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INFINITE
REPEAT - THE UNAMERICAN RECORD REVIEW SECTION
 I'm
lazy. I
don't like to get up and press "fast forward". I like records
that are pretty much solid the whole way through. I like a little
bit of PERFECTION in my music. If I buy a record, I want to ENJOY
owning it, and I want to become addicted to records that I buy.
I
also hate wasting money on crap. I don't want you to make
the same mistakes as I have. So here, I'm offering the records
that have changed MY life to you, for sale. This will VERY SOON
be a real record store! I have some links with music distributors
in San Francisco, and if I can't find something here wholesale,
I'm becoming an Amazon.com affiliate, so hopefully you'll be able
to buy that stuff too. All of these records (with the possible
exception of Toto) are 100% awesome, I
swear to you. You are missing out if you are missing them.
So if you're looking for some music to love, try the bands on
this list. It would be rad if you buy 'em from us, too! :) I've
ordered stuff from Amazon, they do a good job (sure they're hell
of corporate, but they're actually a pretty cool company...)
Oh yeah, and because I'm listing these bands reverse-chronologically
(according to when I was obsessed with the band), this document
is quite a little biography of my life, too, huh? :) I will be
adding pictures of the album covers and sound samples in the near
future. Enjoy, folks!
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Stereolab
It's year 2000 y'all and as I am coding this site, and NOTHING (i
mean nothing) has ever succeeded in inspiring me like the pulsing,
spacey sounds of the mighty Stereolab. This is the music that is
playing in heaven. I shit you not - this is what you've been waiting
for. You want change? This will change you. It is a positive subliminal
field, a field which induces JOY and BREAKTHROUGH within your soul.
Is it clear to you yet? When I die, this is the music that I want
spinning on infinite repeat in my grave.
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Black
Sabbath
For the longest time, I sort of thought nothing of these guys;
I just heard and loved the hits. Then we started playing "War
Pigs" live, and I was totally into it all of a sudden. Finally,
on our roadtrip out here to North Carolina, Jenson and I kept
finding their records in truckstops all across America. THEY ARE
ALL INTENSELY AWESOME. Seriously. Their mastery of the slow and
heavy riff is a pinnacle of rock achievement. ALl that and "Sweet
LEaf" too!!!
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to top
Lungfish
I was lost. I had nobody to cling to. I went to the Chameleon
one night because I was bored. My life was changed. Lungfish were
on Dischord, who I liked, so I stuck around and listened. "The
man is a poet" would be too cliche an utterance in praise of the
man - more like THE GUY IS A VISION AND YOU NEED IT. Daniel Higgs,
my GOD, do I ever owe you. (Daniel's the vocalist. I HAVE HIS
PHONE NUMBER!)
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The
Sea And Cake
More music for lovers. It's really romantic, this record. Sorta
has a later Velvet Underground feel (the soft stuff), except with
way better musicianship and a prominent mellow-jazz element.
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Elliot
Smith
This man makes me want to die. Don't buy these record if you expect
to be happy all the fucking time. I was poisoned by song four on
the second disk for six months. Fuck you elliot smith.
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Modest
Mouse
Tight and wirey, lonely rock from a weird hick teenager who sounds
like he's star tight end at Westbrook High in Sullivan, Montana.
I've been getting more into this band; their lonesome sound makes
for a great soundtrack as I code this site here in my Oakland bunker.
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Goa
Gil
Burning Man 1997. Being totally, totally burned out after two days
of whacked-out partying and deep desert heat. Secretly feeling evil
(this was in the bad old days, before Robynn). I wander onto the
furthest-out camp in the desert. I thought rave music was for pussies.
Imagine an insane pyramid in the desert. Out the top of the pyramid
flash lasers, cutting the sky in hypnotic cadence. Around the pyramid,
about a thousand people are flopping around in solitary thrall to
the madman behind the turntables. Goa Gil. He is an evil guru. He
will destroy your mind. O, Bad Goa Gil, don't fuck with me anymore.
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Sleater-Kinney
Fuck yeah! Finally, a crew of sisters who make rock as potent as
any boy-band out there! The lead singers of this band are one hell
of a one-two vocal punch. And live, they are SO MUCH FUCKING FUN!
I hope they stick with smaller venues, though - their intimacy is
not well-served in a big arena (I've seen them in a record shop,
they ruled!)
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damnation a.d.
FUCKING BRUTAL METALLIC HARDCORE RECORDS with great songwriting.
LOUDER THAN PANTERA! You like heavy? You should try this! They
improve upon that East Coast hardcore sound, (you know, Sick of
it All, Agnostic Front, DRI et al) by being skilful metal songwriters
in the tradition of Metallica. back
to top
Scared Of
Chaka
FURIOUSLY AWESOME PUNK ROCK! I had WRITTEN OFF punk rock as a
form of original expression until these guys. Scared of Chaka
is THE BEST POP BAND EVER. I am dead serious here! Every one of
these songs is SO WELL CRAFTED, and the lyrics MAKE NO SENSE AT
ALL! Renew your faith in distorted guitar, because Scared Of Chaka
are COOL as FUCK! back
to top
Monster Magnet
OH LORD, THE FURY! Monster Magnet are like evil hippies from hell
(New Jersey, actually) - the kind who'd lure little girls into
the woods, the kind that delights in head-tripping you. God damn,
is this man LUCIFER or something? The way these guys praise the
Bull-God is so fucking awesome - i mean, "the Bull-God"! I mean,
REALLY!!! back
to top
Fu Manchu
A different kind of heavy than Monster Magnet - more Cheap Trick
influence, I think. Their artwork suggests skating, which suggests
that not a few of those skaters were regular tokers, because,
dude, this is stoner rock. back
to top
Shellac
One of the most BRUTAL bands ever recorded. "Monster-at-the-end-of-the-level"
music. I always play my videogames to this music (if you're a
Mac user, go to Ambrosia
Software and download a couple! Oh yeah, and support Bungie
as well!) These guys are so fucking amazing, and their recording
sound is MONSTROUS. Super-ruling. back
to top
Rage Against The Machine
I don't actually own any of these guys' records, but hell, a lot
of Unamerican fans think these guys are great. Maybe try 'em out,
and let me know if they're worth picking up? I respect them for
at LEAST setting a worthwhile lyrical agenda. It's good to hear
the kids of America back a band that actually seems to value the
concept of revolution. back
to top
Sublime
The only alternative breakthrough after Green Day that I could
stomach. Realistic, kind of sad portraits of life in desperately
suburban LA (actually, "long beach" - a spoonerism for "bong leach").
