Track Listing: 1. Calling All Skeletons 2. Nose Over Tail 3. This Could Be Love 4. Every Thug Needs a Lady 5. Clavicle 6. Mercy Me 7. The American Scream 8. We've Had Enough 9. Olde English 800 10. I Held Her in My Arms 11.Blue in the Face 12. I Remember a Rooftop 13. Private Eye 14. You've Got So Far to Go 15. Radio
This is the kind of record Bon Jovi or Foreigner might put out...Where the band re-records their greatest hits as acoustic songs. To be blunt these releases are usually for bands whose fans are just too damn old to rock and refuse to listen to any new songs, because they'll only accept music they've already heard ten billion times...But Alkaline Trio fans shouldn't fall into this category yet...We still have a few good years left in us! So why does this exist?
I don't really know. But it is pretty decent listen if'n you're into Alkaline Trio and you're feeling mellow. I guess the big draw here would be the new songs. "Old English 800" in particular is really fun...
Of course, I'm going to like any song with the title "Old English 800" (although I think it would work even better as a punk song). There's also a cover of the Violent Femmes "I Held Her in my Arms." I've never heard the original so I can't say how it holds up next to the Femme's version but the song blends in really well with its surroundings...
(Looking at those bottles of OE reminds me of the time I bought a couple and mixed them with orange juice...The combined effect of the two 40's and gallon of orange juice consumed within such a small period of time produced one of the most gut-twisting stomach aches I've yet encountered...mixing the two is not a good idea...I repeat...not...a...good...idea!)
I think this works as a fitting cap to my two weeks spent with Alkaline Trio's music...Like I said, it's basically a greatest hits package and you get to hear how awesome "Mercy Me" really is...This song towers over everything else on here, even "Radio" (which I think loses a lot of its power without its cathartic explosion of electric guitars occur mid-song...) They band performs the songs well, they create a relaxed, moody atmosphere, and they alter the arrangements enough to keep things interesting if you've already heard all these songs a billion times... Of course a record like this is only recommended to diehards, anyway...
Let's check out "Olde English 800" by Alkaline Trio...Enjoy...
Track Listing: 1. This Addiction 2. Dine, Dine My Darling 3. Lead Poisoning 4. Dead on the Floor 5. The American Scream 6. Off the Map 7. Draculina 8. Eating Me Alive 9. Piss and Vinegar 10. Dorothy 11. Fine 12. Kick Rocks 13. Those Lungs 14. This Addiction (acoustic)15. Dine, Dine My Darling (acoustic) 16. Dead on the Floor (acoustic) 17. Fine (acoustic)
This album seems to be a self-conscious return to the more straight-forward punk of their earlier releases. It mostly works, due to the band adding a few new touches (like the NOFX-y trumpet solo on "Lead Poisoning" and the "Pictures of You" style chimes on "Dead on the Floor") and their undying devotion to delivering hummable melodies.
But it's not all late-90's nostalgia....There's a section of tracks near the end that strongly recalls their more recent work, and these end up being my favorites! "Draculina" has a great Gothic atmosphere, reminiscent of the Damned, and a killer chorus to boot. And I LOVE Matt Skiba's zombified vocal performance on "Piss and Vinegar" and the big blocks of space between the riffs...Dan Andriano closes out the album with the moody piano ballad "Fine." Fine indeedy!But as much as I enjoy these, it is undeniably fun to hear the band loosen up and kick up the tempos on the more old-school material. The title track is fun as hell and "Dead on the Floor" brings back warm memories of "goddamnit."
The version I own has 6 bonus tracks, which consists of two outtakes and four acoustic songs. I have no idea why "Those Lungs" wasn't included on all versions of the record. I would have gladly swapped "American Scream" or "Dine, Dine My Darling" for this one...The acoustic tracks are nothing Earth-shattering but they're a nicediversion...and they kind of ready you for their next album "Damnesia..."
But we'll get to "Damnesia" tomorrow...Today we rock out to "This Addiction."
Track Listing: 1. Calling All Skeletons 2. Help Me 3. In Vein 4. Over and Out 5. I Found a Way 6. Do You Wanna Know? 7. Live Young, Die Fast 8. Love Love, Kiss Kiss 9. Lost and Rendered 10. Ruin It 11. Into the Night
Alkaline Trio at their most polished and accessible. Every single song on here is big, mid-tempo and glossy with gigantic singalong radio hooks. "Do You Wanna Know" takes it as far as sounding like A-Ha's "Take on Me." My god! Somehow this sound suits them just fine and they emerge with a few new AK3 classics in the process. Most notably, the choppy, hand-clappy "Calling All Skeletons" and their Ian Curtis tribute "Help Me." I also love those "Woah oh, Woah Oh's" in the chorus of "In Vein."
