"You're not into punk records, are you?" This is how I was greeted as I entered the used record shop on Saturday afternoon. I think, hmmm...are they really punk records? And, what's the story behind 'em?
Well, mostly they weren't punk. All of the albums were in the "New Arrivals" bin. Some guy had just been there and unloaded his entire collection (how people do this is beyond me, but that's my problem), most of which he'd acquired in the 80's. There was some good stuff in there though, all in creamylicious mint condition. I started thumbing my way through and several records cried out to be given a new home.
Garland Jeffreys - Rock and Roll Adult
One of my college roommates had this record. He made me listen to it one time in the middle of the the Friday night campus radio punk show. I guess he was trying to show me that there was a brighter side of life, one not so nasty as what the Dead Kennedys and the Sex Pistols had to offer. I was a little skeptical about this. I mean, this was the guy from Madawaska, Maine (read: just about Canada). He used to come back from weekends with a case of Budweiser with the word "import" stamped on each label. He also had that Canadian hockey player-type accent that Bob and Doug McKenzie allowed us to make fun of (where the word "Devo" has the accent on the second syllable). All these years gone by though, and I still remember that Jeffreys' take on "96 Tears" was kinda cool.
Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Blank Generation
Never owned this one (until now), but I loved it when they'd play the title track on the radio. My Loverboy-fan friends just didn't get it.
U2 - The Joshua Tree
First time on vinyl for me. This is what "Where The Streets Have No Name" is supposed to sound like.
Dave Edmunds - Repeat When Necessary
Maybe not the high point of Edmunds' career, but definitely the classic band lineup: with Nick Lowe, Billy Bremner and Terry Williams. The tunes? "Queen of Hearts", "Girls Talk", "Crawling From The Wreckage". You can't go wrong there.
Tom Waits - Blue Valentine/Foreign Affairs
It won't be long before I've collected the entire Waits catalog on the big black circles. Foreign Affairs isn't one of my favorites but all of his records have nuggets of cool lurking somewhere. In this case it's the duet with Bette Midler "I Never Talk to Strangers". Blue Valentine rates right up there with Rain Dogs and Swordfishtrombones if you ask me. The opening trio of songs is a stunner: "Somewhere"->"Red Shoes By The Drugstore"->"Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis". Oh yea.
Lou Reed - New Sensations/Metal Machine Music
Here are the two extremes of Lou Reed. The pop Reed and the...uh...abrasive Reed. "I Love You Suzanne" has always made me happy. Why New Sensations was allowed to go out of print, I do not know. Surely it had something to do with lawyers and chubby guys in bad suits. On the other hand, lots of people have probably wished that Metal Machine Music had never been made. I had to have a copy. It's so weird, garish and abusive. It's also good for clearing the room of unwanted or overstaying guests.
Note: This post is part of an occasional series about my adventures pawing through the used record bins. It happens (the pawing) fairly often and has a lot to do with how I feel about music. Previous entries in this series are Downloading: Lost Opportunities, Black Circle Synchronicity, The Night I Enjoyed A Barry Manilow Record, Reorganizing My Record Collection.
(First posted on Mark Is Cranky)
Article comments
1 - Douglas
Ah, you mention Lou Reed's 'Metal Machine Music'. I bought that as a college freshman ('75) being a Lou Reed fan.
Holy cow! the worst record ever made, ON PURPOSE, I figured. Of this two record set I noticed that each side was 16:01 per side. My theory is that it was Reed's big F*** U to the record labels in a record contract that required him to produce X amount of sides to fullfill his deal. So he turned in 4 sides (16:01 considered a 'side') of irritating electronic noise, smoothed it over with it being an idea of an 'electronic concept' to sell it to the label.
Or maybe he was just being Brian Eno with an incredible amount of anxiety.
I took a pin and make a small scratch in it and returned it to the record store as faulty. Got something else.
I dunno the reality of it all, but just my theory.
Thanx...
