Airport 5: Tower in the Fountain of Sparks

Airport 5: Tower in the Fountain of Sparks

2001

Fading Captain Series

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Burns Carpenter, Man of Science  2. Total Exposure  3. Subatomic Rain  4. One More  5. Mission Experiences  6.The Cost of Shipping Cattle  7. Circle of Trim  8. War & Wedding  9. Stifled Man Casino  10. Up the Nails  11. Tomorrow You May Rise  12. Feathering Clueless (The Exotic Freebird)  13. Mansfield on the Sky  14. White Car Creek  15. Remain Lodging (at Airport 5)

This is a collaboration between Guided By Voices front-man Robert Pollard and ex-Guided by Voices sideman Tobin Sprout. Tobin sprout was part of the classic GBV line-up which broke up somewhere in the mid-90's, so when they did  this "record-by-mail" project in 2001, it was a pretty big deal at the time for us GBV fanatics...

I ran to the record store and bought this the day it came out, practically salivating at the thought of the Beatles-y, Who-sy power pop that must lie within...

Except in a few select cases that isn't exactly what I got. Most of the record is odd, abstract and brooding. Robert Pollard is at his most oblique, and Tobin Sprout is at his moodiest.  I can't quite say I was disappointed at first, because Robert Pollard albums do usually take a bit of time to fully reveal their awesomeness to me. I did eventually get used to it and I ended up enjoying this quite a bit.

It has to be said, every album Pollard makes has at least one song that I consider to be the best in Rock N' Roll history.  I'm dead serious. I think this guy has written more great songs than anybody. This is mostly due to the fact that he's written more songs than everybody. But I swear to God, that the best of his best stands up tall right next to the greatest songs ever written. I would stack "Over the Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox" or "Game of Pricks" against any Beatles song. I believe that if those tracks weren't recorded on a 4-track tape machine and were credited as being written by REM or the Beatles, everybody on planet Earth would be agreeing with me.

The greatest song ever written on this album is....

 drum roll, please...

 "Stifled Man Casino." This song so thoroughly kicks my ass! That chorus, man! THAT CHORUS!! Glorious! I  bow to you for this one, Mr.  Pollard. "Total Exposure" comes pretty close too. It's an acoustic rocker with a slippery bassline but it's just as sticky.

And that's about it for the big pop songs, the rest of it is emotionally diffuse, dark post-rock...Kind of an update of Wire's "154."  I mean, listen to those nervy vocals on "Subatomic Rain." Bizarre. And check out those lyrics on "The Cost of Shipping Cattle:"

"The thorn removed itself,
and grew into a stake,
impaled itself into a tree,
which became flesh and lurched toward the moon...
Did he or did he not,
use shocking equipment to make you happy?? "

 Bizarre! Bizarre! The record actually has a strong second half. "War & Wedding" and "Circle of Trim" are near-pop. "Mansfield in the Sky" is a slow-motion anthem,  beatutiful with its wide swaths of echoed guitar and understated vocals. It really is evocative of a snowy day in a  desolate modwestern locale. I'm sorry I moved to Arizona before I heard this, because I would have loved to listen to this driving around in a Michigan snowstorm.

If you're a Guided By Voices novice, I probably wouldn't start here, but if you have  a taste for some of Pollard's more far-out material then this one should be right up your alley...

There were a couple of singles released from this album, but we'll discuss those later when I get to the Guided by Voices section, since they're included in the Guided by Voices release "Selective Service."

If you haven't heard it yet, check out "Stifled Man Casino." Posted below for your convenience.

Agnostic Front: Victim in Pain

Agnostic Front: Victim in Pain

1984

Relativity Records/Combat Core records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Victim in Pain  2. Remind Them  3. Blind Justice  4. Last Warning  5. United and Strong  6. Power  7. Hiding Inside  8. Fascist Attitudes  9. Society Sucker  10. Your Mistakes  11. With Time

I bought my old beat up vinyl copy of this album from the Zia records in Tempe...It's got that cool embossed "Back In Black" style cover. I wasn't especially aware of this but, I guess the original cover was much different...