The guy killed himself, which I think is really really sad. Don't
kill yourselves. But anyway, this is ska/punk! And it doesn't
suck like the bosstones (though it doesn't rule like OpIV).
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to top
Sensefield
These guys are almost like Christians. Their hearts are SO PURE
that they give my baby and I shivers as we hold each other, swaying
and passionately singing. "Understand! What it is, to be loved
- how 'bout someone who Understands, yeah?" See, there are little
clues like this all over this website - clues that indicate that
there's a communication certain of us have received, and we are
each moving in tandem towards completing our missions. Sensefield
speaks my language, of that I am certain.back
to top
Eric's Trip
O, Canada. Vast, freezing expanses of nowhere to go, beautiful
and serene and unspoiled. The very name of the city - Halifax
- sounds oddly futuristic, oddly prehistoric. Eric's Trip make
beautiful, simple pop songs and record them so bad-ass that it
made me run out and buy a 4-track. This music is priceless. back
to top
Camper
Van Beethoven
My sister's favorite album for years was "Telephone Free
Landslide Victory". How did these guys get so good? Is
the weed THAT good down in the Valley? Jeez, you folks must
have been practicing FOREVER, what was your secret? How did
you come up with "ridiculous world music" as a theme?
With song titles like "ZZTop Goes To Egypt" and "Mao
Reminisces About His Days In Central China" and liner notes
that would laugh anyone out of their chair.... Come back, Camper!!!
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to top
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Guided
By Voices
Oh my GOD, so much FUN! Guided By Voices will have you singing along
with such dingbat lines as "Kicker of elves!" and "Shit yeah, it's
cool!" and you will be the hit of the party! I wish I could see
these guys live. They kick SUPER ass!
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The Makers
I wish I was this debonair. I wish I had this much fashion sense.
Dear God, the Makers kick so much fucking ass. And live, they will
make you fucking DANCE. Juvenile delinquent soundtrack extroardinaire!
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Team
Dresch
Featuring Jody from Hazel, these guys taught me that women could
WRITE FUCKING AMAZING SONGS again! I honestly don't mean to sound
sexist, but it's rare that I love a women-only band for their musicianship,
and these folks have it all - a rocking ideology to boot!
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Bikini
Kill
This was a band that UNDERSTOOD MEDIA. If Marshall McLuhan could
have only SEEN the way this band assaulted sexist culture and promoted
the image of the Individualist Woman. Their records were spotty,
but this one is an UNDISPUTED CLASSIC. Lose your hearing to THIS!
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Unwound
These guys are audio acid, for sure. I have learned SO MUCH from
these information-rich records. I am so PURE as a result of having
come to terms with the majesty that this band whips up. Oh, god,
their live show in Olympia at Yo Yo Au Go Go in '93 was one of the
most amazing experiences of my life.
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Heroin
HARDCORE. This fuckin destroys all else. So god damned passionate
and despairing! This guy has obviously fucked with his mind quite
extensively.
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Jon
Spencer Blues Explosion
Have you ever imitated Jon Spencer? Go on, try it! It's FUN! "uh
HELL, yeayuh!" "Take a whiff of my pantsleg, behbeh! ahYEAYUH!"
You want high comedy? You want ROCK AND FUCKING ROLL? I imitate
this guy in MY
band, the Aquamen. I tell ya, nothin beats hard drinks,
good buddies and ROCK AND FUCKING ROLL! Fucking ACE, cat!
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Jamiroquai
When I was in Budapest, these guys were ALL the rage! At the hostel,
they were on constantly. I have since checked them out and I find
that they're truly rad. Their lyrics are totally conscious, you
can fuck to it (yup, fer sure!) and it's like KC and the Sunshine
Band if they were political and TOTALLY spacy-acidic. I love it!
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Teengenerate
Duuuuuude. These guys put out a ripping record - the only one of
theirs I'm selling, because it's the only one I listen to. It's
unstoppable though. Garage fucking fury. I saw them once in Seattle,
and it was like seeing the Damned or something! Fucking cool as
hell!
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New
Bomb Turks
Intelligent fury that blew us all away in '95, when punk SORELY
needed something to counter the feeding frenzy led off by Green
Day and Rancid. This record was number ONE in the Maximum Rock &
Roll scene for a good year. Your eardrums will feel CLEANED OUT
from this one!
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Nuisance
The secret gem of the Lookout! catalog - a record that barely sells
at all, but is so beautifully crafted, so resonant of deep northern
California (arcata, eureka). The singing sounds like it comes out
of a lumberjack high on weed, and there is so much beauty in the
songs and playing. I am so in love.
