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As promised, here's the rundown of tracks from my entry in the CDP's CDP Worldwide Mix-Tape Trade 8. The title of my mix CD is "For Malachi Ritscher." You can read more about Ritscher here and you can read about the history and theme of the mix here.
1. "Ban the Game" by Men Without Hats (from the album Rhythm of Youth) Not many people would use the word "poignant" when referring to Men Without Hats. For most folks, the band's name evokes images of midgets at a Renaissance fair. But "Ban the Game," the first track on their 1982 debut album, is quite the poignant tune and I thought this was a good way to introduce the program.
2. "The Mob Rules" by Black Sabbath (from the soundtrack to the film Heavy Metal) Although Ozzy-era Sabbath is laden with political themes, this was seldom the case with their Dio-era material. "The Mob Rules" is something of an exception. The idea that "when you listen to fools, the mob rules" is a reminder that mass hysteria generally yields the worst of what the world has to offer. In the wake of 9/11, this kind of polarized groupthink brought our worst prejudices to light and ultimately led us to the invasion and occupation of two countries. (I used the Heavy Metal edit because on Mob Rules, there's about half a second of the song "E5150" that bleeds into the beginning of "The Mob Rules" and it's pretty much impossible to edit out. I wish the sound quality of this particular track was a little better.)
Allen Ginsberg
3. "The Sunflower Sutra" by Allen Ginsberg (from the album Howl and Other Poems) Both for his own time and well beyond, few voices of protest and activism are as thought-provoking and insightful as that of Allen Ginsberg. Laden with vivid imagery and ethereal symbolism, "The Sunflower Sutra" is a work that evaluates and celebrates self-awareness while chronicling his personal struggle to make the world a better place. (Had I not been going for the whole "three word title" pattern, I might've included "America," which is one of my favorite Ginsberg works.)
4. "No Fucking War" by 7 Year Bitch (from the album Sick 'Em) 7 Year Bitch was one of the most underrated punk bands of the 1990's. They were heavy as hell and something of a standout from the "riot grrrl" and grunge ensembles of their time. Selene Vigil belted out songs with the bulldozer-like ferocity of a female Cronos (and that, friends, is the highest of compliments from yours truly)."No Fucking War" was 7 Year Bitch's song of protest against Operation Desert Storm, but the lyrics became even more relevant during America's second foray into the Persian Gulf. With George W. Bush leading the new charge, the line "Bush, pull out like your father should have" (originally aimed at George HW Bush) turned a simple double entendre into an irony that was profoundly unfortunate.
5. "Two-Sided Politics" by Suicidal Tendencies (from the album Suicidal Tendencies) Some Cold War-era musings on alienation and injustice going on here: I'm not anti-Reagan, Reagan's anti-me /And I'm not anti-government, government's anti-me/And I'm not anti-politics, politics is anti-me/And I'm not anti-anything, I just wanna be free. Well…It still rings true, doesn't it?
6. "Pen Cap Chew" by Nirvana (from the box set With the Lights Out or possibly from the Pay to Play bootleg) It's not so much of a pacifist's anthem, but there's definitely some political awareness in the line "Kill a politician and then wear his clothes." Part Robin Hood, part Bolshevik revolutionary….all Cobain. The spoken word lead-in is an outtake I pulled from side four of the LP version of From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah. It's not really relevant to the song, but it's funny because Bob Larson is a yutz. I originally spliced these tracks together for another mix CD many years ago.
7 Year Bitch
7. "Levi Stubbs' Tears" by Billy Bragg (from the album Talking with the Taxman About Poetry) So beautiful and so sad, all at the same time. This song is about trudging through life despite the worst kinds of trouble and tragedy: "When the world falls apart, some things stay in place."
8. "The Call Up" by The Clash (from the album Sandanista!) Sandanista! should make each and every list of the greatest rock albums of all time, now and forever. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that this album is still woefully underappreciated despite innovation, musicianship and content (both artistic and political content) of the highest caliber. Think of "The Call Up" as something like the punk equivalent of Phil Ochs' much-celebrated draft evasion anthem "Draft Dodger Rag."
9. "Canons of Christianity" by Phil Ochs (from the album Phil Ochs in Concert) Phil Ochs is not just one of my favorite artists; he is one of my favorite human beings. I think a lot of people believe Phil ultimately took his own life because he lost his sanity. I prefer to think that Phil stayed sane while the rest of the world went crazy. "Canons of Christianity" nicely sums up the problems wrought by religion's best of intentions.
10. "Over the Edge" by The Wipers (from the album Over the Edge) If you've never heard any stuff by The Wipers, do yourself a favor and buy the 3 CD box set that includes is This Real?, Youth of America, and Over the Edge. This is a great song for those days when you feel like everyone is pushing your damn buttons. (I had hoped to include the song "Youth of America" in this mix and then use the Hole cover of "over the Edge" but with "Youth" clocking in at almost 10 minutes, I wouldn't have been able to contain this collection in a single disc.)
11. "Cult of Personality" by Living Colour (from the album Vivid) My head almost exploded when I first saw Living Color perform on Saturday Night Live back in 1989. I still remember seeing how annoyed my mom was with the performance and pretty much deciding right then to go buy their album. She was less than thrilled when I brought it home. I think I missed the whole point of the song "Cult of Personality" back then but as I've grown older, I can appreciate it in a different context. Any way you look at it, this song is tremendous.
12. "Worried Man Blues" by Woody Guthrie (from the album Muleskinner Blues: The Asch Recordings Vol. 2) The quintessential poet and songwriter of the American Left, Woody fought for a better world and shared his vision far and wide. His voice and music remain the heart and soul of the continuing struggle against corruption and injustice. it was one of my favorite moments as a parent thus far when I heard baby Z. -- at about the age of 2 years old -- singling along with Woody's "Muleskinner Blues."