The only time they sound anything like the pop-punk of old is on album-closer "Into the Night" which helps prop up the second half of the album which sags under to the weight of overly goth-y numbers ("Lost and Rendered" and "Ruin It.")
I saw them shortly after this record came out in Tucson, Az at KFMA Fall Ball '08. My god, this show had so many shitty bands playing it was incredible. If I remember correctly, there were a bunch of unbearably boring "screamo acts" and bland, faceless mall-punk bullshit like Hawthorne Heights... I remember not being able to get back to my car fast enough. Just because you want to play punk and be on the radio it doesn't mean you have to totally suck! I actually think Alkaline Trio is a perfect example that this feat can be pulled off. So there's really no reason for Hawthorne Heights' suckiness (or existence)! Oh here, I found a poster for the show...
But let's not think about Bullet for My Valentine. Let's listen to Alkaline Trio's "Into the Night" instead...
Format I Own it on: 1. Hell Yes 2. My Standard Break from Life 3. Dead End Road 4. Metro 5. Jaked on Green Beers 6. Queen of Pain 7. "While You're Waiting 8. Rooftops 9. Old School Reasons 10. Warbrain 11. Fine Without You 12. Hating Every Minute 13. Dead and Broken 14. Sadie 15. If You Had a Bad Time 16. Wait for the Blackout 17. We Can Never Break Up 18. Don't Say You Won't 19. Buried 20. Dethbed (Live) 21. My Standard Break from Life (Live Acoustic) 22. I'm Dying Tomorrow (Live)
This is their second release featuring one-off singles, b-sides and compilation tracks, picking up where 2000's "Alkaline Trio" left off and it holds together just as well as that first compilation. I usually don't play this one as much as I should (probably because I can't stand looking at that ugly-ass cover! Yuck!) so I forget that a lot of my favorite Alkaline Trio tracks appear on this disc...
It kicks off with the "Hell Yes" single that Lookout! records put out in 2001.
I bought this single when it first came out, through the little lookout Records catalogs they used to put in all their releases. (I was so obsessed with Lookout, that I ended up buying roughly 3/4ths of the labels output!) It was later destroyed along with most of my other singles when my cat Padme (R.I.P) pissed in the box where I kept all of my '45's.
Oh well...
Anyway, the "Hell Yes" single is one of my favorite releases from the band. The song "Hell Yes" is an incredibly great pop song about Anton LaVey, which kick starts the band's whole tongue-in-cheek Satanism thing...
The b-side "My Standard Break from Life" was just as good, with Dan memorably bitching about his achin' back... If you ever see this single, pick it up immediately!
This album also features the splits the band did with Hot Water Music and One Man Army...
I have fond memories of both these. I especially loved the One Man Army split, as it featured the band's knockout version of the Damned's "Wait for the Blackout." I think I like Dave Vanian's suavely crooned verses better on the original, but Alkaline Trio actually improve the chorus, giving it a little extra punch...The band also takes on a smokin' cover of Hot Water Music's "Rooftops," which stands as one of their best covers, along with their mean version of Berlin's "Metro," that you just have to hear to believe (luckily it's included here too!). Naked Raygun's Jeff Pezzati makes a surprise appearance on "Dead and Broken" doing his trademark "woah oh ohs"...
I'm telling you, there's really a million different reasons to check out "Remains"...The only weak point is the okayish live songs that close out the album (If you're in the mood for some live Alkaline Trio, I think you'd do better checking out the "Halloween at the Metro" dvd)...
But overall this is yet another enjoyable Alkaline Trio release. If slick, hooky pop-punk is your thing you can safely walk into your local record store and pick up any album by these guys...
Hell yes! We're gonna listen to "Hell Yes'" by Alkaline Trio!