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Jawbreaker
Jawbreaker WAS the only band in my life for a good year. I wanted
to BE Blake. They were a trio, like my
band was. They made such a difference to so many people.
They wrote insanely beautiful soundscapes, with truly meaningful
lyrics to weave hypnotic magic upon you. We miss you, Jawbreaker.
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Samiam
While always second to Jawbreaker in my heart, Samiam deserve a
LOT of credit. Their first and second albums were so beautifully
songwritten. It was like Husker Du was finally getting popular -
and then they wrote a bad album, got signed by a major, and became
an alt-rock laughingstock. Some dreams should die early.
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Mission of Burma
For the longest time, this band was MY FAVORITE BAND. These guys
are like mad scientists. They reprogram the air around them to communicate
full-throttle angst and beauty on their part. They are beautiful
and pure, and almost unheard-of. You will check them out.
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Galaxie 500
After graduating from college, I had the
worst job in the world. In order to calm down while I was driving
around in stressful San Francisco traffic, I used this tape. Its
mellow beauty is so fucking relaxing, so pure. They truly have conjured
up magic.
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Nation of Ulysses
Everything that this page is, the Nation of Ulysses has done before.
It was all a charade, a sham, of course. But still, my God, they
had SUCH ideas! They posed as a revolutionary group, even though
they were just a band. Oooh, though, these guys knew how to explode.
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Screeching
Weasel
Ben Weasel, fucker that he is, is ONE TALENTED SONGWRITER (that
is, when he doesn't suck, as he has recently). He is brave enough
to say smart, funny, and radical things within the context of the
punk rock song. This guy is obviously one loopy bastard, but he
is gifted, and I think that's his fucking problem.
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Operation Ivy
If you don't ALREADY own this record, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!? OPERATION
IVY is a code word for a danceable information virus that has reprogrammed
the world for the BETTER. If ever a band can be said to have MADE
A DIFFERENCE, it is this one. If you talk shit about Operation Ivy,
FUCK YOU.
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Filth
Punk fucking rock with a generational/movement message. Essential
to anyone of a more political bent - street politics dripping with
anti-system hostility. A raised, clenched fist of pure fucking hardcore
genius. They probably ate a lot of acid and lived in a squat. "FUCKING
REBELLION!" Right on!
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Bad Religion, Pennywise,
the Offspring, Rancid, NOFX, Propagandhi
Similar-sounding cookie-cutter punk rock, but they still put out
a quality product. The Offspring's accidental success definitely
inspired me - it offers me a unique case study of fad adoption and
die-away. Propagandhi gets props for earning a reputation for purity
almost parallelling Fugazi in a very short time. They are one of
the funniest heckle-back-at-you bands I've ever seen!
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Green Day
Listen to these records, people, and believe. Green Day deserves
their success. They've made a lot of people very, very happy. They're
a valentine, they're super fun, they're a great band for the kids
and the parents who want to understand you.
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Pavement
I played the puzzle-out-their-lyrics game, too. It's a great little
record, I spent many happy days tooling around town listening to
it.
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Swell
Swell are so humble, and so OBVIOUSLY recorded in an apartment.
Their songwriting is SO FUCKING RAD, and their SOUND - spacy, acoustic
stargazing music - hits the spot on those cold winter nights. Swell
is space-age bachelor pad music for sure!
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Hazel
Their simple honesty is an example for us all. Their sound is heartfelt,
direct, and they've got that X-like boy-girl harmony thing going.
Their songs rule and are so pop and yet so intelligent. They sort
of remind me of a punk version of the band The Pursuit Of Happiness
(remember them?), or maybe the Smithereens.
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Slint
This record is so beautiful and innovative. It's a little slow and
sleepy. But that's why it's ideal. If you are a musician, you are
going to be stealing these ideas, I am certain.
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Rodan
Beautifully complicated indie. It's like a trap, first spinning
you soft, then LOUD, until you're woven within the fabric of their
elegant song-structures. If you're trying to wean someone off progressive
rock, try this.
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Superchunk
God loves this band. They are just so fucking SMILEY. They are singalong
indie rock of the highest order. They make me fall in love with
my baby more than any other band. We sing along together to this
one, and we are totally in love. You should DEFINITELY own some
Superchunk.
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NWA
This record blew so many minds when it came out. It is absolutely
the BOMB - the most insanely profound hip-hop record ever made.
It should be illegal. It's been such a lesson to me. "Without a
gun and a badge, what do ya got?/A sucker in a uniform waitin' to
get shot." Play any song off this at a party and I'll be there,
declaiming along with Cube and Ren and the boys. (Newsflash - Unamerican
Activities has just HIRED THE
GHOST OF EAZY-E!)
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Nirvana
Kurt Cobain, I miss you. This band was heroic, so fucking brutal
and hummable. They were the last band who were both PUNK and
INDIE. This is the man who taught me the lesson of immortality.
And he also wrote the greatest lyric ever written in rock and roll
(from the song "radio-friendly unit shifter"):
Hate your enemies
Save your friends
Find your place
Speak the truth.
(what is wrong with me?)
Amazing, soulful stuff. It will
make you more powerful, I swear to God.
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Fugazi
A band that is so amazing, they simply do not exist. Ian Mackaye,
you are a SAINT to me! He taught all us kids that we could put out
our own records, and his band CONSTANTLY SURPRISES ME. They are
masters of their craft. This band, alone, is why Dischord rules.
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De La Soul
Hip hop was never so FUN! This could well be the most creative,
childlike and innocent record of the bunch - it's love songs to
hip urban girls who like their spice with smarts. I'm so into this
record, and it took me YEARS to figure out their code - like when
they say "jimmy and jenny", they mean "penis and vagina". They're
awesome!