13. " Ένα το χελιδόνι" ("Ena to helidoni" or "A Solitary Swallow") by Mikis Theodorakis (from the YouTube video "ΝΟΕΜΒΡΗΣ 1973-ΠΟΛΥΤΕΧΝΕΙΟ") The YouTube video collage "November 1973 – Polytechnic" chronicles the 1973 uprising by students of the Athens Polytechnic in opposition to the fascist dictatorship of Greece's military junta. "Ena to Helidoni" was originally written during the Greek Civil War of 1946-1949 but it became symbolic of the struggle against the junta during the years of the dictatorship. The voice at the beginning of this track is Maria Damanaki, who was a leading voice of the students during the uprising (Damanaki has long since given up radical politics in favor of a career with ruling-class organizations and institutions). In the excerpt included in this track, Damanaki proclaims, "Everyone united in the struggle for democracy and national independence; Long live the people's struggle!" The gunshots immediately following the song are taken from audio of the junta's brutal suppression of the students on 17 November. My friend Anthony once described the juxtaposition of the song with the sound of gunfire as "chilling" (or words to that effect." I edited the audio a bit to bring these elements closer together. Thanks to Anthony for the translation help.
14. "Commerce of Grief," an excerpt from a presentation by Arundhati Roy In her September 18, 2002 talk "Come September, writer and activist Arundhati Roy commented on the dangers of jingoism and militarism that flourished in the wake of the September 11 attacks. In this particular excerpt, she explores the hypocrisy of killing innocent people to avenge the deaths of other innocent people.
15. "Search and Destroy" by The Stooges (this version from the soundtrack to The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou) I wish I had a coherent explanation for including this song, but I have to settle on the explanation that it just felt right. All of this talk of death and destruction probably brought this tune to my mind.
16. "Gimme Some Truth" by John Lennon (taken from the soundtrack to The U.S. vs. John Lennon) John Lennon, much like the rest of us, wanted the one thing that's the hardest to get.
The great Phil
Ochs
17. "Ringing of Revolution" by The Weakerthans (from the album Return of the Read Menace) Somebody gave me a compilation of stuff by the Weakerthans some years ago and to be totally honest, I never got past this song, which was the first track. This is a dynamite cover of the epic tune by Phil Ochs (without Phil's cinematic, spoken-word prologue, mind you) and after hearing this, I figured the bar was set too high and that I wouldn't appreciate anything else by Yhe Weakerthans on the level that I loved this particular performance.
18. "Black Wind Blowing" by Billy Bragg and Wilco (from the album Mermaid Avenue, Volume 2) The Mermaid Avenue albums, collections of Woody Guthrie's heretofore unpublished lyrics, contain some of the best music ever recorded. The song "Black Wind Blowing" reminds me of something that I often say about the state of the world today: "Things have to get a whole lot worse before they ever get better."
19. "Power to the People" by Huey P. Newton (excerpted from a public address) Brother Huey, much like Paul Robeson, Phil Ochs and so many others like him, had a brilliant vision of a better world that was compromised and marginalized through sustained campaigns of repression and harassment from elitists and their proverbial "running dogs." He was the epitome of the doctrine of revolutionary suicide: "I, we, all of us are the one and the multitude."
20. "Until the End" by The Nightwatchman (from the album One Man Revolution) I used to refer to Phil Ochs as the last great songwriter of the American Left… Then I heard Tom Morello's material from his "The Nightwatchman" project.
21. "for Malachi Ritscher" (original composition) This is an original "sound collage," created using my Epiphone Les Paul, Karera bass guitar and the keyboard simulator from Apple GarageBand. The spoken content was performed by K. and Z. (Z.'s line took about 37 takes.)
If Chris McCoy is preaching the gospel, then brothers and sisters…I’m a believer. His 2006 CD Colder Chicago Sept. Hymns (Beachhouse Records, 2006) is a testament to his abilities as a lyricist and musician. I first heard samples from the album on McCoy’s MySpace page and was immediately reminded of Frank Black’s first solo album…and yes, you’d better believe that is a compliment. The comparison extends beyond songwriting and musicianship into the ethereal smoothness of Chris McCoy’s vocals. Truth be told, somewhere in there you might also hear a latent edge in his singing that is reminiscent of Live’s Ed Kowalczyk.
All of my quasi-esoteric comparisons aside, one of the best compliments I can bestow upon Colder Chicago is that it’s the kind of album that I’d love to fall asleep to. It’s a strange thing to say about a record for sure, but I have an unusual tendency to at least partially gauge an album on what kind of dreams it might evoke when I doze to it. It’s a paradox of sorts as the music of Colder Chicago makes it relatively easy to fade blissfully away while simultaneously bidding me to pay close attention for what the artist might offer up next. McCoy & Co. lay down some surreal tracks in which shimmering guitar work features rather prominently. All this "dreaminess" is not to say that I haven’t given Colder Chicago an attentive listen during my waking hours, mind you. The CD has actually become a staple in my listening repertoire these days. Here’s a side note to all that: The first time I listened to the disc I was driving around with my 6 year-old daughter and it wasn’t long before she was singing along with one of the songs. I don’t think she really nailed the lyrics though, because I distinctly remember her singing about cookies at one point. But she did like what she was hearing, I’m sure of that.
Colder Chicago kicks off with "Awake & Under" which effectively communicates to the first-time listener the great things that lie ahead on this album. The underlying guitar riff has a triumphant feel that seems to unwittingly channel the ghost of Phil Ochs (from some of Phil’s more upbeat tunes). The song features a well-timed break of feedback that would make Thurston Moore proud, splitting the track into a distinctly acoustic introduction and a triumphantly symphonic finish. No doubt this is a fantastic way to start an album as it brilliantly sets the tone for the remaining set. Subsequent tracks like "XXVI” and "No Devil" capture something of a post-Pixies vibe with a pleasant blend of strong, clear leads that are complimented nicely with subtle effects and background melodies.