Track Listing: 1. Time to Waste 2. The Poison 3. Burn 4. Mercy Me 5. Dethbed 6. Settle for Satin 7. Sadie 8. Fall Victim 9. I Was a Prayer 10. Prevent This Tragedy 11. Back to Hell 12. Your Neck 13. Smoke
The band takes the Gothic undertones of "Good Mourning" even further...But don't worry, these aren't the type of dark, dreary goth drones you'd get from the Sisters of Mercy or something, this is all still snappy pop-punk when you get right down to it. I mean, listen to "Mercy Me." What is that you hear? Pop-punk! The production this time is even more lush; full of strings and pianos, but the guitars and drums still hit as hard as ever...
Matt Skiba has his voice back too, so that's a plus. He and Dan Andriano also start swapping vocal lines within the same song, which helps keep things exciting. I have zero idea why they didn't do this on their earlier albums... Speaking of Dan Andriano, he steals the show with his blown-out punk rocker "The Poison," even though Skiba's anthemic "Dethbed" comes close to dethroning it...Their richer, fuller version of "Sadie" from the Alkaline Trio/One Man Army split, is also worth a mention...
I went to see these guys in Phoenix on this tour. A huge chunk of the show was dedicated to playing "Goddamnit" in its entirety, but they played a great deal of "Crimson" too. I remember being struck at how much more theatrical their live shows had become at this point, with fog, dramatic lighting, spooky voice over intros, etc...Which is good for me, since I happen to be a fan of theatrical live performances..Perhaps, I may even take in a performance of "Cats" this weekend at the community theater...
Oh yea, what do you drink while you listen to this album?
Old Style would have worked for the first few albums, but they're goth-ier now...
FREAKIN' HUMAN BLOOD! YES! No wait...That's red wine..A pretty good choice but, I think we can do better...
That's it!! Absinthe! Man, just looking at it gives me a headache. The biggest headaches I've ever had in my life occurred the morning after drinking this stuff. It does get you hammered though...I'll give it that...
While we're nursing our Absinthe headaches, let's take a moment and reflect on events that occurred in 2005, the year "Crimson" was released...
Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith is released.
43rd President of the United States of America, George Walker Bush, begins his second term..
"In this job you've got a lot on your plate on a regular basis; you don't have much time to sit around and wander, lonely, in the Oval Office, kind of asking different portraits, 'How do you think my standing will be?'" --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., March 16, 2005
Hurricane Katrina strikes the Gulf Coast, ultimately causing an unprecedented 81 billion dollars in damage. President Bush urges the American people to help:
"So please give cash money to organizations that are directly involved in helping save lives -- save the life who had been affected by Hurricane Katrina." --George W. Bush, Washington D.C., Sept. 6, 2005
Hee-hee! Cash money. This is fun!
Awww, I didn't invite you guys here just to bust on an ex-President, I invited you here to ROCK! So let's pour ourselves a tall, cool, refreshing glass of absinthe and check out "The Poison" by Alkaline Trio...
Megadeth: Killing is My Business...and Business is Good!
1985
Combat Records
Format I Own it On: Compact Disc & Vinyl
Track Listing: 1. Last Rites/Loved to Deth 2. Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! 3. Skull Beneath the Skin 4. Rattlehead 5. Chosen Ones 6. Looking Down the Cross 7. Mechanix 8. Thses Boots 9. Last Rites/Loved to Deth (demo) 10. Mechanix (demo) 11. Skull Beneath the Skin (demo)
******(I know the whole point of my blog was to listen to my records in alphabetical order, but I've had some requests to talk about Megadeth so I'm jumping ahead for a bit here. I'll continue doing the alphabetical thing too but they'll be periodically interrupted by these Megadeth posts as I write them...Hello, Matt! Peeen-cil!) *****
The CD I have now looks like the one above...When I was growing up though it looked like this....
Or to be more specific it looked like this...
I have to say, I loooooove the original cover...I mean, I understand why the band would want to change it. It wasn't the cover they had originally envisioned, since the record company lost the original artwork and used a cheap replacement photo instead...I get it...But to me, it's unfair to have one of the big 4 of thrash have a cool cover for their debut...I mean look at this...
It's a terrible drawing! But it's very terrible-ness makes it awesome!
The cover of Slayer's debut album "Show No Mercy" is similarly awful, stiff drawing...But it really connects because it looks like something a teenage metalhead would draw on their high-school notebook in 1983...In that respect, it's a perfect album cover...
Y'know...this one is actually a pretty nice cover...But Metallica was always one step ahead of the other metal bands...To me, this would have been a good way to use the metalier-than-thou argument, "Yea, sure...Metallica has a nice professional-looking album cover, but it's too slick...I mean...it doesn't even have a monster on it!"