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Public Enemy
Okay, STOP RIGHT THERE. You fucking NEED these records. PUBLIC ENEMY
IS WHY I DID THIS PROJECT. They're the ones who informed MY radicalism.
Many Black people are held down by the System in ways that none
of you who are reading this page will ever understand. I think the
way this nation has treated its minorities is one of the greatest
disgraces that blemish it. Chuck D. changed my life.
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Squirrel Bait
Many people point at Rites of Spring as the birth of emo. Nah. I
think their record is passionate, but it's SQUIRREL BAIT that introduced
the concept back in '87. These 17-year-olds from Kentucky put out
the most riveting record of their day, and vanished into obscurity
soon after their short career. It's a golden record, of course.
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Bitch Magnet
Sooyoung Park wrote the most beautiful song in the world. "Carnation",
on the first record. Oh, so good. Nobody has heard of this band.
That is SO WEIRD!
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Rites of Spring
This is bracing, emotional music from a teenage band founded on
sweat and passion. Unrelenting, soul-stripping vocals from Guy Picciotto
(later in Fugazi) and on the most uncompromising label there is
- Dischord. It's powerful!
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Dag
Nasty
Graham Spencer, ringleader of the boys who created the Excite
search engine, made this as a tape for me, and I am oh so thankful.
Dag Nasty was pure. They wrote punk that promoted the idealism,
the tenacious belief in being as courageous as possible in a world
that doesn't favor you. If you need confidence, this will give it
to you.
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The Minutemen
The Minutemen obviously received messages from God. They were so
divine - unfortunately, they were a bit ahead of their time. Much
like this company, they spoke in slogans. They had everything -
the most pithy and communicative lyrics EVER WRITTEN, an insane
sound that merged punk and jazz, and the most insanely creative
playing EVER. They even had lots of body fat, which was a big plus.
(i'm fat, okay, so they were a ROLE MODEL for me). I love the Minutemen
all the way.
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Husker Du
The band with the rawest grasp on human emotion EVER. These guys
were God. I would have died if I could've seen them. Zen Arcade
is the ONLY "rock opera" that matters - a psychedelic, raging portrait
of a lost teenager trying to make sense of a world that seems to
hate him. I have wanted to write songs like Husker Du for so much
of my life. I think I
almost made it.
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Bad Brains
THE BEST POLITICAL HARDCORE EVER. Unlike almost all hardcore, THIS
HAS TUNE, PURPOSE, AND SOULFUL PASSION instead of fake testosterone.
The Bad Brains sang for the liberation of a PEOPLE, and they taught
ME about liberation through music. Oh, Christ, were they amazing.
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The Pixies
There was a time when EVERY BAND wanted to be the Pixies. Their
knack for just blurting out sharp melodies and squawking lyrics
is often imitated, never duplicated. You will shake violently and
try to have sex with the walls. Rad fucking records!
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Sonic Youth
I was newly into punk rock when I first heard "Sister", by Sonic
Youth. Eerie, noisy, and ultimately BEAUTIFUL - Sonic Youth invented
tools w/r/t songwriting and guitar that remain unparallelled.
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The Replacements
You want adrenaline? YOU WANT PUNK FUCKING ROCK? These four kids
from Minneapolis were where the ACTION was at when it came to drunken,
fast-as-fuck teenage anger, not to mention heartfelt romanticism.
These guys were a fucking ROCK AND ROLL BAND. I worship them.
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Negativland
Again, I don't own any of their records. But I really like their
CONCEPT. I can't really listen to the "music" - if you can call
it that - but THESE GUYS ARE OBVIOUSLY INTELLIGENT. I like that.
(see also: Residents)
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Dinosaur Jr.
Everyone WAS j. mascis - everyone who I hung out with at Stanford,
that was. You know, sort of frumpy, wearing flannel, making odd
jokes and mumbling. These guys were grunge before grunge was grunge.
I love that neilyoung-esque songwriting! (An old boyfriend of my
sister's sold J. Mascis a ping-pong table!)
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Screaming
Trees
I had a girlfriend in college who was destined to be the last girl
I dated for FOUR YEARS. She was also destined to become a total
deadhead. She liked the "mellow" music, I liked punk. Screaming
Trees was the only band we could agree on.
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The Jesus
And Mary Chain
Ooooh, the guitar that sounds like a vacuum cleaner! These guys,
songwriting-wise, were even more basic than the Ramones. That gave
them the confidence to FUCK WITH THE SOUND TOTALLY - making ultradistorted
nuggets of pop perfection.
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The Lemonheads
Before the Lemonheads sucked, they RULED! This album is so godhead.
It's like the spirit of righteousness infused this group of teenage
kids in suburban Boston and made 'em write songs of naked truth
and humor. They even cover "Amazing Grace", god love 'em!
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Social Distortion
"I love the sound when I smash the glass/If I get caught they're
gonna kick my ass"!!! Mike Ness has THE COOLEST VOICE IN ROCK. He
sounds like cigarettes and prison time, and he writes teenage anthems
that will NEVER DIE!
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The Adolescents
There is no greater punk-rock song than "Kids of the Black Hole".
That's the only reason to own this album (well, other than all the
other songs rule too). You wanna drive fast? You listen to the ADOLESCENTS!
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The Lyres
JEFF CONNOLLY IS A WILD MAN! Can you just picture a frazzled acid
casualty SCREAMING out tributes to the Sonics and other garage-rock
gods? In the prom of my dreams, these guys would be the band - it's
classicker than classic rock ever got! The Lyres make me wanna SCREAM
AND SHOUT!
