was now. I guess the thing just couldn't keep up with me. Annnnnyway, this song is the source of the single greatest coincidence in my life. Here's the short and fascinating <wink> story: One afternoon, in 1890 or 1990 (I can't remember when - it was so long ago), me and good pal MicKen made our way into some pool hall we'd never been in. “Pool hall” might be slumming it down a bit, as even back then establishments like this had begun dolling themselves up for the yuppie masses. Everywhere, the local pool hall was re-inventing itself as a nice, clean, fun place for the young and upwardly mobile. Me and MicKen were “between careers” as they say, and found ourselves in yet another brand spanking new billiards room at about 3 in the afternoon. There was some decent music playing as we walked in. Nothing too out there; maybe a Joan Jett or They Might Be Giants or Concrete Blonde album. The last track was on, and MicKen was racking our game. I said, “You know, I'd really love to hear Coltrane's Blue Train.” Within a minute -- yup! -- those first five notes that famously kick off side one, track one. We sort of freaked. Of all the genres NOT too expect to hear at this establishment, multiplied by all the possible artists, albums, and song.... It was all a rather large punch of what some call synchronicity.
HEY! WAKE UP! THE STORY IS OVER, AND THERE ARE MORE SONGS BELOW!
02 Darlin' Companion - Johnny Cash
03 Sword - Rilo Kiley
04 Tattooed Love Boys - The Pretenders
05 Ancient Man - Deadboy & The Elephantmen
06 Spin - Turkish Delight
07 Nike-A-Go-Go - Misfits
08 Fake Tales of San Francisco - Arctic Monkeys
09 We Walk Alone - Rollins Band
10 Sometimes - James

DIY: put your mp3 player or digital jukebox on “shuffle all songs,” let us know the first ten songs you hear.

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[posted with ecto]

On iTunes right now: “Living With Unemployment” from the album Punk Archives by Neurotics, The

Bucket Seats

Last night was the Buckethead show at B.B. King's. Good show, fun show. I'd recommend dropping a couple dozen dollars on it if he comes to your town.

I went into it with a clear slate. I had never heard any Buckethead music. But I was there for the big Guns n' Roses surprise appearance at the Video Music Awards a few years back, when he was in Axl's new version of the band (with Tommy fucking Stinson!), and Buckethead just captivated me. I'd never seen nor heard anything like him, and I've never forgotten the drop-jawed, wide-eyed way I watched him as he rehearsed, and again when they closed the show. I did a little research and discovered that he'd played with...
Zorn...
Claypool...
Laswell*...
Bootsy...
Hellborg...
Worrell...
and other folks who seem to have been born with an instrument in their hands. I've been fascinated ever since. But I never downloaded or bought a single song or CD.

I dug the show. He played a lot funkier than I thought he would. More Eddie Hazel than Yngwie Malmsteen. Completely entertaining show.

I went with SO'C. I think he snapped a shot or two with his digicam during the show. If he lets me, maybe I can post one here later.

One sidebar: It seems that cell phones are the new cigarette lighters at rock concerts. Assholes had their mobiles in the air, wavin' 'em like they just didn't care, snapping photos, and capturing video throughout the whole freaking show. Pathetic.

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* Who was in attendance last night, with his wife Gigi.

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On iTunes right now: “20th Century Boy” from the album Tanx by T-Rex

Go Doe Then Go Home

The John Doe gig Thursday night at Joe's Pub was solid. Once the table full of drunk, noisy Brits decided to leave, things got much more enjoyable. I knew things would be interesting when one of the guys tapped me on the shoulder about a half hour before showtime and asked, “So who's on the bill tonight, mate?”

Joe's Pub is not exactly the type of place you wander into and only happen to see a show. You kinda know who's playing because you've bought a ticket in advance. Unless you're this Brit, and his nine friends, all drunk and rowdy, each one thicker and more burly than the one before. Half of these guys have necks like my leg, yet I'm sure none of them have ever put down the crisps long enough to sign a membership to a gym.

When I told him John Doe was on the bill, the guy asked me, “Who's that? Is he fee-ya-muss? Is he any good, or is he shite?” I replied that Doe was in X, he's not famous, but it didn't matter because he's written great songs for more than 25 years. He is, most decidedly, not shite.

Pointing to the ceiling, he says, “This is my music. The best band ever.” He was referring to the inhouse PA, which was playing The Smiths. “Do you like the Smiths?”

This is where the rubber meets the road. “Nope.”

Suddenly, I have a thick-necked, drunk Brit angrily staring me down like I'd just given Diana's corpse a Hot Karl. I explained: “Johnny Marr's a talented guy, but I can't take Morrissey.” He let me know that Marr was a genius and so was Morrissey. Then he belted a couplet from “Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now,” fortissimo, and told me that sad songs make him happier than happy songs.