In my mind that's a valid argument.
(Oh yea, does it scare any other Metallica fans out there to see the words "Metallica" and "Monster" in the same sentence?)
("Wahhh...I feel like you're ignoring me..boo hoo..."You guys are supposed to be freakin' METAL for Chrissakes! Why don't you go to an S&M shop, buy some leather, put a devil on your next album cover and try KICKING SOME ASS for a change...)
The text in the parenthesis above is a tangent....Ignore it if you like...
Anyway, I didn't invite you guys here to bust on Metallica (No matter how much fun that may be) but to talk about Megadeth's first album "Killing is My Business...and Business is Good!"
The current CD version sounds totally different than the old cassette I used to have....I've never seen a re-mix/re-master alter the sound of an album so much...Are we sure these are even the same recordings?! The "Killing is My Business" I grew up with was dark, murky and had totally unintelligible lyrics. This new release is crystal clear... I like the more clear music but I think half the fun was trying to decipher those lyrics...Every once in awhile you'd catch something super 13-year old metal badass like "A Dose of Meeetaaaal you Neeeeeed...." And your mind would race as to what other lyrical wonders were contained within the cheap, plastic tape shell...I liken it to a thrash-metal "Exile on Main Street" where its replay value derives from its inscrutability...
That said, If I could've heard the lyrics better and figured out that "Skull Beneath the Skin" contained the origin of Vic Rattlehead, my teenage head would have exploded! I thought that's what the song "Rattlehead" was...Holy Shit!
I probably would like the new cover art if the Vic Rattlehead on the cover wasn't so big...I don't think the logo should obscure any of it, since it's almost the same color and the end result is kind of a clutter. If the cover was plain black and the Vic was below the logo, I think I might've been fine with it...
Oh, another warning, on the original version there was a foul-mouthed cover of "These Boots" (which you probably know from the Nancy Sinatra version) .but I guess Lee Hazelwood suddenly (a decade later) had a problem with the lyrics and forced them to remove the offending words. Megadeth's brilliant solution was to just put a long ear-destroying "BEEEEEEEEEEP" over the words...I don't know why they just didn't mute the lyrics or put it on the album as an instrumental, hell...Hell, removing it entirely would have been a preferable choice...
Oh yea, I have a pretty good Megadeth related story...Well, it's probably not a good story...but what the hell...I'm going to tell it anyway...
ahem...
I first got this tape right around 1990-1991. . Back in the day it was possible to suddenly discover the existence of an album by one of your favorite band's that you didn't even know existed...Remember, there was no internet back then to look up a band's discography, so as far as I knew "Peace Sells..." was the first Megadeth album. But someone told me about the existence of this first Megadeth album that was harder to find than the others. And not only did this person tell me about its existence but had a copy up for trade, so with no hesitation, I traded a couple of Maiden ep's for "Killing is My Business." I was showing it to a couple of the other kids in Shop Class and one of them tells me, "That's nothing....I have an even older Megadeth album!"
I said "Oh yea? What's it called? "
"It's called Megadeth "Toxic Death!" He boasted.
This sounded suspicious to say the least. I mean, what a redundant title, but I called his bluff, "What do you want for it? I'll trade you anything..."
He made a big long list of demands, "The first two Metallica albums, your Megadeth backpatch, this Anthrax e.p. , blah blah blah..."
I agreed, knowing full well that he was bullshitting me, but I played along anyway...
For that following week I bothered him everyday, "Did you bring it? Did you bring it?!' knowing that he hadn't but anticipating the inevitable excuses...Everyday it was "No, I forgot it. No, I forgot it."
I kept this up until one morning I could tell he was tired of me bothering him.
I asked him "Hey, did you bring that Megadeth "Toxic Death" tape?"
"MegaDETH?!?!?!" he asked me incredulously. I thought you said "MegaDEPTH!"
I contemplated taking this even further and exclaiming, "MEGADEPTH?!?! Even better! I've been looking for the album "Toxic Death" by Megadepth for years!"
But I decided he was off the hook...
Alright, enough of the old man memories...Let's hang out in Josh's room and listen to Megadeth's original uncensored version of "These Boots." God, I love youtube! Enjoy...
