Everyone knows how great the Pixies are. No need to expound on this fact. They are quite possibly the progenitors of the genre Alternative, and their influence will likely never wane. Even their B-sides are masterpieces. Ever since the Christian Slater masterpiece, Pump Up the Volume (which likely had a far more profound impression upon my youth than I'd like to admit), and the film's surprisingly brilliant accompanying soundtrack, the Pixies' "Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf Mix)" has never ventured far from my top 25 most played list.
From the liner notes to Complete 'B' Sides, Frank Black says of the track:
"Recorded during a tour in Scotland, the slow version got even a bigger reaction from the audiences than the more rockin' version from Doolittle. I guess mellow can sometimes be much more rockin'."
Video from Pixies: Acoustic - Live in Newport (2006):
Lyrics:
Cease to resist, giving my goodbye Drive my car into the ocean You'll think I'm dead, but I sail away On a wave of mutilation A wave Wave
I've kissed mermaids, rode the El Nino Walked the sand with the crustaceans Could find my way to mariana On a wave of mutilation, Wave of mutilation Wave of mutilation Wave
Sonic Youth are arguably the original indie rock band in terms of what we talk about when we talk about indie rock, and Daydream Nation is arguably the greatest indie rock album of all time. Twenty years later and it still sounds brand new. Kids that were just toddlers when the LP was released continue to study it, digest it, absorb every sonic explosion and sudden drift of noise that two decades ago redefined the parameters of rock. After seven years and five albums of honing their avant-garde post-punk sound, Sonic Youth matched the art and talent present in the free-form noise experimentation of their predecessors and major influence, The Velvet Underground, with Daydream Nation.
Likely the most accessible track, "Teen Age Riot" opens the album in rare rock-anthemic form, a call to arms for disillusioned and disenfranchised underground youth everywhere. What follows in Daydream Nation is nothing short of the invention of a new genre, the modern-day hipster's bible, and very little since its release has come anywhere close to being as ground-breaking.
You can watch the video with its tinny sound and abbreviated format in what looks like a production budget of approximately $47 (granted, it does feature appearances from the likes of Patti Smith, Iggy Pop and The Beach Boys), or check the mp3 here:
Lyrics:
[Kim] You're it No, you're it Hey, you're really it You're it No I mean it, you're it
Say it Don't spray it Spirit desire (face me) Spirit desire (don't displace me) Spirit desire We will fall
Miss me Don't dismiss me
Spirit desire
Spirit desire [x3] We will fall Spirit desire We will fall Spirit desire [x3] We will fall Spirit desire We will fall
[Thurston] Everybody's talking 'bout the stormy weather And whats a man do to but work out whether its true? Looking for a man with a focus and a temper Who can open up a map and see between one and two
Time to get it Before you let it Get to you
Here he comes now Stick to your guns And let him through
Everybody's coming from the winter vacation Taking in the sun in an exaltation to you You come running in on platform shoes With Marshall stacks To at least just give us a clue Ah, here it comes I know it's someone I knew
Teenage riot in a public station Gonna fight and tear it up in a hyper-nation for you
Now I see it I think I'll leave it out of the way Now I come near you And it's not clear why you fade away
Looking for a ride to your secret location Where the kids are setting up a free-speed nation, for you Got a foghorn and a drum and a hammer that's rockin' And a cord and a pedal and a lock, that'll do me for now
It better work out I hope it works out my way 'cause its getting kind of quiet in my city's head Takes a teenage riot to get me out of bed right now
You better look it We're gonna shake it Up to him
He acts the hero We paint a zero On his hand
We know its down We know its bound too loose Everybody's sound is 'round it Everybody wants to be proud to choose So who's to take the blame for the stormy weather You're never gonna stop all the teenage leather and booze
It's time to go 'round A one man showdown Teach us how to fail
We're off the streets now And back on the road On the riot trail
In excited anticipation of Public Enemy performing It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back at the Pitchfork Music Fest in a couple of months, let's go back 20 years (20 fucking years?!?) and remember why this remains one of the greatest albums of all time.
"Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos"
Lyrics:
I got a letter from the government The other day I opened and read it It said they were suckers They wanted me for their army or whatever Picture me given' a damn I said never Here is a land that never gave a damn About a brother like me and myself Because they never did I wasn't wit' it but just that very minute... It occured to me The suckers had authority Cold sweatin' as I dwell in my cell How long has it been? They got me sittin' in the state pen I gotta get out - but that thought was thought before I contemplated a plan on the cell floor I'm not a fugitive on the run But a brother like me begun - to be another one Public enemy servin' time - they drew the line y'all To criticize me some crime - never the less They could not understand that I'm a Black man And I could never be a veteran On the strength, the situation's unreal I got a raw deal, so I'm goin' for the steel
They got me rottin' in the time that I'm servin' Tellin' you what happened the same time they're throwin' 4 of us packed in a cell like slaves - oh well The same motherfucker got us livin' is his hell You have to realize - what its a form of slavery Organized under a swarm of devils Straight up - word'em up on the level The reasons are several, most of them federal Here is my plan anyway and I say I got gusto, but only some I can trust - yo Some do a bid from 1 to 10 And I never did, and plus I never been I'm on a tier where no tears should ever fall Cell block and locked - I never clock it y'all 'Cause time and time again time They got me servin' to those and to them I'm not a citizen But ever when I catch a C-O Sleepin' on the job - my plan is on go-ahead On the strength, I'ma tell you the deal I got nothin' to lose 'Cause I'm goin' for the steel
You know I caught a C-O Fallin' asleep on death row I grabbed his gun - then he did what I said so And everyman's got served Along with the time they served Decency was deserved To understand my demands I gave a warnin' - I wanted the governor, y'all And plus the warden to know That I was innocent - Because I'm militant Posing a threat, you bet it's fuckin' up the government My plan said I had to get out and break north Just like with Oliver's neck I had to get off - my boys had the feds in check They couldn't do nuthin' We had a force to instigate a prison riot This is what it takes for peace So I just took the piece Black for Black inside time to cut the leash Freedom to get out - to the ghetto - no sell out 6 C-Os we got we ought to put their head out But I'll give 'em a chance, cause I'm civilized As for the rest of the world, they can't realize A cell is hell - I'm a rebel so I rebel Between bars, got me thinkin' like an animal Got a woman C-O to call me a copter She tried to get away, and I popped her Twice, right Now who wanna get nice? I had 6 C-Os, now it's 5 to go And I'm serious - call me delirious But I'm still a captive I gotta rap this Time to break as time grows intense I got the steel in my right hand Now I'm lookin' for the fence
I ventured into the courtyard Followed by 52 brothers Bruised, battered, and scarred but hard Goin' out with a bang Ready to bang out But power from the sky And from the tower shots rang out A high number of dose - yes And some came close Figure I trigger my steel Stand and hold my post This is what I mean - an anti-nigger machine If I come out alive and then they won't - come clean And then I threw up my steel bullets - flew up Blew up, who shot... What, who, the bazooka was who And to my rescue, it was the S1Ws Secured my getaway, so I just gotaway The joint broke, from the black smoke Then they saw it was rougher thatn the average bluffer 'Cause the steel was black, the attitude exact Now the chase is on tellin' you to c'mon 53 brothers on the run, and we are gone
BONUS TIME! Yes, there's more!
Trip-hop patron saint, Tricky, did a sweet cover of this track on Maxinquaye with the help of Martina Topley-Bird which we've always enjoyed thoroughly as well.
In 1993, Blind Melon gave the world "No Rain". A great song with a great video, it was overplayed to death at the time. Fifteen years later, however, looking back on what a truly brilliant song it is, I admit to getting a little weepy when I hear it (maybe the premature death of one of the most underrated singers/songwriters of my generation plays a part in that). Especially this slowed down, psyched-out version from Saturday Night Live:
(If you want to see the original music video, find it here.)
Lyrics:
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain I like watchin' the puddles gather rain And all I can do is just pour some tea for two and speak my point of view But it's not sane, It's not sane I just want some one to say to me I'll always be there when you wake Ya know I'd like to keep my cheeks dry today So stay with me and I'll have it made And I don't understand why I sleep all day And I start to complain that there's no rain And all I can do is read a book to stay awake And it rips my life away, but it's a great escape escape......escape......escape...... All I can say is that my life is pretty plain ya don't like my point of view ya think I'm insane Its not sane......it's not sane
Make no mistake, new music being released today is some of the best in decades. It goes without saying (though, I'm saying it anyway) that contemporary musicians owe a great deal to their predecessors. So today we take a look back at some of the most influential and significant artists that established pop music as an art form.
