Butthole Surfers - Independent Worm Saloon

I'm nearly 40 years old and I'm still kinda grossed out by the name of this band - the "Butthole Surfers"...   I do however have a profound amount of respect for the band tho'.   They sorta hail from San Antonio, Texas in that the band lived and operated from this city in their inception, but I think a number of other cities in Texas could lay claim to them.

This album, Independent Worm Saloon - isn't highly praised by critics or genuine fans of the band, but I have a soft spot for it because it was my gateway Butthole Surfer album.  I recently saw some people post pictures of the people attending Texas Psych Fest and it got me to thinking about this record.

As always, I'm capable of finding a gem or to on a shitty record to recommend.  Random factoid about this album - it was produced by John Paul Jones, bassist of Led Zeppelin.  

Artists: Butthole Surfers
Album: Independent Worm Saloon
Producer: John Paul Jones (of LED ZEPPELIN), Butthole Surfers 
Label: Capitol 
Recorded: ?

Blind Melon - Soup

One of my favorite high school memories was driving to and from school with Chivo for nearly 3 years.  Every time we set foot into a car, there was always a chance that we would end up in some strange side-track-adventure.

Said adventures could include taking bizarre country roads in South Texas, trips to taco stands that were not certified by the state of Texas and the occasional drive out to South Padre Island.

In addition to sharing some very funny conversations, we would sometimes sit in silence and just listen to a CD from beginning to end.  An album we listened to with some regularity was SOUP by Blind Melon.

I'm not entirely sure why the album has always had a strong pull on me...   I've always found it to be both rewarding when I listen to its musical arrangements or poured over Shannon Hoon's lyrics.

I just listened to the song Dumptruck and I still get goosebumps after hearing the track spin out perfectly and then slip into the Jim Morrisonesque - Car Seat (God's Present). 

Incredible work by the produce Andy Wallace.

I haven't listened to this album in a while, but it came up yesterday when picking out stuff for the Dead Front Men podcast I recorded last night.   I may have to call Chivo and ask him if he fondly remembers listening to this on our drives around Tejas.

Stand Out Tracks:

Artists: Blind Melon
Album: Soup
Producer: Andy Wallace
Label: Capitol 
Recorded: ?

The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

Been thinking a lot about the Beach Boys in recent days...  it may have something to do with the turning of seasons.  It possibly has more to do with me listening to the Beatles last week tho'.

Pet Sounds, in my opinion is the most important Studio album ever recorded by an American Artist.  The vocal harmonies on this record are completely ridiculous. I just listened to "Wouldn't it be Nice" for the millionth time and I've never felt compelled to sing along.  I know all the lyrics and I'm sitting around the apartment by myself so I wouldn't be ruining the song for anyone else...  I just don't want to ruin it for me.

My favorite moment on the album is only three tracks in...  the song  "That's Not Me" might possibly be my all time favorite song.  The track completely reaches into my body and shakes me to the core.  The opening lyrics:

I had to prove that I could make it alone
But that's not me
I wanted to show how independent I'd grown now
But that's not me

I could try to be big in the eyes of the world
What matters to me is what I could be to just one girl

Im a little bit scared
Cause I haven't been home in a long time
You needed my love
And I know that I left at the wrong time
My folks when I wrote them
Told em what I was up to said that's not me

I know the band (Brian) experimented with psychedelic drugs during the recording of this record and that sorta explains a number of arrangements, but when you hear the song "I'm Waiting for the Day", I can't help but wonder how he could have lived and loved so much by his mid 20's.

I can't stress how amazing it is for Brian Wilson to craft this album before turning 26.  It's fucking unparalleled.  

If you've never heard the album, please do yourself a favor and listen to it this evening.

Stand Out Tracks: All of them

Artists: Beach Boys
Album: Pet Sounds
Producer: Brian Wilson
Label: Capitol
Recorded: United Wester, Gold Star, CBS Columbia and Sunset Sound

Radiohead - The Bends

When I signed up for penning a daily entry on an album I listened to during the day, I didn't really stop and ask myself - "how many days a year/month/week do you go about a day and not get around to listening to any music?".   

The answer to that is pretty rare.  If I didn't have to pen a review today, I may have gone an entire day without really listening to any music.

My day started off with a visit to a local collision shop to drop off my car for repairs this week.  I then took a shuttle over to a local Enterprise to get a car rental (Chrysler 300 - more on that later) before getting to the office where I had a day full of work ahead of me.

I anticipated spending some time with my parents (who are technically in town) but they stayed over at my sisters to take care of my niece who is currently under the weather.

Made the most of my evening at home alone (w/Amos technically) and watched the Ice Harvest.  A movie that features John Cusack (Cusack Week) and happens to be directed by Harold Ramis who passed away today.  

The news of his passing really bummed me the fuck out.... so I slipped on a record that always seems to make me smile.   The Bends, by Radiohead.

There's truly no bad tracks on this album, so I'm going to struggle finding any "stand-out-tracks".    It's also one of those albums that remind me of people and places in my lifetime...

thebends.jpg

For example - the song High and Dry.  A song that instantly transports me to a specific morning in Downtown Detroit.  I had spent the night at my friend's place...   I don't remember a single thing about the night before, but recall being at Norma's flat in a spacious living room that had a Christmas tree - suspended upside down above me.

That song sorta bled into the rest of the album and if I close my eyes hard enough, I can still picture her roommates brining me something to drink as they attempted to fill me in on what I didn't remember from the night before.

I just listened to the song - Just - & recall seeing the video for it on 120 Minutes for the first time ever.  I remember thinking to myself that the band had more to offer than the song "Creep".

Another favorite of mine is the song My Iron Lung.  The song doesn't really remind me of a person or place, but that's ok also.  It's nice to hold things very close and dear to yourself and never wanting to share that with anyone else.  Wait... maybe that's not a nice thing.

Anyhoo... you can't go wrong with any track on this album.  In my opinion, it's their finest moment and one of the best albums of the 90's.

Standout Tracks: (all of them) - these i like more than the others tho'.

Artists: Radiohead
Album: the Bends
Producer: John Leckie
Label: Capitol
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, RAK Studios, The Manor

Megadeth - Rust In Peace

Due largely in part of me having to stop into the office to catch up on a hellish week of work, I felt the urge to listen to Megadeth's - Rust in Peace - album at Guantanamo prison levels.

MegadethRustInPeace.jpg

I've owned this on every format but vinyl (hope to remedy that soon tho') and purchased this on cassette the day that it was released in 1990.

It was an easy sale...  I recall seeing them on HeadBangers Ball introducing the video "Hangar 18" and I'm pretty sure this was my introduction to the Roswell Incident.  I just saw through the first 3 minutes of the video and didn't recall it being that terrible... but it made a pretty big impression on me at age 13.

Weighing in at only 9 songs, Rust in Peace wastes no time in grabbing you by the throat and never letting you go.  The song Holy Wars is just as applicable now as it was back in 1990...  If war had a soundtrack Take No Prisoners would undoubtedly make the cut.  Tornado of Souls speaks to a lot of the issues that have plagued the band in their existence.  Lastly, there's the song Polaris.   My favorite song about thermonuclear warfare...   it's also one of the few songs I've been known to sing in the shower from beginning to end.   I can't really explain why I've committed the lyrics to memory... it just firmly has a grip on  the 13 year old that operates within my body.

Stand out Tracks:  Note - I'm not a fan of the remastered works.  The vocals tracks seem off...

Artists: Megadeth 
Album: Rust in Peace
Produced: Mike Clink
Label: Capitol 
Recorded: Rumbo Recorders