Welcome to Desert Island 5. This is basically how it works: Music is essential to survival so I put together a playlist of 5 records that I feel will keep me going all week, then blab about them on Friday. Content will mostly focus on punk, hardcore, metal and indie rock, ‘cause that’s my bread and butter, but my music collection ranges from Billie Holiday to Slayer so there should be some variety as well.
It’s not about what’s new and certainly not about what’s popular, but what’s keeping me afloat. Each week a different 5.
For instance, this week I’m in the midst of an all-encompassing 80’s hardcore binge that’s been inspired by Keith Morris’ back-to-the-core new band OFF! I’m deeply engrossed, its like the last thirty years of music haven’t even happened. It’s a non-stop barrage of Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, D.O.A., Adolescents, Minor Threat, Void, Faith, Bad Brains, Cro-mags, The Freeze, SSD et. al. All the truly great, incendiary stuff that I was born ten years too late to really be a part of.
So normally this week’s 5 would include OFF! and some of the aforementioned, but since we’re just starting off, I thought I’d begin with "The All Time 5" (which actually does include the almighty Flag).
This is the holy quintet that shaped and formed the basis of a lifetime of musical taste. These still send shivers up my spine no matter how many times I hear them. I couldn’t live without them.
Black Sabbath | Paranoid
I was little – maybe nine or ten. At the time, most of my musical influence came from what my older brothers were listening to - a lot of
J. Geils Band, CCR and
Springsteen. I would routinely raid my their records and tapes, take a haul down to the stereo in the living room and sit for hours with headphones.
One time, thinking nothing of it, I popped this unmarked tape into the player. This slowly marching thud crept into the speakers. As anticipation began to peak, a droning heavily distorted guitar blasted in from nowhere and this menacing, metallic voice proclaimed, "I AM IRON MAN!”
It was the scariest thing I had ever heard. I was instantly hooked.
The vicious staccato of "War Pigs", the indisputable power of "Iron Man", the punk-foreshadowing speed of "Paranoid", the deeply sullen groove of "Planet Caravan", the pure evil drone of "Electric Funeral" changed everything and set the tone forever after. J. Geils just didn’t cut it anymore.
This is the all time supreme number 1 album ever. Everything else comes after. Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward are the most powerful combination of musicians that has ever assembled.
Check it out: Grooveshark ::: Get it: iTunes | Amazon
Black Flag | The First Four Years
I remember seeing these older skater kids wearing
Black Flag t-shirts and thinking, “Man that is really cool. I’ve got to find out what this
Black Flag thing is all about.” There was a really exciting sense of mystery about anything that was “from California” especially if it was "punk rock". So one day I finally rode my bike over to Strawberries and picked this up on cassette. There were a bunch of
Black Flag tapes to choose from (this was 1988ish), but I figured that
The First Four Years seemed like a logical starting point.
If hearing "Iron Man" for the first time was an awakening, the blazing opening riff of "Nervous Breakdown" and Keith Morris’ signature growling, snotty, surfer dude vocals were a punch in the jaw. The unbridled, raw fury of Greg Ginn’s guitar completely enthralled me and I instantly knew that this music would be a driving force for me going forward.
In American Hardcore (required reading), Henry Rollins talks about how Ginn didn’t have a volume control on his guitar, only an on/off switch. That’s why you hear all that feedback at the beginning of every song. I love that so much. Ginn was my first true guitar hero and remains such today. Every time I pick up my guitar I play a Black Flag riff.
Later this record would spark a big debate among my friends as to who the best singer for Black Flag was. Honestly, trying to choose between Morris’ vocals on "Nervous Breakdown" and "I’ve Had It", or Ron Reyes on "Jealous Again" and "Revenge" or Dez Cadena on "American Waste" and "Damaged I" (or Rollins in later years for that matter) is a total wash. They’re all amazing.
Black Flag will be mentioned here A LOT.
Check it out: Grooveshark ::: Get it: iTunes | Amazon
Fugazi | 13 Songs
My old friend Kurt was the first one to get his license, so then began regular pilgrimages to Newbury Comics in Burlington. We would drive down there and buy ‘zines and records and tapes and completely immerse ourselves in all the punk, hardcore, metal and counter culture we possibly absorb. It was great.