"Tonight, This All Is Over" is a particularly intriguing track which is built around a tango-like piano ostinato and a gently driven backbeat. It fits well in the overall tapestry of the album while standing out as a unique gem unto itself. Had McCoy and The Gospel released singles for Colder Chicago, "Tonight" would’ve been a nice follow up to "Awake & Under."
"Take Me Home" and "Westgate" round out the collection of 9 tracks on the album and in some respects it’s actually difficult for me to think of these as anything but two distinct parts to one tremendous song. The hypnotic organ/keyboard melody in "Take Me Home" comes to a fitting end as the loop careens into a brief yet noisy coda. Call me crazy but it really does remind me of the "Star Gate" sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey with "Westgate" representing the other side of an otherworldly journey.
All in all, Colder Chicago Sept. Hymns is an evocative and enjoyable listening experience. With so much to offer, it’s my sincere hope that Chris McCoy and The Gospel will embark on a revival someday soon and add a few more chapters to their scripture of sound.
Purchase individual songs or the complete album through CD Baby.
My interest in Indian cinema was recently rekindled when I found that an Indian/Pakistani grocery store opened less than a mile from our home. Only minutes into my first visit there, I landed an inexpensive DVD of the 1994 movie Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (Who Am I to You?) which was a terrific find as I had wanted to see the film for years. I first became interested in the movie after hearing the song "Maye Ni Maye" on a CD of Lata Mangeshkar's playback hits. The song is, of course, from the Hum Aapke Hain Koun soundtrack and although I had no information regarding the lyrics or context of the song, I have always enjoyed it a great deal. As Hum Aapke Hain Koun remains one of the most successful Bollywood films of all time, I have been curious about it for some time but it's proven difficult to find an affordable copy in years past.
I watched the DVD over the course of three or four nights. It's a very long film (200 minutes) and it's not always easy for me to commit my full attention to reading subtitles for long stretches of time. It's hard to say that my expectations weren't high considering that this film is considered by so many to be a modern-day classic but I usually prefer politically-themed dramas or historical pieces to romantic comedies and this particular movie was certainly the latter.
Hum Aapke Hain Koun is undeniably fun in many respects. The musical numbers are particularly well-staged and entertaining and I was not disappointed to finally see the performance of "Maye Ni Maye" in its entirety. I especially enjoy the percussion and choral arrangements in the song. The segment of the film that features the song "Mausam Ka Jaadu" features some wonderful scenes of what appears to be an agricultural festival set against some rolling fields and a magnificent landscape. Another of my favorite scenes from the movie is part in which the main characters gather in a courtyard to play a game similar to "musical chairs" in which people sit in a circle and pitch a pillow around from person to person while music plays. When the music stops, the person holding the pillow is "out" and he or she has to sing a song or recite dialogue from a famous film to entertain the other players. In this scene, the actors perform scenes from Mughal-E-Azam and Sholay (and possibly a few others).
The movie doesn't require a lot of thought and it's not an emotionally trying or taxing experience to endure…at least not for the first two hours, anyway. The better part of the film is basically a celebration of the new marriage of characters Rajesh and Pooja as a romance between Pooja's younger sister Nisha and Rajesh's younger brother Prem simultaneously unfolds. The character development is slow yet steady and it's complimented well by wonderfully orchestrated and choreographed musical interludes.
The main plot twist comes well into the film with the sudden demise of Pooja. I had not read much about the actual plot of the film immediately before watching it, so this development came as a complete shock to me and while it did succeed in grabbing my attention, I was also a bit distracted with the question of why it took so long for such a major development to occur. Pooja's accident and her death happen with less than one hour to go in a film which runs nearly three hours. For this reason, the drive to the film's climax seems unnecessarily rushed and this provides an unfortunate distraction from an otherwise intriguing storyline.
I think there are some cultural differences which also made the film fall slightly short from my perspective. The main thing to remember with this story is that arranged marriages are still an accepted tradition in some parts of the world, including North India which is the setting for Hum Aapke Hain Koun. The marriage between Rajesh and Pooja is arranged but this is tempered with what appears a genuine and mutual appreciation between the two individuals. But later in the film when it is Prem's turn to find a wife, he is asked by Pooja whether or not he prefers to have an arranged marriage or one based on love. His answer is something to the effect that he wants an arranged marriage that is based on love. Again, it seems the filmmakers are trying to put the best face on a multifaceted and relatively controversial issue.
There are some real incidents of overacting throughout the movie (such as some silly, "comedic relief" type segments) that were difficult for me to get used to and I am surprised that there was so much of this in such a highly successful, modern piece of cinema. I am also surprised that with such a large cast, the films soundtrack is basically limited to the performances of two playback singers (Lata Mangeshkar and S.P. Balasubrahmanyam). Despite the greatness of a talent such as Lata, it just seems a like a lot to ask of viewers to accept that with so many actors and actresses performing, their "singing voices" are those of the same two people, over and over again. Finally, with respect to the aforementioned plot twist (note that I have been careful as to not provide too much "spoiler" details in case anyone reading this actually wants to watch the film for himself or herself), it's something of an abrupt deus ex machina which involves Krisna working through the family dog Tuffy to bring everything to a peaceful and happy ending. For the characters, it's all good but from my perspective, I couldn't help but feel a little…unfulfilled. It would have been nicer to see the characters work things out on their own without having to rely upon on divine intervention. That's true for real life too, I suppose.
Hum Aapke Hain Koun is surely a "must see" for anyone who truly enjoys Indian films. It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination and it's not really comparable to most of the Golden Age Bollywood classics. The movie does have a charm all its own, though, and I'm glad I finally got to see what all the fuss was about.
"Maye Ni Maye" from the film Hum Aapke Hain Kaun..!
