Bradleigh.

The Modern Lovers – Roadrunner

Roadrunner

The song that defines punk to me; the last song anyone is likely to think of when you say “punk.”  “Sister Ray”s two-chord organ-driven rampage (& admittedly jacked), improvisational poetry on spontaneous beautiful life, the movement of pure highway spontaneity, & Jonathan Richman’s no-drugs/just-life attitude of raw emotion practically enveloping every snare hit & spare line.  The harmonic shoutalong to close out this song will lift your spirits, rile you up, feel love for music all over again, & question everything you took for granted in the day-to-day.  Richman always sought to bring heart back to rock ‘n’ roll, but in doing so he only ushered in a new era: one of deeply involved romance, political apathy, & social warmth.  Count down with me to the birth of punk rock, & the death of empty hearted sex.  1 2 3 4 5 6!

At the Drive-In – One Armed Scissor

One Armed Scissor

To think this was once a song on moderate rotation on MTV is truly laughable in hindsight – the seedlings of The Mars Volta’s guitar backbone is certainly here, as well as Omar’s throat-wrenching vocal work.  Some of punk’s greatest lyrics are on Relationship of Command, vivid dreams made manifest in rhythmic descriptions, the howling of solitude in a tunnel.  The secret is I would prefer to put “Arcarsenal” on this space, but can’t seem to track it down; the fetal knowledge of experimentation is just as fervent here, though, & tensions still run just as high.  This is one one-hit wonder that will be disremembered, one album that already lives in underground infamy.

Parliament – Bop Gun (Endangered Species)

Bop Gun (Endangered Species)

If you think anyone besides George Clinton is funk’s greatest progeny, you’re fooling no one more than yourself.  Funkadelic began as a psych-rock group with jams that deteriorated into funky bass-bumpin’ pieces & soon enough they were the biggest name in funk oddity; they were practically a main-stage sideshow act when they became Parliament, & at times there was no discernible difference between the two groups.  The bubble-pop background bass noises are especially fun here, but it’s ultimately the horns that give me tingles & put me on my feet.  No one starts a shout-a-long like the Parliament-Funkadelic crew, & “Bop Gun” is one of the best examples of that.  When it comes to true ingenuity on the front line of music’s soulful history, this group writes a very large chapter.  We got to get over the hump.

Annie – Chewing Gum

Chewing Gum

Good pop music lives in America, it’s true, but the best pop music is still imported.  Norwegian superstar Annie was mass-hyped when she broke onto the dance scene & for silly reasons, but this song is undeniable.  Anniemal peaks too quickly & heads downhill fast, but that peak is one of the best electropop songs ever made.  The nod to “Genius of Love” makes me fall in love all over again with each listen, & nothing is infectious like this chorus.  Unbelievable fun, Cyndi Lauper taken to the mat & destroyed.

The Fiery Furnaces – Chief Inspector Blancheflower

Chief Inspector Blancheflower

One of the most quickly forgotten masterpieces of the past ten years, Blueberry Boat was followed up with so much mediocrity that the Furnaces’ sophomore effort opus was overshadowed by future criticism. It’s a shame, & in 10 more years’ time, the album will be remembered for the impact it left on the rock music world: that of the extended pop track, the over-extended efforts of the written word, & the triumphant re-emergence of the electric drum machine.  “Chief Inspector Blancheflower” was only one of a handful of brilliant 9 minute tracks on the album, songs that seemed only half as long & stayed in your head for all eternity. I still quote large sections of this & “Straight Street” on a frequent basis, & I haven’t visited this album in months & months.  The narratives here are addictive & all over the place, always situating you in comfortably territory by song’s end, & that’s the power of these tracks – the song as journey, the unimportant destination as musical climax.