 I probably prefer the plain black cover since It's pretty hard to say, "Oh yea...that photo of the WWII atrocity is a lot of fun to look at !" But there is something  about the blood red font over the stark black and white photo. I actually think both covers effectively capture the mood of the album within.

The music contained under the bleak cover is pure hardcore. Not even a tinge of the metal that would later take over their sound. In fact this is probably the most capital "H" hardcore album I own. I have lots of hardcore records but they usually have some quirk, or sense of humor, or twist. Not this...You can close your eyes and read the graffiti on CBGB's walls when you put this on. I've never even been there, but I can tell the place stinks like piss just from hearing this. The sound is that pungent. And Roger Miret sings like a regular guy on this one, albeit a regular guy engulfed in flames. This record is relentless.  One pissed-off hardcore assault after another, only slowing down to let the guitars really grind you to a pulp.  The final track "With Time," isn't even fast. It's just a thick, black pool of sludge. designed to suck all the joy from existence. So why do I enjoy this so much?

I'm really recommending this record if you feel like inviting a few friends over and throwing them around the room.

That brings up a good question, what do you drink while throttling your guests and listening to this album?

That's right...



Pure unleaded!

Let's take a look at what else was going on in the world of music in 1984...

Music superstars convene to record the benefit record for famine relief, "Do They Know it's Christmas?" Agnostic Front are not invited...



MTV holds its first annual Video Music Awards, Agnostic Front is snubbed in the "Video of the Year" category in favor of the Cars' "You Might Think..."



Michael Jackson gives a Roger Miret-like vocal performance while being burned alive during a Pepsi commercial...



Let's go back to that wonderful year of 1984 and throw on "Victim of Pain"...Maybe toss around a few elbows...

A Flock of Seagulls: A Flock of Seagulls

A Flock of Seagulls: A Flock of Seagulls

1982

Jive Records

Format I Own it On: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. I Ran (So Far Away)  2. Space  Age Love Song  3. You Can Run  4. Don't Ask Me  5. Messages  6. Telecommunication  7. Modern Love is Automatic  8. Standing in the Doorway  9. D.N.A  10. Man Made

I know it probably sucks for A Flock of Seagulls to be typecast as "just an 80's band," but it's really hard not to..."I Ran" was everywhere in '82, with its memorable echo-plexed guitar lead, catchy vocal line and robotic rhythm, and then suddenly you never heard it again until the rise of 80's revival.

I can recall seeing a vinyl copy of their self-titled debut in a pawn shop in Oscoda, Michigan in the early 90's....I was instantly fascinated by the awesome-yet-horrible cover, but ultimately passed on buying it because I was under the impression it was some sort of new romantic "wussy" music. Years later I found an old K-Tel compilation at a thrift store with a cover so freakin' rad, I had no choice but to buy it...

Ladies and gentlemen....K-Tel Records presents....

YESS!!!!!

Now, I no longer have this record, but I remember putting it on and there it was..."I Ran (So Far Away)" by A Flock of Seagulls... You know that spooky feeling you get when you heard a song you hadn't heard in 10 years that you totally forgot about? This was one of those moments...It still sounded exciting. Now keep in mind, I know a lot of people have a real problem with 80's production values. I think it strikes them as "cheesy" or something. I don't have any such qualms. This was just how music sounded when I was a kid. So if I wanted to listen to music, I had no choice but to like it. I mean, I can listen to "Invisible Touch" by Genesis and not even flinch...

I just had a horrifying thought! When kids these days are adults, will they still be able to listen to auto-tuned bullshit with a straight-face, just cos they're used to it?! If that's the case, then I weep openly for the future! (I'm picturing a smoldering apocalyptic wasteland where twisted mutants get their jollies by listening to the Black Eyed Peas!)