In 1977, I was still a fetus developing ears. Meanwhile, a man by the name of Lester Bangs was on the road with The Clash. I'll let him describe it:
"It was one of those performances for which all the serviceable critical terms like 'electrifying' are so pathetically inadequate, and after it was over I realized the futility of hitting Strummer for that interview I kept putting off on the 'politics' of the situation. The politics of rock 'n roll, in England or America or anywhere else, is that a whole lot of kids want to be fried out of their skins by the most scalding propulsion they can find, for a night they can pretend is the rest of their lives, and whether the next day they go back to work in shops or boredom on the dole or American TV doldrums in Mom 'n Daddy's living room nothing can cancel the reality of that night in the revivifying flames when for once if only then in your life you were blasted outside of yourself and the monotony which defines most life anywhere at any time, when you supped on lightning and nothing else in the realms of the living or dead mattered at all."
The Clash, "Police & Thieves" (From The Clash)
Lyrics:
Police and thieves in the streets
Oh yeah! Scaring the nation with their guns and ammunition Police and thieves in the street Oh yeah! Fighting the nation with their guns and ammunition
From genesis to revelation The next generation will be hear me From genesis to revelation The next generation will be hear me
And all the crowd comes in day by day No one stop it in anyway And all the peacemaker turn war officer Hear what I say
Vocal ad lib
Police, police, police and thieves oh yeah Police, police, police and thieves oh yeah From genesis oh yeah Police, police, police and thieves oh yeah
Scaring, fighting the nation Shooting, shooting their guns and ammunition
Police, police, police and thieves oh yeah Police, police, police and thieves oh yeah Here come, here come, here come The station is bombed Get out get out get out you people If you dont wanna get blown up
And little bonus material from The Clash for you. Turn up your speakers, get up out of your chair, and freak out everyone around you by jumping up and down or breaking something (like a number 2 pencil - damn you, standardized tests!):
Make no mistake, new music being released today is some of the best in decades. It goes without saying (though, I'm saying it anyway) that contemporary musicians owe a great deal to their predecessors. So today we take a look back at some of the most influential and significant artists that established pop music as an art form.
Before the Stones turned into a parody of themselves, they released this gem in 1969, and a young Marty Scorsese would never be the same. Oh, and Lin Brehmer of XRT (one of the last of the great, true deejays) also just happens to think this is the "greatest song ever".
The Rolling Stones, "Gimme Shelter" (From Let It Bleed)
Lyrics:
Oh, a storm is threatning My very life today If I dont get some shelter Oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away
War, children, it's just a shot away It's just a shot away War, children, it's just a shot away It's just a shot away
Ooh, see the fire is sweepin' Our very street today Burns like a red coal carpet Mad bull lost its way
War, children, it's just a shot away It's just a shot away War, children, it's just a shot away It's just a shot away
Rape, murder! It's just a shot away It's just a shot away
Rape, murder! It's just a shot away It's just a shot away
Rape, murder! It's just a shot away It's just a shot away
The floods is threatning My very life today Gimme, gimme shelter Or I'm gonna fade away
War, children, it's just a shot away It's just a shot away It's just a shot away It's just a shot away It's just a shot away I tell you love, sister, it's just a kiss away It's just a kiss away It's just a kiss away It's just a kiss away It's just a kiss away Kiss away, kiss away
Be sure to check out some of Lin's Bins, too. They're brilliant radio. Here's an example (it's my favorite because it's about pizza):
Make no mistake, new music being released today is some of the best in decades. It goes without saying (though, I'm saying it anyway) that contemporary musicians owe a great deal to their predecessors. So today we take a look back at some of the most influential and significant artists that established pop music as an art form.
George Harrison, "What Is Life" (From All Things Must Pass)
Lyrics:
What I feel, I cant say But my love is there for you anytime of day But if its not love that you need Then Ill try my best to make everything succeed
Tell me, what is my life without your love Tell me, who am I without you, by my side
What I know, I can do If I give my love now to everyone like you But if its not love that you need Then Ill try my best to make evrything succeed
Tell me, what is my life without your love Tell me, who am I without you, by my side Tell me, what is my life without your love Tell me, who am I without you, by my side
What I feel, I cant say But my love is there for you any time of day But if its not love that you need Then Ill try my best to make everything succeed
Tell me, what is my life without your love Tell me, who am I without you, by my side Oh tell me, what is my life without your love Tell me, who am I without you, by my side
What is my life without your love Tell me, who am I without you, by my side
(fade:) Oh tell me, what is my life without your love Tell me who am I without you by my side
Everyone knows how great the Pixies are. No need to expound on this fact. They are quite possibly the progenitors of the genre Alternative, and their influence will likely never wane. Even their B-sides are masterpieces. Ever since the Christian Slater masterpiece, Pump Up the Volume (which likely had a far more profound impression upon my youth than I'd like to admit), and the film's surprisingly brilliant accompanying soundtrack, the Pixies' "Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf Mix)" has never ventured far from my top 25 most played list.
