Albums »Hell Awaits

slayer hell awaitsIn a move that is usually reserved for angry fourteen year old boys in the mid 80's, I have only recently, as a thirty year old woman who draws butterflies for a living, gotten really into the thrash metal stylings of Slayer. Heavier than even Metallica because of its lack of polish and devotion to evil in their lyrics, their second studio album Hell Awaits is a wall of extreme metal. It's noted as one of the most influential albums in metal, even though it never chartered and was too dark and heavy to get any air play.

The first two tracks, Hell Awaits and Kill Again are my personal favorites (Join us!). Fans may enjoy watching the band acting young dumb and full of cum on the Combat live Tour – The Ultimate Revenge for the album along with Exodus and Venom.

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Posted on July 6, 2009

Albums »Shotgun Willie

willie nelson shotgn willieI'm kind of alone among most of my friends in my love for Willie Nelson, but as a fan of classic country, it's hard not to be swayed by his impressive career. Shotgun Willie is among his best. It features many of his own compositions rather than covers that later made him more famous.

From songs about drowning in a whiskey river, to the dance floor perfection of Stay all Night (Stay a Little Longer), from the lamenting romances of Sad Songs and Waltzes and She's Not For You, this album plays like a wonderfully beery night Donn's Depot in Austin.

Recorded with Atlantic after an opressive relationship with RCA, Nelson seems to be giving his all here on his own terms, and with that independent self expression, he defined a new sound in country.

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Posted on June 29, 2009

Albums »It’s Only Right and Natural

the frogs it's only right and naturalIf you wanted to really make a conservative homophobe's blood boil, you couldn't find a better album than The Frogs It's Only Right and Natural. It's an explicitly over the top homo erotic lo fi masterpiece that was denounced by an enraged Pat Robertson but gained the band a cult following that included Billy Corgan (who had them open for Smashing Pumpkins) and the late Kurt Cobain (who called the album his favorite record… ever).

It's an acquired taste musically but I have grown to love listening to Dykes are We, Been a Month Since I Had a Man and Homos in the mornings to start my work day. The lyrics are daring, funny, and highly satirical and the music is akin to Beck and Syd Barrett.

An assortment of record label money problems caused the band's demise, but they still claim many devoted fans and even tour. In fact, I designed a poster of a girl jiggling with her junk for their show at Emo's years ago when I was an underemployed art school grad; I regret that I didn't get to see the actual performance.

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Posted on June 22, 2009

Albums »Stained Class

judas priest stained class Why do I mention it now?

Because Judas Priest is coming to Jones Beach this July 12 – Jim will be there (and holding a free ticket that should have been mine, but unforeseen travel plans got in the way).

Here's what I said back on 5/14/07:

Remember the huge controversy in 1990 when Holford and band were on trial for causing the suicide death of two metal kids? That song is Better By You, Better Than Me, and it's just one of the crowning achievements, and my favorite, in this quick, powerful classic.

Songs like Exciter and Saints in Hell are fast and morbid, with Beyond The Realms Of Death, my second favorite song on Stained Class, as the only possible exception. It's a as ballady as the Priest gets, but still rocks with a death obsession in its awesome chorus.

Judas Priest has become my favorite heavy metal band. Partly because I never grew up listening to them as a kid, and each song and album has been a new exciting discovery for me.

This album is one of the best in their career and I think it resonates with me because It was also released on my exact birthday.

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Posted on June 15, 2009

Albums »Aqualung

jethro tull aqualungJim was more than a little surprised (and quite happy) to hear that this week's album choice would be Aqualung; like a father who's been wishing for years that his son would get into baseball, his face tentatively lit up when he asked what song I liked most and I answered all of them. Of course, this is not my first foray into Jethro Tull's flutey universe. Jim had me listen to dozens of album for one of my Renaissance Faire themed weeks, and that planted the seed that turned me into a true die hard fan.

Aqualung is pretty perfect as far as classic rock concept albums go and in this case the concept is anti established religion, an idea that rocked Jim's world when he was a teen first under the influences of progressive rock. It's an intelligent, musically expansive and intriguing album and I'll risk sounding like an old grump and say that it boggles the mind to think that once music this interesting was massively popular too (it reached #7 in America, 4 in the UK 1971; today, we have Lady Gaga twice in the Top Ten).

This has really become one of my very favorite listens from beginning to end, and I meant it when I told Jim I loved the whole thing. The album opens with the classic classic rock heaviness of the title track and ends in embittered defiance with Wind Up. You're in lots of luck with the added bonus tracks that features the jaunty Bach softness of Bouree.