Track Listing: 1.This Could Be Love 2. We've Had Enough 3.One Hundred Stories 4. Continental 5. All on Black 6. Emma 7. Fatally Yours 8. Every Thug Needs a Lady 9. Blue Carolina 10. Donner Party (All Night) 11. If We Never Go Inside 12. Blue in the Face
The band's sound shifts a bit here. It's still melodic pop-punk but with a darker, colder tone. Keyboards start to become more present, the words black, crimson, and blood pop up with more frequency on the lyric sheet. But really, all this death and morbidity really seems like set dressing as the band's sense of humor is still present, if merely painted black. I'd go as far as to say the biggest actual change would be Matt Skiba's voice, which is uncharacteristically raspy. Finally punk rock has its own "Dark Horse!"
I mean, it sounds like his throat is going to explode during the last chorus of "Continental." However, this hoarse delivery really pays off on acoustic closer, "Blue in the Face," when he asks "Your coffin or mine?" it really sounds like it might be terminal.
The band delivers one of my favorite Alkaline Trio songs with "Blue Carolina." The giddy poppiness of the chorus comes off as absolutely radiant, given its shadowy surroundings. Whenever I listen to this album I never fail to keep rewinding this track. "Fatally Yours" is also notable, in that it sounds anachronistically like one of their 90's singles. The only song that seems to make good on its threat of gothiness is the spooky "All on Black," which winds up being one of the album's strongest (and most memorable) tracks...
Oh yea, I forgot to mention that Alkaline Trio has one of my favorite T-shirts of all time...The one where they just straight-up
rip off the cover of the first Clash album and put their name on
it...Respect.
Honestly, I don't have a lot to say about "Good Mourning." I own 10 Alkaline Trio releases and they are all, roughly, of the same quality. The two weeks I spent listening to nothing but Alkaline Trio feels roughly like the two weeks I spent listening to nothing but AC/DC. Just a dependable band that never fails to deliver a good listen...So let's listen to "Blue Carolina..."
Track Listing: 1. Private Eye 2. Mr. Chainsaw 3.Take Lots with Alcohol 4. Stupid Kid 5. Another Innocent Girl 6. Steamer Trunk 7. You're Dead 8. Armageddon 9. I'm Dying Tomorrow 10. Bloodied Up 11. Trucks and Trains 12. Crawl
I always forget how much I like this one. The band switches to Vagrant Records, adds new drummer Mike Felumlee (formerly of the great Chicago punk band Smoking Popes), polish up their sound and rack up a hit with "Stupid Kid." And they do all this without significantly diluting their punk rock sound. It still sounds exactly like Alkaline Trio...it just sounds like SUPER-Alkaline Trio.
I went to see them in Detroit right around the release date of this record (in fact it might have been the day of its release) and the band played quite a few of the new songs. I remember being blown away by "Take Lots With Alcohol," and as soon as the show was over I went straight to their merch booth and bought the vinyl copy of this record that I still have to this day. I can recall taking it home, eardrums blown from the show, and playing "I'm Dying Tomorrow" 500 times. And miraculously, it still hits me like the first time I heard it. A simple, hooky pop-punker where Dan Andriano makes plans for his last day on Earth, drinking and having fun with no regrets. It's celebratory and sad at the same time. He also pulls off another winner with "Crawl'" which I was familiar with at the time from some comp I cannot recall. When the piano comes in on the break? I'm telling you!
"Private Eye" and especially "Trucks and Trains" both foreshadow the darker new sound they would adopt starting with their next album. I think that may be why I tend to overlook this one a bit, even though I love it whenever I put it on. It seems a little like it's neither here nor there. When I'm in the mood for rougher punk, I put on one of the three prior releases and when I'm in the mood for the slicker-gothic punk I put on one of their subsequent releases. However, I could see people enjoying this for that exact reason, since it does seem to have the best of both worlds...
Howabout I shut up for a minute so we can listen to "I'm Dying Tomorrow..."
Track Listing: 1. Goodbye Forever 2. This Is Getting Over You 3. Bleeder 4. I Lied My Face Off 5. My Friend Peter 6. Snake Oil Tanker 7. Southern Rock 8. Cooking Wine 9. For Your Lungs Only 10. The Exploding Boy 11. Sundials 12. Nose Over Tail 13. '97
Although this is a compilation of tracks from various singles and whatnot, it's of the same high quality as the rest of their albums. It's even arguably, the best place to start if you're looking for an entry point into the Alkaline Trio discography. If you already own "goddamnit" you're going to find a few repeats but it's no big deal, since it never hurts to hear "Southern Rock" again, and the versions are slightly (very slightly) different.