Last weekend I was driving around listening to W.A.S.P.'s 1992 album The Crimson Idol. I've had a second-hand copy of the album for a while now and I must admit that up to, I had never managed to get through the whole CD, start to finish. After listening to the entire 2 CD set Double Live Assassins last week, I decided to give The Crimson Idol another shot. Towards the end of the album, I discovered the song "Hold on to My Heart." If there is a better heavy metal ballad, I have never heard it and – after listening to this song at least 20 times since Saturday afternoon – I can't imagine what a better one might sound like. This is just power ballad perfection.
One of my favorite series from greeklish.org is last year's "Mixtape Mixdown: 25 Favorites" series in which I counted down the tracks from my mix CD of all-time favorite songs. For a few months, I have been thinking about compiling a new CD of "forgotten favorites" to showcase some prospects for a new compilation of my 25 (or maybe 30) favorite songs. I am sure that "Hold on to My Heart" will be a contender for the revised list.
It probably won't be much of a surprise to a small number of folks that the song "Mean Man" will be in the running as well. Hell, that song is top ten material, for sure. Maybe even top five! Horns up!
Last night, I caught the huge WWE event at Dayton's EJ Nutter Center. It's worth mentioning that the Nutter Center is really in Fairborn. I am surprised that Wright State still advertises that Nutter Center is in Dayton, seeing as how the Gem City's current claim to fame is that we're on the Forbes list of America's fastest dying cities. Something to be proud of, I'm sure. Leave it to the spectacle that is sports entertainment to take our minds off the spiraling malaise of our economic recession...even if it's just for one night.
Anyway, the last WWE event I attended was back in October 2007 and as great as that show was, last night's show was way better. Plus, this time around I landed ringside seats. This was a big first for me and it was every bit as exciting as I'd hoped. Just like the last time, I made a sign in support of CM Punk and I had it with me throughout the show.
The event was actually three WWE shows in one, including tapings for both ECW and SmackDown! as well as two matches for WGN's Superstars show.
The ECW show was the first one of the night and for a little while I thought I might be able to hold it together without completely losing my mind. But once Tommy Dreamer made an appearance, I completely flipped out. To me, Tommy Dreamer is true wrestling greatness. Vladimir Kozlov was pretty exciting as well and I am completely loving his new "Lundgrenesque" training montages and entrance themes (complete with Red Army Choir music and archival film footage). The formation of the new incarnation of The Hart Foundation was a great moment as well. I was disappointed that Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart's daughter Natalya didn't see any action in the ring, but at least she made an appearance during the show.
Seeing Rey Mysterio wrestle twice in one night was pretty cool. He had an impressive bout with Shelton Benjamin for the Superstars show. Once SmackDown! started, I had the feeling we were in for a really good show and the opening match certainly got things headed in the right direction. CM Punk's tag partner was John Morrison and they took on The World's greatest Tag Team in what I thought was a sound, solid match. Punk and Morrison had surprisingly good chemistry considering their heated rivalry some years ago when they fought over the ECW championship.
I'm not a huge fan of the Divas division, so I wasn't really enthusiastic about the tag match. But Gail Kim is pretty impressive and it was really something to see her in person.
Edge before the SmackDown! main event.
Jericho and Edge stole the show with some really caustic mic work that set the stage for a phenomenal main event. When GM Theodore Long booked Jericho vs. Edge as the final SD! match of the night, I went crazy. It was kind of unexpected to see the two biggest heels square off going into a pay-per-view weekend and these guys are two of my all-time favorites, so it felt like something really special. Early in the match, I wasn't sure who I'd root for but once Jericho locked in the Walls of Jericho of Edge, I knew I was pulling for Y2J. I jumped up and charged towards the barrier yelling, TAAAAP! Tap, Edge! Edge is gonna taaaap!" Some 10 or 11 year-old kid started yelling "No he's not!" at me. I looked at him and smiled for a second and then I started heckling Edge again. Once Edge got out of the hold the kid was like, "See?" Yeah, whatever. I kind of freaked out when I saw Edge apply what looked to be a Sharpshooter on Y2J and I think other people were as shocked as I was. It was a great moment.
The ending for the main event seemed to be something of a letdown at first, but after Edge was laid out (courtesy of a run-in by Jeff Hardy, if I remember right), the real excitement started as CM Punk's music hit and he charged down the ramp with the Money in the Bank suitcase. For a minute there, I thought he was going to cash in his contract and win the title just like last time. I knew it was unlikely given that the weekend's PPV card was set, but or a second there, it almost happened. I ran into some friends after the show and one of them told me, "When CM Punk's music hit, we thought he was going to win the title for sure tonight! We were so happy for you!"
My hair is tied back
and I'm all sweaty and hoarse... but I'm also very, very
happy!
Umaga came out and squashed CM Punk's shot at the title, but Punk did deliver a massive blow to Umaga's face with the MITB case and that was pretty cool. The ensuing melee saw Edge and Hardy take their fight into the crowd as Jericho, Mysterio, Punk and Umaga fought all over the damn place. It was chaotic, but very well done.
After the SD! Taping concluded, the crew set up the steel cage for a non-televised championship match featuring Jeff Hardy and Edge. Edge retained the title in a short but well-choreographed match.
It was a great night and I have sure come a long way from sitting in the nosebleeds at Rupp Arena with my dad and my older brother. Of course, I do have some really good memories of those days many years ago. Now my daughters keep asking if they can go with me to a live wrestling event. One of these days – once they're old enough to handle all of the noise, drama and excitement of a bombastic WWE supercard -- it will sure be a lot of fun to make some new memories with them.
I took some photos and posted them in a gallery here. Anyone who has been to an event like this knows it's kind of tough to get good photos in this setting, but I think this batch is okay.
If you woke up this morning asking yourself, "Does Mike still think CM Punk is awesome?" then I am here to tell you that the answer is a resounding "YES!"
