Popping Out

Sorta worn down tonight ... been a full day.

Saw 'Gran Tourismo' ... very good movie, but as I told Beth over at Nutwood Junction, we have seen this from Clint before. It is that he simply does what he does far better than anyone else does what they do.

Somehow, I want to see 'Frost-Nixon' tomorrow ... and may squeeze in '...Benjamin Button' before the Oscar's. 'Slumdog' should win best picture. I think it was amazing, seeing the raw scenes of Mumbai. There has been some folks in India taking issue with it, because it is so far fetched.

But that is why it works, not just in America but anywhere. I know about the social system over in India (makes the simple prejudice here in the US, pale in com
parison) and that is what makes the film 'impossible' for them. Also the term, 'Slumdog' is the 'N-word' in their ears.

That takes a little of the shine off it for me, but it is still a great film.

EVERYBODY ELSE IS DOING IT ...

... so why shouldn't I? A top ten list, of course. I got the idea from Facebook ... so I wanted to put down some thoughts regarding some albums I like ... I forgot to mention, '2112' by Rush, which I point to as the album that had me drop WJLB and start listening to other radio stations, esp. CKLW at night and Canadian Radio 2. And here goes, a list of ten albums.


1. The B52's/ The B52's - 'Party Mix'

While everybody 'claims' 'Rock Lobster', and it is a great song, 'Planet Claire was the one that took them from novelty to being a real band. I can still remember goofing around with my sibs, singing 'There's A Moon In The Sky'.

'Dance This Mess Around' reminds me of how I would feel at the odd parties I would go to ... I would look at everyone, because 'everybody was there' and they would do the dances, but not me, holding up the wall.

2. The Smiths - 'Hatful of Hollow'

While my fave song from Moz and the boys was 'How Soon Is Now?', the first song from them was the amazing 'This Charming Man'. I remember listening to this cassette tape (that is what we had back when dinosaurs walked the earth) from the mournful, 'Please, Please, Please ...' to the cocky 'Handsome Devil', these songs stay in my mental IPod on regular rotation!

3. Public Enemy - 'It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back'

Proactive and confrontational, this is THE rap album that spoke for the dissatisfaction with the condition of blacks in America. Wasn't meant to be 'liked', it sold a message because Chuck D BELIEVED in his message. PE never wavered from its roots, making society stand up an listen to what black America was saying and feeling.

No, I don't think it is an overstatement to say that they spoke for those who had no way to voice their discomfort or make people notice the issues that were important to them. This, like 'Nevermind', is a all time, all music, top ten album. I don't think I can claim another piece of music that had as much social significance as this.



4. Ministry - 'Psalm 69'

Before this particular release, I was more of a dabbler in the rock music genre. I liked some bands ... 'The Cars', 'ELO' ... and a few louder bands, but nothing in my collection made me feel like 'Psalm 69' did, not if 'Land of Rape and Honey', which a lot of folks feel is at least, if not better than 'Psalm 69'.

Each time I try to choose a particular song from 'N.W.O', 'Just One Fix', and 'Jesus Built My Hot Rod', I get fouled up, because I can't. They all rock super hard to me.

5. Run DMC - RUN DMC

This was the first rap album that was tight from beginning to end. Sure, 'King of Rock' would be the one that launched them into pop consciousness, with the duo rapping over guitar riffs, but they came out doing that on their first album, in the song 'Rock Box'.

I was still trying to be 'hip hop', and it was easy to do with this album. Each song, is a 'lead single' kind of tune. Running to this song for an hour was easy, because you only had to turn it over and keep steppin'.

6. Nirvana - Nevermind

I think I had a cd or tape called 'Bleach' by Nirvana, that I picked up out of a cut out or somewhere for a dollar or two. When I saw 'Nevermind' in the store, I shrugged and picked it up. To say that I listened to this cd once a week, every week, for a year would still prolly be an understatement.

Now, it got to be trendy to rag on 'grunge' music and the movement that Kurt Cobain personalized, but that was just people hating on him. 'Teen Spirit' had captured the zeitgeist of its era. This album I think still holds up to all the other 'best of' albums ... as a 'Top Ten' member.

7. The Clash - London Calling

Like The B52's, I think that as great (hey, they are the only band that matters!) they are, in general they get pigeonholed by wider society as a 'punk' band. They were so much more than that.

Punk, pop, rock, soul, SKA ... they could do it all. 'London Calling', I think carries so much personal weight for me ... makes me think in a heavy way. One of those songs made for looking out over lakes or in blue skies with puffs for clouds, and asking what does anything mean.

8. Devo - Oh No, It's Devo

Trying to avoid redundancy, this album that I had on vinyl got played over and over. The video for 'Time Out For Fun' was one that made my eyes spark. The title song, asked questions of me that apparently are timeless, because I still can play that cd, and go to 'that place'. There was a local DJ on one of the hip hop stations, that would play cuts from this particular album, and I would think that all the cool cats who were into the same ol' r&b (rap and bullspit!!) were being indoctrinated subliminally on some devolution theory!!

9. The Cars - Panorama

I would buy albums for just one song ... and though I liked this one, I only bought it for 'Panorama'. Prolly because the song described how I feel about being with someone. Delta, Fly Skimmie ... NEBRASKA ... all I ever wanted to be was in their 'Panorama'.

The Cars were a very underrated band. Maybe being popular, it took the edge off of their music. Great sound, and a guilty pleasure, I guess.

10. Wu Tang Clan - The 36 Chambers

Man, when this cd dropped, it was like a mega ton bomb!! This was different in style and it really got me hyped ... though it took me a minute to really get 'into' it (when it comes to 'what's hot', it usually takes me some time to 'warm up' to it myself!)!

When I started boxing in Carolina, I would tell people that I used the 'Wu-Tang style' of boxing!! It felt and still feels as aggressive and forward as a good rap album should. And like PE did with '...Nation of Millions ...', it carried the emotion of its time.