Kurt had this tape at one point that we all dubbed from him that had some Circle Jerks, Minor Threat, Nuclear Assault, Butthole Surfers and maybe some Dead Kennedys and/or GG Allin. I don’t remember exactly, but I bet if looked hard enough I probably still have it. Anyway, this tape was my first exposure to one of my favorite and one of the most recognizable vocalists of all time: Ian MacKaye.
When we heard that “Ian from Minor Threat” had this new band that was really cool, on the next trip to Newbury, I made sure to pick up the Fugazi self titled and Margin Walker EPs on cassette.
I popped the self-titled EP into the tape deck on the ride home and was immediately exposed to music that was so good and so cool it was completely indescribable. Kurt thought it sounded like The Clash, but I thought it didn’t sound like anything I’d ever heard before. It wasn’t “punk” and it sure wasn’t “hardcore”. Joe Lally’s intricate, soulful bass lines, Brendan Canty’s absolutely incredible drumming (forget Neal Peart, Brendan Canty is the greatest drummer of all time) holding it down for Ian and Guy’s sometimes searing ("Glue Man"), sometimes sweet ("Provisional") guitars and vocals. Fugazi completely defied categorization. Songs like “Bad Mouth” and “Give Me The Cure” and, of course, “Waiting Room” went on every mix tape I made for years to come.
I wore those tapes out completely to the point my Margin Walker cassette just frayed apart and snapped. I was very happy to pick up the 13 Songs CD years later. It’s pretty funny to talk about cassettes and CD’s now.
Check it out: Grooveshark ::: Get it: iTunes | Amazon
Swiz | No Punches Pulled
Swiz was absolutely one of the most underrated hardcore bands ever. With Shawn Brown’s raw, throaty vocals and inspired lyrics and Jason Farrell’s high powered, chugging jack hammer guitar assault, they were crunchier and more aggressive than their DC contemporaries and smarter and more complex than anything out of Boston or NYHC at the time. But they never seemed to get their due in the short time they were around.
With powerful songs like "Toon" and "Wash" and "Sun Stroke" and especially "Cakewalk", I can’t see why.
"Cakewalk" features my favorite song lyrics ever:
My little dying
You look so drop dead beautiful I can’t turn away
You’re like a saccharine kiss
Inside an iron fist
And from this hole I’ve been diggin’
You seem like all I need
Hell yes.
I feel lucky to have caught them live. I saw them at The Rat in Boston with Bad Trip and Killing Time in January of 1990. (See here and here.) Not the greatest sound quality on those videos, but I can assure you they were tight and powerful and by far the best band of the afternoon. Which is not say that Bad Trip or Killing Time were bad. They were both great too. It’s just that Swiz was on another level. I bought a 7” at the show, but I didn’t buy a t-shirt, which I regret to this day.
Check it out: Grooveshark ::: Get it: iTunes | Amazon
Jets to Brazil | Orange Rhyming Dictionary
How can something so relatively recent make into the All Time 5? Well... Front man Blake Shwarzenbach’s previous band
Jawbreaker was a staple of the soundtrack that helped me through some of the darkest, most frustrating times of my life. You know how some people reflect warmly on their college years and have a bunch great stories of fun and reverie? Yeah. Not me.
Anyway, Jawbreaker was one of the greatest bands of the 90’s and put out some truly memorable records, which we’ll get to in future 5’s. Then in ’95 some major label looking for another Green Day swept them up, which quickly, sadly lead to the bands' demise.
That experience seemed inspire Mr. Shwarzenbach and he emerged in ’98 with a new rhythm section and the musical, lyrical magnum opus that is Orange Rhyming Dictionary. This remains his best song writing effort. Deeper and more mature than anything Jawbreaker did and by far the best Jets release – so strong that they couldn’t even come close to matching it. You don’t just listen to this record. You experience it. You live in its world for 52.6 minutes. You feel everything that every word, every hook and every riff expounds.
So it’s a truly inspiring record on it’s own, but the real reason it makes the cut is that two of the most significant events of my life bookmark 1999: my father passing away in January, and my wedding that October. A tumultuous emotional year to say the least. I listened to this record at least twice a day during that time and it’s a testament to the power of music to provide a soundtrack and help you stay sane.
Check it out: Grooveshark ::: Get it: iTunes | Amazon
Dax Riggs | We Sing of Only Blood or Love
Black Sabbath | Mob Rules
King Crimson | Red
Earth Crisis | Destroy the Machines
OFF! | The First Four EPs
The Black Keys | Magic Potion
Obits | Moody, Standard and Poor
Pulled Apart By Horses | self-titled