Anyway, a year or so ago, I was jonesin' for some 80's music and picked up a vinyl copy of the debut album by A Flock of Seagulls at the local Zia records, for $1.99. If you like "I Ran" then it's safe to say you're going to like this whole album, because all the songs sound like "I Ran" with slight changes in atmosphere. For example, "Space Age Love Song" softens "I Ran's" formula, and so on.

I have to say though, "Telecommunication" is an incredible song. So catchy and futuristic. Unfortunately, this type of music ended up not actually being indicative of what music would sound like in the future. As it turns out, people in the future really wanted to hear "Gangnam Style"... 

But wait! I just thought of something! Maybe I'm just not far enough into the future yet! Maybe in the year 3000 robotic synth-rock will be blasting from every holo-deck! Yay! I'm optimistic for the future again!

But yea, if you want to play A Flock of Seagulls at your next 80's themed Friday Night Record party but "I Ran" seems all played out, I think "Telecommunication" would be a great choice! I'm telling you, if one of these up and coming 80's revival bands put out a song of this caliber, everybody would be falling all over themselves praising the band as the next saviors of rock n roll...

Oh yea, what do you drink while you're listening to A Flock of Seagulls?

No...



...not quite...

no, not that either, something a little more, European...

Yea, that's it! Or....



PERFECT!!!

To be honest, when I listened to this last night I was drinking this...



...and it worked just fine.

C'mon, man! It's 1982! Let's drink some wine coolers and watch E.T!



Or we can stay home, put A Flock of Seagulls on the record player and listen to "Telecommunication!" Either way...

Actually it is kind of New Romantic "wussy" music...but it's awesome New Romantic "wussy" music...So...

The Adolescents : The Adolescents/Welcome to Reality E.P

.
The Adolescents : The Adolescents/Welcome to Reality E.P

1981

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. I Hate Children  2. Who is Who  3. Wrecking Crew  4. L.A. Girl  5. Self Destruct  6. Kids of the Black Hole  7. No Way  8. Amoeba  9. Word Attack 10. Rip it Up  11. Democracy  12. No Friends  13. Creatures 14. Welcome to Reality  15. Losing Battle  16. Things Start Moving


1981:  Ronald Wilson Reagan, 40th president of the United States of America, takes his place in office...



Cue 80's hardcore...

If you're into breakneck, melodic, SoCal punk, this is pretty much the start of it. The fact that it was made by a bunch of high school kids blows my mind, yet isn't surprising at all. I'm blown away that kids wrote these wonderfully melodic ideas and played this excellently performed music, on the other hand lyrics like, "I can't live in a world this gay!" could only have been written by confused kids...or whoever writes Katy Perry songs. But I don't mean this as an insult, really (not for the the Adolescents anyway...I guess Katy Perry's songwriter's should be insulted...unless they're 16 year old kids too....) those same pissed-off, jumbled teenage emotions are probably what makes this album so spectacular in the first place...

They pull off the first hardcore epic in the "Kids form the Black Hole." If punk's your thing, you seriously cannot overlook this one! That guitar line is the shit! Tony also turns his limited vocals into a strength. It doesn't just sound like some guy singing lyrics to a song...This guy believes with all his impassioned heart that  society as we know it is collapsing all around him. And what's he singing about? Homeless kids! Check out Phil Colllins, when he sing about homeless people!  It's usually some smooth ballad. Not these guys...It's still shocking to them. They're pissed about it, and I love them for it!  I also love them for those great backing vocals on "Amoeba,"and their relentless 200 mph beats.  Fans of Bad Religion who haven't moved onto this yet are doing themselves a serious injustice!



This CD also contains the follow up e.p. "Welcome to Reality."  The year of its release seems to be a bit difficult to pinpoint. All I know is it came out shortly after the first record. The title track of the e.p is quite a few clicks slower than expected. I couldn't tell if they were aiming for metal or a slower, sloppier "Flipper" sound. Either way it's still pretty good. The other two tracks from the e.p are at a tempo comparable to the self titled album, but the hooks aren't quite there. Still  a lot of snotty fun...

So let's go back to 1981, eat some pudding pops...



...and crank up "Kids of the Black Hole!"