If anything, get this for "'97." It's one of the all-time great Alkaline Trio songs and a masterwork of gut-wrenching late 90's emo. Other highlights are the storming opener "Goodbye Forever" and "I Lied My Face Off" which features one of Dan's most memorably anguished vocals. Oh, and check out their cover of the Cure's "Exploding Boy." It sounds almost like the original but it rocks just a little more! Which is always the right decision when you decide to do a cover....
By the way, I love the cover photo. It seems like there's been numerous CD covers that depict a cassette tape on the cover...like this...
...and this...
...and don't forget this horrible album....
...but I think Alkaline Trio's might be the best. The tape on the cover looks exactly like the tapes my old band, Deranged Chimpmunks, would use to record our albums on 4-track. I was buying cassette tapes for that exact purpose well into 2003, with my current band TA-80. Eventually I switched to all-digital but sometimes I look at the dusty 4-track sitting in my apartment and get nostalgic for some analog action...
sigh...
Enough of these wistful remembrances...It's time to go back to the year 2000, and listen to "Who Let the Dogs Out" by Chicago punk legends the Baha Men...
Wait...I meant "'97" by Alkaline Trio...I always get those two mixed up...
Track Listing: 1. Keep 'Em Coming 2. Madam Me 3. You've Got So Far to Go 4. Fuck You Aurora 5. Sleepyhead 6. Maybe I'll Catch Fire 7. Tuck Me In 8. She Took Him to the Lake 9. 5-3-10-4 10. Radio
I can't even look at that cover without artificially lowering my voice an octave and cartoonishly crooning, "Shayyyyyking like a dog shittin' razorblades..."
I suspect a lot of people have that same reaction. Alkaline Trio pulls off their greatest song here, "Radio." When the droning bass and heartbroken guitar line finally explode and Matt Skiba lets loose with that full throat-ed, "I'VE GOT A BIG FAT FUCKING BONE TO PICK WITH YOU, MY DARLING!" That's a great moment! If any lyric deserves to be written in all-caps, this is it.
This was the first Alkaline Trio album I'd ever heard. I bought it blindly out of the Asian Man catalog around 2000, just cos I bought everything out of that catalog, but this one really shook the shit out of me. I know most people will say the first album they hear by a band they like is always their favorite one, but I really don't think I suffer from that particular affliction. I believe I can sit here and tell you with a clear head that "Maybe I'll Catch Fire" is their best album.
To me, as soon as "Keep 'Em Coming" blasts through the speakers, it's an improvement in every way from the previous album. The performances seem more confident, the lyrics are even darker and funnier than before, the melodies seem better constructed, it all come together beautifully.
The record boasts two more pop-punk classics, with "Fuck You Aurora," whose cathartic dynamics make it a close relative to "Radio," and Dan Andriano's "You've Got So Far to Go," with its bouncing bassline and affecting vocal. I think he's really starting to channel Elvis Costello this time, which is a win for everybody. Unless you're not into Elvis Costello. In which case you just have no soul...
All the other tracks are good too! "Sleepyhead" revives Naked Raygun's power-drill-punk sound. The title track , with its heightened sense of drama, also works. I've heard people don't buy records anymore (I appreciate that they're keeping record stores open just for me!), but if for some reason you're feeling nostalgic for the year 2000 (those long ago days of Napster, when you were probably illegally downloading it then too) pick up a copy of this at your local record store.
All right, It's time to artificially lower your voice an octave and cartoonishly croon, "Shayyyyyyyking like a dog shittin' razorblades..."
Track Listing: 1. Cringe 2. Cop 3. San Fransisco 4. Nose Over Tail 5. As You Were 6. Enjoy Your Day 7. Clavicle 8. My Little Needle 9. Southern Rock 10. Message from Kathlene 11. Trouble Breathing 12. Sorry About That
The first record by Chicago pop-punk band Alkaline Trio is one hell of a killer debut. I got this shortly after I first heard the "Maybe I'll Catch Fire" album back around 2000. I was an Asian Man records fanatic...The label could do no wrong in my eyes...Me and my friends ended up ordering just about every damn release they ever put out. In an odd coincidence, about a decade later my band actually ended up having a song come out on one of Asian Man's compilation albums ( a tribute to the punk rock legends the Queers) but that's a story for another time...