On the January 19 edition of Monday Night Raw, CM Punk beat William Regal to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship. The match was not as thrilling as Punk's September 2007 victory over John Morrison for the ECW title, but there were some pretty amazing moments, including the scary sight of Punk landing almost head-first after a "counter" by Regal that looked kind of like a botched Dragon Suplex. The sight of Punk's head hitting the mat was reminiscent of the time when Chris Benoit accidentally broke Sabu's neck during a match back in the glory days of the original ECW. Punk's finishing move, known as "Go To Sleep" or "GTS," is still my favorite finishing move in pro wrestling and it was a terrific end to the match with Regal.
Punk's win has been the subject of some debate over the question of whether or not he has actually made wrestling history with the quickest "Triple Crown" victory in WWE history. But irrespective of which side you favor in that particular debate, one thing that's clear is that this guy is making his mark in the industry. CM Punk is the future of professional wrestling.
A few years ago, the band Slayer released a career retrospective box set called Soundtrack to the Apocalypse. I kind of lost interest in Slayer a short time after I started college many years ago but I still remember seeing the box set in record stores right after it was released. I was intrigued by the rather lofty title of the collection, but not enough to actually spend a crapload of money to buy it at the retail price (After reading the Amazon.com reviews for it, I think I made the right decision). Anyway,a few months ago, I was picking up our yard the morning after the remnants of Hurricane Ike had blown through Ohio. I had just purchased Venom's most recent album Hell on CD a day earlier, literally hours before the windstorm hit. As I cranked the volume on my portable CD player, I looked the dark sky above and all of the destruction around me and I thought, "If any there was ever a band that could write a soundtrack to the apocalypse, it’s got to be Venom." It's the freakin' truth.
Over the last few years, I have acknowledged my admittedly strange affection for Venom a number of times on greeklish.org. I've also written a bit on my penchant for mixtapes now and again. But after over two decades as a Venom fan and the creation dozens upon dozens of eclectic mixtapes and CD compilations, it is almost unbelievable that I have never even tried to compile an Ultimate Venom collection. Until now, that is. Indeed, I have finally created the true "soundtrack to the apocalypse."
I tried to make Ultimate Venom a single-disc compilation, but there is just no way to contain the awesomeness of this band, so I ended up with a 2 CD set at the end of it all. I have pretty much every major Venom album at my disposal, including the Tony Dolan stuff, but I limited my selections for Ultimate Venom to the Cronos-fronted albums because it's his voice and lyrics that have made Venom a legendary force in heavy metal. In addition to all of the studio albums, I also have the Venom box set MMV (one of my favorite Christmas gifts ever!) as well as a bunch of live CDs and videotapes. As much as I love the live performances, I pretty much stuck to the studio albums for this compilation because the production quality on the live stuff is somewhat less than stellar.
Before spelling out my track listing for disc one of Ultimate Venom, I have one last caveat for folks that are not really hip to Venom or to heavy metal in general: Venom is an act. It's like watching a scary horror movie or hearing a dirty joke. It's just not the kind of thing that anyone should take too seriously. The band members themselves have acknowledged this time and time again in their self-deprecating jokes about being "the worst band in the world" and their attempts at "killing music." Now if you’re easily shocked or offended, then Venom isn't the band for you. But if you don't mind being a just a little uncomfortable now and again and you're up for a good creep-fest, by all means, check ‘em out.
Hail Venom! Ultimate Venom, Disc One: Life Death, Immortality
Cronos, still rocking hard after 30 years!
I went all-out on this compilation, coming up with some special artwork for the CD labels (more on that in the track listing for Disc Two) and giving each CD in the set its own title. Disc One is called Life, Death, Immortality after a line in the lyrics of "Burstin' Out": Hell has granted me three wishes/Life, death, immortality. The line seems to be drawn from the full title of Edward Young's 18th century Christian apologetic, Night Thoughts on Life, Death and Immortality. I have a small cache of antiquarian volumes of Night Thoughts. I started collecting them after I read a story about Robespierre's love for the work. He was supposedly so taken with Night Thoughts that he slept with a copy of the book under his pillow during the French Revolution.
Track listing
1. Intro 2. Bloodlust from the 1997 album Cast In Stone (Ltd. Edition Bonus CD) 1996 was a great year for me. Thomai and I got married, which was the best thing that happened that year (of course). '96 was also a year in which there was a kind of "reunion fever" going on in the music world. The biggest reunion of them all was the Kiss "Alive/Worldwide" Tour, which featured a return to glory (and makeup) for all four original band members. It was a huge deal for sure and it certainly lived up to its hype, although it's too bad that the band couldn't stick it out and stay together indefinitely. Around the same time of the much-anticipated Kiss reunion, Venom announced its own reunion of the vintage lineup, featuring the complete power trio of Cronos, Mantas and Abbadon. I think I first found out about the reunion when I saw the cover of a UK metal magazine called Terrorizer. The news was almost every bit as big as the Kiss reunion to me.
Cast In Stone was the only post-reunion studio album featuring the original lineup. In addition to a powerful collection of new tracks, the first issue of the CD included a bonus disc full of new versions of Venom classics. All too often, bands fall short when they try to "update" their best work for re-release, but the bonus disc for Cast in Stone is so fierce and so tremendous that I think it's safe to say that Venom really outdid itself with the new versions. After decades of listening to heavy metal, I honestly consider the "Intro" track from the bonus disc to be the greatest heavy metal intro track ever. Slayer's introduction to Hell Awaits is a close second, but the magnitude and complexity of the Venom track makes it so much better. There is so much stuff going on in the track, from the air-raid sirens to the haunting chants, rolling thunder and mysterious voices...It's the perfect crescendo that concludes with the demonic intro: "Ladies and Gentlemen! From the very depths of Hell...VENOM!" What a great way to start an album!
From the "Intro" track, Venom slams into "Bloodlust," which originally appeared on the Black Metal album. It's a savage, driving track that was always one of my favorites. I know Venom used to end their live sets with this song, but I always thought it would be a great way to kick off a show.
