This being our first installment, here's a bit of background about my musical history, if you're into that kind of thing...
Growing up in Southern California in the late 70's and early 80's, I was less than an hour away from the epicenter of an exploding, vital music scene, but I was far too young at the time to have much of anything to do with it. Punk, New Wave and all the unexpected, fantastic mutant strains of guitar abuse that came with them were festering and growing in my own backyard, but I was too busy blowing up my Death Star Action Playset to realize it.
I'd bought the B-52's "Rock Lobster" 7" at Musicland when it came out, as I'd heard it on the radio and thought it was rockin', but I really didn't follow bands or read up on music or anything. Rock Music seemed like something you got into by secret invitation, you couldn't just stumble into it, everyone would know you were a poseur and you'd get caught trespassing. I found myself strangely drawn to the herky-jerky weirdness of stuff like Devo's "Whip It", or "Turning Japanese" by the Vapors (both big hits on local radio station KROQ), but it all seemed distant and off-limits, somehow.By the time I was 14, however, my cool older sister cornered me and told me that I was going to an actual, real, live rock concert with her and that was that. It was time, she'd decided. She presented me with a list of upcoming concerts and told me to pick one. I scanned down the list, and not knowing much about any of 'em, went with the only one I'd remembered hearing of before: Talking Heads. Of course, I didn't know it at the time, but this was one of those life-altering, monumental events that would, you know, shape my world and turn my brain inside-out for years to come. I'm still thanking her for taking me, even now, 22 years later.
Needless to say, the show completely blew me away. I think I spent most of the concert slack-jawed and mesmerized, committing every moment to memory. I didn't know any of the songs, but every single one of them downloaded right into my teenage cerebellum and stuck there. This was the Speaking in Tongues tour, and a couple of months before Jonathan Demme filmed the band at the Pantages Theatre for the Stop Making Sense concert movie, here were the Heads firing on all
cylinders: the giant ensemble band, the genius stage set-up, the Big Suit, all of it. The band had set out to push the parameters of what could be done with a rock concert, bringing elements of conceptual and performance art into their presentation, and it worked perfectly.
cylinders: the giant ensemble band, the genius stage set-up, the Big Suit, all of it. The band had set out to push the parameters of what could be done with a rock concert, bringing elements of conceptual and performance art into their presentation, and it worked perfectly.
There I was, a 14 year-old Star Wars, Intellivision and horror movie ubergeek, easedropping on people in the merch line chatting about Television and the Ramones, making mental notes to find out what "CBGB" was, considering budgeting out my weekly Fangoria and Starlog allowance towards rock albums instead. Holy shit, what was this new world? I'd been bit and there was no turning back, not now. I hungered for vinyl.
I went out the next day and picked up both Speaking in Tongues and Talking Heads 77. The first Ramones album followed shortly thereafter, some Blondie, Television, Devo and so on. I started wearing tour shirts to school and band badges on my jackets. Numerous issues of Creem Magazine were purchased and ingested ravenously.
The endless dig through the record bins never really stops. There's always something new to discover. There's always something old that you haven't found yet. For every pop tune that changes your life, there's ten more out there, perhaps even better, just waiting for you. When people proclaim that "rock is dead", that "there's no good music anymore, nothing", it just breaks my fucking heart.
Keep listening. Stay hungry.
Today's selection, Eat This Grenade!'s inaugural offering, comes to us from Manchester's finest, The Fall. I first stumbled upon The Fall by way of The Smiths, probably around 1986 or so...they came with the John Peel Seal of Approval, and I knew that most likely meant this was some good shit. I found them instantly confusing, baffling and fascinating. This was dense, chewy, challenging stuff, but then again, it rocked, albeit in a lopsided, serrated way. The songs seemed to get even more cryptic and mysterious upon repeated listenings. Much like my initial exposure to Talking Heads, The Fall immediately grabbed me by the throat and demanded I love them intensely, deeply, forever. No problem.
This fine slab of vintage clank and clang, "Ludd Gang", is presented to you in a live recording, taken from the band's 2004 Cherry Red DVD, "Live at the Hacienda 1983-1985". (Link) As with many live recordings of The Fall, the audio quality isn't exactly top-notch, but the power is unmistakably there, as "Ludd Gang" grinds and bulldozes its way along mightily. The band (who in 1983, when this recording was made, were at one of their many peaks of the decade) beat the stuffing out of the groove here, hammering the song into the floor relentlessly, as lead vocalist Mark E. Smith snarls his way through the drone like a death ray of pure scorn...and it's catchy as hell, to boot.
The last 90 or so seconds will destroy you. You'll see.
Play loud and enjoy...there's plenty more to follow.
Note: MP3's will be kept active and downloadable for a minimum of one week each, due to storage and hosting constraints. If you see something you wanna check out, I'd advise you to do it and not wait, as the files aren't going to be around indefinately. I'm sure you understand completely. Thanks.
1 comment:
fuck, dude. i actually got a bit choked up at one point, and i'm not being an asshole.
awesome blog. i look forward to future entries!
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