Doe came out and during his first four or five songs, me and the rest of the paying audience struggled to hear him over the din of these rugged, rowdy Smiths fans. They got louder and louder. They pawed at the waitresses. They disingenuously shouted “John Doe!” between songs. I considered calling the Joe's Pub front office from my cell phone to complain. (Yeah, I know that sounds like a pansy-ass thing to do, but it was ten of them, one of me, and I've stepped up to that battle before. It doesn't end well for me.) And then they left. Just upped and went, about five songs in, with about nine full Guinnesses and remnants of several more still on the table.

Look, I'm finally posting this about five days late, so I'll just tell you Doe was amazing. Great new songs, great old songs. He said it was refreshing to be on the road alone, not having to teach anyone else his songs so, if the crowd wanted to hear anything, to let him know. Someone shouted “The Have Nots,” and he said OK.

I never call out songs at a show. I'd feel like a stooge shouting for something when the artist is working off a well-thought-out setlist. But he was askin', so... I called for “See How We Are” and he said OK. The show ended after about 80 minutes and two encores, and “See How We Are” was the last song of the night.

I had a chance to talk to him afterward. I said, “Is it alright if I ask you two totally geeky questions about the music.” I think he saw it as a welcome reprieve from the fools he'd been tolerating, one of whom thought she'd pique his interest by telling Doe she worked at a museum and could get him two free admissions to the new Japanese porn installment. He blushed. (He also probably figured he could afford the ten bucks himself if he really wanted to go.) So he turned to me and humored my geek fandom.

First, I wanted to know how I could get my hands on a copy of his version of “I Will Always Love You.” It's the Dolly Parton song that Whitney made famous in that movie. Doe performed that song in the movie, too, but it's not on the soundtrack or any LP. As far as I know, it's vinyl single only. (1992, Warner Bros. #18753.) Well, John Doe didn't know, but the freaky guy with the James Chance hairstyle and a colony of hoops growing up his earlobe told me, “Ebay, dude, eBay.”

Next (and here's where thing go really geek-fanboy), I asked about the reference to a “mighty great band” packing their bags and moving to Wyoming in the verse he added to the Woody Guthrie song “So Long It's Been Good To Know Yuh” on the Live at the Whiskey A Go Go album. I've long wondered who the band is/was. Doe told me the verse was autobiographical. “If you remember, at the time we recorded that show, Exene was pregnant and we were planning to take a long break. It's about us. We just didn't know what was next.”

Right on. I thanked him -- as I would any hero of mine -- for all the great music and said goodbye. As I shook his hand, he saw the tattoo on my forearm.

Reaching out and rubbing the skin surface with two fingers, he said, “Boy, I'm glad I played that tonight!”

Me too. I thanked him again. I stepped away thinking how great it was to meet him, talk to him, get my questions answered, and hey -- he dug the tattoo! And I absent-mindedly walked right into the Ladies room. Duh.

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Here's a warm thank you to the gal at the Joe's Pub exit who hit me with the best marketing ploy on God's green earth. She was hawking John Doe T-shirts and said, “This would look amazing on you.” I'm jaded enough to know that's the best possible line if you're looking to sell a $20 t-shirt to a guy. But I'm also insecure enough to think, wow -- that chick thinks I could be amazing-looking! So, thanks for the ego-boost, however sales-driven it was.

[posted with ecto]

On iTunes right now: “We're Desperate [1st version]” from the album Beyond & Back: The X Anthology (Disc 1) by X

It Was Better Before, Before They Voted For What's-His-Name

Last night was the John Doe show at Joe's Pub. I'll write a bit about that experience in the next day or so. For now, I just want to get today's F10 up so y'all can play along.

01 Standing in the Rain - Husker Du: It's been a couple months since I've heard this track. At least that's what my iTunes tells me. Too long, I think. The Husker guys did nothing wrong; they were right in the pocket every time. And this is from the Warehouse CD, which is probably my least favorite of theirs. (Mostly because of the tinny production. I don't know if it's been remastered since the copy I bought in 1987.)

02 Everything - Vida: This is from a bootleg I have that has the entire Vida album, plus live stuff and excerpts from the Dewey Bushmule Sessions. This great stuff; hot RAWK! Talk about a bunch of guys who've been around the punk rock block a time or two. Vida was a sort of supergroup comprised of SST records all-stars: Dez Cadena from Black Flag, Minutemen drummer George Hurley, and Tom Troccoli (+ Bill Bowman on bass). Their band name came from an album title of another of Dez's bands, DC3.  I have a friend who is a friend of Dez's, and for a long time she promised me she'd bring him round so I could meet him. I had every Vida disk I own -- including mp3 bootleg disks -- on my desk in my old office for months, just in case. I wanted to ask him questions about specific tracks, and have him sign every goddamn thing. Geek shit like that. Alas, the meeting never happened. It would have been pretty fucking pathetic/hilarious though, some guy with a Black Flag tattoo and Black Flag stickers in his office, sitting behind his desk listening to Black Flag, and trying to play it cool as Dez Cadena walks into his office. Yeah... like I'd be able to even form words! The reason she told me she'd introduce me in the first place was because one day she saw my tattoo, asked about my level of fanhood, and then told me she knew Dez. I said, oh, wow -- I almost spoke to him once. I relayed the story of how Dez, Marky Ramone, and Doyle of the Misfits were doing an in-store at Virgin in Times Square, and I was standing nearby as they set their gear. I had total fan fright, and was afraid to speak to any of them. If all this sounds like a nerdy and criminally shy teenager's diary, get this: it happened about two or three years ago.