By and large this album sounds exactly like you'd expect Alkaline Trio to sound. Mid-tempo, Midwestern punk with no shortage of hooks and their usual witty lyrics. The darker, horror-inspired aspect of the band hasn't quite manifested itself yet, so don't let the band's scary zombie makeup on the back cover fool ya!
"Cringe," "San Francisco," and "Southern Rock," have endured as 90's punk classics, and show Alkaline Trio already at full-strength. Vocalists Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano compliment each other perfectly, Andriano wringing every ounce of emotion out of stretched vowels under Skiba's snappier delivery.
For some reason "stretched vowels" sounds really painful.
The only tracks I'd really skip at my Friday Night Record party are "Cop,"with its poppin' funky bass accents, and "Enjoy Your Day," which to me, crosses the line into overbearing emo. I have seen the band do a live performance of "Enjoy Your Day" years later and it was a huge improvement. I actually loved their live version, but the take on the album is unbearably maudlin and overwrought. But the album's other acoustic track Matt's "Sorry About That" ends up being the highlight of the album, showing that a lack of electricity isn't a problem...
Although, I don't think they've quite nailed their winning formula yet (I think that would occur with their very next album) I would definitely recommend this record to anyone even remotely interested in punk rock. Playing this again after so many years brings back warm memories of hanging out with my friends in Michigan, pounding cheap beer in our band rehearsal room. God, I think I must have owned 500 of the band's T-shirts in my lifetime. Hell, I even married a girl with an Alkaline Trio tattoo!
Let's take a look at what else was happening in the world during those halcyon days of 1998:
42nd President of the United States of America, Bill Clinton proclaims "goddamnit," at a press conference after he's caught having "sexual relations" with White House intern Monica Lewinsky...
Ginger Spice announces her departure from the Spice Girls. She is replaced by ex-Smoking Popes drummer Mike Felumlee...
Google is founded, allowing me to Google images of Bill Clinton, the Spice Girls and Alkaline Trio album covers to post on this stupid blog....
Alright, enough of the history lesson...
I went to an Alkaline Trio show right around 2007 or so, where they
played this album in its entirety. I know sometime later Asian Man released this...
... which contains a dvd of the band playing the entire album live. I've never watched it so I'm not sure if it's from the same show or not, but I do know that clips from the show I attended were released on the bonus dvd included on the "Remains" compilation. I should look into that someday...
In the meantime let's relive the 90's with a tall, cool. refreshing Zima...
Track Listing: 1. Intro 2. We're in the Business 3. Yellow Wife No. 5 4. Wrong Drama Addiction(...and Life Starts Here) 5. However Young They Are 6. The Dawntrust Guarantee 7. Forever Since 8. Impressions of a Leg 9. How Brown? 10. Natives Approach our Plane 11. I Can't Freeze 12. Out in the World
This one is possibly as weird as "Tower in the Fountain of Sparks," but comes off as less so because it's so consistently strange. The previous album had a couple of obvious pop songs that threw the flow of the album off, but it was hard to complain because the pop songs were so damn good...
Pretty much no pop tunes here, but that's not to say this isn't memorable. There are bizarre chants in the form of "Native Approach Our Plane" and "Wrong Drama Addiction," and a fistful of bleary slow tunes, the best of which "How Brown?" is oddly stirring when Robert Pollard earnestly sings "And we must be adventurers! Partners in Shit-heeled Glory!" How those lyrics can come across as touching, I'll never know, but take my word for it, they are. I also love the moment on "Out in the World" when those mighty power chords crash in and Pollard belts out "Move onto it! Unshakable! It's a cinch!" Just a fine, fine moment.
My only real complaint would be the 3 minutes of droning noise at the end of the fourth track. It sounds like a refrigerator humming and kills any momentum the record had built up to that point. Otherwise, "Wrong Drama Addiction (...and Life Starts Here)" is a cool suspenseful song, where Bob delivers a riveting vocal.
This is the last Airport 5 record to date, and they go out with a pretty solid outing It is hard to believe Robert Pollard and Tobin Sprout worked on a record together that isn't brimming with killer hooks, but I don't think that was the point of Airport 5. I think they were mining for something deeper and darker here...Again, recommended for fans of Pollard's more esoteric work, who should definitely get a kick out of this...