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Minor Threat
This band changed the world. Their purity and sincerity, their common
sense, and MY GOD THE GUITARS SOUNDED LIKE THUNDER!!! Check it out
- you will buy this record, and it will compel you to turn the volume
UP... and UP... 'til it's ALL THE WAY UP THERE. I went deaf to this
record.
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Dead Kennedys
Okay, I am not the hugest DK fan, but I always admired their balls.
Their songs, actually, sort of resemble MY stickers - they are SO
OBVIOUS. DK's were everything a punk band should be - political
as fuck (Jello even ran for MAYOR!), evil in a funny way, poisonous
foes of the System, unlistenable. But they did write some cool songs
- Holiday in Cambodia the coolest of 'em. You MUST have these records
already, right?
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Big Black
Steve Albini is one evil motherfucker. His approach was to be super-sophisticated,
a disciplined force of pure and malevolent evil. The guy's a genius,
and he gets away with it. "Kerosene... SET ME ON FIRE!"
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Black Flag
Black Flag were the sound of POWER. This was the music I drove to
as a teenager. Careening around the woods in Upstate NY at dangerous
angles and impossible speeds, listening to "nervous breakdown",
hitting rewind, listening to it again. Me and my Puerto Rican buddies
dragging up the Taconic at three AM. Hating the thought inside "White
Minority", but crazy about the riff. Argh. Black Flag.
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Descendents
Oh, to be seventeen again! Oh, to find one's voice as a singer by
singing along! The Descendents UNDERSTOOD adolescence. The Descendents
wrote pop, and you were STILL punk if you loved 'em! Fuck yeah man,
DESCENDENTS!
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The Misfits
Unlike a lot of people, I didn't like the Misfits immediately. But
their songs are so SIMPLE, little brutal GEMS of muscular punk.
They do epitomize all that is punk, and, god damn it, i GOT to sing
along!!!
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Dead Milkmen
These guys were funny. They were like Monty Python. Liking this
band was like liking marijuana - harder stuff is beckoning, but
right now you're still just having fun. Starter punk. Great gift
for kids!
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Joy Division
Major-league depression music here. I am sort of glad that I'm not
listening to this right now. Right now I'm giddy, excited, happy
and joyous that I'm finally working on a website. This music is
really effective when you WANT to feel low. I love it. Too bad the
guy had to hang himself, but I guess that's the price of making
history in a negative way!
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The Smiths
Other than Rush, the band everyone loves to hate. The Smiths, like
bisexual impulses, are a guilty pleasure for so many people. People
who purport to think "he whines too much", but then can recite the
lines when an acoustic guitar is broken out. The Smiths rule. Making
fun of them is cool, too, but they rule nonetheless.
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REM
What a great band they used to be. These guys always seemed like
a unit. Michael Stipe did such a good job blending in with the others
that they speak as one voice, as one person, across the remnants
of my memory. I love this band, and though they got lame, I still
respect them for making moving, uncompromising music. They rule.
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The Cure
One thing I remember is that I could NOT come when I was fucking
this girl in college, because she put on "Disintegration" to fuck
to. Yuck! But the Cure, however, are amazing architects of mood
and space. I respect and love them, you should too. Plus Robert
Smith looks queer and isn't. THAT is badass.
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Beastie Boys
B-E-A-S-T-I-E! These guys are the unstoppable hip hop wrecking
crew! I LOVE BEASTIES! They are SO energetic. They vibrate to you
across the room, they toughen you and make you solid. Golden talents,
healthy eaters, married to actresses - they're the BEASTIE BOYS
and THEY are in heaven, let me tell you!!!
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Billy Bragg
This man is SUCH a DARLING! He's a socialist boy-next-door. He is
sweet, he writes songs of unrequited love and bitter truth, and
he sings them so innocently in his cockney brogue. I sing "The Milkman
Of Human Kindness" to my baby Robynn, and I cry real tears of love.
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X
Poets of Los Angeles. Painters of bleak, decrepit scenes against
a backdrop of postmodern rockabilly. Totally punk rock, yet clean
enough to break through to the mainstream. If only they had succeeded,
history would have been TOTALLY different... bands like Husker Du
and other major-label attempts would have succeeded LONG before
Nirvana brought punk back to the mainstream.
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Prince
Prince was a weird, slimy little Gemini of a man who was dirty and
sexy and made the girlies go wild. Talk shit and die, homeboy -
this year (1999) is PRINCE'S YEAR and HE IS GOING TO STEP FORTH
AND SAVE US ALL FROM OBLIVION. hell yeah! (Interesting note - the
lead singer of the Makers' is Prince's splitting image.)
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U2
Bono would have loved being on top of the world, if he had only
let go of his stupid bloody ego. As a youth, he sang SO passionately.
"Gloria!" Every other U2 album is a really good one, and War is
awesome. U2 were the first band with an actual BASS that wasn't
mixed low who broke through into the mainstream. They broke ground
for later acts (for instance, the alternative revolution). Bono,
we do owe you thanks. Now get off your high horse and FUCKING ROCK!!!!
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Metallica
ONE CANNOT DENY THE FORCE THAT WAS METALLICA. It is too bad that
they sold out instead of broke up, because they are today a DISGRACE
TO METAL. But one must double-devil-horn salute them as masters
of their domain in their day. METALLI-FUCKING-CA!!!
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Def Leppard
YAAAAAAAH!!!! Record number four that I ever bought! "DIE HARD THE
HUNTER!" If there is a COOLER start to a song than Rock of Ages'
"Unta Gleebn Glauten Glohben" well don't even TRY to tell me about
it CAUSE I WON'T BELIEVE IT! Pop metal was never again this good.