Patti Smith Group – Land

Land

The obvious choice here would be “Gloria,” & I just spent far too long considering that song for today’s offering – it’s nearly perfect, & is one of the greatest punk songs of the 70′s (not good years for punk rock, in my opinion, but superb ones for underground poetry).  The end of that parenthesis is essentially why “Land” is presented to you instead; though taking pieces from “Land of a Thousand Dances,” the verses herein not only legitimized Patti Smith as a poet, but carved her into proverbial stone as a punk poet legend.  This multi-part track is not the stand-out from Horses, but I always chalk that up to its length – it’s a 9+ minute track that jams & meanders into vague waters that seem cross-generational with shifting narrators, uncertain imagery, & mixing that is emotionally erratic.  However, “Land” is also the most emotionally charged song Smith ever wrote, & everyone knows by now how much I love the Strictly Headphones track.  There are so many different layers of vocals, piano runs, & guitar mess going on that to turn it up on the stereo is only one way to enjoy it (perhaps the best way to enjoy it, however, is this way – dirty speakers, top volume, ripped leather jacket…)

Slint – Good Morning, Captain

Good Morning, Captain

I can sit here & preach about albums with singular sounds that are incomparable to anything else released, but the conversation will always return to Spiderland.  The seemingly simplistic, short-tracked album is one of the most deceptive collection of songs put to tape, & easily one of the most lauded by hindsight hype-machinists.  Angular guitar riffs pre-conditioning Godspeed’s early work & Fugazi’s later years, lyrics still unmatched almost 20 years later in their emotional weight, & complete control of the delicacy only unsteady minds can bring to an art — “Good Morning, Captain” defines the headphone track, is meant for maximum volume & a lightless room, should be downed like a double of rough scotch.  Sorrow has never been so riveting, Coleridge’s poetry so alive.  The story goes singer Brian McMahan experienced dry heaves after this song’s climax, & with each listen I teeter on retching myself; I miss you has never meant so much so well.

Syd Barrett – Terrapin

Terrapin

Pink Floyd’s original frontman who became more famous for losing his mind than for writing Pink Floyd’s best songs (a crime!).  His insanity barely comes through in his solo efforts, only in the way the over-dubbed layers of vocal lines practically seep through the speakers.  The Madcap Laughs was put together haphazardly, Barrett going through the initial stages of his downward spiral during its creation, & its songs reflect it in a haunting, utterly addictive way.  Acid-dipped lyrics, guitars hardly played, a man with bad hair & a pair of tight pants: this is the end of the sixties when you take time to look past the nostalgic monolith The Beatles created.  I don’t know whether I’m terrified or lulled by this song, & that’s half the fun.

Ol’ Dirty Bastard – I Can’t Wait

I Can’t Wait

The Neptunes at the peak of their beatmaking game, & I’m convinced for them it was all downhill from here.  Can ODB pronounce verses less understandably?  Can a cluster of strings fit a hook in a more chaotic way?  Can anyone keep a straight face during these shout-outs?  Can hip hop recover from this song?  An MC like no other, & it only takes the first verse to prove it: If I don’t get paid 2 or 3 million dollars on Monday, I’m-a bring on the Armageddon (it’s Monday).

What it is, what it is, Wu-Tang is for the kids.

Beck – Debra

Debra

Big-time Beck fans all agree that Sea Change is his opus, the album that proved his worth after years of general inconsistency; for the Beck snobs, it was when he shed off the production that he really blossomed.  The truth of it is that Midnite Vultures may be the best produced album of all time, & it is too often sloughed off as a slick anomaly.  Though its songs weaken considerably in the middle third of the album, the songwriting is stronger than anything else he’s penned when it really hits the mark.  This is a funk album like no one has been able to master since the peak of Parliament’s hey day, & I think Midnite‘s bolder tracks hold up to that era very well.  “Debra” closes out the album in true funky fashion (hit ‘em with the brass-lined gut busters up front & slow things down for the ladies at the end) & though it doesn’t showcase the production as well as a track like “Sexx Laws” might, it’s the album’s true unsung hero.  A sensual groove of a track, it’s more Isaac Hayes than Dust Brothers, & highlights the better points of the album all throughout: honey-dripped falsetto, classically Beckian lyrical absurdities, orgasmic horn section, noises you never thought could exist blipping in & out.  What I’m saying friends, is this is one for the headphones – an album with the concentrated listener in mind, & a rarity in true artistic form.