03 Survive - The Bags: One of the amazing late 70s L.A. punk bands. And this gang could play! The single of “Survive” is pretty hard to find; this is from the Dangerhouse Vol. 1 comp. There were a lot of great bands on that Dangerhouse label; it's a total seal of quality - if you find an LP or CD on Dangerhouse, get it, it's great. Alice Bag is alive and online. She's still living in California. She's a teacher, a housewife, and a blogger.

04 Space Tourist - El Guapo: Man, I love this band. They were Dischord guys, which is another mark of quality, as anything on the Dischord label is worth a listen. Recently, the band has changed its name to Supersystem, their music has become a bit more intricate, and they've brought the whole kit and caboodle over to Touch & Go Records. Got that? Never mind. “Space Tourist” is on the El Guapo CD called Fake French. Two other songs to keep an ear open for are “Rumbledream” and “Underground.” The Dischord site has the record for cheap and maybe some mp3s for free download.
P.S.:  Justin Moyer, drummer from El Guapo/Supersystem is also in a band called Antelope.

05 Room 8 - Rilo Kiley: This is off a boot I have of their August 9, 2003 show in Austin, Texas. I have about a dozen Rilo bootlegs, and all of their officially released material, save for a couple single b-sides. And this is the only place I've ever found this song. It great, too. One of my favorite Rilo Kiley songs. M. Ward plays guitar on this performance.

06 (The Original) Neutron Bomb - The Controllers: I hardly know anything about the Controllers, except for how cool this song is, which I have on the Killed By Death #1 comp of punk rarities. I should probably know more. AllMusic has a decent bio of the band written by Jack Rabid.

07 Rise Above - Misfits: This is not easy to find. It's the Misfits doing the Black Flag classic. It's live, and I have it on a “Return of the Fly 7” EP I got off eBay last year. It was a limited run of about 5000 copies, and from what I've read, Glenn Danzig and the band are not too happy that it's out there. Maybe because the songs are in pretty raw, demo form. Rise Above is the only live song of the bunch, which includes (from memory) “She,” “Last Caress,” “Who Killed Marilyn,” “Spook City USA,” the title track, and a couple others. There's a bit of surface noise and the levels vary from track rto track, but overall -- it shreds. If you find it, get it. Danzig might hate you, but it'll be worth it.

08 Foxey Lady - Jimi Hendrix: What a riff. From the desert island must-have Are You Experienced record.

09 Into My Arms - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Live in Lyon, France, 06.08.01. I took this track off a live DVD I have of this show. Cave has never done a bad vocal, if you ask me. (Yesterday, in the car, his version of the Beatles' “Let It Be” came on the iPod; ever hear that? It's worth your time.) My pal Jake interviewed Nick Cave a couple years ago, and some photos were taken of the session. I've asked Jake repeatedly to let me have -- Christ, let me buy -- a couple of the shots, but... nothing. Cough 'em up, mister! Anyway “Into My Arms” has it all: great lyrics, great performance.
More Than You Need To Know Dept.: The version of “Into My Arms” that's on Boatman's Call was my wedding song. That is to say, when the moment came for Mr. and Mrs. Sticking Point to share our first dance as husband and wife on our wedding day, this was the song we'd chosen.

10 Jigsaw Youth - Bikini Kill: From The CD Version of the First Two Albums (which is what it's really called). I love this band. Great attitude. (And another never-do-ya-wrong label: Kill Rock Stars.

Do It Yourself: Put your mp3 player or digital jukebox on “shuffle all songs,” and let us now the first 10 tracks out the chute.

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[posted with ecto]

On iTunes right now: “Not For Sale” from the album La Maison de Mon Rêve by Coco Rosie

Our Old Friend, The F10

It's back.

Pure, unadulterated, Friday 10.