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Journey
This band was SPECIAL! Go listen to "Wheel In The Sky"! Imitate
Steve Perry - I know you CAN! JOURNEY *IS* LOVE - specifically,
being on the road without your love. Songs like "don't stop believin'"
and, oh god - "Faithfully" - they SPEAK FROM THE HEART and are so
raw and beautiful that they HAVE to touch your soul. Journey is
delicious, a guilty pleasure of mine. Bonus - Steve Perry is half
Asian!
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The Cars, The B-52s,
The Police, Duran Duran, Devo
NEW WAVE, second edition - the ones who actually had CAREERS! All
of these bands pretty much ruled. Can't talk shit, except maybe
of Sting's later career. So you should own these records - you DESERVE
them, they're GREAT RECORDS!
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Men At Work, J.
Geils Band, Toto
My first two LPs, and my first cassette! The classic new wave nuggets
on the first two records - remember "Down Under"? "Centerfold"?
"(I Bless The Rains Down In) Africa"? - still make sense after all
these years. The first two are really solid records; the last one
really only has the one hit. But "Africa" is a damn good song.
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Tom Petty
He is honest. I respect that so much. And "American Girl", "Refugee"
and "Change of Heart" are fucking beautiful songs - redolent of
this nation's heartland. Laid down the soil from which REM was born.
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Michael Jackson
This guy has an uncanny knack for being brilliant AND cheezy at
the same time. You have to admit that he's a great songsmith, or
at least was in his Off The Wall / Thriller days.
Groove to these records once again.
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Boston
You have to admire this band, because they were put together to
MAKE IT BIG! They KNEW their band was a business ("Just Another
Band Out Of Boston" chronicles their marketing activities) and they
sure had the hits! "More Than A Feeling" ***WAS*** ROLLERSKATE ROCK.
So give these feel-good anthems a shot!!!
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The Specials
So much FUN! Ska is pure ENERGY and FUN. I totally love this band
- it's great lovemusic. Me and Robynn like to work together and
listen to the Specials. I love that girl, and she used to be a rude
girl! So that's why I love the Specials - my baby loves 'em, I love
'em.
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The Fall
Oh, to be confused like Mark E. Smith. This guy, I tell you. I cannot
believe how funny he is, and yet I think he's being perfectly serious.
His manner is most striking, however. He has this actor's ability
to feign passion in utter nonsense. The passion, however, is what
persists. We love you Mark E Smith!
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The
Buzzcocks
When I was in high school, I couldn't get a date. I thought for
sure if I could get a cute girl alone with a Buzzcocks tape, we'd
be making out in a hurry. Of course I was wrong (and Robynn doesn't
even LIKE the Buzzcocks for some reason) but it was sweet, and these
songs still sound like teenage love.
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Gang Of Four
So edgy. So fucking correct. Disciplined shards of switchblade guitar
stretching over the tightest band ever invented. So fucking intellectual
that they destroy the definition. Reissuing this record (out of
print for ten years!) was the greatest thing Henry Rollins ever
did.
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The Crass
I find their records largely unlistenable, but you must admire the
most subversive band EVER INVENTED. The Crass' very existence was
a prank of the highest order - a big fat raspberry blown in the
System's face. Gotta love the amazing artwork, too, huh?
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Joan Jett, Pat Benatar,
The Pretenders
Strong, passionate women who brought a unique voice to the traditionally
male world of white rock. I salute you, brave souls!
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Cheap Trick
Naughty boys from Illinois! They taught Japan how to PARTY, and
they forced so many confused smiles as people across the land slowly
deciphered the odd lyrics to their smash hit "Surrender". These
guys were a HELL of a party!!!
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Murder Punk Vol
I
"TELEVISION ADDICT", by the Victims, is MY FAVORITE PUNK SINGLE
OF ALL TIME. It's the first song on this comp. You don't know JACK
about punk, or its global viral spread, until you pick up this amazing
comp of Australian obscurities from the early years of punk.
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The Damned
This is not a record - it is a BLITZKRIEG!!! The speed and force
of the Damned were pivotal to the development of hardcore AND pop-punk.
They pushed the envelope and REALLY SCREWED WITH BOUNDARIES!
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X-Ray Spex
Radness conflated with pop results in an album of anthems! The songs
are NOT about love - they're about politics, identity, class and
culture - BUT THEY'RE POP SONGS!!! Ruling. If this band had broken
through, it would've been a better world.
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Clash
This band broke through, but became part of the Rock System in the
process. "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" and "Rock The Casbah" are
hardly political anthems - the Clash sold out, it's sad to report.
But still, their early work defined the political aspect of punk
rock, and they inspired bands as disparate as Operation Ivy and
the Minutemen. And who can beat the rock and roll name of JOE STRUMMER?
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Sex Pistols
This band taught me the meaning of REVOLUTION. I burn in my heart
because of the seed they planted in me. Smart, interesting, and
well-wrought rock and roll that REALLY DEFINES EVERYTHING THAT IS
PUNK, DOESN'T IT? They were political. They were revolutionary.
They brought the world of music to its KNEES. IF THERE WERE A BAND
LIKE THEM TODAY, IT WOULD CHANGE THE WORLD. Any takers?
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Elvis Costello
This guy is a GOD of wordplay. Elvis Costello, in my opinion, invented
a lyrical style that let music become INTELLIGENT and FUN at the
same time. Elvis wrote Pop That Mattered, but he wasn't just a rock-crit
favorite - he MEANT SOMETHING to the PUNKS, too. What a magic fellow!
