Jerry Was a Racecar Driver by Primus

There are songs that remind you so vividly of a certain time in the past.
This track is the most famous track by Primus for sure. I have recently rediscovered the wonderful weird rock stylings on Les Claypool and crew, and several tracks send me back to 10th grade in good ole Franklin High School. Combat boots and trying to grow my hair long. Salvation Army wardrobe and talking about getting high more than actually getting high. It was a mission to be cool and I was rated Most Unique in my senior year yearbook. Isn't that swell? Perhaps I should have been focusing on more fundamentally basic things like hard work, planning, fiscal responsibility etc. Instead, my anthem in high shcool was "aw, fuck it." Oh the glory days...and Primus was my soundtrack...

Faith No More - Midlife Crisis

One summer in the early nineties, I worked with a friend of mine doing remodeling and general labor. I used to get up very early in the morning and would put the TV on MTV and the video for this song would usually come on. This one and Megadeth's Symphony of Destruction were in heavy rotation. Rock was the way of the walk at the peak of the grunge era.
I rediscovered this one when Joel sent me a box of tapes and other goodies. I put the cassette with this one on when I was driving to New Mexico the week before last. It had been a while since I had heard this one but I was surprised at how modern it still sounds. FNM was sadly underrated and even poked fun at their lack of recognition with the title of their last studio album.
The lyrics are as equally offensive as they are accurate. Kind of the FNM ethos in a way. Too bad no bands today took up their mantle. We only have Pearl Jam and Rage Against The Machine rip-offs in the rock millieu today. It was refreshing to listen to this track, kind of made me think that Angel Dust is the Velvet Underground album people who were starting bands at the time should've listened to.

Table of Contents by The Roots

The Roots hail from Philly in my home state of ole Pennsylvania. I am proud that such good musicians come from my home. They are professionally trained musicians, not just guys rapping over a Roland sampler. Check em live and you will agree.
this track is one of my favorites for its just plain grooviness. It's from the Things Fall Apart album, one of their best in my opinion. They do interesting collaborations with all kinds of artists (Beastie Boys and a classic cellist to name 2). This track is one of those you just keep repeating cuz the rhythm is good.
I just saw that they have a new album out. I hope it is better than their mediocre last effort, Phrenology.

Basketball by Kurtis Blow

The current CD in my car is Kurtis Blow's greatest hits and it is indeed great. The whole sound and the lyrics hark back to an earlier time (circa 1982) when things weren't so complicated. he refers to old b-ball superstars who are long retired, dead or otherwise incapacitated. His rapping style is so simple, yet it was crazy and new way back when. Interesting thing to ponder.
I still dig hip hop bands that actually bother to use instruments. See next post

Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones

This track makes me want to turn on the news like it's still 1970 and we're in a war. Wait, that's today. I reviewed a Rolling Stones track because somebody gave me a copy of 40 Licks. A good one for the collection whether you agree or not. There are some who say they ran the Beatles and Stones into the ground and don't listen to them anymore. That may be me because sometimes I find when one of either of the aforementioned's songs comes on the radio, I usually listen for a while and if the sprit moves me, sing along. But I more often than not, find myself changing the station 1/2 to 2/3 into the track.
So I wondered what is to be gained to re-listening to something you've heard an insane number of times? My high school English teacher told us that when she reads Shakespeare even after so many years, she still finds something new. So comparing the Rolling Stones to Shakespeare isn't exactly kosher. Without the benefit of history, such claims are bogus; but what if?
Their influence is there. The attitude is a necessary part of rock and roll. Could there be a Ramones or Strokes or Oasis without the Stones? A lot of credit probably should go to the Kinks for that actually, but the point is with the Rolling Stones success, they made it cool first. They cleared out a slippery slope, or did they roll a snowball down a hill? Whatever the cliché, they were key to the acceptance of the genre of Rock And Roll in its early stages.
Rappers always give props to Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaata for making hip hop happen. In such a way, we should give some love to the rock masters of old. Once I worked a job where I had lots of time to talk about stuff with the people I worked around. I had a friend named Steve. He was about 15 years older than me but had a coolness about him. We talked a lot about music we liked and Steve had many great theories about how the Rolling Stones are great music for lovemaking, etc. (probably only applies to white people, but never mind that) Sometimes Steve and I used to joke that we liked the fine English poetry of Jagger and Richards.