2 - Douglas
Oh yes, A thumbs up to Richard Hell! 'Blank Generation' is a song that will always stick in my mind. "I'm a part of the ________ Generation" I love the craftiness of that pause in the lyrics. And I find it a socially applicable observation to some people of this planet.
3 - Mark Saleski
yea, there was some cool punk material.
it wasn't all: "i'm fucked up, you're fucked up, i'm puking beer on my shirt".
4 - Douglas
True, punk became a legitimate music form on a schooled level. Like blues with its 1-4-5 chord structure, punk has a structured musical pattern of its own.
Besides lyrics that were more socially relevant than naysayers want to believe, some of the musicianship was outstanding. East Bay Ray of the Dead Kennedy's was no slouch.
Being out of the Seattle punk scene ('75-'85) might put light on social relevance and skill. Take a look at X-15 for very topical lyrics and outstanding musicians (worlds greatest drummer on any level), Napalm Beach (guitar and lyrics), Spectators (guitar). World class level stuff. No wonder the labels looked up toward Seattle. The grungers (an off-shoot of the above) cashed in.
Anyway, as for punk music, there is alot more than meets the ear. Don't let your eyes fool you.
Thanx....
5 - SFC Ski
I won't fault your choices, except that U2's Boy and October were mucher rawer and better.
DK were actually pretty damn amazing musicians.
If I could go back in time, I would have spent a lot more money on albums, because so much good stuff was available, now it is o obscure and out of print that I have only memories of songs, especially because half the time I ddin't know who I was listening to, I just knew they were good.
6 - particleman
"punk has a structured musical pattern of its own"
I'm not sure this is so true anymore. Then again, i'm pretty sure punk isn't today what it used to be. does Fugazi follow structured patterns? how about NOFX?
7 - douglas
particleman,
true. I look at it more like an evolvement of a style. those bands might be thrown into the classic 'punk' category. But I view it like this: Blues becomes rock becomes Pink Floyd becomes etc...
Its like going back to basic blues to see what the deal was (compared to how it has progressed-Robert Cray is blues?
Well, yeah, I guess). Punk, same thing, evolvment of artists styles, production abilities, etc...
Anyway, cool man...
8 - Chris Kent
"punk has a structured musical pattern of its own"
Absolutely. I'm still trying to forget the night Gibby Haynes of The Butthole Surfers played an entire song by making farting noises. If I could remember the name of the tune, I would post a comment on Eric Olsen's Top-10 Songs list.....
9 - Mark Saleski
i think it's on "Hairway To Steven" (love that album title)
10 - Eric Olsen
Classics all Mark - the only one I don't have is the Jeffries. I have others of his and I thought he was really going to be something, but he kind of fizzled pretty quickly. And that is actually one of my favorite Edmunds - I love the three you name. And New Sensations is the best Reed post-Berlin.
You just keep rolling!
11 - Douglas (again...)
Butthole Surfers! Gibby! They take punk culture to an abstraction. A whole song of farts? How punk can one get? I would love to see a soloist play trumpet out of his butthole.!
The Butthole Surfers. Sometimes I think of them as the Mothers of Invention of the punk world.
Cool man!
12 - particleman
gibby is the man. my band was practicing at a rehearsal space in Austin last year and the Surfers were there too. we saw them hanging out outside smoking cigarettes and whatnot. we were in awe. gibby also used to frequent a bike shop my friend worked at... apparently he was into BMX.
13 - Chris Kent
Since we are telling "Gibby True Stories" here, I shall add another. PIL performing in concert, I believe 1986 in Austin. Gibby is at the foot of the stage. Every time Johnny Rotten would get near him, Gibby would spit on him. After about the fifth loogee, Rotten goes ballistic, stops in mid-song and has Gibby thrown out of the arena.....
My friends and I to this day still laugh about that story....
14 - Mark Saleski
dang, i don't have any Gibby stories.
i got to meet Tori Amos once...though she's probably as far away from Gibby as you can get.