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Blondie
On a winter trip to Orlando to see Disney World, this band's triple
hits - "The Tide Is High", "Call Me" and "Heart of Glass" - were
the soundtrack. My dad was driving back to Orlando from Busch Gardens
in Tampa. It was growing dusk, and my dad was being hypnotized by
the steady putt-putt-putt of the motor of the beige Volkswagen Squareback
he drove. He would have fallen asleep, but I recited (from memory)
chapters from a book about NFL football quarterbacks. He stayed
awake. It was a beautiful, bonding moment.
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The
Ramones
Much more important than you think! They taught punks four syllables
that changed their lives - DO IT YOURSELF! The Ramones make it easy
for ANYONE to play guitar and sing their heart out - just cover
their songs! These kids provided future generations of punks with
the TOOLKIT that it took to wreak havoc on mainstream culture. AND
THEIR RECORDS RULE TOO!!!
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The Talking
Heads
The band that rescued ME away from Classic Rock hell. They were
SO brilliant, and so TRULY progressive (and not in a "prog" way,
either). In 1986, Rolling Stone printed an issue screaming "The
Best Rock And Roll Records Of The Last 25 Years". Four Talking Heads
records were on it. I took the hint, tried them out, and was changed
completely.
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Rush
Man, I loved this band!!! I lost my best friend to "rush-addiction",
however. He was the best friend I ever had, and now I fear him irrationally.
Poor Steve. But Tom Sawyer still chills my blood with fucking charged
purity...
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Yes
I was arrested about two years ago for drunk driving. I was stopped
for a broken tail light (not for reckless driving by any means)
by a cop with a badge reading E. Estrada (no lie - his first name
is Ed). I was only .02 over the "drunk" limit, and I said my alphabet
backwards just fine! (I practice.) Handcuffs hurt. Anyway, I was
blasting Yes when all this happened - "Heart Of The Sunrise." Such
beautiful fucking rock. And "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" ruled as a
new-wave song in their second life!
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Heart
"Magic Man" is the second most important classic rock song of all
time! These are two women who can REALLY PLAY GUITAR! I fucking
admire the HELL out of Ann and Nancy Wilson. Hell, I even like Veruca
Salt, just because they REMIND me of Heart. I do the most side-splitting
funny impression of "BarraCUda!" - bug me if you ever want to hear
it! (RealAudio coming soon!)
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Blue Oyster Cult
"Don't Fear The Reaper" is the MOST important classic rock song
of all time. All the promise that is classic rock - and all the
moody seeds that sprouted REM, Husker Du, and the Mission of Burma
- is heard in that one song. It's awesome, beautiful, majestic,
important. Just loop that one song and you'll be cool. Oh yeah,
and "Godzilla" is a fucking GIGANTIC riff, isn't it? If the movie
Godzilla had included that song on the soundtrack, I would have
showed up.
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Pink Floyd
"And the worms ate into his brain." What a wonderful little sentiment,
don't you think? Intellectual, dark, the precursors to Big Black
and everything ambient. Quiet, psychedelic, thoughtful. Observant,
balanced, present. I think this band is a poem of sorts, isn't it?
I think they rule! THE FIRST ACID BAND!
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Bob Marley and
the Wailers
You have to admit that this man's ambiance and importance were pivotal
to rock history. Plus the guy KNEW how to get MELLOW, and his urgent
political voice still inspires millions today to carry on the struggle
to change the world. Peace, Brother! Thank you for loving us so
much!
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K-Tel - The Hustle '76
Compilation
The first record I ever played a lot. I have no idea why my parents
owned this, but I LOVED this record. I played it on 33, I played
it on 45 to hear "Convoy" as if the Chipmunks were singing it. I
grooved to genius songs by KC & The Sunshine Band ("That's The Way
I Like It") and the Bay City Rollers ("Saturday Night"). ROLLERCOASTER!
of love! (Say what?) Ha ha! Good times, childhood fun, playing with
dad and loving mom!
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Old Navy - Dance (also:
Jackie Brown - Soundtrack, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Stevie
Wonder
All the great BLACK disco hits, obscure black soul nuggets on a
HOT movie soundtrack, and four geniuses of the soul artform.
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The
Modern Lovers
The innocence and straightforwardness of young Jonathan Richman
is SO CUTE AND GOOD! This guy is like the Magus in the Tarot deck
- youthful, charming, passionate and honest. He sets a good example
for EVERYONE. I want to be as sweet as he is! I LOVE YOU ROBYNN!
I love you SO MUCH! There, that felt good! NOW the name of the band
makes sense - I want to love my baby to this music!
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Patti Smith
O soul-shifter, you poet. You bring meaning into rock music through
your devotion to Art. I dig your Horses record much, baby. "G-L-O-R-I-A!!!"
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Bruce Springsteen
He is an honest artist. I give the man a LOT of credit for his "Nebraska"
album. The other stuff feels so true and working class. The men
and women he describes sound so American, so real to me - I want
them to rise up, and this music makes them want to rise themselves
up too. This guy is a working class hero for sure.
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Neil Young
What an album title, eh? "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere". Loneliness,
wiry electric, somber howling voice, gentle acoustics, poetry and
sadness. Elliot Smith, Billy Bragg, J.Mascis - they mine the vein
that Neil found.
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The Residents
Their music may be sort of dumb, but you've GOT to admire their
weirdness and their WONDERFUL policy of anonymity. A great example
to all those who understand the might of "Bob". I think the musical
CONCEPTS are really nifty, but I'm not so sure about the music.
James loves this stuff though, so I ought to listen more.