01 Pirate Love - The Heartbreakers: There are three different versions of this Heartbreakers song on my iPod. The one I heard today is the best one, the one from the “lost mixes” edition of L.A.M.F. that came out a few years back. Check out “Pirate Love” if you can. It's simple and fun and stands as a great definition of the rock and roll sound. This is the sound of a bar band that only exists in your mind. Except Thunders and the Heartbreakers existed, they were out there. Amazing. The version of this song on L.A.M.F. is my favorite. There's a long and loose version on the Max's Kansas City album, but this is the one for me. There's a story told by Chris Musto (of the Oddballs) that at one show, Thunders was more in the mood to entertain than play, and he asked the audience to guess where he “ripped off” each of the songs from. This one, he claimed, was nicked from Bad Company.

02 Virginia Avenue - Tom Waits: I don't have to tell you anything about Tom Waits. You know he's genius. My earliest memory of him was watching him on SNL when I was a boy (and shouldn't have been up that late -- not even on a Saturday). Man, was I stunned. I didn't know what to make of this guy. He was sitting at a piano and smoking a cigarette while he played. His voice sounded to me like he'd swallowed poison. For some reason, I didn't change the channel over to wrestling on channel 9. I watched this Tom Waits guy sing his song about love or booze or the blues or all three and had enough sense in my stupid head to know that he was singing about something so real I couldn't even understand it yet.

“Virginia Avenue” is from Closing Time, one of the best in a huge catalog of great Waits albums. I listen to that CD all the time.

I just searched around the so-called Internet, and found that Waits was on SNL on April 9, 1977. I was ten years old. The host that night was Julian Bond. Who?

03 Three MCs and One DJ - Beastie Boys: I heard a live version from the Roskilde '98 bootleg StereoMic hooked me up with a couple years ago. I have about a dozen Beasties bootlegs and demos disks that I like, but this Roskilde show is amazing.

04 Pretty Vacant - Sex Pistols: I heard the demo version from Spunk. This collection is not hard to find and thoroughly worth having, as some of the tracks are actually far superior performances than the standard issue versions. You can get it bundled with the Bollocks disk, but it'll cost you. But why wouldn't you spend so much money on them? They are unwilling Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, for Christ's sake! Oh, and also? Read the Lydon autobiography. It's finally back in print and easy to find. I read it a couple months ago and loved it. He's got stories to tell and scores to settle. And he does. (Did -- it was written a while back.)

05 Under The Gun - Circle Jerks: Every genre has its four or five singers that just define the music, and Keith Morris is one of the standouts in L.A. punk. Amazing voice. Well, let's say amazing vocal performances. I've been listening to Golden Shower of Hits (which this song comes from) a lot lately. So many great songs on that one, ands it was probably the best CJ lineup in their history. Somewhere, in my shelves of vinyl there is an old SPIN (magazine) radio show with four vinyl sides of a Circle Jerks concert from 1986. I have to dig that out and burn it to CDR. I haven't heard it in about 15 years.

06 I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts - X: This is another song that appears on my iPod in about 4 different versions. This is the great one, from the More Fun in the New World record. What an amazing album; it's the one I usually tell folks new to the almighty X to begin with. “Make The Music Go Bang,” “Breathless,” “Devil Doll,” “True Love, Pt. 2,” “Bad Thoughts” -- who can't get their brains around all that great music?!
Today, I learned that John Doe is playing a show here in New York next week. I bought a ticket for it as fast as my Internet connection allowed.

07 Working for the Man - PJ Harvey: This is from her album To Bring You My Love. It's the only one of hers I have, but I've heard all the others. I think it's all great stuff, she's amazing, but there's something about the production work on TBYML that makes it my favorite.

08 Where Does It Lead? - Miriam Makeba: From The Magic of Miriam Makeba. She's one of those artists you wish you could go to college and major in. At least I do. The Pata Pata cd is great, as is Africa and Sangoma. Makeba was married to Hugh Masakela AND Stokely Carmichael. In 1959, she walked onstage for a guest appearance at a Harry Belafonte concert at Carnegie Hall, and the double album of the show won a Grammy. I can't say much more than to just write that I am in awe of her. Here's some info: http://zar.co.za/miriam.htm.

09 Nervous Breakdown - Keith Morris: Oh, yeah -- the sonic jihad of another Keith Morris vocal! This is the version that he did a few years ago, backed up by Rollins Band (Mother Superior) for the West Memphis 3 CD.

10 Let's Go - The Ramones: Pleasant Dreams, Too Tough To Die, and End of the Century are three incredibly underrated Ramones albums if you ask me. In the 80s, I listened to those three more than I listened to the classic first three. This song is from End of the Century, the album that people either love because the songs are amazing, or hate because Phil Specter produced it. Why was Joey Ramone a respected punk rock vocalist? Listen to “Let's Go.”

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DIY: put your mp3 player of choice on “shuffle all songs,” and let us know the first 10 songs out the chute.

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“Swiss Fudge Cookies, sudoko, and the Friday 10 are all I really need these days.”
-- Christine Baranski

[posted with ecto]

On iTunes right now: “Make The Music Go Bang” from the album More Fun In The New World by X