Opening for the MELVINS, Northsix, Brooklyn, May 2002

ISIS: OCEANIC

I mean it in the most respectful, worshipful way when I say that this album is the logical extension of DARK SIDE OF THE MOON and FLOODLAND, and if there were any justice it would be as influential as those albums were. ISIS is billed as a metal band, and instrumentally, they are (except most metal bands don't have keyboards), I guess. But they are so much more than that . This album is unbelievably subtle and sophisticated, with layer upon layer of nearly subliminal motifs that you have to really listen for, and which fit into later parts of the piece (which sound nothing like the earlier parts) in the most amazing way. If you listen to this 3 times and aren't completely hooked, I'LL refund your money! This is simply the best, most finely crafted CD of this millenium.
There's a good interview with Aaron here .

HIM: RAZORBLADE ROMANCE

How much more can I drool and slobber over this amazing band, criminally ignored in the States? I was in England with Moby when I saw the video for "Join Me" on MTV Europe. At the time I was really disheartened with the state of music, we were playing with so many crap bands with no testicles or songs. I ran out and got the HIM CD the next day, ran back to the bus to listen to it, and suddenly believed in ROCK again! Later on I got to be friendly with them and they are awesome guys, too! I listened to this album every day and every night for MONTHS. It sounds like if the Billy Idol band had great songs and the most amazing singer you ever heard. This album meant SO MUCH to me that I even got a tattoo of the logo. Time to care about music again!

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MY "HIM" TATTOO

THE STRANGLERS: BLACK AND WHITE

I listened to this album every morning and every night for over a year, I think. There is no more menacing bass sound (except maybe for Fudgetunnel) out there, and even though it came out 27 YEARS ago, it still sounds fresh and amazing.
FYI: the Stranglers have a new record out (with a "new" singer who used to be in Sniff 'n' the Tears! Remember that song "Driver's Seat"?)called "Norfolk Coast" and a couple songs sound JUST LIKE the early stuff. And there was much rejoicing (yay)!!!!

DEEP PURPLE: MACHINE HEAD

It's hard to believe that this absolute MONSTERPIECE of Rock was recorded in a hotel hallway in about 3 weeks, with a tiny little Kmart-looking drum kit! I WORSHIP this band and this album. Released in 1974, it was SO FAR ahead of its time, too! One day I saw a "making of" Machine Head DVD in the store and bought it immediately . It's astounding! Roger Glover sitting at the mixing desk with the ORIGINAL 2" master tape and discussing the parts! I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more. It's a must-see.
Then, I SAW DEEP PURPLE! They played here in NYC, without the original keyboardist Jon Lord or the original guitarist (Steve Morse played, and did very well). In a way it was like seeing the world's best Deep Purple cover band. There was some corny showmanship, and even some hair choreography (Yes, they do still have hair). But the best part? They did the ENTIRE Machine Head album, including the track "When a Blind Man Cries" that didn't make it on the album. Sure, it was cheesy and the room was full of balding mullets. But I admit it, a tear came to my eye just seeing them play the music that meant SO MUCH to SO MANY people all over the world.

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THE MELVINS: STONER WITCH

One of my early bands, Unseen Force, played with the MELVINS in 1986. I think their first record wasn't even out yet, but they already had very much their own unique sound. In fact they were SO PUNISHING that I HATED them and had to leave the room! I didn't yet understand their genius. Years later, I took my drummer to see them near my house in Brooklyn. We got there early enough that we could reach out and touch Dale's kick drum. We hadn't eaten much that day because I was taping the Letterman Show with Moby earlier, and we had a couple tequilas. This time the MELVINS were SO PUNISHING that my drummer PASSED OUT COLD! Now that's a great band.

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ULTRAVOX: FIRST ALBUM

Long, long ago, in the days of punk rock, there was a band from London that wasn't exactly punk, but more art-school. They had not only keyboards but electric violin, and songs of way more than 3 minutes. This album and the Stranglers were the first music to really blow my head off. Later they became another wussy British synth-pop band (not that there's anything WRONG with that!), but the first 3 albums are still nothing short of amazing. There's some great bass playing on this album, too.

RAMMSTEIN: ANY ALBUM

I know it's wrong of me, but I really like RAMMSTEIN. Some might say you might just as well buy one RAMMSTEIN album and listen to it 4 times as buy all 4 CDs, but I like 'em all. It's true they are totally loathsome and vile in every way. And all the songs are about incest and buggery and dead babies. But there's something about their Teutonic precision I find really irresistible, and strangely soothing. Besides, anything that makes the cat run screaming and puffy-tailed from the room must have SOMETHING going for it!

APOPTYGMA BERZERK: 7

Finally, a techno/electronica CD I really like! And wouldn't you know, there's a sample of MOBY on it too. Apoptygma is mainly the one guy, Stephan Groth from Denmark. If you already know your techno, I'm sure you know about this. I like it because he uses really inventive samples from Nirvana to Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" (which had to be taken off later pressings for copyright reasons, but you can find the original on Ebay). Great for riding the subway or walking around any city.

SCISSORFIGHT

These guys are absolutely TERRIFYING! Sample lyric: "How much ass can one man kick? How much acid can one man lick?" I saw them at the Continental, in NYC, and was rooted to the spot. They were HUGE, way too big for that little club. They sound like they spend all their time in the woods, naked, drinking and taking drugs. None of the songs are even about sex, just violence and drugs. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

MARK MANNING: FUCKED BY ROCK

This isn't a CD, but boy-oh-boy does it ROCK! This is the single funniest and most politically incorrect book I have EVER read, even funnier than David Sedaris, and that's saying something. Sample quote: "As a band we generally had a pretty positive outlook on life. I mean if we met someone and they told us they were a murderer our response would be somewhere along the lines of 'Well, I'm sure you had your reasons'. If the pedophile child rapist wanker bastard told us he had wandered into a schoolyard and killed 15 kids with his bare penis we would probably just assume the guy was having a bad hair day". I promise you, this is just the tip of the iceberg. BUY IT!!!