3. In League With Satan 4. Welcome To Hell from the 1981 album Welcome To Hell I think the first time I ever heard "In League with Satan," I was listening to the compilation album The Singles: 80-86. I was totally freaked out by the drums that start out the track because they sounded to bizarre...almost unearthly in a way. It was kind of like they're being played backwards, but they weren't being played backwards at all. Really difficult to explain. The song itself reminds me of the 1992 film Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which was something of a mainstream, goth-meets-gore creepshow. "Welcome to Hell" is just a straight-out great Venom track that sounds something like Black-Sabbath-influenced punk rock.
5. Black Metal 6. Countess Bathory from the 1981 album Black Metal Black Metal was the first full-length venom album I ever bought. I think that was back in 1989 or so. That metallic scraping, static-like noise at the beginning of the track really makes the song stand out to me. I always kind of figured that is the sound you would hear if you were actually going to Hell or something like that. "Countess Bathory" was the second Venom song I ever heard. The first time I heard the song was when I was watching the Ultimate Revenge: Combat Tour Live home video. The clip on that compilation was from Venom's Seventh Date of Hell concert video. "Countess Bathory" has one of simplest Mantas solos ever. I'm not sure how many distinct notes are played in the solo, but I am guessing it's less than 10. The underlying riff throughout the song is probably one of my favorite metal riffs of all time.
Venom's 1995
Album Possessed
7. Satanachist from the 1985 album Possessed 8. Nightmare (12" Mix) from the 1985 album Possessed (bonus track from UK reissue) In the liner notes to Dave Grohl's 2004 Probot album, he said this about Venom: "Few bands have ever sounded truly haunted." I bet Dave was thinking about the intro to "Satanachist" when he wrote that. I first heard both of these songs on the Alive in '85 home video. Buying that video is a great memory for me. This was way back in the days before Internet shopping and I had to place a special order through a local video store. The day I went to pick it up, the clerk got it out from behind the counter, looked at the cover and then he looked at me as if to say, "Really?" Really, dude. I played the bejeezus out of that video and then one day I loaned it to someone and he moved away. It was a long time until I could score another one. I landed my new copy in about 1998 or so. It was the one of the first things I ever bought off eBay.
9. Burstin' Out from the album Cast In Stone [Ltd. Edition Bonus CD] I think I was a junior in high school the first time I heard "Burstin’ Out" and when I listened to the lyrics, I was like, "Ew. Should I be listening to this?" That was something like 20 years ago and I’m still listening to it.
10. Possessed (Remix) from the 1985 album Possessed (bonus track from UK reissue) "Possessed" is an incredible creep-fest of a song that includes some kind of weird introduction featuring a child's voice mumbling something unintelligible through some kind of heavy echo and reverb effects. I think it's one of the kids featured on the album cover photo. Possessed has the distinction of being dubbed Venom's worst album ever by critics. But what do "critics" know, anyway?
11. Sons Of Satan from the 1981 album Welcome To Hell "Sons of Satan" is a tremendous, jarring juggernaut of a song. The song actually kicks off Welcome to Hell, which was their 1981 debut album. It's got a lot of fantastic elements, including a fiery, tremolo-laden guitar solo and some classic moments courtesy of Cronos, such as his cry of "Crank it up!" right before the solo and his "Wooo-ooo!" before the final cacophonic flourish.
12. The Chanting Of The Priests from the 1987 album Calm Before The Storm This a great song off of what is likely my least favorite Venom album. I think it was their first and only single off the album. There's a good live version of it on the Eine Kleine Nachtmusic album.
13. The Evil One from the 1997 album Cast In Stone "The Evil One" is the first track on Venom's only post-reunion album. This song was a great way to resurrect Venom as a band and as an act, as the song captures all of the elements of vintage Venom material while offering a bigger, bolder and more furious sound. Just a terrific song.
14. Witching Hour from the 1981 album Welcome To Hell "Witching Hour" is my favorite Venom song ever and the first Venom song I ever heard. I wrote a whole lot about this song in my "25 Favorites" series a while back.
15. Too Loud (For The Crowd) from the 1985 album Possessed I have always loved "Too Loud (For The Crowd)" because they opened the 1985 Hammersmith show (presented in the Alive in '85 video) with this song. The studio version includes clips of the on-stage banter from the concert.
The track listing for Disc Two is coming soon! Consider yourself warned.
A few years ago, there was a show on VH1 called "When _ Ruled the World." It was a pretty good show, as every episode featured stories, interviews and footage about a band or some other pop-culture phenomenon during their respective peak years. As a longtime Kiss fan, "When Kiss Ruled the World" stands out in my mind as one of the better episodes in the series. Back in the mid to late 1990s one of my favorite bands was a Chicago-area act called The New Duncan Imperials and for a while there, NDI really ruled the world as far as I was concerned. I guess a lot of cool stuff comes out of Chicago.Around 1994 or so, NDI videos were in heavy rotation on our local cable access channel. Some of the guys at the station were big fans of NDI and at one point, NDI even played a huge, three-hour extravaganza concert that was broadcast live from the Miami Valley Cable Council studios. To this day, that show is pretty much the best thing I have ever seen on public access television.
Clips from NDI's Video Trash including the full video for "Motel 666"
NDI had a decent following in Dayton some years ago and Gem City Records used to keep their stuff in stock so it was easy to buy their full-length CDs . They played quite a few dates in eastern Indiana and western Ohio area back in the 1990s. I saw them live for the first time at Canal Street in Dayton in the summer of 1994 (I think) and Thomai and I caught them at shows in Dayton, Columbus, and Indianapolis over the years that followed. Once, we even drove from Dayton to Broadripple and back in one night just to catch NDI. They were touring with Mojo Nixon at the time and we even managed to get a spot in the front row for the entire NDI set. Pigtail Dick signed my Harmony Les Paul before the show that night. Unfortunately, all I had with me was a very old purple Sharpie and the ink has long since worn off the guitar. I had the same guitar autographed by all the Melvins in 1995, which is a tale for another day. Hopefully I can get Pigtail Dick (or maybe even the whole NDI crew) to sign the guitar again someday.
