THE INEVITABLE BACKLASH: MY TWO BROOKES LP OUT NOW

back 2 lincoln heights

it was back when dogs could talk and what not. it was stories of sadness and happiness and hope. up in that room, right above the amps. i went back to lincoln heights. a lot of the same emotions were there. but when tubes get turned up to 10, and you stay away from bed some stuff may happen later. or something like that. 

top 10 albums of the 90s

10. My Bloody Valentine “Loveless”

Duh. Had to put this on here somewhere. I came a little late to this party anyways.

9. Nine Inch Nails “The Downward Spiral”

Was my first real introduction to fucked up sound and aggression along with “Pretty Hate Machine”. The guitar solo in RUINER still stays with me. And, of course the simplistic brilliance of HURT still haunts me. 

8.The Pixies “Trompe Le Monde”

Like any album on here, I can listen to it straight through any day of the week. This is such a heavy album. It’s funny to hear “fans” say that this was the weakest Pixies albums. I think it was such a cool direction they were headed in.

7.Frank Black “Cult of Ray”

One Frank Black fanatic said that this was Frank Black’s tribute to punk rock. Every song is great and it just leads you through an excellent story. Lots of great melodies. Super raw and weird. Makes me want to play whenever I hear it. 

6.Hole “Live Through This”

A lot of Courtney hate out there but I don’t really care. This is a perfect record. So many great songs, flows nicely, and ends with one of the greatest songs I’ve ever heard in my life ROCKSTAR/OLYMPIA. I always liked the mistake title Rockstar best. 

5.Phish “Hoist”

If you have to ask you’ll never understand said the deadhead bumper sticker I saw at the Haight a million years ago. Such a true statement. A band that is more misunderstood than the Dead even were. This is what started it all with me and influenced me more than you could ever know. 

4.Fugazi “Red Medicine”

Loud guitars, vinyl, fucked up album art, unintelligible vocals, unexpected chorus’s, noise soundz. its all here.  

3.Weezer “Pinkerton”

One of the most honest records I’ve ever heard. Let alone one put out on a major label. It tells an absolutely incredible story. The songs are pure bubblegum, its so fucking good. Very very sexual as well. In a smart way. Its the best. 

2.David Bowie “his entire mid-90s Output”

While everyone was listening to the ridiculousness that was the mid-90s mainstream I was alone in my room with David Bowie records that nobody was giving proper attention to. From Parker Guitars, to Reeves Gabrels, To Frank Black, to Nine Inch Nails to mid-90s classics like STRANGERS WHEN WE MEET, LITTLE WONDER, and everything else. DB never ceases to amaze me. 

1.Frank Black “Teenager of the Year”

Pure, pure brilliance. So under-looked. Mad props to Pitchfork to squeezing it into their list. Quite simply, the best. 

Huge honorable mentions: Pavement, Nick Cave, Wilco, Rollins, etc etc etc

the generation i grew up in

i got my first bowie record in 1996, i was in 7th grade, it was aladdin sane. i had payphones. the internet was just starting out and thank god for teenage wildlife. if i wanted to hear a song i could go to blockbuster music or when i was feeling kooler, maybe pyramid or mayhem and ask them to put a cd on at the listening station. good times. i still want that who cassette box set that was behind the counter. musics a little bit too easy to get now and i think that can be a bad thing at times. jack white talked about or something when he took a stand and said rock band and guitar hero was bad for music (conventional wisdom says its good). good for him. i dont mind being a snob, i found it first. in the generation i grew up in you couldnt get faux vintage music shirts mass produced for urban outfitters i bought the real thing. in my generation i would take a bus to that little skate shop on 3rd street that was in the way back of a little clothing store i’d pour over the boards and trucks, watch the workers get high, and look at their epic collection of music shirtz maybe the best on the west coast. id drink some soda to keep me going and just keep walking, and skating, in the sunshine in the shadow of the pacific ocean. the generation i grew up in is looked down upon, bowies work from that time is forgotten (except to me, it was MY era of bowie), nine inch nails say they are breaking up and nobody really cares, and steve was there all the time recording and recording and being the best ever. the generation i grew up in is getting older and older and im still in my bedroom listening to ziggy the motion picture right next to the speakers, the same ones in fact to get me through the day. everytime we load in to a small town, or post-gig more alone than you could ever know, I  know the things in life that inspired me to do that, the generation i grew up in.