Black Metallic - Catherine Wheel

A classic track, lengthy perhaps, yet orchestral in scope. Clocking in at just over seven minutes, it can be a challenging listen for the person on the go.
Bruce Dickinson of the Catherine Wheel is the cousin of Rob Dickinson of Iron Maiden fame. Vocal range seems to be a Dickinson family trait. The Catherine Wheel seemed to possess a will to succeed in music. Their tracks on their first album seem to come out with a subdued confidence. In that artists can be professionals and still be called artists, I think the Catherine Wheel was that. It was rare to find a band in the early nineties with an adept vocalist, but they eschewed the punk ethos and demanded nothing less than viruosity in all the musical elements. I think their early recordings possessed just that seriousness and that's why I like the Catherine Wheel's entire "Ferment" album. Bits of tambourine in the drum track, etc. soften the whole presentation. Most of the guitar parts are very overdriven and effects-laden so there are some pop elements that attempt to make the music more accessible. It seemed to do the opposite at the record bins, but that's another story.

My Life Story - It's A Girl Thing

This one hit home when driving back to the house tonight. My Life Story broke up over four years ago but they are still as fresh as a lot of stuff out there now. The first line about the speed dialer screen was poignant. The Brits have much better mobile phone technology, even a few years ago when this song was written. There doesn't exist such a thing in American cell phone technology as I understand. But why not? The point is to spend the least amount of time procuring communication with the right select group. I got one of the first 3G phones when I was in Japan, but functionality for the Western mindset was not one of the goals of Japanese communications companies. Ergo no speed dialer screen.
The song, itself, is a gentle yet thorough depiction of womanhood. Who knows what these bizarre creatures feel? But for a moment, I thought I did.

Dead Man's Party by Oingo Boingo

Okay, I've been a bad boy and have been using bit torrent again. I just started to remember all of this music I used to listen too years ago abut forgot about.
Oingo Boingo was one of the major influences on me back in like 6th grade that put me on the anything but mainstream track (thanks Jake). This track is the title song of the album. I can still remember the smell of the new tape when I bought it. You know that smell. Oingo Boingo is good. I liked this music cuz everyone else would look at me like what are you listening to? I thought I was so cool. Always trying to be the weird guy.I dont know how to describe them but it takes me back to the days gone by of cassette walkmen and Ocean Pacific shirts and jams and fruit roll ups and anything else that was around in 1989. I now have the complete OB discography and will report back when I strike more gold.

Baby Sinister by Slave

OK, let's talk funk. The Meters started it all, P Funk turned it all weird (in a good way) and many other smaller players created one of the coolest genres there is. Funk makes you shake your butt. End of story.
Then every once in a while you discover a gem that makes you fall out of your seat. The musical equivalient of an explosion in your ear.
That is Baby Sinsiter. I have it on vinyl. And if you look at the grooves you can see how damn long the song is, like 9 minutes or so. I can't remember the album, one of their really early works. I think it was the one with swans on the cover.
Anyway, it the funkiest track in exisitence. So damn groovy it makes you want to poop your pants. Words cannot describe this track. I just remembered it last night and though, that is a damn good song. This post does it no justice. Go find it. and Listen. and feel it in your bones

Heaven Beside Me-Alice in Chains

This one is off their self-titled 3rd album, the one with the 3-legged dog on the cover. This was like an anthem in high school. Very mellow with a heavy breakdown in the middle. Very appropriate when I broke up with my HS girlfriend.Listened to this over and over.
"Like the coldest winter chill/heaven beside me.Hell within"
Recently rediscovered AIC after downloading a bit torrent and this song rocketed me 10 years into the past. Scary how things like this still sit in my subconscious mind.
In a funny side note, my ex went on to marry a Japanese man, and I went on to marry a Japanese woman. How bizarre is that?