There is really nothing like a New Duncan Imperials show. It's a high-impact act with all kinds of visual stimuli to accompany all the great music. There's all kinds of props and effects and some of them – like the mechanical "Velourabeast" head – are there to help tell a story, while other things – like the leaf blower that's been converted into a giant toilet paper streamer gun – are just part of the show because they're flat out hilarious. Plus, there's always all kinds of giveaways at the shows (the band and fans alike lovingly call this stuff "free shit") including stuff like, matches, frisbees and t-shirts. The interaction between the band and the crowd is really the cornerstone of the NDI live show experience. I have seen Pigtail play wailing guitar solos while standing on the tables at Canal Street and I remember standing under Goodtime as he bodysurfed over the crowd at the Broadripple show. Those things are really, really good memories for us.
NDI has always been about much more than funny lyrics and catchy songs. There is some fantastic musicianship in their work. Pigtail Dick is fantastic with singing and all sorts of crazy on-stage theatrics and he is an accomplished guitarist as well. Truth be told, he's really one of my favorite guitarists of all time. His licks are some of the most intense and blistering pieces imaginable, effectively fusing old-school country western influences with blues and punk. And nobody plays a riff like Pigtail. Skipper is just a terrific bassist and he's extremely witty and talented on the mic as well and once in a while he breaks out a kind of unusual instrument called an "oral piano" (that's what it's called on the CD liner notes, anyway.) All the proof you need about Goodtime's drumming abilities lies in the fact that his drum kit is basically three pieces – unless you count the gigantic kettle drum, of course. The fact the GT gets such a massive, Tommy Lee/Eric Carr quality sound out of such a small kit speaks volumes about his work as a performer.
Cover art for my mix CD When NDI Ruled the World
When I heard NDI released a new album called End of Phase Oneand that they are preparing to launch a tour celebrating their twenty year anniversary, I pulled together my entire collection of NDI CDs, tapes, vinyl and video tapes and decided it would be as good of a time as any to create the ultimate NDI mix CD. It took me a really long time to pick all my favorites and pare them down to fit on one CD, but I finally settled on a decent mix of my favorites from their major releases while also including some obscure gems from EPs, singles and videos. I call my mix CD When NDI Ruled the World and I think the selections in the mix show why NDI was such a big deal to me all those years ago and why I still love to listen to them today. My cover art for the CD features the members of NDI standing in the forefront of K. Yuon's painting A New Planet.
Here's the track listing, with a bit of info about the songs:
1. Motel 666 2. Pensacola 99 from the album Hanky Panky Parley Voo! Released back in 1990, Hanky Panky was NDI's first full-length album. I can't say for sure if this was the first NDI album that I ever bought, but I do know that the video for "Motel 666" was the first NDI song/video I ever encountered. The song is quirky and heavy at the same time and the video really captures that. "Pensacola 99" has all the elements of an NDI classic, including some raunchy lyrics, a memorable riff and wailing guitar.
3. Feelin' Sexy from the Feelin' Sexy EP The Feelin' Sexy EP was NDI's first actual record and it was released in 1990 before Hanky Panky. I absolutely love this tune and I picked the EP version over the Hank Panky version because of the EP version features an absolutely blistering guitar solo.
4. Rockin' Daddy from Video Trash I'm not really sure if the title of this song is really "Rockin' Daddy," but the words feature prominently in the chorus. This is a really unusual live performance NDI did for a local news station in Canada. Check out that "oral piano" I mentioned above because Skipper plays it in this song.
The Hymns of Bucksnort
5. Got Our Shit Together 6. Pitch A Fit from the album Hymns of Bucksnort The 1991 album Hymns of Bucksnort is my all-time favorite NDI album. "Got Our Shit Together" is kind of like the a ridiculous anthem for overconfident people. "Pitch a Fit" is a song that NDI opened with now and then during some of the In-A-Gadda-Da-Vegas shows, but the best thing about this version is that they play a low-volume rendition of the entire theme from "What's Happening!!" (one of my favorite TV sitcoms ever) at the end of the song. It's played on either an accordion or that oral piano-thing with an "a cappella" bass line. Sweet.
7. Waste Your Time 8. The Freshman 15 from the album Sticky The 2000 double CD Sticky has a really different sound from a lot of the older NDI albums and the evolution and improvement of both their skills and their production is really evident through and through on the entire album. "Waste Your Time" is a song I would definitely want to cover if I had a band of my own.
9. Overserved (Danny Bonaduce Show) from the album Fried I think the Fried collection of B-sides and oddities was released in the late 1990s and I am guessing this track was cut in 1995 or so. It doesn't get any weirder than having NDI perform a live acoustic set with Danny Bonnaduce playing rhythm guitar while Skipper yells out the chords for him.
10. Lenkkimakkaraa! from the album The Best of Mikhael Jackson The Best of Mikhael Jackson was released in 1993 and it's a "greatest hits" of sorts that features a couple of rare and previously unreleased tracks. This song was supposedly written after NDI's huge tour of Finland (no joke!) in honor of some kind of Finnish sausage-related delicacy.
11. Good Men Are Pukin' from the album Live, Rare and Bad Live, Rare and Bad is a 1992 collection of B-tracks, commercials, live stuff and other odds and ends. "Good Men Are Pukin'" is a straight-up classic, especially because you can hear Pigtail shouting out instructions to Skipper about his effects pedals before and after the main solo.
12. Female Voodoo 13. Can't Hardly Wait from the album Fried More terrific rare tracks from Fried. The live version of "Female Voodoo" is one of my favorite Pigtail Dick solos. It's got an Ace Frehley kind of simplicity about it in that there aren't many notes, but the playing is just absolutely fierce.
Back cover for the Queen of Venus single
14. Dollywood from the Queen of Venus 7" single A truly weird song from 1992. Every time I finish listening to it, I want to immediately play it again. We took a trip to Gatlinburg in 1999 and I couldn't get the song out of my head the whole time we were there.