Ryan Adams: Rock N Roll

Ryan Adams: Rock N Roll

2003

Lost Highway Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. This Is It  2. Shallow  3. 1974  4. Wish You Were Here  5. So Alive  6. Luminol  7. Burning Photographs  8. She's Lost Total Control  9. Note to Self: Don't Die  10. Rock N Roll  11. Anybody Want to Take Me Home  12. Do Miss America  13. Boys  14. The Drugs Not Working

This is Ryan's attempt at a straightforward rock album, and I think he mostly pulls it off. This album gets pretty mixed reviews, which I think may be attributable to the record getting off to a pretty slow start, before hitting its stride.

"This Is It" is the big bombastic "This Rocks!" intro, not bad but not great either. "Shallow" is a little better, featuring a pretty cool chorus. I can't tell if "1974" is supposed to be a Stooges style "Year" song or if he's just trying to remind everybody of his birthday. "Wish You Were Here," is more of the same.

It isn't until "So Alive" comes on that the record really comes to life. The fire alarm guitars and Ryan's vocals sound like a tea-kettle boiling over. It  really lives up to the album's premise.  It sounds like Ryan Adams yet it rocks just a little bit more.

Oh yea, it also sounds exactly like U2. Whatever, I'm sold.

But I like "Luminol" even more. The laid-back manner in which he sings the song suits him better than the approximation of Kurt Cobain's famous rasping scream he employs on some of the other tracks. This guy can really sell a hook! All these middle tracks work for me!

We hit another bum patch with tracks 9 through 11. "Note to Self: Don't Die" basically crosses the line into Nirvana parody.  The title track is a mumbly piano number, whose sole purpose, as far as I can tell is, irony (The only non rock n roll track on the album is called "Rock N Roll," Get it? Huh?) and "Anybody Wanna Take me Home" is just ...bleah....but the last three tracks are a perfect finish! "The Drugs Not Working" is drop dead awesome! I could complain it goes on a tad too long, but it's an album closer...so I'll cut it some slack.

I recommend giving it a listen...and why not?  Maybe it's not the most substantial music that ever existed, but blasting some poppy rock n roll on the weekend never hurt anyone, and Ryan sounds like he's having fun here. I honestly think he should do some more stuff like this...

My God, 2003 was a long time ago now...it just seems like yesterday I was covering my face in embarrassment at the "Rave" scene in the "Matrix: Reloaded..."

... and rocking out to Ryan Adams' "So Alive." Wait...Should I have been hiding my face in embarrassment that I was rocking out to Ryan Adams? You decide...Below is the video...

Ryan Adams: Gold

Ryan Adams: Gold

2001

Lost Highway Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing:  1. New York, New York  2. Firecracker  3. Answering Bell  4. La Cienega Just Smiled  5. The Rescue Blues  6. Somehow, Someday 7. When the Stars Go Blue  8. Nobody Girl  9. Sylvia Plath  10. Enemy Fire  11. Gonna Make you Love Me  12. Wild Flowers  13. Harder Now That It's Over  14. Touch, Feel and Lose  15. Tina Toledo's Street Walkin' Blues  16. Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd

Wow, I hadn't listened to this in a looong time. I remember me and my old friend (and former band-mate)  Joe used to listen to Ryan Adams a lot.  I bought this somewhere around its release and played it to death back in the day.  I can't recall playing it at all in the last 5 years, so it was fun rediscovering it.

It's a pretty laid back affair. Think of a relaxed, sprawling classic rock record with a somewhat modern, millennial, over-emotive feel.  A good record to pull out when you're in the mood to listen to some Eagles, but then you realize that you can't stand the Eagles.

The uptempo stuff on here is really where it's at. I like "New York, New York," which is a strummy acoustic rocker that references a  bunch of cross streets. God, this guy loves cross streets. Sometimes, he even goes as far to make up his own. "Firecracker" is another winner that follows in much the same mode. "Tina Toledo's Street Walkin' Blues," is pretty much a Stones rip, but a cool one. I don't mind Stones rips as long as they're done well...

