Something I Learned Today

I’m in a Motorhead mood tonight and I don’t give a fuck what all y’all think. I’ve been meaning to post the ‘Head for awhile, but never had a hook until I saw this:

Motorhead to sponsor youth soccer team

Fuckin’ A right. The snaggletooth logo, “Ace of Spades”, hell, the games over before the other team even takes the field. I was 13 when I first heard Motorhead (courtesy the Young Ones) and was completely blown away - I purchased the bands No Remorse a day later. Below are a dozen or so of my favorite tracks from the “Dirtiest (and loudest) Band in Rock ‘n’ Roll”. Predictably, I’m most keen on the band’s classic lineup of Lemmy, Philthy Taylor, and Fast Eddie Clarke. It doesn’t get much better than Ace of Spades or Overkill. I’ve still included a couple from the latter years. Anyone needing some background on the band’s 30+ year history should check the Motorhead wikipedia entry or the official website. Better yet, pickup the 5 disc Stone Deaf Forever boxset and read the booklet.

Motorhead - Motorhead.mp3
Motorhead - I’ll Be Your Sister.mp3
Motorhead - Limb From Limb.mp3
Motorhead - Stone Dead Forever.mp3
Motorhead - Too Late, Too Late.mp3
Motorhead - The Hammer.mp3
Motorhead - Dirty Love.mp3
Motorhead - Capricorn.mp3
Motorhead - Sex & Outrage.mp3
Motorhead - Mean Machine.mp3
Motorhead - Cradle To The Grave.mp3
Motorhead - Sex & Death.mp3
Motorhead - Born To Raise Hell.mp3

Why not beat this horse a little more? Below are 8 more songs dedicated to bugfuck lunatic Kim Jong-Il. Cuts are based upon your suggestions, from comments and email. Thanks for the responses. Special thanks to reader MW, who hooked me up with the Art Attacks cut. Now go put on your lead underwear and head down to the local bomb shelter.

Final Conflict - Apolcalypse Now.mp3
ODFX - Drop The A Bomb On Me.mp3
The Authorities - Radiation Masturbation.mp3
Flipper - Sex Bomb.mp3
Art Attacks - Neutron Bomb.mp3
Naked Raygun - Bombshelter.mp3
Fireworks - A-Bomb.mp3
Motorhead - Overkill.mp3

I somehow got myself involved in Texas Hold ‘Em game tonight with about 25 other people. Here’s hoping that all those hours spent slack-jawed in front of the tube watching WSOP on ESPN pays off. Here’s some music for the card playing crowd:

Bantam Rooster - Deal Me In.mp3
the title cut from Bantam Rooster 1997 debut LP Deal Me In. Kids, cards are nothing but the tool of the devil. A smoking guitar and drum stomp from this Michigan combo.

Link Wray - Deuces Wild.mp3
One of my favorites from the King of the Electric Guitar, this was originally released in 1964. A nice guitar freakout, and you gotta love those dual drummers. Norton has collected this and some other essentials onto a couple of different CD releases. Also, check out a cool ‘rave-up’ version of Wray’s Ace of Spades

Motorhead - Ace of Spades.mp3
This one needs no explanation. Everyone has this right? Title cut from their second best LP (Overkill is #1), one of the great ‘metal’ songs of all time. Not their only “Aces” song though. Have a listen to All the Aces was from 1979’s Bomber LP

When I go broke I may just head out to the bar to check out the Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers who are in town for the evening. Good night ahead

I was finally able to post some mp3’s - Take a gander to the right - not sure how happy I am with Yahoo briefcase, but it seems to fill the need at the moment.I’m not sure how long these will last or if I’ll update these. I guess it depends upon the amount of interest.

I chose these intial songs as a reprentation of some of my all time favorite artists. This is the stuff I still listen to 15-20 years later. Am I stuck in a time warp? Sure but that’s only because I’m completely underwhelmed by modern music. I’m easy to please, some guitar, some melody, perhaps some screaming/yelling. I abhor the “wall of sound” technique and the heavyhanded use of studio magic so prevalent today. 24 tracks? 20 tracks to many. The grittier the better!

Motorhead - “Limb from Limb“
Motorhead was one of the first metal/punk bands I ever heard. My first exposure was listening to “killed by death” on KNAC in LA in the mid 80’s. I was amazed by the bass sound and the harshness of Lemmy’s voice, not to mention the whole “hard on the eyes” look. A welcome change from glam metal. As I got older I abandoned most of my one metal records, but Motorhead has stood the test of time. The track I listed is the album closer from 1978’s “Overkill” and sums up everything I love about the ‘Head: thick and dirty guitar, gravelly vocals, a dark sense of humor in the lyrics.

Husker Du- “Something I Learned Today
One of the most awe inspiring and life changing bands for me was Husker Du. I don’t have the words or the time to explain, but the huskers were something special. Too many classic albums in such a short time period to discuss=- Zen Arcade, New Day Rising, Flip your Wig, etc. It’s all there: the amazing sound Bob Mould pulled from his guitar, the dueling vocals of Bob and Grant Hart, the gut wrenching melody shrouded in noise, the perfect pop sensibility. It’s a shame they will most likely never perform together again. “Something…” is the album opener from the 1984 classic double album “Zen Arcade”

Didjits - Agent 99
Take Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, ACDC, and the Ramones, throw them in blender and out pop’s The Didjits. Classic R’N'R riffs turbocharged with snotty vocals. Everything I was looking for in the early 90’s when the clerk at Record Time in Rochester recommended it. bought Full Nelson Reilly and never looked back. Agent 99 is the lead track from 1993’s “Que Sirhan Sirhan”

Hammerhead - Slumberyard
Hammerhead were in my opinion the best band in the AmRep stable. The perfect noiserock band, bludgeoning yet melodic. To me their sound always evoked images of space, stars, and darkness This is from their first album, 1993’s “Ethereal Killer”, All three of their albums rock, 1994’s “Into the Vortex” being the best.

New Bomb Turks - Deathbedside Manner
the Turks the best “punk” band of Nineties. Pummeling guitar, fast beats, twangy vocals, lyrics laced with wordplay. Still going today, the albums aren’t as solid as they once were, but still contain enough gems to make purchase worthwhile. I spent much of 1992-1994 trying to track down their numerous singles. The song above was on a single, nicely repackaged into “Pissing Out the Poison”. I’m not sure what prompted me to pick this song from so many, perhaps because it had been so long since I heard it.

Enjoy these - more soon.