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Posted on June 8, 2009

Albums »3 Gymnopedies and Other Piano Works

erik satie 3 gymnopedies pascal rogeThey say that the music you listen to in the womb is most influential on your tastes as an adult. It was no bug surprise then to learn that my mom used to by Erik Satie before I was born. His most famous pieces Three Gymnopedies and Gnossiennes are performed here by Pascal Roge, a french classical musician whose website asks you to “dream with me”.

I used to listen to this soothing and unique album as a kid and have fond memories of the pink cover and the whimsical Joan Miro painting. Like Miro, Satie was a revolutionary artist. According to Wikipedia, “Over the years Satie would be described as a precursor of movements and styles as varied as Impressionism, neo-classicism, Dada, Surrealism, atonalism, minimalism, conceptual art, the Theatre of the Absurd, muzak, ambient music, multimedia art, etc.”

The other piano works are equally beautiful and interesting and the album is a soothing journey with one of France's finest composers and my favorite of his century.

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Posted on June 1, 2009

Albums »Nuff Said

nina simone nuff said'Nuff Said! was recorded at the Westbury Music Fair in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. days after his devastating assassination; track 6, 'Why? (The King of Love is Dead)', was written by bass player Gene Taylor. His brother remembers the concert in this NPR story:

“We learned that song that (same) day. We didn't have a chance to have two or three days of rehearsal. But when you're feeling compassion and outrage and wanting to express what you know the world is feeling, we did it because that's what we felt.”

Introduced as “The High Priestess of Soul”, the warbly and smooth voiced Nina Simone takes us through a stirring, uplifting set beginning with the soft and beautiful 'In the Morning' and 'Sunday in Savannah' before pulling out all the stops for 'Gin House Blues' and an amazing cover of 'Ain't Got No' from the musical Hair, which you can see here.

It may not be the most well known album of her illustrious career, but it's a great record that's simple and heartfelt.

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Posted on May 25, 2009

Albums »Freedom Highway

the staple singers freedome highwayFor an atheist, I can sure get spirited away by gospel music and Freedom Highway is a solid example of some of the best. Actually a compilation of the original 1965 in-church release and subsequent added material, the album is best (in my opinion) when it's slow and almost mournful. Move Along Train, What You Gonna Do? and The Lord's Prayer are among my favorites.

The Staple Singers is a family affair grounded in traditional Gospel who gained popularity with their hit “I'll Take You There“. You might also recognize “Pops” Staples for his glorious role as a voodoo doctor in True Stories. The band, continuing a connection with Byrne, even covers one of my personal favorite Talking Heads songs, Slippery People on their album Turning Point.

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Posted on May 18, 2009

Albums »First Take

roberta flack first takeRoberta Flack's first album, First Take is a quiet triumph of spare production. Often barely a guitar string interrupts her sonorous voice. Flack here, just like the cover image would indicate, with her natural afro and comfy hand-me-down dress is the antithesis of the divaesque image of contemporary songstresses.

You can imagine her sitting gorgeously on winter afternoons, penning her sorrows as she as she gazes out of an apartment window – though, to be accurate, she actually didn't write anything here; but she's imbued the songs with her own melodic, melancholy power.

The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face, which became a hit after its inclusion in Play Misty for Me, was and is my parents “song”, but really the whole album is a nice mellow listen that really grows on you the more you listen.

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Posted on May 11, 2009

Albums »House Arrest

house arrest ariel pink's haunted graffitiLiterally hard to pin point, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti has the fuzzy lo fi sound of songs playing in the back of a memory – a memory of toddling years in the eighties, listening to mom's Beach Boy albums and much later making out in the back of a car with a shitty stereo distorting college radio over unbridled teenage passions – but then take all those memories and make them just a little bit vaguely creepy and you've got the sound of House Arrest.

Being blissfully unaware of the hype tacked on to the group – though I was quickly made aware by blistering hands folded, “jesus look at this hipster” attitude of pitchfork review, I just really like it. I like that it taps into the past, I like that it makes me a little dizzy and, Bryan Ferry help me, after finally seeing the band's photo I like that they channel the decadence and outer spacey, superficial pizazz of glam bands like Roxy Music.

I've been listening to the album over the past few weeks, and unlike more congealed and clean releases, I still can't pinpoint a single song that I love, it's more of a hazy amorphous cloud that, pun intended, “haunts” unexpected moments. I'll be walking down the street and bits of a weird melody pop into my head. I like it.

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Posted on May 4, 2009