The record also has its share of weepy, country-tinged ballads. Here's where things can get a little mixed, for me. Sometimes his ballads can be melodic and moving ("When Stars Go Blue," "La Cienega Just Smiled,") but sometimes some of these long stretches of slower-stuff can  make the album feel like it runs a bit long... But I guess the album should feel a bit long, since it does clock in at 70 minutes. 10 of which belong to "Nobody Girl," which isn't bad at all.  Does it need to be 10 minutes? No, not really... But what's a double album without an overlong guitar workout? A single album, that's what!

All in all, I think this still holds up. A pleasant listen for your afternoon barbecue, or if your Friday Night Record Party needs a good, slick weeper...I know I  usually have  a lot more pictures and singles covers and stuff, but modern records don't really have singles per se...just recommended itunes downloads...and I can't post a picture of a download, dammit!

Well, let's watch a video, then...one of the few thriving artifacts from the days of music's tangibility.... I can recall seeing this video for "New York, New York" shortly after 9-11... As it notes at the start of the video it was shot on September 7th, so the Twin Towers were still intact. It felt a little weird watching this at the time, but now it stands as a pretty cool tribute to the way things were... Long live September 7th!

Adam Ant: Antics from the Forbidden Zone

Adam Ant: Antics from the Forbidden Zone

1990

Epic Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing:  1. Zerox  2. Whip in my Valise  3. Car Trouble  4. Kick  5. Kings of the Wild Froniter  6. Antmusic  7. Dog Eat Dog  8. Los Rancheros  9. Killer in the Home  10. Stand and Deliver  11. Beat My Guest  12. Prince Charming  13. Ant Rap  14. Desperate but Not Serious  15. Place in the Country  16. Friend or Foe  17. Goody Two Shoes  18. Strip  19. Puss N' Boots  20. Apollo 9  21. Vive Le Rock

This compilation album offers an excellent overview of Adam's career up to this point. Despite the almost uniform quality of the tracks here, I'm still a little hesitant to recommend it as a first purchase. I would probably still go with "Kings of the Wild Frontier," since it's all killer. This has a few duds on it and some of the tracks don't quite come across as well  outside of the context of their original albums.

The material from the first four albums are of course the highlights of the disc, but we've already discussed those, so, let's move onto "Beat my Guest"... I was already well familiar with this song from the cassette version of "Kings of the Wild Frontier" that I discussed a few days ago...It's a fast paced  punk-type song featuring lots of yodeling, that was originally the B-side to the classic "Stand and Deliver" single. Despite its B-side status, it easily holds its own against the A-sides here.



(yodel-ay-hoo!)

( I used to watch the Price is Right just so I could see the yodeling guy...I loved the yodeling guy.)

The album also features two tracks from the 1983 album "Strip."



Which I would probably be too embarrassed to buy based on the cover alone. I try and skip the song "Strip" whenever I can.  Yuck! "Puss N' Boots," is fun though, and I always get a laugh at the deep-voiced  backing vocal in the chorus that sounds to me like  "PUSSY!"(Yes, I realize he's probably saying "PUSS'N!" But let me have my fun, please?)

The disc ends with a couple of tracks from 1985's "Vive Le Rock," which was his last album for quite awhile...



The bouncy, catchy "Apollo 9" is dangerously close to being 100% up to snuff. Go, Adam!  Uh oh, the next track is "Vive Le Rock." A big bloated 80's-fest that sucks out almost everything that made Adam Ant cool.  A bit of a sad way to end a great compilation, but there it is...

There's an awful lot of incredible stuff here, and really only 2 songs I'd ever skip, so I really do heartily recommend it. Holy shit, I can't believe there was a time when pop music wasn't completely retarded baby talk. (Even though I'll concede that "Apollo 9" does indeed have some baby talk in it....) can we get back to this, please?

Thanks, now let's check out the video for "Puss N Boots" starring future techno superstar Deadmou5 (pronounced Dead-Mow-Five):