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Aerosmith
Three amazing songs that FORCE you to boogie! Metal that taught
HIP HOP a thing or two about rhythm and beat. Go see "Dazed And
Confused" and dig the fact that the GOAL of the entire movie is
the roadtrip to get Aerosmith tickets. AEROSMITH FUCKING RULED!
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AC/DC
The Ramones of Hard Rock and Metal. The Devil was not a trite subject
back then, and by embodying the Devil, they gave the Christian Right
a punch across the jaw. "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" - now THAT's
diabolical. And who could forget the classic "Balls" (chorus: "we've
got the BIGGEST BALLS of them ALL"). And the guitarist guy marching
in place in his schoolboy's uniform while cranking out the raunchy
riffs. That guy must have braindamage from all the headbanging!
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The Stooges
These songs are so DIRTY! They make me want to squirm, iggy pop's
voice is so ragged he rips me apart. Listening to these records
has made a MAN out of me. And they're all packed with hits, too.
FUN HOUSE is the FIRST "infinitely repeatable" record EVER MADE
- save the dreadful, cacaphonous last track!!! You'll be in Iggy's
THRALL!
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David Bowie
GO BUY ZIGGY STARDUST NOW!!!!! The album is perfection and prophecy
rolled into one, and "Suffragette City" too!!! THANK YOU
ERIC WOLFRAM!!! O chameleon, stand still a moment while I honor
you! He has really reinvented himself brilliantly! He is a PUBLICLY
TRADED STOCK! What a superstar. What an artist! Grab a record today!
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Led
Zeppelin
White-boy blues never again mattered. Celtic imagery and such a
WEIRD muse informed this gypsy band. Heavy, heady, and totally totally
totally classic rock to the Nth degree!!!
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Velvet Underground
These guys were scary and heady. They sang about dope, the kind
you SHOOT, not the kind you smoke. They were way ahead of their
time, and they introduced a crucial element of ART into rock and
roll's edge.
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The Doors
Yeah, these guys were groovy. Jim Morrison cut a pretty mean figure
in his god-complex, but too bad his gods were so destructive to
him. Dead, and for what? Once again, the steep price of immortality.
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Jimi Hendrix
This guy was so visionary that he changed the world as surely as
did Gandhi. He makes me so proud to be a minority. I dig Jimi Hendrix,
and I proudly wave by my freak flag (upside-down, of course) as
per his instructions.
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Grateful Dead
I only like one of their albums, because of its wistful country
feel. I also admire the sheer guts of the Deadheads, who definitely
have "fucked work" for decades. The hippies are so fucking free,
they're scary. (I am sort of grossed out by this topic.)
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Jefferson Airplane
These guys were everything I long for in a peer group. Housemates,
lovers, and fellow revolutionaries, they EPITOMIZED the haight-ashbury
acid-revolution hippy. These guys were badass, the sort of band
that threw molotov cocktails, who hung out with the Ken Kesey crowd.
I want things to be so free and joyful once again!
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The Who
Pete Townshend INVENTED power pop. "I Can't Explain" was the best
pop song ever written (until the Descendents beat it out with their
"Hope"). What an explosive band!
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The Byrds
Jangle, jangle, hum. Oh yeah, and the aural blast-off that is "Eight
Miles High" - what a jam. Kick ass Los Angeles mellow fire.
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The Big Chill Soundtracks
(I & II)
Soul, baby. MO-town. The real thing. These soundtracks brought this
music greater popularity than they had ever before reached, tied
in with a hit movie and everything. So delicious, and nutritious,
too!
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The Rolling Stones
These guys were the dirty munchkins, the grinding pelvis of rock
and roll music embodied. Those lips! And that PO' WHITEBOY SOUL,
representative of thousands of known and obscure bluesmen! They
were STUDENTS of the classics. I can't get no satisfaction, for
sure.
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The Beatles
The most important band in history, bar none. The founding fathers
of modern-day pop. Everything that needs to be said, has been said
already. John Lennon, you were definitely a refraction of the Christ
spirit. We love you.
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The Beach Boys
They made sure that nobody forgot that ROCK AND ROLL IS MUSIC ABOUT
AND FOR HAVING FUN. Joy Division would later contest this assertion,
but I think the Beach Boys win out in the end. And Good Vibrations
- what a crazy song, if you REALLY LISTEN TO IT. You can't get AWAY
with that kind of stuff on pop radio anymore!
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Bob
Dylan
The prototype for the passionate, liberal singer/songwriter. He
took chances to which all lyrics-sensitive rockers owe a debt.
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Buddy Holly
A perverted nerd who made fun rock and died young. He blazed a trail
for sure.
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Chuck Berry
Without his anthem "Johnny B. Goode", we wouldn't have the concept
of the "lick". Chuck Berry WAS black rock and roll in the early
days.
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Elvis
His very name TRANSLATES to "rock and roll". Pay tribute to the
King, you ungrateful wretches! He begat all that is good in music
today - he stole a style from black musicians and taught it to the
white world in such a way as can't be forgotten. He wrote some BRUTAL
licks, no less. He's the Jesus of Rock. |
| Whew!!!
That was AN INTENSE EXPERIENCE, doing this
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I hope you print this out and take it with you next time you go
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(I'll get a cut of the take from Amazon or whoever I finally decide
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HERE ARE SOME NEW ADDITIONS TO THIS THAT I HAVEN'T
FINISHED YET:
new order, sebadoh, lync, helmet, avail, didjits, mudhoney, metroschifter,
seam, the drags, bottom, seven percent solution, the CAUSEY way,
air, astral projection,
the aquamen.
Thank you for
sharing this document with me!
It was fun to write! Hope you had fun! Tell your friends about
this!
!!!srini
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