15. Tilt-a-Whirl from the album Loserville Tilta-whirl kicks off the 1993 album Loserville, but NDI used to close shows with this song and absolutely tear the house down. I love the guitar effects for the solo -- heavy fuzz, a wha-wah pedal and maybe some kind of flanger-like effect going on there.
16. I'm Your Boogieman from the album Fried K.C. and the Sunshine Band's material sounds much better when it's NDI playing the stuff.
17. Queen Of Venus 18. Fan It And Cool It from the album Loserville "Queen of Venus" is probably what you would have gotten if H.G. Wells had written some songs for the Guess Who. "Fan It and Cool It" is a great sing-along song.
19. Power Tool from the album Sticky In one of the radio interview clips on Live, Rare and Bad, Pigtail tells a DJ, "There are worse things that you can call us besides 'riff rock'...but not many worse things." Here's one of the most tremendous NDI riffs ever. And it just keeps going and going and going...
20. I Never Got Anything Off Of You from the album End of Phase One End of Phase One is NDI's most recent album, released just this year. "I Never Got Anything Off Of You" features a driving riff that is reminiscent of another great song from Fried, "Takin Out the Trash."
21. "Oh My God We're Fucking!" from the single Oh My God We're Fucking! Not sure of the release date of this single, but I'm guessing it was 1996 or 1997. One of the funniest NDI songs ever. It's even better when it's performed live and you don't have a clue of the premise of the song until the first chorus hits. Hilarious.
22. Driving Nails In My Coffin 23. If She Wasn't On Blocks from the album The New Duncan Imperials Live One time I called into Gary Burbank's awful "Stump the Band" radio show and I stayed on hold for over half an hour hoping to get his in-studio to play "If She Wasn't On Blocks" on the air. then the show ended and they hung up before they got to me. In my book, that's compelling evidence that Burbank's show absolutely sucked.
24. It's Popular from the album In-A-Gadda-Da-Vegas "It ain't good, it ain't bad, it's popular." It's funny because it's true. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vegas was released in 1995.
We're in a Band! (EP)
25. We're An American Band from the album We're in a Band! One of the best ideas for a concept album ever. We're in a Band was NDI's 1994 EP that featured five cover songs and all of them had the word "band" in the title. "We're an American Band" was another of NDI's encore tunes from their live shows and I remember that they closed the first show I ever attended with this song.
26. Jägermeister performed live at the Miami Valley Cable Council Studios This is hands down my favorite NDI performance ever. It's a massive, in-your-face encore from their epic set at the MVCC studios back in 1994 or 1995. It's just a phenomenal ending to any NDI set, complete with a dazzling guitar solo and an hilarious Pigtail Dick story that goes absolutely nowhere. Burning this audio to CD from my old, grainy VHS copy was a blast. I had to get a little creative in my efforts to remove some of noise from the aging video tape, but then again, if I cleaned it up too much then it wouldn't be nearly as cool
Never underestimate the importance of exposing your children to professional wrestling at a young age. Any doubts that I had were dispelled last night. Over dinner, Thomai and I were discussing our mutual disdain for Sarah Palin when our older daughter chimed in to say that Palin reminds her of Smackdown's Vickie Guerrero. I told her that this was an excellent comparison with the exception being that Vickie merely plays the part of an evil character, for the sake of entertainment while Palin is downright awful in real life. My daughter appreciated this important distinction.
So, it's been a few days and the work week is officially over. As I decompress a bit tonight, I have to honestly say that my enthusiasm regarding CM Punk's big win has definitely made this a good week for me. I know it is weird and pretty eclectic for me to get so much pleasure out of something as cheesy and over-the-top as pro wrestling, but I just can't shake it. I have watched Punk's win at least twice a day over the last 3 days or so and every time I thought about it this week, it has brought a smile to my face. I forget about politics, bills and all my other worries for a few moments and I'm just happy. Really. The whole angle was just wonderfully executed. If you don't know the story leading up to it and you don't know what "Money in the Bank" is, then it's probably all lost on you, but take my word for it that this was all way cool.
I started watching WWE again about a year and a half ago after a really long hiatus from all the current wrestling shows. Before that, I had basically just spent years watching the same old Memphis and ICW tapes and DVDs over and over again. Once I picked up WWE again and started watching Raw on a weekly basis, I really looked long and hard for one of those great "Raw" moments that are celebrated in the DVD retrospectives and YouTube compilations. But the writing for WWE is pretty sloppy and inconsistent at times and it's hard to get too excited about story-lines and feuds, especially when there seems to be a real tendency on the part of WWE to endlessly tease and screw with fans. The "big" moments are really few and far between these days. I think the last time I really jumped out of my seat was when Edge cashed in MITB and beat Undertaker for the Heavyweight title last year. Before that, it was when Shawn Michaels beat Cena after that hour-long bout in London after WrestleMainia 24. That was way cool. Jericho's comeback was a big deal and it was fun to see Shawn Michaels superkick Randy Orton a bunch of times. But that's really my short list of big WWE moments for the last 18 months or so. And Punk's win really trumps all of those for me.
A lot of Internet "smarks" have moaned and groaned about Punk winning in such a heel-like fashion, but I think that is a pretty lame complaint at the end of the day. I don't think it takes anything away from his charisma or appeal to have him turn the tables on Edge, who won the title from the Undertaker in the exact same way. That's the whole point of the angle -- to bring it full circle, really. Besides, it's best not to over-think this stuff at the end of the day and just enjoy the moment. It's called "sports entertainment" for a reason.
If Chris McCoy is preaching the gospel, then brothers and sisters…I’m a believer. His 2006 CD 
My interest in Indian cinema was recently rekindled when I found that an Indian/Pakistani grocery store opened less than a mile from our home. Only minutes into my first visit there, I landed an inexpensive DVD of the 1994 movie 
If you woke up this morning asking yourself, "Does Mike still think 
